Could B Worse

The life of such a powerful, reclusive carnivore was lonely. No living carnivore known could match the sheer power and bulk of an acrocanthosaurus- especially a pair of them. Blackout and Whiteout were no exception. The pair of twins, hatched from the same egg, were insuperable. In their normally solitary species, their continued grouping was seen as an oddity that lead to shunning from their kin. Neither of them cared much for what others though, anyways. So what if most of their kind ended up eating their own siblings? They were a great team who could overcome any opposition.

Except for the forces of nature itself, it seemed. It had been weeks since Blackout had been swept away by sea and storm, the ringing roar of Whiteout being the last thing to fill his ears before he blacked out. When he awoke next it was to sandy beaches and strange lands- so similar to what he had came from, but different. It hadnt taken Blackout long to realize he had been washed to the opposing island, left without his brother- which presented a problem. Blackout could not make the swim back on his own, and he could not contact Whiteout. He was stranded.

To add to the feeling of isolation, this land had far few of his species than the island he had come from. The twins had hatched in an overun laboratory, ran and ruled by acrocanthosaurus. They had not known anything else. Every meal had been a struggle, forced to face off against members of their species even for scraps.

But here Blackout was- somewhere he was the only acrocanthosaurus. The monopoloy was great- there were more herbivores than he had ever seen in his life, and the carnivores were much smaller as well. But it didn’t take long for loneliness to set it- but it didn’t take long for a surprising revelation to make him reconsider his circumstances, either.

The acrocanthosaurus had just made a kill, easily ambushing and dragging a long-crested hadrosaur down. It seemed the herbivores of the island were beginning to adapt to his presence- but not fast enough.

As he tore and snapped through feather and hide, a strange scent caught his attention. Flaring his nostrils, Blackout raised his head. That scent…

Whirling around, Blackout bared his teeth as another acrocanthosaurus entered the clearing. Varying shades of black and red covered its body, with an almost white underbelly. A growl rose from the strangers throat, but it wasnt outright aggression- yet.

Blackout and the stranger circled each other, Blackouts head lowered to protect his neck while the stranger raised his in confidence. It took a few more minutes of tense circling for Blackout to decide this wasn’t going to escalate- he saw the moment the stranger decided to hold off on attacking- for the moment, instead choosing to fish for info.

“Who are you?” A strong voice ran out, the other stopping his circling. Blackout copied the action, but crouched closer to the ground instead of rising up. It was not a pose of submission- the pose wad a defensive stance that would allow him to go for the others throat should he attack.

“Who are you?” Blackout hissed back. “I did not know other acrocanthosaurus even existed on this island.”

The other laughed lowly. “Oh, we exist.” He stepped a bit closer. “Not nearly as commonly as on the other island- where I assume you came from.“

Blackout snorted. He wasn’t wrong… but he lunged up as he remembered a certain bit of information the other had told him. “How did acrocanthosaurs get here?” Did this stranger have the key to returning home?

The other acrocanthosaurus gave him a look like he was stupid. “…they swam.” He snorted. 

Blackout looked at the stranger in confusion. “…swam?”

“Yes. Thats what I said.” The other snorted. “Why? Leave something important behind?”

“Yes.” Blackout snarled back, Undertaker jolting back at the pure venom in his voice. “More than you can imagine.”

Undertaker seemed to take a moment to observe the starry acrocanthosaurus before coming to a decision. “I could teach you, you know.” The red theropod dipped his head down in what was a gesture of peace, approaching slowly. “It’s no big deal, Im great at swimming! I just want one favor…”

“What?” Blackout narrowed his eyes at the other. What could he possibly give now that you have lost everything?

“Share your lunch with me!” The other acrocanthosaurus shot him a grin Blackout was slowly beginning to find charming. “Just a few bites, and we’ll start lessons in the morning.”

Blackout tilted his head in consideration, thinking for a moment as he let out a low hum. There was more than enough, but… “How could I trust you to keep your word? You could just leave and never come back.”

Undertaker groaned. “Awww, you can't trust me?” At Blackouts deadpan glare, he chuckled. “Aw, lighten up. Look, I swear it. I’ll even stick close to your side!” The spikey theropod pressed himself close in a bold move. Part of Blackout wanted to pull away, but… it had been awhile since he had been close to another in a way that wasn't to cause harm.

After a long pause Blackout finally pulled away to walk back to the parasaurolophus body, nudging it with his snout towards the other. “Fine.” He huffed. “No leaving my side until I can swim, you got that?”

Undertaker grinned back, winking as he reached down to nip and eat the carcass. “Loud and clear.” The smirk was audible in his voice.

Blackout paused, narrowing his eyes. Undertaker seemed… eager. But despite the solitary nature of their species, it was true that they sometimes desired company. Blackout still missed his brother deeply, but he supposed the company of a stranger was better than none at all. Sliding into place beside him, the two dined together like they had known each other for years. This… wasn't the worst, Blackout supposed. There were worse (and less handsome) acrocanthosaurus to be trapped with…