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While lunch was a time to try to locate food as quickly as possible as hunger gnawed at him, dinner time was not quite as desperate. Yǐn Cáng left his room, meandering his way through the Monster dorms. The downside to not being informed by his stomach that he was starving meant that he had more time to dwell on what it was that he actually consumed. The fare at the school was adequate, but after so many spiders and rats and Jolly Meals one began to long for something new.

He was debating going to the place that the chupacabra ghoul had shown to him, where the strays were kept, but with Tai Hui so newly settled into his room she might get upset if he came back smelling like the place where he had rescued her. His stomach growled, giving him a warning that he did not have the luxury of being too picky. A wry smile graced his features. Away from the Clan for such a short amount of time and already he was trying to be picky about his food. The very idea would probably be enough to have him sent to bed with an empty stomach. He was almost to the dorm’s main door before his stomach growled again, louder this time. Perhaps a Jolly Meal would be acceptable after all.

Yin stepped out of the dormitory in time to hear a crash. Whipping his head around he saw two creatures grappling on the ground. Well, one was grappling, the other looked to be frantically looking for an escape.

For some reason the sight made his blood run hot, his senses almost seeming to sharpen as saliva began filling his mouth. An intense pang of jealousy clouded his judgment and without thinking he started toward the pair, intently watching with a certain degree of eagerness. The prey, for that was what it was, was something that he had not seen before, though it almost looked similar to a creature that was sometimes found at the feasts for Great Mantis Day.

Yin found it hard to draw his eyes away from the creature, curiosity getting the better of him. He had to force himself to bring his eyes up to look at the other boil. Now that he was not wrestling with his prey and Yin could get a good look at him he seemed somewhat familiar.

Still, observing a hunt without invitation was somewhat rude, as some may see it as a private matter if they were not attempting to show off their prowess. And he felt that he had intruded, no matter what the other actually thought. “I must apologize for staring,” the mantodae responded after a moment. “But I feel as if I must ask you, what is that?” he gestured toward the fallen creature. “And are you allowed to hunt such a creature on school grounds?”

"I had believed that only those creatures were found in the pound were free game here, not those in the forest as well." Then again, no one had told them that they were not, Chuppi had merely taken him to the place where she hunted.

Still, the boil had stopped, and he was just standing there with that "hallowdeer" while Yin's stomach was trying to meet his backbone. It was enough of a temptation that he began to eye the stranger, looking him over slowly.

He could probably take him. All it would take were a few well-place blows and he could take the hallowdeer and run. He was fast, and he felt fairly confident that he could make an escape. Once he got into the dorms it would be easy to lose himself in the labyrinth of the halls. He slowly began to edge his way closer, talking calmly. "Is there a way to determine if it is someone's pet?"

Yin surreptitiously eyed the situation. There seemed to be no easy way to part the creature from the boil, but perhaps if he talked to him for a bit, got him to lower his guard for just a moment...

"I see," he said with a nod. "That does make sense. I am somewhat of a hunter. Without knowing that the forest was available for hunting I have mostly been catching rats in the dorm." He shrugged lightly, "it does not provide much of a challenge, but it is better than going hungry. Though there is always the cafeteria." He shifted from foot to foot, manners threatening to fly out the window. "Do hallowdeers taste better than rats?"

"So you believe that breaking the rules is a better alternative than eating something that will satisfy your hunger but you do not enjoy?" The weremantis was not intending to be rude, he simply could not believe that someone would do something for such a reason. At home they were fed what there was available, and he had not had a choice cut of meat in his entire time there. Food was food...was it not?

But the lengths to which the boil was willing to go for this hallowdeer, risking breaking rules and such, meant that it must have been special...except it was not his favorite. Yin crouched down to get a better look at it, and reached out cautiously to touch the end of one leg. Just to see if it felt different.

It felt pretty much like rat fur.

Practicing skills was actually a very good reason, one that Yin not only understood but could also appreciate. "Indeed. My main skills are not in hunting, so while I would like to be able to do so it is not my main focus. Much of my practicing time is spent on martial arts."

Yin would never, ever, actually steal from another. But there was only so much he could take in his present state. Slowly he wrapped his hand around the leg of the Hallowdeer, lightly pulling on it to see just how firmly a grasp Jericho had on it. If he did not protect his kill perhaps he was not so attached to it after all.

Yin backed off at the threat, feeling rather ashamed of himself. He was letting his stomach make the decisions for him, and leaving his usually well-mannered self behind. But as he pulled back his hand he may have let it linger into a stroke of the animal's pelt.

"My apologies," he said quietly. "I am unsure of what came over me." He stood up, a troubled look on his face. "I have overstayed my welcome, and almost did something unacceptable. I should probably leave before I do something else to be regretted. He turned, not toward the cafeteria as he had been going but rather back to the dorms.

((If you want this can be the end, Jericho can call him back, go after him...whatever!))