A Jagged Adventure

CHAPTER SIX

"That was fantastic," Beanie patted her bulging stomach and pushed her plate away. Sky, one of the Palico chefs, took the plate and disposed of it with a purr. "I blame the fact that I just survived an Arzuros, but that dango was the best I've ever had!"

"That's great!" Sky's blue eyes shone with admiration. "!"

Beanie blinked, then stared in disbelief. Sky grabbed a cloth and began wiping counters, blissfully unaware of the remark he'd just made.

"SKY!" Sky and Beanie nearly leapt out of their fur as a bark rang out within the hub. "GET YOUR MISOGYNIST BEHIND OVER HERE!"

"Uh, right away, Shark!" Sky grinned and winked at Beanie. "Be right back!"

Beanie watched him hurry over to an old, weathered-looking Palamute. Sky held out a paw in greeting, but Shark snapped at it with razor-sharp teeth, then spoke to him in a low, stern tone that Beanie couldn't make out.

"What was that about?"

She turned to see Red coming over and taking a seat beside her. Her partner looked less concerned and more curious about the exchange he'd just missed. He began lapping at a bowl of ice-cold water as he waited for her to reply.

"I... I think Sky is a... That Palamute said the word misogynist?"

Red broke out in a fit of coughing he tried and failed to drink and laugh at the same time. He swatted the bowl across the counter, hopped down from the stool, and proceeded to vomit all over the floor. Beanie watched, concerned, as Red clambered back onto the stool, shaking out his fur in mild embarrassment.

"That is a condition." Red said sarcastically. "What gave it away?"

"He said 'You know, if you really do make it as a Hunter, you'd be the first of our kind. I gotta admire that kind of boldness, especially if it comes from a felyne female." Red stared. "I have a good memory... It's a gift, really."

Red barked a laugh.

"Yeah, well, that just sounds like a snob, but if someone got after him for it then I'm sure there's more behind the scenes we aren't seeing." Red stopped in his tracks, looking over Beanie's shoulder. "Whoa."

Beanie turned to see the Palamute called Shark approaching them. He was old, but his long limbs still moved flawlessly as he crossed the floor, and his brown eyes held a spark that Beanie recognized in seasoned hunting partners. This Palmute belonged to a strong-willed hunter. The Palamute, Shark, stopped a few paces away and dipped his head in greeting.

"Hello," Red mumbled, glancing down at his paws.

Is he intimidated? Beanie thought.

"Hia," Beanie said. "You're Shark, right?"

"That's my name." Shark said. He turned to point at an elderly Hunter with moon-white hair, sitting near the back of the gathering hub. "That there's my hunter."

"He's ancient!" Red gasped.

Shark turned and glared, and Beanie froze, her eyes jumping between the two Palamute nervously.

"What?" Shark growled, taking a step forward. "What did you just say about my master?"

Red, all past intimidation forgotten, flared up and snarled. Beanie, realizing that a fight was about to break out, jumped between the two and held out a paw to stop them from coming any closer.

"No, Red, it's okay!" Beanie said hastily, but Shark had already calmed himself.

"Red. You're that Palamute that was dumped on our small Village." At Shark's statement, Red looked about ready to lunge, but Shark continued on, passively sitting down and relaxing his seasoned joints. "I've heard about you. What I heard intrigues me. I want to hear more."

Red and Beanie blinked and glanced at one another.

"Go on." Shark said calmly, patiently.

"Uh... Alright." Beanie realized that Red was about to tell his story, and that she really did not know much about his past outside of what Elder Fugen at briefed her on. She jumped back onto the stool and turned to face Red as he grew lost in his own memories. "I was born in Kamura Village. My master raised me from a young pup. We worked hard, never resting, always striving for perfection. Our Chief sent us on a mission to exterminate a clutch of Rathain and Rathalos eggs that had been spotted too near the Village. Those things grow up, and we were not going to wait to deal with them when they had their fire and wings. Anyway, it... didn't go as planned. All of our Palico and two of our Palamute perished, and we lost all but one of our hunters. She went missing shortly after... Driven crazy by the trauma and grief, I suspect. She was acting very weird and jumpy for weeks beforehand."

"And your master?" Shark pressed.

"He was slain by the Rathalos. It landed on him, crushing him just like that." Red had that thousand-yard stare again, and all of his fur was on end. "I watched it happen. I saw the triumphant look on that monster's face. I got the heck out of there after that. I knew we were all going to die if we didn't."

"Red..." Beanie was shocked and felt nothing but sympathy for her incredibly misunderstood partner. "...Your angry because you're hurting."

"I'm hurting even more, now that my master has been replaced with a Palico!" Red snapped suddenly. "You will never be him!"

Red turned and ran out of the gathering hub before Shark or Beanie could reply. They just looked at one another in disbelief.

"I'm not trying to replace him..." Beanie whispered sadly.

"Red knows that." Shark licked her ear comfortingly. "My hunter is Red's master, if he would have survived. Look closer."

Beanie blinked tears away and peered at Shark's master. At first, nothing looked off about him. He was just an ordinary hunter with a full set of Kamura armor. But then he turned to see what Shark was doing, and she gasped. Half of his face was badly burned, and one of his eyes was white. Now that she noticed his face, she could see scars and deformities all over the rest of is body as well.

"What happened?" Beanie gasped.

"Magnamalo happened." Shark explained. "Ivory went in with a team, a team that was not prepared to deal with the beast that plagues our village every fifty years. They were quickly wiped out, and his Palico and Palamute gave their lives to get Ivory to safety. Shortly after he woke from his coma, I was introduced to him as a barely weaned puppy. Now, he is known as Old Ivory. Not because he is elderly in age, but because of the wisdom he gained and the sheer strength it took to overcome what he'd had to go through. Old Ivory has had to work very hard these past forty-nine years and will finally be eligible to try out for the hunter ranks once more. Even though I am past retirement age, I vowed that I would be by his side, that we would see this through together."

Beanie didn't realize her mouth was hanging open until Shark reached over and pushed her mouth closed.

"Sorry. It seems like everyone in Kamura Village has a story to tell." Beanie noticed Sky sweeping the floors not too far away. "What's Sky's story?"

"That little furball thinks he's the God's gift to females, but females like yourself would be better off marrying a Mosswine for all the love and attention he'd give you."

"Ok..." Beanie flicked an ear, resenting the Palico Chef more and more. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Beanie," Beanie turned to look at Shark. "There's something you need to know about Red, that I need to tell you now before you meet up with him again. But you cannot tell him, under any circumstances!"

Beanie shifted uncomfortably. "Uh... Ok."

Shark narrowed his brown eyes, and glanced at the entrance to the gathering hub, where Red was last seen storming out.

"I understand that Red has been through a significant amount of trauma. I understand that more than anybody, being Old Ivory's Palamute and all. But I have been told by Old Ivory that if Red fails this village. If he hurts or kills or maims any of its inhabitants. If he cannot control himself, I have been told that Elder Fugen will have no choice but to either turn him out, or put him down. Do you understand me?" Beanie felt the weight of the world crashing down on her tiny shoulders. "I know he can be a good Palamute partner. I know you both will do great things, as long as you work together, that is. Red must not mess this up. This is his last chance to have a home, and a life."