LBT roleplay in the style of the original movie!

[rhombus]

"We should keep moving, I'm sure it will be able to find my smell."

Buko took a deep breath as the scent of fear radiated off of both of them.  But combined in with the scent of fear was another fragrance, one much more subtle and no less important to the overall puzzle: the scent of confusion.  This confirmed that Wyoh was not certain what she had seen.

Nonetheless, fastrunners could not afford to let their guard down.  And if they were predators and they caught her scent...

Buko gestured for her to follow him as he began to trot towards a nearby bush that could provide them temporary cover.  "Did you catch its scent or see any part of it?  We need to know what we are dealing with.  If it is a two-footer then we run... but if it is a fastbiter..."

[The Lone Dragon]

Rinen's words had no less effect on Aquarius then the words he had just spoken and it make him stop where he was, unsure of what path to take. It was more then likely that if he somehow managed to find his way back home to his family he'd only find destruction and death and then what? He didn't want to believe that his family was gone, he wanted to believe that maybe someone had survived but he knew his hope was a false deep down because even if there were survivors they would be displaced to hence going back would do nothing to help. He took a deep shuddering breath as tears formed on the edges of his eyes at the thought of accepting such a terrible scenario. However he lost that train of thought when the unexpected yell caught his and Rinen's attention and though he wasn't sure but he thought he saw something run into a nearby bush on the hill near the base of the rockslide.

If it was other leaf eaters in trouble then he might as well help them out after all what had he now? Nothing but himself and the Threehorn standing next to him that he still didn't even know the name of which made him feel a little guilty but in response to Rinen's question about going down to see who was down there; he simply nodded and jumped down onto a large stone which was unfortunately much looser then it looked. Aquarius fell onto his back with a surprised yelp as the rock fell forward and he started to slide down, causing a mini rockslide.

Aquarius rolled onto his belly and held onto the rock for dear life as he slid down the slope on the rock which hit the ground hard and sent Aquarius flying through the air with a frightened yell as he headed straight for the bush. He closed his eyes tightly as the bush approached thinking "Dammit, this is going to hurt!". This is not the way he wanted greet fellow leaf eaters.

[DarkWolf91]

She shifted a bit uncomfortably as she followed him toward cover. "Ah... no, I didn't exactly see what it was. It broke through a whole wall of rocks, though, so it must be pretty big." She poked her head up to sniff the air and look around. No sign of pursuit yet.

"I think we should run. After all-" She was interrupted by a loud yelp and the rumbling noise of falling rocks. She started and dove back behind their cover, but slowly raised her head as the noise died away. She glanced at Buko sheepishly out of the corner of her eye.

"I guess... that yell didn't sound much like a big sharptooth. Do you think it caught somebody else?" She hadn't heard any loud footsteps, but it wouldn't pay to let their guard down.

[jorrdy12]

"A wise dinosaur once told me to walk away from the Bright Circle where the weather is cooler and food more plentiful. However, I still haven't been able to escape this desert. Unless you know a better way though this is where I will go." After some more thinking, she added. "Although it seems like the big ocean is that direction. Wonder if we should follow it. At least it has water..."

.

.

.

"Anyway, you do not have to go with me if you don't want to. It would be nice though..."

Samara did not know what to do, on one hand she missed company, company that she could talk with and that could give answers back. Unlike the trees she started talking to lest she would slowly go insane, but could she really trust the longneck that was standing at the bottom of the tree she was in. Her stomach growled, she was hungry. She thought up a clever plan, if she could go with the longneck and maybe even get free food, then she could eventually leave the longneck for dead while she would make it to where she wanted to go. Deciding that it was a clever plan, she readied herself to speak the next words, and hoped the longneck couldn't figure out the plan before she could act on it.

"You want me to go with you? I-I suppose I could, it gets so lonely after all this time being alone out here. Do you know a place to where we can go to?"

[Sovereign]

Rinen cringed in a mixture of concern and slight fear as his companion disappeared among the dry leaves of the small bush. There was a real chance, especially with his earlier injuries, that Aquarius had really hurt himself badly with his unfortunate fall. Moreover, the sound of his crash had been a loud one and every dinosaur that wandered the surrounding plains had most likely heard it. Rinen narrowed his eyes as he ran towards the bush, his mind fixed on the implications of this development. All his life he had been trained to stand his ground against other dinosaurs whenever possible but he certainly didn’t want to fight these mysterious strangers in the case they happened to be hostile. Aquarius’ fall had given any element of surprise to their counterpart. However, all of that mattered little for now. Before the possible upcoming encounter, he’d have to check up on Aquarius to see if he was alright. Even then, he couldn’t avoid some ironical thoughts about the latest development. This really was the best time to reveal our position, wasn’t it? Heh, at least it looks like swimmers are just as clumsy as grandfather told me. He got at least that much right.

“Get out of there, now! It was bad enough that you told everyone where we are, don’t make this any worse!” The threehorn hissed as he looked into the bush, realizing the implications of his remark. Rinen knew his old herd would despise him even more for this cowardice to face an opponent but if they had been self-righteous enough to exile him, why should he listen to their advice anymore? At least there was nobody telling him what to do all the time these days.

The boy twitched in slight surprise as he suddenly noticed Aquarius rising to his feet near him, bringing Rinen at least some relief. The swimmer looked somewhat pained and there seemed to be even more wounds on his body than before but it couldn’t be helped in times like these. Due to the swimmer’s earlier failure, the duo’s location was known to everybody nearby and in certain situations that would have been a mistake the world wouldn’t forgive to the swimmer. However, Rinen soon realized something highly unsavory. There was nowhere to hide from any unwanted attention except… except a large formation of rocks just behind the bush Aquarius had dropped into! With any luck, it could serve as the duo’s hiding place from the mysterious dinosaurs long enough for the duo to learn about their intentions.

“Hey, we could hide behind those rocks! We cannot let the strangers find us before we find them so move, now, before they see us!”

[rhombus]

“Get out of there, now! It was bad enough that you told everyone where we are, don’t make this any worse!”

The sound of collapsing rocks, followed by the cryptic words did little to settle Buko's nerves.  No... this did not sound like sharpteeth, but it also did not sound like dinosaurs who wanted to be found... but if the rock slide had indicated an injury...

Buko's stomach growled as if intending to influence his decision.  Yes... it had been a long while since either of them had consumed a substantial meal.

He looked over at his counterpart as he whispered in the sharptooth language, "It sounds like whoever it is does not want to be noticed, and is also not very graceful... perhaps we should see what we are dealing with?" he gestured towards some nearby rocks, "Let's get a better vantage point and see what we have."

Not waiting for a reply he sprinted as silently as he could manage towards the rocks, swerving around several bushes and leaping over a fallen log in the process.  He didn't want to wait around for his coloration to give their location away.

[The Lone Dragon]

The bush may have been surprisingly leafy but Aquarius quickly found that this was more a curse then a blessing as the leaves cut his body as he fell through them and getting hit on the tangled knotty branches and finally falling to the ground with a dull thump on his back. He was covered in dozens of minor scratches and very large bruises on his upper and lower back and one on his abdomen. If his body wasn't hurting before it was screaming in pain now. A leaf cut was said to be one of the most painful injuries anyone could have, ironically said to be even more painful then the bite of a Sharptooth and now Aquarius was inclined to agree with them as his minor cuts that covered his body hardly bled but they felt like they had all been set on fire and while that was not an experience he had ever had happen to him but if it did Aquarius was sure it would feel like this.

As if to rub sand into his wounds the Threehorn was shouting at him, though he could barely hear the words as he was still dazed and his world spinning but he forced himself to his feet and rubbing his now very sore back. The implications of his fall had yet to come into Aquarius's mind as he was more concerned for himself at present but he suddenly found the Threehorn pushed his way into the bush and tell him to hide in the rocks before the strangers could find them. Now he remembered the situation and cringed at what his fall would have caused. How many people heard him? How many were friendly? With a hurried groan he crawled out from the bush and limbed to the rocks much slower then the Threehorn wanted but Aquarius had a large set of bruises on both his legs when he hit them on the braches of the bush.

"Ow, ow" he groaned as he rubbed the small itching cuts in his arms that brought tears to his eyes. He trundled to the rocks but one look at it and he dismayed in his current state and all the physical exertion he'd gone on, he didn't think he'd be able to climb another rock wall but this situation could be life or death so with a determined growl he slowly started to scale the wall. Jumping on the small boulders at the bottom and pulling himself up to the ones on top without much difficulty except for pain and exhaustion but eventually he tumbled over the wall and behind cover with a rather impatient Threehorn but Aquarius was to tired to register the look as he panted near the top of the rock wall.

Now all they could do was watch and wait.

[Ducky123]

"You want me to go with you? I-I suppose I could, it gets so lonely after all this time being alone out here. Do you know a place to where we can go to?"

"What's this unusual feeling inside of me?" Lizzie didn't quite understand what was going on for a second. The flyer's statement that she wouldn't mind joining her on her lonesome journey evoked emotions in the little longneck that she hadn't felt in months. Did she really just... smile?

"Oh, that would be so cool," Lizzie replied, suddenly feeling a lot more energized than usual. "That means we can be lonely together and help each other! I have this sturdy body and you have the ability to fly. I'm sure it will also help us keeping safe from sharpteeth and other dangers!"

Excitement, joy... It was such a nice delight to have something else than her usual self-pity and depression to deal with for a change. Lizzie noticed that some of her facial muscles actually started to tire out shortly due to the unusual exertion she was putting them through but she didn't mind it one bit. Finally, her loneliness would be over, even if it was just a flyer who didn't seem to be fully trusting of her fully yet who would join her on this hopeless journey... which may have just gotten a little less hopeless.

"As I mentioned before, I am walking with the Bright Circle in my back when it's highest on the sky. I do not know where I am nor where I've been before. My family has been travelling all the time and I never remember where places are and how to get there," Lizzie explained as she was asked where to go. "So... I am simply following that rough direction, sometimes following a river or a forest a little because they keep me going even if they aren't exactly leading me to the right direction." The longneck's gaze wandered over to the distant ocean, a thin line of dark blue contrasting strongly against the monotonous brown-ish colour of the dry landscape and the light blue-ish hue of the cloudless sky.

"If we were to keep walking straight, we'd walk right into the ocean. I think we should take a turn to the left of the straight path and see where it leads us. I'm just following my intuition most of the time, you see, and so far it always worked out in some ways..." Lizzies gaze went back to the flyer. "Or do you have a better plan? Maybe you can see things from the sky that my long neck cannot see?"

[jorrdy12]

"If we were to keep walking straight, we'd walk right into the ocean. I think we should take a turn to the left of the straight path and see where it leads us. I'm just following my intuition most of the time, you see, and so far it always worked out in some ways... Or do you have a better plan? Maybe you can see things from the sky that my long neck cannot see?"

Samara could feel her facial muscles stretch a bit, her plan was working, the foolish longneck was trusting her, a stranger and one that wanted to survive above all else, nothing else matters. She wants to survive, and hopefully find her family again. Giving a sad look behind her, from where she came and where she left her family fighting and hopefully fleeing from the Sharpteeth. Looking back towards the longneck she readied to speak,

"Unfortunately I don't know a better way, maybe we can work together if I'm flying high above you so I could scout the area, and hopefully find a path to wherever you're heading towards?"

[Ducky123]

A slight grin crept up the small longneck's face. The journey to come wouldn't be as lonely as all the previous treks had been. Lizzie didn't really know much about this new comrade of hers - and neither did she have any intention to make the fearful flyer any more distressed than she seemed to be as it was by asking her a bunch of question, but did that really matter at this point? Just having some company, it was just too amazing to be true! When one had been on their own for an eternity, all hope seemingly a waste of mind power, they would perk at even the slightest of positive events in their otherwise terrible lives.

"That sounds like a good plan, flyer," Lizzie admitted. "This forest is pretty much dead so I think it'd be a waste of time to search for food here. So shall we go?"

Lizzie really started to feel hope again. The things you could see from high up and the knowledge gathered from high above totally changed the chances to find water and food or keep a good distance from sharpteeth. How she evaded them so far was still a miracle to the girl but was she confident their new collaborration would ensure her luck wouldn't run out this soon.

Expectantly, she looked at the flyer above her, ready to set off.

[jorrdy12]

"That sounds like a good plan, this forest is pretty much dead so I think it'd be a waste of time to search for food here. So shall we go?"

Samara felt a slight sliver of excitement running in her veins, but ruthlessly crushed it. There was no time for excitement, not when danger lurks behind every corner. She prepared her wings when the Longneck down below looked at her, she gave a nod and flew up into the air.

"I do not know where we are going, but let's go!"

[DarkWolf91]

Wyoh followed Buko to the rocks he had indicated. She managed the climb without much trouble, but she was beginning to feel the deep fatigue brought on by malnourishment. The view from the higher point was wholly desolate and uninformative. Though she could have sworn she saw a flash of something light-colored disappearing behind cover, she was anything but sure of what it might have been. She scuffed a few smaller rocks with her foot in frustration. She was feeling the hunger pains as well, and if they stayed pinned down here much longer they'd probably starve to death.

Without stopping to ask Buko's opinion, she skirted around to the far side of the rock pile, hoping to give them a better opportunity to scatter if things went badly. She scrutinized the lowlying land, but could still find no trace of whoever they were, apart from a few strange scents on the wind that she didn't recognize. Without wasting any more time, Wyoh tilted her head back.

"Hey! You're not sharpteeth, are you?" She called out, loud enough to be heard in their immediate surroundings, but not so loud that it would attract more unwanted attention.

[The Lone Dragon]

Aquarius and Rinen waited stuck behind the rock wall like a pair of troops awaiting the inevitable assault of their stronghold but the only sound was the whispering wind which did nothing to ease the tension growing around the area. Aqaurius dare not speak and a sideways look at Rinen confirmed that he had similar thoughts about staying quiet less they attract any unwanted company. It was interesting that the more Aquarius thought about it, the more the situation seemed less threatening because although he was embarrassed to admit it; his clumsy fall was enough to draw attention from a wide area and any thing looking to exploit there bad luck would have long since rushed to them rather then stay hidden in the shadows.

Aqaurius was sure something was out there, they had heard the yell before but still nothing happened. He reckoned that whoever was close by was not wanting to be spotted. However when the sound of a voice which broke the air from nearby past the barrier of rocks called out, that changed things dramatically. Aquarius couldn't make out what was said but he was sure that the words were in leaf eater which was much better then the alternative. Seeing that no one was wanting to make the first move Aquarius took a deep breath and stood slightly up over the rocks and spied the landscape which was as barren as it was when they escaped the caves. Aquarius summoned his fortitude for what was going to be a risky gamble that his Threehorn companion was likely to skewer him for later and practically shouted for anyone and everyone in the area to hear.

"Hello?! Who is there!? We don't mean any harm to you! If I come out of hiding then you come out as well so we see that we're not going to harm each other!" Aquarius cringed as he said those words and at the furious expression the Threehorn was giving him but he had said what he meant and he was going to follow it through with this Threehorn or not. Aquarius jumped up and over the rocks and slid to the ground and stood there firm and stoic despite how beaten up he looked. He was ready to face whatever was out there.

[Sovereign]

(I had actually finished this before TLD:s entry but I thought I'd post it anyway with some additions even if it doesn't advance the plot anymore. )

After hearing the stranger beginning to call to him and his companion, Rinen instinctually pulled even closer to the ground. Ever since he had rushed to his hiding place, the seconds had passed on agonizingly slowly as Rinen did his best to listen to any sounds of their mysterious adversary. However, the sudden call had dome from his left, a direction he hadn’t expected and he immediately turned to look at the call’s direction. It was clearly a female voice, unlike the one he had heard earlier, and he carefully tried to look for its source. After a short moment, Rinen’s eyes caught slight movement and… their elusive adversary!

Is… is that some kind of fast runner? I’ve never seen one before but I know they can still eat meat! And that one doesn’t seem to have eaten in days! It’s most likely searching for an easy meal! B… but what can I do?

Despite his fears, Rinen suddenly realized that his options were quite few. There weren’t any places to flee without being detected and trying to outrun a fast runner wasn’t… something he’d want to try. Not to mention Aquarius was hardly in a condition to even walk properly at this point. On the bright side, the fast runner didn’t look any older than he was and he could even try to fight the wretched half tooth, if need be.

However, Rinen cringed as he remembered that the omnivore was accompanied by a male, most likely another fast runner and if it attacked his back, it would be all over for him as Aquarius wouldn’t be able to help in his condition. That left only one possibility, one that he wouldn’t have wanted to do. The omnivore clearly hadn’t seen or smelled neither him or the swimmer just yet as the wind was blowing from her direction. Simply continuing to hide provided the two with their best chance to live through this unexpected ordeal. Rinen pulled his head low and was just about to tell Aquarius to stay silent before he heard something he hadn’t expected.

"Hello?! Who is there!? We don't mean any harm to you! If I come out of hiding then you come out as well so we see that we're not going to harm each other!" Rinen immediately cast a murderous look on the swimmer. Was he insane? He had literally told potentially dangerous half tooth the location of their hiding place! He was just about to give the swimmer a good lecture when he realized that no matter what, both of the dinosaurs were now in grave danger. Rinen only crouched lower, preparing for the inevitable meeting. The threehorn could only pray Aquarius hadn’t doomed them both but in case the fast runner proved indeed to be their enemy, he wouldn’t go down without a fight.

[rhombus]

Well, this did not go as planned.  Well, not like we had a plan anyway.

Though Buko continued to hide behind the modest boulder, being careful to keep his body away from the eyes of his adversaries, Wyoh's yell and the most unpredatory response it received clarified the situation in the fastrunner's mind.  They were not facing sharpteeth, in fact...

He sniffed the air silently as he tried to suppress any focus on his self-scent or the scent of his companion.  As he did so it only took a moment to catch two new scents in the gentle breeze.  That of a swimmer and a threehorn.  Even if they were hostile Buko knew that he could outrun them.

That was when his stomach grumbled.  Though he was far too small to effectively take on a threehorn, with that not being an option even for adults of his kind, between himself and Wyoh they could perhaps deal with the swimmer if things came to that and misfortune decided to visit the leaf-eater.  And if the food was willing to strike up a conversation...

Buko hesitantly rose from behind the boulder as he searched for Wyoh among the rocks.  Not seeing her, but knowing by her scent she was close by, he decided to speak.  The details of his words could clarify the situation for his companion in the event she had not already found them out as well.

"Well met, swimmer and threehorn, it seems that we all misunderstood the situation.  But in this horrid place one cannot be too careful.  Now that you can see me perhaps you will return the favor."

[Ducky123]

The day dragged on as the two children wandered the wastes, a bush here, some dried grass there but all dry as the dust the wind blew it into their faces. They advanced parallel to the ocean, keeping a safe distance though, and walked until the Bright Circle disappeared below the horizon. Lizzie was too lost in her gloomy thoughts to notice the slow decline of light and heat. These which usually haunted her during times like these, the dreaded dark night approaching fast which would probably be just as imsomniac as usual, kept her pretty oblivious to her surroundings until she noticed the flyer hovering above the ground in front of her.

"Hmm?" she simply hummed, her communicative skills only existant while being clear of darkness, sadness and despair. What was it that the flyer wanted?

[jorrdy12]

Samara knew this problem would arise the moment they went out of the forest, she wanted to keep going until another forest was found, but the chance of one standing in the immediate vicinity would be next to non-existent. Her body began to shiver against her will, her wings growing heavier and it took more energy to stay afloat in the air, afloat, not even flying. She barely noticed the longneck below her to look up at her and see her shiver. She was getting closer to the ground. Closer to the ground where her family got kil- Someone screamed, it was not until later that she realized that it was her that screamed, her body fell, down to the ground, the cold, cold ground. The ground which may have been flowing with blood recently. She could see them, the death's the screams, her body was beginning to spasm when her mind revolted against her. She could feel the crying, the pain. She could hardly see the longneck in front of her trying to ask if she was alright. It wasn't helping.

[Sovereign]

Rinen shook his head in utter confusion and even growing acceptance about his and the swimmer’s only path forward. He still didn’t believe their counterparts were up to any good but at least they hadn’t attacked him and Aquarius as soon as they got the duo’s scent. The threehorn was still more than reluctant to forfeit his and Aquarius’ cover but even then, the bush didn’t provide either him or the swimmer with any defense anymore as their position had already been revealed. Besides, the male omnivore’s words had sounded far more reasonable than he had initially expected and Rinen couldn’t find any apparent deceiving tone in the extremely bright-colored fast runner’s voice. Rinen snorted angrily as he exchanged a brief glance with the swimmer and it seemed like the smaller dinosaur also thought that complying with the blue dinosaur’s request was the best way to proceed.

His breathing became forced as Rinen rose to his feet but he decided to put on his most authoritative composure he could in order to try to decrease the fast runners’ eagerness to attack him and his companion. He couldn’t let his guard down for a moment but he’d also have to prove to his adversaries he wouldn’t be an easy prey. Rinen could only pray he wasn’t making the wrong decision by giving the omnivores a chance to prove themselves to not be mere murderers. With one, long leap Rinen jumped out from the bush and looked at the male fast runner in clear distrust while also taking a look at his companion. The atmosphere was extremely tense and Rinen decided to break the silence and make his point clear immediately.

“What do you want from us, half teeth? If you think us as easy pickings, you better think again!” Rinen tried to hide his fear beneath a cocky appearance but he hoped his bluff would be enough to handle this potentially threatening meeting.

[DarkWolf91]

Wyoh watched the little swimmer reveal himself, covered in cuts and bruises, and was reminded poignantly of her younger brother. Her kind were not usually hunters, and so her mind had not immediately registered him as food, though she had noted that his injuries looked rather serious. If he succumbed to them, well, there was no sense in wasting what wasn't in use anymore.

She was about to speak again, but Buko had beaten her to it. At his mention of a threehorn, her blood ran cold- she had not yet seen it and wasn't sure she wanted to. It was no sharptooth, but threehorns were vicious and dangerous, everyone knew that. It must have been the one who broke the wall down.

The larger fastrunner made her way back over to Buko's side and climbed up a bit further to get a better view. She watched as the threehorn leapt from his hiding place, relieved to find that it was a younger male, though he was still big enough to make her glad for the distance between them. She listened to his pronouncement with curiosity. What did they want? She wasn't really sure.

"I think we mostly wanted to know that you aren't sharpteeth," she responded, and it was the truth as far as she could tell. "Why did you break that wall down?"

[Sovereign]

The threehorn eyed at the two newcomers in a mixture of fear and desperation, as if he was trying to decipher some complex secret. Rinen was slightly surprised that neither of the omnivores had thus far committed any distantly threatening gestures at him or Aquarius and deep down, he wanted to begin to believe that the swimmer hadn’t made a mistake with his surprising decision but he knew he couldn’t let his guard down until this was all over. Rinen had gone through far too much to care about his honor or respect as a threehorn but he had learned the value of vigilance and survival too thoroughly to forget it now. When the female omnivore started to speak, those thoughts were momentarily swept aside by his rising curiosity about the duo.

The fast runner’s words prompted a suspicious look onto the young threehorn’s face. The two beasts had thought he and the swimmer were sharpteeth? Most dinosaurs would have found those implications amusing but not Rinen in a situation like this. The latter part of her answer was of more interest to the threehorn and it brought some troubling thoughts into his mind. If the purple-headed girl was talking about the collapse of the cave’s mouth, as Rinen suspected, they had known about his whereabouts earlier than he had originally thought. And if that were true, his and Aquarius’ situation had been even more dangerous than he had originally expected. Even then, Rinen couldn’t find any reason to lie to the fast runner and he relaxed his voice and composure somewhat to signal he wasn’t looking for a fight if the two omnivores weren’t either.

“We two were trapped inside that cave during the storm and that spot was weak enough for us two to break it down. But why do you care about that or anything else about us? Besides, running after suspected sharpteeth isn't really the best way to avoid them.” Rinen answered questioningly, willing to learn at least something of use about his two counterparts.