Roleplaying

Lera coughed harder, eventually spitting out blood. She felt the toxins of the pollution all around her digging deeper into her lungs. Every cigar a rich man smoked, every taxi a rich man called for, every bit of gas and smoke in the city, she could feel it.

And she couldn't breathe. 

Lera put her head onto the ground. A fly buzzed onto her cheek, but Lera didn't care. She could taste blood pooling into her open mouth. There would have been bile, too, if she hadn't drank or eaten for two days. Her body felt small and weak, as though sleeping would be better than doing anything, even eating. She no longer saw a reason why she should. 

Lera wheezed slightly as she felt strong arms pull her malnourished body up and began to walk. She felt cold, hard stone, not rough like the dirty ashphault of the streets. She squinted slightly, though the effort felt like running a mile, and saw Buddha. Lera smiled slightly, though her face was barely strong enough to hold the muscles up to do so. She saw the light of the stone god and her last fading stare was that of a peson happy to finally die.

 

But Buddha is a kind god. He will give people second chances, or in this case, new lives with old memories.

Cody lived in a slightly-modern house next to a river. But the house was mostly covered up in plants and foliage. He didn't really have a backyard, but behind the house he had a tree house. Cody was still in his bed, watching the lava lamp light up his room. The sound of the bubbling river would send him to sleep every night, but tonight he felt odd in a way. His head was hurting badly.

Cody's silbings and step-mother had already gone to bed, but Cody hasn't. The boy assumed that his head only hurt due to the argument with his step-mother.

After awhile, his headache had slightly subsided, but it still hurt. Cody reached over to his nightstand, grabbing a dinosaur figurine. He fumbled with the toy's mouth, popping it open with a click and shutting it's jaws with another click. 

Lera felt slightly better as the fresh mountain air entered her lungs. Her aching, dry throat and hurting stomach no longer bothered her, as she felt more like she was light and airy, almost like her soul was leaving her body. She could see many monks and travelers walking down and up the stairs, often intimidated by a dead body, but still sending her blessings each time they left.

Finally, as the moon rose high above the clouds, Lera felt herself letting go of her wordly experiences. The clear white-blue of the shining crater pulled her towards the shrine, the world seeming to swirl into an endless, unrecognizeable blur.

Then she woke up.

Lera felt odd. Her back felt longer while her arms seemed to be much shorter than she remembered. Lera, eyes still closed, wondered how she was still alive and why the air smelt much cleaner and warmer...and why she felt very small and like she had....

A tail?! The girl snapped her eyes open to an odd view. Her vision was much more peripherable, allowing her to see everything behind and beside her in a sort of thermal view. She whipped around to see a long, feathery black tail with one scarlet feather at the end. Alarmed but somewhat fascinated, Lera tried moving what she felt like a limb extending from her back. When she twitched it, the tail moved too. Weird. She would never be able to look normal, even in China, like this. Maybe some sort of nuclear mutation? 

Then Lera realized that she could think clearly for once. Yes! She only felt peckish, for the first time in what felt like years, and only slightly thirsty. What a wonderful feeling! The air was warm and fresh. When she looked around, she saw a forest of oddly twisted bamboo and unusually large ferns; they looked like they were two times taller than the top of her head. Well, then again, Lera had never seen China's forests before- maybe the plants had mutated too, when she fell asleep, someone must have carried her up here.

Lera put her hand up to brush her hair back, when she felt feathers-What?! She screamed in shock, and what came out of her mouth was an oddly vocalized, birdlike screech. The girl almost screamed again, but first she had to find out what the heck was going on. She tried to run, but tripped over- her toenails felt much too long, and her legs couldn't seem to bend forwards. She looked down to see two raptorlike legs, each with animal joints and long, shiny claws at the end of each toe. Lera squealed in alarm and leapt back, falling painfully on her tail. What was she now? Had she become some freak, mutating before her very eyes?!

She squirmed towards a group of rocks filled with water, looking into the puddle.

When she saw it, a much, much louder scream echoed through the forest.

A dinosaur was staring back at her.

Lera had become a raptor. 

Cody had finally fallen asleep, only to soon wake up. Cody lifted his head, he groaned and his head fell back onto his pillow- wait. He wasn't on his bed. He was in some sort of clearing.  Cody jolted up, before he could become stable, he stumbled and got slapped in the face by something, which was his tail. The 'boy' looked down and saw that he had a tail, and his legs were obivously different, along with his arms. He frantically reached up to his face, and accidently poked his eye with something sharp, he was about to yell out something, but the only thing that managed to escape him was a screech. 

Cody now realized that he was no longer human, and maybe, not even on planet earth anymore. Cody scrambled up to his two legs, kickign up dirt, flowers and grass with a couple of screeches and growls. The 'what-used-to-be-a-twelve-year-old-boy' had his clawed arms pressed against against his sides, breathing quickly. 

The only thoughts that escaped his mind were,

What is this?

Lera breathed in deeply, trying to calm down. She was probably hallucinating from dehydration... yeah, but why did everything feel to real? Her legs were lither and had to move more in a graceful lope to run. Her arms were stubby and short. When she tried to get up, her short front limbs didn't allow her enough leverage to even crouch. And her jaws felt much more powerful and sharper, with an elongated mouth to stretch even farther, as well as a long, flexible neck.

So, what the heck happened? The last memories Lera had was of slowly dying in the Buddha temple....Maybe she had reincarnated? But from her memories as a dinosaur geek when she was a child, the dinosaurs had lived millions and millions of years ago, and she thought that Buddha reincarnated people into a new life with new memories, not an old one with the same thoughts.

Slowly, Lera crawled up to a giant bamboolike tree, digging her large claws into the bark and eventually pulling herself up with her still stubby arms. I better not trip again, She thought, I should know by now that raptors can't do pushups. Now that the trauma and horror of her new transformation was over, Lera knew that she would have to adapt to the situation until it was over, or else, she might not survive.

Glancing around, the forest looked empty, but if she took a closer look, Lera could see tiny lizards, large bug life and many, many, unusually large flowering plants. From her memory, it was around the early Cretaceous period when flowering plants were adapted...

And it was also the time of mass extinction for the dinosaurs...

Cody trembled as he spotted dinosaurs in the distance. Cody realized that he must be one two, it was quite obvious. Cody scrambled up to two legs, feeling quite wobbly. He took a few steps, trying to keep his tail balanced. He noticed that he had a sickle claw on each foot. He lifted one of his legs to try to wiggle his lcaws, but ended up falling onto his back with a squawk.  Cody groaned, but what was heard was only a low growl. Cody jumped up, startled by himself.

After awhile, he got only a little bit used to walking, but he kept on stumbling and tripping over thin air.

After a bit of practice, mostly consisting of falling over, Lera finally managed to walk at about the fastest she could go, which happened to be like a sparrow's hop. She learned that it was best not to think and let her body's natural instincts control her tail and balance. She had no clue what sort of dinosaur she had become, and even if she did somehow recognize this one from the millions of reptiles that had been dug up, this one would probably look a lot different from the artist's impressions of the raptor, or worse, not even discovered yet.

Lera wandered around in the forest for a while, startled by every noise, until she saw light in the distance. Crawling up to a high ledge, the girl finally got a good look at where she was. A vast, plant-filled plain strectched across the expanse that used to be China, before her very eyes. She could see many, many reptiles, feathered, scaled, large and small alike. Sparkling lakes of water dotted the savahna, and Lera could see large herbivores bent over to take huge gulps of water.

Lera cautiously began to climb down the steep slope, as the air around the hot grasslands was beginning to parch her. The raptor girl, still not used to the dino body, tripped over her large toe-claw and slipped off the cliff. Screeching in alarm, Lera felt her raptor instincts take over, and all of a sudden she had lifted her stubby arms and the feathers covering them opened up, letting her glide smoothly down to the bottom. She tripped on the landing and rolled the rest of the way down the hill, finally clunking to a painful stop against her tail, pulling out a couple of feathers.

When she looked up, Lera saw an enormous herbivore, looking much like a triceratops.

Underneath the reptiles belly, the raptor girl saw a clutch of eggs. And the Triceratops didn't look happy.

Carmen sprinted down the street, ignoring the people who yelled at her. She had to get out of here, and fast!

The cops had seen her shopllift a can of soup... crud. They were chasing her. If they caught her, they would send her back to the foster home... bad bad bad. What were cops even doing here? This was a high crime rate city. Shoplifting was as common as actually buying something. 

"THis way!"

She heard the cops yell. She darted down an alley, squeezing behind a dumpster. 

"Over here...."

She held her breath. She could hear one of them, coming closer... closer... oh no...

"Ahh, just leave him. It's not worth it..."

She heard the cops leave and sighed. She squeezed back out, holding the can like a lifeline. THe dumpster turned out to be empty, so it would make a great place to sleep as long as she left before someone dumped the trash. She pulled out her multitool, prying the can open. It tasted awful cold, but hey, it was food. Rowan streached out as best she could in the cramped thing... drifting off...

In the back of her mind, Lera noted that she must be some sort of microraptoria, or a small raptor, as she was significantly smaller than the triceratops than she would have been as a human. Then she went back to reality as the huge, rhinocerous-like reptil swung its head at her, almost goring Lera with one of its horns. The raptor girl managed to leap away just in time, and hopped as fast as she could away from the protective animal.

When it stopped staring at her, Lera paused to take a breath. When she inhaled, however, her tongue automatically flicked into the air. A rush of smells entered her head, the foul stench of dung, the warm millky scent of a mother lizard, and the ripe, leafy foliage permeated the air. When she gasped and put her tongue back in, the scents lingered for a bit, then faded. Lera remembered that snakes smelt with their tongues...

But that was unimportant right then. The small raptor edged around the triceratops towards the neares oasis, shuffling around large ferns and grass. She pulled away from the huge, stomping feet of the other herbivores; they would probably step one her, and edged around the opposite side. 

She discovered a group of raptors, squabbling and pecking at each other for a good perch by the watering hole. Lera cautiously approached them, getting as far as she could between the two groups. She bent her head down and stretched her arms out to scoop up water, but they were too short. She pushed as far as she could, but they were still too annoyingly small to reach into the water from the bank. Lera sighed and slowly put her foot down to get a grip on the bank. Warily, she scraped down until she was standing in a small hollow at the edge of the water. That was better. Lera scooped up water, but her fingers were too thin to make a proper cup. Annoyed, the raptor girl tried with her foot, claws, and even her tail, but she couldn't get any water. Eventually, she put her pride as a human away and decided to drink like all the other primitives; like a dog.

She flicked her tongue out and scooped up a tiny drop of water. It was hardly anything, but it didn't require as much balance. Lera heard a small splash in the water and looked up. One raptor that had been playing around too hard had slipped off the bank and into the water. As a human, the water would only probably be up to Lera's chest, but for a raptor, the water was terrifyingly deep. The other dinosaur wouldn't last much longer; even as she though it, the reptile's splashing grew weaker and began to sink. 

For some reason, Lera decided to help it. She leapt out of the hollow and clung onto the edge of the watering hole, digging her claws into small roots and stones for a grip. When she reached the drowning raptor, she reached over and grabbed the loose feathers in between its shoulder blades, giving a last, strong yank up. The raptor was tired and cold from the water, but it instinctively grabbed onto a hard root on the bank. As they both clung on panting, the small dino finally pulled itself up and onto the shore, Lera swiftly behind it. The other group was speechless. Drowning happened often with this obnoxious bunch, and never had they seen a dinosaur, not even from the same species (unless it was a hatchling and its mother), save them, not even for profit.

The raptor turned towards its saviour. "Thank you, fellow raptor. You have saved my life. If there is anything I can do to repay you, then please, just ask. But might I know my hero's name? I am Carn."

Shocked that such a primitive being could speak, much less with sophisticated words and politeness, Lera leaped back in surprise. The raptor turned his head, confused. The girl paused, then stuttered quietly, "Le-le-e-ra".

The raptor leaned in, paused, then said. "Thank you, Lea. Here, take this as a show of my appreciation, and I will introduce you to our tribe." He passed her a dried up piece of meat, toughened by many chewing teeth and the sun. A little disgusted but more confused, Lera gingerly picked up the old meat and muttered thanks.

The raptor Carn began to lope towards the forest, one or two of his friends behind him. They often had to stop or help Lera when she constantly tripped over her claws or slipped and fell.

Carn waited patiently until Lera finally caught up. Now that she realized that she was a small, feathered dino, she realized that she would have to deal with it until she somehow returned to how she was before.

Or died.

She shook her head to stop thinking so darkly. Lera looked around to see where Carn had led her. It was the same jungle, just farther in and with a different terrain. Above her head was a jumble of leafy trees and tall, flowering plants. Bright green ferns towered well above her, while grassy moss and decaying bug bodies carpeted the rock soil. Boulders and round stones were strewn here and there, some looking like they had been dragged over, while a calming stream ran with dark green water, the algea-covered stones dissapearing into its depths.

Lera looked around, but apart from her, Carn, and his two friends, which she had learned were called Sha and Zin, the clearing was abandoned. 

All of a sudden, Carn opened his mouth and gave a loud, high-pitched screech. Lera jumped in alarm, but somehow the screaming translated into a sort of code in her head.

"Carn has arrived! All of the Leipyr Tribe, gather in the meeting place to greet a new sinor!" The call echoed through the forest. After a moment of silence, the trees started bursting with noise. Shrieks, murmurs, chattering, moaning and all sounds alike came closer, until what seemed like several hundred raptors glided down from the tree tops. Feathers of black, grey, brown and white shuffled and called until all the dinosaurs had assembled. 

Carn pushed Lera forward slightly with his wing. "Welcome, Leipyrs! I have gathered you here in honour of this raptor, Lea, who saved my life from drowning without thought of her own!" Gasps and raptory grins showed around. "Never have I met a dinosaur so valiant, selfless and brave!" Cheers errupted from the tribe. "Now, let her speak of her bravery." He pushed Lera forward a little more.

Lera was too terrified to speak. After a moment of silence, the raptors started muttering in confusion. The raptor girl knew she would have to speak eventually. She took a deep breath. "Uh-Um, Hi.....I'm uh, Lea... Um, I-I saved Carn, uh, because...because, um-ah, where I come from, uh, we always, um, save people!" A pause filled the clearing, then all the raptors cheered.

"I want to live there!"

"How selfless!"

"What tribe are you from?"

Lera sighed in relief. "Really, it's not that big of a deal...I didn't get hurt or anything..." But she was swept along in the cheerful crowd, and all of a sudden, all the raptors were leaping into the trees and climbing, gliding and leaping everywhere! Carn made a motion for Lera to follow him.

But I don't know how to fly... Lera thought

You are a dinosaur, fighting to survive this cruel yet beautiful world. Whether you are a mere little raptor, or a stout pterosaur, you must fight to survive! Food anfd water is not always free, territory is not easy to claim as 'one-two-three' either. Take a look at yourself, do you really think you have what it takes to live here?

 

You have woken up in a (forest/meadow/beach/etc.) and have no idea where you are. You stand up, but only stumble and trip, you realize you are no longer a human, but a ancient reptile. Your only hopes are that you are in a dream. 

You are a dinosaur, simple as that. But, what is not simple is what you must go through just to survive. The world you are in, Im sure you know, planet Earth. Such a beautiful world, yet it may be very cruel.  Who knows what year it is? Not you nor I, but Im sure that is not important now. All the 'continents' that are here today, are not here now. The neighborhoods and bulidings you see now are not here. Things are different, very different.

As a dinosaur, the only thing important to you is to survive and protect your young. The thought of the world ending barely even crosses your mind. Will things be the same in the future? You don't know what happend to yourself, but you are in what you think and hope is a dream. 

But this is more like a nightmare, a living nightmare.

 

How easy and difficult this planet may be. You better watch yourself. Look up and down, left and right. This world might be beautiful on the outside, but there are dangerous wonders...

(You have human name and a dinosaur name. When creating a chracter please do this in the name. (Insert Human Name)/(Insert Dinosaur Name)

[Example: Bobby Bob/Toothy]

-Normal EX Rules.

-No unnecceesary violence, such as much-too-high amounts of gore, and cussing. Fighting is allowed, but please, don't cross the line.

-Timeskip/fade to black when breeding/ laying eggs/etc.

-BE REALISTIC. You do NOT have powers, You do NOT have rainbow eyes and scales/feathers. You do NOT cry. It is alright to have bright colored feathers and such, as males need this when courting. And color-flushing is also excused.  I will allow talking.

-Keep genders even. I do not want a lot of female characters and only one male character/vice versa.

-Keep as many charatcers as you can handle. 

-Survive.

*If you are, for say, a raptor that lives in a pack, depending on species and size, you live in a small or large pack, or none at all. If you are a small raptor, you may live in a pack of 2-6+ members If you are a large raptor, you may live in a pack of 2-4+ No packs of 8+ members.

 

-Don't see a dinosaur you want to roleplay as? Feel free to message me or say in the OOC box!