Scavenger- Eggs
Sirius grumbled lowly to himself as he shook more mud off of himself, making a disgusted face as a large gloop of mud fell off his snout. “Disgusting.” He hissed. “Is this really necessary?”
In front of him were Silver and Comet. Silver was still in the middle of rolling in his own patch of mud to apply the dampening effect to himself. “I already told you why it is.” Comet huffed, mud dripping off of him as well. “We need as much camouflage as possible for this. There are going to be many eyes on our goal.”
Silver hauled himself to his feet, and Sirius couldn't help but snicker lowly. The gray cryolophosaurus looked terrible, mud plastered in patches across his feathers and clumping them up into mats. If the expression on the older carnivore was anything to go by, the mud did not feel good either. Still, he wore it with no complaints.
“Why are we doing this again?” Sirius tired again, hoping in vain he would be able to get out of this. “We should just make another kill, and bring bits of it back to the den.” He yelped as Comet flicked his snout with his tail in a scolding manner.
“I already explained this to you.” Comet sighed. “It's the breeding season for a lot of herbivores, and there are many, many herds gathered nearby. Pretty much any herbivore in the area is gathered here in order to make more herbivores. It’s a chance we can’t pass up to get an easy meal, and steal off with a few eggs. We can even bring some back to the den easily enough, and it will attract less attention to the den compared to raw meat.”
Sirius paused. He hadn’t considered that. The valley where the herbivores were currently gathered was not far from the new den that had set up within the highlands, almost close enough to be viewable from the highlands itself. Even inside the den the calls of herbivores would sometimes reach, echoing off the walls and waking Sirius’s hatchlings from their sleep. The loud sounds had scared away a lot of their usual prey, mammals, and was the reason they had even approached the nesting grounds and rolled in mud in the first place. “Fine.” Sirius grumped, flicking more mud off his head and splattering it at Comet, who just sighed.
Silver stepped between them, the setting sun bouncing off the mud on his body and making him appear warmer. “The herd is just up ahead.” He warned, pointing with his nose. “We need to be quiet from now on.” Sirius and Comet nodded, back to being fully focused on their task- sneaking a few eggs away in the chaos of the herd.
Together the three snuck forward, carefully approaching the end of the forest where the herbivores were gathered. Sirius poked his head out of the brush first, almost gasping in surprise. There were more dinosaurs here than he had ever seen in his life.
Across the valley were herbivorous dinosaurs of every species known. Herds of styracosaurus gathered, males clashing and charging against each other in order to earn the appeal of the females. Two large males were center stage, showing off their flashing frills to various females who grunted in approval. Parasaurolophus males sang into the air, trying to urge females into their dance with their trumpeting sounds. Pachycephalosaurus chased each other around, disturbing many members of the herd. Far in the back Sirius could see the long necks of Shunosaurus, many of them entwined with the neck of their partner as their own deep calls boomed across the land. Even a rare Therizinosaurus was there, tending to their own nest of eggs. Sirius made a mental note to avoid that nest.
Poking his head back in, Sirius gestured to the right with his neck, where he had seen several mounds that seemed to be nests. The three slunk into the rapidly growing shadows, the herd slowly calming down and becoming more sluggish as the sun began to set. Many females wandered away from their nests, heading to get their last bites of food before the sun set. And in doing so, they left their nests open to the hungry eyes watching them. The trio split apart at the edge of the forest, each finding their own target to steal from.
Silver was the first one to venture out. The closest nests were right on the edge of the forest, likely placed by experienced mothers. Poking his muzzle into the nest, he quickly shuffled the eggs around a bit to get a good gauge on their size and weight. There were five eggs in the nest, and they were small enough that Silver could easily grab and crush them without trying. A pachy nest, maybe? Quickly he gulped down two of the eggs, crushing the shells beneath his teeth and consuming them as well for the added calcium. Should he grab another egg? Tilting his head, Silver considered it, but decided he had been lingering for too long- hopefully one of the others could grab an egg.
Comet found his own nest to rummage through, a nest with pale blue eggs large enough for him to require both sets of claws to carry it should he chose. Wasting no time, he quickly broke into the egg, teeth piercing the shell as he began to eat. Occasionally he would cast quick glances up, but he had chosen the nest well. The trees from the forest cast dark shadows upon it, and the few bright parts of his hide had already been covered in mud. Quickly finishing the egg, Comet swept the eggshells into the sand to try and hide the evidence. He would have stayed, but an approaching styracosaurus in the distance spooked him enough he retreated early. Hopefully they wouldn’t notice a missing egg until a while later.
Sirius was much less experienced when it came to stealing eggs, so it was no surprise that it took him a while to find a nest to investigate. The nests he came across that were close enough to root around in were either guarded by a parent, or he judged the eggs as being too small and not worth his time.
Eventually, however, the picky cryolophpsaurus came across a seemingly untended nest by some bushes, a bit away from the rest as if the owner wanted privacy. Curious, he poked his nose into the nest, nudging one of the large eggs. The egg was large and heavy, just big enough to be picked up in his mouth if he was careful. Its shell was a mix of brown and red, dappled with white, and it smelled of fruit.
Grabbing the egg in his claws and tugging it out, he froze as there was a rustling in the bushes. Pulling the egg back along with himself into the nearby cover, Sirius froze as the parent arrived. A large quilled Dacentrurus was dragging a branch of food towards it’s nest. Within a few footsteps, it would discover him with its egg- and the result wouldn’t be pretty. Sirius had no clue what to do- if he moved he would be caught and charged, but if he stayed the result would be the same.
Suddenly, chaos erupted in the herd as two dark shapes began to run through it. Silver and Comet! They must have noticed the perilous position Sirius was in, and thought quickly to cause a distraction. The Dacentrurus quickly dropped the branch, aggressively running over and shaking its spikes at the bellowing cryolophosaurus pair. Sirius had just enough time to slip away, prize clutched safely in his jaws. Soon Silver and Comet rejoined him, winded but none the worse after the terrifying situation. Sirius sighed in relief- at least he had gotten out with dinner!
