(Untitled)

[gone_byebye]

No slime today! Ray's been busy with other things, most of which have to do with his nephews. You can't neglect an apprenticeship just because you've been off tootling around South Dakota looking for invisible bureaucrat jailbirds

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[redsnout]

Raptor Red remembers quite a bit about Milliways, ranging from how to get food to what the layout of the outside area is like. But what she remembers best are the humans, and one human in particular.

And nowshe's spotted that particular stupid-brave human/walking source of handouts. This calls for a greeting.

Hopefully, Ray won't mind the sight of a raptor lunging out from between the tables, jaws spread wide as she calls "KHOH!"

[gone_byebye]

This is the equivalent of being passed by Sniffy the Bomb Squad Dog at full gallop. "Running now!" Ray squeaks, and scrambles to go... uh, wherever it is that Red's going, basically.

[redsnout]

As soon as she sees Ray running, Scribble takes off after her mother, hissing like a teakettle.

Red squawks at Scribble and Ray as she passes by, running for the cave. Even if it doesn't lead to Milliways, as she's hoping, she's hoping that the other predator won't be able to fit its head inside.

She's hoping very, very hard.

Meanwhile, the sight of all the commotion soon comes into view-an adult acrocanthosaur, moving at a surprisingly swift pace for such a large animal. It roars again, following after the trio-after all, they're running. What better way to catch a predator's attention?

[gone_byebye]

Well, there's- no, that wouldn't do it. Or possibly- no, that's not going to outclass running, either. Maybe-

Er. They could be bleeding? And running? That would catch more attention, right?

.... possibly someone should warn Ray about that patch of extraordinarily slippery-looking dung coming up just between him and his path to the cave. Surely he's got enough sense to avoid that?

[redsnout]

Unfortunately, neither raptor thinks to-mostly because they don't notice it. Raptor Red is the first to bolt into the cave, and find herself skittering into Milliways, rather than slamming into the back wall of a cave. Scribble squarks to Ray as she enters the cave, just before she enters Milliways-the raptor equivalent of MOVE IT!

[gone_byebye]

And move it Ray does, one stride adjusting to get him over the rock sticking out of the ground.

This is how it goes, and even he can feel it. One foot comes down on the dung, and starts to slide. The next foot comes down with a wobble, too unstable for him to balance on, and the third-

well-

Face down, in the mud, with an acro coming up behind him, and substantially doused in dinosaur poo.

This is not Ray's day.

[redsnout]

Back in Milliways, there's a pair of very alarmed raptors trying to figure out where the door went. Scribble and Red paw and growl at where the door should be-but it's vanished, and Ray has yet to show up.

The pair look at each other with a growing sense of dread. Shouldn't Ray be here, too?

The acro, meanwhile, has slowed its pace slighly-but that's only so it won't miss when it aims to grab the little creature on the ground. The dinosaur roars again, stepping closer with its head held low to the ground. It doesn't see the raptors anymore, but the little pink thing looks to be a much easier meal.

[gone_byebye]

In amongst all the roaring, there are two sounds that may be heard by those who have some reason to listen. The first, from the smelly muddy pink thing that's just rolled over and gotten a good look at the advancing acrosaur:

"Sweet baby Azathoth."

The second is a little bit harder to hear, and a good deal more synthetic. It's the first time that this particular Earth has ever been party to the sound of a lightsaber being activated.

[redsnout]

The acro pauses at the noise, tilting its head slightly. It's a funny sound to hear...well, at all, really, but especially from a little pink thing.

But it doesn't really matter. What matters to the acro is that it's hungry. And so the dinosaur lowers its head again, aiming to reach out and snag with a tooth or five. After all, it doesn't look like he can put up much of a fight-it should be a simple grab and gulp.

[gone_byebye]

That sort of depends. Most intelligent beings would consider a lightsaber brought up hard from below to be a complication. Especially since a 'saber blade is about a meter long and can cut through anything that isn't another 'saber blade.

(Ray's inner five year old is currently going OMAOMAOMAOMAOMA DINOSAUR LIGHTSABER SO FREEKIN COOL AIEGHGHGHGHG, frothing at the mouth, and falling over at the bottom of his skull. Just so you know.)

[redsnout]

There's a few seconds pause as the acro realises what just happened. The pink thing just hurt it. The tiny, apparently defenseless thing just hurt it.

Badly, given the way the acro suddenly jerks its head up and away, bellowing in pain. There's a lightsaber-sized hole going through first its lower jaw and then its upper. Ray might not have been able to get to its brain, but he did do quite a bit of damage. The acro stumbles away, snarling as it tries to make sense of this new turn of events.

And on one of the hillsides, a handful of figures start to appear, drawn by the noise.

[gone_byebye]

That can't be good. It really can't. Ray glances over his shoulder and gauges his chances of getting the doorway to Milliways in a world not his own, in a time not his own, without the entity who brought him here. If he had that kind of luck, this would be the point in time at which Jaxom of Ruatha Hold would sweep down out of the sky on Ruth and haul him away bodily.

And, yeah, no white dragon on the way. So.

This is where Ray runs for the rocks anyway, so he at least has that much protection- but if the acro comes back at him he's still got the 'saber at the ready. Master Qui-Gon wasn't kidding about that weapon being his life.

[redsnout]

The acro hasn't gotten over the pain yet-but the pain is working in its favor, to a degree. It's given the acro an even stronger desire to grab this little pink thing and eat it, or at least stomp it until it can't hurt it anymore.

With another roar, the acro circles towards the rocks, its jaws open and ready to bite-but it doesn't lunge just yet.

The group on the hill-a quintet of raptors-stays where they are, watching.

[gone_byebye]

Ray watches the acro warily, crouching with the 'saber at the ready.

(Also with the lanyard he attached to the 'saber's end wrapped firmly around his left wrist, because when you don't have the Force, the world likes to take your 'saber away just to watch you scramble comically after it.)

"I don't think I'm ever going to complain about the smell of Slimer's breath again after this," he mutters.

[redsnout]

Th acro continues to keep its distance for several moments, pacing back and forth as it sizes Ray up. Finally, the dinosaur gets bold and charges forward, its neck outstretched and its head lowered. The little pink thing might be able to defend itself, but the acro is hoping to scare Ray into freezing again.

[gone_byebye]

Yeeeeeah, ha ha ha, no. More like waitingwaitingwaitingwaitingPWING! and darting to one side just before the acro reaches him. Ray just barely eludes the snapping jaws. Moreover, he has just enough time before it can turn to bolt forward and slice into its nearer leg. pleasepleaseplease let me hit the tendon, he's thinking- well, that and RUN AWAY, but mostly? The tendon thing.