Monster Hunter Au (Let the Hunt Begin)

Part 1: Past Self

If you were to hear the word monster, then you would think of something that creeps in the dark, something children would be scared of. Well, then you thought wrong. A monster... is a living breathing creature that does not creep in the dark. Ok, some do, but that's just how they survive. The name's Ben, and I'm a hunter. But I'm not just an ordinary hunter... I'm a rider.

The sun cheerfully shines above the forest canopy. The outpost Asterra was busily working. A young boy walks out from the gate and runs out towards the sprawling forest. He looks up at the giant tree that rose above all the others. His brown scruffy hair slightly moved in the wind as his blue eyes captured the beauty of the forest. He began to traverse the forest finding herbs, antidotes, and honey. He hummed to himself as he watched a herd of Aptonoth graze in the field. Their large bodies lumbered across the flatland near the forest edge. He opened his satchel and pulled out the lunch he made. Before he could begin, he smelled a foul odor. Curious, he made his way into the forest to find what is causing the smell.

He found a footprint of a large monster. He opened the small holder at his waist, and small green insects flew out. They hovered over the print. Then the small swarm began to move. He followed the insects. Scoutflies, he remembered the name. He entered a small clearing... and found himself near two large bodies. They laid limp, and unmoving. The sound of Revoltures flew around the bodies cawing at each other. He saw the build of the monsters. Large wings and two clawed feet, large tails with spikes, one a light green and the other red. These were Raths. What killed them? He didn't see wounds on the bodies, only what seemed to be some grey dust that drifted around them. A new footprint was nearby, showing that the creature had claws that didn't stay straight.

If there was anything that could take out two Raths... it had to be an Elder Dragon. He knew better than to stick around where an Elder Dragon was. He was about to leave but saw something hidden in the foliage. He approached, lifting the foliage up, and found an egg. He placed his hand against it. It was warm, and it felt like something was moving inside. He tried to lift it up, but it was too big to carry. He still tried, hoping to maybe save the egg. It shook suddenly. He staggered back, watching it shake around. A crack formed on the shell, and head poked out. The shell fell apart and out came a baby Rath. It's small chin spike, lack of plumage at its shoulders, and red coloration indicated that it was male... a Rathalos.

It squeaked and tried to stand. He carefully moved towards it. It looked at him and squeaked fiercely. "It's ok, I'm not going to hurt you," he said. The Rathalos flapped it's wings, but couldn't lift off the ground. He held out some meat he brought for his lunch, "Hungry?" It stopped and watched the strip of meat with hungry blue eyes. It slowly walked towards him. It sniffed the meat and took it. He held out his hand and touched the Rathalos' head. It made a rumbling sound in its throat. He picked it up, not surprised by how heavy it was. "My name is Ben," he said. The Rathalos sneezed with sparks flying out of his mouth. "I'll call you... Blaze," Ben said. Blaze squeaked. The scoutflies buzzed around for some time, but their green glow turned to red, and flew back into their holder. Something cooed behind Ben.

He turned around to see a monster with sandy colored scales that clashed with the vibrant green. Redish feathers sat atop its head and at the wrists of its dexterous clawed hands. A large curved break slightly clicked. It's blue eyes watched Ben with curious interest. A Bird Wyvern... Kulu-Ya-Ku. Ben stepped back holding Blaze close to him. The Kulu tilted its head slightly, looking at him and Blaze. It turned its attention towards the broken egg shell behind Ben. "Sorry but, it's hatched already," Ben said with a hint of fear. Kulu-Ya-Ku were known for being egg thiefs, scrounging around the Wildspire Wastes for eggs and coming to the Ancient Forest to find the abundant amount of Jagras eggs. This one seemed to be hungry, and wasn't happy to find a broken egg. It cried out it anger. Ben ran clutching Blaze in his arms. The Kulu was right behind him, while one of the smaller large monsters it had a hard time giving chase in the dense forest floor.

Ben began to notice the forest changing around him as he went deeper. It grew hotter as the flowering plants disappeared and plants with hard casings to protect their seeds from the humid heat replaced them. A large pitcher plant slightly swayed in a breeze. Ben hit the plant as he ran by. It bounced back and forth as purple ooze spilled on the ground. The Kulu stopped and ran around it. Ben felt fatigue slowly come to him. He entered a field of flowering plants and more of the pitchers. He turned a corner to come face to face with a larger monster. Zygodactyl feet stepped back as large wings flapped. It's long prehensile tail whipped behind it, stripped in many colors. It's colorful plumage of feathers flushed when it's large bulging yellow eyes spotted him. A long tongue flared out from its wide mouth as it lifted up its head. Another Bird Wyvern... this time a Pukei-Pukei. It gave off a bellowing cry. "Sorry! Sorry!" Ben said running around it. Lucky for him that it was a warning cry, all monsters tend to do that when first spotting humans. The Kulu turned the corner and jumped back with a fearful cry. Pukei-Pukei are known for bullying smaller monsters, and Kulu-Ya-Ku are no exception. The Pukei-Pukei cried at the Kulu, and with another fearful cry it turned around and ran. Hiding in a bush Ben took in a sigh of relief. He looked down at Blaze who squeaked. "Don't worry buddy, I'll protect you," Ben said stroking Blaze's chin, "and I know you will do the same."