[CENTER][h3][color=lightseagreen]S A I T O[/color]
Forest[/h3]
[i][b]The First Meal[/b][/i][/CENTER]
[hr]

Saito let the prey drop to the ground, and kicked it hard where he thought the ribs would be for good measure. It wasn't out of cruelty--somehow, he felt that hitting something hard enough to take its breath away would make it hard for it to fake being dead. The Scaled Shrew did not stir. He had done it.

He dropped to his knees next to the creature, breathing hard. His stomach rumbled. It wasn't so much the "fight" that had taken it out of him, but the simple fact he had been hoisting this creature's whole body weight and repeatedly bashing it to mush. Now that he stopped to examine himself, he wasn't even scratched! He felt an odd swelling of pride in his chest--he wondered if any of the other goblins had managed their hunts this well.

And now, to business. His hunger simply would not wait any more. Those odd memories threatened to surface again--there seemed to be something "wrong" about eating the creature as it was, but whatever it was Saito couldn't figure it out. And it couldn't stop him from digging in as soon as possible. Still, he did heed the odd, fuzzy sensations on one account.

He took his rock, and one of his pointed sticks, and drove the wood to split the animal's hide. It was a bit of a touchy business, as he couldn't hit it full force like he would a chisel--he only needed to puncture the skin a little bit, and then rip it a little bit more, and then get a firm hold on it with his hands. Stomach growling, he disemboweled the Shrew. Why? The reasons were threefold. First, he wanted to remove the innards because he somehow felt they wouldn't be as tasty as the rest of the animal, save for its heart, liver, and kidneys. These, and the stomach pouch, he kept. All of the other offal he threw onto the ground nearby, and dusted them with a layer of dirt before doing the same to his hands and rubbing the grit off against the grass.

The second reason: If there were any scavenger animals in the area, or other creatures that might be attracted by the smell, he hoped they would pick up the scent once the innards had time to waft in the breeze for a bit. That way, he might be able to return to this place later for a second hunt. 

And the third reason: He split open the stomach, and took a look at what the creature had been eating. It was full of berries, only partially digested...and aside from the acrid smell of digestive juices, Saito didn't smell anything particularly foul. Nor did the skin of the stomach look as if it were irritated from the berries or their juices.

With this accomplished he tossed the stomach aside with the other bits, and took his own handful of berries back up. He took one berry, and smeared it to paste over his arm. Then he placed them alongside the rest of his food. He was able to quickly gather another handful of berries from the ones the Scaled Shrew had been eating, and added these to the pile.

Finally, his stomach rumbling so much as to distract him, he set to one last task. Again driving the pointy stick with the rock, he made jagged, amateurish punctures all down the sides of the Shrew's back. Grasping its shell with both hands, Saito grunted as he pulled, again and again. Eventually, the whole hide came off with a hideous rip. Tearing the tail off was easier--but now, he had some very strong armored plates. What would he use them for? He wasn't sure yet, but those foggy, buzzing thoughts in his head seemed to be formulating an idea.

And now, he could eat.

The berries on his arm had not irritated his skin in any way. He smeared some more of the juice around his mouth, and then grabbed the Scaled Shrew's corpse. Picking up one forelimb, he literally bit right into it, sinking his teeth into skin. Tearing off the smaller, thinner scales on its hide was like biting through an overcooked fry batter or hard vegetable. His exaggerated canines split its flesh easily, and he tore off a huge, bleeding chunk. Chewing, crunching, gulping, he devoured it with no thought for such things as table manners. He took another bite, and another. The berry juice around his lips hadn't caused any adverse affects, so he popped just two into his mouth and chewed them thoroughly. As their tight roundness burst he savored the juices, but chewed a while more without swallowing. Satisfied that they were not poison, he gathered up both handfuls and tossed them into the body cavity left behind by his removal of the prey's organs.

The goblin continued to eat ravenously. He popped the Shrew's eyes like candy. He tore at its sinews like strings of licorice. Handful upon handful, mouthful upon mouthful, of flesh and blood disappeared into his maw. The berries served almost like a sauce, as he mashed them up inside the creature's corpse and ate handfuls of the mixture two at a time.

Finally, Saito sat back on his haunches and sighed. He looked up at the blue sky, and suddenly...

The world seemed much clearer. Birds were chirping, leaves wildly rustled, and the growls and sounds of the various creatures that called the forest their home were never ending. Everything around him gradually became vibrant and filled with life, as it should have been. The pain, fatigue, and discomfort he previously felt had disappeared, as if it was never there. This was certainly more than simple recovery.

Now that his mind was clear again, Saito observed his surroundings. He suddenly picked up the signs of various creatures that he hadn't been aware of before...and he was sure that, somewhere out there, were much stronger creatures than this Shrew. He looked at the position of the sun and tried to gauge how long he'd been away from the cave.

Once again he picked up his stone, and the bloodied pointy stick. He had one more thing to do--try and debone what was left of the Shrew. Maybe he could its claws and fangs, or its femurs, or some such things for some other purpose. As soon as he could do that--or not, depending--he would gather up his items, put his underwear back on, and head home.

[hider=OOC]
Ate Handful of Berries x2. To be removed from inventory.
Ate Scaled Shrew. Skill to be Absorbed: [???] - Defensive Skill (Passive)
Field Dressed Scaled Shrew, threw the Internal Organs out to possibly serve as bait for other prey in the future.
Now attempting to Debone Shrew
Regardless of Deboning results, will shortly start back towards the cave.
[/hider]