The Gang of Five
Howdy, everyone!

As you know, the forum has been fighting spammers and bots for years. We have seen our fair share of "Custom Kitchens UK", scammy Internet hosting companies, and bots trying to send us to a business's homepage. But after fighting the tidal wave of spam for so many years, the admins had a persistent thought: what if the spammers are right? Not in terms of posting nonsense links and trying to scam our users, but in trying to make money through our unique platform?

Well, thanks to the helpful counsel of Taunt, we have finally decided to move the forum in a new direction. Please see his important post on the matter in this topic

In the land before time

Amaranthine · 2536 · 265586

Amaranthine

  • Member+
  • Littlefoot
  • *
    • Posts: 7358
  • Can You Love Me Despite The Cracks?
    • View Profile
Amy thought over Pangaea's statement for a bit. Then she shrugged, "I never thought of it that way, maybe, but these guys are still dinosaurs even if they didn't actually exist..." Amy stopped talking realizing she was probably too loud so other dinos could hear her. Little Foot looked her way and tilted his head a bit, puzzled.

She lowered her voice to a whisper, "even if they didn't exist in the dinosaur world that we know."

Then she continued. "Well, you might be right, if we come back to the way we came here, then maybe we can head home." She smiled hopefully.

I know I sure miss home...especially my little guy.
----------------
Red Claw sniffed his way to one tree to another firsthand to start off small. He found with his sense of smell and touch combined, he could find a way through the woods without bumping into trees, ducking branches, and whatnot, it could help him greatly.

With this in his mind he felt eve more empowered then ever, he was probably even more powerful then any sharp tooth with sight ever.




Cancerian Tiger

  • Member+
  • Littlefoot
  • *
    • Posts: 6936
    • View Profile
"Yeah, now we're talkin'," Anna said out loud as she finally found the river the stream had led her to.  She then walked a little further until she found exactly what she was looking for: a calm part of the river that was occupied by her favorite source of protein.  Large, silver-colored fish were swimming around in the calmer waters.  Anna then sat down before she took the jagged rock and sharpened one end of the long stick.  By the time she was finished, she had made a spear out of the stick.  Anna then took her shoes and socks off, rolled up her pantlegs, and then waded into the water while carrying her homemade spear.  Having watched herons and egrets fishing in the wetlands back at home, Anna followed their example by standing absolutely still while holding the spear ready as the fish started to make their way closer to her again.


Kor

  • The Circle
  • The Gang of Five
  • *
    • Posts: 30034
    • View Profile
"Let's explore over there." Mia said looking at her friends and Petrie.

"Certainly better then standing around here all day." Diver said, looking around.  

"May be fun, just let's not go to far.  At least till we know this area better." Rhyn said.  

"That is certainly a good thing to do." Diver said nodding to what Rhyn said.  



The Great Valley Guardian

  • Member+
  • Littlefoot
  • *
    • Posts: 6994
    • View Profile
    • http://www.supersonicboom182.deviantart.com
Longtail enjoyed the water and had collected several shiny shells while underwater, but after a while of that he'd become bored. He was wondering what he could do next to keep himself amused when he noticed Rick still asleep under the waterfall and then a devious grin creeped onto the fliers beak. He slowly scaled the wall next to Rick until he was eye level with the longneck and gave Rick a rough head-butt to the face.

Rick was startled awake, and as he stepped backwards he tripped on a rock hidden underwater, and fell with a loud splash into the surf beneath him. It was at that moment that Rick decided it might be best to change forms for a while and returned to his human state. He then broke the surface of the pond with a scowl on his face knowing exactly who had woken him up. "Longtail!" He yelled a bit too loudly.

The young flyer looked down now feeling bad that he'd caused an accident. He flapped down and landed in the water facing Rick's human form. "I... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you trip like that. It was... just a joke." he stuttered softly.

Rick still held his irritated look upon his face as he replied, "Yeah you should be sorry. I could have been really hurt." But after a moment he sighed and gently patted Longtail on the head. "But... you did apologize, so I accept your apology. Just don't do it again." he said with a stern but friendly air to his voice.

Spike at that moment stepped over and gave a soft moan with his mouth full of treestars.

Longtail looked over to Spike and smiled. "No thanks Spike, I'm not hungry right now, but thank you anyway." he commented with small laugh.

Rick also declined by saying, "I'm not hungry either Spike, but I do thank you for thinking of our health."


Pangaea

  • Member+
  • Cera
  • *
    • Posts: 4430
  • Contemplator of Deep Time
    • View Profile
“Obviously I’m just hypothesizing,” Pangaea said, making sure to keep his voice low as well, “This is waaaaay beyond anything that could be considered an area of expertise for me.”

He paused for a moment to mull over what Amy had just said. “Hold on, I might have misunderstood you there, but when you said ëif we come back to the way we came here, then maybe we can head home’, were you suggesting that returning to the exact same locations we found ourselves in when we arrived would take us back home? ëCause when I got here, I was on the edge of a cliff at the top of the Great Wall with Screech stalking around. I, uh . . . don’t know if I'd want to go back there, or even if I could get all the way back up to the right spot.”



Pronounced "pan-JEE-uh". Spelled with three A's. Represented by a Lystrosaurus.


Amaranthine

  • Member+
  • Littlefoot
  • *
    • Posts: 7358
  • Can You Love Me Despite The Cracks?
    • View Profile
Amy paused for a moment, now she was confused.

"I thought that's what you meant...we go back to our locations and some how go back? Well...at least...that's what I thought you said." She blushed, shuffling her feet. She hated it when she misinterpreted things people said.
--------
Little Foot, feeling a bit bored decided to see how Cera was doing. He went up to her and asked, "Hey Cera, are you okay? You seemed to be a bit...well sad awhile ago."
---------
Mr. Three Horn came to his nest and just rested there for a bit. He waited for the rest of his family to come back, and while he did so, he thought over a few things.

Seriously...why are those newcomers here? What in the world is going on? They just come here without warning, talking about strange things like "Am-eri-ca", "hum-ans", and com-put-ers..




Pangaea

  • Member+
  • Cera
  • *
    • Posts: 4430
  • Contemplator of Deep Time
    • View Profile
“D’oh!” Pangaea applied a quick, light slap to his forehead. “Sorry; I knew I could’ve explained that better. What I meant was, I have no idea of what brought us here or how we go back, but unless I’m mistaken, none of us came here by choice. We just got swept up and dropped here, whether we liked it or not. …Well, I can’t imagine that any of us DON’T like it, but you know what I mean. Anyway, I’m getting off the subject…”

Pangaea’s voice and speech pattern at the moment were entering their usual form whenever he became frantic or felt like he was doing a poor job of speaking. He was talking very quickly, and his voice was becoming slightly higher and more nasal, and he was stammering a bit. To anyone listening, it was clear that he was a bit anxious.

“My thought was, if we end up going back, I won’t be surprised if we don’t have much choice in that matter either. We’re like…” Pangaea searched for an analogy, a method he was fond of using when he was having a hard time explaining something. “…like caterpillars on a tree. We all got picked off our usual leaves and dropped on this new tree without any say in the matter. If whoever brought us here decides to take us back to where they found us, I’m guessing we’ll just be picked up again and put right back where we were.” Another disconcerting speculative thought struck him. “If they put us back where we were. For all I know, we might next end up in The Lion King world or something.” He spread his hands in philosophical resignation. “But…that’s a whole other topic. At any rate, did I make sense that time?”



Pronounced "pan-JEE-uh". Spelled with three A's. Represented by a Lystrosaurus.


The Great Valley Guardian

  • Member+
  • Littlefoot
  • *
    • Posts: 6994
    • View Profile
    • http://www.supersonicboom182.deviantart.com
After taking a moment to enjoy the water, Rick decided it would be best to climb out of the water and sat on the bank in the sun letting it dry him. "Just like the beaches back home... home. I wonder if any of us will get back." He said quietly to himself.

Longtail climbed out of the water shortly after Rick did and sat down beside him.
"So... how do you like the Great Valley?" he asked gently.

Rick looked down at Longtail and smiled. "This place is absolutly beautiful. It truly is a paradise. You and your friends are lucky to have found this place. Although I do wonder about one thing..." commented Rick.

Longtail looked curious and asked aloud, "What?"

"I wonder... just how big is the Great Valley really?" said Rick.

Spike then stepped up next to Longtail and Rick laughing gently.

Longtail looked over at Spike with a smile.
"What is so funny?" he asked the spiketail.

Spike used his nose to nudge Rick and laughed again.

Rick raised an eyebrow and commented by saying, "I think he's laughing at me. Or maybe the question I asked."

Spike then nodded his head letting Rick know he'd been correct at his laughing.


Kor

  • The Circle
  • The Gang of Five
  • *
    • Posts: 30034
    • View Profile
"looks like some trees with tree sweets over there." Rhyn said pointing to their right.  

"It does indeed.  Anyone hungry?" Mia asked looking back at the group.

"I certainly am not." Diver said shaking her head.

"Ok, we can remember that tree, maybe explore around the area so we can keep it in sight so when we need to rest or eat." Mia said.


Cancerian Tiger

  • Member+
  • Littlefoot
  • *
    • Posts: 6936
    • View Profile
(OOC: Amy, my character has left the area and Cera, Tricia, Ducky, and Guido have secretly followed me.  Just to let ya know ;))

"Gotcha!" Anna grunted as she managed to spear a good-sized, silver-shaded fish.  The fish looked foreign to her, but Anna figured it would make a tasty dinner nonetheless.  

"You'll look much better over a fire," Anna added as she braced the fish against the ground with her right left hand and yanked the spear out of the fish with her right hand.  Just then, she heard some tall grass rustle nearby.  She looked around, but it only took her a couple of seconds to figure out who it was.

"Ya know, it's not very polite to sneak up on somebody, especially when they've got a weapon in their hands," Anna said more loudly.  A couple of seconds later, Cera, Tricia, and Ducky emerged from the tall grass.

"We are sorry, Anna.  We just wanted to see what you were up to, yep yep yep," Ducky said apologetically.

"Okay, but for the record, y'all are always more than welcome to join me if I take off somewhere," Anna replied as she washed the tip of the spear off in the river.  Just then, Cera noticed the dead fish on the river bank and raised an eyebrow.

"Uh...Anna, what exactly are you doing?" Cera asked.

"Gettin' some food," Anna said as she waded back into the river.

"What?" Cera gagged.  Anna then realized she had not informed her friends of her dietary needs.

"Guys, just so ya know, I don't only eat plants and treesweets.  My kind are omnivores, meaning we eat both meat and plants," Anna said before she looked at her friends.  Their expressions indicated that they now felt nervous around Anna.

"But, don't worry!  First of all, I don't eat friends or family members of friends.  In fact, I don't eat meat, but I do eat fish and other sea critters," Anna added.

"Well, what about the others?  How do we know they won't eat us?" Cera demanded.

"They don't eat friends, either," Anna replied before she got her spear ready.

"So, that is how you catch, um, you called them 'fish'?" Ducky asked.

"Yup, but back in my world, we have other, more advanced forms of catchin' these guys," Anna said.

"I'm not sure I can watch.  That looks so gross," Cera blurted.

"Then, don't watch if you're afraid your mind will get scarred," Anna said.

"May I watch?" Ducky asked out of curiosity.

"Sure, but please stay out of the water so the fish will come right up to me," Anna told the little swimmer.

"Okay, I will stay here, yep yep yep," Ducky chirped as she took a seat on the river bank while Anna remained still and held her spear ready.  Even though she had been grossed out, Cera was still too curious and ended up watching Anna anyway.


Amaranthine

  • Member+
  • Littlefoot
  • *
    • Posts: 7358
  • Can You Love Me Despite The Cracks?
    • View Profile
Amy was getting rather tensed up as well. Just seeing Pangaea stutter and whatnot made her stressed.

"Yeah, I think so. Well...I guess we won't know until it happens." She shrugged. Then she settled herself down and and breathed so she could calm herself down.
--------------
Little Foot didn't hear anything from Cera, so simply waited for someone to make a response back.




Pangaea

  • Member+
  • Cera
  • *
    • Posts: 4430
  • Contemplator of Deep Time
    • View Profile
As usual when he found himself in a conversation that went just the slightest bit wrong, Pangaea was feeling awkward (and had he known that his anxiety was causing Amy stress, he surely would have felt guilty as well). He felt that it would be rude to just leave at this point, but he wasn’t sure how to continue the conversation, so he took a moment to think on how he could segue into another subject.

“Uhh…” he began hesitantly, “I can’t remember if I told you this already, but I was asleep when I got brought here, so I don’t know how it actually happened. What was it like for you? Were you awake at the time, and, uh…how long did it take you to notice you were a pterosaur?”

(OOC: You can reference your own posts from the very beginning of the RP to help write your response. ;))

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

Above the calm stretch of river where Anna was catching fish, Guido watched from an overhanging tree branch. He had seen Ducky, Cera, and Tricia following Anna, and, having had little to do, had decided to do the same, gliding from tree to tree after them.

“You mean, you’re not a leafeater?” he called down to Anna, the surprise evident in his voice. Like the others, Guido found it strange, but at the same time he was intrigued that this strange shape-shifting individual wasn’t just a plant eater. Many of the leafeaters Guido met considered it disgusting that he ate insects, and Chomper and Ruby were the only other dinosaurs in the valley he knew who regularly ate things that didn’t grow on trees. Guido was excited by the prospect that he might have found another individual he could identify with.

“Wow!” he exclaimed (his earlier question having been rhetorical). “Do you eat crawlers, too?”



Pronounced "pan-JEE-uh". Spelled with three A's. Represented by a Lystrosaurus.


Amaranthine

  • Member+
  • Littlefoot
  • *
    • Posts: 7358
  • Can You Love Me Despite The Cracks?
    • View Profile
Pondering over the human-mircoraptor's question, Amy responded, "Well...let's see..." She got herself up and started walking the other way to think.

"I was...online I think and I was about to get ready for bed, then for some reason there was  a very, very violent earthquake. I realize we have plenty of earthquakes in California, but that was just too violent of an earthquake, next thing I know, I was in some twister and spiraling down it."

She paused to think again and then said, "Then I was on a cliff or rather...a plateau of some sort. I felt very sore like I fell and landed hard right then and there." At this she held her wing that was still sore. Not because of the landing, but talking about how she came here reminded her of her sore wing.

"Then I get up and then I realize I have these!" She spread her wing that wasn't sore to Pangaea's way. She shook her head as if she was still in disbelief that she was what she was, but she continued. "Then I hear voices, Noname's and Pterano's, so I come to see what that was about and then I slipped and then I meet Red Claw and well...I'm sure you know the rest by now." She blushed a bit thinking maybe she was boring Pangaea by talking a bit more then needed.
------------
Little Foot followed Cera, Ducky, Guido and Anna to see what was going on. He at first said hello to them so they would not be startled, then he added to tease his friend, "You know Cera, Chomper eats buzzers yet I don't see you getting grossed out by that now." He smirked.




Pangaea

  • Member+
  • Cera
  • *
    • Posts: 4430
  • Contemplator of Deep Time
    • View Profile
Pangaea listened to Amy’s story with rapt interest. He waited until she was finished  before he spoke again. “Wow, an earthquake, and then a twister? Kinda makes me wish I’d been awake when I came here, if it was that interesting.” He chuckled. “On the other hand, I don’t know how I would have reacted…I probably would’ve freaked out.” He paused, wondering if what he had just said had sounded awkward.

“Ehhhhh…at any rate, how’s your wing now?” he asked. “And, um…does anyone elseó” He gestured around him to indicate the native dinosaurs… “óaround here know the details of how we got here?”



Pronounced "pan-JEE-uh". Spelled with three A's. Represented by a Lystrosaurus.


Amaranthine

  • Member+
  • Littlefoot
  • *
    • Posts: 7358
  • Can You Love Me Despite The Cracks?
    • View Profile
Amy smiled and nodded, "It's better thanks. And I'm not really sure...I know most of them know were human, but I don't think any of them know how we got here. I would ask CT about that, I know she has been talking to Ducky and Cera a lot lately." She added.





Cancerian Tiger

  • Member+
  • Littlefoot
  • *
    • Posts: 6936
    • View Profile
Anna looked up at the glider and chuckled in response to his tone.

"Yeah, I don't eat just plants.  I don't eat meat, though.  Just these guys," Anna replied as she gestured to the single fish in some nearby grass.  "And no, I don't eat crawlers.  I've tried it before, and while it was good 'cuz it was seasoned well, I'm not sure I'd eat 'em on a regular basis."

"Real funny, Littlefoot!  I've only seen Chomper eat crawlers.  I've never seen anybody eat water splashers before," Cera butted in before she turned her attention to Anna.  "You're not gonna eat those right here in front of us, are you?"

"Nah, unless I'd like to get sick, which I don't.  I've still gotta catch a couple more, and then I'll go clean 'n cook 'em," Anna replied before she returned to fishing.

"Clean and what them?" Cera asked.

"It's a human thing.  I don't think you'd understand unless you're okay with watchin' how I cook fish," Anna said.

"How do you clean them?  Aren't they already clean from the water?" Cera asked.

"Nope.  Gotta clean the guts out, too," Anna said matter-of-factly before she managed to spear another fish.  Cera, meanwhile, looked like she would be sick.  Ducky and Tricia did not look much better.

"Hey," Ducky spoke up from where she sat on the bank.  "You said before that you tried crawlers, yep yep yep.  What kind of crawler was it?"

"Escargot," Anna replied.

"What is that?  I have never heard of ess-car-goe before, nope nope nope," Ducky said.

"Cooked snail.  Ya know, those slimy crawlers?" Anna said as she kept the end of the spear with the fish held above the water.  Ducky still looked confused.

"Well, if I see one around here, I'll be sure to show it to ya," Anna added as she removed the fish from the spear.

"Without eating it?" Cera asked sarcastically.

"Without eating it.  Incoming!" Anna warned as she tossed the fish toward the shore.  Unfortunately, Cera was too slow to react and ended up with a dead fish stuck on her horn.

"Ahhhh!  Get it off me!  It's so slimy!  Eeeeew!" Cera screamed as she ran around in a circle.  

"Cera!  Stop where ya are and use your paw to push the fish off!" Anna barked.  Cera, however, did not listen as she continued to run and scream.  Anna sighed as she set her spear down on the banks and moved quickly over to Cera before she jumped in front of her.

"Halt!" Anna ordered, and the threehorn tripped over herself and landed right in front of her human friend.  They could hear the others laughing.

"Now, stay still," Anna said more quietly as she reached down and gently removed the fish from Cera's horn.  "See?  It's that easy."

"Eeeew, those really stink!" Cera gagged.

"Yup, and unless ya go give yourself a bath, the whole valley will be able to smell ya," Anna said humorously.  Cera glared at the others, who were laughing at her ordeal, as she went over to the stream and scrubbed the fish slime off her face.

"Just one more fish," Anna said as she resumed her fishing.  She then looked over at Cera.

"Hey, I'm sorry 'bout what happened.  Seriously," Anna called to her friend.  Cera nodded in acknowledgement as she continued to wash herself off.


Pangaea

  • Member+
  • Cera
  • *
    • Posts: 4430
  • Contemplator of Deep Time
    • View Profile
“Well, that’s good to hear about your wing,” Pangaea said. “I was just thinking, maybe some of the dinosaurs saw us arrive. Y’know, if our transportation consisted of a earthquake and an interdimensional tornado, don’t you suppose our arrival might have caught somebody’s attention? I mean, I’ve got no clue whether our landing here was as dramatic as the…um…departure you described, and even if it was, I don’t know if it would tell us anything about how we got here or how to go back, but…” Pangaea paused, realizing that his idea wasn’t much help. “Never mind; I’m just thinking out loud at this point,” he sighed.

He looked around. “So, where’s CT now? Do you know?”

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

“Hmm…” Guido mused after Anna described escargot, “I think I’ve seen those slimy crawlers. I tried eating one once, but it had a shell and I couldn’t bite through it.”

Guido was secretly a little curious about what fish tasted like. Having not known what he was for most of his life, he had made a habit of trying many different foods, in order to find out which ones he could eat. Though when Anna mentioned removing the guts from the fish before eating them, he did become momentarily queasy like the others.

Then when Cera got the fish stuck on her nose and was running around in a panic, and eventually tripped, Guido laughed along with the others so hard that he fell off his branch, landing in the undergrowth with a soft crash.

“I’m okay!” he called as he held up a wing, hoping to quell any concerns the others might have.



Pronounced "pan-JEE-uh". Spelled with three A's. Represented by a Lystrosaurus.


Belmont2500

  • Yet another wordsmith
  • Member+
  • Ducky
  • *
    • Posts: 2526
    • View Profile
Belmont put his back to the side of a mountain near the Great Wall, even now he wonder why he was in the mysterious beyond, however this wasn't the case, it wasn't from the beginning, so without further hesitation Belmont turned and headed back toward the Great Valley,he felt more confident than ever before.

When Belmont had climbed over the Great Wall, he peered over the Valley and tried to locate the other GOF members, "I guess they're still at the thundering falls,eh" he mused before setting off once again.
 

 


Amaranthine

  • Member+
  • Littlefoot
  • *
    • Posts: 7358
  • Can You Love Me Despite The Cracks?
    • View Profile
"Well, last time I saw her, she was with Ducky, Cera, and Tricia, and I think Guido came along with them."  Amy pondered.

Little Foot realized no one was responding to him, but that was all fine and good, he knew everyone was still all interested in the new comers, so he didn't take any offense at all.

"So...you like both green food and meat? That sounds a bit...interesting...but heh, I guess it takes all sorts, I mean it seems like everyone else in your group is like that too." Little Foot stung up a conversation with Anna to somewhat "cure" the silence.
---------
Red Claw came back with yet another meal for his small group.

"I hope you like swimmer boys, because that's all I smelt on the way here." He smiled while putting the meal down. Unfortunately however, it was the wrong way, with his face toward the other way and his tail facing his friends.




Cancerian Tiger

  • Member+
  • Littlefoot
  • *
    • Posts: 6936
    • View Profile
"Yeah, most humans tend to eat both meat and green food.  Some refuse to eat any kind of animal and only eat plant-based foods, but they have to be very careful with their diets.  There's a nutrient the human body needs that can't be found in almost all plants and plant-based foods.  Without it, a human can get very sick and eventually die," Anna replied to Littlefoot before she brought her spear down on another fish.  "Gotcha!  That's enough for now."  Anna then returned to the banks before she removed the fish from the spearhead.  Cera happened to rejoin them at the same time.

"Eeew, those are so gross!" Cera gagged at the sight of the fish.

"Not as bad as they smell when left out for too long," Anna replied as she held a fish up to Cera's nose.

"Ack!" Cera cried out as she quickly put herself in reverse and backed up ten feet.  "Keep those things away from me!"

"Oh, stop actin' like a chickensh..., I mean, scaredy-egg!" Anna corrected herself.  The last thig she needed was the children talking like sailors.