Isla Sorna Stories: Rebirth

[Hopeflower]

Xanthe rested his head against his mate's shoulder for a moment, closing his eyes as if hoping that when he opened them again, it would turn out to be a dream. After a moment, the alpha pair moved off to the edge of the clearing and settled down, talking quietly. The rest of the pack, still bewildered, looked to the older adults to tell them what to do. Soon enough, a few hunting parties were sent out, with orders to catch what they could, and bring what they could carry back.

Cirrus gave a wriggle, waiting for Blade to let him up, even as he growled, "So that's it then." His tone was missing its usual irritable edge.

"But...where will we go?" Alira asked, unknowingly echoing her mother. She glanced at Blade and felt her heart give a painful twist at the thought of never seeing him again. This kind of thing wasn't supposed to happen. Their pack was supposed to always be there, hunting and defending their territory. Xanthe was the strongest alpha there was - he was never beaten! "We can't split up," the young female growled softly, swaying a little as she felt her whole world thrown off-balance.

[The Kingpin]

Blade, upon hearing Cirrus's statement, remembered he was sitting on the male, the young Allosaur half standing and hopping off, before walking uncertainly towards his mother, hoping she could answer his questions.

Aurora however, was just as bewildered. Rising to her feet, she made her way to the alpha pair, her son following carefully behind her, sticking to bushes and rocks to keep from being seen. As the female approached the two, he heard her question brought up, as quiet as it was. "What of the young ones? Alira, Cirrus and Blade?" she growled...



Before long, the Deinonychus had reached the edge of the dam, looking back and forth between the enormous lake on one side....and the parched valley on the other. These strange places never made any sense. It was a fact he'd learned to accept. Glancing back at his temporary companion, he wondered what he thought about the bizarre architecture. "Hey Raptor...What do you make of this place?" he hissed, realising, mid sentence that he didn't even know the Raptor's name...

[C S]

"Humans. Just...humans." Aircrest replied. Realizing the odds of the Deinonychus knowing what a human was were slim to nonexistent, he elaborated : "They built this place. This wall, that river, that place underground. Everything on the island which doesn't feel...right was made by them."

[Hopeflower]

Xanthe looked up as Aurora approached, shifting his weight uncomfortably and wondering how he could save this situation. She'd come to him looking for shelter, and now he was failing both her and her son. He spoke slowly, hesitantly, glancing at Blade as he did. "I have an older son...he left some time ago to start his own pack. They would be safer there, in theory...but I don't know how many Devaki will have with him, or how big his territory is." A twinge of guilt stabbed him as he added silently, I don't even know if he has a territory. Or if he's still alive. Savarna looked from her mate to her friend, clearly worried.

[The Kingpin]

Glancing to the side as she shifted her head slightly, Aurora's gaze landed on the young Allosaur trying pointlessly to avoid detection behind her, her tail shifting and nudging him to leave. Blade sulked as he turned away, giving his mother and the alphas their privacy. "Well....you know by now my loyalty and skill are not in doubt" started Aurora, once she was sure her son couldn't overhear. "I'm indebted to you and Savarna for accepting us into the pack in the first place...That is something I can't ever truly repay. But I at least want to try" she continued, her tone light, soft and determined, her amethyst gaze shifting from the alphas to the youngsters after a couple of moments of silence to let her statement register. "Our young are the only chicks of their generation in the pack, and have grown close. They may as well be siblings. It would be cruel on them to force them apart now, and let's face it, the way things are out there, you need at least one more pair of eyes in addition to yours and Savarna's, to keep track of them and of threats around you" she concluded firmly...




"Hm...Where did you hear that?" asked Hellfire, intrigued by this story. creatures that could create mountains that sealed off rivers? that could make perfectly circular tunnels and rectangular caverns? It was a stretch, but he had no better explanation for it...

[C S]

"You've probably never heard of him and you will probably never see him. Consider yourself lucky on that second count." Aircrest replied with a snort.

[The Kingpin]

"Try me. You might be surprised" growled Hellfire with a smirk as he continued his trek towards the edge of the dam...

[Hopeflower]

Xanthe inclined his head, acknowledging Aurora's points. "True." He glanced past her, towards the three juveniles. Regret colored his tone as he added, "If it were at all possible, I would stay here, for their sake. But it's not...and we'll be taking them far from home, unable to tell them where exactly we're going. Do you think your son will be up for it?"

[The Kingpin]

"No less so than Cirrus or Alira" responded Aurora firmly. "It's a matter of life and death. They have no choice but to tolerate it" she growled softly, eyeing the trio, Blade staring back at his mother with wide, worried eyes...This was going to be difficult...



Crusher meanwhile, emerged from a forest near the northern tip of the island, on the trail of his family's den. Trees swayed under a blood red sky, pink and golden clouds painting a natural masterpiece across the heavens, lakes and rivers below reflecting hues of brightest gold to deepest purple. Crusher's vast form strode across a large plain, herds of Gallis and Anatotitan, Diplodocus and Muttaburrasaurs, herbivores of infinite varieties dotting the plains in the distance. Serenest peace ruled this place...a momentary escape from the brutal reality that was Isla Sorna...It seemed the perfect place for his mother to spend her years in the aftermath of the family's defeat...So peaceful....so quiet....so right. He felt, for the first time in years...that he was finally home. He had suffered enough...It was time he had something to be happy about...

[C S]

"...and there you have it; Ripper. One hell of a story am I right?" Aircrest growled finally after sharing an abridged account of his experiences with the elder raptor. His abridged version was heavy with his own opinions and issues he had taken with the unique raptor and on a few occasions Aircrest was half-expecting Ripper to show himself at the mention of his name.

Not that he ever would, as Aircrest knew. The elder's appearances were never so trivial. To appear when called would have made him less of a threat and more like an obedient hatchling...Ripper thrived on unpredictability, his own personal game of sorts. A game Aircrest had been a part of and it seemed that over eight years he had removed himself from it. Sharing the story was his last step in ridding himself of the elder, as if he were passing his memories to the Deinonychus -whose name he had yet bothered to ask- to keep. And such good riddance it was! Though Ripper was not all bad...he was the reason Aircrest knew as much as he did of the island.

With an eight year old chip off of his shoulder however, Aircrest walked away across the natural, not-so-dead ground of Death Valley with the dam looming behind him, its brim casting a shadow over the land ahead as the sun lit the sky on fire in the late afternoon hour.

[Giratina93]

Crusher however was not alone on his trek. Trailing a ways behind the Tyrannosaur was Twincrest, the Dilophosaurus staying hidden back and following the rex as best she could in the underbrush without being spotted. While she did have a good deal of information for Thrasher already, more would no doubt be needed before returning to the Spino and his followers. Besides, she was sorta liking this spying business, though the rex still scared her to no end...

[Hopeflower]

Xanthe nodded after a moment, growling, "Make sure that he knows he'll have to rest well tonight." Savarna added quietly, "And both of you eat what you can, when the hunting parties get back. There's no way to tell what the hunting will be like on the way."

Cirrus, tired of all the secrecy, slunk towards the adults, straining to hear what his parents were saying. Alira trailed behind, uncertainty in every motion. "What's going to happen to the others?" she whispered. Cirrus didn't bother to answer her. They'll have to find a way to survive, or they'll die, just like us, he thought.

[The Kingpin]

Aurora simply nodded, before turning to the young ones, noting Cirrus and Alira were approaching, undoubtedly wanting to know what was going to happen now. Walking past them, she approached her son, whose expression was still one of concern. "Wha-...What's going to happen to us?" growled the young Allosaur. "Nothing. Sleep well Blade. Tomorrows journey will be long and difficult. Xanthe expects you to pull your weight, and you're too heavy for me to carry you" responded Aurora softly, Blade's expression immediately brightening. circling on the spot, the young Allosaur lay down and curled up, closing his eyes, Aurora watching in amusement. With that, the female glanced towards the direction in which the hunting parties had gone, hoping they would bring a reasonable amount of food. The less energy she wasted now, the more she'd have for the trek to the alpha's son's turf...



Raising his nose to the sky, Crusher continued his search for his family. He had picked up the trace of Rexes, but the scent was weak, and seemed 'loose', if one could call it that; like it wasn't set into the ground as would be the case with a territorial border. It was weak, in the sense that this wasn't where it had originated. No tracks pointed to the presence of them, implying this was outside any territory the Rexes in question may have occupied. Downwind of him however, amidst the treeline, a pair of amber eyes watched him warily...



"Wow" growled Hellfire amusedly. "Believe it or not, he is the reason I was down there in the first place" he added, chuckling at the coincidence. "For the longest time my goal was to find out as much about him as possible. He was so different to most of the creatures on the island. It intrigued me....Suppose now all that's left is for me to speak to him myself...assuming I can find him" he added thoughtfully...

[Alpha]

The chirps of the birds as they returned to their nests was what woke up Dagon. He usually remained inactive during the day, being so easy to spot with his bright colors under the sunlight, that's why he liked to hunt at night, if you could call it that. His hunting habits were severely impaired by the lack of a pack right now, and besides of animals smaller than him, he was stuck with foraging from carcasses left by other predators, a risky duty considering the small amount of food he normally got out of it.

The raptor looked around his hideout, trying to discern what little light that was currently slipping through the gaps between the trees, it was late, almost nightfall, it would suffice. Blinking a couple of times, he stood up from his resting place on top of some leaves, stretching his body a bit before heading to the closest exit. There wasn't really much activity right now, just some herbivores that were too big for him to even think about attacking, feeding from the grasslands. He would need to look for more viable prey elsewhere, maybe if he went near the pond he would find something.

He of course had to remain on guard, unless he wanted to become someone else's meal, and that would be pretty easy for most of the other predators of the island.

[Giratina93]

Twincrest was unaware that she had been spotted by a third party. She kept low, and watched Crusher as she slowly followed him. THis was going well indeed...

[The Kingpin]

A low, rattling snarl came from amidst the trees as Crusher continued his exploration through the area, the larger Tyrannosaur shifting his gaze to the source. As the trees were pushed apart, he realised why he hadn't seen it coming; the hide of the creature before him was dark green, laced with streaks of silvery grey, piercing amber eyes staring daggers at the Rex despite his larger size. Another Tyrannosaur. Female, in fact, judging by the scent he picked up on her as she closed the gap. "You're trespassing" snarled the female dangerously. "The lack of scent markers says otherwise" responded Crusher with a low rumble, piercing yellow eyes staring back into her golden ones. "Fool. These are neutral grounds. They belong to two different packs of Rexes, and you are not part of either one" retorted the female. "Do you know a Rex by the name of Styx?" growled Crusher, ignoring the female's accusations. The question brought with it a couple of moments of silence, and it was clear his guess had been right. "Why are you looking for her?" questioned the female, seeming as though she wanted to add more to her statement, to throw off the hint she had accidentally given him, but couldn't seem to come up with a convincing enough addition to her statement. "She's...a friend, as it were" growled Crusher calmly. "Yeah, sure. And I suppose you intend to bring that Dilophosaur along to meet your 'friend'?" snorted the female dismissively, to which Crusher's gaze abruptly shifted, looking back at the treeline in search for the Dilophosaur, only just noting its scent on the wind. "No....no, damn it, not again. Not when I'm so close!" snarled the Tyrannosaur as he eyed the female for a brief moment, before charging towards the treeline. "HEY!" bellowed the female, bolting after the larger male, now thoroughly confused by his behaviour and wanting an answer...

[Giratina93]

And with that, the spying went sour. Fear gripped Twincrest's heart as she saw thelarge male T-rex charge toward her. How had he detected her? She thought she had her scent covered... no matter. As fast as she could, the Dilophosaur bolted for it, turning tail and running as fast as she could away from the angry titan. She was of no use to Thrasher dead.

[The Kingpin]

The rattling snarl was audible even at a distance as Crusher charged through the sparse forest, hot on the Dilophosaur's heels, its movement exposing its location, its scent becoming saturated with the scent of fear as it ran from the Tyrannosaur. Before long the thin band of forested ground they were in began to dissolve, yet another plain spreading before them, Crushers bared fangs snapping shut as he charged after the Dilophosaur, the distance only barely widening between them, the Tyrannosaur shockingly fast for his size. Not far behind him, the female pursued, roaring for him to stop, her calls falling on deaf ears. He couldn't let Thrasher learn of this place. Not now. He would not let history repeat itself...He had to catch the Dilophosaur...he had to silence it...

[Giratina93]

THanks to her lighter weight and slightly longer legs for her size, Twincrest was able to keep up the speed ahead of Crusher. With the plain before her, she could now afford to go even faster without risk of tripping... though that also applied ot the Tyrannosaur. SHe had to give him credit, though... he was faster than she expected... but Twincrest had an idea... If she could lure him to another large predator's territory, she could give him the slip. With that, she charged for the nearest territory she could...

[The Kingpin]

Snarling furiously, the Tyrannosaur broke into a full on sprint for the Dilophosaur, Only seeing the angry Giganotosaur at the last minute as it pushed its way free of a tendril of woodland to his left, attempting to cut him off. NO thought the Rex, unwilling to slow down, continuing the charge as the Giga attempted to intercept him, only to be rammed aside, the Tyrannosaur charging onwards, practically ignoring the Giga's presence. The movement had cost him though. The Dilophosaur had gained ground, and was steadily slipping off into the distance. Despite the Rex's speed and stamina, it was clear he simply could not catch up to the Dilophosaur. Slowing down, the Rex let loose a furious bellow, eyes blaring blood red for a brief few moments before the colour drained away once more, leaving a red ring around a mostly yellow iris. Turning back, he headed towards the female Tyrannosaur, who had stopped short of the border of the Giganotosaur's territory...


The Giga was charging towards him, fangs bared and eyes glaring hatefully at him. Crusher eyed him through narrowed eyes as his lips curled into a snarl, as if warning him not to push it. It was having none of it though, the Giga soon slowing in front of the Rex. "How DARE you invade my territory! We had an agreement! Your packs stay out of my territory, and I let you and your kin live. Sound familiar?!" snarled the Giga. "Your agreement still stands. I'm not part of the Rex packs. I move alone" growled Crusher calmly. "Well then, I suppose there's no harm in me killing you like any other invader" snarled the Giga as its fangs were bared and its clawed hands flexed. "Take a close look, Giga. Do I look like someone you want to cross? I've slaughtered Spinosaurs bigger, and if your failure to stop me is any indication, stronger than you. Step aside and let me leave in peace, or I assure you, it won't be my blood that feeds the grasses of this territory" warned Crusher, his tone woven amidst a dangerously deep snarl. Relenting, the Giga stepped aside, letting the Rex by. "Do not think I will forget this transgression, Rex. I will make sure to pay you back for that invasion in full" snarled the Giga once Crusher had passed, the Rex turning on the spot with bared fangs. "One way or another, it ends now. You will forget it, and get on with your life....or you will die where you stand. I have no quarrel with you or your kind...Do yourself a favour; don't make me your enemy" he growled, before continuing on his way back to the Rex turf beyond the border, the Giga snarling lowly, but remaining silent. He had more pressing issues to tend to than fighting a Rex that was already departing his territory. And though he hated to admit it, he knew that he could not bring the Rex down without injury...