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The Elegant Jaw: Among Titans

TeamUniverse12

Team Universe Boss
The Elegant Jaw: Among Titans(Warning: Some blood and gore in later chapters)

Prologue

Today, mammals rule the earth. Jungles, oceans, deserts, field, mountains, anywhere you look, mammals roam those lands

However, hundreds of millions of years ago, the earth was dominated by reptiles, many of them reaching vast sizes. Dinosaurs, Pterosaurs, and Pliosaurs were just a few groups of reptiles that dominated the land, skies, and seas.

The largest of the dinosaurs were members of the class Sauropoda, some of them having no natural predators after reaching a certain size. The Sauropods could crush almost anything that stood in their path, bringing down their massive tree trunk-like feet.

But not all dinosaurs were quite so large, some were even smaller than a dog. One of the smallest was the ten inch tall Compsognathus.

Completely defying many peoples' idea of a dinosaur, Compsognathus watched as titans walked the earth.

Dinosaurs would never get as large as they were in the Late Jurassic period, reaching heights of fifteen feet, twenty-six feet, and thirty feet. Against all odds, Compsognathus survived, lasting several million years.

This is the story of one Compsognathus, who would see many things that most humans could only dream of.

(Author's Note: Now that the prologue's come to a close, I'd like to clear some things up. This story won't be 100% accurate when it comes to paleontology, I'll be taking multiple liberties. For example, Compsognathus lived in what is now Europe, VERY far away from any sauropods, and was believed to have been the top predator in its environment. However, I'll be depicting Compsognathus living in Late Jurassic period North America, living with massive sauropods and theropods like Brachiosaurus, Allosaurus, and Diplodocus. My fellow dinosaur enthusiasts probably won't like that, but I honestly took that liberty for the sake of having what could be a rather interesting story. Anyways, I hope you'll enjoy the story!)
 
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TeamUniverse12

Team Universe Boss
Chapter 1: Larger Than Life

A buzzing could be heard as a small, iridescent green dragonfly hovered down onto a low hanging tree branch, just near a massive field where the dragonfly had been going about its business. Lowering itself onto the branch, the buzzing came to a stop, and the dragonfly rested.

Before the dragonfly could so much as relax, a huge, green mouth snatched it up and proceeded to tear the dragonfly to shreds in a matter of seconds. Finishing its snack, the dinosaur looked around, cocking its head.

The dinosaur was a Compsognathus, an incredibly small dinosaur, though it was enormous to the dragonfly it had just devoured.

This Compsognathus in particular was a young female, hunting not far from her pack, having been drawn toward the field by an unfamiliar sound. She looked around, looking for the source of the sound she had heard. Frustrated, she let out a chirp, unable to find whatever had created the sound.

She turned back towards the forest, wondering of what lay beyond the forest, as she had never left the forest in her one year of life. She would not need to wonder for long.

Suddenly, a loud, trumpet-like noise echoed throughout the field. Shocked, the female Compsognathus turned around, squeaking.

There, in the field, was a herd of Diplodocus, marching in a single file and constantly trumpeting, their voice echoing through the field.

The huge, red and orange creatures were led by an especially large female, standing roughly twenty-nine feet tall. Every once in a while, another Diplodocus would attempt to pass, only to be promptly slapped in the face by the large female's whip-like tail.

Though these creatures were fairly normal sized for other dinosaurs, they were the embodiment of fear itself to the little female Compsognathus. Just a simple footstep shook her entire body, their incessant noise making scraped against her ears, and their fire-like coloration frightened her even more.

Paralyzed from fear for a moment, she just stared as the herd passed, trembling. Getting her bearings, she turned and ran off, squeaking her little heart out.

After running for a few minutes, she came into a clearing. She looked around for a moment, confused. She then proceeded to hop onto a tree stump and squawked loudly. Suddenly, a large number of Compsognathus came into the small clearing, seemingly from nowhere.

The pack of Compsognathus were responding to the juvenile female's distress call. They had been resting within hollowed out tree trunks for some time now, and were quite shocked by the sudden loud noise.

One male Compsognathus, standing several inches taller than the others, hopped over to the base of the stump and looked up at the young female, confused. He chirped at the female, his head cocked. The female then responded with a quieter distress call, turning her head in the direction she came from. The large male Compsognathus replied with several aggressive squawks, and the female hopped off the stump and over toward the rest of the Compsognathus.

As you've probably guessed, the two Compsognathus were communicating. The male's initial chirp could be translated to something along the lines of “What are you doing waking us all up, there's no danger!”

“There is, though! I saw a group of big fire things, over by the field!” Could be a good translation of the female's quiet squawk.

“No such thing! Now, get back in the pack and be quiet!” Is probably what the male's squawks meant.

The young female was greeted by another female Compsognathus, who was several inches taller than herself. This adult female was the juvnile's mother, as you could guess.

The two nuzzled each other brielfly, lightly growling in happiness. Afterward, the two hopped into a hole in a fallen tree trunk, along with the others, who scrambled into different hiding spots, some briefly fighting for a spot.

The following morning, the entire pack awoke to a horrible noise. Every other second, there was a loud booming, a the sound of something huge creaking, and an incessant trumpeting noise.

The entire pack simultaneously poked their heads out of their hiding places, their heads watching and listening silently and motionlessly.

The large male hopped out of his own hiding spot and stood in the center of the clearing, hopping on top of a stump. The male then squawked several times, and three more Compsognathus hopped out of their tree trunks.

The large male chirped at the three others, lightly bobbing his head. This could be translated to something along the lines of “ Loud noises! Loud noises bad! Find loud noises!”

The three others responded by lightly bobbing their own heads, before running off into the forest.

The young female watched as this all took place, the incessant noises still echoing through the forest, shaking the ground. She wondered what danger could possibly be making these noises, and if it was dangerous.

After a sudden boom, she squawked and dove back into the tree trunk, cowering in fear.

She was known among her pack for her fright, and a good translation of her 'name' would be 'Cowerer'.

As Cowerer lay curled up, whimpering, in the tree trunk, she had no idea of the events about to transpire, or the creatures awaiting in the forest.
 
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TeamUniverse12

Team Universe Boss
Chapter 2: Drawn Away

While Cowerer trembled in her tree trunk, the small search party of Compsognathus was rushing throughout the forest, following the loud noises.

After several minutes of running, the three Compsognathus met at the edge of the forest. There, they saw trees falling to the ground, being forced down by huge, fiery masses. The great fiery masses had already leveled a large portion of the forest, greatly expanding the field full of more fire beasts.

Naturally afraid of fire, the search party squawked in terror. And, as quickly as they had appeared, they were gone, dashing back toward their pack.

Unbeknownst to the Compsognathus, these great things were not huge balls of fire ripping at the forest, but a herd of Diplodocus, animals who had evolved a fire-like coloration to deter predators

Due to Diplodocus' titanic size, it was unable to go deep into a forest. Because of this, Diplodocus would instead briefly rear up on its hind legs, and push its front legs against a tree as it came back down. This method of travel leveled entire forests, and created many field and plains.

The large male Compsognathus remained standing on top of the stump in the center of the clearing, vigilantly watching alongside multiple other members of the pack. However, his focus was interrupted as the search party burst into the clearing, filling the clearing with their squawks. These squawks could mean something along the lines of “Danger! Danger ahead! Fire, fire approaching!”

Cowerer, hearing the search party's squawking, poked her head out of the tree trunk, cocking her head.

The large male stared down at the search party, before chirping at them, which would translate to “Fire? How? Where?”

One of the three members of the search party stepped forward, and squawked several times, pointing his snout in the direction they came from.

“Big fire by the field! Destroying forest, fast!” Is what the search party member likely meant.

Hearing this, the large male widened his eyes, before throwing his head into the air and releasing a series of squawks.

“We must evacuate! Must find new home!” Is what he would've meant from this.

All thirty-four members of the pack stared at each other, pondering what this could mean for the future of the pack. Cowerer crawled out of the tree trunk and stared up at her mother, hoping for comfort in this frightening situation, only to get no reaction whatsoever.

Once the pack had finished their 'talking' the group left the clearing, led by the large male, who took long strides, constantly sniffed the air, and paused at even the slightest unfamiliar noise. Known for his undying vigilance, his 'name' would be something like 'Vigil'.

Several hours later, the pack had covered a large distance and now rested on a tree by the forest edge, sitting on the branches and staring down at the forest floor, the noises of the Diplodocus heard were now somewhat distant.

Despite the new-found peace, Vigil remained on his toes, making sure every pack member was accounted for and unharmed. Vigil's constant attentiveness made Cowerer feel safe, and could nap with ease, not having to worry about a great mass of fire swallowing her and scorching her flesh.

Sitting on a branch, her eyes beginning to droop, Cowerer stared out into the field, watching the sun disappear behind a distant mountain and the moon took the night, shining rays of moonlight down onto the field. Though humans now understand the sun and moon, Cowerer, Vigil, and the rest of the pack couldn't possibly guess what these things were. To them, they are merely great circles in the sky, rather than a huge ball of fire projecting heat onto earth and other planets or a huge rock rotating around the earth.

Watching as the moon slowly moved higher in the sky, Cowerer's eyes grew heavier and heavier, until they were shut, and she fell into her dreams.

As a simple creature, she dreamt of swarms of dragonflies soaring around her, just waiting to be snatched up in her jaws Unfortunately, these dreams wouldn't last much longer, as the entire pack would be given a rude awakening.

Beneath the tree's branches, several adult Allosauruses stood, 'talking' and staring at the six adolescent Diplodocus marching through the field, plotting how they would get their breakfast. Unfortunately, the Allosauruses were just feet beneath the Compsognathus pack, and awoke every single one with their snarls and grunts.

Vigil peered over the side of the branch, his upper lip curled, baring his tiny fangs at the Allosauruses, who had yet to notice the pack of Compsognathus. Cowerer as well peeked over, staring curiously at the new creatures, though also trembling, unsure of what she should think.

However, one instinct ran through the entire pack's mind 'Big=Bad', this instinct is in place to make sure that the creatures don't attempt to face something much too big, and this instinct is still in play today.

As the 'meeting' of the Allosauruses came to a close, the four of them separated going off in different directions, each one keeping a close eye on the six Diplodocus in the field.

Cowerer was unsure of the events about to transpire, as she had never witnessed a hunt more complex than 'Bite the bug when it lands'. So, she watched carefully, witnessing one of the most spectacular hunts in history.
 
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TeamUniverse12

Team Universe Boss
Chapter 3: King of the Jurassic

Three of the four Allosaurus sprinted toward the six young Diplodocus, well aware of the potential threat the titanic creatures posed to them.

The four Diplodocus were still quite young, standing just several feet taller than the largest member of the Allosaurus group. Because of their young age, their colors were quite dull, and their illusion of being huge, flaming masses had yet to come for another few years. However, the small herd could still cause great damage to the Allosauruses, using their whip-like tails or by merely crushing them.

The largest of the Allosauruses, a female, stayed behind at the forest edge, carefully watching as the three males charged toward the herd of sauropods. She didn't yet have a role to play, but it would come soon, and she itched to charge and taste blood on her tongue.

One Diplodocus, standing on the herd's left side, noticed the three Allosauruses charging toward them and raised its head, letting out a trumpeting noise to alert the rest of the herd. The other five Diplodocus turned their heads in the direction of the forest, where the Allosauruses were coming from, and continued moving, ready to face the Allosauruses attack.

The three Allosauruses weaved into the herd, keeping one medium-sized Diplodocus on their left. The Allosauruses were attempting to surround it, in order to separate it from all the others, and snapped at any Diplodocus that came close.

Eventually, one Allosaurus managed to charge forward, passing the medium-sized Diplodocus and now running in front of it, keeping a safe distance from the tail of the Diplodocus ahead.

The Allosaurus in front came to a sudden stop, turning to face the medium-sized Diplodocus, baring his fangs. This was a risky move, and oftentimes ended in the Allosaurus getting trampled whenever this was attempted by others. However, the Diplodocus managed to bring itself to a stop, though just barely.

The Allosaurus repeatedly snapped at the Diplodocus' head, missing by mere inches. The Diplodocus however, was not without defense. The Diplodocus reared up, lightly thrusting its front legs in the air, threatening to crush the Allosaurus. The Allosaurus, still young and inexperienced, failed to heed the Diplodocus' warnings. The Diplodocus proceeded to bring down its front legs, forcing the Allosaurus to the ground and ending it life with nothing but a quick whimper from the fallen predator.

The other two Allosauruses were pushing the rest of the herd forward, following the rear of the herd and occasionally biting at the tails of the great sauropods. Hearing the Diplodocus bring down its legs, the two Allosauruses came to a stop, turning to see their fallen brother crushed beneath the Diplodocus. Angered, they charged the Diplodocus, roaring like lions.

Meanwhile, the female Allosaurus saw her chance and burst out of the forest, roaring and briefly slashing the air with her claws. As she closed in on the Diplodocus, she flexed her claws, ready to slash, and bared her fangs. Suddenly, the female leaped, grabbing onto the Diplodocus' neck with her teeth and claws.

The female repeatedly bit down on the Diplodocus' neck, slicing with her serrated teeth, and ferociously slashed with her claws when given the chance. With her fangs and claws ripping through the Diplodocus' flesh and muscle, blood soared through the air, covering the female's snout, neck and claws.

Finally, the Diplodocus let out one last groan, staring at its herd, now merely specks in the distance, and collapsed, with just missing the two male Allosauruses.

The Allosauruses stared down at the fallen Diplodocus and proceeded to fight among themselves, deciding who would get the first fill of Diplodocus meat. Eventually, the female won the squabble, standing on the Diplodocus' stomach and growling at the two males before ripping out a piece of meat.

Back at the forest edge, Cowerer and the rest of her pack watched as these 'Fire Slayers' took down the Diplodocus, staring in amazement at these creatures far larger than themselves. Cowerer, nor any Compsognathus, would ever be able to fully comprehend these great Allosauruses, or any of the huge creatures of the Jurassic period.

Several hours later, the sun had reached the middle of the sky, and the three remaining Allosauruses left the carcass, leaving behind a large amount of meat. Vigil knew this was the pack's chance for a large amount of food, the remaining meat could feed the entire pack for a week and meat would STILL be left over.

Vigil raised his and cheeped loudly several times, which could mean “Food in the field! We must go get meat!”.

A few minutes later, the pack was traveling through the field, led by Vigil. It was nigh impossible for any member of the pack to see where they were going, the grass was tall and thick, they could see neither ahead nor where they had come from. Instead, they relied on Vigil's acute sense of smell to locate the fallen titan.

The pack was wary of any Allosauruses that may appear and attempt to steal the meat, and likely feast upon the entire pack of Compsognathus. But Allosaurus wasn't the only thing to worry about, pterosaurs would often feed on carcasses, and they wouldn't hesitate to make a meal out of the Compsognathus pack. So, they looked to the skies, watching for the silhouettes of the Jurassic period's dragons.

Finally, the pack came into a small clearing of grass flattened by the Allosauruses and the Diplodocus, which lay dead on the ground, half eaten. But Diplodocus wasn't the only carcass, there was also the body of the crushed Allosaurus, now misshapen by the Diplodocus' feet.

Before the pack could take even a moment to bask in the glory of the meat, every single Compsognathus rushed forward, either to the Diplodocus or the Allosaurus and started to feast. However, carnivores rarely share their food. They squabbled over the juiciest parts of meat, and several Compsognathus received injuries to the head and tail caused by the bites of other Compsognathus.

Cowerer meanwhile played tug-of-war with another young Compsognathus, using a chunk of meat. Cowerer managed to win, and proceeded to devour the meat, not taking a second to savor the flavor. She would remember this day for the rest of her life as the day she had the greatest meal a Compsognathus could possibly ask for.
 
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TeamUniverse12

Team Universe Boss
Brief Update: I decided to make a minor edit to the chapters, giving them titles. In other news, Chapter 4 should be ready some time tonight or tomorrow, I'm also currently trying to make longer chapters, as the previous ones seem a little short.
 

TeamUniverse12

Team Universe Boss
Chapter 4: Dark Times

A week later, the pack of Compsognathus was now miles away from the fallen titan, which they had last seen being torn apart by Pterosaurs. Now, they were back in the forest, scavenging off the kills of the Allosaurs from the previous week, however, they had since lost their scent and were now tasked to find food themselves.

Vigil had briefly left the pack, though he didn't like it, in order to find food. With him were two other Compsognathus. The trio had to find food much larger than themselves to feed thirty-four Compsognathus. They would be lucky to find a half-eaten Dryosaur killed by an Allosaurus, and that would only feed the pack for a single day.

Vigil walked close to the ground, following the scent of a lizard, hiding himself amongst the grass with his dark green and brown scales. The other two Compsognathus were elsewhere, likely hunting lizards themselves.

Suddenly, Vigil came to a stop, noticing a movement among the grass ahead. He took a moment to sniff the air and recognized the scent as the smell of a lizard. He continued forward, following the lizard.

A few minutes later, Vigil peered out from the grass into a clearing, watching the little yellow lizard eat a dragonfly. Despite what seemed like an advantage, he waited for just the right moment. Then, the lizard turned away.

The little lizard hadn't the slightest idea of what had happened, he had heard a screeching noise behind him and suddenly he was pinned to the ground by an unfamiliar creature standing on his back. The lizard would never know, and he would never learn to avoid that creature, because the strange creature on his back bit into his neck, and tore off his head.

Vigil dropped the lizard's head and stared down at his kill. The lizard was quite small, it would only be enough to feed a few Compsognathus. Sighing, Vigil bit down on the lizard's tail and began dragging it back to the pack. He hoped that the other hunters wouldn't come back empty-jawed.

Back at the pack's campsite, Cowerer played with the same young Compsognathus she had fought for meat with. The two had become quite close to each other, and often chased each other around or played tug-of-war with meat scraps.

The young male Compsognathus, known for his speed, could be 'named' Speedy.

Cowerer and Speedy chased each other around the campsite, jumping over roots of trees and bones of long-dead titans. Catching up to Cowerer, Speedy gave her a friendly nip on the tip of her tail, and Cowerer proceeded to turn and chase after him.

However, the two juveniles were ignorant of their surroundings. The pack would starve, unless Vigil and the hunters could find something big and dead. Yet the two continued playing, ignoring the sounds of their grumbling stomachs and the moans of other Compsognathus, slowly dying of starvation.

Cowerer and Speedy continued running along, chirping in delight, though their game would be brought to a quick end, as Cowerer came to a sudden stop right in front of Vigil, who brought with him a lizard carcass. Cowerer and Speedy squealed happily and attempted to start devouring the lizard, only to be met with Vigil snapping at them and growling, so as to say “Other Compsognathus need this food more!” The two juveniles then backed away from the carcass with their heads lowered in submission.

The lizard carcass was just enough to feed three Compsognathus and one pack member had died of starvation, leaving thirty hungry Compsognathus. This did not bode well for the pack, especially since the other two hunters had yet to return. Vigil knew the pack could only last a few more days at this rate, the only way they could possibly survive the year is if they found a dead Diplodocus, and fall was already approaching.

Several hours later, Vigil continued to watch for the others, they were the only hope for the pack. The other Compsognathus, however, didn't share Vigil's hopes.

Four members of the pack stared down at the remains of the Compsognathus that had died of starvation, with flies buzzing around the carcass. However, the pack members did not have a look of sadness, they had a look of hunger. One slashed a hole in the stomach and thrust its head inside the carcass, devouring it from the inside-out. The others joined in, resorting to cannibalism for food, which was somewhat common among starving packs.

This continued for several minutes, eventually leaving nothing more than bones. Vigil refused to join in this act. The Compsognathus was his brother, whom he had spent much of his life playing with, hunting with, and traveling with. However, Vigil couldn't afford to morn the loss of his brother, or defend his corpse, he had to defend his pack, as he had done for the last few years.

Cowerer watched as Vigil stood, motionlessly on a small boulder, astonished by his unwavering vigilance. Cowerer couldn't possibly imagine herself being as responsible as him, but looked up to him regardless, hoping that she could be as great as him some day.

Vigil was well aware of Cowerer watching him, but he showed no interest. The fate of the pack was far more important. If the other two pack members failed to return, he would have to head back into the forest and hunt for the small mammals that wandered at night. But, if it must be done, he would do it, no matter the consequences.

As the hours dragged on, Vigil grew tired, his eyes became heavier and heavier, and not one sound came out of the forest. Vigil was beginning to lose all hope, and began to drift off to sleep, lowering his head. But he was awoken within moments, and looked up to see Cowerer standing at his side, watching with him. Little Cowerer was only as tall as his leg, yet she stood there, joining him in his duty.

Cowerer had just been falling to sleep herself, but had decided to join Vigil, to restore his hope for the pack, and in hopes of becoming a leader as great as Vigil.

Cowerer stared up at Vigil, and nuzzled his side. She expected no reaction, she had never seen him show any kind of emotion. She was then met with affectionately nuzzling her back, before swiftly turning back to the forest. Cowerer did the same, and prepared for a long night.

The following morning, the rest of the pack awoke to see Cowerer standing next to a sleeping Vigil at her side. This shocked the entire pack, it was completely uncharacteristic of her, yet there she stood, watching for the pack.

Meanwhile, Vigil had a much-needed rest, he hadn't slept for days, too busy providing for the pack to rest.

Cowerer felt a newfound sense of confidence, she felt like she could be a proper leader, and could one day succeed Vigil. But for now, she would settle for her humble position as watcher.

(Author's Note: If you've noticed, this chapter contained a bit more anthropomorphization than the previous chapters. I'd like a bit of feedback on this, should I keep it or should I drop it?)
 

TeamUniverse12

Team Universe Boss
Chapter 5: Bloodshed

Several weeks later, the pack has somehow clung to life. Sometime after the cannibalizing of Vigil's brother, the pack happened upon a dead Apatosaurus, only a few months old. This managed to feed the pack, though two more Compsognathus died of starvation, and only one of the two hunters had returned, leaving twenty-eight Compsognathus in the pack. The dark times were not over yet.

The pack now lived in a wet environment near a river. Cowerer took over Vigil's position as watcher, standing on a small cliff overlooking the river and the other pack members on the bank of the river. Though still cowardly, she happily watches over the pack.

Vigil, meanwhile, had been continuing his role as alpha male, defending the pack from intruding Compsognathus, and defending his position as alpha.

Vigil stood near the pack's borders, staring down another male Compsognathus. This Compsognathus, however, was entirely unfamiliar and very different. The outsider had dark blue and black scales, completely different from the usual green and brown.

This outsider was actually not a Compsognathus at all, but a Procompsognathus. Procompsognathus is a species related to Compsognathus, though all Procompsognathids were supposed to have gone extinct during the Triassic period. Somehow, very few members of the family remained, and this male was one of the last hundred or so. If he couldn't take over Vigil's pack, the entire species would collapse within a year.

Vigil didn't know any of this, obviously. He only knew the creature was a strange foreigner trying to usurp him, and he absolutely despised the creature for it.

Normally, a fight like this would end before it even started, with the alpha driving out the intruder with a series of aggressive squawks. But this time the intruder refused to back down, not intimidated by Vigil's squawks, as he was several inches taller than Vigil.

Vigil despised the Procompsognathid's arrogance, he had never seen any intruder as ****-sure as this one. So, Vigil made the first strike, lunging for the Procompsognathid's neck, snarling and screeching.

The Procompsognathus swiftly hopped backwards, just barely avoiding Vigil's strike. The Procompsognathids were far more used to these tactics, being much older than Compsognathus.

The Procompsognathus responded by giving Vigil a slash to the face, knocking him over. Blood gushed from the right side of Vigil's face as he lay on his side, squirming and screeching in pain.

This would usually be considered a win for the challenger, with Vigil now missing his right eye. Yet, Vigil persevered, forcing himself to his feet, stumbling. The Procompsognathus stepped back, snarling.

As Vigil managed to straighten himself, he stared down the intruder, growling lightly, baring his teeth, and the Procompsognathus did the same.

The two began circling each other, snarling and snapping at each other. Each waited for the other to make his move, and this continued for several minutes as they both refused to make the first attack.

Vigil grew tired of these games, and charged, baring his fangs. The Procompsognathus leapt back, easily anticipating Vigil's move. However, Vigil came to a stop halfway, barely avoiding a bite from the Procompsognathus, and responded by biting down on his closed snout.

The Procompsognathus squirmed as Vigil shook his head, barely keeping his grip on the Procompsognathus. Vigil began slashing at the Procompsognathid's chest, resulting in blood spurting out, turning the Procompsognathid's black underbelly to a bright red and spraying onto Vigil's chest and neck.

The Procompsognathid managed to break free of Vigil's grip, stepping back. Blood was now dripping from a huge open wound in his chest. If he wanted even the slightest chance of survival, he would have to flee. So, he turned and limped off, whimpering.

Vigil held his head high as the Procomsognathus walked away, then limped back toward the pack, whimpering from the pain caused by his now-missing eye.

Before he continued on, he turned to stare at something he had just noticed; his eye, on the ground several feet away. He whimpered at the sight and then continued back toward the pack.

Cowerer began walking back down the cliff where she watched over the pack, now the sun was beginning to set.

As Cowerer drank from the river, the evening sky rippled across the water, somewhat startling Cowerer. She had never seen a sky quite as beautiful, with numerous shades of yellow, orange, and purple filling the sky and carrying on throughout the river. Cowerer stared up at the sky for a moment, mesmerized, but then turned away heading back along the path to the pack's campsite.

On the path, Cowerer was startled to see Vigil, now in a state worse than she had ever seen him. The entire front half of his body was covered in blood.

Cowerer squawked at him, which could possibly mean something like “What happened to you?”

Vigil, not making a single sound, turned to look at her, revealing the right side of his face, which completely lacked an eye.

This was his way of saying “What do you think?”

He then turned away, and continued toward his burrow. Cowerer was shocked by this whole thing, she'd never seen Vigil hurt so badly in a fight for dominance. Regardless, she went off to where her mother slept sat next to her, drifting off to sleep.

As the pack slept, not one single Compsognathus was aware of the creature hiding deep in the forest.

A great carnivorous theropod stood where Vigil and the Procompsognathus had fought, smelling Vigil's blood. The creature sniffed out Vigil's eyeball, now covered in maggots, and cocked his head before eating it. Eager to find more food, the creature continued, tracking the scent of blood.

Cowerer, Vigil, and several other pack members were awoken by the sound of screeching, bones crunching, and blood gushing. Cowerer looked over to the forest edge, where a hugetheropod stood, devouring a Compsognathus.

The theropod was quite intimidating, with its dark red and black coloration and two short, brightly colored horns on its head. The theropod is known as a Ceratosaurus, standing just barely taller than an Allosaurus.

One Compsognathus, squawked loudly several times, awaking the rest of the pack, only to be snatched up in the Ceratosaurus' jaws and swiftly devoured.

The entire pack erupted with the sounds of squawking, braying, and roaring as the Compsognathus scrambled away, several getting devoured and others yet getting crushed underfoot.

Vigil led the pack away from the forest, away from the sounds of bones crunching. But the act was hopeless, the Ceratosaurus followed them, snatching up several more Compsognathus.

Vigil picked up the pace, hearing the sounds behind him. Suddenly, he hopped into a hole in the ground, followed by the few remaining pack members.

The Ceratosaurus stuck its head into the hole, repeatedly biting, just inches away from Cowerer's face, who squawked in alarm. After a minute, the theropod gave up, and withdrew its head. The pack listened as the Ceratosauruses footsteps grew quieter and quieter.

Even hours after the Ceratosaurus was gone, not a single pack member slept, each one trembling in fear against the walls of the tiny cave.

With only sixteen Compsognathus left, that would forever be known as the pack's darkest hour.
 

TeamUniverse12

Team Universe Boss
Time for a bit of an update.

First of all, I've added in a 'Warning: Blood and gore' message to the Prologue, due to the violence in the most recent chapter.

Also, I'm sad to say I'll be going on a brief hiatus for a week or two so that I can think up ideas for new chapters, as I've kind of run out of most of my ideas. In the meantime, feel free to leave a review, feedback is appreciated immensely.
 

TeamUniverse12

Team Universe Boss
(Author's Note: Well, I ended up finishing Chapter 6 a little quicker than expected. I hope the few people that read this story enjoy!)

Chapter 6: The Feathered Dragons

One month after the Ceratosaurus attack, the pack has traveled far away from the Ceratosaurus' territory, now living near what is now California during October.

Before the sun had even began to grace the morning sky, Vigil and Cowerer walked outside the pack's cave, hidden away very close to a beach. The two were cautious not to get too close to the ocean, as pliosaurs like Liopleurodon lurked beneath the waves, ready to snatch up unsuspecting dinosaurs.

Cowerer happily walked throughout the forest, completely forgetting that their entire reason for being out was for patrolling. Instead, she bounded around, squeaking joyously and occasionally glancing back at Vigil.

Since the Ceratosaurus attack, Cowerer had turned two years old, and was now almost mature, nearly as tall as Vigil and only one year younger than him. As she matured, her cowardice had begun to disappear, now happily exploring the depths of the forest alongside Vigil.

Vigil hadn't any time for Cowerer's games, despite his fondness of her. He rarely engaged in Cowerer's simple games, though she insisted he joined. He needed to pay attention to his surroundings, the pack's safety depended on his vigilance.

Every morning the two did this, going out before sunrise to patrol the area the pack occupied for predators. The area had no sign of larger predators, like Allosaurus or Ceratosaurus, but there was one dangerous carnivore that didn't need size to pose a threat to the pack.

Vigil stared up at the tree branches, watching carefully for any movement, as the trees are the home to the area's most dangerous carnivore, known as Archaeopteryx.

Archaeopteryx was the ancestor of birds, and is considered the first bird, and is the natural predator of Compsognathus.

Fortunately, the Archaeopteryx that inhabited the area weren't awake yet, still sleeping in their nests high up in the redwood trees.

As the two Compsognathus strolled through the forest, a cool wind suddenly blew, resulting in the two shivering. Compsognathus wasn't a creature used to colder weather, the pack would soon need to move south, toward warmer weather.

This chill, however, barely put a dent in Cowerer's happiness, she merely continued to hop around, snatching up dragonflies.

A few minutes later, the two headed back toward the beach, watching the sun rise over the ocean. Soon, the Archaeopteryxes would awaken, and Vigil and Cowerer would make easy prey for the original birds.

Standing on a small cliff overlooking the sea, Vigil and Cowerer watched the Liopleurodons feed, a spectacular event that occurred every morning.

One adolescent male Liopleurodon swam deep below the water, watching its unsuspecting prey; an Ophthalmosaurus.

The Ohpthalmosaurus swam just below the surface, sticking its snout above the surface, taking in air in preparation for hours of hunting for fish. The Liopleurodon, however, was ready to hunt, he just had to wait for the right moment...

The Liopleurodon swam positioned itself below the Ophthalmosaurus, and pointed its huge, triangular head straight up. The Liopleurodon was about to demonstrate its brilliant hunting strategy.

Just as the Ophthalmosaurus was about to swim back down, it found itself in between the jaws of a Liopleurodon, its jaws ripping through flesh and crushing bone. The Liopleurodon thrashed its huge head around, and the Ophthalmosaurus was ripped in half.

What remained of the Ophthalmosaurus sunk beneath the waves, its blood reddening parts of the water, and was followed by Liopleurodon.

You see, Liopleurodon, unlike most modern aquatic predators, attacked not from the sides, but from below, snatching up its prey.

Seeing this take place was quite the sight for any dinosaur, though it also showed just how dangerous prehistoric waters were, and any Compsognathus would do well to avoid the sea at all costs.

Suddenly, a loud squeaking came from the pack's cave, resulting in Vigil and Cowerer hopping down, investigating the source of the noise.

At the entrance of the cave, one little Compsognathus stood, squeaking in fear of the Liopleurodon out at sea, who had just claimed another victim in his jaws.

Vigil sighed in relief, it was nothing to worry about, fortunately. However, the pack would soon have something to worry about, with the awakening of the Archaeopteryxes in the forest.

Unfortunately, the pack was beginning to run out of food again. For the last month, they'd been scavenging off the kills of larger dinosaurs, but now they had to compete for food with the Archaeopteryx pack, standing at about the size as Compsognathus. Fortunately, they had yet to encounter any member of the pack, though a conflict was imminent.

Vigil lead several other Compsognathus out of the cave, going to find food for the pack. He looked to his side, shocked that Cowerer wasn't joining him. He turned around to see Cowerer back in the cave, sleeping, having been worn out by her early morning 'games'. Vigil turned back to the beach, sighing, and continued out into the forest, wary of the creatures in the tree tops that waited to swoop down and attack unsuspecting prey.

The three hunters went deeper and deeper into the forest, following the scents of lizards. However, on occasion they would notice a small black figure darting among the branches above them, and could hear the sounds of wings fluttering. Whenever this happened, Vigil would snarl, hoping to ward off whatever stalked them.

Several hours later, the hunters were now very deep in the forest, having split up to pursue multiple targets.

Vigil stood on a low-hanging branch, staring down at his prey. But the prey wasn't the usual yellow and black lizard, this was a tiny feathered creature.

The feathered creature was colored black, red, and yellow, and hopped around, fluttering its tiny, useless wings and chirping with its high-pitched voice. Modern day humans would call this creature 'cute', though any Jurassic period predator would call it 'food'.

Suddenly, Vigil pounced, snatching up the tiny bird creature in his mouth and shook his head wildly, killing the thing almost instantly.

Not taking a minute to eat the creature, Vigil began walking back the way he came, carrying the bird creature's lifeless body in his jaws.

Before he could leave the small clearing, several bird-like creatures dropped down from the treetops. The creatures had a similar coloration to the little creature that Vigil had just killed. The creatures were Archaeopteryxes, and Vigil had just killed one of their offspring.

Vigil looked around, the lifeless baby Archaeopteryx still in his jaws. There were four Archaeopteryxes surrounding him, each one holding up their claws, snarling at him.

Vigil set down the dead baby, and started growling himself, turning from one Archaeopteryx to the other, seeing no way to avoid conflict.

Each one was only a few inches taller than Vigil, but they still posed a huge threat. This would be like fighting four Procompsognathids, though far deadlier.

Vigil knew he wouldn't be able to defeat all four of them, and saw only one way he could possibly survive the confrontation, so he raised his head and screeched loudly, hoping that the other pack members would hear it.

Then, the largest Archaeopteryx pounced, screeching ferociously and wildly swinging its claws. The Archaeopteryx landed on top of Vigil, bringing him to the ground. Vigil lay there as the Archaeopteryx stood on his side, flapping its wings.

Vigil however, had yet to lose confidence, and slashed and snapped at the Archaeopteryx's legs, before finally biting into its leg. Vigil then jerked his head to the side, forcing the Archaeopteryx off of him.

Vigil barely managed to bring himself to his feet and aggressively squawked as the Archaeopteryx swiftly stood back up. However, Vigil's efforts were in vain, as one Archaeopteryx charged into his side, biting into his back as he fell back down.

As the Archaeopteryx began slashing and biting, Vigil let out a screech of pain that echoed throughout the entire forest. He attempted to fight back, kicking his feet because his arms were pinned down by the Archaeopteryx, though the Archaeopteryx didn't seem impacted in the slightest.

Eventually, Vigil gave up. He simply let the Archaeopteryx slash at him, not even screeching in pain anymore. As the Archaeopteryx started to lift him up by his back, he didn't care. He just wanted it to end.
 
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