Raptorsong
Part Two
"I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die." I canted silently. My body shook violently as I sat there. The Rex would charge soon and I would feel myself dying, crushed between his massive jaws. The ground shook from his giant feet, powered by his giant leg muscles. I squeezed my eyes shut as tightly as I could. The Rex did not attack though. Why wasn't he killing me? He stood there amongst the broken trees looking around stupidly. Then I remembered what I had been taught years ago. Tyrannosaurs can't see objects that don't move! He couldn't see me there!
I didn't move at all. If he couldn't see me, then how could he eat me? Soon Rex the got bored and moved on, in search of some easier prey. I stood up and left the clearing. I had to tell my pack what I had seen.
It was early in the afternoon when I finally made it home. I ran to the matriarch of our pack, Cleo. She really wasn't that old, maybe ten years at the most, so I was positive that she had never seen these creatures before.
"Rearchh Sssccrannnck rrrrrrrgggggg rachrat! (There are odd new creatures in our territory)" I said.
She nodded understandingly, and went over to her mate to discuss what to do. I turned and went to a freshly killed parasauralophus. I hadn't eaten all day, and now I was hungry. I dug my head into the bloody carcass and took my fill. I then headed to the nest I had been staying in for a few days now, even though it wasn't dark yet. I was really tired after my flight with the T-Rex.
When I got there, another raptor was there. A female raptor. I recognized her. It was the girl I had seen hunting two days ago! She had a cream colored body with dark brown stripes. Above her eyes were little black spots. Her name, I think was Moonmist. I stared at her and she stared back at me. She was the girl I wanted, both healthy and strong. Even better, there were no other males in the area. If I can convince her that I'm the right raptor, then I won't have to fight anyone!
I bobbed my head toward her, as a sign that said that I wanted to mate, and she bobbed hers back.
I then went over to the carcass and took a piece of meat. Slowly and carefully, so as not to make a mistake, I started the courtship dance. I turned my body and shuffled my feet in rhythm. When I had finished, I dropped the piece of meat a few feet from her. She took it and threw it up into the air. I watched her intently. This was the most critical part in the whole ritual. If she ate the meat, then she accepted my offer, if she let it fall, then she was rejecting me.
I saw the meat falling in slow motion. As it got closer to the earth, I watched it, hoping that Moonmist would take it. She raised her snout and opened her jaws. She caught the meat and swallowed it whole, accepting my offer. I had finally, after two years of trying, found a mate that I would be with until the day I died. She lay down in the nest, and I sat down next to her and began to groom her neck, as a sign of friendship and love.
As my newfound mate and I settled down, a strange sound rent the air. As wonderful as today seemed, it was far from being over.
Part Two
"I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die." I canted silently. My body shook violently as I sat there. The Rex would charge soon and I would feel myself dying, crushed between his massive jaws. The ground shook from his giant feet, powered by his giant leg muscles. I squeezed my eyes shut as tightly as I could. The Rex did not attack though. Why wasn't he killing me? He stood there amongst the broken trees looking around stupidly. Then I remembered what I had been taught years ago. Tyrannosaurs can't see objects that don't move! He couldn't see me there!
I didn't move at all. If he couldn't see me, then how could he eat me? Soon Rex the got bored and moved on, in search of some easier prey. I stood up and left the clearing. I had to tell my pack what I had seen.
It was early in the afternoon when I finally made it home. I ran to the matriarch of our pack, Cleo. She really wasn't that old, maybe ten years at the most, so I was positive that she had never seen these creatures before.
"Rearchh Sssccrannnck rrrrrrrgggggg rachrat! (There are odd new creatures in our territory)" I said.
She nodded understandingly, and went over to her mate to discuss what to do. I turned and went to a freshly killed parasauralophus. I hadn't eaten all day, and now I was hungry. I dug my head into the bloody carcass and took my fill. I then headed to the nest I had been staying in for a few days now, even though it wasn't dark yet. I was really tired after my flight with the T-Rex.
When I got there, another raptor was there. A female raptor. I recognized her. It was the girl I had seen hunting two days ago! She had a cream colored body with dark brown stripes. Above her eyes were little black spots. Her name, I think was Moonmist. I stared at her and she stared back at me. She was the girl I wanted, both healthy and strong. Even better, there were no other males in the area. If I can convince her that I'm the right raptor, then I won't have to fight anyone!
I bobbed my head toward her, as a sign that said that I wanted to mate, and she bobbed hers back.
I then went over to the carcass and took a piece of meat. Slowly and carefully, so as not to make a mistake, I started the courtship dance. I turned my body and shuffled my feet in rhythm. When I had finished, I dropped the piece of meat a few feet from her. She took it and threw it up into the air. I watched her intently. This was the most critical part in the whole ritual. If she ate the meat, then she accepted my offer, if she let it fall, then she was rejecting me.
I saw the meat falling in slow motion. As it got closer to the earth, I watched it, hoping that Moonmist would take it. She raised her snout and opened her jaws. She caught the meat and swallowed it whole, accepting my offer. I had finally, after two years of trying, found a mate that I would be with until the day I died. She lay down in the nest, and I sat down next to her and began to groom her neck, as a sign of friendship and love.
As my newfound mate and I settled down, a strange sound rent the air. As wonderful as today seemed, it was far from being over.