Lone Lobo

"Git! Go on, git!" Lobo heard the raptor before he saw him, making a racket hollering at something out of the Euoplo's sight. The citizens of the Dead City were startlingly quiet, often sneaking up on him before he even smelled the change in the air. Something about this place had folk living like they were walking on broken glass, literally and figuratively. This raptor was the loudest creature he had encountered thus far, and it seemed he was being driven to this point by something else. He received his answer when a grey-coloured doglike creature darted out from the alleyway, carrying a sizeable chunk of meat. It made brief eye contact with its uncanny golden eyes before running straight in Lobo's direction, ducking under his flat body to flee. Surprised, the Euoplo could do nothing but watch as it fled and a dark raptor charged out after it. The raptor slid to a halt before it collided with Lobo and hissed angrily through its teeth. The old Euoplo tensed, his feathers bristling, but the raptor just turned around and slouched back to the alley. Unsure of what to do, Lobo stood there until he heard a voice from the dark.

"You're an incredibly big target out there, my man, you wanna duck in here for a minute?" the raptor asked. Hesitant at first to enter a dark space with a predator, Lobo decided to trust his instincts and follow the raptor into the alley.

"What was that little thing?" he asked as his eyes adjusted to the dark. The raptor was sitting in front of a boar corpse, tearing chunks from it and swallowing it down. It didn't turn his stomach the way it did for other Euoplos, but carnivory was still a new concept to him. The raptor wiped his mouth before speaking, oddly polite.

"Coyote, they'll snatch food the second you have your back turned, I can't stand 'em," the raptor grouched, "Don't have any down in Atlantis I assume?" So this raptor had been to the dome and more importantly, had left the dome afterwards. 

"We don't," Lobo confirmed, "So it just runs up and steals your food? You have to admire the little fella, he's got the gumption to try it with someone such as yourself." The raptor grumbled.

"I suppose you're right," he admitted begrudgingly, "Everyone's gotta eat. I'd offer you some of this free of charge old timer, but I don't think this would agree with you."

"It wouldn't, "Lobo agreed, "But thank ya kindly nonetheless."

"So what's your story, stranger?" the raptor asked as he pried a rib loose from the carcass and used it to pick his teeth, "You get sick of that overblown greenhouse?" He should've felt insulted at the jab towards his home but surprisingly, he felt nothing. The pride that had encroached upon him since birth had been gently eroded away by his experiences on the surface.

"Name's Lobo, first n' foremost," he said.

"Kaiwi," the raptor replied in kind.

"And... I s'pose I did, get sick of it that is," he admitted, "We got told over ‘n over as kids that Atlantis was the best life could ever get, but for some reason when those doors opened I just wanted to run."

"I can understand that," Kaiwi sympathised, resting his claws on his belly as he leaned back against the mossy wall, "I have my own place here in the city but I don't run with any pack in particular. Sometimes we just aren't built for that kind of sedentary life." Lobo pondered his words in the comfortable silence that followed. When he looked over at Kaiwi, the raptor had his eyes closed and his head tipped back like he was trying to fall asleep. He seemed so comfortable here, even in the presence of someone who could break every bone in his body without blinking.

"I s'pose," Lobo eventually broke the silence, making the raptor open his eyes and look expectantly at him, "I wonder if I couldn't be happy somewhere like Atlantis, would I be happy anywhere?" The raptor exhaled a long breath through his nose.

"Heavy question, big man," he said cheerfully, "I guess you won't know until you try."

"Does anything else live this way?" Lobo asked, almost pleading for reassurance.

"Absolutely," the raptor replied, "tons of dinos, plenty of birds, and hey, I've never seen the same coyote twice. Lots of different critters have lots of different ways to live. You'll be fine, Lobo, just follow what feels right and you'll find your groove eventually." Lobo was left with his thoughts again, remembering the derision Kaiwi held for the coyote as it stole to fuel itself. Would he be seen the same way, as a scrounger living on the edges of society and picking up meals wherever he could?

"I- thank you Kaiwi, much appreciated," he finally said, "I sincerely hope our paths cross again some day.

"Likewise, buddy, if you need a spot to chill for a while just come back to this area of Dead City, I'll find you." With that kind but somewhat unsettling promise to be found in the future, Lobo left the alleyway. The sun hurt his eyes as he emerged and he took a moment to look around and let them adjust. Looking down the street where the coyote had run, he decided it was as good a path as any, and began making his way retracing the little canine's steps.