After my first hatchday, I remembered a lot more. By then, light, sound, taste and color had lost their novelty to me. Already, even though I was still young, I was walking, talking, and…

"Alright son, watch me. I'm going to show you how to ambush your prey."

…killing.

My father had taken it upon himself to teach me the basics of the hunt. Since I was old enough to take part in it, I spent less time with my mother. She taught me many things as well, usually in the form of stories. She told me tales about the bright circle and the night circle, about how the stars came to be, and why dinosaurs have the qualities that they did, such as how the threehorns got the spikes on their heads, or how flyers got their wings. Dad told me stories too, usually about hunting, fighting and killing. At first, they scared me. Mom didn't like it when he told me about these things, but after a little while, I began to like them. It wasn't so bad, it was just hunting. All sharpteeth would have to hunt and kill; that was just the way of it.

"Blackclaw, are you listening to me?"

"Yes, dad."

"Good. Now, the most important thing to have in a hunt is the element of surprise. Many times, your prey will have spikes, horns, larger size, or superior numbers. If a herd of threehorns organized and fought back, no sharp tooth could stand against them all. The trick is to attack quickly, decisively, and to use fear as a weapon."

"Fear as a weapon? How do I do that?"

"Leafeaters don't fight their food. We do. Fighting for them is a rarity, next to us. Sure, they fight over food and sometimes for mates, but it is certainly not as common as us. Unless we are lucky enough to find something already dead, our meals have to come from a fight. This means that our prey will likely shy from anything which could hurt or kill them, like us. Each individual member of a herd is concerned about his own safety, and as long as they continue to care about their own skin more than the safety of the herd, they will not risk a fight."

"So… if we make them afraid, they won't fight us?"

"Not unless they have to, my boy. The prey that turns and runs is easier to kill, if you can catch it. Most prey you find will want to flee, if it can, but when this is impossible, it will fight. See those swimmers over there?"

I looked over and saw a bunch of swimmers lying around in the water. Some of them were eating the soft, wet vegetation that they so loved, and others were lazing around on their backs and stomachs, soaking in the cool water.

"We're going to attack them?"

"I'll attack, you watch. Remember, going for old, sick, young, and lone prey is a good way to get a meal. There is no point in fighting the stronger ones unless you have to."

"Don't they taste better?"

"… no. An old one tastes just as good as a young one, Blackclaw."

"What about the sick ones? Don't those taste worse?"

"No, not unless they're so sick that they are covered with-"

"And what about the females, dad? Do those taste any different than the males?"

"…"

"Dad?"

"I'm going to attack them son. Just stay where you are. Watch and learn. I can tell you from experience that three things will happen for sure, even if I don't score us some food. First, the lazy herd won't be so lazy in a moment, as they will take to the water to escape me. Second, the faster ones won't hesitate to push past the slower ones, and finally, do you see that one there, with the limp?"

I looked and saw that there was a swimmer who was hobbling on one leg. I couldn't make it out very well, but it looked like a female. An older one.

"That one probably banged its foot on a rock, or was stepped on by a larger creature. In any case, that one will probably be unable to escape me. It will be easy prey. I'll go for it."

"What should I-"

"Stay here! Now watch me!" With that, my father burst out of the trees with a tremendous roar. As he had told me, the swimmers scattered. It was amazing how fast they could move in the water with those webbed feet, they were faster there than on land. Dad set his sights on the limping swimmer and charged, the muddy earth giving way under his footsteps. The swimmer was soon caught in his jaws, and after a few seconds of biting and shaking, the cries of the marsh-dwelling dinosaur ceased. After that, it was very quiet, the silence only broken when my father called out

"Blackclaw! Come here, please!"

I did so, walking over the mud. It felt weird to my feet. Sensations began to mean less to me at this point in my life, as I had fewer and fewer new ones. The smells of earth and water were familiar to me, as was the aroma of blood. So much blood came out of that swimmer's body that it was mixed in the with the wet earth. Still, it smelled good. Fresh. The sort of thing sharpteeth love to smell.

"This is an interesting thing to do on a hatchday, isn't it, son?"

"Well, I guess so. Mom told you to take me hunting only after I had passed my first hatchday, but I don't think she wanted you to do it so soon."

"Ah, what's there to worry about, son? Your mother knows I wouldn't let anything happen to my son. And you did ask for me to take you hunting, isn't that right?"

"Right, dad. I didn't actually do anything. I just watched you kill that hurt swimmer" I had wanted to hunt, and to see my father in action. This was more of a case where I watched him hunt, though. Not quite what I had in mind.

"Well, son, you may have made it to your first hatchday, but that doesn't mean you can take down any prey you want. In fact, I'd imagine it will be two or three hatchdays more before you can start some serious hunting."

My heart sank at that. Two or three more years?! That was two or three times my life! How could I ever wait that long?

"Daaad, how can you say that?"

"Say what? That it will be two or thr- oh. Right. I know you want to hunt dinosaurs. Right now, you should stick to smaller prey, because you are a smaller predator."

"When will I grow up to be as big as you?"

"That will take a long time, son."

"How long will it take?"

"About 18 to 20 more hatchdays, although you'll start getting bigger long before that."

"Can't I make it go faster?"

"No, you can't."

"Why not?"

"Because, Blackclaw, that is just the way of things."

"Why is it like that?"

"Because… oh… just because."

"How did it get like that?"

"I don't know, son. I know that when your mom and I… had you, you hatched out of an egg, like all sharpteeth do, and from there, we have raised you for a year. Now, you have grown quite a bit from the little hatchling we saw for the first time when you came out."

"Who gets to make that decision?" It was the deepest question I had ever asked.

"Who gets to make what?"

"Who makes it like that? Who makes it so that it takes so many hatchdays to grow up? Did you and mom do that?"

"No, my boy, we did not. We made your egg, and we take care of you, but no, we did not make it so that it takes a while to grow up. That was not in our control."

"How is it possible that you and mom can make me, but not choose how to make me?"

"That's a question for another day, son. If you want to know more… eh… go ask your mother."

Little did my dad know how close she was to us.

"What does our boy want to ask me?" And there she was. My mother stepped out of a collection of trees she had been hiding in, watching us.

"Auria! Oh dear, I was just showing the boy how to hunt."

"We discussed this, Bladefang. We agreed that there would be no hunting for Blackclaw until his second hatchday."

"He didn't hunt! He simply watched me. The boy has to be exposed to these things."

"He's only seen one hatchday. He hasn't been out of the egg for a thousand days yet."

"I know, my love. I know. Still, he's not the egg you pined over anymore; Blackclaw is a sharp tooth, and therefore, must learn to hunt. My father let me join him on the hunt before I was even one hatchday old!"

"You hate your father, Blackfang."

"Well, yes, he was cruel and meanspirited, and yelled at me, but that's not the point! Much as I don't like a lot of what he did, my father made me a good hunter."

"Blade, you would have been good even without his harsh lessons."

"I suppose you can teach the boy better than I can?"

"Well… no. My mother was overprotective of me, and my father… you know about him."

"Oh. Right. The crazy one. He wanted you to be dependant on a male for food."

"Right."

"I'm glad you didn't listen to him, Auria."

"In any case, that was a good kill, Blade. I have to admit, I was impressed. Just five minutes ago, this place was filled with swimmers, and now, it is empty. Very empty and quiet, so much so, you could even hear a-"

BURP!!

That had been me. I was young, but even then, I could still let out a loud belch. Had I not overindulged in some of that carcass, I would not have made such a loud sound. My father was a bit put off by that noise, but it got my mother's attention, as she moved over to me.

"Someone's been eating a swimmer leg, hasn't he?" It was amazing to see her maternal instincts kick in. One moment, she was a bit miffed that her mate had gone behind her back to show their firstborn child how to hunt before she thought it was time, and the next, she was all over me.

"Aw, mom, you'll embarrass me in front of dad" I said, laughing as she licked me.

That day ended well. Our territory was rich in prey, and so far, we had no issues with the neighbors. For the next two months, things went well. They stayed in their areas, and we stayed in ours. No close calls, no accidents, no chasing dinosaurs from one territory to the other. Life was good. The problem was, it was not going to stay that way for long. Trouble began on the last day I would ever expect it, on an absolutely beautiful day. The sun was shining, the air was crisp and fresh, and my parents had scored some very easy prey. After a big meal, we suddenly had all day to do whatever we wanted. Mom showed dad something she had found, not too far away from the swimmer's watering hole.

"Warm mud?"

"I found the swimmers lying in it, Blade. I wondered why they spent so much time in it."

"Why do they spend so long there?"

"It's warm."

"What's that got to do with it."

"It feels good."

"Warm mud feels good?" My father was skeptical.

"Yeah. It relaxes the muscles. I tried it for a couple of hours once. Never felt anything quite like it."

"So, you want me to try it, Auria?"

"Only if you want to, Blade. I'm sure its good for you."

"Well, I guess it would be nice, but I'm not sure how…"

My parents went on like that for some time. We knew that this mud pool was slightly close to the edge of our territory, but it was not dangerously near to the edge. While they continued to talk about it, I wandered around the area. They didn't notice that I had gone. This place was new to me, so many interesting plants and flowers; it was only the second time I had been here, and that had been two months ago, so it was still a novel experience. So many interesting smells… I wondered if all this mud and water made the plants look different, or make different kinds of them grow here. Hmm. I would ask mom about that later, she was good with plants, for a sharptooth!

"Aren't you afraid of being attacked while lying in the mud?"

"Who's going to attack a fully-grown sharptooth?" my mother asked him

"Another fully-grown sharptooth" dad replied

"And who would that be? The neighbors aren't very…nice, but they've kept out of here. The only other sharptooth besides them and the boy is you."

"I guess. I don't know. I'm a bit uneasy about it. Sure, it looks like a good way to save energy, but… ah… I just don't like the idea of a large predator relaxing in the mud. It sounds all soft and weak."

"Well, I guess it is rather 'soft', but 'weak'? I'm no weaker for having rested in it."

"It is only something that should be risked when there is an absolute guarantee of safety" my father replied.

"Blade, you know as well as I do that there is no such thing as absolute safety."

"Well… if you want to relax in it, go ahead. Count me out."

My mother sighed in annoyance as she lay down in the mud on her back. She had wanted some time spent relaxing with her mate, but he was refusing to come along. I was still nearby my parents; I could still smell their scent. The smell of a sharptooth was distinctive. I could even tell the difference between a male and a female by the scent. Walking through the grass, I picked up the scent of more creatures. Lizards, flyers, the lingering scent of the long-departed swimmers, and… another sharptooth!

Someone else was in our territory! An unfamiliar scent, a female scent. I hadn't seen anyone, though. Who could it be? Following the scent trail, I wandered farther and farther from my mom and dad until I came to a stade of tall trees and some bush. Soon, I heard rustling. Someone was in those bushes. I prepared to attack, just as I had seen my dad do! I was no longer an egg, I was a sharptooth! I backed up, made sure my footing was good, and I pounced, jumping to the bush as I roared!

Sccrreeahh!

"Ahhh!" a voice cried out as I fell into the bush, biting the plant, and receiving a mouthful of disgusting green vegetation in the process. Ugh! I spit it out and turned to see the one who I had knocked over. She was another sharptooth, with light red skin, yellow eyes and a pale yellow belly. She couldn't have been older than I was, in fact, she was smaller than me, … or was that because she was a female? She was very much afraid of me, and huddled in fear, lying on her back. She was no threat. No harm. I felt bad that I had frightened her like that.

"It's okay. No, really." I told her as she stopped quivering. The killing blow hadn't landed on her, and it was only so long before a sharptooth, young or old, would wonder why not. Yes, she had invaded our territory, but I wouldn't hurt her. "Who are you? I asked, having never seen another of my kind this young."

Looking at me in the eye, she spoke, still shaken. "My name is Argenta. I was chasing some crawlers when you jumped at me. I-I mean nothing bad by coming here." She knew that this was not her territory, but came here anyway. Didn't her parents warm her not to come?

"Argenta? That's a really nice name. I'm Blackclaw. Don't be scared. I'm not gonna hurt you."

She looked at me, incredulous. It was as if she had expected me to eat her. Then again, we were both sharpteeth. It was not a wholly unreasonable conclusion. "My mom told me that if I went too far from our territory, I'd be a pile of dry bones in the morning. Thank you for not eating me, Blackclaw."

What was I to say? I had never been in a situation quite like this before. "You're welcome, Argenta. What were you doing here in the first place?"

"I was exploring. Looking around. I saw some pretty flowers in the distance, but I guess they were too far away for me. Dad says that someday, I'll be able to go anywhere in this valley." Was it true? Was her father thinking of making peace with mine? Could our two families live together without rivalry or competition? Sadly, no.

"What do you mean, Argenta? Is your dad going to stop therivalry between our families?"

"Dad says that sooner or later, he'll do away with your dad, and then we can go anywhere! Isn't that great!" She was younger and even more naïve than I was. Argenta didn't even know what 'do away' meant.

"Uhh… I don't think you know what that means. To 'do away' with someone means to kill them. Your dad says he's gonna kill my dad someday. That would be awful."

"It wasn't told to me like that." Argenta told me, getting slightly defensive about it. Digging her feet into the soft earth, she told me what her parents had taught her. "My mom and dad told me that only the strong can survive in this world, and that anyone who is too weak to hold onto what they have doesn't deserve to keep it."

"What are you saying? That the strong can take whatever they want to?"

"If they can take it, yes." It was a surprisingly cynical view from someone so young and otherwise naïve. I hadn't expected such a young female to take these views, or for that matter, for a female to hold these views at all. At my age, I had know that my father acted one way, and my mother acted another. Dad was more aggressive, strong, and violent, but mom had been kinder, softer, and far more passive, at least around me. She could still raise her voice around dad, that was for sure.

"What about right and wrong? Isn't it wrong to do some things, even if you can do them?"

"What do you mean, Blackclaw?"

"You know… good and bad. Doing nice things for others is good, hurting them is bad. Except for prey, of course."

"I've heard those words used before, but never used like that. I know that food is good and hunger is bad. I know when something feels good or bad, and I know what tastes good or bad. I don't know what you mean by a good or bad 'thing' to do."

In later years, I would learn that this was not an uncommon view for my kind to take; in fact, I was the exception when I held those views. Creatures that lived in herds had to agree on certain things which they considered 'good' and 'bad', but my kind of sharptooth lived in small families or alone. As long as the mates and kids could live together, they were happy. But bonds of love and attraction were not always present in herds of longnecks or threehorns. As such, they would have to agree to some rules that everyone was expected to follow. Of course, there were exceptions and privileges, bad rules, unjust herd leaders, changes to the rules, and all sorts of other confusing things added to the mix.

The most confusing of these by far was when the herd leaders got it into their heads to claim that the sun or the moon gave them the right to rule, or that the leaders were somehow 'better' than the rest of the herd. Stronger maybe, but not inherently better. Even the strongest longneck would no longer be so strong if his back were to be broken by a falling boulder.

"Well, Argenta, your dad better watch out if he comes near my dad. My dad would kill him instead!"

"Nuh-uh! My dad is the biggest sharptooth that ever lived!"

"I'll bet he tells you that a lot."

"Everyday! It's gotta be true."

"Sounds like he's trying real hard to convince himself of it."

"…I'll be my mom can beat your mom!" Now Argenta was asking for it.

"No way! My mom is the toughest female I've ever known!"

"How many female sharpteeth have you known, Blackclaw?"

"Including you… two."

"That isn't very many, Claw. Can I call you that? It's easier to say."

"Sure thing. Where was I? Oh yeah, my mom can beat your mom!"

"Are you still going on about this?"

"Well, yeah. We're not doing anything else, are we?"

"I'm bored." Moaned Argenta, as she lay down on her back. We should do something.

"Like what?" I asked. I didn't know what sort of games she liked to play, but I was eager to find out.

"How about we chase some fliers around? They usually land at this time of day to get some food. We just need to watch out for the older ones, though. At least, the older males."

"Older flyer males?"

"Yeah, the ones with big beaks and claws on their hands and feet. Even if you've never seen one before, you'll recognize them quickly. They're much larger than the females."

"Ah yes, I think I know what you mean. My dad's bigger than my mom. Still, I'll bet my mom could beat your dad-"

"Claw? Could we drop that?"

"Uh... Sure. Sorry." I tended to go on a lot as a yearling.

"Wanna go chase the flyers now?"

"Yeah! Let's see them flap their skinny wings!" The thought delighted me. I could imagine them now, squawking and fluttering, and flying into each other in sheer terror as a pair of predators chased them to and fro.

Argenta got up and stretched with a loud sigh. Then she started walking to the north, to the very edge of my family's territory. I followed her up to a rock which was the limit of where my parents allowed me to go, and then I told Argenta that…

"… I can't go."

"What? Why not? Don't you wanna chase those flyers around?"

"Yeah, but, dad told me not to leave our territory. He says that bad things will happen to me if I do."

"Aw, come on! I left my territory and nothing bad happened. What's there to be afraid of?"

"Your parents, for one."

"Mom is having a nap and dad is on the other side of our territory, away from the flyers. No one will notice us."

"But-"

Argenta ran past the rock and deeper into her territory. I stayed in my part of the valley, feet planted firmly in the soil. I was determined not to move, but…

"Are you coming or not?" Argenta's voice beckoned me. I couldn't see her, but I could still hear her. Lifting one foot onto her family's turf, I set it down. Nothing happened. The soil didn't burn me, nothing leaped out of the woods to eat me, and after a minute of walking, I caught up to my new friend.

"See? Nothing bad! And we'll be back at our homes before the bright circle leaves the sky! Come on! This way!"

As I ran off with Argenta, there wasn't a single worry in my mind. Everything was going just fine. Just fine. Little did I know how bad this day was to become…