Bladefoot

by David Pratt

  The female approached him cautiously. ‘What is your name?’ He tried to signal to her by bobbing his head low. ‘I am Olla. I heard your mating calls and hope to learn more about you, Bladefoot.’ She answered with a series of yaps. The pair edged closer to one another. Olla inspected Bladefoot, sniffing his coat of feathers. ‘You seem in good condition. No parasites, no wounds, no sign of weight loss.’ Olla concluded. So far so good! Bladefoot smelt her as well, to see if she was in season and to check over her general condition. ‘By the look of it you are a young female, although I’m surprised that you are not paired off with another male already.’ Bladefoot was surprised. ‘My family was killed by a pack of raptors.’ Olla informed. Now she was alone and needed a new male urgently. Bladefoot’s cries in the night were a lifeline.

  Bladefoot knew that this was an opportunity to have a mate for life and to start breeding new strong chicks of his own. Bladefoot sniffed at her rear. ‘Yes! You are fertile!’ He became excitable. He’d never mated before. When the timing was right he could go for it. Suddenly, a screech interrupted the couple. The pair turned to see another male Troodon, Cutter! Cutter had paid close attention to Bladefoot’s mating calls and had picked up the trail of Olla. ‘Cutter, get off my patch!’ Bladefoot was quick to un-load his anger. Having a rival male on his turf, especially now with a female involved, was more than he could take. ‘On your feet Bladefoot, it’s time to fight.’ Cutter challenged. Olla backed away towards the abandoned nest as the two rivals circled each other, hissing and snapping. ‘That female is mine!’ Bladefoot screeched. ‘I’m afraid you are sadly mistaken. She is coming with me!’ Cutter snarled back.

  Although Cutter wouldn’t try to take his rival’s land, he could snag himself a female tonight. As the shooting stars lit the sky, the two male Troodons leapt…….

  Bladefoot and Cutter circled slowly. This was it; a showdown between the two age-old rivals. Not only was Olla the spectator, but the prize. The stage was set. Suddenly, Bladefoot charged!

  Whenever Cutter tried to parry, Bladefoot used his jaws to bite at Cutter’s lower regions. Cutter was quick to counter, using his sickle like claws as weapons. However Bladefoot met the attacks and jumped backwards. This fight was far from over and already blood was spilled and torn plumage littered the forest floor. Bladefoot advanced with a multitude of lunges, only to be met with wide spread swipes and thrusts. Exchanges were met. Leaps were sidestepped or met with flying kicks. Strong trips jumped over and bite attempts blocked away. Bladefoot was letting go of everything right now, his hopes, fears and his anxiety. He channelled all his energy into defeating Cutter. Cutter backed off at every attack he made, sometimes going for unprotected areas, only to be pushed aside.

  Cutter felt a hinge of nervousness. No more games, he planned. Cutter counter attacked. He lunged at Bladefoot, forcing his opponent to back up defensively. Bladefoot bounded away but Cutter did not follow. Instead he stood there, calculating. Bladefoot made one final jump attack at Cutter. But as Cutter was forced to the ground, Cutter used all his strength to shift his centre of gravity and throw Bladefoot off him onto the forest floor.

  Bladefoot had lost, but he was far from dead. He felt broken and battered. That hit had been extremely hard. He doubted he would be able to get back up after that. Olla watched in anguish as well. ‘This is all you are.’ Cutter taunted. ‘You could not defeat me. You’re nothing. You’re less than nothing Bladefoot.’ Cutter whistled into the air as a victory cry, thinking that Bladefoot was unable to continue the fight. His opponent crawled and squirmed on the floor. There was no point in being defensive now.

  Cutter then turned his attentions to Olla. He began signalled to her by out stretching his arms and displaying what was left of his plumage. Arching his neck back he made low pitch growling noises. But Olla wasn’t impressed. She’d preferred Bladefoot. She hissed at Cutter to show she wasn’t interested. ‘I have won the right to mate!’ Cutter snarled, not liking Olla’s decision. As Olla tried to approach Bladefoot, who was still recovering from the throw, Cutter blocked her off repeatedly. He kept on displaying more aggressively. He tried to nudge into Olla, shaking his head up and down to lead her away from Bladefoot’s territory. Olla squealed in protest. ‘Come with me, away from that loser Bladefoot. We’ll establish our own territory and have strong chicks of our own.’ Cutter beckoned. ‘I much preferred the owner of this territory than you.’ Olla snapped her jaws. Cutter tried to nudge her away with his head.

  Bladefoot would not tolerate this! He simply would not! Through all the physical and mental pain, he sprang back up and rushed at Cutter. Bladefoot was truly amazed at his own power for that moment. Cutter had been caught unawares, underestimating his opponent which could prove to be a mistake!

  The two sides battled fiercely. For both Bladefoot and Cutter, the prize meant more than being alive. Both sides stood to win everything. Claws, teeth and talons clashed over and over again, but it soon became clear that Bladefoot now had the upper hand. Bladefoot lunged as Cutter parried. Cutter was beginning to tire but Bladefoot was not. Bladefoot had also used his time on the ground to rest for a while so he could build up the energy to attack Cutter again. Truly, Bladefoot had been playing possum! All Bladefoot wanted was Cutter driven out of his territory and out of his life once and for all. Blow upon blow, Cutter was being cut down. Each stroke and swipe of Bladefoot’s claws and talons pummelled him. Bladefoot was taking his anger out on Cutter, rightly. This was poetic justice in Bladefoot’s eyes. Bladefoot was weaving a web of swipes and blows and Cutter was finding Bladefoot’s attacks near impossible to block off anymore. Cutter was knocked down and before he could get back up, Bladefoot bit down hard into Cutter’s thigh. Cutter cried out in agony!

  As he stared at the wound, he knew he was crippled, and that was extremely bad news for a hunter. Bladefoot then backed away, knowing now that this fight was over. Bladefoot had fought very bravely, even if he himself had taken a lot of damage. But he felt proud to have finally beaten Cutter. Cutter wasn’t dead, but he’d taken a severe battering. ‘Go now back to your own land Cutter before I kill you!’ Bladefoot shrieked. Cutter didn’t object. He didn’t have the strength to fight anymore. As far as he was concerned, Bladefoot could have this female. He got up and limped back to his home. Live today and fight tomorrow: that was Cutter’s new policy. He could heal up and find a new female. Let Bladefoot have this land. In time, Cutter’s territory would rival Bladefoot’s and he could maybe confront Bladefoot again.

  As Cutter limped into the bushes, Bladefoot sounded a victory cry. He had won the right to mate! Olla accepted Bladefoot, running over to her new male. This was a strong male with good hunting grounds. She’d made a good choice. As Bladefoot began to lick his wounds she joined in. Both Troodons made purring sounds and rubbed snouts together. Then they performed a bonding dance, to signal to one another that they were now paired for life. ‘I accept you.’ Olla signalled. Bladefoot was pleased with his result, but he found himself hungry and tired. It was time to turn back to the abandoned Parasaurolophus nest…….

  Chapter 8

  The next morning, Bladefoot and Olla were resting amongst the flowering bushes. Bladefoot was healing from the fight last night and that would take time. Olla stayed with her mate at all times. Bladefoot had told her about the T.Rexes and Olla wasn’t exactly thrilled about her giant neighbours. Already they’d both heard their morning territorial roars. Bladefoot and Olla had mated after they’d fed themselves. Like the T.Rexes, Troodon coupling was very brief. Bladefoot still felt very victorious, like he could take on the whole world right now, even though in reality he couldn’t. He had it all: a female, a territory and eggs on the way. He couldn’t be happier. Neither could Olla. The death of her old male/young signalled the beginning of something new which was a life with Bladefoot.

  Olla felt excited about the future and scared at the same time. After all, this was an uncertain world where all too often, the will of the strong ruled all. But at least whe
n she was with Bladefoot she could feel safe. Her new male wouldn’t mistreat her. She hadn’t felt entirely sure about that other male Cutter and her suspicions were confirmed by Cutter’s defeat. Cutter’s activities would have to be kept in check nonetheless. A rival Troodon male she could do something about, but that was the least of Olla’s problems. There were the T.Rexes, Nanotyrannus, raptors and giant crocs out there too, just to name a few rival predators. Herbivores could be avoided. Unlike other Theropods, Troodons wouldn’t go hunting a horned dinosaur.

  Olla had heard tales though of a type of ‘giant’ Troodon that grew up to thirteen feet long, nearly twice the length of her, living in Alaska. The stories told of the giant Troodons hunted at night to avoid other predators to bring down young Edmontosaurus. Olla had heard that the giant Troodons worked as a co-ordinated pack like raptors did to tackle prey larger than themselves.

  Olla shook her head. In all her years she’d never seen a giant Troodon in Alberta. She definitely had no plans to travel to Alaska to see if the rumours were true either. As far as she was concerned, she had other concerns now.

  There was another tale that was whispered on the wind and that was the Legend of the Great Dying. Olla had heard the legend once when she was young. Once millions of years ago, before the time of the Troodons, the land was ruled by the ‘ancients’. The world where the Ancients lived was just as vibrant as it was now. Whole ecosystems flowered and blossomed under the sun as life was just as it was before the start of the Age of Dinosaurs. But this time of plenty was doomed, for the ‘great dying’ spread across the land. Nobody knows what really caused it, but one thing was for certain, was that the time of the Ancients was over. The communities they once thrived in were all gone and the land was barren of life.

  But through the dark times, there were survivors which took the place of the Ancients and fought a savage war for control of the land. Amongst the survivors were the first dinosaurs, which evolved to take over the world. What happened to the Ancients? No one knew. There was a rumour that the small, diminutive mammals may be all that was left of their legacy…..

  As Bladefoot rested, Olla waited with him until dusk. Night was the time she could leave her mate safely so she could patrol their territory and catch food for him. Food had to be brought to Bladefoot as he was in no state to hunt. ‘I will bring you tasty morsels.’ Olla informed. ‘Stay safe. Stay hidden.’ She also instructed. Despite the presence of the T.Rexes, the Troodons had not been discovered and under the cover of darkness they could go about their business. Soon they would be breeding for sure. They’d have done it already if not for Bladefoot’s wounds. Although they’d mated once Bladefoot would need to copulate with Olla more times. Olla set out on a hunting trip.

  After fifteen minutes Olla returned to Bladefoot with a furry mammal in her jaws. Mammal numbers were on the increase during these turbulent environmental times and Olla’s species had done well to exploit that. However mammals are only bite size and Olla needed to head out again into the night.

  Two months later, the Troodons had built their bowl shaped nest simply by digging down into the volcanic soil and had laid twenty four eggs in total. Olla had laid two eggs everyday before the full clutch was finally complete. It was Bladefoot who stayed with the nest to incubate the eggs while Olla hunted and carried out boundary checks. Olla hadn’t seen much activity from Cutter. However Cutter was the least of their concerns. The nesting Troodons hadn’t gone unnoticed by a flock of Ornithomimus. Normally they fed on fruit, berries and smaller creatures, but during dinosaur breeding season, they turned nest raiders…….

  While the Troodons were nesting, the T.Rexes had built their nest mound. Unlike the Troodons, they’d used rotting vegetation to incubate the eggs but for obvious reasons didn’t sit on them! If their eggs got too hot they removed a layer of vegetation. If they got too cold they simply added another. Temperature control was important for all reptile embryos. Both parents took it in turns to hunt and guard the nest. Already they had to see off growing numbers of Didelphodons.

  For T.Rex eggs to hatch successfully, Thunder Blade had to lay the eggs in a careful upright position. Both Thunder Blade and Stan had to be attentive over the next few weeks.

  Olla worked around the clock to hunt, bring back food to Bladefoot and patrol the territory. So far, things were looking good. Cutter hadn’t returned and showed no signs of doing so. Maybe he’d died, Olla couldn’t be sure. As she walked through the forest in the heat of the day, she picked up new scents. Also she noticed that the soil had gone from volcanic to sandy. New sounds could be heard to. ‘Am I still in Bladefoot’s territory?’ Olla couldn’t be sure. She didn’t see any signs of Cutter or any other Troodons either. Even signs of the T.Rexes were absent. Curiosity got the better of her and she decided to locate the source of the strange senses. Who knows? She might find food out of it. The trees began to thin out and the soil was sandier now. Then everything went bright as Olla walked onto a Late Cretaceous beach.

  In the Late Cretaceous, a huge seaway cut North America in two down the middle called the Western Interior Seaway which ran from the Arctic Circle down to the Caribbean. Olla stepped out into the bright sunshine as the sand burned beneath her feet and the waves crashed along the shoreline. No Troodon had ever swum in the Cretaceous seas and neither would one want to. The oceans of this time were the most hazardous in history. Monstrous marine reptiles, killer fish, sharks, giant squid, those were just some of the dangers that lurked beneath the waves.

  This environment was alien to Olla. She’d never seen a beach before or had much contact with the ocean. Somehow, she knew not to go too close to the water, thinking that something may break out of the surf and grab her. She ducked down as a Pteranodon flew overheard. Pteranodon was another species of pterosaur with a wingspan of twenty six feet. Pteranodons were a coastal species, hunting the oceans for fish and squid. Pteranodons were distinguished by their large backwards pointing crest on their heads. Olla looked far, seeing the cliffs up ahead where dozens of Pteranodons were nesting. Olla guessed they nested high to avoid predators. Olla licked her lips, thinking of how good that would be to get at an un-attended nest. But realised that would be more difficult than it sounded seeing as Pteranodons did have a huge beak!

  Already she could see that sneaky Sky Rider had that plan, which failed. The angry adult Pteranodons mobbed him, driving him away from the eggs and chicks. Sky Rider twisted and turned to avoid his leathery wings taking too much damage. As soon as the Pteranodons were satisfied that Sky Rider had flown away they went back to their business. Olla kept moving.

  The afternoon wore on and Olla was still exploring the coastline. The tide was out so she sniffed around the dried seaweed and rock pools for any tasty morsels. So far she found nothing but a few small fish that darted away from her, crabs that fought back and stinging anemones.

  Then she was pulled away from her own thoughts when she came across a huge colony of ugly seabirds called Hesperornis. At six feet and six inches long, they were just as long as Olla was. Olla felt sick to her stomach by the sight and smell of these seabirds. The noise was enough to make her ears bleed too. On top of that, Hesperornis had teeth in their beaks, something that birds in the future would lack. These birds looked like they could put up a fight. Every time Olla tried to enter the colony she was met by stabbing beaks. She circled one Hesperornis trying to work out how to bring one down, but they smelt so terrible she stopped seeing them as food. Olla noticed how the birds were so big they couldn’t even walk properly on land. Hesperornis were in their element in water, perfectly designed for diving to catch fish. On land however they slide on their bellies awkwardly, something Hesperornis had to deal with when they came back to the beach for breeding season. Olla backed away, deciding to observe the Hesperornis from a safe distance.

  Amongst the surf, Hesperornis slithered in and out of the water. They went from clumsy walkers to graceful swimmers. Their heavy bones helped them sink easily. Using their big fe
et they kicked their way through the water heading towards a large coral reef where their favourite prey, fish, ammonites and belemnites were numerous. Ammonites were related to squid and octopus and had spiral shells while belemnites had straight shells. For extra defence, both types could squirt out an inky substance to confuse predators like their cephalopod relatives. The reef itself was brightly coloured and if the Hesperornis didn’t know any better it looked like a tropical paradise. However nothing could have been further from the truth, for Hesperornis were themselves prey……

  Lurking amongst the reef ledges and underwater chasms was a large sixteen feet long shark called Squalicorax, better known as the Crow Shark. The Crow Shark had set up its ambush perfectly. It knew this was a good spot to hunt Hesperornis year after year. Sharks had been patrolling the world’s oceans for the past 300 millions years and in the Mesozoic Era they were still formidable predators. The Crow Shark was a good example of this. Powerful jaws full of serrated, replaceable teeth were designed to grab prey and hold on to do the most amount of damage, or when dealing with larger prey, the Crow Shark could dart in and out taking bite sized chunks out of the target. But in this case, Hesperornis could be swallowed whole and the Crow Shark relished white meat today.

  The Crow Shark watched the Hesperornis from below. The seabirds seemed completely oblivious to the shark’s presence. The Crow Shark moved with purpose amongst the reef trying to single out any lone birds. Soon the Crow Shark saw its catch and with a sweep of its tail ambushed a Hesperornis at the surface. The water became turbulent as predator captured prey and the Crow Shark got its meal. A pool of blood was the only sign left of the unfortunate Hesperornis. The Crow Shark sank back down to the depths, satisfied with the slaughter. The shark moved back in amongst the reef, searching out another sacrifice for its bloodthirsty needs. But in the Cretaceous oceans the Crow Shark itself could wind up as something else’s prey, so the shark had to keep its senses sharp to any bigger threats.