Now, this is the first real chapter. Please, be nice.
Jesper's Pack
There was a sudden chill in the warm morning air. The birds stopped chirping, the crickets went silent. The tall, prehistoric, exotic, two-story palms swayed in the soft breeze. The giant leaves of a nearby eucalyptus tree shook as colobus monkeys dashed up the trunk, leaping gracefully from branch to branch to get away from the unseen horror.
There was the snap of a nearby twig, to the right of the large clearing. The heard of Hypsi's (Hypsilophodontid), six in all, jerked their heads up to look at the sound.
Hypsi's are small, quick animals (dinosaurs) that once roamed everywhere in the world. They have strong jaws to chew the food they eat. In fact, their name means "High Ridge Tooth," from their characteristic self- sharpening teeth. Slender necks connected their heads with their muscular bodies. The Hypsi's are molted green and dark brown. They stand like Kangaroos. Sometimes when foraging, they use their short front arms to balance their weight.
The lead Hypsi let out a low honk.
The breaking twig sound came again. This time, it was off to the left. The Hypsi's whirled around. There was nothing there. No further sound was heard.
The animals went back to eating. They had a short attention span, and roughly the intelligence of a cow.
There was another snap. All three were deliberately made. A Velociraptor hopped out into the clearing. The raptor was about six feet tall and seven or eight feet long. It was striped with light orange and burnt orange. It stood on its hind legs, its forearms waving in the air every so often. On each back foot, there was a seven inch long dagger like claw that was razor sharp. This was Zanerkand, a male of Jesper's pack.
The Hypsi's turned to run, and met yet another raptor.
This one was pale white, short black stripes at odd intervals along its spine. It was crouched, arms outstretched, mouth open in a snarl. This was Elsa, a female of Jesper's pack.
The Hypsi's turned around to run again, but the way was blocked by three other raptors.
There were two raptors that were pale white, but mostly molted brown, with a deep red stripe down their spines, from head to tail. These were Jay and Zomba, two adolescents in hunting. They were only five or six feet long and five feet tall. They still had some growing to do for becoming adult raptors.
Elsa and Zanerkand were teaching Zomba and Jay how to hunt.
When the Hypsi's turned to run from Elsa, she pounced. She landed lightly on the back of a young Hypsi. When she did, the other Hypsi's scattered, leaving the younger one to fend for itself.
Zomba and Jay hopped in anticipation as Zanerkand took a step foreword.
Elsa was forced to summersault off the Hypsi's back. She landed on her feet and whipped around to face her prey.
Zanerkand jumped at the Hypsi, but was forced to leap back to avoid flailing feet. Elsa jumped back onto the Hypsi. When Zanerkand jumped back in, it was all over. Jay and Zomba dashed foreword to nip at the Hypsi's flanks.
In minutes, the Hypsi was dead.
Zanerkand bounced up onto the Hypsi's body, bending down to sniff it quickly, then straightening up. He made a few raspy, cough sounds, then a series of low clicks, like a purr.
On cue, other raptors stalked out of the trees. Besides Elsa, there were two other Raptors who were pale white. Chasidy the Alpha female, and a male, Qwilleran. Zanerkand and Jay were the only two male raptors with the burnt orange coloring, but two females, Lorina and Soria, were just like Jay. The alpha male, Jesper, was a cold, steely blue with molted gray and black. The three females, Chanhassen, and the twins, Sydny and Salmanca, were all gray with molted black. Lastly, Zomba and Jay, well you know.
Jester and Chasidy, the two alphas, walked up to the dead Hypsi. They looked it over, then nipped at each other a bit, and gave a quick gesture with their heads. The other raptors darted foreword, but in an order. The youngsters went first, then the older ones. When they were eating, they had an order. Adults helped the youngsters, and none of them snarled or bit each other.
It was a regular pack order. Just like lions and hyenas behaved in their packs.
Jesper's Pack
There was a sudden chill in the warm morning air. The birds stopped chirping, the crickets went silent. The tall, prehistoric, exotic, two-story palms swayed in the soft breeze. The giant leaves of a nearby eucalyptus tree shook as colobus monkeys dashed up the trunk, leaping gracefully from branch to branch to get away from the unseen horror.
There was the snap of a nearby twig, to the right of the large clearing. The heard of Hypsi's (Hypsilophodontid), six in all, jerked their heads up to look at the sound.
Hypsi's are small, quick animals (dinosaurs) that once roamed everywhere in the world. They have strong jaws to chew the food they eat. In fact, their name means "High Ridge Tooth," from their characteristic self- sharpening teeth. Slender necks connected their heads with their muscular bodies. The Hypsi's are molted green and dark brown. They stand like Kangaroos. Sometimes when foraging, they use their short front arms to balance their weight.
The lead Hypsi let out a low honk.
The breaking twig sound came again. This time, it was off to the left. The Hypsi's whirled around. There was nothing there. No further sound was heard.
The animals went back to eating. They had a short attention span, and roughly the intelligence of a cow.
There was another snap. All three were deliberately made. A Velociraptor hopped out into the clearing. The raptor was about six feet tall and seven or eight feet long. It was striped with light orange and burnt orange. It stood on its hind legs, its forearms waving in the air every so often. On each back foot, there was a seven inch long dagger like claw that was razor sharp. This was Zanerkand, a male of Jesper's pack.
The Hypsi's turned to run, and met yet another raptor.
This one was pale white, short black stripes at odd intervals along its spine. It was crouched, arms outstretched, mouth open in a snarl. This was Elsa, a female of Jesper's pack.
The Hypsi's turned around to run again, but the way was blocked by three other raptors.
There were two raptors that were pale white, but mostly molted brown, with a deep red stripe down their spines, from head to tail. These were Jay and Zomba, two adolescents in hunting. They were only five or six feet long and five feet tall. They still had some growing to do for becoming adult raptors.
Elsa and Zanerkand were teaching Zomba and Jay how to hunt.
When the Hypsi's turned to run from Elsa, she pounced. She landed lightly on the back of a young Hypsi. When she did, the other Hypsi's scattered, leaving the younger one to fend for itself.
Zomba and Jay hopped in anticipation as Zanerkand took a step foreword.
Elsa was forced to summersault off the Hypsi's back. She landed on her feet and whipped around to face her prey.
Zanerkand jumped at the Hypsi, but was forced to leap back to avoid flailing feet. Elsa jumped back onto the Hypsi. When Zanerkand jumped back in, it was all over. Jay and Zomba dashed foreword to nip at the Hypsi's flanks.
In minutes, the Hypsi was dead.
Zanerkand bounced up onto the Hypsi's body, bending down to sniff it quickly, then straightening up. He made a few raspy, cough sounds, then a series of low clicks, like a purr.
On cue, other raptors stalked out of the trees. Besides Elsa, there were two other Raptors who were pale white. Chasidy the Alpha female, and a male, Qwilleran. Zanerkand and Jay were the only two male raptors with the burnt orange coloring, but two females, Lorina and Soria, were just like Jay. The alpha male, Jesper, was a cold, steely blue with molted gray and black. The three females, Chanhassen, and the twins, Sydny and Salmanca, were all gray with molted black. Lastly, Zomba and Jay, well you know.
Jester and Chasidy, the two alphas, walked up to the dead Hypsi. They looked it over, then nipped at each other a bit, and gave a quick gesture with their heads. The other raptors darted foreword, but in an order. The youngsters went first, then the older ones. When they were eating, they had an order. Adults helped the youngsters, and none of them snarled or bit each other.
It was a regular pack order. Just like lions and hyenas behaved in their packs.