Night Hunt, Gen 2

Night had more than made its presence known on the island by the time they left the den. The moon was barely more than a claw shaped curl in the sky, giving limited light to the creatures below. Most creatures hid away at the first sign of darkness, seeking shelter in safe places where predators could not reach them. Those too big to fit under rocks and in cozy burrows instead gathered in groups or in a hidden area, desperate to find protection from the creatures of the night who pounced when they were most vulnerable. 

Nebula went over the stories of all her packs' successful hunts in her head as they padded through the forest on silent feet. Today it was just her, her brother Orion, and their father Sirius. Comet and Silver were growing older, and had sent them off on a hunt instead. Part of Nebula was nervous- while the rest of the pack was made of mostly dark shades, she and Orion were different. From their mother they had gotten bright white markings all across their scales, making the nocturnal hunting the pack was known for much harder. So far the two siblings had been on only two successful big hunts. Both times they had been told to stay back until the ambush had been triggered, before being called in to help with the fight. It was frustrating at times.

Nebula was brought out of her musing when she almost slammed straight into the back of Sirius. Orion then proceeded to slam into her, causing her to whip around with a snarl. The other piebald cryolophosaurus let out an apologetic whine, before their bickering was broken up by a commanding huff from Sirius. The siblings turned back to their father, confused but curious at why he had stopped.

“Nebula, Orion. I had an idea, earlier, about how to help you on our nocturnal hunts.” Sirius spoke calmly, eyeing his two adult offspring before kicking at the ground. A wet squish sounded out, causing the siblings to look down. Sirius had brought them to a mud patch near a river. 

Orion was the one to realize what their father meant first, and his eyes widened in horror. “What?” He eyed the mud with slight disgust, letting out a shiver. “Father, no! We can do fine with it!” Nebula caught on soon after, hissing lowly between her teeth.

Sirius gave them a stern look. “Maybe you will do fine without extra camouflage, but we cannot risk it. My father and Silver need fresh food, and this is your chance to prove yourselves as fully capable hunters.” Sirius flicked some of the mud at Orion, causing him to yelp a bit as it stuck to his scales. “Hurry and coat yourself in the mud- the night is running long.”

Begrudgingly, Orion lowered himself to the mud first with Nebula following soon after. Cautiously he began to spread it across his muzzle. The row of spikes along his back made him too nervous to roll around in the mud like Nebula- it would suck to get a leaf stuck onto one again. Carefully he did his best to cover the white patches along his face and crest, scowling when mud dripped down and barely missed one of his eyes. Nebula was not having much of a good time either, having to roll around on her back where most of the white was located. She looked ridiculous, and Orion couldn’t help but snicker. However, he quickly came to regret that as he was pushed over with a yelp, landing on his side in the mud. 

Seemingly sensing it was time to step in, Sirius nosed between them. He had a bit of mud over himself as well, but seemingly did not care. “Alright you two, you're covered as well as we’re going to get. This will help hide our scents as well- really, it’s a good thing to do regardless.” Orion and Nebula sent him disbelieving looks, and he shook his head at them. “Let's get going. I heard there was a parasaur herd passing through the valley earlier- hopefully, they’re still here.” 

Together they set off again, Orion grimacing every time a drop of mud slid off him. However, after a few minutes the mud seemed to harden. While it was no more comfortable, at least it wasn’t sliding around anymore. Nebula seemed to be dealing with it slightly better, although she looked about just as thrilled as he was.

The valley soon came into view, and the trio crouched to the ground as they approached. Peering through the bushes, they caught the fresh scent of a parasaurolophus. However, it did not seem to be in the valley itself. Instead, the trail came from deeper into the forest. “Seems the herbivore hid itself deeper in the forest.” Nebula scoffed, lowering her head. “It can’t hide from us.” Orion and Sirius growled in agreement, as they slowly stalked deeper into the forest. Their footsteps were slow and completely silent, the trio slowly splitting off as they each attempted to single out their target's trail from the rest of the forest.

Orion found the parasaurolophus first, a dark shape sleeping in the shadows beneath a tree. Squinting, Orion realized he recognized them- Stinger, a large male who had terrorized them as hatchlings the first time Sirius had taken them out. The dark colored parasaurolophus was as dark as the night itself. Orion grinned. Finally, time for revenge. He hissed lowly, attracting the attention of Sirius and Nebula. Seeing just who their target was, their grins matched his own. Sirius gently nudging against Orion, before circling around one side of the sleeping hadrosaur. Nebula went the opposite way, the mud helping her blend into the dark shadows as she stalked the still sleeping target. Once they were in position, Orion knew it was time. Crouching to be better concealed in the bushes, he let out a low growl.

Stinger stirred from where he was sleeping, raising his head. His movements became much more frantic as Orion let out another low growl, the large parasaur quickly hauling himself to his feet. Stinger looked around nervously, but seemed unable to pick out the positions of the cryolophosaurus with the mud covering their hides and their scent. Another deep growl came from the left side, startling the parasaurolophus and encouraging him to move out of the dense forest. A third growl encouraged Stinger to break into a run, not knowing that heading out into the open was exactly where they wanted him.

As the parasaurolophus broke out into the open, they followed. Having dropped all elements of stealth, the trio shrieked and wailed like ghosts as they dove in to nip at Stingers flanks and tail as he ran. Whenever he turned to strike at one of the, another would dive it to bite at his other side. 

Eventually, Stinger was surrounded. Orion, Nebula, and Sirius slowly circled, each of them containing red evidence of the hunt on their snout. Some of the mud had rubbed off, revealing more of their original colors. Nebula didn’t care if he recognized them or not- they weren't here for revenge. They were here for food. 

Slowly the trio closed in. Stinger attempted to charge forward at one point, only for a harsh bite from Sirius on his foreleg to send him stumbling to the ground. They did not waste the opportunity. With a snarl Nebula pounced on the failing hadrosaur, Orion quickly followed after her. Underneath the weight and claws and fangs of three full grown cryolophosaurus, it was not long before Stinger fell limp. Roars of victory filled the air- a message that the night hunters had won, tonight. 

Still, Nebula thought to herself hours later as she attempted to wash the caked mud and blood off of her scales. She would rather not wear mud again.