Isla Sorna Stories: Rebirth

[The Kingpin]

Crusher snorted at the comment amusedly. "Being a Rex has its perks. Make it clear you don't fear them and everyone assumes a couple or more adults are going to rip them limb from limb if they lay a claw on you....and that's assuming they get past the young one's bite" growled the Rex with a smirk, his large fangs glinting in the sunlight, as if to emphasise his point. "It never occurs to anyone that young Rexes...well, at least in my case, don't fear confrontations with larger predators. I'm not foolish enough to risk death...But either way I won't show fear. It's just a motivator for them to keep attacking. It's more likely to get you killed than save you"...

[Ceratosaurus21]

Thorn Jaw continues on his way the raptors presence forgotten, heading off in search of a reasonable place he can call home. Thorn Jaw keeps his pace when suddenly he spots a large stand of trees wavering in the distance the heat of the day causing the forest to shimmer. Thorn Jaw grins his face lighting up in sheer joy, quickening his pace Thorn Jaw closes on the ever growing forest. Standing tall he soon realizes that he is only a mile or so from the forest, with an increase in pace the ceratosaur knows he should be within the safety of the trees in no time. As always however Thorn Jaw is extremely cautious, running blindly would be his undoing, continuing on his way Thorn Jaw's excitement grows with each step.

[raptor titanus3]

"Yet you succeeded where I failed, I also fail to see the logic in this," growled Redtalon in response. "Not just simply that but think how if you were to let a fast and deadly opponent inside and on your flank, have him brush past you and risk being harmed, and that creature doesn't lay one scratch on you... how isn't that more intimidating than just simply standing your ground?"

[The Kingpin]

The young Rex remained silent for a few moments, thinking about it, before snorting as he figured out what had happened. "Simple. If you threaten to attack, but don't, it gives the impression you're afraid to go that far. Afraid of the retaliation. You can say all you like when you do that, but in the end, the result is the same" growled the Tyrannosaur with a smirk...

[Hopeflower]

As Steeltalon leaned down to have a long drink and contemplate her next move, the back of her neck prickled with the sensation of being watched by hostile eyes. She paused and scanned her surroundings, gaze darting warily from the undergrowth to the shadows that the foliage cast; until she caught sight of a pair of pale green eyes watching her coldly. The raptor stepped forward, its movements slow and deliberate, forcing Steeltalon to turn to face it head-on, putting her back to the stream. As soon as sunlight hit the intruder's face, the half-mutant's blood ran cold.

"Don't run," Raven hissed. "It'll only make things more unpleasant for you...." He took another couple of steps forward. "Father has a couple of things to say to you."

"You say that like you think I'll come willingly," she snarled in reply. Raven watched amusedly as fear, anger, and defiance battled in her mind; her eyes gave everything away. They were a window straight to her thoughts. As she glanced behind her and to her right, where the stream was slightly narrower, he shifted his weight, ready to intercept her if she was foolish enough to try the jump.

"Willingly will mean less pain for you," Raven growled, almost conversationally. "...For now," he added after a moment of silence. A mocking smirk twisted his features as he went on, "I can't promise you won't die in agony, but I'll tell Riptide what a good little hatchling you are, not putting up a fight with me. Maybe he'll be in a generous mood and let you die in slightly less agony."

Steeltalon said nothing, but her calf muscles twitched; Raven's gaze flicked to her ankles the instant before she sprang, and he leaped toward her in the same moment. They hit the ground in a snarling tangle of limbs, neck, and tail, each willing to kill the other if the opportunity presented itself.

[C S]

Above the sound of his ravenous feeding- which included growling and snarling as he tore into tough hide- Aircrest noticed an unrhythmic sploshing coming from behind. With a slab of meat hanging from his jaws, Aircrest was ready to spring from the carcass into the tree, his muscles tense. The soft splashing stopped when Aircrest froze and the raptor assumed it was hesitant to strike because it knew he was expecting it. In the short pause between the two, the green raptor estimated that whatever was approaching him was only a few feet away, just past the water's edge by this point.

Wasting no additional time, Aircrest kicked off of the ravaged Edmontosaur onto the lowest branch and spun around upon landing, eying a dark brown Koolasuchus. It was unclear if it was mud colored or simply covered in mud, but the amphibian was large, at least six feet in length. Its blank eyes stared up at the green raptor and it made a warning growl, as if it's intention all along was to get the raptor off of the kill. In response Aircrest snapped his jaws, tossing the meat strip about in his mouth in full display of the Koolasuchus. Before it could react to the raptor however, another creature shot out of the water explosively and instantaneously. The crocodile, adorned in deep green scales with an almost dark blue tinted back clamped down onto the Koolasuchus' tail and recoiled, dragging the screeching and screaming flat-head back with it. The surface boiled as the two swamp dwellers carried out of the rest of their struggle away from Aircrest's prying eyes, which were wide with surprise. The only sign that the Koolasuchus ever left the water was the wide track left when its underside scraped away the mud...

[Ceratosaurus21]

Thorn Jaw felt the air grow thicker as he entered the forest. Striding delicately through the primal trees the ceratosaur searches out the forest for trouble. Continuing on his way through the forest Thorn Jaw inhales a familiar scent, predatory in origin. Thorn Jaw growls as his mind searches his database of scents when finally the scent reveals itself, Raptor. The scent was different however to the Utah-raptor indicating it was one of the smaller species of dromeosaurs on Isla Sorna. Growing curious Thorn Jaw follows the scent trail, his senses on high alert as he traverses the alien terrain. Soon the spotted ceratosaurs sensitive ears pick up the sounds of struggle and the growls of desperation. Thorn Jaw's eyes contract as his predatory reflex triggers, growling, Thorn Jaw treads carefully heading towards the sound of battle...and the unmistakeable smell of blood...

[C S]

Aircrest swallowed the meat chunk and departed without waiting for the water to be still again, leaping higher into the treetops as he headed off, not even sure of his heading. After seeing how abruptly the large crocodile struck, the raptor found himself convicted to leave the marsh. Even in the trees, he felt uneasy knowing there were a multitude of dangers just below, out of sight...

[Hopeflower]

When Raven finally kicked Steeltalon away from him, it was clear she was worse off than he was. One of her eyes was held tightly shut, three bloody slashes scoring diagonally over the eyelid. Her shoulder had suffered a nasty bite, and her thigh sported a short gash where Raven's killer claw had just missed its real target - her side. Raven himself sported several small scratches on both sides of his neck, where she'd failed to secure a strong grip before he'd forced her away from his throat, and a few other injuries, but no serious wounds. She was breathing heavily, whereas he was barely out of breath. Not for the first time, she felt a twinge of panic. She wasn't going to win this fight; it was best to run. But however fast she ran, he would be faster. If she kept fighting, she would probably die of blood loss - some of her freshly-scabbed wounds had reopened in the struggle. Raven was on his feet before she was; even as she struggled to get up and keep fighting, he drew back one foot and kicked her in the head, as hard as he could. Brilliant spots of white exploded in her vision and she fell back with a groan of pain. A soft tide of darkness rose to claim her; the last thing she heard before losing consciousness was Raven's cold voice growling, "It didn't have to be this way."

[Ceratosaurus21]

Thorn Jaw tilts his head up, the sounds of struggle have dissipated. Thorn Jaw quickened his pace as he pushed his way through the underbrush slowly, silently, Thorn Jaw stalks the scent trail. Thorn Jaw continues on for a few more strides before he hears the sound of running water, crouching down the large ceratosaur stares out into the small clearing surprised at what he's looking at. The raptors before him were bloody and one appeared to be knocked unconscious with several serious wounds. Thorn Jaw did not engage, only observe, his curious nature has bested him. Watching on Thorn Jaw waits for the decisive blow that would end the heavily wounded raptors life...

[C S]

The calm water soon became a flowing torrent as Aircrest happened across a river, the thick cover of trees parting over the current and allowing the morning light to reach its banks, which were lined with small ferns and bushes. Since he was heading upstream, the raptor assumed that eventually he would come across the estuary where the river met the ocean, something he didn't mind at all in light of his recent experiences. The large rocks surrounding the island's tidal pools, warmed by the sun made for an ideal spot to relax. In addition to that most of the larger predators stayed inland where the prey was abundant and fresh water was readily available, which meant the coastal regions were safe...relative to the other areas on the island.

Just as he thought he was out of immediate danger, Aircrest came across the pungent odor of a Spinosaurus and groaned inwardly. It was hardly surprising that one of the sailed creatures would be near a river given their diet but it proved that threats were ever present on the island. Even when he wanted to live his life instead of merely surviving from day to day, he could never truly let his guard down...

[TyrannoTitan]

After trekking through grassland and jungle alike, the two raptors finally came to a stop near a clearing inside the thick jungle. With the wind blowing in their favor, Darkness could detect the scents of an assortment of raptors. An entire pack, even. But something was off about them, something that seemed unnatural. Tainted. There were only a few times in Darkness' relatively short life that he has caught a scent like this before. Mutants...

"Here you are," Eclipse purred with a wave of her clawed hand, indicating for Darkness to look inside. The dark raptor seemed unbelieving.

"Are you sure this is it?" he growled almost pleadingly. He couldn't help but notice Eclipse drinking in his despair hungrily.

"See for yourself," she responded, once again indicating the dark raptor should look inside. With some reluctance, Darkness stepped forward, parting the thick foliage with his snout, just enough to see.

The clearing was fairly large, and an equally large assortment of raptors were milling about outside a shallow cave near a stout cliff face. It was a pack alright, and as Darkness took a closer look at its inhabitants, his earlier assumption was confirmed. Each of the raptors were considerably larger than normal, and every one of them had quills sticking up from the top of their heads; the tell tale sign of mutants. Despite this, Darkness did not despair. There was nothing here that told him this was the remnants of his old pack. Although quite rare, mutant packs weren't unheard of. Eclipse merely lead him to a pack she found, just to cause him torment for her amuse-

And that's when he saw him. A monster of a velociraptor stepped out of the cave and into the sun, its intricate markings undeniably terrifying and undoubtedly unique. A flood of memories raced back to the dark raptor at the mere sight of him, his blood running cold. This was the raptor that made his life and that of his siblings during their younger years bearable. This was the raptor he looked up to most, next to his older brother Ignacious. This was a raptor that was a mutant of mutants...

Although she was not in sight, Darkness could feel Eclipse's eyes on him, and could feel her delight at his sickening realization.

[Hopeflower]

Raven did not lean down to finish the struggle with a clean bite to the throat. Instead he sniffed Steeltalon, giving her a rough nudge to make sure she was really unconscious. Once he was sure she was, he began working his head under her limp, bleeding body. With a grunt of effort, he stood up, Steeltalon securely on his back, and began the long trek back to Riptide's pack.

[Ceratosaurus21]

Thorn Jaw watched with interest, never having seen this behavior in the raptors he's clashed. In any other situation the spotted ceratosaur would have gladly pounced on the unsuspecting raptor and devour both of them. But Thorn Jaw has had enough contact with other creatures for the day and prepares himself for a brief nap. Lowering his large form to the ground Thorn Jaw drifts off into a light sleep still completely aware of what was around him...

[The Kingpin]

It wasn't long before Crusher had had his fill of the stegosaur, standing up and yawning, stretching his legs as he turned away, nodding to the utahraptor as he left, the dromeosaur having seemingly fallen silent at the Rex's comment earlier. offended at the suggestion perhaps? that it's display of power had been perceived as a display of weakness? perhaps stunned with the realisation? Regardless, it wasn't the young Rex's business. that had ended the moment his hunger was satisfied. Now, he had no reason to stay here. A few moments later saw the Rex's slender form slip between the large, vine-covered trees of the forest, his grey hide taking on the green tint of the light filtering through the forest canopy, the Rex almost seeming to disappear into the undergrowth...

[raptor titanus3]

Redtalon had barely noticed but half returned the gesture, it was true at first his silence was caused by displeasure by the almost illgoical simplicity of the Rex's reply. But it soon changed to a quiet self inquiry. He could be right, my action may have shown how fast I was but did it show how confident or unafriad I tried to appear to be? Or was the Ceratasaur simply underwhelmed by my display? Redtalon pondered this while the Rex had eaten it's fill. He thought it over and over again until a far off cry of a larger Predator snapped him back to the matter at hand. Eating his fill of what was left of the stegosaur and bolt at the first sign of trouble. He made a few steps and went to work on what was left. The cavity was ripped apart and many of the protein rich organs were gone or merely specs of tissue. Despite being an oppurtunist Redtalon enjoyed eating fresh prey with the vital organs intact, but this is the cost of failure he surmised and went to work at softer tendons and other body parts that were left, he noticed that the rex had left him the bladder. How thoughtful, he groaned inwardly as he carefully avoid getting anywhere near the disgusting and hazardous sac.

[C S]

After some time of edging along the river and a few close calls with a blue sailed, wading Spinosaurus, Aircrest found himself at the boundary of the jungle, giving way to the open beach. The dirt and mud of the swamp became dry, packed soil that transitioned to light, grainy sand further out. Numerous rivers and streams met at a lagoon, closed off from the ocean by a barrier of rocks and thin landmass.

The Velociraptor hurried out from the thicket of plants to the edge of the shallow but large collection of deep blue and green water, admiring the shades of color. He laid down on the warm sand, light rolled across his scaly hide in rhythm to the water's surface as gulls careerned in the air above

[slashmaster101]

Clavus grunted, seeing now that the scent of ceratosaur came from an old pile of dung not to far away. Pushing away the thought of danger,he bellowed telling the herd that he had joined earlier that he was departing, the only reason he had been with the herd in the first place was due to mating season and knowing that his gene's were sure to be passed on to the next generation he turned and started to make his way to a nearby lagoon to quench his thirst

[Hopeflower]

Steeltalon gradually came to, first noticing the unique reek of the mutant pack was all around her. The unnatural tang to their scent made her already uneasy stomach churn as her head throbbed. Slowly, she became aware that her head wasn't the only thing that hurt - just about everything did. Muscles screamed with agony at the mere thought of trying to move, and light proved just as painful when she managed to open one eye the slightest bit. She swallowed a whimper of despair and tried to regain some mental control. Okay...so Riptide's pack found me, and I'm probably going to die. But that doesn't mean I can't at least take some of them with me, right? she asked herself, hearing soft footsteps coming closer.

"Who are you?" a young voice whispered curiously. Steeltalon opened one eye to see a pair of deep blue ones, wide with childish curiosity, fixed on her. The youngster couldn't have been even a year old - she was so small. And she wasn't a mutant; she didn't have that harsh smell to her, she was a plain pale gray in color, and her eyes...Steeltalon had never been able to explain it, but she'd seen it in her own eyes, in her reflection. There was a kind of dark gleam in the eyes of a mutant, more apparent in those who drank the tainted water. "Madness," she suddenly recalled her father saying, having seen his parents - pure mutants, tainted by the water they'd drunk - dissolve into insane, babbling, squabbling shadows of their former selves. "Though they may seem calm, just beneath the surface...there's an uncontrollable, irrational anger. Danger, to themselves and others." Why Riptide wasn't just a drooling, shrieking creature by now, she wasn't sure...and furthermore, what was a normal raptor hatchling doing here?

Steeltalon's tongue felt as dry as beach sand, but she swallowed hard and managed to whisper back hoarsely, "Steeltalon. Where am I?" "I can't say," the hatchling hissed, sounding frightened. "If I tell you anything, Vertigo told me she'd eat me alive." That sounds like Vertigo alright, the half-mutant thought grimly. "Can I at least get your name?" she murmured, feeling even the minimal effort of making conversation tire her out. "Silver," the young raptor hissed, just as a familiar voice behind Steeltalon barked, "Silver! What did I tell you about talking to her?" Silver's eyes widened in fear and she stammered, "I-I-I'm s-sorry, Vertigo." The little raptor scampered away, leaving Steeltalon alone with Riptide's second-in-command.

Vertigo padded around to stand in front of the defeated half-mutant and stood looking down at her with narrowed, cold blue eyes. "This time," she growled, "I won't fail to rip you open." As the cruel gray female padded away, probably to go torture hatchlings somewhere, Steeltalon's eyes focused on her killer claws and her scar gave a twinge of phantom pain.



Xanthe had returned some time ago, to see an amusing situation. Alira was standing on Cirrus's back, her tiny, still-unstable legs straining to make her taller as she snapped at a dragonfly that was buzzing around her head in taunting circles, just out of her reach. Cirrus gave a high-pitched, irritated growl whenever her tiny toes dug into his ribs. Savarna was watching the whole scene through amused but watchful sky blue eyes, making sure neither sibling got hurt during this little misadventure. Beside them rested the remains of what looked like a torn-up Oviraptor, foolish enough to attempt a grab at one of the pack's young, and now food for those same hatchlings.

[C S]

The all too familiar quaking from a giant's approach was felt by the green raptor, who bared his teeth and let out a low rumble. With the salty air and the ocean breeze, he couldn't detect the scent of what was nearing and he wasn't waiting around to find out. Shooting back onto his feet, Aircrest shot off along the edge of the lagoon and once cleared of it, he continued to run further down the sandy beach. His feet dredged up sand as he went and before long the estuary was well out of sight.