"-Three-horn?"
"Three-horn are you there?"
I felt my tail twist inward, caressing my scales as every known fiber within me slowly surged back to life. Mostly it was upon the mentioning of my foreclosed name, and not the realization that I was walking in a daydream. And although I was called for out there, my mind began to swirl inside with wonder. It was odd to get used to it, being called by your species name rather than who you truly are, and though I was now fond of it I felt bothered inside. Just the term, three-horn, sent a shiver down my back. Every species craved it's blood and yet feared it. It didn't sound fulfilling, let alone positive in any way. And despite trying my best to act calm and collective, I felt that it wouldn't make a difference to begin with. All I wished for was some type of identity rather than this foul regard that's so frowned upon by everyone.
All the more reason my history had to be found again.
"Hey, Three-horn."
"Hmm?"
I twitched my tail again, looking upward at Rumble's circular face, the massive long-neck's body pacing slowly beside me. He had the kind of light his mate carried - considerate and honorable to each and every species, and while he was a male bull who had a frisky intention and joy deep down he was also quite keen to life. Even those who stood no chance against his mighty size.
"I was asking about that weird dream story of yours, but you dazed off a bit. Is...something wrong?"
I scoffed a bit, shaking my frilled head back in response, "No, nothing's wrong. I'm just lost at the moment. My apologies if I left you astray."
"Oh, you don't need to do that, I was just curious that's all," Grunted Rumble, "Thyrah's much more of a talker than I am. I'm still getting used to connecting and whatnot, let alone to other species. I still wonder how she does it."
"Kind of how you're doing it now with me. Just talk I guess."
Rumble huffed with amusement and bobbed his head, "I can't argue with that. So, what's on your mind?"
I swallowed hard curling in my claws at each passing step and sighed, "Everything really."
"Everything? That's a lot to take in!"
"Of course it is!" I snorted back, puffing out steam, "That's probably why I'm struggling so much. And, why I can't seem to move on. Wrecker's gone...the valley's gone...my dreams make no sense and now I'm about to meet someone who can uncover my memories."
"Well," Rumble thought for a moment, "Isn't that a good thing? Don't you want to know?"
"Well, yes," Came my unsure response, "I do want to know. And yet I...I don't, or rather I'm scared to find out the truth."
"Fear's keeping you at bay, my friend," He grunted, "Why let it control you if you fought so hard to defy it?"
"I'm not! Well...for the most part."
"Sounds more like you are," Rumble chortled with a grin, "I mean there's nothing wrong with being afraid, but at some point you have to fight it. You're the king of your own body, not the monster that reeks it or the blood that fills it."
"I understand..." I sighed, flaring my nostrils, "I guess I'm more nervous than in that area."
"Agreed. It's been a while, hasn't it? Seeking something that may define everything is quite hard to wait for."
"Indeed," I smiled back, feeling my heart beginning to twist inward, "I just wish Wrecker was here to see it."
"I think he is," said Rumble, "You just have to let him in. Oh! Hold on-"
Rumble let out a massive roar, forcing me to reel back from the sharpness of it, and just as soon as it escaped all of the herd paused.
"We're here!"
"At the flyers?"
"No, no, the final spot before them!" Rumble chirped happily, "The falls are our resting spot when we migrate!"
"Why?"
"Why not? If anything you need this more than I do. Take time off of this...worry you have, and enjoy yourself. Eat, relax, sleep, relieve yourself even. We'll be on our way when the next daylight arrives. And if you need anything me and Thyrah are here. Just give us the word."
I sighed, curling in my claws and bobbled my head, "Okay."
"W-What's g-going on?" Rockhorn grunted, flopping down on his underbelly to stretch his legs, "W-Why'd we s-stop?"
"The long-necks are resting," I puffed out steam with slight annoyance, pacing around the other three-horn as I stared at their massive group, "Alas I can't argue with their ways. We wouldn't get there alone anyways."
"A-Agreed," He growled, stretching once more before pacing to the edge of a flattened area to rest and sighed. I gazed at him, smirking a bit and paced on over, just curious to speak.
"How are you?"
"I-I'm doing w-well. Just a bit t-tired and hungry, t-that's all. Y-You?"
"I'm doing well too...I guess," I replied, "Still have a lot on my mind after...well..."
"I-I know h-how you f-feel. I'm s-sorry."
"That's fine I...I'm just...trying to move on from it."
"B-But you look b-better than b-before," grunted Rockhorn with a pleasant smile, "Y-You healed of c-course! T-The Y-Yarrow must've d-done g-good."
"I guess it did, didn't it?" I purred, scoffing a bit from the way he said that, then noticed his face suddenly flushed of emotions, and more importantly his joy, "You okay? You look down too."
"I-I just f-feel a bit g-guilty, that's all. For l-leaving you. And for...well...b-being myself."
"How do you mean?"
"I-I just...I d-don't know...h-how I s-speak, how I a-act...I fear you d-don't like me, l-like Wrecker h-had."
"And why's that?"
"Look...I-I wasn't born...n-normal," Rockhorn began, pulling his paw into his chest, "I-I'm pretty s-sure you c-can tell..."
"Of course," I nodded, "But that doesn't make me like you any less than you already are. You're still my friend. And, we all have our own differences that make us...well...who we are."
"I-I know," He stammered shyly, "But I d-despised mine. M-My friends c-called me a b-blabber mouth. O-others said a b-bug bit my tongue, so I w-was s-scarred for life. O-Or, s-simply put...I-I was a b-bad egg, a c-coward who was l-lucky enough to m-make it through to a-adulthood. I-I try to d-deny it b-but I...I f-fear they're r-right."
I gazed into his lowered eyes, staring at his form and glowing scales against the dying sun and met his gaze.
"Hey..." I grunted, smiling softly, "I'd say they're just jealous."
"H-How could t-they be jealous?"
"I know my memories are faded but..." I looked away, gazing into the sun, "I do recall someone saying that the ones who hate upon you are only jealous because they know you stand better than the rest of them. Because you carry something special that even they wish they could have, let alone touch."
"S-So...t-they m-make fun of me b-because I'm...good?"
"Because you're unique, Rockhorn," I cooed, "Because you're special, and you always have been. You just have to...take the moment and find it. Like me. Prove them wrong if you must because deep down you and I both know you are not a coward or a bad egg. And you're more than just a set of horns."
"R-Really?"
"Mhm..."
Rockhorn smiled a bit, meeting my gaze slightly and purred, "I-I guess...W-What about you?"
"Me...well..." I clamped my beak a bit and thumped my tail, "I don't know. I hope to find out what makes me special or unique, but at the same time I'm scared."
"W-Why?"
I sighed, twitching my snout, "Everyone has doubted me, hated me, blamed me for things outside of my control that I fear make me darker than I already am. What if I am then? What if I'm a killer?"
"D-Do y-you deny it? Or are you p-purposely c-choosing to b-believe that?"
I felt my stomach writhe with uncertainty. What was I supposed to believe in? Who was I supposed to listen to? All their voices, their words, their calls and cries, it sounded real. But those were the words of predators and liars, of killers hunting my hide down. Was it right to trust it?
I growled softly and shook my head, "Neither I guess. Until I can...you know, find it, I have to keep running, and trust whatever's left in this frill of mine."
"I-I think you'll f-find it," Rockhorn cooed, tilting his head as he watched me, "S-somehow...like h-how I-I found you. L-Like how you found W-Wrecker."
"When we reach Dreamcatcher I will," I replied, shifting back up to all fours, "I'm going to gather some food, before those long-necks eat everything. You coming?"
"A-Actually I r-rather stay," Rockhorn grunted, smiling as he gazed at the sunset, "I-I haven't seen one of t-these in a w-while. I wouldn't m-miss it for the w-world."
"Okay. If you insist then. But just in case I'll get something for you too," I purred back, turning away from the molten ball in the sky and trotted through the long-neck crowd between the mountainous gorges ahead.
Like always they feasted, which was a common occurrence. Their massive necks reached for the small shrubs that laid beyond our touch as bottom feeders, and with ease they'd pick at the ripest of greens that only the sun had blessed. From below I was only bound to watch, let alone escape their huge feet that shook the ground beneath me. At times I'd slither my way through and under their massive bodies, bumping against thick paws and underneath wobbly bellies of plenty. Of course the worst of which would be dragging myself behind their tails which reeked of their foul essence much to my dismay. It wasn't fun of course, much alike to a maze of feet that could kill you in an instant. And I had wondered how I bothered surviving a food fest with the club-tails, as well as my own kind.
It was even harder carrying horns through the abyss of long-necks. But even the greatest of things had an end, and end which was open, quiet, and very still.
Yet lacked the foliage I longed so dearly.
As much as I hungered for the fresh tangy trees above the ravine I didn't want to act dependent on Thyrah and Rumble. It felt wrong of me to do that, especially as a three-horn. Why settle? I wasn't a useless hatchling!
Alas, some things should be done on one's own, and into the mountains did I travel, keen on the sight of fresh, tasty greens.
"Where are you hiding...," I rumbled, sniffing the air for a fresh scent. I was surprised to find many of course: the golden nectars of late flowers, the toiled prickly branches of dried leaves to the far right, even a few thicketed bushes of soft sage which I found quite enticing to follow. There were choses indeed, but with night falling and the fear of losing direction beginning to arise, I forced myself to choose quickly.
I chose bushes.
The mildest of breezes carried the sweetened scent to my snout, dragging me forward and through the twisted pathways that had built this unearthly place. It wasn't a choice of course, my hunger had consumed my common sense, and so I let myself be dragged away on this sole journey, carving beneath rocks and stone to a rather wide opening in the mountains.
A place, much to my surprise, with more than just fresh bushes sprawled across the ground.
I stumbled forward with undeniable pride, sinking my face into a lengthy puddle that dug itself quite well into this darkness, glowing like the faltering moon against the incoming storm. I felt the cold fresh liquid stick onto my snout, and after a heavy, delightful slurp I exhaled, cooing back with a raised tail.
"Thank the stars..."
Had I not been so hungry the puddle would've been lost, but I knew my friend longed to eat from a three-horn's findings. After a couple stuffed bites of the foliage for myself I gathered seven sticks of green and brown between my beak and lowered it near the puddle, just enough that the surface barely touched the liquid sphere before my claws. Another satisfied purr later, I turned back to the puddle, lowering my skull and lapped at the puddle.
Before a sudden rumble ruined it.
I paused, opening my eyes mid-lick and curled in my tongue, frowning from what I had felt. My underbelly twitched, a feeling I usually gained whenever something strange was afoot. And with tremors, I'd usually consider it to be more than just a shiver. I flared my nostrils, waiting for that primal instinct to kick in, but nothing did. It was as if nothing was even...happening.
I turned back to the puddle, slightly closing my eyes and began to lick for another round.
The water vibrated again.
I stopped licking at the surface, gazing at my wavy reflection with a worried gaze settling in my eyes. It wasn't me that was causing this, and no earthshake could possibly make such ripples. As I would know it they'd make the surface jolt and jostle without sensible patterns.
This...this was something else.
The water rippled again, the pebbles nearby jolting along with it and I froze, my breathing beginning to quicken. I took a step back as the tremors continued, a shallow thump sounding all around me and through my claws. It was bad enough that I was in a dark place, but the echoes too turned against me, making me whirl about in the blackness. I couldn't smell anything either, there was no wind and no scent amidst the emptiness. I let out a soft grunt, perplexed to see nothing and smell nothing. And just as I pondered the thought of what it could be, the shaking stopped.
And all fell still.
I let my eyes wander about, my heartbeat now a rushing crescendo from the strange and random event that had been bestowed to me. But I couldn't sense anything, nor could any of my senses pick up what had happened. Part of me wanted to avoid such nonsense as a mere illusion to the darkness around me, and also my willingness to sleep.
But as bad as I wanted to accept this, I couldn't take any chances.
With a soft sigh I gathered the bush food meant for Rockhorn and dipped them in the pool, soaking the leaves with as much nutrients as possible, and spun around.
Before a heavy skull pummeled me into the ground.
The earth came rushing at me from the side, striking my flank hard and stunning me immediately. I had no time to cry out, nor did I find it necessary after being struck so hard. Already I was hesitant to stand, unsure what had become of me after losing my breath, but before I could answer the darkness attacked again, launching right at my vulnerable body with clenched claws and rows of sharp benevolent teeth.
I yelped, feeling the creature's wretched maw sink into my back and drag me about like fresh meat, slamming my flank into the nearest wall. The whole mountain shook when I collided, a similar tremor rushing through my bones from the sudden pain, and with a hiss of annoyance I jerked my frill upward, striking the carnivore in the eye by the tip of it's rigid peak.
"Rumble?!" I roared, feeling the lukewarm blood ooze freely from my new wound as I faced my first adversary, "Thyrah?! Rockhorn?! Where are you?"
The sharptooth snarled, circling me with a hiss of longing hunger and bared his fangs. Another stomp sounded from behind me, a second sharptooth coming into the darkening light of a midnight storm, rumbling by the delightful scent of a three-horn's fear.
"Help me!" I roared again, limping backward as they turned to my front, growling with desire, "Someone!"
I didn't know what to do. Their scents were faded, the vibrations of their feet mere silence against the dust. Alas, I was alone, surrounded by the monsters I've long since forgotten, and now cowered from. And a three-horn, lost and alone like myself, let alone any herbivore in this state, was surely a dead one. I watched helplessly, noticing their maw's salivate red drool as they eyed me, lashing their tails in hopes of a fresh opening to take. They hungered my blood, and longed for my flesh. Something I couldn't afford to lose, at least not yet.
I exhaled sharply, slamming my paw onto the ground and snorted my say, just to them.
"I'm not dying to you," I hissed angrily, ignoring the throbbing agony on my back, "Not after I came all this way. Not to a bunch of pathetic rotten snakes!"
The first sharptooth snarled, lumbering forward with a vicious roar and snagged onto my first horn, a clear mistake based on how I stood. A simple jerk had unbalanced him, and like an avalanche he crumbled under his own weight, flipping violently into the ground. The second jaw came in just as fast as the first, sinking his knife-like teeth into my bony frill. I grimaced slightly, shifting backward from his massive weight and plowed upward, sinking my horn deep into his shoulder before slamming him down. The carnivore writhed in agony, growling and snarling as ooze spilled from the incision, all while I watched coldly in the mountain's shadow.
"Don't you dare touch my hide again!" I growled lowly to the two dazed predators, "It'll be your undoing if you bastards try."
"Or, it may be yours..."
Out of mere nothingness a sudden jaw crashed into my neck wound, dragging me off my feet and right into thin air. I lifted upward for a mere second, confused as to what happened, just before the side of the mountain rammed into my body at full force. All I could hear was the crack of a ribcage, the shattering sound of broken rocks, and my awful scream of agony.
The ground shook hard upon my landing, and with it a wave of anguish flooded through my body where I had struck, rippling into each and every muscle I had left to withstand. I twitched slightly, my breathing now a combined wheeze, like a gathering of air rather than a simple inhale. I groaned quietly, trying again and again to gasp for it, yet tasted nothing other than a dribble of blood seeping onto my tongue.
I broke something.
I know I did.
"My...chest..." I tried to speak, squeezing my eyes tightly as I tried another breath, "I-I can't...I can't breathe..."
My claws curled inward, seeking the touch and feeling of the smooth rocky earth beneath me, but what I found instead was the touch of black oily scales, and three pointed talons alongside it. I gazed upward, seeing a flash of light from the sky illuminate the shadow gazing down at me and heaved, feeling a strange sort of pressure push down against my ribcage.
"Where are you..." I whimpered, my eyes barely open as blood began to pool from the new crippled flesh, "Where..."
"You had this coming, three-horn," The blurry sharptooth above snarled, baring his blood-soaked fangs at me as a bolt of lightning split the skies above, "You should've stayed buried, where you belong."
"I'm...not...afraid of you..." I weakly hissed back, narrowing my eyes, "You...don't scare me..."
"Then you'll die braver than your kin," He rasped, digging his feet harder into my flank, "But still...just the same. All alone...and forgotten."
"They'll...come for me..." I growled back, gasping as his talons curled in tighter. But rather than see him fear, let alone consider the mere thought of company, the sharptooth tilted his head, and smirked.
"Will they?"
His jaws suddenly slammed down behind my frill, clamping around my neck like a coiled snake, and squeezed. I wasn't able to react in time, and could only feel his fiery fangs slash into my flesh with ease, and rip me apart. I roared out, my face suddenly sprayed with warm blood and let out another painful scream, hoping for someone to hear.
"AHH! Please, stop!"
The sharptooth slammed his foot down onto my side, and squeezed harder, watching with satisfaction as my tail slapped the ground, begging for it to stop. He didn't want me to simply die, like all the other creatures after me.
He wanted it slow.
He wanted me to feel it all.
I scrambled at the ground as he squeezed tighter, crushing my throat, allowing me to feel every fiber scream out in desperation as Death crawled up my scales, his shadowy facade now close to my face, preparing to end it.
Because he knew. And I knew as well.
It was only a matter of time...
...
No...
No...I can't end it like this-
NO!
I sharply jerked my head, screaming through tears as I shoved off the wall, slamming the sharptooth backward into the ground along with me. And with a sickening blood-curdling screech, I watched my precious throat get torn away from his teeth, crushed under the weight of his jaws, and fumbled onto my underbelly, sobbing hard.
And everything around me fell silent, and still.
Too much... I heard myself cry from the inside, now unable to hear my whimpers anymore, I don't know if I could...
No! Stay awake! They'll come to you! You just have to let them know!
Right...
I shakily pushed to my feet, the blood now soating my frill, snout, back and chin, and turning to the side of the mountain opened my beak and let out my loudest cry.
But nothing happened.
I doubled back, inhaling weakly and tried once more.
Nothing.
Nothing came out.
Was I deaf then? I wondered, shaking my head, I must've hit hard-
But the thunderous boom of the skies above made that thought die just as soon as it had appeared. I opened my maw just to speak a word, but all I heard was a hoarse mewl.
No...
I felt the ground rumbling as the sharptooth began advancing, trying to speak out again, but could only hear a broken croak, not even in my language.
No please...
I tried to scream, but nothing happened. All that I could hear, and feel, was the bubbling blood that had been set free, and the hungry growl of predators. Nothing more than that, and nothing less.
Where's my voice?!
I spun to face the sharptooth, unable to speak, roar, let alone scare him. And torn by his revelation, I was too concerned to even bother avoiding the tail swipe at my face.
The smack alone blurred my visions and sent me off my feet. But it was the rock behind me that struck the hardest, cracking at my frill like an egg.
And everything around me went black.