Theo watched on as a pair of Pentaceratops jousted, uncaring of the herbivores' struggles. True, he was ready to breed, but he had already a female or two for himself, and at the moment, there were none that wished to challenge him for dominance. His breeding rights were, at least for now, secure.

This didn't last. It took ten minutes, but soon, another male Triceratops horridus had arrived to challenge him. Nearby, a pair of Edmontosaurus were also displaying, evidently trying to attract mates of their own. If one did not back down soon, the shouting match would become a wrestling match. For Theo, however, this was hardly a concern. All that mattered now was repelling his newfound rival.

The initial phase of the challenge was one of display. The horn-neaded herbivores let out growls, howls and hoots, whilst they rotated and shook their heads, each trying to give the other a very good look at their frills. Though predators found the horns to be the most intimidating part of the herbivores, it was the frills that were most emphasized during display - their vibrant color, which included ultraviolet patterns only a few varieties of animal could see, were nothing short of spectacular, and sent a powerful message to any who could read it. The size and brightness of the frill emphasized the health and fitness of the dinosaur it was attached to, and Theo's was grand in both regards. His opponent, however, was not far behind in either field.

With plan A having failed, the ceratopsids moved onto the next part of their duel: mock charges. Carefully, each herbivore burst forward, horns down, only to pull back after a moment or two. These surges were meant to minimize risk, whilst also weakening the opponent, who would need to make a return charge lest he appear weak. Said charges wasted precious energy, and a young and over eager male could easily tire himself out if he did one charge too many. On this day, however, both males were evenly matched, and both knew to conserve their strength in this courtship duel.

It seemed that the only way this conflict would be settled was with violence.

Bellowing, both ceratopsians advanced to the third stage of the challenge - headbutting. Rather than charging from a distance, though, the horn-headed herbivores got as close as possible via trotting before locking horns - the risk for extreme injury was too great for a running charge to be employed. Once the horns were locked, the males engaged in a ferocious battle, each trying to push the other back, occasionally countering by twisting their heads one way or another. Sudden twists could cause a rival to lose a horn, but that same risk was also present for the challenger. Thus, these maneuvers were rather risky for both horn heads, yet this fight was serious enough for neither to back down.

As the two pulled away from each other, intent on having a second joust, though, an unexpected source brought the conflict to a halt. Out of nowhere, one of the Edmontosaurus Theo had eyed earlier collided with the rival three horn, knocking both to the ground. Upon recovery, both creatures began to engage each other in combat, enraged by the unexpected collision. The ensuing fight was over quickly, both creatures unwilling to risk major injury, but the damage was done. - neither was capable of continuing a duel with their intraspecific rival. Exhausted, the two slunk off to rest and let their wounds heal.

Theo observed this a while longer, then returned to browsing. An odd victory, but one he was willing to take.

XXXXXXXXX

Back in the past, Alice and Tai could only stare on at an unexpected guest.

The eared seal, in turn, was staring at them in confusion.

Alice turned to her friend's youngest brother. "I thought that Eotaria lived, well, a lot earlier than this part of the Miocene."

"Guess we found a few stragglers...want to catch some?"

Alice sported a predatory grin when she heard that line. "Do you really need to ask?

A moment later, and the seal was running as fast as its flippers could carry it - which, as the two humans found out, was surprisingly fast.

XXXXXXX

Whilst the younger recruits worked toward rescuing the eared seal, Nigel, meanwhile, had the walruses to contend with. Not only had he been trying to rescue the Gomphotaria that called this beach home. To his surprise, they had also been joined by a group of Imagotaria, as well as a Pontolis, which the rest of the team was chasing in another time. Things had gotten a bit hairy when a pack of Aelurodon had shown up, but the bone crushing dogs had soon found out the seals were more than a match for them, if the fact they were hiding in a rocky crag was any indication. Nigel had decided to take pity on the dogs, and had managed to coax them into the present using himself as bait.

Now, slowly, Nigel was trying to coax the walruses into entering the portal. As soon as he opened it, Nigel began to throw fish and mussels through the portal, hoping to coax the hungry pinnipeds through. He'd been forced to put that plan on hold, though, when out of nowhere, a hoard of seals charged into the portal, some belonging to the genus Thalassoleon, others to Eotaria, all afraid of something. Said something had turned out to be his compatriots, who hastily coaxed the last of the seals into the present. Once they were gone, Nigel went back to trying to bait the walruses into heading toward the safety of the present.

It took awhile, but eventually, the pinnipeds began to move. And once the first few had entered and started bellowing about all of the food they found, the rest were quick to follow.

As the last ones entered the portal, Nigel couldn't help but smile. His part of the mission was now complete. Now it fell to Sean and his team to rescue the last of their targets.

XXXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!