Chapter 17

After they blew the large boulders up they made their way back to Herth to see all the dwarfs already hard at work. With the dinging and the clashing of metal being formed for everyday things for the town. Saachi sat on a stool just outside the home wagon with her chest piece getting fixed by The Man as she stitched up her deep opened wound. Blue walked up to her, getting the needle that was made from a strong wyvaran bone from her that she was having trouble sowing up one part of the wound. She bit down hard as she could feel the needle entering and exiting her flesh as Blue finished up. He pulled up a stool and sat next to her telling her. "It was pretty outrageous of you to do that. You could have been killed." She knew he was right but just rolled her eyes.

She pulled herself up off her stool when she saw The Man and the little girl walking up to them with her fixed Great Jaggi chest plate. She gives a soft smile to the girl as she hands over the chest plate. "Thank you, sweetheart." She said as she put a banged around herself so she would not rip open her stitches before she put on the chest armour back on.

The little girl saw The Man waiting for her, as they walked back to the blacksmith before she stopped. She turns around to the two hunters and says "your caravanner is waiting to talk to you guys, we need a few parts from a local monster to build you guys a ship and thank you for getting the leva back." She ran to catch up to The Man as Blue and Saachi walked to where the Caravanner was standing with Night and a few Dwarfs.

The Caravanner glanced over his shoulder as he heard them walking closer. "There you two are. Though you two were love making again." He laughed as he rolled up the blueprint. "We got two different hunts for you guys. We need the hide from a bird wyvern called a Gypceros. The second one is for the Street Cook, he needs one of you guys to hunt and capture a Gendrome." He turned his glance at Saachi since she was the lead hunter and continued to say "I know you guys can handle this." He said as he walked away.

She let out a sigh as she looked at Blue and Night. She looked over the different hunts and gave the Gendrome capture to Night. "I am giving this one to you since your palico can set up traps, Blue and I will hunt the Gypceros." She looked at Night to continue, "if you need any help at all send your palico or come to us we don't need anyone dying in the field." With that, the hunters got themselves ready and headed out. As they got on to the hunting ground they split up with Night and Salim going one way and Blue and Saachi with their palicos going the other way.

As Saachi and Blue walked through some old buildings, Blue sewed something lying against a stone brick wall. As he ran to see what it was he came across a relic of a weapon that was rusted up and nearly broken but was still in one piece. They could tell it had seen better days. "I think it's a swichaxe. Not many have been found in one piece." He said as he looked at the old weapon then looked to his love. " I am going to bring this back to camp. I will catch up to you after." She nodded her head, she turned around and continued on her way as Blue went back to the camp with their palicos by foot. She happened to walk upon the Gypceros as it pecked its beck into the ground. It had a deep gray-blue colour hide with a tan face, underbelly, and lower legs with a very light pink tail. It glanced up at her, cocking its head to the side still glaring at her, it studied there for a bit glaring at her just to jump into the air and run strength at her, making her dive out of the way. She pulled herself up quickly to see it run up a large crystal, making it barely onto the ceiling. It did not make it far to the ceiling, falling straight onto the ground. Saachi slowly walked up to it thinking it killed itself just to see the small crust start to flashes on. It whipped up onto its feet, whipping its head, legs, wings and tail wildly, nearly hitting her.

As she got a little bit away from the Gypceros she could see it clack its beak then the crest let out a blinding light making her blind for a few mins. As her sight came back she saw it sprinting at her, spitting out poison to either side of it as it ran. She quickly got out of the way just to spit on poison covering her head to toe. She whipped the poison from her mouth and sigh, "of course it can spit out the poison" she mumbled to herself. As it turned around its crust started to flash again, letting the blinding light off as she blocked it off with her shield. As she lowered her shield just to see it run straight at her and with no time given she jumped out of the way rolling to her feet. It turns around spitting out a ball of poison at her just to dodge it. She rushed in giving a few good slices into its rubbery hide, then she felt its rubbery tail smoke her back knocking her to the ground. As she rolled over from her chest onto her back, she had seen it standing over her ready to bring its beck down onto her shield since she had it between them. She felt the first peak on her shield and was ready for the next one but never came. She looked up to see it was on the ground trying to get up onto its feet again.

She turned her head to see Blue sliding in loading his Light Bowgun as he stopped next to its head unleashing his full clip of normal shots into the skull, nearly breaking the crust off. Saachi got to her feet and gave a fury of slashes into its rubbery tail, nearly cutting its tail off. It used its powerful legs to push her away but before it could flee she quickly got a paintball out and as hard she could throw it at the Gypceros, marking it with very runny paint to track it down. Blue shot a few sticky shots at it before it could leave the area it was in. Saachi got out a whetstone to sharpen her sword as Blue reloaded his Bowgun, the sticky shots blowing up on the Gypceros making it crash down onto the ground in between the two of them. As it strung trying to get up Saachi once again unleashed a fury of slashes this time severing the rubber tail off. It got up and took to the sky flying away from the two hunters, they both let out a little chuckle as they saw it fly away.

As Blue and Saachi follow the paint trail stopping by some gathering spots on the way to where they can continue to the Gypceros. As they came to a part of the hunting ground that was a little bit in front of the camp with three different levels. The Gypceros were eating something but it was hard to say what it was since its back was facing them. Blue shot a few sticky ammo off, which it blew up on the Gypceros rubbery hide making it flinch and turn its grace over to the hunters. It ran in running over Saachi forcing her to the ground, it stopped over her as it packed at her, stealing one of her few mage positions from her pouch. As it ate it, Saachi for some time got away just to launch herself into the air stabbing her hunters' knife into its back. She pulled herself up using her upper body strength onto its back and started to stab it holding onto its hide. As it fell to the ground she was sent flying, tucking her head in rolling on her shoulder, using her knife to stop her. She puts back her knife and rushes in unleashing a fury of slash as her love unloads a clip of normal ammo into its head breaking its flash crest off. It tried to hit Saachi away just to have her jump back missing its legs as they came at her. It pulled itself up giving the last try to get one of the hunters. It charges at Blue just to get a beck full and ammo into it and claps to the ground as Blue lowered his guard as he thought it was dead. "It is faking it." Saachi said and she walked up with her sword still drawn.

With that it wildly got up, smocking Blue who was trying to carve it up. As it got to its feet it tried to use its flashing crest again just to get smoked in the head from her shield knocking it over. Blue fired his last shots off and slid his rifle over his shoulder pulling out his blades and spine in. With both of them slicing into its head it finally died." I thought that thing was dead." He told her as he helped to skin the hide off for the ship.

As they finish rolling up the hide, Salim comes popping out next to Saachi as she finishes rolling to the last one. "There you guys are, Night is in trouble." He pulled himself up out of the ground and started running to where she was "please follow me." He continued as he ran with the two hunters close behind him. As he got to where Night was on the ground with her face on its side with her body twitching a little from the paralyzing venom that the large alpha raptor was called a Gendrome and its pack of Genpray around her. The large dark green with red stripes lightly covers its body and a sandy brown underbelly with large paralyzing fangs and a larger crust line the top of its head that was above its yellow eyes. The Gendrome walks over to them, shaving a Genpray out of the way with its head. The Genpray look like the Gendrome, just smaller and without the crest on their heads. Saachi and Blue both ran in getting the Gendrome and the Genpray off and away from their paralyze partner. The Genpray surrounds them as they hear the large Gendrome called. The Gendrome looked at Saachi since she locked eyes with it then gave a call to tell the Genpray to attack the hunters. They got close to the couple shipping at their heels, Saachi stood close to Night smashing the Genpray with her shield as they got close as Blue got to the other side of her with his back to hers, slashing at the Genpray as they jumped at him.

When the paralyzing venom was finally out of Night's body she could pull herself up just to see her bow was under Gendrome's claws. She was about to rush at the Gendrome but was pulled back by Saachi. "Stay here." She told Night as she ran in instead of Night, smashing the shield onto the side of the head making it stunned as it fell to the ground away from the bow. She slipped her foot under the bow and gave a loud whistle to Night. As she kicked it up, Night grabbed it as it was in the air. Quickly pulled out three arrows from her quill drawing them into her bow. But the Gendrome was already up onto its feet as it ran into a wall before it limped off to its nest. Genpray fled after their leader, some were fleeing into caves and some fled over the hills leaving the hunters. Saachi looked over to Night then said to her "Finish your hunt, we will meet you at camp." Night didn't say anything back to Saachi and left to track the Gendrome since she shot it with a painted arrow. Saachi and Blue both return to the hide and bring them to the camp. It was not that much longer as they finished packing the last two rolls of hide when they saw Night enter the camp. Saachi was loading the rolls of hide on a flat trail to be transported to the town. She knocked on the trailer on the side of her fist, walking over Blue and Night were standing. "Alright let's head back" she said as she got to them.

Saachi was walking next to Blue as he had his arm wrapped behind her neck resting on her shoulder with his hand just hovering over her breast. "You know how I feel about her hunting with us. She nearly put an arrow through you." He told her still not letting the earlier hunt go. She just rolled her eyes since Saachi already forgave Night for the close call. Blue noticed her eye roll and did not like it. "Don't roll your eyes with me. I am just worried about you."

It was the last hunt of the day and she was all ready to have a mug of cold ale. "I will talk to Night, but you should make sure you have enough ammo when we get back to Harth." Joking with him since he was out of ammo going into the hunt. She kisses Blue on the lips and waits for Night to walk up to her. "How are you doing?" She asked not sure if she was going to get an answer.

But she did with Night scrolling through her mask. "Of course, why wouldn't I be?" She continued to walk, not making eye contact with her.

She looked at Night from the corner of her eye as they continued to walk by each other and said "you could have been eating again if it was not for your palico. We are a team now and if there is anything you need to talk about, you know you can tell me." Saachi could feel the tension coming from Night.

"Noted." That was the only thing she said as she quickened her paste from Saachi. Leaven Salim and Saachi behind her.

Saachi let out a soft but sad sigh feeling she was never going to get her to open up. She was hoping she would not be a stick In the mud. Not seeing Salim behind Night, Saachi looked down to see him next to her looking up at her. " She's not a bad person, I promise." He told her as he was still looking up at her.

She glanced away from the palico to his master as she was still walking a little ahead of them but not that close to Blue. "Well, we all have our scars that make us who we are. Well, that is what my master would have said." The thought of her mom ran through her mind since she missed her.

"So I've heard," Salim said as he looked deep in thought, as he came to a conclusion. He faced her then told her. "If you want to get to know her better, just keep talking to her. Say anything. It could be about the weather, how your day is, what you ate and what you think about it, what you did today, anything. That's how I became close to her." He saw Saachi as she was thinking about what he just said to her then continued to say "You see I wasn't always a hunter's assistant, I was a merchant with a Palico caravan. We were travelling to a town to sell our goods when we stumbled across Night, she was critically injured. So we took her in and nursed her back to health. When I saw her, she looked absolutely devastated, lost and lonely." As she hears the Night was found in a bad state that she was in, reminds of herself when she was found around the age of three from her foster mother and father but she was snapped back to reality when she notes Salim was still talking. "It's not my place to say what happened to her but you didn't see how she was back then, so I took it upon myself to be her friend. At first, she wasn't responsive and didn't look interested in what I was saying but I still talked to her every day until she started to talk and tell me about herself, why she was injured to begin with. So do the same with her, she might not be interested in talking but she does need company."

Saachi took in what Salim just told her. "Thanks for the take." She gives a soft small to him and scratches the back of his ear before jogging up to Night. As she cut up to her she said. "That sunrise on the trip here was very beautiful, I can't remember one as that beautiful." She was hoping this was a good start.

"Hmmm, I guess so." As they got closer to the town and Saachi just talking about anything, Night was giving her shout answers since she did not want to talk, which was not a big deal with her. But after some silence, Saachi ran out of things to say. Night asked, "Do you have a family?"

She looked at Night then replied, "Only my foster father. But it has been years since I talked to him." Glancing over again to Night then asked " How about you?"

"Gone, don't take this the wrong way, but I'm…" Night hesitated but she continued what she was saying. "I'm not ready to talk about them." Her mask was still on her face but Saachi put her hand on her shoulder.

She knows how it feels to lose someone. Not only did she watch her birth mother and father being cut down in front of her by some guild knights but her race was whipped from the earth and she lost her foster mother to a Silver Rathios as she was trying to save her skin. "If you don't what to talk about them, that is ok. When you are ready I will bet here for you." She could feel sorrow coming from Night so she looked back to Night. "How about when we get back to the town we will have some Ale together, just us girl."

Night looked at Saachi in what she just said and she asked hesantenly. "Are… are you sure. I may not be the best company."

Saachi lights a smile over her face and lightly should bump her. "I am sure."

Night slowly took off her mask and with the corn of the mouth slightly up with a small smile she gave to Saachi, she replied, "All right."