Isla Sorna Stories: Rebirth

[Hopeflower]

Devaki paused rather suddenly, causing Xanthe to give him a quizzical look. "Wait here a moment," the younger male growled softly. "I don't want to scare her by walking in with a group of Allosaurs she doesn't know." Xanthe's expression cleared and he nodded. "I won't be long," Devaki assured the group as a whole, his gaze sweeping over them all, lingering again on the youngsters in turn, fixing Cirrus in particular with a stern look. "Please keep it down until I know she won't greet you with fangs and claws. She's...a tad overprotective at the moment." With that he turned and stalked off, leaving Xanthe looking after him proudly. "He's grown up to be everything we thought he would," he commented to Savarna, who rumbled her affectionate agreement.

As soon as Devaki set foot in his mate's line of vision, her head snapped around, her entire body screaming of her nervous tension. She relaxed marginally as she recognized him, and further as he lowered his head submissively to placate her. Zuri was normally easy-going and easy to get along with, but as a surprisingly small female and a heavily gravid first-time mother-to-be, she was easily spooked - and quick to become defensive, angrily so. "You're back early," she commented as she accepted and returned his greeting nuzzle. "Is everything alright?" Devaki hesitated before growling, "Something came up...do you remember me telling you about my father, Xanthe?" "Yes. He's...alpha of a rather big pack, isn't he?" Zuri responded, cocking her head. "He was. He...had to split the pack, for their well-being." Devaki shifted his weight, took a steadying breath, and added, "And he and my mother came here." Zuri's green eyes widened in surprise. "Just them?" she growled warily. Wariness darkened to suspicion as he growled, "Well...no. They brought their youngsters, and another adult female...with what I presume to be her son." "Are you sure they're not here to take our territory, if they've lost their own?" Zuri growled darkly. Devaki shifted again, sighing, "Believe me, I wondered. But they look half-starved - hardly in any shape to fight, even if they do outnumber us. Besides that, Xanthe is my father. He'd never lift a claw against his kin, even if I attacked him to try and kill him."

[The Kingpin]

Blade meanwhile, oblivious to the goings on, walked onwards towards Cirrus and Alira, waiting until he had reached the latter before grunting to get her attention. "Do you think this place is safe?" he hissed with a tilt of the head, unaware of what had transpired between the black and red Allosaur and her increasingly vitriolic sibling...

[Hopeflower]

Alira sighed, trying to shake off the unsettling discomfort her brother's venomous words had left her with. "I'm not sure," she growled honestly. "But...well, we aren't dead, and we haven't been driven off..." She fell silent, struggling to push her troubled thoughts aside.

[The Kingpin]

Blade nodded, sighing. "Well...could be worse, right? Least we're all together" he growled, trying to make light of the distressingly uncertain situation. What if Devaki's mate refused? What if Devaki lied, and there was actually a whole pack at his command? What if they were forced out? Where would they go then?

[Hopeflower]

"Um, right," Alira growled, looking at her toes so she wouldn't glance at her brother. Cirrus, likewise, was stubbornly pretending the spaces Blade, Alira, and Aurora occupied were empty. She jumped when Devaki's deep voice growled, "Zuri wants to meet you - come slowly though, and don't make any sudden moves toward her." Cautiously, Xanthe walked toward his son's voice, and after a moment's hesitation, Savarna followed.

[The Kingpin]

Blade, curious as he was, tried to rush to the front of the group, only to feel a stinging pain as his mother grabbed him by the tail and held him back. "Slowly" growled Aurora through the tail, before letting go, Blade falling into line beside his mother, glancing at Alira with a tilt of his head as they moved onwards towards the nest...

[Hopeflower]

Alira rolled her eyes good-naturedly at Blade and padded forward, trying to look anywhere but at where Cirrus was stalking along between their parents. Luckily, the small, strange female was enough of a distraction that she almost forgot her brother entirely - almost. Zuri stood slowly, eyeing each of them warily with muscles slightly tensed beneath her mottled black and brown hide, but she didn't seem so badly spooked that she was likely to attack. Her voice was soft when she spoke. "Devaki tells me you need a place to stay." Xanthe dipped his head, remembering all too well how sharp the claws of a defensive mother-to-be were. He'd once made the mistake of surprising Savarna when she was gravid - and only that once. "Our territory was no longer enough to support our pack," he growled. "So you came here just to throw yourselves on your son's mercy," Zuri mused out loud, her gaze taking in the three youngsters as she spoke, "not knowing if such a mercy even existed...brave, and foolish." Beside Xanthe, Devaki shifted slightly and looked away, as if expecting his mate to reject their guests. But Zuri's eyes softened as she looked up at the other adults. "Your little ones don't look like they could survive having to keep going," she growled. "I don't suppose there's any harm in you staying - for a while, anyway." Xanthe released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Thank you, Zuri," Savarna growled. "And I believe congratulations are in order," she added, making the new parents straighten with pride.

[The Kingpin]

Aurora smiled as she eyed the two, recognising that look. She could still remember that feeling...Her own mate was still very thoroughly burned into her memory. "May you enjoy many years together with your young" she growled lowly as her son watched quietly, struggling to contain his excitement at these new acquaintances. Much as he tried to maintain the appearance of the maturing male, the playful, excitable chick underneath was still very much present...

[Hopeflower]

"Thank you," Devaki rumbled as Zuri dipped her head. "Go ahead and get settled," the soft-spoken female growled, somewhat awkwardly settling back down, her swollen stomach hindering her movements a bit. Devaki eyed her concernedly for a moment before he growled, "I need to finish checking the territory." He locked eyes with Xanthe. "You should rest. There'll be time enough for you to get to know the place." The older male nodded tiredly. On any other occasion he might have insisted, but it had been a hard trek for all of them.

[The Kingpin]

"You can't really be that surprised, can you?" hissed Ripper in the trees as the large Rex strode below, several miles since splitting up from the siblings. "I'm not" he growled lowly as he glanced up at the trees, staring towards the twin shimmering orbs staring back from the darkness of the canopy. The storm had halted by now, and slowly the sky was beginning to clear, though water still dripped from the trees above. "I just wish Sarcus could see it our way" rumbled the Tyrannosaur. "He has a point, though. Thrasher's not as powerful as he thinks, sure. But that doesn't mean he's as weak as you think. It's all well and good to claim the moral high-ground and say you'll rid the island of him, but if you rush into it blindly you'll be throwing yourself right into the jaws of a beast far more powerful than you could ever hope to be" hissed Ripper as he began to walk, gesturing for the Rex to follow. "I've seen what he has protecting him. I can kill them, and still have the strength to slay him" growled Crusher through narrowed eyes. "One at a time, perhaps. But who ever told you Thrasher cared for such a thing as honour? To him, you're just a thorn in his side that needs to be removed. One by one, you'd just end up causing more damage. He won't give you that luxury. More likely he'll just have them tear you apart together. Call it revenge for their 'fallen brothers' to hide what lack of honour it may involve" responded the Elder with a hiss, tongue flicking past his lips for a brief moment. "Then what do you suggest? We've already seen he has his spies in and around my turf. If news gets back to him that the Rex that's caused him so much trouble has a whole pack, he'll take it as justification to just charge us with everything he's got. I can hold my own, but what if my mother and sister can't?" growled Crusher concernedly. "Let Zephora and Sarraya worry about themselves. They've lived this long on their own. You need to worry about approaching the Thrasher situation carefully. Brute strength is good when it works, but sometimes it isn't enough. That's how Thrasher and his kin took your father's territory in the first place" warned Ripper...



Blade backed away once they were given leave to rest, staying as far from the two young adults as he could while still remaining within reach of his mother. Aurora, to her credit, lowered her head in gratitude before moving a distance away, between a few trees, not wanting to crowd the gravid female and her mate, and sensing the nervousness of her son. Her mind was still on the Alpha pair's young, however, that look of fright on Alira's face sticking persistently in her mind...

[saurus172]

A massive shunosaurus stepped out of the forest, squinting his eyes from the sudden blast of bright light. He grunts, beginning to talk to himself,"Toklo, old man, I hope your happy for letting yourself be left behind in that stampede..." He stared at his bruised leg, knowing that he had become an easy meal.
Days later, the leg hasn't healed. Raising his head high, he sniffed the air for signs of large carnivores. Smelling nothing threatening, he sets out toward the plains, a slight limp showing as he pads off.

[The Kingpin]

Not too far from the Shunosaurus, the dark, rough, leathery hide of a battle-scarred Triceratops could be seen at the edge of the tree-line, the horned herbivore grazing at the edge of a plain. Short, lush ferns were being stripped of their rich greenery by the ageing ceratopsian's black beak, the herbivore feeding after a recent fight with a predator. Traces of dried blood could still be seen on its horns, the blackened tips of the keratin-coated protrusions tinted a permanent dark black-brown from the combination of natural colouring and the vital fluids of its numerous victims. A pair of steely grey eyes looked up from its meal as the herbivore eyed the injured sauropod, though for now Erebus chose to observe rather than approach. No threat seemed to be in the area at the moment, and he had no intention of approaching a potentially frightened and violent sauropod...

[saurus172]

Toklo stopped soon after beginning his journey due to his aching front leg. Growling in annoyance to his pain, he decided to stop and get ready for whatever challenges he may come against. So, trumpeting a threat at a thick newly dead redwood, he began slamming his club at the trunk, creating dull yet loud thumps against the tree. After a few minutes he stopped, grinning at the damage he put into that tree. His club made a very large dent in the dead tree, causing the tree to sway in the wind threatening to fall over.
After his intense club butting, he started to graze on the ferns growing about 20 yards away from the redwood's left. He munched on the plentiful veggies, unknown to him that the strange ceratopsian was watching him...

[The Kingpin]

The ceratopsian's eyes narrowed as he watched the performance. A puff of vapour streamed from the herbivore's nostrils as he began to move, continuing to graze, walking in a wide circle around the sauropod, keeping his distance, not wanting to get too close to the potentially unstable herbivore. Concern began to creep into the triceratops's thoughts. The wind was blowing East. That meant there was a portion of the plains where his sense of smell couldn't help him watch for predators. It was entirely possible something was watching them from downwind. For now, most of the herbivores in the area were relatively small. Dryosaurs scampered across the plain as a flock of Gallimimus grazed upwind of them. A lone ankylosaur was tugging at a persistent bit of foliage by a pond on the edge of the plain, and a lone Stegosaurus could be seen in the distance, trundling across the plain as it followed a shallow river deeper into the heart of the island. For all intents and purposes, there were plenty of eyes to watch for danger...But that didn't mean that a patient hunter couldn't successfully get within striking distance...

[saurus172]

As the herbivores were grazing, a pair of bright blue eyes were watching them. Those eyes belong to a young female carnotaurus. She has been stalking the wounded shunosaurus for a week now after causing the herds' stampede. But after watching that display of power, even for a injured creature, she decided to try to take down something much smaller.

As she closed in on her chosen victim, a large dryosaurus, she replayed all her hunts with her parents and knew what she had to do. She slowly made a wide circle, keeping her bulky body low to the ground and began to close in on the dryo.
Roaring loudly, she sprung forward and clamped her jaws down on the struggling herbivore.The using her powerful legs, disemboweled the Dino with a slash to the throat.
She bellowed in victory and began to gorge herself on the kill.
_____________________
Toklo galloped away as quick as he could, putting much distance between him and the carnotaur. After a few minutes of running, he stopped, feeling a bad vibe from the area he was in now. All around him he could see scattered bones and skeletons of dead dinosaurs, both carnivore and herbivore....

OOC: This is rather fun doing this. Glad I found this site.

[The Kingpin]

The appearance of the Carnotaur pulled Erebus's attention from the Shunosaurus, a low, irritable snort escaping the herbivore as he lined himself up with the predator, head down and horns forward, the gleaming horns showing off their latest morbid coating of dark red. A warning bellow escaped the Trike, the only chance offered the predator to depart. Far greater beasts had fallen to the battle-worn Triceratops, and he had no reservations against skewering the Carnotaurus on the spot...

Unbeknownst to the other animals in the area, another, significantly more dangerous pair of eyes was watching in silence from the treeline. Honed senses focused on the Triceratops, knowing all too well the danger it could potentially pose. That particular trike was one with a frightening reputation, and the predator had no intention of making its presence known until the time was right. In the mean time though, the beast slowly moved behind the treeline, eyes focusing on the injured Sauropod, weighing its capabilities curiously, considering its odds...



_________________
OoC: Glad you're enjoying it. Do take a look at a few of the other RPGs. Variety's the spice of life, as they say, and some of the other RPGs are a blast to RP in

[saurus172]

Blue Eyes looked up from her kill, her muzzle blood stained, and stared at the trike in the eyes. 'He may prove a problem if I let him attack me and he seems to powerful' she thought as she hooted as if to say *I'm sorry*. She left, following the scent of the wounded shunosaurus, hoping to say something to him.
__________________
Meanwhile as the carno raced after him, Toklo had a growing concern that he was being followed as he continued to walk past the carcasses. As he moved he could hear the occasional snap of a twig or a heavy exhale from a seemingly large dinosaur. He increased his pace,ignoring the pain in his leg as he tried to put as much distance as he could between him and the stranger before he had to battle.


Soon after her retreat from the trike, Blue Eyes caught up to the shunosaur. She slowly crept up to the potentially dangerous sauropod and when she neared him, a low growl eminated from her throat.

Toklo became alarmed the second the growl got into his ears. As ye turned his neck to stare at what made that sound, he grew a little calmer. But he still was wary and simply growled,"What are you hunting me when I saw you devour a dryosaur just a few hours ago?" To his astonishment, she replied with a simple answer,"I wanted to speak with you."

OOC: Well good advice, I'll do that just as soon as I make a few characters.

[The Kingpin]

The Triceratops wasn't so quick to give up to the faster dinosaur, following at a trot as he pursued, irritable snorts and grunts coming from the ceratopsian as he started to catch up. The distance was still considerable however, and it would take time to finally catch the Carnotaurus. What he was unaware of, however, was that another predator was in the area. In the shadows of the treeline, a massive figure moved, form broken by its mottled brown and grey hide, golden gaze glaring from the shadows as it found the closest part of the treeline to the sauropod, not wanting to risk being outpaced due to fatigue...

[saurus172]

Soon after Toko heard that, he coughed,asking,"Of what were you gonna talk to me about?" Blue Eyes grunted,"Simply that I'm sorry for causing your herds stampede. I was chasing a small rodent and as I neared you and your herd, I roared which I think led to your injury..." Before he had time to answer, she turned, as if something was amiss. "What is it?", asked Toklo with an edge of concern in his voice. "I smell two dinos: a trike heading toward us and a large carnivore, most likely a rex," hissed Blue with a snarl if bared teeth. So they quickly related themselves for the worst, only Blue breaking the silence when she said with a hoot," I am also hoping you could allow me to travel with you..."

[The Kingpin]

A snarl gurgled from the treeline as the trees were roughly pushed aside, the massive carnivore making its presence known; a large bull Giganotosaurus. His dark brown hide was broken up by a thick blue-grey stripe running down his back, and orange eyes glared menacingly at the sauropod. He had waited as much as he was prepared to. Any longer and there was a risk the Triceratops would catch up and interfere. For now however, the Shunosaur was relatively easy pickings. Between himself and the Carnotaurus....it was as good as dead. With a growl, Rook rushed forward, knowing the Triceratops would pick up the pace. His time to see this through to success was limited...he had to be quick...