#breakfast team

Bonus! Kian's wild bug bonanza (they need a team name too at some point):

Battle Bug: pretty good at grooming herself but won't say no to a sponge bath. The poison spikes on her back get trimmed on a regular basis to prevent excessive build-up. Since she's got a Rider, her camouflage hide also gets fully removed and scrubbed down as well, so she's a naked spider on bath days. But it extends the longevity of the hide so she suffers through it with dignity.

Baby Bug: She's small right now so you can dunk her in a wash basin and then brush her out until she's more cotton ball than spider. Just be mindful of how much water you splash on her face. Maintaining the shining white of her fluff is kind of a pain though.

Tiny Rail Gun: he gets dust baths, as his handle over electricity is rather weak at the moment. Unfortunately his handle over dust bathing is also rather weak so he kind of just flops about in it with much confusion. You can scrub him down with handfuls of sand and then wipe him clean with a soft washcloth. He will try to play tug-o-war.

Ratha

Has retained some of his Razewing and corrupted characteristics. His scales are permanently stained a dark maroon, while those that pattern his face and go down his back are black.

The last vestiges of when he was flightless can be seen in the scales along the arms of his wings. While they are predominantly dark in color, the scales clustered around his spurs seem to be iridescent. 

His coloration and the way he’s been trained to wield fire can result in him being misidentified as a Dreadking by Hunters at first glance. However, even fully grown he is average size for a Rathalos.

Tail was made for SMACKING—tends to swing it wide in a circle to stun and then immediately follow with a second spinning blast of flame.

Trained for higher firepower which has resulted the scales along his neck and his chest glowing when he’s ready to fire. Usually only seen when he’s charging a big attack, but he’s also learned to use it as a threat of impending explosion.

However! He also uses this gimmick occasionally as a sudden flare of warmth for cold days. Great to cuddle up against!

Can and will use his head as a battering ram.

Jam

Enjoys a good chin scritch.

Purrs and purrs loudly. Bites and bites hard.

Wildly flexible as only a cat can be.

For being a creature of shadows, loves a good nap in the sun.

Always smells a little sweet, but don’t be fooled. That’s the poison. It’s concentrated in his claws.

Like all Nargacuga, he is very adept at smacking things with his tail. Unlike most Nargacuga, that tail sometimes catches on fire. The flame flares out from his tail spikes and licks along the length of the tail.

Has sometimes been seen to wave the burning tail around like a torch.

Omelette

Since he’s undergone the Rite of Channeling and has been given ice genes, he’s always a bit cool to the touch. Great for a hot summer day.

He’s the only one on the team of a good size that can be hitched up to a cart, so he’s been trained as a cart-beast. He seems to enjoy the work, and is quite fast trotting up and down the roads.

The cart harness was specially designed for quick release, so that Astrea can release him to attack in the case that they run into trouble.

If they’re doing short stopovers at Rider-friendly villages, sometimes Astrea won’t bother stabling Omelette. Instead, you can find Omelette sitting on the ground in front of the cart, waiting patiently (usually with a snack).

The feathers on his arms and down his back can suddenly become stiff and hard as steel. He’s a chicken who takes “death by a thousand papercuts” rather seriously.

Fish

Mostly likely to let the village kids climb all over him, although such an event rarely happens.

Can sometimes be found flopped on the edge of the pier, watching the fish swimming by the beams. Seems to be fond of pancaking himself flat against the boards for that.

Puffs up like an angry cat when startled. This is kind of annoying when riding him because then you suddenly get a face full of staticky fur.

Seems to compete with Jam in scratching his claws on the same exact tree. Thankfully, it hasn’t resulted in anything more serious than sibling tussles.

Juice

Since he’s usually allowed to roam the seas around the village freely, he’s very rarely harnessed. Instead, he has clan symbols painted along the scales of his neck to denote ownership. The symbols also separate him from other aquatic Monsties that nearby Hakolo Island villages also let use the sea.

Likes to sun himself in warm shallow water.

Occasionally powers excess electricity into his mouth such that it sparks, and even ignites.

That age-old species rivalry with Rathalos still burns in him, so he’ll sometimes leap out of the water to snap at Ratha’s claws. In return, Ratha will try to bop him with a swipe of the tail. While concerning at first glance, it’s less of a serious fight and more of a strange sort of ritual between the two nowadays.

It is, however, 100% serious with any wild Rath that swoops too close to him

Soup

Angry grumpy hissy man

Loves a chained bubble explosion. The stiff fur on the underside of his tail seems to be especially insulating, as he will often set off the chain himself with a heavy slam.

Despite the heavy injuries on his face, his hearing is especially acute. His remaining whiskers are also highly sensitive. In battle, his aggression and instincts keep him as a formidable attacker, and he’s particularly ruthless when guided well with another pair of eyes.

While he is the oldest of Astrea’s Monsties, he is not an exceptionally old individual for his species. The ease of his movements suggests that he’s spent much of his adult life navigating around his blindness. It has been suggested by the Scriveners that he may have been injured in one of his first serious contests for establishing mating rights in his territory, but it’s all just hypothesis.

In daily life, when he’s just minding his own business, he’s more likely to bump into things. Makes grumpy old man noises every time he accidentally headbutts into an obstacle. He’s also not too proud that he won’t play the pitiful old man trick and come whining to Astrea for a scratch and a treat every once in a while following a little bump in the night. Astrea doesn’t know how they got to this point, either.

Doesn’t often go traveling with Astrea individually, on account of his heightened aggression and surly personality. When he does get to go though, he enjoys spending nights at camp curled up around Astrea. All you need is a thin blanket to soften the rough hairs of his tail, otherwise he’s all the warm cover you need.