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 18: An Unforgettable Luncheon (v)

---

Bathing is a rare treat. Kin usually only bathe to clean off blood and viscera since it more easily gives away our scent. While mud tends to cover it up a bit and is good for cooling off on hot days, it comes with its own issues as well.

Submerged up to my head in a nearby stream, I relax in the cool water. I've been in here for quite a while, the mud having long ago been scrubbed off either by my claws or the current. It was a little annoying to have to pry up the plates a bit to get under their edges, but it was worth it to get the weeks of built-up grit out. It gets itchy and while the animals here may not recognize my scent, they absolutely will find the blood offensive.

I heard a distant bang earlier while looking for the stream which must surely have meant that the hunter is on his way back to his place. Hopefully he's not too angry; I do want to try and subjugate him later and that might be a bit hard if he bears a grudge!

For now... relax. Laze. Conserve energy.

Bathing is a rare treat and I'm going to enjoy it.

---

Steady.

Line up the carotid.

Bang.

Click.

BANG!

The male goes down and the females scatter into the forest.

I cycle the bolt and catch the hot brass casing, stuffing it into a pocket on my cargo pants before approaching my kill.

Not too large. Only recently matured. It may not have even had a chance to mate the females yet, but that's not my problem.

I swiftly skin the beast and butcher the choice bits of meat. Both will sell well, though which how much I've gotten I'll need to ensure I only sell so much in one place.

With today's hunt finished, I return to my camp, bag full of elk meat and its fur bundled up on my pack. When I got back after my first trip to find that the park was closed and the nearby town evacuated, I knew it was the perfect time to make some cash without anyone being the wiser, and damn am I gonna be rich when I get home.

Speaking of home, it's been a few weeks... I should probably leave soon. Who knows when the park will open up again? If a ranger catches me like this, I'm fucked.

I contemplate in silence as I make my way back.

Rounding a tree I take in the sight of my camp and let go of my rifle in shock, gaping at the scene before me as it drops to hang by its sling.

What. The. Fuck.

At my feet is one of my coolers, ice dumped and long-melted, the meat nowhere to be seen. All that remains is a pile of empty plastic bags in steak juice-dampened dirt. Furrows in the mud lead to my upturned ATV on the other side of the clearing from where I parked it, my tent flap is left open, and my food prep area is a mess.

“What the fuck!" I yell.

Many of my coolers are emptied, their contents strewn about the bases of the trees they were hung in. The meat is nowhere to be seen. Thankfully the trailer and its furs are untouched.

If a park ranger found my camp they wouldn't have left things so fucked up, and they'd still be around. This is some shithead punk! I spent weeks gathering all of that!

Grabbing my rifle again I stalk forward. Bad things happen to people alone in the forest all the time and I'm about to have to reinforce that. First... I need to assess the damages and find the bastard. It's a bad idea to piss off a hunter in the forest.

The various patches of mud are pretty churned up and stomped in like someone had a party or something. Trails criss-cross through them all over the clearing like they were visiting my coolers and... returning to the center? My food prep area!

My camping chair is in a bundle thrown to the side and my stove is left open with my pan settled on it, coated in charred meat. The whole inside of the stove's cover is greasy from popped fat and if that wasn't enough, everything is liberally coated in mud.

Party was right, someone ate my fucking meat!

As for my ATV, I need to check it out. It's stuck on its side, sunk slightly into a deeper puddle of mud, but it doesn't seem damaged from an apparent joyride aside from a few scratches on the front. My spare gas can got knocked off at some point and is at the base of a tree beyond the vehicle. If not for the impending risk of discovery, the seasonal rains are definitely a reason to cash out while I still can.

But not before I teach these punks a lesson. How many people does it take to eat that much meat? Four? Five? Did they cook it and take it with them?

None of this makes any sense. Someone--probably someones--rocks up to my camp in the middle of nowhere, has the camp cook-out of a lifetime with my meat, plays with my ATV and nearly wrecks it, and then just leaves.

Wait. Fuck, my tent!

I raise my rifle. Stomping through the mud I hurry over to it and find it a mess. At least it's intact, but it's filled with mud! As I pull open the flap a faint strange smell wafts out and makes me recoil. What the hell is that? Ignoring it, I duck back in and frantically search through everything... and to my relief, despite things being tossed around all over the place, everything is here. My keys were even returned to their bag, though as muddy as everything else that was touched.

I let out a sigh. Alright. Anger management. Calm down.

Damage report. What'd I actually lose? A bit over half a dozen coolers of meat? Agh! But... this... could have been a lot worse.

Breathe in... breathe out. Let it all out.

Calm down. Calm down. This is fine. I've still got some of the meat left, I've got the pelts, I've got my ammo, and I've got my ID and keys. I'm going to pack up, go home, and get the fuck out of here. I'm definitely going to get the pelts and meat sold, and while I'm at it find a wildlife cam or something for the next time I get a chance to do something like this.

As I pace around I notice a trail of mud leading over the grass and harder-packed soil at the edge of the clearing. Anger rising again before I can quash it back down, I stomp over to check for shoeprints. Whoever messed with my ATV must have gone down hard in the mud, and this must be their trail. It peters out rapidly as the wet mud fell off of them, but now that I know what to look for, finding actual shoeprints rather than just churned mud is easy.

The tracks themselves are strange; the gait is subtly off and it's like they were wearing wide shoes. It isn't until I reach the edge of the clearing itself where the mud isn't as oppressive that the print is more visible and defined.

...The hell?

Except it isn't a shoeprint at all.

That's a footprint.

I'm... stunned, for a moment.

Something is out here. Sasquatch? An alien? A... what, a gryphon or something? What the fuck is this toe configuration... configurations?

Something is out here and I want to know what. Fuck the meat, this is worth a hell of a lot more.

---

The first thing I did was grab more ammo and my ATV keys. The second thing I did was right my ATV. The third was to take some pictures of these footprints. Worst case scenario I find nothing, but I can always come back out again and without a bunch of stuff lying around that would instantly lose me my hunting license. Not to mention earn me some fines, perhaps even a criminal record.

After that I hopped on my ATV and started following the tracks as best I could. Cleaning up my camp can come later--whatever did this can't be far; the mud on those footprints was barely dried!

Judging by the depths of the tracks, whatever made them is larger than even a bear and wasn't in a hurry. To be able to eat that much meat... it has to be huge. Elk, wolf, bear, I've never hunted an animal that doesn't go down if you shoot it enough, no matter how big they are. You just need to shoot it in the right place.

Thankfully the tracks followed a wildlife trail for the most part, else there's no way I would have been able to continue on my ATV. After half an hour or so of steady progress, that changed.

Stretching left and right ahead of me is a stream: one too deep to drive through, but not enough to hamper an animal's ability to swim across. The beast's tracks lead across a short span of open ground before dropping into the waters below. Luckily the trail we'd been following veers through the forest along the river and almost certainly leads to a ford I could traverse.

Before I move on, I park my ATV and get up. I need to see if I can spot the tracks on the other side or if my quarry was smart enough to swim up or downstream. As I approach the river's almost non-existent shore I'm suddenly hit by that same strange sense of unease. That something is just... fundamentally wrong.

The waters of the stream are languid and muddy. Looking down into it my eyes catch on a darker spot in the murk centered around a coarse brown rock.

That's strange. That rock's too dark to be sandstone and it looks too rough to have been here for long. How'd it get here? And... it's right in the middle at the deepest point...

The rock's nostrils flare and four eyelids shoot open.

I stumble backwards in surprise and fall on my ass, losing sight of the water. What the hell was that?

The rock rises from the water, over the edge of the shore, and back into my line of sight. Rivulets of water run down its... shoulders.

Ohhh, fuck that thing is big.

Clawed hands grip the sodden shore and pull the monster's bulk up. Still on my back and unable to take my eyes from it I scoot myself backwards, away from whatever the fuck this thing is! Its eyes return my glare, and below, its muzzle sprouts a toothy smile. It continues to pull itself forwards onto the shore as I pull myself back, eyes never leaving the other's in our staring contest.

With my back hitting a tree I tug at a low-hanging branch to pull myself up, my other hand reaching for my rifle on its sling. The creature continues rising, standing tall on its two back legs baring its wicked teeth down at me. It's got to be twice my height at least, not counting the sharp tail dripping water behind it. Two bladed limbs poke from behind its shoulders, flaring straight out in some alien gesture. Everything about this thing screams sharp.

I'm fucked.

---

WhirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRRrrrrrr.

Hm?

The small mover! He's here!

I quickly submerge myself as much as possible and shuffle my feet to stir up silt and mud. I keep half of my head remaining above the waterline so that I may breathe. The whirring cuts out and the sound of footsteps clomping in mud reaches my ear holes.

He's here! He's here!

Alright: time to intimidate him and show myself to be the superior hunter! Might makes right among predator and prey!

The footsteps stop as he reaches the shoreline. He definitely does know how to follow footprints! I was already sure he must be able to so I didn't bother trying to hide my trail very well, and my plan has worked--my prey is lured in!

My eyes snap open and they quickly lock on to his form above, his scent drifting down to me as well. Male. Good health, or at least no illnesses; and faintly, elk blood. This is my prey! And not only that, I recognize no carnal scents upon his form, leaving him obviously up for grabs. Perhaps I will toy with him further later, and show him what a real female is like, unlike his soft and delicate ones.

He yelps in surprise and falls back out of my line of sight so I rise and begin to leave the water. I can taste his fear as he scoots himself back towards the treeline, scared of my approach. Grinning, I flare out my scythes as a show of peace, although... hm, he is not Kin, he would not know the significance.

Stepping forward, I stop a few me-lengths away from him. The sun is above me to my back, contrasting my front and form. I have planned this perfectly, I must look majestic! Water glinting on my beautiful carapace, domineering over him!

He begins to breathe hard. Is he panting? It's actually rather chilly after the rains now, so perhaps it is due to his fear. Whatever the case, rather than surrender or flee he brings up his burning-stick to shoot me with it!

The hard way it is, then--before he can line up his shot I lean forward to close the gap!

BANG!

Slight pain erupts from the top of my head as something fast and sharp tears through my chitin before rebounding off, but it's barely even a minor wound. It will not save him!

Now he attempts to flee, running for his mover parked in the trees along the path. His hands are busy as he works with his burning-stick, likely to ready it to make fire once more. I won't give him a chance to. Having dropped to all fours I swiftly catch up to him just as he reaches the path. Pouncing forward, rather than stab him with my blades or bite him with my teeth I simply lunge and wrap my forelegs around his torso and roll, pulling him to the ground in a tackle alongside me.

Putting holes into him would be too quick and would not suit my needs and desires.

While he's stunned I slice one claw through the band of fiber securing his burning-stick to his body before rising while keeping one hindclaw on his back, pinning him. I'm careful not to lean too much on that foot else he'll break, instead grasping at a tree with a foreclaw. Face down in the muck he is only barely able to get his breath back from it being knocked out of him during the tackle.

I have you now, my morsel...

Hehe.

Now upright and stable I press down to force out an exhalation.

---

“Haaaaahgh!" I exhale from my compressed lungs.

I can't breathe!

“Hehhh..." I wheeze.

I can do nothing but wheeze and struggle. Thankfully before too long, the pressure lets up.

Gulping in air, what feels like the weight of the world on my back recedes completely. Before I can catch my breath and try to get up, claws grasp my arm and pull me to my feet, and beyond. Legs dangling in the air I'm rotated around to face what is very clearly not Sasquatch.

Oh god. Alien it is.

Now that I have a closer look, no wonder I mistook it for a rock in the water. The hard plates covering its body are very rough, with its powerful chest jutting out to a ridge--though below it looks quite potbellied, which explains where my meat went. With four eyes, no ears visible, and a pointed maw filled with sharp teeth, its face is that of a B-movie horror. It's fucking smiling at me. It's smiling. What resembles the purr of a big cat rises from its throat. Its nostrils flare once more as it scents me, tongue flicking out to taste me!

I am so, so unbelievably fucked.

There's only one option left: diplomacy.

“Um. H-hello? I-I come in peace! Please don't kill me!" I stammer out.

Its tongue delicately swipes at the beading sweat on my forehead. Before I can attempt to struggle my loose arm is grabbed as well and they're both brought to my sides, squeezing me a bit. Rather than do anything more, it's just... staring at me, now. Staring. Sniffing. I'm immobilized and all I could do is kick at it. Perhaps a well-aimed kick to that belly would work but I might piss it off even more than I already have.

---

Thlp. Lick.

Hm. Salty.

The other two tall intruders were coated in this substance. Their skin seems to secrete it when they're... what, scared? Aroused? Both? That point is still a bit muddied. I haven't toyed with enough tall intruders yet to be able to guess. All I know is that it tastes salty and they get coated in it. It's a strange taste that I'd only tasted once before, and that was with curious crumbly rocks another Kin had found, and yet there's more to this. The substance itself reminds me of one secreted from the rough pads on my claws when I exert myself.

“[Um. H-hello? I-I come in peace! Please don't kill me!]" he says.

Hmmm. I think back to my observations of the previous two; the male and the female. Vocalization must be how they normally communicate--not with scents, but with sounds. Their lips are very flexible, more-so than a Kin's. There are benefits to their method and benefits to ours. Perhaps we could have both as well?

After our initial little unpleasantness he's certainly a lot less fighty. No kicking, no spitting, just hanging limply in my claws, reeking of terror. If he keeps this up I might do some more exploration of my own, but for now, it's time to make sure he knows his place.

---

Something in its demeanor shifts. Breaking out into an even wider grin, one scarily similar to a human's although far longer and toothier, it holds me up higher. As it breathes so close to me I finally notice that strange smell from earlier below that of blood and meat, confusing to my nose in some alien way. It's like absolutely nothing I've smelled before. After a moment I realize where it's coming from: it's the smell of its breath.

Why does it smell so weird?

Before I can consider this odd development further it brings me right up to its face, meeting my eyes with its own. It has four eyes: one pair on the front and another behind, angled out to the sides a bit. Each green cat-like pupil is locked right onto me. They're strange and yet so recognizable; uncanny. They look extremely similar to a cat's or a lizard's, with a yellow sclera and slit-pupil, but the rear ones are hyper-focused for some reason. This one's are all a deep green. The sides of its head are flat, with no ears apparent other than odd holes with a pattern surrounding them almost spiraling inwards.

Front pupils dilating, it opens its mouth and a grating, guttural, and unpracticed noise emerges.

“Hewo. Hewwo."

It's.. trying to speak.

It's smart, it can communicate!

“Yes, hello! Hello!" I enthusiastically reply.

“Yeth. Hewo. Helh. Helh- hck." It coughs under its breath. “Helll-ho," it parrots back. It tastes the words and slowly improves its speech, becoming only slightly less guttural.

This is first contact. It's an alien! And I'm the person who discovered it!

And... I shot at it. Uh, no hard feelings, right?

Feeling a little guilty but no less scared I continue trying to speak to it.

“Hello. Sorry. Bang," I say.

“Hellho. Sowrrr, sorrrr-ee. Bhang," it mimics.

As it speaks I notice that strange scent on its breath even more, and I recognize it as exactly the same weird smell in my tent. This... whatever it is, was definitely the one who trashed my camp. I think I remember catching a whiff of it a few weeks ago in camp as well; has it been following me? I knew I felt like I was being watched!

This is easily the weirdest experience of my life. Here I am on a forest trail in the middle of the wilderness trying to talk to an alien that is twice my height--not counting the long and hunched neck--and is currently holding me by my arms in the air. It seems content to continue its back-and-forth, so I oblige it.

“Hello. I am a human. Human. Me," I say as I try and gesture towards myself as best I can, hands restrained at my sides. “Human. Me."

As I lightly struggle and shift its head dips to stare at my hands, fingers pointing at myself. Its gaze returns to my face. I try to give it my best smile.

“Hello. I. Am. A. Hew-man," it once more mimics. “Human. Hello. Me."

Um. What do I do? It's just... repeating everything I say. Do I establish some sort of mutual word for something? I have an idea.

I extend out my index fingers and look to the ground.

“Down. Down. Down. Please," I ask, before looking back up.

It's staring at the ground.

“Daown. Down. Pleaze," it parrots, looking back and forth between me and the ground.

I need to capitalize on this. Keep it talking. “Yes. Down. Please."

A look of what could be comprehension crosses its face. Could be. For all I know it could be thinking about how best to cook and eat me.

Um.

It's grinning again. And... what happened to its teeth?

---

Down.

The first word I think I understand. Down is ground? Or on ground? He wants to be on the ground?

Hmm, later. With some form of breakthrough I'm happy for now; enough talk. This alone is big! I can figure out the meanings of the other words now.

Shllllk. My teeth steadily retract into my jaws. It's painful but necessary for this next bit.

Hey, I recognize this expression! I'm learning! He's confused! This is how the female looked at me in the cave! He's been pretty compliant. Now to ensure that compliance. And I'm going to learn from my mistake in the cave as well...

---

Now smiling considerably less toothily, its grip on me subtly changes. Did it work? Is it letting me down?

Maintaining eye contact the entire time, it lowers me down to the ground until my feet touch the dirt, but does not let go. Its height is staggering and I'm stuck having to strain my neck to look back up, its own neck curled down towards me as it slightly hunches over.

Okay. Keep it talking. This is working.

“Thank you," I say encouragingly while smiling. “Down."

It just. Keeps. Smiling. Is this some sort of alien expression or is it actually smiling for some reason?

“Whsss. Thhhh. Thaaan-kuh yew," it says, struggling with the 'th' sound initially.

I experimentally try and shift a bit to let it know I want to be let go of, but its claws might as well be metal handcuffs. Said grip tightens slightly...

My feet leave the ground again as it lifts me towards its face once more.

“Down! Down! Please!" I yell.

---

'Thank. You.' Down. While baring his teeth; smiling. Happy. Pleased.

'Thank,' and 'you.' Two parts, spoken together; one word? It evidently has something to do with it liking being 'down.'

Hm hm hm.

'Please,' before when wanting down. Wanting.

---

Sound rumbles once more from alien lips above me.

“Down, please. Thank-you."

Its maw opens wide and rushes towards me!

“AHHmpf-!" I scream as jaws clamp down over my shoulders, head entirely engulfed in slimy flesh!

“Nomf. Glmp."

THIS WAS A MISTAKE.

Now I begin kicking at it but I have no leverage whatsoever! As the beast leans back against the tree my boots can barely reach to kick at hard legs then soft belly. Its jaws shift over my sternum and the muscles of its throat massage my head as I begin to rise. Its tongue slathers at my coat, pulling back and snaking under the collar before darting back out.

What the fuck! It's fucking eating me!

“Glk, glk, glp," its throat sounds out as air shifts by.

Its claws shove me further in, my back arches, and heat engulfs me. There's nothing I can do. I'm completely helpless. And I can only barely breathe again. My legs rise horizontally as it continues to lean back, head forwards.

After a minute of rhythmic tugging and pulling the muscles around my head slightly relax, and my hat falls, no longer pressed against my head; blood rushing down as I shift directions too. Down.

Oh god, it did understand what I was saying! It even fucking thanked me!

With gravity on its side the pressure on my face returns all too soon. What was that? My scalp presses against a tight passage, and I'm being squeezed through...

---

There will be lots of time later to learn their speech.

He's the second-tallest of his kind I've encountered so far, out of a massive pool of three examples--but I'm larger too now, just as planned. My jaws don't need to distend nearly as much as my first time and he goes down faster, especially helped by his reaching my crop. As he enters my belly he begins to struggle even harder.

Ah. Right. This is going to be a tight squeeze. Actually, I don't think I can fit all of him in anyway. I've already eaten recently, so not only is space a concern, my stomach is already active...

Wait, oh no! He'll drown!

---

My head is freed, but the moment I take a breath I start gagging hard. As my shoulders leave the tube I slide forward and instantly my head erupts into pain as fetid acids and melting flesh coat me! Some gets in my mouth from my gasping causing me to spit and gag!

MotherFUCKER! I'm not dying like this! Piece of shit-fucking alien monster, I'll show you what you get for fucking with me!

After my shoulders come my arms and then my hands. Gritting my teeth through the pain as I hold my breath, I slide my saliva- and acid-lubed hand down to my waist...

Two world wars, motherfucker!

---

As his knees pass my throat--and his head, the end of my esophagus--I begin swallowing air, circulating it down and through to my crop and beyond.

I'll let him stew for a while in there, let him know I could have just killed him here and now, and still could in the futu-

BLAM

BLAM

BLAM

BLAM

BLAM

BLAM

BLAM

PAIIIIN!!

AGHH!

Suddenly, seven lances of PAIN erupt from within me and impact the edge of a belly-plate's underside! This PAIN is one of the worst things I've ever felt, almost as bad as losing my leg! Elk-meat chyme and blood dribble from below the plate to the muddy path...

Reflexively I start regurgitating. He rapidly ascends my neck as my muscles overtax themselves, further adding to the pain just to get him OUT! NOW!

His exit is far faster than his entrance and swiftly he's deposited in front of my gagging form along with some stewing elk, stuck breathing heavily as every muscle in my neck and belly cramps up hard. Looking up at him, he's scrambling to his feet, blood streaming from his ears, mixing with the saliva and gastric acids soaking his coverings.

Turning his back to me he grabs his long burning-stick and flees into the trees.

With one last retch, I expel his head-covering, a small sharp-rock object, and seven spent casings, all in a pile of half-melted globs.

The pain clouds my vision. Despite not hitting anything vital, his rapid expulsion did more damage than his last-moment defense. I can't do anything but watch his shrinking form.

No... he's... mine...

. . .

. . .

. . .

When I return to consciousness after fainting, I can hear grass and twigs crunching, two legs approaching where I lay on the sodden shore.

---

A/N:

You know what they say about the best-laid plans of men and monsters. The first half of this chapter gave me some serious Goldilocks and the Three Bears vibes. 'Who's been eating my steaks? And who's been throwing around my chair? And who's been rummaging through my tent?' Luckily for him, she wasn't still there.

This was foreshadowed last chapter when it was revealed that the hunter had handgun rounds in his tent, and as the protagonist considered, a weapon you leave at home is a weapon you cannot use.

As for the chapter itself, this one is longer than average. I considered splitting it up into two but if I were to do that I'd need to cut it before the final scene with the hunter, and there simply wouldn't be enough of a wordcount on either side of wherever I would cut it to justify doing so. It would also kind of interrupt the plot, so, far longer than the average chapter.