The Blue
Skunk awoke in a feathered bed, warm and breathing. Ears flapped as he shook his head, and a great head swiveled around to look at the toothy little goblin. A tongue flicked out from behind sharp yellow teeth, and licked at a bit of errant dried meat, before reaching up to pick with a dirty little fingernail. Flicking the fleck away, he sat all the way up... and was suddenly in motion, climbing onto the beast so much larger than him. He rooted through a bag on the side of the saddle, being able to hold much more than normal for how small he was. He pulled from it a few darts, inspecting them and tossing them back in to land with many others and a long tube that looked suspiciously like dark metal. Tossing the flap back over, he scrambled back down the rock drake just as it was standing, giving a great stretch before shaking its head and giving a snort.
The tips of its wings shone orange in the light, though whether it was from the light of a nearby standing torch, it was hard to tell. Sunlight filtered through a crack in the underworld, countless vines diminishing the deadly rays of scorching radiant sunshine. Up there, there was searing heat, fire storms of epic proportions, radiation that quickly made you sick and dying even if you don't burn to death. But down here... it was safe. Well. Mostly. The goblin hopped onto the rock drake's back once more, and gave a whistle through his teeth, something low and soft. The beast lumbered by the single standing torch, and Skunk yanked it from the ground, shaking it out and thrusting it into a specially made sling. No other camp had been made. Another whistle, and a bird with radiant feathers fluttered from atop the giant mushroom growing from between rocks by the cliff face they slept against.
The the bird settled on the drake's head, and gave a melodic whistle before ruffling its feathers. Off went the trio, toward a place further down the hollow cave, where sunlight was not so strong, and his prey easier to spot. There were few distractions on the way... he knew how to stay generally unnoticed by the predators that would tear at them and hope to make a meal, knowing that he would truly actually be safer once he'd reached that big bioluminescent area below.
Soon the light was low enough that there was reason to be concerned about little semi-simian hairless monsters slipping in to swarm. Light kept them away. Skunk gave a soft high pitched whistle through his teeth, and the bird on the drake's head seemed to light up, bioluminescent glow almost as bright as daylight keeping the creepies well away. Deeper, for there were none of what he was looking for yet. His eyes scanned the bridges and what wandered under them, great rock formations with strategically placed sources of light suitable for recharging the bioluminescability of creatures like the ornately plumed bird far more efficiently than the slow, heavy glowbugs. He wouldn't need these, today. This was no exploration. He knew what he was after.
Onto cliff walls the drake jumped, and the true search was on. A specific pattern of glowing stripes was his target, and he had a looking glass held up to one eye as they scaled cliff walls. The sound of claws tearing into rock just enough to grip was nearly metallic as they moved along, and Skunk nor the feathered beast seemed to be too concerned with the noise of it for now.
After nearly an hour of waiting, searching, he saw it. The pattern. A series of stripes in a full orange on the sleekly feathered back of a megalosaurus.it was snuffing around, perhaps trying to catch the trail of some poor herbivore feeding on fungi and the strange berries that grew in the fronds of strange underground ferns. In the blue glow that pervaded the area, it was easy for Skunk's big eyes to catch, for he was well-adjusted for lower light levels and even some amount of darkness. He turned the drake, pointing its head toward the cave floor, and they seemed to disappear from view, becoming a mere a shimmer of atmosphere.
The drake responded to a low whoop, and the trio had taken flight. Somewhat. The drake could not fly, but was an excellent glider, and this was a tactic it knew well. Skunk directed it to land near his target atop a mushroom, just far enough not to catch its immediate attention, and reached into the pouch beneath his leg, pulling from it a small rifle he was already loading with narcotic darts. Often, he was content with a spear, or even a crossbow and some bolts, but this was dangerous prey. He leveled the barrel, and thwip, the sound of rushing air was the only one made... until the guttural cry of a predator realizing something had pierced his hide.
Now that they were closer, Skunk had much more reason to be excited, for the coloring on the creature was very beautiful; a male with a near white underbelly with a bright cyan coloring on top. Perhaps he was a very good hunter in the wetter parts. Right now, however, he was set on defending against his attacker by way of tooth and claw. He stomped forward and lowered his head to bellow angrily. On any other beast, there would be the concern that the predator would, in its rampage, either tear him apart or inadvertently shield himself from further tranquilizing projectiles with the cover of the mushroom tops Skunk and the drake sat atop.
Drakes, however, had the distinct advantage of pseudo flight in this case, and he simply circled from mushroom to mushroom top, steadily shooting darts into the beast. After some time of the corralling, the creature realized the danger, and started to retreat. Of course, the little green hunter did not give up the chase, and followed from up high, pelting two more into him. He was getting dangerously close to water, and there was a real danger of drowning, if he tried to wade in and went into a tranquilized stupor trying to swim away. Skunk tried to lead the beast away by gliding in his way, and just as he started to turn direction, he gave a groan, and fell to the ground. The goblin gave a whoop as loud as he dared, and landed next to the sedated dino. He jammed his hand into a pack and grabbed a handful of raw meat, hopping down and scrambling toward the beauty of a beast. Behind him, the drake reached it's great head around, and a long tongue slithered out just enough to curl into the pack and scoop a meal of it's own into its mouth. Skunk crouched in front of the megalosaurus, dropping the meat, and rubbed at his rough nose while he slipped a bit of mean into that great maw.
"You will be night guard. Everyone sleep. You awake. Protect the tribe."
He set more meat within eating distance, and went to get more from the pack. He scrambled up to the meat pack, and found it woefully empty. Skunk looked up at the rather unapologetic back of the drake's head. Shaking his fist, he cursed in a goblin dialect, before looking around for simple prey he could take down to feed the new addition before he woke up. Off he went with a dagger and a lurch, whistling for the bird to follow closely.
It did not take long for Skunk to gather enough meat to convince a predator he was a good tribe mate to have, and he tossed the lot of it over his shoulder in a sling onto his back. On his way back, he stopped at a small pond to drink, when he heard the clash of teeth, flesh, and the distinct sound of a chitinous shell. Like a flash, the goblin went, happening upon the terrible scene of a giant crab, long skinny legs jabbing and tearing at the sleeping megalosaurus while the drake tried to tear a limb off. Skunk scrambled as quickly as he could to the fight, and jumped onto the drake's back. Skunk got control just in time to watch the crab devour the beast, and beat a hasty retreat to the safety of tall mushrooms and cliff faces. Even Skunk the Great did not go unprepared into a crabfight. The trio disappeared into the blue gloom of the underworld, Skunk feeding the drake a share of his kill for doing its best.
All was not lost, of course. Skunk mourned the loss of a new member briefly, before disappearing. Somewhere, in the distance... was a promising possible new friend that could help with turning that long legged monster into dinner.