Darksage95: Hey guys! Darksage95 and Marc are back with the next chapter in the LNoW Arc. Sorry for the wait.
Marc: This one has quite a bit of drama.
Darksage95: Hey don't spoil it! Well, before we stop talking, we just wanted to make note of a few things about this chapter. The first one being I worked on the first half, while Marc did the second half. The other thing being there is one event that happens in this chapter that was actually based off of something that happened to one of us in real life. It's a fun thing.
Marc: Alright before we get ahead of ourselves, here's the Disclaimer: We don't own Disney's Dinosaur, Prehistoric Park, Walking with Dinosaurs (both BBC and 2013), Dinosaur Revolution, and anything else that's mentioned. We also don't own any of the music.
Darksage: Enjoy!
Scar looked up at the sky, his muzzle pricked with tiny cold pinches as the snow softly fell on his thick hide. His breaths came out as translucent clouds before dissipating in the air. Being a denizen from this time and place, winter was nothing new to him. Still, this phenomenon was still a wonder for the youngling.
Winter was just another way of life here in prehistoric Alaska, but seeing the denizens that were from other time periods frolick about in the landscape was an amusing sight. Even being in the company of his new companions, Talin and his troupe, and seeing them play in the snow, was a joy in itself. He now had friends around his age and those he could relate to.
They had partially recovered from performing their little practical joke on Aladar and Martha and were now headed back to one of the warming tents to warm up. He may be from this place, but getting buried in snow would sometimes be uncomfortable for him. As he walked back with his friends to the tents, they were each regaling him with stories of their times in their old Nesting Grounds and of Prehistoric Park.
To him, the Nesting Grounds sounded like a beautiful place from what he heard, but he was more interested about Prehistoric Park. The fact that it was in the far future was truly unheard of, but then again, how could he not believe the words of those his age? They told him tales of the recent breakout, their first Christmas, how warm and spacious the valley was, the humans living there, and even the beach that was nearby. He had never been to a beach before. It sounded like a place he could visit...if he could get there.
"You know, you're lucky too."
Scar blinked, his mind returning to reality. He looked down to his right, seeing a cheerful Alden.
"How so?" he inquired.
"You get all this snow. We don't have snow where we're from. Sure we like the heat and the beach, but playing in this white stuff is fun too."
The Edmontosaurus cocked a brow. "You really think so?"
"Yeah!" jumped Talin, who ambled a little faster to keep up with the slightly larger hadrosaur. "I mean, seeing this stuff every once in a while is something we could get used to. I remember the keepers back at home made some "fake snow" for us to play in, now that I think about it. It was during that Christmas thing."
Scar chuckled. "Well, I didn't know humans could make this stuff."
"There's a lot of stuff about them we don't know about," replied Charon, who caught up to Talin.
"You know Scar," the female Parasaurolophus got his attention again, this time with a smile, "you've changed quite a bit since we first met. You've opened up more."
"Oh...yeah I guess I have," he chuckled.
He had not really noticed it too much, but Scar had been talking to them more and more. When he first met them, he did not know whether to trust these newcomers or not. But since meeting them, he found them to be harmless and quite friendly. He did not have a lot of friends before, not since he lost his herd in the past.
His herd...it had been a while since he thought about them. Ever since becoming friends with these younglings, his grief for them seemed to have been buried. Memories of the times he had with his own kind went through his thoughts. He brushed aside the ones related to his first migration...and of this recent one. The only ones he focused on were of the happier times, especially when he was still with his mother, who perished a long time ago.
Scar sighed, sadness clear on his features. As he dwelt on those memories, he had inadvertently attracted the attention of his new friends.
"Hey listen," Charon started, calling him out of his sorrowful trance, "we know how you feel. We've had our share of losses in the past. But trust me when I say things get better."
"Yeah!" Tirech bleated as he caught up to the group. "Like we've got a new home, new friends, all the food we can eat, and practically no worrying about predators coming after us, well as soon as we get through this winter thing and go back home. And that was after we escaped that Fireball."
"Oh, well you guys sure sound excited to be going back home," he said with longing, yet he tried to save face. The thing was, he was terrible at being a closed book.
"Hey come on, don't give us that face," the Parasaurolophus went.
The Edmontosaurus shook his head, surprised.
"What face?"
"That face."
"You know, you don't really need to feel that way," Talin said with a smirk.
"What do you mean?"
The son of Aladar and Neera rolled his eyes and smiled at him. "You can come with us. Back home."
Scar nearly gasped, elated at such a suggestion. "Really? Are you sure?"
"Yeah!" the younger brother of Talin supported. "I'm sure Hazel wouldn't mind. And Nigel and the other humans would be okay if you came along."
"Yeah just don't pull a Mikiya on them, especially Hazel. I heard she had a freakout when she found Mikiya stowed away. Better give her a head's up," Charon mentioned, regarding the small pachyderm that was mentioned in an earlier conversation.
While Scar had not interacted with this Mikiya, only seeing her in passing, he had not formally met this Hazel yet. The only times when he caught a glimpse of her were during that one scuffle between the leaders of the two herds when they first arrived in the valley and the couple of times when he saw her in the distance just walking about the center of the valley. From what he heard, she was an exceptional human, as she was the first human that interacted with his friends' herd. Or more specifically, was a great friend to the Herd leaders and then some.
She sounded quite agreeable to almost anyone. Though, he also heard she could be quite defensive when it came to everyone's safety.
"I don't want to get on her bad side. And I haven't met her yet," he told them all.
Talin frowned, slightly putting the hadrosaur off. "Yeah especially now. Dad told me she hasn't been in a good mood lately. He says she's having a hard time being a leader. I guess I can understand that if I was thrown into it so suddenly. Then again, Dad worked it like he was trained his whole life."
"Well so was Hazel...sort of," Charon went.
"Well, once we get back home, I'm sure she'll be better. Hey, before we do, we'll need to introduce you first."
"Yeah, can't forget that."
Scar nodded, hopeful of the day when he could finally meet this leader, and whether it would go well or not.
As they continued on towards the tents, Scar pondered about life in that land they spoke of. A land with no snow, tolerable weather, and vegetation so green that spanned for miles sounded like a paradise. And the fear of predators there was moot as there was pretty much none that could hunt them down. Everyone there got along, both carnivores and herbivores. It all sounded promising to him.
Yet, this land was all he knew. The bitter winters, the cool springs and autumns, the short summers, and the constant need to survive were what he was taught. This time and place had a lot of memories for him.
A land that was almost always warm with vast greenery and being around creatures from different spots of time would take some getting used to. He would not have to worry about Tyrannosaurs or Troodons having to harass him, or the lack of resources.
In this Prehistoric Park, he could start fresh. He could leave the pain of his past behind. At the moment, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Scar knew that in this new land, there may be problems, but they were things that he would overcome with his friends.
Scar smiled, knowing his future was turning out for the better.
They walked on through the valley. While they did, he caught sight of other Residents playing about in the snow. He saw the large, towering sauropods, creatures that were unseen in this land, sweeping their great necks over the snow, creating large cascades for other smaller Residents. Ornithomimids ran about the snow, creating more and more tracks and skidding on the ice as they competed to see who was faster on the new terrain. The humans that were present were also playing with those Residents, making odd snow formations on the ground with their limbs or standing formations with sticks and rocks.
They also passed by Forrest and Ilana, who were heading off towards another part of the park towards the greenhouse. After hearing there were fresh fruits there, they wanted to have some of it. Scar noted to himself to pass by that place sometime to get a bite to eat later.
The only other Residents that were not playing were the Rex Twins, Terrence and Matilda. Scar shuddered as they passed them along, remembering the past times he came across other Tyrannosaurs...and how ruthless they were. Yet he was stunned when he witnessed his new friends conversing with them, even for a brief moment.
The rexes were off to do their own hunting. While he was okay with them promising to not hunt anyone who was a member of this park or that one Pachyrhinosaurus herd, he still found it odd that they were going off in a hurry. It was as if they had some other motive to leave the vicinity.
Scar brushed all doubts aside. His new friends were adamant that their intentions were good and were probably just off to find something good to eat as they were hungry.
But then, his fears of getting attacked by a predator surfaced when two four-legged mammals ambushed them a few minutes later. Scar cried out in surprise as Talin and Tirech were shoved onto the ground by two brown-colored mammals with two elongated fangs that stuck out of the front of their upper jaws. They were about the same size as his new friends, making them easily smaller than him. But the fangs and talons they sported were what unnerved him the most.
"Haha! Gotcha!" giggled the male mammal as he pressed his paw on Tirech.
"Aw man!" the ceratopsian grumbled. "Why am I always on the bottom?"
"Get off me, Sable!" Talin squirmed under the weight of the female cub, who was then held down by the neck when she stepped on him.
"Sorry, we're practicing our pouncing," she then turned into a whisper, "Can you please play dead for us? Miss Sabrina is watching. Make it look cool."
Scar became quite surprised when the Iguanodon youngling acknowledged it. He rolled his eyes up, lolled his tongue out and let out a pretend dying gasp.
Beside him, the female Parasaurolophus made a disgusted grimace. "Okay, that is the worst 'play dead' face I've ever seen," she deadpanned.
Reanimated from his pretend trance, Talin objected. "Wait, I can do better. Oh no! The killer cat has gotten me! She has slashed my throat! I'm dying! Dying! Bleh...," he tried so hard to make his death realistic, ending it by falling limp and doing the face.
Charon scoffed and rolled her eyes, something that made Scar giggle. "That's even worse."
At that moment, all of the younglings, minus Talin, burst into laughter. The eldest Iguanodon merely huffed and gave each of them a sour look.
"Alright cubs, that's enough," a strong, feminine voice, sounded from behind them. The children quieted down as a larger creature came in.
Scar shuddered when he observed this newcomer. She was like the smaller mammals on his friends, except she was larger. The fangs she sported were longer, capable of delivering serious injury, especially to one's neck. Her paws all ended in sharpened claws, which seemed more dangerous than the children's.
This had to be the mother. He was sure of it.
At her approach, the cubs jumped off their targets, allowing Talin and Tirech to recover.
"Your ambushing has improved," she eyed at the cubs in a judgemental manner. "Keep this up and you may be able to take on real prey."
The Edmontosaurus gulped. Real prey? He hoped she did not mean them. He then shook his head of that doubt. His friends said that everyone who came from this park place would not attack other Residents.
The cubs sighed and the female warrior turned her attention to the other younglings. Her expression softened, but not so much to show a lot of compassion.
"Apologies for this encounter. We needed them to practice on slightly bigger targets. Given that there were not many prey items out and about in the forest at this time, we needed to improvise. Rest assured, we kept the rules in mind on not attacking our comrades. I hope you can forgive us for this."
"That's okay," the now recovered Talin acknowledged, "but maybe give us a head's up next time? Then maybe I can work on my 'play dead' face a bit more."
A chuckle sounded from behind them. Scar froze when he saw another fanged predator approach the small group. He was like the female adult mammal, except he was more muscular and his fangs were a little longer. Scar sidestepped towards his friends so he could give this larger male, and his mate apparently, some space. No doubt this was also the cub's father.
"Gotta admit, it does need some work," he commented deeply, glancing quickly at Charon and back at Talin, "I agree with Ms. Pompadour there. Maybe add some realistic screaming into the mix."
Once again, everyone burst into laughter. At least, everyone except Sabrina, who kept a straight face. Scar felt a bit at ease with these predators. If his friends did not deem them threats, then perhaps there was nothing to worry about.
The jovial mood was dampened when Tirech spoke up, having already shaken a bit of snow and mud from his face.
"Oh right, intros," he looked over at Scar and then at the mammals. "Sabers, meet our new friend, Scar. And Scar, this is Tai and Sable, two of our other friends. Don't worry, they were just practicing."
"Practicing to hunt?" he inquired, a bit wary.
The female adult nodded. "Yes. They are at that age where cubs must learn the ways of the hunt. They've been too soft in these times of peace, not that they can help it anyway considering their upbringing."
"Oh yeah, almost forgot," the Pachyrhinosaur laughed, forgetting his manners. "That's Sabrina and Cesar, Tai and Sable's parents."
"TIRECH!"
Scar jumped in shock when his friends around him exclaimed the youngling's name. The adults stared at him, speechless, with Sabrina taking on a scowl. She was then followed by the other younglings, who were a mix of disappointment and distress. The only ones who were not so quick to react, and were confused, were Tai and Sable.
"Wait, what?" Sable tilted her head. "No, that doesn't sound right."
"We've only got one mom," her brother followed. "Her name is Suzanne."
Suzanne...that is a name he had never heard of before. Who was that? Another mammal like them? Clearly this Suzanne sounded important to these younglings if they called her their mother. But that did not make any sense. If this Suzanne was their mother, why did these children have similar...?
"Really?" Tirech squeaked. "That's not what my dad told me. He said Suzanne took care of you after your mom couldn't. Something about food right?"
When he said that, Charon charged up and broadsided him onto the snow, the poor ceratopsian yelping in surprise once more. She placed a hoof on his beak to muffle his cries, all while Sabrina continued to snarl at him. When Tirech moved his head, so did Charon's hoof.
"Haha! Sorry about that!" she nervously laughed. "Sometimes Tirech can say just the weirdest stuff."
"Yes..." the adult Saber huntress growled at him, brandishing her fangs. "He doesn't know WHEN to SHUT UP."
Scar continued to look at them all, confused. Why are they acting this way? All this drama over these two adult mammals being the cubs' parents? There should not be anything wrong with that. It is part of their heritage. There was something else going on here, and he needed to find out what.
"Wait, so those two aren't these kids' parents?" the Edmontosaurus looked between the adults and the younger cubs. "That doesn't make any sense. I thought they would be, given that they all smell alike."
Talin gasped. He went up to him with caution on his features. "Scar, stop it," he said in a near whisper. "Stay quiet."
Sadly, Scar gave no indication he listened. He merely went up to the mammals and did the one thing he learned to do to identify those in his previous herd: picking up their scent.
Before he lost his herd, Scar was taught that each member had a particular scent on them, and whoever smelled a little like that individual would signify they were of their descent. That was how each herd member was able to tell each other apart besides their looks. It was also how parents were able to recognize their children and vice versa. And it was also how herd members could identify their other kin should they encounter them outside their herd.
He did not do this before when he first encountered his new friends. Talin and Alden already introduced themselves as siblings, but even after doing so, once he smelled both of them, he could tell they were brothers from how they smelled.
Now he was doing the same thing to these creatures. He gave each of them a long whiff before moving onto the next individual. Scar smelled a lot of things from them; meat from a recent kill (which he did his best not to recoil), the scent of dry grass, a hint of fresh vegetation, and the scent of other creatures that were most likely the ones they were mingling with in this valley. But the one scent he did pick out as he smelled the Sabers was their body odor. He could not explain it, but he knew that they had that same, unique scent.
When he finished his investigation, he took a few steps back and began his explanation, all while warily keeping an eye on the guarded adult Sabers. "My nose isn't as good as a carnivore's, but you do smell alike. When my...mom was still around, I'd know her scent anywhere. In fact, my scent is...was a lot like hers," Scar pushed the memories of his mother back in his mind, doing his best to not break down in front of them. "Now you two probably have this scent because you've been around these adults for a while. Normally, the scents of others would be strong if you've been around them for a while. But scents that are much like others, especially family, tend to linger. You're the first of your kind that I've seen here, so you four are family."
"Scar stop!" Alden broke his pensive silence and turned to plead to the adult Sabers. "I'm sorry, we didn't tell him yet. You need to forgive us!"
"Tell him what?" said a very inquisitive Tai. "What is it we don't know?"
Sable glared at the adults. "Miss Sabrina, what are they talking about?"
"Uh nothing children. They don't know what they're saying," Sabrina tried to save face, only to fail again as Sable exploded.
"No! I can smell it from you! You're lying!"
"Little Cub, you know you can't tell if someone is lying. You haven't been trained-"
"No!" the young female cub snarled, taking the adults aback from such hidden ferocity. "The whole time we were here, you both have taught us to trust our instincts. Well now I'm doing it. My instincts are telling me that you're hiding something. And trusting one's instinct will ensure our survival. So now I've got just one question for you."
She stalked up to them, her paws digging into the ground with each stomp. Her eyes flared with rising suspicion and anger.
"Are you our parents?" she asked them, slowly.
Cesar approached her, unfazed by the intimidation she was giving off, especially her warning growl to back off. The hunter looked over to his mate with regret, yet tried to mask it as best as he could.
"They're bound to find out. If not now, then sooner or later. It's about time we break it to them."
"Don't you da-" Sabrina warned him, but was interrupted when he said the one thing that fed the flame of guilt.
"Yeah kid. We are, believe it or not."
The huntress roared at him, forcing him to back away a few steps. "I am going to maul you for this."
Scar's narrowed at the two adults. So he was right; those two are the parents of these mammal younglings. Yet why are they not so thrilled with revealing this to their children? Why was it kept a big secret until now? Was there something more to this?
The hadrosaur's stomach fell. There was something more to this. His friends were trying to warn him and he did not listen. He had no idea there was something bigger at play, and he unwittingly made it worse. When he looked over at the cubs, who were now whimpering and close to crying, Scar wanted to run away and hide under a rock out of shame.
But he wanted to know what was really going on. So he stayed and obeyed the words of his friends by keeping quiet.
"You...but you can't be. Suzanne is our mom. Not you," Sable denied the truth.
Sabrina sighed, stepping slowly closer to the cubs. "Little Cub-"
"No!" the twins hollered, taking a few steps back. "Stay away!"
"Why did you keep this from us!?" cried the little hunter. "Why didn't you tell us before?"
"Kid, you wouldn't understand," answered his now revealed father. "You were too young-"
"Too young!?" Tai retorted. "What's wrong with 'Hey just so you know, we're your real parents. Suzanne's just looking after you'? Why hold off on that!?"
"Why didn't you admit it before?" his sister added. "Why did you let her take care of us? Why did you ABANDON us!? Didn't you care about us!?"
Sabrina let out a frustrated roar and exploded. "Of course I did! But I didn't want to lose either of you!"
The huntress panted, letting out each and every emotion she kept locked up inside. Her cool and calm exterior had now become distraught and pained. Scar had never met these Sabers, but he took this adult female to be someone who would not let emotion get the better of them. However, as he kept watching her, he noticed small tears welling up in her eyes.
"Before you were born," she said, holding back tears, "before Cesar...I mean...your father...and I came to live at the park, you had a brother. Where I lived, prey was hard to come by. I failed to produce milk for him. He died because he starved."
The twins quieted as they watched their now revealed mother go about her story. Scar could clearly see their shock when they learned they had another sibling. It was heartbreaking when they learned their brother died before they were born; a brother they never knew. The Edmontosaurus knew what it was like to lose family. He lost his herd, the only thing he regarded as his family, on two occasions. He never knew his siblings; from what he was told, they all died before he even hatched. Following that was the loss of his mother when he was young.
Scar stayed silent as the huntress continued her story. While he had little to no knowledge of mammal physiology, he understood the point she was trying to get across.
"When you were born," Sabrina continued, choking back sobs, "I still could not produce milk for the two of you. Suzanne and her vets had to take you from me to help you. I was torn from you, but I allowed it because it was to give you both a fighting chance. And when you looked up to Suzanne as your mother, I thought it was best that way, as she would be the mother you two deserved."
She inhaled, trying to hold back another sob. "I feared taking you back because I did not want to lose my children."
Sabrina, now drained from her revelation, sighed and hung her head low. Cesar came to her side and gently nuzzled her on her shoulder. While the large feline was still intimidated by her, he still cared for the huntress.
The story pulled at Scar's heart. The fact that this mother was forced to give up her children to save them made his heart ache. The pain she went through was so great that it had built up over the years. He felt it. He knew what it was like to lose family. His past and her story differed in some ways, but they were similar. He understood why Sabrina did what she did. And in a way, if he could not provide for his family (if he had his own later), and he was left with no other choice, he would have had someone look after them after he was gone.
Tai and Sable were lucky. Now they have their parents, while he had none. All he has left are his friends. They could be a family, if they allowed it.
The Twins looked at the other younglings, their eyes now flooding with tears. Both of them sniffled as they choked back sobs.
"You...you knew about this?" Sable quietly cried.
Talin, frowning, nodded sadly. "It wasn't our place to tell you."
Charon pressed her hoof onto Tirech's face again, causing him to bleat loudly. "Until one of us slipped up," she glared at him.
In a quick movement, the ceratopsian managed to wrestle the Parasaurolophus off. He shook off the snow and coughed whatever snow and dirt were in his mouth.
"Hey I'm trying to say I'm sorry!" he finally spoke up. "Dad didn't tell me to keep it a secret! I thought everyone already knew! I thought those guys already knew!"
The crested hadrosaur stared at him for a moment. She rolled her eyes and backed away somewhat warily. Her anger was still clear on her features.
"No offense Tirech," she scoffed, "but sometimes, your dad is an idiot."
The knob-nose child snorted with a frown. "Yeah, I kind of got that..."
Talin shook his head and approached the cubs with sympathy. "Look, I'm sorry this was revealed to you in the worst way possible, but you heard Sabri-I mean, your mom. She didn't want to lose you. Actually, she and Cesar. But it's okay now because now you know. And they want to start fresh with you," he looked at the adults with hope in his eyes. "Right?"
"Kid," Cesar sighed sadly, "we appreciate you trying to patch things up, but it's not as simple as that."
Tai sniffled. "He's right. Suzanne is our real mom."
"Tai, do not say that," Sabrina stood tall, somewhat recovered from her moment of grief.
"No!" her daughter spat. "Any parent who denies their own family or is too scared to be a parent is not a parent at all! You're just a coward! I want my mama, my REAL mama. Not some wussy Saber!"
The youngling turned and ran deep into the frosted woods, her sobs echoed as she got farther along.
"Sable!" her mother called out to her, only to get a defiant roar from her son.
"You stay away from her! Stay away from us!"
He turned and ran, following after his distressed sister.
"Tai!" Talin called his name, only for it to reach deaf ears.
"Tai! Sable! Come back!" hollered Alden.
Charon turned to her friends, and the adults that remained. "This is a problem," she looked to Talin for an answer. "Should we go after them?"
The son of the alpha leaders shook his head. "No. I think they need some space."
Cesar chuffed in agreement. "Well said."
Scar grimaced as he turned his attention towards the adult Sabers. This was his fault. If he did not do the whole smell thing and pointed out how similar their scents were, none of this would have happened. The Twins would still be happy, though ignorant of their true upbringing. If it came to it, happiness was what would dominate in the end.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know about this whole thing. Had I known about it, I would have kept quiet."
Cesar gave him a glance. Unlike his mate, he did not show any form of hostility, something he was thankful for.
"No, it's fine. No one told you."
Just then, the lone huntress let out an angry roar and bolted in the other direction. Clouds of snow were thrown up as she sprinted towards the middle part of the valley, where the other Residents were currently at. Save for Cesar, all of the younglings shuddered at the sudden ferocity of the female Saber. They were glad she was not after either of them.
Cesar turned his attention to the uneasy Tirech. "Kid, your father's screwed."
"Is she going to kill him?" Alden asked.
"No," he said, easing their worries slightly, "but I think I'd better make sure she doesn't."
With that said, Cesar left the younglings behind, following the scent and footprints of his mate. The children looked at each other before staring back at the woods, where the Saber Twins disappeared. They thought about what sort of thoughts were running through their minds. They were distraught, upset, horrified, and especially afraid. Worse, the only one they saw as their mother was not here to help them.
Scar may have been forgiven of his accidental transgression, but he still felt guilty for causing all of this. He asked his friends again if they should go find them, only to get the same answer as before. He wanted to fix this mess. But from what has occured, this was something that must be solved by this family. He was only an outsider.
The only thing they could do now was to wait...and pray they were okay.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Rascal was utterly bored. If he had a choice between hunting with a chocolate-crazed Espantos or this Troodon pack, he would have gone for the Terror Bird. He may die early if caught in the Miocene predator's cocoa rampage, but at least it would be better than hanging out with these Arctic bozos.
The Prehistoric Park Troodon had been making himself comfortable in his personal warming tent when Patch invited him for a night of foraging. He already had his fill hours before but he figured a snack would be worth it. Some nice juicy prey would help him sleep better in the cold.
The first thing he and this pack did was split up to gather large insects underground over in the forest. Rascal was no fan of bugs and was certainly not a fan of the rancid texture either. Some were rather tasty, like the occasional cockroaches. The southern predator thought this was the snack, until he was instructed to kill them and lay them on a pile of prepared leaves in the open. The idea was to use the bugs to lure in rodents or other creatures that were hungry for a snack.
Rascal found it to be a decent idea...except for the fact that barely anything was wandering about in this wintery wood.
Nearly an hour passed with nothing spectacular happening. The Troodon had half a mind to gnaw on his tail out of boredom and partial hunger when he got a break in the form of Patch asking him to follow while the others stayed behind. Finally, something more productive.
Well, that was until he found out Patch was teaching him about how to forage for berries and nuts. Seriously!? Who eats this stuff!? When he lived in his own pack, his leader, and before that his mother, forced him to scarf down these disgusting things. Sure, some of them were delicious, but nothing beat the taste of juicy warm meat. It was only a matter of time before the rest of the pack came back. They only managed to get only a handful of rodents. The whole pack had to share the spoils. Rascal, of course, declined his.
Rascal wanted this pack to follow him. The faster he can get to his side, the sooner he would be in charge of the park. If food was something that will convince this pack, then that was what he was going to use.
He stood up, making a faux yawn. "Alright, well this was fun, I guess. You guys can have your fill. Meanwhile, I'm going to head off to find some real food."
Patch lifted his head, his maw covered in bits of rodent's blood and berry juice. "Wait, you're not going to eat with us? You've barely touched your nuts and berries."
"Nah, I'm in the mood for something...juicier," he replied with a wicked grin. "Something meaty."
"Are you thinking about going after those two-legged things in the open valley?" pondered a surprised Eira. "You must be joking! You can't take them on by yourself!"
"Pfft the humans or the other guys?" he cackled. "Sorry, but by some stupid circumstances, they're off limits. Even if they weren't, I'm not stupid enough to go after them myself."
"Then what are you referring to?" went the alpha Troodon.
Rascal perked his head up and haughtily walked around the starving pack. "Well, I don't know. You guys may be interested. You may not. You bozos can continue going about in this bitter cold, or you can come with me for an easier buffet."
"Please, just tell us," begged the female alpha. "If you say there's more food we can go for, we're willing to listen."
The orange carnivore grinned. Perfect, they fell for it.
"There's a place here where the humans store their food for my dang neighbors...and themselves. Getting to it is a bit tricky since it's usually under heavy guard. But, with all this snow and the other grass chewers running about enjoying the place, we may have a chance to get at the spoils. Still, we'll need to play up some serious stealth to get to it. But seeing as you guys are so desperate, I don't think that'll be much of a problem."
The Troodons looked at each other, interested. Whispers went about, followed by nods and smiles. Once they finished discussing, they all looked back at him, with Patch being the one to act as their voice.
"What's your plan?"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Several minutes later...
Out of all the buildings within Temporary Park, none was more unique or outlandish than the greenhouse. It was basically an expansive piece of architecture with clear domes, tiled windows, limited entrances, and enough space to accommodate enough vegetation for several herbivorous Residents. At least, that was how it looked like to a Troodon. Trees, both tropical and temperate, reached towards the domes. Steam from a couple of the rooms fogged up the windows thanks to the automated moisture systems. Concrete walls lined the one-floor building, which were ideal in keeping the heat inside.
While the greenhouse was also a food storage for humans and Residents, only humans were allowed inside. It was a precautionary measure to control the amount of food given to the Residents...and to make sure no Resident would break inside to get at the food meant to last them the whole stay. The warehouse was also guarded by humans and always locked up; a response to the last few break-ins back in Prehistoric Park made by a couple of small carnivores.
Rascal was right about it being guarded. However, today seemed to be easy for them since there were not a lot of humans roaming about. The cold weather and the snow pulled them away from lookout duties. Still, he guided the pack around the standing poles (that had security cameras, something he found annoying since his first stay in the park), and the few humans that remained on guard.
They managed to make it to a corner of one of the buildings. From there, they could see two humans guarding the sliding door entrance. Two was the best they can deal with. Easy enough. Then that was ruined when two more came, making the predator scowl. No doubt those two came to take over the other two's positions. It was made a bit more difficult, but not much of a problem still.
The humans around the park all wore those ridiculous layers to keep them warm. While it did help them survive, they were a detriment in their mobility. Troodons had natural speed on their side despite the furry downs they had. Speed and stealth were needed for Rascal's next phase of the plan.
He instructed one Troodon to sneak up behind the humans. Because he knew the layout of the park the best, Patch and Eira gave him command of the pack for the duration of the raid. The temporary period of command had made him cocky and overconfident, something he tried to hide as best as he could.
The pack watched as the lone, dark blue Troodon grabbed one of the humans' knapsacks from the ground and ran past them. The humans had little time to react as the predator bolted around a building corner. The guards, flustered and upset, grabbed their stun guns and tranquilizers before running after the crazed thief, leaving the greenhouse unguarded.
Rascal smirked. Phase one was complete. Their decoy will continue to keep them busy while they broke inside to get what they needed. The most he could do was keep them away for several minutes, enough time for them to get moving with the plan.
The pack hurried over to the front door. Using his tail, Rascal pressed the button on the far right, causing the sliding door to open. He kept his tail on the button to allow the rest of the pack to go inside before releasing it, thus catching up to them.
The heat in the building was nearly overwhelming compared to the winter air. Their scales and feathers shuddered at the sudden humidity. The room they came into was made for the more tropical vegetation. Palm trees, ferns, cycads, fruit trees, and all sorts of tropical plants lined the whole room.
The floor was covered with leafy debris and wood chips, making it an artificial forest.
The Troodons stalked the human-made woods. Ladders and cutting tools lined the inside for humans to use for retrieving the vegetation. Some of the plants, both big and small, were cut or sheared of their green appendages. They needed to watch their step to avoid cutting themselves or tripping by accident.
Rascal then found the rooms they were after; the produce and deli rooms. He used his claws to grab onto the door handle and push down. Following that, he instructed Patch to do the same in the adjacent room.
Sneaking inside, the Troodons were in awe of the shelves lined with fruits and vegetables. The dark room was always kept at a cold temperature, but not as cold as the outside. Through the see-through glass, which was made different by the metal linings at the edges, Rascal could see the other room having shelves filled with frozen meat. These two rooms were basically large freezers and refrigerators.
The pack worked quickly with the raid. Rascal instructed them to use the plastic sacks on the wall to keep the food in. They got as many fruits and meat as they could. His own prizes were a medium-sized steak loin and a large turkey, both of which were out left in bags outside on a table to defrost by a couple of humans.
The one thing he was rather annoyed with was how much of a mess they were making. Fruits and meats were dropping on the floor because of their clumsiness. Rascal yelled at them for not being so subtle. He was not much of a neat freak so there was nothing much he could do.
Their bags filled to the brim, he instructed the pack to vacate. The mess in the rooms are the humans' problem now. Maybe they'll think some other humans were being a bit too clumsy.
It did not take them very long to escape the greenhouse. They shuddered at the familiar cold wind, their bodies longing for that endless heat inside. Their bags filled with food in tow, they started cheering as soon as they made it in the forest nearby.
Once they found a good glade surrounded by trees and bushes, they dug into their spoils.
Rascal relished in the familiar feel of squishy skin and fleshy texture. They were still cold, but they were better than grass-chewer food.
His attuned hearing picked up on the feasting sounds of the other Troodons, with Patch being the loudest as he was next to him, gulping down the various berries he got from the shelves.
"These berries are delicious!" the pack leader reveled in the taste of the exotic fruits. "They're better than the ones around here. I have to admit, this was easier than foraging. Well, it kind of is in a way."
"See? What'd I tell you?" Rascal made a cocky snort. "It's as easy as raiding an abandoned nest."
He felt his ego go up again as the sounds of agreement from the other Troodons went off. So far, so good.
"Thank you," Patch thanked with a nod, "Winter is usually hard for all of us. With little resources available, survival can be difficult."
"Eh, what can I say? I just wanted to do you all a service."
Rascal tore at another piece of his turkey. His jaws, while thin, chomped on the leg bone he picked out. The crunching noises pervaded as he held his piece down with his claws and bit at every part of the bone.
As he busily feasted on his prey, his attention was broken again when Patch called over to his mate.
"Eira, is everything alright? Do you like your food?"
"What? Oh yes, it's delicious," she dismissively replied and nibbled away at the steak and sliced watermelon she stole.
The alpha sighed and face-palmed. "Eira, you can't fool me. I know something troubles you."
"Oh..." she stopped and frowned at him. "It's just, what we just did, I can't shake the feeling that it's not right."
Patch perked in confusion. "What?"
Rascal rasped out a frustrated hiss, making the other Troodons stare at them. "What the? Oh come on! You guys were hungry. It only made sense to go for the thing that's easiest to get. I practically helped you guys out."
"I know!" she then sighed, now uneasy. "But...it just doesn't seem right. I understand that what we did was out of survival, but I can't shake what Rascal has been telling us about these humans."
Oh great...the one thing he did not want to deal with right now; conflicting opinions. He did not expect this to happen. They were all supposed to fall in line with him. They were supposed to follow him without a second thought. And now this girl was voicing out her concern? He thought he covered his bases. He thought this excursion would get them over to his side. Apparently not!
Rascal kept calm. If he played his cards right, things would go off the way they should.
"The fact that they're pests and idiots?" he responded.
"Well, no. If they were, then what of the stories you've been telling us of them catering to you? Rascal, they've practically been looking after you. You're still alive because of them. And they're being repaid by us stealing?"
"Lady, I don't know what's gotten into you, but I've had some bad times with those bozos. Heck, I wouldn't mind if there was an opportunity to get the heck out of that park," Rascal explained, revealing one of his true intentions.
Patch pondered at that, which all the more made the orange Troodon irritated. "Hm...my mate does make a point. Those humans showed no harm. And if they have been looking after the Residents of this valley, then perhaps they're not as bad as they seem."
Rascal let out an exasperated hiss. "WHAT!? You can't be serious!?"
"Rascal, I don't know why you have such negativity with these beings, but you should feel honored to be living with them. The fact that they feed you and look after you is a privilege."
Eira nodded, agreeing with her mate. "I don't know what your past is like, but from what we've seen, we'd gladly trade our lives here for what you have. In fact, if such an opportunity arises, living with these humans would be a miracle."
As if things could not get any worse, the others started agreeing with them. Great...just great.
"They do have a lot of food," said one female.
Another one, a male, sounded off excited. "You think they'll give us a place to stay like Rascal?"
"I wouldn't mind that," agreed a high-pitched teenager.
Rascal groaned and stood up, annoyed. "Ya'll are fricking crazy!"
The other Troodons fell quiet. The panting outsider glared at them all angrily. His claws clenched into fists. Shock and intimidation pervaded the pack.
The only one to speak out was Patch, who was unafraid of this side of their new ally.
"I may not know you very well," he said, getting the irate carnivore's attention, "but something tells me that you are troubled."
"What'chu talkin' 'bout?" the mafia-esque Resident raised a brow.
"I've watched you for a while from afar. I haven't seen any other Troodon like you, leading me to believe you're the only one living with those humans. You have no pack of your own, do you?"
Rascal huffed. "Yeah? What of it?"
"Why do you torment them? They've done you no wrong."
"Because it's fun," he quickly answered.
"That may be," Patch continued prying into the outsider's mind. "Or it's because you're just troubled and seeing their misery is a form of satisfaction. I think the reason why you're not grateful towards these humans, the reason why you've seen them as nuisances, is because you're the only one there. You're not part of any pack. You're alone."
Rascal growled, baring his teeth as if he were ready to tear him apart. Some of the other Troodons stood up and went to their leader's side, only for them to back off when Patch raised a claw to ease them.
"So what if I am? I've lived alone for a while. I've got a life of luxury and all the food I could ever ask for. It's working fine for me."
Patch shook his head. "That's not what I'm seeing. Why don't you join us?"
The pack whispered and gasped. They shook their heads or stared in surprise at their leader. After how he acted in such a manner, their leader was willing to let him join? Rascal, equally dumbfounded, stammered before responding.
"Seriously?"
"Yes. I think we can all agree that our lives in this polar forest is rather harsh compared to yours. Perhaps if we go to these humans, they may be able to help us. And with us living in the park, you wouldn't be alone."
Rascal, albeit automatically, put his claw on the side of his face. Either he was confused, or honored, or both, but he had never heard something like that before. He was not one for any sentiment, however Patch and his pack were willing to let him join. He was supposed to get the pack to join him, not the other way around. However, after hearing Patch say what the orange Troodon was really going through, he could not help but have a bit of respect for him.
Was that why he was tormenting others? Was it because he was alone? He had no pack to call his own, but being a part of another one?
There were pros and cons to this. If he did join, he would not be the only Troodon in the park. They would perform mischief on a slightly bigger scale, though he doubted Patch and Eira would be agreeable to that. The pack would be happy since they would stay at the park. Plus, there were some cute females in the group he could try his luck on. But this would also mean him tormenting others would have to be dulled down.
As he pondered away, Patch continued eating as his meal.
"Well," he ate some blackberries and raspberries, "it's just something to think about. But I hope you'll consider it. Perhaps later we can approach these humans about our request."
"Whatever," Rascal took another bite of his turkey and faced away from the pack. "I still think ya'll are crazy."
With nothing left to say, Patch ate at his spoils, the rest of the pack following suit. As they did, Rascal contemplated on the pack leader's words. Truth be told, he did feel a little better with them around. It was as if some hole inside him was filled up. He felt like he was a part of something again. Maybe Patch was right. Maybe the reason why he had been tormenting the humans was because he had no friends himself, or a pack. The last one he was in, he got kicked out for being a nuisance to them. These guys, well, they relied on him for survival. Him and their leaders.
They all regarded him as one of their own, even though he sounded disrespectful and rash. Sure, the leaders may be looking at him like some kind of child, but they appreciated him. They accepted him for who he was.
Become part of their pack and give up on his tormenting antics or turn them away to continue being alone. It was something he needed to consider. And he needed more than a good hearty meal or another raid to help with his decision.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
It had been a few days since the snow started to fall. Even though it was a new experience for Residents, they managed to take it in stride. With further help from the humans, they were able to manipulate snow into some very interesting things: making wads of snow called "snowballs", odd monolith called "snowmen", even piles of snow and ice into walls named "igloos". The Keepers and Residents created massive igloos and snow forts for additional places for the Residents to reside in. It was different, really cold when they first entered the impromptu structure, but having a few warm bodies inside the domes of snow and ice quickly turned the chilled temperatures into something a bit more comfortable to sleep in. Naturally, only medium to small Residents were allowed to use the snow forts, large Residents like the Rexes, Sauropods, or other similarly sized creatures still had to use the tents. However, with most of the smaller sized creatures vacating the tents, the veterinarians now had more space for the sick or injured to be treated.
Besides the Vets, the rest of the Keepers had to keep on top of their duties now that they had to work around the beautiful, yet cumbersome snowfall. Engineers had to clear the ice off of their equipment daily, Keepers had to make sure the Residents' food and water didn't freeze over, and even the non-Keeper workers had to have additional duties in the form of making sure snow and ice didn't form in the Park's frequented places, like the roads, doorways, and storage areas.
Despite this, it didn't mean that the employees couldn't enjoy themselves.
In fact, Chris Sinclair was traveling to the "Prehistoric Polar Palace", the snow fort that he and the four Protoceratops siblings made for the younglings to play in. The rookie Keeper remembered reading somewhere that Protoceratops lived in underground burrows, so making a fort in the snow for the girls to dig around in was good for them; they got to have fun playing house AND they get to be somewhat in touch to their heritage. Despite his rocky start with the ceratopsian younglings, he had to admit, the girls were starting to grow on them. At the siblings' request, he was on his way to their little snow fort to "further fortify their defenses", which he surprisingly obliged.
"Hell, I'm going soft," Chris murmured to himself. Despite this, he couldn't find it in himself to get mad. He enjoyed the little ones' youthful perspective from time to time.
"Hey Sinclair! You got a sec?" At the call of his name, Chris turned to see two women Keepers struggling to push an ATV hitched to a flatbed carrying some supplies for the Residents. The reason they had this instead of trucks was to minimize the evidence that vehicles were in the ancient past. Naturally, the ATVs were suited for outdoors of summer Alaska, but they didn't perform too well in the deep snowfall of winter.
"What seems to be the problem, ladies?" Chris asked as he approached the duo.
"We've been stuck with hauling all of this food to the Residents, and our ATV and flatbed keeps getting stuck in this damn snow!" one of the Keepers complained as she futilely shoved the stuck vehicle to no avail.
"We've tried to put sand and gravel under the tires, but it's not working," her friend continued off the struggling Keeper. "We tried to find some chains for our tires, but we didn't pack any considering we were supposed to be here during summer."
Chris was pondering his choices for a moment, before perking up.
"Do you guys have your tire pump?" The Rookie Keeper asked. The girls gave him the pump without question. He then proceeded to crouch on the ground next to the ATV's tires and attached the tire pump to it.
"Hey, hey! What are you doing?!"
"Releasing some of the air from your tires." Chris answered as he released the air of the next set of ATV tires. At the girls' confused expressions, Chris preemptively provided his reasoning. "When I was stuck in the snow and didn't have snow-chains, I learned that having more surface area on your tires makes cars move more easily." As he finished up, Chris stood up and nodded. "Okay, give it a try."
With skepticism, the two ladies revved their ATV and prompted the motorized bike forward. To their amazement, their ATV and cargo steadily made its way forward.
"Awesome! You did it!" The female keeper cheered.
"Just make sure you refill your tires with air again when you're done. Keeping your tire pressure low isn't good for your ATV in the long run," Chris informed.
"Thanks for the help Sinclair!" The duo said. "If we went to Hazel for help, we would just get the runaround and not get anything done."
Chris quirked a brow at the mention of the irritating Veran but chose to ignore that little offhand comment. "No problem ladies. Happy to help."
With a wave goodbye, the duo and the Rookie Keeper went their separate ways. As he resumed his trek to where his ceratopsian charges were, he reflected on the odd circumstances he experienced for the past few days. Keepers coming to him for his opinion on certain tasks, the other heads of the departments asking for his assistance with their tasks, even the Residents approaching him to settle squabbles and disputes amongst each other. At first, he thought it was just overflowing from Hazel's apparent duties as leader, but he hasn't seen the hide nor hair of his "boss" for some time. It annoyed Chris that he was stuck playing mediator to the park along with his already numerous duties as head keeper. Despite all the flak he gave the young woman, he didn't envy her position and the stresses that came with it. He clearly understood his position in this little park hierarchy and was content with his difficult yet rewarding workload.
"That still doesn't solve where the heck Veran screwed off to…" the Rookie Keeper thought aloud. Chris shook off his lingering thoughts about his overhyped boss and continued his trek.
Along the way, the Keeper came practically face to face with the Park's Resident Carnotaurus. Nearly everyone avoided him like the plague, and for good reason if what Chris heard was true. However, whether it be his good mood for the past few days or if he wanted to get his own opinion of the abnormally large carnivore, he approached the predator with cautious optimism.
"Morning. Or afternoon. I don't know what time it is nowadays," Chris greeted.
The friendliness honestly caught the Carnotaur off guard. He had always had a predatory air about him that warded the lesser creatures from him. However, here was this human male greeting him like they were friends.
"Greetings human…" the Carnotaur started.
"You're name's Diablo, right?" Chris continued, encouraged by the response from the Cretaceous carnivore.
"That's what you Keepers tend to call me nowadays, yes."
"Oh, Diablo isn't your given name?" the rookie Keeper questioned, now genuinely curious. "What's your name then?"
Diablo just gave a deep chuckle. "No, human. We are not familiar enough for you to know my name."
Chris just shrugged noncommittally. "Alright then, your call Big Red."
"You are very accommodating for a human," Diablo said with an arched brow. "Usually, your feeble leader Veran goes out of her way to annoy me to no end to pry into my business."
It was Chris' turn to chuckle.
"Well, I'll take that as a compliment. Anything for me to get a one up on my so called 'Leader'," the Keeper then casually walked around Diablo, which prompted the carnivore's eyes to follow him. "So Big Red, wanna come with? I'm going to check up on my charges playing in the herd grounds."
"Are you not afraid that I'm going to devour you, human?" the carnivore asked, prompting a faux intimidating stance.
"Oh, don't get me wrong. I know you can kill me in an instant," Chris confessed, still not phased. "However, killing me wouldn't be worth all the flak you would get from the others, and I'm pretty sure you would at the very least want to avoid Veran nagging your ear off. You seem to be the kind of guy who values his time and hates actions that don't give you favorable results."
At Chris' clinical response, Diablo just chortled at the sheer absurdity of the Rookie Keeper.
"Haha! You are quite the odd one, Keeper!"
"I aim to please," Chris said with a smirk.
"However, I don't see why I should follow you." Diablo pointed out.
"Well, why not? It's not like you have a busy schedule."
"Hmph, point taken." the Carnotaur relented.
Chris waved the predator to follow.
"Well come on then. I got places to be, and you're big enough to need more exercise, Big Red."
"My size is fine, human!"
"Not according to fossil records," Chris murmured.
As the unlikely duo continued on their way, they garnered a lot of attention from other Keepers and Residents. Even though everyone was slowly getting used to the predators roaming around, they had an unspoken rule about avoiding the normally ornery Carnotaurus so that they could avoid his ire. However, Chris and Diablo traded words, jokes and jabs at each other like old friends. The one binding factor of this fast friendship was their sheer dislike for Hazel, one finding her annoying, the other actually harboring lethal intentions for her. They made many barbed and back-handed comments about the annoying Asian woman. They honestly lost track of time, and before they knew it, reached the end of their walk.
When they arrived, Chris and Diablo were treated to an unusual sight. Chris' coworkers, Ellis and Daisy, were seemingly finished with their duties and were taking it easy with a handful of other workers. Hazel's sister Hanna was off to the side, curiously holding onto a handful of one-handed hatchets. She handed the Rookie Engineer an axe and he began to narrow his eyes at a crudely painted target, which he then threw with the accuracy of a drunken blind man. Their prehistoric partners Espantos and Kerato were off to the side with his four young charges, watching the humans with interest.
"What in the world are you guys doing?" Chris questioned as he crossed his arms. Everyone turned to him, and even though they greeted Chris warmly, the Residents and Keepers were wary about Chris' predatory tagalong. However, they were somewhat put at ease when the Rookie Keeper was relaxed around the Carnotaurus, with the carnivore in a similar relaxed state.
Daisy, Hanna and Ellis approached him, Ellis relaxing his ready-position as he handed back the axe the younger Veran sister gave previously.
"Well, we're seeing who here has the 'deadest eye' at throwing axes," Ellis answered for the group.
Chris cocked his brow.
"Deadest eye at throwing axes? What are you, Kratos?" The Keeper rhetorically asked with a snort. "Besides, wouldn't a gun or bow and arrow be a better test of how accurate you are?"
Daisy spoke up. "Well according to Ellis, we don't have any bullets besides the taser darts, and they don't travel that far."
"And if anyone touches my bow, I'd castrate them," Hanna commented with a straight face.
"Hmm, rather vicious for a Veran-human. You sure Hazel is your kin?" Diablo playfully asked with a smirk. Surprisingly Hanna gave a polite giggle.
"Right…" Chris slowly started before turning to Ellis. "Well, ignoring Lady-Legolas, your form is terrible. You should have left foot forward, twist your body, and flick your wrist as you follow through with your throw."
Ellis held out his hands in a surrendering manner.
"Well shit, excuuuse me Princess," the engineer said obnoxiously. "We all didn't grow up in the wilderness of Northwest Washington."
"I grew up in Seattle, Washington. I'm not exactly Bear Grylls, Rey." Chris said with a chuckle. "I learned most of my outdoorsy stuff from my grandparents. They loved traveling the world and mostly traveled to Alaska. They showed me a thing or two about wilderness survival."
"Well, how about you show us these 'Special Skills' then, Brian Robeson?"
"First off, nice Hatchet reference," the well-read Keeper complimented. "Secondly, I don't need to prove anything to you people."
"Sas parakaloúme (please) Chris. It is a rather entertaining competition," Daisy pleaded. "This is the only time when the majority of the Keepers are on break."
"Besides, at the rate we're going, Ellis is gonna blunt all of the axes before he hits his target." Hanna snarked.
"No way, I'll leave you to your floundering," Chris refused. "I'm gonna spend some time with the Protoceratops girls and Big Red until my next shift. See ya later."
The prehistoric quadruplets groaned but followed obediently. Ellis just smirked.
"What's the matter, McFly? Chicken?!" The engineer taunted.
Sinclair froze in place before turning on his heel. With a smirk on his face, he shook his head as he snatched up a hatchet from Hanna.
Chris snidely commented, "It's 'what's wrong,' not 'what's the matter'."
With steady aim, Chris Sinclair launched his hatchet.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Hazel was frustrated at how slowly progress was being made. The damn snow slowed everything down to a crawl and the responsibilities just seemed to keep piling up. The young woman felt like she was constantly being crushed by the weight of her duties, but she pushed that to the back of her mind. No time to feel sorry for herself. She was grateful that she finished her paperwork and reports to the Present; thank goodness for small mercies. However, she was curious exactly how she was able to finish all her reports uninterrupted. At the beginning of their trip to Cretaceous Alaska, Hazel could barely move two feet without other Keepers coming to her for advice. It was only natural since she had the most real-world experience in the prehistoric past. Now, she had an unusual amount of time to herself. Any other time, she would have been enjoying this reprieve, but she was too busy wondering where a large chunk of her Keepers went.
"Where in the world is everyone?" The Temporary Park leader wondered as she looked around the area for her subordinates, to no success. Before she considered giving up and tending to some other duty around the park, a few Keepers rushed past her, one even bumping past her. "Hey, watch it!"
The keeper was aware enough to be sheepish. "Sorry ma'am!"
"Where is everybody going? Why isn't anyone at their station?" Hazel asked with a slight frown.
"Sinclair is challenging anyone to an axe-throwing contest and is pulling off some crazy shots. We're gonna watch!`` The man quickly turned and chased after his friends who were already ahead of him.
Hazel's frown turned into a full-blown scowl. Figures that the ever-present thorn in her side was responsible for this problem. The Leader trudged off in the direction of where the Keepers fled and was astonished at what she saw.
A crowd of 20 or so people and a huge group of Residents were gathered behind four specific people; the very people who she had to train with.
Ellis was off to the side with his hat off collecting money and small bits of food from the Residents, most likely gathering bets for this impromptu contest. Daisy was carrying a sizable whiteboard, writing down and crossing off various bets and challenges that were issued and completed. A certain meathead Keeper was lodging hatchet after hatchet into various targets strung about the area. And her loving sister Hanna was off to the side, handing axes to Sinclair, failing to keep her swooning of the older Keeper to herself.
"Okay everyone, place your bets! Place your bets!" Ellis called out as he kept on collecting money.
Daisy crossed out a challenge. "Chris just completed the "three bullseyes under five seconds" challenge! Any other bets or challenges?"
"Ten bucks if he can get a bullseye from twenty yards!" A keeper spoke up.
"Split that thick branch off with one throw for five moss rocks!" Ilana the Edmontonia betted.
"Can you hit the bark off one of those trees? I'll give you six grubs…" a little scarred Edmontosaurus offered.
Surprisingly, a familiar warble called out that suspiciously sounded like a scoff. Espantos strode forth and said, "Lame! I'll bet 20 pounds of steak for a joint bet between Keeper friend Chrissy and Hanny Bananny!"
Amazingly, Chris seemed interested in the normally childish Terror Bird.
"Ooh, 20 pounds huh? Well isn't that interesting?" Chris smirked. "I got to hear this."
"Hit those two targets with your axe thing and your sharp stick at the same time from where you are!" the targets in question were 5-yards apart and would be difficult to land a hit for either of them.
"How about it Hanna? Wanna split the prize?" the rookie Keeper asked.
"Well, if you can cook it medium rare, I'm in!" the teen archer replied.
Chris, to Hazel's horror, smiled at the young teen. "Done deal, how we doing this?"
Hanna took out her bow as she took her place beside the Rookie keeper. At a few moments of deliberation, Hanna perked up.
"Chris, I want you to aim right between the two targets and throw it on my mark."
The Keeper arched a brow. "You sure you want that steak?"
Hanna responded with a playful shove. "Just trust me, ok?"
Chris looked off to the side and spotted Diablo, and to Hazel's surprise, the Keeper smirked at the devious carnivore.
"How 'bout it, Big Red? You want in on this action?"
Diablo scoffed.
"I've seen your lethality so far, Sinclair. Why bet against a steak?" The Carnotaur stood up and stretched as he approached the human duo, putting Hazel on edge since he was nearing her sister. "In fact, I have so much faith in your abilities, how about another obstacle?"
Diablo squatted in front of the two competitors, in between the two targets.
"I will sit here in front of you two and if you two can hit your targets, I'll double Espantos' bet. If not and you hit me, I'll take what you have AND tear you in half," the Cretaceous carnivore said with a straight face. This put Hazel even more on edge, but what even surprised her even more was the fact that Hanna and Chris scoffed and waved off Diablo's threat of death.
The other keepers chattered and jeered, some even betting against the two human competitors. Daisy and Ellis silenced them and ended the conflict by getting everyone to bet five dollars each for the humans and simple snacks from the Residents, creating a respectable yet sizable pot for the winners.
Chris didn't have any more to say as he got into his throwing position. The young Veran sister nocked back an arrow. The other Keepers and Residents watched on in anticipation.
"Three. Two. One. Loose!"
Chris threw his hatchet, watching it fly. After a beat, Hanna loosed her arrow as well. Amazingly, Hanna's arrow ricocheted off the axe's head and diverted both the arrow and hatchet. Both projectiles veered off and practically glided past the composed Diablo's hide as they hit their intended targets dead center!
Everyone cheered at the amazing shot.
"Hell yeah! First try!" Hanna screamed.
"Oh, thank the Maker. I thought I was going to get those things lodged in my face…" Diablo murmured under his breath.
Chris just shook his head, clearly impressed with the insane trick shot.
"Nice shootin' there, 'Arrowette'!"
Hazel had enough of this waste of time. She stomped forward, her mere presence causing the other Keepers and Residents to part like the Red Sea. Most of the people who experienced Hazel's ire in the past few weeks looked as if they had their hands in the cookie jar and immediately clammed up and looked down at the ground guiltily. As she approached, the rest of her "Crew" finally took notice of her arrival. Ellis and Daisy wisely looked cautious while her sister Hanna was currently confused at the change of atmosphere as Hazel approached. However, Chris was frustratingly relaxed and had the audacity to give her an easygoing smile.
"Ah, there you are Hazel! I've been wondering where you were," Chris greeted. If the young woman wasn't so agitated, she would have been surprised that the Keeper used her actual name rather than her last name or some other nickname.
"What in the world is all this?" Hazel tensely asked.
"Me and the Keepers are just having a little R&R," Chris then chuckled as he looked around at the other Keepers. "I guess 'Axe Throwing' was what's on the menu today."
"Well this crap ends now," the rookie leader ordered without hesitance. Her stern tone immediately killed the mood of the other Keepers as they watched on. "We have so much work left, and you are all playing?! I want everyone to stop horsing around and to get back to work!"
Everyone there was caught flatfooted when the normally cheerful Hazel was barking orders and criticizing people. It was jarring to say the least. Many of the keepers flinched away at the piercing gaze of their young superior, even the other Department Heads shifted a bit uncomfortably. The only one to recover was Sinclair.
Furrowing his brows, Chris spoke up for his comrades. "I know the situation isn't ideal right now, but we pretty much have this entire place on lockdown."
"Excuse me?" Hazel slowly said with an edge to her voice.
The Keeper's retort caught the others off guard since usually when Hazel orders something of them, they go along with it. However, Chris and Hazel had two opposing personalities that made coexisting impossible with each other.
Sinclair exhaled heavily through his nose before trying to be cordial again.
"Look Veran, I get it. We're in dire straits. But everyone's been working hard. I think we deserve a break."
"We don't have time for breaks, Sinclair!" Hazel bit out. She then shifted her gaze to the other heads of her team. "We need more maintenance of the White Noise Cannons and even more defenses, we have even more sick Residents occupying the sickbay, and where do I find you guys? Here, horsing around, wasting time and resources, and making my sister gamble!"
"Okay, that's enough!" the Rookie Keeper snapped. "I was trying to be nice a second ago but let me put it in a way that will get through to your stubborn skull. WE have worked very hard and are on a break we rightfully deserve. We were having a good time without your overbearing bitchiness. So, either dial back the rudeness and try joining in on the fun, or you can fuck right the hell off."
Hazel practically ground her teeth to dust.
"If everyone was on top of things, we wouldn't have lost so many Pachyrhinosaurs to carnivores! Or if someone were on top of things, we wouldn't be stuck in the Cretaceous period during a damn Alaskan winter!"
The two were so invested in their little screaming match that they apparently forgot, or most likely didn't care, about the other Keepers and Residents watching on in morbid fascination and fear. Chris was frustrated at this point as he tried to reclaim his composure, he toyed around with the two hatchets in his hands, irritably and rapidly sharpening the axe heads against each other to relieve some of the anger brewing in his head.
After a heavy breath, Chris stepped forth again and tried to compose himself again. "I'm not going to pretend that this is a favorable outcome, but we are working through it and adapting. I suggest that you do the same, Veran."
"What I want people to do, is follow my commands and to do their jobs without complaints! I am the leader here and I have had it up to HERE with all this damn insubordination!" Hazel roared as she vaguely gestured her hand to the top of her head to punctuate her lack of tolerance of the resistance of her coworkers.
Wearing an insulting smirk, the towering Chris Sinclair physically stooped down to meet Hazel at her considerably shorter eye level. "You haven't demonstrated any worthwhile leadership qualities or any reasons why we should follow you, little girl."
"Y-yeah. He's right!" a woman Keeper slowly agreed. The one agreement was enough to spark the other keepers to speak up.
"Sinclair is a better leader!"
"He's been with us every step of the way."
"Where have you been while we struggled?!"
The fact that Hazel was a bit sensitive about her diminutive size stung a bit. However, the Keeper's offhand comment apparently struck a chord with the other Keepers of the park.
Chris was flattered that the other Keepers thought so highly of him, but he honestly didn't want to lead these people. He was happy in his current position in life, thank you very much. However, his boiling anger at his so-called "superior" caused him to disregard any respect he may have had for her. He may not have foreseen this, but his actions helping around the park gathered him a following that unintentionally undermined Hazel's authority. Normally, he would have tried to correct his coworkers' way of thinking, but he was too much on a roll putting the young leader in her place.
Chris continued to rail against Hazel as he adopted a serious expression.
"I did a little research about you when we were in the Present when I first started working for Nigel, and I got to say, I'm not impressed," the Rookie keeper began as he glared at the woman.
"Face it Veran, you are NOTHING without your self-important title! Everything special about you came from sheer dumb luck. You're only 'Leader' because you were dumb enough to antagonize a 4-ton Iguanodon into punting you into a lake with highly experimental tech on and frying your brain. You're only Leader because you were the first rookie that Nigel threw into the field to test said experimental tech on a whim," Sinclair then got close to Hazel and leaned down to whisper in her ear his final coup de grace. "You are only Leader, because Nigel took pity on you after he took your father with him on an adventure and your daddy drowned to the bottom of the Atlantic."
"YOU BASTARD!"
Hazel tackled the antagonistic Keeper off his feet and proceeded to wail on him with a flurry of fists. Hearing each and every barb Chris spoke of felt like a stab to her heart and confidence as a leader, but the mere mention and dismissal of her father engulfed her in an inferno of pure rage and hurt, which led to her lashing out in a fury. The startled gasps and shrieks from the other Keepers and Residents were ignored, even from her friends. All that mattered was inflicting as much hurt to the vile man who even dared speak ill of the reason for her fractured family.
Despite her rage fueled aggression, the Rookie Keeper was naturally stronger than the lithe Asian girl. Chris managed to headbutt and kicked Hazel away, dazing her slightly. Standing back up and spitting some blood off to the side, Chris approached the downed Hazel.
"Okay, I deserved that. I'll let you have that one. But you know I'm right, so for now, you are going to take some time off to clear your head while I take over your position for the time being," Chris said as he stooped down to physically restrain her and get her to her personal quarters.
In Hazel's blind fury, all that she processed was "take over your position", which incensed her even more. As Sinclair got within arm's length of her, Hazel lashed out with her dagger. Luckily, Chris jumped back and got away with a gash on his arm and a deep wound across his chest. Acting on instinct, the Keeper gave a backhand swing with one of his hatchets and slammed the flat of his axe head to the center of Hazel's chest. The rookie leader flew back a few feet and stumbled back; there was definitely a few bruised ribs. The hot-tempered man and woman glared at each other and lunged with the ferocity of rabid animals. However, this was when the others stepped in.
Seeing a flash of black from her peripheral, Hazel only had a split second to process the odd sight before her entire body felt like it was struck by lightning. The only reason she could say with confidence that she was struck with some type of electricity was because of her prior experience with having her old Communicator short-circuiting her brain. Compared to that, the surprise attack was only slightly less painful. Shaking off her agony, Hazel was met with an astonishing sight.
The meek medic Daisy, now with a glare that looked lethal enough to kill, was blocking the young leader from exacting her righteous vengeance, and in her hands arching with energy was an oversized electrical prod; at least she knew where her prior pain came from.
"Meínete makriá, skýla!" (Stay away, bitch!) Daisy swore. "Malakas! (motherfucker) what is wrong with you?!"
Behind the glaring Grecian, Ellis and Hanna had to physically restrain the muscular rookie Keeper from charging any further. Chris was snarling and struggling to get loose from his younger coworkers, but the younger duo held firm. Before Hazel could even think about capitalizing on this situation, her friends stepped in.
Aladar used his bulk to physically create a wall to cut off the quarreling pair. Flia on the other hand, bodily shoved her human partner away and squawked at Hazel to back away. Why in the world was Flia and Aladar getting in her way?
"Hazel! What the heck are you doing?!" Flia screeched.
Confusion made its way on Hazel's face. Before she could speak up, her thoughts were cut off as her surroundings erupted in a frenzy. Keepers, Alaskan denizens, and Residents rabbled and brayed in fear, concern, and even disgust; all directed toward the young woman. Shrugging off Hanna and Ellis at last, having reigned his boiling fury to a simmer, Chris scowled at the young Leader.
"Did you see that?! Discount 'Lara Croft' here tried to kill me!" Chris roared.
Slapping his shoulder, Ellis shoved the older man back.
"Dude, calm the hell down," the rookie Engineer scolded with a rare firm tone in his voice.
Heavily sighing, Hanna stepped forward, garnering the attention of humans and Residents.
"It's probably best if we all get back to work and disperse AWAY from here," the younger Veran suggested.
Hanna's eyes never left her older sister. The sheer amount of palpable disgust and disappointment pierced Hazel's heart. What was worse, the Keepers and Residents followed her sister's orders, with similar looks of disappointment adorning their faces. Interestingly enough, Kerato, Espantos, and the four little Protoceratops stayed behind and gathered around Chris, Ellis, Daisy, and Hanna to check on the older man's injuries.
Aladar and Flia prompted the Asian woman to follow them a short distance away. Hazel felt like she was being sent to her high school principal's office. It made her embarrassed and irritated at the same time. As they arrived at the edge of the Park's territory, Aladar and Flia gave her stern looks, which prompted Hazel to break the silence.
"What?! Are you guys taking Sinclair's side now too?!"
"You don't get to be indignant right now, Hazel!" Flia snapped. "What you did was crazy. You could have disemboweled Chris with that spike-knife thing!"
"That was the idea…" Hazel muttered.
"Hazel!" Flia admonished.
Aladar intervened before the girls could say something to each other that they would regret. "This isn't like you Hazel, tell us what's wrong."
"Isn't it obvious grass-chewer? Veran hates being questioned."
The trio was surprised at the unexpected voice. Approaching them was the last creature they expected to see. Diablo slowly stalked toward them and stopped a respectable distance away; far enough away to not put them too on edge, but close enough to have their attention.
Hazel scowled. "Just great! I don't have enough energy to deal with you right now, Diablo. Buzz off!"
Diablo was nonplussed at the outburst. He just arched a brow.
"You need to calm down and stop being so angry. And if this is coming from me, that's saying something."
"What do you mean that 'Hazel hates being questioned'?" Aladar asked.
"What I mean is that Hazel has the tendency to scream at those who question her when things don't go her way," the Carnotaurus started.
"I DO NOT!" Hazel screamed.
"Case and point," Diablo said without skipping a beat before shifting his gaze at the angry girl. "You have an inflexible way of thinking girl, and don't handle adversity well."
"Word around the Park paints a very interesting picture of you, Veran," the carnivore started. "When you first met this wretch's Herd, you argued against that purple fool that led to your banishment."
"Careful Diablo, that's my old boss," Flia bit out.
The Carnotaur continued.
"When you were faced against the green buffoon Nero, you screamed at him until he kicked you into a lake and nearly died. Even when faced with the laws of surviving in our world, you became so emotional that you practically abandoned your friends," Diablo then looked at both Flia and Aladar. "Are you two sensing a pattern here, or is it just me?"
"Do you have a point to all this?" Hazel bit out.
"Bottom line: either harden your heart and rule strictly, or swallow your pride and accept help from those that care for you."
"Like you?" Hazel snarked.
"Oh no. I hate your guts and would prefer someone with a better head on their shoulders, like Sinclair. However, this is still your 'Herd' to lead. So shape up, before your little Herd forcibly decides for you."
Diablo sighed as he stepped back.
"I said my piece. Grass-chewer, Flyer, get your friend to see reason," the Carnotaurus said.
With a heavy sigh, Flia and Aladar confronted their human friend.
"As much as I hate to admit it, that jerk-face has a point," Flia relented.
"Flia, Aladar, if you heard what that bastard said about my family. About my dad," Hazel said. "And now that asshole wants to undermine everything I built and take my place as leader!"
Aladar lit up in understanding. He was the only one who Hazel mentioned about her past. It felt like so long ago, but the Iguanodon recalled that her family wasn't exactly intact, even now.
"I'll admit, Sinclair may have gone too far with what he said, but we have heard of him in passing. Chris doesn't seem to be the leader-type," Aladar said.
"But thanks to your little display, the other Residents and Keepers might force the subject and want Chris as leader," Flia commented. "If a herd doesn't feel like their leader can ensure their safety, they usually force the leader out and replace them with someone else. And since you can't keep your cool Hazel, the others have already developed negative opinions of you."
Hazel felt so attacked right then and there. She wanted to get angry, shout, scream! However, every single thing that everyone said was true. Hazel was still angered but felt exhausted at the same time. With frustration, Hazel gave a stern look at her friends.
"I have other duties to perform. I'm going to gather some lumber for fires and more shelters. Try not to need me. Not that it will be a problem…" Hazel grumbled. The human woman stomped away, trying to save as much face as she could in the wake of this personal defeat.
"Hazel wait! Don't go off alone!" Flia called out.
"Let her go, Flyer," Diablo interjected. "Veran needs some time to herself."
"We aren't going to let our friend go off on her own, Diablo," Aladar admonished.
"And she won't. I'll pull some favors from that Yellow-gnat that hangs around Broken Jaw and get him to watch Hazel. You Flyer, get that feathered gnat that hangs around you and get him to partner with Yellow-gnat."
"How will I do that?" Flia asked.
Diablo scoffed. "I don't know, bat your eyes at the pest, spread your wings, compliment his wingspan, I don't care."
With a plan sorted out, the unlikely trio broke off to find the smaller flyers so that they could keep an eye on their frustrated friend.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"You really shouldn't have said those things," Daisy chastised as she bandaged Chris up.
"I know," Chris sighed.
"You never should bring up dead parents, Boss," Ellis scolded.
"I know."
"If I wasn't angry at Hazel, I would have used you as a pincushion for my arrows for what you said about my dad, you asshole," Hanna bit out.
"I know. And I am sorry," Shifting his gaze, Chris' eyes fell upon the Crew's prehistoric partners. "How about you guys? Care to weigh in on this subject?"
Espantos was the first to speak up.
"You were just angry. Just because people get angry, doesn't mean that they can't be friends later," the Terror Bird imparted.
Kerato just shrugged. "I honestly don't care. If you pushed harder and beat Veran down, then her opinion wouldn't matter."
"Kerato!" the Grecian scolded. Said Elasmotherium scoffed.
"We think that we would be safer if Mr. Chris was herd leader," Prima spoke for her and her sisters. "Miss Hazel is nice, but she is being really scary and mean lately."
Chris scooped up his four charges stroked each of their crests.
"Don't worry girls. Ms. Hazel is just going through a lot, and I'll admit, I probably didn't help." Chris turned to the rest of his now large group of friends. "If it helps, as soon as Hazel gets back, I'll apologize to her."
"It's a start," Hanna said.
Before they could continue, a Keeper approached their group with concern etched on his face.
"Chris, I got word from our command center. A large storm is approaching the park. I don't know if it will dissipate before it hits us or not, but we want some orders to get the Park squared away."
Chris sighed. He really didn't want to propagate the feeling that he was taking Hazel's job, but that storm sounded serious.
"Do a head count of both Keepers and Residents, get everyone indoors. Keep the heat on inside all structures so they don't freeze. Get last minute food orders from the Residents so that they can hunker down. When you're done, do an inventory of our remaining supplies."
The keeper jotted down his orders before nodding and running off to delegate duties to the other Keepers. Chris and the others walked off into the park to prepare for the storm, not knowing that there were several Residents and their Leader not within Temporary Park's walls.
Darksage: Whoo! Well things are clearly a mess right now. Those poor Sabers...and Hazel and the others! Yeah things have gotten really difficult now.
Marc: Alright so just to let you guys know, the event that was based off of something in real life, that was from Darksage doing target practice with axes.
Darksage95: Yeah so the story goes I went to a local hangout where they were throwing axes at targets some time ago. I tried my hand at it (I was terrible at first), but at my very last shot (and recorded in slo-mo), it was a bullseye. I told Marc about it and we put it into the story, with some DaPPA elements ;). I have to say, throwing those axes was not easy. There is a trick to do it with one hand, but that didn't work for me so I had to use both hands.
Marc: Just a little factoid for you guys.
Darksage95: We hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and stay tuned for the next one!
