With the little green creature, sitting on her shoulder, she walked through the amber forest, with fall in full swing. She didn't know how long this would take but she hoped to finish getting him introduced with his own species by the end of autumn.
She looked at him on her shoulder and sighed.
“You sure are comfortable there…” She said, with an eyebrow twitching.
He was the one who decided to climb her and sit on her shoulder. She had been doing her best to shake him off to no avail.
“Your legs sure as hell don't seem hurt.” She said as he kicked his legs up and down, his little feet hitting against her chest. His shoes weren't dirty, which was the only reason she was entertaining his giddy act.
In her time she knew the little guy, she realised he'd eat anything. Bread, jam, raw herbs, ungrounded spices, plain flour, unmilled wheat, the weevils that managed to get into one of her bags of flour, an off-cut of beef that consisted mostly of sinew and fat, hell, he even started eating some weeds that sprouted up in her backyard the other day.
So he wasn't a picky eater by any means and she assumed that applied to most of his species. And what was the best way to gather a group of animals without having to faff about for half a day? Leaving out a tasty treat.
She'd be content with a half-eaten carcass, as bears and other animals in the forest would be busy fattening themselves up for winter but she came across a real gem.
She caught a bear in the act of killing a dear.
(“Welp, I have the bait. Now it's time for the waiting.”)
She strolled up the bear as it dealt the death blow and the creature looked in no mood to share. It didn't bother roaring and ran straight at her.
The little goblin hopped off her and jumped over to a nearby, hastily climbing up it. She dusted off the area, which he sat on her shoulder and looked onwards at the bear.
“Does he think I'm a caravan? I guess you can treat some creatures right but their instincts will override all that care and have them run away at the first sign of danger. But I guess they aren't as bad as people. They'll leave you alone even when there is no danger.”
The little goblin looked nervous as he stared at Colleen, seemingly waiting for her to climb the tree as well.
The bear aimed its mouth at her face and looked to add an extra meal to his winter preparation. She socked it right in the jaw and sent it to the floor.
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It quickly walked away moments later, eyeing her with every step.
“Hmm, want more you little shit? The season is still early, and there are plenty of deer to go around. So stop sulking and get out of here before I make you into a nice rug.”
The bear turned around and sped up its pace. It may not have understood her but the look on her face combined with the disdain in her voice was enough to tell him it was a threat.
The goblin soon jumped on her and attempted to get first dibs on the fresh meat. He tried to jump off her shoulder but the witch stopped by grabbing his foot.
“This isn't for you.”
She looked for the tallest tree she could find nearby and threw the young goblin up first, before making her own way up after.
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The time they waited for something to appear, she taught him how to play tic tac toe.
And currently, they were 48-8-0 (in her favour.)
She couldn't help but smile at her dominance.
(“Hehe, he doesn't know there's a guaranteed way to always force a draw.”) Colleen boasted to herself as she destroyed a creature with intelligence no greater than a child, in a game he didn't even know existed before today.
She heard something step on the dry leaves of the forest and slowly turned to it.
(“It better not be another fox or raccoon. I didn't even know raccoons ate deer meat until today.”)
They were all green and wore no clothes despite the current season. Some were bald, some with modest heads of hair. And they were exactly what she was looking for.
They paid no attention to their surroundings and made a beeline for the deer meat. It was still quite fresh, so she didn't imagine this was a luxury the goblins had quite often.
In their hands were stones, nothing or-
(“Hmm? Are those farming tools?”)
Some held hand scythes and trowels. They obviously weren't the ones that forged them, considering they were made of steel and looked quite well-kept. Did the goblins have a knack for stealing or did someone give them these tools? Either answer was somewhat concerning, but given she hadn't heard anything about goblins recently, she decided to ignore that for the time being.
They used their tools to cut and rip meat and easily take slices for themselves.
(“I want interaction between them but I should probably make sure they don't kill the little guy with those things.”)
She jumped down from the tree and restrained all the goblins before they realised what had even happened.
They all fell to the floor, wrapped in a white and bright string they couldn't break out of.
He casually picked up their tools and tossed them to one side.
She looked up into a tree nearby.
“Get down here you little shit it's time for you to interact with your own kind.”
The goblin seemed hesitant but when the grey-haired woman picked up a sickle and aimed it at him, he suddenly wasn't so reluctant to come down.