Poking the Beehive

It was night in the jungle- night in Atlantis. Scouts and guards alike hurried inside the walls, unnerved and not willing to stay outside. There had been rumors going around of intruders from the outside, angry about the invasion of their home and willingness for revenge. Rumor had it that one member had been caught and imprisoned by the court- and while that filled some with relief, many were doubtful. Unease and mistrust had been growing in the halls of Atlantis for a long time- and the strangers appearance had only made it worse.

And indeed, outside the walls of Atlantis in the artificial night, two figures watched. Strange dinosaurs that had never been seen in the dome before, short and small but with large frilled heads and sharp horns. Hyperion and Solstice crouched together in the jungle foliage, gazes focused on the locked gate ahead of them. A few hours ago, Ignis had vanished into one of the buildings inside to get access to fire- and never returned.

“You think he’s dead?” Solstice turned to Hyperion. The yellow styracosaurus’s already messy feathers were matted and tangled from their adventure so far- the muddy and damp forests left a toll on one's pelt.

Hyperion grunted. “That rat’s too stubborn to die. And if he had, we would have heard the shrieking from here. No, he's alive. They probably got him locked up somewhere. Good riddance, I say. We should leave.”

“And what? Give up?” Solstice snorted back. “I doubt we could find our way back anyways with all of this rubbish cluttering everything.” He lashed out at the plants around them with his horns. “Besides, it would be fun to lord over the bird.” Solstice vanished into the foliage towards the stronghold and Hyperion followed without pause- say what you want, he was a loyal mate.

A few guards were stationed at the front entrance- a tall, metal gate-, but an alternative entrance had already been identified earlier. A crack in the wall where plants must have weakened the wall was easy enough to smash through, the soft foliage of the garden they broke into muffling the sounds of metal hitting the ground.

Together they crept their way through the empty garden. Back here, it wasn't guarded- seems like the fools had no experience of an attack from behind. The sound of muffled, angry screeching was an indication that they had found the right building- and the doors weren't even locked!

Inside the building, some kind of auditorium, they found their missing member. Ignis hung in a bird cage, suspended midair and shrieking non stop as he rattled the bars of the cage. Hyperion snorted in amusement- which somehow caught the raging tapejaras attention.

“You.” Ignis hissed, small claws wrapped around the metal bars of the bird cage. “Release me at once.” He was so mad that smoke might as well be coming out his mouth.

Solstice laughed as he made his way down towards the captured member. “Aw, begging for freedom Ignis?” He walked around the cage in a wild circle. “And here I thought flyers were superior to us land dwellers in every way possible.”

Ignis hissed. “Those brutes overpowered me- you haven't seen them yet. They’re impossibly large, larger even than acrocathosaurus.” The two styracosaurus shared a concern glance- while it could be true the omnivore was bluffing, it was too dangerous of a risk to take. Solstice swiped at the rope holding Ignis’s cage up, allowing it to fall to the ground in a clatter. 

Ignis hissed angrily at the rough landing but pulled himself up from the wires, wings and bones aching from the long hours spent in the cage. Carefully he paused and listened- good. No shouts of alarm yet. The tapejara turned to the other two members of the party, a vicious grin on his break. “Now… what do you say we pay back our guests for their… hospitality?” The other two mimicked his grin- it was time for chaos.

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Guerilla woke suddenly to the sound of screeching, staggering his way from his bed of plants and running out of the sleeping quarters of the court as fast as possible. Behind him he could hear the sleepy and confused shouts of the others, but none were as alert as him just yet.

Barreling out into the courtyard, Guerilla paused in pure shock. Everything was a mess- plants were ripped up, their roots hanging in the air and the leaves flung across the ground. Statues and valuable human artifacts lay smashed on the ground, broken into so many pieces that not even the nimble oviraptors could fix them. Small fires burned across the ground, releasing noxious fumes into the air.

What had caused this? A shrieking shape swooping through the fire answered Guerillas question- the “tapejara” he had captured earlier, a burning bit of wire wrapped around a twig in its beak. Vengeful orange eyes stared at the iguanodon before the beak opened with a smirk, allowing the twig to fall to the ground and ignite more flames.

Before Guerilla could react, a smashing sound caught his attention. Charging from among the smoke were a pair of dinosaurs he had never seen before- similar to the warriors in size and shape. But where the warriors were built defensively, these creatures were built like an offensive battering ram with a sharp nose horn and a wide spread frill. The larger orange one turned purple eyes to him, the yellow one beside him knocking over another statue with a bellow. The gaze wasn't emotional or passionate or angry like the flyers had been- it was cold and almost emotionless. There was no emotion- only a sense of duty.

The yellow one made a motion, smirking at Guerilla before vanishing into the parts of the night not yet lit up with fire. The orange one followed behind quickly, and the flyer left with one last loud shriek- simply flying up and fading into the night. The iguanodon was left with a sinking feeling as he was left staring at the burning garden- just what had they disturbed?