Snow in the Air

The winter was deep in effect. Blizzards roared across the islands, ice forming across anything even slightly damp. The world became buried beneath a blanket of white, so deep and thick one could not see past their own snout. The open plains were all but inhospitable. Creatures sook shelter in the deep forests and other such inclosed areas, finding some relief from the hungry winds. But the winds were not the only thing hungry.

A styracosaurs, Zeus, shivered, shaking the forming snow off of his tan plumage. His stomach growled like an angry beast, causing him to huff. There was little to no food to be found in the plains- hopefully he would have better luck in the forest.

The world seemed to be muted from under the leafy canopy. All different kinds of evergreen trees spread their leafy branches, blocking most of the snow out. Footprints in the ground revealed the fact that varying other creatures had made their way through the area lately. The styracosaurus sniffed at a recent footprint, no more than a few hours old. A pachycephalosaurus. Another herbivore. Surely food was this way.

As he traveled deeper into the forest, Zeus shivered. It wasn't just from the old- the aura of the forest was… uncomfortable to say the least. He let out a strained chuckle as he continued traveling the area. It was fine. It was just a forest. There was barely enough room for him on this path- no way anything bigger could be here.

A crunch under his foot has Zeus freezing. Slowly, he looked down. Under his foot, it was no twig that had broken- instead, an old bone. Swallowing, he removed his foot. Bones scattered around on a forest were no rarity. But it did nothing but add to the already charged atmosphere. 

A bit further ahead was an especially tall patch of trees and bushes- the ground was almost completely clear and of snow. Bright red berries covered the branches of the tree. Zeus sighed in relief. Finally. Food.

The styracosaurus was so pleased to find food, that he failed to notice how silent the forest had fallen- even with the blizzard, there was still life. But here, it seemed like the whole forest was holding its breath. 

Something was watching. A bone white figure, covered in sharp spikes. Large rosettes covered him, breaking up his pattern enough it was hard to catch sight of him through the tree line. A light brown haze covered his body, making him appear like a tree. And he was large. Far larger than the styraosaurus. Stalking forward, the carnivore was silent. Not even the snow made a sound under careful footsteps, well used to the art of ambushing. However, luck was not on the carnivores side today. A misplaced step, and a twig snapped.

Zeus raised his head, mouth full of berries at the sound. Quickly he turned, brandishing his horn. But the hunter was faster. With a roar Boreal snapped forward, closing his teeth over the horn on Zeus' head. Zeus bellowed in fear, rearing up in an attempt to escape and free his best weapon. But Boreal was big and strong. He was unable to wiggle free- but at the very least the albertosaurus couldn't attack him, right?

The crunching of snow from behind him was what caught Zeus’s attention next. Oh yeah. Carnivores in the winter hunted in packs.

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Glory dropped the still herbivore, mouth stained red as she licked her teeth. Boreal repeated the action, watching lazily as blood slowly turned the snow pink. “Good hunt.” The male pressed his snout against his mate’s, gently combing her feathers. Glory rumbled in return, nudging their heads together.

“Indeed.” She agreed, casting a look at the rapidly cooling body. The last meal they had was only a few hours ago, sure, but it was a much smaller one. The hard headed omnivore was fast, but in the forest it had not been able to run fast enough. “This should get us through the next week.” Together they began to eat, careful to eat quickly- while there was very little that could challenge them, carnivores were especially desperate in winter. And who knows what would come to throw themselves at them next. And they could not risk it. Not now.

Once they were done eating, they made sure to kick the pink snow away and bury any remains further off- they needed to reuse this trap in the future, and too many hints and they may get a clue. Glory made sure to snag a mouthful of undamaged feathers, ignoring the odd look Boreal sent. 

Back in their den, she set them to good use. Their den was a cave deep in the side of a cliff, and had been theirs for many years. Bones were scattered all across the floor of the cave, and a lovingly woven nest sat in the center dip. Scrapped from the sandy dirt and lined with all manner of materials, ranging from Glory’s own feathers to bits of hide taken from past prey and even a few rare human items that seemed soft. Glory spat the feathers she had collected out, nudging them in the nest to her liking. Her mate watched from the side, confused. They had always taken good care of their nest, sure, but nothing like this. Glory was in some kind of frenzy, he hadn’t seen her like this since before-

Boreal froze. Their daughter Flurry had been the only egg to hatch from their first clutch, and she was well grown now and off on her own. Glory had been put off ever since, but he never thought… 

“Glory?” Boreal stepped forward, gently nudging his mate. “Are… are you expecting?” Glory turned to him with her mouth slightly open, and Boreal rushed to apologize before she cut him off.

“...You didn't realize?” She seemed to be in disbelief, narrowing her eyes at him. “I thought it was. Kind of obvious.”

Boreal looked away sheepishly. He had noticed her eating more than usual, becoming more broody, but he had waved it off. He regretted it now.

Glory sighed, before gently nipping at him. “They’ll be laid soon, before the spring arrives.” She hummed, carefully moving the foliage in the nest around. “You’ll have to be the sole hunter soon- I wont leave them alone again. Not this time.” Boreal ducked his head. Their eggs had been stolen before in the past when they had been out hunting, a trail of footprints the only proof of what happened to them.

“Never again.” Boreal pressed his head against hers. “We will fight to the death to keep them safe.” The two shared a sad, soft smile before turning to look out the cave entrance. “No matter what happens.” Little did they know at the time just what was coming their way.

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Glory raised her head from where she sat in the nest, glaring at the cave entrance in a mix of fear and worry. Something strange had been going on the island as of late- vicious plants were growing up all over the place, blocking out parts of the island and making food much harder to find. And the consequences of that were already showing. Three days Glory had been stuck inside of their den, an intruder gaurding the outside. An acrocanthosaurus. Again she watched with a low growl building in the back of her throat as it attemped to force its way through, howling when the cave walls refused to give. Glory hissed weakly. She had been without food for a long time- Boreal was missing. She was unsure if he was dead, or simply lost. She hoped he was out there- but she was losing hope.

A sudden yelp from the outside caught her attention, causing her to hunker over the nest defensivly. The sound of combat broke out, vicious snarls and heavy stomping. Then, silence and the scent of blood. Something lumbered through the entrance, the shadows and blood hiding their identity from her. With a desperate roar Glory lunged, ready to sacrifice herself for her children- only to barely stop herself from running into Boreal, the bellow dying in her throat as she took in her mate.

He was hurt, several wounds covering his body- but not severly. A proud glint shone in his blue eyes as he presented what was held in his mouth to her- a dead deer. "The acrocanthosaurus is gone." He assured her, stepping forward to rest his head against hers. "Im sorry I took so long. It took a while to find something I could bring back." 

Glory let out what could have been a sob, pressing her face against Boreal. "Im glad." She croacked, before quickly wolfing down the offering. "The eggs will be hatching soon." She cast a mournful look back towards the nest. "I regret bringing them into this."

"Hey." Boreal walked over to the nest, settling beside the eggs. "We'll keep them safe." He tenderly nudged one with his snout. Glory sighed, coming to join him in the nest. "We've gotten through worse." And they would get through this too.