Riven leaned against the wall of the air ship. She had never even seen one before, and now here she was; riding on one, on her way to the third phase of the Hunter Exam. The second phase... She nearly sighed aloud at the memory of her attempt at cooking. To be honest, when she saw how overly large that man examiner had been... She felt spite towards him. Riven had grown up in a starving community, she knew the pains of hunger, she knew how difficult food could be to obtain. And this man... He obviously had an extreme surplus. Where was he when she was starving at the orphanage with her sisters? When she was fending for herself? She ended up glaring at him, even before he opened his mouth or spoke a word, causing Kurapika to glance at her in confusion.
Riven remembered their earlier conversation with Gon as she stared at her feet.
Thankfully, it turned out Gon actually did have the nose of Riven's jokes. It had taken an explanation of great detail from Riven that she herself could not actually smell anything. The three continued down a dirt path, with Gon in the lead, and Riven in the back. Her underarms were moist, and her sweat threatened to blind her, but she was in much better shape than she had before. The small breaks she had taken before and after she had encountered Hisoka had been her saviors, for they had given her aching sides relief. Karasu circled above their head and the trees, their rather lenient pace upsetting him. He squawked with annoyance until Riven hushed him.
It took Riven longer than she would have liked to admit how uneasy Gon was. She was embarrassed at her own self-absorbed behavior. She didn't noticed how he was feeling until he spoke.
"Hey, Kurapika, what did Hisoka mean when he said we passed?"
Riven glanced at the boy in concern, before wondering why she herself had forgotten to ask the same question. After all, Hisoka had said that all four of them had passed, and if he didn't, he let them live, didn't he?
"Perhaps he saw you were a Kindred Spirit?" Kurapika proposed, continuing on to explain how Hisoka probably recognized Gon as a potential Hunter, that he was impressed. Personally, Riven thought that was wrong. The clown had seemed more like his boredom had momentarily been cured when he found a new toy. It also hadn't seemed like this was the first time this had happened.
"But I was pretty excited as well."
Riven gaped at the back of Gon's head, completely caught off guard.
"I was scared… And I wanted to run. But I couldn't, because I was excited!" Gon elaborated, turning back to grin at the two. Riven's eyes softened in relief, since her friend was back to normal. Perhaps Kurapika was correct with Hisoka's reasoning, with Gon anyway.
The trio finally came to a stop at a clearing at the edge of the swamp, rather anti-climatically. The other applicants, which Riven roughly estimated to be about half the original number, crowded around large, stone, castle walls in wait. A giant wooden door blocked anyone from inside.
Immeadiately, they kept an eye open for their kidnapped friend.
"Leorio?" Gon called out, his brown eyes sweeping the crowd of Examinees. Karasu caught Riven's attention across the clearing. He perched himself in a tree, cawing in a strange fashion. If anyone saw him, there was no way they could make a connection to her. Luckily, no one seemed to care about a bird in a tree. He cawed again, a weird gurgling sound in his throat: Danger.
Riven followed the tree down with her eyes, to human level. She saw porcelain skin, a sculpted face, yellow eyes… She tensed as she recognized Hisoka. Thankfully, he wasn't looking at her, but at Gon, and their held gaze made Riven worry for the boy. She almost moved to step in front of him again. The Jester pointed to his left, his face so perfect it seemed as if it were painted on. All eyes shot to a lump of blue and brown slumped on the ground, and Riven realized that it was Leorio. Trusting that he wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon, she quickly flicked back to Hisoka.
He was already gone.
They jogged up to a hazy, confused, and forgetful Leorio as he sat and leaned against a tree trunk. Apparently, he recalled nothing of how he had gotten to the Second Phase site, but Riven wasn't about to be the one to tell him his humiliating circumstance. She was glad Hisoka had not hurt him seriously, though, and she couldn't help but smile at him.
"Gon!" called a voice, causing Riven to tense and whip around in a defensive stance. She righted herself when the silver-haired boy from before approached them. She had seen him running alongside Gon back when they were in that tunnel. His hair was spiked in a messy fashion, and his hand were in his pockets. His skateboard was tucked underneath his arm.
"Killua!" Gon indirectly introduced them. They began to chatter like old buddies, causing confusion to Riven. She had to remind herself what kind of person Gon was, and how unlike her normal people were. Actually, Gon wasn't normal either, but he was on the opposite end of the spectrum.
They were interrupted when Satotz, stationed at the large doors, bid them farewell, wished them luck, and walked back into one of the most dangerous swamp on the entire planet with that strange gait of his.
That was when the door began to quake and open.
Riven instantly hated the very notion of Gourmet Hunters. Why would you risk your life to get extra food, which you didn't need, just because you were discontent with what you had? It made her stomach ill. She wasn't among the applicants that laughed at Menchi, so she doubted she was one the examiner's bad side, but she was on Riven's. Her spike of hatred scared even herself, since she hadn't really ever felt this way about anyone, and it must have showed on her face. Kurapika glanced at her, concerned, but had the couth not to say anything. Riven was grateful. She tried to calm herself, tried to remember that she had never met Menchi or Buhara before this.
The examiners went on to explain the rules of the second phase: The required ingredient was pork, they needed to find it for themselves, and they needed to prepare it in a delicious an appetizing manner. Riven felt her scowl to return. She had never had the luxury of cooking for taste. The minute she found something edible, she ate it, not matter the taste. She often snacked on one of the bitterest roots, because it made her stronger, and was extremely plentiful. As the other applicants raced out into the woods, Riven caught Mnchi's eye. The two girls glared at each other in a match, Menchi slightly confused at first, then offended and defensive. Riven seethed and spun away on her heel when the beauty switched out her glare for a condescending glance.
One thing was for sure; she did not like this phase.
As Riven barbecued her large cutlet of ham, she scolded herself. She didn't need to break out into a fight with the examiner and cause herself to fail. She tasted the meat by poking it with her finger, not quite sure if pork was supposed to be so fatty. She had never roasted any pig before, as there were none in The Dark Place, and it was drastically different from deer or bear, which were tough and stringy. She hoped Kurapika had cooked his long enough, because she used his as a specimen. She peeled of a chunk of her own and ate it, deeming the taste rather good. She flipped a strip high into the tree and grinned as Karasu swallowed it whole. He ate everything, even pig, and loved it. Riven took it in line for Menchi and Buhara. The woman called it disgusting and overcooked, then threw it back to her whale of a friend, who ate it in one bite. Riven, exasperated and unwilling to start another glare battle, turned around, strode back to the crowd, and sulked there.
After Chairman Netero had rescued all the examinees from imminent failure, Riven found herself rather dumbstruck by the gorgeous Cliffside. She hadn't known the sky could be any other colors than blue or gray, and the green of the trees below her blended together like strange clouds. Even Menchi, after she admitted to how offended she was by the nasty comments about Gourmet Hunters, seemed to appreciate the wonderful clarity of nature. Menchi was as graceful as a swan as she dived off the cliff and into the ravine, shocking most of the applicants. When she flipped up over the side again, a gigantic egg in her arms, Riven knew she wasn't scared to go off the side herself. She jumped right off the side, immediately after Gon and Killua. Oh, how wonderful the rushing wind felt, and how gorgeous the world seemed. From there, there was no orphanages, no witches, and no more hunger. Her hair flowed behind her, her eyes flashed with joy, and a marvelous smile took over her face. This must have been how Karasu felt.
How she wished she could fly.
She had to physically remind herself to grab ahold of the Spider-Eagle web, which jerked her arm painfully. The adrenaline hadn't left her veins yet, so she hardly noticed. She had waited longer than everyone else to catch her body, so she was closest to the eggs.
Two men who fell about a foot away from her dropped too early, plummeting to the river below with ragged cries of fear. It didn't really hit her what happened to them, and she hardly noticed them. Her fingers were itching for relief, even though the weightlessness she felt now was enticing, she longed to be free-falling once more. Gon had somehow taken up a leader-ly position, holding everyone back from release.
When he shouted, "Now!" Riven unclamped her fist with an eagerness that gave her a bubbly feeling. Twice as loudly as before, the wind roared over her ears until they popped. The eggs grew closer and closer within milliseconds. She snatched for one, was too far away, and quickly gabbed another. Then her falling stopped, and for a moment she was suspended in the sky, defying gravity. All at once, she began to steadily rise. With a twist, she maneuvered to the side, and in moments she landed on her feet, her cheeks flushed with happiness and bliss. Her eyes had never sparkled so blue. Menchi watched her with a satisfied grin, pride for her art and joy for being able to share it painted across her features. As Riven ate her eggs, still coming down from her high, she decided that she could understand Menchi's lifestyle, and seriously began to contemplate taking it up for herself. Of course, after she found her sisters, that is.