8.3 ᴘᴀᴛʀᴇᴏɴ.ᴄᴏᴍ/sᴛʀᴀᴛᴏᴛʜʀᴀx

"Well it's fine, five is plenty." He winced as his shoulder twinged causing Opal to look up.

"Oh you're hurt!" she leapt to her feet and rushed up to him and gently prodded at his wound. He hissed through his teeth.

"Oh no, this is my fault, I should have distracted them better, or- or gotten more of their spears!"

"It's fine, really, Didn't you think it was odd that I wasn't injured when I took on your entire tribe alone? Well, I was, but I healed."

"Gods that's not fair, a wound like this would kill a Gobbo half of the time."

He shrugged and winced at the pain from moving his shoulder.

"Let's just count ourselves lucky we came out alive. You didn't exactly get away unscathed either you know." He gestured at a claw scratch across one of her cheeks.

She smiled, "A Kobold war wound is a Gobbo mark of pride."

"Sure it is. Now strip these bodies for me." he flicked the Kobold tail at her leg playfully.

She grumbled but moved to do so, dragging each Kobold toward the fire until they were lined up.

The Kobolds as Rain had noticed had much better gear than the Goblins. The spear heads were mostly unrusted and the few helmets they had had only a few puncture holes. Opal was quick to nab a pair of low-waist cuffed shorts one of the smaller Kobolds had worn and wiggled her hips into them. Rain tried one of the helmets on but found that it was never realistically going to fit being shaped for a Kobold's head. He tossed it aside. Wouldn't have fit once I've grown a bit more anyway. He thought.

Opal found a small coin pouch which she showed to Rain. It contained five small gold coins and ten silver. More than Rain had seen at any one time in his previous life.

"Keep it. Some monster tribes trade right? Plus levelers do, though I guess a leveler is more likely to kill us and take it than offer to trade. Still, hang onto it."

Rain passed the dismembered Kobold tail to Opal and after he had eaten the remaining rats that had been cooking over the fire Opal spitted the tail and set it to roast.

Rain rubbed his paws together looking over the Kobold spread. He could already feel his mouth watering. His stomach growled in anticipation.

"Do you think you'll ever tire of eating?" said Opal settling in to watch with eager eyes.

"Well, would you, if you always felt like your last meal had half a day or more ago? Plus, I can't get enough of the bit that comes after… the growth. I need more."

He dove on the nearest Kobold and blood began spattering across the sand as he enthusiastically consumed it.

One Kobold down and he rolled into a sitting position and breathing hard, his tongue lolling from his jaws. His belly gurgled as it shrank down.

"Holy shit that's spicy! My mouth feels like it's on fire!"

"Too much?"

"Hell no! I want more!"

Opal pulled the Kobold tail from the fire and ran it under her nose breathing in the scent.

"Gobbos love Kobold tail, after a fight we divy up the loot, top Gobbos always get the tails."

She bit into it and moaned. "Shco fshucking gshood" she mumbled from around amouth full of tail.

"Never tried it before?"

She shook her head as she devoured the tail.

"I suppose the top Goblins would never let the lower Goblins have anything nice when they could take it for themselves. Leveler society is similar."

She nodded absentmindedly in reply.

Rain snorted a breath from his nose and left her to it. He moved onto the next Kobold which he quickly worked through, even the claws went down his gullet to be digested. He noted he'd even started to eat bone he would have ignored before, it was just so easy to splinter and crush with his teeth and it was more food. He liked more food. As such there was little but the skull left by the time he was done.

"Hot!"

He was Sweating with his mouth hanging open but he didn't wait. In fact, he didn't even wait for his abdomen to finish shrinking down before he began forcing the feet of the next Kobold into his mouth. The spiciness was quite addictive.

Partway through his fourth Kobold he glanced up to see Opal watching him intently and surreptitiously rubbing herself through her shorts. Next time he glanced her way she was blushing and looking away. He gravelled out a laugh as he polished off the fifth Kobold, happily slurping up its tail and gnashing it to pieces before swallowing it all down. He belched long and loud and circled a paw around his stretched stomach.

Opal silently wandered up and put a hand on the rounded surface. She watched with her lips slightly parted as it trembled and shrunk, making an impressive growling as sound as it did so.

Rain groaned as his body surged, gaining mass, pushing outward and becoming larger, his muscles swelling in size. He shivered in delight as it finished and then he stood up.

He'd gained a couple of inches since eating the Goblins and now he estimated he must be at least a foot taller than Opal, a bit more even, the top of her head came midway up his pecs. She bit her lip and placed a small hand on his chest, it looked outsized.

"M-more," she breathed.

"Yes, more." he agreed. "But not now, we should go back to camp, we can continue tomorrow."

"Y-yes, tomorrow."

He had the Goblin girl pick out a spare change of clothes from the pile of clothing stripped from the Kobolds. He used to be human so he knew the value of having two pairs and the Kobold's clothing was much better quality than anything the Goblins had. He almost let her take a spear but hesitated and decided to wait still. He considered picking one out for himself but his previous life had provided exactly zero experience using one and in this life he was an instinctive master of tooth and claw, best to focus on what he knew. He checked his wound and found that while it wasn't fully healed it had healed slightly and stopped bleeding making it manageable.

After burying everything and kicking out the fire to make the cavern look untouched they broke camp and left. After a short journey back, slightly delayed because Opal insisted on sidetracking to empty the rest of the rat traps for Rain to eat, they made it back to the crystal cavern and the Goblin tribe's camp.

Thankfully it remained untouched, whatever monster tribe or monster that may have been interested in claiming it for themselves were still oblivious to its recent depopulation.

Rain made his way to a Goblin tent and crawled inside. He was pleased to see his shoulder wound had started to heal over. Soon his eyes started to drift and sleep took him.

Some time later he awoke to a noise. He stilled himself and listened carefully. Movement. With one of his eyes cracked he spied the flap of his tent open. Opal cautiously looked inside trying to not make a sound, and then carefully, like a scared rabbit, began to crawl inside.

That little bitch, this is it, I fucking knew it, this is where she backstabs me. I was wrong to trust her, gods I'm such a fool and to think I was willing to let her close after I'd already died once from being betrayed! Why, why did I let her close!

He watched carefully with a steely gaze, his paw tensing, ready to grab her and drag her close to tear her throat out.

She raised both her hands and he was confused to see that she was empty handed. His paw untensed a little as he watched and waited. She crawled up beside him, ready to stick a hidden knife in his ribs? No, she was... Putting her head on his chest?

Opal curled up beside him resting her head against his chest, her body under his arm and curling her hand through his fur. She relaxed into him.

Oh… That's why I let her close...

Afraid to move and make her aware he was awake he watched as she fell asleep, lips slightly parted.

This... isn't bad…

Eventually sleep took him too. When he woke in the morning she was gone from his tent and neither said a word about the night before.