Riven's eyes went wide the moment she saw Tatehan standing in the doorway. For a split second she just stared, like she couldn't believe he was actually there. Then her face broke into a huge grin.

"Tatehan!"

Before he could say anything, she practically lunged forward and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. Tatehan stiffened slightly, he wasn't used to this kind of greeting, but he awkwardly patted her back.

"Didn't think I'd see you today," Riven said, pulling back but still smiling. "Hell, didn't think I'd see you for another month at least."

Tatehan gave a faint smile. "Surprise."

Riven stepped aside, gesturing for him to come in. "Get in here. Don't just stand in the hallway looking all mysterious."

He walked in and she closed the door behind him, engaging the lock with a soft click.

The apartment was small—cramped, really. It was basically one large room that served as bedroom, living room, and dining area all at once. A narrow bed was pushed against one wall, unmade with blankets bunched up at the foot. A small couch sat near the center of the room facing a low table, and across from that was a cooking area separated only by a counter. The only doors led to what Tatehan assumed were the bathroom and a closet.

It wasn't much, but it was clean. Organized and lived-in at least.

Tatehan moved over to the couch and dropped down onto it, feeling the tension in his shoulders ease slightly. It had been a long ride.

Riven walked over to a shelf cluttered with various items—books, tools, random tech components, and started rummaging through it.

"Was starting to think you got married to one of those monsters out in the wastelands," she said over her shoulder, her tone teasing.

Tatehan grimaced. As funny as it was supposed to sound, the mental image was just gross. He couldn't imagine marrying one of those ugly, grotesque creatures. The slime-monkey monster from earlier flashed through his mind and he nearly shuddered.

"Definitely not," he muttered.

Riven laughed, then pulled something from the shelf, a can of some kind of beverage and a large vanilla-flavored candy bar. She turned and tossed both to him.

Tatehan caught them with fluid speed, his reflexes sharp, even more than an enhanced human ought to be.

"Not the healthiest stuff," Riven said with a shrug, "but eh, it's what I got."

Tatehan smiled faintly and cracked open the beverage. He took a long gulp. It was sweet, carbonated, with a slight citrus kick. Not bad. Then he tore into the candy bar, the rich vanilla flavor hitting his tongue immediately.

"So," Riven said, leaning against the counter and crossing her arms. "You ready for the monster-hunting core business? I'm guessing that's why you're here?"

Tatehan swallowed a bite of the candy bar and shook his head. "Not exactly. I just came to see you. Been a while since I saw your face."

Riven blinked, then her expression softened. "Oh. Well... that's actually kind of nice to hear."

They fell into conversation easily after that. Riven asked him questions, how the wastelands had been, if he'd run into anything crazy, whether he was finally ready to settle down in the city.

"So are you?" she asked, leaning forward slightly. "Ready to live here? In Waython Hollow?"

Tatehan nodded. "Yeah. Time to actually live in a city I guess."

The moment he said it, a thought struck him like a punch to the gut.

He hadn't taken any clothes from the spaceship.

When he'd stored the Red Dragon in his inventory, he'd been so focused on getting moving, on making progress, that he hadn't thought to grab any of the spare clothes he'd seen in the storage compartments. He'd just... left them.

Now he was sitting here in his armor, with literally nothing else to wear.

He must have been putting way too much hope in the Red Crest Clan to handle things like that for him. Maybe they'd provide clothes? Or maybe he'd just have to buy some.

He dismissed the thought quickly. He'd figure it out. They'd give him something, probably.

Riven stood and walked over to a drawer near the bed. She pulled out a small device, a sleek, rectangular stuff, about the size of her palm, and set it down in the middle of the low table.

Tatehan watched her, curious.

"What's that?"

Riven just looked at him, a sly smile creeping onto her face. "You'll see."

She tapped the device, and immediately the lights in the room began to dim. The overhead fixtures went dark, the glow from the kitchen area faded, and within seconds the room was almost completely black.

The only light came from the device on the table.

It hummed softly, then projected a brilliant holographic display into the air above it. The image flickered for a moment before solidifying into a fully three-dimensional rendering of a creature.

Tatehan's eyes widened.

The thing looked like a rhinoceros, but only vaguely. It was massive, easily twice the size of any rhino he'd ever seen pictures of. Its body was covered in thick, jagged armor plating that looked more like stone than skin. Its legs were short but powerful, ending in clawed feet that dug into the ground. And its head... the head was grotesque. It had multiple eyes, six of them, arranged in two rows across its face, and a single enormous horn jutting from its snout. The horn was ridged and spiraled, glowing faintly with an internal light.

The hologram rotated slowly, showing the creature from every angle.

Tatehan looked at Riven, surprise clear on his face.

"What the hell is that?"

Riven's smile widened. "That'll be our first hunt together."

Tatehan stared at the holographic creature, watching as it pawed at the ground with one massive foot. Even in projection form, the thing looked dangerous.

"The beast contains two cores," Riven continued, her voice taking on a businesslike tone. "The usual one you'd find beside dead creatures after you kill them, and..."

She paused, letting the suspense build.

"And?" Tatehan prompted.

"The horn is a goddamn core," Riven said, grinning. "And I checked the internet, it's a rare one. Expensive as hell. If we get it, I'll finally have enough money to leave this cramped place and rent a good, spacious apartment."

She glanced around her small living space with a slight grimace, then looked back at Tatehan.

"Could probably help you get an apartment too, since you're broke."

Tatehan raised an eyebrow. As insulting as it might have sounded, she wasn't wrong. He was broke. Completely. He had shadow cores in his inventory, sure, but no actual money. No credits, no currency, nothing he could use to buy food or rent a place.

This could really help him.

But then a thought occurred to him.

"What will I get from this?" he asked. "My share, I mean. Good stuff?"

Riven nodded enthusiastically. "Yes. I'll sell your core for you, it'll be worth a fortune. We split it kinda fifty-fifty. I get the profit from the horn core, and you keep the profit from the regular core we find on the body. That one's all yours."

She'll get much better than him but he'll get quite a lot too.

He suddenly remembered something:

"What about the serpentine creature you were after before when I met you?"

She shrugged.

"Facing a creature like that will require more tactical planning and right now, it'll be much simpler and profitable going after this rhino like creature."

Tatehan smiled inwardly, this meant he would go after it, alone, later.

He leaned back on the couch, studying the hologram. The creature was rotating again, and he could see the way its muscles bunched beneath the armor plating. It looked strong. Fast, maybe. Definitely dangerous.

"How will we fight it?" he asked.

Riven tapped the device again, and the hologram zoomed in on the creature's head, focusing on the horn.

"The horn's the weak point," she said. "Well, not weak exactly, but it's where the core is. If we can break it off or damage it enough, the creature loses a lot of its power. It uses the horn to channel energy,some kind of ability related to charging and ramming. Without it, the thing's just a big, slow target."

"So we go for the horn first."

"Exactly."

Tatehan nodded slowly, his mind already working through the logistics. He thought about his abilities, his Gravity Manipulation, primarily. He could use it to slow the creature down, maybe even pin it in place if he focused hard enough. Or he could increase the gravity around its head, making the horn too heavy to lift.

His kinetic absorption ability would also come in handy, would greatly help if he could find the right punch. One punch!, like he did it Mub.

Then there was his armor, his weapons. The Devastator Hand Cannon had done serious damage to that slime-monkey. A few well-placed shots could probably crack the horn.

But then another thought crept in.

Should he tell Riven he had more than just Gravity Manipulation?

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