Rosalyn sat down in the chair beside her daughters bed, the same way she had ten years ago. Storybook in her lap, the soothing sound of the thunderstorm that kept her dearest child awake. the only thing that was missing was just that. the bed beside her was empty. Her daughter gone, She had disappeared over three months ago after visiting her fathers grave on the cliff by the falls, it was nothing unusual. She did it every seventh night. but when she didn't return, the entire area was in an uproar.
"Rosalyn?"
A younger girl had poked her head into the room, Her purple braids falling off to the side.
"Charlotte? What are you doing here?"
Charlotte, Rosalyn's Neighbor had walked inside, She had been her daughters best friend even though She was a year younger, She had difficulties making friends because of her odd colored hair. But being the forge masters grand-daughter, She helped the hunting group stay well armed. which was how they had met.
"I just wanted to see how you were holding up..."
Rosalyn couldn't help but smile.
"Oh I'm alright dearie. Just... taking a stroll through memory lane."
Charlotte sighed as she took a seat on the bed. "Oh... Well I just wanted you to see something I found during the ceremony."
Charlotte dropped an object on the bed. Rosalyn reached out to pick it up.
"Oh Charlotte... How did you find my daughters weapon?"
Charlotte smiled and walked over to the doorway,
"The same way I found this!"
Charlotte pulled a person through the doorway by the sleeve, They were soaking wet, and their hair covered most of their face, Ater brushing most of the hair out of it, She could see the characters features better. Bright blonde hair, Ample features, But what caught her eyes the most part were the very distinct eyes. Multicolored, There was no doubt about it.
"Oh Aurora... Your alright!"
Rosalyn Embraced her daughter tightly, Knocking the blade off of the bed.
"Well, I don't wanna interrupt your family reunion, bye!" Charlotte skipped out of the room happy that her part was done.
Aran woke up in the back shed of the forge, a sight that looked incredibly familiar from his past, he used to spend all his time at the forge back in town. A few spare anvils, a lot of whetstones, but one thing that unsettled him was the strange containers with monster names on them, followed by a symbol that he couldn't recognise. Standing up, he felt a lot lighter. Shrugging it off he Went outside to a sight that wasn't all to unfamiliar, People walking back and forth with woven baskets with things ranging from apples to weird looking metal things.
"Geez, You fell asleep in there?" Lyn had approached with a basket of the rations that they had brought with them on the way here.
"Yeah, Didn't want to crowd the room they gave us."
"Yeah, well... hey, wheres your lance?"
Aran reached for his weapon, just to find that it wasn't there.
"You'd better find it, besides, this'll give you a chance to talk with a few of The people here, They're all great!"
And with that, Lyn took off and resumed chatting with a Villager that had turned the corner.
"heh, social butterfly."
Aran started the search for his weapon at the ceremony, checking the seats and the stage for any sight of his lance. he saw a flash of red, but it was just some watered down blood from the night before.
"Hey you o'er there!" Speak of the devil, one of the two people in the brawl had just entered the clearing. If he remembered correctly, His name was Jirall.
"You seem to be searching for something. what is it?"
"My Lance. have you seen it? It looks like a Rathalos."
Jirall grinned "A Lance. Is that what the stabby thing was called?"
"To put it bluntly, yes. So you saw it?"
"Yeah, It was all busted up, So I sent it to the forge. I was about to head over there myself, why dontcha tag along?"
"If you insist."
Jirall walked Aran through town, Giving him basic introductions, and brief overview of himself as well, Apparently Jirall was the chiefs only son. and his dad had taught him how to use a Halberd, Judging off of what they had heard, Jirall and trent would get along just fine.
"Ah, Here we are!" Jirall stepped inside and returned with a very intimidating Axe with a spearhead emerging through the top. "You'll find Your Stabby thing in there somewhere. see you around, heck, Might have to duke it out with ya sometime!
"I'd rather not!" He called after Jirall as he entered the building that he had been led to.
It was rather empty, but in a village with only three people who ever hunt, He wasn't surprised. What he was surprised by was the sheer size of the place. There were monster parts everywhere, a few anvils had been turned on their sides. which made absolutely no sense. and hammers of varying levels of wear were scattered around. In short, the place was a mess. and in the middle of the mess was a shorter girl with long purple braids with her head rested on one of the anvils across the table.
"Hey, excuse me?"
The girl didn't even stir from her position. her snoring was phenomenally loud, and she seemed too far into her sleep to be stirred,
"Hey, wake up." Aran poked her with a broken hammer handle only to get no response.
"Alright, If that's how you wanna play it, fine." Aran grabbed one of the actual working Hammers of a shelf and slammed it into the side of the anvil, making a sound so ridiculously loud even Aran had to plug his ears.
"GYAGH!" The girl jumped backwards into a pile of sandbags, resulting in a large poof of sand. "Jirall I told you to just!... oh..."
The girl sat up with a start, clearly not expecting such a rude awakening, or expecting Aran to be the one giving her one.
"Oh, you must be- S-sorry for yelling at you like that..." The girl seemed flushed with embarrassment as she brushed the sand of the hem of her robe.
"It's alright Miss..." Aran reached out and helped pull her up
"Charlotte, and you must be Aran, Your lance? i think, is almost ready for you."
"Wait how did you know my name"
"Oh, uh no reason!" She turned her head away from him quickly.
"well, what do you mean almost? It wasn't broken."
"Yes, but it would have been if you kept using it." She grabbed Arans hand and pulled him into the back room.
"I spent all night reinforcing the steel and replacing the broken parts, It just needed to soak in It's barrel to maintain it's structure... Hey don't touch it yet!"
She Pulled Aran away from the barrel where his lance handle was sticking out.
"that stench, are you soaking it in blood?!"
"Uh, Yeah. duh. Oh that's right you aren't from here... sorry!"
She pulled him out of the back room and through the front door by the forearm.
"While we're waiting, I should show you around!"
Aran cut himself short from telling her that Jirall had done that for him, slightly for not embarrassing her, but mostly because he liked her company.
Gigima had just finished his conversation with the settlements leader, or chief, as he liked to be called. He insisted that Aurora come with, but she had told him that she had already made plans. which made sense, After a long time away from her friends and family, she had some catching up to do. and after asking around for a bit he figured out that everyone was hanging around at Rosalyn's. Auroras Mother had kindly given them rooms for a few days until they departed. entering the large building built into the cliff, Gigima noticed that all of the heads were accounted for, including a few extras.
"Yeah, she absolutely hates it when we fight each other. she used to just grin and bear it, till she just snapped one day and dropped us both on our behinds. now whenever she catches us Having a bout, She'll do the exact same thing."
A man who seemed slightly older than Aran and Trent was talking to the circle.
"Yep! A kick to the leg, A knee to the back and then she'll smash their noses!" A smaller girl that Gigima had actually met had spoken up. Charlotte, who insisted on siitting next to Aran everywhere they went. "You'd think you'd learn by now Drake?"
The slightly older man held up his arms in protest. "Hey, I'm not the one who starts them, Jirall is the one picking the fights."
"I can vouche for that" Aran spoke up. "Walked with him for a bit earlier, he seems to get his kicks from fighting"
"See what I mean?"
Gigima cleared his throat in the doorway, turning the heads of the people who were talking amongst themselves in the corner, including Arnold, Leanne, and Rosalyn herself.
"Oh, Hey Gigi!" Lyn shouted over. "have you gone to see Aurora at the falls?"
"so that's where she is, Thanks for saving me a lot of time Young-un" Gigima waved goodbye and started heading up the steep path to the top of the waterfall. And steep for an old man means a lot more than just steep. It took him over a half an hour just to hear the falls roaring nearby, and once he reached the absolute top, all he could see was a tree covered with beautiful flowers on a clearing off to the side of the falls. a small gravestone right in front of it, and The now familiar blonde figure of Aurora.
"There you are Aurora, You said you wanted to show me something?"
Aurora didn't say a word as she stepped away from The Tombstone, leaning against the tree behind it. Gigima approached the gravestone and knelt before it.
"Here Lies Reo the greatest champion, without exception. A great man, a great husband..."
"and he would have been a great father as well..." Aurora mumbled from her position.
"Ahah... I understand now, Reo Was Rosalyn's wife, Yet he went and carked it before she could give birth?" Gigima stuttered as he looked up at Aurora, Her cheeks were completely drenched in tears. "Before she had you... I see, you wanted to know your father as a person, not a legend."
Gigima ran his hand over the tombstone slowly. as Aurora began to speak. "I hear from mom That I look just like him, But I wouldn't know. All I know is that The only thing That is certain between the two of us is this."
Aurora slipped off her glove and showed Gigima the mark up close. The same symbol that struck fear with just a whisper. "Just like My father, I've been 'blessed' with My blood. I am the Daughter of Reo, Aurora, and I too, am a White Fatalis.