Four Horns: Chapter 1

:: Cover Art depicts the monsters portrayed in this fanfic of the game Monster Hunter. Copyright Capcom. This fic is not only a WIP, but also a collaboration between Cor's player and I. He does not have an account here, but I have uploaded this with his permission. ::

 

Checking her bag for the umpteenth time, Trin patted down herself down, making certain that all the clasps and bindings on her yellow and brown scaled armor were fastened securely before rooting around in her supply bag one more time, mentally checking off things on her list to bring. Jostling the bowgun slung over her shoulder slightly, she glanced at her companion as she waited for the signal that they would be leaving. Another quest, and this time, she needed her favored gun and the sharp intuition that her light gunner mail provided. She didn't know why exactly Cor wanted to hunt not only one Diablos, but two at the same time, however, she trusted his judgement, as was usually the case. Sure, it was required to climb the coveted ranks in the Guild, and of course, the patron who had posted the request was offering a large sum of money, but the laugh he'd given when she'd frowned at the quest ticket gave the impression that he was a little more than carefree about the whole thing.

Regardless, this was going to be a tough fight, and despite her experience hunting them singularly alone as well as with her partner, Trin was more than a little anxious. The desert was no place for the unprepared, and even more so when there were two large bull wyverns running about and causing havoc. Crossing her arms over her plated chest and cocking her hip to the side as she waited, the young hunter could already feel the beginnings of excitement crawling over her skin, flashing goosebumps under her armor. This was what it was about- being nervous and having a huge pair at the same time. One one hand, she feared they'd not make it out alive, but on the other, that was a risk every hunter took as soon as they stepped foot out of the door the two were stationed at, and it was where one got their kicks.

Reaching back to scratch at her head, Trin propped one balled fist at her waist as she grinned heavily at Cor. "Now are you sure you want to do this? You're not going to get scared are you?" She taunted, as was also per usual.

Really, she wasn't so much worried that he'd get scared, hell, she probably would be more so if it weren't for the fact that a lot of his tactics depended on her as-calm-as-possible relaying of the wyverns' positions. Even as she analyzed his set of thick armor, the female hunter worried for his life. Using her gun and knowing exactly where the monsters were at any given moment were one thing, being right underneath their clawed feet, being subjected to all of a wyvern's natural defenses, running blind when these two in particular were nestling under the sand...well, that was another entirely.

"You remembered everything? Cool drinks? Potions? Whetstones?" Of course he did. All her inquiring was pointless- he'd been at this much longer that she, and here she was, fretting like a mother hen over her child.
 

--

"Now are you sure you want to do this? You're not going to get scared are you?"

Cor heard the taunting tone in her voice and smiled to himself beneath his heavy helm. "Afraid of getting sand in your shorts?" he retorted, handing the cute girl at the guild shop the rest of the money for the pack of Cool Drinks he had just purchased. This was all part of the repitaur between them. A way to blow off the tense, heavy apprehension that always managed to sink in before a hunt. Whether it was a 'drome or an elder dragon, in the back of every hunter's mind was the worry, the dreadful thought that this was their last, that this was the hunt that you wouldn't come back from.

"You remembered everything? Cool drinks? Potions? Whetstones?"

Cor didn't even bother to check his pack and pouches. They'd been through this dozens of times. And luck willing, would continue for dozens more. "I forgot my bubblegum." He waited until her expression showed she didn't understand, his goofy grin never leaving his hidden face. "So I guess I'll just have to kick ass." It was a dumb joke, he knew, but it was all part of their back-and-forth. And he happened to think it was pretty funny, regardless.

The Diablos cousins. Those were some seriously tough customers. Cor let his mind wander to the ticket in his hand for a moment. Was he crazy, taking on this mission? Almost every other hunter had taken one look at the request and had turned away. Only Cor had the nerve to look the guild representative in the eye and tell him he'd take the job. Trin barely even blinked when he told her. Merely picked up her gun and asked when they were going. She was one tough girl, he had to give her that. And she was wearing that armor he loved to see her in. That yellow and brown striped getup that showed off her legs and curves in the most delightful way...

Cor realized he'd been staring at her while she was trying to talk to him. "What? Huh? Sorry, what was that?"
 

--

"I'm not scared of anything, Cor, because we both know I'm more badass than you'll ever be." She wagged a finger at him with a smirk, rolling her green eyes when he'd told her he'd forgotten his frickin' bubblegum. "You know I have to check these things, you always forget -something-." Trin's voice lilted with that 'I'm taking care of your ass' tone again, even if she was laughing a bit behind the sternness of her feminine voice.

In fact, she was fairly certain that behind that heavy helm, the big dolt was grinning just as much as she was. Banter was a perfect way to let off some tension, and between the two of them, they had more than enough to satisfy the fears of the other. It might have been why they made a pretty damn good team, if Trin had to say so herself. It was rare to come across someone you could work with so readily, to have everything just flow together in a wonderful pool of teamwork and compatibility. It made a hunt not only exciting, but enjoyable, instead of dragging along with someone who hadn't the slightest clue about working together.

So for the moment, she rambled to him about remembering this and that, repeating everything she'd said before a million times. Sometimes, she had to wonder if she was doing it to remind herself. Possibly, though the big jackass in the heavy armor standing in front of her certainly made it easier to pretend that she was saying it for him. The female hunter noticed rather suddenly that her partner had stopped responding, hell, hadn't even nodded his head for a few minutes. A small frown pricked at the ends of her lips when he seemed to snap back to attention.

"Cor, really, I don't know where your head is sometimes...it's like that helm of yours just cuts off all of your oxygen every now and then." She started firmly, despite a smile curving along her face even as she spoke. Giving a small shake of her head, she reached out and rang her knuckles against the chestpiece of his armor a couple of times, her grin broadening. "If you're ready now, we can go, smartass. I can't possibly wait another second to get out in that heat that will most certainly make my armor chafe."

 

--

"You could always take it off." Cor joked to Trin at her remark, in a half playful, half hoping manner as he motioned her to follow him through the doorway out of the guild hall and to the balloon that would take them to their destination. He was feeling light and happy in his heavy armor, and was grateful for his companion's playful chiding, teasing - even rebuking - manner. This was going to be easy, he decided, and began loading up the rest of their supplies for the journey ahead.
                                                              
The high cliff walls surrounding the make-shift camp helped block out the dreadful heat from the seemingly endless desert beyond. Cor was shaking his head as he poked about in the large blue box next to the big domed tent that had been previously set up for as long as he could remember.

"There's not a damn thing in here."

The trip had been rather nice. The views both inside and outside their balloon pleasing to his senses. But now, for the first time since he put down the zenny to finance the guild's cost for the trip out here, and for what was supposed to be some more, much needed supplies, Cor was starting to have second thoughts.

He thumped the heal of his gauntlet against the lip of the box, muttering in annoyance. "Bastards. They always do this." It was a good thing they came so prepared. Still, those extra rations sure would have been nice. He could already feel his stomach reminding him he hadn't eaten before he left. It was those darn cats. He'd just picked up a new one from the Old Lady and the mangy thing tried to feed him a block of cheese instead of the bread he told it to make. The hunter's mouth turned up as he recalled the smell he'd been forced to endure. Kirin cheese, they called it. Smelled like Popo dung to him.

"Well," he called, turned around toward his companion, who was already looking uncomfortable in the thick air's heat, despite the soaring outcroppings of rock that shaded the camping area, "So much for relying on the guild. I'm telling you, they'd even 'forget' to pay us if we weren't the ones with the big swords." Smirking wryly, he idly reached in a pocket for one of his Cool Drinks.
 

--

Offering not much more than an amused sigh beyond his suggestive comment, the young hunter followed him out to the balloon and helped load the supplies before jumping into the balloon herself. This was one of her favorite parts, riding out to their destination. The often-times beautiful view the passengers were offered also helped unload a mountain of anxiety for the hunt ahead, as did the continuing banter between the two companions that sometimes had the crew of the large hot air balloon shaking their heads.

No sooner had they landed than Cor took off for the supply box, which Trin would have normally as well, but if this quest was anything like the last few, there wouldn't be anything in it regardless. Often she thought about making a comment about the time it took for the supplies to be delivered, especially on the more difficult tasks, but this was part of it too- a hunter had to be independent, able to live off of whatever was thrown at them. Tilting back her heavy helm to wipe the beading perspiration at her brow, Trin panted slightly at the already almost overwhelming heat that surrounded them, dry and unforgiving even in this safe area. A loud thunk had her turning her head at her partner, who was grumbling.

"Hey now, you know the supplies have been late for the last few trips." She offered, tousling her mass of baby blue hair spilling out from the crown of her spiked helm. "No need in really fussing over it, we have all that we-" Cor's loudly rumbling stomach interrupted her statement, causing a slight, rather cute frown to pull down the corners of her mouth before she continued, "You didn't eat before we left, did you Cor?" Already fumbling in her bag for her package of steaks, Trin's expression was already turning brighter. "Do you need some steaks, I've got a whole stack here...somewhere..." The female hunter more or less mumbled as she lowered her gun to the ground as well as her bag, kneeling down to sift through its contents, her mind too focused on finding things to really listen to her fellow hunter gripe about the guild.

It was all the ammunition she had in there, all the raw materials for making more valuable items once she ran out that made it seemingly impossible to find the food. Finally, she rose to her feet again, holding rather triumphantly a package of well-done steaks. Peeling it open, she offered a couple of the thick slabs of meat to her partner, not having even waited for his rebuttal. "I don't need them, really, you take a couple." Trin beamed a smile at him, her other hand moving to wipe more developing moisture from the back of her neck.
 

--

Cor straightened from where he was leaning against the supply box and took the offered meat from her gratefully. "Thanks." He murmured without argument, taking a brief moment to re-wrap one of the delicious smelling slabs and tuck it away, before he turned to remove his helm and mow down the other juicy hunk. Washing it down with his refreshing Cool Drink, he turned back to his partner, his mood obviously lightened with a full belly.

"Much better, thank you." he said, patting at the armor where his stomach was. "That was actually edible." The way he joked was meant to say he didn't think it was her cooking, but to say such a thing out loud was sure to earn him a good sock to his gut. He made sure to idle just out of her reach, pretending to check the tightening on the straps of his arm guard, yet knowing they were as tight and secure as ever.

"So, uh.. what do you say we get this party started, eh? Where's our first victim?" Cool drink downed and belly no longer complaining, Cor slapped the biceps on both his arms and gave a little hop in his heavy, black armor. Guild supplies or no guild supplies, Trin was right; they came prepared. It was now or never. The hunt was about to begin.

 

--

Having already trained her kitchen cats well, she hadn't needed to eat, so fishing out a cool drink, Trina downed it and bent over to pick up her bag again, strapping it tightly to her body  before hefting her favored gun to her hip, already digging around in her satchel for her paralyzing rounds. Already, she could feel the effects of the drink coursing through her, relieving the discomfort of the desert heat, bringing a refreshed sigh to her lips as well as a smile.

"Hmm, closest one is..." She paused for a moment, loading the shells into the chamber before locking it tight and slinging the weapon over her shoulder. Considering her intuition, she smirked as she wheeled around to look at her partner. "Right in the next area, wouldn't you know."

Clapping her hands together once excitedly, the huntress stepped toward the rock path that led to the first large expanse of sand, whirling around for a moment in mid-stride. "Now I'm going to go in first, get him good and distracted. He's right next to the entrance, so wait here for a moment and be careful coming in, and don't forget there are probably those annoying-ass sand sharks running around. Think you can handle it, Mister Badass?"  She taunted, sticking her tongue out playfully before slipping her gun from her shoulder to the ready, whirling back around to face forward as her armored form disappeared behind the rock face.

Sure enough, the large bull wyvern was stationed right at the end of the path, and Trin found herself pausing for a moment and ducking behind a few boulders to take in its size. This was the obsidian Diablos, and a lot larger than she remembered. Scanning the bland, sandy landscape, her green eyes continually flicked back to the wyvern, who, luckily enough, hadn't taken notice of her yet and was simply idling along. Possibly because she was holding her breath. A more serious, dead-set expression crept its way to her fair face as she glanced down at her gun, making certain for the last time that it was properly loaded. Wheeling from around the corner of her hiding spot, she took off in a dead run directly past the large black creature, not even wagering a look over her shoulder to see that he'd noticed her. The trademark cry was all the information Trin needed and after huffing enough distance between herself and it, she abruptly veered to the side, hearing only it's thundering footsteps pounding behind her in a charge.

Trin skidded to a stop once she had made the turn, sending sand flying up into the desert wind, threatening to obscure her vision as she turned around and brought her gun up, taking a pop shot at the creature. For right now, it didn't matter where she hit him, as long as the paralyzing effect seeped through that thick natural armor he had. Allowing herself a smirk as the round connected with it's neck, the young hunter sidled her weapon again when the creature began to burrow into the loose sand. 1..2..3..She counted mentally, a habit not even needed thanks to her armor, but one that stuck from the early days of fighting this particular wyvern regardless, and at the more accurate cue from her intuition, Trin took off in a mad dash headed in the opposite direction, catching sight of her partner running towards the battling pair a mere split second before the unmistakable crashing of the Diablos re-emerging sounded loudly behind her, its scream ringing in her protected ears once more.