Roughly two years after Fallen Kingdom.
The snow fell gently through the evergreen forest, coating the green needle like leaves in a blanket of white. Fatigued branch limbs bent under the weight of winter's wrath, the sky above a dreary haze of grey.
The winds howled, and carried with them an elaborate dance of falling snowflakes and twirled in the chill gusts.
The crushing of snow announced the presence of a skulking predator.
Black of scale and heaven's gold of stripe did such a striking beast pass by. The Indoraptor's movements were careful, fluid and graceful. Like a stalking feline his footfalls carefully fell within the prints of his old.
It was a practice he learned-For stalking, and hunting, was an art.
And the hybrid had learned to master the art of the hunt.
His fiery, cobalt yellow eyes fell upon his quarry, snake like pupils narrowing into thin slits. His nares flared, breath stilling-holding.
Holding.
Holding.
Exhale.
Smooth.
Even.
Steady.
Release tension in his muscles.
And prepare for the feline leap.
Smooth.
Steady.
His quills flattened upon his skeletal head, jagged jaws slightly agape.
The deer was not aware of him yet.
Not now.
Not yet.
Patience was the key.
The clumsy crunching of snow in an unsteady, awkward gait was enough to alert the doe from her foraging. Her neck shot up, head twisting in the direction of the noise. She idly chewed upon what living plants she could dig and rake from under a blanket of cold snow. Her ears twitched and flicked.
The explosion of a snowy bush bursting to life with a white juvenile barking and shrieking in excitement was all she needed to bolt in large leaps and bounds over brush and fallen trees.
The Indoraptor did not even bother to give chase as he watched his child ruin the hunt-and trip and stumble clumsily into the white upon the ground. The only thing the Indoraptor could see was the hapless flailing of Seraphim's white limbs.
A deep exhale of quiet dismay-and disappointment wafted in smoke from the Indoraptor's nostrils.
When Seraphim recovered, the white male with a vivid gold stripe shot up, ready to resume the hunt.
The doe was long gone.
For now, they would go hungry.
Again.
The Indoraptor was returning to his nest. This time, the hunt was successful.
If only because he assigned his yearling to nest duty.
After all, five eggs could easily freeze to death within the dead of winter.
And the Indoraptor would not have that.
He would not allow it.
It was hard to tend to both a wet behind the ears yearling and a nest full of eggs.
He could not be at two places at once.
He could not keep the eggs warm and ensure his son had a full belly-much less a successful kill.
Seraphim was not ready to be on his own, despite nearing that age.
It would be less stressful on the father were his child more adept in the art of hunting.
Alas, he was not.
Thus, the Indoraptor settled for Seraphim to guard the nest, and keep the eggs warm.
The Indoraptor knew from experience, it could be a very boring duty.
Just as much as it could be a dangerous one.
Thus, he was eager to hunt swiftly, and return to the nest all the sooner.
His last clutch may depend upon his urgency to return home.
The hybrid had an unsettling feeling in his gut.
The Indoraptor's nest was hidden within a dense thicket. A trail used by deer was the only path within, the area a former bedding area by his quarry.
The thicket was long since abandoned upon the predators taking up residence.
Despite being comforted by the familiar sight of his thorned dwelling, the hybrid could not help but be unsettled by something.
There was an odor in the air, ill and putrid.
Something toxic.
Something foul.
His nares flared, jowls tensing in a vexed snarl.
And then he heard it.
The soft clicking, trilling coo.
The Indoraptor stopped, and cocked his head.
It sounded as if the gentle cooing was of a bird.
A singing bird?
Why was not Seraphim making noise to chase it?
It was then a whole new noise hit the Indoraptor's ears.
It was the cracking of eggs.
His dead prey was hastily dropped to the ground and forgotten about as the father moved towards his nest.
Cracking.
Cracking.
The eggs were cracking.
Were they hatching?
Were they-
The soft cooing caused his blood to run as cold as an icy river.
The Indoraptor froze in place, amber eyes widening at the scene before him.
The cooing was not made by a bird.
It was made by small, frilled predators.
The Indoraptor stared on in horror as he tried to process what was going on.
Seraphim was hoisted off the ground by a monster's jaw around his head. The white juvenile's maw was slack, body twitching. Foam ran from his mouth and coated his scaled lips. A dark green, almost black liquid was splattered upon his face as rivers of crimson dripped from his face and painted the snow a soft red. Quiet, croaking squeaks came from him.
It sounded-
-It sounded-
-Like E.
Two other frilled predators looked up from their feast.
Egg shell and yolk stained their frog like faces.
One swallowed a chick whole.
Softly, they cooed.
The Indoraptor realized with horror-
-He was losing them.
-He was losing them all over again.
His blood boiled.
And he raged in a harrowing scream.
What endured next-the Indoraptor did not remember. Not fully.
He remembered his claws gouging the eyes out.
He remembered his jaws crushing the throat-breaking the neck-and ripping off the head.
He remembered slicing a monster's belly open with his kill claw, and then hoisting it off the ground from its head.
And then slamming it into the gnarled bark of an aged tree.
Twice.
Thrice.
And again.
And again.
And again.
And again.
The Indoraptor did not recognize the monster that was in his jaws anymore.
There was more of its head on the tree than its actual head.
Rage.
Fury.
Anger.
Sadness.
Sorrow.
Regret.
The Indoraptor went limp from fatigue, and fell to the ground.
He tried to move.
He could not.
He tried, and tried, and tried.
He tried to open his eyes.
Everything was black.
He realized his eyes were already open.
He was blind.
Blind?
He could not move?
No!
No!
No!
His chicks needed him!
Seraphim needed him!
His babies needed him!
He couldn't lose everything again!