Isla Sorna Stories: Rebirth

[C S]

Once again, Aircrest had no idea where he was heading. All he knew was there was danger in the direction his tail pointed, so he would head away from it as fast as he could. He didn't dare to raise his head over the long reeds, he didn't want the others catching sight of him. The swaying grass left in the wake of his sprint was a temporary sign of his passing. In time the trail would settle and aside from foot prints in the dirt, there would be nothing to betray his escape...

[Pyronychus]

"You okay Rhojis?" Sylicora's voice hissed as her head poked into view through the grass. "Yeah, I just... yeah." Seconds later, heavier footfalls were heard to the gray raptor's side and the dull reddish adult strode up to the juvenile, his yellow eyes concerned, surveying his son. "Are you alright? You sounded a little weak." "Dad... I was attacked... I don't know who it was- just came out of nowhere and flattened me- then disappeared-" "Dad, can't we just go home now?" Sylicora asked, a pleading note in her voice. But Beryl looked stony, and the twins knew he was suppressing a flare of anger. "So this stranger likes to attack juveniles-" "But he didn't really hurt me. At first I was sure he was going to, but then he just... stopped for some reason." "Did you fight back?" "Well, no... it all happened so fast. I don't know what made him stop." Beryl stretched up to his full height, trying to peer over the tops of the grass, looking as though he was holding back, like he wanted nothing more than to bolt after the stranger. After a moment however, he returned his yellow gaze to Rhojis and Sylicora. "Let's go back to the cave. I think we've done enough scouting for now. But if that raptor comes anywhere near either of you again..." Beryl turned and began to walk toward their new home, leaving the sentence hanging ominously in the air. The twins followed after him without protest, neither wanting to see the controlled fear and anger in their father's gaze...

[C S]

Eventually Aircrest found himself at a cave entrance, his chest burning and his legs in pain from all the sprinting he did. His throat was dry but he didn't want to spend the time seeking water. No, for once he would rather just lay down somewhere until his body stopped aching. "Enough...training" He rasped to himself as he staggered towards the mouth of the cave. In his exhaustion, he did not pick up the scents of the three raptors he had just avoided out in the field...

[Pyronychus]

The three raptors walked in a silent line, the grass around them soon growing shorter as they reentered the trees. Nobody spoke until they had made it back to where the ground became rockier and more uneven, a sign that they would soon be within sight of the cave. "Is anyone hungry?" hissed Beryl unexpectedly. The twins exchanged a glance, slightly taken aback by the change, though they suspected Beryl was probably trying to mask his underlying feelings to lighten the mood a bit. "Uh, yeah, I am a little. Sy?" Rhojis hissed. His sister nodded. "Sure if... if you can find something, I wouldn't say no." "Well then," Beryl growled, coming to a stop and turning to face them. "I think you can find the way from here. I'll see if I can dig something up and meet you back at the cave later. Stay together and don't go wandering too far." He gave them a stern, slightly concerned look, and the two nodded their understanding. Then the adult turned away and, making sure they had started to walk in the right direction, left them once again on their own, heading for thicker foliage in search of small prey. The twins walked on for only another minute before the rocky outcrop that partly concealed the cave entrance came into view through the trees, both raptors looking forward to the chance to finally rest...

[C S]

Aircrest had nestled himself in among a bunch of rocks further in the cave, the cool stone floor allowing him some respite from the trying day. He seemed to be alone in the rock hollow, but in his current state he couldn't be too sure, which is why he laid behind the rock pile. While it wasn't ideal cover, the low light coupled with his dark coloration would keep him out of view from passing threats. Only if one were to scour the cave would they come across him. His scent had been masked by the smell of plants and grass...which would seem out of place in a cave...

[Monster of Aramberri]

Without wasting a second Deathmaw started swimming up towards the surface of the ocean. He moved quickly without making a sound pushing his way over a slope of land that was in his way. After scaling the slope, he came upon a very large and maze-like coral reef. The branches of coral were very close but the MoA was very agile for a creature his size, even with speed against him. He squeezed into the maze of coral zigzagging his way through the large rocks only narrowly avoiding crashing into a few of the larger branches. Deathmaw was almost clear of the maze and narrowed his eyes in triumph, charging ahead towards the last few corals, when a fish swam right infront of him. He was distracted by the fish for only a second, but thats all it took, he crashed into the coral breaking through it and scraping the wound on his side against the sharp rock. He let out a groan of pain, the rocks had cut straight into the bite mark and blood now drifted out of the open wound. After a minutes pause he continued on his journey towards the surface, leaving a trail of blood in his wake. Meanwhile a very large creature caught scent of the blood, and slowly started to pursue its source.

(Sorry that it took me so long to post here again, Ive been very busy recently and finially just decided to post this late at night)

[Pyronychus]

"Sy," Rhojis hissed, coming to a stop and looking over at a soft-looking fern bush. "Think we should bring in some of those?" The olive raptor also stopped and glanced where he indicated. "Sure. They'd definitely be more comfortable to sleep on than a rock floor," she hissed before stepping over to the plant and grabbing onto a few fronds, pulling them from the ground and transferring them in her mouth so she could pluck another leafy bunch. Rhojis mimicked his sister, grabbing so much foliage that his forward vision was partly obscured, the two raptors then resuming their walk to the cave, Rhojis in the lead. When they reached the rocks that lead up to the entrance, the male paused and tried to speak through a mouthful of ferns, "Fy, you wanna go firft? You can fee better fan I can." "Sure." Sylicora stepped in front of her brother, hopping up the rocks one by one, pausing to make sure the gray male made it up each before continuing into the entrance. "Fink we should put them at the fide or back?" she hissed between fronds. "Uh... I fink the back," Rhojis growled, the two making their way further into the cave...

[C S]

Aircrest's head shot up once the faintest trace of a voice reached his ears, as well as the normally miniscule sound of claw tips tapping rock. The sound was amplified by the cave, echoing through it. "Lovely!" The green raptor thought bitterly as he shifted his weight to the side, rolling into a crouched stance. He looked over the large lopsided rock ahead of him, seeing two dark shapes against the bright backdrop of the light outside the cave. "Just lovely!" He ducked down again, thinking over his situation. He couldn't fight both newcomers and he was still too tired to run. He most he could do was make use of the shadows, sneaking around the two creatures as they moved deeper into the cave. "If all goes to plan, Ill pass right on by undetected. Though nothing else went according to plan today..." He mused, looking for nearby places to hide.

[Pyronychus]

Sylicora padded deeper into the cave, the smell of the foliage in her mouth and claws smothering out all traces of other scents. Her brother took a few steps, but hung back a bit, waiting to see where his sister would put the bedding. The olive raptor came to a stop near the back of the cave, probably not even fifteen feet from where the intruder was hiding, though she was still completely unaware. She spat out the vegetation in her mouth, then dropped the remainder on top of it, stomping on it to flatten it out a bit. Then Rhojis appeared at her side and did the same, the nest growing to twice its original size. Although they'd need to make more trips to build enough for all three of them, it was a start...

[C S]

Using the sound of the rustling ferns to cover his movement, Aircrest crept out from behind the rock, trying his best to step lightly. Glancing over to his side, the raptor saw that the new arrivals were in fact the same two raptors he ran into back in the tall grass. "My life never fails to surprise me..." He thought just before he ducked down behind another rock. To his shock, he found himself stepping into a small puddle of water that had pooled up in this part of the cave. The noise would have surely given his position away...

[Pyronychus]

"Want to get more now or should we ask dad where-" Sylicora began, stopping short when her brother's head turned abruptly to point toward the source of a light splashing noise. Had they not been in a cave where every sound seemed amplified by the damp rock walls, she might not have heard it over her own voice. "Did you kick a pebble or something just now?" she hissed in a near-whisper. "I was about to ask you the same thing," the gray raptor hissed back. "Unless we can kick something through solid rock, I don't think it was us," murmured the olive raptor before falling silent, she and her brother seeming to get the same idea at the same moment, and both started to creep cautiously toward the rocks, the male turning away slightly toward one side of the underground outcrop, his sister to the other...

[C S]

Aircrest peeked over the rock for a brief second, his eyes widening as he saw the two raptors approaching from either side of it. His head shot back down, the raptor wondering if they saw him. Would it matter? If they didn't they would find him in just a few moments. He could run, but in his state that would merely delay the inevitable. He let out a quiet sigh as a sudden hopelessness came over him. All the times he evaded his demise only to end up at the mercy of his own kind, one of them he was about to kill. He laid down on the cool rock floor, not bothering to flee anymore...

[Pyronychus]

A sharp intake of breath reverberated around the quiet cave and the clicking of claws came to a sudden halt. "What?" hissed Rhojis urgently, frozen in place only feet from the rocks. Sylicora didn't answer, but lowered herself slightly and crept forward even more slowly, motioning for her brother to come to her side. When her snout finally poked around the edge of the rock, her eyes went wide. Rhojis' muzzle and identical eyes appeared right under hers and for a split second they simply stared. Then Sylicora jumped backward, hissing loudly, "It's him!" Rhojis jumped back as well, though more because of the fact that the olive raptor's echoing outburst had startled him. "You're the one who... almost killed me... Who are you and why are you in our cave?" he hissed loudly, though he failed to sound anywhere near as threatening as he'd hoped...

[C S]

Aircrest looked behind him, a scaly brow raised. These were the ones who had him on edge? The ones he was sure would kill him? They were jumpier than compies in a Rex nest! He attributed it to their younger age and the fact they probably had a pack somewhere to help them along. "Hesitation is a killer deadlier than any predator on this island..." Aircrest growled. "Those questions could have cost you your life if I were in better condition" he added shortly afterwards, not wanting the gray raptor to become complacent around him.

[Pyronychus]

Rhojis opened his mouth, but found himself lost for words. He had almost expected the raptor to spring up and lunge for them, but instead what he'd done was make both juveniles feel... confused. They both took a few steps backward, nearer to the entrance, the olive raptor's nerves on a hair trigger. She was ready to bolt out of the cave and call for Beryl any second now. "Rhojis, I think we should just leave..." Sylicora took another step toward the only source of light streaming into the cave, looking nervous. Neither could tell if there was a threat in the raptors words or not, but Rhojis stayed put long enough to hiss warily, "Then... how should I react to a strange raptor in a cave I thought didn't belong to anyone?" "By leaving right now," Sylicora hissed in a hushed voice, taking hold of his arm and starting to pull him backward. "By telling dad!"

[C S]

"Or by striking swiftly and without pause. Count yourself lucky that I didn't" Aircrest growled to the male as he stood, the level of threat the two raptors posed dropping in his mind. Though he was still wary of them attacking him at once, he doubted they would, meaning that if he left now he could go on living his life, knowing he had dodged yet another encounter with his doom. He started to make his way towards the mouth of the cave...

[Pyronychus]

Sylicora backed up quickly as the raptor stood up, her grip on Rhojis causing him to stumble back with her. She gave him a slightly apologetic glance and let go, though her face immediately returned to looking nervously distrusting as she turned and hopped up onto the lip of the rocky entrance and walked out into the sunlit forest, Rhojis doing the same, neither one taking their eyes off the stranger for more than a second. Once both were outside, they turned to face the entrance and backed several feet away. "So uh, should we tell our dad we need to find a new cave?" asked Sylicora after a few seconds of uncomfortable silence from Rhojis.

[C S]

"You can keep your damn cave. I have no need of it" Aircrest barked, glancing back at the raptors after stopping just a few feet outside of the cavern. He was lying about the latter half of his statement of course, he really needed a place to lay down and collect his thoughts, though a branch someways up a tree would be just as fine...if he weren't too tired to climb. He looked about the area, thinking of where he should start heading

[Pyronychus]

"Okay then. That's... good," the olive raptor murmured. "Glad we won't need to move out almost before we moved in..." She glanced at her brother, still uncertain, but looking less afraid. "But... I don't get it," Rhojis growled, his identical yellow gaze narrowing in mild confusion as his head tilted to the side. "If you have no use for it, why were you in it? I mean, weren't you scouting for a shelter for your pack or something, like we were?"

[C S]

"No, I wasn't" growled the green and black raptor, shooting another look back at the two raptors. "I'm just a lone raptor looking for a place to rest, is all. My day's been a bit...hectic." Aircrest growled, still somewhat surprised with himself about what happened before. In an instant he nearly became what he destroyed just the other day...if he hadn't stopped himself, the olive raptor would have been out in the pasture of tall grass, standing over the corpse of her brother.