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The City of Milasai

This was the first time that Rui had ever been to the capitol. People and every type of Kinbeast made their way through the streets. However, many were giving them a wide berth. It was easy to tell by her armor and gear that Rui wasn't from anywhere near Milasai. And she couldn't fault the Herbivores, like Aptonoth and Kestodon, for being skittish around a monster that was a natural predator.

But having undergone the Rite of Channeling enough to change a Kinbeast's element was uncommon. And transferring enough genetic information to change any Kinbeast's element to Dragon was difficult. As a side effect of the process, the Fulgur Anjanath's body had taken on new colors. The normally orange-and-white scales on his body had taken on a crimson hue, and the fur-like feathers across his body had blackened. Though not visible now, his fins and nasal crest would glow with dark red once angered.

But Rui didn't mind. She knew that, despite Druk's fierce appearance, he was a sweetheart. Until you threatened Rui, anyway. Then all bets were off.

She was here for a reason. In her bag was the summons from the Riders' Guild. It took some asking the locals, but she eventually found her way to the Riders' Guild HQ. Passing through the gate, she could see other Riders coming and going, or even just standing around and chatting. Rui dismounted, and lead Druk to the stables. After speaking with a stablehand and giving him about 200 zenny to take care of Druk, she made her way inside. The Guildhall was packed with humans and Palicos, as well as the odd Wyverian, Troverian, and Grimalkyne.

At the reception counter, she was greeted by a young woman who smiled cheerfully. "Welcome to the Milasai Rider's Guild," she said. "How can I help you?" Rui dug into her bag and presented the letter. "Oh, so you were summoned by the Guildmaster. Right this way." She put up a sign on the desk that read, "Temporarily closed. We appreciate your patience." The young woman lead Rui up a flight of stairs. "So, Miss Tomoe, you've come a long way."

"Please, call me Rui," she insisted.

"Ah. My name's Artemia. It's nice to meet you." She gave another smile. The sounds of the main hall faded away until they came to a large, intricate door. Artemia banged her fist against the thick wood, and the deep, booming sounds caught Rui off guard. Clearly she was a lot stronger than she looked. Without waiting for a response, Artemia opened the door and ushered Rui inside.



It was simple, but Rui could appreciate it. But all of the books! Rui had never seen so many in one place.

"You're supposed to wait for someone to answer the door, Artemia." Rui looked up the balcony to see a Wyverian woman looking down at them, an open book in hand.

"Never know if you're absorbed in your research," Artemia chuckled. "Anyways, this is Miss Rui Tomoe."

"Thank you. We're waiting on two more for the time being." The woman closed her book and made her way to the ground floor.

As far as the capital city went, it certainly made Katya miss the open fields and valleys around her home village. There were too many people, not enough space, and the bustle and noise was something she wasn't quite pleased to be around. How one could want to live in a place like this was beyond her. City life would never be for her, though. It was a given from the moment she first started going out into the wilds with her father in search of herbs for his medicines. There was nothing more appealing than being out in the wilds, testing her survival skills against the wilderness - especially not after raising Vasha.

The way some of the citizens and, certainly the monsters, in the city shifted away when the black furred beauty - at least, until she'd undergone the Rite of Channeling to imbue Vasha with the element of Thunder and marking the black fur with streaks of near white gold - that was her nargacuga. She was kinda proud he stirred unsettling reactions out of the others. Probably not the best mindset for a rider but, then - she didn't just learn about raising and training monsties. She wore her armor and weapons proudly, unashamed of the tale it told others.

But making the content city-dwellers uneasy wasn't the reason she was here. She had a summons burning a hole in her satchel and she was determined to get it over with and back out to the wilds before Vasha got as restless in the city as she felt. It only took a bit of negotiating their way through the city before she finally spotted the guild off in the distance. Quite a few other riders and beasts, most oblivious to yet another powerful monstie showing up in their midst, stood or moved around the courtyard. She'd considered having Vasha just come inside with her, but surely that was frowned on. It wasn't like anyone back in her village liked such a large monstie following her into buildings there either. So, for an outrageous 200 zenny, she got him stabled and headed inside.

Soon enough, Katya was shown to a large ornate set of doors before a few loud knocks proceeded them being opened and her gestured to join the others in. After a second to look around and inwardly cringe at the amount of books surrounding her, the rider's gaze locked on the two others in the room.

"Right, so I'm Katya Milyan - got a summons - " which she produced from her satchel - "and was directed to this room. Are we waiting for more or can we get the meeting on and over with?" She rolled her shoulder while looking around the room again. "Place is too cramped."

Rui gave the newcomer a quick inspection. Armor was a good indicator of a Rider's level of skill, and this Katya apparently had enough skill to go to-toe-claw with an Ebony Odogaron. Her words and tone made her come off as rough around the edges. The Guildmaster gave a slight frown at Katya's words. "I prefer 'cozy'," she said flatly. "And yes, we are waiting on--"

The door opened again, and another Wyverian woman came in. Adorned in light armor and a wide-brimmed hat, all colored a rich shade of red, she looked quite professional... until she spoke, anyway. "How's my favorite sister?" she asked, a wide grin crossing her face.

"I'm your only sister," the Guildmaster replied. Her tone had a hint of irritation to it.

Artemia playfully pouted. "What, no love for me, Hana?"

Hana chuckled, ruffling Artemia's hair. "You have to wait your turn."

The Guildmaster gave a sigh, as if she'd done this a million times before. "At least try to act like we're here for something serious, Hana." She turned her attention to the two Riders. "Now that we're all here, we can start.

"Welcome to Milasai, Riders. My name is Lieren, the Guildmaster of Central Redan, as well as the head of the Omna Isles Council. I apologize for not being able to explain why you were summoned in the letter, but for the time being, we're being cautious."

Cozy? Bah! Cramped was perfectly apt. Besides, who the hell wanted this many books? Do nothing readers, clearly. Cozy was a lean-to with a campfire burning just outside it. Cozy was a place that could be seen to be bigger than what you could move in because of the items strewn about. This...this was claustrophobia inducing.

But the party grew and Katya kept the further belittlement of the space to herself.

Her attention turned from the Guildmaster she supposed she should be more polite to, to the other woman standing in the hall, then the new Wyverian woman that entered. She certainly didn't hold herself like some stuffy administrator type. If she was part of what drove them together, and if Katya had to put up with yet another weight to carry in among the weird happenings of the land right now, at least she seemed capable.

"Cautious of what?" Katya perked a brow, crossing her arms and shifting her weight to one foot. "Look, I get it, there's formalities, but those are for times when there isn't weird shit happening around us, yeah? So maybe we can all just cut to the chase?"