Day 31
You woke up, once again, feeling far warmer than before.
Something which really helped you get up for the day
It was with a final stretch that you plodded over to the metal you'd gotten in exchange for that aggravating creature's corpse. But still, the anger you felt at that creature didn't stop you from taking a bite from it.
Only to then immediately hiss at the sharp taste and let out white mist from your mouth a moments later.
Of course that didn't stop you from eating the rest of the metal, even if you took smaller bites after that. In fact, after a few more bites, you even began to enjoy the refreshing feeling you got from eating it.
It had been quite a while since you'd hunted something that was actually capable of fighting back. Something you intended to fix as you immediately head out.
The prey you had in mind being the same creatures that had corpses that made your body tingle.
Fortunately, you found what you set out to… perhaps a bit more than you expected.
And they all turned at the same time to look at you.
Before you can even have a chance to release the mist building up in your mouth you're bowled over by the combined weight of three cold masses. Masses that then proceeded to rip and tear strips off any part of you they could reach.
Something that continued for far too long, even when you tried to stop it. Then you got actually angry.
They didn't even get a moment to react as you blasted boiling black mist at the ground, black mist that then billow out and sweeps them away. But you don't let up, no, you instead continue releasing boiling mist in a black pillar from your maw. This time, all focused on only one of the creatures you knocked away.
By the time you were out of breath, the thing had lost most of it's skin and the other two, who'd also lost a lot of their skin, had managed to crawl to their feet.
Which only got them another blast of black mist from you, which finally finished them off.
Dragging the last of the tingling corpses to your den you threw it into the back before collapsing into a heap.
But you didn't stay there for long, instead you got up and began to stretch. Actually no, not just stretch. But stretch. You didn't even know why, but you did it anyways. To the point that your spine began to let out lout cracking sounds.
But you still did it, and as you did you felt a strange sort of feeling pool in your stomach. Similar to the feeling you get in your lungs when you release the mist, but slightly different.
Yet, despite not actually knowing what it was, you still kept your uncomfortable stretching pose as this feeling suffused your body at a slow but steady rate.
It was only after the feeling settled that your instincts allowed you to move…
… and you're hungry now.
Well, you had three corpse's right there and an empty stomach…
It only took two to fill your stomach.
And so you went to sleep with a full stomach.
Day 32
You woke up feeling oddly great, as if you were completely filled with energy.
Which was great since it allowed you to easily get up for the day.
Fortunately for you, that energy you suddenly had was going to be very useful. Because you were about to hunt for an ice silver deer again, and you weren't holding anything back today.
And so you prowled through the icy covered forest, above the glowing blue rivers and through the icicles hanging from branches. You were completely silent as you approached the wandering grounds for the ice silver deers.
Until finally you saw one of those cowards, and immediately hid from it as it turned towards you.
The way it's neck crunched when you tightened your jaws around its neck was very satisfying.
With another deer in your mouth, you made your way towards the demi-humans to trade it in for the sharp tasting metal.
Something which was as quick and simple as last time you did it, except for the part where you were about to leave.
Because that was the part where the fact that you'd just used your black mist on the deer, what you'd done in the grassy plains, and the fact that the demi-humans were likely eating the corpses you gave them connected in your head.
Which is bad since you also realised that this might compromise the deal you had.
Fortunately for you though, when you communicated the situation to the large white demi-human it, after just staring at you with its mouth slightly open, communicated back that they wouldn't be affected.
They did something called "cooking" for any "monster", which is also what you were, meat. Something which apparently involved… heating the food?
Regardless, they did it before "eating" it, which made it not dangerous. Something you didn't care about, since you only cared whether it'd affect their ability to hand over the metal.
But one thing you did learn from actually listening to that whole thing was that the creatures that made the weird sounds tended to make certain sounds a certain way when talking about certain things.
With metal in mouth, you returned to your cave.
But instead of eating it, you instead put it down onto the floor before backing off.
Because you remembered what the white demi-human had told you, about cooking and how they did it to remove bad stuff from their food. Especially the part about how it involved heating the food.
Which was why you were currently letting black mist, the incredibly hot mist, from your mouth fall down onto the silver glowing metal.
Which… actually had an effect. Since the previously hard silver metal was now a slightly flickering black liquid. It even tasted more acrid, stinging your throat as it went down, as you lapped it up.
But it did feel better, in a strange way.
*crack*
You let out a long breath, which became a white mist upon leaving your mouth, as another crack left your spine. A spine that was currently bent so far back it was surprise you didn't snap it.
It had been quite some time since you'd entered this pose, and judging from the way things are you'll be in this pose until you need to sleep.
*crack*
Sleep you're gonna enjoy.
Day 33
You woke up, once again, with a pressure in your chest. Something you knew how to deal with thanks to previous experiences.
You didn't expect the black beam that shot out of your mouth, or the way it ate away at the stone it hit, but you accepted it regardless.
Deciding to hunt something stronger, you left your cave and began to search for appropriate prey.
Only to then, weirdly enough, find the exact same creatures as last time. There being one more this time.
Still you weren't picky and so you stalked up to the unaware group.
Observing them for a bit, you decided to test your new breath on these unsuspecting creatures.
So taking a deep breath, feeling something heavy pooling into your lungs, you instinctively relax your throat muscles and release a cone of blackness. Blackness that rushes forward and covers the group within moments, staying for a bit even when you stop the breath.
But when it's fully gone you are surprised to find that the group has not only died, but also that the corpse's appears to be missing large chunks from them.
One has even disappeared completely.
Carrying the various bits of corpse to your den, you looked at the pile of meat that you'd now made in your cave.
The pile that just reminded you about the ambush point you'd made and never returned to. Something you decided to fix by going there to improve it, which you intended to do anyways.
And you had quite the success, at least judging by the new cave you now had.
With your new den set up, you proceeded to go retrieve one of the broken up corpse to go and make use of ambush point you'd made outside it.
Something you did by finding a good place to hide and shooting any creatures that took the bait with a beam of black nothingness. Then shooting the creatures the creatures which came to eat the ones you killed.
By the time you finished you felt significantly stronger and there was a new pile of meat in your new den.
Unfortunately, that pile of meat wasn't going to survive long. After all your stomach was half empty.
You didn't even bother separating things, instead just shovelling it all into your mouth and gulping it all down.
Once you were done you just crawled into the back of your den and went to sleep.
Day 34
You woke up with a sudden feeling of danger in the back of your mind. One you found no source for when you quickly patrolled the surroundings of your den.
Still, you decided to be more cautious.
Deciding to put more weight into that feeling you immediately begin working on something to help against the possible danger.
Specifically, you begin to dig holes around your ambush spot and filling them with whatever sharpened bones you could find. When you ran out of sharp bones you instead began to look for other sharp things.
Only to find nothing… only to then have and idea.
So, grabbing whatever stones and shards of ice you could find you used your claws to sharpen them. You then began to use those freshly sharpened objects to fill the holes.
And to finish it all off, you covered the holes with loose white powder. Making it look like normal ground in the end. As some final touches you even added some trees to the clearing to create better hiding spots.
The moment you finished though, is when you heard the crack.
The speed at which you leapt behind cover was fast enough to cause the branches in your way to break off from the wind you generated. Other than that though, you were absolutely silent.
Silent enough that the two-legs that entered the clearing after you didn't even see you.
Unfortunately, while they don't see you, they do see the trap you'd set up. Something which makes them immediately cluster up and slowly move forward.
Watching the two-legs slowly advance further and further into the clearing, avoiding the many pits you'd dug, you follow behind them. Listening to the quiet sounds they made as you did so.
And soon you came to the conclusion that they were specifically hunting for you, judging by how many times they made the monster sound. That and how they seemed to be getting closer to your den.
Which you were not happy about. At all.
So, taking a deep breath, you built up the feeling in your lungs. Then, instead of releasing it, you just kept building it up.
And up, and up, and even further up.
Until finally you released it all with a sudden opening of your maw.
Then everything went quiet as a wave of nothing erupted from you, causing everything to be tinged in darkness. A tinge that remained for some time as the blackness just kept pouring from your mouth, and even remained some time after.
When it did fade though, all that was left was four skinless dessicated corpse's covered in scraps of metal and one lightly moaning almost corpse.
That last one you approached and watch die, a distant part of your mind remembering that the two-legs made a sound in occasions such as this but not really affecting you watching it die.
Once it was dead you began the process of dragging all the corpses to your nearby den. Then you began separating the the food.
The nice smelling crystal you found on the last to die was something you really expected to find. Even if it wasn't as nice smelling as that one from long ago.
*Crack*
It wasn't the most rewarding thing, to try to break your spine after you'd beaten what were most definitely strong prey.
*crack*
But you knew that it'd help you later. So you did so anyways.
*crack*
Still didn't enjoy it.
Much like every other time you'd decided to harm your spine, you found yourself hungry afterwards.
So hungry that you practically inhaled the entire pile of meat that you'd left in one corner of your den. Quite literally inhaled, as at one point you were actually pulling in more meat by sucking it.
And so you spent the rest of the day laying on your side, a distant part of your mind wondering about some complicated things.
But you ignored that part, right up till you closed your eyes to go to sleep.
