Marc's awakening

[Marc LeSinge]

It was wet. Very wet. water dripped from somewhere far above onto Marc's closed eyelids. d**n, that hurt.
Marc slowly opened his eyes and looked about him. He was still sat in thingypit of the plane, but the chair he was sitting on was tilted way back so that he was looking straight up at the branches above him to a little patch of starry sky. The windshield directly above him was smashed, little grainy pieces of it hanging down like cobwebs from the metal of the thingypit either side.
"what the heck?" he murmered, rubbing his face.
The plane, he now felt, was rocking back and forth with a gentle swaying motion, just slowly, calmingly; he felt very relaxed, strangely sleepy after the trauma of his landing. Marc wiped his face again, and looked at his hand. it was blood red. Marc swore.
He wiped the hand on his seat and fumbled below him for the belt buckle.
Once he had found it, he turned himself over until he could get enough of a grip to stand on the back of the seat and look out through the front of the plane. With his head just sticking out all he could see was the tops of trees above and more branches on either side; he climbed up onto the back of the pilot's seat. That was a point; where was the pilot?
Marc looked back down to the seat his feet were now resting on. The pilot was still in it, but slumped over his legs, head dangling down underneath the seat. He was obviously dead, his head having smashed the steering column right off. blood from a long cut down his back could still be seen, fresh, trickling across the back of the seat until it pooled and dripped, slowly, over the edge, to where Marc had just been. Marc examined his hand. It was not his blood.

Marc threw up, violently, out of the plane, and began to sob. He watched as the vomit smeared down the side of the aircraft and fell to the forest floor, far below. The rythmic swaying of the plane suddenly became quite worrying. Marc dropped back into the plane and sobbed in terror and shock. It did not take him long to fall back to sleep with exhaustion....

[Anemone]

Righ Awen trudged through the forest floor, pushing back giant ferns and climbing over massive roots, his eyes turned upwards in search of... something.

"Grizelda! Where are you?" he said--more to himself than to who he was searching for. One would think that a Tyrannosaurus Rex wouldn't be that hard to lose sight of, but the forest was dark and thick with vegetation. Not to mention she was at least eighteen times bigger than he was, and she had actually lived in the Rainy Basin for much longer than he had. Righ cursed under his breath and sat down to rest. Hours of searching had produced plenty of small creatures, but nothing that resembled a Tyrannosaur. Any other saurians he met gave him a strange look when he said he was looking for a carnivore, rather than running from one.

Righ sat for a moment, thinking over his situation. He was lost, but he didn't really care about that. Someone who knew the way was bound to come along at some time. Not that he really wanted to get back. It seemed he was more at home out here than in the cities now, and---

He looked up, his eye caught by a glint of metal in the treetops. Looking closer, he saw the form of what looked like a giant metal... pterosaur? What was this? One of the fabled strutters from the World Beneath? Righ stood and moved closer to the tree, his curiosity aroused. Whatever it was, it looked about to fall. He shook his head to clear it, and leaped onto the tree, starting to ascend into the upper branches as quickly as he was able.

[Marc LeSinge]

Marc awoke again, suddenly. The wind was now blowing much more violently, and the plane was groaning and creaking as the branches it rested on swayed more erratically. There was a sharp crack, and the plane jolted downwards, smashing him against the roof of the plane. Marc scrambled up and climbed quickly onto the back of the pilot's seat and tried to swing the door open; it wouldn't budge. He braced himself against the opposite side of the thingypit and kicked at the door...
crack! The plane jolted again. Marc gave one last kick and heaved the door open. He paused for breath, and watched the door slowly peel off its hinges and fall, clattering to the forest floor. Marc thought he saw movement, as if something further down the tree had jumped suddenly aside to avoid the falling chunk of metal. He didn't pause to think about it, but swung himself out of the plane onto a wide branch, which he grabbed with both hands. It took all his strength not to let them slide from the wet wood. There was a final CRACK and the branches supporting the aircraft finally gave way completely, letting it fall, crashing and bouncing, down to the ground with a crash and groan of twisting metal.

There was a short silence before the sounds of the forest returned. Marc clung on to his branch, waiting for the fuel tank to ignite and blow him out of the tree. The explosion never came. He tensed and almost fell off the branch when he felt a tap on his shoulder...

[Anemone]

Righ extended a hand towards the man, the most he was able to do from his own precarious position.

"Grab my hand!" he called out, hoping the man would understand. However, he didn't respond, his body likely in shock. Righ tried not to think about the ground far below and inched farther out onto the branch, never taking his eyes of the wounded man. He managed to grab his wrist, but he didn't dare move forward any more, for fear of the branch breaking. He extended his other hand slowly, hoping the other man would take it.

"Come on. Grab hold. I'll get you down."

[Marc LeSinge]

Marc looked back down at the crushed remains of the plane down below, and then back at the hand clutching his wrist the veins standing out like tattoos. He grabbed for the other hand the man was proffering, and hoisted himself back up onto the branch, where he crawled in towards the trunk. Whoever he was, the guy was wearing some odd clothes-- like nothing Marc had ever seen before. But at least the guy spoke good english. This is what you got on these islands; it was probably the national dress here or something...
The guy helped Marc as they clambered down through the branches to the ground. The tree was still blowing in the breeze, and Marc did not trust the branches to hold his wieght; he was glad when they reached the forest floor.
It was a lot lighter now; Marc must have slept for a long time. The orange glow of dawn was shining on the clouds above the branches, illuminating the forest enough for them to see the remains of the plane. Marc ran over to it and tried to crawl back inside, but the stench of death and blood were too strong inside the thingypit, and he soon had to retreat to throw up again in the bushes.
He eventually managed to crawl around the side of the plane and reach his arm through a smashed window, and his hand came out with his now tattered rucksack, a large one designed specifically for travelling, but still old and worn even before the crash. There was a slight tear down one side, and the waterproof lining could be seen clearly through it, but other than that the bag was intact. Marc breathed a sigh of relief...and threw up again.

[Anemone]

Righ moved over to the man, staring at the wreckage of the plane.

"It would be pointless to ask if you're alright," he said. "You need to get to a doctor, and quickly." Righ offered an arm to steady the man. "I thought I saw a convoy a few miles west of here. If we can make it to them safely, you should be in good hands."

He started to help the man in a westward direction, doing what he could to keep him on his feet.

[Marc LeSinge]

"i'm all right, really..." said marc, not trying to resist. "where am i? which island is this?"

[Anemone]

"You're on Dinotopia, of course. Why...?" Righ stopped, noticing the man's strange clothing for the first time. "Ah. You're from... outside. That would explain a lot." He looked pointedly at the plane.

The two moved farther into the jungle, hopefuly in the direction of the convoy.

"You may find that things are a little different here..."

[Marc LeSinge]

Dinotopia?
"Dinotopia?"
Marc had never heard of it.
"I've never even heard of it...does it have a different name in English? How...different exactly?"
It could be one of the smaller places. Hopefully it wasn't too remote.
Marc did not like the sound of 'outside'. It suggested to him a maximum security prison...or a different world. Something out of a sci fi film...it sounded a lot like 'people don't get out of here much'.
" there's a British Embassy around here somewhere, right? How far are we from a town?"

[Anemone]

Righ shook his head. "There's no embassy, at least not that kind. And town is, eh, somewhere. To tell you the truth, I'm kind of lost as well." He looked up at the sky in an attempt to get his bearings. "But don't worry too much. You'll be fine once you get to safety."

From somewhere in the jungle, there was a dull roar, like that of some large animal. Righ looked up, his eeys widening. He sped up slightly.

"Come on. We don't want to get caught out here alone."

[Marc LeSinge]

"Oh great, i'm lost on an island with a lost guy. What was that noise?"
The forest floor vibrated to a rythmic thudding, like giant footsteps.
"oh..trumpeting...elephants here, huh? I've never seen one in the flesh...not even at a zoo. Are they wild or do they have, uh, keepers?"

[Anemone]

Righ stared at Marc.

"Elephants...? I'm not sure what you mean, but I don't think I've met anyone who could tame a Tyrannosaurus. We're in Redback territory, and they're... not fond of trespassers."

He peered into the jungle, but quickened his step.

"I hope that's Grizelda. If not... I hope we find the convoy before they do."

[Marc LeSinge]

"you're having me on, right? Tyrannosaurus? As in T-Rex?" Marc laughed, £There aren't any dinosaurs left, mate."
Just ahead, through the trees, he caught sight of movement, quite high up. He carried on walking after the guy, staring up at the movement. It wasn't something in the trees, it was several very large things, much bigger than elephants, moving in a line through the trees.
"are you serious? what's that ahead? is it dangerous?"
as the two stopped and looked, a short grey head peered over the tree-tops into the clearing where they stood.
"what is this?" shouted Marc, "thats a bloody brachiosaurus!!"

[Anemone]

Righ sighed and laughed a little. "Yes," he said. "Yes, it's a brach. You should feel lucky that we found them at all."

Righ moved on in the direction of the brachiosaurus, ignoring Marc's bewildered stare. He continued to explain.

"You don't have to worry. When I told you that Dinotopia would be different? This is what I meant. As I've learned, there aren't any saurian species left outside of our island. It must be a rough place to live."

Presently, they came into sight of the convoy. Two brachiasauruses stood on a broad path, one bearing cargo and the other acting as transport for a few humans, guarded by three triceratops. One of the guards quickly made over to Righ and Marc as soon as he saw them enter the area.

[seekeroftales]

OOC: Styracosaurus is the usual "convoy guard" species, I do believe, Anemone. If you insist the ones with this convoy are triceratops, then you might give some explanation as to why the exception in this case. I suggest that this convoy is an emergency one, perhaps carrying medicine.

There is usually a Skybax escort, as well, so I may introduce one of the riders and his partner. Maybe not.

Also, the cargo is a question. What is it? It may not matter, but what if it could? The cargo may be the reason the convoy is going through, so there should perhaps be some mention of it, at least in passing.

TO Anemone: I would also like to know if the Triceratops(now Styracosaurus) I have introduced knows Righ. Can Righ understand him? Assumeably . . .

I have no clue which characters might be important, so I may highlight a few and we'll see what happens. Thank goodness a post can be short and simple! I'll spice up later if anyone wishes.

Oh. And do you get the impression yet that I like to have things well planned/laid out?

~ Skyler

--------------------------------

The styracosaurus in question was named Stowaway, and he wasn't happy to see Righ. [Are you bringing Grizelda upon us, foolish one?] he demanded of the human with a stamp of his foot. [And who have you there?] He fixed an unfriendly eye on the other human standing behind Righ. [He wants to ride, no doubt.] The spikey-frilled dinosaur's eyes softened as he realized that the unknown human was injured. And Righ didn't look too pristine, either.

---------------------------

{OOC: I need response from Righ and likely from Marc before I can continue with Stowaway's viewpoint. I could have just cut off their replies, but I don't think they would remain silent though under the unfriendly/disapproving gaze of Stowaway.

In future I will PM my parts and let you all fill in your responses, just so that my posts don't have to be so ridiculously short as this.

I could also do introductory parts from the viewpoint of a few other characters, but I don't really feel like it. Marc admits he hasn't planned anything out for this RP, so I hesitate to put much effort into it.}

{OOC: AMENDUM: Anemone PMed me; Righ remains silent, I guess. That flips it to you, Marc. I'll clip the above, flesh it out, abd then PM it to you for Marc's dialogue. I foresee him making inquiry of Righ, though, so you may have to put some dialogue in for him anyway, Anemone.}

[Marc LeSinge]

Marc stepped forward to break the silence: 'This is crazy.'he said, shaking his head in disbelief.
'I mean, I've seen Jurassic park, and dinosaurs I can handle, although I'm expecting a raptor to jump on me any minute...but why are you making these noises t this thing? this is stupid.' Marc uncomfortably adjusted the strap of his bag on his shoulder.
'Either I'm dreaming, or this is some kind of bizarre reality TV show, or I'm dead and God is making fun of me.' He turned to Righ, who had remained silent.
'Come on, tell this dinosaur to go away and put me back where I came from.'

[seekeroftales]

IMPORTANT: Dwaggie wants into this RP. Marc, Anemone, please send him our progress after you've tossed it around a bit.

OOC: I wrote a bit and sent it on to Anemone, Marc. She'll send it on to you when she is done with it. Then you add to it and we post it right here. The post will be longer and might prove to be more cohesive.

In future I will just post the "round starter" here, then the next contributor cuts it and pastes it, then works on it. We might establish a working order, if it would prove helpful.

Thank's for tidying your post above!

~ Skyler

P.S. Anemone: you may not want to work RP posts via PM, but please give it a try so we can see how it works out.

[Anemone]

OOC: Don't worry, Skyler. I'll give anything a try the first time around Here's the result thanks to me and Skyler--Marc thought it was fine without his input. I also assume that Righ is at least familiar with Cyclyd, as the troodon adressed him by name in a relatively respective manner. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Stowaway shuffled his massive paws. "I don't much care for his tone, Righ," he rumbled unpleasantly, his sympathy for the injured human departing as quickly as it had come. "What did he say? I trust he is not having fun with me." The styracosaur tilted his head and added sarcastically, "And if he is like I have heard so many Dolphinbacks are, then I shall be pleased to step on his foot to wake him from his terrible dreams!"

“I don’t think that will be necessary—he’s shook up enough as it is.” Righ said, leaving Marc’s side to speak to Stowaway. “Though I’m not sure what he’s talking about half the time, you should keep in mind that he comes from a very different world than we do. Now, could you please find him some help?”

"A healer will not wake him to his new reality," scoffed Stowaway, quite sure of himself. He curled his tail around one of his rear paws, a gesture of aloofness. "The Outsiders cannot see with their heart like we can. It is a commonly understood fact. He is no different." He snorted with laughter and went on contempteously, "He acts and smells weak. So fragile your kind are. I pity him his misfortunate birth and his coming here. Outsiders should die where they are born. It takes so long for them to accept things as we see them and to make up their minds to fit in. It is a sad pity." Despite his words, it was obvious that the styracosaur felt nothing akin to pity for the "Skyfall".

Righ paused a moment, looking back at the styracosaurus. “And you shouldn’t underestimate a dolhinback, Stowaway.” He hurried back to Marc. “How are you holding up?”

Stowaway called loudly behind Righ. [Summon the healer yourself.]

It was not necessary for the man to do so, however. Cyclyd, the troodon healer traveling with the convoy, was already coming over. And he looked determinedly prepared to brave some unpleasantness from Stowaway if need be, with some choice words of disapproval. Any who knew Cyclyd well knew that stride and posture he held. He had heard Stowaways words and some of them had set his spine unpleasantly. I shall do my best to "waken" him, and we shall see, he told Stowaway silently.

[Breath deep, Righ,] he said, speaking in the carnosaur dialect of his people with a noticable Halcyon accent. He managed somehow to seem as though he was keeping one eye on Stowaway while the other studied Marc. [Where did this Skyfall stumble upon you? Or was it the other way around?]

"Seek peace, Cyclyd. He and his... craft--it was like some kind of metal pterosaur!--were in a tree. I rescued him before it fell, some ways eastward from here." Righ motioned towards the trees, ignoring any mention of what he had been doing there alone. Most of the Dinotopians in the area were familiar with his less-than-complimentary reputation, anyway. They thought he was crazy. He preferred to refer to himself as "enlightened", or somewhere on the path to it.

[Barry the Baryonyx]

{OOC: I talked this over with Anemone and Skyler about how I was going to do this. I hope this doesn't gum things up}

Just then, A man and a Baryonyx appears on the scene.
The man listens to Marc and gets confused.
In a pirate accent he speaks, Ahoy there, "whats this Me hear? Jurassic Park? What's that matey." He continues,
"Is that some kinda nati'e tribe on the Island?"
Then he turns to his trusty friend Who almost crashes in to him..
"Arrr, crocosaur, Watch whar yer goin'". Then they stood there and watched as Righ and Stowaway exchanged words.

{OOC:Please let me know via PM of yer plans for the next post?

I}

[Marc LeSinge]

Marc was in shock, unable to do more than stutter. The world around him was becoming more and more unbelievable and strange every second. He made one last valiant attempt to get to his feet and understand what to him looked crazily like conversation between this animal and the man who had rescued him , and, catching sight of a large, more ferocious looking dinosaur, fainted again. Tut.