Hello all. Long time no post am I right?!

*cough*

Well...yes...I do apologize for that. Life hasn't been all that giving in means of free time, and writers block has insisted on choosing me as it's victim...

Anyways! I thank you all for your patience, and would like to say in reply to some reviews questioning how long my chapters take to write.

Truth is I can never tell. The chances I get to write are a gift and that's all I can really say on that matter.

So. Enough with that...I would like to present chapter 8, and announce the reached mark of 100 followers! Wow!

Soooo very happy my book is liked, and I thank you all so much for your support! And patience!

BOOKS OUT!


Jurassic World: Why So Blue?

Chapter 8

"Dreams and Fears"


Soft earth, that crunched beneath her talons and felt cool against the pads of her feet. The gentle sensation of plant leaves rustling over her back as a cool breeze flowed overhead, accompanied by silence.

She didn't understand...the calmness, was soothing in a way...but only moments ago she had been asleep in the human den with her Alpha. How did she get here?...Wherever here was.

Blue kept her eyes shut tight, as the confusion over the situation strengthened and the soothing qualities of the silence around her turned into a frightening anxiety. It was too quiet...

Again the breeze whispered above; running it's cool fingers over the raptor's back and rustling the foliage she could sense overhead. Her curiosity was spiking, but she still didn't open her eyes as her tail twitched and her nostrils quivered.

It was rather alarming when she tested the air for scents. Not because she found one of danger...more because she found nothing; there were absolutely no scents on the air. The plants around her did not give off an aroma, nor did the breeze bring in any such hint of a nearby living creature.

Slowly, growing ever concerned, Blue forced her eyes open; blinking and wincing when she was momentarily blinded by the overhead sun. The sun?

Where was Alpha? And Barry?

Eventually Blue was able to adjust to the light, and she slit her eyes open past the glare. Her breaths were quickening and shook her sides in small shudders.

But, her sight was welcomed with an explosion of bright green. To all sides, there was a dense cover of leaved plants; stalks rising up sporting palm tree like boughs, and ferns reaching to tickle against her sensitive underbelly.

Suddenly, as Blue's eyes darted about, an abrupt explosion of movement in the bushes left of her caused the raptor to squawk and leap to the side. Her tail thrashed and her talons lifted aggressively as her jaws parted to show ready teeth.

However, there was no creature within the bushes like she expected. Instead she saw something most peculiar. Where only a moment before there was a wall of foliage, Blue stared at a wall made of smooth grey stone. Stretching up dozens of feet into the air she reeled her head back and snorted heavily. What madness was this? Stone walls just didn't...

But her thoughts were again interrupted, when something began to appear on the surface of the rock. It was blurred, and rippled as if it was made of water. What was happening?

Working her teeth in a fit of confusion and a niggling fear, Blue stepped away. The rippling image on the rock began to slow and take shape.

Deep claw marks appeared into the stone, and bright glistening streaks of red that smeared out in a thick covering. Blue stared at it with eyes that widened with horror and chest squeezing out a soft whimper.

She was bombarded by the scent moments later...the scent of blood...and familiarity.

The familiarity drove into her mind even as the plants around her began to rustle. A wind began to blow and with it came an ever so soft sound. It was like a whisper at first, then it grew into a quiet raptor's chitter.

Blue's body began to tremble.

Family...Delta...

As quick as she could Blue spun and warbled; eyes darting about as she called out for her sister. She could feel her heart pounding and could smell the blood on the breeze. She could hear the gentle calls...croons...and chitters. They cooed out to her, and were soon joined by more. Two more distinct voices made Blue cry out.

Delta, Echo, and Charlie!

Her happiness smothered the feeling of fear, and she forgot the wall covered in blood behind her. Like a flash she dove into the bushes and chittered along with her sisters; eyes bright as she rushed through the jungle with agility and ease. They were alive! She couldn't believe it!

Jumping over a log through the thick foliage, Blue darted her head about as she followed the voices and purred. Where were they? It was as if they were right before her, but she could never see them. The bushes rustled but they did not come to her calls.

The raptor soon came to a small clearing. Her calls grew more urgent as she grew tense, and pleaded for her sisters to come to her; so that she could see their faces once more and find her comfort in their presence.

To her utter excitement the voices went silent for a moment, then rose up again in the trees around the clearing. Blue came to a stop, and purred.

Her pack was with her once again...her pack was whole...

But, as moments passed and her sisters went eerily quiet, Blue clicked her teeth and tilted her head. Why did her sisters not come? Did they not trust her after all this time?

Concerned, the raptor was about to give an encouraging warble, when the silence was broken.

From nothing, came a chorus of sharp echoing cries of terror and pain.

Blue jumped, startled, and stared at the trees with shock. Her jaws parted in a frantic call, but the only answer returned were wails and yelps growing ever louder. What was once a moment of miracles, was turned into a reliving of nightmares.

Eyes wide with terror Blue squawked shakily and stared into the trees. She could hear her sisters cry as if they were being ripped apart.

Her haunches bound tight, and her lips curled up in a fierce enraged snarl. Going from shock to protective instinct Blue felt as though she was on fire with fear and anger. Every fiber of her being began to burn.

She didn't experience all this pain just to lose her family again. Blue failed to protect her sisters before...but she wasn't going to lose them now.

Leaping foreword with blood lust in her eyes Blue shot to the trees to aid her sisters; roaring as her talons extended to grip into the earth. Her tail lashed and her head lowered in battle preparation. Whatever dared to attack her pack was going to feel her talons ripping through its flesh.

The next moment however, the raptor's leap was met with a rocketing force. It stopped her in her tracks, then sent her flying backwards into the ground with a sharp thud. From Blue's lungs came a pained cry as she felt the wind leave her, and legs thrashed about in an effort to get to her feet.

Silence met her ears. No...no...her sisters...

Growing frantic Blue was about to roll upright with a heaving breath, but something slammed into her side, and she was tossed into the dirt before being pinned down. Her head rang and her eyes fogged for a moment, but that was slashed apart by pain.

Like spears, Blue could feel large talons plunge into her ribcage. Her body writhed and she let out a sharp wail, but her voice was caught in her throat as she felt her insides burst into a flame of exploding agony. She couldn't breathe.

The raptor began to panic; thrashing in an effort to escape her attacker. Her vision was blocked by white, then red. She could smell her blood and feel it trickling down her side in rivers. The silence around her was deafening.

Still writhing on the talons imbedded into her flesh, Blue whipped her head back and forth. She had to get up and fight. She couldn't lose her family again.

It was then that her attacker became more than just a large blurr above her...

A voice erupted from above; a rippling snarl that sent tremors down her spine and fear into her heart. Laced with the tone of a raptor yet distorted with the voices of creatures she could not identify, Blue recognized the sharp hiss almost immediately. The white beast...risen from its watery grave. The killer of her sisters.

Talons dug deeper into her side and Blue froze in pain. Without breath in her lungs she could not utter a sound, yet her jaws parted with rasping gurgles. Her insides were torn, yet she did not die...why did she not die?

Blue's eyes were forced upwards, and she met a gaze of fierce gold. It stared with a rabid hunger that made her press into the earth beneath. Teeth coated in fresh blood gleamed and parted in a rumbling growl. Pasty white scales, littered with spears of steel and gashes from battle, rippled on muscled flesh above.

The beast of her nightmares...that she had tried so hard to forget, had her in its grip.

Tilting it's head the Indominus glared down at the prey speared onto its forefoot, and Blue gurgled in despair. It opened its jaws; red with blood that wreaked of humans and raptors alike. Sides widened with a breath inward, and Blue closed her eyes tight.

The roar that followed hurt her more than the bleeding craters in her side. It raged within her hearing and finally ripped a cry from her dying lungs.

It rang not with the Indominus Rex's voice, but with the death shrieks of her sisters. And amongst them...Blue could hear the cries of her Alpha. Owen.


...


Ragged breaths filled the room, followed by the soft scratching of talons against the wood floor, and gentle whimpers of distress.

Blue lay in a tight ball; sides shivering and eyes closed tight. She was asleep, but her feet moved as if she were trying to push away from something. Her mumbles were of fear and pain.

Suddenly, the raptor's golden eyes shot open, and her movement intensified into a sharp jerk as a terrified shriek exploded from her lungs. The white beast; it had her in its grip...the blood of her sisters staining its jaw...their cries...

She began to struggle to her feet and hissed sharply, as she snapped blindly about in an attempt to strike the Indominus. Her breaths were ragged, and when she failed to find the coordination to stand, Blue flopped back in defeat on the hard floor.

Taking a moment to gather her wits, the raptor glanced about with disorientation in her wild eyes. The curtain of sleep was lifting. A dream...it was all a dream..

Blue was back in the human den; in the tiny room she had begun her night of sleep. She lay on the wooden floor amidst a square of sunlight from the nearby window.

Eyes loosing their glint of terror, Blue gave a deep slow breath and lowered her head. It was all so real. She could still feel her heart leaping against her chest and only now were her breaths easing.

Sadly, it wasn't new for her.

In the first few weeks after the fall of the park, Blue had been tortured with such dreams. They usually kept to the same path...with the Indominus and her sisters. She constantly had to revisit the pain of their deaths.

However it was disturbing, that Owen had this time been involved. He had never appeared in her earlier dreams and certainly not in the way Blue had just witnessed. Why had she heard him scream? Before her dreams were focused on the pain of her sisters' deaths...but now...

And with that Blue realized she was alone in the room. Alpha was not beside her as he had once been, and in light of her recent trauma, the raptor lifted her head and chittered nervously.

Slowly, her legs shifted underneath her and Blue eased onto her feet, before facing the open doorway into the room. The sunlight was brightening outside, and despite her worry she could hear gentle clanging in the distance. She tested the air, and was relieved to sense a wave of scents on the air.

Among these she could detect Alpha. He was unharmed, as far as she could tell.

Sucking in a deep breath Blue snorted, then stepped to exit the room and enter the kitchen. Every moment the tension of her nightmare lifted and she strode with a smoothing gait, until she stood in the main room of the human house.

As she suspected, Alpha and Barry weren't there. Instead she could hear their voices outside; accompanied by the occasional crash as if they were rifling through something.

Like her own kind Blue knew the humans were curious creatures. They must be searching the human village over.

Standing there Blue flicked her tail and found that Owen had left the house's main door barred open. She made a small chitter of appreciation, before she was frozen by an urgent need.

Now awake she could feel the edges of her hunger awakening with her. It shifted and demanded attention. The sparse amount of meat she had scored from he pack's kill hadn't lasted her long.

Blue tilted her head and clicked her talons. She needed to hunt, and start the slow process of bringing herself back up to full strength. In this rich world she knew that was an option now.

So, striding out of the house and down from the front porch, Blue surveyed the layout of the village. In the daylight she could now confirm there were seven different buildings; all enclosed into the space by the perimeter fence. Some were houses, others seemed to be places the humans stored their things. One of these it seemed Owen and Barry were searching.

Overall the place was quite covered in vines and weeds, good for prey, but Blue imagined because of the fence there would be nothing but tiny rodents and other creatures of that size. She needed more.

Moving away from the crashes and thunks caused by the humans, Blue headed for the gate she had climbed over the previous night. Her eyes glanced about in curiosity of the broken down human vehicles, yet remained alert for anything she could call food.

Suddenly, as she passed an old rusted jeep, a rustle in the grass surrounding it brought her to a stop.

Head and tail raising Blue froze and stared with an intense gaze to where she had just seen the movement. A small wave of chatters greeted her; annoying to the ears as they continued on and cackled.

A green vermin...

Remembering her previous attempt at taking such a creature, Blue curled her lips and hissed to herself. If she could only catch it, the tiny creature would serve a viable appetizer.

Muscles binding Blue crouched down low as a small head poked free of the foliage and her nemesis scampered carelessly into the open. Her tail flicked and her talons extended.

She had it this time.

With a sharp snarl Blue lunged for the vermin; eyes squinting when it looked up and nearly collapsed in fright of her. But it spun on its nimble legs, and she nearly tripped as it dodged between her legs and away from her attack.

Struggling to keep up with her prey Blue turned on her haunches and dove after it. Again, she was tested in agility and wits.

Weaving in and out around the dead human vehicles, then scurrying between two buildings, Blue never took her eyes off her quarry. Her heart pumped in her ears and her breaths quickened to match her pace.

As the moments passed and Blue lost many chances to catch the green vermin, she was beginning to tire. Frustration and hunger however, kept her going even as they raced head on towards a fence line.

For a fleeting beat she thought she finally had it cornered, but Blue let out a shocked squawk when she caught sight of a tiny hole in the fence links. Her prey saw it as well, and diving through it gave a small cry of victory to its attacker.

Another failed attempt.

Sliding to a stop Blue stomped a foot and hissed angrily; panting as she paced the fence line and gazed into the bushes. They rustled around for a moment, before on a nearby stump she saw her prey appear.

The green vermin arched it's neck and let out a chorus of mocking cries as it strutted about on the stump in a small dance. Separated from its predator by the fence it knew it was safe, as it extended its chest and cackled.

Shaken by the display of mocking dominance Blue hissed and struck the fence with her claws before coming to a stop.

Her golden eyes glared angrily...but in doing so she saw something the green vermin did not. It was too busy to notice that she was not the only predator present.

In the bushes behind the stump, Blue could see a menacing pair of yellow eyes that were currently locked on the tiny prey before them. White teeth flashed and Blue smelled the scent of an unknown dinosaur.

Then, like a strike of lightning, a sleek body shot free of the shadows and Blue jumped back in surprise. The green vermin gave a broken cry and blood stained the ground as fangs drove into flesh.

Forgetting her anger of the failed hunt, Blue stared with wide eyes as two dinosaurs came into clear view. She had to tilt her head up slightly in order to look them in the eyes.

The green vermin hung limp in the jaws of a massive raptor...nearly twice her own size at 23 feet long and a few feet taller than herself. Their scales were a faded gold, with black stripes and random spots that ran from the top of their heads, down their sides, and to their tails. On the back of their skulls were patches of tiny black feathers, and their underbellies were a pasty white.

In reality, they actually resembled a cheetah in color

They resembled Blue yet they did not smell of her kind, and their size was simply impossible of the Velociraptors.

Frozen by amazement Blue watched the larger of the two dinosaurs, a male, turn and lift the prey dangling from its jaws. The other a female, purred gently and reached out to close her teeth around the upper portion of the carcass.

Blue licked her lips, as the two predators pulled and she watched the meat split apart between them with a small crack. Each swallowed their pieces whole, and the male arched his neck with a proud churr.

To this Blue tilted her head and sensed a closeness between the pair. She had seen such affection between humans...love was it? They must have been mates.

Stepping closer to the fence, feet nearly sliding in cautious steps over the earth, Blue dared to warble softly in greeting.

She wondered, hoped, if by some chance these strange raptors would be any more accepting of her than the pack. Were they different in that sense, as they were different in appearance?

She couldn't get over how large they were...probably outweighing her by over 700 pounds...

As soon as she had called to them, the male tensed visibly and both became aware of the smaller carnivore amongst them, where they had not yet noticed her even with the short space between them.

With bright yellow eyes they turned their heads and gazed down upon Blue.

She chittered softly as they stared and bobbed her head in a small regard. This caused them to blink and tilt their heads slightly, as the female churred deeply in reply.

They continued to gaze at her; the female glancing to her mate with a look of shock and confusion in her eyes. But then Blue saw a change.

Almost immediately after they sized her up, she saw a gleam of hostility within the female raptor's eyes. Maybe this was a bad idea.

Stepping foreword the female curled her lips and crouched somewhat to get to Blue's level. Her claws clicked together and the blood on her lips gave Blue a wave of anxiety.

For a single moment, the two raptors stared each other in the eyes; unmoving as Blue's breaths quickened and her talons extended.

The larger female curled her lips, then with a sudden fierce snarl, lashed out and struck the fence with an explosion of movement and a sharp crash. if not for the metal links, her claws would have driven into the smaller dinosaur's skull.

Blue didn't have much time to react.

Joining his mate the male snarled and jumped up to crash into the fence with his body. They were trying to break in...trying to attack her.

Realizing this Blue shot her head up and snarled aggressively; curling her lips and arching her neck in a show of challenging dominance. Her tail whipped back and forth and she flashed her claws out to the other raptors in an attempt to ward them off.

But, unfazed by her warnings, the female leapt upwards and latched herself to the fence; bloody jaws biting into the links before she began to slowly clamber upwards.

Shocked Blue hissed and stepped back quickly. The bigger raptor climbed higher and higher, until her neck curled over the top of the fence and she roared to her target below.

She seemed about ready to crawl over the barrier, when a sudden explosion erupted from behind. It rang through the air and Blue flinched when a small object whistled past her ear and through the fence to nearly graze the male raptor's shoulder.

All three dinosaurs froze, and when Blue turned her head her golden eyes widened and she made a small warble.

Owen, stood not far away; rifle braced against his shoulder and eyes to the sights. He had shot at the attackers. Alpha came to aid her.

Snorting in a new confidence Blue shot her gaze back to the raptors as her Alpha came to her side. His face was tight with aggression and she could see his jaw grit together as he kept the raptors in his sights.

The raptors, remained frozen as they gazed with confusion and shock to the strange creature that shot thunder from his stick. All went silent...until the female released a sharp snarl and jerked; scrambling to get her balance and leap to attack.

But Owen made a growl somewhat, and Blue winced as his gun again released an explosion. She could smell the gunpowder and saw the flash of the bullet, before hearing a small whipping thud.

Above them the female raptor cried out in burning pain and jumped back to lose her grip on the fence links. She then tumbled to the ground; right thigh glistening with a bloody crater from Alpha's bullet.

Blue knew the pain of a human's bullet from the fall of Jurassic World. While she had not experienced a full hit as this larger raptor had, she had been grazed, and even that was pain enough to hinder.

Thrashing about and yowling the female flashed panicked yellow eyes before leaping to her feet. As quick as she could she stumbled into the trees and fled from the scene, with her concerned mate soon in tow.

Their crashing grew faint with distance, and Blue tilted her head with a sharp snort. Her Alpha was a force to fear and they now knew this.

From beside her, he lowered his weapon and muttered, "Utahraptors...seems they've got as much of a rivalry with Velociraptors as wolves hold with coyotes."

He half spoke to himself, half spoke to Blue. She just replied with a gentle churr and turned to gaze at him.

Utahraptors...an interesting name...

Slowly her defensive stance softened and she released a gentle breath, before the sharp look in her eyes too dimmed.

Like the pack, these 'Utahraptors' detested her; going through great lengths to try and rip out her throat. Were raptors truly so hostile to others of their kind?

But Alpha spoke of the larger dinosaurs saying they were in fact not of her own kind, so her disappointment was lessened. Yet that didn't stop her previous distress of the pack's rejection from rising.

Her tail and head lowered, as Owen turned and nodded, "You alright Blue?"

Blue snorted, and he chuckled before walking back in the direction of the village, "Try not to get into any more trouble."

She watched him leave and snapped her tail.

Trouble...it seemed to be following her wherever she went.


...


Despite the incident at the fence, Blue had yet to satisfy her hunger. She had failed to catch the Compy and there were otherwise no options of prey within the village walls.

So, climbing over the fence in the opposite direction the Utahraptors ran, she went into the jungle in search of a proper meal.

She strode swiftly through the trees; glancing about with alert eyes for both danger and prey. Her tail swung from side to side with her gait and her claws wriggled when something caught her interest.

The birds were calling in a chorus above her, and she tried to ignore the distant cries of the Compies. As means of prey, they had been more trouble than they were worth.

Nostrils widening Blue tested the air.

She was on her trail from the previous night; the one that she had blazed whilst searching for Alpha. Following it she hoped to find the valley in which she had witnessed the Velociraptors take their kill.

Maybe she could scavenge off whatever was left of the carcass.

It had been a few hours, since she had left the village and ventured out into the jungle. She crossed a creek, then passed over a range of hills, before coming to the tree line of her destination.

But Blue was hesitant to venture out into the open.

Gazing with cautious eyes the raptor glanced over the grass ahead and clicked her teeth. The wind whispered through the blades and dulled her ability to smell any creatures in the area. It was blowing into her...a disadvantage if there were any dangers lurking within the clearing.

Trusting her sight, Blue stepped slowly foreword and tilted her head; exiting the tree line and slipping into the shadows of the grasses.

The Parasaurolophus herd was gone, as were the raptors. The only sign she could find of them was an ever so faint scent, and their footprints tearing through the dirt. in places areas of it were simply crushed down where the herbivores bedded down to sleep, or cut where they had stripped it while grazing.

Then she found the carcass...or rather...what was left of it.

Piles of bones cleaned of all meat by sharp teeth, lay in a trampled circle of dirt and grass. Blood stains were visible, and flies gathered in clouds, but what Blue had hoped would provide a meal was stripped clean.

Surely those four raptors didn't eat the entire kill in one sitting...

Slinking foreword, Blue breathed in the stench of the skeleton and wrinkled her nose at a familiar scent. The Utahraptors were here; earlier that morning before she discovered them at the village.

They must have eaten what was left of the meat, then moved on.

Blue wondered if such raptors even kept a territory, but rather preferred to roam where necessities would be available to them. They were certainly not members of a pack...but Blue had a feeling at their size they did not depend on large numbers to hunt or defend themselves.

Snorting gently, she lifted her head and observed the land before her.

The clearing was not round as she had first suspected. It was open on one side actually; blending out into what appeared to be a slightly larger clearing.

Walking on, she found it to be much more than another clearing.

A massive valley; river flowing down the middle and plains filled to the brim with herbivores. Triceratops, Parasaurolophus, Stegosaurus, and Gallimimus, roamed about in great herds grazing on the brush and grass. In the distance Blue could even see Brachiosaurus...

The opposite end of the valley was closed off by what looked like dense forest and mountain ranges. The left, appeared to lead towards the nearby coast and a cluster of dark ridges.

It was a safe place...away from the larger carnivores if Blue wasn't missing any of their scents. The perfect hunting grounds.

Focusing on the herd Blue licked her lips at the sight of multiple young Gallimimus running amongst the herds. Her claws clicked and she took a slow step foreword. If she was careful about this, she could score one of the biggest kills she had taken in weeks.

Silently the raptor made her way through the valley's edge; keeping to the brush to hide herself and avoiding the direct wind to keep her scent isolated and away from her prey.

Blue could hear them now. They bleated and called out to each other as they bounded back and forth from one another in play. Some broke away and plunged into the river; straying closer to the raptor hidden in the brush.

Blues eyes were flashing to each Gallimimus in a strategic observation. Which one was most vulnerable? The youngest? The one with a gimp in its stride? She wasn't used to having such a vast array of choices. Isla Nublar was never this rich with prey.

Now within he valley and growing closer with each moment, Blue dove to a cluster of brush and crouched down on her belly with a quiet hiss. Her hunger demanded she take action and her movements were quickened because of this.

Ahead, she could see a young Gallimimus straying father from its herd than the others. This one was small, but Blue could pick out its vulnerability as it stumbled and staggered with a broken stride. An old injury perhaps hindering its movement?

It was a possibility.

All focus locking on her target, Blue curled her lips and bound her legs for the attack. Her heart began to quicken to get her blood flowing and she took in smooth breaths.

When her prey came within yards, she struck.

Lunging out of the bushes Blue snarled loudly; causing an uproar of cries and bugles from the larger herbivores further within the valley. Gallimimus fled around her and her target gave a terrified bleat before attempting to run. She chased, and bent low with talons ready.

Just a few more feet...one more stride...one slash of her talon...

Suddenly, Blue felt the earth shake beneath her. Like an earthquake it grew in intensity and a rumble filled her ears as her eyes tore up from her prey with confusion.

In the distance, she could see herds of Parasaurolophus and Stegosaurus fleeing from the scene, but they were too far away to cause such a ruckus.

Still running Blue was unaware that her prey had broken away and was now disappearing over the next gentle hill, but her head lifted and she squawked anxiously as an explosion of dust rose into the sky above.

Then, a massive bellow rose from behind, and Blue jerked to cast a wild glance over her shoulder. What she saw made her breath stop and her eyes widen.

A bull Triceratops; his head lowered with horns poised and frill flushed a brilliant aggressive red. He kicked up clouds of dirt in his wake and snorted loudly.

Blue must have not seen him grazing nearby. Why must her hunts always end in this way?

But she didn't have time right now to grumble over her misfortunes, or they would escalate to a brutal mauling. She had to move.

Thinking quickly, Blue gathered her wits despite the roaring of her heart in her ears, and glanced about for an escape. Immediately her eyes fell on the distant riverbed.

Maybe the Triceratops wouldn't be willing to follow her into the waters...

Snorting, Blue nearly felt the bull's hot breath on her tail, and her strides quickened. Ground was covered in mere tense moments, then with a sharp splash her feet plunged into the cold current. It was swift, as she charged deeper and glanced again over her shoulder.

For a split second, her attacker followed into the river's waves and bellowed. But, she could see the hesitation rise in his eyes as the waters rose to his belly. He slowed and tossed his head with an angry rumble.

It worked, but she wasn't safe yet.

She couldn't just let him cool off and go back to her business. By the way he paced back and forth on the shore line, Blue could tell if she went back the same way it would be her end.

So looking ahead, the raptor growled softly and gazed at the opposite bank. It was a small swim...against the current...but if she could get to the other side, she could travel a ways downstream and cross over again without the ten ton nuisance following her every move.

Gritting her teeth against the cold waters, Blue took one last step, before feeling her body lift and her feet leave the solid bed beneath.

It wasn't a hard swim actually; maybe a few minutes before she reached the other side of the river and touched ground. She was tired, but that was from the run.

Her teeth clicked together with a frustrated snap. This new land that promised so much, was proving difficult to handle...but then, everything was now that she was alone.

Stepping up from the waters with dripping scales, Blue grumbled and flicked her tail. But, she saw something on the hill above. White, that flashed on the corner of her vision.

For a moment it reminded her of nightmares, and with a tension in her body Blue hissed and curled her lips. Her eyes shot up expecting the white beast, but what she saw was something much smaller...

A white raptor with pale red eyes stared back at her, with a look of bewilderment and pity. The quills on the back of its head stood up slightly with alertness and his claws wriggled.

Blue's defenses lowered and she blinked. The Albino?

Interrupting her shock there was a sharp growl, and she shifted slightly to see a darker form appear from the rise of the hill.

A dead grey eye looked through her from between old pink scars; a gruesome wound that made Blue click her teeth as the dark head turned and she was then faced by a sharp golden eye.

Very much capable of vision it glowered into her own gaze as a low chuff rose from the raptor. The Black Alpha, and one of his elders. How long had they been in the area?

Feeling a stab of embarrassment Blue avoided the Alpha's gaze and snorted. The water still dripped from her body and the bull Triceratops still stood on the opposite shore.

What a show it must have been...to see her chased down from a hunt by one of those brutes.

Remaining silent she felt the Alpha's gaze lift from her skull, then heard the gentle rustle of parting grass. When she looked up all she saw was his tail sliding into the shadows of the field, and then her eyes fell on the Albino.

The male elder stood still for a moment...watching her with curious yet pitying red eyes and working his claws in a moment of thought.

Blue lifted her head, when he uttered a quiet warble...

He was speaking to her; in a friendly way, despite their earlier encounter.

Thrilled by his efforts she was about to reply to his call, when a sharp hiss came from the distance, and the Albino stiffened.

Alpha was calling him, and Blue's hopes drooped when the Elder sighed heavily and turned his head. The lone raptor wasn't their problem...

Obeying his Alpha, the Albino cast her one last unsure glance, then turned and disappeared into the grasses.

Blue clenched her jaw tight.

She was starting to hate this island.