Raptor at Heart - Lost with the Wild

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Re: Raptor at Heart - Lost with the Wild

Post by nikohl » Fri Dec 02, 2016 6:29 am

Brigitte shrugged as none of the hungry half of the group seemed particularly interested in taking advantage of the fresh, free food in front of them and split off to venture towards the scene of the fight. "Stay safe, stay sharp!" she called after them as they left, then turned back to the corpse in front of her. "More for us then. You guys really should dig in if you can face the idea...food ain't gonna land in our laps very often. I hope those guys get lucky with whatever's where they go." She made short work of separating the other of Gilroy's legs from his body in the same way she'd seen Lauren do earlier, then hustled to keep up with the group as they follow Lilly.

She rather awkwardly held the meat in her jaws and claws as she walked, chomping a piece loose and gulping it down every few steps and keeping it from dropping to the ground by balancing it against her chest and gripping it with her claws like some horrible oversized chicken drumstick. In between gulps she snaps her head around to watch the environment around them closely, trying to keep track of where they're going as well as stay alert to their surroundings.

When Lilly eats the bug and seems shocked about it, she grins toothily. "It's all good - we all need to eat. Reckon we're all going to get a different opinion of what's 'gross' before long out here."

When they got near to the water and Lilly started to slow down, Brigitte followed suit. "Nice work, Carrie! Let's try not to scare anything too much then, like you say...but it might be good to try and eyeball things a -little- bit, to get an idea of what all is out here with us. So like, don't stare at stuff, but...stay alert and maybe everyone have a careful glance around as subtle as you can? I don't wanna be blind out there, but I don't wanna spook the others. You said you followed a...um... blackasaurus out here before without scaring it too much, so maybe they'll all understand we're just scoping the place out, not looking to fight."

She stopped and thought for a second and then spoke up again. "Actually...umm, Carrie? We can all understand each other, right? And we're talking 'dinosaur', not 'people'. Did the blackasaurus say anything to you? Or like could you hear it chirping or whatever? Cos being able to -say- we're friendly and just thirsty would be real handy."

She turned sharply to look at Farah as she mentioned hearing something, and shook her head. "Hear what? I can hear us, and the trees and water and stuff further away... Nothing loud or weird... What was it?"

"We should definitely be careful. Everyone speak up if you notice something, anything, that the rest of us don't, yeah?"

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Re: Raptor at Heart - Lost with the Wild

Post by Arch Lich Burns » Fri Dec 02, 2016 7:10 am

"It's okay little Carrie, we have instints of a beast." He looks around to see what others are here before getting a drink. He snickers when Bridgette says 'blackasaurous', finding some sort of amusement in the idea of a black person's face on a dino.

When the prospect of eattig the corpse, he realized he was both famished and full of dread. He feels sick at the thought of caniballizong one of thier own, and he was quite hungry. His instnts took over as he grabs an arm and starts eatting, and the warm meat fills his mouth. He continues to dig into the flesh until he was full and covered in blood. He dips himself in the water to wash off. He cleans his feathers before lookingat the water at his reflection, interested to see what he looks like.

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Re: Raptor at Heart - Lost with the Wild

Post by GathersIngredients » Sat Dec 03, 2016 9:02 am

Lauren sighed softly, she didn't really fancy eating the remains of Gilroy. Yes, she took his leg with her, but... she could have used it as bait to trap some other dinosaur with it, or as means of self-defense, letting it drop when she was pursued, so whoever - whatever - chased her would perhaps go for the easier pray of a mere leg that wasn't capable of running any more.

But with Brigitte and Henry chuffing away, she did her best to see the corpse as it was - that of a strange (at least to her) creature, not human looking at all, so none of her own kind - no matter what spirit or soul it might have contained - and eat some of it at least. While her mind felt uneasy, maybe even a little nautious about all this, her belly thanked her for the received meal with a satisfied burp.

She took care to rip as much meat as she could off the bones of the carcass, eating that, in order to save the leg she had separated earlier for the two who didn't want to eat now. They might reconsider later. Or perhaps someone of the party who went to check out the fight would be unlucky there and come back hungry. Best to be prepared.

Lauren followed 'Carrie' closely, she was eager for water to gulp down her throat, to wash herself inside and out of the blood, and to help keep this unusual meal down, that her body didn't really have a problem with, but her mind all the more. She chuckled when the little one ate the bug. "Way to go, catching your own dinner. Next time, maybe try for something slightly bigger," she said with a wink.

When they reached their destination, Lauren resisted the urge to jump into the pool and wash off as much of the blood she was covered in by now as possible only with some effort. She listened to Brigitte's remarks and nodded. Best to remain careful, watchful, alive. She pulled herself up to full height and rose her nostrils into the air, sniffing around, an action of her raptor body and it's instincts. So far she couldn't make much sense of what the smells she picked up meant, so she made a point to use her eyes as well.

"I didn't hear anything, except leaves rustling and the whispers of the wind, and maybe the sounds of our own feet on the forrest floor. At least I hope it were our own..." Lauren replies ti Farah's question.
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Re: Raptor at Heart - Lost with the Wild

Post by Mereneth » Fri Dec 09, 2016 8:14 pm

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Gully Stream

The scent of fresh blood carried ahead of the pack through the foliage hiding them from view, slowly stirring the small herd of hadrosaurids at the waters edge into anxious pacing. The eldest, a fairly massive parasaurolophus bellowed a deep, rumbling call for calm, though the thought of nearby predators made the decision difficult for his charges to follow.

"Dysu upit yrttpt! Er jsbr sm easy fsu; yjr blood zrsmd yjru jsbr grf satrsfu."

He snorted and rolled his eyes in frustration as the youth of the herd babbled in fear, too stricken by their own terror to hear their leader. They would learn to adhere to the wisdom of the elders or die and be left behind. If his years had taught him little else, strength was more than just what your muscles could do. Blood meant whatever smelled of it was fed, and fed Ikarn's were not interested in you.

As an example for his herd, the elder returned his attention to the water and took slow mouthfuls, allowing himself to remain wary without riling things up.

Lilly chortled at the site of Henry splashing in the small pool of water that filled a massive three toed print in the earth. She nipped playfully at the feathers on his shoulders to get his attention.

"Silly! That water is nasty; there is better, I just don't want us to scare any of the herva-, berba-,"

She paused for a moment as she tried to recollect how her mother had taught her to pronounce the word, puzzling over how to manage the right chirps that came so much easier than English had,

"herbivores! If we make them run away they will make the water all muddy and eww."

She turned to Brigitte as she was addressed,

"Bactrosaurus, miss Brigitte! I just walked slowly and didn't look at them; I could hear their hearts like drums when I got near them, they were so afraid of me, though. I don't know what they were saying, though. One-a the little bitty ones sounded like 'Eeoaaaa rsyy idd, ZZpzzzzu'"

She worked her jaw and wiggled her tongue around a bit as she forced the odd sounds out. She wasn't really sure if it had been speaking, though she hoped it was the answer Brigitte was after. She sniffed at the air, mimicing Lauren, and found the act made the scents she had picked up initially much easier to separate as belonging to different creatures.

Farah looked from raptor to raptor with uncertainty. If none of them had noticed, was what she heard in her head? Was it her own thoughts, then; it had left her feeling particularly vicious, despite how she actually wanted to feel at the moment. Unsure if continuing to discuss it with the pack was the best choice she plodded into the ferns, following the sound of running water, and eased her head through them. The stealthy effort was rewarded with a clear view of a small dinosaur herd, though even from their current distance she could feel the tension in the air; somehow the beasts knew the raptors, or something, was very nearby.

Slowly she backed out of the foliage and turned back to the pack to report her findings.

"Carrie is right, there are other dinosaurs at the water already. One of them is quite big; I don't know if they're meat eaters like us, though. I don't think they are, if I remember anything from the books we kept at the house, but if we are going to press on I believe we should remain on alert. Just in case."

She nodded approvingly at 'Carrie' for having provided such solid information. The little one seemed to be faring better than the rest of them, her recent experience aside.

*FOOD. One of the little ones may be slow enough to fill our belly and then some.*

Farah snapped alert as the thought invaded her mind, feeling much as if someone had jabbed her in the side.

"How would you know whats good to eat..."

She mumbled to herself, unnerved by the thought.

Kill Site:

Hammond looked on at the blood crazed Ambrose as Bjorn spoke, encouraging the rest to eat first. A watch was a good idea, lest they be caught off guard; If they all acted as Ambrose was it wouldn't take much to pick the lot of them off.

He nodded a confirmation to Bjorn, leapt down beside the separated armor plate and picked it up awkwardly before trotting over to the cavernous wound in the stego's belly. Survival training in mind he set the armor plate down and hopped inside the beast's gut and began to methodically collect the more nutritious organs, including the massive heart and liver. The heat within the carcass was surprising, as was the amount of pooled blood in the chest cavity from the wounds it had sustained prior to its fall.

He turned around quickly as a flash of darkness followed by a ground shaking crash sounded behind him and found a great deal of the way he'd gotten in blocked off by scaly hide. Adrenaline pumped through his veins and primal instinct took over, briefly, forcing him to ravage the wall of flesh locking him within the corpse before he could regain control.

He was trapped, though by what? The muffled sound of what he suspected to be voices sounded through the fleshy barricade; whether friend or foe was also unknown.

Not good.

Ambrose looked up giddily at his cohorts, strings of intestinal wall, offal and blood covering his snout. The thrill of feeding like this was unlike anything he had ever experienced before; not even poppy had left him this excited and alert. Alert! He was aware of everything for once and still flooded with such positive sensations. His belly felt completely engorged with sweet, tender flesh.

Perhaps there were some positive things about the world they were now in.

Barking laughter from the direction of the Allosaur's corpse snapped his attention away from the pleasures of primal dining. His eyes grew wide as the Allosaur began to move to the side, teeth tearing furrows into the Stego's corpse as it moved.

"Hammond! Watch-"

He found himself frozen as he realized the Allosaur wasn't moving on its own, but falling over. As it crashed into the ground, the reason became quite clear: One of the Stego's massive missing tail spikes was embedded deep in the side of its skull. The monsters had slain each other, in the end.

Another bark of laughter from the behind the Allosaur's corpse echoed in the clearing before a pair of dark green raptors leapt up onto the beast's side.

The larger or the two raptors trod forward, claws casually picking at the fleshy pedestal it had chosen. Long, jagged streaks of brown and earthy reds ran the length of its body from nose to tail tip. It looked from Ambrose in his pile of carnage to Katrina and Bjorn on the downed tree and barked out incomprehensible orders, followed by another burst of laughter. Its companion, sporting little more than brown feathering to offset its green hide, leapt down and hustled to within a few feet of Ambrose, then began to circle him slowly as it awaited instructions. The one still astride the corpse began to speak,

"Look at this, boys and girls! We have ourselves more hatchlings in the bodies of adults. They seem to think they have the run of things already. Did we tell them they could have firsts with our bounty?"

The raptor stalking around Ambrose shook its head and chittered discouragingly.

"That is right, P'kyn! How rude of them. We could be fair and let them leave unscathed, right now, if they want to make amends, then?"

Another raptor barks from somewhere in the surrounding foliage, though it seemed to be on the move.

"There you have it. We can be nice and polite and you can get the Krsssssst away from our meal and wait until we finish and you will all be left alone. Am I clear?"

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Re: Raptor at Heart - Lost with the Wild

Post by nikohl » Sat Dec 10, 2016 4:11 am

"I guess they don't speak the same language as us, then. But maybe we could learn it... I learned English quick enough, don't see why we couldn't pick up Bactrosaurus if we needed to." Brigitte grinned, and dropped the bone she'd stripped clean, kicking it into a nearby bush. She sniffed the air once she saw Lauren and Lilly do the same, surprising herself with the extent of different things she could smell.

At Farah's confirmation that there were indeed other dinosaurs at the water, she nodded. "Well, let's do what Carrie said and try not to spook them. We've got to wait around here for the others anyway, so we might as well take a drink while we're here." She nosed her way through the ferns that Farah had just exited, cautiously sniffing until her face peeked out through the foliage and she could see the herd at the pool for herself. Seeing the largest dinosaur still drinking relatively calmly, she chirped quietly back to the others: "Come on through slowly, I think we're okay." She thought it unlikely that the whole herd had missed their presence, what with all their chirping and splashing just the other side of the bushes - they must know she and her fellows were there, and in her experience if a person was going to run or attack, they did so straight away rather than waiting and losing their head-start.

She stepped forward carefully and purposefully, trying to show that her focus was the water. She'd spent enough time around people who were always on edge, always in fight-or-flight mode, that she knew the importance of keeping calm and minding her own business. She lowered her face to the water and closed her jaws under the surface then stopped, confused for a moment, both at her foreign appearance and at her inability to suck the water into her mouth like she'd intended - a lack of lips foiled her plan, but not for long. She shrugged almost imperceptibly, then lifted her head up and back and swallowed the mouthful of water she'd 'bitten', then stood and quietly pondered if there wasn't a better way to manage the whole process.

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Re: Raptor at Heart - Lost with the Wild

Post by Arch Lich Burns » Sat Dec 10, 2016 6:01 am

Henry notes how scared the other dinos are of him and the group, He knows he is a carnivore but many of the dinos around him are much larger than he is. He goes to the water, admiring his reflection before drinking. After the others drink Henry goes into the water to wash off the blood. He swims around a little before splashing The group with water playfully.

After swimming for a little bit he gets out and shakes off the water. He hopes he will not have to kill anydinos, but knew that won't be the case. He lets out a small sigh, too bad they are not likely to want to be friends, though who can blame them when they are herbavorws and we carnivores he thought. He's not even sure how they would be able to communicate that he is friendly and does not wish to hurt them since there seems to he a language barrier and they are alien to him.

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Re: Raptor at Heart - Lost with the Wild

Post by SamWiser » Sun Dec 11, 2016 11:57 pm

Sam mostly stays quiet throughout the trip. He laughs quietly when Farah is shocked about eating the bug, but doesn't speak up. One thing that does bring him out of his funk is seeing the Parasaurolophuses. With a shout, he cries "Ducky!" He jumps up a tiny bit, excited, and points as best he can at the herbivores. Guys, it's Ducky! From "Land Before Time". Well, that's what her parents looked like. Do you remember that movie?

He then thinks for a second, and sees how freaked out they are. And remembers how sharp his teeth must look, and maybe they might not appreciate how much attention he's giving them. So, he kind of calms down, tries to look non-threatening, and gently sips the water. No need to start trouble if they don't want to.
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Re: Raptor at Heart - Lost with the Wild

Post by BadgeAddict » Mon Dec 12, 2016 8:09 am

Bjorn watched in horror as the beast that had won fell to the ground, hiding Hammond from view. Bjorn let out something between a bark and a cry as everything happened in seemingly slow motion. As the newcomers crept onto the scene and began to assert their dominance, Bjorn haunched his back and snarled. How dare they bully them, there was plenty of meat for everyone. He knew however, all to well how bullies acted, they cared little for words and were obviously hoping to strike fear into them. However, Bjorn noticed that he was indeed the same size as these newcomers, though perhaps not as skilled in the use of this new body.

Bjorn faced the one who had spoken. "Let us eat in peace, there is more than enough for all." Bjorn set his feet in the ground, as if to show them his intention on not budging, but he shifted his body slightly so that he could keep an eye on all of them at once, his eyes, set into the side of his new face, seemed beneficial for this action as they gave him a wider view than what his human eyes had ever given him.

"Ambrose, be on your guard." he said, out of concern for the other of them.

1 vs 2 would be hard enough, but if he could convince the other two to help him, they stood a chance, moreso if Hammond could get himself free.

"Hammond, if you can hear me, it would be helpful if you can get out of wherever you are."

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Re: Raptor at Heart - Lost with the Wild

Post by GathersIngredients » Tue Dec 13, 2016 2:35 am

Lauren keeps watch while the others drink, then takes her own turn.
She submerges most of her face, so that all of her mouth is underwater, holding the air in her nostrils so no liquid enters through them. She drinks in deep gulps, sucking in the water eagerly. When her thirst is quenched, she retracts her head, straightening herself up and exhales audibly through her nostrils, blowing any remainder of moisture out.

After this, Lauren moves as much downriver as this location will allow while still staying in line of sight, in order to not spoil the stream more than she has to and washed as much blood off herself and Gilroy's leg as she can. When she's done with that, she starts to preen her feathers. Only then she inspects her own reflection in the surface of the water.
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Re: Raptor at Heart - Lost with the Wild

Post by Mereneth » Sun Dec 18, 2016 7:11 am

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Gully Stream:

?????'s Theme

The elder duck-bill sighed, blowing bubbles into the stream as the youngest of his herd panicked at the disinterested raptors approach. It certainly didn't help that some of the raptors had caused a bit of a commotion for unknown reasons, though he could tell it had nothing to do with his charges. With a groan he heaved himself upright and bellowed two loud calls for calm to the younglings scrambling away, muddying the water and expending energy unnecessarily. Caution around Ikarns was a good thing, but they needed to learn how to tell when it was safe to simply remain wary; fleeing was a good way to get even a recently gorged Ikarn to pursue you.

Command issued he turned his attention to the raptor that had moved downstream with a haunch of whatever beast they had fell for their meal and watched as she washed herself clean. Curious. He had never seen them concern themselves with the drying blood of a kill before. He checked to be sure the little ones were falling into line again and, upon confirming they were returning to their care takers, lumbered slowly over to the green raptor cleaning herself.

"Eju fp upi trzpbr yjr blood? O lmpe upi zrsm id mp jstz; upi jsbr rsyrm satrsfu."

He asked, curiosity outweighing what little need he felt to be wary of this pack. Something about them was very different from the Ikarns he had survived growing up. They were mostly adults, as far as his memory served, but most of them were dangerously clumsy, such that he doubted they had matured without incredible assistance from others of their pack. It was a long shot, but if these Ikarn were as different as he suspected he could use them to protect his herd and improve their feeding options. It would be unheard of among other Fivlnoaa, among any other dinosaur, really, but life had taught him that some opportunities to look after your herd were anything but normal.

Lilly eagerly scampered after the others and leapt out over Henry to splash down into the deeper water towards the middle of the stream. With a sigh of relief she settled into the stream until only the very top of her head and nostrils stayed above water. She darted her eyes about at the others as dried blood loosened all over her hide and purred with pleasure.

She watched as the biggest of the herbivores calmly walked over to Lauren and cocked her head slightly, puzzled by its actions. Did dinosaurs really act like this?

Farah plodded after Brigitte and lowered her jaw into the stream until her mouth was submerged and sucked slow gulps of water down her throat as instincts led her through the act. With each swallow she noticed she could taste not only the silt stirred up by the others, but something she could only describe to herself as the taste of every dinosaur who had been in the water recently. Surprised by the information her senses were feeding her mind she looked over at the duck bills and mulled over the sensations, trying to decide what taste belonged to which, only to lock eyes with one of the young ones and watch it cower in fear and promptly urinate into the stream as terror threatened to overwhelm it.

Her human side immediately revolted at the notion of continuing to drink from the stream for a few minutes, forcing her upright and urging her to back-pedal awkwardly out of the water. It proved an entirely different effort to force herself to swallow the mouthful of water she already had sucked up.

"I think I've had enough for now..."

She looked over at Brigitte in search of shared sympathy in the situation, missing the duck bill elder's actions entirely.

Kill Site:

Unknown Raptor leader's Theme

With a bark of laughter the leader stalked down the length of the allosaur's corpse and hopped the fifteen foot gap from the fallen beasts haunch to the fallen tree Bjorn and Katrina occupied and slowly stalked forward.

"Eggshell, little fragile Eggshell, these two belong to my pack already. You have one more chance to leave without being taught a lesson and, once we have finished, you may return to have our leavings. We are nothing if not generous, but I shall not warn you again. We have rid this land of others like you who continually... disobeyed. You have the same opportunities they had; you will also be treated to the same consequences if necessary."

The female lifts her snout into the air haughtily and shakes a peculiar bangle on her ankle before barking out an order. The striping on her hide glows for a short moment before returning to normal.

"Landwo! Peri! Unds! Teach them to listen when I speak."

Three raptors leap from the foliage as their names are called, each taking up position around Bjorn and Katrina in such a way that the only option that doesn't lead to running into one of the unknown pack's members is backwards. The three new raptors make no noise whatsoever and stare blankly at Bjorn and Katrina with sickly white eyes; their deathly pale hides hint vaguely at colors that once were and are saturated with scar tissue from roughly healed battle wounds. They barely seem to breathe, intent instead on unerringly, hungrily gazing into the eyes of their targets.

Ambrose slowly backpedals away from P'kyn before swiftly turning and leaping back up to join Bjorn and Katrina. P'kyn grins toothily up at the three raptors his pack had herded together and nods with pleasure, his duty fulfilled.

"I, uh, I hate to admit it guys but mayhaps we should retreat and leave Hammond behind for now? I think he will be safe where he is, right?"

Ambrose nervously chirps and chitters as he slips in between his companions. He quivers in fear, hoping for some answer from the instincts that lead him to gorge on the entrails, only to find silence from the primal thoughts that had only recently flooded his senses.

"They are giving us a way out, right? I'm not so sure we can handle this many... and these new ones creep me out."

Hammond clawed and slashed at the corpse blocking his path until he hit the massive spinal column of the fallen allosaur. This would not work, he needed more space, even if it meant leaving his collection of goodies behind.

An unfamiliar, muffled voice sounded ahead and above him, followed by several others further away. Something wasn't right out there beyond a corpse trapping him in the chest cavity of another. Reluctantly he set aside his prizes and began to tear at the inside of the stegosaurus's rib cage, hoping to discover one or more had been broken significantly enough to allow him to pull them free and shred his way out of the opening.

As the voices continued he realized that none of the ribs facing upwards had been broken enough to make his plan work. Frustrated he lashed out, slashing the soft, fleshy intestines, splattering himself with offal and blood.

"Hammond, if you can hear me, it would be helpful if you can get out of wherever you are."

As Bjorn's muffled voice called out it dawned on him there was a way out, albeit an unpleasant one. Without further pause he turned to follow the intestines still inside the beast to the waiting portal to freedom and, once he had gotten as far into the monster's gut as he could, sliced off the intestines and, doing his best not to puke, tucked his arms against his belly and began to push himself to freedom. His pack members needed him.
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Re: Raptor at Heart - Lost with the Wild

Post by GathersIngredients » Sun Dec 18, 2016 1:13 pm

Lauren paused in mid-motion, feathers in her mouth, when the plant eater not only deliberately approached her, but - as far as she could judge - actually attempted to communicate with her.

To say she was utterly fascinated by this would have been putting it lightly.
From what she remembered learning in school, dinosaurs on Earth didn't have very big brains - some as small as walnuts - and used most of them for basic movement-functions and such - especially the bigger they were, like a brontosaurus, for example.
She hadn't been surprised that whatever she and the others had become had been capable of more complex thoughts and speech because ... well, to be fair, because she hadn't really stopped and thought about it with everything else going on, but even if she had thought about it... it seemed kind of logical that beings who once had been humans could retain their mental abilities to some extend, even when they found themselves in another body.

But the... native fauna... How could they even grasp the concept of language? Maybe they used their brains much more efficient than nowadays humans. Maybe these specimen here did have larger brains than archaeology suggested. Maybe the one leaf eater that was attempting to talk to her had once been a human, too. Maybe wherever she was now and whatever had become of her and the others had nothing to do with Earth's primitive age. Just because it looked similar to what students of history on Earth had dreamed up, doesn't mean she was then and there, after all.

Lauren closed her eyes and tried to calm her mind, opening up herself to what he might want. She attempted to at least repeat what the herbivore had said in her mind over and over again, trying to make sense of it. Freeing herself of her own thoughts she listened to her own breath and the sound of the wind and the other creature's breathing. She took in his scent with her nose and his... presence for want of a better word with her mind. And she embraced it.
Like the pieces of a puzzle falling into place, like gears of clockwork setting into motion, like a knot unravelling, she thought she sensed a certain... understanding for the creature.

She wasn't entirely sure she got right what it had said, but she figured that this sudden enlightenment of hers might be a fleeting one, if she didn't hold onto it. And the plant eater trying to communicate with her was too good an opportunity to simply let it pass.
It was worth trying to communicate back, she decided.

She opened her eyes again, looked at the creature with her head tilted and her brows furrowed with effort and painstakingly formed a sentence.
"O ... fp mpy eoaj yp aitr pyjrt zrsy rsyrtd yp id."
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Re: Raptor at Heart - Lost with the Wild

Post by Mereneth » Tue Dec 20, 2016 3:38 am

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Event Location unknown:

A wisp of a shadow operates a massive computer like device; multiple monitors cycle between different subjects while two remain static, displaying the separate groups at the gully stream and kill site. A sinister, gigantic, quivering shadow-like creature presses into the room, nearly enveloping the operator; the air quivers as it makes a strange, grating sound that the operator finally responds to,

"Ma'hesta'r? You wished to be informed of progress. The newest set are progressing away from the drop zone, though they have split into two groups. I suspect it to be temporary but there is not enough data to confirm this theory. They have joined up with the little one that has managed to overcome the obstacles we set, though monitors show something caused her to experience trauma upon her initial meet up with the new set. One of the ten in the new set died almost immediatelyl cause of death extreme trauma and blood loss.

the groups have also encountered a set of herbivores and are engaging in a non hostile manner, currently.


Suul. Wdæe, dæzæ æcmuocwæqæl mon humuh Vellech? Wdæe, ææsæqhe huug luqiæql wu duo dæclhæ mon aquv qkæc. Mon kæwk uqæzuok. Oæ, mon uæmg hæælæq sqæcwæl mon hææqcæl iomghe duo xæcshæ. Wy vægæ okæ ua tw. Væ, vucwuq n gææu cayqvæl.

Yes, Ma'hesta'r. Operation proceeds.

The massive shadow fades rapidly from existence, eliciting a sigh of relief from the operator who quickly returns his attention to the cycling screens.

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Re: Raptor at Heart - Lost with the Wild

Post by Arch Lich Burns » Tue Dec 20, 2016 4:26 am

Henry gets out of the water and shakes off. He sees Lauren chirp at them in a nearly unknown language, but some of it sort of clicked with him, knowing the gist of what she said. He sniffs at the duck billed creature and tries to think of a way to not look as threatning. He figures the best way of doing so is to act like a cat or dog. Won't be the most embarrassing thing he has done. He slowly lays down in front of the duck billed creatures and puts his head down, but still watches them carefully.
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Re: Raptor at Heart - Lost with the Wild

Post by BadgeAddict » Tue Dec 20, 2016 5:52 am

When Bjorn sees the raptor shake the bangle and then these dead in the eyes raptor appear from nowhere, he begins to suspect something is not good. "She is a výlva, one of Freya's gifted children." he whispers to the ones beside him. Even Bjorn was smart enough not to mess with magic users, as their connection with the gods was close enough to make them dangerous. "Wait! I apologize výlva, I did not recognize you for who you were." Bjorn bent his head down in humility as he spoke before lifting his head up again just far enough to look at her clawed feet, in a form of reverence and respect. "One of our number is currently trapped within the belly of the beast, please allow us to wait here for him to join us and then we will remain here, on this log until you allow us to feed."

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Re: Raptor at Heart - Lost with the Wild

Post by SamWiser » Fri Dec 23, 2016 12:51 am

Sam is still focused on the new dinosaurs, comparing how the movie got them right/wrong, but he recognizes how he's freaking them out, and calms down, also not drinking the water after the young ones pee in it. Not that they ever had anything to fear from him. Even in modern day, waterholes and rivers were the sight of a careful truce amongst predator and prey, and he assumed the same thing existed here. Or at least, he would act like it did. He watches as the oldest ducky-dino slowly walks up to Lauren and starts speaking to her. He's amazed as she responds back to him, apparently in their own language.

That's awesome! How did you learn that so quickly?
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Re: Raptor at Heart - Lost with the Wild

Post by GathersIngredients » Wed Jan 04, 2017 1:38 am

Lauren shoots Sam a dirty look, ruffling her feathers at him and narrowing her eyes in an attempt to shush him non-verbally into silence. She doesn't even know if her communication attempt will be successful and he wants her to explain it?
She rolls her eyes and snorts indignantly, before turning back to the duck-billed dinosaur and eagerly awaiting its reply.
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Re: Raptor at Heart - Lost with the Wild

Post by Mereneth » Thu Jan 05, 2017 6:27 am

Gully Stream:

The elder nodded simply at Lauren's response to mask his thoughts from showing in his actions. She hadn't responded in an Ikarn language, he noted with some surprise. Had she learned how to respond simply by measuring the words of his own query? It seemed that as water dropped, so too did this pack make less sense.

"You speak as if you are Fivlnoaa, Ikarn. You are not wrong, though what have you to fear? You are not alone, nor do your pack carry wounds."

He looked away from Lauren, slowly moving his eyes to each of the raptors in turn as he contemplated his next words. He could feel his hearts throbbing dangerously as the haste of the decision threatened even his old, steeled nerves. This was dangerous. A tremendous risk to the herd, his charges; the problem that presented itself, though, was the odds the slim opportunity would come again. How to approach the option was a puzzle he was unsure how to address. He watched as the young timidly edged nearer to the orange raptor still in the water [Nikohl], sniffing curiously yet still trembling with fear. Would it be possible to...

"I am Itogg. Forgive me if you think this offensive, but your pack does not act... right. The agility and bloody cunning I am used to being wary of is largely absent among you. Yet, after hearing only a few words you speak as a Fivlnoaa with a clarity that would challenge even my little ones own speech."

Itogg paused to drink from the stream, the action itself more to give himself more time to ponder his next words than to sate his thirst. As he gulped down the mouthful of water he raised himself back to his full height, hoping to influence the situation in his favor somehow before he made his plan clear.

"Who among you leads your pack?"

Kill Site:

Hammond slowly made progress until his slickened hide let him slide out from between the allosaur's back and the guts of the Stegosaur. Nothing in his training had prepared him for such a sickening journey, though whatever body he now resided in seemed to revel in being so thoroughly coated in gore. He looked longingly back at the corpse, disappointed at having to leave his treasures behind. The armored fin would have been a wonderful tool to bring along.

A sharp bark from his left made him stiffen in surprise until he saw an unfamiliar raptor glaring at him. He opened his mouth to speak, only to be met with a head jerk towards a large group of raptors, three of which he realized to be his companions. They were sorely outnumbered and he felt quite exhausted from the efforts of his own escape, he noted glumly and trod over to join the others, exerting no more energy than was necessary to leap up onto the downed tree and sidle over to join the group.

"What's the plan, guys? What is the deal with these raptors?"

The raptor leader snarled as Hammond appeared, though quickly reined in her temper as she noticed P'kyn close on his tail.

"Výlva? I know of no výlva; I am Bliif'na. Given P'kyn has found your 'trapped' pack member I will give you one more chance to do as I instructed, since they did not hear me. Leave, now. Perhaps your bloodied friend has better hearing?"

The three dead eyed raptors each took a step forward in unison, snapping their jaws shut on air as blood dripped from their eye sockets and ran down their hide. As they moved bits of flesh fell free from wounds that were clearly weeks old and reeked of rot. Each step seemed to be a struggled against some invisible force to progress.

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Re: Raptor at Heart - Lost with the Wild

Post by BadgeAddict » Thu Jan 05, 2017 7:08 am

"Come Hammond, we shall wait our turns to eat at the forests edge" Bjorn says, a sense of urgency in his voice. When Hammond comes closer, he'll lower his voice and speak to the others. "The one with the bangle, wields magic, I don't dare cross her, as few in number as we are, let us run back and find the others. Water would be good, plus we could return with larger numbers. Lucky for you two, you've already filled your belly with some food, I'm sure we'll find something else along our journey for myself and this one." He motions to the silent one beside him.

He waits and listens to their thoughts, but if they are in agreement, he'll run back to the clearing and then try to track their way to the water source following the markings that he hopes the others have left for them.

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Re: Raptor at Heart - Lost with the Wild

Post by Arch Lich Burns » Thu Jan 05, 2017 7:30 am

Henry looks at the creature with awe. "Greetings! My name is Henry!" He bows down to the elder. He gives a wink to the kids. He looks down at his hands and closes them. It's not perfect but it will do. "]Watch and be amazed!" Henry puts his hands behid his back before revealing his thumb (dewclaw?) is gone and proceeds with the detatched thumb trick. Afterwards he splashes water with his tail and sprays it twoard them to make a rainbow. Next he throws up some dust and while they are distracted he hides to the nearest bush, hopefully making them think he is gone. He waits for them to be distracted before walking behind one of the kids. "Ta da!"

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Re: Raptor at Heart - Lost with the Wild

Post by GathersIngredients » Fri Jan 06, 2017 2:57 am

Lauren was incredibly pleased - as well as surprised - that she apparently was able to talk to and be understood by the duckbill.This was most unexpected.

"You speak as if you are Fivlnoaa, Ikarn."
Lauren tilted her head and swished her tail slowly from side to side, as she kept on watching the elder attentively.
"You expected me to reply to you in my own language?"
So not only did these creatures clearly have a concept of themselves - both as individuals as well as as species - but they were also aware that there were different species and everyone seemed to have their own language. But, and this was something she never would have dreamed of way back in the safety of her own home in her own time, the creatures could listen to, understand and possibly even speak in the language of OTHER creatures. Like learning and speaking German or French by a British girl.
"This is truly fascinating!" Lauren couldn't contain her astonishment completely, and she couldn't help but feel that countless historians and archaeologists back home who were particularly interested in the dinosaurs would have given much and more - possibly even their own lives - to be in her, Lauren's, place right now. Too bad she didn't have the means to offer any of them this switch...

"You are not wrong, though what have you to fear? You are not alone, nor do your pack carry wounds."
All the interesting learning opportunities aside, Lauren couldn't be sure how much she could safely reveal to this creature. Anything she said, they would know and possibly spread amongst other dinosaurs, telling other predators of the 'childlike, helpless pack'. There was no taking back her words, so she settled for: "There's always bigger teeth, sharper claws, faster feet."

"I am Itogg. Forgive me if you think this offensive, but your pack does not act... right. The agility and bloody cunning I am used to being wary of is largely absent among you. Yet, after hearing only a few words you speak as a Fivlnoaa with a clarity that would challenge even my little ones own speech."
"I am Lauren." Caution made her stick to this terse response.

"Who among you leads your pack?"
She followed the duckbill's gaze over the others gathered here and shook her head slowly. "We are not a pack. Yet."

When Henry pulls off his trick, Lauren is utterly flabbergasted. This is a survival situation, and he goes and does silly parlour tricks! Lacking a desk to bump her forehead against, she just fans out her tail feathers and brings them up to her head, trying to hide her face in embarrassment.
But then again, maybe it would help break the ice between the two groups...

She turns her attention back to Itogg, slowly walks closer to him in a non-threatening manner - if he lets her, backing up, if this unsettles him - circling him and taking in his body posture, his attention following her and the numerous scars on his skin and eventually returning to his front and addresses him: "I don't suppose you'd be inclined to temporarily take on responsibility for one more 'youngling'," here she used her "fingers" to add the quotation marks visually to her spoken words, oblivious that the duckbill was unlikely to pick up and understand the gesture, "with special dietary needs, and a clumsy one at that?"
Lauren was referring to herself, of course, as she couldn't speak for anyone else, but she saw the incredible merit of sticking with an individual who had at the very least two things abundantly that she lacked: experience how to survive in this world and knowledge of the surroundings. On top of that he was clearly a herd animal, and determined to keep his flock safe so he was unlikely to mean and immediate harm to her, unless she did something stupid. Perhaps there was something she could offer in return for his protection and knowledge, so at least for a while it would be a mutually beneficial arrangement.

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Re: Raptor at Heart - Lost with the Wild

Post by SamWiser » Tue Jan 10, 2017 12:20 am

Sam watches Henry do his "magic" tricks, mostly stuff that had already bored him before he was in the double digits. He rolled his eyes and moved closer to Lauren and the head duckbill. He only catches the end of the conversation and whispers to her quietly. You want to let them take care of Lilly? Is that a good idea? I mean, I know we aren't qualified to take care of her, but I imagine that velociraptors and these guys aren't exactly friends. Can we trust them not to take matters into their own hands, so to speak?

Finally gaining some self-awareness, realizes he is completely ignoring the leader of the duckbills, and in a halting attempt, tries to recreate the language that Lauren had been speaking just before. Hi. My name is Sam. We don't want to hurt you, only to drink. I must have scared you guys before, when I got excited, but I mean you no harm, I promise. I am sorry for scaring your younger ones.
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Thanks to Arch Lich Burns for the avatar, and Mnementh for the mustache.

ÔÇ£Shoot the dictator and prevent the war? But the dictator is merely the tip of the whole festering boil of social pus from which dictators emerge; shoot him and there'll be another one along in a minute. Shoot him too? Why not shoot everyone and invade Poland?ÔÇØ
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Re: Raptor at Heart - Lost with the Wild

Post by GathersIngredients » Tue Jan 10, 2017 6:33 am

Lauren turns to her fellow raptor and shakes her head incredulously at Sam. "What? Carrie? No, of course not! Where would you get an idea like that?" she whispers urgently back at him, instinctively falling back into raptor speech, as she was addressed in it. "I can't make such a pledge for anyone else. So I'm asking for -me-. Because he's right. We're not acting like we belong here. And noticeably so. Therefore I'm hoping to learn stuff from him. Like his knowledge of this land, and how to survive in it. Until I have improved sufficiently on those things, I will be as clumsy and in need of aid and having stuff told to me -like- a youngling. But still, I'm sure there's situations in his life where having one - or more - raptor friends would come in handy. You - any of you - is welcome to make him" she pitched her head in the direction of the duckbill elder at this, "the same offer, because obviously I couldn't possibly make that decision for you.

And about me picking up the language... there's no way for me to know for sure, but I'm suspecting it has something to do with the way we came to be here. Like how we all understand each other, even though that angry guy was French and that girl who appeared last was German and so on? Whatever 'it' is, it seems to be working with the local languages as well. At least that's my take on it.
"


Lauren straightens up to almost her full height, but not quite all of it, so she doesn't come across as intimidating and turns her attention back to Itogg, once more impatiently awaiting his reaction.
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Re: Raptor at Heart - Lost with the Wild

Post by Mereneth » Wed Jan 11, 2017 2:28 am

Kill Site:

Hammond and Ambrose look between each other for a moment and nod in agreement, edging away from the raptors surrounding them. Ambrose looks apprehensively at Bjorn, fidgeting with his clawed fingers.

"I agree, lets get back to the others. Perhaps there is something left of that other raptor for you two?"

He guiltily looks over at Hammond,

"I kinda suggested to leave you behind when you were stuck, sorry."

Hammond simply shrugs in response and gestures for one of them to lead the way; the sticky gore coating him from head to toe had dried enough to make it difficult to fully open his eyes.

Gully Stream:

Itogg canted his head slightly upon discovery of the absence of a leader, or even the coherency of a pack as a whole. It answered some questions, though it lead to so many more. As Lauren walked around him, observation her only apparent intention, he took the opportunity to take a better look at the others. The smallest of them remained mostly submerged, though he could see in her eyes that she was content to remain so for a little longer. Pleasure was a language that all eyes knew, he had long ago learned. With a bemused look he followed Lauren as she finished her prowl around him.

As Sam approached him and explained his actions he acknowledged him with a simple nod, though his attention was following the antics of the albino raptor. He looked between them as they momentarily shifted back to speaking as Ikarn, curious at the decision given he thought he had made it apparent he could understand their speech. As they finished their discussion he spoke up, offering a response to both Sam and Lauren,

"We share a mind, then. If you are willing to hear me out, I have my own proposition to make of you, Ikarn-Lauren."

He looked over to Sam to ensure Lauren did not mistake the change in conversation to still directly pertain to their own discussion,

"As I have introduced myself to your companion, Lauren, I am Itogg. I did not believe you meant harm, though many of my herd are warranted in their wary response of your presence. Water is not sacred to all Ikarn, and it is not easy to tell which will treat it as-"

He snapped his full attention to Henry as he crept up behind the young and immediately his eyes widened in horror as he realized what was about to happen. He watched, seemingly in slow motion, as one of the nearby mothers quickly went on the defensive as their taut, fear stressed nerves hid from them the innocence of the albino's peculiar actions.

"NO! Kjuuta safe, dstabblas young no-"

Before he could finish the sentence or even get her attention, the female had taken two giant steps forward and snapped into a pivot, her tail smashing into Henry and sending him tumbling a good distance downstream in a spray of mud and water as she acted in defense of the youngling who had cowered to the ground when Henry 'suddenly' appeared behind it. The female's eyes followed the path Henry had flown down and refused to meet the rapidly approaching Itogg's eyes, even as he bellowed for the herd to calm down and for the female to beg forgiveness.

Itogg searched his mind frantically for an answer, for some way to undo what had surely fouled his plans and intentions. Even with Lauren already suggesting something similar to what he had in mind, his horror at what had just happened, instinctive and innocent as it may have been, only lead him to fear the chance might have been annihilated by so simple an act as attempting to protect their young from a perceived threat.

"Ikarn! Quickly, check on your own and I beg you forgive my charge's action. She is too young to recognize the white one meant no harm and..."

He trembled as genuine terror gripped him for the first time in many years. This strange pack meant his no harm, or at least did not before this incident. There was little he could do to repair the damage that had been done beyond to await the judgement of the Ikarn. Would they still allow him to make his own suggestion and continue their talks, or would he need to brace himself to possibly lay down his own life, now, to protect the herd's escape?

His eyes sought to meet Lauren's, slim hope seeking a peaceful solution through the raptor he had first spoken with. He did not want this opportunity to be wasted, but he knew that if it had been, if this lead to combat, it would not be a fight he would want to remember if he survived.

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Re: Raptor at Heart - Lost with the Wild

Post by BadgeAddict » Wed Jan 11, 2017 6:29 am

Before leaving, Bjorn notices the blood beginning to harden over Hammonds eyes and lacking soft fingers in which to wipe away the blood, he moved closer and took a giant lick of his face. The salty blood tasted good in his mouth, and though his human cheeks would have reddened at the awkwardness of his actions, a warrior did what he could for his fellow warriors, even if that meant licking the blood from their eyes. An extra set of eyes was important if they were to survive.

Bjorn takes up the lead and tracks back to the clearing using the markings that he had placed on the trees and ground. When he gets far enough away that he can tell he is no longer being watched by the unfriendly raptors, he ponders about how fighting may work in this new body. Holding up his hands as he walked, he looked intently at the talons that extended from the end of his fingertips. He knew already, based just by scratching the marks into the trees, that they were incredibly sharp. His feet he noticed also had long talons that curved out of his toes, though these were longer than the ones on his hands, they looked equally as sharp. As he led the others in an effort to find the remaining group he started jogging and then running and then stopping suddenly as he tried to fully understand his newfound self more completely.

From time to time, while running, Bjorn would leap from the ground in effort to judge how far he could leap.

He attempts to lead them back to the clearing and once there, starts walking in the direction the others had left in, all the while looking for any markings that he hoped they had left.

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Re: Raptor at Heart - Lost with the Wild

Post by Arch Lich Burns » Wed Jan 11, 2017 7:56 am

Henry gets up slowly. "Ow....ow.... I'm okay...." Henry goes to the lake and wash off the mud and shakes off the water. "Sorry...I kinda forgot I am a dangerous looking reptile." He bows to the mother "My appologies, I did not mean to startle you, I was trying to entertain the young ones." Henry licks at where he got hurt, trying not to startle them again.
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