Forty Years of This [Monster Hunter World]

Chapter 30

She only vaguely remembered coming to Astera. She only had a few good memories of her life before sneaking on that ship, before some illness had wiped out her home and stolen her mother away from her. Before she climbed in a crate and silently cried as the ocean rocked her to and fro. The life of an urchin was an unkind one filled with cruel people, illness, and starvation. It had been a desperate attempt to escape it, and even when she was found out she still felt she was better off.

The Captain of the Argosy was not a cruel woman, but neither was she particularly kind. She kept the girl in her quarters to keep her out of trouble, but she was deeply unhappy with her stowaway. She often told the girl that she'd better pray the Commission would house her because she wasn't giving her a ride back.

When she first saw the Commander, she saw right through him. He was softer than the Captain, and even his attempts to scare her straight were tinged with concern and protection. Even his attempts to pass her on to someone else were half hearted. Before the week was out, she was following him like a lost puppy.

His partner was different. She wanted the Quartermaster to like her even if she grew frustrated with his lessons. She didn't care about math or grammar, but he sat there like a stone wall until she got at least some work done. He was stiff, and he had a stiff attitude, but she still wanted him to like her. She wanted him to accept her like the Commander had, but he was always just too far away. Her father's partner. Not her father, just her father's partner. It was a strange degree of separation, and she didn't like it. She didn't understand why he couldn't just be her father too.

She didn't like the Admiral, and she didn't like his son. They were both too loud, too touchy, too much. The boy flaunted his age and height over her, constantly calling her small. He goaded her even more when his father started disappearing on long journeys into the wilds until she finally snapped.

"Don't pick on me because your father doesn't care enough about you to stick around! It's not my fault, and I'm not taking it anymore!"

The boy had snarled at first, but then he'd begun to cry. He broke down, squatting with his arm over his face, and for a moment she felt bad. She wanted to comfort him, but instead she turned and marched off to tell her father what had happened. He was better with people. He'd fix it.

The Quartermaster was no longer a stranger to her. He was no longer her father's partner but rather her pops. She felt like something had settled into place and that she could really breathe. When the boy left, she felt immense relief. When people her age began to arrive, the stress of socializing exploded once again, and she found herself failing to make meaningful connections with anyone once again.

It was her pops who helped her navigate her first friendships. Her dad struggled to understand why she couldn't read people and understand the difference between gentle ribbing and cruel words, but the Quartermaster could. He cut apart social interaction like an entomologist dissected an insect. While she didn't need to do that for long, it helped. When she started to have romantic relationships, she went to both of her parents for help navigating them.

She fooled around with men and women, and then she met him. He was a gentle thing. A quiet thing. A soft man with a low voice and kind eyes. A year came and went after her researcher arrived. She felt it in her gut that she wanted to be with him, but something nagged at her, so she went to her fathers as she had always done when she needed advice.

The two men were delighted to have her company, and she was only too happy to join them one evening and quietly soak in the sun's last light. Then she posed the question that had been nagging her so fiercely.

"How long have you two been married? How long had you been together before hand?"

An awkward silence settled before the Commander, her first father, looked at her in confusion.

"██," he said. "We never got married."

She stared back at him just as confused. "What?" For a moment, it was all she could get out. "But... You're married."

"No..." A small smile spread across the Commander's lips. "We're committed, but we're not married."

"What do-- this entire time I thought--" She stopped. Her parents, two men who were more devoted to each other than most couples she'd seen, weren't married. She tried to think of another pair like them, but she couldn't come up with anyone. Finally, she spoke again. "Why not?"

The Quartermaster let out a very loud sigh. Loud enough to interrupt anything the Commander might have started to say. Yet he didn't answer her question. He just huffed.

"Well," the Commander started up again. "Because it never really felt like the thing to do. I don't need to be married to ████████ for my love to be clear. I don't need to be married to know that I'm in it for the long haul." He reached over and took the Quartermaster's hand. "We don't need to be married for people to know we love each other. It's just a ceremony with more social obligations."

The Quartermaster smiled softly at the Commander before leaning over and resting his head against his partner's, but their daughter was not satisfied with their answer.

"I want to get married," she said with a huff. "I know who I want to marry."

"Then marry him." The Quartermaster looked over the Commander at her. His sharp eyes bore into her. He knew who she meant, and she realized that was him giving his blessing. She hadn't expected him to be so blunt or willing-- she'd expected him to be judgemental and cautious, so his freely given blessing emboldened her.

"If you want to marry your beau," the Commander said. "Then ask him. Talk to him. We'll find a broom for you to jump over." He smiled, wrinkles creasing in the corners of his eyes, but there was a bittersweetness to his expression.

"Thanks Dad... Pops... it means a lot."

She married her beau, her researcher, a week later. The Commissioners took any excuse for a feast, and a marriage or two were the best sorts of excuses. The day before, she hunted for meat and foraged for fruits. She, her beau, and another couple hopped a broom to a hearty rhythm while her dads watched on backlit by a great bonfire.