Bear with me
The sound of thunder rapidly rumbled across the sea, spreading further inland. With it came the clouds and the rain, ice cold despite the hints of spring and promises of a warm summer ahead. Creatures all across the islands grumbled as they ducked into various caves and under canopies, shielding themselves from the chilling water.
Further inland, upon one of the rocky mountains of the island, an ancient reptile roamed in search of shelter. As the first few drops of water fell he paused, rearing up and observing for a moment. Shame that it seemed the season of ice and snow had passed- his black and white speckled scales were the perfect camouflage when it came to hiding in snowy forests. But despite the chill of the rain falling upon his scales, it was clearly no longer snow - and something he had little want to be around.
Huffing lowly, the acrocanthosaurus perked up as he spotted the yawning entrance of a cave ahead, gaping into the side of a nearby sloping wall. Blackout let out a low growl as he slowly approached the entrance, sniffing a few times. The scent of some kind of mammal was strong, but hollow; it was likely the creature itself was not home. And even if it was, well, then he would simply make it a meal - he had not eaten in several days, after all.
Padding inside the dark cave, Blackout sighed to himself as the lack of rain became apparent. The cavern was far from wide, but it was long, almost like a tunnel through the earth. And it was tall - when Blackout raised his head up, he couldn’t even see the top - but surely there was one, for no rain hit him. The massive carnivore shrugged; if it worked, it worked.
He continued his way through the halls, grumbling irritably every time he hit a rock. The light grew low, however, this was little issue to him - for Blackout had grown up in the alpha labs, and enough light was filtering in from somewhere above that he had some direction. Eventually, the end loomed above him - a rockfall had long ago blocked the path any further in. It towered up, a slope of rock that went every higher, ending at an almost flat point - where two red eyes flickered, shape hidden in the shadow.
Blackout froze, a growl echoing around the tunnel - but it was too late to turn away. With a roar the shape thudded down, managing to nimbly make its way down a well-worn path within the rocks in a way that seemed almost ridiculous. Blackout opened his mouth, but teeth were already digging into the top of his jaw, and he was quick to pull back, shaking his head frantically. The teeth release, and the two came to a standstill - finally allowing Blackout a chance to observe the other.
Another acrocanthosaurus stood ahead of him, warily gazing at him as Blackouts blood trickled from her mouth - a light wound, thankfully. There was no room to circle, no room to turn back, unless Blackout wanted to awkwardly step back. He left himself observe the other for a moment - pure black feathers and bright red eyes were intimidating enough, but her unusually scaly, armored headcrest made her appearance even more intimidating. She was easily as big as he was, if not bigger - fighting really wasn't the best option here, then. On to diplomacy.
“I mean no harm.” Blackout lowered his head ever so slightly, but kept his wary eyes on the female. “I came here to shelter from the rain, I had no idea you were here. I do not wish to fight, but if you choose to do so, neither of us will come out unharmed.”
The other acrocanthosaurus seemed to consider that for a moment, head tilted as she observed him in turn. After a moment, she seemed to decide he was correct, letting out an irritated huff. “Still, you invaded.” Her voice was rumbly like the rocks she had climbed upon, as if it was hardly used. “Go. Do not return.”
“Alright.” Blackout agreed easily enough - he had no reason to return, after all. As he turned around to make his way back, he blinked - standing before them was a huge mammal, as large as him reared onto its back legs. A deep roar left its mouth, and the brown, furred creature charged - likely attracted by the earlier conflict, and none too pleased to find them in its den.
Unprepared, Blackout let out a roar of pain as claws sunk into his side, thrashing back - which led to him bumping against the female in his attempt to escape. She hissed, but focused on the larger threat - the angry mammal. While Blackout had taken on similar creatures with his brother before, alone, it was a much more dangerous fight. But, catching the notice of the female, he wasn’t really alone anymore, was he? The two strangers shared a glance, aggression from earlier gone; now was not the time for arguments, it was time to work together.
The female acrocanthosaurus moved first, darting past to slip behind the mammal as it moved in to swing again. For a heart-stopping moment, Blackout thought she was abandoning him - only for the other dinosaur to swerve and lunge at the mammal, sinking her teeth into its back. The mammal roared, slashing backwards and catching her on the jaw. She yelped, releasing her grip - but Blackout charged in as the creature turned its attention to her, biting down hard on its other claw.
The fight went back and forth for a moment longer, the two dinosaurs working together as if they had known each other their entire lives to defeat their foe. Finally, Blackout hit something deep, and the creature fell limp. Panting, the two dinosaurs observed each other - both of them had bleeding wounds, although none seemed serious.
After a moment, the tension broke as the female chuckled. “Well, I suppose we’re both bleeding now.” She muttered, Blackout letting out a genuine bark of amusement. “My name's Jet.” The now dubbed Jet offered, before nudging at their defeated foe. “Well, since you helped take this thing down… would you like to share? I can’t kick you out now that you’ve helped protect my home.” She seemed much more relaxed, even nudging playfully at Blackout.
Blackout was perplexed, but shook it off after a moment. “Well, of course!” He responded. “If you want me to stay that badly, that is. You seemed quite eager to get rid of me before.”
“Well, that was before.” Jet responded absently, almost shyly. “You're free to stay as long as you like… as my thanks.” Blackout returned her earlier nudge, smiling at her. Maybe he would stay for a bit…
