Karata (ARK Fanfic) ✔ DRAFT

Chapter 2 | The Kindness of Storms

Jan landed on a mountain. Karata nearly fell down it, but she dug in her heels and tried not to think about herself falling with the clattering pebbles. 

"This is a very dangerous mountain." he explained. "I don't generally like landing here, even for short amounts of time, but when Fishwing is out of stamina, up here at the top is much safer than any where else in this region."

"Fishwing?" Karata echoed.

"Oh, he's the Pteranodon." Jan answered, holding a spyglass to his eye.

"So, what makes this place so dangerous?" Karata shivered in the icy air.

"Well, there's been several sightings of Gigas here, and we've also seen Alpha Carnos. And whenever there's an absence of Gigas, Alpha Rexes are not uncommon." he replied.

Even as he said this, the ground shook a little, pebbles tumbled down the rocky face, and a fiery, sparking aura appeared from behind a boulder. Karata stepped back, trembling, and then a huge, bright red Rex head poked over the ridge just beneath them. It stared at them, snarling softly, its jaws tilted upward to look at them. It shuffled around, fire burning, encircling it and throwing off sparks. The rock shook each time it moved as the huge, heavy feet crashed down. It turned and suddenly it had surged past the ridge and it was at the same elevation as them! It was rushing toward them, the huge maw gaping open!

Jan was on Fishwing and Fishwing was holding Karata and they were all flying away in a grand total of 3.4 seconds. The Alpha Rex bellowed at them as its flaming aura whirled around its body, cloaking the bright red scales.

Karata's breathing slowly returned to normal as the mountain faded on the horizon. The sun was setting, and it tinged everything gold. She relaxed in Fishwing's grasp, and gazed at the beautiful landscape below her. Rolling hills, with smears of trees and rocky outcroppings. Mist, tinted golden by the setting sun, floated among the trees, lending a whimsical, timeless look to the world spread out beneath her. Soon they had landed again.

"Here. We're far away enough I don't have to worry about you running away anymore." Jan removed her handcuffs. Karata rubbed her bare wrists gratefully and followed him through the densely wooded thicket. She observed tall stone cliffs rising on either side of her, and she also noticed that is seemed like much of the underbrush and rocks and trees had been cleared away.

After a few minutes of walking, they reached a massive Stone Behemoth Gate. Karata was completely and utterly astonished. The amounts of materials needed to create such a gate was copious! How had they managed that?

Jan fumbled with something, then pulled something else, and then he pushed open the doors of the gate. The creaking and shuddering and groaning boomed in Karata's ears and then the sight before her was even more incredible.

The Hidden Lake.

It was insane! A beautiful turquoise pool with a small stone overhang was in the center of a massive clearing surrounded by towering gray cliffs. There was a ring of stone walls on top of the cliffs, and people were walking on them! Karata was first astounded by their dexterity and balance, then was more amazed when she realized the walls were at least two walls thick and there were ceilings in between. Battlements studded said walls, and the walls looked about six high from where Karata was standing. There were four huge wooden garages on one side of the lake. Each had a immense Stone Behemoth Gate or a normal Dino Gate. 

Jan grabbed her hand and led her through the camp. First he brought her to the first garage, which had a wooden gate. He opened the gate and inside there were Trikes along one wall, Parasaurs along another, and then rows of other similarly sized creatures. There were Dilos, Dodos, and even some Pulmonoscorpius! And back in the corner there were some Stegos. He explained that small and medium sized dinos lived here to lay eggs, and that the other garages had more dangerous, larger dinos.

"We won't show you those today. Far too dangerous." Jan winked and raced off again. Karata trailed behind him, her head craned back to stare at all the incredible things she was witnessing.

"This is where you'll be staying." he said and flung open the wooden door so Karata could peek in. The structure was made entirely of wood and was only one story tall. She observed many simple beds lining the walls, each with a storage box by the headrest. Jan grabbed her hand and led her down the hall to the very back, where he pointed to one of the beds.

"That's yours. Set the storage box passcode if you want." he clarified. Karata nodded, naming the storage box 'Karata's Box' and the bed 'Karata's Bed'. Then she quickly set the PIN and looked up at Jan.

"This way." he beckoned with his hand. Karata followed him almost eagerly. He gestured to the shelter they were just in.

"This is the Raptor house. You see, we have different ranks, which are depicted by dinos. From bottom to top we have the Raptor House, Trike House, Scorpion Bird House, Stegomimicurus House, Pterabear House, Saber Rhino House, Carno House, Brontavoides House, Quespinex House, and the Giga House. The weirdly-named houses are portmanteaus or combinations of the dinosaurs' names. For example, the Scorpion Bird House is called that because the people who reside there are the level to craft the saddles of those dinos. The Quespinex House is a portmanteau of the words Quetz, Spino, and Rex." he explained. 

Karata nodded, her head spinning with all the information Jan had just thrown at her. "Well, wait," she interjected. "I don't have a raptor yet."

Jan grinned mischievously. "Yet." Karata looked up, hope sparking in her stomach. And then Fishwing's claws were wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her into the sky. 

Soon she was dropped into the forest. She quickly spotted the scales of a raptor through the trees. He was a beauty, his scales the color of charcoal, his belly a dull yellow, and his feathers looked like flames. She raised her bow, notched an arrow, and fired. It struck him in the side of the head. He screeched and sprinted toward her. She desperately pinpointed his head and loosed another arrow. This one struck him between the eyes. Then he was upon her. She yelped in pain as his claws sliced through her flesh. It was a blur of scales and the occasional feather. Karata shot at every glimpse of scales, and suddenly the raptor was laying on the floor, unconscious. Her heart was racing. With trembling hands she opened her SI and placed some meat in the raptor's inventory.

"What level is it?" Jan landed beside her.

"Oh, uh --" she blushed and quickly checked. "A 16. He's a 16."

"That's pretty good in these parts. Anyway, it should finish eating before sunrise." He assured her.

Jan was correct, as a orange glow lit on the horizon, the raptor stumbled to its feet and roared, then looked to Karata expectantly. Karata was speechless. She tenderly stroked his feathers, and marveled at their softness. 

"I'm calling him Charcoal!" she said excitedly. Jan just smiled.

"I'll lead you back." he suggested. Karata nodded, turning back to Charcoal and petting his feathers. 

"Oh, here." Jan tossed her something soft and leathery.

"A saddle!" she exclaimed. "Now I can ride him back!"

Jan smiled again and took to the air, with Karata and Charcoal close behind.

And as the sun rose, bathing the island in fresh golden sunbeams, Karata couldn't help but look forward to her new life.