Meanwhile, through a rabbit's hole that's noticeably lacking its rabbit this time as he is far too busy attending his Queen's court, past the tea set now gathering dust on its rickety table and through the still-gaping hole in the roof, the Mother Gigantoraptor lies down with her brood around her, taking a well-deserved break on the loamy earth.

  She closes her eyes, content in the knowledge that her surviving pack is thriving. One already tall enough to reach her underside, they're growing swiftly and properly. She lost a few in those first few weeks, both to other predators and disease, but those who have survived are those who will continue to survive, each one having been smart, strong, and lucky enough to get to this point.

  The forest is alive with their chirps and their chattering, as they pounce on each other and clack their beaks together, scratching playfully at each other's sides in order to better hone their fighting prowess. Also, because it's fun. And after weeks of devastating the small animal populace, they have surprisingly grown scarce in this part of the woods.

  Mother Gigantoraptor cracks open an eye to check on them, finding them right where she left them. Two of them are chasing each other around, their legs swiftly put-put-putting underneath their bodies, barely a visible blur with how quickly they're moving. The smaller of the two, in front, skids and ducks, narrowly dodging getting grabbed by the other, larger one. The smaller one lets out a victorious chirrup as the other over-corrects and skids past, having not expected its sibling to stop that suddenly. The smaller one flaps its little wings in glee, as it starts to chase after the larger, the roles suddenly reversed. They swerve and slide around trees, through bushes, and underneath branches, chittering excitedly the entire time.

  A bit beyond, two others sleep together within the nest, the stick-and-leaves construction long ago having become too small to fit all of them in at the same time, but its reliable frame and comfortable down still getting utilized by the odd pair or two on occasion. The pair are curled up against each other, utilizing each other's soft, downy bodies as pillows, their eyes closed and their bodies shifting up and down in their sleep. They snore contentedly, letting out little squeaks as they dream of chasing prey and growing up to be big and strong, so that they can dominate their own little slices of the forest one day. One is significantly smaller than the rest of them, the runt of the litter, having somehow survived for this long on its luck and its wits. It, too, will one day rule its own slice of forest. But being the smallest of the litter, it will have to, possibly, one day, contend itself with a smaller slice of land, as larger and stronger gigantoraptors will find it easier to chase it out of any prime spot that it sets up for itself.

  Mother Gigantoraptor watches them for a moment, a content feeling welling up in her chest, before she re-counts her babies and realizes that one is missing.

  She sits up, searching around the glade for her missing progeny, her keen eyes piercing through the foliage around her and picking out movement in the foliage around her, none of it seeming to be the tell-tale rustling of one of her babies stalking around the foliage. The two who were still chasing each other skids to a stop, the one snapping at the other for a moment before the other screeches in its face to get it to stop, both turning to watch their mother with great anticipation. The two sleeping in the nest murmurs and stretches, blissfully unaware of the world around them.

  The air grows tense, and the forest grows quiet, as the mother gigantoraptor prepares herself. She's been through this many times by now, and she's ready.

  A victorious screech pierces the silence, startling awake the two sleeping babies, who look around in shock and surprise, blinking bleary eyes and clacking their beaks in irritation. The Mother Gigantoraptor feels a heavy form land on top of her, taking her by surprise and causing her to let out a screech. She feels tiny claws dig into her hide, the sharpness of them barely, barely piercing through her thick, leathery hide and leaving tiny, teeny rivulets that are barely irritating to her.

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  She twists her head around to face the irritation, looking down at her own back, not surprised in the least to find the usual culprit letting out a mighty cry, before it clacks its beak shut around the base of her neck, barely able to squeeze hard enough to let her feel the pressure of it.

  While there is always a runt in a litter, there is also always a largest. And while he might not have been the largest egg in the clutch - the largest having disappeared during her fight with the Spinosaurus all those weeks ago - his was definitely the second, by a wide margin.

  Standing half a neck taller than his other siblings, with a wide body that belays his powerful muscles, and a beak strong and sharp enough to snap bones in weaker animals but barely irritates Big Mama, the largest baby tries its hardest to get his mother to get off of her lazy, fluffy butt and play with him. Unable to play with any of his other siblings due to his size and strength advantage, he tries his luck once again with the only other creature nearby that isn't food.

  And judging by how she screeches in irritation at him and shakes him off of her, she is not in the mood for these antics.

  He lands gracefully on his feet and stomps the ground in frustration. For a moment, the mother stares at her child in awe and concern. While he will grow up to be big and strong one day; perhaps bigger and stronger than her - he is currently still on the small side and easily bested by any number of medium-to-large sized predators. Normally, this isn't much of a problem, what with her protecting her babies with a single-minded purpose that is as admirable as it is terrifying. And even during the rare moments where the babies wander off to hunt on their own, or the mother spends a few hours resting her eyes, the babies' mottled camouflage lets them blend in to the surrounding forest almost perfectly, keeping them safe from the normally perceptive eyes of larger predators.

  But this one doesn't have that advantage. For as he pecks at her feathers - trying to get her to play with him - his pure-white feathers catch the sun, casting their brilliance for miles around and creating a sharp contrast against the green-and-brown background of the forest.

  Albinos are extremely rare in the natural world. The lack of camouflage makes them easy targets for predators, and their poor eyesight normally makes it harder for them to find food and avoid dangers. Most die before they reach sexual maturity, and those who survive normally have a host of health complications caused by a sensitivity to the sun.

  But somehow, despite all of those challenges, this one has survived. Living in the forest, with the sunlight filtered heavily by the thick canopy, he does not need to worry about the sun sensitivity caused by his lack of melanin. And with the Gigantoraptor's inherent, impeccable sense of smell, his lack of sharp vision is barely a hinderance to find and catch prey. Combined with his greater-than-average size and strength, and the help of his mother, this one has managed to get through the crucible that is the early few weeks and is on track to thriving despite his challenges.

  Let's call him White.

  Almost seeming to sigh to herself, the mother obliges White, sensing that her babies are in need of some stimulation. She gets up from the ground, shaking off the leaves and detritus that clings to her feathered form, and looks down on her beautiful baby.

  White is taken aback for a moment, forgetting for an instant just how large his mother is. But the hesitation lasts only a moment. He's the biggest of the litter, after all! He's the strongest! And he's ready to take over the glade, once he's finally managed to defeat his mother and shown her who's the strongest in the forest!

  Rallying his courage, he lets out another mighty war cry, determined to finally take his place at the top of the hierarchy! He starts his attack by pouncing towards his mama, his sharp claws outstretched to deliver a devastating blow to her!

  Which is foiled immediately, as she dodges to the side and closes her jaws around his midsection, gently picking him up with barely a struggle.

  Moving her baby to the side, Mother Gigantoraptor lets out some clucks, alerting her pack that it's time for lunch. They all scramble to surround her, cheeping and chirping excitedly, including her tallest, White - all thoughts of domination and taking his rightful place on top forgotten.

  The Mother Gigantoraptor turns around and starts making her way into the forest, her babies following close behind her. Food has grown more and more scarce in her part of the woods, requiring them to venture further and further away to find enough to feed all of them. But Mother Gigantoraptor isn't too concerned. The forest provides, and in this ever-deadly place, there is always another meal just waiting to be nabbed.