"So, you guys think Tristan and Elise are having any trouble getting the seals?" asked Tai.
"Given that they went back to rescue the carribean monk seal in Cuba, I highly doubt that. They'll probably even get a few extinct macaws while there at it," replied Alice.
A loud bellow turned the group's attention toward a nearby beachhead. There, Nigel was slowly coaxing the enormous form of a walrus - one with four tusks, no less! - toward the time portal. Nearby, what looked like penguins were wobbling around, a few running through the portal to avoid getting crushed by the walrus.
"...Should we help Nigel get the Gomphotaria into the portal?" inquired Lucas.
Tai did not dignify that with a response, instead pointing to the...veritable horde...of penguin-lookalikes that now surrounded the group.
"...right. Get these wannabe penguins into our portal first," was his response. Then, with a ferocious war cry, he began running toward the birds, which comically tried to evade the scary hairless ape. Above, a group of Osteodontornis watched on, wondering if they would be able to snatch up one of the smaller birds in a few moments - they were getting hungry.
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Back in the present, a roosting Pelagornis was caught off guard as the birds tumbled into the present, desperate to avoid the fearsome predator they mistook Lucas for. Soon, however, the fear faded as they realized that their surroundings had changed. Though the terror briefly returned when a group of pelagornids zoomed thorugh the portal, the rest of the wannabe penguins calmed when they realized that there was food available. In moments, the birds had descended into a feeding frenzy, only occasionally being interrupted by the hissing of Phobos, who was particularly protective of the fish he had been provided with.
The roosting pelagornid took this all in for one more moment, then leapt into the air and began soaring over the shoreline. Along the way, it noticed that Tristan and Elise were still being pursued by the seals, all eager for a piece of the marlin was holding. Despite the exhaustion both groups were showing, it seemed the chase would cross the entirety of the beach before it came to a halt.
Then the mammals arrived at the whale carcass.
One of the dryptosaurs looked up at them, annoyance in its eyes.
Instantly, human and seal were running back down the beach, with the tyrannosaur slowly following them. It seemed to just want to get them to leave, but after a few paces, the tyrannosaur adopted a hunting gait - it seemed it had decided to play with the new arrivals.
This behavior lasted until the group returned to where the flightless auks had been deposited, as the tyrannosaur ended up getting too close to Phobos' holding pen. A moment later, and the Deinosuchus had smashed out of his pen, and was now on the warpath.
By the time he had lost interest in the group, they had returned to the whale corpse, which the seals swiftly decided to start digging into, whilst the staff was busy moving in to settle them down.
As for the dryptosaur and the humans...
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Elise and Tristan ducked down as the female Dryptosaurus was batted aside via a tail swipe. The creature let out a groan of pain as she fell to the ground, bruised and beaten.
The Epanterias let out a triumphant growl, before returning to devouring the carcass.
Only once the siblings were certain that they were not going to end up lunch did they move to stand up.
"You two enjoying the sun?" questioned a familiar voice. Turning toward it, brother and sister found themselves looking at Michelle, who was leading a small team in rounding up the seals.
"We would, if it weren't for the angry allosaurs," replied Elise.
"I see," replied Michelle, whose attention had turned toward the tyrannosaur resting in the sand. Carefully, Michelle took a piece of meat out of a pouch, then slowly began to approach the collapsed predator. When it finally noticed her, Michelle responded by offering it the meat. After a moment of hesitation, the Appalachian predator opened its maw, and Michelle threw the treat forward, where it was swiftly snapped up.
The allosaur who had attacked earlier objected to this, only to get an air horn for its troubles. Surprised, it stanched up a portion of the carcass and retreated.
Michelle couldn't help but smile - she loved it when bullies got what they deserved.
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Further inland, Bob was, for once, taking it easy. Sure, a Coelurus had broken out of its pen, but he'd quickly solved that. Now, he was focused on something far more interesting.
Before him, a male Stegosaurus was crying out, occasionally displaying his flanks and plates, which had been angled such that they looked as large and as intimidating as possible. Nearby, under a tree, lay the reason for this posturing: a female of his species, who was watching on in curiosity, already deciding whether this male was worth her time.
"I've named this one Cooler," intoned Bob, "but right now, he's seems to be rather hot blooded. Of course, when females are involved, males can be quite prone to flamboyance."
Already, Cooler had convinced three other males to back down, leaving him the sole male vying for this female's attention. His horn-tipped plates, all vividly colored, had been displayed for over an hour, at angles that would surprise many zoologists, all in the name of winning the lady's favor.
And now, the final test was about to come.
After a few moments of deliberation, the female stood up and began to approach Cooler. Then, much to the head keeper's surprise, she began to make a display of her own, one equally as flamboyant as her would-be suitor's. This was the last trick the female had to weed out unworthy mates - how Cooler reacted would determine whether or not she would mate with him.
Though caught by surprise for a moment, Cooler swiftly responded with another display, this one equally as flamboyant as the ones before it. This time, though, he was cautious to avoid looking too intimidating, as his potential mate was now close enough to lash out at him with her tail - and that would certainly make mating difficult.
After observing the new display for a few minutes, the female let out a low rumbling noise - Cooler had passed the last test. She'd let him display for a few more hours, so as to be sure that no other rivals would try t dispute him. If none succeeded, then the two would mate.
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AN: I LIVE!
Sorry, writers block, boredom, and lots of events in Warframe and Fate/Grand Order got in the way of me working on my stories. But now I am back and ready for more!
Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!
