A soul cannot understand something beyond it, something outside it. As a human is a human, it will never be able to come to the same level of understanding something Other unless it becomes that Other. Only by reaching infinitely closer for an extrinsic thing can Man have the right to a full evaluation of it.

As a result, Man cannot understand death.

There is a reason for this. To understand death is to trap yourself in a desolate era, to confront the weakness and hesitance of the world itself. Even the earth and sky would seem ready to shatter at the slightest provocation, the world standing firm as a mere illusion that could shatter with the slightest push. Men cannot understand death, for if they do, their souls will falter under its all-consuming gaze.

-And that is precisely why these souls are stripped of their "everything".

Standing in a formless void, It receives them with open arms. As they have experienced death, they can now understand death, so action must be taken. Its hands move, distorting the flow of the void with enough strength to invalidate the very concept of a world. Regardless of what Man believes, It does not carry the same standards of thought as Man; It is something Other, and as such, Man will never be able to understand It. As such, Man will never be able to understand the reason for what It chose to do next.

The void is pierced by searing light, burning away that which the souls have acquired, and returning them back to their first precept.

However, before the process is finished, It stops the light. The souls remain, perfectly cleansed save for a single point upon each of them, a single thing retained.

Man will never be able to understand why It chose to act. They can assign words to feelings codified by Man, and attempt to apply them. Curiosity, boredom, idleness, expectation, they can apply these ideals to It all they want, but that is foolishness at its finest.

Regardless, we have wasted enough time here.

And so It sent them on their way.

---

A flowing darkness surrounds all. A pure darkness unlike any other, impenetrable by anything that is or could be. There was no light, no sound, no motion. There was only that transcendent black, endlessly expanding in all directions. And yet...rather than disturbing, this eerie ocean of black was calming. Like the feeling a child has when closing its eyes to sleep, like the fading world at the end of a play. The darkness is embraced with open arms and hearts, taken in like air and water as the warmth it brings is recognized.

Light pierces the dark. A lance stabbed upwards from the Kingdom Below, the light pervades this space of tranquil knowledge. The darkness is burned away, twisted and perverted by the all-consuming light. Fear strikes, as just moments after embracing the blackness, it is forcibly torn away. The warmth is replaced by a burning pain. Born from the interplay of shadow and light, figures take form, but they cannot possibly be acknowledged. No, the only site of importance is this light, this damnable light that takes away everything.

The light cools. The scars left from its searing pain throb in the recesses of existence as their cause recedes. The light returns, but this time it does not crush the darkness; this time it merely illuminates what was present. Eyes cracking open for the first time. Formless figures who steadily take shape as the light is adjusted to, beings that aren't recognized but still feel familiar.

A single word takes form in the mind, not spoken in a language but in something more primal, something that appeals to the deepest part of existence.

"Goblin."

And before the crowd of these now-awakening bodies stands a lone figure, looking out over them, watching them with a tired eye.

Come now, we've wasted enough time already. No sense in wasting any more.

Shiba yawned softly as if he had just woken up from a dream. Shibas first thought was to get up and figure out where he was but unfortunately it seemed he couldn't. Shiba then decided to just look around and it seemed like he was in a cave and he saw an old goblin nearby. Shiba raised his arms and saw he was green and already had long sticks through them (scars). Shiba looked around and his first thought was where do I get food? not really paying attention to what he could only assume were his brothers and sisters. They looked like him so he thought that they must be related. Shiba decided to just wave at one of them and see if they could see him...

Wake up.

A warm tingle, that's what Shonuk could feel. Arms, hands, fingers, legs, feet, toes, it was tingling all at once; the sudden rush of blood stimulating the nerves. It was a weird sensation, like something was pricking his skin. Gradually the pins and needles feeling subsided, and Shonuk was able to focus on other things. He realized he could hear other creatures moving around him. Grunting, mumbling questions, some that hadn't woke up yet were even snoring. Shonuk decided he didn't like these sounds, they were loud and he was tired. They smelled funny, too; these other creatures.

Shonuk blinked for the first time, and became aware of the fact that he could see. He first noticed that the other creatures around him all looked similar. They had greenish skin tones, some darker than others some lighter. After examining himself, he noted that he too was of the same complexion. So we're the same?, he wondered, it was his first thought. The other goblins also seemed to be waking up for the first time. Eyebrows raised, mouths open, shifty eyes, it was the look curiosity on their faces that gave it away. However, there was one individual that seemed to know what was going on. He stood away from the crowd of awakening goblins, overlooking them as they came to. He had a tired, almost bored, look on his face. Like he had done this a hundred times. How's he doing that? Shonuk wondered as he gazed at the upright goblin. That goblin was among the few that were standing.

Shonuk wiggled his toes, and uttered his first spoken sentence, "I got this." He too wanted to stand, to be above the others. His pushed himself off the ground, and slowly steadied himself. It only took a few seconds for him to get the balance right. His chest swelled with pride, but it was a brief victory. It wasn't long before the other goblins started to stand. "Well now what?" Shonuk grumbled.

Wake up.

He was warm. Trek opened his eyes for the first time. Light. Shapes. Colors. Things. All of them new to him, yet he understood it all. How could something be so new and yet just known? Instinct, perhaps?

There were others, as well. Trek watched them as they stirred, not moving himself until a couple were already standing. He started slowly, letting the life reach down throughout his body. He started with his toes, and let the warmth of life spread through his body before he sat up, followed by standing.

He moved slowly, taking things step by step, towards the others that were now moving about. He studied them. Various shades of green skin, his own being a darker green, ears, hands... All like his own. The only large difference, though Trek didn't know it yet, was that his eyeswere bright yellow, and burned with a certain intensity.

Finally, he opened his mouth.
"He..."
He stopped. Vocalization. Vibrations coming from his throat. What a strange feeling.

"H-Hello..."

For all the quickness that Garou’s eyes opened, the rest of his body remained deathly still. Any urge to move was quashed by the fact that his vision was still blurry, something that was thankfully fixed with a few slow blinks. Now that he could actually see the figures at the edge of his vision clearly, he sat up quickly to get a better feel for his surroundings.

The sudden motion was almost enough to send him back on the ground, blood rushing away his head, and instinctively his arm shot out behind to catch himself. The brief bout of dizziness passed in moments, though he spent those few seconds with a grimace plastered on his face. As he glanced around at the numerous other creatures around, the innate understanding that they were also goblins was present in his head. Wriggling his toes and fingers as he turned his gaze to the single creature that stood apart from them, Garou cocked his head to the side slightly in observation.

Though some of the other goblins seemed to already have taken to talking Garou didn’t feel any need to reply. He moved his jaw around a bit as he stood. Leaning backwards and forwards a few times helped with his sense of balance before he took a step forward cautiously. Given his legs felt solid enough that he wouldn’t simply keel over, Garou glanced about for anything of interest besides others of his kind. If there was nothing, then naturally he’d leave this room behind to search.

Wake Up.

Voxx's eyes shot open as his lungs began gasping for that sweet cave air, his nose in the dirt on the ground. All he saw was a dark brown, was this the world now? Cold, wet air and dry, dark dirt? He heard something though, something stirring. His eyes darted back and forth, body weak from sleep, but could not catch a glimpse of anything. Was he making that sound? Didn't feel like it.

"H-Hello..."

Voxx stopped breathing as soon as he had begun, what was that sound? Was it this brown expanse in front of him? Voxx became aware of his body, he wasn't just a floating head but he had more to use! Curling his fingers slowly, fingers cracking in the process, he brought on next to his face. Green. Well, that's a new color! But he wanted to find out what that sound was, or where it came from. He felt his other arm, then his two legs, blood rushing through them like a dam being destroyed in a raging river. All at once he felt energy, the need to go. Though, all he had known was this brown color with this green body. He tensed his left arm and felt himself rise, ever so slightly.

His left arm, palm against the dry dirt, pushed forward and soon Voxx was on his back. More colors! There was more to life besides this green body and that brown dirt! There was gray walls that looked jagged, there were other green bodies too! Several were using their arms to be tall. But they looked different than his arms. He strained whilst lifting his head to see if he had strange hands under him and he did! Now to figure out how to be like them and use those other hands. Somehow, Voxx managed to pull himself sitting upright, looking more at the world around him and the other green bodies. Using the nearby wall, Voxx used his new ability of pushing and curling his hands to climb the wall and use it as support to use his other hands. A few seconds passed and he was standing, with the help of a wall! He pushed off the wall but fell over from now knowing his strength.

Ow. Sitting down on the dirt he once thought was vast and fascinating, he tried to stand once more. This time it was easier for him, his other hands had more blood rushing to them. He saw another Goblin waving and tried doing that motion with his right hand, it was fun! Now...to figure out how to make that sound.

He saw the thing the other Goblin used, something on their head. A mouth, he guessed. Voxx opened and closed his, a click coming from him flicking his tongue. This would be harder than expected. He opened his mouth once more and strained to make any sound, eventually a groan escaped. He did it! Voxx made a sound! As if it was second nature, Voxx began sounding out the word.

"H....he....helllllllll.....hello. Hello. Helloooooo!" He started repeating, having fun with this new ability of standing and using his mouth to make noise. He turned to the left and saw another body, though it looked a different color, darker, standing away from the other Goblins. Voxx tilted his head, muttering "hello" still.

Wake Up.

While these were the first words Jaarm had ever heard, he not only knew what they meant but also what words were. Immediately he also realized he was tired and wanted to go back to sleep; however he heard other noises and even some other words; and his curiosity got the better of him. He slowly opened his eyes and saw several shadowy figures and came to the conclusion that they had to be Goblins as well.

As he kept studying his surroundings he noticed that the other Goblins were mostly different shades of green. After making that discovery Jaarm finally decided to check himself out, and indeed he was green as well. More shocking was the fact that he learned the names of his body parts : fingers, arm, hands; as he saw them. After a while he believed he knew enough about his body to imitate the standing Goblins.

It turned out to be easier said than done, as Jaarm's first try resulted in falling back down before he even managed to sit. For his second attempted he tried to use his arms to push himself into a sitting position. After he had succeed at sitting he looked for something to grab on to as support and settled on a nearby stalagmite.

With the help of the stone pillar the young Goblin got up on his shaky legs for the first time. After finding his balance he let get and took his first step, only to end up laying on the ground again. After standing up for a second time, he used the cave-wall as support to help with walking.

Jaarm walked like this until he stood next to the Goblin closest to him and finally realized how short he was. Not wanting to draw attention to that he quickly sat down again, pretending to take a rest after the physical exertion. After a few seconds he realized this would be a good as time to practice talking. He opened his mouth. "E..el...elo." No that wasn't right, he had to try again. "Hel..lo" That sounded better but it was too slow. "Hello." He finally got it right.

One eye blinked open, then shut again. So much... Light. Tamarin stretched and groaned, then shut his mouth abruptly. What was that? From his mouth. A weird, guttural sound. He did it again, rolling onto his stomach as he did so. Was this himself? A thing that groaned and rolled, surrounded by a very bright light. He rocked back onto his back, opening his eyes again. He kept them open until the light didn't seem so bright any more, then he started to notice things. Bright blue sky above him. What was sky? Could he get there? Tall green foliage surrounding the sky. Maybe he could eat the plants with his mouth. That sounded like it would work.

With a slowness that betrayed the unfamiliarity Tamarin had with his body, he sat up and let out another sound. This one sounded more surprised, and it was because of the weird creatures that surrounded him. Short, ugly, green creatures. Goblins. He looked down at himself and saw the same green on his arms and legs. He was a goblin, too. Slowly, painstakingly, he got to his feet. Then his mouth began to work as he made his first coherent sentence. "I... am... T- Tam- Tamarin." He said it again. "I am Tamarin." He liked the sound although his voice wasn't very pleasant. Excited, he ran- walked very quickly and unsteadily- to the other goblins, repeating the sentence again and again excitedly.

Wake up

No. That was the response that ran through Gunka's head. How he came to know how to understand such sounds as words was completely unknown to him, but nonetheless, he didn't care in the least. He'd rather lay there on his belly, feeling the cold floor press against him than having to open his eyes. After all, one could always find comfort in sleep. However, a new feeling quickly took hold of him. Neither the voice he'd heard earlier, or the sounds of speech surrounding him had such an impact as this feeling that he could feel swelling up inside of him. Hunger. Instantly his eyes shot open, scanning the area before him. Goblins surrounded him, his siblings surrounded him might be a better way to put it. However, he cared not for his siblings, all he cared about was food and how he would get it.

Upon closer observation Gunka found that some of them were beginning to stand, and even beginning to form sounds. However, there was no food here, this area lacked any of his needs. He pushed on the ground, but he was unable to lift himself off of the ground. The other goblins were so much smaller than himself, they probably had an easier time standing than he would. As such, he gave up on the idea of standing. He straightened his arms and legs directly out from himself spun himself so that he was facing the wall, and as he began to twist his waist he began rolling, spinning along the ground towards what he assumed was the exit. He was going to find food.

He let out a fierce, guttural cry of victory as he began rolling his way to the exit. "GEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH"

Wake up

An odd first command to hear, but an appropriate one. Somehow Aestus knew he would be hearing commands for a long time to come, though perhaps in a different way.

The darkness...

Had he been sleeping? No...no that wasn't the right term to use. Meditating was more like it. Before any other was aware, Aestus was. Until just now, he had no knowledge of time or space, nor was he even "alive"- at least, not in the normal sense of the word. But he was awake. He could feel the darkness rapping itself about him, like a chilling but welcome embrace.

The darkness is...

His eyes shot open for the first time.
It was blinding.

The cave him and his brethren are trapped in is a dim one, with naught but a small glimpse or two of true sunlight. But, still, it was too much. It burned his eyes, and hurt his soul to it's very core.

The darkness is calling...

Yes! The darkness, the shadow, that's what he needed! Not just standing, but leaping to his feat, he made a dash for the wall, hoping the shadow it cast would shield him from the hated light. He threw himself against it, bruising his head but hardly noticing, screaming like a bleeding rat. He would die before he went willing to the light again.

The darkness is calling you.

The Goblin Matron looked out over the crowd of newborns as they awoke for the first time.

In spite of her having lived for a grand three generations of Goblins, this sight was not something she had experienced. After being birthed, this group of Goblins had remained asleep for three full days, a sleep the Matron could not rouse them from despite her best efforts, before all waking up abruptly within seconds of one another. Accordingly, they were waking up for the first time in bodies that were just a hair's breadth away from being fully grown. This is only natural. When compared to the civilization built by humans, who grew up without worry of being attacked by a foreign enemy, goblins, since the moment of their birth, must deal with the fierce struggle for survival. Humans could afford to grow more slowly than the Goblins living in the wilds, where the law of the jungle requires their offspring grow faster. Of course, the Matron had been sure to help feed them while they were in the depths of sleep so that they wouldn't starve, though it had been difficult to do so without causing them to choke to death. In truth, there had actually been a tenth Goblin present, but he had choked to death while she tried to feed him, so his corpse had been carried out two days prior. Necessary experience, and whatnot.

As the newborns gained some bearing of their surroundings, they would notice that they were in the middle of a cave, a natural cave with a few traces of sunlight from the midday world outside filtering in. Those poor, tragic figures who saw anything else must have been hallucinating. Poor souls.

While the Matron had some worry, this was wiped away after seeing some of the newborns successfully speak. It appeared that their genetic memories had been retained; they were still properly born with the knowledge of "how to be a Goblin".

-This worry, however, returned to her in full force when she observed one Goblin scream whilst rolling on the floor to exit the cave, and another scream while running into a wall.

...Well, every generation had one or two who weren't quite right in the head.

Still though, the Matron was concerned. After all, all mature Goblins save for her were sent out the day prior to hunt, as was par for the course due to food supplies having run low, but none of them had returned since then. Only the Matron, who had been attending to the newborns, had stayed behind. With the state of the tribe's food supply and the unknown location of the entire adult population, the situation was troubling, troubling indeed. The Matron herself had been in similar situations a handful of times given her depth of experience, but it was that very experience that allowed her to know that the situation at hand could be disastrous if mishandled.

A thin walking stick, poorly carved out of low-quality wood, was abruptly thrown at Gunka's head before he had reached the cave exit. Despite her enfeebled state caused by age, both the accuracy and force of the stick were commendable, certainly enough to stop a newborn who hadn't even tested the limits of his body yet. Now resting herself against a wall of the cave for support, the Matron at last spoke.

"...children, rise. I will be told each of your names, and following this, you will hunt."

Considering the fact that these children had just awoken for the first time, one would assume this to be a tall order for them to fill. However, as per the law of the World, this would seem to be a natural statement to the newborns. Born with the knowledge of their names, born with the knowledge of what they were, born with the knowledge of language, of survival, of what it meant to "hunt", everything the Matron had said would make perfect sense. The only situation under which it would not would be if the sudden influx of knowledge and stimuli was too much for a newborn to bear. There were occasionally some of those; the system of genetic memory was, after all, not a perfect one. Perhaps the screaming pair were of that make.

Well, one thing they would not know is what exactly there were expected to hunt, but they could figure that out for themselves.

Shiba looked and watched his brothers wake up and start walking on their own so Shiba decided he needed to rise with them or he will never be better then them. Shiba rolled onto his stomach before he crawled to a nearby wall and he put his hands against it. Left hand, then the right, keep going...After a few moments Shiba was on his feet smiling at that and seeing everyone else for the first time. Shiba smiled seeing all of his brothers in perfect clarity and seeing how different they all were from him and despite them all having a similar shade of green to their skin few had anything different like Shiba with his long sticks in his arms.

Soon the old Goblin spoke up and said that she wanted to hear their names, Shiba soon walked and after a few step he got the hand of it and soon he ended up next to the matron and he struggled a little to say it completely."shhh...shhii....shib....Shiba!" Shiba said as he finally said it but when he finally got it together he put a big Ah! into the last part of his name, okay so it was his first time saying his name and he thought it could be better but still he said it. Shiba was getting hungry and he wanted some food so hunting will be good for him. Shiba would do it all by himself without the help of his brothers, the last thing Shiba wanted was to rely on them so soon...

Voxx

Voxx, with his legs now fully operational and his body growing stronger with each passing second, saw his fellow green skins turn towards the black skinned one that stood in the light. Some stepped forward closer, Voxx followed suit to get a better look at the new being. As he got closer, it was apparent shadows were at work on the creature as it began to have a more defined shape and grow a shade of green. The green skin was an old one, a female one, but she held herself with confidence. When she spoke, it was music to Voxx's ears as he heard full sentences and understood them.

A name. A hunt. Brothers and sisters. His mind was kicked into overdrive to process all this information like it was second nature to him.

"F..." He started, but shook his head a little, "V...Vo....Voxx! I ammm...Voxx." The new born goblin said, words feeling like mush in his mouth as he struggled to grab a hold of new ones. Looking at the Goblin woman in front of him, he thought for a moment, staring at the world behind her. It was so bright it nearly blinded him but Voxx wanted to see more. He eventually found the words that felt right in his mouth though, looking back at the woman with a nod and holding a hand to his chest.

"This one's name is Voxx."

Trek was a little surprised by the almost sudden appearance of the Goblin Matron. Sudden appearance to him, anyway, as she'd been there for some time. He walked over to her, curious, but still a little uneasy on his own feet. A few of the other goblins had already started running, but Trek wasn't in any rush to get anywhere. She spoke as he approached.

"... Children, rise. I will be told each of your names, and following this, you will hunt."

Name. What was his name? He had to think on it for a second. A couple others spoke up: Shiba, and Fox.
After each of them spoke, he greeted them excitedly.

"Hello, Shiba!
...
"Hello, Fox!"
...

Then it was his turn.

"M-My.. Nay. Name. Name... My name is... Trek. Trek! I'm Trek. That's my name..."

He liked the way it sounded, and the way it felt to say. Trek. He decided it was a good name to have. Suddenly, though, the rest of the Matron's sentence dawned on him. Hunting... He felt like he was ready, even though he'd literally just been born. It was a part of him. But that would wait until it's time. For the moment, he was more curious about the other goblins.

He paused in his attempt to leave the cave to look over his shoulder at one of the many goblins. ‘Was that directed at me?’ Impossible to tell given it seemed everyone was testing how their mouths worked, something he personally found baffling. Perhaps if he had simply continued without pause he might not have witnessed what came next. While Garou might have not known a lot, the knowledge in his brain was enough to point a few of the other goblins as… odd. A brief glance was all he spared the two before he came to the conclusion that looking the other way was simply best for him.

Pretty hard given that the rolling one seemed to have rolled on right past him, only to be brought to a halt by the Matron’s thrown stick. His attention followed the projectile until it smacked into the other goblin after which, naturally, his eyes drifted to the thrower. An elder by her appearance, her words seemed to be a trigger as his body felt electrified at the thought of a hunt; as necessary a part to survive as sleep or water was. He rolled his jaws around a few times before Garou spoke the name that came to mind first, and one that he instinctively understood was his. “Garou…” There was a brief pause before he muttered, “That’s my name,” as if reaffirming it for himself once more.

With that done he quickly moved towards the cave’s entrance and the bright world beyond it, the urge to see more driving him even more than the urge to hunt. His hands clenched at the thought of the ‘hunt’, an instinctive understanding coupled with the urge, but he’d need to know what there was to even hunt first around here. The ‘hunt’ was not some blind forage into one’s surroundings, but something that was planned.

Still sitting and pretending to be tired from his walking Jaarm watched the antics of his sillier siblings, namely the rolling one and the headbanging one. He had no idea why they were acting like that but he found it funny, and laughed for the first time in his life. He discovered he liked laughing and decided to keep looking for funny things.

Unfortunately his amusement didn't last long as the elder Goblin gave the young ones their fist command. "...children, rise. I will be told each of your names, and following this, you will hunt." With that order new information came rushing to him, he not only knew that this female Goblin was someone to be obeyed, but also that hunting could be dangerous. With the knowledge of danger also came the conclusion that Jaarm didn't want to hunt, at least not on his own.

Still that was a challenge for later, now he had to introduce himself and let everyone see how small he was. Still using one of the cave walls as support he forced himself up and following the lead of the four before him spoke once again. " Ca ...call meh... Call me Jaarm."

Shonuk couldn't control his sudden outburst of laughter when he he saw the two other goblins thrashing about; rolling around, running into walls. The sight of the clumsy goblins was almost too much for the newborn. Shonkuk had decided that he liked being awake, it was fun. Everything was interesting, even the goblins that weren't thrashing about were interesting. The look of awe on their faces as they discovered news feelings, it was quite the sight. Though the elder one was the most intriguing one. She wasn't clumsy, didn't have trouble forming words, she actually seemed rather intelligent.

"...children, rise. I will be told each of your names, and following this, you will hunt."

Hunt? The concept seemed familiar to Shonuk, but he had never done it. He knew it meant food and fulfillment. He also knew that it meant interacting with the wildlife, and for some reason he was rather eager about that part specifically. He became suddenly aware of the fact that he wanted something. He had never wanted before. He could barely contain himself, "The name is Shonuk. Now let's go." The name left his mouth without a second thought. He just wanted to leave his birthplace and experience the hunt; be apart of the great outdoors.

Gunka felt himself stop as a sudden hard object collided with his head, stopping him cold. In an instant he drew his hands up to his throbbing head, groaning with this new headache that sprang into his head, sending sharp pulses of pain. He then noticed that the voices of his fellow goblins had stopped, and were now replaced by a goblin who seemed to master speech, and when he heard her he was somehow able to understand everything she said despite his reeling head. A name, a hunt... food. If he just left, would he get hit again? Maybe it'd be best to talk.

With both his hands, he spun around on his belly, reaching out and grabbing the stick that lay near-by, and sticking it into the ground he was able to miraculously lift his heavy body off of the ground. He expelled air through his throat and could feel the vibrations travel through his neck as he began to speak. "Guuuhhhh... I am Gun..ka. I want food... Let us hunt!" he said, pushing one fist into the air halfheartedly before using his new-found stick to hobble to the exit. This new stick of his was thin, but it enabled him to hold his own weight off of the ground. He'd get used to it in no time, he was sure. And soon he would be able to eat things with this stick. He didn't know what he would eat, but all he knew was that he was going to eat.

Tamarin stopped in his hyper movements at the sound of an old sounding goblin voice. Matron. His mouth snapped shut and he frowned. Where was the green he'd seen and the sky. He finally noticed he was nowhere surrounded by green, but surrounded by brown. The only green was the other goblins. He turned to the Matron. What had she asked? Name. Name.... Tamarin broke into a crooked grin, his name was Tamarin, just like he'd been saying! He hobbled over very quickly to the Matron, smile still plastered across his face. "I am Tamarin!" He said proudly, turning to look at the other goblins. He was fairly certain they'd all said other things that were maybe their names. He'd heard a Fox, a Chiba and a Shrek, and he'd heard another say Letis hant, he thought, a fat goblin with a stick. Hant? Hunt.

He'd never heard the word, but it conjured to him an image in his mind of him stuffing his face with something delicious. So hunt meant food. Tamarin liked that. "I am Tamarin!" He said in agreement. "Let's hunt!"

The Matron nodded slightly as each of the newborns introduced themselves, taking note of the variance in their now-grown appearances. Still supporting herself against the cave wall, she looked out over the group and spoke up once more.

"Children, I will not mince words." The Matron choked out, her figure shuddering slightly from either exhaustion or hunger, perhaps both. "The Goblins that sired your generation have gone...missing. Without them, our food supplies are dwindling. You are to hunt for food, as you are grown, and you will do so in their stead."

For Garou, and any others who happened to peer outside the cave, the world outside was a dense, wooden forest. Not a jungle or a rainforest, but something more akin to the forest on a mountainside. Some meager sunlight filtered down from above, making the outside surroundings visible.

"In the area immediately around us, your prey should be the horned rabbits. They are small, four-legged things with a large horn protruding from their heads. They move quickly, and their horn can be dangerous, but you should be able to hunt them. If you exit the cave and continue forwards for some time, you will find a structure made by other beings called 'humans'. No humans have lived here since long ago, but be wary of that place nonetheless. There is a river not far from here that you can drink from, but if you follow it too far then you will reach a lake. That lake is a common hunting area for mature Goblins, it has many kinds of prey and fruits to harvest, but it may be too dangerous for you newborns."

"I cannot come with you; I must stay here, but if you find something strange or frightening, you should immediately run away. Your focus should be to replenish our food, nothing more. Go, children, and hunt well."