going on a bear hunt - Printable Version

Rex paused at the quiet speech, and turned his head a little sideways to peer at Brother speaking directly into his ear-hole. He blinked. And grinned, a little, the massive muscles of his jaws twitching upward and his dagger-teeth bared just a tiny bit more. But his eyes gained that friendly, playful squint to them. "Maybe. I dunno. You want to hang back?" he asked, carefully. He wasn't about to accuse Brother of cowardice. Hell, this thing ahead--whatever it was--was huge.

In retrospect, even Rex considered that maybe sneaking up on it wasn't smart.

But... could they come this far only to turn back now, and leave the Whatever-It-Was unseen?

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WELCOME, [UNIDENTIFIED USER] !
> load file:THREADNAME.txt
Accessing document . . .

Brother was exactly one thing, he decided, a hunter. And hunters didn't hang back while their companions did all the work. That would be more shameful than the display that had forced him back into his chrysalis in the first place. Trying but dying meant you were still trying. But this? This was giving up, which was not an option.

Retreats, watching, but knowing was all part of the hunt. Knowing when you were bested. But being cowed by something he hadn't seen yet? No, that was just cowardice, and he was no coward.

Not to mention this whole affair had too much thinking, which he was growing tired of very rapidly. He just needed to watch, learn and eat. There was no thinking needed. He'd just treat this as any other time he'd tried to peep at the activity of lessers.

He'd tried to use his natural talents (absolutely not magic, it wasn't magic) to blend in. Truthfully, nothing at all happened outwardly; he looked identical. Yet, it seemed to give him the confidence boost to press forward... Believing he truly was camouflaged.

Save file ? ( Y / N )

As the predators pressed forward, the jungle gradually fell silent. It was the eerie sort, the kind of hush that was expectant, as if the Skimmers had paused and turned as one to watch wide-eyed what might happen next.

Ahead, thick tree trunks barred all sight, yet any lingering Red Sense would pick up the heartbeat dead ahead, mere yards away. And... up.

And then one of the trees moved. Then another. They were dark grey, slate--no, blue, a shade different from the gray-brown all around them. And not wrapped in vines, and clinging leaves; instead the bark was ragged, in a coherent pattern. No-... No. Not bark. Scales. Scutes.

The trunk-like legs stepped back. One, two. A third and a fourth. A low, long whistle drifted lazily through the leaves far beyond as a long tail slid whip-like through the air. No doubt the two would crane their heads back, as much as anatomy would allow, trying to look upward at where this creature ended. And they would find a massively heavy body, a long, powerful neck and a rounded little head staring right back down at them.

It was the sort of behemoth that screamed "I'm too big for you to even think of touching" without saying a single word. And it had not yet really reacted, bar taking a step back and staring, blowing a loud exhale through glowing cyan nostrils. But... those were glowing a little brighter.

Maybe it could be tackled with powerful magics, from afar, but this thing could knock down and crush either Rex or Brother with a single trampling rush. Assuming that's all it had in its bag of massive tricks...

Brother (with Rex) has discovered a giant, as-yet-unnamed sauropod. Brother is free to decide on a name for this creature in-character, at which point it will be added to the Lesser Gembound Guide and Bestiary entries. Any special abilities this creature possesses have yet been discovered. (Art by Gortys!)

Brother stared at the blue obstruction, not seeing anything but these weird trees. He made a confused noise as Rex spoke, a light trilling noise with a tilt of his head; almost dog-like. Was it a tree? He couldn't eat a tree. How disappointing; he was still salivating at the thought of sinking his teeth into such a large heart.

It was as he turned to confront Rex about the trees that he noticed the Odd-Squallfang looking up. Brother craned his head in turn to follow the fellow dinosaur's gaze and only then noticed the gigantic creature ahead (or rather above)...

Brother had seen his reflection in passing, wobbly shapes and colours of his own appearance in the water. He didn't have a solid idea of what he looked like, but he knew he was blue; he had white markings and yellow-orange bits, which he'd not seen on any other creature until right this moment. Which alarmingly asked the question: was this what he was? Was this his parent? Would he be this big?

All questions that he inevitably assumed the answer to was a resounding 'yes', which did nothing but inflate his ego to phenomenal heights. When would his spikes grow in? When would he gain a throat sack in place of a dewlap? Was his sail only a temporary placeholder for heights he would reach? They even had thumbs to match...

"Bongalonganingaloo--" Exited Brother's jaws as he tried to speak, when such a creature had rendered him speechless. He cleared his throat before trying again, "Big Mother?" He asked seemingly no one in particular.

The spinosaurus considered stepping closer, but no- he couldn't; he'd have to prove himself worthy to this family member first; it's what he would've wanted. He'd have to find offerings for it, good hunts that would get the approval of Big Mother. Then, perhaps she'd take him as a student until he was as big and imposing as she was.

Brother stood, for once lost in thoughts, instead of moving or hiding away from this massive lesser.

Save file ? ( Y / N )

The snort came again, louder, so powerful that the exhale of hot breath reached the two theropods below.

The immense creature took a single thunderous step back. The vibration of such a heavy stride reached their own feet, and then... the beast (still eyeing the pair, with wariness or disdain) began to crackle.

Bright sparks of electricity began to form, the sacs inflating and glowing brightly now. As it backed up, it brushed the leaves all around it and this seemed to provide power: the static jumped to it, mingling with the miniature lightning bolts that began to arc and leap from spine to spine.

The scent of ozone reached them a moment before the creature let out a warning bellow in a bass so deep it shook their bones: a low, loud, extended honk, like a very angry foghorn.

The 'name' that Brother blurted actually swung Rex's attention for a moment, and he squinted. "What-? Ha-" he started, and probably would've grinned in approval, except at that moment the ground shook.

Rex stared. He couldn't really look up, but his head was back to one side as he took his own wary step backward. To his horror, Brother just... wasn't moving?

"Hey, uh, buddy? -Brother?" he tried, voice light, friendly, and high with fear.

Then he took another quick two steps back, stumbling.

"...Run."