Flipping the Chain

Finally- she made it. It had taken time to join the ranks of Atlantis- doing menial tasks, flaunting her knowledge of the plant life that lived on the surface and showing her interest in what lay in the dome. The Atlanteans had been slow to trust, especially since she was a carnivore. But over time she wore them down- and now Chlorophyll had achieved one of the highest honors she could. Knighthood- albeit temporary. Of course, it did not help that she agreed completely with their plans- but not for the reasons they thought. The raptor cared little for the citizens- the monarchy was confusing, and she preferred the company of plants to others anyways. But it was a necessary evil to gain access to the plants down here.

Chlorophyll was pulled from her musing by the sound of one of her fellow knights- talking at her with little care for it she was actually paying attention, seemingly just liking the sound of their own voice. The raptor eyed them, taking them in for the first time as they walked through the forest. They had been sent on a patrol to meet up with a third knight- rumors had been sounded of an intruder in the dome nearby, and they had been sent out to deal with it.

Her companion continued to fill the void with noise- a dark purple tapejara, fluttering around above her head. “Im sorry, what was your name again?” Chlorophyll asked in faux sweetness, stopping some kind of dramatic story about a squirrel halfway through. 

The tapejara blinked slowly, as if caught off guard. “Don’t you remember? Wow, raptor memories must be really bad!” The flyer laughed, causing Chlorophyll to grit her teeth to hold back her snarl. Yeah. She really preferred flora to the fauna. “It’s Clarinet!” The little creature puffed proudly. 

Chlorophyll rolled her eyes as subtly as she could. This was going to be a long mission. “Don’t you think we should have run into our third knight yet?” The raptor ventured. She… didn’t actually know who or what their third knight was- but in this place, she figured she could know them when they found them. 

Clarinet clapped their beak. “Oh! Mary? We’ve worthed together before- she’s suppperrrr serious, that one. No sense of humor.” The tapejara huffed, and Chlorophyll couldn't help but feel a flash of relief. Another sensible one, then. 

A screech in the distance cut off their discussion (if it could be called that)- the two froze, before dashing forward, the tapejara falling silent for once. The screech had been one of a carnivore- something rarely tolerated down here in the dome. An answering bellow of a large herbivore, the unique trumpet of a hadrosaur. 

Chlorophyll and Clarinet burst into a nearby pathway in time to see a large, red parasaur lash out with a sharp hoof, cracking it against the jaw of a large cryolophosaurus, causing the carnivore to back up, shaking its head and hissing. A second cryolophosaurus took the opening and darted in, biting down on Mary’s back leg and tugging. Mary bellowed again, attempting to turn but being unable to reach the one biting her without allowing the other access to her neck.

Clarient shrieked, drawing the attention of the cryolophosaurus who had been kicked. Despite being barely bigger than his face, the little flyer was bold- swooping down and hovering above the carnivores head, pecking and angrily shrieking to draw its attention. Mary took this opening, swinging around to kick the cryolophosaurus clinging to her leg. The carnivore let go just in time to dodge the full force of the blow, backing out with minimal damage. 

Chlorophyll finally decided to enter the fray- charging forward and barking to draw the attention of the fight to her. “You have entered onto Atlantean turf! Retreat now, or your bones shall feed our seedlings!” She pulled back her teeth, snarling with a wicked grin on her face. Oh, please stay and fight…

And indeed, it did not seem like they would be leaving. The one dealing with Clarinet took the distraction to grab onto the tapejaras wing, causing the flyer to shriek and pull away with the shedding of feathers. Chlorophyll didn’t hesitate- she pounced, grabbing the carnivores attention as Mary and its companion continued to tussle off to the side. “Hey! Ugly!” She snarled, nipping and tearing with her claws before jumping off and running into the forest. The cryolophosaurus followed, angrily screeching.

It was a race of speed and agility- one Chlorophyll was by far superior in. The raptor jumped and ducked over various branches, roots, and vine, until she finally came to what she was looking for- sliding to a stop, the raptor flopped over onto the mud with a wail.

And as she hoped, the cryolophosaurus took the bait. Slowing down, it slowly stalked closer, a grin on its face and teeth bared, ready to lunge. Stalking closer, closer… now! Chlorophyll rolled to the side as the carnivore lunged- causing it to bump into the tangle of vines she had positioned herself in front of. Panicked screeching filled the air as the vines activated- lifting to reveal a carnivorous plant, sharp thorns digging into its prey. Chlorophyll sat back and watched with a smile on her face as the plant subdued its meal. “I warned you.” She grinned at the cryolophosaurus- still attempting to escape as the vines became tighter and tighter. “Well, as much as I would like to stay, I have a job to do.” 

Back in the clearing, the cryolophosaurus lay dead. Mary stood over it, splattered in blood that was hidden well by her red feathers. The parasaur sighed, flicking her hooves to attempt to shake some of the blood off. “I do wish they would stop doing that.” She grumbled to herself. She missed her forest- nothing dared enter it, and even fewer would dare fight her. 

Clarinet swooped down to land on her feathers, something Mary tolerated with no fuss. “That went well.” The tapejara boasted. Her wing seemed mostly undamaged, a missing patch of feathers being the only damage. “Hey, where did the other guy go?”

“Who?” Mary asked, tilting her head. She had been a bit too busy to notice what was going on. “The raptor?”

“Yeah! They ran off with the second cryolophosaurus. I hope-” the tapejara trailed off, looking behind Mary with wide eyes. Mary turned, expecting the second invader to have returned- only to be met with a weirdly unruffled Chlorophyll. “Hey! You're back! What happened to the-”

Chlorophyll cut him off, walking past the two of them to make her way back to Atlantis. “Oh, they ran into a bit of trouble. Don’t worry- they won't escape.” Mary could practically hear the grin in those words- she had to resist a shudder of disgust as she followed the raptor from the clearing. Clarinet soared above them, no doubt wanting to get away from the clearing as fast as possible. 

The walk back was quiet and awkward- neither the raptor or parasaur talked to each other, until they reached the gates. The raptor turned to Mary with a smile that made her step back- something strange was within the gaze of the carnivore- something that made Mary feel observed in a way she did not enjoy. “Here’s to a successful partnership.” The raptors' lips curled, before she entered the compound- even the guards at the front gave her a wide berth. Mary huffed to herself, shaking herself off before entering after. She was the one coated in red- so why did it feel like she was the prey? Pushing the thoughts aside, Mary entered with a low groan- she really needed a bath and a nap after that. Would she get it? Doubtful.