Courtships

The bushes, shrouded in darkness, moved slightly, echoing the movements of the animal hidden within them. The rustling of twigs and leaves carried through the cool, windless night, making the hair on the necks of all the small animals living in the immediate vicinity stand on end. What would happen if these sounds were the result of the actions of a bloodthirsty predator lying in wait for their lives? Fortunately, tonight was unlikely to end in bloodshed - at least, that was not the in...

Charcoal inhaled the cold air, full of various scents. It was early morning, and the sun had barely appeared in the sky, timidly spreading its warm glow over the archipelago. The male, despite the rather gregarious nature of his species, was alone. This was not surprising - young males, upon reaching adulthood, could rarely count on the comfort of being a member of the herd. Energetic, adventure-seeking youngsters were usually exiled and banished until they were able to build their own herd....

The sun dappled through the trees, covering the clearing in the illusion of gold coins littered over the lush green grass. While the scene should have been quiet and serene, it was quite the opposite. Many bodies crowded the clearing, and voices crooned over the soft rustling of leaves. Cows. All of them from the different courts which were ruled over by The Queen, so every court aside from… The Exiled. ...

The sun woke up lazily, slowly climbing into the sky, as if it were very annoyed that it had to perform its function. It had to get used to its daily, responsible work – with the coming of spring, the sun would begin its shift much earlier than in recent months. The first warm rays that enveloped the archipelago were a sign to all birds that the day had begun. A variety of colourful songbirds poked their heads out of their nests and then flew into the air in their intriguing, spectac...

It was only the beginning of February, so winter should have been at its harshest. However, something had changed on the islands – recently, a warmer, pleasant wind had been blowing, gradually and almost imperceptibly melting the snow and making the newly blooming plants visible again, delighting the eyes of all passers-by. Hardly anyone complained about it. The archipelago, although composed of many diametrically different areas, mostly resembled a subtropical zone. Most of its inha...

With the season for nesting and finding a suitable mate upon her, Ruin found herself searching for a suitable place to stake her claim and await the inevitable male attention that would surely come her way sooner or later. The sun was yet low in the sky and the sound of other Acros and whatever other dinos were on the search for a partner calling for others wasn't yet at its peak like she expected it would be before midday. There was still a tension in the air ...

There was a tense sort of excitement in the air so strong Tsuga could practically smell it on the wind. The sounds of bellowing bulls ready to prove their strength and dominate the competition carried far, probably for miles as it echoed, each new challenger roaring out their own battle cry or trying to summon potential partners to watch them prove themselves. Some were all bluster, others seasoned and sure of themselves, while the youngest just reaching maturi...

Winter, although it ruled over a large part of the archipelago, flooding the islands with tons of snow, was not so harsh everywhere. The weather along the coastline was always much milder and more balanced, and everyone who lived in the area could enjoy moderate temperatures and limited precipitation. However, the beaches also had their drawbacks - loose sand was not the best substrate for plants, so the dunes were almost completely devoid of them. The empty, monotonous coastline, dotted here...