by Hopeflower » Sat Jun 16, 2007 3:49 pm
Steeltalon started dragging home the young Homalocephole she had just killed. She had been a little unsettled about Ultraraptors attacking Crusher, as they might attack her as well, but she knew that she was just worrying about nothing. While she was deep in thought, a young velociraptor ran into her, causing Steeltalon to drop her kill in surprise. "What do you think you're DOING here?!" she snarled. Now that they were among the trees, this was Steeltalon's home.
The little raptor squeaked, "I come only to ask for food and shelter. I'm Silver."
"Yes, I can see that," Steeltalon replied dryly. "But why should I help you?" She stared hard at this Silver, trying to figure out why she shouldn't. With a jolt of pity, the older female noticed how skinny and frail this hatchling was. "Haven't you been eating?"
Silver shook her head. "Not since my family went hunting and never came back."
Steeltalon shivered. Silver was more like her than she would like to think. "I guess I could protect you until you're strong enough to hunt for yourself," she growled resignedly, tearing off a chunk from the Homalo and dropping it in front of Silver. "But ONLY until then," she added more forcefully. "When you're old enough, you should leave my territory. If I see you here again after your first year, I'll chase you out."
Silver let what could've been a laugh escape, but it was so raspy it was hard to tell. "You adults are all the same," she chirped happily. Steeltalon twitched in surprise.
"Adult? Hardly," she growled. "I'm barely past a hatchling myself. Follow me. You need something to drink." She dragged her kill until it was beside the entrance of the caves and turned toward the stream. Silver followed, letting out chirps of pleasure every time Steeltalon snapped at her to keep up.
"Gotta have a little sadness once in a while so you know when the good times come."
"Talent is a pursued interest. In other words, anything that you're willing to practice, you can do." ~ Bob Ross
"The future is always uncertain and painful but it must be lived." ~ Unknown