chapter 4

Reigen woke up.

It took him some time to come to his senses. He had a feeling he hadn't slept for long. It was alright, though. At least his tiredness had seemingly vanished. Upon shifting a leg, he was immediately picked up onto his feet by Masa, which woke him up for sure this time. He glanced over at Masa, who seemed to be only focused on moving forwards, so his eyes looked ahead.

Reigen stayed silent. He felt it was better to see where the alien was taking him. Also, was it just Reigen, or was he..well, feeling a bit hungrier than usual? He decided to ignore that for now, although what he remembered before is that previously he was fed something that wasn't that filling, so Reigen hoped that maybe they'd find some better foods.

Ironic was that thought.

Reigen went through the 'halls' of the cavern before the tight grip on his arms were released by Masa and he was introduced to a somewhat large room in the massive nest of the aliens. This one seemed to have another door, although instead of a solid door there were big leaves covering it, like curtains. The table was long and large, and 'booths' marked each side. Of course the booths were not the one he was used to seeing, but they were comparable. He was gestured to sit down, so he did.

Before doing that, Masa removed the hardened sap from Reigen's hands. Reigen felt odd with it removed at last. Masa seemed to watch him, unsure if he'd do anything. They sat there for a long time, until someone else - or a group of aliens entered the room. These aliens, while similar in appearance to Masa, Toka, and Emba, were much taller, like the armoured aliens, although they adorned no armour.

A mixture of them - males and females each sat down at the booth. They all seemed to sit within distance of Reigen, though, conversations occurring but still watching him. Reigen didn't like being watched so intently. His stomach gurgled, either agreeing with him or wanting food.

Speak of the devil - the curtains spread as Emba, followed by numerous other smaller aliens of the same species came out, carrying what looked to be plates and dishes, topped with food. They set them down, each and every one. It seemed to be a feast of some sorts - the aliens seemed to be getting their own portions to eat. Reigen was a bit cautious, however. He didn't know what this strange alien food was, so he didn't want to eat it.

..but he was just, so, so hungry.

Reigen slowly moved a hand over to what looked like a fried something. Maybe some type of meat. He liked meat. He scanned the room, looking at the other aliens. They used their fingers to separate some food, and then eat it. Reigen tried that, but found it to be useless, so he'd take this - corn on the cob style, and begin eating it. He felt eyes on him as some of the aliens paused, looking over to see this 'unique' way of eating food.
He decided not to let that bother him, and instead take a bite.

The meat was..good. Almost like a type of seafood. He paused, taking a moment to take in the flavour. And right away, Reigen knew that he wanted more.