""Tug-O-War""
By the time the meal was over, not much of the Hypsi remained. There was blood, bones, and fat, but even the bones were being eaten. The adult raptors were laying on their sides, soaking up the sun after the long meal.
The youngsters were tugging on some of the bones. Jay was at one end, Wrex at the other. Zomba was pulling in the middle, to no avail. Lorina and Soria were watching timidly, rubbing their noses against their clawed hands. The boys were just trying to impress them.
Zanerkand was rubbing his snout on an overhanging branch, stretching to reach it. It didn't do much good. His snout was still bloody. He clawed at his snout, his nose twitching. Then he rubbed it on the ground, snuffling around in the leaves.
When he looked up, Jay was standing in front of him, a bone in his mouth, tail waving around wildly. It was an invitation to come and play. Zanerkand gladly accepted, taking a grip on the other side of the bone, he started a heated game of tug-o-war.
Jay jerked his head back quickly, not letting the bone go, both of them growling in a 'friendly' way. Zanerkand retaliated by twisting his head to the left, trying to pry the bone out of Jay's grip. Jay bounced along with the bone as Zanerkand pulled him back. Then, in an almighty heave and show of strength, Jay reared back with all his power, the bone falling from his opponents bite.
Jay slipped, tumbling backwards, landing in a pile on top of the other adults. He was snapped at by Jesper, but he managed to skip out of biting range, holding his prize proudly. The bone. He strutted around the clearing, the bone in his mouth, a spring in his step, showing off.
In reality, Zanerkand just let Jay win. It was only natural. Zanerkand was a very liked pack member amongst the younger members.
Jesper, now fully awake, yawned and stretched, his mouth open wide. He scratched his head with his clawed, three fingered hand. He got up, stretching again, then shaking to get the dirt and leaves off himself. He pushed his snout against Chasidy and Qwilleran, the two closest raptors to him. They got up without protest.
Jesper coughed twice, softly. When all the other raptors were watching him, he jerked his head to the left, indicating they had to go.
The rest of the raptors got up, yawning, stretching, and shaking. They got into a single file line and followed Jesper and Chasidy to a little path in the woods. Qwilleran and Chanhassen were the last in the line. The juveniles were in the middle, for better protection.
They walked through the trees, making no sound at all, treading carefully on the leaf carpeted ground. In the middle of the line, Wrex crouched down, preparing to pounce onto Zomba's back, but his plans were foiled.
Qwilleran nipped his tail, making him yelp shortly and leap up, continuing in his line, moping. He walked with his head down, tail drooped. It was bad enough being snapped at, like Jay, but to be nipped was a different thing.
Eventually, the raptors made it to the bank of a fast flowing stream. It was a few feet deep, but the raptors didn't cross it, even though the trail went on past the stream. The raptors turned and angled up the stream. Still single file.
Pretty soon, they came to another path, this time through really tall grass. It was so tall, it was over the raptor's heads. Wrex snuck a look back, and was disappointed to find out that Qwilleran was still there.
The path veered off to the left sharply, and the raptors followed. They got through the weeds, then to the woods again. It was like a never ending path. The youngsters were getting restless, even though they had walked this path many times before.
Finally, they came to a half-moon clearing backed by a vertical cliff. Cut into the side of the cliff was a cave. The cave was about fifteen feet wide, eight feet tall, and twenty feet back. There were leaf beds in the far back of the cave. Bones littered around the half-moon clearing. The woods closed in around the clearing.
This was the Raptor's home turf.
Some of the raptors lay around, just like they had after the meal, and soaking up the sun. Zanerkand flopped onto his side in a patch of sun light, followed by Jay, Zomba, and the ever mischievous Wrex.
Jesper and Chasidy stood in the entrance to the cave, watching over the clearing. They were looking for mischievous behavior, danger, and other hazards.
With all the raptors either laying around outside in the sun or lazing around inside, there wasn't much to look for. Chasidy yawned, her mouth wide, revealing her rows and rows of sharp teeth. She scratched her head slowly, then shook to get the extra dirt off her body.
All of the raptors were lazing around, doing nothing. The youngsters were going crazy. They wern't used to it being so quiet.
Come to think about it it was kinda quiet...
Too quiet...
By the time the meal was over, not much of the Hypsi remained. There was blood, bones, and fat, but even the bones were being eaten. The adult raptors were laying on their sides, soaking up the sun after the long meal.
The youngsters were tugging on some of the bones. Jay was at one end, Wrex at the other. Zomba was pulling in the middle, to no avail. Lorina and Soria were watching timidly, rubbing their noses against their clawed hands. The boys were just trying to impress them.
Zanerkand was rubbing his snout on an overhanging branch, stretching to reach it. It didn't do much good. His snout was still bloody. He clawed at his snout, his nose twitching. Then he rubbed it on the ground, snuffling around in the leaves.
When he looked up, Jay was standing in front of him, a bone in his mouth, tail waving around wildly. It was an invitation to come and play. Zanerkand gladly accepted, taking a grip on the other side of the bone, he started a heated game of tug-o-war.
Jay jerked his head back quickly, not letting the bone go, both of them growling in a 'friendly' way. Zanerkand retaliated by twisting his head to the left, trying to pry the bone out of Jay's grip. Jay bounced along with the bone as Zanerkand pulled him back. Then, in an almighty heave and show of strength, Jay reared back with all his power, the bone falling from his opponents bite.
Jay slipped, tumbling backwards, landing in a pile on top of the other adults. He was snapped at by Jesper, but he managed to skip out of biting range, holding his prize proudly. The bone. He strutted around the clearing, the bone in his mouth, a spring in his step, showing off.
In reality, Zanerkand just let Jay win. It was only natural. Zanerkand was a very liked pack member amongst the younger members.
Jesper, now fully awake, yawned and stretched, his mouth open wide. He scratched his head with his clawed, three fingered hand. He got up, stretching again, then shaking to get the dirt and leaves off himself. He pushed his snout against Chasidy and Qwilleran, the two closest raptors to him. They got up without protest.
Jesper coughed twice, softly. When all the other raptors were watching him, he jerked his head to the left, indicating they had to go.
The rest of the raptors got up, yawning, stretching, and shaking. They got into a single file line and followed Jesper and Chasidy to a little path in the woods. Qwilleran and Chanhassen were the last in the line. The juveniles were in the middle, for better protection.
They walked through the trees, making no sound at all, treading carefully on the leaf carpeted ground. In the middle of the line, Wrex crouched down, preparing to pounce onto Zomba's back, but his plans were foiled.
Qwilleran nipped his tail, making him yelp shortly and leap up, continuing in his line, moping. He walked with his head down, tail drooped. It was bad enough being snapped at, like Jay, but to be nipped was a different thing.
Eventually, the raptors made it to the bank of a fast flowing stream. It was a few feet deep, but the raptors didn't cross it, even though the trail went on past the stream. The raptors turned and angled up the stream. Still single file.
Pretty soon, they came to another path, this time through really tall grass. It was so tall, it was over the raptor's heads. Wrex snuck a look back, and was disappointed to find out that Qwilleran was still there.
The path veered off to the left sharply, and the raptors followed. They got through the weeds, then to the woods again. It was like a never ending path. The youngsters were getting restless, even though they had walked this path many times before.
Finally, they came to a half-moon clearing backed by a vertical cliff. Cut into the side of the cliff was a cave. The cave was about fifteen feet wide, eight feet tall, and twenty feet back. There were leaf beds in the far back of the cave. Bones littered around the half-moon clearing. The woods closed in around the clearing.
This was the Raptor's home turf.
Some of the raptors lay around, just like they had after the meal, and soaking up the sun. Zanerkand flopped onto his side in a patch of sun light, followed by Jay, Zomba, and the ever mischievous Wrex.
Jesper and Chasidy stood in the entrance to the cave, watching over the clearing. They were looking for mischievous behavior, danger, and other hazards.
With all the raptors either laying around outside in the sun or lazing around inside, there wasn't much to look for. Chasidy yawned, her mouth wide, revealing her rows and rows of sharp teeth. She scratched her head slowly, then shook to get the extra dirt off her body.
All of the raptors were lazing around, doing nothing. The youngsters were going crazy. They wern't used to it being so quiet.
Come to think about it it was kinda quiet...
Too quiet...