"Sty...rik" The voice came again, making his eyes open. Crystal blue eyes met his gaze, though they were half closed. For a moment, he didn't believe what he was seeing, then her jaws parted as a cough escaped her and, along with a rush of water from her lungs. She was alive! She then began to try and stand, though her body collapsed as soon as any weight was put on her injured leg.
"Asauria, don't move." He called out, limping his way back over to her. As he reached her side, he could tell she was beginning to slip back into unconsciousness. Carefully, he scooped her into his jaws, allowing her body to rest against his tongue against his bottom jaw.
With her safely tucked into his mouth, Sty'rik headed for the trees wanting to get her back to someplace secluded and dry before something else could come along and try to make a meal of her. As he traveled through the trees, he kept his senses alert. She was still bleeding from her wound, and the scent of blood could be traversed in the wind for miles drawing in all sorts of hungry creatures looking for an easy meal. He came to the river they had landed next to after the flood and began to follow that upstream. Usually, rivers were an excellent place to find caves as they connected to cliffs and mountain sides eroding the rock.
Sure enough, the river stopped against a cliffside waterfall, and the rock behind the waterfall was knocked out, creating a dark cave perfect for shelter. He slipped through the waterfall itself, using its cool liquid to rinse over her injury before stepping into the cave's darkness. He wouldn't risk putting her at the front, setting her down further back in the shelter for the time being, where she lay still unconscious. The wound was deep; she would be lucky if she didn't end up with a leg like his once it healed...if it healed. Thankfully the rushing water of the falls would hide the scent of blood for the most part, but he would still keep watch just in case something did happen to find them.
As the great ball in the sky began to move higher, he still didn't move other than to occasionally check her over to see if she was coming to or not. When she wasn't, a deep sigh left him before he positioned himself behind her and lay down, gently nudging her up against his side with his nose to keep her warm before returning to the cave entrance. The sound of barking Velociraptor entered his ears, causing his lips to pull back over his fangs and his tail to wrap protectively around her to hide her from view. Still, the creature's barks only grew further and further away, with each minute allowing him to relax again.
He knew she would need something to eat, though whether she actually ate it or not in her current state, he didn't know. Not only that, but he too would need to eat soon, but he didn't want to leave her alone. While the waterfall was a sound barrier from any sounds of pain that could leave her jaws, it wasn't foul-proof. The scent of her blood could still be carried through the rushing water. Something could quickly still come investigating and spot her. With her leg busted up, she wouldn't stand a chance at trying to even run from the threat. A low growl of annoyance left him; he had to choose whether to risk it. Ultimately, the desire for food won over, causing him to carefully rise back to his feet and head for the cave entrance.
He paused for a moment, glancing back at her when he heard a shuffling sound followed by a groan of pain. There she was, awake and once again trying to stand to follow him, the movement and pressure on her injured leg forcing more blood to ooze from the wounds and slide down her leg. He sighed and shook his head, moving back towards her only to gently press the tip of his nose against her side.
"Not this time kid, you need to lay down and rest." He told her, lightly pushing against her stomach until she was forced to lie down again.
"Asauria..." He called out. " I'm just going for food. I'll be back soon. Just wait here; you'll be safe." He told her, before leaving without another glance. He didn't want her talking him out of it with that look of hers after all. She momentarily tilted to the side in confusion as she watched him leave.
"Sara?" She questioned, wrinkling her nose when it didn't sound right. She then thought about how he had said it. "A..sir...ree..a?" She questioned momentarily. "Asauria..." She tried again before she finally got it to sound like he had said it. "My...name?" A smile came to her lips as she realized this. He had given her a name.
She clenched her teeth tight together and began to rise to her feet, shuffling most of her weight onto her good leg to try and keep it off her injured one. At first, she almost lost her balance, forcing her to put weight onto her injured leg to steady herself. Pain instantly shot through her leg, rushing along her muscles into her bones. Tears rose in her eyes, blood gushing from the wound once much thicker than usual. It was a weird feeling, like warm water running over your skin.
Sucking in a deep breath, she took a step, pressing the toes on her injured leg briefly to the ground to transition to the good leg. Each time she had to use her injured leg, more blood would leak out. It was an issue, but she didn't want to stay here alone, especially this close to any form of water where that toothy water creature could get to her easily. Each step was agony, her fangs clenching tightly each time she had to put any weight on her bad leg, let alone anytime those muscles even so much as moved an inch. Bit by bit, she slowly made her way outside the cave, trying to follow the footsteps left behind by her large protector.
"Asauria! What the hell!" Sty'riks voice called out right as she felt herself starting to fall.
Something solid stopped her, however, scooping her up and carrying her off. Past her blurred and darkened vision, she could make out the cave and hear the rushing water from the falls before the cold chill of the cave floor pressed against her scales.
"I swear, you never bloody listen. I can't even leave to get food for five minutes without you causing..." Sty'rik paused in what he was saying, seeing how unsteady she seemed as she lay where he placed her. "Easy there kid..." He told her, his voice much softer now. Taking a few steps backward, he opened his jaws to collect water from the falls into his mouth before approaching Asauria again. He carefully dripped the water into her parted lips, which she swallowed.
Seeing as how Asauria couldn't walk at present, he quickly left the cave to go collect the young adult Allosaurus kill he had gotten, which he had dropped upon seeing Asauria beginning to collapse in the trees. After collecting it, he began to drag it back to the cave, dropping it not too far away from the back before ripping off a chunk of meat which he carried over and placed at her nose. Her nose flared at the smell of food, but she didn't make a move to try to eat it, which is what he figured. Maybe once she was feeling a bit better?
When his eyes opened next, the ball in the sky began setting. The world outside the waterfall was now cast in a mixture of colors. A giant yawn left his jaws as he stretched himself out, groaning as his old bones protesting to the movements, especially that lame leg of his. His eyes flicked down to Asauria, who remained asleep against his side, her sides slowly rising and falling with each breath. Her leg was still bleeding, but thankfully the blood flow had slowed. It seemed her body was finally starting to close up the wound. At this point, infection was the primary concern in the future. Well, that and making sure she wasn't moving too much so the muscles and skin could heal properly. That had been his problem when he had gotten his injury.
For now, they would rest. They had shelter, food, and water. Leaving the cave wasn't needed unless they needed to answer the call of nature. He gave the air a couple deep sniffs to make sure nothing was poking around the entrance, and when there wasn't, he laid his head back down and returned to the dream world.
Three moons had passed since Asauria was injured; the Allosaurus body he had caught was long gone forcing him to attempt another hunt despite his leg still hurting tremendously. Asauria, having insisted on not being left alone, now slowly limped after him, though her slow pace left her several steps behind the old rex. Her movements were further resisted by the scabs on her injury, which kept pulling at her healing skin each time her muscles flexed or moved, making it highly uncomfortable.
"Don't give me that look kid. You're the one who kept insisting on coming despite your leg not being fully healed yet, and if I'm going to get us dinner, I can't exactly kill something if I'm carrying you around in my mouth now can I?" He added, glancing back at her just in time to see her eyes close and tongue sticking out at him. He didn't say anything as he changed direction, watching as she continued to walk straight only to smack headfirst into a tree trunk with a light 'oof' sound rushing out of her lungs.
Shaking his head at her, he scented the air trying to pick up a scent of something he could possibly kill. Asauria wrinkled her now sore nose and let out a sigh until a branch snapped above her, causing something to fall to the ground. She blinked in surprise momentarily as two small golden eyes stared back at her before she and the creature let out startled yells. The little creature frantically tried to free itself from the vines that wrapped around it, only to cause the vines to slowly spin around in the air as it continued screaming.
Not sure what to make of this strange small, screaming creature, Asauria stood there quietly, even as the creature continued to scream and spin in the air as the minutes ticked by until it finally stopped hanging there once more as they locked eyes. Asauria's head tilted to the side in confusion. This was something she had never seen before.
It looked similar to a bird, its body covered in multicolored feathers, including its long feathery tail, which at the moment was tucked against its body trapped in the vines. Its two hind legs were scaled, it had a beak, and it also had these long feathers that stuck out on the top of its head. More minutes passed before the bird finally calmed enough to tilt its head in confusion at her.
Asauria wasn't sure what to make of this tiny creature. It obviously wasn't something that would hurt her, but at the same time, it was far too small to be much of a meal, at least to Sty'rik anyway. At the same time though, if she did release it, it did say that it would be her friend. She could use a friend after her last one left. She wasn't even sure if she would see him anymore.
"Come come, help down you small strange toothy beast." It returned, struggling again for a moment to try and free itself. Asauria was about to step forward and start biting the little creature free when a large thud sounded behind it. Asauria's eyes drifted upwards to the being that had just appeared, lips pulled back over fangs, making her sink as close to the ground as her injured leg would allow. The creature froze where it hung, its head flipping upside down as it looked behind it to see what had just appeared.
"Oh look...a rat," Sty'rik growled out before his jaws came snapping down at the little creature. It avoided the attack though, as it let out that distressed high-pitched call and began spinning around in the air again frantically. Asauria's eyes followed after it as it turned, only for her to stop and blink as her vision spun because of it.
"Hold still rat." Sty'rik growled, snapping his fangs at it again, only to miss it by a few inches as the vines swung it just out of reach.
"Haha, you no catch me, big beasty." It told him as the vines spun it back around. "No worry small toothy beast, I protect. I spit upon thy enemy. PaToo." Asauria blinked in surprise as she watched yellowish-green goo shoot from the bird's mouth only to smack Sty'rik in the eyes, making him snarl and back away, shaking his head.
"Haha, told you. You no catch. Feel wrath of Leaf...king of bird." The bird told him again with a laugh. Sty'rik stopped shaking his head with most of the goo off and raised an eyebrow as he opened one eye to gaze at the bird hanging there.
"King of birds? You're joking. King of rats more like it." He returned, only to get a new batch of goo thrown into his eyes, making him shake his head again. "Will you....stop that!" He snarled, making Asauria giggle.
She then couldn't hold back her laughter any longer and rolled over onto her side, her injured leg kicking out in the air slightly as much as it could as her laughter finally came out loudly. They both looked so stupid, and their interaction was too funny. It was like watching a different version of herself. Sty'rik now had someone else to annoy him, and she loved it. However, she winced when she felt one of the scabs on her wound rip free, her laughter quieting until it disappeared completely. Now her leg was just plain sore, and they still had more walking to try and find something to eat. Sty'rik tried to snap at Leaf again, his jaws snapping through the vines instead of his flesh, sending the tiny bird to the ground with a light thud.
"Darn it..." Sty'rik cursed. Leaf stood and shook the remaining vines from his feathery body before giving his feathers a shake, puffing them up momentarily turning him into a big fluffy ball of feathers before they settled flat once again.
"Haha! Fear Leaf big beasty." He returned as quick as lightning, Leaf darted between his legs and pecked at a couple of Sty'rik toes before darting out again.
Asauria could hear Sty'rik grumble to himself for a moment before he went quiet again. The sun began to shift through the sky before the sounds of herbivores finally reached them, making Asauria's head perk up at the sound. It wasn't one she was used to, like the familiar trumpeting calls of Para. These calls sounded more aggressive, more...angry. It was enough to wake Leaf up from his nap on her back, who fluffed himself up again before hopping off and down to the ground to pad beside her again.
"Leaf sucker?" Asauria asked, using Leaf's name for the herbivores, which she thought was funny.
"Yes yes, I check." Leaf called out, rushing forward between Sty'riks legs making him stop and disappearing into the bushes with one of his high-pitched calls.
"Well guess the flea is good for something at least." He mumbled more to himself than to Asauria. "They are called Herbivores by the way. Not leaf suckers." He corrected her.
"Her...be...zore?" She questioned, sounding it out.
"No...herbivore." He corrected once again with a roll of his eyes.
"Herbivore," She tried again and got a nod back from him. Then, Leaf's distressed call sounded, making them both turn their attention back to where the little bird had disappeared, only for him to rush through the bushes into sight.
"Small Point heads?" Sty'rik questioned, trying to think about what Leaf was talking about.
He then began to slowly creep forward into the bushes, a move Asauria recognized all too well at this point as Sty'rik trying to get close to his target without being seen, rather it be to watch or to try to actually make a kill. She followed suit, limping her way after him trying her best to avoid breaking or stepping on any branches that could give them away and ruin a potential hunt. They needed it; after all, they had not eaten in days. Before long, the thick forest line opened into a grassy field with only a few bushes spread around it in a wide circle.
From the shadows, they watched as a herd of herbivores occupied the area. As Leaf had mentioned, they were short but thick with muscles. On the backs of their heads rose large plates of flesh with bright colors on them; on the tip of their noses, a deadly horn poked out. Asauria definitely had never seen these creatures before. More of this creature gathered close by, watching the two brightly colored ones making all the noise; the colors on their head plates were duller than the two fighting.
The two brightly colored ones roared out at one another, circling each other momentarily before rushing with grunts and snorts. Asauria winced as she watched their heads slam together, their deadly horns locking as they began to push against one another, trying to get the upper hand and force the other to back down or surrender. It seemed like it hurt...a lot, but neither seemed to want to back down. That is until the one closest to them shifted slightly to the left, his horn breaking free of the others only to slice right through the flesh of the other shoulder.
The injured one lowered its head and continued to limp away from the other, giving out low surrendering calls before limping towards the tree line, a heavy trail of blood following it. The victor snorted before it turned and approached the ones that had been waiting, giving out grumbling calls as he got beside one, which returned the call. Perhaps these duller-colored ones were females? The victor then rose up on its hind legs, placing its front ones onto the female's back. Suddenly Asauria's vision went black making her blink in surprise and shift her head slightly only to find that Sty'riks tail was now blocking her vision.
"Sty-rik...can't see..." She told him, taking a couple steps to the right to attempt to see the new battle about to start, but his tail followed her each time, blocking her view.
"There is no way in hell you are seeing that sort of fight until you're older kid." He grumbled to her.
"But...fight. Wanna see fight." She tried to reason; she didn't know why but the color in Sty'riks cheek scales seemed to darken as he looked away.
"It's a...different kind of fight there smalls." He told her, making her sigh deeply. She smiled and looked back at Leaf, still sitting on her back.
"You see fight?" She asked hopefully. The feathers on Leaf's body fluffed once more, turning him into his ball of fluff before he opened his beak to respond, only to pause as he caught the deadly glare Sty'rik was giving him, making him look away from her.
"You both meanies." She returned with glares at both of them.
"Maybe so, but at least I know where dinner is." Sty'rik returned, turning to follow after the injured herbivore, though he wrapped his tail around Asauria, dragging her after him so she couldn't pause to see what was still happening. After a few minutes, she began following on her own.
His head lifted, scenting the air as they continued to follow the scent of blood through the air. They didn't have long to look as a few minutes passed before a mass appeared in their vision in the trees. It lay there, not moving, allowing Sty'rik to approach though he kept his distance just in case it decided to attack. Asauria watched his movements and body language, watching as his muscles tensed to ready for the rush of the attack, only to suddenly relax once he was close enough to rush in. Once he finally reached it, Asauria noticed it still had not moved, making her limp over. Still, it didn't move, and upon further inspection, she saw its mouth was open, a small trail of blood running from its mouth and nose.
"The horn must've pierced its heart or lung. It had just enough in him to get this far before bleeding out." Sty'rik informed before lowering his head and sinking his jaws into the back of the creature's neck. He then began to drag it back the way they had come, nodding for her to follow him.
By the time they returned to the cave, the sun had set over the horizon, blanketing the land in darkness. As usual, Sty'rik took the body to the back of the cave to store, digging into it while Asauria lay down in her usual spot with a light groan of pain, her injured leg stretched out at her side. It was throbbing like no one's business and hurt to each move a toe at this point. Leaf glanced around the cave nodding his head.
"See...now you're Leaf King of drowned rats." He joked, making Leaf glare over at him.
"You be jelly." He returned, making Sty'rik snort in amusement before going back to his meal, tossing Asauria a chunk that she began to dig into herself. It was nice to taste meat again.
As the body's stomach was drained of contents, Sty'rik finally yawned, his tongue curling in his mouth before he padded over to Asauria and laid down next to her. She was already asleep, her chest rising and falling slowly with Leaf curled up into a ball on top of it. His little body rose and fell with the movement of her chest. Shaking his head, Sty'rik lay his head down next to hers and began to watch the entrance to the cave until his eyes got too heavy to keep open, and his vision went black.
As the ball in the sky rose the following day, Sty'rik yawned, lifting his head and stretching his good leg behind him to work out his stiff muscles. He rose to his feet and headed to the waterfall, lapping up some cool liquid before turning to wake Asauria for the day. However, at once, he noticed something was wrong. A nasty scent was in the air, one of sickness. His nose wrinkled in disgust as his eyes landed on Asauria to find her still heavily panting, her scales coated in sweat. As he got closer, the scent of sickness got stronger. His eyes shifted to her injury, finding it discolored, swollen and leaking white goo from under the remaining scabs.
"Darn it...I thought we kept it clean while she healed." He cursed, moving closer and pressing his nose to hers, only to find her skin was burning. "We need to cool her off...an infection this bad can kill her quickly. She may be a juvenile now, but an infection like this is no joke." He told Leaf, scooping her up in his jaws only to carry her outside, where he set her down inside the river, her head resting on the bank so she could still breathe. Her teeth clenched at the pain as the waterfall's current ran over her angry injury, but otherwise, she didn't move.
Leaf frowned before rushing into the forest, leaving Sty'rik to lay there and guard Asauria as he let the water wash the white goo from her scabs. He didn't know if it would help at this point, the infection was already in her bloodstream, but it would help to reduce her fever with the water being as cold as it was. He was only worried right now about whether that white croc would return. With her in this condition and his leg hurt worse than before from trying to rescue her, he wouldn't stand a chance this time. Leaf came rushing through the bushes a moment later, a thick green leaf in his beak. The stem leaked with a white substance which smelt weird to Sty'rik.
"Ele ear plant. Good medicine. Give small beast on injury." Leaf informed, making Sty'rik blink in surprise. He had never heard of such a plant before, but he wasn't a herbivore and tended to avoid plants altogether. Still, if it could help Asauria...
"Hang in there kid..." He whispered to her.
Crystal blue eyes began to peel open, and at first, everything seemed blurry. Nothing wanted to focus, dancing around this way and that. A shiver racked through muscle, making a pained groan escape parted jaws. Her vision remained unfocused and blurred even as her mind began to clear and register things.
"Easy kid..." a deep male voice called out. It was familiar, but not at the same time. Asauria tried to move, only for her muscles to lock up and protest. "I said take it easy, you've...been down for a while." The voice came again. Wait a minute...Sty'rik?
Her vision finally began to clear as she forced her mind to focus on his voice. His large form slowly came into view beside her as she blinked. More objects began to appear...the rushing water of the falls, the gently splashing as the water hit the entrance to the cave, and Leaf. His tiny form came darting inside with a large plant in his mouth.
"Ah, awake is small beast. Good sign, good sign." He called out as he rushed over to her, placing the plant down upon her injury.
With a gentle hop, Leaf landed on top of the plant, white goo spilling out, soaking into her injury, which was fully scabbed over except for a couple places that still were bare but healing. Now that her vision was clear, she could finally assess her body. It surprised her, to say the least; the skin on her chest was hugging her ribs, and she barely had any muscle.
"Been sick awhile. Many moons you were. No way to feed." Leaf informed, noticing her looking herself over.
"Yes yes, Ele ear plant good medicine, strong stuff. Mother taught." Leaf included smiling lightly and puffing his feathers up almost proudly. A loud growl sounded then, echoing through the cave, startling Asauria and making her flinch. Her jaws clenched tightly closed as her muscles protested, a deep chuckle coming from Sty'rik's throat and a smaller one from Leafs.
"Don't worry, it's just your stomach. It's been doing that for as long as you've been out of it. Just need to get some food in you, is all." He stated, rising slowly to his feet with a groan before limping to his kill. Ripping off a piece, he carried it over to her and dropped it in front of her. However, she just stared at it, not moving to take a bite. "Eat up kid." He told her, watching as she shook her head, making him frown.
"Eat eat, need the noms. Gross stuffs make small beast better." Leaf encouraged, but once again, she shook her head. Even though she was clearly hungry, she didn't have an appetite. In fact, just looking at it made her want to be sick. Instead, she curled her head around herself and buried her nose into her stomach with a deep sigh, closing her eyes. She heard Sty'rik limp behind her before she felt him lay against her side again. Maybe she would feel better once she slept...
Her eyes watched his movements as he shifted from one side of the cave to the other, a bundle of dried leaves held in his beak as he rushed out of the cave to dump the leaves before running back into it, only to move to the back of the cave near the kill and swish his bushy tail across the floor picking up dirt and dust that he continued to sweep until it was pushed out the entrance as well. Sty'riks body jerked slightly, making her lift her head slightly to glance at him as he mumbled about noisy little rats in his sleep past his snores. Hearing this, a small smile curled in the corners of Asauria's lips.
With a light groan, she carefully rose onto shaky legs, making sure not to wake Sty'rik since she knew he would be grumpy if he was woken up. Well...grumpier than usual anyway. She began to limp towards the cave entrance, drawing Leaf's attention, who paused in his home cleaning to glance her way.
"Where go small beast? Dangerous alone," He questioned, making her groan. How could she word it so he would understand where she was going? What had Sty'rik called it before?
"Nature call?" She replied, though her words came out more as a question since she was doubting if that was what Sty'rik had called it or if Leaf even knew what that meant. His head tilted to the side for a moment in confusion before it seemed to dawn on him, his feathers puffing up in embarrassment.
Once finished, she quickly kicked some dirt over her mess, knowing Sty'rik wouldn't want the scent to draw trouble for them. She gave herself a slight shake, groaning in annoyance as her muscles protested again. With a sigh, she limped over to the river, hesitant to get closer to the water after her last run-in with what could be lurking beneath. Still, her thirst got the best of her, forcing her forward until the tip of her snout touched the cool moving liquid allowing her to lap it up.
The cool liquid quickly ran down her parched throat, creating an incredible trail down before coating her stomach in the coldness of it. Filling herself with the fluid, she glanced at her reflection, noting how skinny she had gotten. She barely looked like herself and would need to refill her fart reserves once she was healthy enough to have an actual appetite again. For now, she would make do with what she still had on her. Another sigh left her, her gaze shifting to the cave entrance, knowing she should probably return. However, she ignored that instinct and instead headed into the trees.
She would have to be careful in her condition; she wouldn't be able to run from any threats; then again, with her being skin and bones, she wouldn't be much of a meal for anything that did try to eat her. Still, she wanted to get out and stretch a bit. It would probably do her muscles some good anyway after being stuck in the same position for days. The dark forest followed her as she pushed through bushes and stepped over fallen logs. Birds chirped above her head, letting her know there wasn't anything to worry about right now. She was sure the forest would be quiet right now instead of teaming with life if there had been.
It had only been a few minutes before her body began to shiver, forcing her back up to her feet again. It was a good thing; she was already having issues keeping warm as is with her adding cold water on top of it. Lightly shaking the remaining droplets from her scales, she continued her adventure, heading deeper into the trees again. She wasn't sure where she was going, probably wasn't going anywhere, in particular, to begin with, but she would see where her feet would take her.