Dino Guardian

The rainforest steamed with breathless heat. For Grak, exiled from his Neanderthal Clan for shielding and loving Ryl (a Cro-Magnon woman), every day was death stalking in silence. No clan. No shelter. No protection. Two days later, a sharp-muzzled drahk-vor snapped from the shadows. Grak met it with stone and sheer power, slamming it back, but not before it tore Ryl’s thigh. Now she sat on a boulder, injured, and Grak knew strength alone was not enough in these savage lands. Across the river, the air hushed. Branches groaned. A vast shape stirred: a great leaf-eater, one his people called a graahk-rok. Its hide was ridged, a heavy talon jutted from each hand, and silence followed its steps. Where it lingered, lesser predators vanished. In Grak’s marrow stirred memory: the Green Tribute. Food offering to the graahk-rok for their gentle presence. His chest rose like a drumbeat. He thrust his finger toward the titan. “Graahk-Rok! Gho’ta!” (Graahk-Rok! Big-Safe!) Ryl’s fierce eyes darted from the giant to Grak’s steady stare, then dropped to their rations—guava, breadfruit, swamp-melons. She saw the sense in his eyes. Their food must buy their life. Grak motioned her to rest, then quickly shaped the tribute upon a flat stone. The ground quaked. The air grew heavy as the Graahk-Rok bent its head. Its ember-eye glowed with patience. The Neanderthal stood before the titan and raised the slab high. The vast tongue unrolled, plucking the bounty. Lifting its head, the giant's shadow fell across them, cool and immense. The tribute was accepted. Grak lowered the slab, chest heaving. He knelt by Ryl, his fingers on her wound. “Ka’na, urg ‘kag-poh nah.” (My mate, I will carry you.) Her lips trembled. “Huhh. Gra’korr.” (Thank you, my rock.) He hoisted her onto his broad shoulders. Her weight was nothing. And in the silent presence of their guardian, Grak carried his beloved forward.