MH:TLC Chapter 7, Birds of Prey Part 1

Birds of Prey Part 1

Disclaimer: Monster Hunter is copyright Capcom. All the characters in this story are mine.

Eleanor crouched impatiently in the dense foliage, bowgun at the ready. She peered through the thick branches and leaves, waiting. Cracks and smashes bounced and echoes through the trees, signaling the eminent approach of her target. The loud howl of the wounded creature pierced the relative silence of the forest, giving testament to the damage she'd inflicted on the beast to the whole of the forest.

No less than ten feet in front of her was a wide migration path. On both sides was thick and damp forest, totally obscuring any vision in either direction to any creature on the path itself. This was the reason, no doubt, that Levin had chosen this particular place to wait as their wounded prey crashed through the trees, panicking at the hunters it couldn't see, that had been hounding it and ambushing it the whole day.

The knowledge that the creature still lived made Eleanor flare up in anger. She shot an icy glare at Levin, who crouched quietly next to her. He had apparently been looking her way; he winced and shrank back at the needled look, turning away to return his focus to the migration path. She had noticed he had been doing that a lot over the last couple weeks; always looking at her, observing her actions, judging her. He was searching for something in her, she felt. But what?

She'd confronted him about it once, but he'd waved it off, claiming it was his duty as a teacher to find any faults or rough edges in her abilities and help her buff it out. But he'd never brought forward any issues he had with her skill, so there must have been something else. She'd momentarily allowed herself a sliver of ego once and imagined he was looking at her out of attraction, but she shot that idea down quickly. His eyes held worry in them, or occasionally fear, sometimes disdain. What did he see in her that was bothering him so much? What was it that was dominating his mind so much that it was going so far as to damage his performance in the wilds?

The thought made her anger flare up again. It was his fault the Great Jaggi was still alive! He'd planned out their attacks perfectly each time, of this there was no doubt. But it seemed that whenever an opportunity to lay down the killing blow had come up, somehow, someway, Levin had found his way into the line of fire. Or if it wasn't that, it was him not keeping guard of his designated spot, and allowing the Great Jaggi to escape. And it seemed like it was always when she had the perfect shot to put the damn thing down, too!

She couldn't fault his tactical abilities any, that was certain; he could still map out a plan of attack with skill that still stunned her. However, over the last few hunts, her roles seemed to be becoming increasingly minimal, with Levin taking the lead each time, despite their enemies being Great Jaggis every time, the alleged "weakest big monster out there." At first she thought he was being cautious, after that first Great Jaggi hunt had nearly landed her with critical injuries. She'd actually thought it was kind of nice, though overprotective of him, to put so much effort into keeping her safe from harm. But after seven (eight including this one) battles against the damn things, couldn't he afford to trust her a little bit and let her do her work as a bowgunner?

But today would be different. She had taken down enough Great Jaggis on her own to get a feel to how the creatures worked. They all had similar methods of attack and defend, the same general timing when it came to their charges. She had seen enough of them in a critical state that she could vaguely predict how this whole fight would end. And this time, she'd be the one to land the final hit again.

As it should be.

She tensed as the sounds grew louder, the wrenching sounds of bushes uprooted and tree limbs torn off echoing across the forest. The excited and terrified yips of the Great Jaggi's hunting party became audible over the din as the pack drew closer, their fear and worry over their leader and (more importantly) themselves apparent. The howl of their leader reverberated across the forest, overpowering the weak yips and barks of the smaller members of the pack.

Eleanor saw Levin tense and adjust his stance, leaning forward to allow himself a burst of speed. He glanced over at Eleanor and motioned to the other side of the migration path. But she didn't need his prodding. She could tell already that the creature was close.

The sounds grew sharper, and Eleanor cocked her bowgun. The Great Jaggi couldn't be more than one hundred yards off. She could almost hear the pack leader's panting and wheezing over the sounds of the Jaggis' yipping. She pulled her bowgun up and aimed down the sights, allowing the image of the trajectory to come together in her mind. The bowgun swayed as she aimed it back and forth along the tree line, guessing. Where would the Great Jaggi pop out?

A flash of movement from behind the trees, and her sights snapped to its location, instinct and habit making the bowgun move as though it had a life of its own, unconscious of its user's will. The muscles in her fingers twitched as a rugged shadow of a shape appeared underneath the canopy, and the bowgun's muzzle flashed as the projectile tore out of the barrel. The Great Jaggi burst through the wall of trees, the last three remaining members of its pack tailing close behind.

Its mind barely had time to register as the round, still airborne, flew out of Eleanor's side of the path. With a burst of heat, the round connected with one of the trailing Jaggi's legs. The shot, filled with a highly combustible material and a phosphorus coating, blossomed into flame on the Jaggi's leg, even as the metal canister tore through the flesh of the creature. The Jaggi shrieked in pain as the fire spread across its body and up its back. The Great Jaggi and remaining Jaggis turned in shock at their comrade's injury.

Eleanor swore under her breath as Levin lurched forward, rushing out into the sunlight at the distracted Great Jaggi. She quickly slid another Flaming shot cartridge into her bowgun, cursing her luck. She'd fired at the first thing she'd seen through the shadows of the trees, hoping it to be the Great Jaggi itself, but had hit one of the lackeys instead. She adjusted her aim as the bolt latched into place and fired again as the Great Jaggi turned back, in search of the source of the shot.

The second shot struck true, connecting with the rear of the pack leader's jaw. The shell burst just like the first one, flames pluming from the wound. The Great Jaggi screeched in terror as the burning flames began to catch on his frill, creating a wide fan of fire along the side of his face.

By this time, Levin was nearly on top of the pack leader. With a twist of his body, his great sword flew from its sheath and arced widely, grazing the ground and kicking up a circular cloud of dust. With a roar of effort, Levin twisted the blade from its horizontal path and brought it upwards into a diagonal path. With a sickening crunch, the blade connected with the Great Jaggi's mouth, smashing the creature's jaw to splinters. The creature gurgled and squealed in fear as its broken jaw dangled, twisted and smashed, tongue hanging loosely.

Eleanor laughed victoriously as she loaded a higher power Pierce shot into the chamber, and could nearly sense Levin's growl of frustration from her location. The cut had been too slow, too rough to cleave the Great Jaggi's skull like Levin no doubt intended it to. And with Levin's recovery time with his great sword being what it was with its size, she had plenty of time to finish the fight herself. She leapt forward, clearing the tree line, and brought her sights up, line of fire unblocked by branches or leaves.

The bowgun bucked as the Pierce shot rocketed towards the dying Great Jaggi's head. But with massive effort, the pack leader stretched itself to its full height, attempting to howl out a garbled call for help. Eleanor swore loudly as the shot tore into the Great Jaggi's arm, wounding it further but not killing it. However, the hit staggered the swaying, burning creature, and it tilted over onto its side. A Jaggi danced out of the way, avoiding getting crushed.

Eleanor's hands flew to her ammunition pouch, attempting to load another shot, but Levin had recovered already. Sword hefted behind him, he grunted in effort and swung it up and over his head. With and quick thunk, the heavy great sword, aided by gravity and the strength of Levin, cleanly beheading the suffering Great Jaggi, killing it instantly.

Levin pulled up his sword quickly, as the two remaining Jaggi squawked between each other over their fallen leader, uncertain whether to fight or flee. Eleanor growled, angry over losing the killing blow, and pulled the trigger twice, deciding for them. Two smaller-caliber pierce rounds tore into them, dropping them dead next to the last Jaggi. Eleanor glanced down at it, and found it dead from its burn wounds.

The two stood in silence for a moment, Levin catching his breath. Finally, he relaxed, hefting his sword back over his shoulder and re-slung his weapon over his back. Eleanor continued to hold her bowgun, looking down at the carcass of the dead Great Jaggi. Resentment swelled up inside of her at the sight of the decapitated creature.

"Damn it!" she screamed, painfully tempted to throw her precious bowgun to the ground in rage. Levin pulled back in shock at her outburst. Fuming, she slung her bowgun over her back, staving off any future desires she might have to reduce her weapon to splinters.

Levin stood cautiously back as Eleanor strode over to the Great Jaggi's head. She leaned down next to the creature's lifeless skull and lifted it up, studying its injuries. With a growl, she stood up, took a step forward, and with a swift kick, booted the head up and over the tree line, into the dense foliage.

"That seemed unnecessary," Levin said quietly.

Eleanor turned on him, anger in her eyes. Levin didn't wince back this time, steeling himself against her anger. "More necessary than you think," she growled. "It was either his skull or yours."

"Have I done something to upset you?" Levin asked, blatantly feigning ignorance while meeting her glare with unrepentant eyes.

"Of course you have!" Eleanor shouted, her rage returning in full force. "This is the eighth Great Jaggi I've fought so far in my time in Boma! Eighth! And I've only been able to finish off three of them!"

"The goal of the first Great Jaggi was to prove whether or not you had the ability to deal enough damage to kill one," Levin replied. "The ones after that are meant to teach you the value of working together as a team in order to bring down monsters efficiently…"

"Bullshit!" Eleanor spat, cutting Levin off. "Each time after the first one, you've been intentionally getting in my way! You've been dragging out the fights each time, trying to keep me from getting the last hit in! You've made us spend twice as long in each fight than was necessary!"

Levin groaned in frustration. "I'm trying to teach you something here, Ellie."

"Liar," Eleanor growled. "And don't call me Ellie."

"Will you just listen?" Levin yelled at her. Eleanor scoffed at him, but made no motion to say anything. With a sigh, he continued, with a quieter voice. "Fine. Yes, I've been intentionally getting in your way."

"Why you…"

"BUT, I had a reason to," Levin snapped.

"What is it?" Eleanor huffed. "What's so damn important you need to make us waste our time when we could be killing monsters more efficiently?"

"It's your goddamn attitude!" Levin yelled. "You're throwing yourself into a mindset that'll get either you or both of us killed."

Eleanor was taken aback by the accusation, and her anger faltered. But her anger flared up again momentarily. "What the hell are you talking about?" she yelled back at Levin. "Besides that first fight, I've never been injured during a Great Jaggi hunt. Maybe bumped or bruised, but never anything a day of rest wouldn't cure. What the hell makes you think I'm getting into a reckless mindset like that? I'm not going to get myself torn up like you and that damn scar of yours…"

At her words, something inside Levin seemed to unhinge itself, his eyes flaring up and smoldering with borderline murderous intent. Eleanor had to force herself to keep from shrinking back in fear from the terrible rage in Levin's eyes. With a flicker of recognition, she remembered a similar feeling of dread before, during her first Great Jaggi hunt. Levin had shown the same measure of hatred in that fight, when he'd attempted to cleave the Great Jaggi in two. In her joy at her defeat of the Great Jaggi, she'd forgotten about this different, more terrifying outlook of Levin.

She felt her knees shaking in fear under Levin's cold glare. She saw Levin's hand twitch slightly, and for a moment, she wondered if he was seriously contemplating whether or not to cut her down out here in the forest. As she thought about it, she realized he could do it, and no one would know the wiser what had happened to her… She shuddered, and felt her legs giving way underneath her.

But then Levin's eyes glazed over for a moment, and he held his head down for a moment, as though fighting back a headache. When he looked up again, the anger and hate was gone from his eyes, leaving only the tired, worried look he'd had on his face since the first Great Jaggi battle.

"I… I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I almost lost my temper for a moment there."

Eleanor stood motionless, still in fear of Levin's sudden surge of rage. She forced her heart to slow its maddening pace, and calmed her breathing. "I'm sorry too," she replied. "That was out of line of me."

Levin chuckled lightly. "Actually, it may be more on the mark than you think. This scar is a reminder to myself to always know my limits. It should act as a lesson to you as well, to show what can happen if you're not cautious in a monster fight."

Eleanor bristled slightly, still annoyed by the accusations Levin was flinging at her. Despite the rush of fear she had felt, she still could not see the fault over her actions. "What have I done wrong?" she asked, perhaps with more indignation in the tone than she'd have liked. "I still can't think of any big issues that have come up since our first fight."

Levin sighed. "Let me show you then," he said, walking over to one of the trees knocked over by the Great Jaggi's rush through the trees. He sat down abruptly and motioned to the spot next to him. "Come here."

Eleanor reluctantly did as she was told, walking over to the fallen log and sitting down. She frowned in uncertainty as Levin began unfastening the latches on his dull yellow armor.

"Do you remember the… what was it, third Great Jaggi hunt we did?" he asked as he struggled with some of the buttons. "When you first decided you'd like to try to give your Bone Kris a try in the field?"

Eleanor nodded, thinking back.

Marshall had informed her when they'd returned home from their first Great Jaggi hunt that, now that the leader of the Jaggi pack had been felled, the number of Great Jaggi in the wilds would surely increase by a vast number for the next month or so. Potential alpha males would now be able to grow and dominate the pack without the restraining fangs of a Great Jaggi looming over them. Until a new alpha could be determined by dominance and strength, the forests surrounding Boma would surely be overrun with Great Jaggi.

Eleanor of course had been excited over this fact, having been given the opportunity to hunt a nearly endless supply of big monsters for almost a month. When she thought about it, Eleanor realized that that was about the time Levin and Marshall began their scrutinizing glances.

Two days later, the first reports of Great Jaggi appearing en masse had reached Boma. With Marshall's permission, she and Levin had set out in search of any Great Jaggi causing trouble around the forests, in order to relieve the Jaggis of some of their pack leader participants. Under Levin's scrutiny, the two hunters launched a surprise attack on a Great Jaggi hunting party not an hour after they'd left Boma.

The hunting party was small, considering how fragmented the collective Jaggi pack was during their time of civil war. The Great Jaggi itself was young as well, much smaller than the first one they'd fought. The two hunters had singled out the Great Jaggi rather quickly that time, and soon the Great Jaggi was on its last legs already. Levin was the one to finish that one off however, when Eleanor had tripped over an unfortunately placed rock. The Great Jaggi might have been able to barely get to her from its distance, had Levin not used the distraction to catch the inexperienced leader off guard with a powerful overhead swing.

Eleanor hadn't thought much of Levin finishing off the Great Jaggi at that point in time. Despite it being small and inexperienced fighting as a leader against other creatures, Eleanor had accepted Levin's explanation, telling her that the younger Great Jaggis were often more aggressive in an attempt to prove themselves, and he didn't want to risk her safety just because the Great Jaggi was young.

It had been four days since the first Great Jaggi hunt when she'd finally mustered up the courage to take her new sword and shield into the field for the first time. She had been tempted to wait out the Great Jaggi infestation, and practice in a safer environment without the hassle of dealing with large monsters. But her determination to accelerate her skill further had eventually won out over her caution, deciding that if she were going to improve enough to fight even nastier creatures, she'd have to charge in headfirst.

She also hadn't bothered to inform or even consult with Levin or Marshall on her decision. She had to admit, the look on Levin's face when she appeared with her sword and shield equipped the next day was absolutely priceless. Though Levin was initially against Eleanor using her sword and shield against the Great Jaggi until she had fought it a few more times, he eventually allowed her to go out into the field, under strict warning that he'd drag her butt back to Boma if she proved to be any at all careless.

It took them longer that day to hunt down a Great Jaggi than it had previously. It wasn't until mid-afternoon that they picked up the trail of a pack, and it was late afternoon when they'd finally caught up. But when they caught up to the Great Jaggi deep inside one of the twisting paths through the forest, Eleanor was shocked at what they found.

At the center of a large glade were two Great Jaggis battling each other. Surrounding them was their combined followers, numbering over twenty. The two pack leaders circled each other warily, occasionally taking a risk and snapping at their opposition. One of the Great Jaggis was quite a bit larger than the other, but though both were damaged from their battle, it was the smaller that bore less wounds from the fight. Eleanor soon found out why when, as the larger Great Jaggi lunged towards the smaller, it dodged nimbly out of the way, countering with a snapping bite into the larger Great Jaggi's leg.

Following the tactics they'd used previously, Eleanor and Levin circled the pack until they found the largest cluster of Jaggis grouped together, yipping and barking at the fight between their leaders. Creeping up behind the group, the two hunters began their work on reducing the size of the pack.

Eleanor quickly realized just how much more… personal the sword and shield felt when compared to the bowgun as her blade tore into the first Jaggi she got to. She could almost feel the texture of the Jaggi itself as she pierced through its hide, killing the creature with her blade through its heart. As much satisfaction she felt from the sight of seeing the impact of a well-aimed shot from her bowgun, she had to admit she could see why the blade was the most common type of weapon. You just felt so much stronger using your own power to cut up an enemy than you did blasting holes into it from a distance.

Levin held close to her as they continued through the pack, blades cutting down the Jaggi pack slowly but surely. She knew he was watching her closely, making certain she wasn't overexerting herself as they cut a swath through the chanting Jaggis. (Thinking back, she realized he might have been tailing her in case he needed to interfere as he'd done during their later Great Jaggi hunts.)

Then a howl tore from the center of the circle. Glancing to the middle of the ring of Jaggis, Eleanor saw the larger Jaggi fall, his neck torn apart by the crushing force of the smaller one's jaw. Eleanor caught Levin motion quickly at her, silently signaling to speed up their efforts. She nodded in agreement and quickly cut down another pair of Jaggis as the victorious Great Jaggi let out a howl of triumph.

A flash of determination tore through Eleanor. This was the perfect opportunity to strike! It was injured, but wallowing in his victory it would never see her coming. In its howling position, she could take out its throat without hassle. It was so easy…

Before she knew it she was already inside the circle, sword flashing, sprinting toward the Great Jaggi standing over his kill. On the edges of her vision, she could see the shocked expressions of the circle of Jaggis, too stunned at the sudden appearance of this hunter to warn their new leader. She could hear Levin yelling at her, but she was already only a few yards away. She sure as hell wouldn't turn back now.

With a leap, Eleanor swung her blade up towards the Great Jaggi. She felt her blade connect, slicing through the leathery hide of the pack leader, and heard the victory howl of the creature sputter and die into a coughing bark. But several inches into the blow, her blade lost its momentum, catching and sticking in the Great Jaggi's thick muscles.

Eleanor stood stunned momentarily at the sudden loss of impact she had had earlier, and was shaken quite literally from her reverie as the Great Jaggi twisted around, knocking her flat on her back with the side of his head. She rolled back to her feet as quick as she could, bringing up her shield to repel any extra attacks. She risked a glance at her sword, trying to figure out how she had failed in slitting the pack leader's throat, then swore at the sight of her blade, dented and dulled from her cutting her way through the Jaggis earlier. She cursed at herself. She'd forgotten to sharpen her blade!

But looking up, she realized how lucky her strike had been. Blood poured from the wound on the Great Jaggi's neck, and it twisted in pain, pawing at the wound with its claw. It barked a garbled command, and the Jaggis surrounding him darted around in confusion, unsure what to do. Three of them, probably members of the smaller Jaggis pack before the fight between the two Great Jaggis, leapt forward towards her, batting against her shield with their tails. She fumbled her other hand toward the pack at her side, trying to grab a whetstone, while still keeping the Jaggis at bay.

"Get down!" she heard Levin yell from behind her. She dropped down immediately, and felt a rush of air as the mass of Levin's great sword passed over her head, smashing into the trio of Jaggis. He swung back around swinging his great sword to ward off the collection of Jaggis behind him. Then reached down, grabbed Eleanor by the back of pulled her to her feet.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he yelled at her. "Are you trying to get yourself beat down?"

"I can do this!" Eleanor yelled back, yanking a whetstone from her satchel and sliding it across her blade as the Jaggis danced away from Levin's swings. "I saw an opportunity and wounded it! It's dying already!"

"You're jumping in without thinking is what you're doing! You think I couldn't see your blade wasn't sharpened?"

"It worked didn't it?" she said, sliding the whetstone back into her pack as she brought it back to its former sharpness.

"Just barely, you idiot!" Levin reared back and swung again at several Jaggis that tried to get into his swing radius, cutting the head off one and severely wounding several others. He looked around the field, and Eleanor did the same.

She swallowed suddenly as she looked around. The two of them were still surrounded by at least a dozen Jaggis, all of them clamoring in confusion over the sudden assault on their leader. But they were slowly rallying back together, and beginning to focus on the source of the attack.

Eleanor glanced over at the leader of the pack, and saw him on the ground, rolling his head in the dirt. She cursed as he rolled over and stood back up. He'd managed to stop the blood flow by filling the wound with dirt! She'd underestimated the intelligence of the Great Jaggis in general, if they could think up such tactics to heal themselves.

She heard Levin curse behind her. "We're too outnumbered right now," he growled. "I hate to do this, but since I'm better at group attacks, I'll have to be the one to take down the Jaggis. You keep the Great Jaggi busy, but don't overdo it. Just make sure you keep defending and wear it out. I'll be there as soon as I'm done with the ankle-biters."

Grinning at the opportunity, Eleanor leapt forward towards the recovering Great Jaggi. Dark, red-tinted mud caked the Great Jaggi's neck as the beast staggered around, dizzy from its blood loss. But at Eleanor's approach, it shook its head, refocusing its attention and dropping down into an attack position. Eleanor slid to a stop a few yards short of the Great Jaggi and brought her shield up to defend.

Like she predicted, the Great Jaggi lunged, attempting to use its mass to knock Eleanor down. But she danced to the side, swinging the shield in an arc and smacking the Great Jaggi in the face. The blow dazed the Great Jaggi, and Eleanor swung her blade at the pack leader's head. The beast slid away, but Eleanor's blade caught the Great Jaggi's crest, tearing away the frill. The Great Jaggi howled in rage as the flap of hide fluttered to the ground.

Adrenaline coursed through Eleanor's veins as the Great Jaggi and her danced around each other, jumping in for a strike when each believed the other to be open. Eleanor could hear Levin tearing through the remaining Jaggis in the back of her senses, but her focus was too centered on the Great Jaggi to pay much attention to it. At one point she heard Levin cry out in… rage perhaps, maybe frustration, she wasn't sure, but she ignored it. The Great Jaggi in front of her was all she was thinking about.

Then, as the Great Jaggi lunged at her, she dodged to the side again, and with all her might, slammed her shield against the creature's skull. The connection between skull and iron made her shield ring like a gong, and the Great Jaggi stumbled back, tongue hanging slack as it wobbled, stunned. Seeing her opportunity, Eleanor dashed forward to strike, sword flashing forward towards the creature's center of mass.

Her sword pierced the beast's skin, but rebounded off the thick bone underneath. The Great Jaggi staggered away, its mind registering the pain but not able to think coherently enough to evade. Eleanor pulled back, remembering her training in the practice field behind the Guild booth, and began the combination of strikes and slashes she had been taught. Her sword flew back and forth across the creature's body, each swing unfolding a bright red crease of blood on the Great Jaggi's body.

Suddenly the Great Jaggi twisted around, slamming into her shield and sending her sprawling across the ground. She rolled back to her feet as quick as she could and brought up her shield, just as the Great Jaggi brought down its teeth on her. The creature's fangs clanged and rung as they gnawed on the edge of the shield. Eleanor winced as the Great Jaggi's fangs tore through the armor on her arms, cutting bloody wedges into her arms.

She could feel the hot breath of the Great Jaggi as it bit into her shield, trying desperately to tear through the defensive object and into Eleanor herself. The force of the beast's assault pushed Eleanor back inch by inch as the Great Jaggi's powerful rage amplified its power as it pushed against Eleanor's shield. Eleanor swung wildly in panic at the Great Jaggi's head as it shoved and shook her.

With a wet impact, she felt the sword connect with the Great Jaggi. Looking around the side of the shield cautiously, she saw her blade protruding from the creature's jaw, angled upwards and through the Great Jaggi's throat and spine. The Great Jaggi shuddered and wheezed through its impaled windpipe, still desperately trying to clamp down through Eleanor's shield and into Eleanor herself. With a rasping death rattle, the Great Jaggi slumped forward, the weight of its mass forcing Eleanor down, shield caught in the Great Jaggi's maw. The beast landed with a thud on top of Eleanor's legs, pinning her to the ground with her shield still strapped to her bleeding arm.

Wiggling her arm loose of the shields straps, Eleanor levered the Great Jaggi's head up and off her legs, allowing her to wriggle free from underneath it. With a swift kick to the creature's jaw, she ripped her sword out of the Great Jaggi's throat, and with another she removed her shield from its mouth. She gulped down a potion to dull the aching throb in her shield arm as she surveyed her kill.

Levin had walked over not long after, surveying her kill with mild distaste in his eyes. He had a bright splash of red soaked into the shoulder of his armor. When she asked, he irritably brushed it off, saying it was just a little stain a Jaggi volunteered to decorate his armor with. She could tell the jest came tough, and that he wanting to tear into her over her spontaneous assault on the Great Jaggi, but for some reason he held himself back, bluntly telling her to carve her kill so they could go back to Boma.

The walk back was silent that day. Eleanor could tell Levin was fuming at her for being so abrupt in the wilds. But she had seen her chance and taken it, and didn't regret her choice of action.

"I don't see what your point is," Eleanor said irritably as they sat next to each other on the stump. "The Great Jaggi was killed and neither of us got hurt bad. What's the big deal?"

"The big deal is you're not thinking ahead."

"I saw an opportunity and took it. How can you fault me for that?"

Levin glared at her and pulled down the shoulder of his Ludroth armor. "Because of this."

Eleanor gasped. All along the edge of Levin's shoulder was a wide semi-circular wound, patched and bandaged with gauze and medical tape. The skin surrounding the wound was bright red and splotches of blood could be seen seeping through the gauze.

"How… how did…"

Levin grimaced, sliding his armor back into place and beginning to snap the buttons back up. "It was during that hunt," he told her. "While you were off fighting the Great Jaggi, I got surrounded by the rest of the pack. Jaggis aren't much of a threat by themselves, I've told you that before, but in large numbers they can overwhelm any hunter. That day, one of the little bastards snuck up behind me and got me good."

Eleanor was silent, completely taken aback by the sight of Levin's wound. It dawned on her what Levin was getting at. "It was my fault," she whispered. "Because I charged in recklessly. We hadn't killed enough of the Jaggis yet."

Levin sighed. "I don't have the gall to tell you it wasn't your fault. I don't like saying it, but the blame falls on you about this whole issue. But you need to learn from this."

"Learn what?" Eleanor asked quietly, her earlier obstinacy gone.

"That the goal of hunting isn't to kill monsters," Levin said. Eleanor turned and raised an eyebrow at him, making him shrug. "Well, it is, but it's not the most important goal. The primary goal of monster hunting is this: to make sure that you and your teammates come back alive. I make sure to ensure you are kept safe as your teacher, but you also need to ensure you keep me safe as my student."

Eleanor stared down at her boots, not wanting to meet Levin's eyes. She felt ashamed with herself, for letting her own desires get the better of her and getting Levin hurt.

"That's why we aren't pushing you into fighting higher level monsters when you're not ready," Levin continued. "If you get too far ahead of yourself, you'll end up as monster food."

The two sat in silence for a long while. Finally Levin stood up and paced in front of Eleanor's seat. "Look, Ellie," he said, "you're a fantastic gunner, and a great sword user. I don't like to admit it, but you'll probably become a better hunter than me in the long run."

Eleanor looked up at Levin in surprise at the sudden compliment, and Levin grinned at her. "So believe me when I say I'm trying my best to keep you alive. There's more to hunting than senseless killing. You've got to work together with your team in order to succeed."

"I get it," Eleanor said.

"Do you really?"

Eleanor nodded. "Yeah."

Levin grinned. "Good to hear. Now," he said, stretching his back, "shall we head back to the village, Miss Ellie?"

Eleanor smiled slightly. "Sure," she replied. "Let's go."

"Damn it all! How are you beating me in this game?"

Levin cursed under his breath as Mel picked up yet another of his checkers, grinning with satisfaction as she tossed it into her pile, nearly three times the size of Levin's. Marshall, sitting next to him, laughed as Levin hung his head in dissatisfaction.

"How the hell are you so good at this?" Levin sighed exasperatedly. "I just taught you how to play this game three days ago!"

"What can I say?" Mel replied. "When you spend all day behind a booth taking notes and filling out paperwork for people who are out doing all the work in the wilds, you find something to bide your time with. And for me, that something was checkers. Thanks for teaching me, by the way."

"No problem," Levin groaned wryly. "Nothing quite makes my day like get my butt handed to me in a game I've been playing since I was a kid by someone who learned it a few days ago."

"Seems as though Lost ingenuity is not quite what you and Miss Eleanor make of it, is it Levin?" Marshall prodded. "Even the high and mighty members of the Lost can lose a thinking game to us normal folk, huh?"

"Oh, shove it old timer."

"Good morning, Levin."

Levin turned as Ellie walked up to the Guild booth and smiled at her. It had been almost a week since he had confronted her over her behavior in the wilds, and things were still a little tense between them. But they were both trying to get past the problem and move on.

"Oh good, you're here," Mel said enthusiastically as Mel sat down at the booth. Reaching under the table, she pulled out a sheet of paper and laid it in front of the two hunters. "This is a job request we received from the Loc Lac Aviary Society, sponsored by the Loc Lac Hunter's Guild. Mister Marshall here told me to let the two of you go for it."

Marshall grinned at the two hunters eying him suspiciously. "I figured, considering Miss Eleanor's recent attempt at becoming less… aggressive in the field, it was about time for her to give a capture mission a go."

"What's a capture mission?" Ellie asked, tilting her head trying to read the paper.

"Pretty much just what it sounds like, Miss Eleanor," Marshall replied. "You go out into the field and capture a big monster as per request by the employer."

"How in the hell do you capture a monster?" Ellie asked, confused.

"You beat it up, drop it in a trap, and tranquilize it," Levin replied. "That's the abridged version, at least. You gotta make sure the thing's weak enough so the tranqs will be effective, or it'll just shrug them off and get away. I've got some Tranq bombs at my house I can grab for this mission. You've still got the Tranq Shots I bought for you way back when, don't you?"

"I was wondering what those were for."

"And now you know. Now what's this mission all about, I wonder?" Levin took the sheet and read aloud from it. "Quest: Capture a Qurupeco. The society would like to conduct a study to determine how the resonance of the Qurupeco's song is used to heal wounds and dull pain. Such information would be used to aid in the production of hunting horns and medical supplies." He set the paper down and scratched his head in confusion. "What the hell is a hunting horn?"

"Oh, I saw one of those in Loc Lac," Ellie replied enthusiastically. "They're these big horn-looking things. Some hunters were arguing about which one they should bring on a hunt. I don't know how they work though."

"I remember seeing a few of them myself when I was still hunting in Loc Lac," Marshall said thoughtfully. "I never tried them myself. I heard about their usage rate and they broke far too easily for me to want to use them consistently."

"Let's see what the book says about them," Mel said, reaching under the table and pulling out her Guild guide book. She flipped through the pages, skimming the information, before stopping abruptly on a page. "Here we go. 'Hunting horns are musical instruments that use sound waves to induce a psychological healing or strengthening effect on any who listen to its sound. The horns approved by the Hunter's Guild are specially designed to only affect hunters that listen to their sound. Also, in some regions of the world, hunting horns are built to be sturdier for use as a melee weapon in battle.' Huh."

"That seems like an… oddly advanced bit of equipment for this world, doesn't it?" Ellie asked. Mel huffed in irritation at the jab, preparing a counterpoint, but was interrupted prematurely by Marshall.

"Now just because we may not have the same level of technology that you Lost had, Miss Eleanor, doesn't mean we're completely hopeless in terms of advancement," Marshall said, grinning exaltedly at Levin, who groaned and turned away. "While we may not have the fancy things you do, we've excelled ourselves in other places. Personally, I've heard tell of a stone they created in Loc Lac that makes you stronger or more resistant to damage just by carrying it with you."

"Sounds like hokum to me," Levin muttered, raising an eyebrow.

"Perhaps," Marshall replied. "But stranger things happen in this world of ours. Now, you two should probably head out here soon, if you want to capture the Qurupeco before nightfall. I'll let the boatmen know you two are taking off."

"Wait, what boatmen?" Ellie asked.

"The sailors that transport captured creatures to the respective locations of the quest employers," Marshall explained. "They follow close to shore while the hunter is searching for their prey. When a creature is captured, you send up a flare and the men aboard come to bind the creature so it can be transported to wherever it needs to go."

"What if the monster is really far inland?"

"There are a lot of rivers in this area," Marshall replied, "so any captured monster is never really too far from a place it can be picked up. In less watery areas, I hear they have to get pretty inventive in their transportation methods."

"Sounds like a pain in the butt."

"I imagine it is. But it's a very well-paying job if you do it working for the Guild. The boatmen here just get a percentage of the quest profits, and we pass the monster on to the next Guild ship that comes into harbor. They usually come by at the end of the week, so there's rarely difficulty in holding the creature in captivity until then."

"The ship comes by tomorrow, I think," Levin said, standing up and stretching. "So if we don't want to have to keep the Qurupeco fed and watered for a whole week, we're going to have to catch one today. Think you're up for the challenge of not killing a monster, Ellie?"

Ellie grimaced. She seemed to have become a bit overcautious in the last week, trying to keep better track of things during hunts. Levin was getting worried that his discussion with her was having more negative effects than positive. But she nodded eventually, and stood to tighten the bowgun strap over her shoulder.

Levin nodded back and slung his great sword over his back. "Let's go then."

"Come back safely!" Mel called out behind them. "I'd like to beat you at checkers one more time today!"

"Oh, shut up!"