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THE SCRIPTURES OF ODDCLAW

One: The Son of Oddscar

"As a single withered tree, if set aflame, causes a whole forest to burn, so does a rascal son destroy a whole family."

Chanakya

Sunlight greeted him the first step he made out of the cave from the mountains. The sound of primordial shrieks came resonating across the pure blue sky as he breathed in the luscious air. A canvas of deep lush green as far as the horizon where it ended upon a mute sliver of the great sea. His sharp emerald eyes blinked the same colour as the forest, his brown body of scales patterned with scars both aged and recent as he stood upon two legs, claws thickly tapping the harsh rock. The sun glinted off the left side of his face, an unusual discolouration of his scales resembling an amber 9 with his eye in the centre. A single moment of peace he relished, wanting nothing more in life as he closed his eyes basking in the sun's rays that caressed his naked body standing at a good. His broad shoulders arched slightly with a smile as he breathed thickly, his arms rising up to greet the warmth of the morning. The rays of light glistened upon his thick chest and flaccid 8-inch length that hung absent-mindedly in the gentle breeze as he heard creatures on the wind. Voices. Life continuing, death far away and yet so near in every creature's existence until he heard a gentle chittering from below, his tail tensing up.

The raptor rushed forwards, leaping off from the mountain cliff that stood a good 15 feet above the tallest of trees, grabbing onto the nearest branch and swinging forwards before planting his feet upon the next limb. His claws clattered across the wood, swiftly hopping from one branch to the other until landing at the source of the noise. Another raptor stood different than him, a female with dark maroon scales, sallow eyes of pale blue and a primal gait, with bigger claws and a body a foot taller than him, yet hunched forwards with her spine in a horizontal strait from her tail to the back of her neck. She had one tooth larger than the rest that stuck out in a constant sneer whilst he stood almost upright, despite his hunched posture with shoulders pressed forwards as he spoke a deep bestial language of complex snarls and subdermal muted growls.

"Are we ready?"

"Yes. You are faster than usual I see."

"The sun hunts with me...unlike our brother."

"Hopefully the sun will not blind him with rage...again. Did you find what you wanted in the Dry Mountain?"

"Yes, I found some warmbloods to eat."

"Good. I hope you scraped the hair off this time."

"Ugh please do not remind me."

"Hmhmhmhahaha, ohhh yes, you were coughing up the thickest ball of hair I thought you swallowed one whole?"

"I was a hatchling back then, that was eighteen cycles ago?"

"Even I knew as a hatchling not to eat the hair of warmbloods. Perhaps that is why mother loves you."

"Mother loves us all Eggfang, even though we have different fathers."

"Hah!"

"What?!"

She raised her head aloof with a knowing glance.

"Still innocent. You took longer to age than the rest of us, do you not see the look mother gives you? The coos she makes when you are near as if you were still a hatchling, even when you are able to hunt with us."

"What do you mean?"

"You will always be her hatchling, no matter how old you get."

"...I...I am sorry."

"Why?"

He lowered his head with shame as she stepped forwards to nuzzle him.

"Your father was different too, but he achieved great things so please do not think that I look down on you. You move at your own pace, you took many cycles to speak let alone walk with us."

"I remember, you hunted with our brothers and sisters whilst I stayed behind with mother."

"So it is only natural that because you spent the longest with mother, she will always regard you as her hatchling. But now you are here, and you have learned very quickly to be a good hunter."

"Yes...warmblood hairball...hmhmha, I must have looked such a fool."

"Yes, but you are our fool."

She licked across his cheek and nuzzled him further with sibling warmth, before they heard something causing the two to lie in wait. The gentle sound of a trilling chirp indicated who it was as the anthropomorph gently pressed forwards. Not more than 200 yards away was another raptor that he could not see, hiding within a thick clump of ferns.

"Is it near?" he asked the bush.

"Use your snout and tell me."

"......coming from the mountain's path...an oddhead."

"That means he is lost, let his fear stifle his heart, I will chase him from behind, you and Eggfang follow on either side."

"Who will end its life?"

"I will, why even ask?"

"The trees are thick and the soil is sloped, are you sure you can-"

"You dare doubt me?"

"N-no, not YOU, just...coming from behind is difficult around here."

"Difficult for you. Not for me, what with my experience."

"Can I suggest something?"

The bush did not respond, but he could feel it staring with distaste.

"I can climb up on these trees ahead and then, when you chase it along my way, I can come down and break its neck easily."

"I would rather you break YOUR neck, I am killing our prey today and you will NOT argue."

"But, you did last time! Eggfang said I coul-"

"I am your mentor here," snarled the hidden raptor, "if you DARE kill that beast before me then I will claw your eyes out and make you wander this place until you starve to death, understand?"

"......yes, Sunscr-"

" What?!"

"I-i mean...yes, Shaderunner."

"Good. At least you can remember that, now head back to Eggfang and tell her my plan."

Heading back through the trees with stealth-like precision, he explained this to the female who simply sneered with derision.

"Hmph, stupid moron, trying to prove himself will only bring him an empty stomach."

"What should we do sister?"

"Do as I say. Go into the trees and follow, then when I give the signal, drop down in front of it. Paralyse it with fear, at least until our brother catches up, we might as well save his pride before he wounds it himself."

"Alright."

They waited until the signal came from Sunscreech, a low subdermal chirrup that was almost beneath their hearing as their eyes glinted from beneath the undergrowth. They gave chase as their nostrils flared to take in the fresh scent of something new in their midst. It was the scent of fear. A parasaurolophus desperately dodging and traipsing through the trees to flee its hunter, the long fluted skull whistling through the forest as it ran in a blur of red and yellow. Too easy.

They followed after, not making their presence known as simply shadows between ferns, blurring darkness that their prey could not see, could not tell what was real and what was but illusions from the adrenaline pumping through his frantic veins. The sound of claws came everywhere from around the poor beast, even from above, too frightened to call out for help as the scratching of feet upon leaves came louder still. How many were they now? Three? More than? If he could just reach the water, he might find safety. Deep amongst the trees was death, the foolish creature should have known, mother always told them that one should not approach the trees by the water where the hunters rule.

"First they consume your shadow by becoming your own. Then they consume your mind with fear that they feed into your senses with shapes and sounds that will frighten you most. Then, finally, they consume your flesh with their teeth. Do not give in to the fear that they feed you for the moment that you do, you are already lost to us. Remember that my children...and you shall survive anything."

He was already lost to his kind now, and he only truly accepted this once he faltered and tripped over a rotting log, cracking underneath the weight of his foot. He struggled not to cry out, his heart racing with a flight of panic that caused his legs to start buckling from the tension. A brushing sound from the ferns to his left, a shadow glinted from his right that moved much too fast to his right as paranoia seeped into his mind. He could no longer tell what was the bark of trees and what were the hunters, dodging between rays of light that glanced from the canopies of the treetops. A playground of shadows where he was tagged to be it.

The sunlight traced across his scales, a brief offering of warmth and the falsity of safety before he realised that the more light that was upon him, the more a target he would be forcing the prey to dodge into the darkness. But the darkness frightened him, he knew it was where the hunters roamed best so now he was constantly trapped in a most terrifying dilemma between the light that exposed him, and the dark that meant certain death. His throat became a desert, his eyes wider than the sun and moon, his limbs shaking to constantly fight against the trembling paralysis that threatened to overcome him until finally he stopped. Not because he wanted to, but because he now saw the hunter suddenly drop down from the trees and land with a crunch of leaves to stand before him. He was not like the other hunters with his odd gait, vertically upright with his back mostly straight. The cold green eyes blended with the forest as the parasaurolophus started begging in futility.

"P-p-please...spare me hunter."

The raptor said nothing, staring right through him.

"I-i-i'm sorry, I never meant-I-i know the trees are your territory b-but please, I just needed to...what?! What is it, wh-why...do you not speak??"

Still he made not a single sound with piercing green eyes that froze him to the spot.

"S-S-SAY SOMETHING! PLEASE, S-SPEAK, WHY ARE YOU SILENT YOU WRETCHED BEAS- H-HRRRGKH!"

"I do not speak to those...who are already dead."

His prey had forgotten the other rule of the forest. Hunters always came in packs, and no sooner did he remember this than he felt the jaws lunge upon his back and crush his throat from behind swiftly. His only last relief was that death was so much less painful than he expected it to be when his neck was snapped suddenly. Blood seeped down his chest as his eyes flickered briefly, the nerves in his spine and the breath in his larynx silenced within the same bite perfectly. Standing above the deceased was another maroon-coloured raptor, his eyes marred with golden flecks of hazel as the green-eyed raptor growled appreciative.

"Excellent hunt brother!"

"Of course it was, it was my jaws that ended his life."

The killer stepped off from the still-warm body and began to tear its flesh apart, digging his teeth into the tough scale and extricating the juicy red underneath. The other raptor tried to approach but was halted by a snarl from the male who stood two feet taller than him.

"Keep your distance."

"I...I have to carry our food home."

"Then let me eat at least, unlike you I actually make efforts."

"...did I do something wrong?"

"You did not follow my plan! Did I not tell you to follow alongside and NOT through the trees like some warmblooded vermin?!"

"Enough."

Soon Eggfang arrived with dominant posture to sneer upon the killer.

"Hunters do not bicker amongst themselves, we are not hatchlings anymore."

"HE is barely a hatchling himself! He cannot even follow basic orders!"

"He is our brother and you will respect your family, he kept that oddhead still until you could catch up, which he wouldn't have had to do IF you were hunting properly!"

"The bark is rotten in these trees!"

"Excuses. A true hunter adapts to the landscape like he does, not blame it for their mistakes like you do, Sunscreech."

"Do NOT call me that, you call me Shaderunner!"

"Not whilst you are in this family, if you want to be called such then you must earn it rightly! Now, eat and then carry as much as you can."

With a huff he began to eat his fill, reluctantly letting Oddclaw and his sister devour a good chunk of the beast, raw and dripping with crimson ichor that sated both thirst and hunger easily. Once they had their bellies full, they grabbed the biggest chunks possible in their mouths with Oddclaw carving even more out with his hands and teeth, before placing more meat onto his brother and sister's back. They returned home with twice the amount of food a normal raptor pack would be able to carry, traipsing through the forest carefully with eyes sharp for any signs of scavengers wanting a piece. Sometimes a much smaller creature would approach them, a chicken-sized compsognathus with lithe neck and chittering warbles trying to look fierce. But one snarl from the three hunters scared off any potential thieves as they continued on through the sweltering forest full of ferns and primordial trees that sprouted to half the height of a skyscraper. It was a good twenty minutes after that when they reached their home territory, the scents of many raptors welcoming them with curious-sounding coos.

Oddclaw's home composed of 50 raptors, split into eight families with each having their own pit dug into the ground as a nest where old egg shells laid, alongside new ones with cheerful infants squawking with demand for food and play. A sparse region of the forest where the trees started to thin, yet surrounding them from all sides amongst a large assortment of rocks that towered above them to make good vantage points, the highest reaching up to 40 feet where the Alpha leader stood. His eyes watched over them, nodding respectfully at the hunters returning with food. He had his own family to bring food to him.

"AH, welcome back my children!"

"Hello mother!" cried Oddclaw.

Heading towards one particular nest, a lone female sat with wrinkled scales and a sandy colouring different from the darker hues of those around her which indicated her origins from the barren plains. In fact she was the palest raptor there, almost yellowing like the dry earth with soft hazel eyes that almost shone like wheat fields in the sun.

"I hunted an oddhead!" shouted Sunscreech.

"WE hunted an oddhead," reminded Eggfang. "A foolish fearful creature that stood out in the trees like bones in the sand."

"Hahahaha," cackled their mother, "well a mistake from him is but a reward to us!"

The three raptors sat with their food, sharing with the mother who took pieces from each of their offerings for herself, of which she also shared with nearby mothers and younger hatchlings who were grateful for the gift. Oddclaw was always reminded of his height when he was dwarfed by all of the other raptors surrounding him. All the males of the tribe hit an average of 8 feet, whilst the females stood noticeably smaller at around 7 feet. But they all stood greater than Oddclaw himself, who was a paltry 6'2''.

"Fishclaw is still hunting," said Sunscreech firmly.

"I see," replied the mother Barren. "Him and Shadetooth hunt together well! I am happy to see your brother have a mate."

"I have been too busy to mate."

"You do not have to excuse yourself Sunscreech, you know Drybark has her eye on you."

"How can you tell?"

"Do not be rude, she is a good female with strong legs, she will care for your children well."

"I would rather have a female that can actually look me in the eye."

"You can hardly meet my gaze," said Eggfang coolly, "what difference does it make?"

"Because I don't want to breed my sister, I don't HAVE to look at you."

"I still look at you, if only to make sure you behave."

"Take some meat over to her," said Barren firmly, "she will appreciate it, you will like her I am sure if you just speak with her."

"Alright mother."

Reluctantly Sunscreech got up with his chunk of meat, heading towards a cross-eyed raptor of pale brown tones who squeaked rather happily at the offering. A gentle dance of potential mateseeking was formed as she nipped at his neck, but he wasn't so eager as he gave a rather stiff posture. She assumed he was playing hard to get, but let him leave with a sultry wave of her tail indicating that she was ready anytime for breeding. She never heard his huff of annoyance as he returned back to his family.

"Was that so hard?" asked his mother.

"Like breaking my tooth in stone."

"She may be eager, but I think she is the sort of female you need to help keep you active."

"In what way?"

"Every way. Your father did not waste time with me may I remind you, strong and vibrant he was and I would hope that you follow in his shadow."

"Mother is right," said Eggfang, "I do not know what is stopping you, you are a fine male with plenty to offer for a new family."

"I will make my OWN pace," emphasised Sunscreech, "females would not understand what torments a male body."

"Tell me that after you have laid two litters," said Barren chiding.

"What about Eggfang then, she hasn't found a mate!"

"Because this family requires two mothers."

Both females nodded at each other in smug mutual understanding, the mother licking at her daughter's head in gratitude before she noticed that her younger son had not said a word since arriving.

"Oddclaw, are you alright?"

"I...I am fine thank you mother."

"You just seem quiet today, are you hurt?"

"No, I...did not have anything to say."

"Or anything to offer," said Sunscreech teasing, "at least I can mount a female without struggling."

"At least I have tried. You never did."

What sounded but a simple fact was a brazen insult to the brother as he growled fiercely, but Barren intervened asking:

"Enough, now eat. Where are your sisters?"

"They did not come back yet?" asked Oddclaw.

"No, they left the same time as you."

"Probably stuffing shells up their vents," snarled Sunscreech.

"WHAT?!"

"You did not know? Sand and Leaf have this stupid game where they catch shells in the sand and stuff them up each other...some of them bite."

"Oddclaw is this true?!"

Eyes turned on him suddenly as he felt very small, much moreso than usual as Sunscreech grinned triumphant at his vengeance.

"I...I-i-i try to stop them but they do not listen to me!"

"Are you telling me that my daughters have been playing stupid games at THEIR age?! What if they hurt themselves!? I do not want my daughters not able to lay eggs because of this!"

"I do not know, I am not their father!"

"Could have fooled us," murmured his brother.

"Enough Sunscreech," chastised Barren. "Oddclaw, would you go find your sisters before they hurt themselves, and make sure they bring back some food?"

"Yes mother."

Taking his leave, he went off in the direction of their last known scent. It had taken years for him to sharpen his sense of smell, but he knew all the scents of his family well enough to know where his sisters had run off to. There was a certain skill to it, shutting off the other scents like focusing on a specific colour of the forest and blurring everything else beyond his senses. His snout led him towards the rising hills, an open verdant land of undulating bumps in the landscape that he navigated through. The wind bristled across his scaled back, running with his gait hunched forwards and claws out in force whilst occasionally splaying his hands upon the grass to steady himself and pick up the scent. He loved the hills, being able to see everything around him as he took in the sights of his homeland with a strange uncertainty in his heart.

The mountains to the north stood looming like a dark horizon with the faintest red glimmering like rubies in the sky; the jagged canyons to the west stood out like ancient blood-soaked teeth; the south was his forest home back the way where many creatures mixed both predator and prey; and then there was the sea beyond the east. A shining white horizon of an infinite expanse of blue with jagged white cliffs and an enormous lake that stood between him and the sea. Not even the lake that was next to his home, that one was comfortably small compared to the one much further beyond as he stared down from his vantage point. Forests stretched the length of this small lake's southern shore, and even though it was not the grandest, it was the one he had always known and drank from.

He caught the scent once again, slowly tracing back round the hill and heading down towards the lakeside shores where scrubland blended the pale and green into a shaded palette beneath the tall sharp grass.

"Catch it, CATCH IT WAAAAH!"

He heard the telltale shriek of his sisters along with their childish squeaks and vocabulary.

"I found it I found it!"

"OH, that one is shiny!"

"Very very shiny!"

"Quick put it in!"

Gently creeping forwards, the raptor pushed his snout through the thick grassland to see two females the same brown colourings as him. One of them was pushing her snout into the other's cloaca, or rather trying to stuff something into it.

"A-a-aaaaannnnngh!"

"Is that okay?"

"Y-y-yes...hooo...nnngh b-bit tight."

"OOOH that's a big one! ...feel anything?"

"Nooooo...not yeeeeeeet."

"Don't pull it in!"

"I know I'm not stupid......ooh, OO-OOOH, OOOOOOH P-PINCHY, PINCHY WAAAAAH!"

"IS IT PINCHY?!"

"YES , YES IT IS G-GET IT OUT GET IT OUUUUT!"

The raptors started panicking, one of them frantically stomping on the spot with snarling wheezing pain whilst shaking her tail desperately, the other one trying her hardest to put her claws into her sister's vent.

"O-OWWWW IT PINCHED MEEEE!"

"D-DON'T BE WEAK, GET PINCHY OUT OF ME!"

"I'M TRYIIIING!"

"What are you DOING??"

"WHA-AIIIIIE!"

Both females turned with fright seeing Oddclaw stand agasp at them, the one getting pinched struggling to stay still before scratching her claws on the sand with maddening frenzy.

"ODDIE, ODDIE H-HELP, HE'S PINCHING MEEEE!"

"WHAT did I tell you about playing this stupid game?!"

"SH-SHE DARED ME, LEAF WASN'T GOING TO SHARE HER FOOD UNLESS I DID!"

"I NEVER SAID THAT!" shrieked the one known as Leaf. "Oddclaw I NEVER said that."

"YES YOU DID S-STOP LYIIING!"

"Where IS this food then?"

The one question from him had them look at each other with nervous fear, doubt setting in as they shouted two different things simultaneously.

"IT...WAS STOLEN-"

"-IT WASHED AWAY!"

"Ughhhh...did you two even remember to hunt today?"

"We...w-w-we did, we got a pinchy!"

"They are not 'pinchies', they are called stonefish."

"But that's boriiiiiiing Oddie pleaaaase h-help, he's pinching meeeeeee!"

"...nnngh, fiiiine I will help you, but THIS is the last time now hold still."

He walked over towards the pained-looking female as she showed off her rump to him, whimpering pulsing vent now looking irritated from whatever was inside as he carefully pushed his hand in. The only thing his size was good for and he hated this, knowing that without him these two would have doomed themselves to infertility long ago as his claws sink through the twitching warm cloaca much to both of their discomfort. The sucking clenching muscles around his arm made him sigh with exasperation, the long tail of his sister hanging over his head as he struggled to reach further.

"A-a-a-aaah, aaaaaannnngh!"

"Don't be weak Sandrunner, I almost have him."

"H-h-hurryyyyyyy, I don't want a stonefish hatchling!"

"AH, found you!"

The male grabbed with his opposable claws and carefully extricated the little hermit crab from his sister. Sighing with relief, Sandrunner turned round and snarled fiercely at the little crustacean.

"SO, you like to pinch females do you little pinchy?! Well, how about you pinch THIS!"

Without even hesitating she snatched the shellfish out of Oddclaw's hand and chewed it down vigorously, eating it with a crunching crack and a somewhat acidic taste she recognised from her own vent, much to her sister's disgust as their brother washed his arm in the lakewater.

"EWWWW Saaaaand!"

"What?! GLLKH, you've tasted me too!"

"B-but that was REALLY deep in you, it probably tastes like what your hatchling would!"

"No it doesn't, it doesn't taste like EGGS obviously!"

"How would you know?! You're not an egg thief are you?!"

"Are you two done?" said Oddclaw impatiently. "Mother already knows about your games so this is the last time you'll be playing with pinchies ever again."

"They're called STONEFISH, Oddie."

"Do NOT test me sister!"

"Wait," cried Leaf, "who told her about the pinchy game, was that you?!"

"No, Sunscreech did."

"UUUGH! That little worm, I'm going to eat his face!"

"Please do not eat our brother's face."

"He's not our REAL brother Oddie, he's just a half-brother!"

"That's right he is," echoed Sand. "It would only be HALF the crime to kill him!"

"That is not how the law works you morons!"

"HAH, morons?! Us?! We didn't forget to strip the hair off a warmblood the first time we ate one!"

"I WAS A HATCHLING!"

"Heehehehehehahahahahaa!"

The two sisters cackled teasingly through a strange guttural warbling sound, nuzzling up alongside Oddclaw as they both licked him with affectionate pity. The two were almost identical twins, and he could only tell them apart by their eyes with Sandrunner having her right eye being hazel and her left one green, whilst Leafrunner had her right eye green and the left one hazel as she added:

"You'll always be our little brother Oddie."

"We were born the same day!"

"Mmmmmm but YOU took the longest to hatch."

"Little pinchy brother," added Sand giggling.

"Can't even run as fast as we can."

"Mmmmm I don't think he can sister."

They both looked at each other and darted off into the tall grass with giggling churring sounds of excitement, leaving their odd brother frustrated and confused.

"S-sand, Leaf, come on, mother is waiting for us!"

"The sooner you find uuuuus the sooner we goooooo!"

"I am not playing this, you already had your fun with the stonefish."

"Alright! We'll just wait here forever until we starve and die and mother will blame you for not being a good enough brother to come find us and bring us back home!"

"That's right sister!" shouted the other. "Hope you're as good at finding dead sisters as you are at finding living ones!"

"ENOUGH!" cried their brother. "Can we at LEAST find some food to bring back before mother gets upset at you both?!"

"Oh...I think we already found it."

Leafrunner made the strangest little chirr of intrigue as his eyes widened with fright, before Sandrunner made the same sound from nearby turning him even more nervous on seeing his sisters start to circle him from within the bushes, like sharks of the sandy shore as he now stood a brazen target upon a small rounded clearing. The briefest sight of their tails flashing before his eyes, almost teasing him like worms on a baited hook, kept him slightly panicked at their mischievous hunt.

"S-s-sisters, what are you doing?!"

"We're hunting," said Leaf, "just like you said!"

"Right!" cried Sand giggling. "It's time to hunt, and YOU are the prey!"

"This is not funny!" shouted their brother.

"Ohhh it will be when we both kill youuuuuu, hhhehehahahaHAAAAA!"

Realising he wasn't going to get anywhere by arguing, Oddclaw braced himself as he went into his hunting instinct. Knowing he was already out in the open, he kept his eyes sharp with his ears keeping a full radius around him for any sounds of possible attack. He could hear from which direction where they were, but somehow they made not a single stem of grass flutter with their passing, unless they wanted to on purpose just to frighten him. Even at a similar age to him, they were far superior hunters of stealth despite their immaturity and when they managed to focus that skill into proper action, they were exceptionally deadly when together. He had to rely on their weakness instead, waiting for their teasing giggles to start up again as he picked up a rock and hurled it in the opposite direction.

They looked up out of the grass like periscopes, their heads darting every which way to resemble primordial pigeons as they cautiously followed the source of the sound. When they saw that it was just a rock, they realised their mistake as Oddclaw came tearing through the rushes much to his sisters' panic. He grabbed onto Sand first who was closest, the raptor squealing as he tried to pin her with his arms grabbing at her wrists. Her legs kicked out half-threatened, scraping at her brother's sides but not hurting him badly as she tried to throw him off. His chest grinded against hers as his flaccid cock waved back and forth between their legs, her struggling squawking panic almost playful in its exaggerations.

"N-NO! GET, OFF!"

"I CAUGHT YOU, YOU KNOW THE RULES SANDRUNNER!"

"N-NOT UNTIL YOU CATCH US BOTH, WAAAAAAAH!"

Her smaller brother bit down on her neck dominantly, but Leafrunner came out of nowhere and bodytackled him within a storm of teeth as the two rolled frantically in the grass. Tails rattling like spears up in the air as they tussled and clawed at each other, not viciously, but just enough to try and assert their place in the family.

She used her size to try and crush him underneath, but his arms were much stronger than her own front limbs as he pushed her claws away to try and get his head underneath, in order bite firmly at the throbbing jugular. Leaf quickly backed away, her neck rearing far from his reach as she jumped off and faded back into the grass, circling around him once more with almost-murderous glee as their brother stood on his feet to brace himself. Sandrunner struck first once again, slicing through the tall grass to graze Oddclaw's cheek with her teeth as he barely dodged her lunging strike, just before she slipped straight back into the scrubland. Leafrunner was behind him, using her sister's attack as the perfect distraction to leap upon her brother's back and pin him down with a rather vicious-looking btie to the back of his neck. Despite the ferocity of her teeth teeth sinking down upon his flesh, it was all simply harmless playfighting with her fangs just barely pushing past the skin and only the slightest of bleeding. His frantic scrabbling only amused her as he tried to roll her off, despite her tightening grip.

"A-A-AAAH, AAAAAGH GET OFF ME!"

"Mmmmmm you're miiiine now little brotherrrrrr! You'll have to fight better than that!"

"Y-y-you...want to fight?! I thought you just wanted to hunt?"

"Well sometimes the prey LIKES to fight, right Oddie? Mmmmm you have quite the flavour on you, I can almost taste your blood!"

"OOOH SHINY BLOOD!" squealed Sand from the rushes. "Shiny tasty blood, that's my FAVOURITE!"

"UH-ohhhhh Oddie, you better start fighting baaaaack or else we'll drink all your blooooood! Heheheheheheheehahahaha-WAAAAH!"

Bucking himself hard into a violent roll, he slammed his elbow into her ribs and forced her off before laying on top of her, but she kicked him off hard with her strong feet and pushed him on his back. Oddclaw stood up, claws out and ready as Sandrunner tackled him from his left with a leaping strike, raking his back with her claws briefly. He staggered to the side with a harsh stumble, snarling from their playful demeanour as they disappeared back into the bushes. The only way he was going to get them back home was to tire them out fully, bracing himself to dodge their next attacks.

With ruthless precision, Sandrunner raced through the scrubland reeds towards her brother with frenzied noise as he waited, watching her come closer like a torpedo shooting from underneath the waves as he swerved his body left, ducking underneath the flying raptor with claws outstretched into the air screeching triumphantly. But at the same time came Leafrunner tackling him from the undergrowth, her body charging through like a rampaging beast to trample him as they coordinated their attacks, ensuring that there was no safe place within the small clearing that Oddclaw now stood in. Stumbling with cuts and bruises, he shook his head clear and psyched himself up into a more playful mood waiting for the next attack. He saw Sand coming back towards him again, knowing this time he would be ready until she suddenly turned fast to the right. It was a trick, and he only realised about two seconds before Leaf came flying from behind with a shriek of victory, only to land hard upon the earth.

"RRRRRRAAAHAHAAAAA-wait, what-OOOF!"

Oddclaw rolled swiftly before he pounced straight at his sister, grabbing at her neck with a full body slam as he chomped down upon her neck firmly. Frantically kicking with a shriek of excitement, it was a cue for Sandrunner to come straight to her aid as their brother knew exactly what to do. He grabbed Leafrunner's head and wrestled it hard, forcing her to roll on top of him just in time to be attacked by her sister.

"WAAAAAH!"

"W-WAIT NO, NO-AIIIIIE!"

With both females now on top of him, Oddclaw grinned smugly at Leafrunner's panic and Sandrunner's confusion before he grabbed both their heads and clonked them together like coconuts, briefly stunning them before he pulled them apart in different directions to send them both tumbling down into the dirt beside him. He leapt straight into the grass before they had a chance to recover as they staggered back onto their feet, feeling somewhat dazed.

"Wh-wheh-where did he go?!"

"H-how would I know, you leapt on top of me?"

"I-i-i did not know it was you?"

"DO I SMELL LIKE A MALE TO YOU?!"

"Wwwweeeeelllll-"

"DON'T answer, O-oddie?! Oddclaw where are you!? Wh-where did you go?!"

The two started to feel the tension of being hunted, having the tables now reversed as they tried to pick out his movements within the tall grass roots. For once his size made an advantage as he occasionally flicked his tail behind him, causing one of them to leap forwards and strike at nothing. Leafrunner made the same mistake, seeing something flick past her right as she struck at the thin air, right before Oddclaw bit at her tail.

"YIIIIE! ODDCLAWWW!"

"QUICKLY, FIND HIS BLOOD!"

"I CAN'T, HE'S PUT IT ON EVERY LEAF AROUND US! ODDCLAWWWWW!"

They frantically attacked anything that moved in the slightest, with oddclaw occasionally throwing rocks or swishing his tail to trick them every time to hit the wrong place, constantly frustrating them to the point of exhaustion as they finally tired themselves out from repeatedly jumping at nothing. With every wild leap into the grass, they became more sluggish in their movements growling weakly until finally, their brother grabbed them both with arms spread wide open to wrap round their necks simultaneously, tackling them down into the dry bare soil.

"You, lose. Both of you."

"A-a-aaaaawwwwww...fiiiiine, you win."

"Now, are we going to go back home and at least TRY to find some food before mother gets upset?"

"Yeeeeees Oddiiiiie."

"Alright then. Come on."

"...that was fun though, don't lie I know you loved it!"

"Hmhmhmhm...yes, it was, when is it NOT fun with you two?"

"We have to stop you from being boring SOMETIMES Oddie!"

"Yeah!" cried Leaf. "Otherwise you'll be as bad as Sunscreech!"

"HAH, HAHAHAHA, ohhh I would never want that to happen, you are right then. Thank you sisters."

Smiling at each other gladly, they went and hunted around the deeper scrubland for skitterish lizards and the odd warmblooded mammal before heading back home with a rather unimpressive amount of food for three raptors to bring, to which Barren gave a disapproving glance at her daughters to until they settled down to eat. Despite the fact they were all now fully grown, each family had their own home of sorts within the nesting grounds that resembled something of a commune. Another raptor joined them soon after with the same maroon colours as Sunscreech and Eggfang, his eyes a dark brown carrying three dead fish in his jaws that he placed down before them.

"Where did YOU get to?" asked Eggfang.

"The river was sparse today, I had to hunt further where more fish gathered."

"You must have hunted far, your brother and I were done hunting some time before."

"Really?"

"It is called skill Fishclaw," replied Sunscreech smugly, "something you know nothing of."

"When you can actually catch something in the water, THEN you can tell me about skill, brother."

"Like some filthy skyflesh?!"

"They are disgusting vermin," murmured Oddclaw.

"Hah, something we both agree on."

"It is hard to believe, but they are worth less than even warmbloods."

"Hah, at least warmbloods taste good, skyflesh are practically dirt given flesh."

"We should call them dirtflesh then!"

"HAH! Ohhhh that is a good word for them!"

"Please," chided Barren, "let us not talk about such beasts whilst we feast. Oddclaw, you should go feed your brother."

"Speaking of vermin."

"What."

Oddclaw turned with clenched fists towards Sunscreech, his teeth raking viciously against each other as he stood up.

"WHAT did you say?"

"We were speaking of vermin...were we?"

"I know EXACTLY what you were saying Sunscreech."

"I know that we all agree, as a family who are all HERE that there are no vermin amongst us...here."

"MY BROTHER IS NOT VERMIN!"

His shriek echoed across the grounds causing every other raptor to look at him with a mixture of frightful surprise and irritation. Sunscreech however grinned with amusement at goading his sibling.

"Oh, o-oh hmm, yes that-hhhhmhmhmdid you think I meant HIM? Well that speaks for itself does it not? He never comes to the nest anyway, so why even bother mentioning him?"

"If...if you EVER speak ill of him then I will-"

"You will WHAT?"

Sunscreech stood up fully, clearly towering over the anthropomorphic sibling with a full row of jagged teeth showing from his grin.

"My shadow alone can devour you...little brother."

"I do not speak ill of your brother so do not speak ill of mine!"

"I do not care if you speak ill of him when he can actually fight. What can YOUR brother do?"

"MORE THAN YOU CAN YOU FEEBLE-TOOTHED-"

"ENOUGH!" screeched the mother. "Sunscreech you will respect your younger brothers, Oddclaw you will not fight in our nest!"

"BUT HE INSULTED BARKCLAW!"

"Barkclaw can defend himself, you do not have to fight all of his battles! Now take him his food for the day and not another word from either of you."

"Yes, mother."

Disgruntled but obedient, he carried a slab of raw meat off into the trees with Sunscreech sniggering to himself until silenced by a harsh look from his sister. Barren excused herself to relieve her bowels whilst Eggfang muttered towards him:

"Do you enjoy upsetting mother?"

"I am not the one who has to defend his pet."

"They are our brothers! We all came from the same womb and as the beta of this family I will not have you speak another insult upon them! Do you think father would want you to tear this family apart?!"

"If father were here, we would never have had THEM in our family. And we would be stronger for it."

There were very few raptors that stood outside of the nests, usually guarding the territory with the sharpest eyes and ears for any signs of intruders. Despite their pack mentality, they understood the need to guard their nests well with an early warning after previous experience had taught them better, on having the time ready to swiftly escort hatchlings and pregnant mothers safely whilst any raptor able could brace themselves to fight for their life. But Oddclaw's brother stood waiting much farther from the nest than any other raptor did.

"Hello Barkclaw."

His brother did not turn to greet him, but acknowledged his presence with a gentle flick of his tail. A sallow brown creature with mottled back and dull brown eyes as his claws gently raked across a nearby tree with strangely systematic patience. The scratching sounds were a constant dull circadian rhythm that strangely soothed both of them. The smell of meat wafted across his nostrils which encouraged him to reply:

"Good hunt?"

"It was very good, an oddhead today."

"......three spotwings today, on this tree."

"Really? Before there were nine-and-two."

"They are leaving. Will not come back for two cycles."

Oddclaw gently placed the meat onto an old clean stump, a mutually-understood place for offering food to be left for later. He sat patiently waiting for Barkclaw to finish scratching, the feral oddly stiff in his posture with rigid tail like a tightly-wound spring. The smell of constant stress had become part of his identity, tearing into his food with shaky claws.

"Mother found out about Sand and Leaf's games."

"The pinchy game?"

"Yes...hmhmhm, you should have seen the way she looked at them, you would think they had marked the nest in front of her."

"Did they?"

"No, but her face would have been the same."

"They will not play the game now?"

"I do not think they will stop, you know our sisters, they still act like hatchlings."

"They hunt. I do not."

"No, but you are an excellent guard."

"Am I?"

"You are, why else would you be out here so far from the nests?! You have always been the sharpest eyes in our family."

"......mmm."

With half the meat gone, Barkclaw began to slow down chewing the rest of it like an obligation before diverting to another topic.

"That tree has two sunwings. They were not there before."

"Really? I wonder why."

"They like to land on leaves in the sun. Drop their wings and land, sometimes they land on my head."

"You should make sure they stay."

"Why?"

"Well what if they bring more? We have never had sunwings here before."

"Yes we have."

"When?" asked Oddclaw.

"Six cycles ago," stated Barkclaw. "Three sunwings in that other tree, eighteen-and-one spotwings in that one. That bark took three-and-one cycles to rot, deathcrawlers live there now."

"Why would you even notice the bark rotting?"

"I used to mark it. Then it rotted, it was old, dead, now deathcrawlers live in it. They get under your feet, I mark over there now."

"It is good to change things, after all you should mark everywhere around here to make sure intruders-"

"Yes I know."

Politely nodding, Oddclaw said nothing more and waited for his brother to finish before he got up to head back. Barkclaw in turn went back towards his new favourite tree and start scratching on it once more, showing thin vertical lines implicitly carved like a tallying system.

"I will see you before we go to sleep, alright brother?"

"Okay. Goodbye."

Walking back towards the nest, Oddclaw rejoined his family to see his sisters playwrestling with Fishclaw. The grey-eyed maroon raptor was cackling as the females constantly licked all over his body.

"S-stop it!"

"You have a flavour now!"

"N-no I do not, the fish hit me with its tail!"

"Smelly fishy brother!"

"Mmmmm fishyyyyyyy!"

In the background was Fishclaw's mate Shadetooth, a much darker chocolate-coloured raptor huffing with a small chuckle as she walked over to Barren.

"Did I mate the wrong one?"

"I think you mated the right one," said the mother, "if he can handle his sisters then he will make a good father."

"Hmmm that is true. I pity the male who will end up with those two."

"Hohoho you let me worry about that, just focus on making me a grandmother."

"Hmhmhah! Thank you, Fishclaw we should tend to our nest-building?"

"A-aaah, y-yes dear! S-sand stop nibbling my arm!"

"Heeheehahaha, okayyyy bye bye big brotherrrrr!"

Fishclaw departed with his mate, but not before smiling at Oddclaw and giving him a gentle lick of brotherhood to him.

"I do not envy you living with them," said Fishclaw wryly.

"I am also the one who has to bring them back when they wander."

"Then let me advise you...find a mate before Sunscreech does, then HE will have to be the one that does it."

"He would hate that so much."

"Mmmm I know he would."

The older sibling grinned with a chuckle as Oddclaw sat back down within his family nest. The sisters babbled on about things they found at the lake, whilst Barren and Eggfang preened each other with gentle bites to nip off any bloodsucking insects that occasionally flitted onto their scales and lastly Sunscreech went off on his own to hang with other male raptors that he was friends with. Oddclaw decided to relax on his own by sitting up on a tree, lying back on his favourite branch with his hands behind his head watching the clouds pass over him. The constant cacophony of carnivores around him was strangely soothing, gently closing his eyes with a smile on his face. The scent of raptors marking their territory amidst the lush greenery created a sweet and sour mix in his nostrils, something that would repulse any other creature and warn them away if they knew what was good for them. The slight taste of blood on his lips he licked clean, savouring the raw meat that now filled his belly as he heard the sound of four hatchlings running off into the woods with their mother for their first hunt.

"WE HUNT WE HUNT!"

"W-wait, wait for meeee!"

"I wanna taste warmblood!"

"Alright children now stay with me, do not run off! Hunters always hunt together, if you hunt alone then you will die alone."

"Oh-kayyyy motherrrrr!"

Smirking at a warm nostalgia overcoming him, Oddclaw carefully got up to crawl along the branch as he followed after the small group. They did not travel too far from the tribe's grounds as their mother led them towards a small burrow in the undergrowth. They were excited, but she bade them silent and made them hide in the bushes.

"Now. Watch...closely."

Firmly stomping on a certain patch of loamy soil, she heard the skittering of something beneath the earth as a large shrew popped its head out of the burrow. She waited for the right moment as Oddclaw held his breath watching from above. She striked swiftly, biting down on the neck to silence it without a single shriek uttering from its throat before she brought it into the bushes.

"See? Not a sound it made, that way it cannot warn the rest of its tribe."

"Wooooow mommy, I didn't even hear it!"

"You must always come from behind and bite the back of its neck, see? Look at where my fangs are, like this."

She bit once more into the exact same place of the now-dead creature.

"Now, can you tell me why we must kill them quickly?"

"UM, s-s-so they don't make any noise?!"

"Good! If they are part of a group, we would not want them to be alerted. Now what is the other reason?"

"Because...ummmmmm it...because it, it-"

"It hurts less!"

"Yes!" cried the mother happily, "very good! We do not want our prey to suffer, for we have already taken their life to feed ourselves. We kill to survive, to feed our families, but we do NOT kill to make other creatures suffer, do you know why?"

"Be-...because you can't eat, if you um, they're noisy a-and other-"

"No, not just that. Because a hunter who enjoys suffering is not a true hunter. They do not hunt to keep others fed, they do not hunt to keep their family alive. They hunt for themselves, they are but selfish beasts. And it is very important that you, children, do not revel in that suffering."

"Why do we hunt in the forest mommy?" asked one of them.

"Because this is our home," replied the mother, "this is where we live."

"Do we hunt, o-on the plains too?"

"No my son, we do not hunt outside of our territory. That is the law of our home, we must not hunt beyond our home. It is the right of every creature to feel safe in their homes, and so the other tribes live in peace far far away from us. We do not hunt in their homes, and in turn they do not in ours. Not all tribes learn this however, and that is when we must fight back."

"So what do WE hunt then?"

"Foolish wanderers and lone creatures. You would be surprised how many of them there are, separated by choice or their own weakness in not keeping up with their tribes, and when you cannot keep up...you die, simple as that. Now, Toothleaf, you are next, I will draw the warmblood out and you must strike for the back of the neck."

Oddclaw watched the children succeed with fine inherited instincts to lunge down upon the next victim and crush its throat swiftly. He remembered how his first hunt went, a lot less successful than theirs as he prodded his teeth with his claws to feel their sharpness. Not as pointed as the others' were, which made him look at his claws being smaller than the others. Not that his hands mattered for raptor arms were generally not very strong and in fact he had the strongest arms of any of them comparatively. But his legs were a different story, the scythe-like claws on his toes less formidable than that of the tribe itself as his body was a constant reminder that he was always different from the others in every way. The sky darkened slightly.

"Hunting for skyflesh?"

A voice cried out from below him as he leaned over to see Fishclaw chirruping at him.

"You should find a tall tree!"

"I do not want to be close to that sort of filth, Fishclaw."

"Are you alright?"

"I am."

"Are you sure Oddclaw? I can smell your anxiety from here you know."

He climbed back down to sit on a rock nearby with his grey-eyed brother peering down at him kindly.

"I just...I feel so different."

"Ohhh not this again, Oddclaw you are our brother, it does not matter."

"Half-brother."

"So what?! We both come from the same womb."

"Not according to Sunscreech."

"Pfft, Sunscreech is a whiny stonehead, he wants to blame you for things beyond his grasp then that is not your problem. You are family, you have our scent."

"I know Fishclaw...I...I just...I just wonder why I was born in THIS family, out of all the creatures out there, why do I have this body that is so odd when everyone else has-"

"We are all odd creatures. We live in a world with longnecks and flying beasts and hairy warmbloods scuttling around, do you really think you stand out that much?"

"I do."

Sighing glumly, he felt a tender nuzzle from his older sibling who gave him a soft slow lick. He could not help but ask:

"Do you...remember my father much?"

"More than I remember my own. You are very like him, but with a different marking. Your eyes are the same, sharp like frozen leaves."

"Why did our fathers leave? Do you ever wonder that?"

"No, because that should not matter. What matters is we are all here, and I am sure my father had his reasons just as your father did. Do not obsess over it. Sunscreech does that more than enough for all of us."

"Hmhmhaha...you are not very kind about him today."

"When he deserves kindness, I shall give him it. He wants to be a lone hunter then let his pride take him down, that might teach him a lesson."

"Eggfang said something like that too."

"We know our brother well," said Fishclaw, "I know he does not see eye to eye with you, but that should not matter. Now, I need to get back to my mate but I came here to tell you that Alpha wants to meet you."

"What?"

"You should go swiftly. He demanded it."

"I...I see, thank you brother, I will go now."

With creeping uncertainty in his heart, Oddclaw made his way towards the centre of the nesting grounds, dreading what possible task they had for him. He knew in his heart precisely what it was and he hated it every time, but not for the reasons that others expected him to.