[Trade] Teeth.

The Alpha Labs were a cruel and merciless place. It was rare that a pair was able to come together in an attempt to bring forth the next generation inside the artificial environment, and it was even rarer for their offspring to survive to adulthood. Other carnivores were more than willing to snatch an unguarded hatchling, even if one was a member of the same species. You had to do what you had to do to survive, after all. In the rare circumstance that hatchling acrocanthosaurus were born, their parents tended to be distant and unattached. Some were shoved off to the care of a relative while their parents hunted, and some were fully abandoned as soon as food ran dry or even before hatching.

The young trio was lucky in that regard. Shadestealer and Avati were closely related, and had both been shoved off into the care of a relative. The relative, Velvet, was fairly maternal for an acrocanthosaurus. She had adopted an abandoned hatchling known as Jupiter and had far more tolerance for their acts of chaos than most adults would have been. And most importantly, she kept them safe from harm. Or at least, she kept them safe from others of their kind.

Velvets den was a little corner of the labs, close to the warmer areas of the usually frigid lower levels that were often used as nesting grounds. Here it was safer than it was in the deeper levels- although not without dangers. The hatchlings were happy and oblivious for a while in their little safe haven, but it did not last for long.

Shadestealer yelped as pain racketed throught his body, bending his neck back to snap and hiss at his attacker. The yellow acrocathosaurus yelped as his teeth dug into their feathers, pulling harshly and ripping out a chunk of them. A third attacker joined the fight and Shadestealer yelped as he was pinned onto his back. A squeaky roar sounded out as Avati flaunted her victory, Jupiter sulking off to the side as he licked at the missing patch of feathers along his yellow pelt.

Shadestealer hissed in annoyance, thrashing around until he sent Avati tumbling off them. Velvet was off hunting, and no one was around to stop the trio from roughly playfighting. Jupiter took the opportunity to slide back in, a weak growl rumbling from his tiny body as he attempted to shred Shadestealers feathers in revenge. The two hissed and bickered as Avati sat back, pleased with her sneaky victory as she lapped at her own smooth scales. A metallic scent filled the air along with a yelp of pain that had Avati tensing.

Jupiter backed up away from Shadestealer with a guilty whine, looking at the slightly bloody bite mark on the other tail. They had gotten too rough in their play fighting, and now blood was dripping off Shadestealers tail onto the floor.

The pale green and black hatchling let out a sound of pain, whipping his tail around in order to attempt to catch sight of the injury site. Guiltily Jupiter slid closer, bowing his head as he squeaked apologetically. Shadestealer huffed sorely, but allowed the yellow colored hatchling to creep closer and expect the wound. Avati joined them. The bite wound was shallow, their teeth were too new to cause match harm and Shadestealers feathers too thick for much harm to come to them.

However, unknown to the still very young hatchlings, there was a reason Velvet had always cleaned up the few bloody scrapes they had gotten in the past instantly. There were hungry carnivores around every corner, and the scent of blood was like a beacon to them. 

And as horrible luck would have it, one had already noticed. The hatchlings froze as a cracking sound echoed across the normally quiet corner they lived in. Now that their squabbling was quieted, they could hear them- the footsteps that shook the ground, rattling the broken machinery and shards of glass along the wall. Something was coming- and somehow, they knew it wasn't Velvet. 

Avati was the first to jump into motion, letting out a soft squeak and taking off for cover. On the other side of the den was a broken piece of human furniture, something they had played on and with many times. However, now it was their best chance at hiding from whatever was coming. Avati slid underneath its cold metal surface, soon joined by Shadestealer and Jupiter as they pressed close to each other in silent terror. Something deep inside was telling them to be scared, to be quiet, and to be still.

A deep huffing sound filled the den as something large entered. From their hiding place the hatchlings could just barely make out large clawed feet, similar to their own but so much larger. A large snout filled the edge of their view- deep green and spiked, nostrils flared as it sniffed at the few drops of blood that had fallen upon the ground. Shadestealer spared a glance at his tail as quietly as he could- it had already stopped bleeding, but that did not dispute the fear that they would still be found.

The feet padded closer to their shelter, and the metal above them shook as something bumped against it. Unable to keep quiet, Shadestealer let out a panicked shriek of fear. Jupiter and Avati were quick to join in, the three of them letting out loud distress calls.

The carnivore stalking them snarling, and a much rougher bang sounded against the metal as something rougher met the metal. Claws and teeth dug into it as their shelter was slowly ripped away- a gap in the fairly thin metal was formed, just big enough for the three hatchlings to get a glimpse of an angry green eye.

A loud roar filled the air, angry and close by but familiar as the ground shook. White feet ran across their view, and the room suddenly was filled with snarls and screeches and roars and the scent of blood. The hatchlings huddled even closer together- Shadestealer hid his head beneath Jupiter, while Avati was unable to tear herself away from the fight. 

It was not long before a pained bellow filled the air, and the ground shook again as a body fell. The hatchlings did not dare to move until a white snout dipped into view, tinted red with blood. Despite the frightening fact a gentle coo filled the air- Velvet was there, and it was safe to come out. Avati was the first to bolt out, Jupiter and Shadestealer following within a second. The three pressed themselves into the crouching carnivore's feathers, desperately ignoring the fallen form in the corner and the scent of blood growing ever greater. It seems they would have to move- but for a moment, the hatchlings just needed comfort after their first brush with bigger teeth.