It all became so clear.

What was left of us crawled out of the river, through the underbrush. Our senses finally returned to their full sharpness. Nothing pursued us.

The humans’ faith spoke of the sin of being stiff-necked, stubborn, unwilling to do as their lord commanded. It was in their nature to resist. This defeat was just another part of the price that we had promised ourselves we would pay.

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We reached an ant mound. One by one, there in the darkness we consumed the insects. From this, we gained the strength to keep going. A rodent gave its life so that we could heal some of our more important organs.

We understood the nature of the obstacle. We understood their ferocity. We had learned how to counter them and their firepower. With that hard won knowledge we would grow. Next time we would be ready. Next time we would show them our true potential.

The woods were vast. Our goddess was patient. We would start over. With time we would heal. New opportunities would present themselves.

We are only one more massacre away from paradise.