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: And now we return back to the space between the second camp and where the suspended boulders hang. Should really think of what to do with them, honestly.

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Chapter Twenty-Five: Jagras Can Be Rough

Jacob didn't move to not spook the Jagras standing before him as Julius continued to growl at him. The human couldn't recall upsetting him or any of the other Jagras, having only just gotten to know them recently. Without fully looking away from the growling Fanged Wyvern in front of him, the teen looked to the rest of the pack. He noticed Jupiter rolling his eyes with his head turned to Jenna while some of the others were looking a bit bored with Julius. Jacob suddenly got the feeling that Julius wasn't angry or anything, but didn't want him to leave so soon. Looking back to the Jagras in question to see Julius looking ready to spring evident by the moving shoulders. Having a feeling he wasn't going to leave anytime soon or without a tussle, Jacob removed his weapons and his pack before tossing them to the side. The rest of the pack watched them land a good distance away before turning their attention back to the two. Readying himself, Jacob sighed, "It's always something, isn't it?"

He moved out of the way when Julius sprang at him before the two turned to face each other again. The human and the Jagras started circling each other while the rest of the pack stayed back and watched to see how it would play out. Julius gave a hiss before lunging at Jacob. The teen moved out of the way before lashing out with his arm outstretched. The Fanged Wyvern moved back before pouncing again. Standing strong, Jacob managed to catch the Jagras in his arms and swayed back a little from the sudden weight. Julius was unprepared when the human held him tight before falling forward. The wind was knocked out of the Fanged Wyvern when they landed with the human on top. But before the human could claim a quick victory, the Jagras managed to maneuver his hindlegs to where he could shove Jacob off of him. Jacob moved to where he sat up again but was knocked onto his back when Julius barreled into him again. The Jagras moved to stand over him and Jacob moved his arm to avoid a nip from his opponent. Quickly moving the appendage to where he forced the lizard's head to the ground and tried his best to subdue his opponent. Julius squirmed to get out of the hold, making Jacob act quickly by rolling onto the Jagras' back and wrapping his other arm around the lizard's middle. Julius squirmed even more as Jacob lifted him in the air and with a quick turn of his body, the human sent the Jagras flying into the river. Julius landed in the water with a splash and came up spluttering.

Jacob waited to see what Julius would do, but was put off when the Jagras sat in the water. With a shrug the human teen questioned him, "What that's it? Trying to see where I fit in the pack and getting thrown into water is what makes you stop?"

The Jagras only seemed to give a slight glare to the human and Jacob thought that was the end of it. But as he turned to retrieve his things, he was nearly knocked off his feet when Julius jumped on him from the side. Only by planting his foot forward did he stop himself from falling over. The human was grateful that the leather gear somewhat protected him from the Jagras' claws sticking into him. But it didn't stop the claws from poking him. Reaching around with both arms, Jacob tried to pry Julius off of him. But the persistent reptile didn't make it easy for him when he started moving his head out of the way of the human's hand. Jacob was thrown for a loop when the Jagras suddenly threw his body around and it sent them both to the ground. On the side, the rest of pack winced from the landing but didn't move to break it up. The two fighters tumbled a bit and managed to separate during the process.

With a slight groan, Jacob lifted his head and looked to find himself staring at Julius who too was starting to get back up. Both boy and lizard waited to see what the other would do first. Jacob quickly got up to avoid another nip from Julius, but he was too slow to avoid another tackle from his friend. However, Jacob was able to turn the tables by wrapping both arms around the Jagras and rolling them over to where he was on top again. He firmly pinned Julius down by the shoulders and the Fanged Wyvern struggled in his grip. But with him fully pinned down, Julius calmed down to allow Jacob to get off of him. When he was sitting on his knees and the defeated Jagras got off the ground, they looked each other in the eyes with narrowed eyes. But they were really done when Julius gave the human teen a respected nod and Jacob returned it.

The teen surprised the Fanged Wyvern by quickly wrapping an arm around him and pulling him close. Julius squirmed when Jacob gave him a friendly noogie against his head. When he stopped and released the Jagras, the others swarmed around the two. While the girls, Junker and Jumpa looked over Julius, Jupiter and Juni came up to Jacob. Like a worried little brother, Juni sniffed along Jacob and the human teen reassured him, "I'm okay. Probably a little sore, but I'll be fine.

"Not my first scuffle." He shrugged with a grin. Jupiter seemed to agree with him by lightly nudging the teen's shoulder with his head. Really wanting to head back to the boat for now, Jacob got up to get his things. The rest of the Jagras pack all looked to him as he picked up his Dual Blades and pack. When he turned around he found young Juni standing before him and giving him a look as if to say for him not to go. Remembering that the trio had done this with him from time to time, Jacob smiled as he gently placed a hand on the Jagras' head, "I'll be back.

"You guys just stay safe until I get back." He told them and Juni rubbed against his hand. The teen then made his way to the opening. He ducked down and made his way through. Making sure that the coast was clear when he poked his head out the other side, Jacob pulled himself out of the Jagras' new home and took the long way around through the shaded forest to get back to the boat.

…

It was later in the day when Jacob returned to the hidden home of the small Jagras pack. This time he was sporting his Iron Katana and shield for protection of what they may face. He stayed outside of the hole to avoid spooking them if he just went in head first. The human tried to remember the bark like calls that they had made earlier and let one out. It sounded a little off to him and was hoping that he hadn't sounded offensive to them. A Jagras did emerge from the hole and from the familiar spot on the shoulder, Jacob was glad to see Jupiter again. When he saw the human standing not too far, Jupiter looked back to the opening and gave a small screech. One by one the rest of the nine came out of their hidden den. Juni, Jenna, Joss and Jess were the first to greet his return by swarming around him and pressing up against him as they went by. When they moved to give him some space, Junker walked up with something in his mouth and placed a rock at the human's feet. Jacob thought it touching that the Jagras would give him something and knelt down to take the rock. Picking it up he looked between it and Junker, "I'll be sure to hold on to this."

Junker gave a happy sounding growl. They were both startled when a yellow shape rushed past Junker and barreled into Jacob. The teen found himself under Julius as the Jagras still seemed sore from the defeat from earlier. From behind, Junker, Juni, Jenna and Jupiter all screeched at their packmate. Jacob was quick to turn the tables again by lightly kneeing Julius in the side and earning a small yelp from the Jagras. But that was all Jacob needed when he pushed Julius off of him. The muscular Jagras backed off and the teen sat up again.

But his space was once again invaded when Juno came up and moved onto his lap. She gave a content growl as she laid down. Even Julius joined in the collective eye roll from her display. Carefully pushing Juno off of him, Jacob stood up again and motioned for them to follow after him. He started walking from the entrance to their den and the members of the pack looked to each other before following after the human.

Jacob led the pack around where the second camp was, through the shaded forest and went the direction he and Jupiter had come back from when they had traveled together just hours prior. They stopped when they came across a pretty big field of tall grass and grazing in the middle was a small herd of Aptonoth. Jacob was glad he had noticed this herd when he had started to leave the boat again. The herbivores were minding their business as they grazed, not aware of the ten watching them from afar.

With a quick glance to the pack, Jacob went into the tall grass first and stayed low to avoid being seen. He glanced back to see Joss and Jess moving to flank him on either side. The teen carefully raised up to see how much closer they needed to be to one of the herbivores. A lone Aptonoth was grazing not too far from them and Jacob lowered himself again. The three continued forward to where they felt that they were between the lone Aptonoth and the rest of the herd. Slowly removing the shield from his arm, Jacob readied to fling it to where he could scare the Aptonoth. Slowly getting up, the herbivore finally noticed him but felt calm around him. Jacob didn't want to, but sighed when he said, "Sorry, big fella. But I've got friends to take care of."

He threw the shield forward and it banged against the ground. The noise seemed to startle the Aptonoth as it bellowed in fright. The girls took it as their cue to go on the attack. Both female Jagras leapt forward into view of the herbivore and gave loud shrieks. It seemed to be enough to scare the whole herd as they started running about. The Aptonoth they were hunting turned and ran in the opposite direction of the herd and the three gave chase. Joss and Jess pulled away while Jacob reached down to grab his shield. From their spot in the trees, the rest of the pack got themselves ready for their part.

The Aptonoth rushed through the trees with Jacob, Jess and Joss right behind it. Glancing around him, the teen noticed the rest of pack rushing up to join them. The scared herbivore ran around trees, over rocks and under branches to try and escape from its pursuers. But when it entered the shaded forest area, Jacob fired the grappling hook of his slinger. With a yank of his arm, he caused the cable to make the Aptonoth trip and the poor thing tumbled along the ground. Jacob retracted the hook as he slowed his running to allow the Jagras to hunt. The frightened Aptonoth tried rising up to keep running, but the pack had it surrounded by the time it was on its feet again.

Julius and Jumpa were the first two to rush up and the former slashed with his claws at the head while the latter pounced on the herbivore's back. The Aptonoth bucked to try and get the predator off of it, but Joss and Jess helped their packmate by jumping onto its side and knocking it off its feet. Jupiter was the one to finish the job by rushing up and taking the Aptonoth's throat in his jaws and applying pressure to it. A few seconds later, Jacob grimaced from the quick cracking sound and the body went limp.

The pack all screeched to the meal that it had secured and they all started to feast. Not one for really eating Aptonoth, Jacob moved onto a tall root of a nearby tree to keep a lookout. The human leaned against the tree to make himself a little more comfortable. But for some reason, as he stared through the trees, a certain someone made him a little weary. Jacob didn't have anymore dreams like he did the other day, but that doesn't mean that he hasn't been thinking about it. He kept thinking that whatever it was that he had seen would come walking through the forest or something.

He was suddenly brought out of his thoughts when he felt something rubbing against his leg. He looked down to see Juni sitting with him. Glancing back to the feast that was still going on with the other eight, Jacob advised, "You better get all you can. Otherwise you won't be as big and strong as Julius or Jupiter."

But Juni seemed quite content with staying close to the human as the Jagras climbed up a branch to keep watch with him. Jacob only shook his head with a grin before turning his gaze back out into the forest. Over the sounds of flesh ripping, bone snapping and screeching coming from behind, Jacob heard a faint noise coming from somewhere. It sounded almost like something was in pain. Coming down from the limb, Jacob made his way towards the sound. From his spot in the tree, Juni saw the human walking away and gave a small bark before climbing down after him.

Jacob heard Juni behind him, but didn't slow down as the sounds became louder with each step he took. They came out of the shaded forest and found themselves before the fork in the road. From the position of the setting sun the day was about to end. Jacob heard the sound a lot closer and moved over the tree branch. From behind, Juni was looking a little unsure about all this but continued to follow after his friend.

The two came before the slope that went down to the sea and the sounds of the wounded animal told them it was close. From the sounds of it, the noise came from behind some large bushes. Keeping himself between Juni and the bush, moved his shield in front of him while removing the katana from its sheath. When they came around the bush, both human and Jagras were greatly surprised to find one of the Great Jagras laying on its side. The large Fanged Wyvern opened its eyes and looked at them while getting onto its feet. The Great Jagras narrowed its eyes at Juni and Jacob figured it must be one of those with the really big one. It seemed to get a little smug when it hissed at them. Jacob readied his sword to fight it off.

The Great Jagras lunged at the two and its belly skidded across the ground. Jacob and Juni quickly moved out of the way and the former twisted his body and delivered a slash to the large Fanged Wyvern's side. The large monster roared from the cut and turned with a glare to the human. It raised its forelimb and struck out. Jacob managed to avoid getting scratched, but the blow knocked him down. Juni tried to come to his friend's rescue by jumping onto the Great Jagras' side, but it managed to shake the smaller member of its species off with ease. Jacob got back up and holding his sword over his head he flung it at the big lizard. The blade spun through the air before it sank into the Great Jagras' side. The lizard roared in pain from having the weapon embedded into its side.

"Run, Juni!" The teen shouted to his friend. Juni was about to turn and run when a sight made him stop cold. Jacob was about to rush at the bigger monster when a roar from the side made him look to see another Great Jagras coming at him. The lizard managed to use its belly to knock the human off his feet again and he fell against a rock. Jacob cried out from the pain he felt in his back, but when he looked up his vision was met with a yellow tail smacking into him. The blow made him fall to the ground and his vision became hazy. Before his eyes closed, Jacob could only watch as one of the Great Jagras picked Juni up by the tail and held the young Jagras off the ground.

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Back with the rest of the pack, Jupiter had walked away from the fresh kill when he had his fill. The leader of the small pack was currently walking about looking for two missing members. The human and his fellow Jagras' scent were easy to track and it lead him away from the shaded part of the forest. He screeched to the others to tell them to follow, but the sounds of battle drew his attention. Scurrying to follow after the scent, Jupiter came over the branch and skidded to a stop when he reached the bottom of the path. Turning to the right he watched in disbelief and shock when one of the Great Jagras' of his former boss used his tail to strike the pack's new human friend to the ground unconscious. The other male of the three Greats lifted Juni off the ground by his tail.

But the Great Jagras that had struck the teen didn't claim his prize by swallowing the human whole like he normally would. The Jagras grabbed the human by the round piece on his arm and started dragging him off. The second Great Jagras walked side by side with the other while still carrying Juni by the tail. Jupiter knew that he needed to save them, but he couldn't do it alone. Quickly dashing back to the entrance of the shaded forest, Jupiter gave a screech to tell the others to hurry up. But he didn't wait for them as he scurried down the path that would get him to Jacob and Juni in time.

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Jacob scrunched his eyes and groaned as he started to come around. When he opened them, he found himself laying in the middle of where Jupiter and his pack used to reside. A worried growl made him turn his head to see Juni on the other side. Jacob was about to get up when a deep growl from above stopped him. He glanced up to see one of the Great Jagras' standing over him. When he looked back over to Juni he saw the other Great Jagras that attacked them standing over the young Jagras. He saw that his katana was still embedded into the side of that Great Jagras. The sound of rumbling made them all look to an opening to see the really large Great Jagras pull itself out. When it had moved away from the opening the last Great Jagras, the female given her differently colored scales, her slightly smaller size and without a mane, followed behind him.

Jacob wondered what was going on, but stayed still when the really large one looked between him and Juni. He glanced up when the Great Jagras over him growled to their boss. But before the really large Great Jagras decided anything, he walked over to the Great Jagras standing over Julius and eyed the Iron Katana still embedded in his side. With a quick yank of his teeth, the large Great Jagras yanked the weapon out of his packmate. The Great Jagras screamed in pain as fresh blood started to leak from the wound. The large Great Jagras let the blade fall onto the ground before turning to look at the two captives.

The large Great Jagras started growling, but was stopped when a screech came from the far side of the clearing. They all turned their heads to see Jupiter, Jenna, Juno, Julius, Junker, Joss, Jess and Jumpa all standing above the opening. If he wasn't in a deadly situation at the moment, Jacob thought that they were looking really cool. All eight of them leapt down and started coming closer. But they were stopped when the large Great Jagras gave a roar and both smaller ones over the captives slightly raised up. It was then that Jacob realized what was happening; the large Great Jagras was giving them a choice on who to save; him or Juni!

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Author's Note: Well, things are taking a bit of a sour note. The Great Jagras have brought Jacob and Juni before the Greatest Jagras. And it looks like the giant glutton of the Ancient Forest is giving them a choice of who to save. Find out during the real confrontation of the Greatest Jagras Liberation arc. And I know that Great Jagras are mostly males, or as the videos say, but you can't tell me that the girls can't get that big. It could happen with time. Also, just letting you all know that I have put up a new poll of which beast, Fanged, Flying, Brute, Bird or Elder Dragon you think will show up next. 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 all of you next time.