It's a long walk back to Harribel.
Feels longer when you're carrying part of a monster's tusk that's probably half your own body weight.
Still, Gales couldn't bring himself to complain, after all this was part of a Hunter's job after all. Gathering parts was part of the norm for hunters; collected scales were often used to create armor, likewise bones and fangs were used for crafting weapons.
As for tusks? Well, tusks could be carved into things like jewelry.
"And with a tusk of this size, they'll be able to make a lot of jewelry." Gales muttered as he turned his attention towards the sky. Sun was going down, wasn't so far down that it enveloped the world in burning twilight, but it was going down nonetheless. "I wonder if we'll get to Harribel before the sun hits the horizon." The hunter muttered to himself.
"I wouldn't worry about that." Calista told him as she glanced back at him. "At our pace it shouldn't take us that much longer." She stated before turning back ahead.
"I see." Gales muttered as he stared at the older woman's back for a moment. "Calista." He muttered more under his breath than anything. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Of course." The masked woman stated. "Talking may help pass the time." She added. "Please ask away."
"Who are you?" He asked bluntly, the way a kid without a filter might. "You have a Hunter's Arm, but you don't dress like a Hunter." He stated. "The material on your clothing is too light for a Hunter. It's not padded with reinforced leather or hard scale." He admitted. "It's not something a Hunter would walk around in." He finished.
"A good point." Calista seemed to nod her head almost approvingly. "As I have said before, I am no Hunter." He states, her gaze seeming to turn to the skies. "But if I am no hunter, what am I?" She asks before looking back at him. "No doubt you've taken a guess." Gales just made a face as he seemed to think.
"Well, you're no city hand." The youth muttered. "And your definitely no traveling merchant, let alone a wandering scholar." Gales stated. "And you don't 'look' like just a… poacher." Gales muttered as he seemed to think. "Traveler maybe?"
"Yes and no." Calista states. "I am many things.." She admits. "I am a Scholar, a Hunter, a Healer, a Traveler and so much more." She states. "I am whatever I wish to be, and I am whatever the world needs me to be."
"What the world 'needs' you to be?" Gales asks as he glances at Garm who seemed to return the gesture. "What do you mean by that?"
"What we want to be, and what the world needs us to be are two different things." Calista seems to trail off. "You may wish to be one thing, but the world may need you to become something else." She states. "A soldier, a leader, a hero… a villain." She mutters. "What the world needs you to be, it will always find a way to guide you down the road you must in order to become just that." She states. "That is its blessing and it's curse."
"You're talking about fate." Gales muttered as he seemed to think. "If that's the case, what does the world want you to be?" Calista fell silent at Gales question and simply chose to stop walking.
"A ghost." She whispered after a while before walking on.
They'd reached Harribel before the sun fully set. With that being said it was just a few good minutes away from touching that imaginary line that separated the sky from the ocean. Neither the Hunter, the Hunting Buddy, nor the… 'Ghost' seemed to pay it much mind though, instead letting their attention drift to port town that they were walking into.
Looking around town, Gales couldn't help but make a noise.
He saw people going about their day, some getting ready for darker hours to take over.
There was a guy putting on a show of sorts with his Uruki for little kids.
There was a lady selling a few kabobs from a stand.
There was a guy doing deliveries with the help of his Aptonoth.
They were simple things, but they breathed life into the city.
Watching Garm get pets from a few kids, Gales couldn't help but smile. Garm loved getting petted, loved food more; had to stop the canyne from taking food offered from a kid on more than one occasion.
"I swear you're a glutton." Gales muttered as he looked at his partner. "Remember, you don't take food from kids, Garm, that's their food, not yours." The Hunter stated, as Calista chuckled beautifully.
A few more minutes of walking and they'd arrived at the Guild Hall.
The look he saw on everyones face - let alone Abigail's was expected.
The tusk they wwere carrying was huge, in setting it down on the receptionist's desk, it took up a third of the desk.
"Proof that the bull has been taken care of." Calista stated as the receptionist looked up at her, half gawking as she stared at the masked woman. "It won't cause anymore trouble."
"I… I see." The receptionist muttered before shaking her head. "Well done, we'll get your pay ready right away." Calista raised a hand to stop the woman.
"There's no need." She stated. "Though the bull has been dealt with, we were not the one to kill. Ignius stepped in and did the most of the heavy lifting." She paused. "Quite literally, given that he carried the corpse back to his den." Shew admitted. "I can't in good consciousness, steal the reward for another's deeds."
"I see." Abigail stated as she looked at the tusk again and tapped it a few times with her finger. "Well, thank you for letting us know." She smiled as she looked at Calista. "But you know that there's no rule against using a beast to bring down a fellow beast. Some Hunters even prefer that method, so we can still pay you -"
"I must decline." Calista stated. "My pride will not allow me to accept payment for work I barely did." She stated.
"That pride of yours…" The receptionist stated but smiled nonetheless. "Sometimes I wish you didn't have it."
"Ah~ but who are without our dreams and our pride?" Calista countered. "Regardless, your bull is slain, I'll be on my way." The woman stated before turning to Gales. "Ah~ my manners escape me once more." She chuckled as she looked back at the receptionist and gestured to the young man next to her. "Abigail, this is Gales Ashechild, and his companion Garm. He found me while I was out and about." She looked back at Gales. "Gales, this is Abigail Vines. Guild receptionist and friend of mine."
"We've met." Abigail smiled as Garm barked to get the woman's attention. "He came by earlier to introduce himself.
"I see." Calista made a noise as she rested a hand on Gales shoulder before patting it. "Then, do be good, ok?" She states. "Don't cause Abigail and her friends any trouble."
"I won't." Gales muttered rolling his eyes as Calista walked off and did this whimsical wave. "So do you know where she's going?"
"Not a clue." Abigail stated as she chuckled. "That woman comes in for work and then disappears without a trace."
"Does she now?" It was Gales' turn to chuckle. "Hear about people like that, never thought I'd actually meet one."
"Well, you get used to them." Abigail states. "So Gales, did you enjoy your outing?"
"Yeah." The Hunter admitted. "It was nice."
"I'm glad you were able to enjoy it." Abigail stated. "Best to try and enjoy it while you can, after all, there's no telling when it will all disappear." Gales smile slipped.
"You mean the Blight." The Hunter asked. Calista told me a bit about it."
"I see." Abigail admitted, sighing slightly. "We don't know what's causing, but we do know it's getting worse." The receptionist muttered. "Sure, it's not to bad, yet, but… eventually…" She trailed off for a moment before shaking her head. "Anyway, that's for later. Best to focus on the present, right?" Gales didn't say anything just watching Abigail return to her more professional demeanor. "Anyway, is there anything that I can help you with before heading on your way?"
"Nah~ don't think so." Gales admitted before scratching his head. "Think I'm gonna call it a day and look for the Hunter's Lodge."
"I see, can I at least point you in the right direction?"
"That would be wonderful."
Calista found herself at port, from there she watched the sunset, watched it paint the skyline in hues of burning twilight. She always loved this sight, something about it just brought peace to her often troubled mind.
She'd settled down at the edge of the pier, with her back to the rest of the city, Calista just kept looking outward with her mask in her hands, her thumb affectionately - if lazily feeling the ivory like material.
This mask held memories she cherished, but at the sametime it held things that chained t=her to the past.
A past best forgotten.
Returning her attention towards the horizon the woman said nothing as she noticed a Hellbill flying in from beyond the bay.
"Little bird from beyond these shores, what do you bring with you?" She asks and finds no answer returning to her. "Will you bring about a brighter dawn or a far darker one?" She asks as she watches it disappear overhead. "We will find out, won't we?" She mutters as she reaches for her ocarina and starts to play it.
"~"
Walking through town, Gales found his attention suddenly turning away from the road he was heading down and towards the port. "That sound..." Garm didn't say anything, instead just looked in the same direction that his Hunter was looking, as did the few palico that were wandering around town as they started to sway with a pleased expression.
