The creekside cave yielded nothing more than a few stray Compys and an annoyed looking Gastonia. Eve chuckled but made the raptors not chase it as the team moved on to the next cave. Owen studied the map once more and sighed, "The Rex territory should be just beyond the next dip in the valley. We should be heading out to the right then if that is the case."
Nodding, Eve translated to the raptors then laughed. "They said the same thing actually. They don't need your silly maps. They got one with their nose. The border, they said, is neary. Right there, actually," she pointed out a specific shrub that the raptors were sniffing deeply and snorting with a deep rumbling growl.
"So we turn now then," Owen replied as he smiled at them. He still limped along, but he didn't let things slow him down. Instead he reached into his pocket and popped some more tylenol down his throat to ease the pain. It was getting better but he know he wasn't quite there yet. He was going to push though until he couldn't anymore. This was too important. They had to contain this.
Giving a glance over at owen, Shane eyed him at the familiar gesture. He grunted only slightly but said nothing to draw the attention to Owen. Instead, he focused his eyes ahead and watched for any signs of danger. The Rex territory, as Eve had explained, stayed pretty much the same, except of course the rexes could leave the territory to hunt but tended to maintain the approximate same borders. Something to do with the raptors and Resdail, he figured. Though Redsail did not tend to come in this deep to the island but stayed out along the riverbank closer to the outside of the island. He hoped that things would go smoothly and there wouldn't be any trouble.
As the team walked on, they checked every trail and animal sign they could, just to make sure they were safe. There were slight rustling noises occasionally, the twitter of a bird, the scream of a distant animal, but mostly just the soft murmurs of the trees over head and occasionally the snap of a branch when a human would strep on it. The two raptors, Silver Face and Snapp, made no sound at all.
The raptors headed the team, senses alert, tails held high and snouts twitching. They did not wish to be this close to the Rexes but they also understood somewhat that whatever Eve was looking for was important. And Eve was family. That was the best way to put it into their intelligent brains.
Suddenly Silver Face arrested herself and stared at a spot in the forest. Snapp whipped around at his mate's reaction and stared too. He shifted nervously, stepping forward once or twice before leaping back as only a raptor can and focused on that spot as well.
"What is it, Eve?" Kyle asked as he watched the raptors. He would have known if there any signs of a Rex. One could usually hear the great beast coming, unless it was particularly silent, like the female had been the other day. He guessed that it was mostly likely Yellow Pack.
To his surprise, Eve replied, "Uh, they say that it's a Roarer. A rex, I mean. But… what's that, Silver Face?" she listened a moment before giggling. "Oh. Not a BIG Rex. A little rex."
Owen raised an eyebrow and said, "A little rex? A baby? Eve… we're in big shit if we are anywhere near where the baby is if the parents are not. They'll track us down."
"Actually no. I think from what they are telling me, the baby is just big enough to explore on its own. If we stay on this side of the border, we should be okay."
Wagging a finger at her, Owen shot back, "Should be?! Should be… yeah no. I don't go with "should be". Let's go, and fast."
Smiling, Eve nodded once more and murmured to the raptors. They looked at her and almost seemed to shrug. Agreed. The further we are away from it the better off we will be, Snapp told her as he pointed his nose in the direction they needed to go. Big rexes not here. Safe to go.
As the team quietly passed the place where the raptors had smelled the baby rex, there was a small movement from a tree that made them stop to look. And indeed, a creature emerged from behind it, looking at the team. A Rex, just like they had said. A part grown rex that clearly was not helpless altogether but well able to start learning to fend for itself. It didn't attack or do anything untowards. All it did was look in curiosity and gave a small growl that was a poor excuse for a roar. The team waited until the baby lost interest and stalked off in the other direction before quickly making their escape.
"I don't know, guys, but I think that baby was awful cute, actually," Emma started to laugh as she released the breath she didn't know she had been holding.
"Typical woman," Owen muttered though he was teasing. "They find the most dangerous things on the planet cute.
The team continued on in the direction they needed to go and kept an eye out for any other rexes, grown or baby. Not seeing one, they kept walking until Silver Face snorted and looked at Snapp. Eve translated, "She says we are out of Rex territory now. This is Yellow Pack territory. so we are relatively safe."
Shane looked at her and repeated, "Relatively safe? That sounds promising."
She laughed and shrugged her shoulders and kept following the two rappers. Soon they turned off on to an paythway, letting the team follow them. Eventually Snapp raised his snout and sniffed hard at the air. Silver Face did the same and started looking off to the left. The team froze and let the raptors figure things out. The animals did walk forward for a bit, slowly and cautiously, the team following suit.
Things were going well until they joined onto another small creek. The raptors took a drink then and followed the creek upstream for a while. "Do they know where they are going?" Kyle asked.
"They do," Eve replied, watching her animal friends. Her eyes noticed their cautious looks about, the warienes in their eyes, the trepidant steps and the way their tails were held stiffly. It was clear they were not comfortable here, though Silver Face was more comfortable than Snapp.
The team thought that they might get away with things until Shane stepped on a rock that slipped out from under his foot. It kicked loose and then rolled down a slope, gathering speed and loudness. That made even the raptors turn and glare at Shane, who said "Oops, sorry. My bad."
Silver huffed then snapped her eyes to the right and froze. Several shadowy forms came forward and she growled loudly. Snapp moved to her side and set his tail as high as he could. The members of Yellow Pack came into view and snarled right back. Silver softly growled to Eve, Step back with the humans. They will not know you.
Nodding, Eve did as she was told and stepped into the middle of the human pack. She explained what Silver had said and translated the conservation. "She says that Tall One is the Alpha and the other rator is Swift Claw. That's her mate. It doesn't matter who the rest are. Tall One is her sister. She knows Siver. but she says this is no longer Silver's territory and she needs to get out. The other raptors agree and do not like Snapp." She watched the going ons and continued, "Silver says that she is helping the human… the true two leggers and the only need to find a dark shelter… cave i think she means. Why? says Tall One. To help the predators and prey, Silver say."
Everyone watched as Tall One stepped forward to sniff Silver Face carefully, blatantly ignoring Snapp. The two females did a funny little step of greeting then Tall One started to purr. She was happy to see her sister after all. Finally Eve smiled and told them, "She says okay. She'll come along with us. Swift Claw will do whatever he wants. He can go or stay. But Tall One is coming."
Owen laughed and smiled at the new raptors. "The more the merrier. Sounds like a plan." He looked at the Alpha female and decided they picked a good name for her. She was taller than the average raptor, but the sisterly bond was obvious for everyone to see as well. As the team turned to follow the raptors, he said to Eve, "So, sisters tend to stick together. Broke Fang and Long Fang certainly did. What happened here?"
Pointing at Tall One, she explained, "She was always the boss, the leader of the litter, from what I can gather. Silver Face however got more attention because she's faster and more sleek with better legs. That may sound funny, but in a raptor's brain, good legs mean good running, and more ability to hunt and provide food. So when Snapp came looking for a female, he picked Silver and took her away. So she is now Red Pack and not Yellow, but it seems that the sister bond is stronger than the rivalry that tends to run between the two packs. I'm glad about that. I was worried that they would attack us, and Swift Claw would have reason to do so, to protect his mate if the two sisters showed signs of fighting."
"Aye, it's good that we can get along," he agreed as he glanced at the raptors nuzzling once again. Then he fell silent as he concentrated on walking in the rough terrain, not wanting to show that he was getting painful. That would not do. He'd go until he dropped.
Thankfully, Silver nudged Eve saying, Your friend… he need rest. We stop for a bit. She purred and and bumped the young woman fondly with her snout. Eve smled and glanced over at Owen, knowing perfectly why they were stopping. Silver missed very little.
After a short rest, the team packed up their lunch things and continued walking. Kyle looked down at his map and said, "It should be around here somewhere. But where is 'here' exactly?" He glanced around at the deep growth surrounding them. It was more than expected, for they had had to cut some of the brush to get through. At least that meant no large predators would pursue them here. But how were they to find the cave?
It turned out to be easier than expected. Swift Claw and Tall One took the lead as he brush got thicker and thicker. They slid through the foliage easily, and the humans had to watch Silver's tail carefully to not lose her. After a short bit, the forest seemed to open up into a clearing. Except it wasn't a clearing but a gaping hole in a cave.
"Ooh, there it is. Wow, we couldn't have found that ourselves. That would have been too hard," Emma mused as she peered into the mouth of the cave. "Let's hope it's this one."
As the team stepped inside, the raptors settled down under an overhang. They would not go on, for as Silver explained, Raptors do not like caves. We like open spaces much better. But if you need help, just call. We'll come. But only if we have to.
Eve translated this to the rest before she watched them closely. First Owen peered in to say that the cave seemed deeper than it had looked at first, He dug out a good flashlight and shone the beam as far as he could. The back of the cave was illuminated and showed a passageway curving away from view. "Looks promising", he said as he stepped in.
Shane nodded briskly and passed Owen easily, saying, "I know you have been covering your pain. Let me go first, just in case. And here." He slipped some more painkillers with a knowing wink. "Might help. You suck when you're grumpy." He took off before Owen had the chance to swat at him.
He had to give a deep laugh then stopped with his flashlight ahead. "It stinks in here, guys," he warned as he put a foot forward.
Emma snapped her head up and pointed out, "Uh, Shane? Watch for the gu-"
"Oh fucking hell, what did I just step into?!" Shane exclaimed as he hastily backed away, his nose wrinkled up in disgust.
The team went into a peal of laughter until Emma choked the words out, "Guano, Shane. Bat poop. And you just stepped into the whole pile."
The veterinarian groaned as he stepped out hurriedly. "Yuck, that's gross. You might have warned me. Bat poop, is it? And where there is poop, there are…" He looked up at the ceiling and shone his flashlight upwards. Countless small brown masses huddled together on the ceiling. He finished the thought, "Bats."