I still couldn't believe it, what I just recently figured out. A whole new world was awaiting me!
Those thoughts made it difficult for me to sleep, but not in a bad way. I never felt as excited as this.
Me and my brothers now being to big, as to sleep in our nest, We were sleeping in front of the small mud mountain, our parents build.
And again I had build a leave bed for myself and this time I made sure of it, my stupid brothers wouldn't pee on it, while I was away!
Luckily they didn't and so I found a comfortable sleeping space, covering my upper body parts with some huge leaves I got from my trips around our nest.
But in the recent days, something else had change. It was our parents. They seemed to refuse to hunt, or bring back food to the nest, like we were used to.
Sure, they went hunting. I saw them leaving for the plane fields, now and then. But they never brought back food. And after one of the adults came back, he gave the other one a short growl and he or she, went away too to go hunting.
Or at least that's what I thought of. Huge animals like our parents need to eat a lot, to keep their massive bodies going.
With the easy food source gone, my brothers started to be more agressive. Their mood was a bit...well picky? Fights between them nearly were common in the last days. And if it weren't for our mother, who interveined, they surely would have caused themselfes some injuries, while they fought.
But there was more. When I looked up at mother and gave her a cute, asking snarl. She lowered her big head. And gave me a slight push with her snout, then looked to the plane fields. I followed her eyes and suddenly I understood what she was trying to tell me.
Well, seemed like it was that time in our education, when our parents wanted us to hunt for ourselfes!
Sure, we hunted down guniea pigs, but the nest we found and feasted on, was the only one near the nest. And this food source was gone. I think we couldn't hope of finding an easy food source like that again soon.
So I went up to my brothers. They again were fighting between each other.
Lenny and Archie were standing there, bearing their fangs at each other and everyone was in a fighting stance. Ready to jump at the other.
I rolled my eyes and growled, jumped forward and threatened to bite Lenny. Clapping my jaws hard together, to get his and Archies attention.
Suddenly those two seemed to relax. Both of them raised their heads and looked at me. Waiting if I really wanted to fight them both, or if I found something I wanted to show them, I guessed.
Yeah, being a dinosaur and not being able to speak was one thing. But I also figured out, that most interactions were solved with some good old body language and some well made snarls or growls.
It wasn't as effective as a working language, but at least it was all we needed, to understand each other.
Jake also stepped to my side and gave me a look. Now I was circled by my brothers. They are blinked at me, waiting and somehow they seemed to know, that I had something important to tell them. Or better to say, show them?
I nodded and made a slight snarl, before I suddenly shifted my head to the plane fields and pointed my snout at it.
'Follow me!' I made a growl and hoped they understood it somehow. And yes, they did.
I was leading them down to the lake, while I was trying to find something, thate we could manage to bring down, while we were walking alongside the lakes shore.
In a great distance I could see some of the more huge triceratopsians. They had only one great horn on their noses and were at least as big as a cow. But still, they were bigger then us!
It was a small herd of ten that was grasing on the rich flora, near the lake.
Luckily they didn't seem to have noticed us and I didn't want to give them a chance to do so, so I lowered my body and started to walk more slowly, sneaking behind a couple of the undergrowth and a small treeline.
Looking back, I saw, that my brothers followed my lead and did the same.
Oh yeah! I was the alpha of our small hunting pack! I liftes my right lip, smiling my dinosaur smile, as I watched them following me and sneaking.
I felt my heart beating faster, the more closer we came to this small herd, we tried to approach.
They were just twenty meters away from us, out on the field. Still eating and not giving much attention. I thought, that they maybe felt save while they are in a group. And also, their horn, seemed to be a good protection against most predators.
If I or one of my brothers would get stabbed by one of those horns, we sure would be in big trouble!
So we had to be careful and I had to came up with a good strategie.
While I was hiding behind a bush, I was observing our prey.
We should try to isolate one of them from their group. But what, if the rest of the herd decided to interveine and attack us all at once? We would be in big trouble, if so.
After a few minutes of hiding and thinking. I turned my head to my brothers and poked Jake into his flank, after looking to the ground. I wanted him to stay there and wait and hoped he would understand it.
He gave me a stare, looked to his feet and lowered his body more closely to the ground.
Well, I didn't wanted him to nearly lay down, but maybe he understood?
After Jake remained in his position, I sneaked up to Archie and...uff. He seemed like he was the most hungry of us all. There were big strings of saliva, dripping down his jaws and he was breathing a bit more excited, with his eyes fixated at those juicy prey.
I decided to give him a very soft bite, just enough to let him feel my sharp teeth on his hindleg. And suddenly he shook his head and growled a bit. Luckily it wasn't as noisy as to alarm the Triceratopsians near us.
I gave him the same instruction as Jake, but for him it took a while longer, till he understood and did the same as Jake.
Lenny, meanwhile had watched me and Archie and watched us curiously. There was some intelligent glare in his eyes and it made me proud, when I saw him lowering his body more, while he hid himself in a near by bush.
If I could give you some smileys in your behaviour book, I would Lenny! I nodded into his direction and then turned around. I took a big breath in, because now it was up to me, to test my theory I came up with.
I straightened my muscles and lowered my body, ready for a sprint. I would be the one to get all the attention and cause some havoc!
I started to run out of our hideout, straight out to the field, were those planteaters were grasing. I spreaded my jaws, revealed my sharp teeth and shouted out loud and as intimidating as I could.
Suddenly the whole herd rose up their heads, while I managed it to shock and scare them out of their peaceful dinner time.
My eyes were laid on one of those, that were on the edge of the group and I sprinted towards it, while a few of the onehorned dinosaurs turned around and ran down to the lakes shore, others lowered their heads and tried to ram their horns at me.
They growled angrily and tried to fend me off, or even injure me! Holy! I just barely escaped a horn and managed it to made a jump to the side, before I ran a bit faster, to dodge any other attempts.
Then I saw, that I have managed it somehow, what I was aiming for. To seperate the herd.
Good, it wasn't as I planned, because I seperated not one, but two of the onehorned dinosaur cows. But at least those two now found themselfes alone out in the fields.
They also tried to back off, when I suddenly ran right into the herd, screaming and snapping my jaws. But those two went into the wrong direction. Both of them angrily waving their horns at me, when I took a turn and walked up and down in front of them, while the rest of the herd build somekind of defence wall, around those at the lake shores.
Please don't attack me from behind! I was thinking and couldn't let my guard down, because I always looked back at those at the shore, still angirly growling and waving their horns at me.
It was then, when luck gave the best opportunity!
There was another huge noise. Water that splashed up, behind those Onehorns at the lake. A snapping sound and some panic sounds arouse, when the jaw of a very huge crocodile appeared out of nowhere and grabbed one of those closes to the shore.
We weren't the onyl ones hunting! But also, it scared me to think of a huge corcodile like that, living in the lake, I so often went to to drink. Knowing that now, I couldn't drink in peace anymore! Not even with my parents around, because this crocodiles jaws were even longer and bigger, then that of my parents! Crazy!
But there was no time for me, to care about it. Because with the rest of the herd distracted by the other predator around. I had to grab the chance and attack!
I growled louder, more highpitched and hoped my brothers would understood what I wanted.
Something was telling me, they would. Was that instinct? This strange feeling, like it was the right thing to do?
When I ran up at those two Onehorns, I have seperated, they cried out a panic shout, lowered their horns, ready for me to bump into them and impale myself.
But I was only the one, I wanted them to focus on. When there was one thing I knew, was it, that those Triceratopsian were vulnerable from behind, while their front, with the horn and the bright shield around their necks, was their top notch defence.
And this defence was now directed at me, sprinting right at it. But before I even came into reach of it. Jake and Archie came out of their hideouts from behind them.
The two Onehorns didn't even notice what bit them, when Archie and Jake bit into their butts. Painful screams arose, while one of the Onehorns managed it to rip his tail out of Jakes snout, it ran away in panic. The other one turned around and tried to land it's horn in Archies side.
But I refused to let that happen, while I jumped forward, opened my jaw wide and dug my teeth deep into the neck, behind the boneshield of this animal, stopping it's backwards attack in the middle of it and pulling his head around.
Suddenly the Onehorn started to growl and scream and tremple. It didn't know what to do, because now Archie was biting and pulling at it from behind and I was biting into it's neck, while feeling and tasting fresh and warm blood, pouring into my jaw.
Jake, who lost the second one, didn't sprint after it. He turned around and beared his fangs into the remaining ones side, giving it another wound. While Lenny then came sprinted out of his hideout and slammed himself into the other side, leading to have Jake losening his chomp and walking back, while the bigger prey fell onto it's injured side.
Even I had to let go from it's neck, because otherwise I would have found my head beneath the Onehorns head.
Thank's Lenny!
I growled angrily and jumped back a bit, to avoid a horn slash, that the Onehorn was waving around with, while it fell on it's side.
Lenny now was biting like crazy into the exposed flank, tearing his teeth deep into the skin and muscles of the wounded prey. He had no mercy and so did Archie.
I never would have thought, that going hunting was that bloody. But it was! It was the most brutal thing I ever experienced. And somehow I felt bad for our prey...and even more, because the adrenaline rush I was experiencing was somehow satisfying.
But no time to get sentimental! This thing still was fighting for his life and Lenny couldn't keep it on the ground forever, if we didn't help him.
So I aimed for the finishing blow. I aimed for the creatures throat, which wasn't an easy task, because his head was wriggling around like crazy. The Onehorn trying to land his horn into one of his attackers. Jake was circling the whole scene now, he surely was also observing the prey to land a good hit.
And Archie? I swear I have seen him swallowing down a big piece, that he bit out of the still living creatures tail! ARCHIE!
Can't you wait, till it's dead?!
I clenched my eyes and focused again at the creatures throat, waiting and seeing that the head was starting to move more slowly. It was surely of the bloodlos, I figured. Because the ground was stained in the Onehorns blood and the smell was all over the place.
Then I finally made my final approach and closed my jaws around the throat of it. I straightend my jaws and pulled them back, ripping the creatures throat out and after that, the big body went numb and the head fell to the ground. Lights out. It was dead...and thanks to the crocodile, the rest of it's herd had run away, after they now lost two of theirs.
I looked after the rest of the herd, licking my blood stained jaws clean, while my brothers had started to eat.
I saw the wounded one, it was limping a bit, but it managed to found back to his group.
And yeah...I may be cruel. But when I looked at the wounded one, I was sure of it.
This prey would be our next...on our next hunting trip!