Hunger persisted. It gnawed. It wouldn't go away because he slept. But it kept off the edge, at least. He should sleep early tonight. Wake up at night. Hunt then, when the critters are asleep. Night works better. The eyes in the sky can't find you so easily. The air cooled you as your body warmed up.

In the darkness of shut eyes, as comforting as the womb of a mother he could not remember, that was what Hoi thought. He opened his eyes after. Rolled onto his feet. Tried to straighten his back, then grimaced. It hurt. It hurt a lot. It hurt like a metaphor. What was a metaphor? Hrm. It hurt. He hunched back down, crick-cracking into a comfortable slouch. His brethren were still around him. One was sharper than the others. Three others were just throwing rocks. May be training, may just be having fun. And the last one...

[i]"Food for the strong."[/i]

A squashed beetle may as well be...may as well be...Hoi shook his head again, emptying out meaningless fragments. It was food. He hungered. Needed a lot if he wanted to keep his shape. He reached out, then closed Emiri's hand over their beetle, pushing it back to the curious goblin. "You work, you eat."

Maybe he should have taken it anyways though. Moments after, a green blur burst between the two, and the beetle was gone in the mouths of another. One of the rock-throwers. Hoi tensed, his ▅▅▅▅-like gaze following them into the darkness of the cave, wrists crackling as his hands splayed, each finger ending in a dirtied claw.

[b]"You work, you eat."[/b]

He turned away, striding off into the forest, what callous intentions within him seeping out as he stepped into an easy rhythm. A final word, just a meaningless offer to that strangely dressed goblin.

[b]"Let's work."[/b]
[@Versa][@Dark Light]