oh and another request! where the hunter goes missing for unknown reasons (could possibly be dead or what)
how would the group cope, especially Erik? extra angst please!
Sure!
How The Gang Reacts to The Hunter Going Missing (Or Worse)
Alma:
She is the last person to accept that something may have happened to you. After all, you are one of the most capable hunters she's ever known.
Alma keeps all your materials, reports, quest notes, and the like exactly where you left them; untouched on a table near the tent.
Every time someone enters base camp, she looks up because part of her expects it to be you, stepping over to her and apologizing for being so late.
She keeps checking the horizon, hoping to see your Seikret crest the hill.
Alma keeps rereading old mission reports, trying to distract herself, but only losing that battle each time she reads your name.
When the others start talking about moving on and refusing to search for you anymore, Alma immediately shuts the conversation down. She can't bear to hear it.
She also insists that hunters disappear for days sometimes, and her voice is calm when she says it to others. However, when Alma is alone, she can't help but repeat the words you said to her before you left:
"You said you'd be back before sunset..."
Gemma:
Gemma doesn't talk much about you being gone. Some think that she's not worried, but that's not true. She just copes in a different fashion.
She throws herself into the forge. The sound of hammering metal echoes through camp far later than usual, but no one dares tell her to stop.
Gemma keeps a weapon of yours by her workstation. She keeps it polished and sharpened, like you might walk in at any moment and pick it up.
If anyone suggests storing your equipment away, she refuses immediately.
Late at night, when the forge burns low, she sometimes sits quietly staring at your weapon. At all the scratches and dents on it that reminds her of all the hunts you've survived.
That's the thought she clings to.
"You'll come back...you always have..."
Nata:
Nata takes your disappearance personally. After all, you were one of the first people he met and told his story too. You took him under your wing.
After you vanish, he becomes much quieter around base camp.
He spends a lot of time near the outskirts, staring out at the wilderness.
Sometimes he insists on joining search parties even though the others worry about him. Nata still believes you are alive somewhere. He refuses to consider any other possibilities.
To him, you're the strongest hunter he's ever met. When the adults start sounding uncertain, he stubbornly argues:
"They survived worse monsters than anything out there."
Werner:
He copes by focusing on logistics and equipment. Werner isn't one to get overly wrapped up in emotions. Instead, he uses his feelings and makes it practical.
He organizes extended search routes and prepares supplies for anyone heading out to look for you.
On the outside, he appears calm and collected.
But he checks maps constantly, running through different scenarios of where you could have gone. If anyone scouting for you comes back with strange tracks or disturbances, he immediately studies the report and what it could mean.
Werner doesn't openly talk about you being gone, but he quietly makes the search radius bigger and bigger.
Because stopping the search means accepting the worst.
"They are out there, and we will find them. There is no room for error."
Olivia:
She reacts with action, not sitting back quietly.
Olivia personally leads several patrols into dangerous areas to try and find you. If there's monster territory or uneven terrain, she volunteers without hesitation.
Her hunts become more aggressive than usual.
Every monster she encounters is taken down quickly and brutally. Athos starts to worry for her wellbeing, but it's the only outlet she has for the anger and frustration building inside her.
When someone dares suggest that you might not have survived, Olivia immediately shuts down the conversation.
Her voice is cold when she responds. She refuses to give up on you.
"Until we find proof, the search continues."
Erik:
He takes your disappearance the hardest. The two of you have had shared personal moments that no one else really knows about. Erik has strong feelings towards you, and you missing, it feels like someone ripped his heart right out of his chest.
At first, he tries to approach things rationally. Hunters go missing during expeditions due to injuries, storms, territorial monsters, so there are plenty of explanations.
So, he throws himself into research.
His desk starts to fill with maps. Erik studies monster migration patterns, behavior, environmental changes, and terrain routes you could've taken.
Erik barely sleeps, and while that may not be anything new, people like Olivia and Werner notice the strain and worry he now carries.
If anyone asks why he's suddenly pushing himself so hard, he brushes it off as just analyzing the situation. But again, people closest to him suspect the truth. Erik is desperately looking for any explanation that means you might still be alive.
Eventually, someone finds something of yours—torn piece of fabric, your field journal, something with your blood on it—and everyone falls silent when it's placed on the table.
Someone starts to explain what they think happened, be it a monster attack or a nasty fall, and they don't think that you managed to make it.
Erik's reaction is shocking. He slams his hand on the table hard enough to rattle everything on it.
"You don't know that."
It's the first time anyone's heard him sound so angry.
Erik becomes even more determined to find you. Against Olivia's wishes, he starts leaving camp on his own to try and find traces. He looks for things that people may have overlooked be it tracks or something else.
Because if he can find one piece of evidence that means you might be alive, then there is still hope.
Poor guy starts going back and forth through the five stages of grief. He's depressed, angry, he begs and pleads for Olivia to help him looks for clues. Truthfully, Erik becomes a mess of emotions.
Some nights, Erik stands at the edge of camp—ignoring his research or anything else that might have interested him earlier—staring out into the dark wilderness.
Somewhere out there, you might be injured. Lost. Waiting for help. He's not a hero, he knows that, but he so badly wants to rush out and see that you're okay. He clenches his fists and mutters:
"You're still out there."
He says it like it's a fact, and he has to believe it. Because if he stops believing it, well, he wouldn't know how to handle losing you.
