"I know you've just arrived, and probably have quite the quantity of questions to ask about Astera.. However I need you to investigate the appearance of a Rath nest in the Guiding Lands." the Commander didn't waste any time.
Xeno was about to say something but quickly got cut off by a humongous hulk of a man. Blonde hair, easily defined muscles, very tall.
" The rest of you come with me. Don't mind this. "he told the A-Listers that had seemingly accumulated behind us.
I've never even noticed that untill now.. Jarred thought for a slight second before turning his head back at the Commander.
" Alright. Should be a piece of cake. Surely has something to do with the Silver Rath.." he replied, though the last part was more to himself than the Commander. Truth be told Jarred was very excited to face this supposed silver giant.
"Precisely. That's the biggest Silver Rathalos i've encountered in my years of huntin'." the Huntsman intervened after coming down from a nearby cottage, his green, rathian armour showing it's age, scars covering it almost entirely.
A respectful nod was exchanged between Jarred and the Huntsman. He could swear he recognised the man that had just intervened, but couldn't quite put his fi ger on it..
"Indeed. One of the main reasons we called you here. We have sent teams after that menace of a flying wyvern only for them to return battered up, crippled or not return at all. And the wyvern is starting to get really aggressive due to it being breeding season for the Rath wyverns as well."the Commander added, looking at both Jarred and Xeno with his arms crossed.
" So i ask of you to please take care of the problem." the white haired man added then.
Jarred was quite happy about this, though nothing showed his face expression due to the black, blazing dragon armour encompassing his body. The hunter gave a nod and without much thought, moved on.
" I trust my living quarters are of course ready?" he asked after stopping a few moments later.
"But of course. Just up beneath the Gathering Hub. The Admiral will give you the key shortly enough." the Commander nodded toward the veteran hunter, who then nodded back and beckoned the other hunter to go with him.
"Come on Xeno. You'll get your first real dose of a hunt experience pretty soon. Might as well get ready for it." he told him, the ace joining him right after, not wasting a minute.
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say." he said with a relaxed stance as he followed the more experienced hunter up the stairs.
Nothing short of an hour passed and the duo were ready for take off.. Nearly, I should say.
Jarred had indeed prepared himself, getting the items he deemed most important, and, whilst Xeno was figuring out what armor he should wear, fashion his armor set with what the people here call a 'slinger'. Peculiar contraption that one. Even it's modifier, clutch claw or whatever it was called seemed to foreign.
As Jarred was pondering this, his train of thought got interrupted by Xeno, who had noisly exited his room nearby.
"Alright, let's get our hands on this wyvern!" the lad hyped himself up as he joined the more experienced hunter near the podium they were supppsed to take off from.
"Hold your Aptonoth. You do remember we are facing a serious, do you not? I see you've a Rathalos armor on your self, tell me, you have it upgraded right?"
"But of course! I don't just barge in unprepared you know." Xeno rolled his eyes, just as two, small, winged wyverns arrived near the duo, harnessed and ready for take off.
Luckily, the Field Team Leader was there to teach them how to properly hold on to the ropes, by that meaning mostly the Ace Cadet.
And then they were off..
It didn't take long to reach the place, weirdly enough, it only took an hour, close to two to reach their destination.
Normally he took a day or so to reach his hunting environment. Guess times were changing.
In any case, the place was rather weird. The duo found themselves in a forested environment, a dense amount of trees shielding the sunlight from view. Great.
Having set foot on the mossy ground, Jarred wasted no time in looking for any sign of the rath wyvern around them, whilr Xeno himself seemed to take in the breathtaking scenery.
"Focus newblood. We ain't here for the view. Not now at least." He told the cadet, who promptly rolled his eyes before following the now perplexed veteran.
"Quite..interesting..." the man added as they would reach somewhat of a bifurcation. A way lead further down in the deep forest, featuring a drop down, another promised a chilly slope with even more old waiting at the top, and another led into a rather weird place, coral-like structures making their appearance as one would step further.
"Unnatural.. Such different biomes so close to eachother is definitely not normal." Jarred stated.
"Knowing that, where do you say we searcg for the wyvern oh Great Hunter?"he mused which earned an eye roll from the vet himself.
" Up. But not too up. Rathalos like to nest high, Silvers are no different. And something tells me we should follow this path.. "Jarred replied, stepping in the coral biome.
Xeno could only follow in his footsteps.
"Say, have you ever encountered such an environment in the Old World?" he asked as they trekked up serene biome.
"Not really, no.. But it does come close to the Jurassic Frontier." Jarred sniffed the dirt below him. Definitely Silver Rathalos tracks.
"We should be close to a nest soon enough. Stand at the ready." he would warn as they climbed up the coraly cliffs.
The Cadet didn't have a chance to reply because, surely enough, Jarred was right. Another level or so higher, a snore could be heard. Judging by the sounds that accompanied the snore, definitely a Los.
The hunter would pop his head out to look at the top where he would be greeted by the sight of a huge silver rath wyvern, sleeping of course on the plateau that he had made his nest on. Of course, the plateau was quite large, fitting even him.
"Good." he whispered, before signaling the other to come up with him.
Xeno was also dumbfounded. This thing was Gravios sized or something!
However, he didn't have a chance to express his thoughts for a sudden, snore cut short.
Eyes open.
Air huffed out.
Panick sets in.
Its, show time.