Monster Wrangler

Diva hopped about, pouncing left and right in a flashy way about the stone seating. Milo had paused to watch and chuckle.

"Are you excited for tomorrow?"

The Warwolf growled and swished its tail about.

"I don't know what monster you'll be fighting, but let's do our best Diva."

In response the Warwolf hopped up and down a few times on the spot.

Calico hadn't come out with any particular goal in mind. She'd seen fighting arenas before, after all.

But Orlok deserved to see where he'd be risking his ass, so she'd brought him along, his wings neatly furled as he rode on her back.

She spotted the kid with the warwolf and was ready to head over and make idle chitchat, when she heard his voice, and its Amorian accent.

Oh no.

Amoria wasn't a tiny country, but Greenbottle Bay had been a pretty respectable town before, well...

Before my life fell apart while I was in the bathtub.

There weren't many people around in the evening, but Milo's attention was on Diva. He pointed into the arena as he moved to sit beside the excited construct.

"Tomorrow everyone will be having battles in there. Us too. I hope you're ready. It's going to be our first tournament!"

The Warwolf lifted its head up proudly.

"Yes, everyone is going to be looking at you from these seats. You better not disappoint them."

This had the Warwolf let out a low growl. Milo chuckled.

"Okay, I'll do my best too."

God, was I ever that young?

Calico cleared her throat.

"That's all anyone can do."

Wrangler and monster looked back to identify the source of the voice. Milo lifted a hand curiously in greeting. "Um, hi, miss...?"

"Carter. Calico Carter. And this is Orlok."

Orlok took to the air, his wings a dazzling spectacle- as usual.

"We're here to compete too."

"Oh cool!" Milo's hands become fists and he lifts them slightly as he looks energized. "Nice to meet you Calico and, um, Orlok! I'm Milo and this is Diva." The Warwolf was following Orlok's aerial display approvingly.

The boy hops up and offers a hand. "It'll be our first tournament. It's nice to meet someone else competing."

"My first time sending a critter in too. Up until now I've mostly been a spectator."

Maybe he's too young to really know about the fire? That'll be nice while it lasts.

"Diva, huh? Bit of a princess, is she?"

He probably was. Or he just needed reminding about the town name... Or maybe he wasn't the best with names? It was too early to say.

"She loves attention. She's more excited to be here than I am." Milo admits with a good chuckle. The monster gets up and pranced over to Calico, circling her. "See? She wants yours now."

"Orlok? You the jealous type?"

The saturnadus fluttered near her shoulder, but made no further moves as Calico leaned down to... pat the robot on the head.

Has she got a sense of touch? I mean, he says she's a she, so I assume that tracks, but... I'm not really up on my constructs...

"Hey Diva, nice to meet you."

The robotic wolf appeared delighted by the pat as its tail went into wagging mode and it pushed its snout into Calico's hand.

"Diva, paw."

Calico is offered a right paw to hold or perhaps to shake.

Calico shook the proffered paw, while Orlok landed on her back and furled his wings. Sulking, maybe? It was hard to tell with the bug.

"So, Milo... what do you do when you're not attending your first tournament?"

It had to be done carefully because of the steely claws, but Diva is thankfully good at keeping still.

Milo wore a thoughtful expression. "Um, I travel a lot usually. Learning about monsters and exploring. I'd like another monster as a companion, but I've not had any luck yet. What about you?"

"Trapping, mostly."

And betting on the monsters I trap.

"When I have the gear for it, anyway. I trap monsters and sell 'em to wranglers. Well. On my good days."

An astute observer would note by her threadbare attire that her good days were likely few and far between.

"Oh wow, that's awesome. Um..." He did note the clothes. Maybe she hadn't had a chance to do any hunting since she was traveling here for the tournament? "What monsters have you caught?"

"Besides Orlok here? Let's see... I caught a few carnoids, but that was more in the line of pest control than proper trapping. A few chasma..."

Including one that got me in hock to Louie the Nose by losing that bout

"... can't say I caught the cindrow since the jerk burned its way free of the trap, but hey, I got a look at it, then there's a dursulk that wandered into town and started eating the sidewalks, a magnox..."

Who got me square with Louie the nose by winning when I bet on him, then promptly back in debt when I got cocky and over-wagered on a losing effort.

"... a couple nappen, and a nasty juvenile taichen. Nothing too exotic, really."

"That's still really impressive!" Milo enthuses. "I've heard there are Nappen about, but also that there are Staguars in Arensa. I'd really like one as a companion. I rely too much on Diva." The Warwolf's tail went to and fro as it sat down politely beside Calico.

"I'm a little worried about going into the swamps because of the ambush predators, but for you that's probably nothing huh?" Milo beamed a big, earnest smile at Calico.

"Oh, I've done plenty of running in my time."

She chuckled.

"Since falling in with Orlok, I've been a bit... safer, though. He can whip up a wall of ice once he really gets going, and he's good for a short-range dazzle too, but... between you and me, I tend to avoid places where I run the risk of him getting, well... eaten."

Milo crossed his arms as he listened to Calico. When she mentioned Orlok being eaten his newfound frown intensified. "That'd be bad, but it's even more dangerous that you were trapping monsters on your own. You should always have a monster or a friend to watch your back. Anything can happen in the wild, you know?" He might have been barely half her age, but Calico looked like the sort of adult that could benefit from a lecture on personal safety. Milo huffed. "I'm glad Orlok is looking out for you. I was always told not to go out alone."

She chuckled and shook her head.

"Kid, we don't always get to make good choices. Sometimes we get to choose between two pretty crappy options and hope for the best."