FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

'The universe is about fourteen billion years old, Earth is about four and a half billion years old, and it took humans as well as other sentient beings that we know of roughly ten million years to evolve.

It took humans roughly ten thousand years to go from the Fertile Crescent to settling colony worlds in space and playing with the genome like a bunch of toy Lego blocks.

But you are surprised at the amount of known worlds with life on them let alone sentient life?'

The words of one of my teachers echo through my memories, as I sit here in near perfect darkness.

A darkness only broken by the minimal light from the escape pod controls, and the stars.

The insane amount of stars visible through the one small window.

My memories are about the only thing I can use to keep myself sane as I float here, hoping for rescue before having to resort to the pods stasis systems to conserve resources.

It only has a limited amount of food and water and air after all.

But the freshest memories are the ones of how I ended up in this small one person escape pod.

I curse the luck that caused my pod to get launched away from the rest of the crew or it would be part of a larger lifeboat now.

I am a junior Ensign, but I landed a bridge position for a few shifts on the patrol vessel Siegfried.

Things snapped from dead calm to all hell breaking loose in a matter of minutes on my last shift as the ship dropped out of warp.

Alarms blaring, and people running about I was a bit confused till I snapped to attention at the captain yelling order's to the crew.

I took my station, Environmental controls, it's not the most entertaining position.

But, hey it's a position on the Bridge, and at this moment it's one of the safest places on the ship.

Considering that the console is reading that many decks are losing atmosphere, or have already lost it in the process of ejecting the warp core.

I report this to the Captain and I really don't know if Shi hears it, I'm being drowned out to by everyone else's barking out status reports from other ship systems.

Lights start flickering here and there, and consoles start to malfunction not too long afterwards, including mine.

The Captain then gives the order that anyone in Star Fleet, Star Corps, or any ship dreads when you're in the middle of open space, all hands abandon ship.

If what happened before was all Hell breaking loose, then this was what happens in the ninth circle.

Any semblance of order goes out the window as soon as Shi gives that order, all but the most seasoned personal evacuate.

The rest are doing their best to keep the Fitzgerald's systems running long enough to allow them the chance to.

It's all a blur though.

The panicked crowds, the screams, grunts, growls, and roars as Human and Morph head for each row of open escape pods in the corridors.

It's nothing like the orderly evacuation drills that happen once a month so that the fastest path to the nearest pod is ingrained into our brains.

Each person hoping to find one, some due to the fear of loosing their spot launch their escape pods short of full capacity.

Others like me have to literally claw other's to gain access, which us Morphs have a distinct advantage with.

I just hope the ones I used mine on managed to make it out, not that I could tell who I was clawing in that melee of a rush to survive.

The ship lurches as the escape pod I was in launched, the sudden loss of atmosphere on a deck two floors down was enough to change the trajectory of launch.

It changed it enough that the limited maneuvering fuel in the pod would've been useless to get to the rest of the escape pods.

I have probably been written off for dead by them since then, but I can't dwell on this line of thought.

Hope is something I have to hold onto, hope that someone picks up the pods distress signal, hope that the rescuer isn't a slaver.

Time though makes it hard to hold onto such hope, I quickly lose track of how many times I have fallen asleep with lucid dreams.

Only to wake back up here not even able to see the my clawed hands in front of my muzzle, or have the room to move about without cramping my tail.

My train of thought is suddenly broken.

As from the corner of my eye I notice the stars blinking out, that means something is out there between me and them.

Rescue!

I press my muzzle against the transparent aluminum window, my whiskers rub against it's smooth surface trying to get a closer look.

All I can tell is that it's large, it's close, and it's moving in this direction.

It bathes my escape pod with an ungodly amount of light.

Light, by all the mythological gods in human, rakshani, caitian, and voxxan history the blinding light!

By reflex I cover my eyes with my hands, my eyes burn from the light after so long in the darkness.

It causes me to throw my head back violently out of reflex, as if that would get me away from the source.

I hit the back of my head on the metal surface just off to the side of the minimally cushioned headrest of the escape pod before falling into the darkness.

What first enters my mind when the darkness ebbs isn't the fact that there is light, or that I can sense I am no longer in the confined space of that single person escape pod.

No it's the wind, the wind that is blowing through my fur and over my tattered and torn uniform.

Sitting up and opening my eyes I find myself in the middle of an open plain. An Earth like one at that.

Only with a strange greenish-yellow to greenish-orange grass.

Looking up I see clouds, but no sun of any kind, instead I can just make out the dark void of space surrounded by rocks?

Okay, so I am not on a planet, that is understandable.

There were no planets nearby when we had to evacuate the Fitzgerald.

But what does that leave? I am sitting here in a field of a plant that looks like a weird alien grass inside a ship or something.

Where am I?

Another strong breeze reminds me of my situation rather than wondering what and where this place actually is.

I am in the middle of nowhere, I only have on me what I had on when I entered the escape pod.

Which is just what I had on when I started my shift.

One tattered uniform, torn and scratched by the other crew in the escape.

A non-functioning communication badge, which I know won't work.

No matter how many times I touch it or wish it will.

And finally, a standard issue side arm of a small Beam gun.

Issued in case of pirate attack and boarding.

Nothing else, no first aid kit, no survival kit, not even the escape pod I was in.

I don't know how long ago.

Wonder becomes fear, the fear that one gets when someone is totally vulnerable and exposed.

I need to find some shelter and fast.

Looking about I also realize where I am at has a distinct lack of such structures.

Slowly I stand on my paws as they dig into the soft ground, no I do not like those digitigrade shoes, they feel weird on my feet.

As far as I can see there is a sea of this strange grass and now that I am standing I also notice that it is about as high as my knee.

âI guess one direction is as good as another.â I speak to no one but myself before walking off in one direction casually but with a sense of urgency to get somewhere.

It's not too warm, but not chilly either, just the right temperature actually.

Kind of like an early summers day on earth, well if earth had this color of grass.

With no sun to judge time I really have no idea how long I had been walking until I see a rock wall out in the distance.

And a different kind of plant, that is, not more of this weird colored grass that's growing everywhere.

So this really perks my interest as it's the only new thing I have seen for a while.

If I had to guess what it is, I think it would be some kind of tree.

A central oblong shaped bulb makes up the majority of the plant, and as I get closer I see it's bigger than I am at just under six feet tall.

Under it are stalk like legs, they are about as thick as my thigh and extend from the bulb to the ground, and completely covered in a smooth bark.

Above the bulb are similar looking branches, but they are covered in what looks like pine tree like needles.

As another breeze blows by it rustles them like it does a pine tree making similar sounds.

Still from the size and shape of it, I think it can work as a shelter for now.

I have no idea what other creatures are here and I rather not meet them, so I squeeze in between the legs and into the area underneath the bulb.

Smaller more stubby versions of the grass outside seem to be growing in here under the shade of this strange tree.

Some have strange brownish bulbs on the top of them, I don't know what they are so I grab just underneath the bulbs and yank the whole plant out of the ground roots and all.

Tossing them into a central pile for possible kindling, it might be warm now but it might get cold later.

So a fire is on my to do list of tasks.

Not to mention a fire will hopefully keep anything nasty at bay overnight.

I notice something small moving at the edge of my vision and I snap to attention to face it.

Ears perked and tail still, I stare at a spot that now has some small impressions in the soft ground.

I guess it would be expected to find rodents and other vermin living in the underbrush of the grasses.

Okay fire is now a high priority, at least on Earth a fire will cause local insects, rodents, and other vermin to scatter and stay away.

I hope it will work the same way here, so I quickly gather up more of the grasses under here.

Followed by some rocks to contain the fire and some thicker branches that have fallen off the upper part of this tree.

I am not a chakat, so no hyper immune system

Even though I think that claim is bunk, faster to recover maybe, but still just as vulnerable to new illnesses like any immigrant to a new world.

Which is why I need a fire, no telling what those things are carrying.

With fuel and containment sorted out, I only need to try to light it.

I could use a shot from the Beam gun, but I have no way to recharge it leaving me at only fifteen shots.

Our teacher for the survival class could make a fire with only two sticks, I recall briefly as I look over some of the sticks in the pile of tinder I gathered.

âLets hope this works.â Again I talk to myself as I kneel near the assembled bits for the fire, grab a couple of the sticks that look like they could be used in this fashion, and try my hand at it.

And proceed to only work my hands raw, with the only thing to show for it was a couple of glowing embers but no fire.

While I was trying to get the fire started what ever was lighting this place dims into twilight.

Strangely though part of me seems to find the early darkness invigorating, it might be the feline DNA that was mixed with human DNA to create morphs like me.

But the rest of me knows better, I make myself comfortable in here hoping that the tree it's self will provide enough protection for the night, or what passes as night here.

And hope none of those little vermin from earlier return.

I don't sleep much, every noise jostled me awake with fear that it must be some animal thinking to make a meal of me.

Only to have the return of the light show I had nothing at all to worry about.

The sea of grass and the gentle breeze is all that greets me, that is until a grunt makes me spin around and look behind me.

An eight legged, four eyed beast that kind of looks like someone crossed the size of a cow, the general pattern of the limbs of a spider. But the skin and horns of a rhino is gently munching on the grass next to me.

Scooting back I pin myself against the opposite side of the space under this tree.

âWhat the hell are you!â I yell at it, all I get in response is another grunt and some of the same noises that kept me awake during the night.

My hand immediately goes for the Beam gun but I don't pull it out, limited shots and all that.

If it wanted me dead, I would be dead already since it was right freaking next to me.

I stare wide eyed as it continues to munch on the grass, until it looks up and spots the needle like leaves of this tree.

With another grunt it rears up and uses a couple of its forelimbs to lean against the tree before grabbing a limb in its maw.

Now I know what a spider looks like, and this creature looks like at some point in the distant past it could've had one as an ancestor.

The rear and central body segments have merged, and it's.

No his judging by the 'large' bits, underside seems to have chitinous looking body plates.

There is a snap and it gets back down onto the ground with the broken limb of the tree in its mouth as it munches on it.

Vestigial pedipalps judging by their size stick out from the edges of the mouth as rows of flat teeth make quick work of the limb.

My embarrassment explodes as I realize I am being scared of some kind of giant spider like cow or elephant.

Hardly something to be scared of.

Slowly I remove myself from under the tree and look about some more, it seems that over night a decent sized herd of these creatures decided to make themselves at home near this tree.

The clouds are gone also putting to rest all doubt that I am not on a planet.

Rocks and metal super structure are visible through the slight atmospheric haze.

The inky blackness of deep space is visible through the superstructure with the very occasional blemish of what must have been meteoroid impacts on what ever the superstructure is holding up.

This tells me that what ever this place is, it's old.

Digging my claws into the bark of the tree I climb to the upper portion.

I need to get a better view of the place so I can get my bearings.

To one side of me I can barely make out a wall of stone reaching up to the ceiling of this place, it looks to be made out of the same type of rock.

On the other side is an endless sea of grass with an occasional outcrop of similar trees out in the distance.

But with no stone walls visible through the distant haze.

And then there is the herd of these strange creatures, as best I can tell they seem to number in the hundreds.

Larger ones surround the smaller ones, and even those seem to have even smaller ones crawling over them.

My curiosity is overwhelming, but it is pushed to the side as more pressing needs battle for my attention.

My stomach grumbles reminding me that I have not eaten since before my last shift, I don't count the 'meal paste' in the escape pod as food.

It's barely even edible and tastes absolutely horrid in both first and aftertaste.

My bladder also tells me it needs to be emptied along with a sense of thirst that now accompanies my hunger.

So I climb down and relieve myself of my most pressing need while pondering on how to get food and water.

These animals have to get water somehow, I could follow them and then drink from the same source.

But that would be risky as I would not know where I am going, or how long till they head over to one.

The only other way I can think of to find water is to go to the rock wall and follow it.

If this place is mimicking a natural environment then it stands to reason that it will have rivers designed to flow through it.

And they have to start from somewhere, chances are they will start from the rock wall.

I just have to find one of them, then I can worry about getting food.

Hoping not to startle these beasts I walk through the herd and head for the rock wall in the distance.

Doesn't take me too long to reach the wall, then things get even more interesting.

Despite the obvious weathering, and the strange blue vines growing on the lower parts, signs of it being artificially dug out are visible all over the face.

It's something that if this was any other time I might find interesting, right now it has to wait till I find water at least.

I will die in a matter of days without a source, and I have already gone a day without any.

There are two choices, well three, but only two that give me a chance of living.

That is, do I go left, or do I go right, looking down each direction gives me no extra information on which way to go.

Just cut rock wall and the blue vines littering the rock face.

If I had a coin I would've flipped it to decide, but instead I resort to the old childhood method.

âEni meanie minny mo. Now which way am I going to go!â My clawed finger ends up pointing Right when I finish.âGuess I am going right then.â Speaking to no one in particular and only for the sake of hearing my own voice by this point.

Turning right I walk along the rock wall, always keeping it on my left side.

I touch the wall idly while following it, the surface is almost as smooth as it looks.

The terrain changes a little as I go along, from flat grass lands it starts getting a little rocky and uneven in places.

Again since there is no obvious ways to tell time in this place without a watch, I don't know how long I have been walking.

Because of this I start to doubt that I choose the correct direction, so I stop and look back the way I came thinking maybe I should turn around.

It's then I start to smell water, or rather I start to notice that I have been smelling it for a while.

That's the thing with us morphs, we have the sense of smell, hearing, sight, etc.

Of our animal ancestor's, or at least some morphs do, but the minds of humans.

So a lot of the time, we don't pay attention to them, I guess I have to start to pay attention to mine a little more if I want to survive right now.

The source is easy to find, just over a rocky embankment and behind it I find a decently sized creek.

Fast flowing too, and crystal clear, it calls to me and I do not ignore that call.

Scrambling over the embankment I get on my knees at the edge and start scooping up handful after handful of water to my muzzle to lap it up.

I know I should have done something to purify it first, considering it could be crawling with a myriad of alien parasites just waiting for a host.

But I am too damn thirsty to care, not to mention I have yet to be able to make a fire without wasting shots and I have nothing to hold the water in either.

With my thirst satiated I lay on my back and stare up at the ceiling of this weird place.

Then down at my tattered, dirty, uniform, it doesn't afford any protection to me what so ever any more, might as well take it off and go bare fur, so I take it off.

Then I rub the fur on my modestly endowed chest, mainly to get rid of all the dirt and grass that is stuck on it.

Can't deny it feels good to do so as well.

Yes like most morphs I don't really mind nudity, but I prefer not to.

Upbringing mostly is the cause of this, my family is a mix of feline morphs and humans.

The humans are decedents of the ones that owned my ancestors, but unlike most families at that time the morphs became a part of the family rather than slaves.

My great, or is it great great grand mother was offered to their great or some such grand father by another relative.

He considered her a sister rather than a personal slave, and she was one of the roughly 10% or less of morphs that purposefully had the intelligence limiters absent.

So she considered him a brother in return, they survived the gene wars by hiding out in the northern Arboreal forests.

And that is where I lived with my mother, and my father the decedent of our former owners.

Came quite as a surprise to them that not only was my mother one of the types of morphs fertile with humans.

But that any offspring would be morphs like her, and that includes me.

An inbred hick by family name, but not genetics, boy I didn't live that down at school.

A high pitched shrill brings my attention to the world at hand rather than my self recollection.

Ears perked and tail poofed I roll over onto my belly keeping myself low on the ground and look over at the source of the noise.

Standing on the shore of my side of the creek is another spider like creature, and I use that term loosely again.

Like the herbivore, segments have merged, but in this case it's all of them.

This gives it a semi familiar appearance, though it still has slight bulges indicating where Arachnid body segments would've been.

Instead of tough looking skin it has thick fur, only the front two legs have clawed fingers at the ends of them.

It's pedipalps are full on mandibles with what I suspect are sharp teeth backing them up, and it actually has a tail.

The tail shows it used to be segmented as well, on this thing it looks like a fur sock with billiard balls stuck in it with a sharp tip.

Something in me recognizes it as a predator, and since it's four eyes are not looking this way it either has not seen me or it doesn't find me interesting.

No correct that, it has it's sights elsewhere, it's looking intensely at one of those herbivores I saw earlier on the opposite shore of the creek.

This is not a safe place to be, yet my curiosity compels me to stay put and watch.

Not to mention the rational part of my mind tells me not to move least I become the target.

Eaten by some kind of Spider-Hound, would have preferred to starve to death on the escape pod.

Hm Spider-Hound, that's what I will call it from now on.

Might as well give it a name of my choosing, first discoverer would have those rights, right?

Who ever put it here obviously must have a different name for it, but I would be dammed if I knew it.

The Spider-Hound springs into action while these thoughts run through my mind.

It leaps onto the rocks poking up above the flow of the water from my side of the creek to the other, causing the herbivore to flee but not fast enough.

A swipe slashes open a rear leg, and literally Blue blood splashes onto the grass.

The herbivore stumbles and the Spider-Hound is upon it climbing onto it's back.

It bucks and jumps as much as it can to dislodge the Spider-Hound but the hound latches on ever tighter.

And a second after the herbivore starts to tire it's dispatched with a crunching bite to the small neck between the head and the body.

When the breeze picks up my nose and whiskers twitch, the air is filled with a coppery smell.

I realize what I am smelling is the blood and it would be about this time that my stomach makes it known that, yes, I have not eaten in a while.

Shut up stomach, I will feed you when I get food.

It also doesn't help that I am watching the Spider-Hound tear off a leg like you do to a cooked crab, then proceeds to munch it down.

I have food in front of me, yet here I am laying on my belly and tits staring.

And I desperately want to eat some of it, and get up from here too because there is a pebble digging into my right breast.

Yet I can't, fear of being eaten has me stuck, fear that does battle with my hunger.

Fear loses, and my mind works in overdrive to figure out how to scare the Spider-Hound off.

This would be a good time to use the beam gun, but then what would I do with the body?

I am reminded of history class when we studied early human evolution, maybe if I jump up, make a lot of noise, and look over all threatening I can scare it off.

Just like early human hunters supposedly did.

Throwing rocks at it might work as well, could make it think defending his kill is not worth the trouble.

It tosses the mostly eaten leg aside and tears off another, if I'm going to do something, I better do it soon.

Option two it is.

I tense the muscles in my arms and legs and leap into a running start at it.

Only to nearly stumble as the creek is a little deeper, knee deep instead of ankle deep.

And 'colder' then I thought, still I have it's attention.

It has dropped the second leg and is staring intensely at me.

I growl, shout, yell, hiss, and try in general waving my shirt above my head to look bigger and threatening then I actually am.

I bet I look down right comical, if anyone saw me.

The Spider-Hound doesn't laugh, instead it churrs and then makes that shrill sound again.

Well, you know the old saying?

If you make an assumption on something, it can make you look like an ass?

That is what has just happened, I assumed it would act like an Earth animal and run away, it did not.

In fact the Spider-Hound charges at me, most likely seeing my softer body as an easier meal.

Well this is what I have been saving the shots on my beam gun for, so I drop my shirt letting it fall into the creek.

And without a minute to spare I pull out the sidearm and fire.

A flash of light erupts as a lance of charged particles fires from the Beam gun at near the speed of light.

Then proceeds to punch a neat and clean hold through the head of the Spider-Hound dropping him into the creek a foot away from me.

The splash of water that results soaks my entire front from face to pants.

I nearly drop the Beam gun due the water cold hitting my bare chest.

The temperature of the water causes me in reflex to cover myself.

The cold water around my knees and my soaked fur, even in the face of the warm weather makes me shiver when the wind blows.

I ignore the fact the tattered remains of my shirt is floating downstream for the moment to quickly wade to the side of the creek with the kill.

Not even sparing a thought about it I take off my belt, followed by my soaked pants and underwear and toss the beam gun onto the pile before trying to shake my fur dry.

âShit that water is cold!â I look at the floating remains of the Spider-Hound and flip it off.

âServes you right for not running off!â I pause for a second before noticing what I have left behind. âMy shirt!â

I watch as it floats with the current downstream, steadily moving faster as the current picks up the farther it goes.

âHey! Get back here!â I chase after it on the creek bank.

If anyone saw me they would be laughing again as they watch me hop and nearly stumble over rocks and debris.

But it has a head start and the current pulls it faster than I can run in this uneven terrain, so I am forced to stop.

âAww man I needed that.â Even though it was useless as a shirt, I could've used it as a bag to hold food or something.

Now thinking about of food, the smell of the dead herbivore is thrust back into my mind as the breeze blows past me.

Licking my lips and nose I approach the carcass and look it over, trying to decide what to eat first before deciding to snack on a leg.

I lack the advantages the Spider-Hound has in its large sharp claws, or its larger and sharper teeth.

One of the things taken out of the feline DNA when we where made was the feral shaped set of teeth for a more, Human, like jaw.

I decry that decision to the ceiling of this place while trying my hardest to at least get into a single leg of this slab of blue meat with them.

All the while it feels like the carcass of the Spider-Hound is laughing at me.

Laughing at my incompetence in handling my prize after so swiftly being dispatched by me.

Because it was the one who did all the hard work, and I can't take a simple bite of it.

Huffing and panting with my ears back flat and tail thrashing I desperately search around the place for something, anything to use instead.

My eyes then fall upon a rock that is just about the right size for me to lift.

Well when all else fails, I can try hitting it with something hard right?

Hefting it up in both of my blue stained hands I walk over and smash it against what looks like a joint on one of the legs.

Bones in the carcass snap, but the rock also slips out of my hands and hits a larger rock under the carcass.

With a crack it shatters upon contact showering little bits onto my legs stinging a bit, causing me to jump back.

Still panting I stare, not only am I lucky that the rock did not land on one of my feet.

A broken foot would be a death sentence, more than this already is.

But that the shattered pieces of the rock look like they have edges sharp enough to cut something.

Cautiously I pick up a piece about the size of my thumb and two fingers held together and test it on the shattered leg of the carcass.

The flesh yields like any would to the sharp edge of a blade.

Just not cleanly as the edge is not uniform.

âYes!â I yell and purr as I greedily cut away the skin and then slice off a piece bluish white meat and stick it into my waiting maw.

The meat is mostly tasteless except for some very light sweetness and a horrible after taste of copper.

But it's food!

Food that I have been without for the past couple of days, I eat what I can then place the cutting tool down and rest next to my stuff for a few minutes.

âUp yours! That's for laughing at me.â I yell to the corpse of the Spider-Hound and flip it off again, more to satisfy myself then anything.

After a little while I go upstream from the corpse and drink my fill of water before using it to clean the blue blood from my calico patterned fur on my face and hands.

I have sacrificed shelter, but in return I have water and food for the moment.

With those two needs fulfilled, at least for now, I take a more detailed look around the area.

Of course it's no surprise that some plants other than the those grasses have taken root here near the creek.

I can also bet if I follow the creek some more I may find another one of those trees again.

But what draws my attention is the dry pieces of drift wood from which had to come from somewhere else.

And dead plants that litter the shore from erosion.

Though picking some up show that certain pieces are drier than others, so I go about collecting the driest ones.

No way in hell am I going to be out in the open when darkness falls next too two dead bodies and known predators about.

So I am going to have to try my hand again at starting a fire, and keep at it till it works.

My reinvigorated body due to the food makes quick work of gathering more than enough fuel to last, hopefully through the night.

So I gather a circle of rocks a few feet from where I put my remaining belongings and get to work.

I work my hands even rawer than before, but this time I manage to get some kindling to light with the sparks.

From there it's only a few minutes till I have a full on roaring fire and couldn't care less if any soul was watching as I celebrated my victory.

I danced around it in celebration of my feat till I collapse onto my back, tired but still happy.

Panting I look over to the herbivore carcass, still there and it still smells.

Looking over to the creek I notice that the current has taken the Spider-Hound carcass.

Must have been pulled downstream while I was working on the fire or celebrating.

Good riddance.

As my breathing slows, I realize it would be a good idea to use the fire to cook and dry out as much of the meat as I can carry.

That way I won't be hurting for food later.

So with a tired groan I get up on my elbows and then sit up before standing and getting to work.

It's not long before I have strips of meat cooking and drying next to the fire along with my pants and underwear.

By the time it gets dark again I have also made, this time on purpose, a few more of those stone blades.

Just in case I need them later.

Letting out a sigh I poke one of the meat strips with a claw, when cooked they loose that blue tinge and look white as snow.

Another thing that they share with crabs.

I just have to wait for them to dry out so I can pack them up using my pants as a backpack.

The excitement from earlier in the day is gone now, and boredom sets in as I lay next to the fire waiting.

Cook and dry faster dammit!

This is like watching the proverbial paint on the wall dry.

Even though the fire is relaxing and enticing to watch.

It would be times like this I would curl up with a PADD and either play games or read.

Or if I was in the mood, find a male or herm shipmate to spend the night with.

Oh god, I don't want to think about what's going to happen without my heat suppressant medication.

But that is the least of my concerns about now.

What I am going to do tomorrow once it's light out is what I need to figure out right now.

Shelter that I can stay in for a long while is my main priority, sleeping out in the open like this is too risky to do very often.

If I can find some longer branches I could fashion spears with these rock blades as long as I find something to tie them onto the wood with.

Maybe use parts of my pants or underwear?

None of that can be found right here though, and besides by tomorrow that carcass is going to smell and attract more Spider-Hounds and what ever else.

It has already attracted some insect and rodent like creatures, the fire though keeps them away from my pieces though.

Which means I am going downstream along the creek bank in the morning.

I stretch with a yawn, but not because I am tired, just bored with nothing to do.

There is only one thing I can think of to both keep me entertained, and help me get to sleep right now.

Laying on my back I make myself as comfortable as possible, then I start to 'play' with myself until I fall asleep.