Kinverse: Volume One

PATH OF THE EMERALD MAIDEN

A naive young monster's tale by Moros, aka KinverseWriter

Legal Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise herein mentioned. No copyright infringement is intended. All characters and events in this story are entirely fictional. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events, is purely coincidental. This work of fiction contains disturbing content.

Reader discretion is advised.

Description:

A young woman from a pre-neolithic society is accidentally whisked away to another world entirely during a raid on a research lab run by alien invaders. Stranded with no friends, badly injured, and no idea where home even is, she's forced to live off the land and learn how to survive in this strange and hostile world.

There's only one slight problem, though.

She's not trapped in this world with them. They're trapped in this world with her.

Categories:

Adventure, Coming-of-Age, Isekai, Erotica.

Disclaimers:

This story contains sexual elements and disturbing themes. The contents aren't purely intended to be pornographic, but some scenes objectively are. This is about a giant monster that eats people, so reader discretion is advised. This story contains vorarephilic themes.

This story will have a very slow and intermittent pace to begin with. True stakes don't really show up until halfway through, though the build-up is always there in the background. This is ultimately not a story of grand adventure and defeating one's enemies to rise to the top, it is the tale of a lost and naive young woman growing as a person and learning new things. It is a personal one concerning her, and thus this story will be told in present-tense first-person.

Chapter 15: Afterglow

---

"Fo're'ver."

The sounds are foreign to me but I can enunciate them.

"Fo'rev'ver. Foreeever. Forever."

Pat pat pat. Ah, bliss.

I don't know what her soft and muffled mutterings meant. Was she trying to tell me something? But what? Surely she knew I would not be able to understand.

She's gone quiet now. That's to be expected--I doubt she can breathe any more.

Idly, I feel something new. A pang of... what? Regret? For eating her? Why?

She was food. Fun food, but still food. She was a weak coward when her mate needed her most and she had no survival skills. Rather than even attempt to fight back despite the futility she not only gave in but pleasured me. She put up no resistance and for that she is food.

I scratch my belly a bit more. Definitely food. I'm not about to pass up this meal.

Hm, no. I don't regret eating her; not at all. I think I regret the loss of what she could do. Base instincts screaming at me to acquire a mate; all it is. I did not feel like this when I ate her mate. I also did not steal her mate 'in that way,' either.

What I did with her also technically wasn't mate-stealing; at least, not in the way that matters. I do not entirely look down on her for her last-minute fun either. Her mate was dead, and after all, this is the closest she will ever be to him again! What wasted strength he had is now mine and hers is to follow. Sure she whacked at me a bit back in their created-nest but that was it! Instead, she just... cowered.

Had I been in her position I would have pulled out a tool, like a burning-stick or created-claw. Even if I had nothing but the feeble body of a tall intruder, I would still try to tear at the plates of our attacker! Even after I'd devoured him and held her close she had done nothing, broke in mind if not body. I was at my most vulnerable and she could no longer muster so much as an attempt to stop me.

Ah.

Not just regret.

Pity.

So... so, very weak. They have created great and powerful tools, though I have only barely begun to learn of them. They have bent nature to their will, and yet still they are so individually weak.

These tall intruders... much like this land, they are weaker than those my brood faced.

Perhaps... there is something to that? We are so much stronger individually--especially together--while they were weak. As I lie back, full in body and sated in spirit, I feel an odd clarity. Thoughts which I have never considered before spring to mind.

They were weak, but it is not we who have created these things. It is not the Kin who can rise to the stars and fall back to the earth unscathed. It is not I who could make that created-nest or created-claw, and use that burning-stick. We are strong, they are weak, but we did not build or create.

Why?

Because we are... what? We are different only in body and strength.

Because we are strong?

Because...?

Because...

The thought hits me like a charging elder.

Because we didn't need to.

Suddenly, everything makes sense. Lost in thought my scratching and massaging stops.

Because we didn't need to.

I was hurt, so I needed to eat. I was alone, so I needed to become stronger. I... I... I am lost. So... I need to learn. I need to grow. I need to learn. I need to become stronger.

This is a strength. They are weak in body... but their people are not weak.

Once more my world expands.

Thank you, weak tall intruder. You have expanded me and made me stronger in many ways on this day. Truly a shame that there are not more of you so easily taken for my needs.

But this lesson...

This lesson I will remember.

Getting up I lazily trot over to where I dropped my bag at the mouth of the cave. I open its flaps and pour out my goodies. The water containers, light-projector, and head-rest all clatter and thunk to the rocky floor. Grabbing one of the bottles I slice and pour it into my open mouth, thirsty after my exertions earlier. Like a gnawed bone I toss it aside as the female had so casually done with her shiny ones and I grab the light-projector.

Flicking it on it illuminates the shaded cave. Pointing it further in, the dark recesses light up. My thoughts go back to the male searching for me after I alerted him.

No night eyes. It was left behind, so the female could not see the road in her panicked flight and hadn't the presence of mind to feel the hard ground on her soft feet. They made this to see with.

Turning it off and placing it back within my bag, I return the rest of the water containers as well before grabbing the head-rest, bringing it to my revealed belly to feel its softness.

Very nice indeed. They did not have protective plates, so they made soft places for their heads and those sleeping pouches for their bodies. Meanwhile, I needed neither, but I get to enjoy the fruits of their labor anyway!

We could have this! We do not need it, but we could have this all the same! Shuffling over with the bag and head-rest in my foreclaws, I move to the dark back of the cave to rest. Placing the head-rest down, bag at my side I then lay on my back as they would judging from the sleeping pouches. As before in the created-nest, I rest, looking out the mouth of my shelter at the falling rain.

Yawning, I close my eyes. It's been a long day, and I have learned much. It's nowhere near night yet but I am exhausted all the same.

I know what I need to do now. I have a goal beyond simple survival and returning home!

I want to learn all about the tall intruders' things. It is another path to strength...

...and I must be strong.

For me. For Mother. For the brood.

---

I lazed for days in that cave while my meal was processed, growing larger and longer, even if only relatively marginally. It continued raining off and on, and I was glad to have the shelter. As for the growth and processing, it took longer to do so than in the created-nest due to being mostly healed now.

I gained a bit of size and mass, becoming stronger, two becoming one in the struggle of life. Though that's a bit charitable to call my side of things a 'struggle.' I'm sure that alone in the jungle, even if nothing accosted her before I could, she was quite fearful. Meanwhile I just had to teach a lesson, have some fun, and get my first live meal with the opposite of struggling!

I occasionally heard the booming reports of the hunter's weapon--definitely closer, on what must be this side of the lake. I'd feared he would leave while I was off gaining strength, but strangely he has remained. There is no way that he could eat all of the food that he seems to be gathering, and yet it didn't look like he had any family around to feed. I think it likely that he lives elsewhere and is simply hunting here.

I know so little about tall intruder life; only what Mother and my older siblings have told me. Even Mother knows little, having pieced together what she had figured out from the camps and larger created-nests she had ransacked. Tall intruders prefer to live in created-nesting grounds--fields of jungle which they have destroyed to make way for structures of stone and sharp-rock.

Eventually, I had to get up. For obvious reasons I still felt a bit full, but I was nonetheless beginning to get hungry. Bones don't digest well after all.

Pacing out of the cave and into the muddy hillside I gaze out over the rain-changed valley. Green has spontaneously returned to the water-starved plantlife. Peeking over the ridge is a rainbow: strange lights in the sky sometimes following rainstorms. Some Kin think there's something special to them while others think it's just a weird thing that happens for no reason. Maybe the tall intruders know, maybe they don't. I've heard of Kin driven mad chasing their ends.

I quickly get over with disposing of what remains of my meal; digging, regurgitating, and burying it away in a shallow unmarked grave. The least enjoyable part of this so far, aside from literally losing most of a leg.

Speaking of which... glancing back, a full leg greets me, though still off-color and lacking the rough look the rest of my carapace has from the burns of my arrival. I'm back to my full strength!

I haven't forgotten about Shaggy and Laggy; perhaps after my next bit of business I could pay them a visit?

Grinning, I continue on. These mountains are ones of endless ridges and valleys, leaving this particular place a lovely decline towards the lake with a river in its middle from higher collections of water. Perhaps a spring feeds into it, considering it still flowed during the drought?

There isn't much to do while travelling other than think, so with the recent revelation on other forms of strength, think I do.

Specifically, about Kin, myself, and the changes I'm undergoing.

For one... my neck is longer now, being almost the length of one of my legs. This bit of growth was inevitable, but I wouldn't have expected it for another year at the least back home unless I got my claws on that tall intruder- no!

No. I take huffing breaths and shove down the petty anger. I've been over this with myself. I've made up for that. I have hunted, though I don't think that particular bit of hunger-of-the-mind will be sated until I hunt the hunter. Besides, that scrawny thing wouldn't actually have been enough to progress my growth to the same degree.

I wonder if my stolen prey is here too... I could feel them pulled from me, torn from my tender embrace, tugged from my scythes. Somewhere, perhaps, but it has likely been too long for me to be able to track them down and I find it hard to believe that one even weaker than the tall intruders here could survive the jungle, let alone the fire.

So. Neck. My storage crop has grown in. As I walk I toy with the muscles in it, learning to hold and push and pull, exerting finer control over the peristaltic motions. It's not every day that you gain an entire new organ in your body, let alone an addition to your muscles. If I have to travel quickly then being able to carry more food without having to distend myself too much would certainly be of benefit. A longer gullet makes getting struggling food down take a bit longer, but that's fine.

Normally this particular development would assist in raising my own young as I hunt and bring food back to or transport them in safety, but here as I am, its storage ability will see use only for myself.

Naturally, since it's mainly for assisting in feeding our young, only females grow them. Males' necks don't grow out; instead, their tails grow in length to both make it a better weapon and allow for them to more easily rear up. Females' tails grow thicker to act as better counterweights to our necks. Looking back whilst curling it forward, I note how my own has thickened considerably.

A fully-grown male can sprint upright, leaning forward into it, claws ready to collapse on their prey. It lends well to one-on-one brawling. They are beautiful--if brutish--killing machines, not to say that we females aren't. If I had a longer tail those tricks I'd been pulling weeks ago would have been both easier and safer to do, but I also like being able to dart in and take a little nibble here and there. My lengthening neck may have invalidated most use of my scythes, but I'd rather have the versatility my neck gives me.

Males are built to fight but females are better at hunting! Such is the way of things, and so it reflects in our society. I wonder how the tall intruders do it? Do their males fight over their females? But why was the female so weak? Not much to fight over in my opinion. Sure, she could mate well, but they didn't even mate together right!

Um. Hm.

I stop in place, one foreclaw still in the air.

But what if they weren't mating for children?

Kin do mate more than needed while fertile; this I knew. But... that's because it makes fertilization inevitable and as I have learned, it's so that it can be enjoyed while it should be. So the only reason I can conclude is that they did not want to have children.

...Yet?

Do... they grow more? Like Kin do?

I waited. I'm an adult, I'm fertile, surely they both were adults if they were mating, and surely she would be fertile if they were preventing it, so... they must have been delaying having children then I suppose. Because... hm.

Because they weren't ready for it? Just like I didn't want to have a mate yet because I didn't think I was ready for it? Because I wanted to be stronger first, to go out and find my own mate, like Mother. To be worthy, the best among my sisters, heir to Mother's strength. But if they're weak and my earlier thoughts are correct and they created things only because they were weak, is this new idea that they become individually stronger true or not?

Ohhh, I've confused myself now. I'll revisit this once I've learned more, surely there must be an answer. Even to the rainbows, there must be an answer, and I will have it!

Tall intruders, your peculiar strength shall be MINE!

My stomach growls. Belly empty, first I shall hunt! Hm, I'm going to have to backtrack a bit. Busy in my thoughts I passed a very recent and strange new scent a while ago...

---

I have no idea what this is. It definitely isn't happy to see me though.

Nestled under some rocks with a fallen tree propped over forming a neat little den is a creature far smaller than the bears, far smaller than the elk in height, and a bit smaller than the wolves. Its fur is similar in coloration to that of the elk, being a tan brown.

The beast is cornered in its shelter doing all it can to dissuade me: growling, flashing its teeth, clawing out, and raising its hackles to appear menacing. I'm sure that if I were any other creature, it would be very very scary. Its growling conveys its mood quite well to me all the same.

Beyond those teeth lay its stubby face, isolated hairs dotting its muzzle, fuzzy little ears on the back of its head, and eyes much like a Kin's staring with a mix of fear and hate right back at me. The strangest part about it is that it's vaguely similar to the tall intruders back home, only this animal's nose is more prominent and quite different. The nostrils are all wrong too, the head not tall enough either.

I think it was napping here within a shelter it found and I've definitely disturbed it. Powerful muscles ripple under its fur and from what I can see of its legs they seem built for pouncing. It's almost like a miniature version of me mixed with a tall intruder, and not as sharp. Or bitey. Or brown.

Meh. I don't blame it for being angry... I'd be angry if someone interrupted my nap. Especially if they were a big strong predator, here for two reasons only: boundless curiosity and unending hunger, of course!

Low to the ground I advance, tail ready to lash out if it tries to make a break for it and scythes ready to help punish it if it tries to charge. It knows it's screwed as it backs further against the wall. Those claws could very well hurt so I need to be careful; cornered prey is dangerous prey no matter what!

Well... unless they're weak and tasty tall intruders.

This isn't a situation I want to poke my face into. This is a fight against a smaller and more agile creature with claws probably nearly as sharp as mine, if not as large. I left Laggy with a few good wounds on its face for exactly that reason! Not only must I learn from my own mistakes if I am to be a strong and skilled fighter, I must learn from the mistakes of my enemies, as Mother instructs: 'There are two kinds of prey: those who learn a lesson from you and those who teach you the lesson.'

I taught Shaggy not to rush in and rely on its bulk. I taught Laggy that their cautiousness was well warranted. Their attack taught me to be prepared. I taught the two wolves that fled when to fight and when to flee. The male taught me to prepare, and the female taught me that there are many kinds of strength. All of this I must remember and learn from if I wish to be strong.

We sit at an impasse. I do not want to push in when I don't strictly need to. It does not want to try and push past me, risking an attack of opportunity. It is cornered; I could leave whenever I want, but I am hungry, not that it knows that. It's kind of a given, but still. Obviously I won't wait forever but perhaps I won't have to. Its growling is rising in volume and it appears to be psyching itself up to fight for its life.

If it charges me, I will open my jaws and bite off whatever comes first, be it forepaws or its own jaws. If it tries to jump at my side, I will rotate while extending my scythe out for it to impale itself upon or be warded away. If it tries to dart past then I need only swing my tail out and gut it. I have won this battle before it even began purely due to catching my opponent when it is cornered. Although, if it is fast enough, it may still be able to slip by me...

Tauntingly, I open my mouth while retracting and extending my teeth multiple times. The process is slightly painful with a dull pressure but it's worth the showboating. I continue for a bit as it backs even further up against the rocks, almost horizontal to me now with no room left. Shrinking down into a crouch it cowers.

I want you to know where you're going. I want you to know your place, foreign predator!

If I had to say, this creature would be... hm, middle of the food chain. The elk would be at the bottom feeding on grasses, this would be above, the wolves would be a bit above it due to their pack hunting, and the bears would be above all. I, of course, now top even them! At least... once I kill Shaggy and Laggy. They did technically get a bit of me to snack on if they wanted to. That'll change once I tear out their hearts from their fat and drink their blood!

Come out, little hunter. Come out. Come to me. Pick your death. You are dragging this out, I will grow larger than Mother and collapse under my weight at this rate, sealing you within your corner!

As if hearing my thoughts it suddenly darts forward along the rock trying its best to keep distance from me. It wasn't cowering, it was preparing to bound away! No you don't! Nooo you don't, you're MINE!

I turn and pound forward to cut it off, its path taking it out of range of my tail. It's faster than me to accelerate but the thick muscles in my intact legs propel me forward all the same, and as it flees around the side of the alcove I pounce only for it to dodge aside and continue its flight!

Steadily as we charge through the trees, among the undergrowth over roots and rocks I begin to gain ground, catching up. I pounce once more but it jukes around a thick tree. What an agile little critter! Such is the downside to my size; I may be bigger, stronger, and faster, but I will need to play this smarter.

Rather than pounce to immediately end our chase I do something else. Steadily once more I catch back up, rounding trees and rocks, through divots and over logs, and I'm close enough to pounce again but I hold myself and my screaming instincts back. I'm really feeling exhausted now, panting with every breath, but so is my prey. Neither of us are endurance predators.

Although I definitely have more endurance at the cost of needing to eat more, I'm not used to this air!

Finally I'm up to the dodgy little nuisance, and only now do I pounce, darting my neck forward and latching onto its hindquarters!

With a screaming yowl it trips and I go with it, rolling in the mud. My far superior weight and size win me the day and though it twists and struggles violently it is beaten. I quickly grab it by the neck, haul it back, and with my other foreclaw slash its throat open before releasing it to bleed the fight out of itself whilst I gather my breath.

With its rear a mess, muscles meant to control its hindlegs shredded, and all of its blood swiftly vacating its body through the gash in its neck, it doesn't last long and can no longer flee.

Victory is mine.

Dropping back to the ground, I can barely move, panting hard.

At least you'll taste better for all the effort I had to put in. I expected it to try to fight its way out, not try to desperately flee. Definitely a middling predator... the bears did not flee, and the wolves made an attempt to fight.

Once I'm able and willing to rise once more, I shakily shuffle forward to begin recovering all of the energy I just burnt doing that.

Note to self. If you're going to do another chase like that again, do it when you aren't hungry! Less lazing, more actually going out and getting food!

Sigh. I suppose that's this lesson.

I ravenously tear into my meal, stealing the heart first before the blood grows too cold and stagnant. I... might have been able to just eat the entire body, but I want the heart after that sprint. My meal goes by faster than I would have liked due to eating the lean meat of a predator, so I crunch and munch the bones for their marrow.

However, inspired by the tall intruder head-rest I feel at the pelt of my catch and realize that it is quite soft. Perhaps the head-rests and sleeping pouches are made of animal fur somehow? I don't remember it looking like skin, instead being carefully woven together from strands of what may be grass or very long hair. Observing my prey's fur makes me think. My home's tall intruders have a little bit of fur, but the ones here are... inconsistent.

The female seemed to have less hair overall than her mate--at least on her body--but she had more hair on the top of her head, which may indicate a lot of cosmetic sexual dimorphism. Perhaps it was her hair, or the hair of another female? The color of the head-rest was too dark though...

Speaking of differences, while I don't have much experience to back up the idea so far it seems like the females are decently weaker than the males--the male had an appreciable amount of muscle in his arms and legs but she had barely any visible. Weird.

And why do the females taste better? Smoother, less hair? Lingering pleasure bleeding over into her taste? I suppose I'll have to experiment and find out in the future. I'll need to keep my predations a secret if I want more tall intruders, but I'm going to have to get closer to their places soon...

---

A/N:

This is the first chapter for the second arc with the protagonist. The interlude ended in a cliffhanger, and you're going to have to wait a few chapters to see what exactly is going on with Carey, but I think you can probably guess.

Carey's about to have a bad time in the woods.

I like Carey as a character so far with what I've got of her, but I think that might just be personal author bias. She's the second character I've ever written so I'm bound to like her. Hell, I think the protagonist is really cute.

I'm not going to spoil how this arc goes, but I will say that the protagonist is going to like Carey quite a bit too. She's going to get to know her very well.