<div style="padding: 3px; background-color: #FFFFFF; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; font-size: 1em;"><div style="text-transform: uppercase; border-bottom: 1px solid #CCCCCC; margin-bottom: 3px; font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold; display: block;"><span onclick="if (this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display != '') {  this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = ''; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;hide&lt;/a&gt;'; } else { this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = 'none'; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;show&lt;/a&gt;'; }"><b>Spoiler: </b><a href="#" onclick="return false;">show</a></span></div><div class="quotecontent"><div style="display: none;">For the moment, I'm assuming that all predator anthros are capable of swallowing someone their own size, and that humans and non-anthro demihumans aren't capable. If it's an uncommon ability among anthros I'll edit accordingly. Likewise I'm inferring from the RP we've had so far that preds aren't terribly shy about their appetites.</div></div></div><br/><br/>Xali observed with approval the glint of primal hunger in both the boisterous kitsune and the taciturn wolf when she slyly mentioned the many opportunities to secure a live meal on the field of battle. Killing with a poisoned blade was satisfying in a way, but it couldn't compare to sending a wriggling victim down your throat. After a moment's consideration, Xali realized that it had been over a month and a half since she'd digested her last live prey, an unlucky vixen who'd foolishly tried to rob her. No wonder she was hungrier than usual. Once the soup arrived, Xali ate as quickly as good manners allowed.<span style="font-style: italic">Hmm...</span>she thought.<span style="font-style: italic">I wonder if that poor infatuated guard is planning to travel with anyone... he might not be missed...</span><br/><br/>She shook her head silently.<span style="font-style: italic">No, no... for the moment we'll need every soldier we have. Pity.</span><br/><br/><blockquote class="uncited"><div>Always optimistic, Kahmori pipes back up, thrusting his fist in the air for emphasis "Like you said, we have the best warriors. Any one of us here is a match for ANY human." He nods approvingly to those who'd started to gather around the fire, moving forwards to get a little bit closer to it, himself "Humans may play to win....but we're fighting for our land." He waits, letting the words sink in "Our families" Again, a brief pause "and our friends! We'll just have to make sure we fight ten times better, and ten times harder. Hell, if we have more folks like this on our side"<br/><br/>He makes a broad, sweeping gesture of everyone present "..I think we've already won." Whether or not Kahmori actually believe that was uncertain. However...he DID know one thing. Armies with high morale, with pride in their own abiliies, did better than those who had none. At every opportunity, he tried to enthuse those around him - if for no other reason than to keep morale - and hopes - high.</div></blockquote><br/><br/>Xali gives Kahimori a long, intense look in the brief silence following his dramatic declaration to the warriors present, and muses that she was right not to underestimate him. Rhetoric was art as much as science, and the kitsune had a impressive intuitive grasp of rhetoric. She was superbly skilled at manipulating the emotions of individuals, but the leopardess was never one for crowds. Xali preferred whispers to booming declarations, and that preference had served her well in the past, but valor had its purpose. Though not a military strategist per se, she knew that the morale of the common warrior did more to determine the outcome than the exceptional few favored by the tales of minstrels. She says only a few words as she applauds softly, quietly enough that only Kahimori can hear them. "I think, perhaps, we have."<br/><blockquote class="uncited"><div>With a huff, he crossed his arms and leaned back, scanning the cluster contentedly. “And what a way to make them disappear as well,” he murmured sultrily, letting the red of his tongue flicker over his lips momentarily.</div></blockquote><br/><br/>Almost involuntarily, Xali licks her lips hungrily as well, even though she's already eaten enough soup to take the edge off. It was gratifying to see a spark of desire in the otherwise self-disciplined wolf's eyes. "I simply could not agree more." she purrs in reply.<br/><br/>"Make no mistake, the humans have some absolutely<span style="font-style: italic">exquisite</span>ideas on the subject of cooking, alongside warfare and magic... but I find one particular belief of theirs to be simply mad. The poor creatures are incapable of swallowing a full-sized meal, so far as I've seen, but they can hardly help that. The odd thing is, they refuse to eat any part of their own kind. Not only their own kind, even, for they also shy away from eating of any creature that so much as<span style="font-style: italic">looks</span>similar to them! Even<span style="font-style: italic">us</span>they find too familiar to be palatable. When they do battle, they simply cut eachother down and throw the dead in ditches or leave them for scavengers. Such an appalling waste." she clucks her tongue wistfully.