Men & Monsters

Long Time No See

With her hood still sopping wet over her face, Eira dangled helplessly when an overwhelming reptilian scent came over her. Coughing up mouthfuls of water and wheezing, she hardly took notice to being suspended in midair by a pair of powerful jaws. Her chest ached as she fought to breathe, with gasps devoid of chilling cold water. The dinosaur set her down, when she could just barely see its feet back away as it gave her room to recover. Taking deep, thankful breaths of fresh air, she slowly brought a hand up and pulled her hood back when she looked up.

"Eira?" Giant seemed both relieved and ecstatic to see her, as his face lit up in such a way that few around them had ever seen. The girl stood up, winded at first but equally as excited to see him, not to mention be out of the freezing water. To her surprise, she found herself unable to speak. Where would she begin? So much had happened since they last saw each other, and this time, they even had an audience. Giant's subjects she presumed. "Eira it is so great to see you. How in the world did you happen upon this place? So far from where we first met, and..."

"That bloody fish got away again." Blade interrupted as he approached the rest of the gang. Upon looking at the baryonyx Eira immediately yelped and began to run, only to have her actions thwarted by Giant's laughter.

"It is only Blade, my dear. He's only about as harmless as he is useless."

"H-hardly..." Eira stammered.

"Hmm? How's that?" It wasn't until now that the Green Folk really felt the intensity of the dinosaurs' collective stares, or just how many were there. As she looked around, she spotted Rampage and Crash near the back of the gang. Rampage didn't seem to be paying much attention as he nibbled on a patch of grass, but the dome-headed dinosaur had her sights locked on Eira.

If not for her, Crash thought, Crunch might still be alive, when her heart raced. She would have acted her revenge right then and there had it not been for the overwhelming amount of carnivores around. Not to mention Crunch's voice lingering in the back of her mind, as if reminding her that such an act would not please him. A lone tear rolled down her bony cheek, much to her dismay. Also, there was Rogue, who crept in and around different dinosaur groups to better look at Eira, when she recognized him from the trail. Finally she swallowed, and looked back to Giant.

"There was a fight. H-he was there. I'm sure of it."

"A fight you say? Interesting. Say Blade," Giant turned toward the baryonyx, who began to feel his knees go weak. "Didn't you say something about a scuffle when you returned last?"

"A-ah, ahem, aye sir."

"And you failed to report that you found Eira?" This prompted the girl look back up at Giant.

"Y-you never asked, sir." Blade replied with a stupid yet cheerful grin. The leader narrowed his eyes harshly to the baryonyx, forcing the latter to feel his heart leap up to his throat.

"You've been looking for me?" Eira asked. Giant turned back to her, his calming, suave attitude having returned.

"Of course I have. As you know Eira, you've opened up quite a little world to me, one I thought I'd never see in this lifetime. I had asked my friend Crunch and some of his men to search for you, to find where you might reside, so that I might visit you in the future." His smile widened. "I'm curious as to how you happened along here, so far from the home you pointed me toward."

"Well, it's...kind of a long story."

"And I'll love every minute of it, I'm sure. But first, might I introduce to you some of my most trusted associates I was telling you about. Taurus, Hopper, Carnage, if you will." Sure enough, the allosaurus and the carnotaur brothers stepped forward from the pack. Taurus was the only one who seemed genuinely intrigued by Eira as he approached her. Though he had a habit of being a loud breather, his flared nostrils seemed to be sniffing her in Eira's mind. As such, when he circled around her, she couldn't help but retreat inward by crossing her arms and ducking her head. The timid gesture made Giant chuckle, to which Eira gave her greetings, first to Taurus just over her shoulder, then to Hopper and Carnage.