Katt's timeline
A quick rundown of life events from childhood to present
Age 7: Katts badly cuts herself on her grandmother's hunting knife. It leaves a permanent scar on her left palm. The accident causes a huge fight between her dad and grandmother who were already on shaky terms. This leads to her grandmother being banned from visiting. They still communicate through letters.
Age 9: Katts' mother passes away in an accident. Her father spirals becoming overly strict, distant, and depressed. He bans her from visiting the local forest and tries to squash her desire to be a hunter like her grandmother. Attempts to keep her from writing to her grandmother as well but all this fails.
Age 13 (almost 14): Katts manages to drive off a small pack of Jaggie (no G. Jaggie present) to protect her friends. Gets her (surprise) first kiss from one of the girls in thank you. She's later yelled at by her father who is upset she was playing in the forest when he's told her she's not allowed.
Age 14: she runs away from home while her father is away. She manages to get help from the local Guild office to get to her grandmother. She lies and tells them her grandmother is expecting her, using an old letter to convince them. When contacted her grandmother collaborates on the story.
Age 14-20: her grandmother trains her to be a hunter. She specializes in the dual blades and bow as her grandmother says it's good to have options. Her grandmother is more enjoyable to be around but is still a rather strict person. She makes Katts keep to a tight schedule, keeps her hair short (for practicality), and also makes her continue her studies and schooling.
Katts befriends Archimedes, the grandson of her grandmother's palico, Arturo. He later becomes her official palico.
Age 21: Katts becomes an official guild member and begins taking quests and traveling. She meets Donovan, a 23 year old hunter, after the Guild sends her to aid him in a quest. They make a good team and he asks her to travel with him. A few weeks later he kisses her which confuses and upsets her. He apologizes and gives her space to think about it. Sometime after they start to date. Archimedes does not like him.
Age 22: Katts gets injured while she and Donovan are fighting an azure rathalos. A few days into her recovery he takes the opportunity to visit a nearby city, a day's journey away. Five days later Katts follows him on a caravan heading that way, thinking to save them both time as their mission was completed. She's directed to his family's home where she stumbles on him with another woman. They have a fight and she ends up punching him, breaking his nose, and breaking up with him*
Age 23: Katts' grandmother passes away. For several months Katts mourns before Archimedes persuades her to return to hunting. They continue hunting solo, going where the Guild needs them, the next few years. Katts also grows her hair out.
Age 26: Katts applies to join the research commission's 5th fleet in an attempt to start a new, less lonely life. She is accepted and makes the journey to the new world. Before she leaves she sells her grandmother's old home.
In the days before the ship is set to sail she -literally- runs into Alexst. She's too embarrassed to look at this very tall man she smacked into so later when they become acquainted she never realizes he's the same person. He does recognize her and takes notice of her several times on the ship. He thinks she's adorable.
Age 26-28: The events of World and Iceborn. During this time Katts develops a crush on Daichi due to his earnest kindness, pride in her, and other sundry qualities.
She and Alexst rise to the top ranks of the commission's hunters.
It is also during these years when the Admiral develops a fondness for her and begins treating her somewhat like a daughter. After overhearing a comment about how lonely her life was before she joined the commission, he quietly makes inquiries about her family through the Guild. The Guild mistakenly contacts her estranged father who, upon learning where his daughter is, officially disowns her.
Daichi is the one that brings Katts the letter with this news and is there when she breaks down over it. At this point she opens up and tells him a little about her childhood and why she joined the commission. This helps strengthen their friendship.
Age 28: (nearly 29): Katts and Alexst face an Alatreon together and she's grievously injured in the fight. During her initial recovery she's tended to heavily by Daichi which heightens her feelings toward him.
A month or so later members of the Guild come to the commission to request aid against what they suspect is Fatalis. Among the party of Guild Knights is Donovan, who has only recently joined the ranks. He and Katts have a small altercation when he tries to speak to her and is rebuffed.
Alexst joins the Fatalis expedition but Katts is still injured and cannot.
It is while the expedition is away that the Admiral convinces Katts to let him officially adopt her.
Age 29: Six months after leaving, the Fatalis expedition returns successful. Donovan now tries to make a proper apology which Katts accepts though she's still unwilling to be on friendly terms. Before he returns home they become lukewarm acquaintances which he laments but understands. Archimedes still doesn't like him.
Age 30: The Admiral requests that Katts go and aid his old friend Fugen in Kamura. Katts, still unsure how to deal with her feelings for Daichi, accepts in hopes that the time away will give her clarity.
Age 32: Katts returns from Kamura/Elgado after being gone longer than intended. She finds it difficult to face Daichi, finding her feelings toward him have increased in her time away. She avoids him for several days which causes a fight between them. During this she confesses her feelings for him. Both finally open up to each other about how they feel and subsequently begin dating.
(Below is some major AU stuff outside the canonical timelines of World, Iceborne, Rise, Sunbreak, and Stories 2)
A few months later the commission is sent the 15 year old grandson of the Commander's brother. This is Kyle who, unbeknownst to him, was sent to the new world for his own safety. Not all the Guild hunters who aided Zellard were caught and the Scrivners and Kyle's father both feared a strain of corruption in the Guild and retribution toward those that stopped Oltura.
Six months later they are also joined by the now 16 year old Kitkat. She and Poundcake crossed the ocean by themselves. Kitkat was also sent by the Scrivners working with Kyle's father and unaware of her potential danger.
Kyle is furious his father let Kitkat travel across the ocean alone and without telling anyone. She doesn't see what the big deal is.
Katts gets along well with both children.
*Before meeting Katts, Donovan was already planning on breaking his engagement. It was made when he was rather young and his time spent as a hunter had shown him it had been a mistake.
He did not intend to pursue Katts when he asked her to join him but he also didn't stop himself when he started to develop feelings for her. The whole time he told himself he needed to break things off properly with his fiance but found excuses not to.
The village they were protecting when Katts gets injured was conveniently, or perhaps inconveniently, close to his home city. He decided it was time to properly end things with his fiance while Katts recovered. Upon reaching the city though, he spends several days hiding in the Guild house. He does this instead of going to his parent's home where he would be unable to avoid being made to see his fiance.
When Katts interrupts them he's only just been reunited with the other woman. Katts runs off and he excuses himself to chase after her, catching up while she's in front of his parent's home. After their fight, he returns inside and finally breaks things off.
He spends the next several years wishing he had done things the right way round and gradually rising in the ranks of the guild.