The next day, before the sun had reached its peak, Kael—who was sleeping soundly with his head buried under his wing—was suddenly nudged awake.
When he lifted his head in confusion, Aji increased her strength, pushing him toward the cave entrance with her head and wings, clearly determined to drive him out.
"That fickle Rathian!!"
Forced out of the nest and left hovering in midair, Kael gritted his teeth in frustration.
Just yesterday, after finishing that Kelbi, Aji had ignored him and allowed him to return to the nest.
And now she was kicking him out again?
What was her problem?!
Fuming, Kael flew around aimlessly for a while.
Soon, he felt hunger creeping in.
He glanced at the sky and suddenly realized—
At this time of day, he used to be snacking while waiting for Aji to return from hunting.
Only then did it dawn on him.
Although Aji had driven him out just now, her actions were completely different from yesterday's attempted expulsion.
There had been no hostility.
She had merely pushed him out with her head and wings.
"So… it's almost mealtime, and she kicked me out to hunt?"
Thinking carefully, Kael realized that Aji's wing injury wouldn't heal so quickly.
She still couldn't go out hunting.
Meanwhile, his actions yesterday had proven that he could hunt independently.
So when mealtime came, he was naturally sent out to handle it.
Wait.
If he was being sent out to hunt, didn't that mean he wasn't being expelled anymore?
Had their relationship changed?
He'd just discovered the key point.
Normally, once a hatchling gained the ability to hunt alone, its parents would drive it away to survive on its own.
But—
Kael was indeed a hatchling.
Yet Aji wasn't an adult either.
So their relationship now was… mutual support?
A male Rathalos and a female Rathian supporting each other and living together.
That actually made perfect sense.
With that in mind, Aji's behavior today fit perfectly.
She was injured and couldn't hunt.
So today's hunting duty fell on Kael.
Simple logic.
As for whether it was unfair to let a hatchling handle food for two…
In the Rathalos worldview, once you could hunt alone, size no longer mattered.
You were no longer a hatchling.
And if you weren't a hatchling, you were expected to shoulder responsibility.
After figuring this out, Kael was instantly full of motivation.
Flapping his wings, he flew swiftly toward the Kelbi herds.
With his current combat power and carrying capacity, Kelbi were the optimal choice.
Meanwhile, deep in the Ancient Forest, not too far from their nest, a muscular brute was beating the living daylights out of a Tobi-Kadachi.
Lightning strikes from the Tobi-Kadachi only left shallow black scorch marks on its opponent.
Its usually deadly claws could do little more than scratch the surface.
Such damage was completely negligible to this Anjanath, whose size far exceeded that of its peers.
In contrast, every one of the Anjanath's attacks dealt heavy damage to the Tobi-Kadachi.
It was a completely one-sided battle.
After being bitten and flung away yet again, the Tobi-Kadachi finally accepted reality.
Whimpering, it leaped into the trees and fled.
Watching its defeated figure, the Anjanath snorted hot air disdainfully.
It hadn't even been forced to deploy its heat-dissipation membranes.
These weaklings on the outskirts were getting more and more pathetic.
After quickly devouring the herbivore it had stolen from the Tobi-Kadachi, the Anjanath moved on, satisfied, in search of a new resting place.
It wasn't native to this region.
It had migrated here from deep within the Ancient Forest.
Life had been comfortable in the depths before.
But everything had changed after the day it encountered that hatchling Rathalos trespassing in its territory.
As one of the strongest among Anjanath, it was much larger than most of its kind.
Yet a flightless hatchling had escaped from its jaws by running.
A humiliation.
A colossal humiliation.
That incident had driven its already violent temper to the limit.
In its rage, it rampaged through its territory for days and even trespassed into neighboring domains, causing chaos.
As a result, it offended multiple powerful neighbors and triggered several territorial conflicts.
The giants of the forest depths were no pushovers.
After being jointly driven away, the Anjanath had no choice but to abandon its original territory and migrate here in disgrace.
As it wandered in search of a new home, a clearing scarred by battle caught its attention.
Finding new territory wasn't easy.
It required understanding the surroundings, prey routes, and potential threats.
This clearing was clearly the result of a clash between giant monsters.
It needed to investigate.
The Anjanath sniffed continuously.
It smelled the stench of Pukei-Pukei venom.
It smelled the scorched scent of Rathalos fire—likely from a Rathian.
Then suddenly…
It caught a familiar scent.
One it would never forget.
That hatchling Rathalos.
It was still alive?!
Excellent.
Its rage surged.
That hatchling's scent was here—along with a Rathian's.
Was that its mother?
For the first time, the Anjanath hesitated.
It wasn't very intelligent.
But it understood one thing well:
An enraged Rathian was not to be trifled with.
Her venom and flames were capable of dragging enemies down with her.
If it wanted to hunt that hatchling again, it had to be prepared to fight a furious Rathian.
At noon, when Kael returned to the nest carrying a Kelbi, a sudden chill ran down his spine.
It vanished just as quickly, leaving him puzzled.
But when he saw Aji calmly eating the food he had brought back, the doubt was immediately forgotten.
Carefully shifting closer, he stretched one foot into the nest.
Seeing that Aji ignored him and continued eating, he gently squeezed his entire body inside and pressed close to her.
Aji glanced at him briefly.
She didn't object.
She didn't say anything.
She merely shifted slightly, giving him a bit more space so he could lie down comfortably beside her.