Anyone who has played any Monster Hunter game will have probably noticed at some point that the ways these so called "monsters" act are strangely familiar, with their behavior being more animalistic than monstrous. This is without a doubt the thing...
Chilling winds blow across the frost-coated landscape whipping up a flurry of powdered snow, the frozen water twirling through the air as it's taken from the ground. With this happening all across the mountains, the sharp peaks are shrouded in a sea of frost, giving them a mysterious ambiance.
Beneath the towering mountain, massive sheets of frozen seawater spread out over the rugged coastline, their icy surface acting as the perfect resting place for seafaring creatures. Across the ice field, the solidified masses of water release audible groans and creeks as the waves below shift them, with some pieces breaking off and drifting away into the distance.
High above the cold environment, auroras undulate across the dark backdrop of the early morning sky. Shining with incredible brilliance, the colors seep into the ice, giving the frozen, dark blue sheets a magical aura as greens and purples dance throughout the formations.
Minutes go by and soon the magnificent spectacle comes to a close as the colors disintegrate into the darkness, leaving only the stars behind. It's not long before the specks of light far above the landscape begin disappearing too, with the sun's shining rays peeking over the eastern horizon and piercing the blackened sky, slowly changing its coloration to a warm orange.
Snow and ice begin reflecting the rays, covering the landscape in a blinding white light. Even as the sun rises higher into the sky, the environment remains at sub-zero temperatures, with the warmest place, oddly enough, being within the sea's chilling waters.
As the ocean's waves roll over its surface, a row of hard, colorful plates periodically protrudes from the water, cutting through with ease as they make their way toward an ice float. Dipping down into the depths, the long undulating silhouette of a swimming creature disappears under the floating sheet. Suddenly, an explosion of water at the opposite end erupts from the sea as Rattle, an adult female Tidal Najarala, throws herself into the drifting hunk of frozen water, her wet multicolored hide glistening in the morning sunlight.
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Using her powerful claws, Rattle pulls herself onto the ice sheet, the specialized scales of her underside aid her in getting on the platform. Once completely out of the water, the Tidal Najarala coils her body around herself, allowing her to conserve more of her body's heat in this chilling landscape, while her larger size gives her the benefits of gigantothermy, her diminutive limbs keep her blood closer to her core body, and her thick, cornified hide makes it harder for her to lose heat.
Additionally, a process within her body known as countercurrent heat exchange allows her core temperature to stay relatively stable. Since her veins wrap around each other, the blood they carry is going in opposite directions, allowing heat to be transferred from hot to cold veins, keeping the most vital parts of Rattle's anatomy warm and functional.
This combination of traits allows her to stay warm in this environment, despite lacking fat or an insulating coat of fur, feathers, or filaments. It's not just her physiology which allows her to survive here. Though Rattle still has to come onto land on occasion so she can rest, her semi-aquatic lifestyle, something that's possible due to the lack of leviathans in the area, allows her to avoid being exposed to the cold air for extended amounts of time.
