A pair of thescelosaurus were celebrating new arrivals to their prehistoric world. 11 male chicks and 4 female chicks ( there were ment to be 16 hatchlings in total but one of the eggs was eaten by a paleoswania). We will call one of the males Titus.
Titus looked around his surroundings tentitavely, trying to process all the new sight and smells. this was very different from the monotone structure of the eggshell he was in. He swiveled his head around to see things emerging from eggs all around him. Those "things" were his siblings also trying to break free from their eggshell prisons. Even though Titus was eager to go out and discover all the intricacies and wonders of outside the burrow he was laid in, he had the overarching feeling that he is not ment to be out of the burrow this early in his life.
But that feeling didn't effect all the siblings in the clutch as a particularly bold brother couldn't help but see what was happening beyond the premises of the burrow. The bold little chick bounded his way outside the burrow and had a little look around. All the other chicks' attention was on him. They had a feeling that somthing bad would happen to him, as if a giant creature would descend on their courageous sibling and take him away to some far off distant land to do who knows what. Fortunatly Their mother had noticed the bold brother's exodus from the burrow and used her beak to gently lift them back to the burrow.
She wasn't mad at the bold brother, rather she was astounded that one of her chicks would leave the saftey of the burrow so early in life, when they are still bite-sized for most of the flesh-eaters in their swampland home. Angry that his little expedition was cut short, the bold brother demanded to know why their mother was so insistant on keeping them in the dull hole in the ground. Since she didn't was a fuss today since her chicks have oly just hatched she explained. The mother explained that thescelosaurus are not high up on the food chain, nor is it a safe existance as one.
The mother said that in the place where they live there are foliage-clearers and flesh-eaters. foliage clearers will usually not try to harm the thescelosaurus, but they are a staple food source for many flesh-eaters. Specifically some flesh-eaters they have to worry about are swamp stalkers (borealosuchus, brachychampsa which are crocodilians) and claw birds (dakotaraptor, achaeoraptor) as well as night terrors (pectinodon). The mother also explained that since the chicks are smaller, they also have to worry about more flesh-eaters such as winged devils(quetzalcoatlus) and death biters (paleoswania).
Most of the siblings cowered into a corner of the burrow at the description of the flesh eaters but the bold male was unfazed since he thought that the flesh eaters were just an excuse so that their mother could manage them in the burrow only and take away their freedom. This "beware of the flesh eaters" thing was all fake to the bold brother but was real to all the other siblings, including Titus. The chicks all began discussing how screwed they would be if one of the flesh eaters showed up, but they still had faith that their mother and father would protect them if things go south.
Titus was not so convinced that their mother and father would play ther role of superhero if one of the flesh eaters launched an attack. Their parents could just have more children and the chicks dont contribute anything to their parents so whats the point of them being alive in the first place? Also judging from their description the flesh eaters have, sharp teeth or spear beaks, strong jaws, big and sharp claws, flight and nightvision. What do their thescelosaurus parents have? a small blunt beak and some blunted nails for digging I guess. This was why Titus was not relieved that he was in the safety of the burrow, and that he didn't have to go out to collect food like their parents.
The chick's father had returned with a beak and arms filled with fresh food in the form of plants. the chick's got to eat before their parents , so they had the majority of the say of what they wanted to eat. Most of what the father brought back to the burrow was course horsetails, which was the last thing the chicks wanted down their gullets. What the chicks were really after was The soft symplocarpus leaves and the sweet zingiberopsis fruit that the father also brought in with the horsetails. those non-horsetail plants were in high demand and quickly were eaten before some of the chicks got to them, Forcing the less fortunate to the horsetails.
One of those less fortunate chicks was Titus, who was forced away from the buffet by the other chicks. He had to eat the horsetails with his parents. When everyone had their fill both parents went to go get some more food for the family. This was the bold brother's chance so sneak out, so he did, checking left and right to see if his parents would see him. He didn't know that his parents gaze should be the last thing he should worry about. The other chicks in the den held their breath as the bold brother hobble one step, another step and another one, further and further away from the burrow. The bold brother's new expedition has launched but he was not the only one to notice.
A large shadow quikly glided over the bold brother but he didn't pay much attantion to it. behind the bold brother and the burrow, just 6 meters away landed one of the winged devils. it took long strides towards the bold brother, silent as a slow wind. The bold brother was to busy inspecting and playing with some plants to notice the wiged devil approach him on its lanky wings and legs. Closer and closer it aprroached, the siblings wanted to warn the bold brother somehow but they didn't know how to do an alarm call at that moment so they could only watch as the stork from hell walked towards their sibling.
Closer and closer until... snap. It was over in moments as the bite from the quetzalcoatlus broke the bold brother's spinal cord. The winged devil turned its head to the burrow its cold, unfeeling yellow eyes processing what was in the hole in the ground. however the winged devil already had food, and so it left, along with it the corpse of the Bold brother as if he just vanished from the face of the earth. The winged devils wings tookit of the ground as it flew of to who knows where with the dead baby Thescelosaurus. And so the jouney of the bold brother concluded very early on, but at least Titus is still alive.
When the Thescelosaurus parents arrived back to the nest with more food, They noticed that one of their chicks was missing. They searched everywhere up to 20 meters away from the burrow. The parents even found the bold brother's footprints as well as that of the winged devil's. The parents were alarmed. What confirmed their fears was that both typed of footprints stopped at the exact same place. The mother was inconsolable as this was her first time raising children. The father didn't know what to do besides remind the remaining 14 babies to not leave the burrow without their parents.
