Author's note: I'd like to leave a small note up here dedicated to The Unknowing Herald for his help with this first chapter of mine. Thanks bro!

DISCLAIMER: The following is a fan-made fiction based on the Monster Hunter series. I own only the story and characters, Monster Hunter itself is owned by Capcom.

If you enjoy the story, please feel free to review and leave your opinion. I will be sure to reply to any questions.

If you are ever going to end up at the top of the hunting heap, you must first make friends with your fellow hunters... Too bad they are so hard to understand! So join us at The Guild and follow the adventures of Max and his friends as they take on the beautiful world of Monster Hunter! We at the Guild look forward to your future patronage!

And so it begins...

Chapter I

A Present for the Armorer

Once upon a time, in the hunting village of Pokke.

Pokke Village has been through some of the biggest crisis the world has ever seen. It has been subject to attacks from numerous monsters throughout its long existence yet, despite being the small village it is, it is also a very brave one. It has repelled every attack from its predatory neighbors and it has even developed a means of fighting back, a Hunter's Guild.

Hunters are prepared and equipped to face any natural threats be them the fauna or the elements. It is the dream of every child or teen to become one and fight to defend his or her village and this is especially true in Pokke where all but the merchants, Guild Knights and Hunters are allowed to leave the village at night and, even then, daylight walks are also restricted (though with smaller restraints).

Rick is a middle-aged man from the Minegarde Capitol who has become a veteran hunter in this small village. Rick has a family to protect too and part of this duty involves not allowing his son become a hunter like him. Unfortunately, Rick is currently not in the village right now due to an urgent mission given to him by the village Elder herself (or Granny as everyone calls her) so, sadly, he shouldn't be present in the 16th birthday of Max, his son.

And so I introduce you to our 'protagonist', for lack of a better word, who will act as our eyes and ears in this story I wish to tell you.

Max is, as I've mentioned previously, young. He has spent his short life in the Furahiya Mountains, surrounded by nature and beauty that he has never really seen since he was never really 'out there' in the wild. He has learned how to hunt, sure, but he has never seen the sea or the beach. He also has never ventured beyond the limits of his birthplace more than 5 meters. He is stuck, imprisoned by an easy life, working the fields he will die on and there is nothing in the world that can hold him down much longer. He is determined to become a hunter, yes, but there is one last wall blocking his path. His parents.

And this is where our story starts.

"So, sixteen already, huh? Time really does go by fast… You were just a boy not too long ago. I wonder how much longer until my hair starts graying…" said Max's mother, Jeanne.

"Relax, Mom. It's tomorrow, remember? And you're not THAT old either, I bet you're still young enough to make every husband in the village jealous of Dad so don't think about it, OK?"

It was true, Jeanne was indeed a charming young mother and she was also the kindest of souls, to boot. She may have had a child quite soon for her age at the time but it was hardly noticeable. Her slender body had been kept in shape by the hardships of having to raise a child on her own, with the obvious exception of her ever-absent husband (a hard-worker as well). Her green eyes had seen a lot, most of it reminiscent of her years as a nurse and a smaller part of it from her years married to Rick too. Her hair was just as beautiful if not as interesting as her eyes, it was a golden river of long, straight hair, shining in the afternoon sun. She was personally proud of it, and rightfully so.

"I know dear, I was just teasing you. It's just that I never thought you'd turn 16 this quickly." She looked at her son. He looked just like his father in his youth. Max had the same brown mane his father called hair and the same facial features too. With the same slim body and long arms and legs and even the same fingers, Max stood taller than most boys his age. She thought he was a beautiful young boy but so did every loving mother when asked about the appearance of their own children. "You look like your father." She admitted. "Except your eyes, he's never had anyone in his family with your eye color." Hazel brown. Not a very extraordinary eye color but apparently it was quite uncommon in the Minegarde Capitol. His mother must've been the one to give him that one feature since she had brown eyes like his in her family.

"I know. Didn't you want me to deliver something to Lucia's dad?"

She staggered for a moment, remembering why she had called him to the house's kitchen. "Oh, right! I wanted you to take these Kelbi horns to him since your father forgot to do it before he left. Tell him it's a gift from Dad."

"Right." Max took the carefully wrapped gift in between his hands before storing it in his front pocket. He then turned to the door down the hallway but, before he could take another step, he felt he had to ask his mother one more question.

"Mom, do you think Dad will make it in time? He's been away from home for 3 days now and he said it wasn't going to be a very tough mission. He should be home by now."

She ignored his question, seeming too distracted with her cooking to answer him but, in the truth, she too knew Rick was a good hunter, he wouldn't miss his son's coming of age birthday for nothing in this world and yet she also knew that his latest Quest was nowhere near as simple as he had made it seem to his son. Max was waiting for an answer but he soon realized she mustn't have heard him. "No problem" he thought, he'd ask her again once he got back. And so he left.

It was warm outside, warmer than he was used to, even in spring. Maybe it was a sign of an early summer or a coming storm, filling the air with a different kind of warmth. Either way, he liked both possibilities. Lightning storms were his favorite weather.

He climbed down the small ledge next to the entrance to his house, down onto the street.

Pokke Village was a small agricultural village in the Furahiya Mountains, near the Snowy Mountains. It was a very profitable village, with plenty of resources, usually filled with visitors from other towns. Unfortunately, any would-be new villagers would have to share these riches with monsters native to the land, such as Giadrome, Blangonga, Bulldrome and even the ferocious Tigrex, hence the need for a strong Hunter's Guild.

Similar in structure to that of other villages, Pokke Village consisted of an armory and blacksmith shop, a general store next to it and a large farm down by the river that hunters could work on for resources and food. Near the pathway out of the village was the village's landmark, a huge boulder-like chunk of machalite ore, and standing by a campfire next to it was, as usual, the village's Chief, an extremely short and elderly woman who the locals affectionately referred to as "Granny".

Amongst other places of importance within Pokke Village was the Training School, where rookies would familiarize themselves with the native mountains, the wide range of weaponry, and the many monsters that roam the land. Inside the school, a large research facility had been built in recent years to aid the Guild's forces with scientific projects and experiments.

And last but not least, was the Guild Hall, which stood out as the biggest building in Pokke Village, located right next to the Training School, where hunters could choose to take on either solo or team quests. To assist any of the newcomers, there were 3 staff members who would supply hunters with different ranked quest contracts for the different Hunter Ranks.

Max's house was not too far from the blacksmith's shop, some 40 meters at best, so he was sure to be back before dinner was ready. As he approached the shop he saw two teens, a green haired girl and a taller, slightly older looking, brown haired boy (not much older than Max himself though) running past him towards the Guild Hall at the edge of the village.

Then Max heard the smithy's loud, booming voice shout, "Heyas! Max! How're you doing my boy? It won't be much longer before I start calling you 'Sir' now will it?" Max turned to him and approached him, package in hand. "No it won't, mister Fergusson. It's tomorrow."

"Tomorrow, eh? And when are you bringing a lass home? You know, I started dating Lucia's mother when I was your age and though, as you know, marriage can sometimes be a bit of a gilded cage, it has a ton o' benefits."

Max couldn't help but smile at the smithy's statement. He was always the funniest member in the village community, even in the village meetings. Max was fond of his 'always up, never down' motto.

"Just now I saw that young girl come here, asking me to repair her a dagger she needed for the Hunter Exam this Saturday. Thing is, she didn't have the money for it. Next thing I know, the poor girl breaks down in tears right here, in front of the shop!"

"What? But why? I know the Exam's a bit hard but couldn't she take another dagger? Or maybe buy a cheaper one from your shop?" 'A hunter's weapon is a hunter's soul, given form' is what Rick would always say regarding hunter equipment. And yet, the girl's reaction sounded a bit off… or could it be something else? Maybe it was more than just a dagger to her…

Ferguson seemed to agree, as he then suggested, "You know boy, perhaps it was the last dagger she had. And I don't think she had the money to buy another one either… With no money and no weapon to sustain her hunts, how could she make a living? But enough o' that, the point of the matter is, as soon as she fell down on her knees right here, her gentleman of a boyfriend showed up with a big bag o' zeni, ready to pay for the repair! If that ain't a heart melter then I don't know what is!" He then turned, pointing his gloved finger at Max when he finally noticed the small package in Max's hands. His bearded face then seemed to shrink into a small brush as he leaned forward, trying to make out what it was.

"Wha's this?" he asked, unsure of the safety of its contents as he took it from Max's hands with overly careful gestures.

"It's a gift. Dad wanted to deliver it before he left for his quest but he forgot to bring it here. So Mom told me to bring it here." The smithy's face suddenly went very somber. He seemed to have something on his mind.

He then started unwrapping the Kelbi horns very slowly and, as he finally saw them, his already gloomy face got even darker. He whispered as if talking to himself, "I know what this is. I know why he sent it."

Then, as if noticing the boy's curious face for the first time, he swallowed hard, coughed loudly and put the gift aside, hidden from sight. He smiled then, as if upon waking to find a wonderful morning just outside his house. He said, "Tell me, huh, Max. How old are you right now?"

That was a sudden shift. He hadn't heard everything the smithy had muttered to himself but he was sure he was hiding something. "I'm 15 right now though I'll be 16 tomorrow. Did you like your present, Mr. Fergusson?"

"Oh yeah, yeah I did! He knows I've been running low on these so he must've grabbed some on his last excursion. It's just that I keep forgetting just how fast you kids grow now!" True, it wasn't more than 5 minutes ago that Max's mother had said the same thing. Maybe Max was just overthinking things. After all, it wasn't like the smithy to hide anything from him or anyone else in the village since he was generally honest with all matters that concerned him. "You know, you could become a hunter just like your father couldn't you?"

Max took a deep breath. He had had this conversation with his father many times in the past. Sadly, he had never managed to convince his parents to let him become a hunter. "Mom and Dad won't let me. They say it's too dangerous… I keep telling them it's my dream but they don't even give me a chance. Dad taught me how to hunt but he won't let me do it no matter how much I beg him! What did he give me all that training for anyway then? Didn't I prove myself to him already?!" He realized he was shouting and people were starting to stare now. He needed to calm down now. There was no use yelling at Fergusson.

"That's a shame it's what it is… You would make a fine hunter. My Lucia wants to enroll too but I can't bring myself to stop her. She says she doesn't want to be like her older siblings. Merchants the both of 'em." Said Fergusson, thinking about his twin son and daughter. "And I won't stop her. She's as happy as I've ever seen her. But enough o' that, it's getting late and I don't want to worry your mother so get going now, will you?"

"I didn't know Lucia wanted to be a hunter. I guess I'll ask her about it tomorrow." It was getting dark, now would really be the best time to leave. Mother should be expecting him. "Bye Mr. Fergusson! See ya tomorrow!"

He turned his back on the shop and walked away but before he could walk more than 10 meters, he heard a low 'Psst!' calling him from the alley right next to the Armory. Waiting in the shadows away from her father's sight was one of Max's childhood friends, Lucia.

"Max. Come over here, I want to talk to you."

Lucy was, as I've already mentioned, a friend of Max's regardless of her father's attempts to make the 'two lovebirds' become a little more than that… Lucy was too independent and she liked Max in a sisterly way so there had never been anything other than that between the two and Max was fine with that too. Not that Max would ever agree that Lucy wasn't attractive either.
Lucia was tall for her age and very lean as well, despite being a very active young girl. Her hair was an almost white-ish light blue and her eyes were a pair of orange-red opals that shone in sharp contrast to her hair color. She had always been very calm and collected even as a child when she would frequently act as the voice of reason of the group. This was something that Max really appreciated about her, she didn't act rashly like most of their friends. Instead, she always took her time to weigh out the consequences and she never broke under pressure even in the worst scenarios. She rarely spoke out her opinion but Max had learned to trust her when she did.

"What? Can't you see me? Move."

"I know Lucy, I can see you just fine…" To be honest though, it was kind of hard to notice her figure standing perfectly still under the shade between the houses. "I just didn't notice you were there."

"Then get over here, and be quick about it." She hushed.

Max took a quick look at the Armory to make sure Fergusson was too busy to notice him before joining Lucia in an improvised hiding spot right next to a nearby tree.

"What is it then?" He asked as he tried to find a comfortable position behind the brushes. He eventually gave up, sitting down in the dirt instead. "And why are we hiding? Why can't we talk in front of the shop?"

"I heard you talking to Father. You said your parents won't let you become a hunter?"

"I did. And they won't, they're too scared that I'll run into too much danger if I go out there. I tried talking to them but they just won't listen." He paused to think. 'What is she so curious about, anyway? And why didn't she want to talk in front of the shop?' "I guess I'm gonna have to become a merchant now."

"I see. But do you really have no choice? I thought your dad was fine with hunting, being a hunter and all."

He was getting ready to answer when it finally hit him, Lucia was afraid. She might not show it as clearly as others might, but he knew she rarely expressed any sort of strong emotions.

He had had no idea she wanted to become a hunter until Fergusson told him and, now that he thought about it, without him to join her in her hunts, things would get a bit complicated for her.

She had had a few friends to play with as a child but all of them had been introduced to her by Max. None of them had any sort of real connection with her.

She probably thought no one would hunt with her now, and she wouldn't be very wrong either. Most kids just isolated her because of her blunt moods and slightly cold behavior so she was sure to find herself doing most Quests alone. And, with no one to hunt with or help her, she was very likely to die alone out there.

"I- Lucia, do you know anyone that's doing the Exam with you?"

"Of course I don't. There aren't that many candidates this year so it was mostly just you, me and a few more from nearby villages." She said as she crossed her arms under her breasts.

She was preparing to elaborate upon this when she suddenly looked at him with a deadly glint in her eyes and said, "You better not be worried about me, Max, I'm not as harmless as you think. Now, answer the question." He had no choice but to comply, the venomous tone dripping from her voice demanded it.

"I've talked to my father. He disapproves and, like I said, becoming a merchant is the only choice I got if I want to see the world. Trust me, there is no way I'll be able to persuade my parents, they didn't even bother explaining what's got them so scared." He looked at her, feeling suddenly very sorry for her and even angrier at his parents. He loved them, he really did, but there was no way he would ever understand this one choice they had taken for him. And, right now, that choice was affecting others than him.

He got up. "I'm your friend, Lucy. If you pass the exam and no one joins you, you're as good as dead. So don't think for a second I'm not worried." He looked at her for a second before adding, "Listen, it's getting late and I gotta go. Can I talk to you tomorrow?" She slowly shook her head, closing her eyes as she did.

"I'll be working in the forge tomorrow." She opened her eyes and turned to him. "Just don't be mad at them, alright? Your parents, I mean. They must have a reason not to let you join the Guild. You just need to trust them right now."

She was right. Dad wouldn't teach him how to hunt only to change his mind years later for no good reason. There had to be something else. "Yeah, I suppose you're right. Thanks Lucy, I'll talk to Dad when he gets back. Have a good night."

"You too, Max." She turned away and left for the back door to her house, just behind the shop. Max stood there for a second, thinking about the approaching Hunter Exam, until his stomach awkwardly reminded him of just how hungry he was even before leaving the house. He hurried back across the village, lead by the smell of Furahiya Meat being cooked.

Will Dad be back in time for the birthday?

The Next Morning

Max had had trouble falling asleep that night, most likely due to the bursting stomach he had after devouring half the table in a matter of seconds at dinner. He must've been more tired than he had thought but, sadly, no tiredness could compare to the huge stomach-ache he had right now.

But no matter, it had been a delicious experience, however brief. Probably one of the few advantages of the days when Dad wasn't home was that there were more leftovers for Max and his mother (an excellent cook I might add). As he started to wake up, he remembered how Dad hadn't gotten home yet. Not even last night. Max was restless now, everyone had been acting strange lately and he was starting to grow slightly worried since Dad never took more than 2 days with easy quests or 3 with the hard ones. This time, he had been gone for 4 days already! And he still wasn't home! What if something happened?!

"Y'know, when I was your age, I used to climb the trees and walls in the outskirts of town with my friends and I'd never stop moving no matter what. I would always get up before the sun and I'd always come home after it was gone, so I was always on the run. You seem to be made of lazier stuff than me, it seems!" Max suddenly felt a powerful poke, perfectly aimed at his still unstable belly, forcing him to bend over in pain as he tried not to puke its contents all over his bedroom.

As he started collecting his thoughts, he realized he had just been poked by a tall man sitting on the edge of his bed. This man looked "just like" him. He had a very similar hair style except his was completely white and slightly shorter. He also had the same slim but fit figure and even his facial features were the same as Max's! All except for a pair of piercing blue eyes with the color of the sky and the same soothing effects.

"Dad!" Max said as he jumped out of the bed sheets, onto his father's arms. "What took you so long? I was actually starting to get worried!"

"Starting to? What do you think I am? A low rank?" he joked. "Nah, I just went through a bit of trouble this time, nearly got caught by a pair of apes too. It would seem that little Granny switched my contract papers with someone else's 'cause as soon as I got to the site wearing my Mafumofu winter clothes and noticed I was in the middle of the Old Desert, I realized something was wrong! She was supposed to have given me a contract to the Snowy Mountains so imagine just how I felt once I got there… Silly Granny." They both laughed together for a bit before Rick got up and said in his usual, well-humored voice. "Now get up you lazy slug or I'll knock you down myself, ya hear me? Just 'cause it's your birthday doesn't mean you can just spend all day sleeping! So get up!"

Max quickly rolled out of bed, landing hard on his feet. His belly was still hurting but right now, he felt like jumping for joy. His father was his idol, not only for being a High-Ranking hunter but also because of what an amazing dad he was too. He saw his father smiling at him with his trademark grin and so he responded with a smile of his own.

"So, what did you bring me this time? And don't you try to hide it, old man. I can tell when you're hiding a surprise!"

His father laughed at how easily his son had seen through him and, just as expected of him, he surrendered.

"Alright, alright! You win this year too but that means nothing! I can still beat you at chess!"

Now it was Max's turn to laugh. "Only because you never bothered to teach me the rules correctly! You always come up with new rules in the middle of the game and blame my distractions for it! And don't you go changing topics, I want to know what you're hiding, Dad!"

His father then seemed to get slightly more serious but he still didn't drop that smile of his.

"Well, I guess 16 IS a special age with all that coming of age going on so I decided I'm gonna take you down to the lake this afternoon. I wanna talk to you about something and right now I've got an old woman to go yell at. So sit tight until then, alright?"

Well, this was interesting. What could Dad want to talk to him about? They had argued about the possibility of Max's career in hunting before his dad's last mission and the answer had still been a pretty solid "No". Maybe he just wanted to talk about his other career choices.

"Alright, I'll wait." And of course he had to wait. He was good at finding out most of his father's secrets but the ones he didn't were usually the ones Dad would never give away. This one seemed to be the case.

"Good boy." Said Rick as he turned and left Max's room but just as he was crossing the door he added, "Oh, and Drew's looking for you though I told him to wait 'till later when we get back from the lake. I know what it's about so I talked to him a second ago and he agreed to wait. Don't you go asking him though, it's a surprise."

Max nodded, he remembered Drew. Drew was another of Max's childhood friends (if not his best friend) who had become a hunter a year before since they were around a year apart in terms of age. Drew had stopped dropping by the village as frequently as he used to about halfway through last year so it had become harder for them to keep contact.

"Right. Is this related to my present?"

"It is, now don't you go spoiling it before it's time, alright? Took me a while to put this up for ya."

Max agreed as he then spent the rest of the day focusing on the tasks at home. The house needed to be cleaned, dishes needed to be washed and clothes had to be tidied up. It was only later in the afternoon that Max remembered it was his birthday when he was ambushed by a mob of neighbors as he was taking out the trash. Once he got rid of them he took a break which was also cut short by his father who was calling him over to the hallway.

"Get your fishing pole and let's go." He said. Max obediently hurried through the corridor into his room and not too long after came hurrying back into the hallway, pole in hand.

"We're going fishing?"

"That's right, you and I are gonna get some quality Father-Son time on our own so waddya think?"

"Could be worse. If we didn't have two fishing poles you would probably scare away all the fish and then we'd have to walk back home with no dinner." He held his fishing pole triumphantly. "At least with this pole here I'll be able to grab something for Mom and I. Dunno about you though."

His father smiled at him. The possibility of a duel crossed both of their minds. It was going to get rough as soon as they reached the lake and they knew it. After all, all's fair in love and war.
Especially war.

Sometime later, as they arrived upon the shore of the lake located just next to the Misty Mountains, Max started recollecting. He knew this area, he and his friends had come here in days their parents thought they were studying. It brought many wonderful memories all of them empowered by the thrill of escaping their parent's sights. His dad had brought him here few times as well, under the pretext of hunting lessons (it was all just 'quality Father-Son' time).

The moment they started getting ready for the fishing, though, Rick called out Max to remind them of why they were there.

"Max, remember when I said I wanted to talk to ya?"

"Yeah, what is it about?" He had been excepting this. Not that he hoped for much but Max couldn't help but feel slightly interested. He pulled back the fishing pole, scanning the lake for a good spot to aim at.

"You're 16 now. So I've been thinking about your future real hard for a while now. You know what I'm talking about, right?" He pulled back his pole too.

"Ya, I know. The Exam's tomorrow. Lucy and Ginny are going to be there, you know? Lews has already become a hunter last year and so has Drew. Even Dave and Kari are hunters. Why not me?" He threw his bait over the water, missing a school of mackerel by a couple of meters. He started pulling it back.

Rick sighed for a moment before throwing his bait too, ending up missing the school as well. "You know why. I don't want you to run the risks I do. Not when I know exactly what you're facing here." He pulled back his bait.

"That's what you keep telling me." Max threw the bait, missing again. "But I don't buy it. Why would you teach to hunt only to tell me 'No' once I grew up? It doesn't make sense."

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. You need to understand that with or without training, you're still my son. And because of that, I can't let you become a hunter or at least-"

"And for that you punish me? I thought you WANTED me to become a hunter!" Max had forsaken his abandoned bait floating uselessly in the middle of the lake. He was mad at how stubborn his dad was being. At how selfish he was behaving. Max was just flaming furious and ready to burst. "All these years, I thought you knew how important-"

"OR AT LEAST SO I THOUGHT!" His father shouted, echoing his voice throughout the valley, scaring away the nearby herbivorous Popo herd.

He turned to his son with a serious look in his eyes. He seemed tired, even more than he had seemed to that morning.

"Because of that, I can't let you become a hunter or at least so I thought." He finished. Turning back to his fishing, Rick started re-aiming his fishing pole before continuing. "I thought I was thinking too hard, trying too hard to make you a hunter. I thought I was so much in love with my career, I had forgotten all of its risks and all of its dangers."

He had calmed down and was now talking as much to his son as to himself. Max was shocked, he had never heard his father shout like that or change his mind about something so suddenly. He had now truly forgotten about his bait, his fishing pole and even the lake. For all he knew, he might as well be stranded in the Old Desert just like his dad was not a few days back.

"But I hadn't." He continued. "I still thought about the monsters, the weather, the shortage of supplies, etc. None of it mattered. It is still a world worth living in and I'm damn happy I chose it." He looked at his son one more time before declaring,

"I've taught you all I know about hunting and you're a grown man now. I want you to be a hunter just as much as you do and that's why tomorrow morning you'll be joining your friends in the Hunter's Guild Exam. I wish you luck son."

Max was now effectively stunned but even before he could react or thank his father properly, he felt something incredibly strong pulling at his pole. He grabbed it quickly just before the pole attempted to fly away into the water.

"Dad!" He shouted. "Dad, it's huge!"

Realizing what was going on, Rick dropped his own pole and stood up to help his son but, even with his help, the fish was still able to fight back. They could feel it, probably the size of a man judging by its strength.

"It's a Wyvernfish! We need to pull it on the count of three!" Rick yelled. "Ready? One! Two! Three!" They both pulled as strongly as they could but, to no avail, the fish was still in the water, fighting with enough power to pull the both of them into the lake's crystal clear waters.

"Again!" Max shouted. "One! Two! Three!" They pulled again, bending the pole to its limits, this time with slightly better results. The fish was now struggling to stay underwater. One more pull would do it.

They could now see it in the water, a monstrous thing swimming downwards towards the bottom of the lake, attempting to escape its terrible fate with all the strength it could muster. The fish was large, even for its kind. He could feed a family for a week if cooked properly.

"Again!" Yelled the two of them. "ONE! TWO! THREE!" Pulling one last time, the fish was unable to resist them as he was immediately catapulted over the water, flying overheads into the grass. They had succeeded in their attempt to catch the man-sized fish at the cost of their fishing pole which, sadly, broke in their final effort. It was, nonetheless, a worthy and noble sacrifice.

Post Chapter note: And there goes my first chapter. I have to admit, I was pretty nervous about this one since I immediately noticed my main weakness as I started working on it. That weakness being the difference between imagining the concept for what I want to create and the actual execution of that idea. Anyway, I honestly hope you enjoyed it and I ask that you leave a review with your opinion, questions and criticism ;P