Though he had already turned his gaze outward to the forest that laid beyond the cave, neither did Garou neglect to heed the Matorn’s words. The shadows flickered about as a breeze rustled the branches above, mesmerizing him for a moment as he watched their “dance”. A bit harsh that he’d have to immediately fend for himself, but some ingrained memory hinted this would be for the better if he survived. Goblins had a hierarchy after all, and those that relied on others would ultimately be lower. With a nod as the Matron finally dismissed them, Garou stepped out of the cave and onto soil. Though still hard so close to the cave’s entrance the sensation was different and he enjoyed it as he walked away from the opening, the texture growing softer with distance and mixing with grass.
He blinked in surprise as one of the other goblins quickly disappeared amongst the thick trees that surrounded him. Though his body responded as he liked, Garou was doubtful he’d be able to move with the swiftness that particular brother had. Not to mention the pangs of hunger he felt as he rubbed at his stomach… If the Matron was to be believed then food had been growing scarce since he’d been born and the older generation had left, so it made sense he supposed. It wouldn’t be impossible he supposed, but hunting after he’d foraged some things to eat would probably be the better course of action; after all the rabbits had to eat something.
As the Matron had indicated, it wasn’t too hard to stumble across one of the four legged horned creatures. He hadn’t even been paying attention when a rustling to his left announced the creature’s presence as it bolted away from Garou. Despite the initial urge to chase, a glance at the Horned Rabbit’s nimble movements and he felt the urge fade away much like when he’d seen his brother charge ahead. Thankfully the creature didn’t run out of view completely and came to a halt further away from Garou, raising up on its hind legs to glance in his direction. Unsure of what to do, given the creature’s horn did look quite dangerous, he simply watched as it dropped back on all four legs and began to eat the grass around it. Crouching, he ripped up some of the grass and chewed on it, disgust quite evident on his face as he spit it out soon after. Even continuously chewing on it made no difference, and the gooey mass was basically impossible to swallow without gagging.
Distracted as he was, by the time Garou looked back up the Rabbit had bounded off somewhere else. Frustrated and surprised by the disappearance of his eventual prey, he fell back against the tree trunk as a pang of hunger shot through him once more. The soft rustle of branches and leaves above his head caused Garou to look upwards; just in time for an object to bounce off his forehead. It wasn't particularly painful and he managed to swipe the spherical object before it hit the ground.
Gnarled and rather tough, Garou brought the orb closer to examine and upon doing so managed to catch its scent. Whatever it was, it certainly smelled better than the bitter grass had, but as it was it seemed to tough for him to eat. Upon further examination, which involved a bit of shaking, Garou discovered that there seemed to be something inside the hard shell. Simply trying to pry it apart with his hands yielded no results, and it wasn't until he smashed it against the ground that the shell gave way. Unfortunately, the nuts within were also crushed as a result and he was forced to fish through shell and dirt for tiny pieces. Food though! Something that was actually palatable, and with that knowledge, came motivation. A sharp kick against the tree trunk had Garou hopping away in pain, but as he cradled his foot he also saw dozens of tree nuts hit the grass around him. Now he just had to figure a way to control the force at which he opened them...
