The shrill, panicked bleating of a deer rang through the dense forests of California. The deer bleated in fear, and panic, its lanky legs shaking and trembling as it attempted to rise-to drag its broken body ever forward.
Ever forward, ever desperate, to escape the awaiting jaws which watched the animals' hapless struggles with golden eyes alight with malice.
The hard, black hooves pounded at the leaf laden ground, front leg muscles rippling and straining to drag itself ever forward and onward.
The tendons upon its back legs were severed, and ruined by black talons.
Ever forward, never backwards.
Ever forward, inch by painful inch, desperate to escape the onyx and gold beast that skulked and circled, as if a shark smelling the faintest drop of blood.
Ever forward, ever onward, to hang onto the thin string of life just a few precious seconds more.
Just a little longer to fight to cling to life.
To delay the bitter end.
And it was this display that the Indoraptor enjoyed, creeping and crawling slowly behind his hapless quarry, golden eyes glinting with a sheen of ill intent.
Slowly did his clawed hands dig into the ground, swiftly did his killing claws thump and stab into the ground. Slow, to build the coming terror and anticipation. Swift, for the precise stabbing of the earth resounded, and caused his prey to twitch and writhe and struggle in new start.
A serpentine hiss escaped the Indoraptor akin to a riveting chuckle, his scaled maw twitching upward into a gnarled, shark like grin.
There was power in being able to instill fear within his prey.
A sense of being in control.
A sense of sadism.
A sense of domination.
Like with the human that was foolish enough to enter his cage.
Like with the little girl that he stalked and toiled after.
They felt like he felt.
Being stuck in a cage too tiny for him.
Being poked and prodded with sharp metal and electric poles.
Being in a state of terror, of fear.
The fear was always there, deep down.
It made him unable to relax.
Unable to release.
Unable to unwind.
Fear drove his rage.
Fear drove his aggression.
But fear also drove his sadism.
It also drove his desire for others to feel as he felt.
Helpless.
Defenseless.
Broken.
Damaged.
Fear made him.
Pain made him.
Survival made him.
It was an instinct.
To hunt.
To kill.
To toil and till through the flesh with claw and teeth, slowly, ever slowly.
To be in control.
To be dominant.
To be...something, in the alone-ness.
To be something in the nothing.
The only thing the Indoraptor disliked about being alone in the nothing, was that there was no fear to inflict in the something.
But the Indoraptor supposed that was a small price to pay.
After all, being something in the nothing, was better than nothing in the something.
Because being alone meant no one could hurt him, could trap him, could make him fear.
And not being alone?
That meant he could be hurt.
He could fear.
It was something the Indoraptor did not like.
After all, even the little grey one attacked him with such zeal.
The humans attacked him.
The grey one attacked him.
Everything attacked him.
Perhaps if things had been different, the Indoraptor would not have been so quick to strike.
But then again, the little grey one attacked first.
And the Indoraptor was adamant to resume the hunt, and eliminate the threat.
He just needed to find her.
For now, he could take out his little fantasies upon his hapless, bleating prey.
Yes, he could do that.
For now.
Ank the Tank had grown accustomed to his little raptor tag along.
After all, the little predator did not attempt to harm him-not that she could, but she did little to hinder his lifestyle by following him.
After all, Ank did not mind being alone and solitary without his kind nearby, and was quite content to just lazily waddle around, endlessly searching for food and drink. Mainly food.
And wherever Ank was, E was not far behind, skittering in the shadows and foliage, weaving through the redwoods. While her coloration was not the most opportune for hunting, E was at least somewhat aided by the rustic hue of the massive trees.
The little raptor appeared to gain at least some confidence whilst being in Ank's presence. The red raptor was more bold, and would remain out in the open longer-if ever alert, neck craning and head swiveling.
When the pair did attempt communication, it was generally in the form of a grunt, or a snort, or a low bellow from Ank, and a hoarse rasp or high pitched squeak from E.
And that was the extent of their communication.
But it was communication, none the less.
Several times did E attempt to approach Ank-to physically rub up against and nuzzle and preen.
It was an act Ank did not entirely care for, and a snort, followed by a stomp of a stout leg, was generally enough to scare the odd predator away.
Though this time, Ank the Tank was caught off guard, the armored beast having bedded down within the grasses, curled within a ball to sleep. The great beast snored with the fury of a volcano erupting, burly chest expanding with each deep breath.
E took this moment of weakness as an opportunity, and carefully, cautiously, gently, climbed upon the armored prey, and stood atop her packmate. The red and cream colored raptor stilled upon getting a foundation upon Ank's thick, calloused armor, her clawed feet tense to get a stable, yet careful grip. A high pitched, yet quiet squeak escaped the raptor in start as Ank shifted in his sleep, the small predator briefly losing balance, arms flailing, as if a bird attempting to right itself.
Upon stabilizing, E looked down upon her plant eating packmate, nares flaring, blue eyes locked in careful observation, pupils dilated. She remained atop Ank, careful to notice any signs of her sleeping companion becoming awake. The armored beasts' snores rang and echoed loud, putting E in a state of ease.
As least she knew the breathing pattern that indicated Ank was asleep.
E then craned her neck low, hips raised and tail flicking slightly. The red raptor proceeded to slowly, carefully, preen the armored beast's calloused and thick hide, serrated teeth nipping and pecking, as if a bird picking from a crocodile's gaping maw.
Though E's pecking and nipping was more focused upon any parasites that decided to feed off of Ank, cleaning his hide of any dirt and grime and grass that clung to him.
A small meal, a thorough cleaning, and an attempt to form a strong rapport.
It was an act in an attempt to bond.
To connect.
To socialize.
To interact.
The raptors within E's former pack would preen to bond.
Preen to build trust.
Preen to show care.
Preen to demonstrate companionship.
But a social pariah such as E did not receive such acts of fellowship.
E just received angry pecks and nips.
A sudden shift in Ank's breathing, and the beast underneath stirred, awakened by the feeling of pricks and nips tickling his calloused armor. Ank's beady eyes opened awake, and his snoring ceased into a rousing snort, a snot bubble forming and popping from his flaring nares.
A low bellow of confusion rang forth from the stout animal, short neck craning to try and get a better look at what was upon his calloused back whilst he rose to his feet. E produced a rasp in start, arms flailing.
The noise of the familiar little beast caused Ank to shift and twist himself, attempting to see the red raptor still atop.
E then leapt from her ride, hitting and ground and hopping a bit further, twisting herself to face the armored prey.
The red raptor looked upon her packmate, alert yet cautious.
Ank released a snort towards the little predator, body shaking and feet stomping. However, the great beast merely waddled himself around in a circle, before settling back down again in a deep huff of breath, and the quake of the ground.
E looked upon the sleepy animal, body falling more lax than it previously was.
She stayed still for quite some time, before slowly approaching her companion once more.
It was not long before E was upon her packmate's back once more, preening.
Ank decided his little tag along had a use after all.
Tickling aside, a little preening may as well have been having a massage.
And for E, she was happy with their bonding experience.
That, and being atop such a beast was like being atop a hill.
In that moment, she felt safe.
Feeling safe was good.
But hunger was always there.
And hunger was the driving force that separated E from Ank.
Feeding upon parasites and mice and birds and lizards was only enough to satisfy her stomach for so long.
It meant E was always looking for her next meal.
Always hungry.
Always opportunistic.
Always observant, yet curious, and cautious.
E was forced to part ways from her waddling packmate to try and hunt for larger, more filling prey.
Prey that she more often than not scavenged upon, searching and circling and nearing using her senses.
And more often than not, it was her sense of smell that led her to kills.
This time, it was no different.
The scent of blood was rich within the air, after all.
And it led to the body of a deer, mangled by powerful, crushing jaws and lacerated with sharp talons.
The female raptor did not move from her hiding place within the foliage, blue eyes sharp and alert, scanning for any nearby predators.
Or, more specifically, the predator that made the kill.
It's scent was stronger now-stronger than the scent of blood.
But what it was? She could not tell.
It did not smell like any of the prey and predator animals she smelt before.
It's scent was different.
E's hesitance to approached the kill was awarded, by perhaps a sparing of her life, for the creature made its way back towards the mangled meal, jaws dripping with crystalline water water from a nearby stream.
The sight of the strange beast made E press her cream stomach flush to the ground, leg muscles tensing in preparation to flee. But also to make herself seem smaller. Less noticeable in the shadows.
E never saw a predator such as this one.
This predator that looked like her kind, but not.
This predator that crawled and skulked upon the ground, head low and hips high, black scales with golden stripes-which was only outshined by the flickering gold of its irises, pupils thin and sharp.
The black beast sported quills upon its head, and its back appeared to be course and armored, like E's packmate.
It looked like her.
But not.
It was something different.
Something bigger.
Something foreign.
Something scary.
E's blue eyes remained fixed upon the odd creature before her, her heart thumping wildly within her chest in a growing terror, pupils large and killing claws flicking.
E was so transfixed upon the black and gold beast before her, that she did not realize the stress of her situation constricted her throat, and caused her breathing to squeak and hiss.
She female only realized the noisiness of her own breathing when the beast looked upon her direction.
Upon seeing E, hiding in the shadows, the Indoraptor's scaled maw twitched upward into a gnarled, twisted grin with jagged, broken teeth.
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