[Trade] A Tough Encounter

Monster stalked through the shadows and undergrowth, keeping his steps as silent as possible. Unfortunately for Monster, his purple coloring clashed harshly against the foliage, it had made tracking down this herd far more difficult than usual. Oftentimes they would spot him within the treeline and begin to flee before he could get close enough—however, this time Monster had made sure to hide well, and he had his eyes on a Styracosaurus. It was spiked with dark brown coloring, an off-white cream color accenting its face and feet. It didn’t seem to be paying attention to its surroundings and had isolated itself from the herd—it was big, not adult but certainly a bit older than him, but Monster was certain he could take it on. And if not- well, then he could just run, couldn’t he? It’s not like the styraco could catch him.

Monster readied himself, creeping forward and settling within the cover of some bushes that would conceal him for the time being. The herd, a mix of Pachycephalosaurus and Styracosaurus, was grazing and lounging around, unaware of the threat that Monster posed to them. As a now-adolescent cryo, he had grown much stronger. In his opinion, he was probably the strongest dino in these parts of the woods! He could definitely take on some stupid herbivore, even if it had those spikes on its face, it probably didn’t even know how to use them.

“Kavik, come closer, you are too far from the herd!” A dark brown styraco called, his colors notably similar to ‘Kavik’ aside from his underbelly, and the russet colored stripe on his crest and splotch on his back. Kavik however only tossed her head with a snort and continued grazing, presumably preferring her isolation from the herd.

Monster slowly rose into a crouch, his eyes narrowing as he watched Kavik wander dangerously close to his hiding spot. He waited patiently, just a little closer and he could strike. The styraco neared his cover and he held his breath, waiting and watching as she grazed on the grass and roots. Finally, she turned around, and Monster flexed his claws. One… two… Monster burst from the bushes, rushing at the styraco and sinking his teeth into the back of her neck.

Kavik stumbled in surprise, snorting and bellowing in alarm. She tossed her head repeatedly, trying to shake off Monster to no avail. She’d been caught off guard and hadn’t been ready to defend herself, it was a tough situation to be in.

Monster was proud of his ambush, a grin tugging at his mouth even as he sunk his teeth further into the styraco’s skin. He clawed at the styraco, aiming to wound her enough to bring her down before she could escape his grasp.

Kavik was not having it, thrashing and turning in place to drag the cryo around and hopefully loosen his grasp. Her bellows attracted the attention of the rest of the herd- most quickly fled, but a few lingered, mostly styraco’s who watched on with concern but stood their ground far away from the fight. Kavik eventually managed to escape Monster’s teeth, shaking him off and quickly turning to face him. She dipped her head downward, snorting and shaking her frill with an intimidating mix of growling and bellowing to deter the cryo from trying again.

Monster paced around the styraco, trying to find an opening to attack again. She was weakened, Monster could tell, he just had to be patient and she’d succumb to her wounds. He could be patient for a while. Just long enough for the styraco to go down.

Kavik wasn’t willing to wait, unlike the cryo. She charged forward, surprising Monster enough for her to slash his leg with her sharp nose horn before he could react. The cryo roared in pain, moving away from the angry ceratopsian to avoid further attacks while he tried to regain his bearings. Kavik stomped her feet, lifting her head high with confidence and pride. Blood stained her tan-colored horn, dripping slowly down onto her snout.

Monster hissed, his pride wounded by the sudden attack. Enraged by such an attack, impulsiveness guided his decisions and he charged. He swiped recklessly at the styraco with his claws, staying at her side and snapping his jaws around one of her front legs. He had sustained many scuffs and cuts, but he pushed on, determined to take down the styraco that had so boldly attacked him.

Kavik tried her best to knock the cryo off her, bucking and rearing repeatedly between attempted attacks. Eventually, she was able to swing the cryo around to her front and dip her head beneath the cryos stomach. Pulling the cryo off her, she was able to cage the cryo between her muzzle and her nose horn, throwing her head with all her strength to knock him away. Monster stumbled and fell onto his side, scrambling to get to his feet before the styraco could land a particularly devastating blow.

“Take your chance to leave while you can, I won’t offer again!” Kavik bellowed, scuffing the ground with her foot to kick up dust. She was not happy in the slightest and she would not hesitate to attack the cryo should he linger. It was for the safety of herself and her herd, the threat had to be chased away properly.

Monster paced, staying silent as he glared at the styraco. He was quite injured, but so was the styraco—was the injury worth it though? The wound he had on his leg was deep, it was bleeding quite a lot. There was a high chance of it getting infected, he should deal with it sooner rather than later. Monster growled, he didn’t want to just give up but… he wasn’t going to risk his life over this hunt. He spun around and stalked back into the forest, walking with a slight limp.

Monster had nearly succeeded in the hunt, but he’d gotten too confident, too impulsive. He’d have to correct himself in the future. Monster grumbled to himself as he returned to the cave he’d made his home. He glanced over his shoulder, watching the grasslands disappear behind him and the herd beginning to move on. It wasn’t long before he reached his cave, settling into his makeshift nest and tenderly cleaning his injuries.

Monster had tried and failed, but at least he’d tried.