Monster Hunter: Stars of Hope

Chapter Six: Setting Off

"Oh come-meown! You have to put it ON THE FIRE!", Perren declared impatiently, to which Nia defensively responded, "Look, I don't want to burn it, okay?". The two of them were at the top of a bushy hill in the lush grasslands that laid to Granport's south: a pleasant region known unofficially as the 'Sunny Hills' by the people of the city. Nia was attempting to roast a piece of raw meat, which she had obtained after scaring a pack of Jaggi off from an Aptonoth they had killed, on a cooking spit, only just barely letting the flames actually touch it. "Meowbe if you actually ate the purr-otein at the hub, we wouldn't be dealing with this! Heck, we might have bagged more than one Jaggi back there!", the felyne asserted with great annoyance, to which Nia again defended herself, "I'm sorry, it's- it's just that I can't stand overcooked meat, especially when it's borderline burnt!". Though she was still adamant in her reasons for not eating too much of her pre-quest meal, Nia knew all too well that Perren was right, given that she had been cooking the chunk of Aptonoth flank in front of her for a solid ten minutes; She had to put it to the flame. Slowly, she lowered the raw meat down, actually letting it sit on the spit at last, and began to rotate it, not letting her gaze view anything else.

"Ragh?".

A noise echoed from the bushes, both Nia and Perren turning to see two tiny, thin-bodied raptors with purple and orange scales, alongside rather large frills on the sides of their heads. These were Jaggi, quite possibly the same from earlier, and they had emerged from the dense shrubbery, eyeing the raw steak hungrily. Worriedly, Nia inquired, "Perren, can you... shoo them off? I can't drop-". Suddenly, both Jaggi began to bark out, interrupting Nia. Then, just as abruptly, a third Jaggi came sprinting out of the bushes on the other side of them towards the meat, and the other two ran forward as well; a pincer attack. Both hunter and palico were quick to abandon focus on the cooking process to draw their weapons, taking several swings at the tiny bird wyverns to keep them away from the morsel these raptors sought. Several attacks from both of them failed to connect with the jumping Jaggis, until an errant, heavy backswing from Nia's Greatsword finally collided with one, resulting in a loud crack as the impact sent it flying limp across the ground. In response, both of the other Jaggis stopped to perk their heads towards their fallen brethren, only for Perren to swiftly smash one of them across the face with his acorn-shaped spade, it quickly falling to the dirt just as dead. Swiftly, the other wyvern got the memo, and bolted back to the bushes to avoid a similar fate.

A bit wearily, Nia sighed, "Well, that's three out of ten now", before turning back towards the meat. Yet, her heart sank immediately upon laying eyes on it, seeing that it had been burnt to a crisp in the few seconds she was busy. Then, the smell of charred meat hit her senses.

Her eyes widened as she shuddered in response, prompting her to reflexively force herself to turn and briefly stride a fair distance away from source of the scent. That kind of smell was one that had long disturbed her, quite vividly reminding her of a grim moment in her life she was now trying very, very hard not to think about. While she was struggling to fight off this memory, Perren stood to the side of her, perplexed for a moment, before he realized why she was reacting the way she was. Prior to meeting Nia, the palico was briefed by Commander Haldys on Nia's past and the tragic fate that had befallen her home and family; The source of her particular aversion to the smell of burnt meat was rather easy for him to work out once he put two and two together on that front. Though, the palico would not spend too much time simply feeling concern for Nia over that revelation, that look of concern of his face abruptly shifted to one of defiant anger towards that negativity and determination to make his hunting partner feel better. Just as suddenly, he bolted to the burnt meat, grabbed it by the bone, and chucked it off into the distance with all his might. Upon noticing this act, Nia turned back, briefly confused, before she came to the realization that he may have figured out what she was going through. To this, she breathed in deep, and let out a slightly relieved sigh upon noticing the scent was no longer as strong.