Monster Hunter: Age of Dragons

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MixedUpGuy

MixedUpGuy

Just a mixed up guy over here.
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Prologue
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The early morning sun rose, breaking over the distant mountains that surrounded the nearby valley granting all those in its view the warmth and embrace it provided as it did the day prior. The Aptonoth who had taken refuge next to the winding river felt the change in the day and brought their heads up to look towards it. In the distance, a human stood with a tool in his hand. The human lifted the tool over his head and tossed it into the river, the splash echoing to the creatures who began picking themselves off the ground. Letting out a great bellow, the Aptonoth began walking towards the river towards the human to take their first drink of water for the day.

Kino Mistis turned at the bellow as he saw the sun start to reflect off the crystal clear water at his feet. Letting out a yawn, he stretched towards the sky in hopes his body would shake out the small chills he had taken in earlier with how many times he stepped into the water to retrieve his small spears with his catch. After he felt his shoulders release the tension in them he took his last trip into the river and removed his spear with the catch he had been eyeing from the bank. Another Sushifish as it turned out. Just big enough to fill the barrel he had brought with him from his nearby village. Smiling at a job well done, he turned to the Aptonoths who were finishing their drink and waved them goodbye with a laugh.

Lugging the barrel under his arm while trying to maintain balance with the gunlance he had brought with him for safety, Kino trotted through small brush and grass for only an hour he felt before finally returning to his village of Poeika. As villagers waved at him he smiled with a nod back, before finally coming to his desired location of the gourmet stand. "Here are some more Sushifish for you there Misara! Thought you might need some more for the breakfast rush." Kino explained as the small Felyne turned with a shake of her head.

"I told meow not to go out of your way for the fish! It isn't like I'm hurting for supplies right meow as it is." She said with a jokingly chastising wave of her ladle in her hand as she turned back to finish working on the sauce she had working on the fire. "Just set the fish to the side for the moment. But still, thank nya for the help."

Kino just smiled as he set the barrel where Kino requested and turned to look around the village. It was still early but the rumor was that another caravan was going to be coming through Poeika today from Pokke village with a large collection of Blango pelts after a hunting group had to handle the striking rise in the beasts throwing off the ecosystem, nearly hunting the poor Anteka off the mountain side. It likely wouldn't be for a while, but already the shops were getting ready for the caravan and the company it kept to stop for a quick bite and perhaps even more supplies for the remainder of the trip. Whatever the case, Kino looked forward to it as the times where the caravans came in seemed to be the most exciting part of the day for his fellow villagers. Though he had to admit, it was never as exciting as a good hunt he thought to himself. He laughed as he pulled out a seat next to the gourmet stand and started to people watch, losing track of his own time as it passed by.​
 
The smithy was already hard at work this morning with his first customer sat watching him as he worked on a distinctive Charge Blade that had definitely seen better days. There were notable cracks and chips littering the surface of the shield and the sword was looked like it was more suited for cutting down a tree than a Wyvern, careful and practised reforging would bring it back to it's former glory but it would take quite some time.

"Buna... How long should it take to actually fix this?" Bean idly asked, for a woman of her stature she had a fairly high voice to match, it wasn't shrill but like the rest of her there was a slightly coarse feeling to it. It was as if even talking got on her nerves. "Well if you keep watching, it'll take forever. Maybe you shouldn't be so rough with it, eh?" Buna's assistant, Ikna, chimed in with a mocking tone and caused Bean to quickly try and grab for the Melynx whilst he laid off to the side. She caught him by his tail and hoisted him upside down in the air, the cat thrashing and waving his limbs frantically. "Ahh! Help boss, she's gonna eat me!"

"Like you're worth the effort it'd take to digest. If I didn't hunt the way I do, a monster would probably be chewing on your bones by now. Don't tell me how to do my job and I wont try to do yours... I wonder if there's even enough to you to make anything decent, maybe a carving knife if I get creative." There was an air of hostility between the two as the Wyverian practically snarled at Ikna, baring her teeth at him in a dry grin before dropping him and letting him run off behind Buna.

"It'll take a while... If you could please find something to do other than threatening my assistant I'll get him to come find you when it's done." Buna was one of the people within the village that Bean had to treat with respect, being the Elder's son brought about an importance that Bean couldn't ignore. She felt that she had to keep him happy to stay in Quanil's good graces, which would allow her to stay in the village, even if it was often too quiet for her she didn't want to be kicked out, she wanted to leave when she finally got bored of it.

Letting out a sigh that could barely hide her annoyance, Bean nodded as she stood and turned to leave. "Fine... I'll come back later anyway." With that all said and done she walked off, trying to think of what to do whilst she waited for her Kaiser Blade to be finished... She hadn't bathed since she came back from the hunt yesterday, she'd taken her weapon straight to Buna so he could repair it, eaten and then slept the rest of the night away. The bath house would be more or less empty at this time anyway, barely anyone in the village bathed in the morning, she could have the entire place to herself if she was lucky.

Once she was there she checked for any other occupants and stripped off without a second thought, dipping into one of the baths and stretching out with a very relieved sigh. The place seemed to indeed be empty and she was glad about that, because whilst she would never openly admit it, she loved relaxing in a hot bath. The warmth soothed the scars that littered her body and soaked into her battle-worn skin, easing any aches and pains she'd accumulated recently.

The only thing she had to worry about was if any caravanners or tourists came in, tourists especially liked to try small-talk with locals, moreso with Wyverians, they always had so many questions no matter how many they'd met before... It was agitating to say the least. Meanwhile Bean mumbled to herself quietly and closed her eyes, she'd properly wash herself in a few minutes once she was done relaxing. "Hmm... There better be some good monsters to hunt soon, it's starting to get boring around here."
 
While the small village of Poeika was waking up, in the distance a caravan was coming. And it wasn't just any caravan, it was the caravan that had the caravan hunter Connor McKinley in it. Speaking of, the brave hunter was fast asleep in the back of one of the wagons, his insect glaive resting beside him, his armor neatly stacked and folded in a corner, and his kinsect lazily soaking up the morning sun. And Connor would have stayed asleep up to the point they got into the village had it not been for an unfortunately sized rock to cause the cart to lift up in the air and come crashing down. And having slammed into the hard wooden bottom of the wagon, Connor woke up with a groan.

"Sorry to wake you up, dear." Eyne said, the caravans merchant. The woman had ties to just about everywhere. And if he or someone in the caravan wanted something by the time the reached a village, all they'd have to do is give her ample warning and sure enough there the item would be upon arrival. And for a damn good price to.

"Don't sweat it." he mumbled in response, searching for the energy to get up. And if you asked him, it took more energy to wake up from sleeping of your own will then when you're trying to wake up from, say, a Nerscylla making you take a nap. But with the encouragement of his kinsect, which had decided to land on his chest, Connor did finally get up. "We almost to the next village?" he tiredly asked. Though up, he could still feel the remnants of sleep on him.

"It shouldn't take to much longer. Next hill or two and we'll see it." Was the reply, a bright smile on her face as if to rub in the fact that he had practically slept the whole way. "That caravaneer sure knows what he's doing," she continued, talking about Gareth. For some reason she refused to call him by name, maybe she had a crush on him. "But if he had pushed us just a hair further and I doubt we'd only be half way here and needing to take a break for a week. I can only imagine how much it drives him nuts that he doesn't have an airship." Then again, the way she seemed to revel in his torment, no matter how small, told him that she perhaps didn't have a crush on him.

"But if we were flying around like one of your falcons then I would only be half as useful." Patting her shoulder as he got up, he stretches his back and steps off the back to begin walking. "I got to go talk to Gareth. Tell me what you get for those Blango pelts." Raising his hand in the air in farewell, he searches for the iconic feather of Gareth sticking above the throng, as if to announce his presence.

And sure enough, there was that ridiculous feather of a Hypnocratrice. Approaching Gareth, Connor ran through what he was going to say. "We're coming up on Poekia, right?" he started off.

"Yes we are." Gareth was a man of few words.

"Then I need to tell you something. Gareth, I'm going to stay in Poekia. I know this is unexpected and you'll be left without a hunter, but something just feels right about Poekia to me. I'm sure if you stay here and talk to the guild rep, you can get a new hunter no problem." At this point Connor stopped himself, afraid that he was going to start rambling. But when he looked over, he was surprised to see the grizzled face of Gareth looking at him with a grin splitting his head ear to ear.

"I'm glad to hear that, Connor. You can't go making a name for yourself if the guild doesn't know where to find you half the time. Caravan hunting is fine and all, but if you ask me it's more for new hunters."

"Wait, what?"

"Why are you so surprised? Did you honestly think I was going to be mad because you wanted to do something? You're a grown man, you can make your own decisions. Here's what I am going to do, though. I'm going to make sure that you're set off right. Climb in the back there for me real quick, will ya? There should be a chest right behind me," he said reaching behind his back and patting the chest. "Don't give me that look, I'm driving. Grab the first bag you see." After Connor did that, he continued. "Consider that your farewell gift. Oh, and we'll be staying the night. Feel free to stop by and we'll have your last meal as a caravan hunter together."

Inside the bag was a modest amount of zenny, the copper coins clinking softly together as he held the bag. And Connor couldn't say a damn thing. Everything had happened rather quickly. One second he was expecting to lose some friends and the next he was given a bag full of zenny and invited to a meal in his honor. And so he spent the rest of the trip in silence, quickly gathering his few things in preparations to leave the caravan.

When they arrived a Poekia, it was business as usual, as if they weren't going to lose their hunter. And Connor didn't know what to do with himself. He guessed that he should go rent a room until he got a house of his own, so he went to an inn and rented a space for him to sleep. Okay, that was done, now what? Well, he had been on the road for quite some time now, so he was probably a little stinky. But at the same time, he had a real hankering for Misara's cooking. First things first, take care of the stench then eat. It was hard to eat when you stank, it was hard for everyone to eat when someone stank.

So he meandered his way over to the bath house, paid what he had to, and went in. He didn't look around to see if anyone was there or not, it was a public bath after all so he shouldn't really care if someone else decided they wanted to take a bath to. And after stripping, he climbed into the warm water and sunk up to his nose, thinking and soaking more then actively cleaning. What was he going to do now? Were there any houses he could buy? Or would he have to pay rent at an inn until a house was quickly built for him? Would they build a house for him, or would he have to build it? So many questions that he could easily get answers for if he could just get his thoughts straightened out.
 
As the sun reached just above the horizon, Xavier stretched from his perch from atop the large caravan wheel house, his eyes drawn with large bags under them. Xavier had been up for the majority of the night, watching the moon make it's slow progress down to the horizon and keeping his eyes open for anything that could disturb the caravan transporting his personal effects. Still wearing his armor, he figured he would stay in it for the majority of today. Looking past the large train of wheel-houses toward the approaching town. Scenes like these were almost too familiar to the seasoned hunter, as frontier towns living close to wild-life would litter the contact boards of guild halls everywhere. This one was quaint enough, with visible monster-class herbivores in sight from the road. The smithy was billowing smoke from it's roof, as well as what appeared to be a cookery. From this range, Xavier could just see a man handing several fish to a Felyne in a cooking smock. Every movement obviously showed the man out to be a hunter, as he moved stiffly similar to how someone would be allowed in armor. He would have to make a point of making his acquaintance…. after he got unpacked.

After finishing his stretches, Xavier grabbed his helmet from next to his seat. His close inspection of the village continued as he pulled his hair over his shoulder and began to thread the pink locks through the slot at the back. Distantly, Xavier could hear the young hunter waking up and chatting with the merchant and caravaneer. Trying to place the hunter's name, he fixed his eyes on a Melynx, whom was staring at him with one bright blue eye. "Crazy old cat…" He said under his breath as he fixed his helmet on his head and straightened his hair at the back of his helmet. After pulling his blade onto his back and securing the belt across his breast plate, Xavier climbed down from his perch and decided to hang off the side of the cart until they were in the village limits. As the train came to a stop, he stepped down a few paces away from the Melynx waved to him. "How's it going Gramps… didn't think you'd make your way out here to see me." With his arms crossed and an severe expression across his face, the Melynx growled his disapproval. He was dressing in Yukumo attire and sun-hat, an eye patch covering one of his eyes and a small knife strapped to one of his harness straps. "Nya-I'm on assignment with a few meownster hunters I'm meo-ntoring. I got your letter before I headed out and decided to check-in at the guild for you. Figured a nya-uisances like you would be lost." Xavier laughed. "Aw! That was sweet of you Gramps. I wouldn't have pegged the Great Lynx as a softy on former students." Lynx spat, hissed, and growled again. "That's-still Boss to you, me-ilk spittle. Last time I checked, you decided you had better things to do than join meow in the big-time. How's the frontier hunting going?" "Last time I looked at a map, Moga village wasn't exactly frontier, Boss…" Lynx huffed. "Yeah.. you would think that. Here." He said as he tossed a set of keys toward the hunter, directly at his face with force. Xavier just barely caught them before they made contact with his helmet.

"The Guild has set you up with a house, just like they used to back in the old days. I think they m-ay have meo-ssed up though. You seem to have room for another hunter." Turning around and pointing toward the farthest house down the street, Lynx continued. "Nya-ow I need to get going. Me-ake sure to talk to the village chief and any other hunters. Don't get yourself killed. I can't have a dead front me-an for me-y arena team." Said the Melynx said as he walked toward and past Xavier. "Same to you, there Gramps. Be sure to come visit again and knock those Val Vabar ladies dead!" With a simple raise of his paw, Lynx indicated that he heard his student and made his way toward a wagon with several Feylne waiting for him. With a sigh, Xavier turned his attention back to his trunks on the caravan. Grabbing one, he hauled the large container and began the arduous process of walking it to his new home. He noticed the other hunter walk directly to the public bath house and figured that some hunters had a one track minds… The short walk reminded him of carrying a wyvern egg, having to avoid things and people that would trip him up. Finally at the door, he began fidgeting with the lock one handed. The door opened just in time, as he could hear the sound of several of his potions being knocked over. Looking inside his new digs, he agreed with his former mentor's assessment. There seemed to be room for not just one hunter, but perhaps even three or four, as the building had multiple rooms and floors, all conjoined by a large living area. With a sigh, he placed the trunk down next to the door and turned back to collect his other chest. Maybe after this he could get something to eat and some sleep…

(Apologies for my bad Felyne speech. I'm not sure I have it pegged just yet...)
 
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The sunlight breaking through the thatching on the roof hit just the right angle to head directly for the eyes of the sleeping huntress as she lazed away the morning. She squinted her still closed eyes and blocked them with her arm before finally giving up - it was time to awaken anyway. As she rose, she made a note in her head to get that break in the thatching covered - good thing she knew the other villagers. Strategically positioning herself out of the baleful beam of light, the young huntress stood up and made for her armoire. Not wanting to spend the first part of her day stinking up her armor, she decided to simply make herself presentable so she could eat and bathe before donning her armor.

Googli dressed quickly, a certain efficiency in her every motion that allowed her to leave her home almost as quickly as she'd woken up. Looking outside, it looked as though she had missed the shops setting up by an amount of time - she couldn't tell if it was minutes or hours. Still, it was early enough in the day that she felt satisfied with her timing. She figured she would start with a meal, and so headed to the kindly Felyne's open-air kitchen for a hearty breakfast. She didn't use to eat terribly much, but since she'd become a hunter, she'd needed heavier and heartier meals to get her through her vocation.

As Googli approached, she waved with a smile at the Felyne. She'd always felt more comfortable around Lynians than people, for reasons she couldn't exactly process herself, and this particular one was especially kind towards others. Googli also noticed one of her fellow Poeikans chatting with the chef - Kino, a nice man several years her senior who treated her very kindly. Her brow arched upwards and she gave him a hurried wave as well. She pulled up a seat next to him and sat rather tensely, although he'd know it wasn't due to any lack of goodwill towards him - that was just how she sat, at least around others.

"Nyello, there, Ms. Moogli! What can I getcha, nya?" "Hey, there, Misara. Um, I noticed you got plenty of fish..." As a sort of means of acknowledging that she assumed it was Kino's doing, she quickly waved at him again and gave him a polite "Hey, Kino," before directing her attention back at the Felyne. "Maybe a Sushifish Stir Fry to start my day would be nice." "You always had wonderful taste, Ms. Moogli."

Misara, not wanting to stress Googli's social energies, didn't try to carry on any conversation, although the young huntress wouldn't have minded. Although Melynxes could be troublesome, she adored Lynians and loved talking to and being around them. Their many kitty-isms amused her, and she had always wanted a Palico friend. Nonetheless, she appreciated Misara's consideration for Googli's lacking social skills. Unexpectedly, Googli turned to Kino and, after shyly rubbing her arm, decided to strike up a conversation of her own.

"G-good morning, Kino. Uh... You were out fishing early this morning?"​
 
Kino kept watching as the caravan came in and the hustle and bustle of the shops began. Boxes were being dropped off, drivers hopping off of their wagons to try and stretch their legs and of course the shop keeps shouting out to those coming in about what they had to sell off. It was always fun seeing everyone trying their best to get their wares sold or make quick work of the supplies to see what all they could make before the day ended and even when the moon was still high in the sky for some. Meanwhile Kino took in his time to rest with a smile as days with no hunts were few and far between with all the extra traffic that came through the village.

Because of Poeika's sudden push as a major trade stop, creatures from all over started following the caravans that left out of shear curiosity or desire for food. With monsters it was always hard to tell, but in the end it was up to the local hunters in the village to put an end to the danger that put the villagers and the traders at risk. Sometimes it was something as simple as a pack of Velociprey or one that was lead by a dangerous Velocidrome. In other situations it would be a Tigrex who followed the scent of the meat that would come through the mountains and the forests. Regardless there are always monsters coming to follow where they see action or, at least in their eyes, someone trying to take a part of their territory. Kino saw first hand what happened when a monster didn't take too kindly to the latter as he rubbed the scar on his chin.

At the corner of his eye he saw a fellow hunter whom he had always enjoyed the company of, while sometimes he knew not to try too hard to get her to make conversation. Googli was always much more comfortable keeping to herself rather than being in the middle of the crowd. Seeing her wave at him, he returned in kind with a smile as he also noticed another hunter take a leave from the caravan. Kino could have sworn that was Connor McKinley if he had to take a guess. He had chatted with the man once or twice as he had been through the village with other caravans in the past. He noticed that something was handed to him by another man driving a wagon, but was quickly pulled away from his thought as he heard Googli's voice right next to him.

He hadn't even noticed the girl take up a seat next to him and now she was speaking to him. He quickly spun in his seat on the bench to look back towards Misara, who was busy fixing up a meal, and nodded at the girl. "You know me Googli. I like to get out early in the morning, as the fish like to get out before the Aptonoth wake up to drink from the rivers. Best time to catch them close to the bank." He told her as Misara set down two bowls of Sushifish Stir Fry. Kino raised his eyebrow and gave the Felyne an over-exaggerated surprised look. The cook waved her ladle around with a shake of her head, as if to ignore a protest no one had heard.

"Don't you give me that look Kino! You both get a free breakfast on meow today! Kino, because you fished up the meal. And Googli gets one because she's one of our local hunters. Can't have nya'll ready to fight monsters on empty stomachs! Meow eat up before it gets cold!" The Felyne said as she went back to prepping the rest of the food she could for the incoming caravan members. Kino only chuckled to himself as he looked down at the hot meal set out before him. Admittedly he was always a big fan of Misara's stir fry so getting a nice warm bowl this early was a pleasant surprise. For free too.

He turned his head to Googli with a smile. "Time for breakfast then I suppose." Kino told her as he bowed his head at the plate and picked up the utensil that laid next to his bowl. As he broke the top layer of the food he had before him, a puff of steam escaped as he brought up his first bite to his mouth. Blowing on it slightly he engulfed it with a single chomp and waited as the oils and juices from the meal sat on his tongue. Definitely one of his favorite meals. He finally went to chewing as he prepared a second helping from his fork to replace the one he was nearly finished with at the moment.
 
The atmosphere in the bath house was pleasant, almost enough for her to lose track of time. But that would not be the case, Bean almost always kept herself aware of her surroundings and so she heard another person enter the bath house too, so she shifted herself in the water enough to look over her shoulder to see that it was a hunter she already knew.
Connor, he was a caravan hunter who sometimes took up hunting requests in Poeika. And if he was here so was the caravan, and so were any potential tourists who would tag along to see all the destinations that they stopped at.

And if there were going to be tourists, Bean would rather not have to be given the usual 20-question routine whilst trying to enjoy a bath, she'd have to wash properly and leave soon just to be sure.

Climbing out of the water and picking up her towel, she visually scanned the room for where he was, even if he was nose deep in the water she could spot him.
Bean stood at the edge of the water and looked down at him. It may have been impossible to tell whether she looked annoyed or not, but it was safe to guess that she wasn't about to attack him as she spoke, having a relatively passive tone to her otherwise aggressive voice. "Welcome back I guess, hopefully you didn't bring any tourists this time, McKinley."
Making an assumption was a relatively easy way to ask without actually asking, at least if he corrected her and said there were no tag-alongs she'd be able to stay within the comfort of the bath for a while longer.
Otherwise there was nothing else to say to him, he was here every now and again so she didn't really know him, but they were both outsiders to this little village so it gave her some form of familiarity.

Whilst Bean awaited an answer she focused her gaze on his, whether or not he met that gaze was up to him, she hadn't taken the time to wrap her towel around herself because she had to confirm the tourist issue before they started showing up. Well, that and she didn't really have much of a concept of shame when it came to one's body, if she had the choice she'd probably be nude all the time.
 
Connor tilted his head so he could lock his gaze with hers before looking away. Lifting his head out of the water, he waves a hand and says "I don't think so. I didn't see anyone following me, anyways." He didn't comment on her nudity, figuring it was for the best if he pretended not to notice or care. And, again, public bath. He shouldn't be surprised.

Wait a second, she was one of the hunters for the village. Maybe he should tell her that he'd most likely be working with her in the future? Yeah, he should probably do that. "Oh, and I'm going to be staying here now. I look forward to the hunts we'll go on together." He told her with a small friendly smile on his face. He had hunted with her on multiple occasions whenever the caravan stopped here for a while. And considering he'll be staying here for years to come, hopefully, those few hunts would prove helpful in their teamwork.

"If you're leaving, mind telling Quanil, Buna, and whoever the guild rep is? I'm sure they'd like to know that they got another hunter to help them with whatever. But, if you're staying," he scooted over, pointing to the spot he had just left, "Then get in. You can't get clean standing around like that." Another small smile hopefully took any sting the words might have had away. Hopefully being the key word. Who knew how Bean would take it.
 
Having finally set his pair of trunks into what he claimed as his room, Xavier managed a long yawn accompanied by a stretch. Unfastening his sword belt, he tossed the giant weapon onto his simple bed and began to take off his helmet. As he lifted his arms, he got a whiff of himself and concluded that he smelled worse than he wanted to. With a groan, he figured he would have to take a bath, but…. His stomach growled almost to complete the thought. Slipping his vambraces off of his course fingers, he figured taking anything else off would just allow his stench to escape. He sighed and reached into one of his trunks. Pulling out a small teal bundle, he threw it toward the ground. It exploded, giving off a huge plume of light blue smoke. Guild regulation deodorant had more use than one, though the 'pleasant' odor was very overpowering. Coughing a little bit, Xavier waved his hand and made his way out of his room. Walking toward the front door, he noted how empty his new flat was. "I need to find some furniture…" He said to himself as he reached the door and opened it.

The chaotic scene continued outside as the caravan did business as usual. Spying now another hunter with the one he spotted earlier, Xavier watched as the later was shoveling food into his mouth. Judging from the body language of the pair, Xavier concluded he might be interrupting something if he tried to talk to them. He would need to get his information from the Felyne. Walking toward the eatery, he swayed his attention toward the blacksmith's stall, in an attempt to get a look at their forge or equipment. The effort was in vain however, as men were crowding them with crates and barrels full of monster parts and raw materials. Watching the glint of a golden ore reminded him of his old golden moon armor, making him bite his lip. This habit of nibbling on his lip he often employed when he was in thought, sometimes even drawing blood by accident. The memory of the wonderful craftsmanship and weight gave him a pang of regret for selling it, but then he remembered the total zenny he got for selling the gear.

Xavier walked past the table where the other hunters were seated and placed himself on an unoccupied one across from them, before beginning to wait patiently to be served. By the looks of the rushing Lynians with plates in their hands, he figured it would be impertinent for him to demand service. His stomach growled in protest to this thought, obviously more rude than it's owner. His casual scan of the village continued as he stretched himself out on the bench, hoping he would be able to figure out where the Guild office was on his own. Unfortunately, he was not…
 
The Wyverian seemed to be surprised by both the confirmation that there probably weren't any tourists on the caravan, and that of Connor's statement that he would be staying as a hunter of the village now. She wasn't used to people just deciding to stay in places she dwelt, it almost felt like he was infringing on her territory. At least there would be no tag-alongs, she could rest easy in the bath house for now.
Bean had visibly paused at this point, looking rather perturbed by the sudden revelation and the following offer to join him. "You want to be a hunter for Poeika?" If he was a hunter for the village it made her job easier, but it also meant she had to co-operate with him. She didn't have as much of a problem with that though, Bean seemingly had no qualms with sitting herself next to him afterwards.

She'd watched his gaze, he didn't care for her scarred form evidently, be it out of respect or out of fear for any consequences. "Getting clean is the least of my concerns now."

An annoyed grunt preceded her next words as Bean sank into the water once more to allow Connor to help was her. "Staying here is ridiculous, McKinley. Poeika is empty and there may be more monsters but we'll run out of work with our number growing. Have you properly thought about it?" As was evident to Connor, it at least seemed that Bean was capable of conversation with him. "You can't get much fame or renown living here. Val habar or directly from the guild, yes, but here. Basically nothing. There's very few luxuries here." She elaborated, half trying to convince him to move on from the village really. She didn't want competition that she respected, she wanted competition she could crush.

"If you are sure, there's a bed in the shared hunters quarters, but as I said, the village is going to run out of work. We can fight any and all monsters but there's little else to do, most of the others help around the village otherwise. Mistis fishes almost every morning. That Moogli girl seems to make people happy just by being there. And the less said about the other one the better. But you're an outsider to the village, like me." She paused, sighing with mild annoyance before she eased back against the edge of the bath.

"I'll tell Quanil anyway, but don't make our job harder by slacking off. Having more hunters doesn't mean you can relax." Bean could at least respect his choice if he'd already put thought into it, but if it was a whim and he changed his mind later she wasn't going to go easy on him.

"When we're done here, clean my back and I'll clean yours. Only fair." She grumbled afterwards, eyes shut as she started to enjoy the water again.
 
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"It feels right for me to be here. Every time the caravan came this way, I always felt something here. True I could easily find fame somewhere else, but I'm used to not being famous. I was a caravan hunter until recently, after all." he said, shrugging off her comment on there being nothing for him in Poeika. "And if we run out of things to do here, the Guild will find something for us to do somewhere else. It isn't completely unheard of for the Guild to do that. A couple hunters hopping on a caravan when the Guild decides that's what's best. And even when there's no more monsters to hunt the villagers will still need us to collect things. At the least we'll have to carry things for them. And I've been living in the back of a wagon, I have a very low standard when it comes to luxury."

His ears perked up when he heard about the shared house. "Oh, I didn't know about that. Thank you for telling me. Don't tell the inn keeper, though. I already paid for a room and I don't want her to have to repay me for me not knowing there was a shared house." And when she suggested that he'd be a slacker, he added. "And you should know me by now, I'm not a slacker, not when I'm on the hunt. I'm still alive, after all."

After that he just grunted in agreement and sunk once more into the water. Now he had to move his stuff out of the inn and into the shared housing. He'd do it tomorrow, that way the inn keeper wouldn't get suspicious. Zenny was zenny, and with the amount Gareth had given him he'd be able to pay the initial fee to go on his first hunt here.
 
Whilst Bean wasn't sure how long exactly had been spent in the bath, she felt it had been long enough by now, so she moved from her seat and climbed out. She looked back at Connor as she picked her towel up and gestured with a slight tilt of her head for him to follow.
"Best get moving, the rest of the village is waking up." Her comment hinting at her general feelings about dealing with people, she'd set herself down in a seat once she'd readied some water to rinse once Connor was finished. "I'd rather not be here when everyone else decides to wash." And would repay the favour by washing his back in return, it was only fair, just like she said.

Done with the bath house, Bean was fairly quick to dry herself off, loosely throw her ragged clothing back on and give Connor an idle wave of some sort as she walked out.

The next port of call was Elder Quanil's to inform him of Connor's decision to join Poeika's retinue of hunters, Quanil would ensure Yuudina knew and she would ensure that the Guild knew, it was simple really.
In her travels to go find the elder, she passed by Misara, the cook and her steadily growing crowd of patrons from the village and the caravan. There wasn't even a hint of recognition from her towards those in the area as she passed them by, absent-mindedly shoulder checking one of the caravaneers out of her way as she walked.
All Bean heard from him was annoyed grumble before the man recognised her and turned away, mumbling quietly under his breath instead of directing his grievances at her directly, she couldn't tell what he said but she didn't really want to know anyway, it was probably the same old stuff about looking like a Wyvern and she was used to that.

Although it wasn't a problem when children of the village called her monster lady, they'd never seen one so they wouldn't know any better after all, so she'd normally just make a roaring sound at them and pretend to start chasing them so they would run off. Sometimes it even felt a little fun when she started properly chasing them, it wasn't like hunting monsters fun, but the running around and the slightly infectious laughter of the children were where it mostly came from.
It often reminded her of a time not too long ago when she was still a curious kid, asking about monsters and hunting, these children were more focused on her monster features, but they were still curious little things. It was almost nostalgic.

Before long she found the old man with a bad back, Quanil, as per usual he was already in pain from no doubt trying too hard to help with any construction effort. "Elder Quanil, I just came to let you know that McKinley wants to live in Poeika as one of our hunters, he figured you should know so things can be sorted. I told him about the shared quarters already and he's moving his possessions later on." There was a tone of respect to Bean's voice as she relayed the information, even giving him a small bow of her head as she awaited his response. Quanil was one of few people who had Bean's respect, mostly due to his status as cheiftan, but he seemed to also be fairly forgiving of her attitude anyway, which actually made her feel more comfortable.

(Not really keen on roleplaying for Quanil, figured that would be a thing for GM.)
 
Connor did as Bean asked and got out of the bath, wrapping a towel around himself for some decency and hustled over to a seat so she could wash his back. And once she was done he turned around and returned the favor. Unlike her he decided to stay for a bit longer, but even he could only stay in the bath for so long before wanting to do something else. And so he dried off as best he could and got dressed before heading out once more into the village.

Perhaps he'll pay the Misara a visit in her gourmet stall. She'd probably be busy serving everyone a caravan brings in, but it was always worth the wait when it came to her stir fry. Just thinking about it made his mouth water a little. So off he went, to Misara's Gourmew Stand, and then he looked for a spot to sit. Spotting Kino at one of the tables, he also sees him sitting with someone else so just waves before continuing his search for a table. He knew Kino, and Kino knew him. The caravan passed through here enough times for that. At least he was pretty sure it did. Maybe not, oh well. They'd get to know each other in the future.

Finally spotting a table, he quickly grabs a seat and patiently waits for the felyne to catch up on orders before frantically waving to catch her attention and shouting "The usual!" To which she just nodded and threw more ingredients into that big pan of hers. Where she got that pan he didn't know. But it looked like it could stun a Great Jaggi.
 
Xavier watched as the chaos that came with the caravan break itself on the small, and probably quiet, village. His eyes and head doing a casual scan around him, he noticed someone step out of the bath house in the form of a female Wyverian. Her cheeks were still flush from the heat of the bath and her curly blonde hair sagged with the moisture it still held. With several confident steps, she made her way toward an older gentlemen leaning over to signify that he had back problems. Almost on queue with the beginning of the conversation between the pair, the young hunter stepped out from behind the cloth doors of the bath house, just as flushed and partially wet. Dismissing the dirty thoughts that came to mind, Xavier finally recalling the hunter's name, watching as Conor made his way to the same eatery as himself and settling on an empty table, before calling out his rather presumptuous order to the only staff. Was he supposed to yell out his order? Wouldn't that be rude for a newcomer? His thoughts continued as he began to make a lunch of his lip, his eyes now fixed on the cooking Lynian. It was clear from how she was fixated on the meal she was preparing that it would be a bit before Xavier got her attention.

The taste of blood on his lips made Xavier seise biting his lip, though now his tongue would flash up to try and wipe away the small bit of blood. With a sigh, Xavier turned his attention back to the caravan and village, noting that they had unpacked plenty of the supplies from the carts and wheel-houses. His scan continued as he searched for either a Guild banner or a building that would denote a village chief. This time yielded more results, as he spied the banner on one of the door flaps of a nondescript house, simply built and relatively small, even for this village. He was slightly disappointed now, since Gramps had already checked in for him. He figured that he would attempt to make a visit to the representative before the day ended.
 
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Taking in yet another bite from his stir fry, Kino was feeling quite refreshed as his energy started coming back to him after his early morning stop at the river. The sudden change from quiet and calm to the gradual progress of noise and fast paced movement would be quite the shock to anyone, but the hunter had grown more than used to it with all the times he would watch his home come to life in the morning sun. Letting out a small yawn he looked back at Googli with a smile before noticing a man in the distance set up shop at a table a bit of a way's away from where they had stopped.

The man looked like he was trying to find something, as his gaze kept going around the area it seemed. Plus he was biting his lip rather harshly too. Perhaps he was pressed for time or he lost someone he knew in the caravan. Following his view he tried to spot what he was looking at and instead caught a glimpse of some wet and matted blonde hair that looked like it had just spent some time in the river Kino had been in not too long ago. Then the ears caught his eye and at that point he knew it was Bean. She seemed to be walking at a brisk place to say the least and seemed almost a little tense if he could guess, though the crowds that blocked his view made him reserve his judgement in the end. The girl always seemed to be in a bad mood about something. No doubt someone was staring at her in the bath house Kino imagined. A tourist did that what felt like weeks ago and that incident was one the village managed skirt by just barely. Kino thought the man was going to be skinned like a Mosswine that day.

She seemed to be going up to the village chief Quanil, as he noticed the silhouette of the older man as well. But his gaze was brought back quickly to something that moved past his eyes as a man waved towards him on the way to another table. Kino quickly redirected his sight and saw Connor McKinley, a caravan hunter he hadn't seen in some time he felt. Quickly Kino sent a wave back in return as McKinley set up shop at a table away from the group. Showing an incredulous look on his face, the fisherman shook his head and patted his hand down on the seat nearest to him. "Come now Connor, no need to sit by yourself if you're here to visit. Plenty of room for you and your meal next to me and Googli!" He shouted over the searing of the pans and sizzling of ingredients that started to echo more strongly in the Gourmand Stand.

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Quanil, the seasoned man whose white beard only seemed to hover over his chin turned slowly while gripping his back to see one of his local hunters behind him. The young Wyverian, Bean, as it turned out. So early in the morning as well. The old man let out a sigh as he stretched himself out to try and get his back to straighten, only to have it crack and force the chief to generate some heat by rubbing the sudden sore location. Shaking his head he looked at Bean with half awoken eyes. "If I had known I was already going to be receiving this much news this early in the morning I wouldn't have agreed to help the item shop move those new boxes of oils from the caravan when they arrived." Quanil said as he pointed to the box he had just set down before the girl had approached him. A younger man picked up the box and nodded at the elder, who returned the gesture while the pain in his back began to subside.

The elder wanted to still feel useful to those he lead in the village, and only saw his usefulness in actually performing deeds across the village. Moving boxes, building things and reinforcing old buildings he had made when Poeika was just a fledgling little outpost before it became the village it was today. Now his body was beginning to show signs of age and breaking down, though the old man would never be the first or last one to admit it to even himself. But as village chief, he had other duties to take into account. This included handling new arrivals. Which it appeared he needed to take care of now.

"The old caravan hunter, wasn't it?" Quanil asked as he finally could stand up straight again as he scratched the scruff of his beard. That would make a total of four with Bean, Kino and Googli included. But there was the matter of the supposed newcomers that Yuudina had told him about in passing quite some time ago that he was still waiting to arrive. Though it may have been one or more, he honestly couldn't recall anymore as he always had so many other pertinent things to do on his mind. Throwing that worry from his mind for now, he looked back at Bean with a smile as he patted her on the shoulder. "I appreciate you letting me know about this Bean. I take it you were at least courteous with our new guest and ally." He smiled at the girl as he began walking away towards the Misara's stand.

Quanil waved at Bean to follow him. "I get the feeling you haven't had anything to eat yet and we need our hunters strong Bean. Let us get something to start our day and then I can let you know of some information I received via the avian messengers that may be of interest to you and the others." He said as he walked through the crowd, which gave him more than enough space to walk clearly through. A less stunning perk of being village chief, but an appreciated one none the less.​
 
As per usual, Quanil had once again proved to be doing too much work for his age as he elaborated on the blade oils shipment from the caravan, it brought a small sigh from the Wyverian before the topic of Connor began again.
"In a sense, yes. I just made sure he was certain about staying, he gave a suitable response so I didn't bother him about it any further. And if he's as committed as he says he is, Poeika will do fine with the addition." Bean was always impressed by Quanil's stature, despite his age he looked like he could jump right back into the hunting profession if his back held out.

Upon the elderly man's gesture for her to follow, Bean was quick to come to heel, begrudgingly confirming the assumption that she hadn't eaten yet. "If you had asked me I would have been able to move the boxes for you before bathing, I've said before that I don't mind doing work like that if you ask... And eating would be good right now, yes." She quickly commented as she followed alongside him through the crowd, the difference between Bean and Quanil was like comparing a wild Felyne to an Ace palico, one was given a wide berth for the sake of personal safety whilst the other was given the same berth through merit and respect of their position.
Although it was fairly well known in the village that Bean behaved best whilst Quanil was present, even if she were provoked at the moment she wouldn't dare raise her hand against anyone in the immediate vicinity.
Misara's stand would be safe from any Wyverian-based wrath for the time being, probably... While Quanil was around at the very least.

But amongst the swarm of caravaneers crowding around Misara's stand, Bean picked out a couple of familiar faces. McKinley had already finished in the bath house too it seemed, meanwhile she also spotted Kino and Googli sitting there, the former talking to Misara whilst the latter quietly sat there doing very little. She didn't give any of them much recognition as she focused on a fairly famous face in the world of Guild Hunters.

Xavier Polk, supposedly a "G" Rank hunter whom had a habit of getting bored, selling his gear and essentially starting again with his monster hunting career in a new village. He seemed to be looking around for something while he thought about what he was going to order. Was he here as a hunter or a tourist? Bean had heard a lot of stories about him as she was building up her own career in the Guild, last she heard was that he was working for a caravan as their hunter. She narrowed her gaze upon him for a brief moment in uncertainty, it would definitely be a thorn in the backside if he was going to stay here too, with his success rate she'd be out of a job before long.
No doubt he would be able to feel her gaze if he had any sense of awareness.

Bean would sit herself down only after Quanil had, any other time she'd just sit anywhere and go from there, but he was the Elder so out of the two of them he should be the one to sit and order breakfast first. "Surprise me." Was all she'd say once asked what she wanted to eat.
 
Xavier sneezed and calmly used the back of his hand to wipe away what may or may not be there. In truth, his sneezes were much more a squeak, nothing like the masculine 'achoo' that generally followed others' sneezes. His eyes returned to the Wyverian and the elderly man, who were making their way to the eatery through the press of people. Surprisingly, they cleared a path for the old man as he made his slow and steady way. Recognition of what was occurring came slower than Xavier would have liked in hindsight. Patience had finally revealed to Xavier what he was looking for. This was the village elder…. Quanil, Xavier believed. The white beard was looking for somewhere to sit and, more than likely, eat. Xavier figured it wouldn't be fair to keep a table to himself, so, with another quick wipe of his slightly bloody lip, he stood and waved toward the pair, before weakening the gesture. The stare the female gave him was colder than any Kushala storm. Was that contempt or some other emotion? He couldn't be sure.

Assuming that the pair made their way to his table, Xavier would make a stiff, but formal bow to the Chieftain. Rising, he would begin his introduction. "Good morning! I'm Xavier Polk. I sent you a Guild hawk to let you know that I would be enlisting as a village hunter here for a while. It seems that your village has been selected to become one of the new trading hubs out in this direction. I am completely at your disposal, sir." He would say with another deep, stiff bow. "I have already moved my things into the rather large hunter's villa at the end of the village. I was intending to seek you out after I got myself some breakfast. Then I planned to completely checked in with the Guild rep before bathing and catching some Z's. I drew last night's watch on the caravan and I'm starting to feel woozy." He would say with a large grin, his eyes darting from one to the other of the pair. He would feel it weaken as he recalled the state he was in, disheveled, tired looking, and covered in small dustings of guild regulation deodorant.
 
"If you insist!" Connor shouted back as he got up and made his way over to their table, sitting on the other side of Kino. "And I'm here for more then just to visit. I'm going to be a hunter here, got the Guild's permission and everything. And the Caravan Master isn't angry that I'm leaving either, which just makes it better really. In fact him and the rest of the caravan is going to throw a feast at the inn tonight to see me off. You can come if you want, I don't think they'll notice or care if they do." he told them as he waited for the stir fry to appear before him. And as he waited, he couldn't help but look hungrily at the food that the other two had. But soon enough, a plate of egg stir fry appeared in front of him, and he was thanking the felyne for her services as he grabbed the zenny to pay her.

"So what's the village been up to since I was away? I see a couple new buildings. Any new faces I should know about? Is there something big that needs hunting? I'll let you take care of it if there is, you need the practice." As he spoke a grin took over his face. He figured Kino could take care of himself, of course Connor would join the hunt as well but that was besides the point. The shield of a gunlance was almost as good as the shield of a lance. And a gunlance had twice the fire power behind it then a normal lance. If anything he'd just get his back in a corner and blast the creature until it had enough and left. But that was just the worst case scenario, and that didn't include the possibility of there being other hunters there to help. And if you asked him, hunting in a group was a lot smarter then hunting by yourself.
 
Kino laughed at Connor's constant questions going right past him. Clearly the man wanted to get caught up and familiar with his new home as it were, but even then there were so many queries that he wasn't sure which to answer. Swallowing the last bit of stir fry in his mouth that he had stuffed into the side of his cheek to keep himself from choking during his laughter, Kino turned to him and shook his head. "One at a time there Connor. I can only answer so much for you. And to be honest, if anyone here needs the training, it would be you. It is one thing to protect a caravan and chase away the monsters of the land," Kino said as he slid his now empty bowl towards Misara and the rest of her cooking crew. "It is a different thing entirely to make sure that they are dead and gone for good." The fisherman told the former caravaneer with a smile on his face.

"Indeed, sometimes things don't die as elegantly as a Mosswine."

Kino turned quickly to see Quanil standing above him with a smile on his face as he looked at the bowl in front of Connor. "I see our local fisherman must have gone and collected a fresh catch of Sushifish for us this morning. Quite a lucky day for all of our supposed newcomers coming in today as it were." The elder stated as he patted Kino on the shoulder with a smile on his face. Quanil had always enjoyed Kino's attentiveness and desire to always be a help around the village. Same as Bean, though Bean seemed to only be so generous to him rather than the other villagers. The two of them were quite the duo to have as hunters, and now with so many more now staying in the village, who could say how much of a haven Poeika would become.

Before Quanil could introduce himself to Connor, another man approached the group with a tall stature in his stance. The small trickling of fresh blood on his lip caught the attention of the elder as the man finished his update on his staying in the village. This was Xavier Polk as it turned out. The one Quanil had read in the message from the Guild. But from what Quanil could remember he still was missing one new Guild appointed arrival. It wasn't a brand new hunter, but the girl was supposed to be coming back from the Guild Headquarters with Yuudina with her new equipment. Bringing himself back to the moment, Quanil nodded towards Polk with a grin.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you took a bit out of a Seregios leg there. Always a nasty little kickback when you bite into one." He said with a laugh that was lonely as Kino looked up at him with a shake of his head. The old man liked to try and be funny with the younger hunters, but his jokes were more often forced or very hard to follow in the grand scheme. Eventually the chuckle died in the elder's throat as he held his hand out to shake the new hunter. "As the elder I welcome you and you as well Connor McKinley. I do hope the two of you will be a big help to all of our current hunters in the city."

From behind the group, a small Felyne bounced towards them while wearing a hat appointing it as part of the Aviation department. Poeika was small, but there was an occasional blimp that came in whenever the Guild had an urgent transport that needed be made. The young cat tugged at Quanil's leg and saluted. "Meowster! I wanted to inform nyou that we have Yuudina arriving in a blimp in just a meowment. Layla is returning right nyaow!" The little one said as he went and hurried back to the landing pad. Quanil sighed as he shook his head.

"Shame. It would appear we have a greeting to go to. If the hunters would all please follow as well. You all know how excited Layla was to get a chance to go straight to the Guild to get her hunter status approved. We'd be rude not to be there when she arrived." He told the group as he began walking back through the village. Kino smiled and gave Connor a nudge.

"Guess the troupe just keeps growing." He said with a laugh as he picked himself off the bench and began walking behind the village elder as they blimp began to show up past the horizon.
 
Bean wasn't sure what part of this sudden turn of events got to her most, having found out that she'd been right about Xavier as soon as he opened his mouth was a little concerning simply for the sake of him likely hunting the village out of business. At least the joke about biting a Seregios amused her a bit, maybe she'd have to give it a try seeing as she'd bitten worse before.
And then there was the disruption of getting something to eat so they could all go and greet Layla on her return from the Guild after being granted status as an official hunter. Bean had been inwardly anticipating food since Quanil suggested it no matter how she acted, but now they all had to greet Layla over her success.

Layla was a fairly okay girl, she had a style of fighting that Bean could appreciate due to how similar it was to her own, but she wouldn't say she was close to her. It probably wouldn't have hurt Layla's feelings for her to stay at Misara's stand for breakfast, but it was a request from Quanil so she couldn't turn it down. Plus it reminded her of her own excitement when she was an official hunter back when she started.

So the Wyverian was back on her feet and following the Elder and Kino rather passively as she shot another look at Xavier, now that she was closer to him she could smell the mixture of the deodorant he'd used and what she could assume was a caravan journey's worth of built up body odour and dirt. "Sorting out the details with Yuudina can wait until later in the day unless it's urgent, I suggest you get some sleep if you're that tired. You no doubt know that G-rank hunter or not everyone needs to sleep at some point... And bathe." Bean's tone wasn't as rough as before, if not because she was on her best behaviour due to Quanil being around it was likely due to Xavier's renown alone that she had some respect for him.

"And your success rate is impressive but don't go hunting us out of a job, okay?" Was the last thing she said to him, simply waiting for his response as they headed for the landing pad for the blimp.
 
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