Archive of Our Own

The air shifted.

Over the rolls of wind drew an electric tang as a rumble reverberated through the forest. Not a single drop of rain fell as the sky kept a crystalline blue. But the thunder still rolled.

All at once, the forest fell silent.

All at once, nothing howled or sang.

There was only silence.

Silence.

Olivia knew at once that something was amiss as she stepped foot into the base camp of the Scarlet Forest. Drowning out the nothingness of the forest was the people going about their mundane life of work. Those that did not listen to the trees as a Hunter did. Or were too lost in their own set of problems to even care that something was wrong. Maybe they knew more than she did as she had just arrived back from her own hunt in the Windward Plains.

She drew her eyes over the camp searching for Erik.

Contracts of all sorts had been piling on her table as of late with the rise of tempered and frenzied monsters. Although the money was good, it often had left Erik bereft of his usual compatriot. She still always tried to find time for her handler. Whether it be perusing the local ecology in their own sense of downtime or buying each other drinks at the canteen. But even she knew that her duty had started to become troublesome to all her relationships.

Although she wanted to rekindle the flickering flames by escorting him on another journey into the forest, she had come for another reason. He had asked her help.

Judging by what he said before she went on her hunt, it seemed the job he had was important as all the others. 

It was strange to find him absent when she knew he had been waiting for her.

Likewise, it was strange finding Alma was without her Hunter.

Olivia approached the chair that Alma was perched upon. The handler sat engrossed in her own mode of study with her rather typical smile. But even Olivia could see through the upbeat attitude in the way that a tension seemed to cling to Alma’s shoulders. It came in the form of her barely hunched over back and the way her glasses seem to droop just a little too out of place than usual. Her lips were pursed in a different way. Her knees held tight together as well as the book set in her hand. Olivia had seen it before in how her hunter would regale the arduous battles against certain foes. But it was different to see it while he was gone.

Really, what Olivia needed to do was stop analyzing people like monsters. Though it came with its own benefits, sometimes it made her feel apart from everyone else. Sometimes she had to wonder if the other Hunters were the same.

“Alma.” She rounded to stand beneath the thick cloth canopy that hung overhead. “How has the wind tided you?”

Alma looked up from her book, a warmth spread over her features upon meeting Olivia’s. “Oh! Olivia! You’re back!” She shut her book to provide her full attention to the Hunter. “Wonderful as ever. How did your hunt go?”

“Uneventful. But it was a good hunt.” Olivia nodded her head slowly. It was only a Kut-Ku. Nothing that caused any problems. But even if it wasn’t a problem, it had been somewhat troublesome. She raised her hand out to flourish her gauntlet that had been smashed. Although it was superficial at worse, she knew she would have to hand the armor to be repaired by Werner. Her head gestured towards her own tent. Though, she supposed it was more Erik’s at this rate. “The report will be quick to hand in.”

Alma nodded her head, then turned her body towards the tent that she gestured to. “You know, Erik was actually looking for you.”

“I was about to ask you about that…” Olivia rounded her gaze over the camp once more. As if to be sure that he was not hiding or too lost staring at a colony of ants. “I hope no one let him go off running without a hunter by his side.”

It was intended to come off as a joke. Although she knew her handler had his head on straight most the time, his head was still up in the clouds. Or too stuck staring at the small fish in the pond of water to notice the Gajios lurking beneath the mud.

Olivia’s apparent worry must have been plain on her face as Alma managed a small chuckle.

“Well, you’ll be relieved to know that our ‘Ace Hunter’ took on the job that Erik intended for you.” Alma offered a reassuring smile. “The locals were having a problem with a monster. So Averna and Erik went to investigate the issue.”

Olivia’s eyes traced towards the forest. Her eyes kept towards the natural pathway into the Scarlet Forest, as though searching for the two of them even through the thick foliage.

“How long has it been?” Her eyes kept to the forest. As if to glimpse anything to know that they were safe.

“Maybe forty minutes?”

Olivia motioned upward towards the forest canopy. “How long since the forest became silent?”

Alma grew quiet too. Her eyes traced overhead to stare at the dizzying canopy of trees and a look of embarrassment crossed her face. It was obvious to Olivia that she had not taken heed of the silence. But who could blame her? She was not a Hunter like Olivia was.

“Thirteen minutes ago.”

But it was not Alma who replied.

Olivia turned to the voice and smiled down at Nata for replying rather squarely to the question.

“So, you took notice.” Olivia tipped her head to the side as she stared at the boy. He was still barely a fledgling hunter, but he was doing well to absorb all that Averna was teaching him. It was an impressive feat given that Nata had just begun his training a few weeks ago. “That is good. But do you know what that might mean?”

Nata nodded his head. “There may be an apex predator or bad weather on the way.” His eyes shifted towards the forest. She wondered if he could see how the forest seemed to shudder with every thunderous boom that was barely audible beneath the rustling of the leaves. If he could see the forest breathe with every breath the hunter and monster took. “But you’re probably asking how long Averna has been hunting the monster. Right?”

Olivia nodded her head. “Yes. That is correct.” Her gaze drew towards the forest once more.

It was all in a moment that everything seemed to shift beneath her feet and over her eyes. It would not be obvious to the normal passerby or even the fledgling hunter. But for Olivia, she could feel it. The Scarlet Forest shuddered again. Its body seemingly gasping a breath of air as everything was released all at once. The thunder beneath the leaves quieted. The tremble underfoot went still. And then, it seemed as though the silence drew to its end, and life resumed into normalcy. As though nothing happened.

“But it seems our Hunter has slain the monster.”

Nata and Alma furrowed their brows and turned to stare at one another. Alma leaned forward. Her brow raised and her stare hard upon Olivia’s back. “How can you tell?”

Olivia gave a smile. “It is not as auspicious as you think it is.” She gave a small laugh. Then beckoned Alma and Nata towards her. They stood and approached were she stood and stared into the forest’s undergrowth. But she pointed to the sky.

A flare barely visible from the canopy of trees split into the sky above. And the entirety of the base camp craned their heads towards the signal.

“A capture?” Alma blinked.

Olivia shook her head with a smile. It was like Erik to suggest that. Or maybe it was Averna that did. But it looked like it would be a long night for the base camp. At least she had some solace knowing she would not be put to work. The Guild required some downtime between a hunt so long as there was no emergency. And Olivia was just fresh off of a commission.

Too bad, though. She would have loved to see the specimen that was caught. Not that she would need to ask. If Erik was involved, he would regale her the story immediately.

“I guess we were both worried for nothing.” Olivia shrugged as she stepped away from the forest to find a nice spot beside her tent to wait for the arrival of Erik and Averna.

“Olivia!” Erik’s voice resounded throughout the camp.

She looked up from her stool set in front of her tent. In her hand held a whetstone and in the other the carving knife. She had since dressed down to allow herself a moment to breath without the armor and for Werner to repair her gauntlet. But even if she had allowed her the pleasure of the late afternoon air, it felt strange to not feel the weight of the metal over her body.

His eyes lit up as he practically sprinted towards her. “Olivia! You’re not going to believe this! A Lagiacrus! In the East!” He barely was able to stop short of her stool. And for a moment she feared he would have stumbled straight into her and the carving knife. “You should have seen it! It was so beautiful! I’ve always wanted to see a Lagiacrus, and I can’t believe we found one here! Do you think something is happening back in their natural environment to cause them to flee this far into the Scarlet Forest? Maybe this has always been apart of their natural migration path and this one got lost.”

Before he was able to continue further, Olivia raised her hands up, carving knife and whetstone in hand, for him to slow down. “Woah…” she kept her smile as she made Erik take a deep breath. There was a short pause, and before Erik was able to speak again Olivia was sure to speak first before he had gotten off topic again. “A Lagiacrus? Truly?”

Erik nodded his head rapidly. “Yes! You should have been there! It looked so beautiful in the water. And whenever it would bear lightning down it looked amazing! I didn’t want to blink because I’d thought I might miss something.”

Of course, that would have been at the expense of the Hunter in question who hunted it. Which would have been Averna. She cast a long gaze over Erik, and then craned her neck slightly to look above the biologist. Averna was not in tow, and somehow that was unsurprising given how much Erik paid attention to those things.

“I hope Averna is no worse for wear.” She sat back in her seat proper. “Did it go well for him?”

“Absolutely!” he nodded his head again. “He was right behind…” he turned towards the camp entrance. “…there! Huh?” Erik looked puzzled for a moment. Averna’s Seikret wasn’t hitched and there was no sign of him either. “That’s strange. He was right behind me…”

Olivia stared at the camp entrance for a time. Though it was strange that Averna did not arrive alongside Erik, it might have been that he wanted some time alone with his own thoughts before returning to camp. A Lagiacrus was no joke, and though Averna had hunted much more troublesome monsters, it was still considered fairly dangerous. Besides, Erik might have been always more attentive to the world around him, she knew him to understand when someone was seriously hurt. At least, she believed she did.

“Perhaps he took the scenic route home.” She shrugged. Though, she wouldn’t deny that sometimes Erik was a little bit too overzealous with his own thoughts and imaginations. It was likely that he had left Averna in the dust to come back to base camp as quickly as possible to regale her the story and write his report. “I can keep a look out for him.” She beckoned her head towards the tent. “I’m sure you have quite the report to write.”

Erik turned back to Olivia with a smile. “Okay!” He nodded his head. “I can’t wait to tell you all about it! Averna looked so cool hunting that Lagiacrus! I know how much you love reading about his hunts, so you’ll be first to read it!”

Olivia sighed and shook her head as she stood. She placed the carving knife and whetstone on the stool with a bemused stare. “I’ll be sure to tell him you said that.”

She watched as Erik crawled into their tent then approached the entrance to base camp. Her arm found a nice spot against a mossy patch of dirt and she allowed herself the moment within nature. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and she awaited any glimpse of Averna or his Palico, Loki. But even as she waited, she couldn’t help but allow her mind to wander and imagine what sort of battle had been fought against the Lagiacrus. She had her own fair share of hunts against the beast, particularly of the Ivory variations. Yet, she had to wonder how daring the battle that Averna had fought. And she could not help to muster up a rather impressive looking image of the Hunter battling against the Lagiacrus.

Even if she would have preferred to hunt alongside Averna, sometimes she wished she could watch in the sidelines how well he fared against such monsters. Perhaps if only to admire him.

She let out a sigh and shook her head. Olivia had gotten much too used to getting used to those thoughts in her mind since Averna and her had started going on so many hunts together. Though she wasn’t distracted by any means when hunting alongside Averna, she couldn’t help but take him in after the hunt when all was said and done. Maybe it was all that adrenaline pumping through her that made her feel that way. But maybe not seeing as how she was standing there by her lonesome thinking of Averna like that.

But Averna did too. And she knew because of how he would often wait for her back at camp when he knew she would be coming back from a hunt so soon. His smile always clear for her to see upon the first steps back to base camp should their roads cross. And hers for him.

“Bah…” she waved those thoughts away. They were only friends. And it was easy to get those sorts of emotions tangled up when adrenaline was often at play in the heat of battle.

But she allowed the thoughts and emotions to pass through her as the wind carries through the forest.

It was several minutes later that she almost had cause to ask a Hunter to go out and look for Averna. Olivia would have done it herself, but that would have been asking for trouble considering that she did not wear any armor. She was about to turn to fetch a Hunter for her request when she caught a glimpse of Averna’s Seikret. His Palico was not in tow, but it might have been that Loki had decided to help with the captured Lagiacrus than head straight home to camp.

When he came further into view, she was beginning to realize why Averna had took so long to return back.

He was absolutely drenched.

His shoulders hung heavy over his body as it looked as though his Seikret was dragging his body back home rather than allowing the Hunter to ride on its back. The usual hair that was kept in a ponytail hung completely soaked over his face and hid his features. And it looked as if he was caught in a torrential downpour in the forest as his armor was still dripping with water. The usual battle paint had worn off into the water and he looked practically pathetic riding into camp.

Did he fall in a lake?

She knew that Lagiacrus lived in the water and shores, so it was expected that he would come home at least a little wet. But he was absolutely soaked to the bone. Like he had gone swimming with it.

Her mouth gaped open a little bit. She was going to greet him, but he rode right past her. Maybe he didn’t notice, or maybe he was just too exhausted to really give a greeting. It was unlike him, but she wasn’t dumb enough to not notice the signs of exhaustion.

He slipped from his mount, and wearily walked past everyone and practically crawled into his tent without much a word. She knew Averna quite well, at least that was what she believed. They had gone on one too many hunts together and bled for each other to know the telltale signs of a hunt gone poorly. It was usually best to give a Hunter a wide berth when something so dire as that occurred. But Olivia was not going to completely ignore another Hunter in dire need. Especially when the usual Handler and friends were too busy working on picking up the pieces after a hunt.

So, she approached his tent.

She stared for a moment, as though unsure to check in on the hunter who just returned after his victorious battle. It was like Erik to muddy the details on the condition of the hunter whom slayed the monster as his eyes only feasted on the specimen. Though Olivia never really minded that aspect of her Handler, it was obvious that Averna was less than okay given how he practically ignored her coming into camp.

A solidary creature would not often approach others upon their own condition. She understood that was his nature, but this was something beyond what she was used to.  

Her hand reached out to pull back the flap slightly and she peered inside.

Averna sat on his hammock completely soaked. Yet, instead of removing his armor and drying himself off, he sat with his charge blade in his lap to preen it. She noted how his hands flourished over the equipment as he pulled apart the pieces and phials, ensuring that everything was properly cared for and dried. Even more, she noted how he did not seem to bother with his own self. His blue hair clung to his cheeks and draped over his body. The ponytail usually kept was long discarded as though lost in the battle. His body seemed hunched over the weaponry as though he would fall to pieces with a light breeze.

Most of all, it looked as though the busywork was just that. Busywork. As though he more sat to flutter his fingers across the pieces of equipment to replay the hunt back in his head. Over and over again.

She had seen that look before in the eyes. She had seen it in herself as well. Time had allowed her to understand that a reflection of the hunt was a good thing to meditate upon. But all in good time after proper care was done for the body and soul. Averna was still young, and it was obvious that the hunter was still grappling with that piece of identity.

She wondered how bad the hunt went.

“Hey.” Olivia finally announced her presence.

Averna looked up. He barely had the energy to even meet her eyes. The look of exhaustion greeted her. He sat quiet for a time, as though he wanted to say something. It was an awkward silence, but it did not keep Olivia from welcoming herself into Averna’s tent.

It was surprisingly warm as heat still emanated from the still pulsing charge blade. The blade and shield were filled with raw energy, and the feeling must have been pleasant for the still drenched Averna sitting draped over the weaponry. But, for Olivia, it was a little uncomfortable to endure from the already tropical forest.

She found a perch on an empty stool and leaned her body forward. She allowed her hands to clasp in front of her and stared up at Averna with a neutral smile, but still a bit of warmth. They sat quiet for a moment. Not awkward, but almost pleasant. She allowed him time to wrap his thoughts up from his own meditation of the hunt. And only when the time was right, she would speak.

So, she admired him from a distance. As one would admire life in this world. Quietly and from afar.

They sat in silence.

Then, finally, Olivia spoke after an appropriate pause. “Erik mentioned you captured a Lagiacrus.” She started slowly. “How did it go?”

Averna was quiet for another long pause. He drew his hand over the shield of his weapon as if to pick at something. But his hand fell short of what he wanted to fuss with. He allowed his shoulders to slump forward and let exhaustion (literally) drip from him.

“It went… fine.” His voice was quiet and barely audible over the tremble of the forest and the soft hum of the weaponry in his hands.

But Olivia had been a hunter long enough to know what ‘fine’ meant. It was codeword for: Pain in the ass.

“I can see that.” She motioned with her head towards Averna’s body. He still was trembling from adrenaline, but even that was beginning to fall away.

“It can swim.” Averna continued.

“You didn’t know they could swim?” Olivia tipped her head to the side. Her brows furrowed and lips pursed slightly. The comment took her off guard.

“No. I know they can swim.” Averna shook his head. “I’ve seen plenty of them in my village when they come to mate.” Although Olivia wanted to inquire more about that, she kept quiet. Then she had to wonder if Erik had interviewed the boy to death in regards to Lagiacrus mating rituals and habits. Averna flicked his eyes to Olivia. Then with a grimace he continued: “What I mean is… I had to fight it under water.”

Ah. That explained it. Olivia swore internally to herself for not noticing the pieces earlier. It was a little embarrassing that he had to spell it out for her, but even a Hunter couldn’t pick up on every single little thing. Even they made mistakes. More often with people than monsters.

“You’ve never done underwater combat?” she replied.

“I did the training. But I never had to do any underwater combat.” Averna shook his head. “It was my first time… I felt like a Plesioth out of water.”

“Plesioth do well out of water too.” Olivia offered a smile.

“A Niblesnarf in water, then.” He leaned forward even more to let his arms hang over the shield. He allowed his eyes to close and for a moment Olivia thought he would fall asleep right then and there. “I thought I was going to drown.”

“Erik thought you looked cool.”

Averna looked up and rolled his eyes. He reclined back and gave a sigh as he stared down at the charge blade sat in his lap. The heat inside the tent was now becoming uncomfortable, but it seemed as though Averna was ignoring that fact or bearing through the grit of it. She saw the glimpsed of frustration run across his face as he furrowed his eyes down at the complex weaponry as though it was a puzzle to solve. He looked resolved in maintaining his weaponry than to allow his body rest as his hands moved to dry and clean the weapon phials.

She could see how his body protested.

Olivia stared for at the weapon for a moment, then turned her eyes back to Averna. “You should get yourself dry before you take care of that weapon of yours.” She pointed towards the weapon. “You’ll catch a cold if you don’t dry yourself off.”

Averna seemingly ignored the advice and continued to clean the weapon.

No wonder Alma worries about him so much.

Olivia sighed with a shake of her head and rose from her station.

She drew towards Averna. Without a word said, she raised her hand and grasped the shield of the charge blade. Averna drew his face up towards Olivia in shock that she dared handled the piece of equipment. Another Hunter casually handling someone else’s equipment like this was proper grounds to get their face beat in. Context mattered, in most cases, but most Hunters understood that handling someone else’s equipment without clear consent was taboo at best. Olivia understood the risk of pulling away Averna’s weaponry from him. And even if the hunter was clearly more exhausted than he let on, there was still enough adrenaline coursing through him that she wouldn’t have been offended if he had snapped at her. If it had been her in that position she would have likely torn someone’s head off if they even touched her hammer.

But she understood that she was probably the only person in camp that was allowed to do this. As he understood he was allowed to do it with her. Even if they trusted their own Handler to care for their weapons, it was different to put the trust in another Hunter. And something about that made Olivia smile knowing they were the only ones special enough for each other to allow this comfort.

Still, he lurched forward to grab the weaponry back from her as she seemed to effortlessly lift the heavy piece of equipment from off his legs. His grip was poor and Olivia was able to effortlessly tug it away from him. He couldn’t help but gawk almost offensively at what she had done.

Carefully she set the weapon onto the weapon rack beside Averna’s bed-hammock. Her hand kept firm upon the handle of the sword that was secured inside the shield and she stared at the equipment for a moment. It would need to be maintained properly, but that could wait until after the Hunter better took care of himself. Her head shifted towards Averna as his eyes kept glued to his precious baby. She smiled at the anger that seemed to flash over his face at the handling of his weapon.

Before anything more could be said, Olivia took a step back towards Averna and knelt in front of him. She grabbed his arm rather forcefully and turned so his wrist was facing her and began to unbuckle and untie his gauntlets.

“Huh!?” He tried to draw back his hand, but Olivia’s grip was firm and unrelenting. “What are you--?”

“Making sure you don’t get a cold.” Olivia pulled the gauntlet off and set it down beside her. She moved to Averna’s other hand only for him to draw it back from her. Her eyes traced to Averna’s, more disappointed than annoyed.

“I can take care of myself.” Averna grimaced.

“Yourself or your weapon?” Her eyes were set hard against Averna.

 He rolled his eyes again. “I’m fine.”

Olivia shook her head with a sigh. She lurched forward for Averna’s other arm and managed to snatch his wrist firm in her grip. He struggled against her, for a time, but even his attempts were frail and barely had any effort in it.

“A fine hunter understands the weight of maintaining the flesh. The metal can be replaced.” Olivia managed to slip the other gauntlet off. “I can maintain your charge blade, but it would behoove you to dry yourself off.”

She grabbed the other gauntlet as she stood to set them against the small table at his bedside. Averna stared up at her, his face still testy and flared with annoyance. But even she could see that he was beginning to come around to the weight of her words. Although grudgingly.

With a wave, she motioned Averna to stand.

“You’re really relentless.” Averna drew back.

“There is a reason that Erik and I are good partners.” Olivia managed to crack a smile. “Now stand so I can get that cuirass off you.”

Averna dawdled for a moment. He opened his mouth to say something, but he understood with some eventuality that his breath was only being wasted on her. He laid his hands against his knees and stayed there for a minute. Olivia stared at Averna with some uncertainty, unsure for what reason he maintained this posture. But her eyes glimpsed the gentle tremble of his hands from his legs did realization draw over her that he was most likely trying to will the strength to even stand.

He did stand. Eventually. But it came as a stumble at first. His body quivered as he attempted to will his body up. His knees gave out from beneath him as they did not have the strength to keep both the body and the armor up and he found himself in Olivia’s arms.

“S-Sorry.” He managed as grasped onto Olivia’s arms. Averna pulled himself upright and stared at her. “I…” his face was red in embarrassment. He tried to find the right words, but nothing came as Olivia held tight onto Averna’s body. His eyes kept averted from hers, instead staring at her hands firm against the armor against his body.

“It happens to everyone.” Olivia tried to play it off for Averna’s ego. She took a step back, and moved her hands to his waist. Even from here, he could feel the trembling in his body as he tried to keep himself upright. She allowed him a moment to find his strength and balance before she carefully removed her hands from him.

It was unusual to see their ‘Ace Hunter’ so vulnerable after a simple Lagiacrus hunt. Though, she imagined it was not as simple as Erik was lending itself to be. And even simple hunts could take even the most grizzled hunter off guard. She could not count how many times she had taken a simple -Drome contract and still got her ass handed to her for reasons beyond her control. Sometimes she considered such things a curse, and that it was best to think of any ‘simple’ contract as anything but that.

Still, it did offer a glimpse of Averna she did not often see.

He was often such a tightly wound coil that seeing him be miserable made her remember that both he and Olivia were still human underneath the façade of the Hunter. Even if that was hard to remind each other that at times.

“Are you okay?” she tipped her head down a little to get a better look at Averna’s face. His hair still shrouded his features. But she could see how he struggled.

She raised her hand with uncertainty, and touched his face. He flinched and Olivia retracted quickly. But his eyes glanced upon her. And she knew it was permission enough to move close again. She moved away the wet strands of hair from his face. He kept an averted gaze, as though embarrassed by his own weakness. But a blush was still rising over his cheeks.

“I’m fine…” he managed as he lifted his hands away from Olivia’s arms. “I’m just exhausted.”

He teetered slightly to the side. Olivia reapproached to catch him but he shook his head as though dismissing her concern. He lifted his shoulders up in a shrugging motion and maintained the posture so that the cuirass’s buckles and belts could be better accessed for Olivia.

She stooped slightly and reached beneath his arms and began to remove his armor from his body. She moved her hands over his body easily and traced the scales of monsters slain that wrapped around his form. Her eyes caught the battle damage from the previous battle, noting how some of the scales were chipped or smashed. Even after Gemma had tempered the armor well, it was a testament to how the previous battle had gone.

Carefully she took the cuirass in hand and let Averna slide his arms out and allowed himself to slump back onto the edge of his bed. He took a moment to stare down at his body and how the leather was drying against him. Olivia gave a sigh, and shook her head as Averna let his hands rest against his legs. His hands were still shaking. The adrenaline was still working through his body.

“Do you need help with that?” Olivia pointed to the leather stuck to Averna’s body. She set the armor to the side to allow it to dry.

“I think I’ll be fine.” He began to slowly work his hands down into the sleeves. His eyes pointed towards his weapon now.

Olivia’s lips quirked up. “I can take care of it.”

“Do you know how to clean it?”

“I did the training.” Olivia rounded back towards the charge blade settled against the weapon’s rack.

Her eyes traced over the shield and the sword’s handle. The weapon was much too complicated for her tastes. But even if she had no intention of using the weapon, she was no fool in its proper maintenance. Any hunter worth their salt at least had a basic understanding of every weapon that the guild afforded them to use. It was unfortunate, but sometimes weapons break, and sometimes they had to use what was given them. But the charge blade and switch axe would have been at the bottom of Olivia’s choices.

She grabbed the weapon and sat back at the stool beside Averna’s bed. She placed the shield on her legs faced down and ran a hand over the moving parts. It was atypical from the normal charge blade, but she understood that all charge blades had their basic components. Phials, energy storage, heat vents, etc. It was just finding where it all was.

Averna kept his gaze upon her as she fiddled with the gear. She couldn’t blame him. If this was her weapon then she would do the same.

They sat in silence as Olivia went through the motions with the weapon. And eventually Averna had managed to shrug the leather off his body and he sat shirtless on his bed. He ran a cloth over his body soaking the remaining water off him.

It wasn’t the first nor last person she had ever seen half naked. But she tried to keep her passing glances to herself. But she could not help to indulge as she would occasionally catch how Averna’s dark skin would flex as he raised his arms up to pat himself dry. She noted the scars that ran up and down his frame. Some older than others, some gained from their journey to the Forbidden Lands.

Some of them gained with her.

Her hands paused as she suddenly caught her fingers against two panels. She flinched away as they pinched the tip of her finger and a soft ‘ow’ came from her lips.

“What are you trying to do?” Averna tipped his head to the side. Either he did not notice that Olivia was staring or he chose to ignore it.

“I’m looking for the vent panel.” Olivia looked towards Averna proper. He leaned forward and kept a steady gaze towards her hands.

“Oh.” Averna leaned a bit closer towards Olivia. “The panel is here…” he reached over Olivia’s hand. His hand curved over hers and guided her fingers into a different crevice. She felt his fingers against her own, guiding her to a panel hidden behind several larger plates of the shield.

Then both their fingers grazed the panel for the vent. Averna glanced up at Olivia. And she met his gaze. Their hands were formed rather nicely together. His hands were cold, and Olivia’s were so much warmer.

He suddenly drew his hand back from Olivia’s. He averted his gaze again as he played with his hands. “Just pull it down and it will vent the shield.”

Olivia took a breath, not realizing she had stopped breathing. And she hoped Averna was still too exhausted to notice the change in her demeanor. She pulled down the small trigger that her finger rolled over and felt a sudden excess of heat disperse from the shield. Then a disgustingly sweet smell and bitter tang filled the air of the tent.

It made Olivia blanch. And Averna chuckled.

“First time?” Averna moved his leg up to begin to untie his greaves.

“Not the first, but I wasn’t expecting it.” She covered her nose at the smell. “What is that?”

“Poison.” Averna replied. “It won’t harm us because it wasn’t processed through the axe.”

Olivia grimaced as she scrunched her face slightly. It wasn’t the most repugnant thing that she had ever smelled, not even close to the top worst, but it took her completely off guard. Averna gave her a small smile, and at least he was doing a little bit better than earlier.

He lowered his eyes as he moved lower down to begin to untie the sabatons from his foot. He let them fall casually to the floor as he moved over to his other leg.  

“Have you ever used a charge blade?” Averna kept his gaze lowered towards his leg as he spoke.

“Once.” Olivia replied. She moved the shield to between her legs and pulled the sword from its sheath. She tested the weight of the blade and its sharpness. “My mentor let me use his weapon once. But it was too complicated for me.”

Averna gave a small huff of a laugh. “It isn’t that complicated.”

Olivia looked up from the blade with a roll of her eyes. “For you, maybe. But I like the simplicity of my hammer.”

Averna reclined back slightly as he stared at Olivia holding the blade. He tipped his head back and forth, as though envisioning her with other weapons in the heat of battle. Although she was trained to use a charge blade, she would never bring it to the thick of battle. She could only imagine herself flailing around trying to hit the monster. But she could only imagine Averna was imagining something a lot more gallant and impressive.

His eyes traced her body. Admired her from afar how she held the sword in her hand. She could see how his mind seemed to envision her using a charge blade, or even a sword and shield. How she must look against a monster, or even posing for him.

“I think the hammer suites you,” he finally said.

“You think?” She replied with a smile. “Sometimes people find it surprising that I decided upon a hammer rather something more ‘regal’ like a longsword.”

Averna shook his head. “When I first saw you, I couldn’t think of a better weapon to match your spirit.”

The words took Olivia off guard. She let the sword droop from her hands slightly as the words passed over her. She wasn’t sure if he was flirting with her or not. But it wasn’t often that people would compliment her on the weapon she used, let alone tell her that it was a reflection of her spirit. It was just practicality than anything, so hearing it from Averna’s mouth was a bit strange. She never really thought of him as a spiritual type, let alone for something like this.

Still, she couldn’t help but feel a fluttering blush cross over her cheeks. She tried to play it off as nothing.

But Averna must have noticed it. The smile on his face slipped away and another embarrassed look crossed over his face.

“I mean… Um…” he began again. “I think the hammer captures your soul.”

Olivia kept her stare at Averna. Her face confused.

He shook his head. “I mean… I think you look beautiful wearing it.” His choice of words were becoming worse (or better) as he went on. And it must have been obvious how stupid he was beginning to sound as a cringe slowly came over him. He grit his teeth and gave Olivia a stupid look as he laughed at himself. “Ah… Aha. I think a Bullfango must have hit my head.”

His blush was set deep in his cheeks as he stared at Olivia. The exhaustion must have hampered his senses as he seemingly fumbled through the compliment. Or was it flirting? Olivia really couldn’t tell as she sat dumbfounded by Averna’s mumbling.

“My soul…?”

Olivia let the flat end of the blade rest against her leg. She knew how to take a compliment from a Hunter. Receiving them was rather easy, and she was old enough to have received her own handful of flirtatious gestures from so many people. It would have been no different to hear it from Averna.

But her pale cheeks were starting to feel a bit warm. And a fluttering sensation was beginning to settle in her stomach.

“As a Rider and Monstie are a reflection of each other, the Hunter and their Weapon are a reflection of their soul.” He gestured to the charge blade in Olivia’s hand. “That’s what my people used to say, at least.”

Olivia took a pause. She didn’t know that Averna had come from a Rider village, but given how easily he handled the Seikret it was beginning to make sense how easily he was able to pick up the motions.

But now she was stuck inquiring more about his past, or to continue to pull the thread that Averna laid bare for her.

It seemed a bit obvious.

“And you think my soul is… beautiful?” Olivia leaned forward a bit. A playful smirk drew over her lips.

Averna let his mouth hang open for a moment. Then averted his gaze.

Olivia set the blade down to the side. Her eyes intent upon Averna’s unmatched gaze.

“What do you think my Monstie would be?” Olivia maintained her smile. “Don’t tell me it would be a Rathian…”

“No!” Averted blurted as he glanced towards Olivia. “They’re regal, but I think you’d be a bit more brutish.”

“Oho?” Olivia stood up from her chair. She moved the shield away from her legs and latched her hand beneath the stool, dragging it forward towards Averna’s hammock-bed. Her gaze was kept to him, and for a moment it felt as though she were stalking a large monster.

“I-I mean…” Averna leaned back as Olivia approached him. “To match your hammer. Your strength and gracefulness.” He gestured towards Olivia’s figure. “Rathians don’t really have that touch. Maybe a… um…” his words trailed off.

“A…?” Olivia drew the stool closer to him. She set it closely in front of Averna and began to sit. Her body was close to him. And Averna had to spread his legs slightly to allow her room so near to him.

“Banbaro.”

“Really?” She leaned forward and clasped her hands together. She was quite close to him now, and she had to tip her head slightly upward to get a better look at him. Still, she actually was a bit surprised that Averna landed on a Banbaro of all creatures. “Why’s that?”

“They’re beautiful creatures… Like… you…” He bit his lips as he tried to focus his gaze on Olivia. “They have beautiful antlers that they use to break apart anything. And I think they’re a bit more regal than a Rathian.” He drew quiet as he stared at Olivia. “Ah… I think that Lagiacrus gave me a pretty good shock. Don’t you think?” He tried to smile to play off everything. He gave a big shrug as if this was all nothing. But she could see it in his face that wasn’t the case.

As much as Averna liked to try to hide the fact that he would gaze at Olivia, she would catch him in his straying glances. But what did that say for her to also gaze upon him?

“You look pretty fine to me.” Olivia glanced up and down Averna’s body.

She raised her hands and placed them on Averna’s knees. She kept her stare up at Averna, and could feel his body tremble beneath her hands. But she was certain that it wasn’t adrenaline rushing through his body and it might have been something else.

Her body leaned up and forward, her face drawing closer to Averna’s. Her left hand raised up and settled against where his chest would be. It trembled and beat quickly, but she did not fear that the Lagiacrus might have damaged his heart as her own heart was beginning to feel the same. And she fought no monster. So, the problem was something else. Something she knew how to resolve.

Averna’s eyes met hers own, and it was this shared glance that he understood what she was doing when she tested his heart beat. To make sure he was actually okay, and to be closer to him.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m okay…” he replied as he slowly nodded his head.

She felt his body relax. His hand reached to touch her wrist and slowly curl around it. His gaze was kept warily upon Olivia’s, as though unsure.

He really did look like a Nibelsnarf in water. And she had to bite back a huff of a laugh.

She drew closer to him.

“You sure?” She wasn’t sure if she was asking for permission or if he was really okay after the hunt. Maybe it was a bit of both.

“I’m okay…” his voice trailed away. He tipped his head towards the side and let a sigh escape his lips. “…with this.”

Both their eyes fluttered closed.

She felt her lips against his. There was uncertainty at first. And she felt how he almost flinched back from hers. She almost drew back, but he pushed forward and she could feel the trembling beneath his body even if he was much more relaxed than before.

Then she parted from his lips. And drew her head back slightly to look at him. It looked as though a calm wave drew across his body, and he let his shoulders slump. Maybe she saw the stars in his eyes from how he looked at her now. It was rather cute how timid he looked.

“Wow…” he breathed out.

Olivia had to bite back a laugh.

“I-I mean…” he sagged his body as though not quite sure how to react.

“You don’t always have to find the right words for everything.” She smiled up at him. Before she knew it, she had started to push Averna’s hair back over his ears. “Was your Monstie a Qurupeco?”

Averna’s pouted face enough of an answer for her. And she gave a laugh.

But they relaxed again. And stared at each other. Their gazes were soft and relaxed, and she wondered if Averna’s adrenaline was making him ramble in this way. Even if it did, she didn’t mind. His lips were so soft that she couldn’t help but lean in to kiss him again.

Their lips lingered together. Her mouth working slowly with his and his working slowly with hers. It was formed so perfectly together. So wonderfully. The noises outside had faded away and even her own senses of the outside world had dulled. Averna’s shaking had becoming nothing but a quiver, and he allowed himself in Olivia’s indulgence.

She parted her lips slightly. And felt Averna’s lips attempt to match hers. He gasped for a moment before drawing back into Olivia. And she wondered if he had to take so many breaths whilst diving beneath the water. Or maybe she was different than that Lagiacrus, and she had truly taken Averna’s breath away.

Her hands dipped down towards Averna’s waist. And just as she was about to jut her tongue out Averna suddenly pulled back and stared wide eyed at her.

She looked confused for a moment, and thought she had maybe gone too far ahead in their make out session. She was going to apologize, but noticed that Averna had been obviously looking at something besides herself. As though someone was behind her.

She turned her torso towards the entrance of the tent. To her surprise, Werner was stood at the entrance with a rather bored and almost annoyed expression as though he was offended at the fact that he was being made to wait for them.

“Werner!” Olivia gasped. “What are you--?”

“Telling you that your armor repair is done.” He interrupted without missing a beat. “Though, looks like I could have taken more time to finish it.” He shook his head with a sigh.

Olivia kept seated, gawking at her smithy. Sometimes she couldn’t believe how aloof he could be. It was bad enough when she always had to make sure he wasn’t going around and offending every person who he came across. Now he had the audacity to just stand there at the entrance of the tent staring at the two of them as if expecting something from her.

“Well?” Werner stared expectantly at Olivia. “I gotta make sure your armor still fits you.”

“Can’t this wait…?” she glanced towards Averna who looked like he would have fainted at any moment. He stared at Werner as if he had grown two heads.

Werner glanced at Averna. For a moment she thought he would give the two of them some grace. But the smirk that was rounding over his face said anything but that. “I got five other jobs behind me. So, if you don’t do it now, I’m not sure you’ll get back your armor until tomorrow.”

The look she shot Werner must have been enough to kill him. Because he raised both his hands already exhausted from the conversation. He said nothing else and removed himself from the tent to let the two of them be. But Olivia knew that Werner was not making a joke, and what he said would have been the truth. Which was unfortunate.

Olivia looked back to Averna, and could only sigh in frustration. She allowed the palm of her hand to rest against her forehead and closed her eyes.

“Sometimes I wish he would learn some tact,” she seethed.

A cold hand laid upon her arms. When she opened her eyes, she stared up at Averna who looked pleasantly awkward sitting on the edge of his bed. His hands were rather cold but his body was rather pleasant to look at.

“There’s later.” He tried to offer a smile. “If you’re not busy, I could show you how to use a charge blade.” Then his gaze averted again. The blush was still very apparent on his face. And Olivia wasn’t quite sure if he truly meant what he was saying, or he was finding an excuse to spend time with her.

Because that was what they always tended to do. Find excuses. As though it wasn’t clearly apparent what they felt for one another now.

But she liked the game. And he did too.

“I’d like that.”

She begrudgingly rose from her chair, but before she departed from him, she leaned down and pressed another kiss to his lips. It was more fleeting. Chaste. But firm against his lips. Averna was caught off guard, and he gasped as her lips parted from his.

She stared at him for a time before she exited the tent. Already ready to kill Wegner.

But at least she had more to look forward to after coming back from her hunt.