Land of Blood (SEQUEL to REIGN OF BLOOD)

Chapter 15

JAFAR'S POV

The wind blew through my scales as the pack and I ran through the trees. Ah, how good it felt to be home again - to be dashing through the same trees as before and to be with the pack mates I had known since I was a hatchling. Medusa looked even more beautiful than normal, her large and muscular form running alongside me.

The wave of familiar smells came back, which brought me even more joy than I already had. That was the feeling of home - plus the friends I had met along the way.

Eventually, after running through some trees for some time, we made it to the giant clearing - Party Plains was now laid out in front of us. When we arrived, a couple of wild dinosaurs had surrounded the space. But when we entered, they scattered like flies. They knew we were the dominant power in this forest - and there was no way they were going to mess with us.

We walked through the clearing for some time before making our way to a small rock in the middle - the gathering rock. Medusa jumped on top of it and started to call. Her bark bounced off of the trees and extended to the farthest reaches of Thenyaw. All I did was stand beside her as her voice echoed.

A couple of minutes of calling later, the trees started to shiver. Emerging from Trips was a small pack of hypo rexes, their massive frames trampling the small bushes and leaving scratches on the tree trunks from their spiked plates. Leading them was a giant, grizzly-colored hypo named - well, Grizzly.

Another group of trees shook. Emerging from them was a small group of hypo spinos, possibly coming from Swamp. I recognized one of the spinos as Rapier, but he wasn't the leader. The alpha was a long-toothed menace named Tamsah, which meant "crocodile" in some far-off Toughskin language.

Another shiver. A larger group of hypo carnos emerged from the trees, coming from Mage Tower. Their alpha was, surprisingly, on the smaller side, but his horns were as long as the devil's. His name was Demonface.

Lastly, the last clump of trees shivered. Emerging from these trees were different species of herbivorous hypos, such as stegos, shants, and trikes. They came from Sanctuary and their leader was Dreadhorn, a rather petite specimen who managed to be as bulky as a truck.

"Welcome, all!" Medusa announced, looking around the plains, "I have some announcements to make. Some of you may notice that I have some... unlikely guests with me." Medusa gestured to Ivy's pack, who were laying at the base of the rock.

"Yeah..." Grizzly snarled, glaring at the wilds, "Why are there wilds here? You know they're not allowed here during a gathering!"

"These wilds mean no harm," Medusa spat, "They will not attack us, nor are they food. I can see you looking at the shant, Shadowtooth!"

A black-and-red colored carno hid behind Demonface, staring down Snouty with slit eyes. But when Medusa called him out, he slinked back into the pack.

"As I was saying," Medusa continued, "One of my pack members went missing. According to him, he was trapped in a boat with it."

The crowd gasped.

"Is he okay?" someone shrieked.

"Yes!" I barked, "I'm alive! Now let my alpha tell the story and save the questions!"

"Thank you," Medusa whispered to me before barking, "Anyways, the boat headed off to another island, far away from our own. This island was infested with wilds, but unlike our wilds, these wilds are smarter. They can speak our language and can think in critical situations. When it escaped, they chased after him and managed to wound him severely."

Another gasp, followed by whispers among the crowd.

"I know," Medusa said, "I was shocked as well. But as you can see with this story, there is a chance that it can be defeated. With the help of these wilds, we can find a way to get rid of this beast once and for all!"