A quick warning. It gets a little violent, a little gross, and a little gorey after this chapter.

You have been warned.

My equine servant was currently digging using her tiny hooves, and doing a decent enough job of it. Though the job was difficult, given its small stature, non existent musclstructure, and diminutive limbs, progress was being made. Perhaps all its strength came from my incredible desperation, because after only about an hour I had created a decent sized pit.

Roughly three feet wide and nearly six deep, it would have to be enough to kill or at least wound whatever fell in. Provided they landed on one of the sharpened sticks I had managed to create using the squirrel’s remarkably sharp teeth. I had only been able to create about nine of the things, but that was more than enough to cover the bottom of the other trap.

Jamming the sticks into the ground one by one, pointy part facing up, I was glad my servant was so small for once. At least now I could maneuver around the spikes with relative ease, and even climb out of the hole with only a little bit of struggling. Heck that body was so light that a few careful hoof holds were all I needed to ensure that I could climb all the way to the top.

Ideally I would have liked to get rid of the holds, but whatever fell in likely wouldn't be able to utilize such tiny ledges in the first place. So I merely left them, and grabbed a mostly dead bush I had found, positioning it near the pit so it wasn't quite so visible. A close inspection revealed that any careful traveler would see it, but if they were in a rush the hole would be nearly invisible.

Lets just hope someone is in a hurry. I thought to myself.

I winced suddenly, grabbing my midsection as pain wracked through my physical, plant body. I knew that it wasn't actually my servant’s stomach that was the source of my agony, but I couldn't help the response. It was instinctual to grab one’s self in such a manner when they felt a hunger pang hit them.

And hit me it did, the entire experience making me feel like someone had punched me square in the bread basket. A part of me felt the urge to throw up, or cough, or lay on the ground but I couldn't exactly do any of those things.

Attempting to distract myself from the agony coursing through my very being, I recalled the equine to my physical presence. Then I shifted my focus to the squirrel and sent out another pulse centered on it’s current location. I was able to locate more small creatures, but they were few, and seemed to keep their distance from my tiny soldier.

Grumbling to myself, I sent the squirrel out on a wide arc around my territory, hoping to find something, anything to eat.

By then the equine had returned to me, and it trotted back into my grove to find that I looked terrible. My leaves fell from my branches in significant numbers, and my bark looked dry enough to burn under even the heat of the noon sun. It was like looking at one of those pictures of holocaust survivors who were mere hours away from starving to death.

I wasn't quite sure how that image popped into mind, but it felt apt, if a bit on the hyperbolic side of things. I think I’ve earned a bit of hyperbole however, as this was the closest I’ve been to death since my last life. That train of thought was unpleasant however, and I swiftly focused elsewhere in order to distract myself.

Starting with my squirrel, who had yet to find anything, and who I put back onto autopilot once more. Which was itself a sensation I was growing more and more accustomed to as time passed. This realization made me feel kind of proud, despite the fact that I was about a day from dying of hunger.

Describing the actual sensation is kind of difficult, but it's a lot like how in this life I could control every single one of my branches at once. I didn't need to even think about it really, nor was I overwhelmed by how many of them their were. I simply ran as a squirrel while walking back to my grove as the tiny horse thing, all without any real difficulty.

Each one of them was watching, observing and maneuvering through their environment without suffering for my split attention. It was an incredible sensation, and one which I wished I could explore more, but my stomach took top priority at the moment. To that end I decided to send the horse back out once more, my desperation demanding I do something, even if such an action wasn't likely to bear fruit.

Either way my tiny servant began to creep through the underbrush, utilizing the pinging ability I had learned not long ago. Again, I found nothing, though this time I decided to lower my standards even more, aiming for even smaller living things. What I found made my heart leap into my metaphorical throat, as there were numerous creatures all over the place.

Following one at random, I was able to locate a mass of beetles hiding beneath a rotten chunk of bark. The sight was not an enticing one, but I scooped them up regardless while directing the squirrel to do the same. In little time at all I had managed to return with a whole arm load of insects, and after drowning them in the muddy puddle I dropped them over my roots.

The ensuing meal was… strangely bland and almost like eating celery sticks. I felt like I got something out of it, but it was barely even worth the effort of consuming them in the first place. I was about to wipe bugs from the menu completely when I felt my consciousness invade the multitude of tiny creatures.

Seeing out of four eyes had been a little overwhelming, but suddenly gaining an extra hundred or so in one go was… easy. I know that it might not sound like it would be, but these iddy bitty critters were just so insignificant that it barely took any focus. I could puppet them all around with ease and there was no drain, or any real effort necessary in the first place.

I directed the squirrel to continue harvesting more insects while also sending out the first beetle squad to do the same. While doing so I wondered what purpose they would have once I managed to find a more reliable food source. The insects couldn't fight, or really do much of anything save for maybe serve as tiny security cameras.

Which wasn't that bad of a consolation prize, now that I was thinking about it.

I needed to be aware of my surroundings at all times after all as it wasn't like I could just pick up and run if things went south. Which meant that knowing what was coming far before it arrived was of paramount importance. To that end I began to calculate how many of the insects I’d need to cover the entire area, and resolved that it would take a while.

Either way I had a tireless work force on the job, though that didn't exactly fix my hunger issue. The bugs were simply too small of a meal for me, even if it felt nice to eat anything at this point.

Focusing on the equine, I was about to consider testing the limits of my control zone when I heard a sudden cry from somewhere nearby. I couldn't place exactly what it was based on the strange animalistic scream, but it sounded almost like a deer. The realization sent off alarm bells in my head, and I immediately directed my horse, squirrel and even bugs in that direction.

My hooved servant was first to arrive upon the scene, one which I immediately recognized as a pit trap I had made near the edge of my territory. Nestled between two trees, it had been relatively easy to conceal using a pile of dry branches and a layer of mud. My efforts had evidently managed to bear fruit, as the top layer was gone, and I could hear further cries from within.

Trotting forward at a slow, steady pace I peered into the trap and found that I had indeed managed to catch a deer. Laying on its side, the creature had been unlucky enough to impale two of its legs and catch a spike through the torso. The result was unfortunately plain to see. It wasn't about to die anytime soon, even if it continued to panic like it currently was.

Of course it had to be a gut shot. I thought to myself grimly. The poor thing is going to take hours to die down there, if shock doesn't do it in first. Kinda surprised that hasn't already happened now that I’m thinking about it.

As I inspected the creature I realized that it was likely someone’s pet, given its attire. Wearing a golden sash around its shoulders, the creature’s horns were adorned with flowers tied together with silver string. Its fur was also well maintained, and it had the appearance of a rather proud housecat that had finally left the house.

Its eyes didn't have that tell-tale spark of intelligence, though they were bigger than a normal deer’s. Leening a little closer I was able to discover that it's screams almost sounded like a cry for help. I couldn't be sure about that however, as its whinnies and weird noises were completely alien to me.

Either way I was left feeling rather bad for the poor bugger, as deer seemed to have been domesticated here. That realization opened the door to the fact that there might be a settlement nearby though I resisted the urge to think about that too much. I had much more important things on my plate, like what to do with the deer currently dying in one of my pits.

What to do, what to do. I thought to myself.