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Chapter Text

Prologue
The World of Monster Hunter

The known world is full of countless mystical creatures both big and small. Some are tame, others are feral. Some fight with brute strength, and others use the powers of the elements to deal with foes. These creatures fill each and every corner of the world from the scorching sands of the Wildspire Waste, to the deepest points of the ocean. At first, no one knew how these monsters did any of the things they did. No one knew how the Anjanath could launch flames from its maw, no one knew how the Lagiacrus launched electric bursts, and no one knew that there were horrors far beyond comprehension living in the deepest corners of the world. At least, that was the case until a group of scholars in the city of Dundorma took it upon themselves to study each and every monster in the world. Monstology became one of the most important parts of the lives of those in Dundorma, but there was a problem. There was too great of a risk of injury and harm to scientists by trying to study monsters up close. Without any training or gear, running into a large monster was an almost guaranteed death sentence. Getting dead bodies of humans and monsters alike wasn’t even a question as other monsters would devour corpses almost immediately. So, the Guild was formed.

The Guild’s job is to create hunters to go out and slay monsters. It’s a dangerous job and only the toughest of people get through the final exam. For those who do succeed, it doesn’t get easier. Even with the special equipment and weapons that being a hunter grants, it still has a higher death rate than deep-sea diving. Still, people keep hounding the Academy of Dundorma, trying to get a chance to prove themselves and to join the hunt. Hunters surprisingly don’t just hunt monsters though. They are also field researchers who specialize in examining monsters as they are fighting. They also take time to look at Endemic flora and fauna to bring back to scholars and researchers with better equipment. The Guild has influence all over the world. In what is considered the “Old World” the Guild’s home base of Dundorma resides. In the recently discovered “New World” the Guild has two large bases on the mainland and the large tundra to its side. Even small places like Kamura are under the Guild influence and watch, a method in place to prevent overhunting and poaching. Despite the Guild’s efforts, poaching happens all the time. Rare monster parts, Endemic Life, Weapons, and even living monsters are stolen, hunted, and sold in the black markets, supplied by traitorous hunters. In order to uphold the law, the Guild established the Guild Knights, soldiers spotted by their blood red armor and weapons made for dealing with humans rather than monsters.

Hunters don’t hunt alone, though. Thanks to humanity's need to befriend every small creature, they developed a relationship with a species called the Lynians. Lynians are cat-like creatures with high intelligence. Most are able to understand speech, wield weapons, cook, and make deals and trade. Some Lynians get jobs with the Guild, becoming Palicos. Palicos are hunting partners who assist with healing, traps, extra damage, or just being a distraction for the monster. The bond between a hunter and their Palico is nearly unbreakable with most pairs staying together even after retirement. Hunters are not allowed to hunt whatever they want to in order to keep a sense of balance in the world, so they must answer to a Handler. A Handler is different from place to place. Sometimes one Handler works with a whole village of hunters, and other times one Handler works with one hunter. A Handler’s job is to deal with all the Quests that need hunter assistance. A quest usually deals with a monster destroying, coming close to destroying, or is on its way to destroy something important, like a village or a water mill. Once the Handler gets the quest, the hunter can accept it and begin the journey to whatever monster they need to fight. Hunters take a ridiculous amount of quests every day as each quest means not only a paycheck, but monster materials. The reason hunters are able to stand toe-to-toe with monsters is because they use monster parts to strengthen themselves. Hunters turn monster parts into armor to protect themselves and into weapons to protect others. Thanks to the unique qualities that make up monster biology, wearing armor or using a weapon can provide effects onto the wearer depending on the monster. Hunters found wearing armor from a Rathalos made it easier to dodge attacks and those who wore Beotodus armor found it easier to walk through deep snow. Hunters spend their lives as valiant warriors protecting people against monstrous threats, but their motivation for becoming one can come from the darkest and saddest of places.

Chapter Text

Far past the ancient sand seas of the Great Desert lies a forest that seemed to stretch beyond where the eye could see. In a clearing lay a small village. A wall covered in foliage surrounded the village, hiding it from view of any monsters that called the forest home. The village was sparsely populated, only a measly 70 people, yet they loved it. They called it “Domov”, “Home”. The one who loved it the most, however, was a little girl named Penelope. She was the daughter of the village healer, Adelinne, and her father Arin. Arin was a hunter of the Guild and would usually leave for months at a time on missions. Every time he would bring back a small souvenir from wherever he had just been deployed to. Penelope’s shelves were lined with odd dolls, stones, scales, and nick-knacks from all over the world. Despite Penelope’s love for her home, she would take to exploring beyond the wall of wood and bamboo that covered the village. She’d slip through a small hole and rush into the forest with a sketchbook in hand. She’d find a tree to climb and sit in its branches before watching the forest floor below. Small critters were common, some Brewhares, Antidobras, and even Puppet Spiders, which were her favorite. If she was lucky, she’d find small monsters like Aptanoth or Gowngoats, who’d occasionally move by in their herds. She’d always run back before night fell where the carnivorous monsters would go out on the hunt.

Her main reason for escaping into the forests was to get away from the insistence of her mother to learn how to grow herbs and turn them into medicine. Try as she might, it never made sense to her. The only lessons she enjoyed was when she had to draw and memorize the looks of the plants. The scratch of charcoal on paper was soothing to her and fueled her drive for drawing. She’d spend hours a day drawing things from insects, to monsters, to people, anything that caught her eye. Other children in the village usually left her alone, her dreams of being an artist strange to them as they dreamed of becoming Hunters. This caused a small rift between her and her mother as her mother would try to get her to interact with people more, while she just wanted to draw in peace. After another attempt from her mother to get her to socialize, she grabbed her sketchbook and ran deeper into the forest than she had ever gone. Hiding herself up in a tree, she squeezed her hands over her ears and tried to block out the jeers of the other children once they found out her mother had to force her to talk to people. Their voices seemed to echo in her head, drowning out the natural noise of the forest. She took a shuddering breath and looked up, desperately attempting to not let her tears fall. She had already been called a crybaby when her old sketchbook had been ruined, she didn’t want to give them another reason to keep the cruel nickname. As she stared up at the sky, she gasped in realization at the soft oranges of sunset turning into the deep blues of night. She quickly scrambled down the tree and started to move in the direction she believed home was.

Night fell quickly, enveloping the forest in darkness. Penelope could barely see and rushed forward with new urgency. She froze when she heard a deep crackling noise from the brush behind her. She slowly turned at the now shaking bush, her breath coming out in short gasps. In the few rays of moonlight, she was able to see the neon blue scales of a Velociprey as it stepped out from the bush. Its yellow eyes stared at her, the sharp pupils wide in the dark. It took a step forward, causing Penelope to jump. It snapped its jaws, drool falling from its beak as it rose up and gave a deep call into the rest of the forest. It turned back to her again before giving a small chirp and leaping at her. Penelope fell backwards as the Velociprey sent itself flying above her, crashing into a tree. She quickly got to her feet and started running. She could hear the Velociprey recover and start chasing after her with frenzied rage. As she ran, she desperately called out for help, hoping someone would hear her. She could feel herself start to tire, her legs burned with exertion and her lungs fought for each breath she took. She could see the signature wall of her home in the distance and she pushed her legs as hard as she could. She saw the gate start to open as someone looked out, hearing her screams. As Penelope was about to warn them about the Velociprey, she felt claws dig into her back and send her to the ground. Her mouth filled with dirt as she screamed. The Velociprey dug its talons into her back and raked them down, the blade-like claws cleaving through her flesh with ease. She could feel her hot blood coating her back, spilling freely from the lacerations. Its jaws clamped around her arm, ripping another scream from her throat. Her vision started to go black as the burning pain flowed through her body with each pump of her heart.

The weight flew off her body as someone knocked the Velociprey away with a screech. Someone grabbed her arms and tried to pull her away as whoever knocked the Velociprey away made sure it couldn’t get to her again. She heard voices, but couldn’t fully understand them through the blood pumping in her ears. She managed to look up enough to see who was dragging her back to the village. It was an unfamiliar woman in deep green robes and black-rimmed glasses. She held up an odd green vial to Penelope’s lips and slowly started to drip the contents into her mouth. Penelope wanted to gag at the bitter taste, but her body was too tired to move. She heard someone yell as her body was lifted up and moved with urgency. She could tell by the smell of herbs and mushrooms that they were in her mom’s shop. She felt the pain start to fade and her vision started to clear as whatever the woman had given her started to do its job. Her mother was preparing a large bowl of dark orange sludge with a worried look on her face. She took a breath to steel herself before she started to slather the lacerations with the sludge. Wherever the sludge touched, the feeling on her skin faded to a dull buzzing. The cold seeped into her wounds and cooled down the blistering pain that had been there just moments before. Penelope wanted to fall asleep and let the sensation allow her to drift away when Tylon, one of the Wyverians who lived in the village rushed through the door, arms covered in blood.
“Adalinne, you need to hurry and get both you and your daughter out of here!”
“What,” Adalinne replied, “Why? She needs more medicine and time to rest. She nearly died!”
“I know, but that Velociprey called its pack, the Velocidrome could be here any time now!” He yelled. Before Adelinne could respond, a loud roar echoed through the village. People screamed as the main gate shook with the impact of something large hitting it. Wood splintered as glimpses of blue scales could be seen through the gate. The gate crashed again as more wood and stone fell. The Velocidrome screeched loudly, but as quickly as the attack started, it stopped. The screeches of Velociprey and the Velocidrome turned from angry to scared as something joined them at the other side of the wall. A splatter of bright red blood flew up and landed on the ground as something tore at the monsters. A sickening thump hit the ground followed by the patter of retreating claws before all went silent. A light knock hit the gate three times, echoing in the silence. Everyone stood still, confused and afraid as to what had just happened. A voice came from beyond the wall.
“Really? 5 months away from home and this is the kind of greeting I get? I haven’t gotten a welcome this cold since I spooked a Barioth!” At the sound of the voice, Tylon ran over and opened the gate, revealing a large muscled man holding the carcass of the Velocidrome. He handed it off to some of the men who had gathered and they quickly hauled it away to butcher it. “Gotta say, if you were planning a surprise for me, you may want to do something better than a rampaging Veloci pack.” he said with a laugh. He brushed aside a lock of his brown hair before clapping his hands together. “So, what caused that whole thing to happen? I saw a lot of blood on the ground, did Yoli lose another Gargwa again?” The crowd around him went quiet, some sad, others terrified, and a few glaring in Penelope’s direction. Elsie, one of the younger children, blurted out,
“PENELOPE WENT OUTSIDE THE VILLAGE AND BROUGHT THE MONSTERS HERE AND GOT HURT!!” her mother quickly put her hand over her mouth to stop her from embarrassing herself even more. The man went still before rushing to Adelinne’s shop. Penelope was on the table, almost asleep when he shoved the door open. His face was unreadable as he looked at the long slashes going down her back. The bleeding had slowed thanks to the medicine, but they still slowly leaked small droplets on the wood as Adalinne grabbed more herbs and gauze. She looked up, eyes scattered and hands shaking as he entered. In an instant, he enveloped her in a hug, tears streaming from his eyes.
“How can I help? Both of you, how can I help both of you?” he whispered through his tears. Adalinne returned the hug before pulling away and wiping her tears that had begun to fall as her husband hugged her.
“Please, help everyone else get back to some form of normalcy, I can take care of her.” she said as she grabbed a bundle of gauze and applied pressure to the still bleeding wounds. Penelope winced at the small amount of pain that cut through the numbing feeling that covered her body. Arin moved towards Penelope’s face and gave a small kiss to her forehead.
"Stay strong sweet girl.”

Chapter Text

Many restless nights followed the Veloci attack. Penelope’s wounds were deep and even the strong medicine the strange woman in green robes had brought hadn’t healed as much as she thought. Penelope would awaken to searing pain, the barely healed skin cracking and bleeding as she thrashed on the table. She’d be sedated and dragged down into a dreamless slumber, the dark thick and suffocating as she fought the medicine that kept her under. On the 23rd day after the Veloci attack, she awoke to only minor pain. Her body was covered in fresh bandages and empty cups and vials of medicine lined the ground around the bed she had been moved to. She turned her head, the small movement sending her vision spinning to look to the side. Her mother was mixing another jar of medicine together. Her eyes were dark with the shadow of sleepless nights. As she turned to face Penelope, she gasped, dropping the bowl to the floor. In an instant, her arms were wrapped around her daughter, being careful to not touch the bandages. The smell of medicinal herbs clung to her body, but Penelope could still detect the scent of the cardamom perfume she always wore. Releasing her from the hug, Adalinne started asking all sorts of questions about how she was feeling, where it still hurt, and what she had been doing outside the wall. Penelope lied, not wanting her to feel guilty about her leaving, so she said that she had seen a Gargwa escaping from a small hole and tried to follow it. Adelinne sighed before looking Penelope in the eyes.
“Penelope Lenore Maddison, if you ever do that to me again I will burn your sketchbook and feed you to a Bullfango.” she said with a glare. She looked down at the bandages wrapped around Penelope’s body and her eyes softened. She pulled Penelope back into another hug, tears falling from her eyes. They stayed there for a while, Adelinne’s fear of almost losing her daughter clear as she held her tight. Adalinne slowly released Penelope from the hug, wiping a few tears from her eyes as she did.
“Now I know sleep is probably the least appealing thing right now, but once you get some food and water in you, you need to rest, okay dear?”
“Yes momma,” Penelope replied while stifling a yawn.

Months passed as Penelope slowly recovered. What once were large bleeding slashes were now three light pink stripes gliding down her back. The other smaller bites and scratches had healed without scarring, but the deepest slashes had left their mark. Penelope’s life returned to some form of normalcy. She continued her lessons with her mother and her late night talks with her father. He regaled her with his adventures against monsters of all shapes and sizes. Penelope was sure he was making some of them up, but she believed them anyway. The children in the village seemed to avoid her, her exploits deeming her as a bad luck charm to them. So whenever she wasn’t in lessons, who would draw. She made a replica of her father’s journal about the monsters he faced. She added the creatures and plants she had seen around the village and the surrounding forest with the idea that she was making a guide to help future hunters that could help her village. The thought gave her pride and made her strive to draw even more. Penelope was sitting on a large rock in the center town when someone knocked on the main gate. Arin unlocked it and hugged the woman in green with a laugh. Penelope remembered her and the strange potion she had given her on the night of the attack. Arin walked her over to Penelope and she introduced herself as Sophia, the Guildmarm. She was a representative of the Guild who went around to the smaller villages who only had a few hunters and made sure everything was okay. She seemed distressed, and both Penelope and Arin could tell. When Arin asked what was on her mind, Sophia said that the Guild was dispatching a Master Rank Hunter to their village to assist in the coming attack. Penelope was caught off guard. She knew her father, even as a low rank had fought beasts straight out of her nightmares, but a Master Rank Hunter meant something cataclysmic was going to happen. Sophia explained that every 10 years, Elder Dragons from all over the world converged to a specific point in the New World, destroying all in their path. Researchers had discovered that their home was in the path of Kushala Daora, a mighty dragon made of steel whose wings could control the very wind itself. Sophia mentioned that the Hunter was only a few days away, but so was the Kushala. She then left by calling a wingdrake to take her back to her camp nearby where some researchers would record the Elder Dragon’s wind readings. Arin immediately got to work yelling at folks to start bringing stored food and water into the shelters built underground.

The next few days were a hectic blur as people tried to collect all their belongings and fit them into their shelters before the dragon arrived. Penelope could see the clouds in the distance darken as the days grew on. As Penelope grabbed a barrel of water, the wind started to pick up. At first it only shook branches, then it started ripping the wood off of walls. People screamed and ducked, hiding wherever they could as the wind seemed to tear at the buildings they had spent so long building. Arin grabbed her and brought her into their home as a piece of wood impaled the barrel like a spear. As they hid, a piercing screech echoed from the dark clouds as something crashed to the ground. As the dust settled, Arin gasped at the large green and yellow bear that was thrashing weakly on the ground, blood pooling from thousands of cuts and stab wounds. The screech sounded again as a large shape crashed down on top of the dying monster. It was a large dragon covered in gleaming grey scales akin to weathered metal. The very wind seemed to distort and cover its body like a carapace. As it let loose another roar, Arin whispered its name.
“Kushala Daora,” He shuddered, “And the hunter isn’t here, Dammit!” He glared at the dragon as it looked at the few people left unguarded with mock interest. Deval, a self-proclaimed Hunter yelled as he threw a spear of wood at the beast. Before it got within a foot of its scales, it shot off course and shattered against a rock. The Kushala glared at him before waving its wing in his direction. In an instant, a small tornado formed and went crashing through him and the home behind him. Penelope covered her ears as she heard the screams of the people inside. Arin looked between Penelope and the Kushala, indecision in his eyes. He heard Adalinne scream as he looked up. The Kushala had ripped open the roof of the home she was in, her body covering a group of children that hadn’t gotten in the shelter in time. The Kuslaha snaked its head down, tongue flipping through its lips before opening its jaws wide. Arin grabbed Penelope and pushed her head in his chest while covering her ears. The snap as its jaws closed around flesh and bone echoed through the village, sending even more fear in the hearts of its occupants. Arin felt hot tears spill down his face as he stared into the distance. The Kushala roared again, blood flying from its lips, as its wings destroyed two more homes. Arin took a deep breath in and looked at Penelope shivering in his arms. He detached the bracelet that he had worn since his first mission and tied it around Penelope’s wrist. Penelope looked up in confusion before he moved her back and underneath a metal storage container meant for grain. He gave her hand a small squeeze before saying.
“I love you, Lovebug, stay strong for us.” Before Penelope could respond, He snapped down the metal guard of his helmet and unsheathed his Sword. Running out, he yelled at the Kushala as it launched a tree through the village hall. It turned, interest in its eyes as he brandished his blade at it. Sharp stones and wood flew around the dragon, yet Arin ran forward, shield held high as debris clanged into it. He slashed down on the dragon's scales, wincing as his sword slid across with only sparks to show his effort. He rolled as its claw slammed down on the ground, leaving a deep crater at the impact. The wind stormed with even more fury as it ripped through what remained of the nearby houses. Penelope screamed as a boulder crashed through the wall and landed right beside where she was hiding. The Kushala roared as lightning screamed across the sky. It sent a beam of wind that slashed through multiple trees and sent them crashing to the ground. Arin slid underneath its stomach, sword slashing and sliding across its scales with no effect. He turned, eyes wide as the Kushala rammed his body with its tail, sending him down to the ground. Arin clutched his stomach, his armor crumpled inwards where the tail had impacted. He looked up in terror as the Kushala slowly approached, its claws raking across the ground. He struggled to stand up before it placed one giant paw on top of his chest, deliberately not using enough force to crush him. Arin yelled out in pain as his crushed armor pushed further into his chest. The Kushala stared at him, an almost amused expression on its face. Arin glared up at it as he slowly removed a red tube from his pocket and placed it into his Slinger. He pulled back the crossbows string and held his fist to the air before pulling down on the small lever. A bright red flare shot upwards and into the clouds, its red glow bathing the ground like a dying sun. In the distance, a bright golden flare shot up in response, and Arin smiled. The Kushala glared at the flares before turning down towards Arin. It pushed further with its claw, the sharp bone piercing through Arin’s armor. He let out a scream as the Kushala pushed further and further. Penelope closed her eyes and ears to not hear her father’s last breath as the Kushala forced its paw through his armor and out through his back.

Tears were falling from Penelope’s face as she stared down at the ground, the world swimming underneath her. The Kushala pulled its paw out from Arin’s corpse, its jaws shoving the body off when it got stuck on its claw. Penelope stared at the ground and tried counting the small ridges she could see. She could swear they were moving as her vision blurred with tears. She felt the shelf she was under disappear, and she slowly looked up. The Kushala dropped the shelf off to the side before staring at her. Penelope’s heart pumped in her ears as she stared up at the beast. Blood dripped from its claw and jaw as it glared down, eyes full of malice. It opened its mouth, clearly ready to devour her, before it turned in the direction of the golden flare. Its ears twitched, and Penelope tried to hear over the roaring wind. She could hear a small voice yelling something. In a flash, a small creature in black spikey armor crashed into the Kushala’s face, a small sword stabbing repeatedly into its snout before it jumped away. It landed in front of Penelope, and she gasped. It was a cat with bright orange fur and delicate brown stripes. She had heard of Lynians before, but had never seen one in real life. The Kushala shook its head before roaring, but something was different. From the slashes on its snout and from its mouth, a viscous purple liquid started to spill. Instantly, the wind around its body started to die down as poison coursed through its veins. Penelope heard the clanking of armor and turned. A woman in similar spiked armor with short pink hair was running in with a large lance covered in gold scales. She spun the lance and a small barrel poked out of the front, launching an explosive directly into the Kushala’s face. She held her shield up as it whipped its tail at her, the gleaming metal deflecting the tail with ease. Rushing forward, she spun the lance again, the barrel replacing itself with a wicked blade. She slammed the blade down and severed the Kushala’s tail with ease. It fell to the ground with a wet thump, the sound overshadowed by the Kushala’s scream. It rammed its face into the woman's shield in desperate thrashing. It slammed down over and over again, pushing the woman further and further back. The Lynian ran forwards and sliced underneath its arms, the sharp blade cleaving through the muscle with ease. The Kushala crashed to the ground as its arms failed to work. Its jaw snapped as it tried to attack the woman in its final moments. With a grunt, the woman pierced its skull with the lance, the barrel pushing deep into the skull and launching a shell deep into its brain matter. The shell exploded, sending small bits of the Kushala’s skull in the air as the wind dissipated.

The woman wiped the remains of the dragon from her brow before setting her lance to the ground. Pulling out a knife, she sliced down its neck, smiling as she pulled out a gleaming grey gem. She then looked around at the carnage, stopping as she noticed Arin’s dead body. The Lynian turned and noticed Penelope. It ran over, concern in its eyes. It introduced itself as Alani and asked if she was okay. Penelope froze, the reality of what had just happened washing over her. Her home was gone. Her friends, her family, everything she had known had been wiped out in an instant. Alani quickly removed her armor and shoved her fluffy body into Penelope’s arms. Penelope tried to match her quickening breathing to the rise and fall of Alani’s chest. She started when the woman walked over, her boots crunching on the ground. She met eyes with Alani, and an understanding passed between them. Alani gasped slightly before turning back to Penelope.
“Oh, poor child,” she whispered in her squeaky voice. The woman kneeled down and looked at Penelope. Now that she was closer, she could see the dusting of freckles on her face similar to her own. The woman paused, as if she was unsure of what to say. She looked down before looking back at Penelope.
“I’m going to be honest, there is no easy way I can say this but, I think you’re the only one left here,” she said, her eyes full of deep sadness. She paused, waiting for a reaction from Penelope. She merely looked down, eyes watery. She knew it already, but it seemed to hurt more getting confirmation from someone else. At Penelope’s silence, she continued. “People are already coming over to do a better check to survivors, and to help you find a safe place to live.”
“NO!” Penelope yelled, shocking the woman and Alani. “I don’t want to be taken to some safe house for the rest of my life! I want to make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else!” She froze, breathing heavily after her outburst. She looked up at the woman, scared of her reaction, but she was smiling.
“Now that’s an attitude that’ll get you somewhere kid!” She said as she stood. “The name’s Vari, and I think you’ll make a wonderful hunter.” She held her hand out in invitation. Penelope paused, her gaze looking over the destroyed village. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed Vari’s hand, ready to start her new journey.

Chapter Text

The days that followed passed in an instant as Penelope was taken by airship to Vari’s home base, Astera. It was more a city than a base with its sprawling walkways crowded with people buying, selling, and creating different kinds of goods. She was shocked when she saw a small, elderly Wyverian man atop a mountain of books. She knew that Wyverian’s shrunk with age, but she had never seen one old enough to be shorter than her. Sticking close to Vari, she walked though the crowded streets. Hunters and shopowners alike called out to Vari in joy as she walked by. A hunter with a ginger mohawk ran over and gave Vari a high five that echoed with a clap. He started talking quickly and excitedly about a monster he had fought recently, a Frostfang Barioth. Vari joked about the frost that clung to his armor still and he brushed it off sheepishly. Their conversation was cut short when a large man with a sleeveless jacket and long, bushy white hair slammed an arm down over each hunter with a laugh. As they talked, Penelope thought the man looked like the picture of a Rajang that her father had shown her. She was lost in thought trying to remember the details, only to snap out of it when she realized the large man was staring at her. His face held a shocked smile as he said,
“Vari! I didn’t know you had a kid! What’s yer name squirt?” His jovial voice boomed, causing a few bystanders to turn and look.
“No, nonono, don’t jump to conclusions Admiral, she’s my new trainee, not my kid. Her name is Penelope and she was… found, at my last mission.” Vari said quickly. The Admiral seemed to deflate a bit before getting excited again.
“Well, it’s always good to have a new hunter! Nice to meet ya squirt, you can call me the Admiral!” He clapped a giant hand on Penelope’s shoulder, nearly sending her to the ground. He hastily apologies, but his next words were drowned out by a horn from up above. He smiled before waving and following a group of Hunters heading up a large lift. As he left, the other man shook Penelope’s hand.
“You probably couldn’t hear me over the big guy’s yelling, but I’m Aiden, nice to meet ya!” He smiled before adjusting his armor, frost breaking with a sharp snap. “I’d love to stay and chat all day, but I have to head out again. A low-ranker managed to get trapped in a Rath nest and I gotta go save him. See ya!” he said as he whistled to the sky. A blue and yellow Wingdrake flew overhead and he launched the hook of his slinger for it to catch. Penelope watched in awe as he was whisked away, already being taken to his next mission. She felt Vari’s hand tap her shoulder, so she looked back to see a young man with black hair pulled into a ponytail next to an older man with very short grey hair. The younger man greeted Vari with a smile while the older man stared down at Penelope. His gaze was intense, calculating, like she was being tested. Vari introduced the younger man as Matt, the Field Team Leader, and the older man as The Commander. The Commander kept staring, his eyes searching for something. Suddenly, his eyes lit up slightly.
“You’re in.” he said, his voice low and gravely from years of yelling out orders.
“Huh?” Penelope asked, caught completely off guard.
“I said, you’re in. Your training starts a week from today with Vari.” He said as he moved back to a large table covered in important-looking documents. Penelope looked up at Vari who was very excited.
“YES! I finally have a trainee! You’re going to love it here! Come on, I’ll show you to the sleeping quarters.” Vari said as she grabbed Penelope’s arm and led her down a long street.

Years passed as Penelope trained on how to be a Hunter. Her first hurdle was learning the weapons. She struggled at first. She wasn’t strong enough to heft up a Great Sword nor a Hammer. The recoil of the Bowguns sent her crashing to the floor. She even shot a hole through Vari’s cape the first time she used a bow. Her biggest mistake was when she slipped while holding Dual Blades and sent a sabre flying and chopped a few inches of fur off of Alani. She managed to use them effectively with time, but the weapon that fit her the best was the Charge Blade. It reminded her of her father’s Sword and Shield but much larger. She was especially excited to learn that the two could combine into a large axe. Even after training, her first hunt was a disaster. A Great Jagras, a large monster akin to a yellow lizard, chased her all the way from its nest and back to Astera, all while Vari laughed. AS she started to learn more and more about what it meant to be a hunter, she slowly started to rise the ranks. She fought the blazing Raths in the Ancient Forest, screaming Diablos in the Wildspire Waste, graceful Legiana in the Coral Highlands, and savage Odogarons in the Rotten Vale. After she had risen up, she graduated from Low to High Rank, now getting access to the Elders Recess. A molten arena full of brilliant crystals and dangerous Elder Dragons awaited her.

When Vari was off finding something called the Old Everwyrm, Penelope was given a quest from the Commander. She would have to face three Elder Dragons. Kirin, a Unicorn-esque Elder Dragon whose horn could summon lightning from the skies. Teostra, a large lion-like Elder Dragon that launched clouds of explosive powder only to explode them using its teeth to create sparks, and Nergigante, a massive Elder Dragon covered in sharp thorns that regenerated whenever they were broken off. The quest was tough. The Kirin’s lightning shot through the recess as it galloped after her in a rage. She managed to break its horn which left it without its main form of defense. Teostra hid in the depths of the volcanic region, but with enough barrel bombs, she was able to slay it before it knew she was there. Nergigante was different. It rushed at her with feral rage. It used the thorns on its arms to grab and shove away Penelope’s weapon as she slashed at it. It had managed to ram her into a large crystal, its horns on either side of her. Looking up, she saw a large piece of crystal barely attached to the ceiling. She managed to lift her arm up enough to launch a shard of Crystalburst at the piece. The crystal came crashing down upon the Nergigante, crushing it down on the floor. Quickly, Penelope unsheathed her knife and stabbed it in its now vulnerable skull, slaying it. After she managed to inch herself out of the rubble, she had to pull out splintered thorns from her arms. She muttered insults at the dead body, flicking the splinters at it whenever she pulled it out. When she arrived back at Astera, a huge celebration was already in place. Asking around, she learned that a team of Hunters including Vari had managed to slay the Old Everwyrm, a beast known as Shara Ishvalda. The Commander was standing at the main table looking over the festivities pridefully. Once he saw Penelope pushing through the crowd, he motioned her towards the table. After almost getting clocked in the head with a flying tankard, she set the completed mission slip on the desk. The Commander looked down at the piece of parchment before meeting Penelope’s eyes. He held a look of pride as he held his hand out and said,
“Welcome to Master Rank, Penelope.”

Shocked, Penelope shook his hand, the implications swimming in her mind. She had risen beyond some Hunter’s wildest dreams. She moved her hand away, surprised to see something in her hand. It was her Hunter card, newly gilded in the opalescent white of the Master Rank Hunters. “Enjoy the party, but make sure to join Vari to Seleana on her next mission as you’ll be joining her.” He smiled before looking behind her and moving slightly to the left. Confused, Penelope turned only to be sent crashing to the floor as a slightly tipsy Vari tackled her with a hug. She was spouting about how proud she was between hiccups and drunken giggles. Alani helped Penelope slide out from underneath her mentor, sighing at the display.
“Apologies, she always drinks after a giant fight.” Alani said as she tried to lift Vari from the ground. “Anyways, you should get some food then some rest, we’re heading to Seliana tomorrow, at least, if Vari isn’t too hung over.” she continued as Aiden helped Vari up. They started to leave for Vari's home after saying their goodbyes to Penelope. Penelope managed to get some dinner at the courtesy of the Meowscular Chef before heading back to the barracks. She slept well that night, the battles of the day tiring her out to the point of a dreamless slumber. She was awoken by the bells of Astera ringing as the work day fully started for most of the researchers and smiths. After equipping her new Teostra armor, she headed out towards the new airship that had docked during the night. A very tired-looking Vari was sitting on a large wooden box while sipping from a green flask. Alani was next to her, chastising her about drinking too much. Penelope joined them, the conversation switching to one of excitement. Seliana was located on an island across the sea from Astera called the Hoarfrost Reach and was so dangerous that only Master Rank hunters were allowed to enter there. Once the airship was up and running, the week-long journey to Seliana started. Penelope spent most of the time on the main deck sketching the Elder Dragons she had fought or any aquatic monsters that could be seen in the murky water below. The airship nearly ran off course when a black and red Wyvern sped past them in a blur, sending a wave of wind that nearly capsized the vessel. Penelope was ecstatic. She had never seen a Valstrax before and excitedly got to work trying to draw down all the blurry details she had been able to see. It wasn’t long before the air chilled and frost coated the deck. Penelope was handed a fluffy coat as the ship started to descend. After a flurry of snow blew by, Penelope could see the large camp that had been set up. A large furnace was in the center, smoke bellowing from the smokestacks on top. Palicos ran to and fro carrying large clusters of coal. Many people walked around with Popo’s carrying multiple crates of supplies from other sides of the camp. As the ship docked, Vari quickly grabbed Penelope’s hand and rushed to one of the buildings. It was a large circular building shaped like a soup pot. The air smelled of delicious meats and sauces that bubbled in a large cauldron in the center. Standing near the lid was a large Palico wrapped in adorable clothes that looked like they belonged to an old woman. She adjusted her small glasses as she added a sprinkle of seasoning to the pot before looking at it in approval. Turning, she smiled as Vari walked up. She introduced herself as the Grandmeowster Chef and a close friend of Vari’s. Before they could talk further, a large gong sounded, sending all hunters to their feet. They all looked nervous. Penelope heard her and Vari’s name as well as two others she couldn’t identify as someone told them to head for the mission table. Vari led her to an important-looking building tucked into a corner of Seliana. In the building was The Admiral, Matt, and two other people. A woman with goggles and stark white hair and a Wyverian man with braided black hair and a thin stubble upon his face. Next to Penelope stood a Hunter with a Long Sword on his back, his blue Legiana armor glinting in the evening light. Another hunter ran up, her dark skin glistening with sweat and armor half on as she adjusted the large Hammer on her back. The Wyverian man introduced himself as The Seeker and the woman as The Tracker. He then introduced the other hunters as Hana and Flint. After the introductions, his face turned grave. He talked of a dangerous mission that had just popped up and that they weren’t allowed to talk about. A Black Dragon had been spotted in a cave deep in the Guiding Lands known as the Secluded Valley. Penelope paled. She had known that Black Dragons were creatures that defied every known law of the world. Their power was immense, their powers enough to bring entire kingdoms to their knees with ease. The only good part of the stories were that they were just that, stories. Penelope started to shake, not from cold, but from fear. The Seeker continued that the dragon was known as Alatreon, the King of the Elements. Its horns could trap the very power of the world and change it to its will. Controlling ice, fire, water, lightning, and the ever dangerous dragon element, it was known to be virtually unstoppable. Penelope was concerned, but looking at the other Hunters, they were confident. Hana had fixed her armor and was now leaning on her Hammer, smiling as The Seeker described the creature’s strength. Flint was calmly sharpening his longsword, uninterested. Vari was looking at Penelope. She smiled as if to calm her worries before saying.
“Penny and I accept, we’ll be part of the team that takes Alatreon down.” Hana and Flint swiftly agreed, and all was settled. Come tomorrow, they would face a creature of legend.

Chapter Text

The airship ride to the Guiding Lands was quiet in anticipation. Even though the crew chatted in hushed whispers, the dead silence of the Hunters seemed to drown everything out. Penelope already knew that Flint didn’t approve of a brand new Master Rank Hunter joining them, his glare cutting through his helmet as he sharpened his blade. Hana didn’t seem to care as much, only telling Penelope to let her take the head. At Penelope’s confusion, she quickly mentioned that she meant that as a Hammer user, her role was to hit the head and hopefully stun the monster. Before she could explain more, the air shifted. It suddenly grew acrid, a burning stench rising up to the airship. It was close. They were hovering over a massive island that Penelope was surprised to see was divided into multiple sections that look uncannily like the environments around Astera. The airship landed near a camp that had been set up some time ago. It was near a deep hole covered in strange white strips that looked like shed skin from a large monster. Flint wasted no time calling a Wingdrake and flying into the crevice. The other Hunters quickly followed. The burning scent was stronger as they delved deeper. More and more pieces of shed skin lined the walls, the sheets dry and cracking in the wind. Penelope turned as Hana yelped and gasped. A large black shape sped by, sending a wave of wind rushing through the cavern. The Wingdrakes spun as they were ripped around by the sudden blast of air, nearly sending the Hunters into the spike-covered walls. They managed to land on the bottom before the Wingdrakes were sent flying as another blast of wind echoed through the crevice. Frost covered the ground and walls, the cold piercing through their armor. A haze of frosty air hung, obscuring something that slowly stepped forwards. Twin horns broke through the frost as Alatreon moved slowly towards the Hunters. The frost slid across its black scales that hummed with a deep blue energy. In an instant, the energy in the room started to shift. Alatreon’s scales started to glow with a bright orange from underneath. Flames launched from its jaws and scorched the earth as it took flight, throwing flames around in reckless abandon. The pieces of shed skin lit aflame, dropping boiling globs down like burning rain. After its display, Alatreon landed with a crash, sending shards of crystal flying. It turned and stared at them, as if expecting them to run in terror. Penelope focused instead on a large cluster of spikey scales that jutted from its chest. It pulled at a memory, but she just couldn’t place it. As she looked up at the rest of its body and to its giant horns, it clicked. When Tylon had told old stories passed down from his ancestors, he mentioned one about Reverse Scales. Unlike normal monster scales that laid neatly together like armor, Reverse Scales jutted to the heavens with a sharp point. Some monsters were born with one or two reverse scales, and touching it would drive it into a rage until it had bathed in the blood of a thousand humans. Penelope wondered why that memory had come up, but she gasped when she looked at Alatreon again. It was covered in nothing but Reverse Scales.

With a screech, Alatreon launched a fireball, and the fight had begun. Hana ran directly for its face, her Hammer knocking incoming fireballs away. Flint launched himself forward, Long Sword glowing as it sparked across Alatreon's scales. Vari smiled before launching a shell directly into Alatreon’s mouth. It roared through the explosion and turned towards Vari, hate gleaming in its eyes. Blue lightning gathered in its horns as multiple areas around the room glowed. Penelope remembered her encounter with the Kirin and quickly dodged out of the way as a rain of lightning crashed down, nearly splitting the earth beneath it. She kept running from the roll and rushed to Alatreon’s side. Revving up her Charge Blade, she rammed it into its hind leg. The blade itself couldn’t cut through the scales, but the fiery energy of Teostra raced through and echoed through its body. Penelope smiled until she noticed the small cracks in the scales healing as the wave of flames blew over them. She quickly put her shield up as Alatreon’s claw came down upon her, claws scraping across the metal before sending her flying. She landed next to Flint, who looked down at her with concern.
“C’mon kid, get up! It can’t be hurt with fire right now so focus on staying safe and staying alive. I got this.” he said before rushing towards Alatreon. Every slash left frost against its scales as dark red blood slowly oozed out from between its scales. Alatreon roared as the icy blade raked down on its body before seeming to close its body. Flaming energy seemed to be pulled from every corner of the room as it seemed to charge up. Before it could release the gathered energy, Vari launched a blast of freezing Wyvernsfire from her Gunlance, knocking Alatreon to the ground. As the other Hunters ran to continue beating the beast, Penelope focused on healing the others with Lifepowders and boosting their defenses with Adamant Berries. Alatreon slowly stood up, screeching as it threw Hana off of its horns. The heat seemed to be sucked away from the room as Alatreon’s scales shifted to the cool blue from before. When it roared again, Penelope braced for a fireball only to be struck with a spear of ice. Icicles bigger than the Admiral started to fall from the sky, shattering as they crashed to the ground. Penelope watched as Vari and Flint went on the defensive as Alatreon sent volleys of ice at them. Penelope ran forward, the heat of her weapon a beacon in the freezing air. She was surprised as her blade cracked through black scales and dug into Alatreon’s flesh. Alatreon screamed before creating a whirlwind of frost around itself that blasted the Hunters back. Vari stood back up immediately and quickly shook off a sheet of ice from her shield.
“Alright Penny, you’re the only one with a fire weapon here. Hana can keep attacking the head, but we can’t do much except distract it. It’s up to you to contain its power. I believe in you!” She yelled as she ran back into the fight. Vari and Flint dodged and blocked attacks to keep Alatreon open as Hana rammed her Hammer over and over again into Alatreon’s skull. Penelope followed, sword alight in flames before transforming it into the axe mode. The spinning blade left deep slashes in Alatreon’s flesh. Every time she would almost get hit, Vari would be there with her shield. Alatreon grew more enraged, tail slamming the ground as red draconic energy started to pulse from its veins. Once again, it pulled its wings in, freezing energy gathering in its chest as Penelope struck it again and again. Swapping back to sword mode, Penelope made the mistake of looking at its eyes. They were blood red with a yellow twinge around the slitted pupils, but that wasn’t what stopped her. It was the look of fear in its eyes.

Shocked, Penelope felt her sword slip from her grasp and clatter to the ground. Instantly, Alatreon’s eyes changed to a look of rage as its horns crackled with a blinding white energy. Vari grabbed Penelope by the hand and rushed her towards the edge of the arena where Hana had already set some Healing Boosters on the ground. The ground quaked as an unholy bolt of energy struck down, slamming into Alatreon’s horns. Vari yelled out as Flint continued to attack Alatreon with his small Hunting Dagger. He looked up at Alatreon as he realized that it wasn’t stopping its charge. He turned tail and ran towards the Healing Boosters. Through the pale green smoke, Penelope could see a bleeding gash on his leg, inhibiting his movements. Before she could do anything, Vari threw her behind her shield as Alatreon unleashed its gathered energy. A flash of blinding light shot through the area as Alatreon’s power crashed down upon them. Despite the enhanced regeneration from the Boosters, Penelope still screamed in pain as her skin burned underneath encrusted frost. Lightning echoed through her body in a rage as it sparked and sputtered through the air. Once the pain had started to fade, Penelope opened her eyes. The ground was encrusted with frost still glowing with energy. Vari and Hana were both covered in small cuts and burns that were being healed by the Boosters. Penelope looked out beyond Vari’s shield and gasped. Flint was on the floor, armor shredded and blood frozen to the ground. Black draconic lightning echoed through a large wound on his chest that still smoked from flames. He was still breathing, his breaths coming in short gasps and leaving white puffs of smoke in the freezing air. Penelope felt dread rise up in her. She had failed. Her job was to keep Alatreon’s power contained, but she didn’t. She let a fellow hunter get seriously hurt from her own mistake. Before she could fall deeper into her own thoughts, Hana ran forwards, yelling as her Hammer absorbed the residual energy from Alatreon’s attack. Vari rushed forwards, her Gunlance launching shells at Alatreon as it slowly recovered from the flux of energy. Penelope only joined when she saw Flint being carried away by some Palicoes. One of them threw her a different Charge Blade. It was pitch black with metallic silver spines jutting from it. It looked similar to the Nergigante she had fought, but she didn’t have time to examine it. Alatreon’s scales glowed a blood red as it roared once more. Bright red lightning struck all around the area, driving deep into the ground with a thunderous crack. Running forward, Penelope felt the Charge Blade spin with a hungry glow in the red lights. With a slash, she felt the blade cleave through scale and flesh and leave an angry bleeding wound that dripped Alatreon’s glowing blood to the ground. Screeching, Alatreon turned around before getting struck by Hana’s Hammer. A resounding crunch filled the room as one of Alatreon’s prized horns clattered to the ground, revealing the glowing purple bone inside. The mood of the fight shifted as Alatreon tried to right itself. They were going to win. Vari and Penelope struck at its legs with a whirl of attacks. Removing any chance it had at moving as Hana slammed attack after attack at its remaining horn. Even when Alatreon would get an attack off, Penelope’s shield blocked it with ease as the Black Dragon thrashed wildly. Alatreon screeched again, its now broken wings desperately trying to fly away as Hana grew even more reckless with her strikes. As Alatreon reared it head back, Hana jumped onto Vari’s shield and leapt off. Time seemed to freeze as her Hammer glowed with righteous fury before slamming into Alatreon’s face. The beast was sent to the ground, Hana’s Hammer pulverizing its skull and leaving it a mangled mess in a crater. Alatreon’s body swiftly fell, the corpse hitting the earth with a dull thump before the only sounds were the small fires that were still burning around the area.

Chapter Text

Penelope smiled as Hana and Vari cheered, but she couldn’t find her voice. Her legs shook with exertion before she fell to her knees. Breathing heavily, she saw a group of wingdrakes and a small airship slowly flew down to greet them. Alice, Vari’s Handler and wife, quickly ran over and crushed Vari in a hug while spouting about everything she had seen while at the top of the Valley. Matt landed right next to the body, looking at the dead dragon with awe as a group of researchers quickly gathered around it. Coco, Penelope’s Handler, was looking around before locking eyes with her. Coco ran up to her before signing something too fast for Penelope to read correctly. Seeing the lack of understanding in her eyes, Coco repeated what she signed.
“Are you okay? I can get the healers over here if you need.”
“Oh, no I’m fine,” Penelope said as she brushed some frost from her leg. “Just a bit shaken up from that.” Coco glared at her, and Penelope quickly signed what she had said, thoroughly embarrassed. Smiling, Coco signed,
“Understood you the first time, dummy” before turning towards Alatreon. Her gaze held childlike wonder as one of the researchers held part of its wing up, the light from the lanterns being dyed purple through the thin flesh. SOme of the other researchers let loose noises of discontent as Hana carved into Alatreon’s body and ripped out some scales and a Riptalon before turning back to her Handler. Vari also carved at the monster’s horn, managing to get a much rarer Pallium from it. Since Flint was in recovery, Penelope went next. She noticed a strange glint from underneath the mess of chest spikes and carved through them until she found a dark blue gem glowing with uncontrollable energy that begged to be released. One of the researchers recognized it as an Azure Dragonsphire, the main conduit of Alatreon’s powers that heralds the end of the world in most legends. Before the other researchers could swarm her, Matt ordered them to head back to Seliana to continue the research and so the Hunters could rest. The airship ride back to Seliana was uneventful.

The Hunters spent most of the time in recovery, their bodies pushed to their limit against the Black Dragon. Despite the time she had to rest, all Penelope could really think of was Flint. He had gotten seriously injured because she wasn’t strong enough. She couldn’t hit Alatreon when it mattered most. She had failed everyone. Sure, they had won, but it didn’t matter. She was the reason someone had nearly died. Vari and Coco could tell something was wrong, but neither could tell what. When they arrived at Seliana, a celebration was already up and running. Fireworks were launched as the Canteen glowed as the Grandmeowster served up plates upon plates of the finest dishes she knew. Hunters that Penelope didn’t know would come up to her, congratulating her and complimenting her for a great job, but Penelope couldn’t understand why. She put on a fake smile to hopefully keep Vari and Coco from worrying. The celebration lasted long into the night and into the next day. Penelope left as soon as she knew no one would be watching her and holed herself up in her new room. After placing her gear aside and flopping onto her bed, she pulled out the Dragonsphire. The gem let a deep blue glow that pulsed as the energy inside swirled. It was warm in her hand, comforting even. As she stared, flashes from the fight filled her mind. Every mistake, every misstep, everything she did even remotely wrong replayed in her head, her mood souring with each passing moment. Placing the gem in her desk, she bundled herself up in blankets, shivering in the cool air that seemed to be everywhere in Seliana. As she fell asleep, she vowed to herself that she’d only go on missions alone, so that no one else would get hurt due to her own mistakes.

Some people were confused, the usually sociable Penelope suddenly becoming closed off and only going on solo missions. Because she was going solo, she gained a lot more reputation for each hunt. Her rank slowly rose as she slashed through stronger and stronger foes. The Azure Dragonsphire had been used to create a brand new charge blade, the Alatreon Morphblade. The red energy struck through Elders like a strike from a god. Even monsters that others had only heard about like Ruiner Nergigante and Furious Rajang were nothing compared to her and her weapon. Since she was a Master Rank 120 Hunter, she was required to work from Astera since Vari was stationed at Seliana. She had been sent to fight a group of rampaging Seething Bazelgeuse that had popped up in the Guiding Lands when a worldwide alert rang out. While she was dodging explosive scales and body slams from the dragons, Coco received a letter etched with the blood red symbol of a dire emergency. It had already been seven months since the last one had gone out, that being Alatreon, so people were worried more than usual when a new message came out. Penelope managed to capture two of the dragons before they started to fly away, their explosive scales depleted as they retreated. While she wasn’t able to stop them permanently, she was at least able to keep them away from the research camp they had nearly destroyed. Upon returning to camp, Penelope froze when she saw the look of horror on Coco’s face. When Penelope asked what had happened, Coco merely signed that they were needed in Seliana. As the Wingdrakes slowly flew down into the snowy air above the base, Penelope couldn’t help but wonder what Coco was so nervous about. She had been stone faced against creatures like the rotting Val’Hazak and Savage Deviljho, so what could possibly be enough to scare her? As they landed, Penelope quickly noticed how silent Seliana was. There was barely anyone in the streets and those that were, spoke in hushed tones as they completed their tasks. Coco led her to the Guild Hall, and they could hear a man's voice behind the door. Penelope slowly opened the door and heard the end of his sentence.
“We have Hunters from Kamura, Dundorma, Elgado, and Moga arriving at the scene. The Frontier Hunters haven’t responded yet and hundreds of other Hunters are trying to minimize the damage from the stampeding monsters.” He turned as she stepped in, his face an unreadable mask. He was a larger man with dark skin wearing a large suit of shiny white armor. His hair was put into braids that disappeared behind his back and over the large cape marked with the official Guild seal. Behind him stood 15 Hunters and two men in bright red Defender Gear. The Commander, now equipped in warmer clothing, introduced the man as The General. Penelope sheepishly took a seat as she felt the gaze of the other Hunters on her. The Commander continued his earlier explanation. Thousands of monsters had been seen running away from their homes in reckless abandon, including Elder Dragons. Torrential downpours and floods crashed through villages days after devastating droughts. Earthquakes left ravines in the earth and only got stronger and stronger. Everything led to the epicenter of it all. The destroyed kingdom of Schrade. The Hunters bristled, they knew what it meant. Hundreds of years ago, Schrade was a glorious kingdom that ruled over a large continent far west of Dundorma in the Old World. It was prospering, but they did something. All records had been snuffed out of what had been made beyond its name. The Equal Dragon Weapon. Something about it seemed to repel monsters, but attract one. A Black Dragon. One that was nearly unstoppable. One that could revive from a single scale. One whose armor was told to drive men mad with bloodlust, eventually turning them into the beast they had slain. They had summoned Fatalis. Fatalis destroyed the entirety of the kingdom in a single night. Its breath baptising the kingdom in flames and reducing nearly everything to ash before using the broken castle as a nest. It had eventually been slain, but the legends still heralded its return. Now, a lone scholar had spotted something slithering about in the ruins. No one wanted to believe him, until they saw the photo he had taken. A giant black wing, too big to be any other monster in recorded history, A wicked black claw erupted from one end, shining with malice as it clawed through a wall. Without a doubt, Fatalis was alive. It was now their job to go to Schrade to stop it before it could escape, or die trying.

Chapter Text

As they all got ready for the trip to Schrade, the other hunters introduced themselves to her. There was a Hunting Horn user named Fynn, a Dual Blades user named Espen, and a Switch Axe user named Falcon. Each was a Master Rank hunter in their own right, slaying monsters that most people had only heard in stories. Fynn was especially excited to get the chance to fight a Fatalis, he seemed pretty weird to Penelope. Espen didn’t talk much, she seemed more focused on reading her notes. Falcon was more cheery, but he seemed to bristle anger at every mention of Fatalis. They traveled by boat into the Old World, where the General’s militia and hunters from many different countries were all gathered, waiting for the beast to arrive. The ride was full of anxious hunters, all making sure their armor and weapons were in pristine shape. Penelope saw many of the older hunters looking off into the distance, looks of horror on their faces as the coast of Schrade became visible, the water surrounding it dark with soot and ash. It reminded Penelope of the stories of Dire Miralis, a Black Dragon that boiled the ocean wherever it roamed, dying the waters red in the blood of ecosystems.

The ruins of Schrade were a marvel, even if they had been destroyed a thousand years ago. The broken towers reached into the sky as if Schrade itself was trying to crawl out of its grave. Even though everything was quiet beyond the teams working on moving rubble and resetting cannons and ballistae, Penelope still felt uneasy. Hours passed, and the hunters were all gathered around, anxious and waiting, waiting for a glimpse of pitch-black scales to show themselves. Every one of Penelope’s nerves felt on edge, her weapon never leaving her hand. The sky was thick with black smoke from fires long gone, the only birds flying in it being Revultures, a dire omen for what was to come. One of the Handlers suddenly gasped and pointed towards one of the large walls. It was starting to crumble, shaking the ground as bricks and rubble fell around. As everyone was scattering and trying to get the researchers out of the way, they all heard it. A roar, as deep and horrifying as the depths of space, erupted from the breaking wall. It made Penelope’s blood run cold and Alani’s fur stand on end as the smoke and dust waved out from the broken wall. Other hunters were also frozen, staring at the shadow that seemed blacker than the night sky that was slowly encroaching upon them. Snaking its long body out from the rubble, the beast roared again, its cry echoing through the silent air and piercing the eardrums of everyone within earshot. It glared down at the hunters, eyes gleaming with evil. The stories were true, and now the grim reminder hung upon every hunter as it rose, scales glowing with heat. Fatalis was here to kill them all.

Watching the black scales ripple in the heat, Penelope remembered a poem the Wyverian family had told one night. It was a poem foretelling the emergence of a creature that would rend the world in two. When they told it, their voices broke at the end, chanting its name over and over again. Their screams as they said how it would burn the world, make blood dry and stain the ground with its memory. Their faces slick with sweat as they hammered down its horror, its burning desire to end humanity. How Heaven and Earth would belong to it so it could raze everything to the ground. Penelope thought it would have prepared her for facing it. Oh, how wrong she was.

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It was worse than the stories. Just being near it was enough to singe the hair off of their arms. Its scales blocked everything they threw at it. Bullets bounced off, swords and hammers cracked and shattered, arrows snapped, and kinsects couldn’t latch on. Its flaming breath torched the ground, turning stone and metal into melted slag. A single bite from its maw went straight through a lance's shield, already melting from the intense heat. All the while the beast watched. Its eyes looking hungrily at all the hunters. Its malice unhidden as it grinned before destroying another group of cannons. Penelope watched as a hunter, Lola, her friend from a land known as Kamura, was pinned under the beast, screaming as it heated up its chest, smelting her upon it as if she were some piece of steel. The ground was littered with charred corpses and injured hunters. Palicos ran around trying to give potions and Vigorwasp nectar to all they could as the remaining hunters kept fighting. Penelope dodged and ducked as fireballs flew past. One of Fatalis’s black claws came down upon her shield, leaving a trail of gouges before sliding off and slashing against her leg. Penelope screamed in pain, watching as her blood boiled on the Black Dragon’s talons. She could see Espen swirling down Fatalis’s back, her Dual Blades leaving a trail of sparks. She stumbled, vision blurring while trying to keep her shield up as she heard as Fynn played a melody, instantly the burns and cuts she had received started to heal. They’d still leave scars but they weren’t bleeding or hurting as bad anymore. She managed to get herself into position to block another strike from the beast, allowing for Falcon to let off an Element Discharge with their Switch Axe, downing the Fatalis and leaving a chink in its armor. The quartet descended on Fatalis, weapons gleaming in the firelight. With a crunch, one of its horns flew off, knocked clean by Fynn’s Horn. Roaring in agony, Fatalis lashed a claw out, gouging across Fynn’s face as he was thrown towards a wall, his body hitting it with a sickening crunch. Falcon ran after him, a Mega Potion already in hand as Espen and Penelope readjusted their weapons to better cover Falcon’s mad dash. Fatails screeched before flying into the air, chest burning with hellish red flames. Penelope rushed towards a large cluster of rubble, dragging Espen along with her. It was almost too late as Fatalis unleashed a torrent of flame. For a moment, all Pelenolpe could see were orange flames, the heat unbearable as it seemed to melt the very air around her. A large drop of melted slag fell on her uninjured leg, causing a scream to erupt from her lips. It was smothering, the oxygen being taken from her lungs as the fire roared. She could hear the screams of some unlucky hunters who hadn’t gotten behind shelter in time. It felt like her skin was about to melt straight off, like the metal around her was. She had been scared before, but this was a whole new feeling. Her heart pounded against her chest as if it was trying to escape. Penelope shuddered, skin slick with sweat as she saw a hand burning on the ground as its owner was nowhere to be found. She felt that she was going to die in the most gruesome way imaginable.

Just as the rest of the rubble was about to melt on top of them, the flames stopped as Fatalis flew down again, surveying for any more toys to murder. Crunching a Max Potion between her teeth, Penelope pulled herself up to her feet, wounds aching as she lifted up her shield. She had to stop her legs from shaking, the heat and burns from Fatalis’s previous attack had left her, for lack of a better term, shaken. Her movements were slowed down due to her injuries, and Fatalis knew it. It seemed to purposefully shove her out of the way to deal with other hunters. It was toying with her, toying with all of them. That hideous grin on jaws coated with blood, the bastard was enjoying this. With a scream of rage, Penelope charged her phials to the max and let loose a Super Amped Element Discharge, the strongest move her Charge Blade could do. Red lightning from the spinning axe blade slammed into Fatalis, the draconic energy from the slain Alatreon slashing against its scales, cutting deeper than a normal blade could. Fatalis roared again as the tip of its remaining horn shattered, exploding in a burst of red light. As the Handlers had said, destroying parts of Fatalis’s head could lessen the burn of its flames. The heat wasn’t as intense as before as Fatalis let burst after burst of exploding flames, shots random and scattered as it flailed along the ground. As Penelope quickly moved back to heal up, she saw Fynn and Falcon running towards Fatalis, the wound on Fynn’s face still bleeding a little. Joining the rush to Fatalis, she watched as Hana ran forward, Hammer glowing, only to hit the ground as Fatalis whipped its head back. Her scream was cut short as Fatalis’s jaws clamped down on her, biting her clean in half.. Penelope froze, watching as Hana’s remains laid on the ground, flesh and blood sizzling. She was barely able to react before blocking another strike from Fatalis, Hana’s gore spilling from its teeth and onto her. Fatalis’s eyes widened as Espen landed a good shot to its leg, sending the Black Dragon to the floor. Penelope brushed off some of Hana’s remains and ran back up to Fatalis, Charge Blade spinning and glowing. Her Axe slammed into its hide, sparking as the blade was reflected, but the sizzling of its flesh showed that the overwhelming power of Alatreon was still cutting deep into it. Screeching like the damned, Fatalis rose into the air, flames already gathering in its chest and mouth. A hunter screamed that there was a stronghold wall in the back of the arena. All those who could move ran to the gate, a massive piece of steel 4 feet thick and weathered with age and ash. As Fatalis let out its flames, Espen pulled the lever, sealing the fate of the three hunters outside the bridge. After the fight, that apocalyptic blast of fire was known as “Schrade’s Demise.” The searing heat of the flames permeated through the wall, already starting to turn it into a puddle. Penelope tried to open a Mega Potion, but her hands were shaking too much. The glass slipped from her hand and shattered on the stones below, the medicine and glass already starting to boil. The flames, the melting metal, the suffocating feeling, she couldn’t stand it. Every second was torture, even though none of the flames were touching her. She managed to find and drink another potion just in time for the remains of the gate to come crashing down. When Fatalis’s flame was done, the barrier had been reduced to nothing, leaving no more protection if it ever used another blast of flame like that again.

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The beast roared again as it let loose a blast of heat, chest burning and glowing orange as melted metal and hunters alike smoked upon its surface. As it reared up again, Penelope recognised it, this was “Hellfire Mode,” a trait exclusive to the Metal Raths. This meant that Fataalis would be able to strike even harder than before, and they all knew it. It was horrifying, every hunter seemed to freeze, with a scant few even deserting, dropping their weapons and running away. Fear gripped Penelope’s heart, memories of her fathers death fresh on her mind as Fatalis stepped on a corpse, the crunch of its bones echoing across the arena. The bracelet he gave her was starting to warp due to the heat, her last memory of him. All hope seemed lost, and Fatalis knew it. Its eyes gleamed with a sick joy as flames licked its jaws. As Penelope was about to give up, one of the handlers yelled out that the Dragonator had been fixed. The Dragonator, a weapon with only one goal in mind, to annihilate Elder Dragons.

Schrade had one, and now, they stood a fighting chance. With the Dragonator operational, the party felt confidence for the first time in the fight. The remaining hunters all rushed Fatalis, yelling and chanting as a group of Palicos played the main theme of hunters, “Proof of a Hero.” Fynn focused on its head, his Horn blaring music as it left a dent across its face. Espen and Penelope focused the legs, Espen using the special “Demon Mode” and Penelope using “Savage Axe Mode”, ripping apart scales and digging into the dark flesh beneath to leave it no room to attack. Falcon kept running around launching blast after blast of elemental energy from their Switch Axe. With an extremely loud explosion, Falcon had broken one of Fatalis’s forelimbs, at the cost of their weapon. The Switch Axe’s blade was melted and blackened with its internal components sparking and falling out, nearly hitting Falcon with shrapnel. The beast was almost dead, its movements and flame sluggish after such a beating. With a shout from Falcon, the party ran back to the wall as Fatalis chased them, its eyes full of triumph at their retreat. Penelope stood in front of her allies, shield up as Fatalis ran closer. Its jaws came down upon her shield, almost cracking straight through the glowing scales of Alatreon that lined its edge.

The heat was intense. It seemed to blast straight through her shield. Penelope could barely hold on as she felt her arms start to burn. The weight of Fatalis crushed down upon her, making her legs buckle and almost give out. Her wounds were all aching, surging with fresh pain at the effort of shoving back Fatalis. The cut on her leg reopened, spilling fresh blood on the floor and causing her to crash onto her knees, allowing Fatalis to move closer, almost biting through her shield. As the shield shifted, she caught sight of its eyes. Large orange orbs with black slits, so full of hate for humanity, with a cruel intelligence to show that it enjoyed harming and killing all that crossed its path. They seemed to pierce through Penelope, searing their image into her mind. So much hatred, for what? What did humans do to deserve such a cruel fate? Penelope could feel herself about to black out, the pain was too much, the heat blistering her hands and arms, and her blood coating the floor. It was then Falcon pulled the lever. The massive drill of the Dragonator flew out of the wall and, in a gruesome display, pierced straight through Fatalis’s chest, blasting through the black scales that had seemed so tough before. Red draconic lightning blasted all across Fatalis, searing deep red marks into its skin and rending scales from flesh. It screeched in agony, flames sputtering from its bloody jaws as it fell back, twitched, and was still.

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The battlefield was silent, only the sound of crackling flames permeated the air. There were so many bodies, so many people, gone, just to defeat one monster. The Black Dragon’s corpse laid on the ground, still smoking as its internal flame was snuffed out. Penelope collapsed, exhausted from the fight. The other hunters didn’t fare much better. Fynn had a large scar across his face, still trickling blood through the bandage a Palico slapped on. Espen’s cape was smoldering, almost catching fire as she stepped closer to the body of Fatalis. Falcon was running around, trying to move pieces of rubble and lead healer Palicos to those in need. With Fatalis gone, the smoke that had blotted out the sun blew away with the wind, allowing for a bright sunrise to fall upon Schrade. Of the 300 hunters sent out to slay Fatalis, only 78 survived, and only 37 would be able to hunt again. Fatalis’s body was being slowly examined by a group of researchers, who yelped and whooped in joy at being able to examine a legendary creature so closely. Did they not even register how many lives had been lost for them to even do that? Or did they just not care? Penelope tried to stand and give them a piece of her mind, but found she couldn’t, her leg was too badly injured and still gushing out blood. Penelope satisfied herself by just glaring at them instead, even as she was being led away by a group of Palicos. The hunters who weren’t in immediate medical need were all sent to the General. All of the deserters were rounded up and led past everyone else, their shame apparent as they were brought to the brig to await their sentence in Dundorma. The General congratulated the death of Fatalis and the durability of the hunters, and held a funeral for all the hunters who had given their lives to hunt the Black Dragon. Fatalis’s body was taken to Dundorma for further investigation while all the hunters went back to their specific home bases. Much to Penelope’s surprise, Espen, Falcon, and Fynn, all joined her back to Seliana. When they touched down, a crowd of people awaited them. Hunters, Handlers, and Palicos alike cheered and celebrated, lifting the four up in the air and bringing them to the Gathering Hub for drinks and food.

Penelope tried to put on a mask of joy, but she couldn’t. She could only think of all those who fell to Fatalis, people she knew and those she didn’t, all their lives gone. As she looked around, she could see that the others who fought felt the same. Even Falcon, who had seemed so cheery before, was silent, barely eating the meal set in front of them. It wasn’t long before Penelope retired to her room. Her room in Seliana wasn’t grand, but it was relatively cozy. In the privacy of her room, she removed her weapon, now a broken piece of scales and metal, and set it on its stand. It hung limply, like it felt defeated. Removing her armor, she looked at all the new scars from the fight. All along her legs were gashes, cuts, and burns. Her arms didn’t fare much better. She already knew that she had new scars upon her stomach, but she didn’t want to take off her torn undershirt, didn’t want to risk seeing, those, scars again. Her night was filled with flashes of the fight. The bodies, the flames, its eyes. She burst awake, covered in sweat and shivering, as the battle still seemed to be happening. Alani, now free of her Rathalos armor, hopped up onto her lap and, without a word, curled up for cuddles. Penelope spent most of that day in her room, trying to get the battle out of her mind. Somehow, she managed to find fitful sleep. A few weeks or so passed when she finally decided to go outside. Her armor and weapon had been taken for repairs, so she bundled up in her coat, warm enough to protect her from Seliana’s frigid temps, but cool enough to not remind her of the flames which scar the back of her mind.

Everywhere she walked, people congratulated her and shouted their praise and amazement that she had come from the fight unscathed. Every mention of the fight and her injuries made her bury deeper and deeper into her coat, trying to hide away from all the voices and eyes constantly following her. She walked towards the outskirts of Seliana, where there was a lake full of pristine, if freezing, water. It sparkled in the early sun, sending little flashes of light across the snow. She sat on the water's edge, looking down into the deep blue mirror. Her face was unmarked, miraculously untouched from all the years from hunting, especially after Fatalis, but she knew. She was damaged. Something inside her made her feel that she shouldn’t have survived. Anyone else could have survived instead of her, and she would be happy. She felt that she didn’t deserve to live after all those other hunters gave up their lives against the beast.She felt the handle of her hunting dagger dig into her skin beneath her coat. Taking it out, she looked at her reflection in the blade. Her hand was shaking, her mind filled with flashes of unspeakable things. Her mind seemed to go blank as the bite of steel met her wrist, her blood dying the snow red. Monsters may have given her scars, but these she’d be most ashamed of. Because the monster that gave her them, was herself. Staring at the fresh cut, her mind twisted, dark thoughts spilling out as the knife slashed once, then twice more. Before her thoughts could fully consume her, she heard a scream from far off, and the familiar roar of a Kushala Daora. Penelope ran back to Seliana, drinking a potion in the process, and armed herself with whatever was lying around in her equipment box. She grabbed a set of armor made from a Radobaan and some poisonous Dual Blades made from the golden shell of Kulve Taroth. She whipped around and ran back to where she heard the screaming, her helmet flying off in the process. It was there she saw it, the Kushala cornering a little Wyverian girl, who was standing in front of an injured Wyverian man, a hunter by the broken greatsword at his feet. Penelope ran at the Kushala and, using the Clutch Claw, drove it into a wall. With a screech, it turned towards her, and Penelope only thought one thing:

“I won’t let this girl suffer as I have”

Her blades slashed through the metal scales with ease as the Kushala roared in surprise. Penelope dodged blades of wind and steel as the monster spun. She was calm, the noise from the fight barely even registering to her as she ran around slashing at its heels. She could still see the two it was attacking hiding behind a large boulder, so she focused on making sure its attention was on her. Using her specialized Clutch Claw, she latched onto its face, blades ripping into its flesh as she slashed against its eye. It screeched as its paw came down on her, slamming her down onto the ground. The Kushala shook its head, blood pouring from its eye as it stared down at her. Penelope froze, she remembered her father and how he had perished just like this, chest crushed by a Kushala. She wouldn’t let the same fate befall her. Lashing out with her Slinger, she launched the hook into its ruined eye, the hook opening and catching on the socket. As it reared back, she was launched upwards. She clicked a small lever in her Slinger, and felt the cord retract and send her to the Kushala’s face. Stabbing forwards with one of her blades, she felt the thud as it passed through scales, flesh, bone, and brain. The Kushala collapsed on the ground, wounds oozing as the winds died down. With some effort, she was able to wrench both her blade and Slinger hook from the Kushalas skull, grimacing at the muck attached to them both. After quickly wiping as much as she could off of her weapons, she ran back to the girl and her father. Already Alani had called for some healer Palicos to come and help the hunter, who seemed embarrassed to have needed help in front of his daughter. His daughter was staring at Penelope with a look of awe. Penelope saw a glimpse of herself in the young girl's eyes, and smiled for the first time since Fatalis. This is why she hunted. To protect those who can’t protect themselves. When she returned to Seliana, she looked at the quest board and accepted the first one that involved a missing person. Months later, Penelope felt back to her old self. Sure, she sometimes had nightmares about the fight and her scars sometimes hurt both physically and mentally, but she was back in action. She had arrived back in Astera after slaying a Scarred Yian-Garuga that had somehow made the journey from the Guiding Lands and into the Ancient Forest, decimating parts of the local ecosystem. She was wearing armor made from a Teostra, a way to stop heat from bothering her as much. Even though her Alatreon armor and Charge Blade had been long repaired, she hadn’t put them back on. She’d find herself staring at them from time to time, thinking about the hunters that she had helped take down Fatalis. She hadn’t seen them for a while, Falcon had returned to Dundorma, Fynn stayed in the library with a large black book, and Espen had been on an investigation of the Guiding Lands for who knows how long. Despite the seasons changing, Seliana was just as cold as ever. Despite this, Penelope smiled as she walked through the snow covered streets, already excited for her next mission.

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She had returned from the Guiding Lands when a familiar face approached her. It was Falcon! They almost crushed her in a huge hug, their smile huge as they spun around, making Penelope pretty dizzy. They asked if she wanted to join them on an investigation to the Hoarfrost Reach. Penelope gladly accepted and went to gear up for the frigid temperatures. They spent a good while getting ready and making sure the Guild knew where they were. Once everything was secure, they were off into the Hinterlands. The snow was falling down in large clusters and getting stuck in Penelope’s eyelashes. It was calming and cool, much to Penelope’s enjoyment. Since being covered in flames while fighting Fatalis, she had developed an aversion to fire and greatly enjoyed being in the cold. She had even stopped operating the Steamworks since it seemed to explode into flames every time the Wyverian Elder took his eyes off it. Still, the cold was nice. Falcon and Penelope went to one of the camps inside a giant cave system. They chatted about where they had been since fighting a creature of legend. Falcon had been off in Dundorma doing more and more quests for the Guild. They had even participated in the Jhen Morhan hunt, something few hunters got to do. Penelope mentioned some of the discoveries in the New World, like that of Furious Rajang and Raging Brachydios. As she mentioned more monsters, Falcon’s eyes seemed to light up. They spent hours just talking about random monster facts and trivia, much to their Palico’s dismay. Sitting around and talking about monster facts, Penelope was happy and in her element. Since Falcon had taken off some armor, she did as well, taking off her chestplate and arm guards. When she did, Falcon gasped. She was confused, until she looked where Falcon’s gaze was focused. It was on her arms. Countless scars from many different monsters lined them, some deep gouges and others light scratches. There were bite marks and stab wounds, but most important, there were the burns from Fatalis. How had she forgotten that her shirt didn’t have sleeves. She quickly grabbed her coat, trying to quickly cover the scars over her arms. She felt a small bit of relief, the scars she had inflicted upon herself were hidden beneath her bracelet, like a forbidden secret. Much to her surprise, Falcon didn’t ask about the scars themselves, only why she hid them. Penelope was shocked, whenever she had moved a sleeve up, people would always ask about where the scars were from or if they had been from Fatalis and other invasive questions. Penelope had to take a moment and think. She was nervous to say the reason aloud. Falcon hadn’t seemed like the type to judge or make fun, but what if they did. What if her reason was so stupid that she’d lose one of her few friends? As if reading her mind, Falcon said that they wouldn’t judge and that they understood that having scars sucked. They lifted up a part of their shirt, revealing a large gash from the hip to center chest. It didn’t look like it was from a monster, it was too clean and neat. It looked like it was made by a weapon. That’s when it clicked for Penelope. She had heard that there was a huge commotion over in Dundorma a few years back where a poacher had attacked their friend with their weapon for trying to stop them from telling authorities. Falcon also showed a couple more scars lining their arms. There weren’t as many as on Penelope, but their arms were still covered in them. Penelope slowly took the coat off, her arms covered in goosebumps in the fierce cold. Steeling her nerves, Penelope answered their question,
“Because my scars are reminders of how weak I really am.”
She looked back at Falcon, dreading their reaction, but they were staring, as if waiting for her to finish. They took a breath, and Penelope was ready to be judged, but what came out of their mouth was something unexpected.
“You really think that?”
She said that she viewed her scars as failures, she wouldn’t have them if she was stronger. She placed her hand on her arm, trying to block the worst of the burns from their sight. Falcon looked concerned, like they couldn’t believe that she would think like that. Before they continued, they asked if they could see Penelope’s hand. Penelope was confused, but put her hand palm up in theirs. Gesturing at her arm, they said,
“Scars aren’t things we get because we’re weak. Scars are what we get because we’re strong enough to survive them, to come out on top. They, along with us, are living reminders that we are strong. That we lived in spite of them and the enemies that inflicted them upon us”
As they held Penelope’s hand, they slightly moved her bracelet, revealing the scars that she tried her hardest to hide.
“Even if those enemies are ourselves. They prove you survived, and that people were saved.”
Penelope was at a loss for words. All her life, she had believed that her scars showed how weak she was. She thought they showed that she couldn’t protect herself, much less anyone else. So why, why did they think they showed how strong you were? Penelope looked away, trying to blink the stubborn tears that had appeared in her eyes. Falcon merely smiled, and gave her hand back. Wiping away the tears before they could fall, Penelope looked back at Falcon. They had suffered too, even more than her, yet they were still so bright and happy. Penelope took a shuddering breath, and told Falcon to promise that they wouldn’t show anyone else what she was about to show them. Once they agreed, she turned around, slowly undoing the ties and buttons of her undershirt. Pulling it around her chest, she showed Falcon her back. It was savaged with hundreds of scars, but the most noticeable were the large claw marks stretching from the small of her back to the bottom of her nape. They were deep. Long rabid slashes up and down her back, as if whatever attack had tried to rip her in half. They had healed, but were still more noticeable than even burns from Fatalis. The cool air hit her back and she stiffened, realizing how extremely vulnerable she was, both physically and mentally. Hearing no response from Falcon, she slowly turned to look at them. The look they were giving, it was almost as if they were in awe. Penelope put her shirt back on, the Velociprey scars catching on the fabric as it went across her skin. In her mind were flashes of when she was a kid. Running through the forest. Sketching random creatures. Being found by a Velociprey, The feeling of its claws and teeth in her back. The lingering thought that she was going to be torn apart. Her desperate run back to her home. The hours of sedative-induced slumber as her mother worked to repair the torn skin and muscle. She must’ve been shaking, because next she knew Falcon had put a comforting hand on her shoulder, taking care to not touch the burn marks but still touching some scars. She was surprised. No one had really tried comforting her, at least, no one who wasn’t a Felyne. She was even more surprised when they said
“Thank you for trusting me enough to show me that, I can’t imagine how difficult it must’ve been.”
Breathing in, and blinking away a few stray tears, Penelope began to tell the story of the scars. As she talked, Falcon’s expression slowly shifted from one of curiosity to one of horror. She described getting ambushed, the Velociprey jumping on her as she tried to run. Her voice caught as she started describing how it had savaged her back, but she kept going. She even mentioned how terrified it had made her to do the thing she loved. When she mentioned how other children in the village had bullied her due to her scars, Falcon immediately went from horrified to angry. Penelope was a bit confused at this new anger, it had seemed so normal to her at the time. Having something tragic happen was new ammunition for bullies, so why was Falcon so mad? She decided not to question and kept moving on. She talked about most of her scars, leaving out some embarrassing ones, like the time she fell asleep on a rock, which had turned out to be a sleeping Gravios who proceeded to throw her off its back when it awoke. When she got to the marks from Fatalis, she had to take a second to gather herself. Every moment she talked or looked at those scars, more memories of the fight surfaced. More memories of that demonic creature, that hatred it held. She talked about the fight in as much detail as she could handle. She explained the burn mark on her leg, a massive splatter of scar tissue, from when Fatalis had launched its flame. She talked about the large scar on her leg, how it still sometimes felt as if it was burning from where Fatalis’s claw had dug into her flesh. She even mentioned how she can’t handle being in hot spaces for long periods of time. The heat brings back the memories. The flames, the smell of burning flesh, the screams. After some time talking, she had told the story of (almost) every one of her scars, except three. Three small slashes on the underside of her wrist. Her biggest moment of weakness. She told Falcon everything. Her fears of not being strong enough, her wishing that she had died and someone else lived, and what she had done to herself. She even told Falcon something she could barely handle speaking. Vari, her mentor, had perished in the fight against Fatalis. She had been ready to retire, her body needing rest after years of hunting, but she joined the Fatalis fight, because of Penelope. She wanted to look after her, like she had for so many years, but it ended up costing her life. Tears were sliding down Penelope’s face as she described the nightmares, the flashing of memories, and her seeming inability to function after Fatalis. At one point, she could barely continue speaking about how she wished that something had changed, that someone else had lived while she died. At that point, she merely hung her head, her bracelet unlatching and hitting the ground with a dull thump. Her scars on full display for Falcon.Their face was unreadable and impassive. They didn’t say anything, they just enveloped Penelope in a hug. Usually, being close enough to feel someone’s body heat would make her recoil, but it felt pleasant. The hug lasted about a minute until Penelope let go, wiping her eyes and apologising for crying all over Falcon’s shirt. Falcon merely laughed it off. They gave her another hug, a smaller one, but a welcome one nonetheless.

“Listen, I know hunting seems like a job that means you must be some unstoppable beast and show no weakness, but it’s not healthy to think that way. You don’t have to be afraid to seem weak, because you always have people there to support you. Why do you think hunting parties are usually made of 4 people? To protect each other’s weaknesses.”
Penelope smiled, a few fresh tears falling down her face.
‘Thanks Falcon, I guess I just really needed someone to talk to, to work through some things.”

“I’m always here to talk if you need it.”
Falcon grabbed the bracelet off of the floor and went to put it on her scarred wrist, but Penelope stopped them, and moved her other wrist over. She wouldn’t spend her life hiding her scars for fear of seeming weak anymore. Falcon smiled and clipped it on, the warped jade almost glowing in the light of the fire.
“Hey, Penny, if you don’t mind me asking, what do your scars mean to you now?’
Penelope stopped and thought. Her mind flashing to all her scars as she stared at her bracelet. She gave a soft smile as she looked up at Falcon.
“My scars are a map of all that I’ve gone through, and I don’t need to hide them. They’re a part of me, plain and simple. It doesn’t matter if they look weird, I survived everything, and that's what’s important.”
The mood had gone from a somber one to one of joy and friendship. They continued their previous discussions about monsters. It had quite a few laughs with Alani and Kinnliye competing over who could make the best monster impressions. Kinnliye had a surprisingly good Rathalos roar, but Alani was very dedicated to her role, even digging and swimming through the snow to mimic a Beotodus. The competition ended once both Palicos tried to mimic Brachydios, and both immediately knocked each other out with a punch. Penelope laughed so hard she fell off her stool, which brought a whole new wave of laughter. Falcon went to help her up, but tripped on their new Switch Axe and promptly fell flat on their face, sparking yet another round of laughter as the palicos slowly woke from their punch-inflicted slumber. It was funny. One moment they were talking about serious issues, the next they were on the floor, unable to stand from laughing too hard. Through the comical situation, Penelope noticed a bright shine from the cave entrance. It was an S.O.S. flare, the bright red light reflecting upon the snow and dying the snow red in a glittering warning.

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Penelope alerted Falcon while she donned her armor. Instantly, they were on their feet, Switch Axe already humming in their hands. Running out, they trudged through the deep snow. It seemed that a blizzard had just gone through, covering the ground in a deep blanket of snow. With some assistance from the local Lynian tribe, the Boaboa, they reached where the flare had come from. A hunter, a young Insect Glaive user, was running around as a Fulgur Anjanath chased them, jaws snapping with electricity. Penelope ran ahead, shield up to catch the blow as it slammed down its head, only narrowly avoiding the Insect Glaive user. Falcon ran towards its tail, Switch Axe glowing as they pulled a lever on the handle. Almost instantly, the axe head was replaced with a large sword blade, already slicing into the Anjanaths tail and leaving a deep wound. The beast screamed, knocking Penelope over as it whipped around to face Falcon. Penelope took the chance to check on the other hunter. Their wounds were great and the traces of Thunderblight running through their system weren’t helping. She had Alani call in some cart Palicos as she hefted her shield back up and ran towards the thundering beast. Falcon was handling themself quite well. They dodged every attack that was thrown at them and dished back with blasts of energy and swings of steel, each one causing more wounds to appear on its hide. Sliding her shield onto her sword, Penelope swapped into Axe mode before slamming the hunk of metal into the Anjanath's leg, startling it and stopping it from unleashing more of its thunderous snot. Slashing against the Anjanath’s legs, her sword started to charge up. Its red glow steaming against the frigid air was quite a sight, although the crimson bursts from Falcon’s Switch Axe stole the show. With her shield and phials fully charged, Pennelope launched a risky Super Amped Element Discharge on the monster's head. The crunch and squeal that followed meant that her strike had hit home and disabled the Anjanath’s nose, depleting most of its snotty abilities. She watched as Falcon hopped up onto its face, stabbing their sword into their eye and letting loose a large blast that sent the Anjanath crashing to the ground. As Falcon landed beside her, they flashed a quick smile before reloading the phials on their Switch Axe and charging back in, the flailing Anjanath screeching in fear as they ran up. After a few more minutes of thoroughly bashing down the Anjanath, it tried running away back to its nest, where the Insect Glaive user was waiting with trap and tranq bombs in hand. The hunter seemed very excited to catch the Anjanath. When Penelope asked what happened, they revealed that they had just gotten their Master Rank approval and it was their first investigation of the Hoarfrost Reach. They had gotten ambushed by the Fulgur Anjanath when they were taking pictures of some Duffel Penguins. As Penelope and the hunter talked, Falcon was discussing some trade with the Boaboa, who were very excited to get their paws on some Fulgur Anjanath fur. When the Boaboa left and Falcon turned to the hunter, they stopped, their expression unreadable. Penelope walked up to ask what was wrong, but they shoved her out of the way. Hard. Penelope was so taken aback, she actually tripped as Falcon continued towards the hunter. Their eyes burned with such blazing hatred, it reminded her of Fatalis’s dark expression before it ripped a hunter in two. Falcon grabbed the hunter by the collar, a strangled choking noise coming from their throat as Falcon lifted them up.
“You…”
Penelope had never seen Falcon like this, not even when facing Fatalis. She jumped to her feet and grabbed his shoulder, yelling,
“Fal, stop! What in Gog’s name has gotten into you?”
Falcon dropped the hunter to the ground, almost throwing them into the snow.
“This pathetic excuse of a hunter bought illegal creatures from poachers to pass them off as their own achievements, THAT’S what’s gotten into me!”
Falcon glared back down at the hunter. The malice in their eyes made Penelope step back. The hunter was scared out of their mind. They were shaking, their kinsect flying around but too afraid to try and intervene. Falcon stomped down into the snow next to them, making both Penelope and the hunter flinch.
“I’m sorry that I even came here and saved you from that monster.”
It finally seemed to click with the hunter, who immediately started trying to back away while holding their hands up. Tears had started to fall from their face, their eyes holding a primal terror as they tried to get away from Falcon.
“Wait! Please! I don’t do that an-”
Falcon glared down at the hunter, their anger seeming to emulate from their body. With their other hand, they slowly started to pull out their hunting dagger. Unlike Penelope’s, which was smooth to ensure as little damage to the parts as possible, Falcon’s was serrated, better for dealing with the tough skin of certain monsters. The hunter started to sob more as they stared at the dagger clutched in Falcon’s hand.
“Leave.”
“Before I make what happened to your supplier look like a Poogie attack in comparison to what I’ll do to you”
Falcon’s voice took on a dark tone, the glint of their knife reflecting in the hunter's eyes. The hunter got to their feet and ran, calling their wingdrake to pick them up. Falcon was staring at the quickly disappearing shape in the sky, breathing heavily as their knife shook in their hand. Penelope was terrified. She had seen people get angry before, hunters drunk out of their mind complaining about monster materials aren’t uncommon, but this was something different. Falcon was enraged, so much hatred spilling out. Penelope wanted to just walk away and not go near them and all of their hurt, but she couldn’t just let her friend destroy themself with hatred after all the help they gave her. She reached a tentative hand out on their shoulder. Falcon whipped to face her, their expression deprived of anger. Now it was merely sad and pained. Penelope put on what she hoped was a comforting smile and joked,
“Guess I get to return the favor, huh? She gave a small laugh as she slowly moved Falcon’s knife back into its sheath. ‘Now, how about we head back to camp, and you can tell me anything you need to.”
As they sat back at camp, Falcon told her about their “friend.” How they had gotten into poaching to get more money. How they had practically lured Falcon into joining them. Penelope felt her gloves creak as she clenched her hands into fists. How could anyone take advantage of someone like Falcon? They were awesome, strong, and courageous. The fact someone could do something like that, it made her sick. They described their nightmares, waking up in the middle of the night as they reached for their weapon, scar burning like a fresh wound. Penelope knew the feeling all too well. Falcon’s voice was struck with hurt, their hand resting over their scar, as if to assure themself that it wouldn’t open again. Kinnliye also spoke up, their little voice so full of guilt and remorse for their friend, Asher, the hunter’s Palico.
“I usually don’t think about it, since it happened so long ago, but seeing that hunter. It just made everything come back.” They looked at their hands, their eyes full of deep sadness. “Call it guilt, remorse, rage…”
Before they could continue, Penelope wrapped both of them in a hug. She squeezed them both tightly before letting them go, her hands holding onto Falcon’s hand and Kinnliye’s paw.
“I know you’re hurting. Losing a friend is horrible, doubly so if they betray you. You still feel such guilt and remorse because you care. You are a good person, despite what your brain tells you. Your friend’s mistakes shouldn’t keep you from being caring and compassionate, because that’s what you are.” Penelope shifted, a multitude of her scars visible as she smiled at Falcon.
“Well, guess now I’m the one being comforted.” Falcon said with a laugh as Kinnliye popped up, tears in their eyes. “Thanks, Penny. You have no idea how much that means to me.”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you!” Kinnliye shouted. “Although, I couldn’t put it into words as well as Penny, Mrow” Kinnliye laughed, wiping some of the spilled tears from their fur. Penelope pulled Falcon into yet another hug while Alani tackle-hugged Kinnliye, sending them both to the floor.
“Hey Fal, if you ever feel more of this hurt and pain, please let me know. I want to be there to help you, because I consider you my friend, okay?”
Falcon smiled as they said, “You know, that would make you the first friend I’ve had since I turned my last one in.” Their smile turned into a cheeky grin. “Just don’t do anything bad, or you’ll be next.” Their grin assured Penelope that it was satire, but Alani still had to pipe in,
“Oh don’t worry, when she accidentally hit a Kelbi during a Titzi-Ya-Ku hunt, she nearly fainted from anxiety.” Alani laughed as Penelope tried to grab her to get her to shut up. Falcon and Kinnliye laughed, which just about made Penelope die from embarrassment. Still, it was really nice to feel comfortable talking to someone again. The last person she had been this personal with had been Vari. Her gaze shifted towards a charm on her Charge Blade. A small stitched Nerscylla that Vari had made once Penelope had told her that it was her favorite monster. Penelope smiled, the memory warm as she turned back to Falcon.

Chapter Text

They agreed that their “investigation” had gone on long enough and that they were ready to head back. A short Wingdrake glide later, and they were back in Seliana. Penelope spotted the hunter from before running away from where they landed and immediately looked towards Falcon. They were watching the hunter run away, but didn’t do anything. Penelope had to try and act like everything was fine, making sure not to let Falcon know how concerned she was of them freaking out at the hunter again. As they approached the gathering hub, Penelope went to swap out her armor. As she walked over to her room, she talked with the Commander, telling him about how the Insect Glaive user had bought from poachers. Even though she didn’t have to do it, she still felt a bit of pride seeing the hunter being escorted out by some Guild Knights, a cage of rare Endemic Life still in his hands. She swapped into a set of Rose armor to better fit the season and headed back to Falcon who was conversing with one of the waiter Palicos dressed up like a little doll. Fully entering the Gathering Hub, they could see it was packed. Hunters were everywhere. Some were preparing for a quest, others were just coming back from one, and more were just hanging around. The Appreciation Fest was in full swing, and it was fun. Music and rose petals were floating throughout the space as Palicos and Humans alike ran around handing out orders. There were quite a few couples around too, since the Appreciation Fest was practically an extended Valentine’s Day. She even saw Coco talking with Lea, Aiden’s handler, a feat she was very proud of since her handler was incredibly shy when it came to taller women. As they walked around trying to find a seat, they saw a familiar face with a pile of books beside them. As Falcon called out his name, Fynn looked up. The scar from Fatalis had healed, but it still looked quite alarming. Despite his injury, he smiled and waved them over, moving some of his books to the side as he did so. After a few pleasantries and some drinks, they all started to discuss stories of where they had been since Fatalis. Fynn had been studying all about the legends of Fatalis and the possible existences of subspecies and variants of it. The thought alone made Penelope’s blood run cold, her drink turning uncomfortably in her stomach. When she mentioned fighting a Velkhana, Fynn hounded her for all the details. Apparently, she had discovered the smallest of the species to date, a fact Fynn was ecstatic about. Falcon didn’t mention what happened during the investigation, only that they caught a Fulgur Anjanath. Penelope took the hint and joined in on the story, saying no monsters had really shown up until the Fulgur started to attack their camp. It was a pretty unconvincing lie, but Fynn believed it. It didn’t take long for Fynn to start a lecture on different kinds of biology between monsters. Penelope found it quite interesting, even though Alani claimed so much knowledge would make her whiskers fall off. When Fynn mentioned an Elder Dragon named Namielle, Penelope excitedly grabbed her sketchbook. Since becoming a hunter, she had used her sketchbook to study the monsters she fought. She had multiple books, each overflowing with information. This most recent one was focused primarily on the Elder Dragons she had fought. She turned to the pages about Namielle and showed them to Fynn and Falcon. Fynn was excited and started talking about the sexual dimorphism between male and female Namielle, flipping through the pages to look at each drawing. Penelope was a little overwhelmed since no one other than her father had really paid much attention to her drawings. Fynn flipped towards the end of the book and stopped. On the page was a drawing of Fatalis. Unlike the other drawings which were drawn with ink, this one was made with charcoal, the black powder slowly inflicting other pages. The drawing seemed rough, sharper than the others as each gruesome detail was put to fullest. The part they all focused on, however, was its eye. It looked every bit as hateful as it had when it stared at them in the ruins of Schrade. The eye seemed to glow, the bloody orange the only true color on the page. Even though it was merely a drawing, each second the ticked by made it seem more real, the heat from candles turning into the inferno of its flames. Penelope saw Falcon visibly stiffen, no doubt thinking of the fight. Fynn snapped the sketchbook closed, a small pattering of charcoal falling out and staining the delicate white tablecloth. They were all silent for a moment, the chatter of the Gathering Hub the only thing filling the space,
“That’s uh, that’s a really good drawing. Real, lifelike…” said Falcon, the gesture sincere, but also a way to lower the tension that had risen. Their conversation continued, although they stopped talking about Elder Dragons. Fynn mentioned a place called Elgado had recently discovered a species of monster that hadn’t been seen before. It was called Gaismagorm and apparently used special leech-like creatures to feed off blood and energy from creatures on the surface. It was really interesting, until a very intoxicated hunter stumbled over and started talking about the “Red Thingies” and how they had bitten him before. He was shortly dragged away by his very embarrassed Palico. The mood was definitely more cheerful than it had been, especially with such an interesting encounter. The three stayed for a while, not even realizing it was dawn until the very peaks of sunlight started to come through the windows. They all agreed to meet again soon and left the Gathering Hub. A Guild Knight walked up to Falcon and started talking to them. Penelope was worried. She knew the Guild still didn’t trust Falcon much since the incident. Had the issue with the hunter spurred them to arrest them? Penelope’ worries were unwarranted as Falcon smiled and nodded before heading off with the Knight.

Penelope walked back to her room, the morning sun waking up others in Seliana. She passed a few Palico’s who were sculpting a Gogmazios out of snow, only to then pretend it was attacking and throwing snowballs at it from makeshift cannons. It was comical, especially when the Elder Wyverian who ran the forge walked out and got pelted with a flurry of snowballs. Penelope laughed before continuing to her room. Her room wasn’t that impressive. It wasn’t filled with trophies or medals as some other hunters, but instead with large drawings. Most were of different kinds of monsters in the middle of action. Others were of her friends. She moved a few pieces of parchment around, looking at all the friends she had made. Sitting at her desk, she started drawing a new piece. She drew Falcon, their Switch Axe at their side and glowing. She drew Fynn, taking careful time to draw all the tubes of their Hunting Horn and to make their scar as accurate as possible. Then she started to draw herself. She started to draw her regular Teostra armor, but then took a moment and erased the armguards. Then she drew her arms with all her scars. She wouldn’t hide them, even from herself. By the time she had finished, it was closer to 9am than she would’ve liked. She pinned the drawing up onto her wall and laid back in her bed, staring at the set of armor she had fought Fatalis in. As she was dozing off, there was a loud knock on her door. A Guild Knight opened the door and said that someone was here to see her. She moved out of the way as a wall of a man approached. He had flowing white hair and a long yellow overcoat. The man approached Penelope and introduced himself as Fabius, a professor at the Hunters Academy in Dundorma, and said he had a proposition for Penelope. An expedition to the Forbidden Lands to find the home of a boy named Nata. He asked her to think it over and that he’d wait for her answer tomorrow. When she told this to Falcon, they were really supportive. They had even been asked to come along to join the Avis unit too! Penelope was still a little unsure. She was moving things around in her room, when she found a letter addressed to her. It was from Vari. It was a congratulatory letter for being asked to join the Forbidden Lands expedition and that she had personally asked for them to look at Penelope’s list of achievements and to consider her to be a lead hunter in the expedition. At the very bottom was the sentence that fully made Penelope’s tears spill over.

“You’ve got this bud! Go out there and make me proud, and show your father that you can protect others just like how he protected you!”

Chapter Text

In the next few days, Penelope was in brand new armor and on the airship to the Forbidden Lands. She had been introduced to her team. Of course, she had her Palico, Alani, the blacksmith Gemma, Nata, who came from the Forbidden Lands, and Alma, her handler. The moment Penelope saw Alma, she felt something she hadn’t before. Her cheeks flushed and she couldn’t seem to get an actual sentence out at first. In her blunder of first meeting Alma, she tripped backwards over a greatsword and almost fell right off the airship. She made an excuse that she was afraid of heights. Alma, Nata, and Fabius seemed to buy it, but Gemma just smirked at her. After that fiasco, they swapped to Sandships to traverse the more desert-like areas of the Windswept Plains. On the way, they found a pack of Balahara chasing down a girl on a small Bird Wyvern. Seeing a second Wyvern running alongside her, Penelope jumped off the ship and used the Wyvern to drive away the pack. When one determined Balahara charged at them, Gemma threw down a greatsword, allowing Penelope to slice the beast’s jaw and sending it running. As Alma tried to calm down and help the girl, named Nonna, Penelope investigated the Wyverns. She had never really been good with children, so it was good that Alma seemed to be able to calm her down with ease. Once Nonna had calmed slightly and told them what happened, a new mission was clear. Find her brother, Y’sai, and figure out what “Giant Toad” had attacked them. Nonna told them to use the Wyverns, called Seikrets, to get to Y’sai faster. The Seikret was similar to a Raider Ride she had used back in the New World, so Penelope had a general idea of how to steer. Nonna joined Nata and the others on the Sandship as they went to fully set up Base Camp while Alma and Penelope set up a small Pop-Up Camp. Penelope grabbed the Charge Blade specially made for the expedition. It was much weaker than her Alatreon one, but she was fine with it. Since Fatalis, she hadn’t used it as much since they never managed to fix the gauges in the metal, which ended up making it nearly explode every time Phials were charged. This new one, however, was smooth with bright, shiny metal that gleamed in the sunlight. Hopping on the Seikret, she headed over to where Nonna said Y’sai was last seen. They heard a loud roar from one of the caves, and found a man trying to push an injured Seikret out of the way as a large frog monster kept licking them and its arms, covering them in saliva like a Brachydios. Penelope ran in, slamming her shield against the monster's face as Alma ran around to help the man and his Seikret get out of there safely. As she ran, Alma issued a hunt for the Chatacabara, meaning Penelope had full guild permission to fight and kill the raging beast. Penelope heard a yell from above as Falcon slammed down onto the Chatacabara, new Switch Axe glowing as it sliced across its scaly hide. Penelope smiled as she charged up her sword before running in. The Chatacabara tried to run, but was stopped by Falcon launching a burst of energy from their Axe before Penelope slammed her sword into its back. Its body was soon on the ground, tongue hanging out like a giant, slimy grub. Penelope and Falcon looked around to try and find where Y’sai and Alma had hidden, and spotted Alma waving at them from a smaller cave covered in a mineral known as Fulgurite. After bringing Y’sai back to Nonna, they lead the Avis Unit towards their home, Kanufa. The joyful mood was cut short though, as a man by the name of Zatoh asked for the Avis Unit to leave since they don’t need visitors before the Sandtide. It was a bit disappointing, but Penelope didn’t mind. It allowed her to jot down monsters to draw later as she and Alma walked back to camp. They were stopped by a hoard of small insect monsters, which were all immediately ripped to shreds by some new monster with shaggy brown fur and a face not even a mother could love.

They managed to get out of there before it could spot them, only to immediately have to come to the rescue of the Provisions Squad who was on the run from a giant flaming chicken. Apparently, it was called a Quematrice and it used its tail to send sparks of flame everywhere. She hoped Alma didn’t notice how she stiffened once the flames came close to her. They weren’t as hot as some other monster's flames, but she still felt the burning feeling from Fatalis as her old burns reacted to the heat. Y’sai actually snuck away from Kanufa to give them the Seikrets they had been riding. They had grown attached to Alma and Penelope and Y’sai wanted to thank them for saving both him and his sister. She had fun learning how to hunt with new tools like the Focus Mode and the Seikret. She even tried out using the Bowguns, her least favorite weapon class, and enjoyed it, even though the Chattacabra she tested it on definitely didn’t. Her sketchbook started filling with pictures of new monsters from the Chatacabara to the Rey Dau, but also, pictures of Alma seemed to sneak in. As their quest continued, so did her crush on Alma. She regularly caught herself staring at her when she was supposed to be watching out for monsters. Gemma would constantly tease her about it, acting like a schoolgirl finding out her friend was in love. Nata and Lani didn’t help either. They would try her best to get Alma and Penelope alone in a room, which would usually lead to Alma reading, and a very embarrassed Penelope trying to look anywhere and draw anything except Alma. After investigating the Scarlet Forest with the Astrum Unit, Penelope wanted to pick a flower for Alma, only to realize too late that it was a fresh Lala Barina Floret and got immediately paralyzed. Much to her surprise, some of the hunters from the Fatalis fight were stationed in the Forbidden Lands as well. They all made a squad together called the “Dawn Riders.” Even though Penelope was still finding it difficult to work with others, she enjoyed going on hunts with the Riders. They regularly talked about random topics, usually surrounding the various kinds of monsters they were fighting. Once, they even talked about which monster would be the most tasty. Penelope suggested either Daimyo Hermataur or Shogun Ceranataur, both of which were beaten by Espen’s suggestion of Quematrice. The discussion actually got so heated, they angered an entire Doshaguma pack, leading to a very desperate getaway.

Chapter Text

In an investigation in the Scarlet Forest, they found a closely related species to the Lynians who called themselves the Wudwuds. They needed help getting a “pink menace” away from their honey storage. Penelope’s dismay was apparent when the menace was a Congalala, she was mostly glad her Seikret, Circe, couldn’t smell. When they returned to the Base Camp of the Forest (and had a long shower), they saw a lot of hunters hanging around the rations dispensary, discontentment on their faces as Palicos handed them packs of dried meat and fruit.With the new expeditions of the Forbidden Lands, they couldn’t send mass amounts of food and staff over, which led to some very disgruntled hunters having to cook their own food. Although Penelope missed the food of the Meowscular and Grandmeowster chefs, she thoroughly enjoyed getting to cook again. She even got the Avis Unit to try something from her hometown, a specialty dish called Firecracker Shrimp. It was nice to share a meal with people she knew again. It felt like she was back at home dining with her family. The thought saddened her, a fact that hadn’t gone unnoticed by Alma. Later on, she had to save Zatoh from a hoard of Balahara, sand leviathans that reminded Penelope of mini Dragonators. In an investigation to figure out about the Alpha Doshaguma, the pack had attacked Kunafa, destroying a large amount of buildings. Penelope had saved Nata, who was huddled into a small hut. Penelope recognized that he was having a panic attack, so before she went to drive off the Doshaguma, she comforted Nata and handed him off to Alma. The fight against the Alpha was rough. Its claws weren’t as terrifying as some other monsters, but they still did some damage. It even managed to hit one of Penelope’s old wounds, knocking her down before carting her. After the healer Palico hit her with some Vigorwasp nectar, she looked and saw the bits of fear in Nata and Alma’s eyes. Penelope stood up, dusted herself off, and immediately started running back to the Alpha, swapping to the Charge Blade made from the stinger of a Lala Barina. The paralysis made quick work of the Alpha, who clearly was not expecting the swap from a gun to a blade. Upon her return, people were already starting to rebuild the huts and Gemchimes that had been destroyed in the attack.

While resting in the Scarlet Forest after fighting the Alpha Doshaguma, the Downpour started. A seemingly endless rainstorm that floods the forest, bringing new threats to the surface. Penelope was out of the tent training with a Great Sword while Gemma, Nata, and Alma watched. She caught Gemma whispering something to Alma that made her turn a bright shade of red. Penelope was a bit confused, but didn’t think anything of it, even when Gemma pointed somewhere suspiciously close to her chest as she swung the sword again. Right as she cleaved a large log in half with a True Charged Slash, an SOS flare from the Astrum Unit flew into the air, its glow lighting up the dark clouds in a foreboding red. Hopping on her Seikret, Circe, Penelope booked it towards the flare, because if something was strong enough to make Oliva call for help, there would be no time to waste. Running through a particularly deep puddle, she spotted Erik and Olivia standing in the middle of one of the rivers, Olivia’s hammer poised and ready to strike. Before she could get a word out, a giant leviathan came crashing from the waves, its head slamming into Olivia’s hammer before knocking her away. The waves from its wake slammed the Avis Unit backwards, allowing Alma to grab Erik and run on her Seikret, leaving Uth Duna, Apex of the Scarlet Forest, to the hunters. It was a short fight. Even with Uth Duna constantly diving beneath the water and covering itself in a protective membrane, it couldn’t stand up to the relentless assault from Olivia and Penelope. Once close to a large water reservoir, it retreated, diving down below. Before both Units could catch their breath, a large white monster came crashing down and ripped the Uth Duna from the water. In their scuffle, the new creature wrapped large glowing chains around Uth Duna, seeming to kill it without so much as a scratch. As the hunters readied their weapons, it flew off, chains glowing an ominous purple. Nata recognised it as the White Wraith, the beast that destroyed his home so many years ago.

Chapter Text

As thanks for slaying Uth Duna and the Alpha Doshaguma, Zatoh led the Avis unit to a place called the Oilwell Basin, famous for its pits of oil that burst into flames once the Firespring appears. Even though it had been over a year since fighting Fatalis, Penelope was still uneasy going somewhere that could surround her in flames. She kept rubbing the burn marks under her sleeves nervously, and caught Alma staring. If Alma had noticed anything was wrong, she didn’t make it known. The Avis unit made its way to Azuz, home of the Everforge, and set up camp with the Astrum unit. Penelope found them interesting. Olivia was strong and brave, Erik was smart, if a little too eager to run into Lala Bairna venom, and Werner had created Wyvernfire technology. Not long after reaching Azuz, Penelope was already on her first mission, finding two members of the Oilfolk who went directly into the den of a monster. Said monster was a brute wyvern called Rompopolo. Penelope had never heard of them before, but Alma was ready. She kept throwing out tips of where to land hits to deal the most amount of damage, which gave the Rompopolo no chance of surviving. Now thoroughly covered in Oilsilt, they managed to find the Oilfolk and bring them back just in time for the Firespring Festival. As everyone was ready for the Firespring to begin, Penelope backed up a bit from the main forge. Even though it had been over a year since Fatalis, fire still worried her and made her wounds ache with the memories. She was able to keep her composure on hunts, but this was something else entirely. She had to hold in her sigh of relief when nothing happened. After the failed Firespring, they were given an urgent message from Zatoh. The Sandtide, a dangerous sandstorm that brings lightning and destruction wherever it goes, was arriving faster than usual.

Sensing that something was horribly wrong, the Avis Unit ran back to the Windward Plains as fast as their Seikrets could take them. As they exited the forest, they were instantly battered by the sandstorm. Each grain of sand felt like a dagger slamming into their skin. From afar, they could see Wind’s Gasp, the large mountain that watches over the Plains, coated in bright blue lightning as the storm surged. As the Avis Unit got closer, they could hear the deep familiar roars of the White Wraith. Upon reaching the entrance, they could see monsters fighting. The White Wraith was running along the stones, crackling with energy, while the Rey Dau, the Apex of the Windward Plains, gathered lightning in its horns to launch at the Wraith. Nata jumped from Alma’s Seikret to try and attack the White Wraith, but Penelope held him back. His cries of anguish for the death of his people struck Penelope deep, she could understand how Nata felt. As she held him, she saw the green jewel on her bracelet glint in the light of the electricity. The bracelet had gone through a lot, from battles against normal monsters, to being accidentally eaten by a Jagras, to surviving the heat of Fatalis. The gem, a piece of deep green jade, was warped and faded, but still relatively unharmed. They watched as The White Wraith grabbed Rey Dau in its chains and, like with Uth Duna, drained the creature's energy with little effort. As it started to fly away, Penelope picked up Nata and placed him on Alma’s Seikret. Before she could explain her reason for not rushing in, a large bolt of lightning struck the corpse of the Rey Dau. As the creature rose, lightning crackling through its horns, Alma gave the all clear to hunt as she took Erik, Gemma, and Nata away to find a place to hide. Armed with a heavy bowgun made from the fins of Uth Duna, Penelope launched round after round into the beast’s hide. The Rey Dau struck back with bolts of lightning launched from its horns like a railgun. It flew high into the air, lightning gathering through its spine and horns, launching a blast that ricocheted around its nest. After bouncing off a large piece of Fulgurite, it was aimed straight at her back. Penelope couldn’t pull the barrel of her gun around in time to block it, and instead braced for impact.

The lightning never hit. It deflected off of two sharp blades that had appeared from nowhere. Looking up, Penelope smiled as Espen smirked down at her.
“How about you focus on damaging its horns, I’ll draw its attention.” she said before rushing towards Rey Dau. She jumped over another strike of lightning before landing on its horns. Spinning her blades, she flew down its back, swords ripping into its scales and sending sparks of electricity flying. It roared and snapped its tail, throwing Espen off and sending her crashing to the floor. It flew back into the air and soared away from its nest. After making sure Espen was okay, they both ran for their Seikrets and started to follow the beast. They heard shouting as they ran through the Sandtide, outlines appearing with strikes of lightning. Rey Dau’s echoing cry rang out as it let loose strikes of lighting, Fynn as he struck at its wings. The others had ambushed it, leaving it surprised and open for damage. Falcon waved at Penny and Espen before revving up their Switch Axe. Swapping to sword mode, they swung right as Rey Dau slammed down its wing. A burst of energy came from the sword as Rey Dau was sent reeling, the Fulgurite covering its wing shattering. With a warbling scream, Rey Dau flew into the sky. The air around them filled with the charge of electricity as a rainbow of energy gathered in Rey Dau’s horns. A bolt of lightning screamed as it shot out of its horns, lighting up the valley in a spray of colours. As it landed, its horns opened, glowing and releasing steam. Seeing an opening, Penelope launched a special Wyverns Howl round directly into the now vulnerable horns. With an explosion and a loud crack, its left horn shattered and fell to the ground, still coursing with electricity.

As Rey Dau fell and started to writhe on the ground, she felt someone grab her shoulder. It was Espen,
“Hey! Nice job! You should go find Alma, Nata, and the others and make sure they’re safe, we got this now you’ve ruined its main attack.” she yelled over the storm. Fynn was already running towards it, Hunting Horn letting out a honk as it bashed into Rey Dau’s skull. Grabbing the shard of broken horn, Penelope turned back to find where Alma and the others had run off to. She still hadn’t told Gemma, Nata, or anyone else really about the fate of her village. She suspected Alma knew, especially with how she mentioned she needed a hunter who could relate to Nata. As Circe trotted along, Penelope held the jewel of her bracelet closer, the hurt of losing her home still fresh as she gazed upon the last gift her father gave her. She zoned out, those thoughts from long ago resurfacing. Why had she survived? She wasn’t special? Why was her life spared while her entire village was decimated? She was so deep in thought, she didn’t realize Alma was trying to talk to her until she snapped her fingers in front of her face. Penelope jumped, causing Circe to start and kick her off onto the ground. It managed to get a laugh out of Gemma and, surprisingly, Nata, who was still sulking on Alma’s Seikret. Alma, however, was instantly down by Penelope checking if she was okay. As Penelope looked towards Alma, she felt her mind short circuit as their eyes met. Gog, her eyes are beautiful. After reassuring Alma that she was fine, Alma extended a hand to lift her up. Penelope really hoped Alma couldn’t feel how sweaty her palms had gotten beneath her gloves. Her blush was extremely obvious to Gemma and Nata, who looked at each other knowingly as Alma tried dusting some sand off of Penelope’s armor. A wicked scream erupted from the Wind’s Grasp as Rey Dau was defeated, a blast of wind flying from the mountain and eradicating the Sandtide in a wave. What once was a seemingly deserted wasteland became a vibrant mural of life as green covered the trees and Endemic Life seemed to pop out from everywhere.The season of Plenty had arrived. An Amstrigian, a small species of bird, landed on Alma’s head. Penelope had a guild-issued camera out, ready to snap pictures of new Endemic Life, so she took a picture of the bird as it stared down at Alma. She looked down at the photo, smiling before looking up and found Alma was staring at her. Penelope quickly looked away and tried to take a picture of one of the native herbivores that had walked closer. She could feel Alma’s eyes on her as she turned away. Circe looked up towards Penelope and gave a very obvious eye roll as he started to walk a bit faster, seemingly not wanting to continue to see the display of disastrous lesbianism.

Chapter Text

When they entered Kunafa, the villagers were cheering and shouting with joy. Not only were they celebrating the defeat of the rampaging monster, but it was time for their Plenty Festival. Bright flowers were being braided into links and wreaths and placed around the village as sweet-smelling candles were lit. The Hunters were led to a larger building and told to rest before the festivities were fully ready. Falcon set their Switch Axe by the door and landed with a thump onto a large bean bag, sighing into the plush fabric. Kinnliye hopped beside them, before a devilish smile formed on their face. They hopped back off before jumping up onto their back, causing Falcon to let out a yelp. Kinnliye laughed before Falcon grabbed them and started tossing them in the air and spinning them like pizza dough. Espen rolled her eyes before walking over to a bed. She started sharpening her Dual Blades, despite the fact they were already in pristine position. Fynn removed his Horn and some pieces of armor before pulling out a book from his back and settling into a different bean bag, one that wasn’t being assaulted by a spinning Kinnliye. Penelope smiled as she removed the cape and unbuttoned part of her armor. She sighed as the weight was removed and laid down on the floor. She heard Falcon pause spinning Kinnliye and laugh.
“What are you doing Penny?” they asked.
“Floor Time,” she responded, eyes closed as she felt Alani settle in next to her. With a laugh, Falcon joined her on the floor. They stretched their arms out wide with a sigh.
“Woah, why does this actually feel good? Fynn! You gotta try this!” they said. Fynn looked up from his book, a little confused. It wasn’t until his Palico, Phobos insisted that he joined them on the floor. Espen just looked at them, confused as to what they were doing. “You too Espen,” Falcon said with a smile, “Join us!” Espen looked even more confused.
“What, why?” she asked.
‘Because it’s fun and relaxing!” Penelope responded, now looking at Espen. From her angle, she was upside down, but her confusion and indecisiveness was plain to see. Penelope extended her hand out to her, waiting for her to take it. Espen froze, eyes flicking from the door to Penelope’s hand before taking it and joining them on the floor. Espen’s hand gripped hers tight enough to make her fingers feel numb.
“Hey! If yall are holding hands, I wanna join too!” Falcon said before grabbing Penelope and Fynn’s hands. Fynn and Espen eventually held hands, making a circle on the ground. Espen’s hand was still gripping Penelope’s tightly, her arm shaking as she stared up at the ceiling.
“Hey, how about we all take some deep breaths, really dive into Floor Time, y’know?” The group nodded and all took a deep breath. When they all released it, Penelope could feel them all relax as they seemingly melted into the floor.
“I think that’s the first time I’ve actually tried to relax since Fatalis,” Espen said as her grip on Penelope’s hand lessened. The air grew tense for a moment at the mention of the dragon, but it quickly faded when Falcon said,
“Still killed it though, which was insane by the way! What Dual Blades were you using? I remember you cutting straight through it!” Espen smiled, her eyes alight with excitement.
“I actually created those myself using an alloy found in the depths of the Guiding Lands! Using that, some Raging Brachydios slime, and some crushed up shards of Alatreon scales, I made a very explosive pair of Dual Blades,” she sighed, disappointment covering her face, "Unfortunately, they were still a work in progress and preceded to explode after the fight, otherwise I would totally be using them right now!” Fynn started asking questions on the alloy and what concentrations of slime she used as Penelope stared up at the tent. A small chime shaped like a Chatacabara lightly swung as a light breeze peppered the outside of the tent. She felt herself dozing off, the drone of Fynn and Espen’s voices causing her eyelids to grow heavy. A loud gong shook her out of her slight drowsiness and sent all four of the Hunters to their feet. The loud noises started bouncing rhythmically as Ysai opened the tent. He was taken aback at all the Hunters ready for combat but quickly regained his composure and assured them that there were only ceremonial drums. The Hunters breathed a collective sigh of relief, their hearts pounding from the anticipated fight. Ysai gave the Hunters some space so they could change into more comfortable attire.

Fynn and Falcon stayed on one side while Espen and Penelope stayed on the other, divided by a large blanket they had hung up. Penelope could hear Falcon and Fynn cracking jokes as she lifted off the bodice of her Lala Barina armor. She was thankful that she had decided to wear an undershirt, she didn’t want to explain her scars again. She took a glance over at Espen, and quickly turned away. Espen usually wore bulky armor, so she was surprised to actually see her without it. She was quite beautiful, her body like an acrobat, but that wasn’t what made Penelope whip away. She was topless. Penelope waited, blushing furiously until she heard the sound of fabric on skin until she turned back. Espen was now wearing a simple tan tunic and grey pants. Penelope hoped her face still wasn’t red as she swapped into the green dress that had been packed for her. It was a bit different from others she had worn. The dark green material stopped just under her knees and the sleeves were separated from the main dress, they were more like arm warmers than anything. When all four were ready, they opened the curtain. Falcon was in a festive looking tunic with browns and reds that looked like feathers while Fynn was in a dark teal robe that made him look like a mage in a story. Ysai entered and smiled at their outfits. He was also in festival attire, his normal headdress swapped out for a headband of two curling horns decorated with flowers. The drums grew louder, now being accompanied with strings and horns as they left the tent. The evening breeze flowed through Kunafa as the Festival grew to its full heights. In the center of the village, a group of dancers were doing some sort of ritual where they spun large shards of Fulgurite, the chiming sound echoing over the music. Penelope smiled as a group of little girls ran over and shoved a pile of flowers into Espen’s hands before running off, giggling as they ducked through the people walking around. Espen looked around, a confused smile on her face as she looked around, trying to figure out what to do with the flowers. Looking around, Penelope noticed most of the people were weaving flowers into circlets and bracelets that matched the wreaths around the village. Grabbing some of the flowers from Espen, Penelope tried to mimic the weaving style and made a lopsided headband. She looked at it, slightly disappointed before Falcon snatched it out of her hands and placed it on their head. The circlet fell down over their left eye, replacing it with a giant orange flower. Falcon proudly posed as Penelope nearly died from embarrassment. Turning back towards Espen, she tried making another circlet. This one looked a lot more like the ones the villagers were making. Proud of her work, Penelope placed it on Expen’s head, smiling at how the colorful flowers shone on her white hair. Before Espen could say anything, the drums played again at full force. People cheered as fireworks were sent screaming off into the sky. The colors lit up the valley and reflected off of the Fulgurite, dying the village in a rainbow. As the fireworks went off, people cheered and sang songs as food and drink were passed around. Fynn was awkwardly standing in the middle of a bunch of dancers, trying his best to keep up with their moves. Penelope laughed as Falcon grabbed her hand and had them both join a different dance. It involved a lot of spinning and jumping and by the end, Penelope’s legs burned with exertion. When the dizziness faded, Penelope saw Espen in a group who were spinning around a pillar of Fulgurite, a chain of flowers connecting them as they ran around. Penelope smiled seeing Espen spend a moment to relax, but her attention was caught by Alma. She was in a sky blue dress that pooled into a dark navy the further down it went. She was standing and talking with the Elder as people danced around them. The flashing lights reflected off her skin, leaving her glowing as she laughed at a joke. Penelope felt her face flush. Alma looked stunning. She could swear that her Handler had been replaced with an angel. She blinked, realized she had been staring for who knows how long and quickly turned away. She felt ashamed. She first off didn’t even know if she was into women, but also knew that Alma was way out of her league. She had studied at the biggest monstology academy in Dundorma and managed to become a lead researcher for Fabuis, a leader of the Gore Magala case himself. What was she? Just some mediocre Hunter who only survived through dumb luck. The thought soured her mood, the festival no longer holding much interest to her. She walked back to the huts the people of Kunafa had made for when the hunters visited, people passing her with flowers and Fulgurite in their hands. Shoving open the door, she collapsed onto her bed with a huff. Despite how much fun she had, dancing and eating with the locals, her heart felt heavy. She felt silent tears slide down her face and onto the soft pillow. She stayed there, the only sound the occasional sniffle, until her tears stopped. She didn’t know why she was crying. Her heart felt like a brick had replaced it, the weight slowly crushing her from the inside out. She threw the covers over her, not even bothering to take her dress off before wrapping part of it over her head. She looked a bit like a piece of prey caught in a Nerscylla web. She stayed there, eyes puffy from crying until she heard the door open again. She slowed her breathing, hoping whoever entered thought she was asleep. She heard Alma talking to Alani about the festival before her voice dropped. She continued speaking in a whisper as she changed into her nightclothes. Alani hopped up onto the bed before tucking into a ball at the pillow. In a few moments, the room was filled with Alani’s purrs and Alma’s soft snores. Despite the festival quieting, Penelope couldn’t sleep. Her mind began to drift as she thought about Alma. She couldn’t get the thought of her in that dress out of her head. As the time passed, Penelope felt herself fall into a light slumber, the last thought before she drifted away being of Alma.