You not welcome.

Whaaaa-!

Me? Not welcome?

What'd ya mean, I'm not welcome! I roll my wings back a few times, like a boxer would roll back his shoulders before a fight. I was trying my best not to become irritated.

I was already angry as is seeing the state of the human women in the tree hollow.

Seeing the bits and pieces of human men in the Ice Cavern that Greenie used to store his food had been different. Then, I knew it was wrong, but wasn't as shocked.

It may sound heartless, but in the movies and games that I'd played in my spare time on the train, there was always a dead body of an adventurer or two in the plot to add suspense. To me, it was just part of the setting. I had enough human sensibility to be disgusted at the concept of eating human flesh, but not enough to be too upset at the body parts in the cavern.

This place that I'd awoken in was dangerous. The dead men I'd seen so far should have known when they came here.

But the women in the goblin camp? That was another story altogether.

They weren't adventurers or soldiers, or even a merchant for that matter.

Appraisal had shown me they were simple peasant women.

If I'd come to this world in my original body, would that have been my fate?

Raped and used as a womb to birth a goblin into this messed-up world?

I shake my head hard once more. I wasn't going to go any deeper into that pandora's box of questions.

Greenie uses the back of his crooked finger to stroke my head. The goblins behind the elderly goblin screech in surprise, others laughing at the sight of Greenie patting me.

What's so funny!?

I try to fly at them and give at least the ones within reach a good beating on their stupid faces, but Greenie stops me by holding onto my long legs.

Master, no need anger.

They not know.

He adds, stroking the round curve of the back of my head.

Ahhh. That felt nice. And it calmed my emotions down somewhat.

I look back at the old goblin who stood there watching our interactions.

Scarface was the one that brought me here!

With my newly developed wing-fingers, which gave me 2 extensions on both wingtips, I point at Scarface, who's back, eating something green and bloody behind us.

He grins at us. Scarface was as happy as could be, finally satisfying the hunger in his stomach.

Urgh. I knew what he was eating. The goblins here were like savage beasts, even cannibalizing their own. Was Scarface eating that because he hadn't been able to get his hands on me? I'm glad I escaped when I did. I would've been a rotisserie raven dinner otherwise.

Something catches my eye, a beam of sunlight conveniently catching onto what shined in the tree behind Scarface. Something silver. And pointed. It looked like the top of an antique street lamp from my own world.

But it was embedded directly into the tree. Like those pictures of things that nature had taken back that I'd seen once on my own phone. There was that picture of a bicycle, eaten up by a tree. But while the bicycle, with it's iron and unnatural form was clearly something not naturally a part of the tree, the lamp-like thing looked like it belonged there.

The curvature of the part that stuck out of the tree, and the part where silver lining met back with the tree bark was seamless, purposeful.

It was definitely not something no goblin could have made.

Where had the people that previously lived here gone? With a source of water and rooms to live in inside the Lament Willows, this place was practically a paradise. Excluding the monsters part. They might have left because the creatures here were so dangerous. But why live here in the first place??

"Kiek!"

Another loud goblin cry interrupts my thoughts. Scarface holds up the small green object in his hands towards me, nodding his head as his canines glint with dark blood. Who did he think he was, the Great Gatsby? That was no glass of champagne for a toast.

Blergh.

That was a goblin baby. The one I'd seen being held to its mother's breast when Scarface had first carried me in.

Scarface was eating that while watching our proceedings.

This place was the worst!! I hate it here!!

It was wrong on so many levels, to see what Scarface was doing. None of the other goblins looked the least bit fazed.

But I was terrified. Never in my life had I seen something so depraved. I was not going to stay here any longer than necessary.

I battle my urge to throw up. There was nothing to throw up even if I wanted to.

Ask my questions and get out. That was the plan. I need to stick to the plan.

Making sure my eyes don't focus on the thing he's eating, I transmit back to the old goblin.

Then why did he bring me here then!?

Fingering the feathers attached to his spear, the old goblin responds to me, his wrinkled facial expression still looking at us like we were the strange, twisted ones.

Feathers. Good.

And then he points back to me.

Strong color add power.

Wait. That didn't make any sense. If they liked my feathers and Scarface brought me here because of that, then why was I not welcome anymore?

But I'm not welcome now??

You with that.

The old goblin points a shaky finger at Greenie. He spits on the ground, right towards Greenie's much larger feet.

Runt.

Not Woodspeaker.

I was at loss for what to say. The Greenie I'd met in the forest that day my siblings had pushed me out of the tree had seemed terrifying and monstrous.

They considered him a runt?

Leave.

The gravelly voice adds, in my mind, and then the goblin turns to go, the others making way for him to head back to the same tree he'd been sitting under when I first arrived.

Wait!

It was taking a while for the elderly goblin to make his way back, so I called after his back.

Greenie's evolved now! He's not a runt anymore!!

I mean, look at him! He was bigger than all the goblins here, including Scarface. And the muscle definition wasn't something to scoff at either.

Why all this hate towards my Greenie??

Hey old goblin!

Why is Greenie not welcome here?

Even with his back turned, I can hear the old goblin's voice transmit into my head, his tone uncaring.

Born of goblin, weak.

He spits on the ground.

Using his spear to point towards Scarface, the old goblin shuffles forward, away from us.

Born of human, strong.

Hmm. I couldn't tell if this was a bias that goblins had, or evolution-wise, goblins born of humans were better.

There wasn't enough information for me to form a hypothesis on. Not that I cared at this point, when I knew that no one in the goblin tribe wanted Greenie here.

I glance back at Scarface again. He may be stronger than Greenie, but that was before evolution. But look at Greenie now! New and improved, Greenie 2.0!

Plunk.

Plunk. Plunk. Plunk.

A few more stones come flying at us. The goblins wanted us gone, but I wasn't finished yet.

One more question before we left.

What about those women?

He doesn't reply anymore. Which riles me up again.

"Kieeeek!!"

Whipping out the pink Soldier's Dirk I'd cleaned what felt like an aeon ago, Greenie points the sharp end at the goblins before us.

His hands were shaking a little, evidence of the effort he was making to protect us.

If you don't answer me this last question, I will make sure this place gets destroyed, with you in it!!

Threatening him wasn't the best option, but it was all I could think of. How those women got here would help answer my questions on where this place was, how I could get out of here!

I grit my beak tightly and add:

If you don't answer me, I will lead every monster in this place to here, and make sure you die a painful death.

Did you hunt those humans?!

A long silence was enough to make me jittery as Greenie stepped back, step by step away from the goblin camp and into the underbrush.

We not hunt.

The answer quietly came back.

They give to us.

Give what?

Who did!?

Humans, give humans.

What do they want?

No answer. The old goblin was finally at his seat, and he sits down and closes his eyes.

"Kieeki!!"

"Krei!! "

"Krek!!!!"

The others take it as their signal to get rid of us by force.

More and more stones rain down on us. Too many to count. Too many that Greenie's unable to catch them before they smack into his body.

Let's go, Greenie. I didn't want to be here.

Not after the sight I'd seen.

Yes, Master.

Keeping his dirk pointed out at the goblins, Greenie walks backward, deeper and deeper into the trees until we lose sight of the goblins.

I wanted to go back to our cave.