Blood oozed from the rabbits neck as it dangled from the tree above him. It was just a dead animal but William still didn’t feel safe, for another creature had definitely been here to hang up the rabbit so neatly… This theory made William drop his current excavation of food to scurry off to somewhere else…

He had just found a nice clump of mushrooms that he wanted to collect when the same phenomenon repeated itself. Only this time it was a small baby deer that hang from the branches!

William gaped and stepped away from the bloody mess. Without a second thought, he glanced around to see if he could spot his newly acquired stalker. But not a single trace was left behind by the creature… William found this event to be very unsettling.

He thought: Am I being targeted by a dinosaur already?... It’s not like its impossible for such an odd hunter to exist in this universe... But then again?... It could also be just a coincidence… Maybe, I’m in the hunting area of a dinosaur that keeps its fallen prey in trees?... That could also be a plausible explanation…

He tried to soothe himself as he collected the mushrooms. Thinking that if he left the area this kind of strange sight wouldn’t appear again. But it did… It did to a ridiculous degree. No matter where he went, he would find the same five dead animals following him around. Haunting him at every step on his way. As it went on, he got more and more tempted to fall into his hunter's lure, just so that it would show itself. But then… Would he be able to best it?... He certainly wouldn’t dare to test it out just to satiate his own curiosity.

Finally, without a blunder, he reached the wide-open beach. Which meant: No more trees or high rocks for his follower to decorate. William stared back into the forest, thinking that he had won. But this hope immediately got crushed the moment he saw those well-known carcasses come flying out of the woods. William felt his jaw drop as he moped in disbelief. There they were. Five little dead animals, peacefully resting in the sand before his feet.

And then… A pitched howl came from the bushes. William stared in its direction but couldn’t see what made the sound. This fact only added to his already growing fear, caused by the constant chase of this unknown enemy entity…

To not be overcome by irrational fear he began to shout at the forest: “What?... You want me to surrender, huh?... Or did you just come here to mock me? Showing me that you could already have killed me five times if you so desired!?”. His words got to echo through the shrubbery before the same call was heard; confirming his suspicions. William thought: That’s it! Ready or not I’m gonna go in a stab you now!...

He hastily flung out his sword and began to trudge menacingly towards the woods, when a howl sounded again. The leaves rustled and out stepped a tiny white dinosaur. It looked very cute and delicate, like innocence itself. But this still didn’t make William fawn and let down his guard! This dinosaur definitely had the potential to be a crafty killer, that liked to play around with its victims first!

William glared at the thing, ready to strike it down if it should make any sudden moves. The dinosaur saw how hostile the creature before it was. Alas, it really couldn’t comprehend why this creature was so hostile towards it? After all, it had just tried to show its kindness by offering it food. And even though this strange being was hungry, it remained extremely picky and wouldn't accept any of the prey it found for it!...

The dinosaur looked at William with a sharp glint in its eyes. This scared William, as he thought this glint meant that it now knew how to kill him. However, this conjecture was quickly wiped out as he got to see a view that was far beyond his imagination. The dinosaur didn’t jump up to slit his throat or gnaw at his knees. Instead, it flopped onto its back and began to purr as it closed its eyes. Telling him with all of its being to trust it.

William squinted his eyes while he let his sword waver above its vulnerable belly. The dinosaur seemed to stop breathing in fright but still let out a pleasing purr. “What the…?”. William was beyond confused at this dinosaur’s behavior. Why was it acting so friendly and tame? And furthermore! Why did it seek the attention of a human being!?...

William pondered on this for a while till it dawned on him. Surely this little cub was already a bonded dinosaur. After all, it wasn’t rare for bonded dinosaurs to roam free on their own because their owners wouldn’t be able to accommodate them… Even so, they usually didn’t act this chummy around other humans… But that just meant it was the exception, right?...

The little creature presented itself so honestly to him, that he wouldn’t dare betray its trust. Slowly he sheathed his sword, then he stepped back. With every step, he kept a sharp eye on the little fellow. Then a icky *Squish* sounded. William paled as he had just stepped into one of those dead animals!...

“Ah… Just what I needed… A blood-soaked shoe”. The nasty feeling remained until he let the ocean lick his shoe clean. The waters were cool and a good 15-meter away from the forest. Which gave him plenty of room to feel safe, away from that crazy dinosaur.

Said dinosaur kept itself humbly on the ground until it noticed the growing distance between them. William smiled wryly because he saw the dinosaur pick up the rabbit, which was almost the same size as itself. It was almost cute, the way it proudly dragged it towards him. Being only 2 meters away, it halted and dropped the mauled rabbit. “...? Is that for me?”. William saw how the creature confusedly cocked its head. Surprisingly it didn’t understand humans. So there was a language barrier? But this didn’t mean he couldn’t test its intentions by accepting the meat. Thus he reached out his hand to touch it.

He was just about to settle his fingers on the bloody pelt when a big wave came onshore and without mercy, it stole the carcass.

The dinosaur blinked with irritated eyes as droplets of seawater had been splashed in its face. When it opened them again it was shocked to see its gift float away! While the rabbit floated tumultuous around, a soft high tune came from the dinosaur as it wept. It also soon dawned on William what the ocean had stolen, as he saw the rabbit do somersaults in the waves behind him.

The more he stared, the more he lost his appetite for it. But this dinosaur seemed very sad at the loss, so with a deep sigh, he lifted his skirt and waded further out into the sea.

The rabbit was like a playful cricket; escaping his hands multiple times but at last, he got it!... He was about to bring it onshore when he noticed that the little dinosaur had followed him. And not only that! It directly pounced at him, leaving him with no time to react!...

William’s heart throbbed while adrenalin-filled his veins. He was 100% sure that this fellow was out to get one of his fingers as a snack, but instead, it happily chose to dangle from the rabbit’s foot. The dinosaur was very happy and thought this kind of behavior was normal. It was allowed in its nest so it should be allowed here (That’s what it thought).

Its gleaming eyes looked at William, who couldn’t make sense of all this weirdness. First of all: Bonded dinosaurs are not like tamed housepets! They are normally either in evade-mode, or kill-mode when it comes to other animals that aren’t their bonded parent. Never in adorable-mode!... And why was this dinosaur so keen on harassing him?... Was it because he was a human and thus it thought he had come on the behalf of its master?... 

Well, one thing was for sure, it must be awfully lonely to be this desperate for company...