Blackheart

[Galactic Goatman]

The land is a vast and barren desert, little grows here beyond the occasional withered bush or isolated patch of scrub. Rising like silent sentinels, massive peaks of sand-worn stone dot the landscape, atop one something stirs, had any human been around to witness the source of movement they might have thought it a ground bird. But a bird it was not, ruddy brown feathers covered him snout to tail, broken by dots of a darker color, a fan of feathers extended from his stiffened tail and down his arms, which ended in three long clawed fingers. It stood on long boney legs, each equipped with a curved inner claw, this particular individual had an usual patch of dark on its chest after which he was named, Blackheart. In the language of the primates who would one day study the bones of his people, he was called Velociraptor mongoliensis, Swift-thief of Mongolia.

Blackheart rose from his perch atop the outcropping and with raptorine vision, studied the desert than stretched on as far as he could see. Aside from the occasional lizard that darted across the rocks, nothing moved. He began his morning preening with almost ritualistic fervor, making sure to clean out the nights accumulation of dust and grit, matted feathers did not protect you from the heat. Using his teeth as a biological comb he racked his arm feathers through his mouth, first left than right, next came the tail, which while as stiff as a rod was flexible at its base. A long and articulated neck helps in this process. Preening always helped Blackheart to think and collect his thoughts, while not as intelligent as a mammal of compatible size, Velociraptor were among the brainiest of Dinosaurs, and Blackheart was a practical genius amongst his kind. His is his smarts, rather than his size, that had allowed him to ascend to Pack Leader after having ousted the previous Leader, Snatcher. Of course, the strength of the Pack is in its Leaders, and Snatcher was still a valuable, if disgraced, member. Blackheart called out to the Pack, rousing them from their morning activities, Velociraptor of course do not speak in the manner of humans, their "vocabulary" consists of clicks, chirps, hisses, growls and squawks that convey simple meanings and are used by pack members to communicate to one another.

Blackheart's Pack consisted of ten individuals, an average number. There was Blackheart himself, four adolescent males, Blackheart's prodigy, three gravid females, one unmated female and Snatcher. "Assemble at the rock!" Blackheart squawked. The Pack did so, and once everyone was preened and ready for the morning hunt the pack set off. The harsh conditions of the desert, which as far as Blackheart knew spanned all of the world, meant that Velociraptors had to make deal with whatever prey the could catch, they couldn't afford to be picky. A few hundred meters from the nesting rock was a small gully where a spring fed a pool, there was usually good pickings here. The Pack chittered freely between themselves until a sharp hiss by Blackheart silenced them, the hunt could not be compromised by needless talk. The gully sloped steadily and was ringed with ledges, making it easy to drop in on unsuspecting prey from above. Using near-inaudible clicks, Blackheart had the Pack split into two groups on either side of the gully. Blackheart, one of the adolescents and three females took to the right, while Snatcher and the others took to the left. Blackheart gently peered over the rim of a ledge and eyed a small herd of creatures drinking from the stream, they were slightly larger than he was, with stocky legs supporting a rotund body, from the back of their heads a heart-shaped frill extended over the neck, and a massive beak dominated their face. Long after Blackheart's time these creatures would be called Protoceratops, Before the Horned Face. The herd was five strong, four adults and a juvenile. Blackheart knew from experience that Protoceratops were no easy prey, he had seen those beaks cleave a Velociraptor's arm in two. The Pack's best bet was to go for the juvenile, letting out a loud attack screech Blackheart signaled the pack to attack. A flurry of feathers and claws burst from the ledges and made a charge for the herd. This was all for show, with the intent of spooking the herd and separating the juvenile from its parents.

Perhaps it was miscommunication, perhaps poor timing, or it could have simply been bad circumstance. Whatever it was Blackheart found himself being trampled by the larger of the adult Protoceratops, acting on pure instinct, tinged with fear, he lashed out with his claws and teeth, racking the creature's underbelly. Oddly pig-like squeals of pain bellowed from the creature. As it trampled off of Blackheart he attempted to locate the juvenile, adrenalin masking the pain of the deep gash in his leg, caused by the creature's beak. It lay off near the pool, its throat torn open. The other herd members had re-grouped at the far end of the gully, they let out cries, not of loss, but of annoyance. Emotional attachment is beyond them. The adolescents had formed a loose semi-circle to keep the Protoceratops at bay. The herd soon left the gully, seemingly no worse for wear. It was at this time that Blackheart became painfully aware of his wounds, he staggered over to the kill, there was nothing he could do for himself but eat and hope to avoid infection. The juvenile Protoceratops was already being torn into by the females, under normal circumstances its the Pack Leader who gets first pickings of a kill, but Blackheart was in no condition to assert himself. He wedged himself between two of the females, Browneyes and Lizardbreath, his mates. The taste of fresh Protoceratops was welcoming, it had been too long since the Pack had had a good meal. Once the females had gotten their fill the juveniles had their go at the kill. Blackheart went and rested under the shade of an outcropping, and Lizardbreath came over to join him. "You ok?" She chirped. "Leg hurt, got bitten." He replied as she sniffed at his wound. Lizardbreath was slightly larger than Blackheart, as is the norm for Velociraptors, and as she nuzzled up next to him, Blackheart felt comfort in being near his oldest mate. Lizardbreath had a prior clutch of eggs with Snatcher, back when he was Pack Leader, but they all died in infancy, now she was gravid with Blackheart's clutch. This made her look bloated, and made it hard for her to run. That thought roused a question in Blackheart. "Where Snatcher?" He asked. Lizardbreath looked over to the kill, "Snatcher not help, was Kinktail who kill." She clicked. Kinktail was the only non-gravid female in the Pack, named after her broken tail. She was curled up near a bush by the kill.

Blackheart did a quick "count" of the Pack members, he and Lizardbreath were together, Kinktail was sleeping, Stinkfoot and Twigleg were mock-fighting, Browneyes was having seconds at the kill, Leaper was defecating, and Stonehead was drinking. That left Snatcher and Whitehand unaccounted for. Whitehand was not particularly smart, and Blackheart didn't favor the idea of him getting close to Snatcher, its not unheard of for dethroned Pack Leaders to try and reclaim their positions, often by recruiting other Pack members. Blackheart tried to stand, but a searing jolt of pain shot up his leg and toppled back down. He knew he was at his most vulnerable, and more than likely Snatcher knew it as well. Despite them forming a loose-knit family, if the Pack felt that Blackheart was unfit for command they would quickly turn on him if a more fitting Leader came forth. The Pack was a machine, and a broken cog was better to be disposed of for the good of the whole machine. Eventually, pain and weariness began to take their toll and he found himself drifting off into a deep sleep...

Edited April 12, 2017 by AustinHinton