Isla Sorna Stories: Rebirth

[dinoman666]

"Beautiful day, is it not?" a voice hissed in the bushes behind and to the right of Twincrest. "Sunny and warm, and a wonderful time to hunt, when all the sweet little dinos are still awakening from dreamland..."

[The Kingpin]

"Define 'strange'. You mean oversized arms, bigger than average teeth, constant drooling and a penchant for murder, or multi-coloured nervous, jumpy, fast talking ones that forgettospaceoutwordskindalikethis? I've met both types, and been disturbed in two very different ways by them" hissed Fatalis with a raised brow, as Hellfire followed, silent for now, preferring to listen, not yet feeling sufficiently talkative to join in on the conversation...



Aurora had been brief, but direct, when bidding the pack mates farewell. She had made it clear that she held no ill will towards them for the hostility they had shown her early on, and that she deemed them all family. She vowed she'd never forget them, and made sure that they knew that, assuming they ever crossed paths again, they could always count on her help if they needed it. It was short, simple, and touching to many of them, but most assured her they would never ask anything of her, that she had done enough already, showing them kindness and help even when they had been cruel, harsh and unwelcoming towards her. Blade, meanwhile, had been uncomfortable all the way through, and it seemed it had taken all his effort not to be overwhelmed with sadness. The subadults especially, were the ones he would miss. They weren't always nice to him, and on more than one occasion they had poked fun at him, teased him, or simply shooed him at any attempt to play or interact, but some had, on occasion, taken on the role of older siblings to him, advising and teaching him things, and acting as role models on which he had built his own skills and even elements of his personality and habits. He feared the change that would come with the pack's disbandment, the entire world he had grown to know coming down all around him. The only thing from which he drew strength was the fact his friends, and his mother, would still be there with him...That much at least, never changed...




"Cowards" snarled the Giga as it paced, eyes burning with anger, cringing at the burn it felt where it's arm used to be, the stump that remained flailing uselessly. "You'd never stand your ground against me alone...You fear me...Fighting alone is impossible for you compy-hearted weaklings" hissed the predator. "Both times we have clashed, I have been unaided. There will be no intervention on my behalf....this fight is between us and no other" snarled Crusher lowly, eyes narrowed as he glared at the Giga. "As was the fight between me and that weakling cowering in your shadow! Then YOU intervened!" snarled the Giga. "Sarcus....give us room" growled Crusher calmly, Sarcus mouthing a retort, though stopping when he realised he had no response to that, simply backing away as the two titans circled eachother. In the distance, two more Tyrannosaurs could be seen approaching, led to the location by the smell of blood and the sounds of battle...

[C S]

"The ones that might be like those...and worst still." Aircrest growled. "Hellfire and I ran into one back in the lair we had to go through. It was...like a mix between Rex, Spino...Stygi...and things I can't even explain. It was as if it were an entirely different kind of dinosaur." he explained, frowning somewhat at the memory. "It was...completely insane. It had no regard for its life even after Hellfire slit its throat!"

[The Kingpin]

"Met one of those. Stupid brute was so thick-headed I managed to send it charging head on at an old and irritable Trike. I think you can probably imagine how that went" hissed Fatalis with a smirk. "Why is it that we all have an 'old, irritable Trike' story?" growled Hellfire with a raised brow, speaking of his own accord for the first time that day...



The two predators snarled as they halted their circling, their roars echoing across the plains as they clashed, the Giga swinging its vast head sideways while Crusher lunged. The clash was brief, but decisive. The Giga's swing only grazed Crusher's brow and the top of his neck as he ducked under the swing mid-lunge, tilting his head up and catching the Giga by the chest, his aim thrown off by the evasion, though he compensated, jaws clamping shut, the fangs sinking into flesh and bone as the Giga almost literally leaped back, terrified by the position it had been put in and realising death was a hair's breadth away. The movement saved it from fatal injury, but not from several deep gashes in it's chest, Crusher's jaws sliding along the chest before snapping shut on thin air. Staring horrified at the Rex, the Giga backed away, fangs bared defensively. "You'll get one chance. Run. Your territory is mine as of now. You have no place here....and if I see you again...I'll kill you" snarled Crusher threateningly, the Giga growling, frustrated almost as much as it was frightened, though knowing it could not win this fight, instead turning tail and fleeing, losing the tip of it's tail to Crusher's jaws as it did so, the Rex lunging forward and slamming his jaws shut just before it was out of reach. Turning away once the Giga disappeared beyond the treeline, his gaze fell on the injured Sarcus, and the family members approaching them, Morphena and another Rex Crusher had never seen approaching rapidly. That must be Ruvox thought the Tyrannosaur interestedly...

[C S]

"Because we've all crossed paths with the rogue and have had the damn good luck of not being skewered or trampled." Aircrest barked. "Last I saw of him, he was on the plains. That was a while ago. Who knows where he is now."

[Giratina93]

Twincrest whirled around, fangs bared as she backed up away from the voice. "You could say it is a beautiful day, but some of us have work we're doing." She hissed back...

[dinoman666]

"Really now," the voice hissed. "Do tell. Or should I hazard a guess? Save us the time, would you? We wasted enough watching you last night..."

[Giratina93]

"Watching me sleep through the night? Did you not have anything better to do?" She snarled. "Some of us perfer privacy over being watched, you know."

[dinoman666]

"Privacy? So naive," the voice chittered. "I assure you, we had much better things to do than watch a sleeping Dilophosaurus. I fact, I had to... restrain a few of my own. We had a light lunch the other day, you see. Not quite enough for all of us." A few chitters rang out from the surrounding foliage, only to melt into the rest of the jungle ambience as the first voice continued. "But enough about us. Please, do tell us what you have been up to. I, especially, could use a good story..."

[Hopeflower]

As the small group of Allosaurs moved off, they were being watched by eyes in the trees. Siri's small nomadic pack had taken shelter above the ground the previous night, and now their alpha female was watching the bigger predators with narrowed eyes, her mind coming up with a couple of ideas that she quickly tossed aside. If the Allosaurs they'd scented were abandoning their territory, there was likely a good reason for it. She shifted her weight on her perch as Inculta stirred, waking slowly. As she turned to look at her pack, the dark, exhausted eyes of Astus met hers. He didn't look like he'd slept at all.
Rather than risk waking Mwuaji and Viridis, who were sleeping nearby he jerked his head, indicating he wanted to speak to her, and jumped down from the tree. Siri hesitated a moment before following, finding that Astus was walking away already, not waiting for his leader. She shook off her irritation and broke into a trot to catch up. When he felt they wouldn't be overheard, Astus turned to face her and growled in his quiet, direct way, "You and Inculta need to stop."
As she stared, trying to work out what he was trying to say, he took the opportunity to continue. "The arguing...needs to stop. There's something wrong with your daughter, and neither of you have noticed because you're always trying to tear each others' throats out these days." His eyes glittered coldly. "I will take Viridis away from the two of you, if I have to, to make her well again. She's not just your daughter. Inculta's my brother, and I won't see your ignorance kill someone of my blood."
"She isn't sick," Siri protested. "We would have - "
Astus cut her off with a disgusted snarl. "She's sick at heart, can't you tell? She hasn't been eating or drinking as much as she should. She's weakening by the day. The next hunt you send her on could be her last. That you haven't even noticed her condition is disgusting." He turned his back on his alpha, padding back towards the tree. He spat over his shoulder, "You're no mother to her, and no alpha of mine. I don't know why my brother still loves you as much as he does." He left Siri standing there, stunned into staring after him with her mouth slightly open.

Astus swallowed back the rage rising like bile in his throat as he trotted away; he knew what he had to do. Viridis wouldn't survive like this. He had to find somewhere she'd be safe from this lifestyle - where they'd both be safe. Stretching up as far as he could, he nudged Viridis's clawed foot with his muzzle gently to wake her. "Viridis," he whispered, "get up. We have to go." As she lifted her head slowly and opened dull black eyes, Astus felt his heart give a painful twist. The young female had grown so weak, so quickly, that she had barely been able to get up the tree. As she jumped down, her legs nearly failed her - she stumbled so badly that Astus had to lend her his shoulder to steady her.
"What's going on?" Viridis asked groggily, half-sleepy, half-delirious.
"We're leaving here. I'm taking you away from all of this...you're going to get better, when we find a place to stay." Astus's voice nearly cracked as he spoke, and he swallowed to steady it. He had no idea if that was true. He didn't know what would help her - all he knew was that she needed to eat and get some water in her, and as long as she was around Siri and Inculta, that wasn't going to happen. For a moment he thought to take Mwuaji as well...but he shook the thought out of his mind. Mwuaji was fine, he could take care of himself. Step by slow, painful step, he led his niece away from the pack, into the jungle.

[Giratina93]

Twincrest hissed in annoyance. She was outnumbered, and most likely, if she tried to run, she'd be outran and taken down. "I'm on offical business from Thrasher. That is all you need to know."

[dinoman666]

"Thrasssssher..." the voice hissed softly, as if testing the word in its mouth. "My my, what could such an... interesting character like yourself be doing with the top predator of the island, I wonder. Are you sure that's all I need to know?"

[Giratina93]

"Yes, I am very certain that's all you need to know. It is highly sensitive information that I have for him, and no one else needs to hear of it, especially those who don't understand the meaning of privacy." Twincrest growled, stepping back ever so slowly...

[dinoman666]

The chittering began again, sounding almost like derisive laughter. "Ah, that word again! Privaccccy... You are quite an amusing specimen, crest-head! Now, really, let us cut to the chase, shall we? You, my venom-spitting friend, have piqued my curiosity. One way or another, I will find out about your... sensitive information. Either right now, or sometime down the road. Unfortunately, some of us are not quite as patient as I am. You could make this so much easier for all of us right now, or you can turn and walk away. I suppose there's no harm in turning tail and running, but it would be so... disgraceful, wouldn't it?"

[Giratina93]

An idea came across Twincrest's head. They wanted information so badly? Then she'd be all too willing to give them some. "Fine." She spat. "Thrasher's getting paranoid that some of the island's larger carnivores are gonna revolt against him and usurp his position. So he hired me to go and gather information on the largest non-spinosaur carnivores on the island and report that information back to him. And now I am trying to get back to him and report. There, are you all satisfied now?"

[dinoman666]

The chittering stopped. After a long pause, the voice continued again. "So the great tyrant is afraid of his competitors, and he sent a spy. Unfortunately, it would appear the spy has been found out." A few more hissing laughs. "However, you should count yourself lucky, Dilophosaurus. I would be very interested in speaking to Thrasher myself..."

[Giratina93]

"Really now? Why would you be so interested in having a talk with Thrasher?" Twincrest asked...

[dinoman666]

"Well, Thrasher certainly hasn't caused me any trouble, has he?" the voice chittered. "In fact, I don't believe he has even heard of me. Why would I want such a balance upturned by a few uppity carnivores? A waste of everyone's time, if you ask me. I am not a very big fan of change, and I'm sure Thrasher isn't either. So, I do believe he could find my talents useful in the long term..."

[Giratina93]

"So you think you can be of assistance to him?" Twincrest asked, now slightly curious. "He may like having some extra help..."

[dinoman666]

"If they would send a Dilophosaurus to spy on larger carnivores, I assure you, they are definitely in desperate need of help," the voice hissed, followed by more chittering laughter...