Chapter 1: The Last Day

The Indoraptor grinned, he'd just caught another delicious snack for Blue and Red to share. The small gifts went a long way, and he was sure he was going to see that look she got in her eyes whenever she was pleased with him.

He liked knowing that he pleased her.

But, thoughts are for times of thinking, and now it was time to go back to the nest where the youngest children were napping. So he walked over to a thick bush, reached inside, and grabbed his and his daughters' small meal; a black eyed ring-tailed creature that had been surprisingly difficult to catch.

Carrying the two morsels in his hands, he made his way through his glade towards his family.

As he walked, he wondered in his head, as he usually did.

What should they do later today?

Finally let the children into the pond?

The whole family that had been in the water loved to swim, and he was curious as to what his three youngest children would do when presented with the opportunity. Red would no doubt have a go at it, but his predictions regarding Precious and Beautiful were less clear cut.

He was suddenly curious, and he wanted to sate that curiosity. He'd let the children swim, and then when they someday outgrew the pond they could all go on one of their long awaited vacations.

It had been a long time since they'd been on vacation. He missed the beach.

But it was only a matter of time before they went back, he was sure of it.

As he reminisced, he reached the nest. Blue was awake, and she noticed him quickly, soon chittering a soft greeting.

He rumbled in turn, and placed the snacks down at the edge of the nest. The children's calls for food were getting more frequent, and he had to bring in multiple of these meals every day to satisfy their stomachs. They were growing bigger every day though, and he was happy to watch them.

Curiously, none of the younger raptors were showing signs of developing his protofeathers. White and Gray had started growing theirs at around this age if he remembered correctly, and he thought that at least one of the youngest would have them as well.

In the end, it didn't really matter. What mattered at the moment was the fact that the children were still asleep, and he wasn't tired enough to join them.

Blue, noting his inaction and guessing the reason behind it, nuzzled her head into his shoulder, purring so as to make her affection for him known.

He in turn guessed what was coming, and growled his own small agreement.

So they laid down, resting around their youngest children, purring to each other as they remained awake.

If he had to use one word to describe the moment he found himself in, it would be peaceful. He loved moments like this, little quiet moments with his family.

Soon enough though, the moment changed, and the children woke from their nap. Precious was the first to notice the food just out of their reach, and was quick to ask for it.

Blue was quick to give some to her, and to Beautiful and Red as well. The Indoraptor watched, and after the children were done eating he gave each of them a little bath, to which they of course made a show of disliking.

Blue purred as she took what was left of the snack and ate it, as well as everything else the children didn't eat. There was no sense in wasting anything, that would be, well, wasteful.

As the Indoraptor finished up with Red's bath, Light and Grey arrived to watch the siblings.

The Indoraptor looked up at the sun in surprise, marking the time in his head. It was noon already? It felt like it had been morning just a few minutes ago.

Light had come up with the idea of them babysitting the little ones just about a week ago. When the sun was at its highest, some of the older siblings would take the younger raptors out on their own little adventures, giving the parents some much desired time to themselves.

Almost two months in and they were already missing all their free time.

The Indoraptor was quick to thank his older children for what they were doing, but asked that they keep the young ones out of the water. He wanted to be there when they went in for their first swim.

Blue was quick to second his request, and soon after bidding the little ones a good time, the parents were off.

As usual, Blue pouted for a while after they left the nest. She didn't like leaving them all for any reason. If she was with at least one of them she could manage, but all of them? It was difficult for her.

For the Indoraptor however, his trust in their older children outweighed his own discomfort.

Blue came out of her sad mood soon enough, and the two of them then caught an antlered creature to share as their lunch.

As they ate, they spoke to each other, in a way that would be the raptor equivalent of small talk.

Blue, as usual, was the more vocal of the two, and asked the Indoraptor if he'd slept well last night.

The Indoraptor snorted, he slept fine. Better than fine even. He dreamt of the Odd Biped using his device to make raptor noises, and then he turned into a strange looking one somehow.

Blue laughed at that, having trouble imagining him as one of their kind.

The Indoraptor chuckled, then asked Blue if she'd slept well.

At this she turned her eyes to the ground, but only for a moment. She slept fine.

The Indoraptor wasn't satisfied with the answer. So he asked what she dreamt about.

Blue took a long time to answer, but when she did she said she didn't want to say.

Knowing that it wouldn't be right to prod, the subject was closed in his mind. But, he still wanted to comfort her, like he always did when she had bad dreams. Or at least whenever she would admit that she had had a nightmare.

So, settling into the grass, he invited her to sit with him. She was soon beside him, waiting for what he'd do next.

Once she was comfortable, he groomed her. Everything he could do he did, and he did so until she was as immaculate as she could be. He cleaned the blood of their kill off of her face, then the dirt from her body. Every little detail was taken in, and if there was something that he could do to make her feel better, he did it.

It was something raptors did to bond, a soothing action that required trust and calm. This was something that both of them felt, and so they reaffirmed their connection and relationship.

Usually Blue would return the favor after he finished, but not this time. This time she'd go about things another way.

So when he was certain that everything was perfect, she bumped his neck, asking him if he wanted to play a little game.

She had his attention immediately, and he asked what game she had in mind.

She, without answering, stood up, pacing a short distance away.

So, he, still waiting for a response, stood up as well.

Then she turned around and stepped closer to him, closer, and closer still.

He asked again, now even more curious.

What game were they going to play?

After a bit she was right in front of him, and he was starting to get excited. What did she have in mind?

Still not answering, she inched forward just a little bit more.

She was so close that he could feel her breath on his scales, and the suspense was killing him.

She leaned forward, and the Indoraptor closed his eyes in anticipation.

One last time, he asked what game they'd be playing.

She growled at that, but it was a growl of prelude, a growl to keep his attention.

She was so close now, and the Indoraptor was struggling to keep still.

Blue purred, stating that he'd have his answer now.

Only a few moments passed, and then he did.

Tag!

Tag?

She had tapped him with her head and jumped, dashing away, leaving a very confused Indoraptor behind her.

Tag?

He wasn't sure what to do for a second, having imagined a completely different scenario.

She called him from a distance away, beckoning him to try and catch her.

All passiveness gone, he ran after her, now wanting to win the little game she'd started.

They ran throughout their glade, her evading and dodging, and him trying to remedy her head start.

He thought about it all with a smile on his face. She planned this, of course she planned this.

He was catching up, she was running in a straight line now. Just a little bit more and he'd have her!

But then, she passed a big tree, and with a swerve that he couldn't replicate, she was well ahead of him once again.

A trick!

When the Indoraptor was close to her again, she ran towards another tree. He anticipated the swerve, and braced himself for the turn.

But, she didn't do what he expected. Instead, she turned straight around and ran right at him.

So shocked was he, that he couldn't do anything but keep going and slowly try to stop. To try and reverse his momentum, he dropped down on all fours, skidding in the grass and dirt.

In his confused indecisiveness she made her move, leaping onto his back and hopping off behind him, leaving him at a momentary loss for how to react.

Quick to recover, he turned around and pursued her once more.

This time there weren't any tricks, and when he was finally close enough, he pounced, sending both of them rolling and tumbling until they were quite tangled up. They laughed until they couldn't laugh anymore, and only then did they untangle themselves.

But, the Indoraptor had been excited, and wasn't finished yet. So he pinned her down, playfully nipping at her in a fit of fun.

She nipped back, pawing at his chest and neck in a coy way. She was feeling happily playful, growling halfheartedly to go along with their little game.

He growled back, then stood up, much to her disappointment.

Couldn't they play one more game?

He grinned, but shook his head. As much as he'd love to play their game, they'd had their time, and now was the best time to get back and let the children swim.

She pouted, but stood up as well.

He nuzzled her briefly to make her feel better. They could play some other time.

She growled. He always said that, and she always ended up waiting, waiting and longing.

He grunted, countering that she'd toyed with him a bit herself.

Angry, she growled again. Well then what were they going to do about it? This little time they had together was all good and fun, but she wanted more.

Shaking his head, the Indoraptor considered his options.

The situation they found themselves in was an annoying one to say the least. The problem was that they were always so reluctant to leave their children, and yet so disappointed when they had to go back. Their opinions changed depending on where they were, and that spoiled every attempt to solve the problem.

The issue was dividing the days, so how could they fix the division of the day?

Perking up, he had an idea. What if the two of them went on a little mini vacation? Over to the sunset hill?

She pondered this, before declaring that they'd do that tomorrow. Starting early in the morning.

But what about the little ones?

She stomped her foot, thinking. What if the little raptors slept in the older children's side territory tonight? Surely one of them would be willing to give up their nest for one night.

The matter being settled, the Indoraptor and Blue returned to their nest. After searching for a little while, they found the children playing by the pond.

Two of the younger raptors were running in a circle around the pond, racing each other. Red was leading, followed closely by Beautiful, who seemed angry. Light was off to the side, watching them and acting as the finish line.

Precious and Grey were making marks into trees with their claws, and they looked like they were having fun just putting lines together in a seemingly random order. This made the parents very happy; Grey had always possessed a special kind of creativity, and she'd never been able to express it like she could have if one of her siblings had possessed it as well. But now she had a little sister that seemed to share it with her, and both of them were thrilled.

Calling out in greeting, the Indoraptor and Blue approached the pond, taking brief sips as their children responded and went up to them.

Light asked what the plan was, if there was one. Grey seconded the question, wondering if they two were still needed. The little ones could be tiring, and they were all a little bit hungry.

The Indoraptor nodded his head, chittering a bit as he did so. They could go hunt if they were hungry. In fact, they could hunt for the little ones too if the opportunity presented itself.

Nodding in reply, the pair left the pond, leaving the parents to show the water to the youngest.

Precious asked what they were going to do, and Red asked if they'd be playing a game. They were practically squirming with excitement, much to the parents' delight.

Blue stepped forward and nudged the closest one, who happened to be Red, towards the pond.

He was confused, but turned around towards the water and went along with the pushing.

The Indoraptor nudged Beautiful, and Precious fell in behind the other two. All three had no idea why they were going towards the pond, seeing as how none of them were thirsty.

When they got to the edge, the Indoraptor stepped over the three children and into the water, beckoning them forward with an encouraging rumble.

The children didn't step forward until Blue was in the middle of the pond as well, but they were timid about the matter the whole way.

They panicked when they couldn't stand with their heads above the water, but Blue was quick to encourage them, and the Indoraptor stepped closer to reassure them. They both crooned soothingly, letting the children know that they were there if they fell.

They were encouraged by this, and Precious, wanting to be closer to her parents, made the first move forward. She was the first of the three to swim, and her determination to succeed made the parents all the more proud.

Red, not wanting to be outdone, copied her kicking the water and kicked harder, eventually passing her.

Beautiful, meanwhile, was more conservative with her efforts, testing and trying everything she could think of. Eventually she too went with the kicking trick, but of the three she was the one to discover how to change directions the fastest. By using her tail as a rudder of sorts, she was by far the most maneuverable, until of course the others noticed her trick and copied her.

Gradually their efforts became less of a chore, and soon they were enjoying themselves. They played all sorts of games, but their favorite was the one where either Blue or the Indoraptor would lay low in the water and act as a little island, and the parent that wasn't the island would act as a referee of sorts. The young raptors would then have to swim around and climb the 'island', facing each other on top of it. The winner was the one that could keep the island the longest, knocking the others off.

The Indoraptor was the favorite island, and he loved hearing the children have such fun. Splashing, pushing, doing what they could to win their games. It exercised them, made them competitive. Competitiveness would help them in the future.

But, the children, already having enjoyed a long day of play, were soon tired out, to the point that they rode on the Indoraptor's back all the way back to the nest. Once there, they climbed down into their sleeping spots and closed their eyes.

Blue, knowing that they would be hungry when they woke up, asked him to hunt for them. Light and Grey probably weren't bringing anything back for them, most likely they shared any extra food with their older siblings.

So he did, leaving without hesitation or delay. Off to find more snacks.

He stalked throughout his territory, but the glade itself had become lacking long before the youngest were born. Not many entered, and not many left. That was simply the way of things.

So he left his glade, tracking a group of the antlered creatures. They were skittish, but not perceptive enough to notice the Indoraptor on the hunt. When he finally found them, he killed two of them, leaving the rest to scatter.

After eating his own fill, he brought the remains back into the glade.

He was at the pond when things started happening.

Cries, loud cries. The cries of his older children, Light and Grey in particular.

Cries of surprise.

Cries of alarm.

He dropped the food, immediately running towards the noise. He needed to get to them, he needed to be with them.

The last time he'd heard those cries was at the Odd Biped's territory, near the lake. That was when a pair of horned predators, a species among the similar creatures, ambushed the family.

That encounter had nearly ended with Light's death, and the Indoraptor had no intention of letting that happen again.

He roared, a sound he very rarely made, a sound meant to tell his family that he was coming, coming to help them, to defend them.

He could hear Blue call out as well, and Black.

He found White and Gray as he ran, looking confused and frightened. He told them to go to the parents' nest, they needed to protect the youngest.

They ran, not wasting any time.

He ran as well, towards the children's territory.

When he found Light and Grey, he found them, and Blue, in a standoff that left him reeling.

What?

Why now?

Why now, after so much time?

He narrowed his eyes, anger welling up.

Raptors.

Intruders.

He'd searched, on their exploratory trips. They'd both searched. Back when their world was new, when they were alone.

They'd found nothing.

And now there was something.

Well they didn't need them.

This in his mind, he charged to his mate's side, snarling loudly and repeatedly at each of the three foreign raptors. They were surprised by him, scared even. He was easily twice their size, and the odds were suddenly against them.

They ran, leaving him and his family with the aftermath of an unprecedented event.