Armored Death in the Snow: Armored Death in the Snow

:: Cover Art is Official CG work of the dragon mentioned in this story from the Monster Hunter game, copyrighted to Capcom. ::

 

It was looking grim. From the air thick with icy fog and clumps of consistently falling snow the size of her hand, to the diminishing supply of ammunition and warm drinks, Trin sighed lowly as she loaded up her trusted gun with the last of her piercing rounds. Past the rock face leading into a small area directly below the highest point of the mountains, an angry, armored, elder dragon waited with the force to summon a gale that would rip through her own gold and brown armour, surely freezing her blood in its veins in these arctic temperatures.

Despite the biting cold, the young hunter wiped the sheen of perspiration from underneath her helm, reminding herself that she had survived bigger game than this; had been in much more dire situations. This was just one of those days.

The sound of crunching snow barely audible over the howling wind had her whirling about with her gun drawn defensively, her finger already applying pressure to the trigger as her heart took an olympic jump into her throat. From the dense, snow-ridden atmosphere, Trin was able to make out a much smaller form than she expected, one that was human. No other creature was fool enough to be in these mountains when the elder Kushala roamed the peaks. No one except for herself and her fellow hunter, Cor.

The hefty reward that had been promised by their quite obviously rich patron for her defeat had played key in the asinine decision to take a Daora on by themselves. Cor's logic was that if they had handled her in the distant jungles (that Trin now found herself longing for), that they could finish the job in the northern mountain ranges.

Her domain.

The full-fledged dragon had done her share to them, despite being injured from their last encounter, and as he came into view, she could make out where the bleeding at his shoulder had seeped between the plates of his mail. Luckily, it looked like he'd been able to staunch the wound while he hoofed it back to camp once the supplies had been delivered. It was refreshing to see him appearing to feel better, and Trin felt somewhat guilty that she hadn't protested his offer to head back to camp, given his condition.

That had been a particularily nasty bite, Kushala having whirled around with a great beat of her wings, her deadly maw aimed directly at Cor, practically knocking his katana from his hands as her armored jaws locked into his shoulder, the muscles in her neck bulging as the elder tossed him like a rag doll into the air and across the area, forcing a loud cry that Trin was able to hear even from her perch at the nearby ledge. Some things seen never leave a hunter's mind, and seeing such a gorgeous, powerful creature sling her fellow hunter with such a hard hit like that, hearing his outburst of pain quickly overcome by the dragon's deafening roar...that would never leave, but this is what they lived for- the both of them. Laughing in the face of death and returning home with precious items, pockets open for the reward that awaited them for a job well done.

Managing a smile, Trin slung her bowgun over her shoulder before huffing into a sprint to close the distance between them more quickly. "It's about damn time." She called over the gusts to him as the finer details of his armour came into clearer view, a nervousness lingering faintly on her voice. "Did you bring the ammo they left us?"

Reaching her side, he clapped his hand below the clawed shoulder pad of her upper armor, offering a reassuring smile. "Sure did." Drawing the meager package of low grade piercing rounds from his supply bag, he passed the precious ammunition to his partner, who dropped it into her own bag gratefully. "This time, try to aim for the dragon, not the cliff, alright?" He jested cheerily as he dug a couple of rations out for her as well.

"Hey, I'm not the only one with bad aim." She retorted almost immediately, her scaled waistcoat shuffling lightly around her bared thighs as she cocked her hips at him, offering more than a slight innuendo.

Rather abruptly, the razor-sharp intuition granted by her mail kicked Trin square in the face, and with an excited, if still wary grin, she slid her strapped weapon from her shoulder, checking once again that it was locked and loaded. "She's on the move, and she's heading right for us." the female hunter breathed, a plume of steamy breath wafting from her lips as she raised her hard gaze to his, covered by the visor on his dark helm, "Let's get that bitch."