Monster Hunter: Stars of Hope

Chapter Nineteen: What Friends Are For

Nia had never been shown where Sariko's house was or what it looked like before. In fact, she had not been to the homes of any of her other friends, or vice versa; There was simply never a real need for it. Though, this was not knowledge that would be of any use to her at this point. When she caught up with who she was chasing after, the devastating sight of Sariko, who she recently started to see as her best friend, having fallen to her knees on the ground in front of a smoldering ruin was more than enough for her to know exactly what had happened to that house of hers.

It was all gone.

"Sa-Sariko, I-", Nia began to stutter out behind her, unsure of what words she could say to console her friend, before Sariko cut her off, the quaking in her voice evidence that she had started crying, "No... no, it's okay... It's... it's not like I spent every zenny I had on that place when I got here... or that it was full of every... everything I had to... to remind me of home. No, no, it's all fine...". Nia wasn't sure whether what her friend was saying was sarcasm or a lie meant to make herself feel better, but it was heartbreaking to hear either way, especially considering that this road was on the path she had led the Hopesbane on; She had seen the fireball that set Sariko's home ablaze hit this building. Sure, Nia was doing her best to keep the wyvern occupied, to keep it away from innocent civilians, and could not have anticipated something like this happening, but it did not stop her from feeling horrible about what had happened, about how little she could do to prevent it.

"It's... alright...", Sariko continued, still clearly distraught, "Roof was... damn leaky anyways. Whole thing creaked every time the wind blew the wrong way... Had an infestation of bugs in the basement I couldn't ever get rid of... Curtains barely kept out any sun. Damn noisy port work kept me up for hours at night...". Nia took this change of topic to what was bad about the house as an opportunity to reach her hand out to her friend's shoulder, but was quick to retract it before making contact when the dark-haired woman before her suddenly shouted out, "BUT IT WAS STILL BETTER THAN THE GUILD BARRACKS! Where you can't get any privacy and don't have room for anything! Now... now I don't have the money to afford to go anywhere else...". Nia hated seeing her friend put in such a state like this, not just for how it made Sariko feel, but for how it made Nia feel about herself; The more her friend spoke, the more Nia could not help but blame herself for all of this. Though, an idea was quick to cross her mind: one that she impulsively gave voice to in an effort to make up for all of this without really thinking about it at all.

"I have room at my place", Nia spoke up, to which Sariko, clearly taken off guard, responded, "Wha-what?", as she slowly rose back to her feet. "Yeah, it's over on the south side of the market", Nia explained calmly, "I have a sofa that's comfy enough to sleep on. No leaks or bugs. Quieter than here by the docks at night. Never bothered with curtains, but it shouldn't be too hard to-". Abruptly, Sariko cut her off as she turned to face her, tears clear to see around her eyes, "No... Nia, I... I can't accept this. Your... your place is yours, not mine. I'll just have to stay at the-", before Nia cut her off in turn, "At the barracks? Really? Don't you think one of the saviors of Granport deserves a bit better than that? Besides, it's really no problem for me, and it doesn't have to be permanent. You can just crash there till you have enough zenny to get yourself a new place, something nicer than... this one... was". With those last few words, Nia almost got ahead of herself when speaking of her friend's old home, very near to insulting it in an attempt to make Sariko feel better about not having to deal with its issues anymore. Soon, Sariko wiped some of the tears from her face, before shakily inquiring, "Are... are you sure? I... I don't know if-", before being cut off by Nia one last time, "Absolutely. What kind of a friend would I be if I left you hanging here? Besides, the way Bucket talks about his place makes it sound like a Bowgun workshop with a bed in it, and I'm not even sure Perren owns a house. So... I don't see anything wrong with me being the one to lend you a hand here". To this, an extremely weary smile crept over Sariko's face as a few new tears fell forth.