FicWad

The boy was alone when the dragon came. From the time he was dumped at a shabby, rundown orphanage by a mother who didn't love him (who in turn was abandoned by a father who didn't want him), to when the monster eclipsed the sun that cursed summer day, he was always alone. The boy was alone, huddled in the ashes of someone he probably knew and was hated by, just as anyone who had seen the boy likely did. The boy himself was not at fault for this. Local superstition taught those around him to hate him, as he was cursed with those damned silver eyes and white hair that had doomed him to a life of rejection. The boy felt alone when the bullies beat him for his features. He felt betrayed by the world when their parents blamed him for their child's behavior, as it was easy to blame someone who has no one. He felt nothing when it burned them to ash and destroyed everything he knew, for all he knew was despair. The boy was alone before the hunter came.

"Cassandra! Hey, Cass!" a young man, clad in full Rathian gunner armor that almost hung off his extremely skinny, tall frame, exclaimed. He was running through the bustling street of Val Habar, slipping and squeezing his way through the crowd.

"Issac? I thought you were still training in Harth!" Cassandra exclaimed in surprise, embracing the other hunter, her Zamtrios S armor scraping lightly against his. It brought out the sky blue of her eyes, which were scanning the face of her childhood friend, whose pale (and slightly blushing) face and chocolate brown eyes seemed to be pleading for air as she squeezed it out of him.

After Isaac had recovered his breath and his composure, a huge grin spread across his face which was partially covered up by his nappy orange hair, "I was, until I heard the news. Congratulations on making G-rank, short stack! I knew you had it in you!"

"Stop calling me that!" she exclaimed, visibly annoyed, "I'm not short, you're just freakishly tall!"

"Sure, shrimp. Look, I didn't come just to play around." he said, ruffling her raven black hair, "Have you heard about the new guy yet?" Her eyebrows raised in intrigue, as she had not heard of any "new guy" as of late.

"I haven't, actually. I've just been running and gunning all month to get the whole G-rank thing done, so I haven't had time to talk to anyone. Whats so special about him?" she asked as they walked towards the guild hall.

"Figures. You always were impatient. You're gonna get yourself killed if you keep rushing into things like..."

"You rush into things all the time, you hypocrite!"

"Yea, but that's because I'm good at being reckless. You can barely walk correctly."

"I can make you not be able to walk at all." she threatened, brandishing her hammer, Meaty Smash, with an angry fervor.

He ignored her threat and continued, "I believe you know the name Mathias Black, correct?" he asked, soliciting a shocked sideways glance by Cassandra.

"He's like the greatest hunter in the world! How could I forget that name?! I had posters of the guy next to my bed when we were kids!"

"Yeah, and every morning before a hunt you would kiss that big headshot of him that you had behind your closet door. I remember."

"Not so loud! And I told you that in confidence!" she punched him hard on the shoulder, her tanned cheeks now slightly pink, "What about him, anyway?"

"You know how like ten years ago he took on an apprentice?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Well, word is..." Isaac hesitated, placing his hands on the giant wooden door of the guild hall, "the new guy was the Black hunter's apprentice."

No way! she thought incredulously as the great doors slid open slowly, her heart beating much faster than she would like to admit. His apprentice...here? In our guild hall?

"You ok, shrimp? You look a little red." the taller hunter teased, his voice laced with enjoyment as he watched the blush intensify.

"I-I'm f-fine, jerk!" she stammered, unleashing a flurry of punches on his left arm, which only managed to turn his light giggling into a full bout of laughter that only added to her rage, "So what if he's coming to our guild, anyway? Its not like he'll do anything with us!"

"But what if he does? We could finally start that team we've been talking about!"

That would be nice. Having a guy like him on our side would make our hunter ranks skyrocket. she thought whimsically, but soon scowled at the thought, "We shouldn't get our hopes up about that. Besides, we're good enough on our own."

"Hmmm, I guess your right. One look at you and he'll have run out of the city before we even have a chance to ask him!" he jeered, casting a sideways smirk at his companion as she brought her hammer down on his foot, As he hopped around in pain, she took a seat at the dining table and glanced around the hall. Guess he's not here yet. Oh well.

"Boyfriend giving you trouble, princess?" a large man, about 30, clad in full Gypceros armor asked, sitting down next to Cassandra with a tray of food. Not this guy again! she thought as she buried her face in her menu. Ever since he first registered to the guild hall, the switch axe hunter Fang has had his eye on the poor girl, who frankly detested his presence altogether. This happens often, as she was the only female hunter enrolled at the Val Habar, making her the object of affection for the more classless monster hunters.

"He's not my boyfriend and neither are you, Francis, so don't call me princess and stop moving so close to me. Its creepy."

"The names Fang, angel, F-A-N-G! And don't you forget it, either!"

"How could I forget the stupid name you chose to replace the equally stupid name you had before." she said nonchalantly, eyes scanning the menu as the hunter next to her reached out his hand and, at a speed his fat arms shouldn't have been able to move at, snaked it around her neck, pulling her closer. "Don't be like that, doll. How's about we get out of here?" This caused an uproar of hoots and hollers from the other hunters and a small yelp of surprise from Cassandra, whose head was now pressed firmly against his chest plate.

Something hard pressed against Fang's head, which caused him to tense up in fear. "Hands off, bastard." Isaac said angrily, cocking his Agna Magnum with a loud click. "Unless you want a crag shot in that empty skull of yours."

"Hey, Doodles! No fighting in the hall!" the guildmarm yelled from the other side of the registration desk. "If you want to settle something, you know how to."

Of course as seasoned hunters, everyone present knew how "things were settled" around here. The arm wrestle barrel was a symbol of status in the hunter community. While the guild recognizes a monster hunter's rank through the amount and difficulty of the contracts they complete, the monster hunters themselves measure rank based on who beats who in that infamous battle of pure brawn.

"Wanna go, Carrot top? Or are you not man enough?" Fang asked sneeringly, slamming his elbow on the barrel.

"You know what?" Cassandra bolted up from the table and ran to the barrel. "I'm tired of this bull. Lets see who's really man enough, Francis!" she smashed her hand into his and pushed her elbow onto the barrel.

"You're gonna let your woman fight your battles for you, Twig?" Fang said, a drop of sweat sliding down his fat cheek as Cassandra glared at him with a look of utter malice.

Isaac let out a small laugh and, having rested his heavy bowgun against the wall, fell down onto a bench with a mischievous smirk. "Course I am. Her giant man hands should be enough to beat a fat pig like you."

"After I kick his ass, I'm gonna shove that gun of yours so far up your..." Cassandra yelled angrily.

"No swearing, Doodle! Keep it PG, will ya?" the guildmarm cut her off.

"...Yes, Miss Guildmarm." Cassandra said dejectedly, "I'm still gonna beat you both!"

Francis (ahem) Fang was doing just about all he could to keep his hand from touching the opposite side of the barrel, grunting and breathing heavily as the girl smirked with satisfaction.

Suddenly, the great doors of the guild hall swung open with a loud slap, as though it was hit with a cannonball. The sound and the blast of air tore both Cassandra and Fang out of their match, their necks craned at awkward angles to see the newcomer. In fact, everyone else in the hall was attempting in someway to get a glimpse, as everyone who was registered or working there was already present.

What Cassandra saw when she turned around took her breath away. He wore all white, from his long formal jacket that reached his ankles to the caravaners cap that only slightly obscured his handsome visage, made from a material that she couldn't couldn't recognize but wanted to feel. He was pale, with snow white hair sticking out beneath his cap and silver eyes that seemed to pierce the soul. He wore a sword at his hip, its sheath and hilt wrapped in a thin silver chain that rattled with his every footstep. Slowly, the man walked up to the registration desk, an aura of refinement about him.

"And who might you be, handsome?" the guildmarm asked dreamily, resting her arms on the desk in a relaxed pose. No way, Cassandra thought, her grip on Fang's hand tightening to the point of agony for the other hunter. Its him! Its really him!

"G-rank hunter Aiden White, apprentice of Mathias Black. I would like to register with this guild hall for the time being, if you'll have me." Its the Great White Hunter, Aiden White!