When they had walked for a while, William took the topic a bit further, “So… How exactly do you bond with a dinosaur?.. Do you have to say some special words or jump around in circles, for it to happen?”. Silence was the only thing that met his question.
They traversed the landscape without exchanging any words, until Joss seemed to have spotted today’s prey. William followed his direction and had his eyes land on a wooly deer. Its horns were a bit reddish at the bottom and it had black spots sprinkled on its back.
Joss cocked his head in its direction. It was a signal to his sister, that their victim had been chosen. Before they went into full hunting-mode, William grabbed his brother at the shoulder to make him look back at him. When their eyes met after some struggling, William said, “I trust that you’re fine with me tagging along?..”. Then he rested his hand upon his sword’s pommel and said, “Cause I still want to let it have a taste of something that’s tangible… Preferrable today”.
Joss shrugged off William’s hand and grumbled, “You do know that your sword won’t be needed for this deer, right?..”. William folded his eyebrows, unsure of what Joss was getting at. Then Joss added in a low whisper, “... You’ll understand when the arrow has been fired, that the real hunt hasn’t started yet… So keep your guard up”.
Joss made William sink further down into a squat. Then he signaled for Vash to climb the trees surrounding them. She would be their support for when things went down…
Joss began loosening the bow on his back, out of its confinements. It was readied with a trained eye to follow the throat of the deer.
Both siblings held their breath, as the bow’s string was stretched into a killing arc. *PISH*. The arrow seemed to teleport, as it within a second found itself safely secured inside the animal’s gullet. William widened his eyes in awe of his brother’s skill with the bow. He was about to move towards the felled deer but Joss held him back. “Don’t!.. It isn’t safe yet”, he warned.
They sat back for awhile. Then from the thickets further ahead to their left, something seemed to stir… Although there were signs of life, Joss didn’t want to bother with it. He knew that additional creatures could be lurking nearby. Instead he gave Vash his full attention. Because the dinosaur that was on guard within the tree-crowns, seemed to have a good understanding of their surroundings.
After a while, Joss smiled with ease and said, “Okay, I think I understand the situation… Take out your sword… There’ll be something in those bushes to kill… Otherwise, we’re pretty safe… Nothing else seems to have been lured here by the smell of fresh blood”. William nodded and with caution unsheathed his sword. Even though, he had wrapped a thin scrap of lining around the hilt to hide it’s splendor, he couldn’t do the same to the blade. As soon as it met the soft lights coming from the sun, it revealed its true nature.
Joss almost forgot what they were doing, as his eyes took in the sword’s shiny nature. At first he was confused and didn’t think much of it. But after taking a few steps, he remembered who had taken over his promise to William and given him the sword… In an instant his expression went from curious to disbelief. He lamented, “Come on!? How am I supposed to compete with that!?... Ugh! Harvick that show-off!”.
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William slapped Joss on the back and reminded him, “Focus, Joss! Focus!”. His brother sulked as he once again turned his trained eyes towards the bushes. He balanced his sword in both hands, readying every fiber of his being for further slaughter. Joss whispered, “Be ready!”.
From within the twigs and curly foliage stumbled a shivering fawn. The moment it appeared, William felt his heart strain for a bit. It was then that he realised; they had just killed its mother and now they had to kill it too…
He looked to Joss to see what he thought of the situation. Joss seemed a bit surprised as well, but soon a foreboding shadow blended into his eyes.
They stood for a while, watching the little fawn contemplate whether it should find shelter with its mother or run away and try to survive on its own. Silence was all that filled the forest. One of the fawn’s ears twitched. Then before they both could react, the creature leapt in between them and towards its mother’s carcass.
Vash stared hungrily at the little fellow but quickly grew anxious, as it heard more sounds come from the thicket. So it decided to give out a howl for its ‘parent’ to stay alert. Joss and William barely got to hear its alerting call, before something scaly came bolting through the leaves. Its mouth was already wide open, ready to snatch some dinner.
Joss cried out in alarm as he pushed William back. This sudden move made William falter and quickly splash backwards into the mud. He was surprised at how thick and moist it was, the closer he was to the doe and fawn.
William had his eyes fixed upwards as he laid on his back. He saw Vash maneuver down to help them. It looked scared beyond reason, even though their situation was still under ‘control’. William turned his gaze on to the unexpected enemy. He was disturbed to find that it looked a lot like a flattened ‘small’ crocodile. It was covered in mud mixed with dead leaves and had a much longer snout, than the ones he had seen before.
Joss was battling the uninvited mud dweller. To William’s surprise, this strange dinosaur didn’t put up much of a fight and thus soon met its doom. Quickly and cleanly it got impaled through its skull. Yet, his brother didn’t seem relieved at all.
Joss scanned their surroundings. Then he said with dread in his voice, “Mudsnappers!.. Of course… Quick! Get up Mirabelle... You’ll find that these creatures never come alone!”. William didn’t get what was so dangerous about these mudsnappers. After all, he had just seen his brother fell one with ease. So he asked, “What about our prey!?.. Won’t it be a waste to let it rot here?”.
Joss shook his head, then he helped William up from the mud that had a remarkable suction to it. “It won’t be worth the trouble!”, he said.
William barely managed to get up on both legs, before the presumed mud became alive. Apparently these f*ckers, liked to stay dormant for the most part.
“Look out!”, Joss hollered. William’s heart went up to block his throat, when he discovered that these nasty creatures could snap like a snake if they wanted to. As it tried to snatch his flesh, he managed to stumble on to a flat rock situated behind him.
Both siblings were baffled at William’s luck… For he had just been a hair's breadth away, from getting his leg caught in those muscular jaws of death!