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: Okay, I know that this is the beginning of the next mini-arc, but the bonds with the new friends doesn't begin until a little after. Sorry, I've been wanting to do this for a while. Please do enjoy.
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Chapter Fifty-Nine: Scenic Flight With a Rathalos
Once Jacob had returned to the Blizzard after a short walk, he went downstairs to help himself to something to eat. Getting some fruit that he had stashed beforehand he started to eat a bit of it. A few pieces later and he moved to lean against the wall and let himself slide down to where he was sitting on the floor. With his hunger temporarily satisfied and things a little calm at the moment, the teen started to wonder what he should go and do now. He thought that he should try and find Grumper since he hadn't seen the Anjanath since the skirmish in the desert with that thing. But he also thought that maybe he should wait and see if Calypso would turn up since it had also been a while since he last saw her.
But Jacob was pulled out of his thoughts when a couple of roars came from outside the boat. Quickly getting up, Jacob grabbed his gear and also grabbed the Scout Fly cage. Quickly running up the stairs to see what was going on, he made it onto the deck when the shadow of a large shape passed over the boat. It made Jacob raise his shield while also reaching for his Iron Katana.
When he came around to the front of the boat, he lowered it when he saw both Mama and Papa Rath flying in a circle overhead. They stopped a moment and flapped to stay in the air while looking to the boat. The two Raths saw him standing at the bow, the two parents to the trio took off flying towards the forest. Having a feeling that something was up, Jacob quickly ran around the cabin of the Blizzard and back onto the stone ground. Soon he was running back to the ledge and climbed up it. Standing at the tip of the formation, he saw the two Flying Wyverns disappearing over the tree tops and towards their nest at the top of the Ancient Tree. With a sigh he was mostly joking when he said, "Never a moment's peace around here."
Nonetheless he took a deep breath before making his way towards the tree. Going through the tall grass beyond the opening to the cliff he rushed for the wall of vines that he and Boltia had taken a little while back. He climbed up them and when he reached the top he ran to continue his way up to the nest at the top of the Ancient Tree. As he ran through the forest, Jacob mostly hoped that whatever was going on up there wasn't going to be something bad.
…
After some time of climbing up through the levels of the Ancient Tree, Jacob finally made it to the opening to the Rath's nest. He could hear a little movement coming from up there and carefully started walking up the path towards the nest. When he made it to the top of the slope, he found both Mama and Papa Rath standing there in the middle of the nest with their wings extended before something. The teen heard some small grunts and growls coming from behind the wings. Having a feeling that it had something to do with the Rath tiro, Jacob playfully raised a brow and placed his hands on his hips as he asked, "Okay, you two. What's going on here?"
The two adults glanced to each other before pulling their wings back to reveal their young to the human. Jacob was surprised with how much the three had grown since he had last saw them, which was months ago. All three of them were close to their parents' knees in height, both girls looked like they were getting the moss-like fur on their backs while Samson's wings had a flame pattern on them. The spikes on their wings and chins had extended a little. The spikes or needles on their tales were coming in nicely.
The Rath trio screeched at the sight of the human they consider their brother and rushed forward to greet him. Jacob kneeled down and was nearly knocked over by the trio when they reached him. He laughed as he wrapped his arms around Verda and Rahtria while Samson rubbed his head against the human. They all looked to their human brother as he shook his head, "I can't believe how big the three of you have gotten. It seems like just yesterday when you hatched.
"Hope you three have been good to your Mama and Papa while I was gone." He added with a grin. A growl from the Rathalos and the Rathian made him look up to the two adults. They had a certain look in their eyes that said otherwise about the three. He returned his gaze down to the trio before him and wondered, "Makes me think about how well your flying has gotten?"
The three Raths rushed off with screeches while Jacob stood up again. Mama Rath walked up to the human teen and lightly nuzzled against him. Jacob chuckled as he lightly scratched her chin, "I know. I know. It's been a while. I haven't seen you since you found me in the desert with Ares.
"I sure have missed you, Papa Rath and the trio while I was away." He genuinely said and hugged her head. Mama Rath gave a small happy sounding growl as she closed her eyes.
They both and Papa Rath all look over to the trio as Samson jumped into the air with a screech. The young Rathalos flapped his wings and managed to stay in the air, and it surprised Jacob when he didn't immediately come back down. The young wyvern gave a happy sounding screech and Rahtria and Verda were quick to join him when they mimicked his movements. All three young Raths were able to stay in the air and roared in unison. While he knew that they wouldn't fully understand, Jacob pumped a fist into the air and cheered, "Yeah, Rath Trio! You guys are incredible!"
The trio set down for a moment and rushed to stand between the three of them. Jacob knelt down next to them and lightly rubbed the top of Samson's head. He said with a proud grin, "Nicely done.
"Of course, you had great teachers." He added when he looked to the two adult wyverns. His praise made Papa Rath give a small shake of his head and puff out his chest a little. This made Mama Rath roll her eyes before she growled down to her young. All three young Raths moved to the edge of the nest and jumped off the edge. Jacob worried when he thought they were going to fall, but calmed down when they flapped to stay in the air again. He was once again impressed with how well they were flying. He moved to the side a little when Mama Rath walked to the edge of the nest and took to the air. She flapped to where she was beside her children and they moved a little further from the tree. A few feet from the nest and they all looked back to Jacob and Papa Rath. The Rathalos started to move to the edge of the nest and opened his wings to join his mate and offspring.
As he stood there, Jacob wondered if this was all that his Rath family were wanting to show him. He started to turn and head back down the tree when a growl from behind made him turn around. The human teen found himself face to face with Papa Rath who had come back and lowered his head to be eye level with him. Jacob glanced away for a second before looking back to Papa Rath, having no idea what the King of the Skies was thinking about. The long staring between the two was starting to make the boy feel a little uncomfortable. Wondering if he should just go, Jacob slowly started to turn away from the Fire Wyvern to make his way back down the path. But Papa Rath was quick to move a wing to block the boy's path. A little nervous about what was happening, Jacob fully turned around and said with a nervous smile, "Everything okay, Papa Rath?"
Papa Rath gave his answer by moving his head around the boy and lightly nudging the teen to the edge of the nest. Growing really worried at this time as he stumbled forward, Jacob tried to stop himself from going by trying to plant his feet. But a couple of more light nudges from the Rathalos made him move forward. Jacob glanced back to the male Rath and asked, "Hey, wait! Wait! What are you-
"DOING!" He screamed when he was pushed over the edge of the nest. The Rathalos moved to where he could look down. Down below, the teen looked down to the ground and saw that it was coming up fast, pond or no pond. Knowing that he needed to do something quick, Jacob tried to twist his body to fire his grappling hook. But a shape entered his peripheral vision and looked to see Papa Rath now falling alongside him. When Jacob looked to the ground again he gasped when they saw how close they were getting.
But just before hey could hit anything, Papa Rath made himself fall a little faster. With a sharp turn of his body, the Rathalos managed to catch the boy at the last second and climbed back into the air. On the Fire Wyvern's back, Jacob was really clinging on to the red scales and had his face up against them with his eyes scrunched together tight. Not feeling pain or dead at the moment, Jacob opened them and slowly sat up on the Rath's back. He was amazed when he saw that they were climbing pretty high in the sky. With a small roar, Papa Rath adjusted himself to where he was flying back to the rest of the Rath family who were hovering a good distance from their nest. When he reached them he hovered close to the four others while they all looked to the human clinging to his back. Mama Rath gave a small growl to see if he was okay. After some slight panting, Jacob calmed himself enough to say, "I'm okay, Mama. Just a small scare.
"And I'll get back at someone for it later." He vowed when he looked to Papa Rath. The Rathalos glanced back to the human and had a teasing look in his eye. The Rathalos looked to his family and gave a small growl. The group of six then made their way away from the nest and turned to head northeast with Papa Rath in the lead. From up in the air, Jacob looked down and saw different beast's of all sorts when he could. As they flew over a large clearing, the teen saw a couple of large, black shapes rushing after some frightened Aptonoth. While he couldn't see much, he could see long, slender tails on them. Even from this high up he could hear cat-like yowls like a leopard coming from them. He wondered if they were anything like what he had seen in his dream a while back in the desert. He figured that maybe he could take a look in the guidebook and find out what he could about them later.
Jacob gave a startled gasp when Papa Rath started to turn to the left. He glanced back to Mama Rath and the trio as they continued to fly after him and Papa. It wasn't long until they made their way to a tall rock formation that seemed only accessible to flyers. Mama Rath, Samson, Verda and Rahtria flew past Papa Rath with Jacob on his back and touched down on the cliff first. But just a few feet from touching down himself, Papa Rath remained in the air. A bit confused, Jacob looked around to the Rathalos' face and asked the patriarch of the Rath family, "Uh, everything okay there, Papa Rath?"
The Rathalos only gave a small growl to him before roaring down at his mate. Mama Rath had a look like she wasn't sure about something. But Jacob couldn't wonder what was going on when the Fire Wyvern quickly turned around and started to climb up into the sky. The teen glanced back down to Mama Rath and the trio. But they didn't make any moves to come follow after him and Papa so Jacob thought that he was somewhat safe. He only hoped that he wasn't going to somehow regret this.
(Cue Where No One Goes by John Powell)
Jacob winced when Papa Rath roared and kept climbing higher into the sky. The two soon reached the clouds and Jacob was greatly awed as they soared past some of them. As they came across another, the teen carefully reached his hand to touch it.
John Powell: Let the wind carry us
To the clouds, hurry up, alright
Both his hand and Papa Rath's wing ran through the cloud and the teen could feel his fingers getting wet. He pulled them out and the Rathalos pulled away from the cloud. The teen from another world raised his hands into the air and hollered from the fun he was having. The fun; however, seemed to be just beginning when Papa Rath suddenly put on a burst of speed.
John Powell: We can travel so far
As our eyes can see
As they flew through the open skies, Jacob looked around and saw multiple flocks of birds flying about. The boy became a little worried when Papa Rath suddenly closed his wings and they started falling from the sky. Jacob held on tight to the Rathalos' scales as they plummeted at fast rate through a cloud. Once through the cloud, Jacob's eyes widened when he saw how far they had flown.
John Powell: We go where no one goes
We slow for no one
Get out of our way
While not too far from the New World, the human and the Rathalos had flown and were now falling towards the ocean. Jacob worried a little as they were approaching the water pretty fast. But just before they could hit it, Papa Rath opened his wings again and flew horizontally with the water. His talons scrapped against the surface of the ocean as he flew parallel with it. The two could feel the spray from the sea as waves splashed up. With a flap of his mighty wings, the Rathalos soon climbed up into the air again.
John Powell: Awake in the sky
We break up so high, alright
Papa Rath soon climbed up high into the sky with his passenger. Jacob had to hold on really tight when the Fire Wyvern did his back flip through the air. The boy and Rath tumbled through the air for a moment before the latter managed to right himself. The Rathalos then started to swing himself in a circle. The maneuver nearly made Jacob sick to his stomach, but he placed a hand over his mouth in his effort to keep it down.
John Powell: Let's make it our own,
Let's savor it
Jacob took a deep breath to calm his nerves and his insides. He became confused when the Rathalos hunched a little while flying. The teen understood when Papa Rath straightened himself and shot a fireball ahead of them. The flaming projectile flew through the air before exploding a good distance away. Jacob had to shield himself as they flew through the smoke.
John Powell: We go where no one goes
We slow for one
Get out of our way
The teen lightly coughed as he waved his hand to clear it. He thought it smelled a bit awful. But it wasn't over when the Fire Wyvern did it a couple more times. This just made the teen groan as he did not like the smell. He inwardly commented the question to himself as he had a comically annoyed look on his face, " Ugh, just what are you eating, Papa Rath?"
John Powell: We slow for no one
We go where no one goes
When the two were flying straight again and not shooting fireballs anymore, Papa Rath suddenly twisted his body in a spiral. They spun around in a spiral a couple of times through the air. Jacob really clung his body against the Rathalos' to keep from falling off. The Fire Wyvern was soon upright and Jacob sat up again. But as they kept flying, a mischievous idea came to Jacob's mind. He gave a slight motion of his body as he sat on the wyvern's back, and he grinned when Papa Rath seemed to get the message that he wanted to do the spiraling spin trick again.
John Powell: We slow for no one
We go where no one goes
The Rathalos did another spiral spin and Jacob lowered himself to get ready. They did one more spin and he held on tight. On the second spin he let go when the wyvern was upside down. The Fire Wyvern didn't even seem to notice as the teen fell away from him.
John Powell: We go where no one goes
(End of track)
Once Papa Rath had righted himself to where he flew straight again, he gave a happy sounding roar and glanced back to his passenger. Only to find that his passenger was no longer sitting on his back. A now worried Rathalos looked around for the human with a growl. When he looked down to the ocean, he saw the teen falling. With a roar he turned himself towards the falling human to save him.
As he fell towards the ocean below him, Jacob started to wonder if this had been such a good idea. The fast approaching water told him that it really wasn't. With a groan he said, "I really should have taken the part of the story where Jesus not giving into the second temptation to heart better."
Thankfully for him it ended up working out when a large, red shape managed to catch him at the last minute. While a little wind had gotten knocked out of him, Jacob held on tight to Papa Rath's back as the Fire Wyvern climbed up into the sky again. He adjusted himself to where he and Jacob could fly back to the New World. After a second of flying straight, Papa Rath glanced back to his passenger who could only nervously look away. The boy tried to think of something to say, but decided to hold off since they were still over the ocean. It wasn't long until they were flying over the Ancient Forest again. And as he flew on Papa Rath's back, Jacob looked down and saw a familiar blue shape flying a lot lower to the ground. His eyes widened when he saw that it was the young Azure Rathalos. The young blue Flying Wyvern watched them go as he and Papa Rath flew across the skies.
They came upon the rock formation where they had left Mama Rath and the trio. Verda was the first to notice her father and adopted human's return and started to jump up and down with happy screeches. Her mother, brother and sister all looked up into the sky and saw the two coming down for a landing. They made room for them to touch down. Once Papa Rath's talons touched down, Jacob slid off his back and stepped back a little. The two didn't make eye contact with each other. Mama Rath looked between two of her boys and Jacob noticed this. Gesturing to the Rathalos he said, "I tried to get back at him for his stunt back at the nest. And now he's upset with me."
Papa Rath huffed in agreement while not looking to the human teen. A small growl from Mama Rath made him look to his mate. She looked to him before glancing over at the human. This just made the King of the Skies growl and turn his head away from her. Deciding to try and ease the tension, Jacob took a step closer and gently placed a hand on the Rath's wing. The touch didn't make the Fire Wyvern look to him. With a sigh the boy said, "I know I shouldn't have pulled that little stunt.
"And I'm really sorry for making you worry like that." He tried to offer the Rathalos. At first the wyvern didn't look like he was going to budge to the apology, but a second later he slowly turned to the human and gently pressed his forehead against the boy's. It made Jacob glad that there was no hard feelings between them as he hugged the Rathalos' head. Seeing this made the other four walk up and press themselves against the two.
They all became surprised when the sky suddenly started to darken and looked up to see large, dark clouds rolling in over them. A low rumbling of thunder came from the clouds, indicating that a storm was coming. Seeing that it was time to go, Mama Rath growled to Samson, Rahtria and Verda. They all took to the air and climbed a little higher. Mama Rath and Papa Rath both walked up to the edge of the cliff. But before he could take off, Papa Rath looked to his mate when she gave a small growl at him. The Rathian glanced back to the human and he got the message. While she took off after her children, Papa Rath lowered himself to where the human teen could climb back on.
Once Jacob had climbed back on and was secure on the Rathalos' back, the Fire Wyvern jumped in the air and took off after his family. The five of the six turned to fly back to the Ancient Tree just as the dark clouds above started to cover a great deal of the forest. As they flew overhead, Jacob glanced down to see if he could see the young Azure Rathalos. But he was a little disappointed when he didn't see any sign of him.
The five Flying Wyverns and their human managed to reach the nest and touched down when a large boom of thunder cracked overhead. The loud sound caused the trio of young Raths to jump with a yelp and they nervously stepped a little closer to their parents. The rain started to come down and Jacob raised his hand to shield his eyes from the water droplets as they came down pretty hard. The boy gave a startled yelp when Papa Rath started to make his way down the slope and into the drier interior of the Ancient Tree. Mama Rath and the three little ones were quick to follow after their father with the human on his back.
The group of six entered the large space and Jacob slid off of Papa Rath's back again. They moved away from the opening as the rain poured down and ran a little into the chamber before disappearing down into the tree. He gave a startled yelp and had to shield himself when all five Raths shook the water off of their bodies. When they stopped they looked to the human who had an annoyed look on his face when he lowered his arms. He shook himself off a little to dry himself. But he was a little annoyed when he was still a little soaked. Seeing that he needed a little help, Mama and Papa Rath turned to where they were facing the human and opened their maws wide. The boy was a little worried about what they would do. The two Raths let out a breath of warm air and the breeze made Jacob stumble back a bit while having a comical look on his face. When they stopped, Jacob could feel that he was a lot drier. With a nod he said to them both, "Thank you."
The six of them then made their way down the botanical slope to where the small pond before the large opening. At the edge of the small pond, Papa Rath sat down and Mama joined him. Jacob moved to where he could sit down next to the pond himself. He looked over to the Rath trio who were playing together a little distance away. Samson gave a small roar at his two sisters ad Verda hid behind her older sibling while Rahtria gave a defiant roar back at her brother.
But their game was cut short when another clap of thunder boomed overhead. The three all gave startled yelps before rushing back to the three. Samson and Rahtria huddled close to their parents while Verda rushed onto Jacob's lap. She huddled on his legs and looked about the large space. Jacob gave her a sympathetic look when she started to shake. He gently stroked her back and said to calm her, "Hey now. It's gonna be okay.
"You're gonna be okay." He promised her and raised her head up so he could look her in the eyes. The other two young Raths looked around their parents over to their sister and their human. They moved a little closer as he said, "You know, it's okay to be a little scared. And you'll get braver when you get older.
"And then you'll be able to face what scares you and maybe scare them right back." He added and set the Rathian down. Samson and Rahtria came over and nuzzled against the boy. Jacob smiled as he wrapped his arms around the two and pulled them a little closer. When he let them go, he looked between the three of them and offered them, "How about a song like when you guys first hatched? It's been a while since we did that."
With that Jacob got up and moved closer to the two adult Raths. The trio gave small chirps as they ran after him. He sat down between Mama and Papa Rath and patted his leg for the three to come closer. All three moved closer and snuggled against their human while he stroked each one's back. He felt their calm breathing as he tried to think of what song to sing them. One in particular came to mind and he took a deep breath. The next time he opened his mouth, he started, "Don't lose your way, with each passing day. You've come so far, don't throw it away.
"Live believing, dreams are for weaving, wonders are waiting to start." The song seemed to be working as the trio started to calm down. They lowered their heads onto either the ground or his lap while their breathing remained calm. He glanced up to Mama and Papa to see that the song was also making them look a little relaxed too. Jacob then continued, "Live your story. Faith, hope and glory. Hold to the truth in your heart.
"If we hold on together, I know our dreams will never die. Dreams see us through to forever, where clouds roll by, for you and I." The Rath Trio moved to snuggle a little closer to him. They then all gave a small yawn while he continued, "Souls in the wind, must learn how to bend. Seek out a star, hold on to the end.
"Valley, mountain. There is a fountain." Jacob picked up a small rock and looked at it a moment. Then he flung it into the small pond and it landed with a small splash, "Washes our tears all away.
"Waves are swaying, someone is praying." The ripples in the pond moved from where the stone landed. The teen looked up to the sky and watched as the storm clouds moved across the sky. He hadn't stopped his prayers of maybe one day, "Please let us come home to stay.
"If we hold on together, I know our dreams will never die. Dreams see us through to forever, as clouds roll by, for you and I." Jacob glanced down to the trio. He could tell that they were starting to look a little sleepy as they tried to keep their eyes open. He glanced up to Mama and Papa Rath and saw them lowering their heads to the ground as he continued, "When we are out there, in the dark
"We'll dream about the sun," Jacob looked back out of the opening and saw a gap in the clouds. And he was awed when he saw a few rays of light poke through. From what he could see, the day was close to ending. Though he couldn't feel them, the boy closed his eyes and took in a deep breath as if he could, "In the dark, we'll feel the light.
"Warm our hearts everyone." Now it was Jacob's turn to start to feel a little tired. He fought to stay awake, but he couldn't help but slowly lay down. The human teen stared up at the ceiling of the space as he started to finish, "If we hold on together, I know our dreams will never die. Dreams see us through to forever, as high as souls can fly, the clouds roll by,
"For you and I." Jacob quietly finished as he laid his head down. The sounds of the falling rain just outside of the opening of the large space, all five Raths drifting to sleep and feeling the three pressed up against his body all made Jacob feel quite relaxed. And he was quite happy with how this day had turned out. He basically made a new friend and got to see his Rath family after a good while of being gone. Placing an arm behind his head, the boy took a deep breath and closed his eyes to sleep a while.
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Author's Note: Yes, I know that this chapter is more focused on the Rath family instead of immediately making a new friend, but don't worry, they are coming. This is just to help set the mood for the beginning of the next chapter. Plus, I was wanting to have Jacob spend a little time flying through the clouds on the back of a Rathalos. If and when I'll do it again in the future is when we'll have to see. 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.