The Frenzy - Pt.1: Meet n' Greet (Monster Hunter)

A beautiful morning in the city of Dondruma showed one Roy Alomar asleep in bed. A G-Rank Hunter, and one of the city's best, his currently mostly-undressed body showed the many small scars of his position. A claw mark here, a bite there, several quickly healing electricity burns on his forearms and stomach from a close call with a Zinogre...

Of all of his scars, the most prominent one was on his left eye, or rather, just above and below it, with a more shallow marking almost invisibly connecting the two on his eyelid. A close-call with some accidental friendly fire had him taking a poison-tipped arrow from a panicking woman across his face. She had freaked out when he had supposedly 'crept up' on her, slashed downwards with the arrow...and next thing Roy knew, he was home with a bandage over his eye and a new four-inch scar on his face.

He never did see that woman again, though a brief question to one of the maidens told him that she was still actively hunting. Just...not in his area.

The Hunter shifted a bit in bed to find a comfortable spot, then resumed his snoring.

Like most Hunters worth anything, his body was very well toned. Roy was, however, somewhat slimmer than other G-Rank Hunters. His preferred weapon, the Sword and Shield, didn't require much in the way of physical power to deliver its damage, resulting in his leaner form. A careful examination showed his right forearm was lightly bruised from the shield slamming against it, likely as a last ditch effort to keep himself alive.

Sitting on a chest on the opposite end of his room was his armor, made of Azure Rathalos scale and mostly Carbalite derived steel plating. The chestplate had recently been reworked to use an Eltalite alloy instead, and the upgrade had been pricey. Not bank breaking, but enough to make him take his time upgrading the rest. The new alloy was far stronger, more protective, and lighter as well, fitting the agile Hunter perfectly.

His weapon racks were filled with all sorts of weapons, though short swords and shields outnumbered the rest by at least two to one. One of the shields had an obvious dent in it, likely the one that had caused the bruise. It would require some standard maintenance from the blacksmith, but there was no rush. Roy had enough in the bank to take a year or more off from Hunting before he had to worry (not that he would ever think of it), so it was more than enough to cover repair expenses.

It was nearing noon, and the Hunter had planned to hit the bazaar for some cheap products...but his body decided sleep was more important. A small huff left his throat as he rolled over, keeping the sun out of his eyes. His alarm clock had been disconnected from its Lagiacrus-derived power source earlier in the morning, the hands frozen at seven thirty-five in the morning.
---

One Rathian halfbreed, however, woke up in the apartment complex across from Roy. Her name was Kinoreia, though she mostly adopted the '-reia' bit for reasons of pride. She was the product of a long line of genetic 'accidents', accidents that produced many of her kind. What caused these 'accidents' was unknown until one human researcher decided to take matters into her own hands.

She gave birth to a Ludroth halfbreed six months later. Other scientists in the field were astounded, and some were a bit...disgusted.

There were other 'species', of course, ranging from the more common Rath and Nargacuga to the less frequent Tigrex and Lagiacrus. Deviljho halfbreeds were almost completely unheard of, due to the fact they were more likely to eat their mate than 'finish the job.' There had been no sightings of Elder Dragon halfbreeds at all, likely due to their violent nature towards humans as a rule.

Kino's body was covered lightly in pale peach colored scales that mimicked skin in form, but not in function. This scale was easily capable of deflecting attacks, and she frequently shed these scales to both replace damaged ones and add in thicker scale. This skin-colored protection ended just above her elbows, and then halfway down her thighs. Following that was thick, forest-green plating, denoting her 'mother' species as Rathian. Her scales and plates would grow denser and thicker as she aged, which in turn would result in better protection. Like other wyverns and wyverians, she would age to be several hundred years old if natural or not so natural causes didn't take her first.

Atop her head sat cyan hair, cut into a short, jagged style. Two locks, one on each side of her head, ran from just above her temples and down to her shoulders. Her blue and green heterochromatic eyes were blocked from view as the Rathian halfbreed snored again. On her face was a long scar over her right eye, gained early in her life in a fight against a Khezu. She had gotten careless, and...

If the wyverness had been awake, she would have shuddered. Instead, her peaceful breathing hitched in her throat just once and settled again. Aside from the scar, a green crest made its way along her chin and up both sides of her head. Her ears resembled those of a Rath's as well, pointy and inflexible due to the harder cartilage and scales they were made of. A trade off for hearing far and above human hearing.

Her hands ended in clawed fingers, and her feet ended in four-toed Rathian talons, loaded with the exact same lethally necrotic venom a fully grown Rathian would have. From her wrists on back to her shoulder blades extended a membrane that allowed the woman to fly...in theory. In reality, she was too top-heavy for true flight, though long-distance gliding was definitely a possibility. The outside of her wrists carried wing 'claws' that could be re-purposed as cutting implements in a pinch, though Kino rarely needed to use them in a fight. They were like a Felyne's claws, able to grow back in if damaged.

Her nethers and breasts were covered with a group of scale coverings, much like one would find on a skimpy bikini in coverage, but more like plate mail in protection. This allowed her and other Rath- halfbreeds to literally walk out onto the street with no clothing and avoid a fine for indecent exposure, though only just. Other halfbreeds weren't as lucky...male and female Narga came to mind.

The plates came in handy because, while she DID have clothing, putting them on was a pain in her ass. Her tail provided quite a challenge for clothing, sprouting from just above her rump and ending in a small bulb, the thorns filled with necrotic Rathian venom. Her tail was almost four feet long, and as such the bulb would drag on the ground when she was in motion. It had adapted to have thicker plates on its underside as a result, and the toxic spines had become harder as well.

The halfbreed's dreaming of food and other base desires was brought to a swift halt as her alarm clock went off. Groaning loudly, she launched a halfhearted fireball its way. The puff of flame shut the fire-resistant clock off, resetting it for when the halfbreed would need it next.

"Urgh, time to get up already...?" She asked herself, eyes locked squarely onto the clock face and almost daring it to ring again. She ran a clawed hand gently through her blue hair and sighed, letting her hair tendrils drape onto her shoulders. Groaning, she stood and stepped into the bathroom.
---

An hour later showed both on the streets, looking for food or supplies. Food in the halfbreed's case, and supplies in the human's. They both had signed up for the same hunt later that day, though only Roy needed actual supplies. Most of Kinoreia's equipment was natural.

She chowed down on an Aptonoth leg, only lightly grilled for maximum flavor. Despite being part human, she and other carnivorous half-wyverns still greatly enjoyed raw meats, and could eat them with no issue.

That brought her mind to the hunt at hand. Sometimes, halfbreeds would go...berserk. Usually Deviljho or Abiorugu ones, though there was always a risk with any half-breed. Razing livestock, killing people, obliterating homes...the list went on, the half-wyvern being almost as destructive as a full-sized wyvern simply due to the sheer surprise of the attack.

As they were deemed a threat, the Hunter's Guild did to them what they would an ordinary beast: Put a quest mark out on them. The reason for their seemingly random phases of frenzy was unknown, as captured halfbreeds would eventually calm down and become lucid again after a time. The usual reaction was horror at their own actions, followed by a swift suicide once they were alone. It depended on the person, naturally. Those with a more violent disposition were less shell shocked by it, while the opposite was also true.

Today was a Giaorugu halfbreed, near a small village on the glacial fields up north. Disappearances had been linked to sightings of this frenzied male, and so far only women from the village had disappeared. The village's huntress had also vanished, having gone off to find him and simply not returning.

Despite Kino's aversion to the cold, she at least had the advantage of human alchemy. The 'Hot Drinks' that were commonly available were nothing short of a miracle for her during the winter months in Dondruma, and she would make sure to stock as many as she could carry. The little pouch on her left thigh was packed full of them, the small bottles clinking against one another whenever the pouch would bounce.

It was only her and Alomar on this quest, as there wasn't a need for a full team against one 'halfie'. Other hunters would just get in the way, and the reward pot wasn't too large. Roughly six grand for the both of them to split. As halfies weren't nearly as dangerous as normal wyverns with proper preparation, the reward for their suppression wasn't anywhere near as large.

Kino polished off the leg and sat back, satisfied. Her money pouch was on a small belt on her waist, she'd pay in a moment. A belch erupted from the small wyverness, a burst of hot air following it. She grinned to herself, satisfied.
---

Roy, meanwhile, was bartering with a shopkeep obviously taking him for a ride.

"No way this junk is worth a thousand zenny!" The Hunter shouted, pointing at a line of small white bottles. Inside was supposedly a white powder made of crushed Godbug and wyvern claws, able to instantly restore life to those greeting the reaper. It was a valuable item to be sure, but not exactly *rare.* Roy just didn't have the time to make a few himself, sleep seemed more important.

"It is, and when it saves your team's lives, you'll appreciate spending the cash." The salesman said, staring Roy directly in the eye. Neither flinched for several minutes as a crowd watched the stand-off. Feeling himself attracting stares, the salesman buckled first. "Fine. Eight hundred. As low as I'll go."

"Deal." Roy said a minute later, knowing he wasn't getting a better deal than that. Putting two of the bottles in his pouch, he handed off the appropriate amount and walked back home to get suited up.

It took him only fifteen minutes to get his Azure Rathalos armor on, a testament to his experience and time spent in the armor. The extra padding in the helmet helped him avoid hearing damage from louder monster roars, though he sometimes had issues with hearing his teammates as a result.

Wouldn't be an issue. Apparently he was working with a Rathian halfie tonight, she'd be loud enough.

Truthfully, he'd only worked with one halfbreed before. A Barioth woman, who's clothing had burnt off mid-hunt. He had difficulty...focusing for the rest of the hunt, especially whenever she bent over. Which was...often. Too often. Roy swore she had been teasing the rest of the 75% male Hunting group, even while the Agnaktor was trying to kill them all. She ended up screwing another guy in his tent that night, and she was a screamer.

Still, the woman had been more than adequate in a fight, and he assumed this Rathian was the same. He honestly didn't care who he was hunting with, as long as they COULD hunt.

Suited up, he headed for the Departure Gate.
---

They both met up at the Gate, looking for one another. He saw her first, striding over with a good-natured smile adorning his face.

"You Kinoreia?" He asked, and she nodded in return. "Good to meet you!"

Roy extended his hand for a handshake, but the wyverness didn't return the gesture. Instead, she huffed at him.

"I take it you're Roy Alomar then?" She asked in turn, not returning his grin. He nodded in answer, lowering his hand with a slight frown. "I'm hoping we can get this done and over with, I hate the cold."

"It's not that bad. The Tundra is actually warmer than it usually is, nearing the melting point for the ice and snow." Roy said offhandedly, looking at the predicted temps for the area posted on the board.

"I don't care. Still hate the cold." She huffed, tapping his armored chest with a claw. "Come on, I wanna get this over with."

He nodded, and they both boarded the small airship dedicated to two-man hunts. The wyverian pilot engaged the engine and pulled the rope off the docking platform, releasing them to the open air. Roy sat in his seat and pulled a book from his pack, a bookmark already a quarter of the way through. Kino sat directly across from Roy, though pointedly had her legs crossed.

"You should have used the restroom before we left." Roy mentioned, taking a passing glance at her over his book.

"Wh-I don't need to use it." Kino huffed at him. "I just want to avoid your prying eyes."

The Hunter looked up just long enough to shoot her a curious look.

"'Prying eyes'? It's not like yours would be the first vagina I've seen. Probably the most scaly, but not the first."

The Rathian woman huffed a small lick of flame, before pulling out something to distract herself: A notebook, filled with sketches, and an ink well that was almost depleted. Roy watched carefully as she dipped one of her claws into the ink and began carefully tracing it along one of the sheets of paper. Eventually something took form: She was drawing the engine.

The ride was a silent one, neither Hunter nor Halfbreed having much to say to the other despite the human's friendly first attempt. Roughly three hours in, Roy put his book away and pulled his weapon out. As it was a Giaorugu they were going after, his fire weapon Golden Eclipse would be more than appropriate.

He dragged a whetstone along its edges, removing little nicks that weren't a real detriment to performance. As he went to do it again, the halfbreed huffed at him.

"Once is enough." The Rathian said, annoyed.

"You never know, sometimes a second check finds things the first missed." Roy replied with a shrug. "For example, I know your nipples are pink. There's a chip in your left breast plating, should have worn a shirt."

The Rathian's face flushed horribly as she unfolded her left wing and covered her chest again.

"You d-damn pervert..." She grumbled, looking down to inspect the damage herself. She hadn't remembered getting hit in the chest...

The check revealed that the human had been playing a trick on her. She glared at him, but his attention was elsewhere, absorbed back into that book of his. A hint of a smile was on his face, his expression simply screaming 'made you look'. They sat there in silence for another few minutes, Kino staring at Roy and trying to find a flaw in his armor and Roy, meanwhile, was marking his place in the book and settling in for a nap.

"Aha!" She eventually shouted. "There's a chip in your right gauntlet, it's exposing the chainmail beneath!"

Roy sent a look of tired nonchalance at the Rathian woman as her voice made him jump, before closing his eyes again.

"Know about it, don't care enough to get it fixed. It's on my shield hand anyway."

"You humans need scales." Kino mentioned offhandedly. "So much easier than these clunky suits."

"Why bother? Rather have my armor fixed in a week than wait a month for new plating to grow." The Hunter shot back, eyes still closed. There was noticeable effort behind it this time, however.

"Well, I-"

"Unless the next words are 'wanna blow you', I'm going back to sleep." Roy cut across, a yawn immediately coming in behind his words.

"Males..." The green-scaled woman huffed at him, growing silent and turning in for a nap of her own.

The wyverian captain sighed in relief, having had dealt with the two being passive-aggressive for the past four hours. The little man wasn't stupid enough to cut in, however: they had weapons and he didn't. They didn't even expressly need him to pilot the craft, it was simple enough to do. They could just say a windstorm pitched him into the sea...

No, staying quiet and invisible was how he had survived the past four hundred years, and it was likely how he would survive the next four hundred.
---

The airship eventually landed six hours later, and Kino had downed a Hot Drink before they even made camp. Roy had done most of the work, with Kino having lit the fire and...that was it. She then sat in a shivering ball until Roy pulled out the warmer quilts from the supply packs. The green-scaled halfbreed lunged, grabbing one and curling up in it near the fire. The airship pulled off, leaving them several flares to call him back from a nearby outpost.

"Ah, hey! We have a job to do, come on!" Roy groaned as the Rathian shivered near the fire. Kino noticed the lighthearted tone was gone from the human, which made her politely confused. Perhaps he was cold as well and simply wanted to be done with this?

Kino groaned regardless.

"D-d-d-do we have to?" She asked, intense shivering taking hold. The Hot Drink had yet to actually hit her system, and until it did, she would be absolutely freezing. She was carrying another seven in a pouch on her hip, the only bit of 'clothing' she was wearing. The human had a point, perhaps she should invest in a sweater...

"You want to freeze in that blizzard coming our way, then?" The silver haired man said, pausing just enough to quirk an eyebrow at her.

Roy finished setting up the tent, which was spacious enough for the two of them. He then rolled out the bedrolls, covering them in quilts made from Anteka fur. The human then ushered the Rathian in, pointing at the snowstorm rolling in. Roy wasn't concerned with the fire going out, some crushed firestone and a spark would get it blazing in a heartbeat regardless of outside conditions.

Kinoreia had noticed by this point that Roy had yet to drink one of his own Hot Drinks, yet didn't appear to be cold. This, naturally, attracted her curiosity.

"Aren't you cold?" She asked, with less hostility than she had given him hours ago.

"Not really. I was born and raised in worse." The Hunter replied with a shrug, hopping back into the makeshift bed. "Sun's going down and a storm's coming in, might as well wait for sunrise to make any headway."

With that, the man pulled a second quilt over himself and fell asleep. Kino felt the chill getting to her still, and he appeared warm...

Swallowing her pride, she laid down next to him, her back to his own. Thankful she was lacking poisonous spines there, she allowed herself to bask in the ambient heat he was putting off, in addition to her own reflecting underneath the quilt, before falling into a slumber herself. She was thankfully the first one up as well, able to move slightly away without arousing any suspicion. Roy woke up roughly an hour later, grabbed a quick snack with the Rathian, and suited back up.

They were then off, towards the last known location of the Giaorugu halfbreed.
---

They had scoured most of the frozen plains, and were now scouting the icebergs for any sign. The occasional blood spatter or frozen footprint let them know the area was right, at the very least.

How the Giaorugu kept finding his victims was simple to figure out, but why he was KILLING them was unknown. The first to disappear was a fifty-five year old woman, the town's lead caravan supplier. She simply vanished during the night, and her frostbitten corpse was found thirty-six hours later.

Last to vanish was the town's own Huntress, barely twenty-two by the Guild's records. It seemed as though the frenzied Giaorugu was working his way down the age ladder, for unknown reasons.

The two walked into a cave, in time to hear animalistic snarling followed quickly by frightened sobbing.

"N-no, no more! Please, st-"

A sharp slap was heard, and the feminine voice was silenced with a choking sob.

"Female breeding stock, many young!" Answered a gravely man, presumably the one they came to find. Roy peeked around the corner to watch the girl be struck again by a frosty-blue scaled halfbreed. His tail had a large blade running down it, much like a Glavenus would have. Running down his back were wide spines, black mist flowing between them. The Giaorugu halfie's eyes were billowing a purple-black smoke as well, which caught Roy's attention right away.

The woman's clothing had been torn in very specific places, and the human shuddered with the implications. On the back wall were two more women, one of which was the town's Huntress. They all were breathing, though for how much longer was in question. Roy then quietly concealed himself again and turned to his Rathian comrade.

"Alright, he's..busy. I'm not sure for how much longer, but he's busy. Three captives, one in the middle of the cave, two more tied up against the far wall, beneath the ledge." Roy said, pointing over his shoulder with his thumb. "You're faster than I am. I'm going to make a distraction, I need you to get them all out."

Kino nodded, then watched as Roy clambered up the icy wall to a ledge. A quick peek showed the male Brute too busy abusing his 'stock' to notice the Hunter creeping along the icy platform and around behind him. The girl was visibly bleeding, which only urged the Hunter forward at a quicker pace. She screamed again, reflexively flinching away from the Giaorugu halfie. The beast merely chuckled.

The woman whimpered, and Kino felt a burning rage build up, though there was nothing she could do right now. A quick glance upwards showed Roy almost where he needed to be, which was good. Time to end this.

Roy was in position behind and above the Giaorugu, made some sort of hand motion towards the monster...then lunged, hunting knife out. The hunting knife bit into the Giao's shoulder, and Kino acted. She rushed forward and grabbed the first girl, retreating to a safe distance while the Giaorugu attempted to get Roy off of him. The monster roared at the pain, Roy stabbing him repeatedly but not gaining much ground with the knife.

Still, a distracting was a distraction.

"Are you alright?" Kino asked, though the girl was in no condition to respond, merely breathing heavily with her eyes closed. A heavy thud announced Roy being tossed clear and slamming into the wall they were behind.

"C'mon asshole, come get a target that fights back!" Roy roared, the sound of the fiery Golden Eclipse leaving its sheathe echoing across the cavern. Kino too rounded the corner, talons coming to bare and a fireball working its way from her throat.

She launched it, the fiery orb skimming over Roy's shoulder and slamming into the beast's side, making him recoil as Roy pressed the advantage, heated sword cleaving the Abio-offshoot's left arm clean off. The wounded halfie spun, bladed tail biting into the human's side and throwing him into the opposite wall. The Azure plating dented and split, but ultimately didn't yield against the attack.

Kino climbed the wall and leapt off the upper platform, coming down in a mighty talon drop she learned from watching various Rathalos. Her talons only made shallow contact wounds, though her tail managed to lodge several of the highly toxic thorns into his abdomen when she kicked off of his chest and performed a backflip, tail making solid contact. The wounds and sudden introduction of the Rathian knocked the raging man off of his feet, and Kino wasted no time in effectively pinning him to the ground. She was in a position to either slash his throat or turn his face to ash, but deliberated for a moment too long on which to do. Giao's bladed tail once again swung around as he rolled, clipping Kino in the side and punching through the thin shell on her torso. She flinched and let the savage halfbreed go, leaping off with a hiss.

As the monster stood, Roy came in for another assault. Eclipse was blocked by the halfie's tail, knocked to the side by one of the thick blade-like plates protruding from it. Roy kept his momentum up, spinning on his heel and sending Eclipse's shield crashing into the blue-scaled beasts's face. This got a grunt of pain, making him take two steps back as stars exploded across his vision. The arctic halfbreed spun on the spot to intercept the wyverness he heard coming, catching her raised foot and slinging her at Roy. Kino caught the Giaorugu with her hand as she was released, dragging him with her and sending both sprawling to the floor in front of the male Hunter.

Giao stood with a confident smile despite being poisoned and lethally wounded, stepping closer to Kino with a slow hobble. He opened his mouth to do...something.

What that something was would never be found out, as Roy's blade chose that moment to protrude through the back of Giao's open mouth, another slash cleaving his head in two. The body fell over and began bleeding onto the icy floor, and Roy sheathed his weapon. He then took his helmet off and spat on the rapidly cooling corpse, some blood leaving his mouth as well.

"Bastard. I hope you feel that all the way to Hell." He spat. Roy then looked at Kino. "Are you alright?"

"It's just a small flesh wound, I'll survive." She said, holding a clawed hand over one of her bruises as she stood. The cut had already stopped bleeding, though the scale would take some time to replace itself. It was both a blessing and a curse that halfbreeds healed so quickly.

"Alright, we need to get these ladies home. And idea where the village is?" Roy said, looking back at the cave entrance. Kino shrugged at the human as he went to free the other two victims.

"I can take a look. Give me a moment." She said, walking outside. He nodded absently as he again pulled his sword and melted through the icy restraints.

Kino walked out of the cave and scaled the cliff face straight up, using her claws to gouge out handholds as she went along. She eventually ran out of vertical space, but saw exactly what she needed to see. A village, less than a kilometer away. With that, Kino leapt off and spread her wings to glide to the ground, where Roy was waiting at the mouth of the cave.

"The village isn't too far, maybe three-quarters of a kilometer to the west. Would explain how the Giao was able to find these women so quickly and easily."

Roy nodded, pulling his survival blanket out and wrapping up the one that had most recently been beaten.

"There there, it'll be alright." He comforted to the unconscious girl. "Do you have your survival blanket with you?" He asked Kino, who shook her head.

"No, sorry. I rarely carry clothing or things like that, it slipped my mind." The wyverness replied, nervously scratching her wrist.

"It's fine." Roy replied, wrapping the obvious civilian up. The Huntress would survive another half an hour walk, surely. "Lead the way. I'll carry her and the town's Huntress. Think you can handle the last one?"

"Pfft. Two for you, Mr. Hero?" The wyverness mocked. Roy sent a chilly glare in Kino's direction, but said nothing. She thought her comment was being playful, apparently the tone had come out as something else. "Whoa, sorry. It was a joke."

"Just get on with it." He replied nastily, patience exhausted.

Appropriately cowed, the Rathian halfbreed lead the way.
---

They had delivered the girls without any further incident, and the town was grateful to have them back. All three were quickly rushed to the Elder's home, so they could recover in peace. Roy and Kino were also offered a room in the nearby inn, though only the one to share. The town had assumed they were a couple, and there was limited room in the village itself...so they both agreed to it.

Roy immediately stripped his gear off and made for the shower, which had its hot water pumped in from the natural spring beneath the town. He sighed happily as the pain faded somewhat, not disturbed in the least that the shower lacked a door. It appeared to have been ripped off of its hinges at some point long ago, and simply not replaced.

"If you're watching me shower, might as well jump in with me!" Roy called over the shower, steam billowing into the room. The Rathian, whom had been pointedly NOT looking towards him until he had called to her, quickly glanced up and then flushed in embarrassment.

"N-no, it's o-okay. Really."

"We're just wasting water otherwise, get in here." He motioned. "Scout's honor, I'll be professional...if you want."

The heavy blush deepened, and she sighed as she stepped into the shower with him.

"I'll scrub your back, you scrub mine?" The male offered, and she nodded. It felt...good to have someone else scrub her back and wings, which were notoriously difficult for her to reach. He was gentle, also making sure to avoid touching her side gash despite it having sealed up hours ago.

"R-Roy." Kino started, stuttering as his hands tickled her spine.

"Yeah?" He asked, hands still scrubbing her back scales. He made a choked noise of panic when one of her scales fell away, but the wyverness wasn't concerned about it. There was one directly underneath it anyway.

"Why did you react so strongly back in the cave? That...wasn't characteristic of you, from what I've seen."

Roy sighed, stopping the back wash. "They were abused. I was angry. Sorry." He replied simply, tone implying he didn't want to continue this line of conversation. After a moment of silence, he chuckled victoriously. "There, all done."

"It felt... wonderful, thank you," Kino said with a soft, content sigh of her own.

"My turn!" Roy called with a hint of glee, like that of a child. He turned around and exposed his scarred back, Kino's hands and claws carefully feeling around before stopping suddenly. "Hey, what's up?"

"N-nothing." She replied, claws gently tracing along his spine. He was scarred more than she thought he would have been, given his carefree attitude and almost lack of negativity. "Where did you get this one?"

"That one?" The human replied when he felt her poke a scar. "Two years ago, Daimyo cut my back open with a claw swipe." Roy shrugged. "Newbie made it home safe, and the kitty express was feeling generous that day, so no long-lasting harm done."

The halfbreed nodded.

"And this one?"

"Kusha threw a wooden pole at me, impaled me through and through." He replied, as though he were remembering a walk along a beach. "Caught us all off-guard, I shoved someone down and, well...Lady Luck wasn't feeling *too* kind that day."

"How are you so calm about these injuries? They were caused by someone else's lack of attention."

"Eh. Had to happen to someone, might as well be me." The man replied, before chuckling. "I heal quick, so no worries."

The Rathian Halfbreed hummed to herself, deep in thought. She traced her hands over two more scars, both little holes in his skin that she could have recognized blindfolded.

Rathian tail spikes.

He was lucky.

Shower complete, Roy wrapped a towel around himself to dry off before changing into a fresh pair of boxers and settling into bed with his book. Having little choice in the matter, the Rathian followed suit and settled into bed.

"I felt you last night, you know." Roy spoke, eyes not leaving his book. He was halfway done, and he bookmarked his spot. "If you're cold, don't feel bad about curling up against me."

Kino froze, eyes wide.

"Y-you...were awake?"

"Mmhm." He chuckled. "As long as those talons of yours don't poison me, we'll be good to go."

"Right..."

Why she was so nervous all of a sudden was beyond her. All of the bravado and nastiness from the airship ride had bled away, leaving her unsure of what to do. Usually that was enough to carry her through, she never really needed much else. Quietly, she curled up against him, tail bulb against her own chest to avoid mishaps. Not that they'd inject poison without her say so, but she didn't feel like explaining to him why she had just stabbed him in the thigh or something.

Kino then quickly fell asleep, warm and...comfortable.

Perhaps, just perhaps, she could get used to this.