A few hours had passed and the Rathian was still in the area, but she had finally gone to another part of the forest- James and Lillian hoping to her nest. Gathering up their things, they made their way through the Ancient Forest back towards Astera.

"Well, that was interesting."

James chuckled. "I thought she'd never leave."

"I'm glad she did, though. We get to go home now." Lillian looked up at the sky seeing that it was starting to get dark out, dusk having fallen around them. "I had fun, though."

James looked at her, brow raised slightly. "Oh?"

Lillian smiled at him. "I haven't seen much of you lately, we're always so busy even without monsters to hunt. It was nice spending time with you."

James smiled in return and chuckled. "That it was. I wish we could do it more often."

"Well, hopefully the Commander will give you a day off here soon. Then maybe you can come with me for a day at the beach."

James blushed at that, clearing his throat and trying to move on with the conversation. "Maybe, but there's still a lot to do to prepare for Zorah Magdaros."

Lillian sighed. "True."

They walked in silence for a bit, the gate to Astera coming into sight as they passed through the same corridor James had ridden the Great Jagras through on Lillian and Sarah's first day. They entered the settlement and made their way through the tradeyard, Lillian stopping at the living quarters she shared with Thomas, Mia, and Sarah.

"I should turn in, it's been a long day." she said, looking up at James as he stood in front of her.

"I should, too."

"I'll see you around?"

James nodded, smiling.

Lillian blushed and raised a hand to wave as she turned towards her quarters. James waited until she had gone inside before making his way to the lift and taking it up to the waterfall bridge, making his way to his own room. As he changed out of his armor and got washed up, he thought about the events of the day.

Going from a normal patrol to tracking a Great Jagras to having to hide and wait out a Rathian that started a turf war was not what he expected, but it wasn't all bad. He did enjoy sitting and talking with Lillian, catching up, sharing a meal, just spending time with her. They tried to spend time together as often as their duties would permit, but he did agree with Lillian: they needed a day off. He realized that he missed spending time with her more than he thought he would, but it didn't surprise him with what Lillian meant to him. They were good friends, but he was beginning to wonder if there was something more growing between them after seeing her look so vulnerable beneath him when he tackled her out of harm's way earlier that day and how it made him feel to see her like that. If they hadn't needed to get away from the turf war, he may have been able to figure out what that feeling was- explore it even. Then he thought back to that night he stayed up with her in the roost to wait for the sunrise, how much he enjoyed being close to her, teasing her, how cute she looked in her nightgown and in the light of dawn.

'Am I just imagining things? It's just innocent fun between friends, right? I've never had a female friend before, though, so what would I know?'

A knock came at his door as he pulled his shirt on and he answered it to find the Commander, his grandfather Edgar, waiting in the hall. "Grandfather, I was just about to come and find you."

"I heard you just got back in from patrol." Edgar stepped inside when James stood aside for him to. "You're returning rather late, for a normal patrol."

James shut the door and nodded, turning to his grandfather. "It was a normal patrol, but then I came across Great Jagras tracks that were the largest I'd ever seen. I followed them until I stumbled across Lily farming for materials and she offered to help me track the thing down. We found it in sector eight and it was like nothing I had ever seen."

"What happened?"

"The Great Jagras was nearly two thousand centimeters, at the highest end of the scale. We engaged it, but in the middle of the hunt a Rathian showed up and started a turf war. Lily and I had to get out of there quickly, so we made it to the nearest camp and waited the monsters out. The Rathian ended up killing the Great Jagras and actually ate it. She stayed in the area for a few hours, but as soon as we were sure she was gone, we made our way back here."

"Nearly two thousand centimeters? And a Rathian killed and ate it?"

James nodded. "Like I told Lily, 'beggars can't be choosers'. I'm less worried about a Rathian than a Great Jagras as big as the one we faced."

"Strange that it would be that large, that doesn't happen very often." Edgar sighed. "At any rate, I'm glad you both are home safe."

"You should have seen Lily in action, Grandfather, she was amazing. I don't think I've ever seen anyone handle a glaive as well as she does."

Edgar chuckled. "You seem to have taken quite the shine to our new rising star." His smile grew when he saw James blush and he clapped him on the shoulder before heading towards the door. "Try to get some rest, James. I'll see you in the morning."

James watched his grandfather leave, closing the door behind him before laying back on his bed. He stared at the ceiling, wondering if his grandfather saw something he was missing still. Sighing, he decided to get some sleep instead of staying up all night trying to solve a puzzle he didn't have all the pieces to.

Down in her quarters, Lillian stared at the ceiling of the room. Kimi's soft snoring sounded above her in her hammock, but it was nothing compared to Thomas' snoring. Lillian was surprised that Mia could even sleep through it. But as she lay there, she thought back to the events of the day. She had meant what she said to James as they returned from the forest: she did have fun. Regardless of what happened before, she was just glad she could spend time with James and catch up. With as busy as things had been, it was hard for them to find time to spend together. They always tried to find the time, but it never lasted long. It never would have bothered her before, but meeting James changed that for her.

'I wonder why that is...' she thought to herself. They had become good friends since her first day in Astera, but she was beginning to wonder if there was something more between them, especially after feeling the way she did when he had tackled her out of harm's way earlier in the day. She felt so vulnerable, her body hot, a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was a feeling she had only had once before and that was the night that James had stayed up with her to watch the sunrise. 'I feel happy around him, but in a different way than what I feel around Sarah or Thomas and Mia. Why is that..?'

Sighing, she turned onto her side and shut her eyes, trying to block out Thomas' snoring so she could get some sleep.

The following morning, Lillian woke to a knock at the door. Groggily, she got up and answered, finding James standing outside.

"Morning..."

"Morning." James blushed a little. 'Wow, she's cute even half asleep.'

"What's going on?"

"The Commander wants the two of us to help out the endemic researchers with a Barroth problem in the Wildspire Wastes."

Lillian yawned, nodding as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "OK, just let me get ready. I take it we're leaving right away?"

"Well, we'll grab some breakfast first." James stepped back from the doorway. "I'll wait for you up in the canteen, alright?"

Lillian nodded. "I'll join you as soon as I'm ready." She stepped back into the room as James headed for the lift, turning to change out of her nightgown and wash up. A towel wrapped around herself, she pulled out her Kulu armor and slipped into with the help of her housekeeper Palico, Jeanie. Grabbing her glaive and making sure she brought her fire type kinsect along, she and Kimi made their way to the lift and took it up to the canteen.

James looked up when the Meowster Chef, Lu Shen, waved in greeting and his eyes widened, his cheeks burning, when he saw Lillian step off the lift and head towards them. She was wearing a full set of Kulu armor and its pigments made her turquoise hair and brilliant yellow eyes stand out even more than usual.

"Morning, Lu Shen." Lillian said, greeting the chef. "Let's do a veggie platter."

"I hear you're going to take care of that Barroth in the waste?"

Lillian nodded. "James and I leave after we eat."

"Well, then let's get you two fed."

Lillian smiled, then sat next to James. Once their food was ready, they ate quickly and set out for the Wildspire Waste.