I’ve like barely talked about amelia (the handler) and marion’s relationship on here wtf. changing that starting NOW
if you’ve read the prelude of my mhworld fic, you’ll know that Salem and Amelia are the palico and handler of the main character, aka Marion - but, originally, they were assigned to a Fifth Fleet hunter. she was an older woman with years of experience under her belt who immediately took to her new work partners’ spunk and excitement, only to meet a tragic end sacrificing herself when Zorah Magdaros capsized the ship they were on. as her handler, Amelia took the news of her death hard. probably just as much as Salem did, altho unlike the felyne, Amelia’s had experience working with hunters before as a quest receptionist and knew this old hunter quite well. her dying just moments before Amelia crash-lands onto the New World was quite a rough start to this new chapter.
luckily, Salem met this mysterious hunter in the canteen and chose him to be their hunter, so there’s that! even better, he’s native-born to the New World and he’s the first officially licensed hunter here, so she had high hopes this would be a great new partnership - except… Marion wasn’t exactly wanting a handler. with their personalities already clashing, he made no effort to get to know her. to him, she was “the handler.” not his handler, not Amelia, just… the “handler”, whatever that was.
more below the cut you know the deal
however in true Marion fashion, he did nothing about it. he dealt with this forced partnership, did as he was told (even if it meant facing off a monster he’d never seen before, which only made him more nervous), and even risked his neck to keep her unharmed.
that being said? he failed his quests. a lot. he tolerated his losses before the Fifth Fleet arrived because he just trudged back to Astera, told the Commander the news, and went on his way. now, with Amelia at his side, he felt added pressure not just to succeed but also just… in the field. he had to tell her at some point to stay in camp and he’ll report back to her. he couldn’t handle her eyes on him, watching and judging him (so he thought). Amelia told herself to grin and bear it because she can tell he’s a great hunter, but… he takes forever on quests. if it’s a monster he’s hunted before, he’ll get it done decent enough - but if it’s a brand new monster that’s ambushed them in the field? marion is staying behind his shield and watching every movement the new monster makes to study it. even if it takes him multiple quests, he’ll get it done (and rather stubbornly so), but it becomes obvious to Amelia why Marion hunts alone.
it took until high rank for Amelia to appreciate his reasons why: the notes he delivers on monsters is thorough, down to which leg steps first for an attack. they form a tentative bond after that! which falls apart after the xeno’jiiva fight. I don’t have exact details about what happens but….
the truth about who actually hunted nergigante came out, and Amelia now knows that Marion lied to her and kept a major secret from her. he’s delivered his disciplinary action and Amelia gets assigned to being a quest receptionist again for the time being. when Marion is released, enough time has passed that Mars realized he should treat her better, and that Amelia could happily work with him, though not forgiving him for the lying.
eventually, around the time velkhana shows up in seliana and iceborne’s plot plays out, Amelia asks to be reassigned - really, she asks to be assigned to Frei, the wyverian they meet in the Hoarfrost Reach who takes care of her after she crash-lands (again) into the territory. it’s a hard talk with Marion, but it ends amicably, with the three of them still working together to face Ruiner Nergigante (and then, yknow, Shara Ishvalda).
by the end of Marion’s arc, they’re tentative friends! she helps him through the physical therapy (when he feels mentally well enough to even consider getting out of bed) and joins him for meals, and on the rare occasion Marion leaves his room, joins her and Frei before a hunt or expedition.
tldr; I think Amelia holds Marion at arms’ length for the majority of their time working together, as he does. she doesn’t dislike him in any way, but it’s pretty clear to both that they don’t work well together.
