The Hunger

Raika groans and grumbles as she walks along the cost just outside of the Village Hidden in the Mists. As was typical for the Ryuutei, she felt that annoying hunger of her bloodline demanding that she get herself a meal. Something good to eat... But she wasn't about to spend a whole heap of money on food when she could just go out to the beach. Her stomach didn't entirely care that much, and neither did her bloodline.

She waded out into the water and squatted down, glaring down at the fish as they swam away, but she stayed firmly still as they all gradually started trickling back, the bravest of them darting in and then back away. Raika knew better than to strike at them for now; the bravest ones were the fastest, that was why they were so brave. No, she waited until one of the fatter, slower ones came near. Her hand moved slowly at first, reaching in at the slowest pace towards the fish... And then, with a rapid swipe of a claw, she nabbed it up out of the water.

Before the fish could do more than slap at her a few times, she was already ripping into its sides, tearing away its scales to get to the meat underneath, which she ate right off of its still-struggling ribs. Somewhere in a dark part of her mind, deep in the back, she made a joke to herself about sushi. But she wasn't laughing, and she didn't stop eating until the hunger was quiet again. The other fish had swam away anyways, but she knew they would be back to eat what was left of that larger piscine prey. Raika took the time to wash away the blood on her face and clean herself off, even licking the blood off her claws carefully. Then she left, going back to the village now that she was sated.

(EXIT)

Raika returns once more to the coast, feeling quite hungry again as she wades through some shallows, occasionally finding and trapping some of the smaller crabs and ignoring their pincers as she snaps their legs off one by one to suck the meat out of them, leaving the pincers for last and not bothering with eating from their bodies, which she figured were mostly organs instead of actual meat. She also finds an oyster or two in the shallow waters, easily prying them open with her claws or, when they're really stubborn about opening up, with her fangs. Although she doesn't really find any pearls, the slimy meat is nice for swallowing down whole.

But then she finds a real catch; an eel, sneaking in and out of its burrow just past the shallows. Raika carefully circles around behind the hole of its burrow, taking a little fish that wouldn't normally be more than a snack for her and ripping its side open to let it die before she wiggles it out in front of the burrow, a few feet from the entrance to entice it almost all the way out. She watches closely as it slips out for her, before she grips it behind the head and squeezes harshly. She doesn't let it try to struggle free, almost immediately slicing its neck with her claws before she brings it out of the water and starts eating its flesh, devouring it raw and swallowing it down with real hunger. She leaves behind its bones and most of its organs, using one of its ribs to pick her teeth clean while she returns back to the village, feeling sated for now.

(EXIT)