[COMPLETE] Life Before Man - Fabian's Journey

Chapter 4

If such tragedies were possible is unclear. While no scientist disputes that Plateosaurus is a herbivore, it is debated whether it was an obligate or facultative one. An obligate herbivore eats exclusively plants while a facultative one will supplement its diet with meat. Plateosaurus' teeth most closely resemble that of the modern iguana which has been shown to exhibit growth disorders if meat is excluded from its diet which is why especially the fast-growing young tend to eat many insects. However, an ecological argument could be made that even adult Plateosauruses did not eschew meat entirely. Paleontologists such as Ben Pabst speculate that occasional predatory behavior by Plateosaurusesis the reason why almost no contemporary predators reached their size class, as they blocked the niche reserved for them. While their teeth were ill-equipped for predation, it is not unheard of an animal to do something evolution did not adapt it for. Horses, elephants and deer have all been reported eating meat.
And in this case, the situation was extreme enough to warrant such a freak incident.

Aconia's forlorn and orphaned son had no choice but to continue his quest on his own. Even animals feel grief, as evidenced by elephant's mourning their dead and losing one's mother is difficult for any animal still dependent on her. At this point, any dinosaur beyond the most juvenile stages was a threat to him.

He drifted through the desert aimlessly with no goal in sight, but death. In his state of health, he could barely even discern the heavens from the Earth or tell if he was still moving in the same direction as he had used to. The smell of maggots and blood was the only thing he has left to guide him. It was the smell of death. The smell that became stronger and stronger. The smell that would befall his entire body before he got reunited with his mother.
When it was at its highest, he could finally feel its source. A corpse, as expected, but from a bipedal, more than five meter long dinosaur. Bite-sized chunks of meat were torn from all parts of its torso, leaving only half of the animal left to tell the tale. It was rotten to the core, but the maggots provided a source of vitamins while the half-dried blood helped drench Fabian's throat. Once his basic needs were met, he could rest. His condition had improved, he was further away from turning into a dead body than before, but he still needed sleep. Another dead tree provided him a quiet place. He leaned up against it as if it was his mother's leg. With the smell of an unidentifiable Plateosaurus, it might as well have been.

Once he awoke under the return of the morning sun, he finally regained his senses. He could recognize the corpse's purple crests and its vegetation-colored skin. Unmistakably, this was the corpse of a Liliensternus he had just eaten from. Surely, no conspecific nor any Plateosaurus did this to the poor animal.
Fabian could not speculate, but with his sanity regained, he could discern the details hidden in the horizon. An azure stripe separated the sandy ground from the blue sky. Green trees marked its borders.
An oasis.
Should he reach it, we would have enough food or water for a lifetime or at least the remainder of the dry season. He would be vulnerable to predation. However, another herd might find him there.
Fabian could grow up to be an old and happy Plateosaurus, so that his mother's sacrifice would not have been in vain.

He mastered every obstacle. The Sun, the pain, the thirst, it was as if these were not even there. The oasis just grew bigger and bigger. More and more different types of ferns and even the horsetails he loved so much were visible to the naked eye. Most importantly, there were no signs of the wicked mire. The oasis already filled his entire field of vision. Now, he had to look left and right to see where it ended and where it began. He had to move slowly, often fainting. It was the final bit of effort he had to exert before a well-deserved reward, but it was no use to collapse right now. He was in no hurry.
Until he felt steps.
It were no heavy and clumsy steps like those of the bull or even his mother. No, it was someone as big as him, but with more splayed feet. He only had to turn around to see who was back.
Lila was chasing him!
Fabian plunged towards the waterhole. It was instinctual, with no plan what to do once he would inevitably reach the bank. Lila was mere meters away. The exact number closed with every passing moment. Fabian's leg was already within a bite's reach when he decided he had enough of fleeing.
The Plateosaurus took a sharp turn, forcing both combatants to slow down. Lila was caught off guard when Fabian turned 180 degrees and rammed her leg. She expected him to flight rather than fight.
But she could adjust and bit his forearm. Fabian had no tricks against that. Biting her hide with his iguana-like teeth tickled her at best and punching around with his free arm did not help. His thumb claw was too underdeveloped. The last time they fought, Fabian only won due to dumb luck and Aconia. He would have neither of these here.