Sunlight broke through the emerald ceiling above Kenichis head, dappling the forest undergrowth in warm shafts of gold. The smell of Zoylas cooking filled the team leaders nose, and the clearing rang with a mad cacophony of squawks, croaks and drones . Many found the buzzing insects and chirping birds to be a constant burden on the ears, but for Kenichi, it was as soothing as a mothers lullaby.

It had come to be just that, on many nights after she left. Sleeping alone under the stars, the memory was still fresh and raw then. He missed her smile, her laugh, and so it fell to the sound of the forest to comfort him during that time.

Still, when he looked behind him and saw the Anjanath sleeping peacefully on its carriage, he knew he had made the right choice. To think you'd be dissected on the other side of the sea. He shuddered at the thought. Sonia was sitting cross-legged by the beasts skull with a large pile of twigs and leaves, entrapped by the dazzling scales of the monster.

Kenichi smiled as he tried to remember a time when he was so wet behind the ears. No doubt the Huntsman would remind him if he asked. Or, probably without asking, being the grumpy old veteran he was. He came to join her, and beckoned Erick over from the cook fire to do the same. The pair might be as green as grass, but he would try and rectify it while he could.

"Do you think it will be enough?" Sonia asked him nervously, looking at the pile she had gathered. "If not I can go and get more! It's no problem!" Kenichi shook his head. "For making gillie mantles it should be fine." He knelt, and Erick came to sit beside them as well. Wincing in pain from their training this morning.

"I get you good?" The team leader nodded towards Erick, who cracked a smile. "Your methods are thorough, but you have nothing, on Hirios harshness, I assure you. So do not flatter yourself team leader." He said sarcastically.

Kenichi gave him a playful punch on the shoulder. "If I wanted to be harsh, I'd have split you in half rookie."

Ericks cheeky demeanour was welcome, in truth. Though Kenichi could see it was all an act, the young hunter betrayed it in combat. He was so distracted, clearly something was bothering him, and he used humour as his shield. A paper shield kid, I'll get the truth of your chest eventually, for Ericks own sake, he had to.

A distracted mind would get you killed in the New World. Kenichi had learned that valuable lesson in the months after his mother left. While hunting a Barroth in the wastes, Kenichi had fallen into a ravine and broke his leg. He was able to set off a flare and then crawl to safety in one of the many grottoes that populated the wastes, where he hid for almost two days until the Huntsman found him. If not for him and just plain luck, things might have gone very differently. Lets hope neither of these two find themselves in a similar situation.

Returning to the matter at hand, Kenichi gathered up the pile of foliage and began weaving it into a gillie mantle. "Try and avoid patterns, it looks more natural if it's random." Completed, he held up the mantle and threw it over his shoulders. "Trust me, this will save your life if you make it properly."

Erick was quickly weaving the grass fibres in and out of each other, and in almost no time had a passable mantle. Huh, at least he has talent. Kenichi picked it up and examined it, the camouflage was maybe a bit sparse, but for a first attempt it wasn't a bad turnout.

Sonia was having a bit more trouble, she didn't seem to have the dexterity in her hands for weaving, and it was taking her a painfully long time to finish the mantle. Nonetheless, she bit her lip in concentration and let the task eat up all of her attention.

A shout came from the cook fire. "It's ready!" The huntress Zoyla was waving them over, and had set up a loose ring of stumps for them to sit and eat at. Kenichi turned to his two students, "Zoyla puts some mean dishes out, you'll want to try this."

Erick stood with enthusiasm. "We'll see, I have a very refined palette."

"I bet you do, rich-boy. Come on." Kenichi beckoned him towards the fire, but Sonia hadn't moved. "Hey lady, you coming?"

"Uh-huh, just five more minutes, I've nearly got it." She dropped her needle, again, and diligently picked it back up and continued.

"That'll still be here when you get back, come on, it's gonna go cold."

"Yeah, I will, just a little longer."

"Sonia." Kenichi said, a little forcefully this time.

She stopped and looked at him. "I know this is new, and exciting, but don't abandon reason. You gotta use your head out here just as much as your hands, if not more so." Kenichi offered his hand. "Come on, lets eat. We can finish that later." Sighing, Sonia put the mantle aside, and grabbed the team leaders hand as she stood.

Zoyla passed them both bowls as they approached, with Erick already gorging himself. The aroma was strong and sweet, and Kenichi heard Sonias stomach rumble. He turned to her and raised an eyebrow as she smiled awkwardly. "You won't be disappointed, trust me." Zoyla commented, as the three sat down to eat. True to her word, it went down a treat. Kenichi was a decent cook, able to survive quite comfortably out in the field, but the dark-haired huntress made it an art.

"Wow, I didn't think you could make something this delicious in the wild." Sonia managed in between mouthfuls.

Zoyla laughed. "I mostly brew coatings for my arrows on the cook-fire, but I guess I got good at meals as well."

"Zoylas a crack shot with a bow, and she's been working in this region for years, you'll be glad to have her." It was certainly true Kenichi had a lot of respect for the huntress, she had volunteered for this mission and Kenichi was happy that she had, though not surprised. She truly cared about the forest and the creatures living in it, one of the few hunters who would rather capture and relocate a monster than kill it.

"Oh come on Kenichi." Zoyla said. "We both know I'm only here because you're a complete glutton."

"Hey!" He complained.

"How long have you been hunting Zoyla?" Erick asked, having finished his meal.

"Around five years now, but I've been in the New World a lot longer. I was on the research team at first, but managed to get this big idiot and the Tracker to show me the ropes."

"If I'm an idiot and your my student, what does that make you?" Kenichi teased.

"I figure the Tracker managed to balance things out, unlike you with the stubborn old man." Zoyla retorted.

"Which one, the Huntsman or the Commander?" Kenichi asked, and the pair laughed.

"Who's the Tracker?" Sonia queried.

"First fleet hunter, her names Haia, but she's the Commissions lead tracker, so that's what everyone calls her." Zoyla answered. "Been a while since we saw her, right?"

"Grandfather says she's in the Highlands, but that reports getting stale. Maybe she's moved on."

Erick slapped his knees. "Well Zoyla, that was delightful, thank you." He stood with his bowl and grabbed his blades. "And now, I shall be off to empty my bowels, excuse me." Erick made his was to the edge of the clearing before disappearing into the undergrowth.

"Seems an odd guy." Zoyla noted. "But then, he is a noble."

"It's more than that" Kenichi said. "Somethings bothering him, I'm sure of it." The team leader cast an eye towards Sonia. "Erick didn't come across the sea out of choice, did he?"

Sonia hurtled into a display of awkwardness so blatant it was almost comical. She played with her food, slowly forming sentences punctuated with more than one "Umm" and "Well" before stopping and starting again while her eyes desperately searched for somewhere to look other than Zoyla and Kenichi.

Zoyla stifled a laugh at the poor girls antics and placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, we pretty much figured that out already. Whatever happened to wind him up here, that's his business, we just want to keep him alive."

Kenichi continued. "And too do that, we need to make sure he's in a healthy mindset, so, is there anything you think we should know?"

Sonia seemed to return to her usual level of self-consciousness and began forming a coherent answer. "He, said his father had sent him here because he refused to marry."

"Noble children do that all the time, but don't they just get dragged kicking and screaming to the altar anyway?" Zoyla asked.

"Well, I thought that too, but, maybe there's more too it than that. He, he sometimes talks in his sleep you see."

"And what does he say?" Kenichi pressed.

Sonia paused for a moment, somewhat hesitant. "Anya." She finally told him. "He says Anya."

Kenichi found Erick at the edge of a creek, washing his bowl. He had a blank look on his face that often appeared when he thought no one was watching him. He washed the bowl slowly, deliberately taking his time while seemingly caught up deep in thought.

"Hey, rookie!" Kenichi shouted.

Erick immediately put on his mask of mild amusement and smiled as Kenichi approached him. "Ah, team leader, come to make sure I don't slip and fall in the creek?"

"Pretty much." Kenichi smiled. He threw Erick the gillie mantle he had made earlier. "Come on, I better show you how to use that before you decide to do it yourself and get eaten."

"Do you have a place in mind?"

"I do, there's a Tobi that's been driven from it's territory in the upper forest, I want to make sure it's re-settled and isn't gonna move on to Astera."

Erick nodded. "Then by all means, lead the way."

The pair set off in a western direction. "The monster settled in the north, but if we come at her from downwind she'll smell us, so we'll loop back around once we're far enough away."

"Isn't there any way to mask our scent?" Erick asked.

"You can make perfumes to mimic the smells of other monsters, but we don't want to scare her off. She's already been driven out of her last territory and might be a bit skittish." Kenichi set a steady pace through the forest, sticking to the thick foliage to avoid attention from flying wyverns. They had the mantles, but with a rookie like Erick he wasn't taking any chances.

Within a few hours Kenichi called a halt. Ahead, an enormous tree tore it's way through the undergrowth and raked the sky. Kenichi called Erick closer and then proceeded to whisper to him. "The nest is in there. We'll put our gillie mantles on and crawl to that outcrop." Kenichi pointed to a cluster of rocks at the base of the tree. "And we should be able to see if it's home from there." Erick nodded, and slowly, the pair began their crawl through the underbrush.

As they got closer, Kenichi could see the burrow the Tobi-Kadachi had dug itself in the side of the tree. Good, that means it's staying put. Eventually the pair got to the outcrop and pushed themselves against the rock, glancing upwards. "What now?" Erick whispered. Kenichi put a finger to his lips and pointed upwards.

Slowly, a reptilian head pressed it's way out of the burrow, startling red eyes checked the coast was clear, oblivious to the two hunters lying below. The Tobi tentatively sniffed the air, before pushing herself halfway out the burrow and letting out a shriek that echoed through the Ancient Forest. She shook her fur, resulting in the sound of crackling sparks and a few light flashes across her hide, before letting out another long, deafening scream.

"What's it doing?" Erick asked.

Kenichi whispered back. "This old girl was living with another Tobi in the upper forest when their burrow was attacked by a Rathalos. As the two fled they got separated, she's calling for her mate."

The monster let out another mournful cry, the sound bounced through the trees and carried far into the distance. "There have been reports of her call being heard for a while now, and as far as 3 miles away. You see that spark of electricity just before she roars?" Erick squinted, and sure enough, her hide seemed to fizzle with a deluge of small sparks, and a few miniature rods of lightning crackled between her jaws.

"What is that?" Erick asked.

"It's been observed before, the research team think she's using electricity to amplify the sound of her call, though they're not sure how."

"That's, amazing." Erick gaped. "At this rate, her mate is sure to hear her."

Kenichi sighed. "He's dead."

Ericks face changed from wonder to shock, and he turned to Kenichi for an explanation. "Males of the species are far more territorial than females, he stayed and fought the Rathalos, and it killed him." Kenichi paused as another screech split the air, then continued. "Every night and morning, she calls out into the forest. Tobi are dangerous, but hardly the apex predators here. If she's not careful, she'll attract something bigger, and hungrier."

Erick looked on helplessly. "Can we stop her? There must be some way of-"

"There's nothing we can do kid." Kenichi cut him off. "She has to move on, re-focus on surviving, or die. That's the way of the New World."

The team leader looked Erick in the eye then. "I don't know what you left behind in the Old World, or why you came here, but it's clearly bothering you. Your distracted, you isolate yourself, and you seem over fond of the bottle for more reason than the taste I bet." Erick whirled on him and looked as though he was going to shout, until Kenichi quickly put a finger to his lips and gestured upwards towards the Tobi. The team leader continued. "The reality is, you're here now, this is your life. And if you don't get your head in the game, this place will kill you." He looked up at the mourning creature again, listening to it's haunting roar reverberate through the trees. "Find a way Erick, find a way to move on, because there always is one. Even when it doesn't seem like it."

For a brief moment, Kenichi remembered his mother, and the day she left the New World on a ship back to Tanzia. The memory caught him off guard, and he found himself staring into space for a brief moment while Erick was trying to fight back tears. I was crying on that day as well.

Kenichi came back to himself, and grabbed Erick on the shoulder. "Come on, lets go." The two crawled to a safe distance and began the walk back to camp. They did so in silence, with Kenichi maintaining a respectful distance. He'd let the kid mull over what he'd been told, then come to his own conclusion. He hoped, that when he saw all the work the commission did here, he would find his purpose, like Kenichi had. You got the makings of a hunter kid. Kenichi thought. Don't throw it away.

They arrived back at camp, a fire was already burning and Sonia was sat around it showing Zoyla her finished gillie mantle, when the two got back they both leapt to their feet and rushed at the pair. "Kenichi, your back! You need to hear this!" Sonia cried

"Here what?" Kenichi asked.

"Got some bad news for you, kid." A familiar voice said from just beyond the fire.

Kenichis eyes widened. "Master?!"

Sure enough, the Huntsman stepped into the firelight. He looked visibly tired, and was panting heavily. The flames danced across his outdated armour, which despite over forty years of use, looked pristine as ever. "

"Master, what's going on?" Kenichi exclaimed.

The Huntsman gestured to the campfire. "You'd all best sit down, we've got a lot to talk about, and I need to catch my breath."

"A Fatalis!" Zoyla exclaimed. The news had been met with a wide range of reactions, Zoyla was in utter shock, Sonia was visibly panicking and Erick had gone very quiet. Kenichi tried to keep a calm composure. "Even here in the New World, I've heard tales of Schrade." Kenichi said. "But these things have been beaten before, isn't that right?"

The Huntsman sighed. "Not so easy as that I'm afraid kid. There's only one hunter here in the New World that's crossed a Fatalis before, and that'd be the Seeker. But only the Sapphire Star can see him right now."

"We have to find him." Kenichi insisted.

"Your grandfathers recalling all field teams for an emergency meeting. He sent me to find you and bring you back. We'll come up with a plan from there."

Kenichi nodded. "So, back to Astera?"

"Back to Astera." The Huntsman said.

"Wait." Zoyla said. "Kenichi, the Anjanath."

"It'll have to wait till another time Zoyla, this is too important."

"No, Kenichi, you don't understand. We can't just keep giving her sedatives."

Everyone looked at her. "What do you mean?"

"Those tranquillisers are temporary, not suitable for extended use. If we keep giving her these continuously, it'll kill her."

The announcement was met with a stark silence. "How long can we keep giving her them for?" Erick asked.

"At this dosage? Probably two, maybe three days, at most."

"So we cut her loose here." Sonia said. "Untie her and head back."

"No." It was the Huntsman who answered. "Anjanath have a wide territory, and we're too close to Astera. She'd be a threat." The Huntsman paused, then continued. "If we can't take her back with us, and we can't let her go…" The Huntsman placed a hand on the hilt of his sword.

Zoyla looked horrified. "Wait! We can't just butcher her!"

"I'm sorry kid. But like you said, she won't survive to make it back to Astera and we can't just let her roam free. It's the most humane thing to do."

Zoyla looked desperately at Kenichi. "You can't agree with this!" She pleaded.

Kenichi considered his options. "It'll take another day for us to get to the release site, then probably two more to get back at breakneck pace. Three days, that's too long."

"Couldn't we maybe get Leopold to finish the release? He doesn't live far from the site." Zoyla suggested.

"There's no telling he'll even be home, you know how he is." The Huntsman said.

"Oh!" Sonia suddenly gasped. "Oh! Hirio!" She grabbed Erick and shook him. "Erick, Hirio!"

"Who?" The Huntsman asked.

"The other hunter they came here with." Kenichi explained. "He's at Leopold's hut right now isn't he? Had some business with him."

"Hirio has killed a Fatalis!" Erick shouted.

The whole group was shocked. "Erick, are you sure?" Kenichi asked.

The two newcomers nodded frantically. "Yes! It's on his record, he fought the Crimson Fatalis. We have to go to Leopold's hut and find him!" Sonia urged.

Kenichi turned to the Huntsman, who was rubbing his chin. "If what she says is true, he could be invaluable to the Commander. I agree, you should go and get him."

"You think maybe Leopold will come as well?" Kenichi asked.

The Huntsman grimaced. "I'm not sure, Kenichi, even if he's home, well, you know how he was after his family died."

"Well, since we're going to Leopold's hut, we may as well take the Anjanath with us, its not far!" Zoyla spoke up.

Kenichi considered for a moment. "Agreed."

"She'll slow you down." The Huntsman warned.

"But it's practicable, I wont let her be slaughtered when another solution has presented itself."

The Huntsman and Kenichi locked eyes for a moment, then the former conceded. "Alright, I'll head back to Astera and let the Commander know what's happening. You release the monster, find this Hirio guy and get back to Astera faster than a Kirin running from a Rajang."

Kenichi smiled. "Got it Master, good luck."

"You too kid, don't leave me waiting." The Huntsman turned and raced back into the jungle. "Umm, is he not gonna rest for the night?" Sonia asked.

Kenichi laughed. "Ha, no. And neither are we."

Zoyla frowned. "Kenichi, that's risky, travelling at night in the Ancient Forest is bad enough, travelling with two rookies and an Anjanath is-"

"Her scent will scare away the smaller monsters. And we don't have time to waste." Kenichi turned to face Sonia and Erick. "You ready?"

"Ready." Sonia said without hesitation. Kenichi met Ericks eyes.

They where still somewhat puffy, but there was steel in them, something which had been missing before. "Ready."

Kenichi smiled. "Then here we go."