Fawnstep jumped back a little when Rigormortis finally tried to stand. It seemed the water had helped him at least a little, and Fawnstep followed him at a more than reasonable distance. He didn't believe the other would attack him again, not in this state at least, but he kept on his guard regardless, ready to leap away and flee at the slightest hint of provocation.

He let out a little cry of indignation as the larger cryo belly flopped into the precious drinking water, and he shook his head in disgust. Well, he wasn't about to drink from that for a while...he'd stirred up all the muck on the bottom of it! It would all taste like dirt now.

"The cactus wasn't poisoned, it was just a cactus," Fawnstep muttered mutinously, scuffing the dry dirt with his foot. "I ate the good part and...felt rather bad for leaving you with the trunk. Most cacti aren't good to drink the juice from, some can even be deadly."

He felt a sinking sensation in his belly as the larger cryo mentioned other dinosaurs in the area. His proclamation that he had no interest in eating Fawnstep didn't soothe the cryo's fears.

"Those...those are Styras," he stammered, thinking to the hatchling he had left with the herd far away from here. She wouldn't be with that group, they had been mostly paras and a couple of Theris, but the thought of attacking another dinosaur filled him with dread.

"No--please don't uh--bigger cryo," he said, cursing himself internally for not learning the hunter's name before this. "My name is Fawnstep by the way, and uh--I don't eat others like us, or even the herbivores. I-I can catch you something if you wait here. Please, let me hunt for you, don't go after the others."

Rigormortis huffed softly, pulling himself out of the water to sit in the shade and allow the water to settle so it wasn’t so murky. Fawnstep was right- it didn’t taste particularly great but he would have drank tree sap at that point, so it mattered little to him. Looking lazily over at him, he snorted. “No, they’re not Styracosaurus,” he mused, scratching at his chin like a dog. “They’re small, and brown. Not dinosaurs. They have fur,” he said, describing the deer as best he could.

“I don’t see what’s so bad about eating other dinosaurs,” he admitted, tilting his head. “They’re just the same as the other animals, so are we, so I don’t see why one matters more than the other.” He added, laying his head down on the floor. “My name is Rigormortis.” He murmured, still somewhat bitter about it. “My mother wasn’t particularly fond of me. She gave me this name due to my…natural scent.”

The thought that Rigormortis had so little regard for dinosaurs sent a shudder down Fawnstep's spine and he wondered not for the first time whether he should just tuck tail and run or try to stick it out so he could make sure this cryo wasn't left alone...

"Given the way your mother seems to have raised you, I won't hold it against you too much for saying something like that," Fawnstep said, glancing away from the other before he stepped into the pond after the other left it and took a careful seat. The cool water felt wonderful against his hot, dusty and sandy scales. He would have liked a good roll, but he didn't feel comfortable being that vulnerable with Rigormortis yet.

He looked over at Rigor and said, "Every one of us is different...we have a story to tell. My mother told me once that we all have a role to play in each other's lives...I prefer not to be the one to end someone else's story, when I can find any other way to extend my own."

He stood out of the water finally and gave himself a shake, droplets flying from his scales like little fiery pebbles that glinted in the sunlight. "As long as what we're hunting aren't dinosaurs like us, I'll help you," he said with a nod.

Rigormortis huffed indignantly at the dig at his upbringing, though he really couldn’t be too upset since it wasn’t far off. “My mother abandoned me a few months after I was born, I raised myself.” He muttered angrily, clawing at the ground. “For the most part, the only food I could find for a long time was members of my own family. I was the odd one out- I’m not sure why I grew to be so much larger than the rest of them, but it’s what kept me alive.” He added, curling his two claws into the floor and digging up some soil.

“We should move from here if we want to catch anything for a meal. We’re down wind and everything will smell us, especially me.” He added, standing up. He seemed a lot stronger now, no longer hallucinating or in the throes of dehydration, so he hardly even wobbled when he stood, huffing out a large exhale which sent dust flying around his face, which in turn made him sneeze. “Food is getting a lot more scarce nowadays. The food you want to eat, anyway. So we must go.”

Fawnstep could have made another quip about the way Rigormortis had raised himself in that case, but the other's tone suggested it may be best for him to keep those opinions to himself. So when Rigormortis suggested it was time for them to move on from here, the smaller cryo trotted back to the spring and took a few hurried sips.

"I'm the fastest runner I know," he chirped gleefully as he returned, giving his legs a good stretch before hopping from one foot to the other. "The part I usually have trouble with when hunting bigger game is actually killing it. I don't like to let them suffer, so I try to get the back of their necks, but...well, it doesn't always work out that way. That's why I prefer rats, a good hard shake and they don't suffer at all."

He started forward, grateful to see that the effects of the cactus and lack of water hadn't lingered in the larger cryo. "You're fast when you wanna be, I can tell. But fast enough to keep up with a deer for long?"

Rigormortis looked down at the energetic little Cryo, snorting, unimpressed. “You are strange.” He said, flexing his claws gently to ease the lingering soreness from his climbing escapades not too long ago. He really did a number on his joints doing that. “I don’t need to chase a deer for long, small one. I am an ambush hunter.” He rumbled, flicking his tail as he began walking in the direction of the forest he had seen a little ways away, glad to be rid of the god forsaken savannah that they’d barely made it out of.

“And you needn’t worry about killing your prey, I am more than capable.” He added softly, eyes already scanning his surroundings for nearby prey or threats that had to be dealt with. It wasn’t too long before Rigormortis caught the scent of the deer he had seen, and ducked down to move outwind so he wasn’t scented in turn by his prey. “Careful,” he murmured. “They have sharp hearing.”

Fawnstep didn't realize how close the deer actually were to them, though he imagined they'd stay relatively close to the water source. Hopefully them splashing about and being downwind hadn't alerted them, because as sharp as their hearing was, their sense of smell was probably better.

The smaller cryo crouched down in the tall grass, his steps smoothing out so every twitch of muscle was fluid and careful.

"I can run one down and get it away from the herd, try to get it to break its leg," he breathed, just barely loud enough for the other cryo to hear him.

Rigormortis hummed low in his throat, creeping around to the hidden side of the large murky pond. “You can try that- flank from the side….I’m going in from the water.” he whispered, quietly slinking into the water, like a Suchomimus, I taking a big deep breath and disappearing under the surface, his dull grey skin allowing him to blend in perfectly, the perfect ambush predator. He slowly released some air so he wouldn’t remain buoyant, and made his way around the side cautiously, swimming slow to not disturb the surface of the water.

As he got right up to the shore, he sat in wait, patiently watching and preparing to lunge when a deer came a little too close to the water’s edge. All he needed to do was get his mouth on one, and it was all over. His beady eyes peered up through the murk, barely able to make out the shapes of the animals they were hunting. He only hoped Fawnstep wasn’t too keen to get into the action, because he likely could not run down a deer for a long period of time if he had scared them away.

Slowly swishing his tail to remain in place, he crept slightly forwards, digging his claws into the sediment to give himself better leverage for when he inevitable rocketed up out of the water.

Fawnstep had never thought to use the water while hunting, and he watched in awe as Rigormortis sank into the pond’s murky depths. He stared in amazement for too long and had to shake himself out of it, flicking his tongue out to lick up a few stray droplets of water on his snout.

He snuck around in a wide circle, keeping himself low as he watched the herd–well, it was a bit of a stretch to call it a herd. There were only a few females and their male was nowhere to be seen, if they even had one. They looked thin, their fur as ragged as Fawnstep felt, and he almost regretted having to hunt them. Would they even be worth the energy expended?

Still, he continued around in that wide circle until he was directly behind them, he didn’t even have to do anything, his scent would drift toward them. He saw one of the doe’s ears flick up as her head shot into the air, her tail lifting as she let out a snort of alarm.

Fawnstep leaped out from the tall grass where he’d hidden, startling the does and driving them closer to the water.

As the does were driven closer and closer to their inevitable demise, or at least Rigor hoped, he crept further forwards, the muscles in his strong legs rippling with tension as he prepared to pounce. It wasn’t very often that he hunted for non-dinosaur prey, so this was going to be interesting, but hopefully an easy hunt.

Right as one of the larger females got to the water’s edge, Rigormortis snapped into action like a tightly coiled spring, launching out of the water with a speed unbecoming of a creature his size, first pulling the deer closer with his claws before he latched down on it with his jaws. The poor animal barely had the chance to let out a squeal of fear and pain, before rigormortis bore down with his jaws and crushed its spine and part of its skull, killing it. Its legs still moved, wildly like it was still alive, but otherwise it’s complete limpness told Rigormortis all he needed to know.

Stepping up and out of the water, the large male dripping as he went, he hefted the deer up in his jaws and let out a triumphant snort, trotting closer to his hunting companion before placing their meal on the floor. “We make quite the team, small one.”