Chapter 6: Teamwork

I may have forgotten to mention that other threatening monsters do exist in the Desert. And I'm not talking about bugs like Altaroth, or Bnahabra. Oh, no no no, I mean legitimate, HUGE monsters. I forgot to worry about...

"Rathian, approximately 134 degrees of head!" Rehuyar exclaimed, his voice loud and clear. Asch stood up immediately, walking up to Rehuyar, who was observing at the front of the ship. He peered over, shaking his head. I walked to them to see as well.

"No, we're too high. She won't bother." Asch stated, placing his hand on the banister. I took a look for myself. It was a real living Rathian! I was very excited. Rathians are female wyverns. They're a dark sage colour with spiky, poisonous tails and spotted wings. I fell in love with this monster the moment I saw her: They didn't call her the Queen of Wyverns for nothing. The way she flew so perfectly through the air entranced me.

Asch pat my back, leaving his hand on my shoulder for a moment, "That there, you don't want to screw around with. You know the gash on my left shoulder? Yep, that was from one of those." He then started to walk towards his seat, but was interrupted by Rehuyar's nervous words. Oh, how much of a scare this was going to be...

"But, Sir Asch! Please, monitor the way she's flying." Asch then turned back and grabbed a telescope from the side of the wall. He aimed it downwards, his jaw dropping ever so slightly.

"Well, I'll be..." He said with a different voice. I looked at him, confused.

"What is it, Asch?"

"Tell me, Dariue, when a wyvern wants to change its momentum, what does it have to do? Remember from your studies."
"Umm..." I pondered for a moment, searching my mind to recall the information. It was definitely familiar. I then snapped my fingers at the information's successful retrieval, "She tries to cut into the wind currents that are in the direction she wants to go."
"Exactly... it's strange, Rathians like to hunt from the ground," He put the telescope down and squinted, focusing on her. He pointed towards her right wing, "As you can see, she is attempting to cut upwards with her right talon. By the way her balance is holding out, she's on a bit of an angle, her wing pointing towards our ship." He nodded, agreeing with himself. He then stood up.

"Rehuyar, lock the wheel. I need you to arm the Ballista." Asch commanded. Rehuyar stood up without hesitation, flicking a switch to keep the wheel locked, making a jolting sound, which made me jump.

"What's the plan, Asch?" I asked, looking up at him. Asch grinned, turning his back to me.

"It's simple. We defend the ship. And if that means we have to kill the thing... we will." Almost as if it was at cue, the Rathian roared. The sound definitely made it sound closer, and more towards the rear of the ship. My assumption was correct. Asch ran to the back of the ship, grabbing into his box. He pulled out a yellow sphere that glowed faintly.

"Learning time," he said, throwing the sphere up and down in his hand, "This is a flash bomb. It flashes a great light that can blind monsters. You shake it insanely, then squeeze it greatly. Then, well, I'm guessing you know the rest. Thunderbug's-a-flying, Rehuyar!" He yelled out with amusement, shaking his hand while squeezing the bomb. He then threw it out off the ship. "I suggest you look away!" I did, hearing a faint sweep sound. The Rathian roared a confused roar and I could hear its wings attempting to maintain perfect balance. I then heard the Ballista being shot above us. Rehuyar was shooting arrow-like ammunition from it at the Rathian. He was aiming for the wings. Wow, that Rathian was such a fighter. To think the flash bomb would have done it.

After what seemed to be so long, the Rathian was dodging every arrow. It was as if it was invincible. Rehuyar gave out an exclamation of frustration.

"We're wasting too much ammo, Sir!"
"It's fine! Dismantle the Ballista and come down, Rehuyar!" Asch replied almost immediately, as if he knew what Rehuyar was going to say. "Dariue's going to fire the Dragonator." My eyes widened at that time.
"Wait, wha- Hey! Let me down!" In the middle of my sentence, Asch had picked me up off my feet. He was very, very strong. I struggled, but only slightly, allowing him to carry me by my arms. He placed me down beside a switch on a pedestal.

"The way to operate the Dragonator is simple. You take this..." He places his hand on the switch, "... while standing on this..." He stood on top of the pressure plate. "You basically pull it down and that's that."
"Why aren't you scared?" I practically yelled at him.

"Because I'm confident." He said, firmly. This made me gasp a bit. Then, I clenched my fists and stepped onto the pedestal.
"Let's do it." I looked downwards, then outwards towards the Rathian that was now very close to the rear of our ship.

"We're very lucky that she is unable to use fire in mid-air, unlike Rathalos," Asch yelled to me from below. "You choose, Dariue." I gulped then nodded, turning back to the wyvern. She then decided to shift momentum upwards, coming up towards me. I shook and immediately grabbed the switch, jumping onto the pedestal. It didn't budge. I attempted to pull down again, but it didn't work. She got too close. I could feel the very heat coming from her mouth as her eyes met with mine. Such an intense glare. Almost as if she had fire in her eyes. The Rathian roared again, full out in my face. I flinched, unable to move. I could hear Asch's faint shouting in the background. It was blurred and I was unable to make out what he was saying. Each beat of the Rathian's wings both pushed me back a small bit and killed my ears because of the intense wind. I shuddered, realizing how big she really was. She then shifted momentum, in a way that signalled she was going to fly up then down, almost like a back flip. It was then that I knew. I was done for. The reason? If she shifted her momentum like that, she would fall greatly behind our ship. However, it would be worth it because I was right in her face. I'm a guaranteed target. When she began to push her head up, I saw the emerald-like scales underneath her head. They were absolutely mesmerizing. I felt a nudge behind me as Asch placed a hand on the switch. He then placed his other hand on mine and pushed down. I felt a jolt come from the ship and realized that the Rathian had been struck in the chest by the Dragonator. The spear has pierced right through her, instantly killing her. Her final roar made me deaf. The very vibration of it causing me to fall onto my hands and knees. Asch placed his arms around me and picked me up, putting me onto my feet. The Dragonator began to automatically start going back into the ship, causing the Rathian to jiggle off of the spear, falling down under the clouds. It was like the shape of her remained in the clouds for a very long time.

"There, there, Dariue," Asch assured me, patting my back as he moved a chair behind me, letting me sit. "Good job." I hadn't spoken yet, due to the shock of seeing her try to attack me.

"If she had gotten you, you would have most likely been poisoned and thrown off the ship. Sometimes the poison is so lethal… that you would have died before hitting the ground." I tilted my head, looking up at him, the emptiness in my eyes returning.

"Poison?"

"Yes, Rathian has spikes on her tail that induce poisoning. Her species is very popular for doing that back flip attack." Rehuyar came down from the upper deck, placing a cup filled with dark liquid on the table in front of me. It looked a little thick, slightly less dense than pudding.

"Take this, it will help," Rehuyar pushed it towards me. I placed my hand slowly around it and took up, placing my lips on it. The warm liquid slowly came into my mouth and I swallowed. It was quite difficult to swallow, but it opened up my airways. There was no actual definitive taste. After one big sip, I sighed happily. "Thanks." I thanked him, finishing the cup. "This must be… a potion?"

"Well, kind of. It's my own special brew," Rehuyar boasted, "I combine herbs, water, immunizer, blue mushrooms, and airweed. It's very hard to make and I only have a few bottles left." I then gave a concerned, sorry look and apologized.

"I'm sorry…"

"It is fine, I can make plenty more if Sir Asch decides to give me the ingredients." Asch merely laughed, nodding his head.

"You do know that I enjoy your brews very much, Rehuyar." Rehuyar thanked him and walked out of the room, getting back to controlling the ship. Asch pulled up a seat and sat across from me.

"So, what was it like?" He began to ask, "To see her look at you with the intent to kill?" I shuddered and shook my head, "I didn't enjoy it at all."

"Didn't you feel anything out of the ordinary?"

"Hmm…" I pondered his question a bit, then came up with an answer, "Well, it was like… it was like she knew who I was." I shrugged, "it's hard to explain." Asch nodded at my answer, taking a deep breath.

"Whenever you look at a wyvern right in the eyes, it usually means imminent death. You're one of the lucky people who have lived to fully understand a Rathian's thoughts."

"What do you mean?"

"The Rathian is a wyvern that is very wise and secretive. She recognizes courage and valour when she meets a hunter eye-to-eye. She learns who you really are, and you learn who she truly is. It's a strange connection." He shook his head, leaning back in the chair, crossing his arms like he normally does. "She's a strange creature. I, myself, have never been put in that situation."

"Really?" I asked with great intrigue, "I've experienced something you haven't?" He nodded again.

"No one who's sane would ever go in front of a wyvern head on long enough to look into her eyes fully. Like I said, it usually means imminent death. If it wasn't for my help and the Dragonator, you would be dead by now."

"Rathian is a very common wyvern and I guarantee you that you will fight one alone one day. Most likely to defend your village. Who knows when it will be…" He wandered off into his thoughts. "Well! Get some rest. By the time you wake up, we should be in Loc Lac." He got up, patting my shoulder as he passed me. I got up, my armour making its usual noise, and walked into the third room. A bed was in there.

"I sleep in my armour, yeah?" I said, looking at the wall that the other room that theyw ere in shared.

"You always will be." Asch said. I shook my head, looked at the bed and then sighed.

"You're a monster hunter, Dariue," I assured myself, "You can't sleep in your normal clothes again." I then flopped onto the bed, the weight of my armour causing me to bounce. "Feels good though."

Rehuyar added an extra ingredient. It was a sleep herb.