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Valen woke up groggily. He didn't really remember what happened last night, and something felt… Off. It was comparable to the time when he did that stupid drinking contest on the ship towards the New World. He blinked, feeling that his environment was moving… As if he was on a ship, but it felt different somehow.
He barely had time to process the thought before he clutched his head in pain, an unfamiliar surge of memories suddenly assaulting his head. The pain lasted for a bit before receding, and he blinked to clear himself of the confusion. He examined them before immediately realizing one detail: Nikki was in none of them.
Now alarmed, he perused them then realized that the point of divergence was the Glavenus hunt… This time there was no Seregios to invade them, and no Nikki to save him. The hunt proceeded like normal, though he still got scorched on the left side of his face by an unlucky explosion from the Glavenus… He still had his ear at least.
He hunted with his old team for a couple years before they split off. He still met Adem by some chance, and the two of them formed a team together. After that the years blurred together but what he was certain of was that he had become a celebrity in the Old World… And that he never went to the New World. Raphaëlle had still gone there, and he heard that the events were mostly the same, though with less friendly Elders. He also took note that there did not seem to be any mention of Named anywhere.
"Valen?" The voice of Adem broke out of his musing. "Are you alright?"
"I am…" Valen said then paused, hoping for something. "If I say the name Nikki, does it mean something to you?"
"Valen! You're here as well! That is a relief!"
"Yeah… I guess we both know the main difference. I have no idea how it happened. Gimme a minute to examine the rest of the memories."
Adem nodded, which allowed him to do so. It has been a couple years since the investigation on Shara Ishvalda finished, and Valen had been selected by a handler called Alma as the hunter taking charge to lead an expedition in the Forbidden Lands… A place that had not been visited for a millennium. They were currently on a sandship heading towards it.
He examined his gear, he had not been allowed to bring his previous weapons and armors, not having received the same exception that he had in the New World due to being Named, so he was wearing a set called the Hope set, composed of a sturdy green poncho that came with a hoodie covering his head. Another fact that stuck to him was that in this life, it seemed like he did not become a pure Switch Axe user, and was proficient in all weapons… Though he knew that it would be hard to ignore a lifetime of only using one weapon.
Once he felt like he was familiar with his gear and body, he looked at Adem.
"I have no idea how we got ourselves in this situation, and if there is a way to change this… But I think for the time being we should do whatever is required to get this mission to completion."
"I agree." He perked up, his ears pointing towards the door. "I think they are talking about us, we should probably go outside."
"Then let's do so."
The two of them exited their cabin, going into the main deck of the sandship proper, where the rest of the expedition team were waiting for them. There was Alma, his Handler, but also Gemma, who was once known as Little Miss Forge, a legendary blacksmith in the Old World. He now realized that she would be the smith assigned to the whole expedition, but more importantly, that she would accompany him in particular, as he would be the spear of it, the one that would first go into the new areas.
Then there was Nata, the whole reason that they sent such a large team, as before there were only surveys being done in the Forbidden Lands. But the revelation that the Forbidden Lands were inhabited, and may have been for this whole millennium, had caused the Guild to send out a real expedition party, with the main goal of bringing Nata back to his village, and exploring the regions as a bonus.
His fellow members greeted him, and they were speculating about what they would find when suddenly somebody shouted at the side of the ship, and they all rushed to see what was off. That was when Valen saw them.
Two small wyverns, birdlike in appearance, clearly wearing some kind of riding apparatus, were running from a large herd of snake wyverns. The most worrying aspect however was that one of them had a little girl riding on top, and she seemed to be unconscious, only still on the saddle because her mount was making sure she was.
He knew immediately what he had to do. Eyeing the riderless mount, he climbed over the railing and got himself in a good position to jump. He ignored the comments from Alma and Gemma behind him, and once he judged the distance was right, he jumped towards the wyvern, Adem following him.
His aim was true and he landed atop of the saddle, sending the wyvern into distress for a bit before he managed to calm it down and took the reins. He had ridden a Palamute for a bit in this life, and he remembered the experiments about using some small wyverns as mounts in the New World in his previous, but this was unlike any of those. Still, he managed to find his balance and let the wyvern carry him.
They ran for a while, with Adem saving the girl from a quicksand trap that had been created by the snakes after hopping over to the other wyvern to direct it, and Valen managed to snag some sonic bombs from a Noios flying overhead to stun some of the sandy leviathans, but he eventually ran out when there was one last enemy.
Thankfully, they had managed to rejoin the sandship and Gemma was able to throw a Greatsword at him, which he immediately used to slice the wyvern down by jumping from his mount.
As the body of the wyvern fell behind him, he knew that he would in for a lot of excitement in this new life.
The girl eventually woke up, and Valen immediately had to set out to save her brother, who'd gotten separated from her. Valen only took the time to switch his Greatsword for a proper Switch Axe before heading out.
They found him right as he was about to get pummeled by a Chatacabra, an amphibian that definitely liked to use its tongue more than its counterparts. It was a quick fight, Valen having faced much tougher foes in both his lives. Though he had gotten a reminder that he always needed to receive oral permission from Alma before starting a hunt, due to no longer having his status of Named, one of the very few exceptions that would have allowed him the authority to choose his hunts as he seemed fit. It was a system that he hadn't needed to bear with for so long that he forgot it. And they were more lax with that in the New World, the Research Commission being an independent entity from the Guild. But since this expedition was under direct Guild backing, these were the rules he had to deal with.
They brought the man and his mount—that he now knew were called Seikrets—to the base camp that the group had begun establishing while he looked for the girl's missing brother. Both the man, named Y'sai, and his little sister, Nona, apparently came from a village called Kunafa, though to their disappointment the two of them did not know anything about Nata's village.
Once they properly settled, they helped Y'sai fulfill the task that he had originally set out to accomplish before he and his sister got caught by the herd of Balahara, then they headed towards the village, and something completely unexpected happened.
"One more thing which I am sure you understand: the Seikret are precious to our village…" the guard, Zatoh trailed off.
"Then we return them to you at once, we would not intrude on your authority. But tell the trainers that they are incredibly well trained, they did not balk at anything I did," Valen felt like he had to say before dismounting.
The guard did not react to his compliment, but Y'sai seemed like he wanted to protest against the decision.
"I will pass on your words to the other trainers," the guard replied, but before he could lead the Seikrets inside, he paused. Valen noticed the reason half a second later; it seemed like there was a commotion inside the village.
He heard words like "Stop that bird!", "What's gotten it crazy again!?", "It's more trouble than it's worth!"
Then suddenly another Seikret burst out from the gate, and Valen barely had the time to notice the fact that this one had silver colored feathers before he was tackled to the ground in a firm hug, accentuated by the sound and feeling of purring.
"This one!?" Y'sai exclaimed. "She's never let anyone ride her, and is much more intelligent than any other of ours! Heck, she has even figured out how to keep her feathers this silver color, even though we didn't feed her any of the required food! She's been driving us crazy even since she hatched!"
Valen immediately had a suspicion, given exactly what she had just done… And the way she bee-lined for him. In a hushed voice, he whispered a single name, just loud enough that he knew only the Seikret could hear.
"Nikki?" An affirmative chirp was made in response, and she purred even louder. Valen hugged her back as well. They continued the contact for a bit, before he patted her, asking for release. He already knew that there would be questions. Reluctantly, she released him.
"You know what, you can keep this one, she's been more trouble than she is worth, even with her intelligence…" Zatoh said. "Don't bother giving her back once she does the same for you, but consider yourself warned.
Y'sai seemed like he wanted to retort to that, but it was plain on his face that he shared the same sentiment. Nona did not share the same feeling though.
"I am certain they will do great, just look at them!" she said cheerily.
"I have the feeling that I might not have an issue," Valen agreed, having to make sure he won't smile.
Zatoh stared at him for a bit before simply replying.
"Get out." Then he turned around and walked back into the village, followed by Y'sai and Nona after a moment's hesitation.
The group hesitated a bit, but eventually they started walking back towards their base camp, though Nikki still held Valen with one of her wing-arms, hugging him all the while.
And it was only when they were out of earshot that Alma dared to ask Valen.
"Okay, what is up with that Seikret? She hasn't left your side since we met her… Not to mention the fact that you are fine with it. Are you hiding something from me, Valen?"
Valen and Adem exchanged a look, they did not know if they could explain to her the truth… But finding a convincing lie would be just as impossible. He sighed, and looked at Nikki, tapping her side a bit so that she stepped away for a bit, even though reluctantly.
'How long wait?' He signed to her.
'Since hatch,' she responded, which definitely answered the question of whether or not she had been here longer than Valen and Adem, and explained her reaction. She must have been relieved when she recognised his voice. 'I waited long, was losing hope.'
He heard Alma gasp when she signed in response.
"Alma… I am not sure if you noticed, but I am not the same Valen that I was yesterday. This goes as well for Adem. We come from… Let's say an alternative timeline. A timeline where I was not a nomad and where I was not as bloodthirsty. And it was due to how a certain event early in my career happened. Remember that Glavenus hunt?" She nodded. "It turned sour for me. A Seregios invaded and we got demolished. Myla and Edwin died while Flynn was crippled permanently… And I would have died as well if not for the intervention of a third party. A Valstrax."
He proceeded to tell the tale of how this Valstrax saved him, nursed him back to health and stayed a constant companion throughout the rest of his career, being the reason that he had great skills, having a training partner. He also explained what Named were and the responsibilities that they carried back in his world.
"And the name of this Valstrax? Nikki," he said with a smile, turning towards the aforementioned now-Seikret.
"That's… almost unbelievable, but it does explain things… So she's an Elder that reincarnated as a Seikret?" Alma asked, and Valen nodded. "The research possibilities…" She shook her head. "Finding Nata's village and exploring the Forbidden Lands are still the priority. Besides, while I believe you, I was only convinced by her obviously recognizing you back at the gate. I am not certain if the others would accept it."
"Oh don't worry, we won't tell them right away. But I believe she won't restrain herself to normal behavior."
Nikki chirped affirmatively in answer, Adem playing translator for their whole discussion.
"Then we wi-" Alma was cut when they spotted an SOS flare in the distance.
"We will continue this later!" He was about to jump on Nikki's back, but hesitated. He needn't have bothered. Nikki lowered herself and invited him aboard, and did the same for Alma, who did not have a mount otherwise.
Once the two of them were on her back, Adem clinging on her tail, she set off, heading towards the flare.
It ended up being the supply team of Felynes that had been ambushed by a Brute Wyvern called a Quematrice. Adem managed to distract it from pursuing them, and once Valen was able to join in, it was a short affair.
They accompanied the Felynes back to the camp, and the arrival of Nikki and her unusual feather colors definitely attracted the attention of everyone, but after a quick explanation—that this Seikret seemed to want to get out of the village, and would not take no for an answer—they simply let her go out with Valen.
Still, it allowed Gemma to craft a proper saddle, one that allowed her to carry a secondary weapon for Valen… Until Valen noticed that Nikki seemed pensive. Valen had an inkling of what she wanted, so he found an isolated place near the base camp and asked her.
'Not staying idle?' She nodded.
'Fight. Together,' she replied, to which Valen chuckled, then sighed.
'Need oath wield weapons. No exceptions.'
'Then take oath,' she replied.
He nodded, then turned to Adem, who'd quietly followed the two of them.
"Can you go get Alma? We are going to need her for this."
"You got this Valen!" Adem said, grinning in response before running to get her.
It did not take long for him to return with Alma.
"So…" Valen said with a nonchalant voice. "Nikki wants to become a Hunter."
Alma almost tripped at these words.
"What?"
"She won't stay idle and just carry me around. And besides, you know how active Valstrax can get, she may be in a new body, but her attitude won't change." Valen grinned. "It'll also allow me a sparring partner."
Alma still looked flummoxed before she sighed.
"I guess you need her to do the Oath."
"And I needed somebody to confirm it!"
"Alright… Then proceed."
Valen then turned towards Nikki and started signing.
'Repeat: I swear wielding weapons…'
'I swear wielding weapons,' She repeated.
'only protecting ecosystem…'
'only protecting ecosystem…'
'And never against another being, unless for self-defense!' He finished.
'And never against another being, unless for self-defense!' Nikki finished signing after him.
"Not the exact wording and the short version, but I suppose that is due to the limitations of your method of communication?" Alma asked, taking notes, and Valen nodded.
"Best I could manage with her."
"Congratulations then Hunter Nikki! May your hunting career be fruitful!" Alma said, smiling at her. The reincarnated Valstrax chirped in response.
"Now to see which weapons she can wield…" Valen mused.
After a long session in the training area, where the Felyne managing it looked like they were trying hard to treat it as normal circumstances, they figured out that the only weapons Nikki could reasonably make use of were the Bowguns, maybe the Hammer if she used her beak. She attempted for a long while to make the Gunlance work, but eventually had to give up, her body plan truly not working for it. In the end she settled on using the Heavy Bowgun, being not as much bothered by the extra weight, and it was more suited to her claws.
Valen knew that once news came of what she was able to do… He would have to answer more than a few strange questions, but for now? He would not have any other way. The three of them could fight together, and he could not have asked for any other outcome!