Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from Monster Hunter, only how the story goes. The characters and world of Monster Hunter belongs to Capcom. The only thing that I do own are the OC's of the story. I do apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.
A/N: This chapter will feature a familiar face but also a new one as well. And to answer carlsbad1315's question, it's going to happen, but you'll have to be patient and see.
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Chapter Eight: A Favor Returned
A few hours passed since Jacob had returned to the boat. After helping himself to a small snack and a short nap, he yawned as he sat up on the couch. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he glanced outside the window to see that the sun was starting to set. He looked to the cliff and saw that the Anjanath wasn't there. Figuring that this would be an excellent time to do a little exploring, he decided to go out again. And after thinking of that final camp here in the Ancient Forest, Jacob decided to go there. Grabbing his pack and weapons, the human teen placed them on his back before heading up the stairs. When he reached the deck of the boat, he whipped out the journal to look at the map of the Ancient Forest to see where it was. Becoming a little nervous about how high the camp was, Jacob took a deep breath to calm himself. Steeling himself, Jacob then climbed down the ladder of the boat and made his way to the ledge.
After stopping just a few feet to wait and see if a certain creature was approaching, Jacob proceeded to climb up onto the ledge after seeing that he was in the clear to go. When he stood on the rocky surface, Jacob walked through the bigger opening and looked up to the large tree before him. Knowing that it was going to be quite the climb ahead of him, Jacob was kind of reminded of someone else's situation and decided to sing to help him with the journey.
"I have often dreamed of a far off place, where a great, warm welcome will be waiting for me." He started singing as he entered the tall grass. Wondering which was the best way to go, he thought about going back up the way he went when he followed after the Tobi-Kadachi earlier. He turned to go that way and continued the song, "Where the crowds would cheer, when they see my face.
"And a voice keeps saying this is where I'm meant to be." He sang as he came out into the open. He made sure to keep his voice down he made his way across the open space, "I will find my way, I can go the distance.
"I'll be there someday…" He glanced down the hill to see the small herd of Kestodon laying peacefully at the bottom. When he came upon the root that would either take him to the shaded forest area or to another part of the Ancient Forest. Taking a left, he trekked up the slope, "If I can be strong."
It didn't take him long to come at the intersection that either went up higher into the tree, or went back down to who knows where. Having his destination in mind, Jacob walked up to the wall of vines and began the climb and when he reached the top, he gazed up the dark tunnel. Taking a deep breath, he started to walk up to who knows where as he sang, "I know every mile, will be worth my while."
"I would go most anywhere to feel like I belong." His singing halted when he came upon an odd looking part of the tree. There were many paths to take, whether it be by a vine wall or an actual walk way. But he wasn't sure of which way to go exactly. Deciding to take a chance, Jacob decided to climb up one of the walls of vines and see where it would take him. As his hands brushed against the plants, he made sure to keep his voice low and started singing again, "I am on my way, I can go the distance.
"I don't care how far." He shook his head when he neared the top. Arriving to the top of the climb, Jacob took a moment to catch his breath. He glanced back down to see how high he was. It was a pretty big drop, but Jacob didn't worry about it as he moved away from it. Looking around he gasped in amazement to see that a path made out of plants winded up through the tree. Thinking that this was the best way to get up to the final camp, Jacob started up it, "Somehow I'll be strong."
After walking a good bit, Jacob found himself at a spot that had a pretty great view of the outside forest. He was greatly mesmerized by the sight of the tops of the trees and the starry skies above. Deciding that it was enough sight-seeing, Jacob continued up the path. When he reached the top, he became startled when he heard the sounds of flapping entering the large space. Carefully glancing over the edge, he saw the large draconic figure, the Rathalos, flying in through the opening. Looking for a way out, Jacob looked about to see if there were any paths to take. He saw a big opening, but the sounds of flapping made him really nervous. He backed up to a wall and lightly cried out when he fell through a smaller opening backwards. Jacob grunted when he landed on his back and glanced about. He was once again surprised with how the branches of the giant tree seemed to form walkways even at its higher levels. Rising onto his feet, Jacob looked about before pulling out the journal and flipping to the sections of the maps. He saw that he was at the right level, but from how it was looking on the paper, it didn't look like there was any clear signs of getting to the camp. But when he glanced up into the branches, he arched a brow when he saw a large group of branches clustered together. Thinking that that was where he was needing to go, Jacob looked for a path to get up there. Finding a way through the branches, Jacob started the climb again and started singing again, "I know every mile will be worth my while."
After a few twists and turns along the branches, Jacob found himself much higher in the tree. Sneaking a peek over the edge of the branch, his eyes widened when he saw that he couldn't even see the ground because of the tops of other trees. But he figured that he must have been very high up in the tree. Backing up a bit, Jacob then continued the climb, but didn't have to go much further. He smiled when he saw the camp straight ahead, "I would go most anywhere to find where I belong."
He walked right into the camp and was amazed how everything was able to sit up here. The tent, though a little disheveled, looked to be in perfect condition. Jacob looked about the place for anything useful. First thing he decided to check was the large chest, which was conveniently sitting near the entrance of the camp. Carefully opening it up, he looked in and saw an assortment of leather clothing. From the looks of them, they looked to be a little worn, but still wearable. Deciding to hang onto them, he would take them back to the boat when he was done up here. He went over to the tent to see if there was anything useful within it. Lifting up the fallen fabric, Jacob was surprised to see only one item sitting in it. It was a white stone with a string attached. Picking it up off the tent, Jacob thought it to be some kind of quartz and that was almost transparent, but didn't see anything more about it. Deciding to keep it, Jacob placed the stone around his neck. It felt pretty light as it didn't weigh his head down, Jacob thought it be best to return to the boat now.
Going back over to the chest, Jacob reached down into the chest and took the leather clothing out of it. He decided to place them into his bag. Thankfully, they fit into it and he laughed a bit, "Man, this thing can hold a lot.
"But I better get out of here while I still can." He said and slung the bag over his shoulder. He started down the path to get down from the tree. But as he came to the spot with the opening that he fell through, the sound of thunder made him look up. Another boom of thunder made him think that it was going to rain. Walking up to the entrance, he was about to step through when he heard a loud growling noise coming from inside. Having a feeling that it was the Rathalos still inside, Jacob knew that going this way wasn't really an option. Jacob backed away from the opening and looked for another way to go. He noticed a path on the other side of the plant made platform and walked over. Looking down the path, he saw that it was went along side down the trunk of the tree. Deciding that this was probably the best path he could get, Jacob started walking down it.
But as he walked down the path, another clap of thunder boomed in the skies above him and the rain started to pour. The watery droplets were starting to drench the boy and he pulled up the hood to his cloak. The rain managed to seep through the top of the giant tree and made it hard to see and walk down the path. Jacob gave a startled cry when he slipped but managed to stop himself from falling off his feet. With an annoyed groan he shook his head, "This isn't worth the trek.
"Maybe I had better wait out the storm in the tent of the camp." He thought to himself. Turning to go back up to the camp within the branches of the tree, Jacob took a step forward. Unfortunately, that step caused him to slip again and the teen screamed as he fell off the side of the path. The ground quickly rushing up to meet him, Jacob quickly reached out and managed to grab a hold of a vine and ended up swinging through the air.
Jacob screamed as he swung into the lower levels of the Ancient Forest before the vine snapped under his weight. Jacob grunted when he fell on the ground and took a moment to catch his breath. With a groan of his ailing body, Jacob picked himself up off the ground. He looked to the broken vine at his feet and thought it lucky how it was able to hold him for so long. Looking up to the dark, rain filled sky, Jacob nodded in gratitude, "Thanks, God. I'm grateful that you're always watching out for me."
Feeling a touch sore from the slight fall, Jacob tested his limbs to make sure that nothing was too out of sorts for him. When nothing felt too damaged, he checked the rest of it to make sure that nothing felt broken. As soon as he was sure that he felt bruised but okay, Jacob decided to head back to the boat. But as he stepped forward and lifted his head, Jacob spluttered when a large amount of rain came down on his face. Lowering his head again, Jacob glanced around to see if there were any familiar landmarks, but he could only see so much without getting pelted by raindrops. And he couldn't pull the journal out so it wouldn't get ruined by the rain. Luckily, he saw that he was already on a path and decided to follow it to see where it lead. Keeping one hand on his hood to keep it from flying off his head while keeping an eye on the path.
(Cue Monsters in Hiding from Monster Hunter)
His feet started to get stuck in the mud a little as he made his way down a small hill. Jacob became annoyed when he had to pull his feet out of the mud. He became glad when the rain started to let up to where it was only drizzling. When he straightened his hood, Jacob became very surprised that he was in a spot that he didn't recognize. Trees were scattered about in an unrecognizable way and a thick layer of fog made it practically impossible to see anything that would help him to get back. Jacob looked around for the Ancient Tree, hoping that it would be a sure enough way to get back to the boat. But the sound of growling made him really worried. Slowly turning to the source of the noise, Jacob became really frightened when he saw it coming from a silhouette between two trees. From what he could make out, the creature stood on two strong looking hindlegs, had jagged spines along its back and tail. And from what the human could make out, it looked like it had really large teeth. At first, he thought that it could be the Anjanath, but he realized from the shape of its muzzle that it wasn't. He quickly racked his brain from what it could be. All he could remember of the name tagged to this beast was the word devil in it.
Jacob tensed up when he noticed the monster to be looking his way. He didn't know whether to run or stand perfectly still to avoid detection. But it seems he didn't have much choice when the devil monster gave a loud roar before charging through the trees at him. Not thinking twice, Jacob turned and ran for his life. He glanced back to see the beast behind him jump into the air. Jacob managed to stop to avoid being crushed by the behemoth and backed away as the devil monster slowly turned to him. The human thought of drawing his weapons against such a being, but he honestly had no idea on how to fight the devil beast. The monster gave a growl before taking a menacing step towards him. Jacob took a step back and started to reach for his Dual Blades. The devil monster's growl increased as it opened its jaws, looking ready to turn the human into its next meal. But before Jacob could remove his weapons or the beast could strike, another roar startled them and made the two look around. Jacob thought the roar sounded familiar to him as he looked about the trees, but didn't see anything but a fast-moving shape through the tree branches. And as it went by, small, silvery feathers suddenly dropped down all around Jacob and the devil beast. The rapid movements seemed to tick the devil monster off as it let loose a roar and charged for one of the trees closest to it. It crashed into the trunk and caused the large plant to topple over. The shape quickly moved away from another tree when the toppled into it. The large monster seemed to notice the shape and charged after it again. Jacob watched as it turned to swipe at the trunk with its tail. The appendage broke a few branches from the trunk and the sudden blow caused the shape to fall from the branches.
Jacob was surprised when he saw that the newcomer was the Tobi-Kadachi. The electrical wyvern landed on its feet and looked up to the bigger monster with a growl. The devil monster just roared down at the smaller creature and quickly turned to swat at the Tobi-Kadachi with its tail. The Tobi-Kadachi managed to jump out of the way as the appendage crashed down. When it turned to try and take a bite out of the Fanged Wyvern, the Tobi-Kadachi jumped and managed to land on its head before springing off. But before it could get clear of the bigger monster, the devil creature managed to swat the electrical beast with its tail. Jacob gasped as the Tobi-Kadachi fell to the ground. The Fanged Wyvern crashed into the ground and looked up to see the devil monster approaching. It looked up with fearful eyes as the bigger monster open its jaws. Jacob looked around to lure the attacking beast and noticed a couple of things that he could use. Reaching down, he picked up a rock and a small glowing bug. He loaded the stone into the slinger first and aimed at the tree closest to the two. He fired the rock and it smacked against the trunk, causing the devil monster to turn its attention away from the cowering Tobi-Kadachi. When it faced him again, Jacob loaded the glowing bug into the slinger and aimed at the monster. With a worried look at the approaching monster he said, "Don't know if this is going to help, but-"
He shot the bug at the devil monster and when it go closer to the bigger creature, the Tobi-Kadachi suddenly lowered its face to the ground and covered its face with its claws. Jacob was a little put off by this just as the bug smacked into the devil monster. Jacob and the larger monster both cried out in surprise when the bug unleashed a bright flash of light. The teen was disoriented and his vision was obscured. And from the sound of it, so was the bigger beast from the sound of something crashing into a nearby tree. Jacob didn't know how he was going to get out of there with his poor vision, but he was taken by surprise when he felt something grab him by the hood of the cloak and whisked him through the air. Jacob cried out in surprise when his feet left the ground. He cried out even more when he felt himself tossed up into the air before landing against something. Jacob realized he was on the Tobi-Kadachi's back from the slight shock and held on tight to the back of the Fanged Wyvern as best as he could. His vision was starting to come back as the Fanged Wyvern jumped from branch to branch.
The sounds of roaring from behind told them that the devil monster sounded pretty ticked off. And from the sounds of crashing trees told them that it was chasing after them as well. Jacob's vision fully returned when he looked back and gasped at what he saw. He shouted, "Look out!"
The Tobi-Kadachi glanced back at the last second to see a tree come down at them. The electrical wyvern jumped forward to avoid being crushed by the thrown object, but when the tree came down with a loud crash behind them, it threw the Tobi-Kadachi off its feet and Jacob screamed as he went sailing off its back. The human felt pain throughout his entire body as he tumbled along the ground. He came to a stop on his side and groaned in pain when he rolled onto his back. But he knew he couldn't just lay there with that thing still out there. Hissing in pain as he sat up, Jacob looked into his pack and pulled out one of the health potion vials. He uncorked one and downed half of it. His body felt a little bit better as he placed the cork back into place and looked around to see where he was at. The sounds of shrieking came from above and Jacob looked up. He saw three Jagras sitting up in the branches of a tree and they hissed down at him. Jacob recognized the place as where he fought against them the other day, which means that the boat wasn't too far from him now. Looking around again, Jacob wondered where the Tobi-Kadachi was.
But the boat and the Tobi-Kadachi would have to wait when he heard the sounds of crashing trees behind him. The commotion made the Jagras stop their noise as they looked in that direction. Thinking it was that devil beast, Jacob got to his feet and started running again. Not knowing where he was going, Jacob hoped that he would be able to find shelter for himself. He saw a small opening within some foliage and made for it. But when he made it to what seemed to be really thick branches, Jacob found it a little difficult to squeeze through. Glancing back, he saw the devil monster burst into the clearing. Knowing that he didn't have a lot of time, Jacob started pushing with all his might to move the branches to where he could fit through. He tried not to strain as he pushed, but a few grunts slipped out and seemed to draw the monster's attention. With one final push, Jacob managed to get through and fell to his knees. Catching a quick breath, Jacob looked to see a cave before him. Taking a chance, he ran inside.
The cave went deep and Jacob wondered if it was connected to the other tunnels that he and the Anjanath were in the other day. But he couldn't dwell on those thoughts for long as he heard the sounds of plants snapping and crashing and he looked back to see the devil beast now trying to squeeze into the cave after him. Jacob didn't know where he was going or how he would get out of this place, but he didn't care at the moment. He just wanted to get as far away from that thing as he could. He took a turn to the left and gasped when he came to a dead end. The sounds of shuffling and scraping made him nervous as he thought it was getting closer. Looking up, Jacob saw that there was an opening with a small waterfall. Jacob looked for a spot to start climbing, but when he found one, the sounds of growling made him look back to see the devil monster's shadow along the cave walls thanks to the glowing moss in the tunnels. Turning to try and climb out of there, Jacob placed his hands on the rocky surface and prepared to climb up. But just as he started to pull himself up, he gasped in fright when he felt something grab onto the hood of his cloak and pull him into the air.
(End of track)
Glancing up, Jacob became very surprised when he saw silvery-white scales in his vision. His eyes trailed down to see a familiar set of claws gripping the cave wall. He cried out again as he was lifted a little higher to brought face to face with the Tobi-Kadachi. The Fanged Wyvern gave a few small growls as it looked over him, almost as if to see if he wasn't hurt. Jacob noticed that there were a few scaley-feathers out of place and it had cuts here and there along its body. The sound of roaring made them both look down the tunnel to see the devil monster trying to get at them. Knowing that it was time to go, the Tobi-Kadachi was able to turn on a dime on the wall with just three talons and moved its hand with Jacob's hood in it as close to its body as it could. Taking the hint, Jacob grabbed onto the scaley-feathers and held on tight as the Fanged Wyvern started climbing up the wall. Jacob kept his eyes on the opening above just as it sounded like the devil beast had finally made it.
The Tobi-Kadachi and its passenger made it to the top just as the devil beast gave a frustrated roar down below. The Fanged Wyvern moved away from the drop and allowed Jacob slid off of the Tobi-Kadachi's back. Jacob looked around to see that they were in a familiar place. A large path made of vegetation led up to the platform high above them and the Tobi-Kadachi's nest. Laying before them was a shallow pond. Jacob then noticed that the rain had finally stopped as the Tobi-Kadachi made its way across the shallow pond. The water sloshed as Jacob walked through it as well. The Fanged Wyvern went up the path of vegetation to its nest and Jacob watched it go. But when it was halfway up the path, it looked back to Jacob and he was unsure of what it was wanting. He decided to first say, "Uh, thank you, for saving me back there." Then he added with a small grin, "I guess we're even now, huh."
The Tobi-Kadachi just gave a small growl before looking to its nest and back at him. This really confused Jacob and he asked, "What?
"What is it?" He shook his head, not understanding what it was wanting. The Tobi-Kadachi turned and walked around him before starting to push him up to the nest with its head. Jacob protested, "Hey! Hey, what are you doing?!"
But the Fanged Wyvern just kept pushing him towards the vines that led up to the nest. Jacob managed to get some distance from the Tobi-Kadachi and turned to face the creature. The Fanged Wyvern tilted its head and Jacob rubbed his forehead with a sigh and said, "Look, I am grateful for you saving my life and all, but I need to get back to where I need to be. I can't stay.
"Goodbye." He said before turning to walk away. But only after walking past the nest was he stopped when the Tobi-Kadachi jumped over his head and landed in front of him. It turned to him and Jacob groaned and questioned, "What is it that you're wanting from me?!"
He got his answer when the Tobi-Kadachi rushed past him and managed to grab the hood of his cloak with its mouth. Jacob yelped as he was pulled over to the wall of vines before the nest and stumbled when the Fanged Wyvern let go of his hood. Jacob turned just as the Tobi-Kadachi jumped up into the nest before looking over the edge back down at him. It made a patting motion with its right talon, almost beckoning for him to come up. Jacob shook his head, "I don't have time for this. It won't be long before dawn comes and just about everything in the forest will wake up.
"I've got to go." He said before turning to walk away. But he hadn't taken a single step when the Tobi-Kadachi grabbed the hood of his cloak with its teeth again and yanked him up. Jacob tried to fight out of the grip, "Hey, put me down!
"Oof!" He was dropped and fell on his rear before looking up to the Tobi-Kadachi with an annoyed look. It looked down at him with that same expression from earlier. The human started to get back up, when a small push from the Fanged Wyvern's claws made him sit back down. Jacob was about to protest when he heard the sounds of flapping overhead and both he and the Fanged Wyvern look to the sky to see not only what looked to be the Rathalos, but other flying creatures out and about in the night. Jacob then rethought his position with a comical comment, "Maybe I will need to stay put for a little while."
His words made the Tobi-Kadachi snort and it looked away. Jacob pulled the odd stone from around his neck and he said, "Guess I'll take the time to figure out what this is then."
The Tobi-Kadachi noticed the stone and leaned its head towards it. Jacob laughed a little and he said, "Too bad you couldn't tell me what this is, huh?
He lifted the rock up and looked at it to see if it did something when he looked through it, giving its near transparency. Moving the rock around, Jacob didn't see anything until he passed over the Tobi-Kadachi's head. Just before he looked away with the rock, the rock started turning pink before fading back to its original color. Jacob shook his head, "Wait, what?"
Moving the stone in front of the Tobi-Kadachi again, he was surprised when he saw the stone turn pink again. Jacob wondered what this meant when he lowered the stone. The stone faded again and Jacob thought to consult the journal about it. Placing the stone around his neck again, Jacob opened his bag and took the journal out. He flipped through the pages, but didn't seem to see anything about the stone. The sound of flapping and light screeching made him look up from the book to see a couple of Mernos flying around. Deciding to test something, Jacob set the book down before removing the stone again. Doing his best to keep up with the two flying creatures, Jacob got one of the Mernos in his sights and was amazed when the stone started to turn a different color. But this time instead of pink, this time it was blue.
Finally getting an idea of what this stone could do, Jacob looked to the Fanged Wyvern. He put the journal away and placed the stone around his neck again before slowly getting up. He looked into the Tobi-Kadachi's eyes and said, "Looks like there's a lot more to you than meets the eye, huh, girl."
The Tobi-Kadachi's response to this was a light nudge to the shoulder with her head. Starting to deeply think about something, Jacob lightly scratched his chin and said, "Makes me wonder if I should call you anything besides Tobi-Kadachi or Fanged Wyvern."
An eye roll came from the electrical beast. Jacob thought about it for a moment before suggesting, "All I can think of is Boltia. I know that it doesn't sound like a very good name, but it seems like it really fits. What with the electrical charge that you can create.
"What do you think?" He asked with a small grin. The Tobi-Kadachi didn't seem to be too keen on the name judging by the look on her face, but she didn't seem to hate it either by not roaring, hissing or trying to bite his face off. What she did do was gently rub her head against the human. Jacob laughed a little before carefully rubbing the top of her head with his hand. When he moved his hand underneath her chin, Jacob gave it a light scratch that she seemed to enjoy.
Boltia suddenly flopped down onto her side and it made Jacob jump a little. She glanced up to him and Jacob had an idea of what she was wanting. Moving around Boltia, Jacob kneeled down like he did when she was ailing from her battle against the Pukei-Pukei. He started lightly scratching the side of her belly and it made her squirm with delight. Jacob thought it funny how she was kind acting like a dog but didn't say anything. She turned onto her back and Jacob gave her a good belly scratch that she really enjoyed as one of her back legs started kicking.
He stopped when she got up and moved around him. Boltia circled around the human, making him slightly dizzy as he followed her movements and she dropped down onto her side. Jacob thought it adorable when she yawned before laying her head down. She opened her eye to look to him before lightly thumping her tail against the ground as if to tell him to lay down too. Knowing that running might end up to him getting chased by the Tobi-Kadachi, Jacob laid down next to Boltia and looked up to the stars that he could see in the spaces between the clouds. He knew that she was looking at him but chose to ignore it as he looked up. The sounds of a breathing beast that was potentially dangerous was a little unnerving to him, but at the moment he also felt at peace. Feeling really tired, Jacob's eyes slowly closed and he felt himself drift off to sleep.
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Author's Note: I originally planned for another song to be a part of this chapter, but I felt that it was kind of missing something. So, Jacob basically being rescued and allowed to stay with a friendly Tobi-Kadachi was a bit of a surprise, huh? The stone that he found is an idea that I had to help tell monsters like Anjanath, Tobi-Kadachi and the others that don't have distinct features to tell which gender they are. I have no doubt that you all know what the thing chasing Jacob and Boltia was, but I kept the name left out for the fun of it. I look forward to reading your reviews. Be sure to leave a comment either about if I've done something wrong or if you want something specifically to happen. See you next time.