T E V A

---

𝙻𝚘𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗: 𝙵𝚘𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚝 — 𝙼𝚘𝚘𝚍: 𝙰𝚗𝚡𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜 // 𝙷𝚞𝚗𝚐𝚛𝚢 // 𝙰𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝙷𝚢𝚙𝚎𝚍 — 𝙼𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜: @Shovel — 𝙸𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜: 𝙽𝙿𝙲𝚜 & 𝙺𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚗𝚊

---

At first the plan seemed to be working just fine. Kol was successful in blinding the pink beast with the sand in his hands, buying him enough time to attempt to strike at the back of its knee. The monster fell down on one knee, creating an opening for Son to charge in and deliver a strike. Unfortunately for Teva’s group, and more importantly Son, luck was not on their side.

Even blinded as it was, the creature’s flailing arm managed to catch Son in the head, and the scrunching sound of the greenskins neck bones getting crushed reverberated across the forest. Teva, with horror in her eyes, saw the goblin fall to the ground like a ragdoll, his deformed neck and head clearly supported by only his skin and muscles.

The rocks she threw had zero impact on the outcome of the battle, and Teva lamented her choice of weapon; what could mere small rocks do to a creature double her size? Nothing would be the answer to that question.

When the fat beast finally brushed off the dirt from its eyes, it slowly stood up and, despite its overabundant physique, deftly caught Kol from the throat. The helpless, now, goblin was lifted off the ground easily by the strength of the pink creature which had, by now, regained its senses somewhat. Teva saw part of the shrubbery near the orc shuffle, and a piece of wood poked outwards that was soon withdrawn back into the bush, causing Teva to sigh. It seemed her hunch about Gee was right, the goblin was not one to hunt. Berry picking and herb gathering suited her better, and her personality and mannerisms clearly showed that.

Teva bit her lower lip while wracking her tiny brain, trying to find a way to save the two orcs from certain doom, but could not find one. Gee, hidden as she was, seemed to have escaped the beast’s detection, but Kol’s neck was ready to snap in the fatty’s ever tightening grip. Teva clutched two sharp sticks in her hands and moved as gracefully as she could on top of the branch she used as a vantage point. The situation had changed from a hunt to an escape, and just as she was moving to execute her backup plan in case Gee failed to trip the beast, a large rock flew from a random bush towards her enemy’s direction.

The pink creature snarled, momentarily distracted by the rock throw, and Teva seized the chance. She jumped from the branch above, diving straight down and onto the fatty’s exposed shoulders.

Were she to successfully land on the orc’s shoulders, Teva would then immediately stab with her sharp sticks towards the beast’s eyes, aiming to blind it permanently. She would then jump off its back and, hoping it had released him from its grip due to her attack, would check on Kol to see if he was still alive. If he wasn’t, she would duck low and dash towards the direction of the cave, picking up the box and bag the orc had thrown on the ground, a consolation prize if you will. If he was alive, she’d try to rouse him up before escaping herself.

---

Tik let the other two goblins take the lead in deciding how to split the rabbit. He was tired. The goblin that killed the rabbit got two of the four good hunks of meat while the other wanted one of them and the hide. But, getting the hide off was going to be a bit tough with teeth and fingers. So, Tik took a rock and bashed the base of the horn until it broke off. Then he used it to help cut the hide where it was still holding to the flesh. But, after that, he just waited till the other two finished.

Rena was a goblin he would remember. The other one hadn't given a name but was alright too, still leaving enough meat for everybody. Tik ate his portion. It wasn't great, but the animal was strong. Tough creature, tough meat. He'd have to remember that. But now, he was curious.

While Rena figured out how to wear the hide, Tik took the rest of the beast apart. The other gob had broken a lot of bones and now Tik could see how they had broken, how they came together normally, and how many bones looked like they would be useful. The horn was a weapon already. Tik would make a good spear with it later. Of the remaining bones, only a few ribs and the bones around the base of the neck were still unbroken and the ribs were too frail to use for weapons. They even felt like they could bend a tiny bit. But, maybe he could make something from them later. The collar bones of the horned rabbit were stronger but not strong enough for Tik to make a weapon from them either. Maybe if the beast was bigger the bones would be better. For now, he cut the ears off and put the collar bones and few intact ribs inside one before trying to use it to carry them. The ribs fell out.

Then he looked at the ribs again... and the horn. The ribs were curved. That gave him an idea. He poked holes along the edges of the ear that he hadn't bit during the fight and then folded the ear over so that some of the holes lined up with each other. Then he poked the ribs through the holes, pinning one side of the ear together. Finally, since they still looked a little wiggly, he grabbed some thin vine and wound it around and between the ribs to keep them from slipping, eventually tying an accidental knot that kept the vine from sliding.

He studied that too. Then he figured out how to do it again, on purpose. Then, he put the first and last rib through the waistband of his loincloth so that the ribs wouldn't poke him and the open side of the rabbit ear pouch was facing up. It worked! Though it wasn't great, he felt proud.

Then he looked around and found that he was all alone with a dead goblin and the few bits of rabbit that were left. Rena had finished and left. But, he could guess which way she had gone. He'd need to be quick if he was going to catch up.

He focused on turning his thicker pointy stick into a better spear by binding the rabbit's horn to the tip. He had to reshape the tip with the horn before he could get the vines to hold well enough and he had to use a few of those new knots as well. But, it worked. Then he took a small scrap of meat that had clung to a bone and carried it over to the dead goblin. He had never met this one but he had a feeling. He put the scrap of meat in the dead goblin's mouth and turned to leave in the same direction that Rena had gone.

"Don't die hungry." He said to himself as he headed off to find Rena.

---

@Zeroth (Saito) and @Dark Light (Reshy)
Reshy's shot was fast yet haphazard it its course at it failed to hit its mark, landing a few inches away from the Dragon Frog. It was aware of the rock that was pelted towards it, but it only croaked in response as it turned to the direction from where it came from. There it saw the young goblin, naked, with weapons in hand, rushing towards it like there was no tomorrow. Again, the frog simply croaked.

Seeing his target stood its ground despite his approach, made Reshy not want to waste anymore time. If it was simply going to stay there, Reshy was definitely not wasting this opportunity. With a clenched fist, he continued his charge, readying a punch that would knock the frog's lights out.

It took a while before the Dragon Frog realized the gravity of the situation that it was in. Hoping to hop away and escape, another first came against its head from behind.

Two fists came crashing from both its front and back, pancaking its head. The frog's croak lingered before blood and gets left slipped out of its mouth as it laid on the ground.

Progression and Spoils



Absorption

---

@Versa (Emri) and @ERode (Hoi)
It was a fruitful day for the two goblins. With a significant number of kills under their belt, they were able to successfully drive off their hunger and thirst for the rest of the day. As they made their way back to their cave, lugging with them a few carcasses and some woodland materials they had gathered, they stumbled upon what looked to be a bloodied Tusked Boar. It was a large creature, almost a tall as a goblin even when on all fours, but from the way its body swayed, it appeared heavily injured. Known for their violent nature, it wasn't uncommon to find them covered in the blood of whatever it had assaulted. However, as the goblins got a better look at it, they would notice that it had been clawed and bitten not long ago.

---

@Celsius Ragi and @TheMushroomLord (Aya)
As soon as they feasted off the carcass of the Harvest Sloth, the two sisters immediately noticed their strength slowly coming back to them. Although a bit wobbly, the two managed to get back to their feet. What was supposed to be a source of food for their cave, turned into a meal for themselves. Well, they had no choice.

Recovering from the bitter betrayal they had just experienced, the young goblins were surprised at the appearance of the White Petal Viper that slithered into the clearing. It was probably attracted to the blood that came from the sloth, but seeing as something had already beaten it to it, it began rattling its tail in frustration.

---

@demonspade64 (Rena) and @Haeo (Tik)
With her stomach filled and her confidence fortified, Rena was ready to face the the perils of the forest on her own. All she needed was her trusty branch and her hunger, and she was golden.

As Rena wandered into the wilderness by herself, she failed to notice that something was following her. It was hard to blame her though; this creature preyed on its targets from above the trees, hiding its movements behind the sound of rustling leaves.

Fortunately, as it leaped forward, towards the unsuspecting goblin, its shadow was cast right in front of Rena. Her instincts told her to duck, allowing her to just barely evade what looked to be a Fanged Tree Frog. Although smaller than most creatures, standing at just over a foot in height, it possessed incredibly ferocity.

Tik eventually followed the trail left by Rena, and barely caught up, just in time to see the frog missing its attack.

---

@Guy0fV4lor(Cull), @Shovel (Krishna), and @Vec (Teva)
As soon as the rock flew from his grasp, Krishna did what he knew and did best. He ran. Whether he hit his mark, he was well aware that his safety came first. Fortunately, his throw made its way towards orc, hitting it right at the temple. The orc growled in response to the blow it had just received, its grip around Kor tightening further, causing the young goblin to pass out. Though it did little to stagger the orc, it managed to catch its attention. It gave Teva the opening she needed to carry out her plan. Landing atop its shoulders, the young goblin wasted little to no time and stabbed the old orc. Two branches made its way into its eyes, causing it to let go of Kor as it flailed its arms in pain. Hoping to get its hands on whoever it was that had wounded it, the orc reached towards Teva, but instead of grabbing her, it instead knocked her down to the ground. As soon as her body landed, it moved on its own and grabbed the orc's box and bag and she scurried away.

Still restless from being blinded, the orc moaned and thrashed his hands before losing balance and falling unto the ground.

"Fuckin' goblins!" the orc roared in frustration.

Although a bit shaken, Teva was relatively fine; being caught by the orc was unlikely. Krishna was further away, definitely out of harms way. The same couldn't be said for Kor; he remained lifeless, just beside the the fallen orc. Gee was still nowhere to be found. And to make the setting a bit more complicated, another goblin arrived at the scene. Responding to the sounds of the roaring orc, was Cull.

They worked well today. There was still a rabbit left over they could eat at night, and Hoi felt comforted by the sheer amount of materials they could gather. Bark, vines, twigs, branches, thicker branches, and the three rabbit horns they could use for a whole buncha purposes. Fire, for one, but better was water. And after they secured all their stuff, made sure thieves couldn't make away with it, Hoi could finally relax. Could finally do a big sleep, have a good dream, wake up in the morning and do it all over again. His legs were strong, his back was tough, his stomach was full and his thirst was quenched. Emri was a good worker; they could do a lot together. They could do enough that they may be able to get others as well. And then they could all work. They could all eat.

But just because he was done for the day didn't mean that Hoi was against overtime.

As they got closer to the cave, their home, the duo stumbled upon yet another beast, this one larger, fiercer, but also wounded, swaying. Hoi saw it, recognized the danger of its tusks, the injuries that it sustained. Something else hunted it, and the blood-trail it left meant that something else may still be hunting it. But then he heard a sizzling. A sizzling of fat, the fragment of a memory. Bacon. What was that? It was delicious. His mouth filled with drool. He could always eat more. They could kill it, break off a limb or two, and run before the hunter claimed its kill. Or maybe the predator was dead too. That'd be even better. More food. More...

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Hoi wondered if he never had enough meat to eat before. But when was before? A difficult expression formed over his face, but he shook those feelings away.

The materials they gathered, he let fall onto the ground. Turning to Emri, he brandished one of his rabbit horns. They looked almost inadequate compared to the tusks of that fat pig, but they'd have to do. "More meat good," Hoi spoke. "Big meat better. Charge straight at it together, but split off to the sides once close. I go this way, you go that way." He motioned with his horn, then clenched it more tightly. "Stab sides. Keep stabbing. From low, go up. Finish the kill, break something tasty off, and we leave."

Fire. They definitely need a fire now. He knew they needed fire, if they wanted that sizzling, that fattening, that reddening. He wanted it.

"Last hunt. Make it good hunt."

Emri had felt this before. It was one of the earlier days in the cave, perhaps the first, when he was just a goblin babe laid out naked upon the dirt floor. Hungry. Dark. Afraid. The emotion was heavy, it wasn’t like the usual anxiety that made Emri’s thoughts race and his heart throb. Hoi’s words did indeed reach his ears, but for a long moment they had no meaning to the ice cold body that stood there frozen to the muddy earth below. The small goblin had never seen monsters before today, and now he faced one so large that it could eat him up in one thoughtless gobble. But the smell of fresh blood did linger in the musty forest wind, it was thick enough to attract predators from great distances. But today they were predators too. The thought crossed Emri’s mind as he stood there in the long while, if they didn’t hunt this creature someone else would. And even though he stood there shaking, his hand thoughtlessly or perhaps instinctively reached into his bag to brandish his own rabbit horn, gripping the bone composite in a might clutch before turning to Hoi and nodded.

“Last hunt for tonight.. but tomorrow, we will do this. This work is fun, hunting is fun..”



It may have been the adrenal glands pumping chemicals through Emri’s veins. Or perhaps this single successful adventure had changed the goblin down to his very foundation. Whatever it might have been, the look of a confident hunter continued to overcome the pathetic expression it had at rest. Hoi’s plan made sense, but could he add to it to make it better? He looked at the boar thoroughly and thought hard about its conditions, the features of its body, and what the small goblin’s could exploit to survive. Even if the creature was wounded, it was much larger and probably stronger than the both of them. It’s tusks alone could impale the both of them with ease, it’s head was enormous and the skull seemed thick, it was meant for ramming into things without hurting itself. It’s skin also seemed to be thick along its back, and thinned towards the legs.

“Avoid head.. Try to stab bloody spots. Weak spots.”

After the words left Emri’s mouth, he nodded to Hoi signaling to his brother that he was ready to enact the plan that they had set. An onslaught on both sides, an all or nothing attack that would end in them maybe being impaled by the giant piglet, or bringing home the bacon. It was only a matter of time before the Emri leapt into action. His light step kicking through leaves and sticks as he quickly made way towards the boar head on before diving to the creature’s right side and lunging with the rabbit’s horn in a desperate effort to puncture the creature.



@ERode

So here we lay, motionless yet not lifeless. We have fought - not an oppressor, nor an invader, nay; we fought amongst ourselves. How many times does this make? Opening up, trusting and believing, only to be tricked, backstabbed, and quite possibly, bamboozled. She had trusted the sloth, treated it as a friend if not more - its face ever so reminiscent of her sweet sister - only to be treated as lifestock: a cattle to the slaughter. Had it been not for Aya, she would have perished here and then.

Thus for the first time in her three living days, Ragi cried. She sobbed uncontrollably, tears and snot mixing with the sloth blood that's trickling down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry," she cried pitifully. "I'm a failure, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," she repeated over and over.

Was she wrong to act strong, to act smart - to act like the person that she is not? All she wanted were to be successful, to be respected, to be loved. Yet every single thing she did was heaping up failure upon failure. She wanted to die, but even dying is too scary for her. So she cried instead. And she cried and cried and cried - until she finally fell asleep.

Unknown amount of time later, Ragi woke up to the sound of her growling stomach. Her body was still stiff, but at least she could move. She looked around, and her heart immediately sunk. To her side, was the corpse of the Harvest Sloth - its eyes staring straight at her, hollow yet full of resentment. She hastily crawled back as fast as she could, until her back hit a tree trunk.

"Sister.." she instinctively called out to Aya. "Sister, where are you?" she yelped meekly, panic blinding her of her surrounding.

I'm scared.

Hoi ran in as well, his own steps thunderous as it propelled him through the grass and the dirt. Hit it hard, hit it fast. He ate the most of his siblings, and he will continue to do so. One eye upon the approaching beast, the other upon his kindred goblin, the rotund hunter sidestepped at the same time that Emri, lunging downwards to slip beneath those upwards-curving tusks, before pushing up again. His ankles were strong. His calves were strong. His thighs were strong! Muscles, still forming, still strengthening, tightened as Hoi pushed off from the ground, ramming the horn into the beast's soft underbelly as he practically body-slammed it.

This wasn't a matter of stabbing something many times. This was a matter of killing it with a single, devastating blow.

"GRAAAH!"

---

His brother missed the shot, as expected. The frog was slow to turn, slow to react. The other goblin was also charging, perhaps mimicking Saito, drawing back his fist. But as the frog croaked yet again--perhaps in preparation for something, they would never find out--Saito's blow crashed into the back of its head. A dangerous weak point for any creature, right where the skull met the spine. His companion followed up a beat afterwards, and they felt cartilage and bone crumple under their knuckles.

The creature slumped over. Saito blinked as he caught his breath, and stepped back from the corpse. He looked at his brother, then put his broad hands on his scrawny hips.

"Well done." He bent down to examine the frog for a moment. "You did most of the work, though it did not fall in your trap. I'll take just a bit, and you can use the innards or leftovers as bait instead. Sound fair?"

Taking one of the beast's Sharp Frog Fangs, Saito worked its point at one of the fat amphibious legs until he had ripped it out of the hip socket. He stood up, bowed his head not quite below eye-level to his brother as a sign of respect, then turned to head back to the cave.

He looked up at the sun, and at the various trees, as he walked and took a bite out of the Dragon Frog's leg. He chewed, working his mind in concert with his jaw.

What was this world? Where were they? What other places might be nearby? The cave was made of rock--was it connected to the base of a mountain? How far did this forest go? There had to be water somewhere. He wanted to find it, since the blood of his prey could only slake his thirst for so long. But, he also wondered what other creatures might be in this forest. Somehow, he got the sense that he might have gotten lucky thus far. What if he ran into something that didn't curl up and sit there like the Shrew, or that was faster and smarter than the frog? If he kept exploring like this, surely he would run into something somewhere that he couldn't handle.

He entered the clearing in front of the cave, and looked around to see what other goblins had returned from their hunts as well as what they had caught. And it was here that he had a realization: the other goblins! That old goblin, the one who had named him, the one who had marked his head just two days ago when he could hardly move his own limbs. Perhaps that goblin could answer his questions...but just where was the fellow?

Saito bit another chunk out of the frog leg. He had gnawed most of it down to the bone now, and he rolled the meat around in his mouth as he debated whether or not he liked the flavor. Once again he entered the cave and headed to his corner near the wall. He examined the ground intently to make sure no other goblins had been messing around with his stash of hunting trophies. He also hid the Sharp Frog Fang the same way, and finished off the last webbed toe on his frog leg before tossing the bone back with the other gristly bits he had collected.

If he used that sharp fang, maybe he could eventually poke some holes in that Shrew's hide...and then maybe thread some vines through it, so that he could use it as...as what? Some form of protection that he could wear, like his loincloth? That would be a project for later. For now, he wanted to find the elder...

As the auburn-haired goblin's amber eyes gazed about the cave, he eventually settled on the dark crevice in the very back. He had never gone back there before. Was there another side to the cave, another exit? If the old goblin wasn't out here...maybe he wasn't out hunting, either. So it followed reasoning, especially now that Saito was well fed and his thoughts were clear, that the elder might also be further inside the cave.

Goblin Saito headed deeper into the darkness, his eyes making out the dim surroundings more easily than he had thought they would.

"Ah...Elder? Are you back here?" he called, his voice echoing back and forth between the narrow walls. He thought it sounded odd, to hear his own voice. "I...I have questions, for you. Things I would know about these lands."

@RC3@Haeo

Rena was strolling looking around for prey on the ground but however, she didn't notice that there was a predator leaping amount the tree preying on her. While walking she could help but wonder if Tik would take her up on her offer, but while walking she couldn't help but notice a shadow shifting in front of her, which give her the feeling she should duck, so she did so right in time to avoid an attack from some green creature. Now that she was on her hand and knee, she quickly pushed herself back onto her feet, grabbed her weapon with both hands, move her club back right beside her while she was stumbling back, then charged at it with her club held behind her head, as soon the frog was in reaching distance she would then swing down at it while using Crushing Blow

Hopefully, if the creature dodges her attack, and tries to counter-attack, the other goblin would do something to aid her.

R E S H Y

---

Reshy had a toothy grin stretching from ear to ear. He was brimming with uncontainable excitement. Pride from their recent victory, the prospect of ending his hunger, the joy of companionship and teamwork but mostly, mostly the thrill of having someone to show off his trap to. He thought himself a goblin genius for coming up with it. The idea of something or someone falling in unaware was still hilarious to him.

But before he got to divulge the details of his imagination or even show Saito his handywork, simple and crude as it was, his brother continued on.

That left Reshy all alone, on his own, once again. He sat in silence as he ate most of the frog, by himself, absorbing the essence of the dead creature. He left a few scraps, some guts and bones like Saito suggested and decided to keep a foot as a victory souvenir.
It was clear that his brother had been on his own adventure and had the spoils to prove it, by comparison Reshy hadn’t done anything. He got no tools or trophy from the slime that tried to eat him, just a story and yellow slime breath. He decided he would start to keep something extra from his victories, he would keep a foot or paw from the creature from now on and was happy with that idea. The creatures hide and remaining tooth that he took were possible tools, they would be used, the foot would stay as is.

...

Reshy decided to scout nearby for more supplies. He collected sticks both strong and weak, vines and foliage for his trap. He even tried climbing again to find better supplies. Also he constantly picked up rocks to resupply the ammo that he continually either fired or threw at random trees. That was a game he was growing to like.
However, struggling to contain all his rocks, he turned to placing it in the frogs thick hide and forming some semblance of a primitive pouch.

Despite no apparent danger Reshy moved as quietly as he could.
It was no longer just a practice and now had became mostly just the way he walked. It had started as what he thought of as a tactful necessity. Then he began to enjoy it as it became more like a hobby or game. Him verses the earth. Each movement a new problem to solve. Each step a puzzle faced with a multitude of opposing factors. Sure there were ground types, things on the ground and distances to consider but he also noticed there were ways of stepping and moving. He was slowly developing an understanding and awareness of shifting his weight and balance.

...

Reshy had undone his trap and was deep in it, digging it out deeper and wider when he heard a scampering from above. He snapped up quickly, spinning around and looking about as he practically flew out the hole he was in.
There in front of him, just as wide eyed and panic stricken as he was stood another goblin. One of his brothers. It took Reshy a second to process this as they both just stood there in still silence starring at each other as the moment stretched on and their hearts settled.

The goblin before him was larger in stature than he albeit hunched over with long strong arms that reached to the floor. He had an uncharacteristicly small flat nose which made his eyes appear too far apart. And Reshy noticed a tuff of short jet black hair that started a little too far back atop his head, which only silhouetted and accentuated the wide empty space between the sparce features of his wide face.

“Gritch” the goblin eventually said as he slowly, nervously crawled up to Reshy on all fours, this seemed to be his preferred method of movement. His eyes were darting hungrily between Reshy and his bait pile.

“Reshy!” Reshy replied in greeting with a welcoming grin, all whilst realising this goblin wanted his food. He stepped in front of his bait. Gritch didn’t seem one for many words but he was clearly hungry and from the obvious wounds and blood smear on one arm, had already been in a fight. Reshy grew increasingly nervous but Gritch proved it to be unwarranted as he casually rocked back and sat down. He looked up to Reshy with pleading hungry eyes. A small measure of drool was escaping the corner of his lips.

“There’s more in there!” Reshy blurted out in reply with a sudden lie. Brimming with a new excitement and urgency, a devious scheme fell into place. He didn’t want to give up his bait nor did he want to keep digging anymore.
“You just have to find it, that’s all. It’s in the ground, buried under the dirt.” He made the motions to ensure Gritch understood what he meant. For the longest moment it seemed that he didn’t, the greenskin just continued to stare at Reshy. Then the pieces clicked and cogs turned, Gritch crawled into the hole and began digging through the dirt. It worked.

Reshy could explain his masterpiece later, for now he would have to occasionally coach his brother from above, pointing out where he should look and what to do with the sand. Every now and then between other tasks he would throw a bone or two in. Just to keep him going.
Meanwhile, as the hole grew larger and deeper Reshy prepared some more pointy sticks to go in it. He snapped many branches and tried gnawing on edges to improve the ‘stabability’ of the point. Every few minutes he would stop to survey the edge of the clearing, worried about the noise and bait attracting predators too soon.

Though both goblins lay prone by the body of the now-dead harvest sloth, they'd done it. Even so, between her sister getting hurt and the fear that lingered even after the fight, Aya couldn't feel good about their victory. What was more, the sisters were both paralysed, leaving them in a bad position to defend themselves against any further attacks.

As her mind began trying to think up solutions to the current predicament Aya was distracted by something else, a feeling of sorrow that placed itself into Aya's mind, even through all of Aya's own panicked thoughts. Maybe it was better to describe it an awareness of a feeling, rather than a feeling in its own, there was a sort of disconnect as though Aya were only a spectator to the feeling. It wasn't until she heard Ragi start sobbing and crying apologies that Aya realised what it was she was sensing wasn't a part of her own mind, but her sisters. Aya had wanted to say something to help ease her sister's pain, but whenever she tried to say something the words failed to come out, blocked by her doubts that she could do anything to help and a fear that whatever she said would only serve to make things worse.

It wasn't until Ragi's sobbing stopped and Aya felt her mind calm down a little several minutes later, that Aya was able to revise her mental image of her sister. Ragi was a genius no doubt, but she was still only a goblin, a brilliant and kind one, but a goblin nonetheless, yet somehow this revelation only caused her opinion of her sister to grow. Yes, Ragi could make mistakes and would do so as long as she continued to strive for the best possible outcomes, but if anyone could achieve those outcomes it was Ragi. The flaws Aya had noticed in Ragi's plan finally fell into place, the plan hadn't been flawless, but rather it had been the best possible plan they could hope for given the information Ragi had and the outcome she'd been trying to achieve. What kind of pressure that kind of responsibility must have put on her sister Aya couldn't begin to imagine.

Aya's thoughts were once again cut short by another feeling, this time coming from insider herself. Hunger. It was far worse now after the battle, having gone from little more than an ever-present annoyance to something actively painful, an issue only made worse by her noticing the problem. Feeling the harvest sloth beneath her body Aya vaguely recalled her worries about it potentially being poisonous, but between her hunger and the goblin instincts screaming at her to eat, Aya had hardly even begun that chain of thought before her teeth had sunk into the harvest sloths flesh. It took all of what little restraint she had left to leave her sister half of the sloth alone, and there certainly wouldn't be enough left to feed Bug and Twig as well.

Strangely enough, Aya had quickly begun to feel better after eating, the paralysation working its way out of her like a bad case of pins and needles at a noticeable rate. Was that an effect of eating the sloth? The moment she was well enough to stand she did so, grabbing her rock as she struggled to her feet and positioning herself to overlook her sleeping sister as she dropped back into thought. If she wanted to help her sister she'd need to have a plan.

After a while, Aya's attention was drawn to a rattling sound, though even so it took her a moment to spot the source, the snakes flower-like body haveing made it hard to spot in the grass and allowing it to have slithered a little to close for comfort. Aya gripped her rock, though thinking about it she doubted she could hit the snake. For whatever reason Aya found herself more confident in her tree-climbing ability than she had been at the start of the day, so maybe there was a plan there? No, Aya wasn't strong enough to carry Ragi and that would mean abandoning their prey. There wasn't time to devise a trap and beyond probably being hard to hit Aya didn't really have a clue what to expect from the creature. The combination of camouflage and a deterrent might suggest that the snake wouldn't attack prey that it couldn't ambush, but Aya wasn't prepared to take that gamble, especially not after the sloth. The snake rattled again, threatening the goblins, and Aya on instinct responded in kind, bearing her teeth at it and letting out a soft hissing sound as if to warn the creature not to approach.

A sudden awareness of Ragi's panic and fear suggested to Aya her sister had woken up, confirmed moments later by the sounds of her sister crawling backwards and calling for her. At least the paralysis had worn off. "It's okay, I'm over here sister. Maybe you should eat something? Um... just be careful there's another monster here...", Aya informed her sister, kicking herself as she realised that that last part probably wasn't the best thing to say to calm Ragi.

It was a bad position, Ragi was afraid, Aya was afraid, there was an immediate threat of unknown capabilities and Aya had no time to think things through. The goblin began to giggle slightly as she grinned wide, her outwards demeanour in stark contrast to how badly she was freaking out inside.

@Celsius

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Tik managed to catch up to Rena after a fairly hasty and crude effort at tracking her by finding partial tracks and freshly broken twigs. He had some hope that he would be able to simply greet her and continue hunting, this time with a better spear. But, that hopping... long-toothed... shiny-skinned...

Tik saw Rena successfully duck the attack from the frog. By the time the frog hit the ground, Tik had already started running. By the time Rena swung her club, Tik was only a couple strides from her back with his spear held in both hands. He kept Rena between him and the frog until the last moment to make sure that the frog would have trouble seeing him. He could also tell whether the frog dodged to the side or not. He was moving on reflex, too fast to think or plan. The frog would either dodge or die. If it dodged, then Tik would lunge around Rena and stab the frog as swiftly as his body would allow.

The only sound he uttered was a throaty hiss as he made his move.

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T E V A

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𝙻𝚘𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗: 𝙵𝚘𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚝 >> 𝙲𝚊𝚟𝚎 — 𝙼𝚘𝚘𝚍: Relieved // Curious // Hungry — 𝙼𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜: 𝙽𝚘𝚗𝚎 — 𝙸𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜: 𝙽𝚘𝚗𝚎

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The beast's cries of frustration entered entered Teva's ears as she ran away. She glanced back to see it having fallen down on the ground, flailing its arms about in rage. Tave cringed a little when she saw its arm almost hitting the unresponsive Kor that was lying on the ground a few steps away. She'd tried to wake him up after jumping off the beasts back, but Kor wouldn't budge at all. Teva then made the decision to run away, grabbing the beast's box and bag it'd thrown down the ground at the start of the fight.

After some time her goblin body refused to take one more step. She'd slowed down considerably, but she'd also created a lot of distance between her and the orc. Teva scanned her surroundings with tired eyes, eventually spotting a hollow between some giant tree roots she could curl herself in. She crawled between the roots and immediately fell asleep.

A very uncomfortable sleep, however, embraced her. The rush of adrenaline from the fight had washed away from her system, making her skinny limbs ache from the overexertion. Her body protested at the lack of food, her stomach letting out angry growls even in her sleep. After thirty minutes of questionable rest, the goblin woke up with a head full of muddled thoughts. She was thirsty, she was hungry, she was tired. She had to find something...

Then a curious thought emerged in her mind, and Teva turned to look at the two things she had salvaged from the fight. Teva's dry mouth salivated at the thought of the orc and all that potential meat she'd run away from, but it had been impossible for four goblins to kill it, much less herself alone, even after having crippled its eyes.

Teva removed those thoughts from her mind and returned to the box and pouch laying a next to her. She first picked up the box, shaking it a few times to test if she could hear anything from inside. She then tried to open it by biting and hitting it against the strong roots, but it wouldn't open. Mildly frustrated, she placed it aside and grabbed the small bag instead. This time a small, rope knot stood in her way that she easily unwound before peering inside curiously.

Three small, opaque stones lay inside the bag, one of them giving off a faint, blue light. Teva pinched it between two fingers and pulled it out of the bag, bringing it closer. The moment she brought it out, the dark hollow she'd made her temporary shelter was illuminated by the light the stone emitted, but Teva didn't care about using it as a light source. On the contrary, something inside of her mind whispered to her to consume the weird stone, and her starving stomach agreed. Thus, without thinking about it too much, she popped the stone into her mouth and bit into it.

What could possibly go wrong anyway?

Comfort. That's what Ragi was feeling when she finally noticed that Aya had not abandoned her.
Anxiety. T'was what she felt right after, noticing that her sister was playing strong to ease her, and that a new danger was rearing its ugly head at the duo.
It was then that she realized. She had to be strong, even if for the sake of appearance alone. Her sister Aya had been through a lot, and it was easy to see that she was adding even more burden by having to appear confident before Ragi. A burden that threaten to snap the young goblin's mind any time soon, if Ragi continue to show her weakness and be a deadweight.

"No worries sister," Ragi mustered whatever left of her confidence and courage. "Look at that thing, it's so small and insignificant; not quite a match for you - future queen of Goblin-kind - don't you think?" she continued with a wink - partially to boost Aya's confidence, and partially to suggest herself into thinking that the enemy was no match for the two.

"I'll move in first," she continued as she poisitoned herself to Aya's right side and unwound the makeshift flail from her shoulder before swinging it in circular motion to gain momentum. "Please watch its movement and direct us to victory," she finally said as she released the flail in a diagonal arc towards the flower-like creature.

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@RC3@Shovel

Having completed his first hunt with incredible success, Cull meandered through the forest; humming a happy tune to himself as he made his way back in the direction of the cave. However, the young goblin was far from satisfied with his hunting for the day. Cull wanted to bring back enough food for any brothers or sisters of his that didn't have as much success at hunting today-- but since he'd ended up eating most of his spoils, he needed to find something bigger.... something stronger, to kill.

The angered cries of something unknown echoed through the forest, bringing a toothy grin to Cull's blood-covered face. Sounds BIG. And it's close! he thought to himself with glee as he raced towards it, his previous spoils still in tow. However, as the eager greenskin arrived upon the scene; he froze in his tracks, his smile fading, and his little bundle of goodies dropping silently to the ground. A pink thing; fat, and ugly. It's rear was to him, and it seemed to be in great pain. Around it lay the bodies of two other Goblins-- limp and unmoving.

Childish excitement was replaced with a cold, dutiful rage. Blood had been spilled. The blood of his kin. Blood that Cull would see repaid. He gripped his spear with such fervor that his green knuckles turned nearly white. This.... Whatever the FUCK it was. It was going to die. It HAD to die. He owed it to his fallen brothers. His jaw clenched into a snarl as he charged at the creature with his newly acquired speed, only the sound of his breath escaped his lips as he closed in. Using all of his weight, and newly acquired speed; he lunged at the fat pinkie's left thigh, aiming to bury the tip of his spear in its hamstring! But Cull would not stay here. He may have been a newborn-- but he knew damn well that staying within this creature's striking range was a death sentence. The moment his momentum had fully transferred into the strike, Cull swiftly planted his feet and launched himself back, aiming to create some distance that he could work with.