Night Hunt

It was dark on the island. Quiet fell as night peeked over the horizon, chasing the sun away and blanketing the sky in velvet darkness. Birdsong stopped all across the island, and small mammals scurried into their burrows. Reptiles sunk away from the shadows, returning to their burrows to hide away from the coldness until the sun kindled them back to activity. Herbivores shook their heads and bellowed, quickly retreating to hidden places or banding together in herds. In nights like this, nights where the moonlight was scarce and the darkness thick, was when carnivores were most active, and most hungry.

In a den in the Pera forest, deep within the shrubbery and foliage, three of those predators awaited. The largest of the group of cryolophosaurus, a coal-hided male with white gathering on the tips of his body and scattered across his hide, was already awake. Getting to his feet, he nudged at the closest member of his pack, the only feathered member of the trio. The feather cryolophosaurus whined sleepily, only to yelp as his packmate nipped his proud crest. 

“Im up, Im up.” The cryolophosaurus whined, slowly hauling himself to his feet and shaking out his feathers. “You don’t need to bite so hard, Comet. I would have gotten up.” he grouched. 

Comet snorted back at him, communicating without words that he doubted that, before turning to the smallest member of the pack. Sirius, his firstborn son and the only one who had stayed with his birth pack, had already woken up from the commotion and was getting himself to his feet. Like Comet, Sirius looked like a living piece of the night, being made up of various shades of the night sky and scattered in stars. Like Comet, he was made for night hunting. The two gently brushed muzzles in a short show of affection, before drawing back. Comet faced the two.

“Alright. It's the new moon. You know what that means. It’s our chance to obtain a great meal.” Comet shook himself out, pacing as he spoke. It had been over a week since the pack had found a meal big enough for all of them, having to sustain on small creatures and scraps. And even in the rare times of them obtaining a large meal, a larger carnivore would come and push them off it before long. But no other dinosaur on the island had night vision as good as a cryolophosaurus. “We need to move fast, and we need to move quiet. We must be stealthy, and take something down long before the sun comes up. Understood, Silver, Sirius?” The two smaller members nodded, and Comet quickly turned and ran out of the den, scenting the air. The hunt was on.

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They ran for hours, across the shadowed land. Sirius was the swiftest member of the pack, but also the most excitable. He would often run after any small sound he heard, only to be nipped at by Silver to fall back in line. The young cryolophosaurus buzzed with nervous energy- he was hungry, and he was excited! Silver was much more calm, but also less accustomed to hunting at night than Comet and Sirius. He stumbled over roots and sticks a few times, letting out muffled curses and getting embarrassed whenever one of the others would turn to look at him. Comet was the most experienced- he had spent plenty of time on his own hunting, and learned how to perfectly harness the element of darkness. While part of him longed to split off on his own to hunt without the two behind him, he loved his pack. Besides, he knew that in order to get a good meal, he needed a group of hunters.

Sirius was the one that caught the scent first, letting out a soft hiss that froze Comet and Silver in place and had them slouching down into a crouch and scenting the air themselves. It was the scent of a large herbivore, much larger than the styracosaurus and pachycephalosaurus they tended to tackle. Together, as if they shared a single mind, the small pack slunk forward through the underbrush, soon coming onto open shrubland. In the distance, their target was easy to notice- a piebald shunosaurus, so white they were almost glowing in the night. They seemed to be distracted, hurrying towards the forest as if the hounds of hell were on their heels. In reality? They were right ahead of them. Comet made a motion with his tail, instructing his pack to fall back into the forest a bit more. It was time to stalk.

As the shunosaurus entered the forest, it had no way to know it was already surrounded. From the shadows the pack followed in its footsteps, their dark shades keeping them hidden in the foliage. Occasionally the sauropod would crane its head around as if it could feel that something was stalking them, but the night hid them well. The cyrolophosaurus pack continued to stalk the sauropid, waiting for the signal. 

Finally, Comet deemed it time. They had arrived at a thicker part of the forest, and the sauropod was having trouble pushing its way through the dense undergrowth. Taking a deep breath, Comet let out a loud, ghastly shriek before diving in, ready to secure a meal.

The shunosaurus whipped around in panic, its tail becoming stuck in tangled in the thick bushes and it tried to whip it free. Angrily, the sauropod swung its neck towards Comet and forced him to jump back- but that was what he wanted. From behind their target Sirius emerged silently, sinking his teeth and claws into the back leg of the large sauropod. Blood welled up, clear against the the white scales of the shunosaurus.

Quickly losing focus on Comet, the sauropod attempted to kick back towards Sirius, only for the small cryolophosaurus to jump back and for Silver to emerge from the other side, latching his teeth onto the sauropods tail right before the dangerous tail club. With its best weapon trapped the sauropod wailed, attempting to thrash its tail free from Silvers deadly grip. Comet quickly ran in and aimed for the long neck of the creature, which was dipped down to a hight he could easily grab onto. His teeth latched right behind the head, his claws grabbing onto another part of the neck. Silver took this chance to readjust his grip on the tail, managing to wrestle it onto the ground so it could not whip around to aid the other half of its body. 

Hearing a loud shriek, Comet almost lost his grip in surprise as he saw Sirius land on the back of the sauropod, having managed to scramble onto its back with it stuck between the two larger cryolophosaurus. The shunosaurus went absolutely crazy as Sirius dug his teeth and claws anywhere he could reach, lashing its neck and tail around and dragging Comet and Silver around as they frantically tried to keep their grips. They both knew that if they let go, the hunt would likely end with them being crushed by an angry sauropod. Suddenly, Sirius sunk his jaws onto the part of the neck that was right above where Comet was attacking, forcing the sauropod to endure the strength of two cryolophosaurus attacking the same area full force. 

This seemed to finally be enough- the legs of the shunosaurus began to wobble and buckle, teetering close and closer to the ground. Its hide was more red than white now, covered in numerous wounds. “Jump!” Silver called from the side, having let go of the tail as the sauropod seemingly had no strength to whip it around anymore. Comet unlatched his now sore jaw, scrambling back as Sirius lept off, accidently colliding with him and sending them both rolling clear of the falling sauropod. There was a loud sound, and the ground shook, before silence. 

Silver had been the one most clear of the fight, and he quickly hurried to the side of the father and son duo, worry clouding his thoughts. “Comet! Sirius!” He nudged against the pile of father and son, hearing groans as they did their best to untangle themselves from the harsh collision. “Is it down?” Sirius slurred, dizzily getting to his feet. “Its down. The fall took it out.” Silver spoke respectfully, nuzzling the side of Comets head as he helped the dazed leader up. 

Comet shook his head to clear his thoughts, approaching their fallen target. They had succeeded the hunt, but that didn’t mean they could celebrate- not yet. Facing towards the sky, he could see the faintest light of the coming day in the distance. Dawn was not long out. “Hurry and eat, you two. Day approaches.” The small family gathered, hurrying to enjoy the fruits of their labors before the day emerged and they too became prey.