Snippet #1268185

The wyvern had a nest inside of a cave near the top of the cliffs, of that Theos was certain. Theos had been camping in the area for several days, scouting the area and waiting for a wyvern to come; it wasn’t until the third day that he got his wish. He didn’t attack immediately, though, like many first time Hunters would. Those bloodthirsty berserkers were always the first to die. Instead, Theos tracked the creature.

A Rathalos it was, enormous and red and covered in scars from various encounters with what Theos assumed was probably a combination of Hunters and other wyverns. Rathalos were territorial, he knew, so fighting often broke out amongst them and other creatures seeking dominance. But judging from the size of this wyvern, he wasn’t often the loser.

At first, like many of the creatures that entered the forest, the Rathalos stopped at the nearby pond for a drink. Dipping its head into the water, it opened its mouth and drank greedily. Theos crept closer, hoping to find the weakest points in the monster’s armored hide. There appeared to be a scar across its neck from a sword or a bite; Theos mentally noted that, hoping it would pay off in the future.

Backing away, Theos hoped to get away before the creature noticed him, but as he crawled, his weight snapped twigs underneath him. Sighing, he looked up to see the Rathalos tilting its head, listening, and waiting. Theos backed away more carefully this time, but it wasn’t enough. The Rathalos let out an earth-shaking roar, and then looked directly at Theos.

Theos’ survival instincts kicked in; the man stood, turned tail and ran. He could hear the creature’s wings beating as it rose into the air. Chancing a look back, Theos saw the wyvern hovering, and then watched as it swooped forward, talons extended before it. With a monster coming at you like that, there’s really only one thing you can do: duck.

Theos threw himself to the ground, the Rathalos’ talons missing him by inches. Looking up from his prone position, Theos watched as the monster circled and came back at him. Pulling his bow from his back, Theos notched an arrow. As the Rathalos came hurtling towards him, Theos released. The arrow pierced the monster where the shoulder would be on a human, the point joining wing to neck. Despite the good shot, the Rathalos barely seemed to notice.

Hurtling towards its prey, the Rathalos opened its jaws and released a stream of flames. Seeing this fiery breath streaming towards him, Theos did the one thing he could: he jumped into the pond.