ic Ancient Enemies IC

[Electra]

Danica cocked her head to check that there was sufficient clearance away from any bones, artifacts or people, then stepped off the edge of the pit and dropped in like a duckling falling from a tree. It was a bit of a fall, but she landed unhurt and unruffled. "Wicked," she declared with great excitement, leaning over to get a better look at the bones. "Those aren't fossils, are they. Those are recent. Well, maybe not recent-recent, but those aren't from dinosaur times, right?" she asked aloud. "And whatever it was, it was super big for a bird!" She looked up towards the sky above the pit edge. "Do you think there are any alive ones still around?" 

[Amelia]

Octoman

 

"Man, I dunno why she didn't just lemme carry her. I LITERALLY got like TEN extra arms, and each ONE of 'em can lift TEN Turtle-Girls, AND her Turtlecycle."

 

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"Alright, just let me know when you need it, Sir Armsalot."

 

Octoman raised an eyebrow and stared silently for a few moments. Then he grinned, nodded, and pointed twin finger-guns at Thunderbird. "I LIKE IT!"

 

If Octoman was even slightly tired from the hike, he didn't show it. He wasn't visibly sweating, or even breathing hard. His powers clearly included superhuman stamina in addition to superhuman olfactory sensation. "We're DEFINITELY goin' the right way. STRONG scent trail. Dude needs to upgrade from that dollar-store deodorant."

 

Quote

 

Veronica herself did not seem to notice it at first, but when she turned back around to continue up the pass they were currently in, she froze for a moment, looking directly ahead and past Ben at something no one else could see. "Everyone stop!" She stated in a very firm voice, holding out one hand to signal a stop as well. The teenager then rushed forward to catch up with Ben, grabbing his arm to get him stop as well and moving around so he could see her. "Stop Ben, there is something up ahead."

 

"I think I know what happened to the missing scientists."

 

 

"What's up?" He pointed at his own white eyes. "I got built-in binoculars in these things. What're YOU seein' that I'M no-OHHH, right, spooky stuff!" He shouted over his shoulder to the other teens. "HEADS UP PEEPS, IT'S ABOUT TA GET FREAKY!"

 

[Dr Archeville]

Artificer

 

When Heroditus noticed the ambient mystical energies, he lowered his goggles over his eyes so he could get a better look.  "Oh.  Oh, yes, I see," he nodded at Veronica.  "There appears," he took a few steps to the left, then the right, trying to look at it from various angles, "to be some sort of dimensional gateway.  Wait, no, not gateway," he shook his head, "that would imply intentional creation, whereas this appears to be a natural phenomenon.  Or maybe it was artificially generated, but has degraded over the millennia.  It is a dimensional... fissure, or tear.  Ben," he looked over to his squadmate, "be careful, please, I cannot quite make out where the edge of this is -- it would not do to have you fall in, as Doctors Schneider and Warren must have."

 

He began rummaging through the pouches on his bandolier and belt, "I have been studying such fissures for some time -- there are several in what you call the Bermuda Triangle, and several Atlantean outposts were studying them -- and I may have something that can tell us more about it."

[KnightDisciple]

Thunderbird had been hiking without complaint as they moved along. Granted, he'd "cheated" several times by giving himself a boost of flight. But it wasn't like they were hiding their powers. As they moved along, he stilled the winds as best as he could when asked to by Octoman. He traded a bit of banter with the pliable hero, willingly playing the straight-man in his various puns, but he was clearly distracted by the scenery.

 

When Veronica ordered everyone to stop, Thunderbird all but froze in place, and immediately dialed down his powers to the minimum. The wind picked up a bit as his efforts to slow it lessened. He glanced among his teammates, and worry creased his face.

 

"Should we start backing up? Or is it erratic enough that might dump us through. Also, a dimensional? Can we tell which dimension?"

[Thevshi]

Veronica Danger

 

"Yes, a fissure is probably the best way to describe it." Veronica stated in response to Heroditus. "I can see its boundaries, it is about five meters wide and an equal number high." She continued, generally tracing the shape of the rift in the air as she continued to study it.

 

"I am afraid I cannot tell what dimension it leads to Micah." The teenage Danger added as she looked back at the others. "We should probably call Danica and let her know what is going on. We might need you to go back and get her Micah."

 

Taking out the radio, Veronica keyed the button to transmit. "Chelone, this is Veronica do you copy?"

 

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Back at the dig site, Kemal had climbed down in the pit to join Danica and the workers, looking at the bones half buried at the bottom of the pit. "No, these are not fossils." Kemal responded to Danica's question. He shook his head at her last question. "No, I have never heard of any sightings of anything that would match this in this region."

His brow furrowed slightly as he studied the bones before he added. "In the layers above these bones we uncovered artifacts from nearly two thousand years ago. So these are likely as old, if not a bit older."

 

Just then Veronica's voice came of Dancia's radio calling for her.

[Electra]

Danica reached into her shell and pulled out a pair of nitrile gloves, swapping them for her mittens before she gingerly touched one of the bones. "Two thousand years is like yesterday when we're talking dinosaur bones, right?" she asked Kemal, but was interrupted by the radio. "Veronica this is Chelone, I copy. Are you guys okay out there?" She'd been about to call the others herself, but telling them about brand newish dinosaur bones should probably wait til she was sure that nobody was being menaced by actual dinosaurs. 

[Cubismo]

At the news of there being a nearby dimensional rift Astrid simply shrugs lackadaisical even as she sets her eyes in the direction that Veronica and Heroditus are looking off to. Magical portals to different realms and dimensions wasn't exactly a new phenomenon to Astrid, who routinely traveled to and from such places with the aid of the Bifröst. Still, the fact that would couldn't actually see this one was at least new. In her expedience these things were big neon signs of magical or cosmic energy.

 

"It's a fissure, huh? Some kind of gateway that the scientists stumbled into? And here I was hoping we'd find the scientists in some lost city of gold or something. Oh well. Maybe next time," she joked before becoming serious. "So we know where the scientists likely are. Awesome. But how are we going to follow them in there? Is it as easy as just steeping through? If is then I volunteer to head in first. I'm pretty durable and I got access to the Bifröst. If anything goes wrong in there I can rainbow bridge right back."

Edited April 10, 2020 by Cubismo

[Dr Archeville]

Artificer

 

"You Surfacers," the Atlantean said, shaking his head but also flashing a smile, "always ready to rush into things.  Give Veronica and me a few moments to examine this," he brought out more components from his pouches and snapped them together, "so perhaps we can divine where -- or when -- it leads.  It may well lead," he looked to Astrid, "to some lost city of gold.  Or to the bottom of the sea, or the heart of an active volcano."  He paused, looked at the area of the dimensional breach, "well, probably not that last one, the thermal variances would..."  He shook his head, "the point, my friends, is that we all have our gifts, our strengths, and I request that we pause a moment to allow Veronica and me to use those gifts on this problem before us."

 

He snapped the last few components together, then snapped his contraption to his goggles.  It added an additional lens, one above and between the existing two, over the "third eye," and something like a three-pronged tuning fork at the lower outer edge of each of the original two lenses, curving back and up to reach to his ears.  He took a step back looked towards the area, flicked one of the forks to set it vibrating, then a moment later flicked the other.

[Thevshi]

Veronica Danger

 

Kemal was looking at the bones, a shocked expression still partially visible on his face. "I have been on paleontology digs for Danger International, there are no dinosaur bones even remotely close to this recent." He said in response to Danica’s comment about their apparent age. But when Veronica’' call came over the radio, Kemal fell silent to let Danica respond.

 

"We are all fine Chelone." Veronica responded to the other girl's question. "We think we have found what happened to the missing doctors. There is a dimensional rift up here that their trail leads right up to. It is not visible to the normal eye, so they could have walked right in and not even known it."

 

"I am going to have Thunderbird down to give you a lift up."

 

The adjustments Heroditus made to his goggles allowed him a view at what Veronica could see. Like she said, the rift was rather large, a slightly rounded arch that stretched almost entirely across a small pass that lay on the path ahead. The boarders of the fissure pulsed, slightly expanding and contracting. Now that he could see it a bit better, the Atlantean teen could sense it was slowly starting to close back up. It was entirely possible that it opened and closed from time to time, but he could not determine how long the interval between might be.

[KnightDisciple]

Thunderbird had backed up a couple of steps as Heroditus and Veronica kept staring in front of them. He glanced around for a moment, then shrugged.

 

"So backwards is fine?"

He got an absent-minded nod from the magically-inclined members of the team, and smiled.

"Be back in a thunderclap!"

He was airborne before anyone could say anything. It took him only a couple of minutes to blur in for a landing near Chelone, kicking up only a little bit of dust. He stood and brushed off his pants, and gave everyone present an apologetic smile. He looked at the tortoise avatar.

 

"So, uh, looks like I'm your taxi. You can still do the thing where you shrink down inside the shell, right?"

[Electra]

"But there's dinosaur bones down here!" Danica objected. "And they're only two thousand years old! It's super weird!" She spent all the time she had available taking photos of the bones, asking about the dating processes they'd been using, and trying to find out if there'd been anything else unusual found in higher strata. She sighed a little when Thunderbird arrived but tucked away her phone. "Yeah, I can do that." Folding her arms and legs, she disappeared into her shell, quite literally, leaving only an empty-looking shell with dark shadows at the openings. 

[Dr Archeville]

Artificer

 

Heroditus passed on the information he had discovered, "and so it is possible that this fissure could close at any moment.  And when it reopens, it may not lead to the same location!  So now the question is, do all of us go in to look for the missing scientists,  or do only some go, and the rest remain behind?"  He looked to Astrid and Ben, sure that they would want to go through, then to Veronica, "Astrid and Micah are the fastest, so it might be best to send them both in.  And since Ben has their scent," he nodded towards the squiddly squadmate, "he would need to go through, to lead.  And someone who can see these fissures, so either you or myself should go to keep an eye out for any more anomalies.  The other could remain here with Danica," he paused a moment, unsure if he would rather go through the portal to an unknown location, or stay behind with the one squadmate who seemed most uneasy with him, "to secure the area, make sure no one else stumbles in -- and no thing comes out."

[Thevshi]

Veronica

 

"Dinosaur bones?" Veronica responded with a slightly puzzled look on her face at Danica's revelation. But then she quickly recovered. "We can look into that later, right now just head up here."

 

The teenage Danger then listened to Heroditus' further observations on the portal, a slight frown on her face as they waited for Micah and Danica to make their way back up. Once the other two were with the main group, Veronica filled them on the additional information provided by Heroditus.

 

"So, it would seem like the lost scientist accidently wandered into this rift when it was open. It must have closed when the workers were searching for them, and has now reopened."” She stated. "This is a bit more than I expected when I asked you all to come along to help me. The missing men are my family’s employees, so it is my responsibility to go in there and see if it is possible to find them." Veronica stated, pointing in the direction of the rift that only she and Heroditus could see. "I think our chances at succeeding are best if we stick together. But, if anyone wants to stay behind, I fully understand."

[Cubismo]

Astrid took in Heroditus's plan quietly, nodding as he went on about its finer details. Strategically, the plan made sense to her given the array of talents that were on the team. She and Micah acting as mobile forward scouts so that everyone else wouldn't have to worry about being surprised by unexpected problems that may lie ahead of where ever they ended up seemed just perfect for the battle-hungry Asgardian. 

 

When Veronica asked if any one them wanted to stay behind on this side of the portal Astrid was quick to answer. "Oh, I'm definitely going in," she said with a devil-may-care grin. "You said it yourself, Veronica. Sticking together is our best play here, especially when we don't know what the Hel is on the other side of this thing. Besides," she gestured her head towards a nearby Heroditus. "Our resident Atlantean just went through all the trouble of organizing us into select roles. Would be a real shame if some of that thinking went to waste."  

[Dr Archeville]

Artificer

 

"Dinosaurs?!," he repeated, nearly spitting out his drink.  He asked Danica to repeat the description of what she had been shown, then muttered something in the click-pop of Atlantean.  "So old ones, long dead, though not as long as they should be.  Which could mean they came through that portal, or one like it near here.  And if it happened once, it could happen again."  He looked around, trying to remember what he'd learned of dinosaurs, particularly how well they might do in the cold & arid environment they were in now.  A small part of him, buried deep inside his staid Atlantean exterior, was quite giddy at the thought of seeing a real live dinosaur.

 

"Veronica," he bowed slightly to her, "I respect your desire for us all to work together and find your people, and if that is your final decision, I will go along with it.  But, again, I recommend that one or two of us -- specifically, Danica and I," he nodded towards the teen tortoise totem, "remain behind to secure the area, in case anything else comes out of there," he gestured towards the portal that only they could see, "or attacks the camp below."

 

[KnightDisciple]

"Thanks, Danica. It'll be easier than me trying to carry you in a tornado, trust me."

 

He gave an awkward wave to the archaeologists present, then picked up Danica's now-shrunken shell and took to the sky. It was just a minute or two later when he came in for a landing, making sure to stay well back from the others, so as to avoid the time/dimension portal. He set Danica's shell down, waited a moment, then hesitantly knocked on it. 

 

"Uh, we're here Danica! We need to be careful, there's some weird kind of portal up ahead. The magician-types are figuring that out. Sounds like this might all be connected?"

 

He kept his gaze on the terrain around them. He didn't like being in the open, yet with so much potential cover for someone, or something, to hide behind, nearby. At least in Oklahoma, flat was flat. 

[Electra]

"Thanks, Micah," Danica said as they landed, expanding her shell back to its full size as she looked around at the... nothing. Apparently there was a portal here, but she was going to have to take their word for it. It wasn't as cool as dinosaur bones, but it was probably more mission relevant, she had to admit. "I think Heroditus is probably right," she added after a moment, turning to Veronica. "There's something on the other side of the portal that kept the scientists from coming back, right? So it might not be a very straightforward in-and-out mission. If something happens and the portal closes, or the team gets stuck, we should probably have somebody on this side ready to call in some grown-up help. Um, unless anybody on the team has dimensional travel and can just pop home, I guess." She looked around the circle uncertainly. "Anybody?" 

[Thevshi]

Veronica Danger

 

Veronica listened to her various teammates as they discussed different approaches to exploring beyond the portal. While a part of her felt it might be best to stick together, she also recognized the wisdom in at least a few staying behind to keep an eye on things on this side of the portal and that Heroditus was likely one of the best choices, given he was the only other one that could actually see the portal.

 

"Alright, I agree it is a good plan to have some of us stay behind to keep an eye on things here, and Heroditus and Danica seem like good choices for that." The teenage Danger stated finally, turning to Danica to answer some of her questions. "We are not exactly sure anything is keeping the scientists on the other side of the portal by force. Given its nature, they would not have even seen it, and would be unlikely to be able to find their way back to it with much ease. It also appears to open and close at presently unknown intervals, so that could be part of it as well. As for being able to get back once we go through, Astrid has access to the Bifrost, and I should also be able to come up with something if I need to as well, so we should be covered on getting back when we want to."

 

With the decision made, the teen moved forward in the direction of the portal. "Okay Ben, Astrid, Micha….how about we see what is on the other side?" She said with a small grin. Veronica then turned toward the portal and started forward as the other three Claremont students followed after her.

 

As the group entered the portal, everything around them began to warp and shift, the rugged, rocky terrain ahead blurring into a collage of color. Then there was a slight jolt and they were no longer standing on a sunny (if cold) mountain side. Instead, they were in a shaded forest filled with heavy vegetation. Tall trees towered above them, vines hanging down from thick branches dozens of feet above them. It was also no longer cold, but hot and humid.

 

Veronica turned around to look at her teammates, looking past them with a slight frown. "The portal has closed." She stated, just as a slightly puzzled look came to her face. "Umm, where is Ben?"

 

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Danica and Heroditus had been standing back and watching their teammates. To Danica, the four teens had just seemed to blur out of existence. For Heroditus the scene played out very differently. The Atlantean teen had seen the quartet enter into the portal, but even as they did, he saw the outer edges pulse as it became unstable. The teen could barely began to shout a warning when the portal began closing, even as it cascaded toward the pair and sweeping over them.

 

Danica had just a sense of Heroditus tensing with alarm when everything seemed to  Warp around them.......

[KnightDisciple]

Thunderbird, for Micah was all-business at this point, looked around, lifting the goggles from his eyes, the placing them back there once again. Even with the canopy the light was harsh. 

 

"I can't see Ben anywhere near here. I could try flying up but I doubt I'd see him from up there. Not with all the tree cover."

 

He took a deep breath and held it for a moment, before slowly releasing it. He sniffed the air a few times, seemingly at nothing in particular. His fingers rubbed together for a few moments, and he looked to the west.

 

"Pretty sure a rainstorm's going to be rolling in soon. We might want to start moving, at least to make sure we're not in a low spot."

[Cubismo]

Astrid gave Veronica an affirmative nod as she reeved up Porrklubba and promptly she soared into the sky. The Asgardian tried to get a decent vantage point in the skies to try and find a missing Ben but ended up spotting nothing of note beyond more dense jungle stretching on to the horizon.

 

"Hate to say it but I got nothing too," she reported back to the others on the jungle floor. "Maybe Ben decided to go scout ahead in stealth mode and got himself stuck on the other side of the portal?"

 

It was just a guess and rather lame one by Astrid's estimation, but with nothing else to go on she figured it was the theory that was probably the most hopeful. If Ben someone got separated from the rest of them during their transit through the portal it was possible that he could end up virtually anywhere in existence! 

 

While not exactly the most optimistic thought, it did get Astrid to start thing about where exactly they were and why it seemed oddly familiar. Searching her brain for the answer, she eventually remembered a chat she had with another student at Claremont that claimed to be a planewalker.

 

"Hey!" exclaimed trying to get everyone's attention as she prepared to go into a rather long explanation. "Might sound a bit weird, but did anyone else remember the recent reading material we got for Cosmology 101? Ok, well, if not it doesn't really matter. Point is, it went on and on about this this place called the Lost World. It described as this massive jungle dimension with all kinds of extinct dinosaurs and lost civilizations. I know its kind of a stretch but maybe that's where we've ended up." 

 

 

 

Edited June 13, 2020 by Cubismo

[Thevshi]

Veronica Danger

 

While Astrid took to the air, waving between the layers of jungle canopy along the way, and Micah began scanning the area for a sign of Ben and testing the air, Veronica retraced their steps slightly, crouching down to peer at the damp ground. When Astrid returned to the ground, the teenage Danger looked back to her two teammates.

 

"There is no sign of Ben's footprints, so he was never here with us." She stated. "But I am certain he was with us in the portal. But something happened as we entered, it became unstable and I believe it began to close." She stood up and looked off down the natural path to the shadowy jungle along it. "I think he was brought to another location here when the portal began to close. But whether that was a few hundred meters away or half a continent away I cannot say." She stated as she began to move around the area some more, scanning the ground as she went.

 

When Astrid offered her theory on where they could be, Veronica glanced over at the other girl for a moment, giving a small nod. "I have heard stories of the Lost World before, the Atoms have been here a number of times. From what I have heard there are a couple of relatively stable gateways from our world to there, as well as a few instances of random ones that have cropped up in various places around the world. So it certainly seems to fit that this could be the Lost World."

 

Coming to a halt Veronica knelt down again, studying the ground. "“At least one of the missing scientists was here." She stated, her hand tracing a print in the soft ground. The teen then looked up and towards one of the directions along the semi-cleared area. "He appears to have headed in that direction." Looking back to Micha and Astrid, she added. "If this is indeed the Lost World, Doctors Schneider and Warren are in even more danger than just being lost in an unknown jungle."

 

As Micha mentioned the likelihood of rain approaching, Veronica looked over to the other teen. "Do you think you might be able to hold that off for a bit? I would not want to risk losing any tracks to the weather." Standing back up, Veronica slipped off her backpack as she unzipped her heavy jacket to take it off. "I think we should continue to see if we can find the missing scientists, or at least some clearer indication if anything happened to them, then turn to trying to find Ben. With his ability to camouflage himself, Ben should be alright for at least a little while."

[KnightDisciple]

Micah pondered Veronica's request for a moment before responding.

"I can reliably hold off weather for a couple hundred feet in any direction. If you give me a minute I can probably make that wider, but I'd probably be pushing myself enough Astrid would have to carry me. I've honestly not really pushed my control area that wide before. Also depends on how much you want controlled...if it's just holding off the rain, that might help a bit, but if you need me to make sure the wind doesn't pick up too much, and that temps don't vary too much, that's a bit tougher. Especially since I don't want to accidentally set off a super-storm in two weeks after we leave. Seems un-neighborly, if we're in a neighboring dimension."

 

He thought for a moment then spoke again.

 

"Any chance either of you have some kinda magic mojo that'd help you track down Ben, at least after we find the scientists? Also, uh, you mentioned dangers here, Veronica. Do you have any more, uh, details?"

 

He seemed maybe a bit nervous with the talk of dinosaurs in a jungle. 

[Cubismo]

Astrid gave a Micah apologetic shake of the head. "Not gonna be much help on the tracking front. The extended fam in Asgard trained me to be a warrior not a hunter, and they definitely didn't bother teaching me any tracking spells that could help out here. Honestly if they gave me a chance to at least have a couple sessions with Skadi or one of the hunting focused Valkyrie I may have been able to..." Astrid suddenly stopped, realizing just how useless, unimportant and sort of selfish it was to be complaining about Asgard's bad cross-training methods when they were trapped in another dimension.

 

"Never mind. Forget I said anything. Just know that Porrklubba over here is made for smashing giants and cool weather tricks. Speaking of which," the Asgardian hefted her signature weapon and allowed its energies to ambiently pass through her. "Yeah, I can definitely help Micah with the weather issue. Just trying to negate everything is probably gonna be a real Hel of a time, but if we divide the work, like, me talking care of the rain while Micah has the wind than maybe we can create a big enough buffer zone that we don't have to worry about the tracks getting lost or Micah causing a super storm by overdoing it." 

[Thevshi]

Veronica Danger

 

Veronica considered Micha and Astrid’s statements about what they could do to try to keep back some rain as well as their concerns about possibly causing a major disruption to the local weather system. "Well, I am not too concerned about wind, that was more a concern for Ben's scent tracking." The teenage Danger responded. "But the rain is a bigger problem. Perhaps the two of you could divert it a few dozen kilometers to the south? That should help preserve the tracks a bit and not necessarily cause a major problem with the weather system." She asked.

 

Removing her heavy winter jacket, with a slight gesture Veronica opened a small hole in the air into which she tossed the jacket before gesturing the hole closed once more. Slipping back on her backpack, she began walking in the direction she had determined the scientist’s tracks had been heading as she began to roll up the sleeves of the thermal shirt she had worn under her jacket.

 

At Micha's questions, Veronica seemed in thought for a moment as she started moving off in the direction she had indicated at least one of the scientists seemed to be heading. "Yes, I should be able to come up with something that could help us figure out where Ben might be. Might even be able to work something out as we try to find our missing scientists."

 

"As for the hazards that exist here," the teenage Danger added, "well, as Astrid mentioned, there are a number of settlements from ancient Earth civilizations here, including Romans, who are generally not hostile, Incans, who can be a bit more hostile and others. But the greater danger is likely to come from what Astrid mentioned, the…."

 

Veronica's response was interrupted by the sound of something large moving through the thick trees to one side further up the clear path the teens were on. Only moments later a large creature emerged from the tree line, moving slowly onto the path as it headed towards the opposite tree line. The creature was easily thirty feet long and likely a dozen or more feet high at the tallest point. There were rows of plates rising up from its back and at the end of a long tail were several dangerous looking spikes.

 

"Prehistoric animals." Veronica finally managed to finish as she had stopped moving forward to watch the massive dinosaur that had moved into view. "Obviously that includes dinosaurs, but there are numerous other prehistoric animals here from a wide range of eras. While the carnivorous animals can pose the greatest threat, even the herbivores can be dangerous."

 

[KnightDisciple]

Micah hummed at the suggestion of just "bouncing" the weather system away. Finally he nodded.

 

"Yeah, would probably just take us a minute of concentration and we could do that. Easier than maintaining a 'no rain bubble', and probably more effective."

 

Micah had a tiny part of his hear that had hoped the answer about dangers wouldn't be "dinosaurs", but here he was, staring at a dinosaur. The inner-6-year-old in him loved this, but the rest of him felt hyper-aware of the much larger danger posed by the carnivores. 

 

"I've seen a man get all four limbs busted by a horse, trust me I know how dangerous 'just' grass-eaters can be. So, uh, how do we handle this one? And for the carnivores, is this something like where we treat them like bears and make noise, or like cougars, and stay quiet?"

 

Oklahoma itself lacked both creatures, but it wasn't a long drive to the forests in Arkansas around the Ozarks, and they did get some bigger predators there.