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A hunter clad heavy plate armor stood his ground against the might of a dreadking rathalos with his great shield held high and a lance at the ready. The great crimson scaled wyvern with black spikes along its body charged in with a roar, flying towards the hunter with a predatory glint in those crimson eyes, but the hunter simply hunkered down with his shield held in the air, letting out a yell as his shield clashed against the talons of the monster passing him. As this happened the hunter brought his lance up to strike against the underside of the monster, but the force against his shield had been enough to set him off balance, his blow to the monster's underside sent askew causing it to only graze the surface of the creature's hide. Orric turned and let out a yell of defiance, slamming the shaft of his lance against his shield to taunt the beast before he charged with his shield held forward. The air of the deserted island then grew heated and began to vibrate visibly as the dreadking opened its great maw, a ball of flame gathering there. Orric's eyes grew wide for a moment before narrowing, his charge never stopping as he held his shield up that much higher to meet the beast's attack. A sphere of magma and hot energy erupted from the maw of the wyvern, crashing into the shield of the hunter. For a moment it seemed as if the hunter would hold, but as the sphere popped and the explosion spread out the hunter was sent off of his feet and rolling upon the grassy stoned ground, his shield and lance sent flying along with his helmet revealing black hair braided with white bands. Orric rolled to a stop before slowly bringing himself up to his feet, coughing as pain surged through his body. He had no way to stop that sort of attack and yet he had charged in without a second thought for his safety. What a foolhardy thing to do, but as he looked to the wyvern floating just above the ground preparing another blast from that maw, he could think of no other more honorable way for a hunter to go out. With his world blacking out he stumbled onto one knee, desiring at the very least to stay awake for his demise. Just as all hope was lost and Orric was prepared to face his maker, a small flash of green leaped into the sky and crashed into the wyvern sending it sprawling onto the ground. From where he knelt, his fading sight could see a small scaled creature standing on two feet with a thick tail and deep green hide, her eyes a sharp red. As the wyvern attempted to stand to face the small creature she let out a roar and brought her fist up to crack into the cheek of the wyvern sending it back onto the ground and knocking it senseless, the ground shaking as she did this, her scales glowing red between the ridges. Before Orric passed out, he saw her eyes flash and look towards him. What a strange dream was all he could think.

The sound of crashing waves and the smell of salty air and burning wood brought him from his deep sleep. Orric's eyes cracked open, his head pounding as he sat up to look at where he was. He was on the rocky shore of the deserted island, that much was apparent, but he couldn't tell if he was alive, or just in a strange purgatory. Looking around he saw his plate armor and weapons in a pile, the shield dented and the armor charred. It looked like he would need a replacement for that and looking down he was glad to say at the very least his underwear had survived the encounter. Next to that pile was a fire with fish a plenty mounted upon sticks roasting and sat by the fire was that very monster girl in his dreams that had saved his life and looked at him with those intense red eyes. Her cheeks were stuffed, three of those sticks jutting out of her mouth as she chewed. When she noticed that he was looking at her she blinked and smiled with those sticks still in her mouth.

Swallowing what was in her mouth, she spat the sticks out and waved cheerfully, "Good morning! I got us some nice fish, after a knockout like that you'll prolly need a buncha food to keep yourself nice and strong. I know that after a fight I need like, at least ten fish to keep me going."

Orric rubbed at the back of his head as he tried to process what was going on. A small monster with a big snout and green scales that talked and stood like a human had saved his life. If this was a dream, it was certainly a very magical one. Finally he mustered the energy to speak, "Thank you? I don't know who you are, but you certainly walloped that thing."

He could see a slight flush to her cheeks as her tail lashed about, "Aw, thanks! I saw y'fighting there for a while and figured you had it yourself, but when I saw you about to kick it I couldn't stay still. Names Jhosie by the way."

Orric nodded, "Orric is mine, and again thanks. You were amazing, though, how are you so powerful? Do you train constantly, or is this just your natural strength?"

Jhosie giggled, "A little of both. I train every day to keep myself safe out here against big mean monsters just like that guy. Usually I'm just looking for the next meal."

Orric smiled, "A fierce appetite for a fierce warrior. You don't even need any weapons. You just charge in their with your fists. You knocked that thing as if your fists were hammers."

Jhosie waved him off, "Oh please, I know you're grateful but you don't have to butter me up."

Orric's eyes glimmered as he struggled to get up to move closer to the monster girl who was such a curiosity, "No, I'm more than grateful. I'd like to fight as you do. You do not even need any weapon to take down a monster, there is such sheer power and force behind every single thing you do in that moment. That is the ultimate honor!"

Jhosie tilted her head, "Hm, you might be a bit crazy. Sure your head is all there?"

Orric sat by her with a chuckle, "Yes, I'm certain. I just enjoy the thrill of combat with monsters too much at times. If I could, I would go hand to hand with a rathalos."

Jhosie smiled, "Might not be too crazy, you hunters lug around crazy big things all the time. You have the strength, you'd prolly just have to actually give it a go, or die trying."

Orric shrugged, "Or perhaps you could teach me."

Jhosie giggled, "Not likely! I don't want a hunter's blood on my claws."

Orric smiled just a bit, "I can understand that. Well, with my equipment the way it is, I don't think I'll be hunting anytime soon anyway, so I might as well take it easy."

Jhosie took one of the sticks from the fire and offered him the charred fish, "Then eat! Eat and rest. Part of being strong is eating lots! At least that is what helps me."

Orric snorted and took the stick, biting down on the fish gratefully. As they spent their time together, Orric grew to be more impressed by the appetite of the deviljho like girl. She ate fish after fish whole without any problem, and while he was finished with his third and full, she was on to her tenth and soon they were all out of food. It was baffling to think such a small thing could stuff so much, perhaps the key to her strength truly was in the way that she ate, or perhaps it was just a result of the fact that she was some sort of monster sub-species, regardless he would love to be able to use that secret for himself. Nothing would stop him in battle with that type of power. He then wondered aloud, "Hm, Jhosie, did you take down that foul dreadking rathalos?"

Jhosie huffed as she swallowed her last bite, "No, he ran away before I could rip his head off."

Orric frowned at that, "Wait, Jhosie, that means he's still circling around the area."

Just as the revelation came upon him, the great wyvern came over the mountains with roar. Orric rose quickly and grabbed his lance. His shield was battered and broken, but at the very least he could still fight. Jhosie rose to her feet as well, hissing as she looked to the great wyvern that circled around them. With the wyvern so high in the air, she could do nothing but watch as it began to rain down fire upon them. Jhosie and Orric both began to duck for cover as balls of flame erupted all around them. The dreadking refused to come down, the wyvern raining down hell upon them. In only his underwear, Orric hid behind a rock and grunted as he felt the impact of the explosions even from where he stood in cover. As the wyvern passed over him he had to leap out of the way as a ball of fire nearly took his head off. He could stand this running about no longer. Running out in the open he began to yell and taunt the beast in the air, hopping to the side to avoid balls of fire as he called the beast down to fight. He could see the glint in the wyvern's eyes as it paused in the air to stare down the human, its tail lashing from side to side as it hissed, mouth fuming with flames.

Orric laughed aloud and jabbed at the air with his lance showing that he did not fear the wyvern, the wyvern reacting by lunging at Orric. The hunter rolled to the side, the talon's of the wyvern nearly touching him. Orric could only hope that Jhosie would help him on the next turn. With his injuries, he wasn't sure how much more he could push out of himself, but even through the pain, he would endure to give Jhosie the right opportunity to take the beast down. Again the creature came crashing down, this time at a sharp angle, talons outstretched and again Orric dodged. Those talons dug into the ground, the monster stuck and roaring in protest just as Jhosie came in to slam into the creature, her scales glowing red in between. The creature monster let out a roar, but instead of crumple over it lashed out with its tail and struck Jhosie away from its body, the small monster girl sent flying onto her back with a sound akin to air being pushed out of a bag. Orric charged in at this, yelling as he drove his lance into the monster's neck. There it roared out and brought its talons free of the ground, rearing back from the wound dealt to its neck. Orric again charged in for another strike and another, hopping to the side as the monster began to lash about with its tail. He would jab three times before hopping back and way and rolling under the creatures strikes, the dreadking rathalos suddenly growing enraged as it let out an ear-piercing roar. With its maw open wide it prepared another fireball as massive as the one he had tried to block before, but rather than move away, Orric charged underneath and stuck his lance in the monster's throat. It roared aloud and reared back again, that ball of fire still there forming in its maw before Jhosie came rushing in to topple the monster over with a tackle to the side that saw the beast crumpling upon itself the fireball let loose into the ground just before it where it would do no harm. The beast let out one last lamenting roar before its head dropped upon the ground and it fell still, Jhosie and Orric left standing there, gawking at their hunt.

Jhosie was the first to approach the downed dreadking, her eyes checking over the monster, "Looks like he won't be bothering us anymore."

Orric sighed, sitting flat on his rear, adrenaline fading to reveal the pain in his body, "Good, I don't think I could have handled any more of that."

Jhosie giggled, "You were fantastic. You didn't even need a shield, all in your underwear too."

The hunter felt his cheeks fluster and burn as he was reminded that he was in nothing but his underwear, "Yes, well, it was either do or die and I had a fantastic partner along with me."

Jhosie grinned and put her hands upon her hips, "Well, if you're up for it, I say we go grab some food now."

Orric raised a brow, "Didn't you just eat?"

Jhosie huffed, "Yes, and we fought again, so I'd like to fill up on some good ol' fuel before getting into another scrap."

Orric chuckled, "Well, I think if you're up for a bit of a hike, the hunter camp has some meat stored in the box. We can head there and actually rest our rears on a soft bed."

Jhosie blinked for a moment before her eyes became half-lidded, a giggle sounding off, "So forward...Food and bed?."

Orric rubbed at the back of his head, "Huh?"

"Nothing nothing! Lead the way mister hunter."

Orric ignored the strange comment and stood from where he sat. After carving the creature of useful materials, the hunter and the monster girl headed off to the hunter camp where hopefully Orric would be able to rest his head on a soft cot rather than stone.

When they arrived at the camp the sun was coming down and the torches at the camp were already lit. Jhosie wasted no time in checking through the hunter's supply box for the rations that Orric had promised. While she ate, the hunter sat underneath the large tent set up for hunters that needed rest and on the large cot. He laid back with a flop after setting his lance to the side and shut his eyes, expecting sleep to take him soon enough. Just when he thought dreams would touch him, he felt something heavy on his lap. When he opened his eyes, Jhosie was lying on his stomach, her chin resting on his chest, her eyes closed as she nestled against him. Orric gave a small smile and brought his hand open her head before closing his eyes again to sleep. A successful hunt by all accounts.