Boxing Day

It was the gathering of prey that first attracted Whiteout and Blackout to the site. The frozen night was their kingdom, the freezing shadows were theirs alone to roam- yet creatures ventured out, in numbers unprecedented. It was curious enough that it stirred the two huge apex predators into motion, slinking through the midnight sky and following the trail left behind. The sky above, streaked with falling stars, was reflected upon their scales of snowy night, making them all but invisible. But hunger soon turned to bewilderment as the twins ventured further and further into the long abandoned human city. Sounds of emotions rarely heard by the two echoed in the cold night, as they found themselves outside of the doorsteps of a massive building. While normally abandoned, tonight it was alight- light sparkled through the windows, and creatures of all shapes and sizes trailed in and out the doors, chattering and bickering light-heartedly among themselves. None had spotted the twins yet, who froze in confusion at the sight before them.

Blackout and Whiteout had lived their early lives within the treacherous alpha labs, where no one could be trusted and joy was sparse. The same continued to be true even once the doors finally opened; the only difference was those they came across now screamed and ran. They still had to fight every day for survival, the world was now just much larger. Just recently a war had swept the land, bringing strange, new dinosaurs who brought death and poison. The twins had killed a fair few themselves; not for the sake of the island, but to sate their own hunger. But here, Atlantean and Islander danced side by side, merrily laughing their cares away! 

It made no sense to the twins- it required further investigation. The two slowly began to make their way up the stairs, ducking in order to fit under the grand, decayed doors. While many ducked away from their entrances, it was simply to get out of their way; there was little fear in their posture. And it made sense why- all across the hall was all manner of creatures, of all shapes and sizes. Even other alpha lab escapes were among those gathered, a family of snowy albertosaurus chatting with a trio of acrocathosaurus. But it was not them that caught Blackouts attention- it was the scent of meat nearby that drew both his and his stomach's attention. Several carnivores were clutching bits of some kind of gamey meat close. So it seemed there was some kind of bribe here, to keep the peace between hungry carnivores and herbivores. Whiteout quickly stepped out in front of a passing carnotaurus, causing him to blink up at him in confusion. “You. Where is the food from?” Whiteout growled lowly, looking into the other carnivore's eyes. The carnotaurus made some kind of weak gurgle before gesturing with his head towards a large hallway, running off the moment Whiteouts gaze was off him. The carnivore considered chasing after him, but decided it wasn’t worth it. Instead, he huffed, catching the attention of Blackout. Together the two made their way into the next room, coming across… an unnerving sight.

Grotesque displays of the bones of other dinosaurs were sprayed across as far as the eye could see; not left in the dirt to find peace, but strung up and forced to mimic long gone life. Blackout let out a low growl of his throat- but their main objective was finding the main source of the food. And thankfully, it was easy to find. A stand near the entrance to the room was run by a black and orange therizinosaurus, who was roasting chunks of meat over an open flame. The scent alone made their mouths water, and they were quick to make his way over to the stand. The therizinosaurus, perhaps realizing the danger it was in if it did not act fact, quickly spread across several chunks of meat- perhaps more than it had given the other dinosaurs, but better safe than sorry. Blackout and Whiteout ate fast- it was a skill they had been forced to learn from a young age. The two ignored the vague look of disgust on the herbivore's face, moving away to explore the rest of the room now that their hunger was sated.

Now that the two had sated their hunger, they were able to observe the room a bit more calmly- or, as calm as they could ever be, really. The room, lit by a mix of flickering candle light and moonlight, had an ombre mood as shadows bounced around. Dinosaurs all around the room were performing various displays; some were dancing in strange, silly costumes, while others still preformed various obnoxious activities for an ooing crowd. Disrespectful, was what it was to the twins. Here they lay among the bones of those before them, and this is what they did.

However, it was the sound of something more distant that caught the ears of the massive carnivores. The two began to slink forward, away from the decorated graveyard and into another section of the museum. Instead of the bones of their ancestors, this section was decorated with… well. Rocks. Unassuming to their eyes, Whiteout couldn’t help but ponder what was so interesting about them.

And it was here, the two found the source of what had caught their attention in the first place- fighting. But it was not some shadowy brawl that had broken out deep in the depths of the museum. Instead, it seemed like some kind of ring had been set up, vines woven around the edges and tied to the walls. A small crowd had formed, and the scent of blood hung in the air- not the deep, heavy kind that would imply death, but the whisper of light wounds. Now, this was something they understood. 

Whiteout and Blackout made their way to the edge of the ring, ignored except for the smaller creatures that scurried for their way. The inside of the ring was fairly large, large enough for both of them to stride back and forth a few times. And it was occupied. A loud bellow and grunt of pain rang out as a large iguanodon swung forward with a heavy block, knocking over the suchomimus that he had previously been grappling with. The fish eater fell over onto the floor, dazed. After a few tense moments a loud cheer rang out, a white oviraptor scrambling out to help the suchomimus out. “And another victory for Barbatus!” The oviraptor cheered as she nudged the suchomimus to its feet, pointing it towards the exit. “No one has managed to beat him, yet! Does anyone else dare step into the ring and show off their muscles and power? Can you beat the iguanodon champion?” Barbatus seemed unaffected by the praise, simply retreating to the other side of the ring emotionlessly. 

Whiteout and Blackout shared a look as no one stepped forward. Judging by the bruises it seems many others had tried and failed to take down the herbivore. Well, they might as well give it a try- how hard could it be?

The crowd murmured as the two carnivores made their way into the ring- whispers of how the matchup was unfair, murmurs from those who recognized them. But Barbatus showed no sign of fear as they entered- if anything, he perked up, a gleam that had been absent beforehand shining in his eyes as he stomped at the ground. Seems he was eager for a good fight, too.

“Well folks, it seems we have two challengers this time! Now, let me introduce the rules.” The white oviraptor darted closer fearlessly, waving a long finger at them. “No biting, choking, or anything that could result in death. Remember! This is a friendly fight. On your marks…” Barbatus dragged his forelegs through the dirt like a bull, snorting. Blackout and Whiteout let out snarls in response, staying still crouching down. “Get set… GO!” The white oviraptor scurried for the side lines, and it was on.

The large red iguanodon let them make the first move- instead of charging forward like an angry bull, he instead reared onto his hind legs, almost doubling his height and allowing him to better punch forward. Blackout and Whiteout split apart at a tail flick, parting to opposite sides of the arena to slowly stalk forward towards their opponent. Steady red eyes watched them- Barbatus stayed calm as they approached, instead of panicking. He had been through many a fight before- and he knew the one to stay calm was the one to win. So he waited.

Blackout was the one to lunge first, letting out a roar that rattled the rooftops as he charged. At the same time Whiteout lunged from behind with a ghost, aiming to shove the herbivore over and clench an easy victory for the two.

However, Barbatus was ready for them. With a bellow he stepped forward, avoiding Blackouts shove before turning as a dime, lashing the carnivore with his spiked tail. With a wail Blackout fell back, droplets of blood running down his face. Well, that explained the scent of blood even with the no biting rule. The pivot allowed Barbatus to fully turn to face Whiteout- not fully in time to block the headbutt aimed right at his ribs, however. The herbivore grunted in pain as the headbutt knocked against his already sore sides, but he was quick to strike back with a slap that sent the acrocanthosaurus against the side of the ring. 

Whiteout shook his head in a daze, but managed to dodge in time to escape the follow up strike. Blackout had already made his way to his feet, grumbling at the scratch on his snout. It was far from dangerous, but annoying- he didn’t come here to be humbled. Whiteout made his way to his brothers side, nudging against him. Barbatus observed the two cooly, flicking a bit of blood off his tail. 

Time for a new strategy, then. The two acrocanthosaurus stuck side by side, slowly moving closer and closer to the herbivore. They were far enough away to avoid bumping into each other, but much closer than before. Whiteout moved first, butting his body forward in order to knock over the herbivore. Barbatus shifted away, pushing out with his forearms, only for Blackout to strike. The carnivore pushed against the other side of the herbivore, helping his brother push against the other. Barbatus groaned in pain, but still gave one hell of a fight- bucking and shoving, flailing his tail around. It was a long moment before a victor finally arose- one fell into the dirt, the champion finally toppled. The herbivore hit the ground with a low thud, pinned down by the weight of the duo of carnivores. Blackout and Whiteout bellowed lowly, announcing their victory to even those unaware.

“And finally, Barbatus has been taken down by these newcomers!” The white oviraptor cheered, pumping her feathered talons into the air. After a hesitant moment the arena broke out into cheers, and the Iguanodon pulled himself back to his feet. Blackout and Whiteout watched warily- normally, this would have never happened- this was the first time ever engaging in a friendly fight with anyone aside from each other.

After an awkward moment, the herbivore spoke first. “Good match.” He dipped his head down, before shaking himself out. “Hope I don’t run into you two outside of here. Now, good luck.” With a dip of his head he left, leaving the two carnivores puzzled. Good luck?

“And who wants to face down this deadly duo?” The oviraptor continued to the crowd, causing murmurs and shifting from those considering trying their luck. Blackout looked at Whiteout, who shrugged. Well. Might as well- better than dancing, at the very least they supposed.