It was a quiet morning. Ian's children were still growing inside their eggshells, and if she listened carefully, she could faintly hear the gentle rhythm of their heartbeats. Every so often, she would find herself spending hours listing to them to remind herself that they were alive. The small creatures that were a little bit of herself and Los were still alive, and that was all she needed to know. They just needed to live for a few more days, and then they could all see each other. The thought of having children made Ian think back to her time as a hatchling. She had a brother and two sisters, but one sister died before she could learn how to fly. Her mother, though caring, couldn't talk, and there wasn't much Ian could remember about her. Her father, however, could talk, and Ian learned from him, but her siblings lacked that special trait and spoke only in bestial roars like their mother.
Ian, her father, and Los, were all deviants, carrying on a trait that Ian still struggled to understand. Its origin and use were still a mystery to her. It didn't make her stronger, it didn't make hunting easier, and it didn't stop flesh-takers from hunting her. However, Ian was content with it remaining a mystery. To her, it was like the sun. She didn't know where the sun came from, when it came to be, and why it went away at night, but she knew it brought warmth and light when it was around. For her, that was all she needed to know.
Los was her sun. Warm, bright, and always there when she needed him. Just like the sun would always come back after night, Los would always come back to their den. That was enough for Ian, and she would be content if life stayed like that (with the addition of some hatchlings).
Her quiet morning was ruined by the shrill calls of a certain Velociprey her mate had spared a week ago. His voice echoed across the mountains and carried with it a warning.
"Reeeeep! Reeeeep! Flesh-takers! Flesh-takers! Flesh-takers! Reeeeep! Reeeeep!" Velo called out rhythmically. He sounded close to the cave. Too close for Ian's liking. She crept to the cave entrance, sniffing the air. Velo's scent was sour and gamey, but at least he hadn't reached the mountainside as Ian thought. Another monster was on her turf, another bird wyvern but very different from Velo's scent. It was sweeter, with a tint of blood trailing behind it. Not wanting to draw attention to herself, she stayed low to the ground and walked higher up the mountain. Once she reached the top, Ian heard a shrill crow coming from the hilly forests surrounding the mountain. Looking over the canopies, Ian spotted a large, featherless bird wyvern leap out from the branches, waving its wings frantically. The two frills on the side of its oversized head had tears and holes in them, and its pink scales were bloody and riddled with daggers and arrows. She recognized the monster as a Yian Kut-Ku and would have chased it off her turf had Velo not warned her about the flesh-takers. It seemed this poor Yian Kut-Ku was their latest prey, and it had foolishly run onto her and Los's turf.
Knowing how flesh-takers sometimes became egg takers, Ian returned to her nest and ignored the cries of the Yian Kut-Ku until they abruptly stopped. Finally, she was back to hearing nothing but the soothing heartbeat of her children.
And she was content…
"KA KA KA KA!" Velo screamed, "ASTA ASTA! ASTA ASTA!"
Ian was on alert again. Where was Los? Flesh-takers and Asta were both on their turf, and he hadn't returned from his hunt. Was he hurt? Had he heard Velo's warning? She didn't care if he didn't bring back any food; she just wanted her only companion back with her.
Spreading her heavy green wings, she prepared herself to fly out of the cave when Los came crashing into her. He had a bloody mess of green fur and pink flesh in his mouth, which he dropped on Ian's face as the two toppled over each other. The two roared, not out of anger but from surprise before they nuzzled each other's heads. Once the two had settled down, Ian flicked the mass of flesh off herself to get a better look at it. There wasn't much left to identify what the creature was except for the odd fur, one hooved foot, and a flat nose. It was a Mossswine, a small fat animal the two had taken to eating in bulk with the absence of Aptonoths.
"It's smaller than the last one," Ian noted before devouring it whole. "Not that I mind. I'm just glad you're safe."
Los smiled and curled up around the nest. His eyes turned back to the cave entrance he began to laugh.
"I never thought the Veloprey would prove to be so useful," Los said once he had finished laughing. "His Velocidrome was a fool for kicking him out of the pack."
Ian could not help but scoff at this. "As long as he remembers to stay away from our nest, he's welcome to stay. But remember Los, Velocipreys grow into Velocidromes, and Velocidromes lead packs. I don't want Velo inviting friends and siring little Velos on our turf."
Los nodded in agreement, and soon Ian was curled up beside him. The two talked about the wounded Yian Kut-Ku, how terrible Mossswine tasted, and how many of their children would be Rathians or Rathalos. The two eventually drifted to sleep while listing to their children. Hours later, Los awoke when he heard a strange low growl. It wasn't a monster roar but rather his stomach. Mossswine were much less filling than Aptonoths, and once their children hatched, there would be even less food for the two adults to share.
It then occurred to Los that the flesh-takers had likely killed the Yian Kut-Ku, and with any luck, its corpse was still somewhere on his turf. He thought about bringing it back to the nest as a surprise for Ian and as a personal treat for himself. Los wasn't worried about the flesh-takers as they never tended to stay in one area for very long. Asta was much the same way (and perhaps that was another reason Los disliked him so much).
Creeping outside of the cave, Los carefully listened for any monster roars, calls, or deranged Asta laughs. Outside of distant bird crips, there was nothing, and Los flew back into the air, where he soon caught the scent of blood carried by the updraft. He circled the surrounding forest until he located the source of the blood. He came to a clearing and followed a trail of blood into the denser parts of the forest, where the cluster of trees prevented him from flying. There was no Yian Kut-Ku here, only a mutilated human sprawled out on broken branches.
It was a young male flesh-taker, and he wore a helmet made from an animal's Skull. It was the Skull Hunter Los had battled with some time ago. The boy's limbs were contorted, he was missing large sections of his armor, and on his exposed skin were fern-shaped lesions that branched out on his pale skin. Los recognized them as lighting scars as he had seen them on animal corpses left behind by Asta. Whether he was from the group of flesh-takers who killed the Yian Kut-Ku, or from a separate group, Los couldn't tell. All he knew was that a dead flesh-taker meant their village would send out more to kill the murderous monster. All he wanted to do was leave the body be, and he didn't dare eat the human as if anyone found out, then flesh-takers would hunt him down for fear he would develop a taste for human flesh. Once he was back in the clearing, he flew back into the sky and continued searching for the Yian Kut-Ku.
When he found the Yian Kut-Ku's body, he noticed flesh-taker had carved off parts of its body. One of its frills was gone, patches of scales were missing, and the Yian Kut-Ku's belly had been torn open where the flesh-takers had taken its organs. Flesh-takers never ate their kills, but their village would come to collect the body once they returned from their hunt. Los did not know what they did with the bodies, but he assumed their whole village would eat what the flesh-takers did not use for their weapons and armor. If there was any other purpose, then Los wasn't sure he wanted to know. As far as he was conserved, the corpse hadn't been claimed yet and was all his.
"KA KA KA KA!" Velo screamed from afar, "ASTA ASTA! ASTA ASTA!"
Los flew up as high as he could and watched, from behind a cloud, Asta crashing into the Yian Kut-Ku. Scared dark green scales covered Asta's twitching body, and his thin, torn wings looked like cracked glass. Electric sparks flew across his body but seemed to gravitate towards his left leg, where a metal band was strapped around his swollen ankle. Asta's hooked snout became stained with blood as he dug into the bird wyvern's innards. He stopped eating and began to laugh.
"Little bird, little bird," he said in between his fits of laughter. "Not pretty enough for cages. Not strong enough for life. But you make a fine meal."
It then dawned on Los that Asta was unaware of him. He flew around Asta several times, slowly descending to see if Asta would react. He could do it now. If he could strike Asta from above, break his spine, or maybe his neck, he could kill Asta and rid his future children of one of their greatest threats. However, Los hesitated as even just thinking about fighting Asta brought back painful memories of electricity burning his insides. If Los didn't kill Asta on the first strike, he might end up leaving Ian and his eggs alone.
Seeing Asta toss a delicious wing bone away convinced Los he needed to kill Asta. That was food that should be going to his family, yet here was Asta wasting it! He dove out of the sky and readied his talons, planning to drive them deep into Asta's back. If that didn't finish him off, Los would bite on the back of his neck and twist it until it snapped like a young tree. Asta was still eating the carcass, utterly unaware of the Rathalos rapidly descending from above.
Los struck him, but perhaps too hard as Asta tumbled to the ground bringing Los (who was latched to Asta's back) down with him. Asta roared and thrashed around violently as Los tried to bite him on the neck. The Astalos wiped his tail upward and caught the tip of Los's tail with the two prongs at the end of it. Currents of electricity ran through Asta and into Los, who couldn't even roar as the pain was too intense. Los felt his eyes burning as Asta continued to electrocute him, but he still found the power to bite down on Asta.
Asta had a horn at the end of his snout. A large curved horn flashed and flicked. Los had bit down onto it and pulled at it. It didn't taste as he expected. It wasn't like bone but had a moist and crunchy texture to it. As Los continued to pull at the horn, he could hear a hideous cracking sound. With one last powerful tug, half of Asta's horn was torn off. The Astalos flapped his wings and tried throwing Los away. The crackly lights reflecting off his wings blinded Los, and he finally lost his grip on Asta's back. Asta flew only a few meters off the ground, spun around, and charged into Los. The two lashed with fire, lighting, claws, and teeth. Los's vision was still blurry, so most of the fight was like fighting in the dark. Once his vision returned, he saw Asta flying away awkwardly.
Asta's old wounds had been opened. He was covered in burns and gashes, part of his horn was still dangling off the, and he was infected with Rathalos venom. Los considered chasing after him, but he had lost the advantage of surprise and was weaken by Asta's lighting. He had driven Asta off his turf, and Asta was likely to die from his wounds soon enough. Plus, there was the rest of the Yian Kut-Ku. He had won, and chasing Asta was an unnecessary risk (and Los thought he had made enough of those for today).
No words were needed. No speeches or grand boasts of power. Los let out a furious roar filled with fire and fury. Once Asta was out of sight, Los turned back to the Yian Kut-Ku, and the unexpected visitor who had just arrived. Velo was standing next to the carcass will drool pouring out of his mouth. The little raptor's bones were visible after having given up stealing from the human village. As Los approached, Velo took a few steps back and kept glancing back and forth at Los and the Yian Kut-Ku.
Los bit down onto one of the Yian Kut-Ku's legs and tore it off. "It's covered in dirt," Los lied. "Ian won't like it," he lied again. "You can have it."
Velo wasted no time tearing into the leg. He made a terrible humming sound that Los assumed was his attempt at singing while eating. Not caring to hear any more of Velo's music, Los went to pick up the corpse.
"Wait, master Los, what about Asta?"
"He's not worth chasing," Los answered.
"That's not what I meant," Velo responded sheepishly. Los looked back at Velo and saw he was gazing at Asta's torn-off horn. When you're a scrawny, starving monster, anything looks tasty.
"I'm not going to eat it," Los answered before he flew off with his giant prize in his talons. For the first time in months, there was plenty for both Los, Ian (and Velo) to eat.
Days later, Ian and Los stop listening to heartbeats. They were listing to eggshells breaking and hatchlings chirping at a bight rising sun.
That took way longer to post. So much is going on, but I still hope to continue this story whenever I get the time. As always, thanks for reading my story.