Chapter 1: Chapter One
Lightning flashed overhead, a loud clap of thunder following with the raging winds. Large snowflakes pelted the ground, soaking the world in shimmering white. A large head rose from the cold stone ground of the cave that the creature inside called its home. Its emerald eyes blinked, it's focus turning on the raging storm outside its cave. A deep intake of air rushed into its lungs before rushing out once more as a sigh left it.
Its head lowered then, attention once again turning to the nest of rock and moss beside it. This large beast was indeed a female and nestled within the nest itself; six eggs lay clumped together. The mother lowered her head further, nudging each egg carefully with the tip of her snout to rotate them. Yes, any day now, and her brood would emerge into this world of wonder and danger. Once she was sure her eggs were tended to and safe, she laid her head on the ground once more, releasing another great breath as she sighed.
Her eyes began to flutter close, the roar of the storm outside willing her to sleep. Despite it being the start of Spring, it seemed Winter wasn't going to leave this land without one last fight. Curling herself tighter around her nest to keep it warm, she finally succumbed and allowed the storm to pull her into the dream world fully. As the dawn rose the next morning, so did the songbirds.
Loud trumpeting bellows echoed into the cave from outside, waking the mother and causing her to lift her head and give out a mighty yawn. White fangs bared dangerously for a moment before hiding behind blackened lips again. Emerald eyes shifted to the outside sounds, knowing the cause of such commotion. It was the mating season after all, the creatures that roamed these lands much like herself had reached the age to choose their mates.
Challenging battle-filled noises continued to echo into her home, along with the sounds of fighting and the scent of blood. She could not dwell on it, though, for she needed to hunt. Without food soon, she would perish. With creatures distracted by courting instincts, now may be the time for an easy meal. With a sigh, she rose onto her hide legs, stretching her body out, long, deadly claws scraping the stone ground. She went to the cave entrance then down the rocky slope to the flat earth below. The day began to pass, and the battle sounds quieted as night fell upon the land. With it, the warmth the mother had left in her nest began to fade. The eggs started to chill...if they did not receive heat soon, they would perish.
Another hour passed, then another with still no signs of the mother's return. The glow within the cave from what little sunlight managed to peek inside began to dim, four eggs already lifeless, while the two remaining eggs were cast in the moonlight glow, revealing the still living embryos inside. A noise came then, the sound of loud footsteps. However, as soon as her claws hit the cold stone floor beside the nest, her legs gave way, sending her crashing down with a pained groan. Black scales were now mixed with red from the blood that covered her body; many deep gashes now coated her skin. Blood pooled from her wounds, creating puddles of crimson on the cave floor. Deep labored breaths left her.
Their bodies stumbled and clashed as they fought in the small confines of the cave, fangs meeting fangs, fangs meeting flesh. Once again, she was forced to the cave floor, where one of her eyes shifted to the nest just behind the male briefly before her attention returned to the male and narrowed, pupils dilating to thin angry lines. A new protective strength rose up inside her. It, however, was not enough and far too little too late. In that slight moment of distraction, it was enough for the male to clamp his jaws upon her neck.
The male's left foot came down upon the nest as he shifted position, crushing it and the eggs within. With one strong jerk of his head, a loud crack sounded, and the mother's body lay lifeless with it. All the eggs were lost... all but one, which was thrown from its resting place by the impact forcing it to roll to the cave entrance and plummet to the ground below. Thankfully, The remaining egg landed on a thick bed of moss and leaves. Though safe from death, the egg itself was not without damage. A large chunk of shell had broken away, leaving a hole to which slime began to ooze out. From the spot, something white moved within before it stopped. The soft sounds of a hatchling's chirp soon echoed from the egg, resembling that of a baby crocodile.
The young one lay there exhausted, small, labored breaths escaping its nose. A shiver rushed through its body as the sun set, forcing it to peel open blurry crystal blue eyes. It blinked then, adjusting its vision to the darkness that made up its current world. A chirp escaped it, a cry of distress to its mother, who was supposed to give the young one warmth until it dried off. There was no mother, however. Perhaps she had gone hunting to provide a fresh warm meal to it and its nest mates wherever they were.
It chirped again, but still no answer. Still no mother or nest mates. Another shiver rushed through its frail body, making it cry again in distress. It tried to stand, only for weak unused legs to collapse, sending the young one back onto its belly with a light grunt. A slight growl left it, followed by another shiver as a chilly night breeze blew over its small frame. Crystal blue eyes blinked once more as it began to try to stand again. Its legs wobbled and shook, threatening to send it crashing down again. Losing its balance, it stumbled only to correct itself and stand fast. It stood there, allowing its muscles to strengthen while it began to observe its surroundings.
There was still no sign of its nest mates or mother. Not even its sire was around. What was it supposed to do now? It took one cautious step forward after a few moments, and when its leg did not collapse, it took another step until it could walk without collapsing. All around it, the night creatures were waking, causing the forest to come to life. Something loud called out through the darkness, making the young one jump in surprise at how close the sound was. It lowered itself closer to the ground as it crept along, trying to make itself as small as possible. If it was attacked, there was no way it would stand a chance, not without its mother or sire to protect it.
As it finally came to a sliding stop on flat ground, it released a relieved breath. A light hiss left it as it tried to move, its body protesting with aches and pains. The clouds parted briefly, casting silvery rays down toward a nearby tree. The youngster took note of the way the roots of the tree stuck out of the ground, creating a makeshift cave. It would have to do. Fighting past the pain in its body from the fall, it wasted no time as it struggled to its feet and limped over. As it reached the entrance, the young one gave it a sniff for good measure. Indeed, it wasn't the only one who thought this was an excellent hiding place.
There were scents around it, though any present smells were stale and old. Looking back behind it one last time, it slid into the den's darkness. It lay against the back wall, nestled in dead leaves and moss. At least it was dry. Not once did it take its eyes off the entrance to the den, not wanting to get jumped by a giant predator. Granted, one of such size could not fit in here, with the opening being as small as it was, but still, better to be safe than sorry. Slowly, its eyes grew heavy, despite the young one struggling to keep them open before they finally shut completely.
By midday, however, the young rex had become a master at finding water sources; the bitter scent of algae that made your nose hairs curl was now familiar to it. It stood over a pool of crystal-clear water, lapping at the liquid contents within greedily. A sudden splash caught its attention, making its head dart upward slightly in surprise. Movement from beneath the water's surface drew the young one's focus.... a flash of gold and white. Curiosity began to stir as the tip of the young one's nose hovered just above the water's surface, droplets dripping from its scales. The flash of color came again.
With a sudden splash, the gold and white creature beneath launched halfway out of the water, attaching itself to the tip of the young one's nose for a brief moment. That brief moment was all the young one needed, though. As soon as the creature attacked, a startled fear riddled cry left it; its head snapped up sharply, ripping the animal off before its legs frantically began moving to turn the young one around and carry it back behind the safety of a nearby tree. It hid there for a moment, heart hammering within its chest. This was it; this was where its young life would end.
Perhaps it could use a scare tactic to make the creature leave? As desperation to not get attacked again kicked in, the young one pressed its chest against the tree trunk it was hiding behind. It spread its little front arms out, so they peeked out from behind the tree sapling and began waving them about. The young one continued this tactic for a long moment before finally dropping its front arms again. After another long moment, the young one peeked out from its hiding place; it glanced toward the water once more. A gold tail splashed from the water, sending ripples dancing across the surface.
Its small body was covered in tiny scales, and its tail webbed like its wings. This had been the creature that had attacked alright. Interesting...The young one stretched its nose out and poked the being before jumping back out of reach, but all it did was flop around some more. Glancing into the pool, the young one spotted many creatures swimming below the surface. So, this creature was both a water and a surface dweller? It turned back to the beast, whose movements had stopped completely. When moments passed without action, the young one poked it again, but there was no reaction.
The young one gave a chirp, trying to coax a reaction out of it. Still nothing, though. A loud growl made the young one jump and look around for the sudden new threat, but nothing was there, not even in the skies. The growl sounded again, followed by a sharp pain from the young one's stomach, causing it to look at its belly, head hanging upside down. As the growl returned from its stomach, it realized food was still needed. It turned its attention back to the creature, who had still yet to move. Tilting its head to the side curiously, it carefully reached out and scooped the lifeless creature into its mouth before carrying it back to the safety of the den.
Some had long horns on the backs of their heads, while others had smaller horns. The longer horns were for males. However, the young one was forced to jump back when something suddenly stomped beside it. Apparently, during its chase of the butterfly, it had gotten too close to one of the nests, a female para towering protectively over it as she swayed her head from side to side, announcing her displeasure at this meat eater being so close to her young. When the young rex didn't leave, the female suddenly reared onto her hide legs, letting out a loud trumpeting call while kicking out her front legs, which soon came down right beside the young rex again. The impact pushed the young rex onto its side with a light thud, startling it.
However, it got the message. The young one rose to its feet and began to back away before turning and heading back into the safety of the forest, giving itself a little shake. Scary creatures' paras were indeed best to stay away from them from now on. As the great ball in the sky began to disappear, the young rex slipped into its hideout after retrieving its meal and stretched itself out before it began to eat. Once its belly was filled, it sighed, and its eyes closed. The sounds of the day creatures' calls began to quiet as they began to ready themselves for rest.
Several moons and suns had passed since encountering the para herd. The young rex stepped out from the darkness of its den, only to stretch its body out, to rid its muscles from the soreness of sleep. Its jaws opened, its tongue curling out of its mouth as it began to head to the water pool for a drink. It had grown quite a bit since hatching, though it was still too small to defend itself properly from threats larger than itself. At this point, it was used to the splashing that the water creatures below the surface made. They were no threat to it, but instead, a simple, easy source of food IF they could be caught; that being said, the young one still had to be cautious just in case.
It kept watch for any dangers that may try to sneak up on it while continuing to wait. Suddenly, it felt a tug on its tail, causing the young one to spring to its feet, yanking its tail from the water as it did so. With a light thud, its tail landed on the hard ground, a water creature attached to the end. With a growl, the young one snapped its jaws onto the creature's tail in return, making it detach. Giving its body a shake, the young one began to dig into its meal. Its head shot up, snout pointed toward the sky as its tongue frantically lapped at the roof of its mouth. Darn it, the creatures tiny scales constantly attacked when the young one least expected and were hard to detach once they were there. Even no longer alive, this creature still was a threat.
They tasted horrible as well, all slimy and blah. They needed to be removed to get to the juicy meat beneath, though, so it was a sacrifice the young rex was willing to make if it wanted a full belly. As the scales finally detached themselves, the young one could finally enjoy the meal before it. It was a good meal, belly quickly became full and satisfied. Licking its lips clean of leftovers, the young rex began to explore the outskirts of the area it had claimed as its territory, avoiding the place it had last run into the para herd, though they had probably migrated by now.
A sudden barking-like call shot through the forest, sending the small flying creatures scattering into the skies. Soon, more of the barking calls began to follow the first. The young rex's head snapped up instantly, suddenly alert, heart racing. It did not know the scent of the creatures who had made those sounds; however, all animals feared it, even the flying ones. The calls had sounded close, but from where? The rex's head spun this way, trying to find the direction it was coming from or the creature itself.
A sudden shift of movement caught the young one's attention, making its head jerk to the left and to a tall patch of grass. Its eyes narrowed into the darkness of the grass, only to find a pair of eyes staring right back at it. The rex's head tilted sideways as it took a few cautious steps closer to the hidden creature. Every muscle in the young rex's body suddenly tensed, instinct screaming to run and run fast. It was glued in place, too curious to see what this strange creature was to heed the internal warning.
Run...Run...RUN! Its instincts screamed at it. The creature finally sprang out of the grass with a high-pitched call. Its body launched into the air as it pounced at the young rex. Two curved claws on its hind legs, ready to sink into the young rex's flesh. The young one's legs twisted as they spun it around so it was facing a different direction before propelling forward with a release of tense leg muscles, just in time to miss being hit by the attack.
The young rex's heart threatened to beat from its chest, breaths coming out in desperate gasps as it ran for its life. It didn't know how long it had been running already, dodging, weaving around the forest obstacles in its way to try and get to safety. It felt like hours, yet the creature was still chasing it, that haunting bark echoing through the trees every time the rex thought it had finally lost the beast. It had to get back to the safety of its den. The entrance was too small for these giant creatures to fit into. It caught movement to its left, and another of the animals was following, same for on the young rex's right side. It was surrounded.
However, its speed suddenly stopped when it collided with a massive tree trunk that had fallen in its path, blocking its way. The creature that was hunting seemed to pace from side to side while focusing directly on the rex before another appeared from the bushes to take its place beside the first. The young rex made a couple quick steps forward as an opening appeared, only to skid to a stop and jump back as the first creature suddenly lunged, its body lowering as it hissed. Front claws spread wide while the curved talon on its hind legs tapped at the ground. Okay, so this was going to be more challenging than the young Rex first thought...
As the two creatures began to lower themselves and hiss once more, a branch snapping behind it caused the young rex to jerk its head around to find a third creature standing on the tree trunk blocking its path to safety. With a hiss, it pounced, launching itself into the air, claws spread, ready to sink into flesh. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. The young rex lowered itself to the ground waiting for the pain to strike. However, it jumped as large jaws suddenly snapped around the mid-air creature's body, causing it to cry out in pain once before going limp.
The more enormous rex's lip curled up over its fangs before the lifeless body it held dropped to the ground with a light thud. The living creatures hissed at it, crouching again as they had done to the young rex. However, as the giant rex's jaws parted, it let out a loud thunderous roar, making the young rex flinch. The two creatures quickly turned and ran back into the forest.
"Damn Velociraptors..." The old rex grumbled out, its deep male voice revealing how old he was.
He lowered his head, scooping up his kill, only to spot the young rex again. The two stared at one another, the young rex's heart still hammering in its chest. Without a word, he turned and began heading off into the forest, his footsteps shaking the ground. The young rex watched the older one as it left until the barking sounds of the raptors from before began to echo through the trees.
Not wanting to take a chance of running into them again, the young rex made a bold move, quickly following after the old male. It didn't take long to catch up; the old male was slower than the young one as he limped through the trees, favoring his right leg. Once the young one caught up completely, it began to walk just behind the older rex, glancing back occasionally to make sure the raptors weren't following.
The old male sighed deeply, eyes half closing irritably before turning away from the young rex and beginning to walk again. Since the old male had not attacked, the young rex took it as a sign and got to its feet before quickly following again. Maybe he was being nice until later when he got hungry again? Now that was a scary thought. At the same time, though, the young rex would instead take its chances with this big guy than the raptors. At least there was only one of him.
Further and further into the forest, the old male led the young one. Further and further away from the safety of its own den. It had no idea where the old male was taking it, but the young rex continued to follow until the trees parted slightly, revealing an uprooted tree that rested against a rock face, creating a dark cave. The old male continued to limp to it, dropping its kill just outside. The young one watched as he began to tear into his meal, ripping flesh and bone away. It padded over, giving the body a sniff before going to bite into it. At once, a deep warning growl came from the old male towards the young one, making it let out a startled cry and fall back onto its rear once again.
"Back off; if you're hungry, hunt for yourself." He snarled before turning back to his meal. Not understanding, the young one returned to its feet and tried to retake a piece of the body.
This time, giant fangs came snapping mere inches from the young one's face, causing it to jump back. It seemed to get the message this time and simply lay down where it was, resting its head on the cold ground as it watched the old male continue to eat his kill. After a few moments, a deep sigh left it, and its eyes started to flutter close. As the old male finished his meal, his tongue slid over his lips as he entered his home. He slowly lowered himself to the ground, giving a light grunt of effort as his old bones protested, before laying his head down.
"You are pushing your luck, smalls." His deep voice grumbled, making the young one glance at his face, though his eyes were still closed.
The young one lay its head down and closed its eyes, giving another soft sigh. Its eyes opened, however, when its body suddenly began to move on its own, its head lifting to find that the old male's tail had slid it away from him, so it was now by itself in the den. It didn't try to move back to where it was, though it lay its head down again and let sleep claim it. The old males' eyes opened for a brief moment, focusing on the young one. A sigh left him as he watched it.
"You're lucky you're small and a female." He mumbled to himself before closing his eyes again and letting sleep take him.
As the great ball in the sky began to rise the following day, the young female awoke with a yawn. Blinking the sleep from her eyes, she turned to see if the old male was up, only to find that the spot he was sleeping was now empty. There was only a deep indent in the bed of dried leaves where he had been. She jumped up and rushed out of the den, spinning herself in a circle as she began to look around for him in a panic. A startled cry left her lips as the ground suddenly disappeared from under her, sending her falling down until cold wetness engulfed her. Her eyes snapped tightly shut, cheeks puffed out as they filled with air. After a moment, she opened her eyes to find herself underwater.
The old male stood there staring at her before lightly shaking his head. Only when one of the water creatures approached her again did she finally realize where she was. Panic gripped her as her hind legs worked frantically to get her to solid ground as quickly as possible. Little distressed calls left her jaws. Seeing her sudden panic, one of the old males' eyebrows rose, spotting the little water creature trailing after the female as she finally made it to solid ground.
"What's the issue, smalls? It's just a fish." He questioned, leaning down to take a few more sips of the water. She looked to the old male, then to the creatures below, then back to the old male again, her head tilting in confusion.
"F-feesh?" She questioned slowly, finally coming into her voice. His head rose as he licked his lips and turned his gaze on her for a moment.
"Fish," He corrected. "And yes, little water creature. Harmless creature. You're afraid of it for no reason. It's rather pathetic."
"Feesh?" She questioned, glancing at the water again.
"No, Fish. F...I...SH..." He corrected her again.
"Feesh," She repeated, making the old male groan, eyes half closing in irritation.
She continued to follow the old male through the trees, watching him sniff the ground or the air while he walked. She began to copy him, sniffing at her surroundings. Many scents filled her lungs; some she recognized, like the paras, while others she wasn't sure about. There was also another scent in the air that didn't smell like it belonged to any creature. She couldn't place it or describe it, but it made a soft shiver rush through her spine.
The old one slowed then, lowering himself closer to the ground as the trees seemed to clear into a field. He went no further, keeping to the shadows, as his eyes scanned the clearing. A loud trumpeting call enters her ears, a sound she had learned all too well by now as the sound of para broadcasting. The lead bull would be moving his herd to water soon, a good chance for an ambush attack if something else didn't get to the herd first.
As the scent and sounds grew closer, she lowered herself to the ground, following the old male's body language. From here, she could smell and see a small river off to their left. The herds' destination, no doubt. The old male began to creep closer through the shadow of the trees, his footsteps quiet to not give away his presence. He had learned to push most of his weight onto his toes when stalking. Within some dense bushes, the old male waited and watched as the herd appeared in front of them from a further tree line.
The adults were catching up to the excited young one, the females rushing ahead to the water's edge, though stopped to cautiously examine the water itself for any movement lurking beneath. One brave female was the first to slowly lower her head and begin drinking, her eyes focused on the water. As the seconds passed with no signs of anything trying to attack, more of the herd started to drink, some even moving deeper into the water to uproot the juicy water plants.
The old male shifted his weight, flexing his toes into the ground to test the dirt. If it was too wet, his attack wouldn't work, and he would slip. Luckily though, the land was dry. Perfect. The young female continued to watch quietly, not daring to even move from her spot or risk giving away their location. His attention turned back to the herd. His whole attention was now on getting this meal. Carefully, he took a step closer. All he needed was to step on a branch or leaf, which would give him away instantly. Paras were skittish creatures, after all.
Closer and closer, he got to the herd without them being aware. He had stamina, but it wouldn't last long. He had to get close enough that he could catch one quickly. The tip of his nose began to appear out of the tree line. As one sub-adult male swung its head around, challenging another, its back turned to him. Now was his chance! Kicking off the ground, he launched himself forward, jaws parting, ready to snap down around the para's neck.
He had to think fast or risk losing this meal. He shifted his weight off his hurt leg, which hurt like hell. The muscles instantly protested, but he paid it no mind, pushing after the para before it could reach the trees. As the ground leveled out, his speed began to increase. Within a few moments, he had caught up to the para, who panicked even more and tried to change directions, but the old male was already within range.
His jaws parted once more, only to snap down onto the back of the para's neck. As his jaws tightened, he jerked his head back, pulling the para off its feet and to the ground. Once it was there, he shook his head again, causing a loud snap. The para's body instantly went lifeless in his jaws, allowing him to finally release it and stand there panting lightly. From the bushes, the young female had watched the hunt with interest. She had never seen another dinosaur hunt before; everything had happened so fast. She watched the old male even after he had ended the para's life. She noticed he seemed to be out of breath and was having a hard time even catching his breath.
On top of that, she also noticed how he favored his weak leg more than usual. Even as he took a few steps away from the body, his limp was much more noticeable than usual. Finally, she left her hiding spot and approached him. He didn't seem to pay her no mind, his nostrils flaring quickly as he tried to catch his breath. It wasn't until she went to take a bite off the body that his eyes finally focused on her, a deep warning growl vibrating from his throat. The young female paused, jaws parted, hovering a few inches from the body. Her eyes watched him from the sides.
"I told you before, get your own kill." He growled out, not missing a beat, as he grabbed the dead para by the back of the neck again and began to drag it back towards the direction of the den.
She had never experienced rainstorms before. However, she noticed how the air smelled of water, how the temperature suddenly cooled, and how the leaves on the trees seemed to flip upside down to ready themselves to soak up the approaching liquid. Also, animals that were usually chattering loudly were now growing quiet, most likely running to find shelter themselves.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone