Chapter 8

Escape into danger

Years have passed since Tank's hatching, and since then their mother being driven by her overprotective maternal instincts, kept the 3 young dinosaurs in the secluded safety of the forest, ensuring that none of them leaved their hiding spot while also driving out any dinosaur that comes into her territory. Thankfully the seclusion of the nesting area also came with access to a stream that flowed nearby and dense shrubs which provided enough food for the hatchlings and mom. Nearly all night mother would keep a vigilance on the lookout for predators, having been scarred mentally after losing most of her first clutch she would ensure that she would remain by her young's side as long as she lived. As the days passed her lack of rest and poorer health choices due to limiting her access to various foods had drove her to be further on edge, to the point she'd attack or even come close to killing any other dinosaur that came within her line of sight! Tank and her siblings were forced to be kept in hiding every time a dinosaur came close, even if it were a harmless plant eater foraging for food. How traumatised they were to see their mother brutally wound and drive off a harmless udanoceratops one time, and how much they got scolded should they even try to leave the nest boundaries.

For a while the saichania family was forced to live under such cramped conditions, but as years went by the area was soon beginning to be heavily stripped of vegetation, one day there wasn't enough to support the 4 ankylosaurs anymore even if they still had access to water. The mother saichania found herself growing weaker from her lack of rest and food, and she could see the same was going to happen to her won young if they remained here. With little choice now and with deep frustration, the mother let out a loud screech as morning came, waking up her young. It was then she decided it was time they moved on out of the canyon to find a new place to live, slamming her club tail on the ground getting their attention and with deep reluctance the 3 of them were forced to move out and follow her lead.

Despite being forced to live under such tight and limited spaces of the canyon walls for years, the saichania young had grown rather large now and were strong enough to venture out into more open spaces, about half the size of their mother, their clubs hard hardened and they also sported a set of sharp spines adorned to bony body armour, making it a strong defence against would be predators. However, because they hadn't yet experienced life outside of the canyons there was still much they had yet to learn, and they'd have to learn fast too. Their mother while heavily agitated from lack of rest, she also grew rather weak due to the limited amount and variety food available, so her movements were rather sluggish as they stumbled out of the canyons and into the more open areas where large trees and tall grass shrubs were.

Tank stayed close to her mother, believing she knew what was best for them while her brother and sister were tired and frustrated of being tied down all their lives and how much they wanted to explore outside their nest since the day they hatched. Yet every time they tried to leave their mother would stop them and give them a firm scolding and even threaten them should they ever try to sneak out behind her back again. Even in the night, they had no such opportunity to escape the watchful eye of the adult saichania and each day they felt was wasted being tied down to their mother's yoke. Now they had a chance after so many years of isolation from the outside, they could see sights never before, from tall trees and many tall shrubs and plants they had never seen before. Above that, there were many kinds of dinosaurs they never laid eyes upon, as a herd of nemegtosaurus were browsing in the distance as they walked past.

As Tank continued to keep close to their matriarch of their little family herd, her siblings drawn by their curiosity found themselves straying away from their mother's path after catching the smell of what seemed like something sweet in the distance. They could tell their mother was on high alert and as much as they wanted to break free they continued to follow her out of fear of getting scolded by her again. However, the opportunity for them soon arose, when a large therizinosaurus came into view, lumbering out of the underbrush and onto their path. Startled by this the mother saichania quickly roared at the newcomer, waving out her tail and rattling it with warning, in response at being threatened the therizinosaurus roared back and flared out her massive claws warning the ankylosaur not to mess with her.

As Tank held closely behind her mother, her siblings seized the chance to make a run for it, freedom at last as they headed down another game trail away from their overbearing mother once and for all! Tank, hearing the sounds of rustling behind, saw her siblings run away into the bushes to her surprise that they were running away when their mother was trying to protect them from the scary dinosaur with huge claws. It was then Tank began to see that they were actually trying to escape from mom, it bewildered her as to why they'd do such a thing and knowing that their mother would be furious with this, she hurried after them to try and stop them.

Meanwhile the standoff between mother saichainia and the therizinosaurus ended in a stalemate as the scythe lizard, decided to backdown and retreat into the brush, unwilling to risk an unneeded fight. As Tank's mother roared out in fury, slamming her tail down on the ground which made nearby dinosaurs back away or keep their distance, she looked behind to check on her brood to make sure they were okay, only to gasp in shock to find they all ran away! Angered by this she looked around restlessly and roared out demanding they come back, but no answer came to her. Triggered to the point of exploding, the mother roared out in fury as she slammed her tail at a nearby rock and knocked it away she sniffed the ground and picked up the scent of her runaway hatchlings and chased after them, she was going to find them and drag them back and when this time she'll ensure they never leave her sight ever again!

Meanwhile, as Tank's brother and sister continued running as fast as they could, having heard their mother's loud roar in anger they knew she'd be on their tails in no time which spurred them to pick up the pace. The same could be said for Tank but one so that she could bring them back home before they escalated the situation even more! It was then they came to a more denser area covered by shadows of giant trees, where the 2 saichania siblings found new food in the distance, a large bush with a handful of brightly coloured flowers on it, where a butterfly was sucking nectar from. The aromatic scent no doubt came from those flowers, their noses could tell them as they eagerly went up to the bushes to gorge on something new, and boy was it delicious, after being fed nothing but ferns and shrubs for nearly their whole life how great it was to finally dig into something new and better than anything they ever feasted on. If only they worked up the determination and courage to run away long ago then they wouldn't have wasted so many years away.

Finally at last Tank managed to catch up to where they were, as she found them in an open space of the forest as the sun beamed down through the gap above. She panted for a brief moment to catch her breath but then gave it careful thought, knowing ion she rushed up to them now she'd step on all kinds of leaves and twigs in the underbrush alerting them and giving herself away, and it may spur them to run away again. Because of that she looked around, carefully surveying her surroundings before finding a thick bush to hide behind. She took cover behind and remained still, waiting for when they'd eat their fill and hopefully drop their guard. Still the sight of them indulging on new food was rather tempting to her, as she hadn't eaten much herself and lying down she could feel her empty stomach growling deep inside. The temptation to be with her siblings was hard to resist, and after a few minutes she planned on dropping her cover and join them…till the scent of something different caught her nose.

Perking her head around Tank smelled an unfamiliar scent on the ground, finding a set of small but clawed footprints in the ground, one that put her on high alert. She could sense danger in the air which overrode her hunger, as her instincts told her to she hold fast and remained silent as there was something out there, which her siblings were unaware of….

ROAR!

A loud screech came through the woods catching them off guard, as mom finally arrived on the scene, stunning Tank and her siblings as they laid eyes on her. The way she snorted and huffed like an enraged bull, if anger were a blade it could easily slice a piece of paper in half as it fell onto the blade's edge. She then stomped her foot on the ground and slammed her tail as she roared out furiously with even more anger than the young had ever seen before. They had seen her aggressive before but those were like mild tantrums in comparison to now! Her siblings were frozen in place and unable to move, held together by fear and their mother's stern look gazed at them, as she stomped towards them and roared out in their faces which made them lower their heads and whimper in shame and regret, as Tank looked on from the underbrush feeling bad for her siblings for suffering alone without her.

She was about to come clean herself too, when she saw something scurry by in the distance, small and fast. Deciding to keep hidden, it was then her mother widened her eyes and looked around sensing the same danger Tank did. Her brother and sister picked up on said danger too as they looked around anxiously trying to pinpoint what it was, m and seeing their mother acting worried herself was a cause for major concern. Their mother, realising they had to move now as she urged them to follow her out….only to be stopped by a trio of feathered carnivores, velociraptors! Though small they were very agile and highly aggressive pack hunters, as the lead raptor let out a few calls he signalled the arrival of more raptors who darted in from multiple directions around them till they had the saichania family surrounded! As the saichanias were boxed further in it was then they realised they were right in the middle of the raptors' territory and they basically delivered themselves onto their dinner plate!

Tank widened her eyes as the raptors darted in repeatedly, trying to scare and agitate the mother saichania to attack and leave herself or her young vulnerable! At this moment Tank could see how her brother and sister were in deep regret over their band decision as well as in utter terror as they found themselves attacked from all sides! Mom swung out her tail scattering the pack but in an instant they regrouped and struck again, as one darted at her face to distract her, another leapt in and slashed her flank drawing blood and causing her to roar in pain! With blood drawn, it sent the pack into a berserk feeding frenzy as they slashed and dashed repeatedly at the family, the mother weakened from lack of rest and nutrition and the young too inexperienced to defend themselves, at this point it would only be a matter of time before blood loss and exhaustion would kick in and finish the job as the velociraptors planned.

Unable to bear with it any longer, Tank quickly turned around and fled the scene, undetected thankfully as the raptors were all fixated on the huge meal before them….

As she made it out into the clearing back where they began, she could hear the sounds of screeching far behind her and that of a dying roar too. Without a backwards glance she knew it was time for her to move on, it was time for her to make her own way in the world now, no more hiding behind her mother she had to get tough no matter how scary things would be for her from this point on.

And thus concludes Tank's adolescence chapter, basically her mom had grown so overprotective and to some extent paranoid with her maternal instincts gone overdrive, she kept her young secluded in the boundaries of the nesting glade for so long while also being on high alert and having less time to rest herself. Kinda relates to a handful of parents and how they raise some of their children in a way. Also as shown here Tank's mother being very strict, refusing to let her young out of her sight while keeping other dinosaurs away from interacting with her young, even when they grew much larger.

The fact their nesting ground was unable to support the family for much longer was Tank's mother forced to bring her young out of there in search of a new place to live, and even then she would refuse to let them go their separate ways. It would seem they'd be kept on a tight leash for most of their lives till the misfortune or fortune came in the form of predators breaking up the family and helping Tank to finally break free of her mother's yoke, however living under her mother's protection for so long she herself is rather shy and timid still, not experiencing the world herself or meeting other dinosaurs, being made to believe they all couldn't be trusted and thus she now has to make her own way in the world now. Though seeing how scary fighting can be it's clear she would prefer to avoid conflict at least for now.

Have to admit I didn't think I'd come up with more to her story till now. Here we see her being timid as in Tanks a Lot and also how she developed a talent for being able to hide too. If there was one good thing she leaned living under her strict mother it's being more alert and self aware, though that time when Terry attacked her with neck crusher she was indulging on food and couldn't react in time.

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tsukikami02

Yeah it's that loss which makes sure her mother can't let her guard down and making her overprotective over her remaining offspring.

Now you'll see her life taking a turn, and it's time for her to make her own way in the world now so it can be fortunate or unfortunate depending how you look at it.

Drew Luczyński

Yeah one can easily forget that bit, can suggest maybe she has a dormant violent side ready to snap and Dr Z's Alpha Controller brought that up to the surface. Kinda wonder if they did the same to Terry and Spiny as well. (There were times we saw Alpha Balls on Spiny and Tank but never on Terry).