BOOM BOOM BOOM was a Carnotaurus at night, looking for prey. He knew that young beasts no bigger than raptors were around.

Arnold, Louis and their dragon brothers were in the predator zone, between the Vespalian hive and the Village, along a wild, almost tropical river.

Vespalians were also hunting on the prowl in swamps, mistaking their green armor of chitin and cartilage for moss, algae, and water lilies.

"Maya will kill us! " said Vermithrax...

"I think she's going to quit..." laughed Glacias.

"Shh. He'll hear us."

The wild Carno sniffed the air and headed north, smelling meat or a carcass.

BOOM BOOM BOOM made his steps.

They were hidden in thick thickets, flat on their backs and covered with mud so that their smell would not betray them.

Louise: "Do you think it was really necessary to be muddy like pigs?"

Vermillion: "And me, what should I say with my pink color that can be seen for miles?"

Arnold: "And to think that in a few months you'll be their size..."

Louise: "Oh yes... a sumo carno fight!

Vermillion: "What's a sumo wrestler?

Arnold: "I'll show you on the video... it was a sport where the fighters were Gods!!!"

Vermillion, immediately interested. "Was it good? "

Louise: "yes but you have to be big and fat.. but you stokes your fat in the tail, right?"

Vermillion did not grasp and Arnold did not insist.. No need to spoil the hunt.

Vermithrax: "I have found a shallower part of the river with rocks. It is safer to cross. "

Glacias: "Yes, there are terrible crocs, how did you say Deinosuchus?? yes, dinos fangs. Their jaws are ten times more terrible than the carnos that run fast. "

Louis: "It's dangerous! I can see why Dad insisted that humans have mixed families with the Vespalians. They would be torn apart, even with weapons..."

Glacias: "They hunt on the prowl and weapon or not a surprise attack is always devastating. A neck in the back of the neck or a blow with the teeth, and it's over!

We used our senses and we found a carcass of freshly killed carno.

A remnant of a crocodile? A cannibal fight? A trap?

It was the law of the jungle.

Behind us, below us, was a long river surrounded by liana trees and all kinds of ferns and shrubs and it was extremely noisy. The sound changed at night and during the day. Every now and then a roar but toads, monkeys and all sorts of insects made the jungle like a kind of orchestra and the changes in melody or silence meant the presence of a predator or a group.

"UWA!!! UWAH!!! UWAH!!!!"

Vermillion: "Oh no!!! raptors... real ones... they hunt in packs!!!"

Arnold: "I feel they have spotted us and they must be sizing us up.. answer them! "

Vermillion: "UWAH!!!! UWAHHH!!!!"

The predators answered Vermillion's call.

"ROuhah Rouah!"

Vermillion: "I think they are coming as friends!"

Arnold and Louise stood in the middle of the dragonets that provided a bipedal stance like the raptors and the sound came closer.

And... all of a sudden, a massive raptor popped out of a bush, immediately flanked by its 2 tail-wagging females ready to pounce at the slightest sign of aggression.

Vermillion answered "ROUHAH ROUHAH! This one sniffed and gave a blow of tongue to "taste" the sincerity of the dragonet.

He tilted his head to see the humans better.

"ROAR??"

Arnold mimicked the sound as well as Louise but didn't flinch or show any signs of terror even when the raptor growled showing its teeth. An intimidation test to see if Arnold was prey or a friendly predator.

Then he turned his head and went "GROUAH!!!"

Vermillion: "He wants us to follow them! We're going to hunt as a pack!!!"

Louise: "That's great!!! we'll learn a lot of stuff this way! A Jurassic hunt!"

Arnold: "You think you're Bob Morane? "

Glacias: "Shh... no more talking... we growl!"

There were eight of us and, from the bushes, little raptors were following their parents and also learning the techniques and rules of hunting.

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The raptors had certainly bled the Carno to death and since we had not touched their prey, we had not violated one of the Jurassic rules: the claim of a carcass.

The carcass belonged to the one or the group that had killed it and if even a piece of it was taken, the Alpha could and should attack and put the greedy one in his place. This was ritualized with first blood fights and signs of dominance/submission and sometimes a female became the alpha's possession and had to be mated, willing or not.

That was nature.

Refusing sometimes meant being kicked or broken by the teeth until total submission. There was an absolute hierarchy, especially among the females.

Here Vermillion was "tested" if he wanted to be part of the horde and had to compete with the alpha.

Here it was only a hunt of opportunity without consequences, but if one wanted to stay in this area, one encroached on their hunting territory and a challenge of fangs and claws awaited the dragonets.

The alpha raptor, being of course an animal, was not stupid and knew that the dragonets were part of an elite species and that although the alpha was the same size, he was an adult and at his maximum size but he knew that the dragonets were only babies that had to reach a huge size. In his logic, he didn't even dare to challenge the dragon, not wanting to make an enemy of it and knowing in his instincts that having the favor of a superior being had its advantages...And...nothing like a hunt to bond...

The raptors gorged themselves on flesh and their snouts were full of the blood of their meal.

They would pull strips of flesh, easier to carry and eat later.

"GRAWWRRR"

Vermilion: "They invite us to share the carcass! It's an honor if we eat but an affront if we refuse.

Louise: "It's disgusting!..."

Vermillion: "Then put blood on your face. They'll think you're a carnivorous predator and not a living snack on two legs!

Then we heard BOOM BOOM .

The raptors made a mini scream inviting to flee.

And we started to run towards the river.

A moment later, the big carnotosaur was on the carcass and started to tear it apart.

The alpha stopped at the water's edge and sniffed the air and looked at us

Then, when we were ready to cross, he lowered his head as if to stop us from moving forward and... what we thought were rocks... moved and a massive deinosuchus leapt out of the water and charged towards the carcass being eaten. A moment later, there were bestial screams.

The deino had seized the paw of the Carno and was crushing it to drag it towards the river, but the latter bit the crocodile in the back of the neck and with its other paw lacerated the neck of the crocodile with a huge claw, which had to release the dead paw.

The carno had to run away limping and moaning.

He had his life saved but the crocodile, bleeding profusely, took the carcass and brought it to the river bank where he was going to eat it.

He rolled in the mud, filling his wounds and tearing large chunks out of the now unrecognizable carcass.

Further up the river, the apha rolled in the mud to cover its smell and we did the same. We then walked along the river and he bent down, moving quietly forward, revealing a herd of herbivores.

They were Diabloceratops.

A head all in armor with spikes on the end and a sharp beak, but the back end was like a small elephant: a mountain of meat!

"Uwah," he said softly and pointed to the grove on the other side of the clearing.

He was indicating that they were going to catch them in a pincer movement and force them to run toward the woods and river, trapped between the raptors, carno and deinos...

A fatal mistake for some of the herd.

He pointed us to break the herd in two.

He went up the clearing from the west, discreetly and without breaking any branches, and we went along the south and up the east side of the clearing, heading north and passing the herd.

When we were further north, Arnold and Louise got in the middle with Glacias and the herbivores became alert and tried to surround the dragon and the two humans but... the alpha cut off the retreat with the two females and they turned around and had to face Vermillion and Vermithrax who opened their wings to look even bigger.

Flapping their wings, the herbivores charged towards the alpha and south, into the natural trap.

They tightened their grip and concentrated on the weakest.

Vermilion made like the raptor by jumping on the back of the diabloceratops and planting his talons to lacerate the animal deeply.

The alpha avoided the horns and the dragonetn on the other side did the same and they both took a seat, talons planted and causing lethal bleeding.

The herbivore howled and struggled but the apha would not let go nor Vermillion.

The raptor stared into the dragon's eyes, and a bond of complicity was created, a bond of hunter, even friendship.

Neither of them flinched and the dragonet did not use any of his dragon powers. He didn't want to frustrate or dominate the raptor. He wanted a friend, a hunting buddy.

It was exciting. The raptor hunt.

The herbivore finally sat down, defeated and the raptor let him die in peace. The paw still on it to feel the heartbeat stop.

Then he growled, giving the sign to Vermillion to start tasting.

Then the little raptors arrived and after 2-3 bites to tear the leather, the little ones enjoyed themselves.

Arnold: "This is crazy. They're animals but I feel like we have people around us... like they're carnivorous people.."

Vermillion: 'That's right.. They are a people in their own right... carnivores hunting in packs form a kind of hunting community. This is how all civilization begins: together sharing a hard-earned meal..."

Evening was dawning and we left our raptor friends and parted ways, sharing tongue licks to "taste" each other

Vermillion "This is how reptiles recognize each other, by taste or smell. The sight being a different sense".

We came back home, covered with blood and mud and Maya screamed when she saw us coming.

Hans and Kate gagged at the sight of our ravaged clothes, but especially at Arnold and Louise's hair, which seemed to be cemented in the curdled blood.

Kate: "Oh...you're bleeding!!!"

"No, Mom...that's not our blood...they are herbivores..."

I put my hand in front of my face.. "You are becoming scavengers!"

Vermillion: "no... these are our raptor friends... and we played hunting with them...and we ate the Diablioceratops together.."

"WHAT????" you went to the Jurassic area???? but .. you are sick!!!"

Then I turned to Maya who was crying in a corner... terrified by the predatory attitude of the dragonets.

They were giving off the aura of accomplished hunters and predators and I could feel it. Tough guys!!!

"Take a bath.... that's an order!!! you stink of blood!"

Even after changing, something was different about their aura.

"So you have raptor friends..."

Vermillion "Yes... the Alpha has."

"An Alpha too... and he talked to you???? What's his name? Stop talking nonsense!"

Arnold mimicked "UWAHH UWAHH"

and I froze.

"Don't you know that the alpha raptor is the worst carnivore on this planet? It can kill a prey ten times its size? and is an expert hunter and terribly intelligent?

the little ones lowered their heads...

"Next time...I catch you there...it will be your party and I will personally take care of this dangerous animal..."

Arnold threw himself at my paw.

"Please, dad...he has 3 cubs and his females are nice to us...we even got blood on our faces and muzzles.."

I was flabbergasted...

Louise: "We shared our meal and the hunt was fun. I've never had so much fun with raptor buddies..."

"But do you get along?? just because Vermilion, Glacias and Vermithrax are your brothers and sisters doesn't mean that you have to be buddies with RAPTORS!! dinos, what!! You are reckless and irresponsible and a drama will happen sooner or later. And don't tell me you've been playing with Carnos either...???"

They lowered their heads, unable to lie.

"BUT IT'S NOT TRUE!...by ENKA!!!"

GRRRRRR.

"TOMORROW... GRRRR.... SCHOOOL! for all!"