By the plains of the ancient forest, Aptonoth by the dozens graze without a care in the world. Their holy grail of 'eat, sleep, sunbathe, repeat' encompasses all of their life. An aptonoth cub, still hungry, wanders from its mother, nibbling on the taller grasses closer to the tree. Alas, the cub's misjudgment and the mother's lack of teachings will cost it dearly, for unbeknownst to any of the herd, two sickly, yellow glowing eyes had locked onto the lone cub, a hungering excitement shining deep within.
A shadow loomed over the young aptonoth, and before it could react, it was engulfed, legs desperately kicking, and its vision enshrouded in darkness. The others showed not a hint of remorse, their cowardice on full display as they fled. The Great jagaras couldn't care less as it scarfed down its latest snack. The serrated fangs were on full display as it roared in triumph, the newly grown shaggy crest along its neck showing that it was nothing more than a juvenile.
The Great Jag soon went on the move, heading out to find its pack member. It would be a great shame if it could not find it. He had fought all of the other juvenile males and won, earning the pack leader's acknowledgement in a small group. And after all that blood spilled, not even by the second day, one of them has already gone missing! The Great Jag paused, his nostrils flaring. He found the scent. Crouching low, the Juvenile slinked along the ground to the source. And immediately hid in the nearest bush. He couldn't believe his luck! An anjanath nest, right in the CENTER of the lower level!
The Great Jag made itself as small as possible, as the adult lifted its head, its hypersensitive nose smelling something that shouldn't be near. Her attention was soon taken back as the sound of an egg cracking reached both the brute wyvern and the fanged one in the bushes. The Great Jag watched on as the clumsy newborn chirped and moved. And then he saw something that made his blood boil. The Anjanath had pulled a corpse from beside it. Normally, a corpse would be nothing more than food to it, but this corpse was his packmate! The body was dropped, and the newborn Anjanath was chewing it! The dignity of it all! Eaten by a baby of all things!
The Jag knew what needed to be done. The child must be slain. But not now. That would be a fool's errand. So he will wait. And when they are at their lowest...The Great Jag drooled at the thought. 6 days had passed, with constant sneaking, observing, and hiding. They are aware, he is sure of that. But by the time they find him, it will be too late. The others back in the cave were informed. They had high hopes for him. Should he win, the title of leader is all but his. Yet should he fail, there will be no home to return to. And a Great Jagaras without a pack is just food for those higher in the food chain.
Night fell, and along with it, opportunity came. The mother was asleep, slightly further from the child. It could not see, and the foolish baby was still, making no move to get closer. The Great Jag crawled within the underbrush, inching closer and closer. Acidic drool spilled from its lips as it was but moments from pouncing. Then everything went wrong.
Evans had been experimenting lately. He could now move without his feet giving way beneath him, and his mother's presence also helped him get a clearer image of his adulthood. 'So when I'm older, I'll have a fur pelt on my back? Man, dinosaurs sure were weird. When night fell, instead of the usual finding mom and curling up to her, Evans was lying in a unique area. He couldn't put his claw on what made it unique, but he felt tingly whenever he was near. At first, he thought it was just being cold, but seeing as the tingling was always in that area, Evans couldn't help but investigate. As he lay in the area, he felt...great.Energized even.
He could feel a cooling sensation on his eyes the longer he stayed. 'Wow, this is great! I feel so strong. I bet-hey, what's that smell?' Leaving his awe for later, Evans focused on his nose as he could smell a familiar musky smell. To his surprise and growing dread, it was also getting closer. Evans' eyes snapped open, and he could actually see. It would have been so much better, though, if his eyes hadn't first landed on a VERY hungry-looking lizard. More on instinct, Evans let out a panicked and startled yelp. The Great Jagaras leaped, its gaping maw closing in.
Yet at the last moment, the Great Jag was sent flying in the opposite direction. The momjanath was not happy. Just moments ago, it had been sleeping wonderfully. The next, she heard her baby's panicked cry through her sleep. Bloodshot eyes had landed on a foolish Jagaras about to eat her child! Moving fast, the momjanath rammed her head into the Great jagaras. It rolled before coming to a stop by a large rock mound. The heat flaps flared open as the momjanath roared and charged, the prominent fangs in her lower jaw aiming to skewer the overeaching glutton. The Great Jag rolled as the angry parent turned the stones he was just lying at into rubble.
The Great Jag took his chance, taking three rapid bites at the leg of the anjanath. To his dismay, only shallow bite marks were made, no blood, no stumbles, nothing. The momjanath rose her foot over the Great Jag. 'You want my foot so badly? Then take it!' With all the might she could muster, the foot crashed into the torso. A cry of agony was heard, but the momjanath was not done yet. With a quick snap of her jaws, the Great Jag found himself between the fangs of an anjanth. The momjanth shook the Great Jag as a dog would with its favorite toy.
Believing it to be enough, she raised the Jag high to the sky, making sure that not only would the Jag be hurting, but also to send a message to any with similar intentions. The Great Jag's body impacts the ground, debris being upheaved by the slam. Yet just as the momjanath was about to finish off the would-be infant slaughtered, the Great Jag swiped its forelimb upward, sending dust into the angry brute wyvern's eyes. As the momjanth recoiled, vigorously shaking its head to regain her vision, the Great Jag, with all of his might, fled into the underbrush, toughing through the pain in its body to survive another day