Dinosaur: Claws of Kai
Chapter 1: Know Your Place
Everyone is afraid of a dinosaur like me. Watch as I stroll around to the river as herds scatter, and run for safety. You may think that one of my kind doesn't have a heart, but I do. I'm not mindless hunter who only thinks about meat. I don't want to be that one that someone has to blame for killing their family or children. I am not a monster.
My name is Kai. I am a Carcharodontosaurus. That's a really long name for sharp claws and a mouthful of teeth. I am hunter, but I prefer a different kind meat that is easier to catch, and at the same time keep the other herds safe. I prefer fish. There are worse things for herds to worry about than a dinosaur like me, and they come from the water.
I have to keep my eyes open to anyone that goes to the river, "I don't think so!" I roared as I clamped my jaws and sharp teeth down on the neck of a Deinosuchus. Trust me, that is a predator that is much worse than me. If that crocodile grabs you, it's all over. This way, the herd stays safe, and I get a meal, and Kron still doesn't like me.
"I have my eye on you, Meat-Eater, I know your kind, it's only sheer dumb luck that you fond your place among us, don't let it get to your head," Kron snarled, and went back to his herd. I ignored him, and went back to my meal pulling it from the water. There was enough meat to fill me for a few days. I was one of the few meat-eaters left.
It was more like one of the few meat-eaters that found a place among the herd. Even then, the others are still weary of me. Still, I have friends by my side, "I know, it's hard for you to not wanna stick those claws and teeth into his hide, but you best be thankful he keeps you around," said Eema, one of the few who accepted me for who I am,
"Why bother? There's no point in eating meat that's bitter," I snarled, taking another bite out of my kill. Things all changed when those lights came from the sky, and turned this lush world into a desert. Kron and Bruton were the ones in charge of the herd. The goal is to get everyone to the Nesting Grounds, but there were exceptions to the goal.
"No Kai, I cannot and will not allow you to travel with us to the Nesting Grounds, you know what you are, you are a danger to the safety of this herd!" scolded Bruton,
"How can you say that?!" accused Neera, another friend of mine, a very good one, "if it wasn't for her, who knows how many of the herd would've been eaten by crocodiles! Please, I ask that you reconsider, she's my friend, and she has been doing her duty to protect the herd," I looked at him in the eyes. He looked back, snarling at the thought.
"Fine, she can join the herd...when she gets to the Nesting Grounds on her own, I'm sure she can find her own way there," He replied, and shocked Neera with her words. She protested, but I stopped her. As the words of the wise ones say 'all roads lead to the Nesting Grounds'. I knew I could find my way to there. I know now to get around.
"Don't worry about me, Neera, I'll get there on my own," I said, and I began my journey by my lonesome in the desert. Kron was sending me to my death, but I cannot let thoughts of revenge drive me. I did not want to hurt anyone. What drove me was the promise of finding a new land to settle down in, and I know my place among the others.
The meat from that crocodile will give me enough energy for a portion of the journey. There is no way I would travel with Carnotaurs. Some are cruel enough to eat their own kind, "You have to excuse Kron, he is just doing what he feels is best for the herd, even if some of us do not necessarily agree with him," said Baylene, a wise Brachiosaurus.
"Ain't that the truth," I grumbled, and started my journey once my meal was reduced to bones, "I'll see you in the Nesting Grounds...hopefully" I said, getting a last look at Neera before setting off. I got well wishes from Baylene and Eema. I will make it, and I'm up to the challenge. I am not going to let Kron's or Bruton's words weigh me down.
"You have to leave one day after the herds leave, I don't want you getting any bright ideas, Kai," Kron instructed to me. I had no choice but to obey. Everyone of those herd members has a weapon that can kill me easily and they have numbers as well. So here I am now, all alone in the desert. The sun is unrelenting as it beats down on my back.
I cannot be a member of the herd, but I can at least follow the trail. With a thirst growing, "Oh! Some water at last," I sighed, and took a drink after the march,
An oviraptor happened to stumble my way, and was my meal for the evening. The meat is a bit stringy, but it will give me the energy I need and one less problem for the migrating herds. I rested for the night on a mountain near the dried up riverbed, I heard the footsteps of a big threat, "That's not good," I thought, and roared to warn them.
I have to eat fast so these baddies don't get a chance to steal my meal no matter how small it is. The problem is for us meat-eaters is that our roars sound identical. So even if Kron or Bruton think it's a Carnotaur, it doesn't matter. It will still give them time to run. I am a meat-eater, and what some would call a traitor. I have my own reasoning.
I have good friends like Neera, Eema, and Baylene. I don't want to see any of them or any other member of the herd getting hurt or worse, eaten. I fought them off my meal by jaws, teeth, and strength. Seeing that they won't be getting my meal, it presented me with a problem, and them with another option. Now they are going after the herds.