Chapter 7: Hunger

Eshoel wasn't sure what time it was when he awoke. He was relieved to have woken at all. The local mobs were about now, and most of them had chosen to leave the Ender alone.

Eshoel pulled himself upright, hunger clawing at his insides. It had been more than twenty-four hours since he had last eaten. And though he could go much longer without food, he would need the energy to heal.

Standing up, the Ender took in a deep breath. There were many scents, mobs, trees, soil… but there was one in particular that made his heart beat a little faster.

Food.

Mushrooms weren't his favorite food, but they were much easier to find than meat. Eshoel followed the scent to a neat patch of soil where they grew in an unusual multitude.

Without a second thought, the Ender collected as many as he could before retreating back into the cover of the trees. Considering the abundance of food, there could be other mobs that would fight to have it all to themselves.

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The mushrooms went quickly, and Eshoel was soon hungry again. Morning was already on its way, and he hoped to sleep through the day. He started back towards the mushroom patch when another scent caught his attention. Many scents, actually. Turning away from the mushroom patch he found that the nearby grounds were covered in edible plants. Potatoes, carrots, melons, and many others the Ender did not recognize. How had he not noticed them before?

For some reason, the other mobs seemed to avoid the food place, but Eshoel thought nothing of it as he began foraging through the other patches.

As morning came, the Ender found his hunger was finally satisfied. He didn't question how so many food plants had come to be in the same place. He assumed it was because the wood-mountain was nearby. All sorts of strange things seemed to exist near here. Some of which he had yet to discover.

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Hannah was hungry.

The garden was only a short walk from the house, nestled in a grove on the edge of the forest. The soil was more fertile here, and she didn't mind having to walk a little ways if it meant better produce.

However, when she reached the garden, she was surprised to find that much of it had been uprooted. Odd, since the mobs that lived around here had learned to stay away from the garden. Especially now that Hannah had trained her wolf-dog, Shep, to guard it.

Sighing, she assumed it had been another wolf. Once in awhile, one would come in and dig up the vegetables in search of bones Shep sometimes buried there.

Having her work cut out for her, Hannah started collecting the produce that had survived.

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Eshoel was awoken by strange noises coming from the food place. Being still early in the morning, he decided to investigate.

It was the girl.

Eshoel watched from a distance as she used a It was still early in the day, so he decided to investigate.

It was the girl.

She gathered up the vegetables that he had left behind from the night's raid. She then used a flat rock on a stick to turn the dirt, making neat furrows from the trampled soil.

Eshoel didn't know how long he had been watching when the girl looked up. She froze, eyes locked on him. Eshoel stared back for a moment, then teleported.

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The Ender was surprised to have gotten so far, being still a bit weak from his wounds. A part of him regretted leaving. Quickly, his logical side smothered it. He was nineteen now. He had never mated, which was unheard of for an Ender his age. And as if that wasn't odd enough, he couldn't seem to keep away from the strange creatures of the wood-mountain. To top it all off, he had no den and refused to fight his way into one.

Unmated, foolish, and homeless.

What kind of an Ender was he, anyway?