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, and perhaps even the next, is about Jacob helping the Lagiacrus to overcome her grief.

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Chapter Thirty-Six: Tending to a Broken Heart

After an hour or two of trying to find his way back from the smaller Ancient Tree, Jacob managed to find the clearing again. He knew that from there it would be a short walk back to the boat, barring any interactions with any hostile beasts. The teen hadn't seen any signs of the young Rathalos and figured that he must have flown off during the craziness. Jacob slightly grimaced from the new bruises he had received from the Brute Wyvern before being saved by the Lagiacrus. He had applied some healing herbs that he had found in the forest, but figured that they'd take a while to take effect.

When he found himself back in the shaded part of the forest, Jacob kept an eye out for any other monsters. As he neared the usual opening to the shaded forest, the teen was greatly surprised to see a good number of Kestodon all lingering about the entrance. While the females were laying on the ground resting, the males faced the entrance and remained on guard. Deciding that an alternate route would need to be taken, Jacob turned in the direction of the second camp.

He climbed up to where the camp was sitting and went down the botanical slope. With a little help from the vines, he made his way over to some trunks and carefully made his way to the end where the pond beneath the Rath's nest was. When he made it to the end, Jacob jumped down and landed in the pond with a splash. From where he was, he could hear some of the Kestodon grunting to each other and thought it might not be best to go up the vines before him, lest he spook them into attacking him.

Moving through the opening to the right, the human found himself before some more vines and climbed up those. After making it to the top, Jacob looked to his left where the Kestodon were and decided to take the path to the right. As he came closer to the pack's turf, Jacob kept up his guard to avoid spooking them or anything else passing through. He went around the drop into the turf and towards the drop that would take him to the boat.

A small jump from the ledge and a little walk through the grass later, Jacob stood before the openings to the Blizzard. But as he started to walk through the opening that Grumper would take, he heard a familiar song in the air. Walking to the ledge of the cliff, Jacob looked out to the sea to see any signs of the Lagiacrus. But he became confused when he didn't see her anywhere. Jacob turned his head to the left and became surprised to see her laying on the little island he had pulled himself onto the night when he had last been in contact with his parents.

The Lagiacrus had her body pointed towards the sea, and her head swayed back and forth as she sang her song of sorrow. Jacob didn't look away when he heard the sound of heavy footfalls coming up behind him. The familiar growl of Grumper was enough to tell him that he didn't need to worry. A slight nudge from the Anjanath's head made him look to the Brute Wyvern and Jacob said, "Hey there, bud.

"Just seeing the new arrival to the neighborhood basically." He gestured to the Leviathan. Grumper looked down to the hurting Lagiacrus and gave a small growl. Jacob shook his head, "I wouldn't do anything to upset her. I witnessed her take down an older member of your kin and she was not messing around."

Grumper just gave another small growl while his eyes were staring at the Lagiacrus. Jacob shrugged, "I feel greatly bad for her though.

"Her first brood was taken from her. And she's very distraught about it." Jacob told him with a sigh. It seemed to get a sympathetic whine from the Anjanath.

The two were greatly surprised to see something emerge from the water not too far from the Lagiacrus and Jacob recognized to see more of those crab creatures come out of the water. They looked to be the same size as the one he confronted months ago, but these were different colors of green and blue, not to mention four in total. Their arrival seemed to make the Lagiacrus stop her sorrowful song with a yelp. She looked to the giant crustaceans with a growl as if telling them to back off. They did indeed become weary of her wrathful looks, but they slowly kept approaching her. The Lagiacrus lunged forward and snapped her jaws at them, causing the crab creatures to back off. They lashed out their claws at her to try and snag her with them. It was then that Jacob happened to notice something in the water on the other side of the little island. Unbeknownst to the Lagiacrus, the water started to churn before a trio of shapes burst from the ocean.

(Cue Morning Star of the Dark Tide from Monster Hunter World: Iceborne)

Both Jacob and Grumper were greatly surprised to see three more of those crab monsters. However; these three were much larger than first four. The giant crabs landed around the Lagiacrus and grabbed onto her with their large claws. One held her by the throat, the second had its claws on her back and the third held her tail down. The Leviathan roared as she tried to thrash her way out of their clutches, but the three bigger crustaceans held her fast. Jacob pulled the Iron Katana from its scabbard and he glared, "We've got to go help her."

Grumper gave an uncertain growl to the teen and Jacob looked to him. Jacob could see that the Anjanath was greatly worried due to all the combatants being water dwellers. The human then said, "Don't worry, Grumper. I won't make you fight.

"But someone has to help her." Jacob insisted as he ran towards the other opening. Grumper watched the human teen go before turning his gaze down to the ensuing battle.

Jacob didn't waste any time as he rushed through the tall grass before coming before the slope. He looked down to the Lagiacrus still within the grasp of the giant crab monsters while the four smaller ones started coming closer. She looked greatly worried as her head was forced upward by the claws holding her. Knowing that he didn't have long, he let himself slide down the hill towards the fight. When he reached the bottom, Jacob fired the grappling hook on his slinger at the crab monster holding her head. The hook wrapped around the arm of the crustacean, earning all three looking. As the cable retracted and Jacob was pulled towards the giant crab monster. The crab released its grip on the Lagiacrus' neck to shield its face from Jacob's sword with one of its claws. The teen landed with his feet on the side of the crab and ducked when it swung its claw at him.

Unhooking the grappling hook from the arm of the crab monster, Jacob allowed himself to fall onto the little island and rolled onto his feet. He stepped back when the crab monster tried to stab at him with its claw and it crashed into the ground before him. With less grip on her, the Lagiacrus started thrashing some more. But the crabs managed to still hold her tight while the smaller ones came closer. The two giant crabs chittered to their third who was focused on Jacob as the teen swung his sword. The claw managed to parry the blade and Jacob jumped back to avoid another claw slam from the giant crustacean. Before the giant crab monster could raise its claw again, the Lagiacrus wrenched her head free and she roared in the crab monster's face.

The giant crustacean screeched in a panic and tried to regain its grip on the Leviathan. But Jacob wouldn't let it even try as he rolled underneath it and jabbed the Iron Katana upwards. The blade found purchase by going through a soft spot in the crab's armor and Jacob cringed from the pained squeal coming from the beast over him.

The crab monster trying to hold down her middle had to use one of its claws to keep the Lagiacrus back when she tried to lunge for it. The one having the most trouble was the third large crab beast as it continued to hold down her tail, but with all the thrashing it was proving to be difficult. The other four started to move onto the Lagiacrus and the Leviathan grew worried when they came closer. But a roar from an unexpected source made the smaller crabs look to see Grumper charging forward and with a quick swing of his head he sent them falling back into the water. The Anjanath then turned his attention to the final crab monster and snarled when it grabbed one of its claws with his jaws and moved to pull it away from the Leviathan.

From underneath the first crab, Jacob moved to stay in the middle so he wouldn't get stomped on by one of the legs. He moved to grab his sword, but the crab kept moving to where it slipped out of his grasp each time his fingers brushed against it. He gave a frustrated groan when the crab moved again and yelped before moving out of the way of one of the legs. With a yell he lunged forward and managed to grab the hilt. With one fluid motion he pulled the Iron Katana from the beast, earning another screech of pain. Jacob twirled the sword in his hands before moving forward with a yell.

Grumper managed to pull his crab monster away from the Lagiacrus' tail and had to let go when the crab tried to use its free claw to attack him. The crest on Grumper's nostrils rose and he let loose a burst of flame that made the giant crustacean back away. This was something that Grumper had been hoping for as the Anjanath the leapt for the giant crab and landed a good kick to its face. The blow was strong enough to break the mandibles to where they hung limply. The giant crab screeched from the great pain it was dealt.

With her head and tail free, the Lagiacrus began to attack the second crab with great ferocity. She lunged at it with her head, making it quickly move backwards to avoid her devastating bite. But the Leviathan was quick to use a lash of her tail to knock the giant crustacean back. The harsh blow sent the water monster falling into the ocean and it got back up with a screech.

Jacob happened to look back just as the four smaller crabs from earlier emerged from the water again. The teen was startled when Grumper had been pushed onto island via the giant crab that he had been facing while the Lagiacrus was put on the defensive from hers and the four smaller ones. His head quickly turned back to the giant crab before him when it shrieked down at the boy. The three, Jacob, Grumper and the Lagiacrus, were all surrounded by the seven crustaceans as they were coming closer.

But before the giant crab monsters could attack them, a fire ball struck the crab before Jacob. The teen shielded himself with his arm from the intense heat while the crustacean screeched from the sudden attack. The attack was enough to make the battle halt and everyone looked to the smoking crab monster. Looking up, a smile appeared on Jacob's face when he saw a couple of shapes descending from the sky. Mama and Papa Rath hovered in the air while the former shot a fire ball at the crab coming at Grumper. The Rathalos flew over the Lagiacrus and shot another fire ball at the four to make them back away. The Leviathan seemed to be greatly confused by the sudden arrival of the King and Queen of the Skies.

From his spot, Jacob took the opportunity to go after his crab monster again. The giant crustacean was put on the defensive when the teen swung his blade at it. A shape passed over him and Jacob looked to see Mama Rath looking to give him a hand. Pointing his slinger arm up into the air, Jacob shot the grappling hook and the Rathian caught it in her jaws. Jacob was pulled into the air just when a claw from the crab monster came down on his spot. The teen was brought over the crab courtesy of the Flying Wyvern above his head and was dropped when she opened her mouth. He landed on the shell behind the eye stalks and with a swift motion he sliced through one of them. The crab screeched and the jostling made Jacob fall off the crustacean's back.

Over with the Anjanath, Grumper slapped the already broken mouth of his crab and it squealed in even more pain to its already sore face. With a blast of fire from his nostrils he sent the crab scuttling onto the little island just as the Lagiacrus used a twist of her body to coil around her crab and flinging it onto the island. The two giant crabs crashed into each other and fell into a heap. The third large crab soon joined them courtesy of a backflip from Mama Rath. Jacob joined Grumper on the shore as they watched the battle continue. They backed up when Mama Rath came in for a landing.

When all three large crabs were gathered together on the little island, Papa Rath, the King of the Skies up in the air, Mama Rath, the Queen of the Earth, on the shore and the Lagiacrus, the Lord of the Sea, in the sea let loose a fire ball or an electro sphere respectively at them. All three attacks collided against the three crustaceans and created a massive explosion that made everyone not in the middle of it brace themselves.

(End of track)

When the smoke cleared up, they saw all three crabs shakily trying to get up. The four smaller crabs, knowing that this hunt was a bust, screeched in fear before scurrying down into the water. The three larger crabs tried to follow after them, but the Lagiacrus didn't look to give them a chance when she viciously launched herself at them. While two were able to move out of the way, the one with the broken mandibles wasn't so lucky. She grabbed onto its face with her jaws and shook her head back and forth. Both Mama and Papa Rath landed by Jacob and Grumper as they watched the attack. The Lagiacrus soon finished her version of throttling when she threw the crab to the ground. The crustacean laid there, no sign of life in its body. The Lagiacrus was quick to turn her attention onto one of the other giant crabs just as it started to disappear beneath the surface. She slithered in after it before winding her body around it and constricting it. The crab monster screeched from the crushing feeling and flailed about in the Leviathan's coils as it tried to escape. It wasn't much longer when something cracked and the claw limply hung in the air.

The Lagiacrus took deep breaths as she undid her coils, allowing the corpse of the marine animal to crumble to the ground. She panted a moment before throwing her head back and letting loose a roar. The Lagiacrus then looked to the shore and it caused Mama, Papa and Grumper to become alert. Her gaze then fell upon Jacob who could only look at her with a knowing look. With a huff, the Lagiacrus turned away and swam away from the shore. When she was far enough out, the Leviathan dived down deeper into the ocean.

When they were sure that she was gone, the three wyverns calmed down. Mama Rath turned to the teen and gave a worried growl as she looked him over. Jacob placed a comforting hand on her snout, "It's okay, Mama.

"We're fine. Especially when you and Papa showed up.." He gestured to just now. But when he looked out to the ocean again, he saw the Lagiacrus' head a good distance from the shore, facing towards them.

…

Later that night, Jacob was laying on the couch in the boat trying to sleep. It had been hours since the fight and the three wyverns and the human had went on their ways. But as he stared up at the ceiling above him, his mind was so full of thoughts that he couldn't drift off to sleep. Jacob was worrying about the Lagiacrus, feeling as if she needed something to help her move on.

He heard a familiar song in the air again and sat up on the couch. Moving to a window that faced the cliff, Jacob looked out to see if he could see the Lagiacrus. He couldn't really make anything out from where he was and decided to move to where he could get a better look. Quietly coming out of the boat and down the rope ladder, he climbed onto the cliff and kept low as he came closer to the edge.

And there she was, sitting on the little island, her head swaying back and forth as she sung her song. He saw that the corpses of the giant crab monsters had been pushed away and were just sitting in the water. They weren't unattended as some scavenger birds were trying to peck at them as best as they could. Jacob turned his gaze back to the Lagiacrus and she stopped her cries. With a sigh she curled up onto the island, not even noticing the human standing there. While he didn't plan to get too close out of common sense, Jacob did quietly make his way towards the slope before the little island.

When he stood on the shore, Jacob stood there watching the Lagiacrus just laying there. The wind felt surprisingly cool to him and wondered if she felt the same. The waves splashed against the shore and the island. He moved to a rock where he could sit down and watch over here. They didn't move for a good long time.

…

The next morning came and Jacob was startled awake when he heard some bellowing in his ear. Looking to his right he saw a female Kestodon standing there, bellowing at the top of her lungs at him. Jacob saw that she was alone, but knew that it wouldn't last very long. Getting up, the teen moved while she followed after his movements and continued to bellow. When he reached a spot away from the Kestodon, Jacob looked to where the Lagiacrus had been laying and saw that she wasn't there anymore.

He returned to the cliff to see if he could see any sign of her, but it would seem that she had disappeared. Though Jacob had a feeling that she hadn't gone too far, since she could have gone just about anywhere, but had come back to the New World. Deciding that it was time to do this face to face, Jacob hurried back to the boat.

…

After returning to the boat, Jacob rummaged through the leftover things that he had brought. He found a pair of swim trunks that he had been planning on wearing during the trip, but never found the time to do so. He quickly changed out of the leather gear, save for his carving knife for protection, though he'd be limited in defense.

(Cue Succession of Light from Monster Hunter World: Iceborne)

Taking a deep breath, Jacob felt he was a little ready for what he was about to do. He shook his head from how crazy it seemed to him, "This is probably a bad idea."

But he still did it anyway as he left the living quarters of the boat. Jacob made his way up and around the bow of the boat. He looked over the edge to the water below him. There weren't any rocks that he could see, and he hoped that he didn't have to worry about any beneath the surface. Taking another deep breath, Jacob jumped over the side and into the ocean below. He landed with a splash and came back up to take another breath. The human teen swam around any rocks towards deeper waters. Before leaving the safety of the rocks, Jacob looked around and hoped, "I'm mostly just hoping that there won't be anything like those Plesioth or what passes for a shark down there."

When he felt ready, Jacob took another breath and dived down beneath the surface. Unlike his last time in the ocean, Jacob was able to see a lot more. From large beds of seaweed to some coral there was plenty to see. There were different sizes of fish swimming about the floor, and he hadn't gone too far from the shore yet.

The teen continued swimming along the ocean floor as he kept up his search for the Lagiacrus. The flora of the undersea world started to get thicker as well as there was more coral starting to be seen. Feeling like his lungs were about to burst, Jacob kicked off the sandy floor and up to the surface. His head broke through the water and he took a few deep breaths to calm himself. As soon as he felt like he was good, Jacob inhaled before diving down again.

After a few kicks downward, Jacob found himself amongst the coral and seaweed once again. Since he didn't seem to be in danger at the moment, he tilted his head from side to side while internally singing to himself a tune about swimming. Jacob saw that the ocean floor was starting to get lower and lower the further he went. He also knew that he wouldn't be able to stay down here forever as he would get tired.

In his peripheral vision, he saw something swim through the rocks and the coral. Carefully swimming in that direction, Jacob caught the rock before moving himself around to see what it could be. He brought his head around and could slightly see a shape curled on top of a rock formation with a small overhang. His mind was telling him that he might have found her and that he should go back, but his gut was telling him differently.

Staying close to the ocean floor with the rock formation in view, Jacob made his way over. But as he passed over a more dark portion of the floor that had thin looking rocks or coral and his hand slightly brushed against what he thought to be a coral formation. But he was surprised when it started to glow blue and he could feel rumbling around him. He grew a little worried when he noticed some electricity sparking from it. Jacob was greatly startled when a shape suddenly rose up in front of him and the Lagiacrus he had been searching for turned her head to him.

He tried to swim towards the surface, but the Lagiacrus started allowing her body to float upwards and his feet soon touched against her back. As they neared the surface, the Lagiacrus' body slowly turned in the water and Jacob looked to see what he had been swimming for. It looked to be some kind of reptilian sea animal. But his gaze returned to the Lagiacrus when he felt her body rumble from a growl.

(End of track)

Both the Lagiacrus and her passenger on her back broke through the surface. Jacob fell to his knees and covered his arm as he coughed from holding his breath for so long. When he felt good, Jacob looked up to the Lagiacrus and could tell that she didn't seem too happy with him being here with her. Shakily rising to his feet, Jacob sighed, "I was looking for you, because I was worried about you."

This earned a confused look from the Leviathan as she tilted her head. He then explained, "It's just that, with everything that happened recently, I just thought that you shouldn't be alone.

"I had some help from those I care about when I was greatly sad like you." Jacob rubbed his arm as he thought about his last conversation with his family. Looking up to her again he said, "I was wanting to help you heal, but I guess you're not really wanting company right now.

"You need some time to yourself, and I should respect that." He said while placing a hand over his heart. The Lagiacrus gave a small groan as they floated on the water. Turning in the direction of the New World, Jacob climbed off of her back and started swimming for the shore. From behind, the Lagiacrus gave another small groan as she watched him go.

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Author's Note: Well, this was a pretty big chapter. The next chapter may be a bit smaller, but it's got something that I've been wanting to do with the Lagiacrus for a while now. Also, I am so excited to tell you guys that I'm doing pretty well in Monster Hunter World: Iceborne since I started it nearly a month ago. And hey, Silverleone, you were right, there is a lot more grinding to go through. The fights are a lot tougher, but it's all quite worth it and fun in the end. And I'm very excited to soon be facing off against the monster that I consider to be my rival. I will give you the name of the beast in the next chapter. I kind of want you to try and guess which it is beforehand. 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 all next time.

P.S. I am so confused; I read online that Velkhana wasn't hostile during expeditions, but when I met her just today, she flipped her lid on me. And I didn't even attack her. I thought she was going to be like Kushala, Teostra or Vaal Hazak, not Nergigante. I tried to use a bush to try and hide myself, but she still got me with a single jab of her tail.