A monopoly, or at least a superiority, in violence.

That sounded like an appropriate resource to develop then. Esfir, certainly, couldn't lay out an adult orc with a singular punch the same way that Xolkug did, and if she had used a weapon, that would have escalated the situation too. Fisticuffs were an expression of aggression; a blade drawn lead to a certainty of death.

As the last of the sausage disappeared, she wiped her hands of grease and fat by scrubbing it against the dirt, before tossing the charred stick she had been using as a utensil into the flames. The orcs that had gathered were gone at this point, their stomachs not satisfied but their taste buds happy, and it was now truly dipping towards the evening. All that remained was a shelter, and Esfir scampered off to get one set up. Looking towards the sky, it didn't appear as if it would rain, so she settled for a quick concept. Taking her hatchet, the runt headed off to the copse of dead wood around the camp, cutting off longer branches to serve as a simply frame for a shelter that would be just large enough to sit down in. The Harpy's wing membranes that she had kept were stretched out over the A-frame made from the branches, then secured in place by a combination of the remaining Mycellium lashes and the more pliable roots that she dug out from the earth. Maybe tomorrow, she'll spend the time to harvest leafier branches from the nearby forest to better help with rain-proofing and insulating the shelter, but it'll have to do for now. A lightweight shelter that was mostly just good for windbreaking would be fine.

And as for the matter of security...

Esfir looked at what remained in her bag. She had taken all she could from her kills at the start, mostly under the presumption of waste-not-want-not, but now, a lot of it just appeared to be...unusable. That was good though. There were some things that could be cared for, and others that could be treated as disposable. The rocks she had were kept for Bowbh, and she still figured that there was something useful to be garnered from the more 'unique' parts of the beasts she slew, but those cracked claws and horns? The talons? She could find more mushrooms in the future, and those rotleaves didn't look like they were an uncommon occurrence either. So instead, the Runt laid out all the mish-mash of sharp animal parts she had and used a stick to crush the rotberries and mushroom bits together into a paste. Carefully, she wiped that paste upon the broken claws and points, then scattered them around the entrance of her shelter, before throwing a dusting of dirt over top to hide it.

It would be easy enough to cross if one took an abnormally long step into the open entrance of her tent, but who would do that, unless they knew of the 'caltrops' she had laid in front? And her own shelter was separated far away enough from the others that one would have to intentionally walk towards it in order to step upon the caltrops to begin with.

At least, that was the hope.

...she wasn't going to think about the off-chance of someone walking up to her shelter because they wanted to go talk to her.

[hider=Skills][list]
[*][b]Ingestion[/b] - [i]After consuming a required amount of biomass from a particular Creature, 1 of that Creature's Skills can be copied at its lowest Rank.[/i]
[*][b]Frost Arc[/b] - Rank I - [i]An expanding spray of icy cold, over 10 feet in one direction and 5 feet wide at its furthest edge. The cold is more intense the closer the target is to the origin, reaching its lowest temperature within a span of about 2 feet. It constantly expends Magic Power the longer the cone is maintained.[/i]
[*][b]Murderous Intent[/b] - Rank II - [i]Focus hatred and the desire to kill through the subtle senses. A creature that is weaker than you must exert its willpower or be Intimidated (Intimidated creatures suffer reduced speed). A creature that is already Intimidated, Shocked, or Unaware may instead become Fearful and be unable to act for 5 seconds. Creatures that are stronger than you can only be Intimidated by this Skill if they are already Shocked or Unaware, but their willpower threshold is higher. [b]At Rank II[/b], creatures weaker than you will be made Fearful instead of Intimidated. If they are already Intimidated, Shocked, or Unaware, the effect of Fearful will be extended to 10 seconds. Creatures that are equal to you will suffer Rank I effects.[/i]
[*]Empty Skill Slot[/list][/hider]
[hider=Equipment and Inventory][list]
[*][b]Swaddling Pelts[/b] - Equip, Clothes - [i]Old animal skins used to keep an Orc baby warm as they sleep. Once the Runt is old enough to start hunting, these are usually just enough to cover the parts that need the most covering.[/i]
[*][b]Antler Bracers[/b] - Equip, Armor - [i]A type of bone armor used to protect the arms. Materials such as fangs, teeth, horn, antler, etc can be quite tough, but typically aren't as hard as metals. They are somewhat resistant to physical damage, though less so against Blunt impacts. [b]Light Defense Boost![/b][/i]
[*][b]Sharp Rock[/b] - Equip, Weapon/Tool, Material Component - [i]A rock with a slightly sharp edge. Useful as a primitive knife or chisel. Can be thrown.[/i]
[*][b]Flint Hatchet[/b] - Equip, Weapon/Tool - [i]A sharper edge than a Stone Hatchet of equivalent size, but lighter and more brittle. Requires more strength and proper alignment to get a good chop, but most wood will be cut faster.[/i]
[*][b]Borrowed Antler Pickaxe[/b] - Equip, Weapon/Tool - [i]A pickaxe made with a sturdy piece of wood and a sharpened antler. Can harvest softer stones and some ores! It can be used as a piercing weapon, even on hard shelled creatures, but it wasn't designed for that. [b]High Quality. On Loan from Bowbh.[/b][/i]
[*][b]Jackalope Spear[/b] - 2H Weapon - [i]A decent, if primitive spear. Not suitable as a throwing weapon due to its weight, but made of tough, sturdy materials. Jackalope horn is surprisingly sharp, almost as much so as metal.[/i]
[*][b]Stomach-Bag[/b] - Small bag, improved from an Elwet's stomach.
[*][b]Rotleaves x5[/b]
[*][b]Rotleaf Seedpods x6[/b]
[*][b]Gizzard Sparkstone[/b]
[*][b]Elwet Feathers[/b]
[*][b]Raw Chalcopyrite Ore x3[/b]
[*][b]Bufonite x3[/b]
[*][b]Tungem Branch x3[/b]
[*][b]Jackalope Point x3[/b]
[*][b]Broken Jackalope Point x2[/b]
[*][b]Pimplestool Mushroom x2[/b]
[*][b]Crushed Pimplestool[/b]
[*][b]Mushroom Shreds x3[/b]
[*][b]Mycellium Lash x2[/b]
[*][b]Frayed Mycellium Lash x2[/b]
[*][b]Cracked Tatzelwurm Fang x1[/b]
[*][b]Tatzelwurm Fang x2[/b]
[*][b]Tatzelwurm Claws x3[/b]
[*][b]Cracked Tatzelwurm Claws x2[/b]
[*][b]Tatzelwurm Coilbone x1[/b]
[*][b]Crushed Tatzelwurm Eye x2[/b]
[*][b]Harpy Tooth x1[/b]
[*][b]Harpy Talon x3[/b]
[*][b]Broken Harpy Talon x1[/b]
[*][b]Harpy Wing Membrane x2[/b]
[*][b]Harpy Screech Valve x1[/b]
[/list]
[/hider]
[@Zeroth]