First Hunt

Taking the two Acros above the surface hadn't been as difficult as Teopixchui had anticipated, in fact they both seemed eager and in awe of the natural sunlight. He could attribute that to his lack of foresight however, as he also hadn't accounted for the fact he would now be raising two large carnivores at their most vulnerable stage. They followed closely in his steps, almost dwarfed in his footprints as they gradually made their way up the hill to where Teo had made his camp before heading down into the labs. He had sheaves of food for himself, but he became keenly aware that nothing would be suitable for these children. 

"Do you know how to hunt?" he asked once they had all settled under the shade of a tree. The dark female tilted her head at him and the lighter male squinted.

"You do," he said softly, still partially hiding himself behind his female companion, "You mama, you hunt." Teo's heart sank, just as he had feared they were even too young to hunt for themselves yet. 

"That's alright," he hurried to reassure them, seeing their worried little eyes, "I don't hunt for myself but I'm sure I can find something for you." He hoped his voice didn't betray the sheer lack of confidence he had in that promise, but something warm flickered inside his chest when he saw the hatchlings visibly relax. Now his mind was whirring, trying to figure out how a large cumbersome herbivore such as himself would be able to track and kill something suitable for these babies. A thought struck him; perhaps he wouldn't have to do the hunting himself?

Kaiwi was never a spiritual dinosaur but he respected the priest's craft as much as his own skepticism allowed. Teopixchui was a kind-hearted and genuine soul, evidenced by the fact he had apparently landed himself with two carnivorous charges. 

"Their mother was killed in the labs, I fear they haven't eaten in a while," he admitted, wringing his front paws together anxiously, "Do you think you could help me find something for them to eat?"

"I can do ya one better," the raptor drawled, pulling himself up from his leafy hammock, "I'll teach the little sprouts how to hunt." Teo looked at him, dumbfounded.

"A-are you sure? That's a lot to ask of you," the priest stammered but quieted down when Kaiwi raised a claw.

"Don't even worry about it, they won't be the first orphans I teach to hunt and they probably won't be the last." 

"I'd still like to help them as much as I can," Teo admitted.

"Find somewhere nice n' secure for them to live, that's almost as important as eating," Kaiwi hummed, tapping his chin as he thought, "Though I suppose anywhere is secure with you around, huh big man?" He couldn't imagine anything other than a fully grown Acro putting up a fight against an Iggy, even one as placid as Teo. 

"I suppose," the priest agreed reluctantly, "I'll introduce you to the hatchlings, the female is more trusting but the male should follow you if she does." Kaiwi gave him a wry grin.

"You're gonna have to name these kids at some point, padre," he noted, flustering the Iggy.

**

The introductions went as Kaiwi had expected, the hatchlings hid behind their protector's legs until they were promised the taste of fresh meat. They didn't talk much and when they did it was stunted, even for their young age, but they definitely listened, there was no faking that knowing glimmer in their eyes. The male was more distrustful, as Teo had warned, but the female wasn't immediately extending her claw in friendship either. It didn't bother Kaiwi, as far as he knew they had only seen their mother for their entire lives, it had taken a huge leap of faith to trust Teo and he wasn't expecting a similar jump in his favour so soon. Trust was something he felt he could earn fairly easily with youngsters, he didn't have kids of his own but he found them fairly easy to understand and appease. All you had to do was keep promises, do that and the trust came naturally. He wished it was that easy with everyone but he figured that getting older only added more loops of complexity in the trust process.

"Something I find useful for young 'uns like yourselves are traps," he said brightly as they emerged into the clearing he had in mind. This one in particular was close to the edge that faced the city, so he had trained a few youngsters here before, "It takes the chase and most of the fight from it, stops you from getting injured as often," he added, kicking over the leaf litter and revealing the hole he had previously dug. He showed the hatchlings how he laid the narrow twigs over the hole, just enough to hold a covering of leaves but frail enough to give way under any substantial weight. He plucked a sweet fruit from the trees nearby and split it in half, letting the juice dribble over the grass until he placed it carefully on top of the hidden hole. "And now we wait until something nice 'n hefty falls in," he said proudly as the kids watched the trap suspiciously. He steered them into the bushes and prepared to settle in for a long wait, wracking his brain for anything to keep them occupied. 

“So, being outside probably is a big change, huh? Is there anything you’d like to ask?” he prompted gently. If he could use the time between hunting lessons to assuage any fears they had it would be doubly productive.

“No, mama lets us ask all questions,” the female said cheerfully, turning her little face to him, “We know a lot now! New mama is doing a good job.” Her simple praise made Kaiwi feel warm inside and he made a mental note to pull Teo aside and tell him what she had said.

“New mama can't hunt,” the male said bluntly.

“But new mama is good!” the female retorted heatedly, “he kept away the Crawlers in the dark!” Kaiwi felt a shiver run down his back at the words. The emphasis the hatchling had put on the word told him that this wasn't a catch-all term for anything that crawled around in the dark. The Alpha Labs were unknown territory for him, and every new thing he heard about them cemented that decision in his mind. He didn't want to ask the kids anything further about the Crawlers and he didn't have to. With a crack and squeak, his trap was tripped and he burst out of the cover. He made it to the hole just as the possum inside was about to crawl out and he seized the top of its head in his jaws, dispatching it with a quick neck break and dropping it to the ground.

"Dinner's ready!" he told the two sets of eyes peering out of bushes. 

“Scary,” the female said, but more like she was stating a simple fact than actually being frightened.

“Me or the possum?” Kaiwi asked, licking the blood from around his jaws.

“You, scary. That's what mama said the Crawlers would do to us,” the male said darkly. Kaiwi’s smile slipped off his face, looking down at the warm possum below him.

“I- it’s important to me that you guys know we aren’t being bad doing this,” he said firmly, “We have to eat, and it’s our job to do it quickly so whatever we eat feels as little pain as possible. I don’t know what crawlers are, but if they were just trying to find food then you can’t blame them for that. You have every right to fight back, but they aren’t evil for being hungry.” The female blinked owlishly at him but the male looked down at the possum, his face suddenly peaceful.

“We all have to eat,” he said softly, almost to himself.

“That’s right,” Kaiwi encouraged him, “Now come and split this before it gets cold.” The male stepped up first, digging into the upper half of the possum with a practiced ease, like he was used to splitting meals down the middle. Only slightly reluctant, the female followed suit. Their hunger made them forget their conflict temporarily and they wolfed down the meat. Kaiwi watched them eat, satisfied with the work he had done. He hadn’t expected to tackle the morality of hunting within the first lesson but he was glad it was out of the way now.