[Trade] Watch Your Step

A strange-looking creature, covered in shiny, speckled skin, sat on a leaf floating on the water’s surface. Every now and then, the animal emitted amusing, guttural sounds, which accompanied the rhythmic swelling of the throat beneath the lower jaw of this unusual creature. Every now and then, however, something even more astonishing happened – the dark-green animal would close its eyelids, and as soon as their edges touched, the shielded eyeballs seemed to sink into the skull, momentarily disappearing from the surface of the body. Frogs were truly astonishing creatures.

Suddenly, the previously still surface of the water was covered with broad, restless ripples. Frightened by this sudden chaos, the frog propelled itself off the surface of the leaf in the blink of an eye with its elongated, powerful hind limbs, and then vanished into the murky water without a moment’s delay. 7576 sighed in resignation – his careless step had brought painful consequences. The juvenile cryolophosaurus no longer had a chance of catching his prey.

The male, somewhat dejected by his failure, emerged from the water, which came up to mid-calf. He couldn’t even hope that the droplets clinging stubbornly to his greenish skin would soon dry off – the bank was almost as wet as the very centre of the watery expanse. It was hard to find any dry spot in the marshes. 7576 made his way through the muddiest part of the bank, each step causing more wet, squelching sounds. The mud clung to his feet like glue, at times almost immobilising them. It was no easy task to reach even relatively firm ground here.

When 7576, despite all odds, finally managed it, he almost collapsed to the ground with a loud sigh. The battered grass, trampled by many different creatures, tickled his belly pleasantly. Somewhat bored by his lack of things to do, the male began to scrutinise his surroundings. The small islet on which he had found temporary shelter was, in its central part, overgrown with that tickling grass and many tiny white flowers, their calyxes covered with dark green leaves. The further away from where the young cryolophosaurus lay, the more overgrown the terrain became – the edges of the islet were densely covered with calamus, reeds and dark, grassy plants, over which blue-shimmering dragonflies occasionally flitted. A sight enough to catch one’s eye for a few seconds, but far too monotonous to hold 7576’s attention for longer.

The male therefore shifted his watchful gaze slightly higher, scrutinising the line of trees intently. The greyish mangrove forest formed a dense, fortress-like layer, reinforced by twisted, gnarled branches. Little could be seen between the densely packed branches – 7576 could only make out a few glimmers of light, created by those rays that most persistently sought the ground. Most of the colours he could make out (mainly various shades of grey and green) blended together, forming a single, compact mass. Something, however, caught the eye of the bored 7576, something that could significantly change his day.

For there, amongst the mangroves, was a single, eye-catching splash of colour. The patch (or, on closer inspection of its size, rather a speck) tempted him with its rather bright, yellowish hue, which stood out clearly against the muted colours surrounding it. 7576 instinctively stood up, excited by this discovery. Whatever it was, it was intriguing and drew him in like a magnet. As the male was unsure of anything, he did not intend to approach this object or creature head-on – he preferred to take a more cautious approach. So he chose to go round it.

With a slight sense of distaste, the male left his safe, comfortable haven—the relatively dry islet—and once again stepped into the murky, lukewarm water. The mud on the bank was sticky and splashed out to the sides with every step, soon decorating the male’s body with countless dark speckles. 7576 already had experience navigating swamps, so he knew which route to take. The juvenile cryolophosaurus moved forward efficiently, using the shallowest parts of the marsh – he certainly had no desire to swim at the moment. He preferred to wade through the water, ensuring it did not rise higher than halfway up his calves.

As he made his way forward, 7576 continued to closely watch the yellow dot, which was his target.. The speck of colour was practically motionless, so it encouraged the male to think that it was simply some sort of plant or perhaps a trace of human presence left here long ago. Such a turn of events would certainly not be very exciting, but the prospect gave 7576 peace of mind and a sense of security.

He moved quickly, not stopping for a moment. Soon, the pool, covered in the ubiquitous sludge and silt, once again gave way to a bank offering slightly more support. The male cautiously set foot on relatively firm ground – here the earth was more cohesive and did not immediately give way under his weight. Before him stretched a whole pseudo-archipelago of such small, surprisingly dry islets.

The cryolophosaurus was so focused on that mysterious yellow spot that he had somewhat forgotten his usual precautions – he fixed his gaze on a single point, neglecting the rest of his surroundings. The juvenile specimen did not yet have enough experience to know that he must always keep an eye on everything around him.

Suddenly, his foot struck something with force halfway through a step, completely throwing him off balance. 7576 tried to save himself with frantic movements, but to no avail – he crashed to the ground like a log, sending mud flying in all directions. The startled male wriggled like an eel, trying to understand what had actually happened. Before he managed to get up, he realised what had caused this sudden fall.

He realised this from the quiet squeaks he heard beside him moments after the collision. When 7576, alarmed by the sound, looked in that direction, he saw a colorful, feather-covered ball, clearly deeply distressed by this unexpected encounter. The male watched the spectacle, unsure of what to do. It was only when the whimpering ball shifted position that the juvenile realised he was looking at a hatchling of some other carnivore species.

Battered by the accident, Nomusa whimpered softly – fortunately, more from the stress caused by the crash than from pain. The impact, though quite strong, had not caused her any serious harm.

7576 immediately felt a surge of compassion. The poor little thing was clearly frightened by this unpleasant encounter, and it was all down to his own carelessness. He had to explain to his accidental victim that he hadn’t meant to hurt her.

Before the male could approach the hatchling and do anything, however, he heard a high-pitched, ear-piercing roar. He immediately turned his head towards the sound, but it was already too late for any meaningful reaction – another cryolophosaurus was charging towards him, hissing loudly. 7576 wasn’t even able to dodge. The opponent crashed into him with force, brutally knocking him off his feet. The impact sent them both crashing onto the wet ground.

7576 kicked his legs, desperately trying to push himself away from the unstable ground and increase the distance between himself and his opponent. He succeeded – the other male had fallen in a far more unfortunate manner, so he lay in the mud in a position that severely hampered his movements. The green cryolophosaurus had just a few seconds’ respite to take a closer look at his attacker – that was when he saw that the stranger’s frill was adorned with that intriguing yellow patch which had so captivated him earlier.

“I don’t want to hurt you, I’m not a threat!” 7576 shouted instinctively, still struggling in the mud, now covered in deep ruts. His words were echoed by the quiet squeak of the unfortunate chick.

Brook, panting heavily after that violent effort, did indeed stop, more because of little Nomusa's protesting squeaks than anything else. At that moment, as the two juveniles calmed down a little, they managed to get to their feet. 7576 instinctively took a few more steps back so as not to expose himself to another such sudden attack. The male sized up his opponent, studying his figure closely. He was roughly the same size, but his skin, unlike 7576’s smooth hide, was covered in feathers. Brook stood there with his blue eyes glared with anger, blazed within the his skull.

“He really didn’t want to do that… and I’m fine either way,” Nomusa stammered in a broken voice, still full of despair, trying to hold back her uncontrollable sobbing.

Brook looked at his petite companion – he hadn’t actually noticed any injuries. Only now did he have the chance to take a proper look at her. Earlier, he’d simply reacted to her screams, which he’d heard from a distance. When he arrived, he had attacked immediately, without analysing the situation. Now that he realised the stranger might be telling the truth, his anger had subsided somewhat. His rapid reaction wasn't something unusual. Brook has been taken care of the younger utahraptor for quite some time and he was very protective of her - the fact that the hatchling was so tiny and defenceless on her own made him insanely eager to shield her from every bad thing in this world. No wonder. Brook himself could never count on a compassionate, loving caretaker like that. For most of the time he was just on his own, trying to survive in this cruel archipelago without much help. It was tough and draining - he didn't want anybody else to have to go through it.

Nomusa, who seemed to have recovered from her initial shock, ran between two juvenile cryolophosaurus, slipping on the muddy ground. Once she’d finished her little show-off lap, she ran up to Brook, snuggling up against his leg. From this safe haven, she began to scrutinise 7576 intently, her eyes sparkling with interest. A hatchling’s brain was not the sort to hold a grudge for long—Nomusa very quickly forgot the pain that 7576 had unintentionally caused her. This was also the moment when Brook could finally see something through his blind rage, that has mostly subsided in the meantime. He analyzed every inch of 7576 body in search for something that would justify his suspicions. To no avail - before him stood a normal juvenile cryolophosaurus, just the same as him. The green male's body didn't show any signs pointing to the fact that 7576 might have been a seasoned fighter. He wasn't a danger after all.

“Do you want to play with us? We need one more for our game!” the young female exclaimed excitedly, leaving both juveniles dumbfounded.

Brook and 7576 looked at each other awkwardly. Their bodies were still caked in mud from the fall during their exceptionally brief (yet intense) fight. Admittedly, their acquaintance hadn’t got off to the most promising start, but now that they knew each other’s intentions, what was stopping them from playing together? After all, it wouldn’t be nice to turn down an excited hatchling like that.

7576 was too scared to make the first move, so taking the initiative became Brook's task. The feathered juvenile, still with a slight bit of lingering hesitancy, moved forward, trying not to step over tiny Nomusa. When he got much closer to 7576 than he was before, he let out a high pitched, inviting trill. The other male answered with a similar sound, gladly (although still with a bit of suspicion) accepting this generous invitation. 

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