It didn’t take long for a group of felynes to bring Amara and the young girl, Ryo thought he heard Amara call her Astra, their meat platters and drinks. Amara ate like the veteran hunter she was, while Astra ate at a pace that would probably consider normal. Well normal for a girl that definitely hadn’t eaten in a while. Ryo wondered how long it’d been since they were last at a settlement. From their appearance it seemed that the first thing they’d done since arriving is get freshly washed especially since Astra’s hair was still a little wet and it hadn’t rained today at all.

“So the quest is to escort and protect this girl” Ryo asked, “Astra was it?”.

“Yes” Amara admitted but then glared at him, “But don’t say her name in public I don’t mind you knowing but it needs to stay a secret. Not even the people on the quest will know” she told him in a tone sterner than he’d ever heard her use.

“What’s going on Amara?” Ryo asked concerned on how his friend was acting.

“I can’t tell you” Amara stated, grimacing slightly.

Ryo sighed “Alright so your quest is to escort and protect this ‘person’ to where? Can you tell me that?” Ryo asked.

“The Citadel” Amara said.

“Fucking hell” Ryo stated failing to hide his surprise.

The original Citadel had been destroyed many years ago however, a new city named Citadel was built on a large remote island safe from near all monster attacks. However, the new Citadel was still on the other side of the continent, an extremely long trek from Silva and the Great forest Mori where you had to cross a lot of dangerous land. “You should really include that in the quest sheet. I wouldn’t be surprised if all the hunters interested in the quest back out after hearing that” he told her.

“So you’re really not interested?” she asked him as ate the remaining meat on her platter.

Ryo shook his head “I’m sorry Amara”.

“I’m assuming your leaving soon anyway right. What way are you going maybe we could travel to together for a bit?” she suggested.

Ryo cracked a smile “Nice try but if I travel with you for even a bit I know you’ll somehow lock me down” he said while getting up from the table. He patted Amara’s shoulder as he went to leave. “It was good seeing you again” he then glanced towards Astra who was currently trying her hardest to rip off a bit of meat from a skewer “Good meeting you too kid”. She nodded and made a noise that Ryo assumed meant ‘you too’.

“We’re leaving later today if you change your mind” Amara told him as he started walking towards the door.

“I’ll try and catch you before you leave. Say goodbye” he told her. But he knew he wouldn’t. He then left the guild hall.

As he walked back through the village towards his room he ran back into Leo who was talking to some people outside a café. He caught sight of Ryo and excused himself from the conversation.

“So did the girl find you alright?” he asked as he started walking along side Ryo. Ryo creased his face. “She was walking around the village looking like a stray felyne. She must’ve recognised me from earlier and asked me for directions” Leo told him.

“Nice of you” said Ryo.

“So … did you join the quest?” Leo asked.

“No” Ryo told him.

“Did you see if any other interesting quests got posted?” he asked.

“Never checked” Ryo admitted.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“Hmph … I guess that means you’re leaving then. When?” Leo questioned.

“Tomorrow morning” said Ryo.

Leo then let out a sigh “I won’t see you then”. He then turned to fully face Ryo and guessing what this meant Ryo done the same. “I can tell you’re not a guy who likes a big goodbye, so I’ll do this” he said before sticking out his arm. “You’re definitely the most interesting guy to ever step foot in my village. I don’t know if we’ll meet again but I hope we do and when that happens it’d be fun to hunt with you. Until then Farewell” Leo said a smile cracking through his expression as he finished.

A grin suddenly formed on Ryo’s face as well which surprised him, and they firmly grasped each other’s forearms. “Farewell” Ryo said. As soon as they parted they went their separate ways.

Ryo made it back his room and was instantly greeted by an annoyed Nix. Ryo guessed he had been gone a lot longer than he thought he’d be. Best not tell him he also ate in the canteen Nix would probably try and kill him if he knew he’d missed out on that. After his palico calmed down Ryo told him what had happened since he left, from the escort quest to seeing Amara again. Nix expressed his annoyance about Ryo not accepting Amara’s quest like he predicted his palico would but the felyne quickly let it go. They both knew It wasn’t their quest.

“We’re leaving first thing in the morning” he informed his palico, “So don’t bother cooking tonight. Seeming that it’s our last night we’ll eat out”. Nix suddenly got excited and started dancing around the room, he’d been asking to eat out ever since arriving at Silva.

The two of them relaxed for the rest of the day and went to a restaurant as night began to fall. Ryo never went down to the bottom of village to say goodbye to Amara, but he’d heard she was able to get a full hunting team of capable hunters, had stocked up on supplies, and had left a few hours before it turned dark. He found it strange that they didn’t wait till the morning to leave but then again everything about that quest was strange. From their short conversation he knew there was a lot she was keeping from him, especially from the fact that she was so desperate for him to join. The old Amara he knew would have rather impaled herself on her own Long sword than ask him for help. He chuckled as remembered his old memories. There was definitely something wrong and he felt bad for shrugging them off so easily, but he quickly let it go. They’d left now and there was nothing he could do about it. Maybe if he ended up running into them on his travels he could try and help them in some way.

After their meal him and Nix returned to their room and slept for the night. They once again woke up as the first rays of light entered his room and he could see a light navy sky through the roof’s air vent. They then performed their morning routine, made sure all their belongings were packed up and Nix made sure the room was in an immaculate condition. Ryo then equipped his armour and charge blade and they left. They easily wandered through the village. This time of day all the streets and pathways were pretty much empty, which Ryo was happy about he didn’t know if he could be bothered with all the stares. They gave their room key back to the village’s inn keeper, a large and buff felyne who thanked them with a gruff ‘Nya’ and then travelled to their last stop.

Ryo entered the stables which were found near the outer edges of the village. He walked along until he found her.

In front of him was a huge, magnificent stallion, that barley fitted into her stable. She had a thick black coat with stormy blue eyes. Thick wild fur covered her legs and formed as well as dishevelled mane and long tail. However the most noticeable thing about the horse was her sheer size, in the dark you might’ve thought a monster had got into the village. She stood at almost twice Ryo’s height and was chiselled completely from muscle. Her name was Cali and Ryo had found her abandoned years ago when she was a baby. Her mother and father had been slaughtered by the Glavenus he was hunting, and her siblings had fled in fear. After killing the Glavenus he found the abnormally large foal crying for its parents and decided to take her in. A decision he’s never once regretted. She was an extremely rare species of horse called Equstrum for short or its full ecological name Monstrum equus. Her species is believed to be descended from the elder dragon Kirin.

With careful precision, he led Cali out of the stables and equipped her saddle as well some small armour pieces that guarded important parts of her body without impeding her movement or comfort. He then took their large bag of supplies and belongings from Nix and strapped it onto Cali’s saddle who large size made it seem like a normal sized back. Nix then jumped onto Ryo’s back and then Ryo leapt up onto Cali’s back. He then took control of the reins and they left the village of Silva, travelling into the Great forest of Mori.

It turned out Leo was right, and they didn’t end up seeing each other again. Ryo was suddenly happy the hunter came to see him yesterday to bid him farewell. When he arrived here he had absolutely no intention of a making a friend, but he was glad he did. He remembered what Leo had said to him, hoping they’ll meet again, and Ryo decided he hoped for that too.

‘Just not here in this village. That guy needs to get out and see the world’ Ryo thought letting out a small laugh.