IX

Preparations and Good Food

Vance was standing at the front gate, dressed in his azure armor with his bow strapped to the left side of his back and quiver behind his right hip. Sitting next to his form was his knapsack, and another sack that was about the same size as he. The larger of the two filled with a few spare quivers, a box that held many vials of toxins he could use, and the materials to put up a tent for a base camp. His knapsack held basic hunting supplies, as well as some food supplies that would come in handy. If his thoughts proved true about Frances and her fellow hunters, they would bring along extra food and supplies to help with the hunt. For now, he waited at the gates, entertaining a few memories he had in the past with random hunters. Some good, some bad.

After about fifteen minutes of waiting, Frances showed up with her fellow hunters, each with a bag of supplies in tow. Though the big one of the group carried two bags that were nearly twice his own size! Vance nodded to them, and the gunner and brute returned the nod. Frances did nothing, and no one could see her face since she had her helmet on. So did the brute, but Vance figured it was one less thing for him to carry. The young hunter was relieved to see them carrying their own bags of supplies. Too many times could he recount the quests he took where one, two, or three of the hunters didn't bring supplies with them and it always ended horribly.

He noticed that they were all looking at him, and the young hunter cleared his throat before he spoke. "Well met. I am Vance Lacette, the hunter you were with a few nights ago during the Diablos situation." There was a small silence between all three of them, but the gunner nodded and spoke in a casual tone.

"Dorian Liftkot at your service. This brute behind me is Johnny." The brute flexed an arm and released a friendly growl which made the young hunter scoff harmlessly. It entertained him, and he wondered just how interesting this quest would be with these three.

"Well, as you three know the second Diablos that night was still alive. Yes. Was. Your boss and myself have come across the beast late last night. It was eaten." he said in a serious tone, and he looked to Frances as he described what happened the night before. There was a small gasp from Dorian, but Johnny and Frances didn't seem to have a reaction. The young hunter mused to himself about Dorian's reaction, and how convincing them to come along was going to be easier than he thought initially.

"So, what are we hunting exactly?" Dorian asked, Johnny nodding in agreement. Vance looked to the ground as he thought about that question.

"To be honest I don't really know. It has to be big, the amount of flesh and bone that is gone from the Diablos tells that much. Tigrex maybe. Seems like a viable reason, but then again who really knows."

Vance took a moment to look at the three hunters before him, waiting for any of them to say anything. When none of them said a word, he continued on with what he had to say.

"We need to assess the situation incase 'it' decides to come here. Which I'm sure it will, since there are plenty of yummy things to eat here." His choice of words had the three beginning to question the young hunter's position on the situation even though his tone was stern. Even Frances was starting to think the man was cynical. However, the three couldn't find any grounds to disagree with Vance, so they nodded in agreement. The young hunter smiled then turned around to head out of the city. Dorian and Johnny followed closely behind; Frances however kept her distance behind the group. It all seemed odd to her that Vance was to be the one calling the shots. Odd and upsetting, since she was the one who would always give out the orders. She tried thinking of something else and picked up her pace, catching up to the other three and coming into a conversation between Vance and Dorian.

"So, I brought plenty of sleep rounds. Johnny has a few small barrels with gunpowder in them." said the gunner, a smile on his face as he thought to impress the young hunter. His smile slowly faded away though when Vance didn't seemed pleased of the news.

"The sleep rounds will come in handy. But tell me, Dorian, what will a few small barrel bombs do to a large wyvern? We'd need something with more of a punch to it. Johnny's hammer would likely do more harm to the beast, especially if the blow lands on the top of its head."

There was moment of silence between the two, Dorian looking off into the distance as he let the young hunters words play through his mind again. He had a point.

"Hm, that is true I suppose." he said, and another moment of silence came between the two.

"Boss lady is falling behind." Johnny said, breaking the silence between the group. Vance and Dorian looked behind them, seeing the short huntress a couple yards behind them. The young hunter scoffed to himself, then continued his way down the sandy road.

"Leave her be, she's probably just a bit worn out from this past week." he lied, but to say what was really on his mind would more than likely complicate things for the mission ahead. So he kept his thoughts to himself, only speaking when spoken to. Eventually they brought up what they would do once they reached their destination, and how they should shape the battlefield to keep the battle in their favor. To Vance's surprise, Frances offered a few ideas.

They would set their camp atop one of the plateaus and use a tent covering that had a similar color to the rocky surface. This would help them blend in a bit more, though at night they would have to put out any fires to avoid attracting any unwanted attention from a flying wyvern. From that point they would be able to see the entire oasis from above and stay away from whatever it was they were hunting. For night watches they decided on having two people stay up for two hours at a time, while the other two would rest within the tent. Frances insisted that she stay with Vance, her reason being that Johnny and Dorian knew each others fighting styles. Though Vance thought otherwise, he didn't argue. It wasn't like he would be fighting with just her, because the plan was to monitor the oasis and strike all at once when the time was in their favor. With a battle plan agreed on, the four walked faster towards the Averan Maze.

~VL~

The entire cave was riddled with bones, carcasses that were fresh and old, and blood stains discolored the ground from a brown to a dark red. Each corpse looking almost identical to one another, and each one gave off a horrible stench that one could choke when trying to breathe. It was home to a vicious beast. One that had an appetite that was never appeased and it would travel to the ends of the world to find food. When it would find food, it would bring it back here if the size of its catch allowed it. It was only a few days before it left a rotting Diablos corpse at an oasis, which was starting to be its favorite hunting place.

The sound of rushing wind came from the cave entrance, followed by a loud thud. It was silent for only a sliver of a moment, before a low growl and a sound similar to distant thunder constantly echoed off the cave walls. The beast stalked its way into the cave, with its head low to the ground, its body a dark orange with blue stripes, and instead of wings, it had forelimbs that seem to pull the beast down the narrow tunnel that would lead to the main room where it kept all of its prey. The webbing that would allow it to glide in the air looked about as sharp as one's blade. Its snout was like a rounded rectangle with two nostril openings at the front end just before it curved down to its dripping, fanged maw. One bite from it could easily snap a human being in half even with the hardest of armor protecting his body. Its tail, starting off fat from the end of its body, slowly narrowed down in size until the last couple feet, where it would quickly come to a point. The blue stripes along the dark orange color circling around the tail as if they were like rings put on a metal rod.

The beast angrily stalked over the old rotten corpses, pushing some aside with ease as if it was trying to find one that was fresh enough to eat. There was nothing edible at all, and its stomach growled loudly, almost louder than the beasts roar itself it seemed! Oh how hungry it was, and the thought of tasting fresh blood dominated its thought process so much that it grew excited and quickly charged back outside. Leaping from the cave entrance into the air, its wings spreading and catching the air to give it flight in the direction of its newly favored hunting spot.

The Oasis.

~VL~

The four managed to achieve quite a lot before the sun was setting. They reached the oasis, gathered various supplies like water, wood and grass for fire, and set camp atop the plateau by climbing the northern wall of the rocky mass. Once the tent was set up, Vance and Dorian worked on making a fire to boil whatever water they managed to get while Frances and Johnny kept watch over the oasis.

Silence was all there was between the two, and the big hunter seemed worried about his boss. The entire trek here she was quiet and had her helmet on, even here during the watch. The only time she would speak was when agreeing to a plan Vance and Dorian came up with, and even that was jut a curt hum. Johnny went to say something to break the silence, but Dorian beat him to the chase when he yelled that dinner was ready from the door of the tent. Johnny seemed to just vanish from his spot, and Frances only shook her head at the normal reaction of the big man when it came to food.

The brute wasted no time in rushing through the tent flap, quickly finding his seat and scooping up a plate that held a slab of meat two inches thick and nearly the size of the plate and a small helping of cooked, desert vegetables. He ripped his helmet off, revealing a young, boyish like face and a shiny bald head. Even his eyebrows were gone! Johnny was done with the greens in one gulp, and tore away at the meat with savagery like a starving Deviljho. Vance sat by the fire, blinking as he stared at the big brute that downed the food.

"He's always like that when food is involved. Hell, that's all he ever worries about. "Dorian stated with a chuckle.

Vance looked up to the gunner with an odd look, and then shrugged as he went back to cooking and preparing the other three plates.

"As long as he doesn't bite my fingers off."

Frances entered the tent shortly after, her helmet in her hands. She sat down, placing the head piece beside her and taking a plate of food from Dorian, offering a nod of appreciation while placing it on her lap. She picked up the thick flank of meat first, taking a small bite and chewing normally. The movements of her mouth slowed as she felt a tingling sensation on her tongue, and her body getting slightly warm. Blinking she eyed the cooked steak with curiosity. Juices made it glisten in the fires light, and she could see the pink color inside. It was tender and full of flavor, but she felt like she just drank a hot drink. A liquid one consumed to help keep warm in colder climates, and even fought against hypothermia. Eventually the tingling feeling on her tongue changed to a burning sensation, she looked to Vance, taking another bite. The young hunter was eyeing her when she took the first bite, figuring she would be the first to ask what was in the steak. He smiled slightly and nodded.

"I figured this would be better than those disgusting hot drinks. Not to mention a lot easier on your liver as well." He explained as he finished making a second plate for Johnny, who was well finished with his first. The brutes face lit up on seeing a second plate, and Vance scoffed quietly as he picked up his own plate.

The four of them sat around the fire in silence. Well, with as much silence one could enjoy when having to listen to someone literally inhale their food. Eventually Dorian and Vance talked to themselves about ammunition and ranged weapons. Frances still kept to herself. On occasion she would let her gaze drift from the fire to Vance who sat directly across from her, then back to her food. Within a few hours of the day, her two companions Dorian and Johnny seemed to like the young man. Though she did admit to herself that his food was pretty damn tasty. The situation angered and perplexed her at the same time, and she began to wonder just who Vance really was. He seemed to be more than one of the few elite hunters that roamed the world, especially since he was apart of the hunting party that slain Alatreon, was revered by Loc-Lac, and was literally a personal friend to the King of Averos! Just how many other nations sang songs of praise of this hunter? He was more like a living legend than a person, and that also bugged her. As many other questions ran through her head, she didn't realize that she was staring at the young hunter.

"Yo, googly eyes. Would be a good idea if you quit staring at me and focus on your food before big boy next to you steals it." Vance said with a hint of cynicism, and it seemed to bring the young woman back to reality.

She looked to Johnny at her left, seeing his eyes wide as he literally stared hard at her plate like a child stared at a new toy. She kept the flank of steak and handed the vegetables left on the plate over to Johnny. She shook her head when realizing that the plate went from her hands to the brutes face in a second flat. She focused on the rest of her meal then, making sure she didn't look in the young hunter's direction again.