[Trade] Scuffles and Lessons Learnt

It was a quiet but foggy winter evening, the sun had gone down long ago, leaving the species of the island with only the moonlight to guide their travels. The forest was dark but alive with the sound of crickets and the soft light of fireflies, Monster was particularly well camouflaged in the dim lighting as he sat with his well-earned meal. Earlier in the afternoon, Monster had found a mule deer with a young fawn, and before the deer had a chance to react he struck. The fawn had fallen quite easily, though around Monster’s size, it was much lighter and had weaker legs. Its mother had tried to defend the fawn, and its kicks had hurt, but Monster was far too determined to let the easy opportunity go. When the fawn finally fell limp, the mother realized it was no longer worth the energy and left swiftly. 

All things considered, Monster was settling into his new territory well. Though he wasn’t that big, still only a juvenile, he was getting stronger by the day. Growing, and learning… he was getting better at hunting slowly but surely. 

A rustle of leaves in the treeline broke Monster out of his thoughts, his head lifting from its resting position quickly. His eyes narrowed as he scanned the overgrowth, his tail tip flicking idly against the ground with a soft huff from his mouth. Monster assumed it had been a small critter scuttling past, as he’d seen nothing within the trees. Shaking his head, Monster shifted to rest on his side with a yawn, laying his head on the dirt and closing his eyes.

For a moment, things seemed fine… and then there was a crackle of twigs breaking and heavy footsteps. Before Monster could even fully open his eyes, he was being tackled by some other dinosaur. He hissed and blindly snapped at his attacker, soon registering in his mind that it wasn’t just one, but two Cryolophosaurus’ around his age, perhaps a bit younger? They still looked like hatchlings. One of the two brown hatchlings was holding him down while the other seemed to be trying to drag his fawn carcass away.

Monster growled and pushed himself up, throwing the younger Cryo off him before darting forward to slam into the other hatchlings side, knocking him away from the fawn carcass. He had won this meal fair and square, he wasn’t about to lose it to some little kids! The hatchling he had smacked into was slightly browner with a darker cover and a vibrant patch of turquoise on each side of his crest, like the other hatchling, had a lighter cream mask on his face. Monster had no hesitation as he snapped his jaws around the cryo’s neck, his teeth sinking into flesh and blood soaking his tongue. He shook the smaller cryo around aggressively, using his tail to keep the female hatchling away.

“Killian!” The young female cried, trying to shove her way over to Monster, her claws and teeth sinking into Monster’s tail.

Monster hissed, trying to shake the hatchling off his tail while still keeping a hold of the male—who he assumed was Killian. He wasn’t too keen on seriously harming the little cryo’s, as he didn’t have a clear reason other than their ambush.

The gray-tinted female tugged at Monster’s tail, trying to pull him off of her sibling. Frantic and a bit desperate, she released Monster and dipped beneath his tail only to latch her teeth onto Monster’s arm. She pulled harshly, shaking her head to further the damage and worsen the wound.

Monster yelped and growled, instinctively releasing Killian to swirl around and snap at the smaller female. He snapped his maw around her snout and ripped her off his arm, wincing as her teeth tore at his skin. He threw the cryo away from himself, taking a couple of steps away from the hatchlings to better position himself defensively. He bared his teeth, though he was older and bigger than these hatchlings, there were two and they’d clearly gotten into some scuffles before.

“You’re not gonna win this, there’s no point in this fight.” Monster spat, his voice full of confidence and his eyes narrowed into slits. He lifted his head, posturing and flexing his claws to make himself seem far more intimidating than he already knew he was. “Leave my territory, and I’ll choose to forget this altercation.”

Killian paused, glancing at his sister with a look of uncertainty. Still tense and ready to fight, he bared his teeth right back at Monster, his tail flicking repeatedly. “…Aloise, what do we do?” He asked the other hatchling, his voice just above a whisper.

Aloise hesitated herself, her gaze drifting to the fawn carcass that the whole fight had started over. She seemed to thoroughly consider Monster’s words, though hunger drove her to consider a more half and half deal, if the larger cryo would take it. “…Let us have the fawn and we’ll leave. We won’t bother you again.”

Monster hissed in response, shaking his head. “Not happening. I hunted it, I did all the hard work.” He snapped at Aloise, boldly taking a step forward in a rather threatening manner.

The siblings shared another look and Killian sighed, the tension slowly easing from his posture. “How about just half of it? Please, we haven’t eaten in days.” Killian tried, his voice quiet and pleading.

“Tch… fine.” Monster growled, stepping away from the fawn. He wasn’t happy about it, but if it meant the cryo’s would be leaving perhaps it’d work. Less energy spent fighting and trying to heal off the wounds, he supposed. “Eat your fill and get lost.” With that, Monster allowed the hatchlings to approach the carcass, moving away to rest within the treeline and lick his wounds.

“Thank you.” Aloise murmured, though she didn’t quite sound sincere even as she eagerly trotted over to the carcass.

Monster rolled his eyes, silently watching the younger cryos fill their stomachs and tend to each other's wounds. He did not exchange words with them again, even as they bid their goodbyes and quickly left.

Good riddance, Monster thought to himself with a snort. Next time, he’d hide his kill better, and perhaps hide himself. He couldn’t risk getting ambushed like that again.