Why was she so heavy?
That was the only thought in Eclipsen's mind as he made his way back to camp.
It was only a few minutes into the walk that the Frenzy Virus wore off, forcing the Hunter to walk at a much slower pace in order to not drop the woman he was carrying.
It also made his back ache as if a kelbi had kicked him. The rest of the trip was filled mostly by Eclipsen's grumbling and readjusting the woman in his arms.
He eventually settled for slinging her over his shoulder. Chivalry be damned when a woman weighed two hundred pounds and looked as if she only weighed one-forty.
In the meantime, Eclipsen watched as the Recess became much more lively. Small colored birds that ate the Bio-Energy crystals began to fly about, and the larger monsters began to retake their territory.
Eclipsen gave a sigh when he saw the entrance of the camp.
It was going to be a hassle to explain what the Sealing Arrow did. On top of that, he would have to convince the Comission to not preform any invasive experiments until the woman was conscious and consenting.
He walked into the camp slowly, as to not startle the Handler too much.
Hether looked up from her book before closing it and rushing over to check on the Hunter. This was the normal routine for most hunts.
"How did it go?"
It took Hether a second to recognize the indifference in Eclipsen's eyes, along with the woman slung over his shoulder.
And the tail that was protruding out of said woman's rear.
"What the hell!?"
-Transition-
"I honestly don't know what I'm more worried about. The fact that you brought back a humanized Elder Dragon, or the fact that you did it with five broken ribs."
Eclipsen would've shrunk under the gaze Hether was throwing at him, but he was just too tired to care.
After the medical team had arrived and examined the woman against his wishes, he was checked for any wounds.
Of those he had plenty.
He had five broken ribs, a bruised tailbone, a cracked forearm, and a slight concussion.
So here he lay in a medical cot being transported back to Astera via cart Palicos.
Hether walked beside the cot as it moved, her glare still directed towards the Hunter.
Eclipsen couldn't provide any information as to why the Arrow had done what it did, forcing both Hether and him in between a rock and hard place.
They would either have to make up a story on how the Arrow had transformed Nergigante, or let the Commission run invasive tests on the woman.
"I still can't wrap my head around it. Why would the Arrow do something like that?"
"Probably because Nergigante didn't have any abilities besides pure strength and endurance. It had nothing to target, so the Arrow... No, that doesn't work either."
Eclipsen was also stumped on the question. The Sealing Arrow was supposed to sap an Elder Dragon's power, not transform one into a human. Well, as human as it could get.
The woman was also being transported in a medical cot, but she was farther back on the path than they were.
"Lets just stick with the theory that Nergigante had no powers to drain. It's a foundation at least."
Hether said, turning her eyes back to the path. Eclipsen gave an agreeing nod as he rested his head back into the cot.
It wasn't long before the Hunter fell asleep to the sounds of nature and Hether's footsteps.
-Transition-
"So why exactly are you putting her in my room?"
Eclipsen asked as his eyes darted between the humanized Elder Dragon - who was also sharing his bed - and the Commander.
The Commander crossed his arms as he watched the Hunter gently push the woman's spiked wing away from his aode of the bed.
"Because we don't have a place to keep her that is both safe and well guarded. Not at the moment anyways."
"So you decided to have her share a room with me, despite my current difficulty in defending myself?"
The Commander put on a smug grin and chuckled at Eclipsen's annoyed stare.
"That is the plan, yes."
"I hate you. So much."
The Commander proceeded to break put in a deep laughter and walk out of the Private Quarters, laughing all the way.
Eclipsen felt his eye twitch as the woman's wing extended again, smacking him in the face with a thankfully spineless section of her scales.
He shoved the wing away and moved to get out of the bed, but was dissuaded by the burning pain in his chest.
Having no other choice but to grit his teeth and bear it, Eclipsen laid back into his bed, carefully this time.
He stared up into the ceiling for a bit, trying to find a thought to focus on.
He went over the events of the prior meeting again, just to remind himself.
It had went well, all things considered. Both the Third Fleet Master and the Commander accepted Eclipsen's request to refrain from any testing, part of which was backed by the threat of the woman waking in the middle of a test and slaughtering any researchers involved.
But at the same time, they dumped the responsibility of taking care of the woman on Eclipsen and Hether, who then retreated to the canteen.
The woman remained sleeping through the entirety of the meeting, despite the small crowd that had gathered to see the results of the council.
The Sealing Arrow was taken away for further testing and research along with the remains of Nergigante's original body. They gave the rest of the materials to the Hunter to craft new equipment.
The only test that was run was to confirm if the woman was truly asleep and not in a coma or something similar. The doctors confirmed that she was in a deep sleep, and would eventually wake up.
So here he was, laying next to a human Elder Dragon that ate other Elder Dragons.
He sighed as he lifted his left arm, deflecting the black wing that had been assaulting him for nearly half an hour now.
The woman snored like a wild animal, preventing any notion of sleep on Eclipsen's part. He sat up on the bed carefully, as to not disturb the woman or his bruised tailbone.
It was dark outside and the moon shone brilliantly through the window of the Private Quarters.
The Elegant Coralbird slept quietly in it's nest, only ruffling it's feathers to right it's position.
The woman slept peacefully on top of the blankets of the bed, her wings opening and closing continuously.
Her tail hung off the edge of the bed and her arms were what could only be described as strangling the pillow on her side of the bed.
Despite the wing assaulting him, Eclipsen found the atmosphere quite peaceful.
He glanced at the clock on the wall, watching as the time ticked by.
It was only eleven thirty one at night.