Isla Sorna Stories: Rebirth

[The Kingpin]

Ripper tore through the trees at breakneck speed, his eyes scanning his surroundings as much as it scanned his path. The lake soon sprawled out before him, burning a dark orange as it reflected the late afternoon sun on the horizon. he had to be quick. rushing towards a large blackish green plant, the Raptor swiftly bit off several stems covered in stringy foliage, before turning round, sprinting back towards the cave, weaving in and out of the trees and bushes, launching himself over a fallen trunk powerfully as he went, his silhouette too fast to be seen by the creatures in the surroundings, the Raptor long gone by the time they turned to investigate the source of the mostly whisper-quiet sounds...


a scraping sound could be heard as the Elder dove through a hole in the cave's ceiling leading up to ground level, the Raptor landing on a stony ledge overhanging Beryl, the Elder leaping down, landing with a light thump next to the ailing Raptor as he crouched, helping the plant towards Beryl's jaws as he growled "Listen to me. You must stay strong. You're no good to your family dead. Eat this. It will cure you"...

[Pyronychus]

The din outside the cave died down as the Liliensternus plunged into the forest, the large male the last to go. His flank was covered in blood, some his, most from the crushed Troodon, and the base of his neck bore a small line of stinging puncture wounds. The pain, however, only served to aggravate him further, and he snarled savagely as he pelted into the forest after the rest of his pack. Most of the Lilis in the forest had lost sight of the smaller predators and were going on sound and scent only. By now, they knew they wouldn't catch the pack, and simply wanted to make sure the fiends were driven clear of their territory, intending to chase them to the border...

In the cave, Beryl could hardly keep his eyes open. Even though the sounds outside had died down considerably, he could still hear them echoing loudly in his ears. He could also hear one voice mixed in, and even through his distorted thoughts, somehow understood. Feeling the recognizable texture of plant matter brushing his muzzle, he let his mouth drop open slightly, then closed it weakly as he felt the plant touch his tongue...

Knowing the danger was moving steadily away, Rhojis and Sylicora breathed a silent sigh of relief. Since the olive raptor had come up last, she was the first to slowly back her way down the branch toward the trunk, where the leaves were not so dense and she could get a better view of the branch she would use as her first step on the way down. But before she could jump, movement on the ground caught her eye, and she whipped her head around toward it, the motion upsetting her balance. In her shock, she panicked and grabbed onto the tree trunk, letting out a stifled gasp...

[C S]

Noticing the familiar orange tint the jungle canopy took as night made its approach, Aircrest lifted himself off the branch and then dropped back to the ground. He intended to get a drink of water and secure a place to spend the night. After such an eventful day, he wondered if he even wanted to move from his sleeping spot by morning. He started sniffing the air, the scents of the Caudipteryx and the Triceratops still fresh, but through the mask of smell was the aroma of fresh, flowing water, most likely a nearby river. The green raptor made his way there at a jogging pace, knowing daylight would not last long.

[dinoman666]

The forest began to thin out as the Troodon sped on, passing quickly over the Liliensternus' borders and into the sparse grasslands that led to Death Valley...

Howler paused for a moment when he heard... something, and a leaf drifted down from above, landing on the tip of his snout. The raptor wrinkled his nose as the leaf tickled his nostrils, before letting out a surprisingly powerful sneeze that staggered him for a moment and send the leaf drifting off into the wind. Stoneclaw rounded on his younger brother with a furious hiss. "Shut up! We're going to get caught if you keep that up!" Howler ruefully rubbed his nose, nodding meekly at Stoneclaw, who turned away with a huff. Howler looked up at whatever had caused the disruption, only to meet eyes with a young raptor dangling from a branch only a short distance above his head. With a frightened squawk, Howler stumbled backwards, screeching, "Gah! Monkey-raptors! I knew they were real!" Stoneclaw covered his face with a foreclaw, struggling to maintain his composure. Turning around again, he was about to berate Howler, when he, too, spotted Sylicora hanging above him. The raptor paused and stared blankly, as if unsure what to make of this unusual situation...

[Hopeflower]

Steeltalon lifted her blood-spattered muzzle from the neck of the gallimimus, giving a low growl of satisfaction. A previously broken toe, badly healed, had slowed the herbivore up; it hadn't taken long to isolate it from the rest of the group and finish it off. The female raptor sniffed the air warily, looking for any sign that the Allosaurus had taken interest in the sounds of a nearby hunt and was coming closer.

[marlaina]

A female Spionsaurs walked through the dense forest,she was a chalkie grey-brown with a white underside.A low deep growl echoed through the forest as she approched a scent of a Raptor and a dead Gallimimus.

Ignore until corrected.

[The Kingpin]

Worried that his actions may not have been enough, Ripper took one of the leaves and began biting it, hoping that the holes his fangs left would squeeze free some of the plant's juices, fumbling with the leaf between his claws as he rolled it into a rough lump, pressing it against the wound that the Troodon had inflicted, hoping that pressing the lump would squeeze free whatever restorative properties they may have. "Don't give up. Your young need you" he growled firmly, as if hoping that his voice could speed up the recovery. He had never seen the herbivores that ate this plant after a Troodon attack fall ill. He didn't know whether it could reverse the effects, or simply stop them from worsening...


Fatalis tore into the kill ravenously, ripping strips off the kill and gulping them down as fast as his body would allow, occasionally stopping to check his surroundings as he did so. The Rex that they had sensed had been evaded, but it wouldn't take long for the scent of blood to attract it's attention...


Crusher meanwhile, lay casually by a small pool at the foot of a river, which trickled out a distance away as a shallow stream. The Rex eyed the fish swimming past below the rocky overhang he rested upon, it's shade being a gathering place for a variety of fish, many of which were tempting to look at, the Tyrannosaur contemplating diving in after one...

[Pyronychus]

As they came to their border, the majority of the Liliensternus slowed to a halt, still snapping and snarling aggressively at the receding Troodon. The gray female and a couple of furious companions looked as though they would like to chase the pack all the way to Death Valley, but a sharp call from the dominant male was enough to make them come to a reluctant stop and return to the pack. As he turned away from the Troodon, satisfied that they did not intend to immediately invade the Lili's territory again, the gray female trotted up to him, her fury quickly melting into concern as she eyed his bloody flank, and more importantly, his neck. She didn't leave his side as he lead the pack back toward home, thirteen lithe bodies disappearing into the forest with a few backward glances, but no further protest...

Beryl could only manage a weak groan as pressure on his tail wound renewed the stinging hot pain, the slightest contact with the bite making it feel as though the Troodon's teeth were still sinking into his flesh. He heard the unknown figure's voice as if trying to listen from underwater, the words distorted over the constant din in his ears, but still recognizable. They stirred images of the only things in his life he still held dear... Your young need you... His mind repeated the stranger's words over and over, the only phrase that seemed clear in the swirl of color and noise behind his closed eyes...

For a moment, Sylicora simply stared at the two raptors below her, frozen in an unusual position, almost hugging the tree trunk for support. At that moment, Rhojis shuffled out of cover, down along the same branch, freezing when he caught sight of the newcomers. "Who... are you?" he hissed cautiously. "And what the heck's a monkey-raptor?" Sylicora piped unexpectedly...

[dinoman666]

The Troodon slowed to a stop after they entered Death Valley, turning and watching as the Lilis turned and retreated into the forest. Nighteye hared his serrated fangs in a snarl. Easy prey, ruined. "They will pay dearly for this..." he hissed angrily. "What of the raptor?" one of the Troodon added. "I will not waste my time pursuing one raptor," Nighteye replied. "Unless he tries to interfere again, of course. For now, head back to the caves. We will gather the pack and wait until nightfall, then give our friends a little visit..." If they couldn't have the raptor as a nest, they could simply rob the Liliensternus of their own...

Howler had somehow landed on his back when he jumped away, staring up at the two juveniles with a blank look. "Uh... I'm... Howler. And.. that's my brother, Stoneclaw." Stoneclaw, for his part, merely glowered. "Why are you getting friendly with the natives, Howler? We--" He paused midsentence, getting an idea in his head. With a suddenly pleasant smile, he turned to the two raptors. "Well, little ones, you seem lost. What are your names, hm?" Howler gave him a confused look, not bothering to add his "theory" on monkey-raptors to the conversation...

[The Kingpin]

Ripper cursed lowly as he continued trying to get the poisoned Raptor to consume the herbs, continuing to squeeze it against the wound. the way Beryl had reacted was encouraging. the fact he seemed to react to pain when the plant was squeezed against it meant he had either regained some of his senses, or Ripper had caught him before he lost them. with a bit of luck, perhaps there was hope afterall. "Come on. Don't give up now. You've lasted this long. you can get through it" he growled...

[C S]

Out from the clumps of vegetation along side the river, Aircrest slipped out, seeing the sun dipping below the horizon just down stream, its last wayward rays making the water sparkle. With his eyes caught by the sight, he didn't even notice the young Tyrannosaur just a few yards away resting on an outcrop over the current...

[Pyronychus]

Sylicora finally detached herself from the tree trunk and lined herself up with the nearest lower branch, Rhojis shuffling the rest of the way down the branch next to her. "Well uh, I'm Rhojis," he hissed with a slightly uncertain tone. "And she's my sister..." The olive raptor made a small leap, landing shakily on her target branch. "Sylicora," she hissed after taking a moment to steady herself. "We only came up here so those crested... things wouldn't get us-" "And right now we need to get into that cave," Rhojis interjected urgently. "Our father's in there, and we don't know if he's alright..." As Sylicora hopped to the second branch, he jumped to the first one behind her. But as she landed on a branch about six feet from the ground, the olive juvenile stopped, Rhojis landing beside her and also pausing, the siblings staying close, as if they were reluctant to get too near the strangers...

Beryl could still hear the encouraging voice through the watery backdrop of unearthly noises and flashing images. He somehow knew it wasn't part of the disorienting light show his mind was putting on, and tried to focus on it, tried to ignore the buzzing, screeching confusion. The stinging in his tail suddenly grew more acute and he felt his lips draw back in a grunting hiss, vaguely realizing he still felt the sensation of plant fronds in his mouth. Putting all his effort into concentrating on the voice, the feeling of the plant, and even the pain in his tail- the things he knew were real, the raptor began weakly chewing the plant in his jaws, and fought to open his eyes. Though lifting his eyelid partway felt like moving a tree stump, a fuzzy image slowly swam into view. Even through the hallucinations, he could make out the shape of a raptor beside him, and recognized the darkness around him as his cave...

[The Kingpin]

Ripper glanced back at the entrance, hearing the noise outside. The Raptor barked, summoning the youngsters into the cave, irritated that while he was here trying to keep their father from dying, they were outside wasting time with whoever the owners of the other voices were...

picking up the scent of the Raptor and hearing the faint rustle of foliage, the Rex opened his eyes, watching the Raptor as it walked into the clearing. "Managed to lose the Trike and Caudis, I see" growled Crusher with a snicker as he eyed the Raptor...

[dinoman666]

"Your father, hm?" Stoneclaw hissed thoughtfully, scratching his chin as he looked towards the cave. He sniffed the air, wrinkling his nose in disgust. "Well, I recognize the 'crested things,' I think. I forget what they're called, though. I smell Troodon, too. Those Daycrawlers, in fact. Disgusting..." Howler shivered visibly as he got to his feet. "Y-you mean th-they're here?!" Stoneclaw rolled his eyes. "Not anymore, rockbrain. They must've been run out of here by the big guys. But if they were here for those kids, or their dad..." Stoneclaw paused, mulling it over. He was going to get something out of this, even if he had to lie. The raptor turned back to Sylicora and Rhojis, false sympathy etched on his face. "I don't mean to be the bringer of bad news, but... I doubt your father is, well... still here." Howler's eyes widened. "Stoneclaw!" he yelped. "You can't just say that to a couple of--" "I'm trying to be honest," Stoneclaw snapped, though both of the raptors knew that was a boldfaced lie. "Or would you rather have them walk in their and see him either gone or frozen by... well, that freaky poison they have?! You know how the Daycrawlers work, Howler..." Upon hearing the bark inside, he added, "Or, you know, being eaten by ANOTHER raptor?"

[Pyronychus]

"Daycrawlers? Poison?" Sylicora repeated in a hushed hiss, finally hopping to the ground and glancing worriedly toward the source of the bark. Rhojis reluctantly left the tree as well, if only to stay close to his sister. Their identical yellow eyes were filled with the same fear. "But... he just has to be alive! He... he couldn't have d..." the gray juvenile stuttered, choking on the last word. In the distrought youngster's mind, it simply couldn't happen. Not so soon after they lost their mother. "No... No, not again... I... I need to see him!" The gray raptor was about to make a move toward the cave when his sister caught him by the arm, looking suddenly terrified. "What if he's right though?" she squeaked fearfully. "What if those Daycrawlers did something horrible to him?" Rhojis removed his arm from her grasp. "We won't know unless we look!" "But we don't know who else is in there." This made Rhojis falter. "Well, we'll... just have to be careful," he hissed with somewhat less enthusiasm as he made to walk to the cave. The olive female, however, didn't make any attempt to follow...

[dinoman666]

"Whoa now!" Howler said, standing in front of Rhojis to try and stop him. "You can't go by yourselves! It's too dangerous!" Stoneclaw glowered at his brother. "And what, you suggest we go along with th--" He paused when he saw Howler's sheepish grin, then snarled, "Oh no, no way! Not if there's something waiting for us in there!" He paused again, regaining his composure. "Okay, how about this, kids? Why don't you stick with us, eh? We can keep you nice and safe, and if your daddy is still alive, he can come and find you! Much safer that way, I think..."

[C S]

"What the-" Aircrest thought at the abrupt voice before suddenly he identified the voice. The Tyrannosaur was there...laughing when things took a turn for the worst for his nest raiding attempt. "Completely not worth it" the green and black raptor thought, a low growl rumbling in his throat. "I'm so amazed," Aircrest deadpanned, looking to the T-Rex. "I thought it was impossible for your kind to say anything at a normal volume, since one of you has to roar every minute or so..."

Sure enough, in the distance a thundering roar rippled across the island, drifting into the night.

[The Kingpin]

"Are you hatchlings going to just STAND out there while your father's LIFE hangs in the balance?!" snarled Ripper's voice in the cave, his temper barely held in check for the sake of the weakened Raptor in front of him. It took every ounce of self restraint not to go out there and drag the two youngsters in by their throats to see what had become of their father...



"Oh, we can be quiet when we like. In fact, we are, most of the time. It's just a good idea to remind your enemies that you're no joke. Best way to do that without throwing yourself into harm's way is roaring. Well...unless you've got feathers or plates that you can wave around and be colourful with. That's not really our thing though" growled Crusher with a smirk as he eyed the Raptor, laying casually on his flank...

[Pyronychus]

Rhojis stopped despite his eagerness to know his father's condition, whether because he believed Stoneclaw, or simply because he found the larger raptors intimidating. But as the stranger's voice rang out from the cave, hope suddenly flared up inside the olive raptor. His life hangs in the balance...That means- "He IS alive!" the smaller raptor screeched, bolting past her brother and Howler and clear across the space of rocky meadow separating the forest from the cave. She slowed as she reached the cave entrance, peering in cautiously around the corner. "Dad?" she hissed, voice quavering...

The sound of his daughter's voice, though quiet was enough to make Beryl attempt to tilt his head, eyes blinking further open. "Sy," he breathed, wincing at the pain in both his tail and leg, but finding his vision clearing a bit...

[dinoman666]

"Oh for the love of..." Stoenclaw growled, trotting after the two. He didn't know exactly what was going on, of course, but he wasn't about to run headlong into a trap. Howler was even more cautious than he was, haning near the back as everyone else moved towards the cave...