Before I start this chapter, I want to say thank you to everyone who's followed and favorited me and this story, and for all of the reviews. I apologize for the infrequent publishings, I've been extremely busy with school stuff and other unrelated projects. With the recent announcement of Rise, as well as me running out of ways to keep this story going, I intend to end it soon, likely at around fifteen chapters and an epilogue. Thanks again for the support, and on with the chapter!

It doesn't take long for me to find the remains of the Tigrex's last meal, so I let my scoutflies out to continue tracking it. Since it just ate, it's likely to be sleeping wherever I find it, so that'll make things easier.

As I go, I think to myself; What skills do Tigrex have that I could use? They have their loud roar, but why? How does that contribute to their survival? I don't know, my best guess is that because of how loud it is, it discombobulates its prey. They also have their strong wings and claws, which they more often use to dash and climb than to fly. I'll try that, since I doubt we'll be hunting anything.

I soon hear snoring, and follow the noise to where the trees open up to a huge clearing with a large stack of rocks in the middle that forms something of a wide column, and the Tigrex sleeping on top of it. There's a wall of vines on one side of the rocks, so I use them to climb up. When I reach the top, there's only a few feet between the curled-up Tigrex and the ledge, so I take care in moving around to the head of the monster. It has a nick in its lower lip, and a seemingly recent scar on the tip of its nose. Judging by the size of its horns, for lack of a better term, this one is a male. I take out the powder and softly blow some towards the nose, and wait. As he inhales, he slowly starts to wake up, then raises his head level to mine and looks straight at me. His eyes are sleepy and without hostility.

I raise my hand to pet his head, and he sniffs at it for a few seconds before allowing me to run my hand along his head. He's still lying down, so I go around to his side to climb on. He gets up before I can raise my leg over, then jumps down. I guess that's fine, since now I can jump down right on top of him from up here. After he jumps down, he looks back up at me and turns to the side, as if that's exactly what he expects me to do. I jump, and land right on his back behind his arms.

I feel the connection again, and this time I feel a sense of power, similar to when I'm riding Queen, but this one's significantly different. Now that I'm on his back, that column is actually perfect practice for what I wanted to try. I subconsciously ask him to climb it, and he starts to. I hold on to the ridges above his arms as he climbs, and we reach the top in no time. We turn back around and back down again, since it's a lot harder to climb back down the same way we came up. Now, I want to see how fast this Tigrex can go, so we start heading towards the plains I was at earlier. Once we reach the opening, we stop.

We're about to go at a full speed dash, so I get ready and hang on. When he starts, though, it's so sudden that I almost lose my grip. Once we start getting momentum, we only get faster. This is exhilarating, like the first time I was on Queen. We keep going in a straight line until we can't go any faster, then keep going. When we start approaching a hill, we slow down and eventually stop. The Tigrex flops down, breathing fast and heavy. I slide off and go around to his head. He's panting as he looks at me, then he just drops his head on the ground. I laugh, then pet him. He closes his eyes and embraces it as he catches his breath. I sit down beside him, and we both take a short rest.

I lean my back against his neck, and he doesn't move. Monsters continue to astound me. They can tell the difference between friend and enemy, mercy and cruelty. But I never would have imagined that they understand fun. Monsters usually only do what they need to in order to survive; they can't afford to have fun. At least, not when they're fully grown and need to fend for themselves. I can see how the Rathian and Rathalos back at the nest play with each other and have fun, since they have Queen and I taking care of them. But I think that's exactly what happened here, this Tigrex and I had fun, even if it was just going full speed for no reason at all other than we wanted to.

After a little while, I climb back on the Tigrex and we go back to where I found him, this time walking at a calmer pace. Once we're back, I hold on to his ridges as he climbs up again, then he lies back down and lets me off. I pet him again before I leave, and he lets out a short rumble. I follow my scoutflies back to the nest, and see Tavris sitting on a branch on the other side.

"How was it?" He asks, as if he already knows the answer. The others are still asleep, and Queen is lying down on the right with her head raised to keep an eye on them.

"Does this powder work with anyone else, or is it just me?"

"Like I said before, the powder only calms the monsters down. It's your gift with monsters that allows you to ride them. Regardless, it's good to see you uninjured. Get some rest. After your next hunt with the others, there's another monster I want to see how you handle riding."

I sleep next to Queen, and after a while we all wake up and go out to hunt. We take down a couple Aptonoth, since they're the easiest to hunt and there's plenty of ways I can eat them. King helps me cook the neck chops, I eat, and we return to the nest so the others can play and rest again. I approach Tavris, who's sitting on his perch.

"A Banbaro's been spotted wandering close to the southwestern camp. Sadly, I've been away from headquarters for too long, so I won't be able to watch you. This should help you track it." He hands me a chunk of wood, and I go to leave the nest. King gently bites my boot and doesn't let go, like a child who doesn't want their father to leave them. I kneel and pet his head, and he rubs it into my palm, huffing and rumbling.

"I'll be back soon, just like earlier. You stay here and make sure the others stay out of trouble." As I say this, he turns and goes to join the others in their play-fighting.

It's hard to miss Banbaro tracks. They're deep, and usually accompanied by fallen sticks and branches, and the occasional uprooted tree. They're usually relatively peaceful, only fighting when provoked. Some hunters, myself included, even find them kind of cute.

I come up behind the Banbaro and as it ambles through the woods. A branch falls behind it, and I intentionally step on the branch to snap it. The Banbaro turns around to see what made the sound and notices me. I prepare the powder, pouring some on my hand as it slowly approaches me. I hold out my hand with the powder, and it bows down to sniff it.

I see the caution leave its eyes, so I pour the remaining powder back into its pouch. I reach up and run my hand through the fur behind its jaw. It's thick and long, but surprisingly soft. Its horns reach above and behind me, so I step back some and grab on to one of the spikes of its horns. I start to pull myself up, and the Banbaro brings its head up with enough speed and power to toss me over the horn, landing softly on top of it.

Already, I feel connected with the Banbaro, and as I walk over the horn towards the back, it tilts its head so I don't slide off. Once I step off the horn, I drop to my hands and knees and crawl the rest of the way, mostly so I can keep my balance as I go up its neck and to keep from tearing the fur out. I position myself above its torso, nearly burying myself in its fur. It's warm and extremely comfortable, and I'm tempted to just stretch out and dig my arms and legs into it and just fall asleep. That will have to wait though, I want to see just how powerful this monster is.

We wander through the woods in search of the biggest tree we can find, and I realize for such a bulky monster, it has little trouble maneuvering through the woods. Low-hanging branches sometimes get caught in the Banbaro's horns, but it effortlessly pushes through.

The swaying gait combined with how far up this fur buries me as I'm sitting on the Banbaro's back make it hard for me to stay awake, but we eventually find an exceptionally wide tree. It's time to see what this gentle giant is capable of.