A sudden change of species

bushwacked · **Reply #260 on:** February 12, 2015, 06:14:29 PM

Guido swallowed hard as the murderous threats passed through the crowd, the onlookers shouting in agreement and yelling their approval. Apparently they hadn't heard his questions, the small holes in what happened that didn't quite add up. And even even Littlefoot's grandparents were calling for Chomper's head, then it really was too late.

Sighing, Guido settled back down on his rock and put his head in his hands as he tried to tune out the roar of the crowd. Maybe he was wrong - maybe it really was as Topsy and Littlefoot's Grandmother said, and Chomper actually was to blame. Maybe his friends actually were dead. If that was the case, then going after him and the other sharpteeth was absolutely the right idea. So why couldn't he shake this feeling?

He sighed. Isn't there anything I can do?

vonboy · **Reply #261 on:** February 14, 2015, 07:57:27 PM

Topps face brightened up as he received very little opposition. In fact, most of the crowd was now calling for Chomper's head, including Grandma Longneck. The crowd was getting worked up.

So worked up, in fact, that they didn't seem to notice when he tried to talk again. He finally had to slam his tail on the ground to get the assembly's attention. "It has been decided. We will go out and punish the one who betrayed our young ones! We will send out a warning to all the cold-blooded killers out there. NO ONE MESSES WITH OUR VALLEY! "

An uproarious cheer rang form the assembly. After the cheering had died down, the old threehorn got down to business. "Petrie's mother is on to something. We need some volunteer flyers to seek out these monsters. Will anyone volunteer for this valiant endeavor? We have to send out flyers as soon as possible!"

bushwacked · **Reply #262 on:** February 22, 2015, 06:45:22 PM

What can I do? The question kept repeating itself over and over in Guido's head as he struggled to come up with an idea, a plan, anything that he could use to try to get to the truth...

Then it dawned on him - the answer was right in front of him. Guido picked himself up quickly and raised his voice to be heard over the others. "I'll be part of the search team! Let me help!" Hopping off the rock, he landed in the grass and walked up to Topsy, the threehorn towering above him. "You'll need as much help as you can to find them."

Zimba · **Reply #263 on:** February 26, 2015, 03:00:09 AM

Granpda listened to the cries around him sighing in defeat. "Alright, you're all right. We should indeed send out flyers to scout the area..and see if theirs any signs of...the childrens...bodies."

"Meanwhile, we must make sure all our entrances are guarded, even at night....especially at night. Keep all children in sight, please make sure any sights of a sharptooth is instantly reported even if you don't feel it'll come in here."

Grandpa's attention turned to Guido when he heard him speak, lowering his massive head to his level he spoke "Are you sure? We have no idea what else could be waiting out there, but if you insist , anything you can find out about what has happened would help, wherever it be good or bad."

Ducky123 · **Reply #264 on:** March 08, 2015, 06:52:12 AM

Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, Spike, Chomper and Ruby had run away from the Great Valley for the whole next day, not allowing them any breaks of some sort. It was only in the middle of the night that they collapsed and fell asleep where they were.

*

Ruby opened her eyes. The Bright Circle had barely risen above the distant horizon, its strong, light rays blinding Ruby for a moment. Her eyes had to adjust to this sudden flash of light but, as the former fast-runner soon realised, the process of adjusting was multiple times as fast as in her fast-runner days.
Ruby still couldn't believe that everything that had happened the previous night wasn't a dream but cruel reality. She took a look at her sharp claws (what horrible injuries these could cause...), carefully touching her sharp teeth in her mouth (they could rip apart Ducky or Petrie back when they were leafeaters...). "I am still a sharptooth, a sharptooth I still am..." Ruby noted with a deep sigh.
Then another part of her body got the pink fastbiter's full attention successfully... "Ugh, I'm hungry, hungry I am..." The fact that she was hungry greatly scared the young fastbiter. She knew too well what her new kind was usually feasting upon... She could already feel how her mild hunger unsettled her. What if her hunger got worse like during bad times at Hanging Rock? Ruby didn't want to know.
With a deep sigh, Ruby shook these thoughts away and decided to wake up her friends.
"Guys, we must not rest for any longer so stop resting and get up!"

rhombus · **Reply #265 on:** March 11, 2015, 02:00:45 AM

"Guys, we must not rest for any longer so stop resting and get up!"

Cera groaned. What is it, Ruby? It's too early... She was about to roll back over onto her side when she felt the sudden urge to preen her crest feathers. hmm... Sometimes these things are more trouble than they are worth...

Her eyes went wide. Her feathers... Her claws... The change... It all came back to her in one horrifying realization. She was a sharptooth on the run.

She looked around at the others who were beginning to stir at the sudden racket. Despite her horror at her predicament and the anguish of her friends, she knew that they would soon have to get moving. If the valley honestly thought that they had killed their children...

"Everyone, wake up!"

-----

Spike woke up with a start at Cera's assertive command. With a swiftness that would have been unimaginable in his leaf-eater days, he sprung to his feet and looked around in confusion. Were they under attack?

Looking around him he could see fastbiters everywhere. He was surrounded! Edging backwards, he struggled to get away from the waking fiends when he suddenly tripped over yellow and feathered. He nearly panicked when the yellow fastbiter looked down at him with her predatory eyes.

"Watch where you are walking with those things, Spike! Your claws sting, you know?"

That was when Spike finally realized what had happened and remembered who all of these predators were. These were his friends and they were on the run from a very angry Great Valley. Seven predators with no idea how to find Chomper's parents, no idea how to hunt, and no experience surviving as sharpteeth.

How can things get any worse?!

That was when Spike heard his stomach growl...

bushwacked · **Reply #266 on:** March 11, 2015, 03:29:05 PM

Petrie lay on his side, staring into the deep green of the bushes that faced him, seeming to stand guard over him. Dark shadows hooded his eyes, his expression frozen into an unnervingly blank, empty expression. The previous night, as Petrie had listened to his friends gradually drifting off into their restless, fitful slumbers, he'd lain awake, unable to sleep.

He couldn't close his eyes - that just brought forth images of his claws cutting, slicing, lacerating flesh. His sister's wide, terrified eyes. How his siblings had stared at him.

He couldn't try to listen to the sounds of the night as he had done when he was... normal. Each gust of wind howling through the trees was his mother, screaming in mindless grief, and Cera's father roaring for their blood. Each rustle of the undergrowth was his ragged breath tearing through his lungs as he flew desperately for his life.

And so he'd lain awake for hours, his trembling body gradually growing more still, more lifeless as his memories threatened to overwhelm him... until the first rays of sunlight started to pool around the group, spilling over Petrie's lean body and revealing his bruises and cuts, the injuries that had started to heal thanks to the help of his friends.

At the sound of Cera's voice, Petrie twitched, then slowly rolled over, his exhausted eyes passing over the group as the rest of them stirred. "How much... further?" he rasped as he struggled to his feet. It was very well trying to keep ahead of any potential pursuers from the Valley, but there was only so long they could keep going before the adults caught up to them.

vonboy · **Reply #267 on:** April 07, 2015, 08:25:36 PM

"Everyone, wake up!"

"Hey, what's the big idea, Cera!" A grumpy little purple T-rex yelled out, working himself to his two big feet. As he looked around, he remembered the previous night. The plight they were all now in. He also noticed the faces staring at him, perplexed. In his grumpy little remark, he had yelled out to his friend in leafeater, just like he always had. They don't speak that way anymore, dummy! he thought to himself. "Sorry, forgot you guys speak... sharptooth now...". His stomach growled, bringing his mind to much more important matters.

His mind drifted to his diet in the Great Valley. All manner of small bugs and insects. Sadly, there was none in the immediate area, and even if there was, it wouldn't be enough. Back in the valley, he could find enough grub to keep himself alive, but that was mostly because the valley was so lush, and over-ridden with insects, and also because sometimes ruby and his other friends would help him look for them.

Things were far different now. Some bugs wouldn't be able to keep a whole pack fed!

"How much... further?' he barely heard Petrie utter, as he was struggling to wake up again. "It's gonna be... a few more days... at least." He had to force out, now realizing himself how much worse this journey was going to get. How can we last a few more days? We're gonna have to eat before then, but that means... NO! No, we... can't resort to that!

He had never told his friends one way or the other, but he had never killed a dinosaur before. He'd come close to it before, many times during hunts by himself and with his parents, but he could never bring himself to making the kill. Half of his mind was kicking himself for never doing it, making this situation a little bit easier if he had, but the other half was quickly dreading the next few days. He knew what was probably going to happen soon, but he was trying to keep himself from believing it.

"We better get going, guys. We gotta get to hanging rock, and the valley could be after us, too!"

EDIT-just fixed some typos.

Zimba · **Reply #268 on:** April 12, 2015, 05:37:39 AM

Ducky jerked awake the memories of last night haunted her sleep. She hoped for a moment that it was all just a bad dream. But when she saw her friends reality hit her again.

"It wasn't a sleep story.." she spoke quietly. She pulled herself to her feet dreading what was ahead. She glanced down at her stomach as it grumbled. She glupped and hoped her friends would not hear. They all knew what sharp teeth ate.

Nahla · **Reply #269 on:** April 26, 2015, 06:02:30 PM

Littlefoot woke up up in state of confusion for a brief moment he thought everything was normal until the reality hit him. He pulled himself up and looked around at the vast landscape. “Well it’s either go on and try to survive or give up and die here.”

Littlefoot normally full of confidence was at complete loss, like a hatchlīng without it’s mother. “The earlier we get going the faster we get there...get help…”

The former longneck felt the first signs of hunger growing in his stomach. He glanced around hoping their answer would somehow appear “We need to at least find water, we can last a while without food...but we can’t survive without water.”

vonboy · **Reply #270 on:** April 26, 2015, 06:03:11 PM

“So, do we go now, Littlefoot?” Chomper piped up. He said it with some urgency in his voice, as he knew the rest weren’t going to keep their sanity for much longer without food in their bellies. As he looked around, he saw many worried faces. Eyes full of fear and dread. He was feeling that same fear, but much worse, knowing what was soon coming.

rhombus · **Reply #271 on:** April 26, 2015, 06:04:49 PM

Cera looked upon the sharpteeth around her with a mix of sympathy and trepidation. These are my friends. She had to remind herself. ...and this is me..

They were all awake and they were all hungry. She knew very well that this did not bode well for the future. Hunger was bad enough as a leaf-eater, but how was she supposed to fight off a new hunger that she had never experienced before? The grumble from Spike’s stomach only further illustrated her concerns.

“Yeah, Littlefoot.” She began. “But if we are hungry...”

She shook her head as she looked towards the former oviraptor, her friend Ruby. Should we even head towards Ruby’s family when we are hungry? We are sharpteeth now… She swallowed as she realized that they had to deal with one crisis at a time.

“You’re right. We need to focus on water.”

bushwacked · **Reply #272 on:** April 26, 2015, 06:12:40 PM

Swallowing, his throat dry as sandpaper, Petrie put a hand on Spike to support himself as he looked around at the group. He nodded. “Need to move… quickly.” In their condition, waiting around in the same place for any length of time would be a bad idea. He glanced around them with anxious eyes, almost expecting to see a gang of furious pursuers come charging at them at any second. “Which way?”

Zimba · **Reply #273 on:** May 06, 2015, 08:03:44 PM

Ducky’s eyes went from each speaker to the other, she was not sure how Ruby’s family could help them when they wouldn’t be able to speak to them. Would they even believe Chomper?

Keeping her doubts to herself she spoke quietly “Yes...water..we’ll never make it to Hanging Rock without it, we’ll die of thirst before anything else.”

The landscape around them seemed to be mocking them, for what seemed like miles ahead the ground was dry and cracked, only the odd rock every now and then stood out in this living hell, it was like a punishment, the world turned against them testing everything they know about survival.

She squinted gazing into the distance trying to spot something...anything...she didn’t dare ask the question as she feared the answer-were they going to die?

Ducky123 · **Reply #274 on:** May 07, 2015, 04:23:05 PM

Ruby didn’t really need to add anything to the points that her friends had made. They needed to get to Hanging Rock quick so any further discussions were not only unnecessary but also a waste of time.

“So we all agree, agree we all do,” Ruby spoke up with a firm voice, ignoring the slight stinging in her stomach. “Hanging Rock is that way so let’s go that way,” she said, pointing towards the direction of Hanging Rock - their last hope.

Only then something Littlefoot said just moments before entered her mind.

“We need to at least find water, we can last a while without food...but we can’t survive without water.”

“Right… going the direct way won’t lead us to any water,” Ruby realised. The former fastrunner considered how to fix that problem. It wouldn’t have been so tricky if she knew a source of water nearby but she didn’t.The area around Hanging Rock was very dry and water was scarce. Hanging Rock itself was close to a source of water but the area between the Great Valley and Hanging Rock was pure wasteland.

“What should we do???” Ruby questioned herself. Then she had an idea. Turning towards Chomper, she spoke up.

“Hey Chomper, could you, well, sniff for any water we might find on our way? Littlefoot is right, we should find something to drink rather sooner than later.”

vonboy · **Reply #275 on:** May 07, 2015, 04:32:01 PM

“I’d love to,” Chomper began “but I got this big knot in my side. Oh, if only a fast biter could do the sniffing for me!”

He didn’t really mean to be so snappy, but he really wanted everyone to get going. Water was a concern, yes, but food was a bigger concern in his eyes.

“We really need to get to hanging rock, guys! I know water is important, but… Sharpteeth… lose their sanity without food. They suffer from something called hunger madness. If we aren’t careful, we’re gonna be at each other’s throats soon!

Ducky123 · **Reply #276 on:** May 07, 2015, 04:40:05 PM

Ruby was confused. What exactly did Chomper mean? Ruby knew only one dinosaur who was capable of tracking things with his sniffer effectively and that was Chomper. Surely she couldn’t do that.

“Yeah, if only I could… wait a minute!” Ruby exclaimed as she suddenly caught Chomper’s draft, realisation hitting her hard. “Darn it! I keep forgetting that I am no longer the Ruby that I used to be. Surely I could sniff for water I think but still... I guess that your sniffer is more experienced than mine, more experienced it is,” the rose coloured fastbiter spoke.

She then rose her sniffer towards the sky in order to inhale the hot and dry air through her nose, analysing the multitude of smells that were lingering in it. The most prominent of those were the distinctive smells of her friends and the various mixtures of different odors that indicated the mood of each of her friends as well as their feelings. She could smell on Chomper that he was in a hurry and most of her other friends had that particular smell on them too. As a matter of fact, she could even smell a slight hue of it in her very own body odor.

Chomper was right, there was little reason in being slow and trotting along in a relaxed manner. They had every reason to hurry for the faster they would arrive at Hanging Rock the greater their chances of survival would be.

Ruby’s thoughts then shifted to something else Chomper had just said. “Hunger Madness? That doesn’t sound good at all, not good at all it sounds…”

rhombus · **Reply #277 on:** May 07, 2015, 06:58:28 PM

They suffer from something called hunger madness. If we aren’t careful, we’re gonna be at each other’s throats soon!

Spike paused upon hearing his friend’s words. Hunger madness… What exactly could his friend be referring to? He had been hungry before in his life… well… most of his life actually, but now the food that he yearned for was something else entirely. Ignoring the others and munching on plants was one thing, but to give into that urge now would mean…

“What exactly is the hunger madness and is there any way for us to stop it?” Upon seeing Chomper turn in his direction, he amended his statement. “I mean… without doing that.”

vonboy · **Reply #278 on:** May 07, 2015, 07:58:55 PM

“What exactly is the hunger madness and is there anyway for us to stop it? “I mean… without doing that.”

“The only way to really stop hunger madness would be to… eat, yes. After you’ve dealt with it for a long time, you can get more used to it, but there’s no way to stop it completely. It makes you delusional. Makes you stop caring about anything around you. Only focusing on yourself, on staying alive.”

He could smell the tension rise in the group as he spoke on. He didn’t even have to see the faces of his friends to tell what they were feeling.The tale-tell signs of worry and anxiety filled his nostrils,

“It’s like that time you told me when the Great Valley was attacked by those swarming leaf gobblers. You all had to leave, and look for food elsewhere. After a few days, everyone became agitated, bickering and snapping at each other, getting into arguments that went nowhere. Even fighting a little. It’s like that… but so much worse! And none of you have ever had to go through it, like I have. I don’t know how you’re gonna deal with it.”

He felt awful, telling the pack this, but it had to get out. They had to know about it, as he didn’t see any way they would be avoiding it, even though he was going to try to avoid it, as much as he could. He couldn’t resort to killing, not now!

“Can we get going already!? We gotta get to Ruby’s parents!”

----------------

Back in the Great Valley, the residents were waking up themselves. The Valley was surprisingly quiet after a rather loud and eventful night. Most residents were keeping to themselves this morning, in small groups, comforting and supporting each other.

Mr. Threehorn came to his feet just in time to see the volunteer flyers from last night’s meeting taking to the skies, in search of that traitor, and his pack. Seeing this filled him with great pride. Not for the flyers, necessarily (It would be weird if Topsy felt pride for another species, no?), but he felt pride in the valley as a whole. A community of dinosaurs that wasn’t going to let any predator get the better of them. He raised his head up to the skies to bellow out at the scouting flyers.

“Good luck in your search, and stay safe!” he yelled out to them.

bushwacked · **Reply #279 on:** May 08, 2015, 08:03:55 AM

The wind felt good against Guido’s skin, brushing its fingers through his feathers as he glided through the air to catch up to the rest of the search group. As it always did when he was in the air, the brisk, cold feeling calmed him.

He heard Threehorn’s booming voice and glanced down, giving a thumbs up though there was no way that he’d be able to see it. I have the feeling we’ll need all the luck we can get… He looked up, looking past the Great Valley and out into the vast wilderness stretching out into the distance. The unknown. In an instant, the good feeling he’d had was gone, replaced by a sickly, corrupting sense of unease that wormed its way through his stomach. Closing his eyes for a second, he tried his best to force it away, then moved up to join the flyer at the head of the group. “So, do we… do we have a idea where to start? That’s a lot of ground to cover out there…” Guido scanned the mysterious beyond ahead of them. “Did anyone see which way they headed?”

Tero looked to his side, his grey eyes focussing on the small shape keeping pace, and he grunted. “So you’re actually coming then.” It was more of a resigned statement as opposed to a question, and the low, irritated tone of Tero’s already gravelly voice told Guido exactly how the bulky pteranodon felt on the matter.

He stared back at Tero, meeting his stare and ignoring the fact that Tero could easily swat him out of the air like a bug if he’d wanted. “Right. I’m actually coming. So which way?” Guido repeated, keeping his voice even.

The pteranodon frowned at him a moment longer, then with a sigh turned his attention back to the front. “They left the Great Valley from the caves on the north-east. The caves run straight through, so we know where they came out.” He grunted again. “It’s knowing where they went after that that’ll be the problem. They’ve got a lot of cover to hide with.”

“So we track them,” one of the flyers behind said.

“Right,” Tero nodded. “It might be harder to see them, but those were younger sharpteeth. Clumsy. And it looked like some of them were hurt. There’ll be a trail for us… we’ll find them.” The corner of his beak tightened. “We’ll find them.”

The uneasy sensation in Guido’s stomach returned with a vengeance.

------------------------

Petrie could feel his already crushed spirits sinking even lower as Chomper described what the hunger madness could do… what it could turn him into. Was that why sharpteeth - why other sharpteeth - were so terrifying? Had them been driven insane by their hunger?

Am I going to become that?

It didn’t seem possible. Petrie didn’t think he’d ever feel hungry again after the trauma - the blood - of last night. In fact, the very idea of eating made him feel sick. And fighting with his friends? That was unthinkable - they’d been through so much, too much to let something like this drive them apart.

No. No, they would find a cure. They’d find something to help them turn back, and then… and then everything could go back to normal. Ruby’s parents would help them before any of this became a problem. Petrie had to believe that. He had to.

“No… waste more time,” he rasped. Even the feeling of thirst that tugged at the back of his throat seemed less important than it had moments ago. “Ruby, take us to… parents!”