-Sunset. Little Hunter POV-

I'm comfortably laying down on top of a flat part of one rock protruding from the ground to recover the lost energy and injuries after energetically chasing a prey through the unknown part of the woods. I lick my re-opened wound while staring at the pile of debris with huge boulders and thick dried trunks extending from east to west where the exotic rodents have made their nests.

The bleeding finally stopped, time to move out and prepare dinner. I get up from my rock and head to inspect the Rakat den.

I find most of the holes at the lifted roots of fallen old trees, while others are where the earth, rocks, and logs make an intermingled mess.

Since they are between a rat and a cat, I'm calling them Rakats, and I can't wait to taste them~! Excitingly walk around their den while staring back at the little beady black eyes inside their holes.

The memory or idea to force them out comes from my human childhood where I hunted crabs by collapsing the holes, then stalked until they re-opened the entrances and grab them with the sand to avoid getting pinched.

Too bad my human-self was allergic to them, and almost died once when eating the juicy crab meat. It's torture liking something and not being able to eat it, just like what happened in the crater. Appreciated the memory that will help this little lizard hunt.

First things first though, I need to do something about my scent. I roll up on the dirt all around like some dog, to mask my scent and start sealing holes.

It'd be nice if I could just open my mouth and have them jump inside since digging could take days. I fantasize, stretching my neck inside a hole to peek for a moment before starting to close holes.

I sealed all twenty-eight holes using my hind legs to press on the soul and with rocks carried in my mouth then sit back to watch or hear movement.

This place is pretty dry with soft dirt because of all the big trees, making it ideal to build Dens, but it doesn't feel right to make mine on earth... not to mention that I grow up rather fast. Looking up at the big standing trees, toppled massive trunks and huge boulders I notice how devoid of leaves down here is.

Is it because I'm a dragon or born in a place full of rocks? In any case, I'll need to find a replacement den for the night, and it shouldn't be a problem since there are plenty rocks around, but for now, dinner is waiting. I nostalgically remember the abandoned crack that sheltered and fed me for three days while stalking my prey.

It didn't take long before they dug out some holes at random and I was running all over the place until made it in time to one.

"Squeak!" The creature cried out while removing the dirt to come out of a hole as fangs sank into its flesh before kicking in the air.

Having a big animal struggle in your mouth and making your whole body tremble is such an incredible sensation! Biting the neck of a Rakat, I confirm my first hunting experience to be successful.

My prey lost its strength a few of my excited breaths later, then carry the limp body far away as not to cause some frenzy in the others then climbed flat stone and crouched down to inspect the animal.

I thought my neck would fly off from all that kicking in the air! I recall biting it with all my might in case it ran off to die in an inaccessible hole.

Well, of course, it would shake my whole body, being around one third my height, can't even fit in my mouth and I'm going to have to eat it in pieces. I thought and started licking the wounds which my fangs made.

As expected of frontal fangs that have more penetration, the wound is probably the tip of a human-pinky deep. I evaluated my capabilities and proceeded to eat.

Using my paws, I brought it to the side of my Maw then chew off the head and swallowed it before slurped all the blood coming out. Next moved to eating the crunchy legs and open up the stomach to eat its insides until I could consume the remaining part in one gulp.

What a sweet animal, I can probably eat one more before going to search for a Lair and something to hide my scent. I appraise, feeling the sensation of the meat going tightly down my neck.

I went back to their den only to find many holes open up, sealed them again and caught another Rakat with the same method.

"woOOooo..." A wolf howl sounds distant.

A lot of first-timers today... now a wolf howls not that far away and perhaps coming from the bottom of the volcano. Their corpses looked weak, but my human memories tell me they are pack animals that overwhelm their prey with strategy, numbers, and patience. Making a mental note not to underestimate the bitter hairballs while munching on a Rakat.

I can probably find many of these Rakat nests on the canal sides but what to do about the future? I don't think they reproduce fast enough to feed my growing body and wolves will require observation, but I'm already scared imagining being surrounded by them. I recall their size and thick fur that is hard to bite into.

The only thing to do is exploring the forest, but looks imposing, making me feel a little scared, and something tells me that predators bigger than me should reside in here. I strain my ears to hear the eerily quiet older part of the woods.

Considering the things I currently know, it seems my knowledge from Earth is showing a limitation when thinking about the future... nothing comes to mind, and this world is supposed to have something like magic, but I haven't the slightest clue how to go on about that. Recalling Big Red's fiery display, I associated it with magic and tried to feel some other sensation to no avail.

Now that I think about it, even Big Green didn't use fire or anything else that looks out of the ordinary... Ugh not knowing is terrible! I need a source of information to learn magic and help me survive or grow enormous, but that's like walking backward since I need to survive first. I wrack my brains for some ideas while resting on top of the rock where I ate the Drakat.

However, where do I acquire knowledge of this world? Miraculous encounter some Wise animal that explains things? I'm pretty sure that creature will either eat or kill me for invading its territory and in the case of Big Red, squash me for disturbing its sleep. There must be other reasonable creatures, but I must become strong enough to defend myself. Thinking I could also die before reaching any intelligent race settlement, I recall not seeing any from the volcano top. However, I keep ignoring the feeling of attraction to something in the south, but surviving takes priority over curiosity to explore.

Jumped off my rock, landing on three legs and walk through the debris in the canal up to the mountain until I see a boulder as tall as Father with smaller ones piled up behind it.

Well, that should allow for an easy climb. I go around it and spot many smaller boulders accumulated on the side facing up the mountain top.

I started climbing and having fun, hopping from smaller boulders to bigger ones until miscalculated the force applied on the hind legs for a jump.

"WUOH!?" Slid down and scratched many times until a foothold was achieved then climbed.

...That was dangerous, and my claws feel less sharp now... I just did the same as the Rakats trying to run out of my bite. Not taking into account my current weight with the stomach full, a miscalculation transpired.

I was able to eat two and almost died because of them as well, but I should have checked in between these are deadly stairs first since falling could get me stuck until starvation. I strongly grip the stone while ignoring the pain in the wrist and feeling my paws cold, then stare at the deep holes between the rounded rocks.

Despite my human-self being a talker, I'm quite the silent lizard huh? Not that a lizard needs to talk or anything, especially a conversation with other animals will be no different than speaking to stones. Recalling hazy conversations, I carefully climb to the top of the boulder.

The siblings were always noisy, especially when the food came, but I guess they had each other to grunt. I want to get all my knowledge, and end this uncomfortable feeling of being stopped from retrieving memories...it's like being in a house surrounded by fences, and new memories appear when a door opens. I recollect the reason why I'm so restrained and consolidate the need to grow up.

I reached the top the roundish gray megalithic structure then peeked at the hole used to jump off the crater with a much clearer picture thanks to the sunset illuminating the volcano top from this angle and the mist not obstructing the view.

After admiring the scenery of the crater, hoping to see familiar dragons, I turned around to see a humongous mass of earth further down the mountain from my spot and blocking the canal, with trees obstructing a direct view of the sunset.

The reason why that side of the volcano have such sheer cliff is that chunk which broke off and slid down in the west direction, creating this great canal. Remembering earthquakes, landslides, and tsunamis, I determined.

With expected inclinations on the left and right faces of the volcano, the collapsed part has a hole spewing gasses from a side of the caldera followed by a long cliff down.

It seems the collapsed part didn't blow away exactly towards west, and it's a little northwest, but even so, the wind knocked me a little to the south otherwise I would've rolled down this canal for a while longer instead of stopping with the cliff that provided shelter. I concluded after analyzing my current position and wonder if the next eruption will occur towards west again.

This place is closer to the base of the mountain already...I did chase for an entire afternoon, and any past rainfall should accumulate by that landmass at the end of the canal, creating a valley. I observe the depression hidden by vegetation hoping to find the liquid.

I should find something to erase my bloody scent but, the night is falling... I'm hiding in one of these rocks until morning. I jump to lower stones and look for a hole, in case something can climb to get me.

I settle for a hole between boulders human-waist size the entrance was enough to fit through and insides sufficiently spacious to allow two crouching humans. I enter from above and moved stones to seal any other hole on the sides then laid down with my left backside against the wall.

I have mistreated my forearm...the wound keeps opening and closing, but at least the bone didn't break again. I reflect on my actions while licking the blood on my wound, and any other remaining on my scales.

With an excellent food source, I just need to camp around these parts and hunt them to extinction for the sake of my survival and growth. I take a C-position to rest as the stars become visible from the hole above and with a stomach filled on top of the exhaustion from chasing almost the whole afternoon, I easily fell into a slumber in my hole.

"WAKE UP! Find her...." After sleeping for a while, a voice in my head jolted me awake.

Huh? Who, where? Lifting my neck while adjusting the eyes for night vision I stare at my visitor.

Oh no... I forgot about these guys! All senses came back and put me on high alert, tensing all muscles and heart beating faster. With rodents nearby, their predators also follow their scent of injured and right now, a snakehead a little smaller than mine is staring at me while flickering its tongue.

The not moving thing from my human memories would apply if I saw it coming first, but seeing my breathing body, it determined me to be alive and edible. I grip the ground and observe every minuscule movement.

Retreating? No, it's coiling its body to attack! I watch the body mass behind its head increase while slightly receding.

I can't let it bring any more body inside to strangle me with, but there's no place to run... I know! I slowly move my body closer while coiling my own neck.

It stopped flickering its tongue, signaling an incoming attack but I did it first and sprinted to bite its closed jaw at a distance of four human palms.

"GHUA!" Successfully latched onto its head and braced for the trashing it did.

Bewildered at the unknown attack, it panicked and started swaying the head sideways while tugging me out of the hole, but I didn't decrease the force of my biting and opened my wings to oppose the pulling force.

"GRRRR." Growling like some rabid dog while latched and ripped the flesh with scales of its head when it swings me around.

My delicate wings once again suffered mistreatment as they bashed against the walls until it finally removed me from the hole, and we started rolling outside over the debris.

"GHOUF." After rolling for a while, it coiled and slammed me onto a boulder.

It's desperate efforts to detach the attacker paid off when my head collided with a boulder, and rocked the brain inside strongly enough to make me lose grip on the bite for a moment, that it used to retreat. Seen with my night vision, the wounds on the serpent are far more severe with deep gashes on its head gushing out blood from where the two frontal fangs sank profoundly.

My body hurts, but I'm furious, and if you think you are getting away... Recovering from the slam, I sprint towards its head once more.

Seeing the crazed lizard rushing, protected the hurt head behind coils of the body then tried to seize me, but I nimbly bit everywhere then retreated when it was surrounding me... increasing his wounds until it decided to run away from my hit and run tactics.

Where are you going? I'm not letting you hide under rocks! I sank my fangs once again in hopes of stopping its tired body from going under stones.

I lifted its long tail and dragged it sideways around the hole it's entering, then twisted a turn around a rock and finally stopping its advance.

I remember doing this as a human but why did my former-self hunt so many snakes for no reason? I grip the stone with my hind legs and sink my left forearm claws into it, causing it to squirm a little.

I'm not sure how you were planning on eating me since my body seems a little too big for you but... I began chewing on the meat log that only two big human palms can cover and heard it writhing beneath the rocks while increasing the pulling force.

Is this your original lair? You had the same idea as me, to hunt and live closer to the Rakats. Almost done chewing on the part right outside its hole, I determined.

I'm too full to eat you, but I'll be taking this. Completely detached the portion coiling around the boulder a human cannot hug and pulled the rest of its body deep inside the hole while spilling blood behind.

While hauling a heavy cargo towards my hole, I kept watching back for any assault, but snakes are creatures who don't like to take damage in their hunts and probably attacked me thinking I was easy prey because of my injuries or the blood covering me.

I don't know how many of these are nearby, but after almost being eaten in my sleep, I will adopt precautions. I thought, looking all around for any other danger.

The same thing I've been doing to hunt the rodents will keep me safe. I thought and looked around for a boulder to drag under the light of stars.

Choosing in between several volcanic rocks that could fit my needs, I decided on one with many holes, making it lighter to drag away.

Perfect fit, as expected of a former human who made paintings, I got the proportions right, and this should stop any intrusive predators. I move the rock, jumped inside and sealed the hole.

"HOUF..." Finally breathing a sigh of relief, I try to calm down and sleep, but the pain kicked in.

Laying down next to the body part of my enemy, I managed to fall asleep once more while hugging my broken forearm and used my slightly hurt right wing to cover my body.

Morning approached as the food in my stomach was digested, and wounds recovered once more.

"GHUO!?" Another pain in my hugged limb woke me up and uncovered my body, then bolting into action.

What is it now!? Ah, it's you guys...eating my prey, and biting me awake. I look at the familiar Ants munching on the snake tail next to me.

...Well, I'm hungry. I ate all the invading ants in my lair then crawled outside to eat the incoming stream.

I followed the trail of ants all the way to the snake den from last night, around ten human-away up the mountain's canal.

Stupid snake, dying in a hole that cannot be dragged out...Oh wait, I'm the one who cut one-third of its body... With my neck inside, the rest of the body stopped any further advance and retreated.

The broken wrist section still hurts when pressed firmly, but lifting these rocks could get it hurt again. Not worth the effort of digging the snake out, I move on to eating the Ants and the tail left at my Lair.

In the early morning, with the sun rays not yet reaching the canal, I'm happily munching on my snake a few rocks above my Lair and watching the volcano until I see Big Green fly out to hunt.

She's heading northwest, but I can't see with all the tall trees, and it's not like I can fight a wolf yet. Unable to follow her with by sight anymore, I wonder how far the wolf territory extends and decided to live on Rakats for now. The weird voice that woke me...well it's not the first voice I hear since my memories sometimes are like that.