Monster Hunter Field Guide: Velociprey

Physical Description: Classified by the Guild as bird wyverns, velociprey are small, stealthy beasties with a cobalt complexion that darkens with age, with ruddy brown stripes unique to each individual running down the length of their backs. They can grow to modest sizes, the largest of which often are seen leading hunting parties and are called Dromes, an early attempt at spelling the barking cry they relay between others of their species. These alpha members, male or female, of the species are even further distinguishable by their larger, more vibrant head crest and claws, which take on a fiery orange hue. 

They are close relatives of the three other known Drome wyverns, and are believed to be the oldest member of the family from which the others evolved from, though it is just as likely they all possessed a common ancestor currently unknown to academia. Their relation to other bird wyverns, such as the Gii family living in the southern climes, is sparsely studied.

They possess small, needle like teeth which, like their cousins, are hollow, but less so than the others. They do not, however, make use of venom or any other chemical compound in incapacitating their prey. Their senses of sight, hearing and smell are all keen, and they possess an active method of interpersonal communication with a series of high, shrill screeches and barking cries. There is little evidence of dimorphism, with male and female dromes recorded in plenty of hunter's accounts. Dromes can live for several years, and the oldest ever found was a particularly gnarly specimen that was almost twice the size of the average, which possessed a great degree of intelligence, savagery and strength that, for a time, proved unstoppable for many a group of hunter thinking it to be just another simple mark. All this said, these creatures ooze trickery, and should not be underestimated. 

Behavior: Pack hunters through and through, a lone velociprey is a rare sight. They work together in moderately coordinated groups to attack prey, typically led by a drome. They typically target herbivores, Aptonoth being the most common choice but smaller choices such as Mosswine and Kelbi are valid as well. They kill prey by latching on to their bodies, gripping with their needle-like teeth while causing terrible gashes with their claws and talons. If the strike is fast enough, even a bull Aptonoth will fall in moments. Upon death, they rip small pieces of flesh from their prey and swallow it whole, both for themselves and for regurgitation upon their return to the nests. This pack mentality especially extends to their nesting behavior, with communal rearing of young and rotating shifts of hunting and nursing behaviors observed by Lynian scouts. The young, though scarcely observed, grow quickly and join the pack in hunts after as much as a year since hatching.

Though coordinated, especially under a Drome's guidance, the species, like most drome wyverns, only possesses moderate intelligence. This is especially evident in their behavior when in the presence of larger predators, even ones in their own general size range such as Kut-Ku and Hypnocatrice, which they will, more often than not, choose to stand their ground and futilely resist them rather than flee for safer places. This misplaced prey drive in particular is considered to be the prime reason why so few live to the 'drome' stage of their lives, and unusually it is not so commonly found in any of their closer relatives. This makes them prime targets for larger predators such as brooding Rathians, who have been observed scooping them up from the air or even ousting them from their caves to use their nests as her own. Although, should the predator be wounded, from another predator or even a hunter, it is not unheard of for the pack to finish it off and scavenge its corpse before its original would be killer could arrive. 


Drome leadership is sometimes shared in packs, but this is not terribly common. Typically, Velocidromes compete with rivals upon meeting them, often fighting to the point of grave injury and even death. A pack with two or more dromes is considered an especially dangerous threat to any nearby villages, so these packs are culled quickly. 


Range: Velociprey are a widespread species due to their high birth, growth and metabolic rates, though they are typically only found in temperate and tropical climates in the northern part of the continent, stretching as far south as the northern fringes of the volcano belt. Their preferred haunts are areas with plenty of underbrush, with nearby access to cave systems, both for aid in hunting, protection from aerial predators and for nesting their young, which they guard zealously. Though there are similar environments in the southern portions of Minegarde, the competition from rival Jaggi and Wroggi packs, a distant and hostile relation, have all but prevented them from establishing a talon-hold in these regions.  

Hunter's Guide: Being a small predator occupying a small link of the food chain, the creatures known as velociprey, or ranposu as the old wyverians called it, do not seem terribly impressive to behold in light of the innumerable larger beasts that traipse the wilds of Minegarde. However, be that as it may, they are still dangerous and a worthy cause for the hunter to take up his or her blade.

They pose little value or danger to the experienced hunter, and in the eyes of the guild are scarce considered more than a nuisance. That said, they are common, inexpensive quest marks, as their inquisitive nature and high prey drive often lead them into close proximity with human and lynian settlements in the northern plains. Many hunters often consider their first tussle with a Velociprey pack to be their first true test of mettle when venturing into the wilds. Their scales, teeth and claws are commonly utilized for everyday civilian uses, as well as for parts in many moderately powerful hunting weapons and armor.

When hunting them, as with many monsters, it is best to stay mobile, and attack the fiendish hunters from the side with broad swipes of your weapon or with spreading ammunition, as they have little defenses and their scales stand up to little punishment. The faster you kill a lone member, the more time you'll have to prepare for the other members of the pack, who will come looking for it. That said, if a drome should arrive, or even worse if you happen upon their nesting site, you should exercise extreme caution. They will surround you, and even if your armor is too thick for them to penetrate, they will still use their superior agility to tackle you, pin you to the ground, and wear at you until you, some way or another, perish. This harrowing experience has befallen many a great hunter. The famous hunter scholar Locke once wrote, 

    'You hear them coming long before you can see them, the blue devils. They are of exceptionally keen sense, especially the big ones. But for all their bluster and numbers, they rarely can truly get the true drop on a hunter worth their mettle. Why, I once in my travels rode with a woman of the Yukumo region, who possessed a blade so sharp, with senses to match, that she could cleave one of the azure rascals clean in two in one swipe as it leaped at her, unwittingly to its own undoing. That said, she, like many a hunter too confident for their own good, believed the beasts beneath her notice, and that is what led to HER own undoing. You see, she happened upon the one place where no hunter should desire to find, the bowels of one of the blue devils' nests. Were it not for a particularly vile stink bomb my felyne friend happened to have found earlier in the stomach of a mosswine, I fear I too may have met my end there, and that this book should have ne'er been written.'



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Oh look I did a thing! Wow, I didn't know I did those anymore!

Anyway, I normally would use this space to go on about what I'm doing and what I plan to do, but with the schedule I have right now, I'll have to take a rain check on that and get back to you. Until then, enjoy the thing!

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Considering starting this series up again. I need something fanart related to keep me busy while my kaiju series is being built.