It was getting dark, so the temperature was gradually dropping in the snowy steppe. At the edge of a forest three dinosaurs were digging hard at a mound that was covered by snow, they needed to secure a place to spend the night. Lately they hadn't been doing so well with hunting and despite having their small group, they hadn't gotten anything considerable enough for them. The scarcity of prey had been affecting all the carnivores for the past few weeks. The male Utahraptor dug through the snow using his curved claw, he knew it probably wasn't the best of ideas, or the proper use, but they needed to secure that place as soon as possible. The weather had also become unpredictable and they needed a burrow to take shelter from a possible snowstorm.
On either side of him were the females that made up the small pack, also helping to clear the snow. The plumage of both was considerably different from the male in terms of coloration, so taking advantage of this characteristic, they were always at the ends of him to help him camouflage himself, since in the middle of the snow he was very visible due to his much darker feathers and could attract unwanted visitors. To a certain degree, they could also be visible but they tried to camouflage themselves with the stones and patches of dirt available. One of them, Magallanes, jumped up onto the mound and was able to get a better view of the panorama before her. And, unintentionally, she took a wrong step causing more snow to fall, again covering everything they had already cleared. Both Ontario and Patagonia raised their heads irritated by her mistake. They had to start all over again.
—Perfect. Just perfect.— A small purring sound comes from Patagonia, she doesn't look nor sound happy at all.
—What? I was just watching. It's not the first time we've been caught for being absorbed in this situation.— Patagonia defends herself. That was true, on other past occasions another rival pack or other species had already ambushed them to start a fight and scare them away from the territory they possess.
—You could warn us that you would do that, or simply move more cautiously, you know the snow is loose.— Ontario questions her, until now he had only dedicated himself to watching the exchange of his pack mates. —In a short time we will be left in the middle of the cold of the night...— He jumps towards where she was only to see that the fireball was already descending over the horizon and then disappearing from his sight until the next morning.
Patagonia also takes a moment to observe where the others were looking, noticing how the star slowly descended. She only felt more pressured and silently began to remove the snow again from the place they were digging previously. The sound of the snow being removed catches the attention of the other Utahraptors and they go down, this time being careful not to cause more snow to cover their temporary burrow even more.
A little more than an hour had passed and they were almost wrapped in absolute darkness. It seems that the moon will not accompany them that night. Even though their territory was mostly hit by cold weather for a large part of the year, they could feel the tiredness and how their pads under their paws were already numb from digging and stepping in the snow. Fortunately, they had managed to make enough space and all that was left was to gather the little vegetation in the place, as well as use some feathers belonging to them to insulate them from the cold ground and preserve their body temperature in their burrow for when they have to sleep. Patagonia took the initiative again and ventured around in search of branches to build the main structure of the nest.
Ontario went in search of the little vegetation there was around, only a few plants remained during the cold weather. There were some dry blades of grass whose appearance ranged from yellow to brown. When he closed his teeth in the dry grass, it crackled with a crunch, the noise even seemed to entertain him, awakening his curiosity and slightly ruffling his feathers, but he preferred to concentrate on his task and take part of what he had collected to the burrow. Along the way his attention was attracted by some small red berries, he did not hesitate to leave his loot aside and start eating one by one. It was not part of his main diet, but from time to time he was usually seen eating some fibrous food.
Magallanes had stayed preening near the burrow, apart from cleaning herself, she was letting her feathers fall, as well as the fluff that covers her forming her winter coat. It fell near her to later use it in the construction of the insulating nest. She meticulously cleans and removes the loose feathers. She gets distracted when she hears a noise, but when she sees that it's only her sister Patagonia returning with some branches, she's calm and continues with her work. When she stands up again and drops more feathers after shaking herself, she approaches Patagonia to help her with the construction. The cold was becoming more and more intense with each passing minute, and the moonless night was not making things easy either.
Patagonia crouches over the structure of branches, checking its flexibility and firmness. While she's on the structure, her sister passes her more branches and other materials so that she can shape the nest, interlacing the branches and placing the feathers between them. After a little more time, they began to have doubts about the other's absence. Had he really gone again to who knows where? They already had a large part, however, they knew that they shouldn't use up all the material without having some of the dry vegetation yet. Shortly before they decided to go out to look for him on their own, Ontario appears. He knows that they would probably stress to him about his time away, that is why he had brought with him dry grass and also some dry leaves, remnants of the pumpkins that plagued the fields during the autumn season a while ago.
In silence, they finish building the nest and the two females settle down at the bottom of the burrow, the male settles down on the outside to block the wind and camouflage himself with the disturbed earth that is now visible. It was very cold but in the space of a few minutes the place managed to shelter them. The process was somewhat complex and hurried but it was enough to spend the night. Ontario makes sure that they're comfortable and then watches as the snowflakes still stand out in the darkness as they fall. The mist caused by his breathing was visible in front of his eyes as he contemplated the snowy steppe before it disappeared due to the winter fog. He looks back at the burrow and noticing that the others were already sleeping peacefully, he hides his head under his wing and prepares to sleep.
