Survival Life as a Goblin Chapter 3 (Patreon)

Well here I go again with another installment of Original Writing! I’m happy that so many of you enjoy this! Gives me hope that even my own creations are decent enough to be enjoyable! With that said let’s see what our young Gob gets up to now that he’s put out an offer to the rest of the youngsters.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

-Day 34-

Another morning of training come and gone and Gobkoh was looking over the remaining thirty-nine Goblins of his generation. The females were setting up campfires again and preparing to hunt. Gobtay and Gobyog were heading out to hunt with their new ‘Antler Spears’. Several other male Goblins he didn’t know all the names of were also heading into the forest in search of food. To Gobkoh’s dismay, of the remaining male Goblins, only two others had started carrying sticks with them for protection. The remaining twenty-one were unarmed as they wandered into the forest to hunt.

“No wonder Goblins lose so many progeny, they’re dumb as a sack of hammers.” Gobkoh shook his head before checking that his gear was strapped on securely. His ‘Shell Armor Breastplate’ and ‘Wood Plate’ back armor were secure and his ‘Antler Spear’ was undamaged. Lastly he checked his ‘Antler Shiv’ and seeing the stabbing weapon was still in good shape he headed into the forest. Wandering for a while he found several bushes covered in berries. ‘What are these?’ Gobkoh wondered as he focused and activated his ‘Analyze’ skill.

[Yubom Berry – Non-Toxic]

“Cool, let’s try them.” Gobkoh grinned as he picked one of the light-blue berries and popped it into his mouth. He wasn’t expecting the sourness and his face scrunched up at the surprise. ‘Man that’s like biting into a lemon!’ He compared in his head as he swallowed the berry down. Deciding against having anymore of the berries the young Goblin made his way deeper into the forest. Almost half an hour later Gobkoh still hadn’t seen any prey. “Where is everything?” He wondered as he listened for any sounds that might indicate an animal nearby. A faint sound came from the right and the young Goblin strained his hearing to try and figure out what it was. It sounded like something, or maybe multiple somethings, moving through the brush a fair distance away. ‘Let’s hope it’s something I can take down.’ Moving quietly as possible through the forest Gobkoh came upon a glen with sparse tree cover and long grass. Grazing on this long grass was a small herd of deer. They didn’t look much different than the white-tail he’d hunted ‘before’ but he noticed they appeared to have a striped-pattern on their brown fur. Using his ‘Analyze’ skill again gave him a name for the creatures.

[Stripe Deer – Level 7]

“Hmm, level seven huh. What’s my current level again?” Gobkoh wondered, just like before the information floated to the forefront of his mind.

‘Gobkoh, Level 4’

‘Four vs Seven…I’ll definitely have to take it by surprise. One good hit from the deer might just take me out.’ He thought as he looked at the closest one to his position, a doe judging by the lack of antlers. Slowly stalking forward he hefted his spear, ready to throw it if the deer noticed him and tried to bolt. Creeping closer, bit by bit, one slow step at a time the youngster got closer. The Stripe Deer’s ear twitched and its head snapped around to look in the Goblin’s direction. Gobkoh reacted instead of thinking and launched his spear with the strongest throw he could muster. The deer moved as the spear was coming towards it, turning to leap away and alerting all the other deer in the glen. Unfortunately for the deer it hadn’t moved enough and the ‘Antler Spear’ lodged into the lower chest cavity. The Stripe Deer still bolted but the spear remained stuck in its body.

“Damn it!” Gobkoh cried out as he gave chase. “I missed the heart entirely! If it gets away I’ll lose my spear and my meal!” The deer leaped through the long grass and made it to the tree line. The ‘Antler Spear’ that was still sticking into its side struck a passing tree and moved roughly within the deer’s body. The Stripe Deer dropped to the ground and struggled to get up. Its left front leg seemed to have lost the ability to support much weight. “I’ve got to catch up!” Gobkoh panted as he rushed through the tall grass. Emerging from the tall grass and seeing the deer limping further into the forest, Gobkoh rushed passed the injured animal and got ahead of it. The Stripe Deer startled and paused seeing the Goblin in front of it. “Forgive me for the pain.” Gobkoh apologized as he bolted forward as fast as he could run and grabbed the end of his spear. “Rargh!” With a loud yell Gobkoh shoved the spear with all his strength and pushed it through the deer’s body. The Stripe Deer dropped and only twitched as its lungs had been damaged and it lost the ability to breathe properly. Without a moment of hesitation Gobkoh withdrew his ‘Antler Shiv’ and drove it through the deer’s eye socket and into its brain. All movement from the Stripe Deer stopped and the young Goblin slowly removed the shiv from the deer’s head.

“Sorry…you had…to suffer…like that.” Gobkoh panted out as he sat beside the dead animal. After a minute to catch his breath the youngster made his way to the deer’s opposite side and started working his spear out of its body. “Now, how do I drag you back? You definitely weigh more than I do.” He pondered as he looked his kill over. “Maybe a sled? I’d just need a few long branches.” With a plan in mind Gobkoh set about making a one man; or one Goblin in this case, drag sled to haul his deer back to the cave. Once the sled was complete Gobkoh used his claws to slice open the deer’s stomach and remove its organs. This would help lower the deer’s internal temperature, so the meat wouldn’t start rotting, as well as keep the meat from being contaminated by the contents of the stomach, bladder, and intestines. Placing the, now lighter, deer on the drag sled Gobkoh grabbed the two handles and lifted his end. “One, two, and three!” He called out as he heaved the first step and then the second. Once he got a few steps into his trek he’d built up a little momentum and was able to start making better progress.

“Whew, I’ll be able to share some of this meat. Maybe I should smoke some of it so I can eat on it for a few days too.” Gobkoh grinned as he trekked through the forest on his way back towards the cave. Almost twenty minutes had passed before Gobkoh heard a scream that chilled him and made him nearly drop the sled handles.

“Was that a Goblin?” Gobkoh questioned the air as he looked around and strained his ears to hear anything. When no sound came the youngster grabbed his spear from the drag sled and held it at the ready. Taking a few steps away from his deer the youngster peeked over the nearby bushes. Not seeing anything except what looked like a small cliff, Gobkoh breathed a small sigh of relief. At worst, whatever had caused that scream was probably at the bottom of the cliff. Quietly making his way over to the edge of the cliff Gobkoh found it was actually almost twenty feet straight down. The cliff was made of a large rock, or perhaps the entire area was rock below the dirt in this part of the forest? The cliff ran for quite a ways in both directions so it seemed his guess had some merit. Looking down the cliff Gobkoh spotted the source of the scream. It was indeed another Goblin, or it had been. Clamped around the dead Goblin’s throat was a Lynx, it looked very similar to the ones he could remember form ‘before’ even the color was similar, though the size might be a small bit larger. Gobkoh quickly put his ‘Analyze’ skill to work again.

[Shade Lynx – Level 10]

“Level ten! No wonder that guy didn’t stand a chance.” Gobkoh muttered to himself; even though this was clearly one of the dumb Goblins that hadn’t even picked up a stick to defend itself. The sight of another Goblin preyed upon still sent an unpleasant shiver down the youngster’s spine. The Shade Lynx suddenly looked up and stared directly at Gobkoh. He brought his spear up and held it ready in case the predator could clear the cliff and attack him. With a warning growl the Shade Lynx grabbed the dead Goblin with its jaws and slowly dragged it back towards the coverage of a stand of trees at the bottom of the cliff. As soon as the Lynx hit the shaded area it seemed to vanish. The Goblin corpse being dragged into the trees the only evidence the predator was still there.

[Shade Lynx has used Skill: ‘Shadow’]

“I still had ‘Analyze’ active?” Gobkoh exclaimed only now realizing he hadn’t deactivated the skill. “Wait so some of these animals have skills too?” His eyes widened at the thought. ‘Shadow’ was at least easy enough to figure out. In shade or darkness the user appeared to vanish, or perhaps actually became invisible? Regardless it was a sobering thought, if he couldn’t see a predator approaching it put him in far more danger than normal. His armor would probably help make a difference, as well as his weapons, but he’d be much more wary the next time he ventured this far from the cave. Quickly making his way back to his drag sled, Gobkoh picked up the handles and made haste back towards the cave.

Arriving back to the cave clearing Gobkoh noticed the Goblin females cooking up some Shellcoons and Jackalopes. ‘I guess they’ve upped their game from just hunting Brush Rats.’ All attention was soon turned to him however when all the other youngsters realized what he was hauling back.

“Holy crap!” Gobtay exclaimed from where he and Gobyog were sitting and carving up a pair of Brush Rats with their claws.

“I thought only the older Goblins and the Hobgoblins could catch a deer!” Gobyog cried out as he looked over the cleaned animal on the sled.

“Oh? So you managed to bring down a Stripe Deer at your age? Very impressive!” En congratulated with a grin while a few of the female Hobgoblins stood behind him.

“Could I get some help?” Gobkoh asked as he dragged the deer next to where he usually started his campfires and ate.

“Certainly, if you’re willing to share, of course.” En chuckled.

“Sure, I can’t eat all of this by myself.” Gobkoh agreed and En moved forward along with the watching females. With heavy steps Rull appeared from within the cave and looked over the situation.

“A youngster brought down a Stripe Deer?” Rull questioned as he watched the Hobgoblin females pull out their stone knives and begin skinning the animal.

“Indeed, he did, Gobkoh is proving to be quite keen.” En nodded as Rull looked over one of his last progeny.

“That’s good, very good.” Rull rumbled giving a nod to Gobkoh.

“Thank you Chief.” Gobkoh nodded back. “Would you like some of it? It’s more than I can eat.”

“I’ll take you up on your offer.” Rull laughed as he moved forward and started assisting the preparation. A few snaps were heard as the Ogre broke the legs off the deer’s skinned body so that they could be cooked separately. One of the Hobgoblin women handed him a long branch while the others set up the branches that would support the spit and suspend the deer over the large fire that En was preparing. Gobkoh was impressed by the strength Rull displayed as the Ogre skewered the deer body as easily as he could skewer a Brush Rat. Within a few minutes the Stripe Deer was cooking over a large fire and Gobkoh was up in his preferred tree stretching the deer hide between the branches.

“It’ll dry by sundown probably; the Hobgoblin women must have a lot of practice with skinning. There’s no meat or fat left on this hide, maybe I should ask where they got those stone knives?” Gobkoh mused as he finished securing the deer skin and shimmied his way down the tree. Walking into the cave he picked up the blanket of the first youngster that went missing. Obviously he wasn’t coming back for it and Gobkoh could put it to better use. Once back outside the young Goblin found three large branches just passed the tree line and carried them into the clearing. Setting them up as a tripod and lashing them together with some of the spare cordage he made; he quickly tied the blanket around the tripod and made sure the only gap was at the top of the tripod. Taking a few strips of the deer meat that had been cut off the legs he hung them up inside the tripod and started a small fire under the hanging meat. Smoke slowly began to rise from the opening in the top of the enclosure. “Smoker seems to be working, I’ll check back after I eat.” Gobkoh nodded to himself as he made his way over to the large fire just as Rull pulled the deer away from the flames.

“Eat up youngster; no one else will eat until the one that brought it down has his first share.” Rull informed and Gobkoh was quick to gather a large green leaf to use as a plate. Tearing off a few large strips of the cooked deer Gobkoh sat down a little ways from the large fire and dug in.

“It’s great~.” Gobkoh sighed happily as he had his first taste of venison in his new life. Stripe Deer didn’t taste any different than regular venison from his memory, but it seemed Goblin taste buds were different from Human ones. Even without seasoning of any kind the cooked venison was amazing! Rull and En chuckled as they tore off large chunks for themselves before the Hobgoblin women moved in to claim their own share. The afternoon, and into the evening, was filled with good cheer as the Stripe Deer was consumed. Rull, En, and the Hobgoblin women ate their fill, barely leaving even a scrap of meat left of the deer, before retiring to the cave for the night. Seeing the sun starting to set Gobkoh climbed his way back up the tree he’d stretched the deer skin out in and brought it down. Taking the dried and stretched hide into the sleeping area for the youngsters he moved his current bedding aside and laid out the deer hide.

“That’s better already.” Gobkoh smiled as he sat on the deer hide feeling the softness of the fur partially counteract the hardness of the stone floor. Gathering up his two Jackalope pelts that weren’t serving as his pillow he grabbed the thin bone he kept from the Shellcoon and used it as a needle to sew the two pelts together with his supply of cordage. “And done!” He exclaimed as he held up his new Jackalope pelt blanket. With two pelts sewn together it was big enough to cover him from chest to ankles when he lied down. It was also wide enough to deal with any moving around he’d do in his sleep. Add his old ragged blanket on top of that and he’d be nice and cozy from now on. “Bedding upgraded again, yes!” Gobkoh celebrated. ‘One step closer to an actual bed!’ He thought happily as he removed his armor and set his gear next to his bedding. Placing the large green leaf he’d tied closed, after putting his new smoked venison inside of it, inside his armor for tomorrow. He nestled into his comfier bedding and sighed happily. Before he drifted off he wondered if he’d gained a level for slaying the Stripe Deer.

‘Gobkoh, Level 5’ Drifted across his consciousness for a moment.

“Huh, guess I did.” Gobkoh grinned before dozing off.

-Day 35-

Morning came once more and Gobkoh stretched as he awoke. Grabbing his gear and putting on his armor the youngster made his way to do his morning workout. A strip of dried venison and some Mavu fruit was his breakfast. Since he still had quite a bit of dried meat left he decided to put off hunting for today and explore the other side of the forest that was opposite the cave entrance. Walking for several minutes hadn’t revealed much, though he did see a large bird that his ‘Analyze’ skill identified.

[Woodland Robin – Level 2]

“Huh, that big but still only level two? Maybe size isn’t indicative of level?” Gobkoh mused as he continued his wandering. Over an hour later and he came to a large river. ‘Clearly this river feeds into the one that flows beside the cave downstream.’ The young Goblin reasoned since this river was smaller than the one near the cave. He had been walking uphill for the last several minutes after all so gravity kind of supported his hypothesis. Seeing a rather massive fallen log further up the river gave the youngster and idea. The tree that this log used to be was so large it spanned the river entirely. It was also almost a dozen feet wide making it a natural, if completely coincidental, bridge. Deciding to explore passed the river Gobkoh climbed up onto the giant log and made his way across. Jumping down onto the other bank he held his spear at the ready in case he needed it. Keeping his eyes and ears open the youngster continued his exploration.

“What’s this now?” Gobkoh wondered as he knelt down next to a plant that looked familiar from ‘before’. Using ‘Analyze’ quickly gave him an answer.

[Parsley – Non-Toxic]

“Herb!” Gobkoh exclaimed happily, finally he’d found an herb he was familiar with! He could use it for cooking! Collecting a good amount from the area he stored it in a bag he’d made from the empty blanket he’d found this morning in the cave. It was obviously the one that belonged to the youngster that had been killed by the Shade Lynx. “Maybe there are more herbs around here? Oh I hope!” Gobkoh grinned as he started looking around. Almost two hours of searching had yielded several familiar herbs and Gobkoh was nearly delirious with joy! ‘Analyze’ had become his favorite skill! Since it informed him of what each herb he’d found was, even though he remembered most of them from ‘before’.

[Cilantro – Non-Toxic]

[Thyme – Non-Toxic]

[Basil – Non-Toxic]

[Oregano – Non-Toxic]

[Sage – Non-Toxic]

[Rosemary – Non-Toxic]

With his haul of herbs Gobkoh was ecstatic! He’d collected enough to use for cooking for the next few days! He could always come back and get more too; this whole side of the river was practically covered in various herbs! ‘Though now that I think about it, ‘before’ I’m pretty sure some of these didn’t grow in the same environments naturally. The ecology of this world must be a bit different. I guess I shouldn’t complain though, aside from salt and pepper, I’ve got a nice little herb kit going now!’ The happy Goblin youngster made his way back towards the cave while snacking on a piece of dried venison.

“Gobkoh is back!” A female goblin announced as soon as he stepped back into the clearing. Looking up at the announcement Gobkoh was a bit surprised to see six of the fourteen females approaching him. Looking at what they had in their hands made it clear what they wanted though. They were all carrying Jackalope antlers or, in the case of three of them, Jackalope antlers and Shellcoon shells.

“Gobkoh, I’m Rialin, we’d like to take you up on your offer.” Rialin, the female leader, requested as she held up her antler and shell. She was cute, Gobkoh realized as he looked her over, with dark brunette hair growing down to her shoulders and just slightly shorter than himself. Her eyes were bright and held the sharpness of intelligence that was missing from the eyes of most of the males. ‘A pretty honey color too.’ He thought to himself as he locked eyes with her.

“I have a price for my work.” Gobkoh replied and Rialin nodded before gesturing towards one of the female-made campfires. On a spread of large, green leaves were an assortment of cooked meats; most probably Jackalope, Shellcoon and Brush Rat.

“We’ve prepared your share of the hunt.” Rialin grinned, pleased with already having his payment ready.

“Sure then, let me eat a bit and I’ll get to work.” Gobkoh agreed as he moved over to the warm meats. Sitting down he undid the bag he’d collected herbs in and plucked a few leaves from the Parsley, Oregano, and Thyme cuttings. Sprinkling them onto the meats he picked up what appeared to be Jackalope and bit in. “So good~!” He cheered as he finally tasted seasoned meat again since he was reborn into this world. He’d really missed the flavors! The various females looked on either confused or interested.

“Gobkoh, what are these plants?” Rialin asked as she sat next to him and looked over the bundle of various herbs.

“They’re herbs, you can use them to cook and make meat and stuff taste better.” Gobkoh explained as he continued to eat. “Here, try some.” He offered as he tore a piece of the seasoned Jackalope off and held it out to Rialin. The curious female Goblin took the offered bit of seasoned meat and sniffed it. Finding the scent pleasant she placed the meat into her mouth and chewed it.

“That’s good!” Rialin exclaimed as she swallowed the meat. “You can make such a change just with some plants? That’s amazing Gobkoh!”

“Seasoning is important; food tastes great with the proper herbs and spices.” Gobkoh nodded. Rialin nodded in agreement having tasted it first hand, the young female moving slightly closer to Gobkoh as he moved onto the Shellcoon meat. Seeing Rialin scoot closer brought to mind the conversation he’d had with En the night before.

-Flashback ~ Last Night-

Rull, En, the Hobgoblins, and Gobkoh were all enjoying the Stripe Deer that Gobkoh had brought back. Gobkoh, still curious about the world and wanting more information spoke with En about various subjects over their shared meal.

“So why do some Goblin Tribes kidnap Human or Elf women to breed with?” Gobkoh asked since their Tribes’ Ways explicitly forbid being hostile with Humans.

“It’s a matter of Goblin lifecycles.” En started as he swallowed a bite of venison. “Female Goblins are infertile until they grow and become Hobgoblins; whereas male Goblins are capable of breeding around forty days after their birth.”

“Huh, makes some sense I guess.” Gobkoh replied as he thought on this new information. ‘So I’ll be sexually mature in about six days? That’s insanely fast!’

“But we Goblins aren’t the smartest nor are we the strongest of species.” En continued with a sigh. “So, unfortunately, not many Goblins survive long enough to become Hobgoblins. Even fewer females survive to reach that point and become able to breed, so substitutes must be found to continue the species. Human and Elf women are compatible with us, so they’re targeted.”

“I see, is that bad for us? I mean besides the Humans or the Elves sending forces to slaughter us.” Gobkoh questioned wondering how crossbreeding effected Goblin offspring.

“When a Goblin crossbreeds with a Human or Elf woman a pure Goblin will be born. However, a crossbreed Goblin will be weaker than a Goblin born from a Hobgoblin woman. Usually stupider too, though that’s not always saying much, just look at some of your peers.” En sighed motioning towards the less intelligent males that simply stared at the eating group.

“So we’re about as strong as new Goblins can be because we were all born from Hobgoblin mothers?” Gobkoh inquired and En nodded as he took another bite of meat.

“The Tribes that kidnap women are going for a quantity over quality approach. If they spawn fifty or sixty Goblins per birthing and only ten of them survive, but those ten bring back more women and whatever else they can steal, then the loss of the other forty or fifty is seen as worth it. It was how the Tribe Rull and I came from operated, before the Humans came and wiped them out for their actions.” En explained as he finished off his venison.

“I guess it’s a good thing our females have banded together then. There are more chances of them living long enough to become Hobgoblins then.” Gobkoh reasoned getting a nod of agreement from En.

“True, young Rialin has done well to gather all the females under her.” En stated before turning to look at Gobkoh again. “But growing into a Hobgoblin isn’t just a matter of time, one must also be strong. What’s your level right now, youngster?”

“Four last time I checked this morning.” Gobkoh replied.

“When you hit level one hundred you’ll begin the Growth Phase to become a Hobgoblin. That’ll last about three months before you become a Hobgoblin and then you’ll be level one in that form. From there if you want to advance further and become an Ogre you’ll need to hit level one hundred again.” En explained the process of growth for Goblins.

“What happens if I don’t ever hit level one hundred?” Gobkoh asked curiously.

“Your body will stagnate after a year or two and you’ll be unable to get any stronger. You’ll live the rest of your life as a Goblin.” En informed making Gobkoh’s eyes widen in shock. “Goblins live about twenty or so years before they die. Hobgoblins and Ogres grow old like us between fifty and sixty years old. I believe High Ogres and Lord Ogres can hit one hundred years, maybe a bit closer to one hundred and twenty years for a Lord Ogre, though I can’t be sure.”

“Does that mean any of the animals that have a level can grow into something stronger?” Gobkoh questioned now curious about the levels of the wildlife.

“Hmm, yes they can, though for most they’ll die long before they can reach level one hundred.” En stated as he reached for another piece of venison. “Though a creature’s placement in the ecosystem will determine how many times they can grow into a new form.”

“Place in the ecosystem?” Gobkoh asked, confused by the statement.

“Aye, we Goblins, for example, have five forms because we are demi-human monsters. Even though we’re normally weak, we have greater potential than any mere beast. A Jackalope that somehow survives and reaches level one hundred grows into a Bull Hare; a much larger rabbit that sheds its antlers and grows a pair of sharp horns. You’re unlikely to ever see one though since most Jackalopes die long before they reach level one hundred. But the Bull Hare is as far as the Jackalope can grow; there is nothing higher than that form for them. For a higher example there is the Shade Lynx. They have three forms because they’re a bit higher on the food chain. A Shade Lynx becomes a Dusk Lynx when it hits level one hundred. The Dusk Lynx can then grow into an Umbral Lynx by reaching level one hundred again.” En explained the potential for growth that ruled the wilds of this new world.

‘That means if I want to live a long life I need to get stronger and avoid creatures that are more advanced than me.’ Gobkoh thought as he ate some more venison. ‘Life sure won’t be easy, Natural Selection is going to do everything it can to end me.’

-End Flashback-

“Mmm, good stuff.” Gobkoh sighed happily patting his full stomach. “I’ll start making your gear now. What does everyone want?”

“Spears like yours, plus armor like yours for the shells.” Rialin informed drawing excited nods from the other females.

“Alright, not too difficult then. Do you want to learn how to sew pelts together for clothing and bedding too?” Gobkoh asked and Rialin and the other females looked at him strangely. “It’s not going to be free; if you want to learn how to stitch and sew I’m going to want a pelt from each of you.” The other females all crowded around Rialin and started whispering amongst themselves. Even though they were only a few feet away Gobkoh could only make out a couple of words spoken.

“We accept; we have many pelts from hunting now.” Rialin announced for the group as four females left to go collect the pelts as payment.

“A deal’s a deal.” Gobkoh nodded and once the pelts were brought out he spent the rest of the day showing the females how to stitch and sew pelts together. During this teaching session he found a use for the Bush Rat pelt he still had. With some cordage, which he’d taught the females how to make out of necessity, he’d sewn the pelt onto the inside of his ‘Wood Plate’ back armor to pad it and make it more comfortable to wear. Many of the females stitched Brush Rat pelts together to form clothing. Gobkoh showed them how to make a simple tunic by stitching four pelts together and then made a pair of shorts for himself with a similar method. By the end of the day Gobkoh now had durable pelt shorts, a pelt tunic, more comfortable armor, and a collection of spices. All of this made him happy, but what made him the happiest were the six Jackalope pelts he’d gotten as payment. He’d quickly stitched them together and then stitched the large pelt blanket to the Stripe Deer hide he’d slept on last night. This created a pelt and hide covering with space between the two sides. Gobkoh spent until just before nightfall collecting as much long grass from the forest as possible. He’d stuffed his new ‘mattress’ as full as possible while keeping it as level and evenly filled as he could. Once it was stuffed he stitched up the remaining side and lay back on his completed mattress with a happy sigh.

“This is the life~.” Gobkoh sighed as he finally had a real bed; or at least a semi-proper mattress. Snuggling under his blankets and feeling the softness beneath him made all the effort and time over the last five days totally worth it. His gear was next to his bedding as usual and he pulled his pelt blanket over himself. Then covered himself with the original ratty blanket on top of that, making him nice and warm for the night. Sleep came easily and he embraced the land of dreams.

“Hey…Gobkoh…move over.” A whispered voice urged shaking the young Goblin from his content slumber sometime after nightfall. Blinking slightly, not even close to awake, Gobkoh blearily looked around and spotted Rialin beside his new mattress.

“Huh…?” Gobkoh asked sleepily as he looked at the female Goblin.

“Move over…a little…please?” Rialin whispered again holding up the pelt blanket she’d made for herself in the afternoon.

‘Oh she must want to share my mattress…sure…whatever.’ Gobkoh thought tiredly as he yawned and scooted over. “Sure…come on.” He mumbled while lifting up his blankets. Rialin quickly crawled onto the mattress and threw her pelt blanket over herself. She snuggled up to Gobkoh closely and the young male dropped the blankets over her too.

“Good night, Gobkoh.” Rialin murmured as she snuggled up to him.

“Night…Rialin.” Gobkoh yawned again before falling back asleep quickly. He’d never fully woken up during this exchange and would be in for quite the surprise, come the morning.

-End Chapter-

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Well, well, well now. What’s all this then? Seems competence is very attractive in the kill or be killed wilds. What’s more natural than an Alpha Male and an Alpha Female partnering up? Though said Alpha Male wasn’t quite awake enough to realize what he’s agreed to. But hey, can’t be too bad, right? Rialin is competent herself, plus she’s a quick learner, that matters in the game of survival! Not to mention I did a little foreshadowing this chapter, twice in fact! Did you catch both? 

Until I have time to update this again, later!