[Trade] Peach x Oatmeal

Oatmeal’s flanks rose and fell steadily, evenly, in time with his controlled breathing. Every step he took was perfectly balanced, almost calculated, so that there was no chance of accidentally stepping on a brittle twig or anything else that might result in an unexpected, loud noise. His golden eyes were fixed on a single, specific, constantly moving point. Oatmeal’s watchful gaze followed the rat’s movements with the utmost concentration; the rat, unaware it was being watched, scurried through the rubble of the ruined building. The raptor’s potential prey was enormous for a rodent, its substantial size more reminiscent of a wild hare – a veritable feast was in store.

The male was cunning and experienced in hunting equally crafty prey. Oatmeal intended to make full use of the ambush’s potential – he crept in such a way that he was almost entirely concealed by the shapeless concrete blocks lying on the ground. He was already close, and his prey still hadn’t spotted him.

The rat paused for a moment, spotting something interesting on a stone ledge. It had its back turned to the hungry neuquenraptor, making the whole hunt seem child’s play. Oatmeal was just about to pounce…

When suddenly someone was hunting him. Out of nowhere, as if from beneath the ground, a fully-grown, brown cryolophosaurus leapt out, its jaws full of sharp teeth. With a loud squeal, Oatmeal darted for cover among the rubble, executing a nimble turn. The cryolophosaurus, however, had no intention of letting him off so easily – despite its larger size, its agility was almost on a par with that of the small raptor. It was practically hot on its prey’s heels.

Terrified, Oatmeal ran at full speed, struggling to find the right path. Just as he could almost feel the predator’s breath on his neck, he spotted what might be his chance – a hole in the ground, surrounded by fragments of the collapsed building’s walls, leading down to a lower level. The male didn’t think twice – he trustingly leapt down, escaping certain death.

Oatmeal barely managed to avoid tripping as he stumbled into a jumble of random objects that formed a makeshift ramp leading to the building’s underground levels. The brown-and-black male was struggling to catch his breath, still feeling the adrenaline pulsing through his veins. It had been a close call.

It took a moment for his sharp eyes to adjust to the dim light underground. As soon as his vision cleared, he began to survey his surroundings with curiosity. The cellar was quite spacious and, surprisingly, showed no major damage – it still looked as though it could serve as a shelter from adverse weather conditions. And from hungry predators.

Oatmeal slowly shifted his gaze from wall to wall, carefully assessing every shape that loomed before him. More large chunks of concrete. A plastic window frame. Something that, in its heyday, had probably been a desk. Countless plastic shards. Piles of newspapers strewn across the room, and amongst them – scraps of fabric of various textures and almost every colour he could imagine. When the building was still standing, this interior must have served as some sort of warehouse.

Suddenly, something seemed to move at the edge of his vision. Oatmeal, still on edge from recent events, hissed a warning and instinctively crouched, preparing to flee. This time, however, the movement was not a predator’s attack.

Only now, as his eyes had fully adjusted to the dim light, did he see that there was something else amongst the largest pile of material. Tufts of fur and smooth, small-scaled skin protruded from the various scraps. So there was a dinosaur here.

The male immediately tensed his muscles, still unable to fully abandon his caution. The gloomy atmosphere of the abandoned city did not fill him with optimism.

This time, however, he was mistaken. It took but a moment for him to notice that grey, round, slightly slanted eyes were staring at him – devoid of any aggression or suspicion. None of the nervous reptiles attacked, so the atmosphere soon became a little more relaxed, and the stranger felt confident enough to stand up. As he left his hiding place, brushing fabric scraps from himself, Oatmeal chirped with curiosity. Undoubtedly, another member of his species stood before him, yet the cellar-dweller bore far less resemblance to a typical neuquenraptor than his new accidental companion – truth be told, he looked more like a possum than a dinosaur.

Peach was just as surprised by this unexpected encounter as Oatmeal was. The scruffy male hadn’t expected to come across any other neuquenraptors in this area. Despite the gregarious nature of his species, Peach had long lived alone and had almost grown accustomed to this state of affairs. The longer he was not part of a pack, the more he shunned his own kind – which was precisely why he had chosen this part of the abandoned city. Reptiles as small as him rarely ventured into these parts.

Now, however, as his gaze finally fell upon another raptor, Peach felt a shiver of excitement run through his body. Though they were complete strangers, something drew him to this enigmatic, brown-and-black male. Perhaps Peach longed to start his own pack more than he was willing to admit.

The scruffy male approached the other cautiously, lowering his head as he did so – he didn’t want to appear threatening. Fortunately, in the stranger’s golden eyes, he could see that the other was also peaceful. This was quickly confirmed by another friendly chirp that escaped from Oatmeal’s throat.

That sound emboldened the grey raptor somewhat. Peach spread his arms wide in one fluid motion, waving them in synchronised circular movements. This sudden change in posture surprised Oatmeal a little, but the male was quickly persuaded to watch this peculiar display. No wonder, really; Peach did, after all, have a certain ace up his sleeve – the unusual pink markings on his fingers were definitely eye-catching.

Oatmeal had no intention of standing idly by. Encouraged by this courtship dance, he spread his own (definitely more generously feathered) wings, trying to mimic the scruffy male’s movements. Despite his lack of practice, his display could be considered even more impressive – the bioluminescent glow emanating from his claws and feathers was definitely something to be envied.

The next move was up to Peach and the grey neuquenraptor had no intention of wasting this opportunity. He stepped closer, boldly closing the gap between himself and his companion, then tilted his head back, fixing his gaze on the dark ceiling. That, however, was not the main event – the opossum-like male began to sing, and his melodious, well-trained voice sounded more like a bird than a dinosaur.

Oatmeal tried to follow suit, but he couldn’t boast such skills. The sound that emerged from his throat was more like a warning cry than a courtship song. Peach jumped back a few paces at the sound of the racket. Well, you can’t have everything – despite this minor blunder, Oatmeal still made a good impression.

The two males, now standing almost two metres apart, locked eyes once more. This time, however, their faces were lit up with joy and optimism, rather than the uncertainty of just a moment ago. The courtship ritual wasn’t over yet, but its first part had gone well – Peach and Oatmeal were definitely interested in each other enough for their paths to merge into one…

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