Senior_elder

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Black-red eyes peered at the hunting leader goblin's back, provoking a  shiver from the latter, its chewing motion stopped, and it gazed at its surroundings with heightened vigilance. Spotting no enemy, the greenskin rushed to catch up with its comrades.

Up in the canopies, the bat stared blankly at the departing goblin, the smell of meat was so tantalizing that it was lost in the fragrance. Shaking its head back to consciousness, it followed the goblins. That was its initial goal. The only change was that it wanted to experience the aroma once more.

After a few twists and turns, the goblin party finally made it back to the clan. The bat witnessed with marvel as an absurd number of greenskin came out of the stick and leaves enclosed region to greet the hunting party. Once again, its choice was right.

The hunting leader goblin suddenly got from the back and immediately snatched the deer meat from the other goblins and carried it on its back. Its chest out and shoulders high. Experience had thought that the chief would always favour the goblin with the most load, so taking advantage at the other expense was no big deal. Not that it understood the meaning behind its actions.

The crowd formed around the hunter goblins became unrest as at a particular side, goblins seemed to push the others as if to create a path.

After a few pushes, the bunch went silent as a path formed. On the other side of the path, a bigger than common goblin stood. Its eyes were dark and its gaze fierce. No goblin dared to look it in the eye. Hanging loosely on its brown-cloth-covered-waist was a rusty battle axe. Its bare chest was filled with necklaces and ornaments made out of teeth and bones. The feather headdress on its head made it look even taller.

"You have done good," the chief goblin walked inside the circle and commented, its eyes never left the meat the hunter goblin had on its back.

Dropping the meat, the hunter goblin walked back with its gaze glued to the ground. Behind the chief goblin, two goblins with fat chests emerged and picked the biggest piece and walked back to the clan. The chief goblin patted the hunter goblin's back and followed its females hurriedly.

After the chief left, a content smile appeared on the hunter goblin's face as it knew the leader would favour it more when it came to choosing females and giving out work.

Out of the crowd, a bunch of rowdy goblins emerged and selected another piece before walking away. Now only three small pieces remained, which the hunter goblin was quick to take and walk away with it. Behind it, the group of hunters followed.

At the centre of the crowded goblins, two pieces remained. These goblins were the lowest in the hierarchy, but they still hesitated to go for the meat. Suddenly, a brave one walked forward and grabbed a piece. Immediately, like a chain reaction, the other goblins charged forward.

In a matter of seconds, each goblin got a tiny piece and rushed to their corners to eat their meat. Some were injured, but they still got a small piece, and that's all that mattered.

In the trees, the bat watched as it experienced its first sense of loss. At least the goblins were still there. The only problem was how to get them out of the clan.

After a moment of sheer bliss as they chewed the small pieces of flesh they had managed to hoard, the greenskin seemed to finally realize their clansmate as they cheerily walked back to the simple clan with one structure made out of leaves and sticks as the sole house.

Inside the small makeshift house, also the most coveted and comfortable place in the clan, the chief goblin and his females resided inside. Surprisingly, the three goblins fit inside perfectly without a hitch.

The goblins sat in a circle. Between them lay the piece of meat the females brought. Unlike the other goblins, they didn't savagely attack the meat. The two females eyed the chief, their gazes trying to hide the screaming instincts to devour.

Suddenly, the chief goblin moved, his hands moved toward his waist, and his fat fingers clenched the rusty battle-axe that assured it its dominant position in the hierarchy.

The two females flinched as their eyes followed the chief's hand. They had personally witnessed the immense disaster the axe could bring once the chief was angry. 

The chief goblin paid no heed to his females as he brought the axe and raised it near his head, the axe's head facing upwards while the tail faced downwards. With a swift and fast motion, the goblin brought the axe down and aimed towards the meat.

*THUD*

Descending on the meat, the battle-axe split it into two unequal parts. Dirt immediately covered the red meat giving it a brown colour, but the chief goblin didn't care as it immediately snatched the largest piece for itself.

"You, that," a croaky voice sounded as the chief pointed its dirt-filled claws to the females then to the meat.

 Immediately, the two females reached out their hands, and they caught the meat simultaneously. Looking at each other with rising tension, one female growled. The other, not to be outdone, did the same. Matters were quickly getting out of hand as a fight seemed to break out at any moment. The females knew only one way to settle disputes: fighting it out, and the winner gets all. Just as they bore their claws and aimed for each other's faces.

*Thud*

The familiar sound snapped their senses back. They looked at the chief, who was silently enjoying his lion share, then their gazes turned to the meat they were fighting for. Miraculously, it was split into two equal parts.

Not caring to know how it happened, the two females snatched the pieces and immediately indulged themselves.

Outside of the clan, red eyes silently peered at the lively goblins from the shadows of the canopy. From the bat's position, the whole clan was in its view, many a time, it was tempted to make a frontal attack, but something about attacking without the element of surprise didn't seem right to it, but the damn greenskin were not moving out of the clan how was it supposed to kill them now?

It was then that it spotted a greenskin moving away from the others and headed towards the edges of the clan. It looked around warily. It was sure nobody was watching it. Squatting first before kneeling, the goblin started to dig in haste. After a moment, its actions halted, and it dug another hole near the first, but soon its action stopped.

The goblin's face soon turned sour with anger and frustration the more it dug. What it was searching for was meat it had hid earlier for when times became tough. It was a rather smart goblin given it thought of the future, and it remembered where it hid the meat.

It was during its frustration that its ears twitched as they caught a disturbance, the goblin immediately stopped its digging, and its black eyes peered in front. What it saw made it freeze, a creature it had never seen before, a four-legged creature with sharp claws that had no business in such a small creature. The goblin had no inch of curiosity towards the creature but rather instinctual fear for the unknown.

The staring lasted for seconds, but to the goblin, it was like experiencing its whole life. Suddenly, the goblin reclaimed  control over its body, and immediately it stood, a bad move. The moment it made a move, the creature didn't give it any chance.

It jumped through the weak excuse for a fence and somehow ended on the goblin's chest. It used its sharp claws to latch on the goblin's chest and immediately used its sharp teeth to attack the neck.

*AAARRRGGGHHH*

A sharp cry of pain and distress reverberated around the clan alarming the goblins that had already started to sleep. Their ears perked as they tried to determine the direction.

From the sole house in the clan, a large goblin emerged with an axe in its hand. It looked around to determine where the cry came from and immediately rushed towards the direction after determining it.

It was only then that the other goblins managed to gather courage and follow the chief.

Once at the site, the chief looked around but discovered nothing but the dead carcass in front of it.

The chief looked at the copse and angrily kicked the dirt. It didn't glance at the corpse anymore as it knew it would disappear after some time. What it was angry about wasn't the fact that its kin was dead. Rather another goblin had tried to kill another. That was a blatant challenge to its power. With a swing of its axe, the nearest goblin was slain.

Chaos ensued as other goblins rushed to get away from the chief, some going as far as out of the clan. After all, anywhere else was safer than being near the leader.

Senior_elder

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