Caimecus VS Kamacuras

Skull Island

A herd of Sker buffalo waded around in the murky swamp water, happily grazing upon aquatic plants. Strings of algae hung down from their matted grey coats, providing habitats for a plethora of parasitic organisms, whilst also not harming the buffalo itself. Egrets stood perched across their elegant horns, using the Sker as protection. After all, not many predators wished to risk hunting a lone individual, let alone a herd. However, they were not completely safe...

From the shadows of a nearby mountain lurked pests so invasive that their sheer presence on the island throws the ecosystem off balance; Skullcrawlers. Originally native to Hollow Earth's caverns, the reptiles managed to sneak their way up onto the surface and gain the role of an apex predator on Skull Island. They were responsible for the slaughtering of Kong's family and ruled the tropical isle with an iron fist. Due to their metabolism, Skullcrawlers had a hunger that can never be satisfied. Incapable of missing even a single meal, the beasts went to great lengths to feed; even hunting prey they cannot bring down!

Four of them stalked, silently inching out from behind the rocks. Their prehensile tails coiled like serpents, flexing in the air as if they were warming up for a fight. The crests laying before their eyes were an indicator of their maturity, as well as the dozens of scarred bite marks and slashes embedded in their stone grey hide showing that this pack had experience on their side. One of them even possessed a slight limp on its right leg, an ever-lasting side-effect of a previous hunt. Unfortunately, despite their size, these Crawlers were only a quarter of the Sker's weight, meaning going after a healthy adult would be a death sentence. This was why their sights were set on something much more handleable; a young male. For the past few hours, the bull had made attempts to integrate himself into the herd, which was composed of entirely adult females and their calves. He was part of a small bachelor group of other young males, which were still lingering nearby, though decided to take his chances with a female and split off temporarily. This put him out in the open, and whilst his size protected him against Skullcrawlers, he was inexperienced in defending himself, especially against multiple aggressors.

The bull fought his way through the mud, throwing his head back as he let out a guttural bellow at a nearby cow. Her response was to simply trot off, clearly uninterested in him. He called back, watching as she headed towards the rest of the herd, although it was evident she had made her mind. He snorted and turned around, striding over to a nearby mangrove tree, beginning to munch on a branch. Little did he know, but this was the perfect position for the Skullcrawlers to make their move. Ever since he approached the female, they had advanced, now crouching on a hill. And now that their prey was preoccupied, it only seemed fit to begin their ambush.

One of the Crawlers lightly snapped its jaws, seemingly a signal as the three others slithered off, positioning themselves circled around their victim. However, the bull wasn't completely oblivious to the pack, he could pick up their scent now that they were this close. He pulled away from the tree and cautiously began moving into the water, striding through the thick sludge. Although the bull was young, his horns had begun to form the signature forked tips, a weapon definitely capable of impaling attackers. The foliage around twenty metres away suddenly ruffled before a Skullcrawler erupted from atop a hill, its ropelike tongue shooting out of its jaws toward the buffalo. Hearing the sudden noise, he turned himself around just in time to catch the reptile on his horns, the hooks puncturing its torso. It thrashed violently, grasping the horn in its claws in an effort to pull it out. But the bull wouldn't let that happen, as he slammed his head onto the ground, crushing his attacker with his bulk. Its body went limp, still skewered on its killer's horns. 

Witnessing their pack-mates demise, the three others pounced at once; it was a foolish idea to allow that Crawler to attack first, and they weren't going to risk another loss. Surprised by his lucky save, he had no time to react as he was struck on the side, their combined weights sending him staggering. The beasts savagely ripped and tore at his torso as he galloped around in an attempt to shake them off. Luckily for the bull, his hide was dense and robust, not to mention the knotted, bristly algae-ridden fur that came before it. Despite that, it was obvious he had to get them off, no matter how well protected he was against their claw slashes and tail whips. He bellowed and in a panic brung himself down to the ground. His weight came down on two of the Skullcrawlers like a ton of bricks, crushing them under his superior weight, whilst the other was forced to leap off his back. He staggered up and stared at the last Crawler, snorting in triumph. It narrowed its eyes and hissed, baring bacteria-infested jaws at its former prey. The bull growled back and lurched himself forward, sending the reptile in a frantic dash away toward the forest, but quickly pulled back; this was only a mock charge after all. His eyes followed the rancid reptile as it slithered into the shadow of the mountain before he finally begun to head back toward the water, the Skullcrawler corpse dragging through mud with every stride. 

 A sudden movement sent rocks careening down the side of the mountain, with one landing with a splash in the swamp just mere metres from the grazing Sker herd. A flock of Leafwings were quick to react, departing from the branches of their tree in a panic and messily swooping around in unorganized fashion. The Sker, though, reacted quite the opposite, and instead resumed their meals without a care in the world. Unbenounced to them, something was watching them, and was doing so in complete and utter silence. However, something about this creature set it apart from the rest. Unlike the vicious predatory Skullcrawlers or care-free browsing taruca deer, this voiceless viewer was present purely out of curiosity, simply wishing to observe without disturbance to its 'subjects'.  It held respect for the balance of nature and knew the consequences of interfering. And this was why Kamacuras was king.