In the night, a nightmare struck Kadaj and he rode far away from the Forgotten Forest to a desert on a single island far down south. By the time he had reached it, his stomach was growling. How foolish had he been to have forgotten food — who knew how long he was going to be out here? He never knew; he always hopped from place to place, relying on Yazoo or Loz to be there when his needs arose.
While contemplating whether to go back, a strange dancing cactus passed him. Kadaj blinked to attention to see this strange creature running away backwards, and thought what a funny design it had and that you would never catch it if you chased after it.
It looked entirely edible.
Kadaj attempted to catch one the way he had imagined wouldn't work, and of course, it didn't. The cactuar could always see him coming and would run even faster. Kadaj was almost feeling defeated, but he had known it wouldn't work.
He set a trap using bits and pieces procured from the shrubbery abound the desert. But the cactuar wasn't interested in the bait: a stick. Kadaj cursed his trap, but admitted there wasn't much out there to work with.
Suddenly, he felt something behind him. He spun around to find another cactuar, and he immediately whipped his blade out. The cactuar, however, had been faster and it hauled away from him, mocking him.
Finally, his stomach couldn't take it anymore, and he flopped onto the hot sand.
He turned his blade left and right boredly, watching the light of the sun reflected onto the sand. And then he noticed a cactuar was following it, almost like a cat. So interested in something as simple as light.
Kadaj flipped the blade around, creating spinning spots of light that several other cactuar followed. He smiled most wickedly and got up to a crouching position. He moved the reflected light round and round, slowly moving it toward himself. As they came near, totally oblivious to Kadaj and his blade, Kadaj flicked his wrist to the right, and as the light flew behind him and disappeared, the cactuar didn't have enough time to turn and chase it before Kadaj promptly stabbed two of them.
The two wriggling cactuar writhed and screamed in a tiny, suffused voice. The other cactuars heard these dire wails and fled the area quicker than he'd ever seen cactuars run.
He thought it might be more "humane" to kill them before eating them. But he was too, too hungry. He munched on the cactuars hanging from his blade and through their squeals and slowing movements, he realised something.
This breakfast was oddly dissatisfying.