Roots Of Ruin (Monster Hunter Fanfiction)

The Pukei-Pukei's breathing came in shallow, shuddering gasps. Its vibrant plumage, once smooth and lustrous, bristled unnaturally, as if something beneath its skin was testing its limits. The venom sacs in its throat twitched and pulsed, struggling against an unseen force as its body convulsed against the infection now taking root within it.

The parasite moved with deliberate purpose, threading its way through muscle and sinew, weaving tendrils through its host's circulatory system. With each sluggish beat of the Pukei-Pukei's heart, the infection spread, coiling around its bones, slipping into its lungs, winding through its throat. The monster let out a strangled croak, the sound wet and unnatural, a mix of its own voice and the parasite's encroaching presence.

Then the first real mutation began.

The Pukei-Pukei's tongue, once long and flexible, thickened and cracked, splitting at the tip into tendrils lined with barbed edges. Its natural ability to spit venom remained intact, but now the liquid oozed from new, raw openings along its extended appendage, dribbling down its maw in thick, bubbling strands.

A violent shudder coursed through its wings, the membranes stretching unnaturally as tiny, hair-like growths began sprouting along the edges. The appendages flexed involuntarily, as if testing the new modifications the parasite had bestowed upon them. The once subtle camouflage patterns on its body warped, shifting as new, vein-like tendrils spread beneath the skin, glowing faintly with an eerie, bioluminescent pulse.

The Pukei-Pukei staggered to its feet, its movements jerky and uncoordinated. It swayed, wings flaring wide in an instinctive display of aggression, but the act was not its own. The parasite was learning, adjusting. Strengthening. The forest around it seemed to still, as if the very jungle held its breath in anticipation of what this thing was becoming.

It tried to fly.

The first attempt was clumsy. The second was smoother. By the third, the Pukei-Pukei launched itself into the air, its flight path erratic yet purposeful. The infection had taken hold. The jungle had a new predator.