A badger walked along the forest floor, sniffing around as all the life around it hid away in fear. Like with the venomous snake, it did not need to hide from predators or prey. It would travel openly towards anything that interested it and would fiercely attack anything that blocked it. Abnormal strength flowed through its small body alongside a thick skin that allowed it to take a beating. Venom was not something this creature needed to be feared.
Sweet smells seduced it from upwind of its position. There it found a bee's nest, full of stinging insects and delicious honey. Without caring about the bees it climbed up to the nest and began eating. Its body was stung countless times before it was satisfied and left behind a partially destroyed nest. With its stomach filled, it returned to its home and slept the venom from the bees stings off. By no means was its fur thick enough to block out the stingers completely and neither was it immune to said venom. Its pain tolerance was high and a fast metabolism processed out the chemicals from the stingers.
It slept in until the afternoon then set off to get more food. While honey was nice, it craved meat. It began tracking down a deer that was leaking blood, either wounded or already dead, but the blood itself was fresh. Whatever was at the end of the trail, it had the confidence to kill, steal, and eat. On the way towards the deer, it encountered another predator. A snake, venomous, and moving in the opposite direction of the deer straight into its path. Any other animal would move out of its way, but the badger pretended not to see it.
The two crossed paths and the snake let out a warning hiss while waving its head around in the air, showing off its coloration. All it got was a growl in response from the badger. When it tried to step forward again, the snake lunged at it and made a biting motion just inches from the badger, trying to scare it off. The badger responded in kind by trying to bite at its neck for real. It missed but it provoked an actual bite from the snake.
A tussle broke out on the ground as they rolled around. The badger tried to claw at the snake's body and bite its neck while the snake constantly injected venom all over the badger's body. Eventually, a winner came out of the fight, the badger. The snake had been disemboweled and covered in bloody scratches while the badger only had bite marks. Still, the badger wasn't immune to the snake's venom and it ended up collapsing. Both sides appeared to have died with the result a tie.
After a few minutes, the badger climbed back to its feet and began consuming the snake's corpse, happy to get some meat and forgetting about the deer. Normally animals bit by the snake would get paralyzed and then die from organ failure. The badger simply got paralyzed while its body broke down the remnant venom before anything important shut down.
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(Switch to First Person POV)
"Look Strangescale, it's a Small Furred Don't Eat. Amazing things they are, just walking off after being bit by a Colorful Legless Tenderflesh," said Forjaw.
"Ignore it," I said while keeping my shine rock weapon close in case that thing decided to attack us. Don't Eat was actually somewhat of an appropriate name considering how much effort it took to kill them just for meat that tasted awful.
We had split up from our kin to find something to hunt. Groups of two through six would comb the forest to try and kill prey then return before nightfall. No prey would be around if we traveled all together but it made things dangerous as we were in enemy territory. Of course, I was in one of the groups of two with the one kin that liked me. I would much prefer staying in a group and just assaulting the Furred Ones nest.
Whatever happened, I planned on testing this weapon out more. It could pierce through the heads of the Furred Ones fairly easily and it had a much longer range than a sling. All that needed work was my aim and learning how much I could use the weapon. Perhaps I would've found a nice spot to constantly shoot it until I couldn't anymore. See if my physical endurance or it gave out first. As for the possibility it would get irreparably damaged or had limited uses that wouldn't restore on its own, then I would keep that in mind if I ever found another one.
Forjaw managed to sniff out some prey while I was off in my own thoughts. A Small Long Legged Furred One, or as Forjaw called it, a Furry Meatball, ran across a field before stopping and staring in our direction. Giving chase, Forjaw was kited around as the prey ran back and forth in a circle, not even bothering to leave the area. I stood off to the side, seeing how far Forjaw could get without using a sling. They mostly flailed about with the new knife I had given them.
Eventually, I drew my weapon and let loose a blue bolt of light, skewering the prey right in its heart. A good shot if not for the fact I was aiming for its head. Forjaw then reached the prey and expertly gutted and skinned it. All that was on his mind was food, so it made sense that he would be good at prepping meals. The best part, the heart and lungs, were destroyed beyond recovery, so we mostly feasted upon the muscle and remaining organs. As for the bones, skin, and some other flesh we didn't bother eating, it was left behind in the middle of a clearing where it would be easy to see and the smell would spread.
Not too long after, Furred Ones would come to investigate and become enraged at the theft of prey within their territory just as their theft had prompted this revenge. When they came to our territory to try and make things even despite the fact they had tipped things in the first place, we would put them in their place. As troublesome and unreasonable as it was, I couldn't help but get excited while watching over the dead prey. This was a spark that would cause a war.
Amazingly, that moment had come earlier than expected, Forjaw and I had just left the clearing when a group of six Furred Ones appeared and started yelping at the dead prey. They could smell our scents all over the area and knew what had happened. It was too late to run as their heads turned our way and our scents dug into their nostrils. In such a situation, it couldn't be helped if we fought. We accomplished our task to hunt prey and tried to return but the Furred Ones caught up to us and we killed them. That was what we'd tell Sixlaw.
"Hurry and run Strangescale, we're outnumbered!" shouted Forjaw as he got ready to take off, only hesitating to see if I would come with. Such a good friend, the others would have long run off and left me behind while hoping I'd distract the enemies long enough for them to get away.
"It's too late to run. They're faster than us, have our scent, and now they just heard your shout. Look at their ears twitch. You're wrong about one thing though. We're not outnumbered at all," I said as I drew my weapon and shot out another bolt of light.
Finally, I hit right where I wanted to hit, the Furred One that was closest to us right through its eye, piercing through and almost hitting a second one. Realizing one of theirs was already dead, they spread out and readied their spears, hiding behind trees. They didn't immediately charge as the Green Scaleless would. If we chose to run, they would chase. If we stood our ground, they would stand theirs while getting closer. As long as they got within melee range without losing too much of their own numbers, we were dead.
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Wars were nothing new to these Flesh-Born Furred Ones and unlike the Ground-Born Greens, they knew how to fight us Scaled Kin. The thin trees they hid behind would block rocks slung towards them and they could duck between them fast as can be. Unfortunately, we weren't using slings so it was the wrong strategy. My weapon sent out another light that clean-cut through the thin tree and the Furred One behind it. A line of blood was left below the hole on the tree as it slid down and died, creating the impression that the tree itself had bled if not for the corpse.
Forjaw charged out towards a Furred One that had strayed too far to the side, separated from the rest thanks to me killing the one I did. They dodged to the side as it thrust its spear then used the new shine rock blade to decapitate it. Meanwhile, the remaining three changed their strategy, coming out from behind the trees and throwing their spears then running away. I had not expected them to abandon their weapons and had been about to fire once again, giving me little chance to dodge. All three came my way and while their aim wasn't that good in their desperation, it left me little options to get away unharmed.
One of the spears pierced my side, knocking me to the ground. Blood spewed out of the wound as it broke through my scales and hit flesh. Nothing important was hit but it hurt like hell. I'd survive but have trouble doing anything for a bit. Forjaw rushed over and pulled the spear out before snapping it in half on their knee. I tore a bit of my clothing off to press on the wound while trying to calm my breathing. Then gritting my teeth through the pain, I grabbed a nearby spear that missed me and Forjaw's shoulder to lift myself up.
"You're injured. You should just stay on the ground and rest, at least until the wound closes," said Forjaw as they helped support me while I was standing. While insisting I should lay down, they made no move to stop me nor did they try and push me back down.
"Hah, get some rest in the middle of enemy territory that has their blood, my blood, and even prey after we just let three of them get away. What a joke. Let's go back to the meetup place and hope we don't die on the way. Then, and only then, can I worry about this tiny cut," I said while pulling out the spear, flipping it around so the tip faced upwards, and began using it as a walking stick. Forjaw helped wrap the shine rock weapon around my shoulder before walking at my side, ready to catch me if I fell.
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Back at the meeting point by the river that went underground, we found some of our kin already there. The mood was stiff and no one would meet each other's eyes. I noticed that some of them who had gone out with six came back with only two or three. Our kin had passed away during this mission, far more than expected. A quarter of the group that initially went in never returned. We waited until it was close to nightfall before returning to the nest. By this time, my wound had scabbed over.
"The Furred Ones have learned how to use ranged weapons by throwing their spears. Our slings and great strength has always been our source of pride and gave us a feeling that we were above them, like a Ground-Born compared to a Hatch-Born. That advantage no longer exists. They have learned and stepped up in strength. Us splitting up was our undoing as they could kill us with both numbers and range like how we hunted down their initial patrol as a group," said Sixlaw as the tribe got ready to sleep through the night.
"Well that explains where they got the confidence to kill our prey in the first place," I said while inspecting my wound in the dying light. If need be, I could use the cloth fixing kit to pull the wound closed to heal faster, but I'd prefer not to.
"You want to say something, Strangescale? Tell us about how you were right and rant about killing them on your own or how we should've taken them on as a group?" asked Sixlaw with blatant hostility after my interjection.
"Well, you already pretty much admitted your strategy was wrong so I won't rag on about that. I was also wrong though. I was pretty much alone, just with Forjaw and overestimated my new weapon while underestimating the enemy. That's how I got this new wound. I could probably still slowly kill off all the Green Scaleless in the forest if I put my mind to it," I said.
"Let's not antagonize the Green Softfleshes while we face the probability of retaliation from the Furred Ones. From tomorrow onward, no one is to hunt in the area bordering the Furred Ones territory while a few of us will be assigned to scout the area for signs of Furred Ones every hour. Kin who go out to hunt will be required to bring back some food for said scouts. Don't be selfish as we're in a state of war and we've already lost a quarter of our population," said Sixlaw.
The state in the nest wasn't too good. A lot of kin grumbled under their breath about having to scout or feed the scouts, alongside the ones depressed about their friends dying. We had to win this conflict or the Furred Ones would take over our territory, leaving us with less hunting grounds and food, making it harder to maintain a large population. Then the scales would tip in the Furred Ones favor as their numbers grew from the new territory. Eventually, we would be wiped out as more and more wars broke out and they took our territory over.
Even with this wound, I would have to participate. Not participating meant starving. My wound getting worse from participating meant death. If I were to die either way, I'd like to die with a full belly. Now the only thing left to do before sleeping was to decide whether to be a scout and get the chance to kill the Furred Ones when they come or hunt and monopolize the best parts of the meat while bringing back scraps for the scouts. I was sure the others would do the same to the scouts, especially for me if I joined them. Scouting was less effort and guaranteed food with more danger and lower quality meat while hunting had no guarantees and plenty of effort with barely any danger and the best meat.
I decided to sleep on this decision, curling up with my kin around the same time as the others. I needed more sleep to heal from my wounds and there was nothing to repair or work on. My torn clothes would be replaced with the second pair and I had not used my sling even once. The wound had stopped bleeding and was small enough to not need stitching. As I was oddly one of the first to go to sleep and there were less of us than before, the other kin curled up around me. This included kin that I normally kept far from while sleeping, such as the strict Sixlaw. I had no complaints as it was warmer than usual, making it easier to sleep.
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Author's note: Welp, as soon as I answered a comment about a tentative schedule I broke it. Late holiday celebrations due to everyone being sick on Christmas plus having to work early made writing hard to do the past few days.
I currently don't have wifi so most of my writing and posting is done on mobile, but I plan on going through and editing stuff on a laptop hooked up to wifi soon. Gotta fix some spelling errors and capitalization with terms. I will also do some ctrl+f magic to make sure I didn't use any present tense outside of dialogue.
Term list:
Small Furred Don't Eat- Badger
Shine Rock Weapon- Bow
Shine Rock Blade- Sword
Furred Ones- Decided to make them kind of like a dog beastman thing like an Asian version of Kobold. Kobold is from D&D and is basically a Lizardman. One translation of a description that said they were "dog-like" made it so the Japanese version or something was a dogman sorta thing.
Scaled Ones/Kin- Lizardmen. Scaly bodies, stand on two feet, have opposable thumbs, and long, almost crocodile-like jaws.
Ground-Born- Beings birthed from dungeon-like nests, named as such for rising from the ground/being created from dirt. Dumb and aggressive but also able to have children who are better than them. Stop being born after enough Flesh/Hatch-Borns exist in a nest.
Flesh-Born- Beings born normally through a female and male couple. Generally stronger and more intelligent.
Hatch-Born- Version of Flesh-Borns for beings that are more reptilian/fishlike/birdlike.