Chapter Text
"Three!"
"Two!"
"One!"
My hand smashed into the table with a loud bang, a crowd cheering and booing and calling out around us. I looked at the man whose hand was still grasping mine as he waved to the crowd triumphantly.
"Alright you big lug, you win!" I exclaimed, pulling my hand away.
"Oh no you don't," He quickly grabbed my hand again and held it above my head, "You don't get to slink away after losing. You're gonna be my drinking buddy, as punishment and reward!"
He grabbed me by the waist and heaved me over his shoulder, walking us, a little unsteadily to the bar of the ship and placing me down in the seat beside him as others joined us in the festivities. The ship was huge and incredible and bustling with people and Palico alike, filling whatever silence fell between my companions and I with energetic conversations or emotional speeches on their hometowns or whatever drunken anecdote sprang to mind. My heart had been racing in my chest since we stepped on board alongside other Hunters and Handlers, I imagine everyone’s was as the shoreline to the New World was only getting closer and closer to us.
"I'll get you next time, Hama." I teased, elbowing my best friend's rib cage. He poked his tongue out at me, then stretched out, the bulk of his strong frame not leaving a lot of room between us on the small bar stools. I grabbed a huge pint that a Palico slipped onto the counter in front of us and downed as much as I could before looking around at everyone else having a good time on the ship.
"Can you believe it, Yuka? We're the Sixth Fleet to get to the New World... I wonder if it's as incredible as they say?" Hama sighed, running his hands along the shaven sides of his head and over his pointed ears. His wild caramel coloured hair was an untameable mess as he looked around the warmly lit room alongside me.
"It's kinda crazy... I mean, we've been in the Old World so long it's hard to imagine there was really anything else out there." I shrugged, pulling my own silvery hair back from my face, brushing it over my own set of noticeable and distincfly Wyverian ears. My armour was starting to get a little hot, the leather sticking to my body in the heat of the room as I loosened some straps then wiped my face. The all too familiar scar over my left eye was itching as I breathed out and nudged Hama with my elbow.
“I’m gonna get some fresh air… It’s way too hot in here.” I explained, standing up and tugging at the front of my armour to try and let some air between the fabric and my skin.
“I’ll join ya,” He groaned, getting up from his seat and following behind me, “I mean, what’ll you do if a gust of wind knocks you on your ass and you need help fighting it off.”
I made a derisive face at Hama, mock laughing at his funny as we scaled the stairs to get to the deck of the huge ship.
We passed a few other fleet members on the way up, garnering a friendly head nod or a smirk from them as we finally got up to the deck and I was relieved to feel the cool night air on my skin. I made my way to the guardrail of the ship and leaned against it, breathing in the salty sea air and looking out at the calm, inky-black sea.
I couldn’t help but admire the peace this moment brought. Since we boarded the ship for the New World, it was 24/7 excitement from everyone. As fun as it was meeting new Hunters, trading battle stories and hearing everyone’s theories on the New World, quiet moments like these brought me some solace.
There were a few people on deck too, probably trying to get away from the ruckus below deck as well. I could see some Handlers studying papers with each other and unsurprisingly a few people heaving their guts up into the ocean. I laughed at the sight, feeling Hama’s burning hot elbow pressed against mine as he laughed alongside me before we fell back into the comforting quiet.
"Man, you'd think they'd at least let us train at night on this ship... It's boring just beating you in arm wrestling over and over again and having to wait for the trainers to come up with drills." Hama teased, staring up at the starry night sky.
“You beat me in one sparring match and suddenly you think you can take me on!” I exclaimed, slamming my hands on the guardrail.
"If you wanna take it back to hometown wrestling matches, I'm all for it, Yuka." He smirked, lowering himself into a shoddy fighting stance. I did the same, Hama running at me and slinging me over his shoulder as I pummeled at his back, the pair of us laughing like fools.
"Are you two going at it again?" An annoyed voice asked from behind us. We both looked over and saw the familiar faces of our Handlers, Dola and Kigo, lit by a warm lantern looking less than impressed. Dola was a strong, intelligent woman who was quite possibly the only person on earth who could wrangle Hama and I. She was a tall, slim and attractive Wyverian woman, easy on the eyes, but she had a very sharp tongue and was witty to boot. Out of the four of us, she was the more traditional looking Wyverian, the rest of us too odd looking or lacking certain features to qualify for what you thought of when one initially finds we're Wyverian.
I always wanted to be like her as a young kid, watching her one up even the adults in our village with knowledge on just about anything that far surpassed their own.
She flicked her long, straight black hair frustratedly from her face then folded her arms, looking at us like a mother would at her misbehaving children.
"I got to hear of your exploits while Kigo and I were trying to learn a little more on what's going on in the New World, something the pair of you would greatly benefit from if you stopped quarreling like children every four seconds. I swear, you two get worse every day. How you got to be A-List hunters when you turn everything into a game is beyond me!" She lectured us, Kigo standing behind her sheepishly.
Kigo was my Handler and she was a bit of a wimp, but just as smart as Dola. She was fascinated by just about anything to do with monsters though, disappearing for days on end if she got her hands on a new specimen. The only reason she couldn't be a hunter was that coming face to face with anything bigger than a Poogie rendered her a quivering mess. She wasn't very forward either and Hama and I could usually get around asking Dola things by gently coercing Kigo to go along with it.
"I know, I know, Dola. We should be bettering ourselves and gaining knowledge and blah blah blah... We kill monsters, D. You guys are the ones that need to care about all the book stuff." Hama grinned, walking over to the annoyed Wyverian with me still slung over his shoulder and putting an arm around her shoulders.
"Um, Yuka? If you aren't busy, there's some stuff I kinda wanted to go over with you about the New World. I managed to borrow some notes from another Handler and I really think it could benefit you..." Kigo trailed off, looking at Dola for approval with her big, blue eyes. Hama put me down beside him and I tapped his stomach with my fist. He yanked my hair as I elbowed his side, Dola shooting us a warning glare.
"That sounds like a terrific idea, Kigo. Take Yuka and tell her everything while I take Hama and try to force the ignorance out of his head with some booksmarts. You'd think for a group of Wyverian's, we'd all be trying to better ourselves with more knowledge." Dola quipped, grabbing Hama's arm and forcing him into a wristlock. I watched the two of them walk towards the stairs to below deck, Hama grunting and yelping in pain. I grinned down at Kigo, putting my arm around her dainty shoulders and walking alongside her as she talked animatedly about the new notes she’d borrowed from some other Handlers.
---
After a few hours had passed, Kigo couldn't stop yawning and I could see Hama almost falling asleep at the table he and Dola were at. I stretched my arms out and then helped Kigo start collecting her papers before we walked over to our fellow companions.
Dola obviously hadn't noticed that Hama was practically falling out of his chair as she explained the anatomy of a strange looking bird monster in great detail.
"Dola, I think it's time to hit the hay... Hama stopped listening a while ago..." I yawned, nudging Hama until he fell out of his seat.
"Hwah...?!" He sleepily gurgled, looking around before he realized what had happened.
"C'mon, Hama. We've gotta get some rest before we hit land. Can't be tired on our first day." I teased, grabbing his hand and helping him up. Kigo walked over and stood by Dola as Hama and I made our way to the sleeping quarters.
Inside was lit with soft glowing torches and suspended from the roof were rows of hammocks. A few people were already asleep, or passed out, inside so we made sure to be quiet as I practically dragged Hama alongside me. The four of us walked over to our elected hammocks and I pulled his out enough to dump him into his. Dola and Kigo just watched on as I unbuckled some of his armour to make his sleep a little more comfortable.
I climbed up the ladder to my own hammock above Kigo and was happy to be removing my own armour, sighing loudly as I stripped down to my underclothes and heard Kigo and Dola laugh from under me.
"So you and Hama are pretty close now, huh Yuka? A lot of people on board always point it out whenever you two train together. It’s like you’re on the same wavelength… You two practically finish each others sentences." Kigo giggled.
"We're all close, Kigo. Hama and I are just hunters on top of it. We have to be on the same wavelength or we’ll end up dead… It’s not uncommon for Hunters to be close." I retorted defensively. Since our first training session on board, a lot of people had been pointing out "how close Hama and I were”. The four of us, Hama, Kigo, Dola and I all grew up together in the same mountain village. We all played and fought and lived together; We were as close as four people who weren't family could be. I let out an annoyed huff of air, Hama’s snores filling the tense silence between us as I sulked in my hammock.
"Do you think the other people in Astera will be scary?" Kigo asked timidly, eventually breaking the silence.
"Don't worry about the others, Kigo. You're an excellent Handler, you have nothing to worry about." Dola piped up and I could practically feel the happiness radiating from Kigo after that one. Dola was something of a role model to Kigo, so the far and few compliments she ever gave her were a treasure. I rolled onto my back then leaned over my hammock, being careful not to fall out of it as I looked down at Kigo’s elated face.
“If Dola’s not scared, you shouldn’t be either. She’s as fearless as it gets.” I teased, looking over at Dola. She rolled her eyes, an unmistakable smirk on her face as she rolled onto her side, pulling her blanket over her shoulders.
“Goodnight, you two.” She said quietly.
“Night, D.” I grinned, Kigo bidding her goodnight as well.
“Yuka?” Kigo asked quietly, looking up at me. I looked through the gaps of the woven hammock at her cute, tired face, her bouncy blonde curls fanned out under her head and her droopy ears giving her the appearance of an innocent little Lagombi.
“Yeah?”
“Are you scared? Of going to the New World?”
I looked down at Kigo, unsure of how to answer. The New World had been so highly spoken of that all I really had were good feelings about it. I was excited to see the new monsters, I was excited to start a new life in Astera and see the place that we’d been told about and we were going to help build and expand. I was nervous and anxious and excited all rolled into one, my stomach constantly full of butterflies, but once I was surrounded by my companions, my family, I couldn’t wait to get to Astera.
“Nope!” I smiled, rolling on my back and putting my hands behind my head, “Not one bit.”
I heard Kigo shuffle around in her hammock as I closed my eyes and waited for a response. She was moving around for a while before I opened one eye and rolled on my side to look down at her.
“You want to know why.” I smirked, her question practically written on her face. She nodded, pulling her blanket up to her nose and looking up at me.
“Because I have you guys,” I explained, “As long as you guys are around, I’ll be way to busy protecting you all, and kicking Hama’s butt, to be scared.”
That managed to pull a laugh from my nervous Handler as I rolled back onto my back and looked up at the roof above me.
“We’ve got nothing to be scared of, Kigo. I promise,” I sighed contentedly, “Now get some sleep.”
“Goodnight, Yuka.” Kigo yawned.
“Night, Kigo. Sleep tight.”
“Don’t let the Rathalos bite.”
----
"HELP ME!"
I was shocked awake by loud screaming, almost falling out of the hammock as I sat up and saw most of the others were looking around in shock, a few of them making their way to the deck of the ship.
I got up, jumping out of my hammock and kicking Hama out of his, forcing a loud grunt from him as he hit the floor and was quickly forced awake.
"Get up, get your weapons!" I cried, rummaging through the item box and pulling out my shoddy pair of training Dual Blades. Hama retrieved his Lance and more Hunters followed suit, a group of us running into the deck.
We were shocked to find a few bloodied bodies strewn along the deck of the ship, others cowering behind whatever cover they could find. We found the source of the scream and it took everyone by surprise;
A Handler was dangling from the mouth of a monster I'd never seen before, a Hunter desperately trying to pull her out of the beasts fangs. She was screaming, as was the Hunter as we rushed over and I could hear the scared cries of Kigo from behind us.
"Hama! Yuka! That's a Bazelgeuse! It's scales are explosive! Get away from it!" She screamed.
I looked at Hama, a passionate fire burning in his eyes as we nodded to one another and ran at the beast.
It was definitely an ugly one, scales lining most of its head and body, almost everywhere but it's underside and leathery wings. It noticed the group of us running for it and immediately dropped the fatally injured Handler on the deck of the ship, her body like a ragdoll as she landed.
"Get her outta here! Get anyone who can't hold a weapon below deck too! I want to see Hunters up here only!" We heard a voice bark from behind us. I turned and saw the Sixth Fleet Master, Harris, commanding the crew as injured people and Handlers left the deck. Harris was a formidable man, as tall as a tree and as immovable as a boulder. He was scarred and battered from years as a veteran hunter in the Old World, his long hair greyed and face tanned and wrinkled. His most notable feature was a burn on the right side of his body that ran from his hairline all the way down to his foot. Rumor has it he singlehandedly fought off an invading pair of Monsters, a Teostra and it's female counterpart, a Lunastra with just his blade and a single Potion when they attacked his village. He was praised highly for it, and he was something of a hero to most hunters. It was still dawning on me that a hero like him would offer to train up Hunters for the New World, despite his bad attitude and inability to speak to us like human beings.
I could see Dola pulling Kigo away as Hama and I readied ourselves and Harris took his place at the front of the group.
"Hama, distract it! Give us a chance to get a few shots in! Maybe we can scare it off!" I cried, watching Hama race into battle, striking the beasts face with his Lance.
"Oi, ugly! Get your scaly ass off our ship!" Hama taunted, banging his shield with his Lance. The Bazelgeuse let out a defeating cry, forcing us to cover our ears with our hands until it stopped and we all leapt into battle. Hama was our front line defence, using his bulk to hold off the few swipes that the monster was aiming at us. It lunged towards him and I watched as Hama ducked behind his shield, using it as a battering ram to smash into the monsters skull, stunning it for a brief moment. Harris had taken the distraction and used it to his advantage, driving his Longsword into the beasts side and forcing it to swing it’s ugly head at him, drawing the attention away from the rest of us.
I took my chance, as did a few of the others, and ran at the beast, my blades at the ready. Throwing all my power into it, I gripped my blades tight and threw all the power I had into a spinning slash at the beast’s scaly skull.
The training blades practically bounced off the monsters head, forcing me to skid backwards where Hama’s awaiting hand gripped my wrist and stopped me.
"Tch, these blades are useless!" I roared, immediately readying myself for the next attack.
"A real Hunter never blames their tools, Yuka! Just gotta hit it harder!" Hama teased, the sweat already beading on his face as he pushed me behind him and bore the full brunt of a left kick from the Bazelgeuse, it's talons practically shaving through the weak metal of the shield.
"Hama!" I screamed, seeing shiny red blood dripping onto the deck of the ship.
"It's fine! Get in there!" He grimaced as I dashed over to where the other Hunters were now trying to land some hits. Harris was at the front lines again, the other trainers at the ready with their weapons. The rest of us in the fleet were ordered to take cover and I looked at Hama.
"Hama, get down there. I'm staying here!" I barked, watching him smirk derisively.
"And let you and those scrawny arms show me up? No way!" He laughed, gripping his bleeding forearm.
"Both of you were given orders, now move!" Harris boomed, striking the Bazelgeuse with his Longsword at lightening speed. The monster roared in anger, swiping at the Hunters with its tail before scattering scales all over the deck. I watched some of the other hunters kick them away, brushing them off the deck as a few of them exploded, charring the wood of the deck and throwing a few Hunters through the air.
"Yuka, dive!" Hama ordered, and I did as he said, shoulder rolling away from the scales and drawing my blades. I was on my feet before I had time to think of a plan, screaming at the top of my lungs before running at the beast as it’s scales exploded around me.
"Yuka, Kecha plan!" Hama called out and I saw him run over near the deck and kneel down, interlocking his fingers and waiting for me to get near him.
"Distract it!" I cried to Harris and the trainers, pumping my legs as hard and fast as they'd take me, lining up the jump in my head.
I counted to three in my head, ignoring the cries of my superiors around me and leapt into Hama's awaiting hands, holding my Dual Blades out in front of me as he launched me up and I flew up and towards the monsters leathery wings, managing to grip them and slide down the thick surface before grabbing onto the beasts leg.
"Restrain that monster!" I heard Harris command, aiming his Slinger at the monster. I did the same, aiming mine at the ship and firing, watching the hook splinter the wood as I pulled on it to test the strength.
It seemed steady enough and I quickly wrapped some rope around my hand to be safe. I took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart as the monster bucked and rolled against the restraints and I was thrown off before I could blink.
I soared through the air, wind whipping my hair, and tried to brace for impact against the ship. My feet hit the hard wooden surface and I ended up spinning out a little from hitting where the boat was wet, the rope from the Slinger burning my hand. I kicked against the ship to stop rolling, then tried climbing up as fast as I could, looking over my shoulder at the Bazelgeuse to make sure it couldn't grab me.
"Yuka, gimme your hand!" Hama yelled, holding his good hand over the edge of the railing. Before I could jump, I heard the snapping of rope and looked over to see the Bazelgeuse coming free of its restraints. I tried using the barnacles on the ship as steps, feeling my skin scrape against them and grinding my teeth to stop from yelling out as I swiftly jumped, trying to catch Hama's hand.
He leaned over further, our fingertips brushing as I slid back down to where I was before, feeling barnacles scrape my shins and water soaking my bottom half.
"Hama, you get her up here, NOW! This monster's breaking loose!" Harris grunted, his slinger one of the only ones to still lodged in the beast, his feet sliding as the monster was attempting to pull away. Hama was now almost entirely leaned over the rail, his hand outstretched as I took a shaky deep breath and mustered all my strength into one last jump.
Our hands connected and Hama yanked me up like I weighed nothing. He fell back and I landed beside him, the wind knocked from my lungs from hitting the ground so hard and I was forced to my feet by Hama and a trainer pushing us below deck.
"Hunters! We aren't going to be able to hunt this thing on this damn boat! Repel it! Dung Pods, at the ready!" Harris commanded, loading his Slinger with the foul smelling pods as the others followed suit.
Hama had managed to get us below deck, to where we were met with chaos. The Hunters who wanted to be on deck were standing right by the door, a few bombarding us with questions, while others were trying to attend to the injured.
"What's going on up there?"
"Are they going to be okay?"
"I hate this waiting shit! I wanna get up there with the action!"
"Those two disobeyed Harris, he's gonna be pissed!"
The Handler from earlier was wrapped in makeshift bandages to stop the bleeding but her face was paper white and she was mumbling incoherently. I could see the blood seeping through the bandages around her torso as a few others were trying to administer treatment and a woman, who I assumed to be her Hunter counterpart, was sobbing beside her.
Before Hama could put me down, he was met with a push with almost no strength behind it.
I looked down and saw Kigo, tears steaming down her cute round face and her curly hair all frazzled. Her little hands were balled into fists as she seethed at the pair of us.
"I can't believe you two would be so STUPID!" She roared, catching the attention of a few of the others. Hama and I looked at each other, then back at Kigo. I felt horrible seeing her this way, her whole dainty frame shaking and her face bright red and tear stained.
I could see Dola standing away from Kigo, but just close enough to see her wipe her face. Kigo continued to assault us with a barrage of weak punches and shoves as Hama and I silently agreed to take it until she was worn out.
"You could have been hurt!" She screamed, pushing me backwards.
"You could have been blown up!" She cried, punching Hama's stomach.
"You two could have died! Didn't you see what it did to that Handler! That could have been either one of you!" She shouted, shoving the both of us. I stood there alongside Hama, all eyes on us as I went to speak but we were shocked silent by Kigo pulling us into a tight hug.
"Y-you... I'm s-so happy... You're a-a-alive..." Kigo sobbed, Dola coming to join us. She would never admit it, but the fact she was worried was enough for me. Hama was trying not to get overwhelmed as well as he pat Kigo's back gently, then threw an arm around my shoulders.
"We could fight a hundred of those monsters and come out on top, Kigo. We're the best hunters Dundorma ever bred, there's no monster we can't handle together." Hama said softly, still patting her back. Kigo pulled away, wiping the tears from her face and looking up at us.
"Y-you two are never... N-never allowed to do that again!" She barked, Dola nodding firmly from behind her.
"We're Hunters, Kigo. We have to hunt," I laughed cheerily, putting my arm around Hama's neck, "Besides, what's this big lug good for besides distracting monsters?"
"Hey!" Hama yelped, prodding my ribs.