This story will go a very different route compared to Dynasties, so I decided to hammer it out. AU where Sibo never erupts. I reused the names of the Raptor OCs because Rex, Vex and Lex fit better on little Spino/Rex hybrids than Utahraptors.
I am also going to write a story based on The Magnificent One's origins (or rather, how he ended up on Isla Nublar and how he integrated into the Raptor Squad). Thus, it will be a prequel to Code Catholicon. Mainly because I want to write more on The Magnificent One, and further test and develop him.
Roberta noticed something.
Her mate was staring at her far more than usual, of late.
Indeed, the Bull's emerald, crocodilian gaze lingered upon the brown hued female far longer than one would be comfortable with-had there not been a level of trust, that is. The Spinosaurus would often stare, barely blinking, as if deep in a trance akin to a torpor. But Roberta knew her mate was not sleeping-for sleeping standing up would be most uncomfortable, much less with one's eyes open.
No, he was very much awake when his gaze fell upon her. Nublar's Tyrannosaur would certainly feel threatened were it any other large predator staring upon her quite so. Roberta did not understand why he did this.
When she would look upon Sorna's Spinosaurus, his vivid green eyes would always be looking back.
Always.
At first, Roberta was unsure her mate was actually there, he was so still. Upon warbling her head to get a better imagine-he indeed was. But her mate was quiet. It was odd.
Normally when the Spinosaurus faced her, he would greet her with a serpentine purr riveting deep from his throat, or a low trill in call, or even a poke or nuzzle of his more narrow snout against her broad one. No. Not this time. The Bull was absolutely silent, his jaded eyes transfixed upon Roberta's golden eyes, glistening in light from the early dawn's rays.
A low, guttural rumble quietly gurgled forth from Roberta's throat, her head still warbling ever so slightly, attempting to better see her still mate. The female's broad head upon her thick, muscular neck then turned upwards towards the newly birthed sky pained with pinks, yellows and oranges of the new day, nares flaring.
Sorna's apex predator was there...she could smell his musk...but yet-why was he so still? Was he sick? The earthen hued Tyrannosaur was unsure, and a second soft grumble from her throat escaped her in worry. Roberta's short, muscular forearms clenched and unclenched in concern, as if the female was debating on what to do, or simply trying to relieve some physical anxiety. A muscular leg shifted backwards, causing three black, thick claws to uproot and till the earth.
Nublar's reigning Queen then ushered a soft, almost crooning call in fret before turning her massive head, then the rest of her body, away from her mate and towards their nest. Roberta's lumbering form moved towards the mound of compost that housed their eggs-the nest itself a compilation of dirt, grasses and various foliage torn and uprooted form the ground. While normally the Tyrannosaur's footfalls were heavy and causing the earth to thunder and quake, Roberta's stride was much more cautious, hesitant, even, or more so slower in gait than normal. It was as if she did not want to disturb the incubating eggs inside.
Even when choosing to lay down beside the nest, Roberta took care in lowering her great form just so slightly against the heap of compost, as if she were fearful her massive size would cause harm. Belly pressed against the cool grasses slick with morning dew and earth not yet warmed from the sun, Roberta turned her massive head to face the nest, as if simply turning her gaze away would endanger her precious young. Unwavering, her amber eyes dared not leave the mound of dirt and plant, short arms clenching and releasing, clawed fingers tilling the earth.
If a Tyrannosaurus, in all its savage ferocity was ever anxious and worried-Roberta was certainly one such specimen.
The Bull briefly looked towards his mate and nest, an arm raising as taloned fingers scratched his jaw. The Spinosaurus released a low hiss, which grew into a soft trill towards the Tyrannosaur. His call remained unanswered, for Roberta did not rise. She was not leaving her nest.
Clawed arm falling down at normal position, Sorna's King snorted, turned his head away from the direction of his mate, and then his body. Footfalls heavy and nimble, the Bull began to meander off to hunt.
Though it would be much easier-and much faster-were there two large predators rather than one.
Sometime during her watch of the nest-Roberta fell into a doze, muscular chest expanding as she inhaled, and decompressing as she exhaled, breath slow. The feeling of something wet and slimy being nudged against her crushing maw was enough to rouse her from slumber, amber eyes opening and pupils narrowing.
Roberta awoke with a fish head being pressed against her, the water that still clung from the animal being smeared against her scaled lips.
The Queen's eyes narrowed, and her nostrils flared in irritation as the captured fish held within her mate's jaws was pulled back-only to be nudged against her snout once again.
The Spinosaurus held the aquatic prey within his jaws, the fish held head first in an offering. His mate did not seem entirely pleased with his choice of prey, and merely turned her nose from his gift, a low, warning rumble coming from her throat.
After a few more pokes and prods with Roberta becoming quite intimate with a nigh dead fish-for the Bull was stubborn, and remained adamant that his offering not be wasted-Roberta hesitantly, regretfully, opened her crushing maw in acceptance.
The Bull then moved forth, and tilted his jaws to face downward, and allowed the fish to slip from his narrow jaws and into the Tyrannosaur's broad maw. The muscles of Roberta's throat flexed and bobbed as she swallowed the prey whole. As much as the female forced herself to eat her mate's offering-she much more preferred red meat. Not these slippery little prey items that were slimy and felt like they would get stuck in her throat.
The Spinosaurus released a soft rumble from his throat in please, his snout briefly rubbing and caressing Roberta's own, a purr vibrating his gullet. His emerald gaze flicked over the Tyrannosaur as he did so, as if inspecting her for harm.
Roberta-as much as she was cranky-produced a quiet grumble, and ever so slightly returned the affection.
The Bull then craned his neck backwards to pull away, emerald gaze once more flicking over his tan hued mate. Producing a soft call in contentment, Sorna's Spinosaurus turned away from Nublar's Tyrannosaurus, and lumbered away in order to resume his hunt.
Throughout the day, the sailed predator would return multiple times in order to provide food for his nesting mate. On the pro side, the Bull was never gone for more than an hour in his scouring for prey. On the down side, the prey he brought back was fish. Fish, fish, and more fish, caught from a local water source.
Roberta was getting sick of fish. She did not understand how her mate could eat them so often, much less catch them with ease. She also did not understand why the Spinosaurus opted to hunt these fish rather than the herbivorous prey they usually hunted. It was not like her mate could not handle himself in a hunt.
Perhaps he just did not want to be gone long should something happen?
After her mate left once more, Roberta merely lied beside her nest.
And waited.
And waited.
And waited.
The sun changed positions within the sky more than it ever did in his previous treks to hunt, and yet her mate did not return.
Roberta's gaze long left her nest, and rather, focused upon the direction the Spinosaurus usually returned. Her amber eyes flicked from side to side, head warbling ever so slightly, hoping to better see her mate rather than hear or smell him should something be amiss. She did not see him. And Roberta certainly did not hear the thumping of his heavy footfalls or feel the ground vibrating under his weight.
Roberta resumed to look in the direction she knew her mate would come. Her clawed fingers raked at the dirt beneath her with unease, her weight shifting side to side as her legs became restless. A grumble in concern and worry escaped from her throat.
The Tyrannosaurus' gaze then tore from the woods, and back to her nest, only to fall back towards the surrounding area. A rumble from her throat built in strength, and turned into a call, bellow loud enough to carry through the surrounding lands.
Upon hearing her call echo along the winds of Nublar, Roberta felt her muscles begin to relax.
Surely her mate heard her call.
And now that he heard her call, he would answer.
The Tyrannosaur waited.
And waited.
And waited.
The Bull did not answer her call.
Roberta shifted uncomfortably, breath deepening as her anxiety rose.
He did not answer?
Why did he not answer?
Surely he heard?
How could he not?
Roberta was unaccustomed to the feeling of fear that welled within her breast. It was an uncomfortable, and unsettling feeling. She should not feel fear.
But she did.
What if something happened?
Would she be able to raise their young on her own?
What if-
Roberta shook herself, as if to shake her fear away. Slowly, hesitantly, the female Tyrannosaurus rose to her feet, muscular legs stiff from lack of movement. Her joints popped, and it was with some relief that her limbs began to stretch. Nublar's Queen produced a grumble as she inhaled, readying to bellow another call-until the thundering, harrowing, shrill call of her mate answered her.
A flow of birds took off in fearful flight in the direction of the call, and it was a spectical Roberta noticed. First she heard his haunting bellow, and then she felt his greater weight rocking the earth with each forward step towards her-and then she saw him emerge from the wood.
Almost instantly, the Queen felt her fears dissolve, the female producing a pleased chuff in greeting, scaled lips puffing slightly.
The Bull responded by producing a sneeze-chuff of his own, emerald gaze once more falling upon his tan hued mate.
Producing a soft grumble, Roberta neared her sailed mate, and pressed her broad snout against his more narrowed one. It was an action the Spinosaurus returned.
Craning his neck backwards, the Bull then lowered his head, and dropped upon the dirt floor what he held between teeth and tongue. What dropped upon the ground with a rather heavy thud, was something that looked like a golden, clear stone. A piece of amber glittered in the rays of the sun that had not yet fallen behind the mountains as dusk approached.
Roberta's nares flared, and the female Tyrannosaurus lowered her head to better inspect the object, head warbling.
A gift?
She was hoping for more food.
But it was still a gift the female would accept, for she scooped up the fossilized amber within her jaws, and produced a chuff in thanks.
The Bull's chest swelled with pride, quite pleased his mate accepted his gift.
The shiny rock was just like the color of her eyes!
Torrential downpour was always a problem for hapless eggs.
Indeed, the risk of drowning was very real when the flood waters began to rise and the ground began to swell.
Lightning struck into the churning seas and caused the darkened sky to illuminate in white against dark, heavy clouds. The rain battered and stung against flesh, earth and trees sideways, severing grasses and foliage and causing waters to rise.
Roberta figured her mate's odd sail was good for one thing.
It meant if she rested down wind of him-she could mainly be spared from the punishing water from above.
Indeed, wedged against her larger mate's form, Roberta was desperate in taking shelter from the pounding rains. The surrounding nesting ground seemed to explode with ripples of water on flooded grasses, the downpour stinging her eyes.
As Roberta allowed the Spinosaurus to take the brunt of the storm, the Tyrannosaurus, herself, tried to keep her gaze upon the ever diminishing condition of their nest, which was slowly being chipped away by the raging storm.
As the storm raged, flood waters boiled and swelled, and Roberta knew-something was amiss. Instinct told her something was wrong, though the female was not entirely sure as to why.
When the storm began to die, Roberta rose from her position beside her mate, and immediately inspected the nest, nostrils flaring and ears honing in on any queer noises.
She heard what sounded like water, churning within the nest.
A grumble of concern escaped her throat, and carefully, gently, raising one of her muscular legs, Roberta used her clawed toes dig a hole at the very bottom of the compost nest.
Upon breaching the bottom, inner sanctum that housed their incubating eggs, muddy and dirty water rushed out from the mound, and flowed downhill, towards the sea.
The Bull watched from his position upon the ground as Nublar's Queen lowered herself to further inspect the eggs through the emergency hole she created. Apparently pleased that her eggs were no longer in danger of water, the Tyrannosaur lumbered along beside her mate, and lowered herself to rest beside him, body fatigued.
Roberta was awakened from her slumber by the sound of loud cracks and crunches being made.
Eyes shooting open, the Queen's golden eyes instantly fell upon her nest, and a bellow erupted from her maw as she attempted to rise to her feet with haste.
The Grey One was raiding her nest!
Blue paused from her starved gorging to released a startled cry, blood and yolk coating her scaled maw as she darted away, turning upon her heels to face the enraged mother.
Blue was so focused upon the rising Queen, that she barely noticed the charging Spinosaurid emerge from the wood, forcing the trees and bushes to part in his rage. The Bull was more akin to a raging beast, emerald eyes flushed red, saliva so thick and viscous in wrath it was solidifying into foam. His jaws would have clamped down upon the raider, would have crushed the life out of the tiny creature that still contained the blood and flesh of his unhatched young upon her maw-had the rage of his heavy stride not quaked the very ground-and not alerted the blue striped female.
The grey Raptor released a shrill scream in warning-and perhaps fear-as she twisted her body to escape his crushing jaws. An echo rang out as his maw clamped shut, and Blue could feel the heated breath and spray of saliva upon her hide as she danced and twirled away from his narrow jaws.
The Bull's bellow was more akin to scream, the cry so shrill he risked blowing out his own throat. The grey female resumed to dance and twist out of her attacker's snapping jaws, fragments of teeth flying from his maw at the force of his own bites. The Spinosaurus didn't feel any pain. He just felt rage.
Blue then twisted, and attempted to flee upon seeing the Tyrannosaurus fully rise, turning her back towards the more aggressive attacker.
Three jagged claws raking themselves across her hip and back, and a grunt of pain was all Blue registered before her world was turned upside down. The strike caused the female Raptor to fly through the air, and land hard upon the ground with a thud.
Blue barely registered the pain. The only thing she felt was the rush of adrenaline coursing through her veins and causing her blood to run wild. She saw the Bull charge forth, jaws opened wide to devour her. She heard the Brown One somewhere, but she wasn't sure entirely where.
Faster than Blue could think, faster than Blue thought possible, somehow, the grey Raptor rolled upon her back, and to her feet, recovering and dashing away from the raging crocodilian jaws.
Crying in panic, Blue then fled into the brush of the nearby wood, Sorna's apex predator swift upon her trail, snarling in heated wrath.
Roberta moved to join the chase, but ceased mid stride, skidding to a halt. In a bellow of fury, the Queen was swift to see the offender off-and leave the chase to her mate.
Breath ragged in rage, Roberta felt her veins pulsing and heart pounding.
She was angry.
She was very, very unhappy.
But as upset as she was, Roberta turned her attention from her wrath, to her eggs.
Legs shaking, the female lumbered towards her nest, and inspected the damage.
Several eggs had been cracked open, broken shell, blood, yolk and the tiny bodies of their half eaten chicks lay within. Roberta blinked, and sniffed, nostrils flaring. Pressing her snout into the nest, Nublar's Queen gently, tenderly, attempted her best to nudge and nuzzle a half eaten chick, attempting to see if her infant was okay.
It did not stir.
A low, sorrowful rumble escaped the Queen's throat, and her tongue moved tenderly to lick and clean her chick's wounds, as if that would help her baby.
Roberta blinked, and slowly, regretfully, ceased her actions. Her golden eyes flicked from her ruined eggs, to the ones that were yet untouched.
At least those, she could save.
At least those, she could protect.
For the ones that were too far done, and ruined-they became a meal for the Queen, and after, she cleaned the nest of excess shell.
Roberta then waited for the Bull to return.
Sorna's Spinosaurus did not return until three days later.
Chirps could be faintly heard from the nest, and it was a noise both parents were instantly alerted to.
Their nest had been softly chirping for several hours-but this time, the noises of their young were different. Faint cracks could be heard within.
Roberta shifted to press her massive head against the compost heap, listening intently. Rising to her feet, the Tyrannosaur looked upon the nest, before briefly looking to the Spinosaurus. A low, soft call chortled from her gullet and fluttered towards her mate's ears.
Chest expanding in breath, the Bull neared ever closer to the nest, a taloned hand moving to gently rake from the top of the nest. He dug slowly, and carefully, spilling the remains of the nest upon the ground until the very first of his hatching chicks were enveloped with the light of day.
And so, a new dawn was born, as the first of their young broke free of their shelled homes.
The first of their chicks to exit the nest was small, thin, and fragile. The young hybrid shared more in physical build with his mother than his father, and sported a rustic red hue upon his scales, and a more tan coloration upon his underbelly-like his mother, and held darker rustic stripes upon his back and snout similar to typical bull Tyrannosaurs. The only thing the first hatched seemed to have of his father, was his green eye coloration, pupils round. The chick was more legs than anything, wobbling out into the world, chirping as he looked upon the massive beasts that were his parents. Egg fluid was still upon his hide, glistening upon his scales. This one would be called Red.
Roberta lowered her massive jaws to the tiny creature, tongue moving forth to clean her young. The Bull lowered himself to inspect the first of his newly hatched, chest expanding in pride.
The second young to emerge from the nest shared more of a physical resemblance to her father rather than her mother. A young Spinosaurus emerged, scales a deep brown more akin to Roberta when she was in her youth. Her underbelly was a cream coloration, as were several markings upon her side and sail. A tan coloration could also be noted upon her spine. Terra's eyes were of a golden hue, like her mother, whilst her pupils were more crocodilian, like her father's.
The third chick to emerge, was much different than his siblings. Rather than looking like one or the other, the third eldest hatchling appeared to be a combination of his parents. The chick sported the physical body of his father, sail covering his back, arms long and capable. His head, however, while not currently as well defined in bulk like an adult's would be-was more akin to a Tyrant's, if the tip of his snout being slightly more narrow, and elongated than a typical Tyrannosaurus. A faint reddish coloration adorned his head and neck, the stripes of a typical bull Rex evident upon his snout. His sail coloration was the same vivid, mulitcolored pattern of his father, the majority of his hide being a dark earthen tone with a mix of red clay, light cream stripes like those upon his father could be found upon his sides, underbelly a similar coloration. Rex's eyes were of a jaded green hue, pupils like that of a viper.
The King and Queen watched with pride as their young began to toddle around, getting used to their legs as they chirped. They were quite wobbly, and rather uncoordinated as they stumbled about, greeting and investigating each other.
Roberta, however, turned her attention towards even more chirping within the nest. Her nares flared, and upon opening her jaws, lightly took an egg into her mouth, a stuck chick inside. The Bull turned his gaze towards Roberta, curious as to what she was doing. Using her tongue to lightly roll the egg and press the shell against the roof of her mouth, Nublar's Tyrannosaurus cracked the egg within, and freed not one-but two-chicks.
Held within her jaws, the chicks chirped and called, the Spinosaurus looking upon the newly hatched young held within his mate's deadly jaws-now used for mothering. The twin sisters-Vex and Lex-were almost physically that of a Spinosaurid. Almost. They had the unfortunate genetics to acquire the forearms of their mother, and had much smaller sails when compared to the average Spinosaurus. The sisters were tan, like their mother, and showed very little color variation save for any white coloration and markings given to them by their father. Their eyes, however, were the most striking. Pupils circular, it was the color of their iris that was the most defining feature. The outer iris was emerald, whilst the inner iris was amber.
The Bull's throat generated with a deep purr, his snout pressing against the Tyrannosaurus, jaws opening. Slowly, carefully, gently, Roberta tilted her head, and transferred her young into the awaiting maw of her mate. The sisters chirped as they then found themselves held and protected underneath the tongue of their father, who lowered himself to all fours-and one by one-gently scooped up hatchling by hatchling into his jaws.
The chicks rutched around within their father's jaw, attempting to wiggle out from under his warm tongue. The ones that did, viewed the world from between the safety of their parent's teeth.
The Bull then began to move-upon all fours, rather than his usual stride-towards a nearby pond. Roberta briefly watched her mate, before turning her attention towards her nest, checking for anymore chirping. Of the eggs that were left-she heard no signs of life. Snorting slightly, and head shaking, the female then began to lumber away, following her family.
Today was the start of a new reign.
Her offspring were not the first dinosaurs born upon Isla Nublar, but they were the first natural hybrids to be bred.
But what was better?-natural or lab created hybrids-Only time would tell.