[Trade] The Way of Fishing

All three cautiously poked their heads out from behind the cover of the bushes, feeling the small twigs scratch their noses. Rejkjavik struggled to keep from sneezing, focusing all her energy on not scaring away the creature standing just a few metres in front of them.

In a shallow, fast-flowing stream stood a utahraptor, intensely focused on something. A gentle breeze blew in their direction, carrying with it a scent filled with information about the stranger - it was a fairly young female, probably living alone in this area. In addition, although none of the friends could explain how they had come to this conclusion, the female must have been a rather nervous animal - they could not consciously identify the scent of cortisol that emanated from her body, but they instinctively knew what it meant.

Rat Catcher felt a pleasant, exciting tingling sensation when he saw this stranger – despite the significant difference in size and colour between them, there was no mistaking it. The mysterious female undoubtedly belonged to the same species as him. It was a heartening experience – until now, he had rarely had contact with his fellow creatures.

The female, completely unaware of the presence of the three hatchlings who were extremely curious about her, continued what she had been doing before. Like a bear, she stood in the middle of the stream, near a small fault in its bed. She leaned low over the turbulent water, focusing all her attention on tracking the round, dark shapes beneath the surface – the fish swimming past her. Her splayed, sharp claws glistened in the sun, heralding the end of her chosen prey's life.

Reykjavik was almost jumping with excitement as she watched the clearly experienced female. She struggled to resist running out from behind her cover and jumping into the stream, inadvertently scaring away all the creatures living in it.

Blue Bell Buoy controlled her emotions much better (although it must be admitted that the omnipresent excitement was also affecting her). Completely unconsciously, she leaned further and further forward, exposing not only her head but also her neck and part of her torso from behind the branches. She, too, was very intrigued by these new methods and wanted to participate in the hunt.

Rat Catcher was the calmest. No wonder - despite his young age, the male had always been very intelligent and sensible. He was a quick learner and always kept a watchful eye on his surroundings in search of interesting phenomena. This set him apart from the females accompanying him. If Rat had had more contact with other members of his species, he would have known that these traits were quite typical among his kind.

The mysterious female swayed over the shiny surface of the water one last time, then shot forward like a hunting cat. She easily clamped her jaws onto her prey, holding the struggling fish with her claws. Blood ran down her grey feathers, staining the crystal clear water. With a quick movement, almost without tearing her prey into smaller pieces, the female swallowed the fresh meat. The sparkle in her eyes clearly showed that this was the meal she had been hoping for.

This spectacular victory delighted the three hidden in the bushes so much that none of them could contain their excitement anymore. The delighted hatchlings ran out into a small clearing accompanied by squeals of joy - they had maintained almost perfect silence for too long to not be fed up with it.

The grey female, frightened by this sudden chaos, jumped up violently, splashing water in all directions. The startled fish panicked, scattering in random directions, even against the current. The utahraptor instinctively assumed a threatening posture, spreading her wings and impressive tail plume to appear much larger than she actually was. Until now, the chicks had been behind her, so the female had no idea what she was up against. Only after a moment, when she had a few seconds to look at the ‘attackers’, was she able to calm down.

Admittedly, she looked at them very closely. The expression on her face was like a kaleidoscope of emotions, ranging from fear and surprise, through a hint of relief, to considerable consternation. The tabby female clearly could hardly believe her eyes - who were the members of this unusual, very young herd? And, above all, how on earth were such inexperienced carnivores able to surprise her like this?

‘That was so dope!’ After a few seconds, Rejkjavik felt the tension between them and the unknown female ease, so she allowed herself to express her admiration.

The adult female, still with drops of water and blood on her grey feathers, looked at the young acrocanthosaurus with a hint of suspicion. Distrustful of strangers, she could only mumble a short ‘thanks’.

Sensing the mistrust hanging in the air, Rat Catcher stepped forward, standing opposite the unknown huntress. He looked at her closely with his shiny purple eyes – to tell the truth, when the hatchlings were sitting in the bushes, they couldn't get a good look at the female either. Only now did Rat notice some intriguing details about her figure. First of all, despite her obviously adult age, she was exceptionally petite (the difference in size between the female and Catcher was noticeable, of course, but not spectacular; in fact, Rat Catcher had never seen such a small utahraptor before). This would explain why she hunted fish rather than slightly larger prey. In addition, the female's entire body was covered with wide, elegantly curled stripes - up close, their brown colour was noticeable (from a greater distance, this nuance was difficult to discern; the markings on the female's body simply appeared black). There was something else that only became apparent after staring at the stranger for a long time - her feathers were practically impervious to moisture. Drops of water and blood, although scattered over most of her body, still clung to the surface despite the passage of time, instead of soaking into the feathers and touching her sensitive skin. Although Rat Catcher's feathers had similar properties, they were much less impressive. The grey female must have spent a lot of time near water reservoirs, as she was perfectly adapted to this.

The "clash" between the two individuals of this species further reduced the tension. Although they had never met before, there was a bond of understanding and mutual loyalty between them. They both knew almost immediately that they could trust each other - as long as they were here together, no harm would come to them from either side.

The male introduced his group in a few words, feeling the weight of explaining their sudden arrival. The confirmation that all members of this unusual flock were just ordinary, harmless chicks completely reassured the distrustful female.

"I'm Silvercloud," the female's voice, despite her fear having passed, was still rather weak and shaky. Although the hatchlings (with the exception of the perceptive, clever Rat Catcher) were too distracted and excited to notice, it was obvious that Silver was not a confident individual. Quite the contrary - her movements, her petite frame, and her quiet voice clearly showed that the young female rarely interacted with strangers.

After these words, the dialogue broke off for a long moment - it would have left a deafening silence behind if it weren't for the loud laughter and squeals of Rejkjavik and Blue Bell, who in the meantime had started chasing each other around the clearing and playing in the clear stream.

Rat Catcher was irritated by the sudden childishness of his companions - after all, despite his young age, he was able to control himself much better. Meeting Silvercloud, so experienced in this unusual method of hunting, was a godsend. The chicks had to fend for themselves, and hunting larger prey at this age, when their movements were still quite clumsy and their strength was not even equal to that of a common badger, was practically impossible. Until now, the group had to make do with stolen eggs, carrion or, when luck was on their side, rodents they had hunted themselves. The possibility of hunting fish would open up new horizons for them - after all, there was plenty of fish in the nearby streams (few predators considered these fast, mysterious creatures a source of food).

Fortunately, Silvercloud, who was growing more fond of these essentially defenceless youngsters with every passing second, intended to share this knowledge. The female herself had not had a very happy childhood (at least since she had found herself in the laboratory by complete accident), so she had no intention of making it difficult for others.

The fish were still swimming chaotically in panic, so they had to wait a moment for the animals to calm down. It was the perfect moment for a little theory. Silvercloud eagerly, almost solemnly, explained the secrets of fishing to her new companions. Rat Catcher listened to her with great concentration, treating her every word as revealed truth. The same could not be said for the two females - the acrocanthosaurus and the carnotaurus were much less diligent students. They tried to remember something from the explanation, but spent most of their time fooling around.

Silvercloud talked about how important it was to choose the right spot - one where the stream was as narrow as possible, but not too fast-flowing. She explained to her students how important it was to be calm and able to remain relatively still for long periods of time. She also mentioned that water refracts light slightly differently than air, distorting the image of fish moving in it. New tips flowed rapidly from her mouth, giving her students no respite.

This sudden flood of knowledge proved too much for some – Rejkjavik and Blue Bell, after just a few minutes, instead of listening to the teachings, fell asleep on the soft grass, basking in the sun.

Only the determined Rat Catcher made it to the practical part of this improvised training.