Heat-Seeking Behavior

"Martin C" is a professional hunter of magical beasts stationed in Utah, recently given the go-ahead by the Magical Beast Research sub-branch of the military to select a long-term hunting partner. Every human option is a poor fit for his practical and mostly humane methodology, but as the time ticks down until he's assigned a (likely useless) partner automatically, he makes a last second decision. Kynde (KIN-dee) is a broad and general term for the unique human-passing magical beasts that don't fit under any typical classification. One in particular, KD000-002, is currently being housed by the Magical Beast Research team, which pulled it from a period of hibernation. It reacted violently, killing a researcher in the process. Nearly a year after, it was added to the available pool of tamed magical beasts for hunters to partner with as an afterthought. They don't expect it to be selected by anyone sane. After all, who would take that kind of risk? A mostly slice of life story about two people adapting to a world not made for either of them, killing monsters along the way.  Cover art by David Rodrigues