Private cinder standing up to an inferno

PLEASE DON'T FLATTER YOURSELF
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

The sounds of his heart beat woke him once more from a long slumber in his quiet home. The ancient sea dragon shifted his massive frame upon the ocean floor. Eyes opening, he lets a low growl leave his frame. Bubble rising to the surface of the water miles above him. Emerald optics took time to focus. They had gone so long without use. As soon as his optics found their focus once more, he took note of the world around him. Things had changed once more. When he last slept, this place had less debree for starters.

A reef grew upon and around him. He felt the movements of tiny fish as they swam along his sails as though he was a highway to their destinations. As though he was never alive. Oh, but alive he very much was. How long had he been asleep? Was there even reason to bother leaving this place now? Questions he wasted no time in answering. He found little point in wasting time on these things. Answers would come as they always did. In their own way and time. No, he had other matters to attend to. Such as the screaming hunger that sent pains through his snake-like body. The beast began to shift himself, sending the fish scattering. Coral cracking as he moved his frame.

To small. No point.

The fish were not worth the energy to try them. He would never fill up on small things like them. The male pushed his frame and the cracking soon turned into coral falling free. Toppling into the sands and kicking up soot. He had to be free of the chains the ocean created for him. His early tomb made of living rocks. His body unfurled slowly. Every movement was forced as he was sore from his cramped slumber. Then he moved upwards. Slowly at first, but soon he found his speed again. His grace and power showing in every motion made. He needed air in order to truly revive. He had to breath to truly live again. He would breach the water and gasp in the air. Taking note of the change in the world above the sea. His moment of inspection was just that. A moment.

Hunt. Survive.

He returned to the depths in seconds. Eyes scanning for the things he once knew. Everything was new to him. There were no giant sharks or reptiles. The things he once enjoyed ripping apart were no longer here. No, instead he found himself surrounded by new creatures unknown to him. He wished he knew where his food was. Where everything was. How long had he rested on the cold sands of the ocean floor? All he recalled was the fight to the death. He clearly won, but at what cost?

Focus. Feed.

His mind screamed at him. Pulling his focus back to the pains in his own stomach. His body moved forward with a lurch. His nostrils breaking the surface to breath as he travelled along. Seeking something, anything. Each exhale sprayed mist into the sky above and each dive made the waters ripple violently. He moved forward with desperate energy. Seeking food his body screamed for. Until he heard a sound that he did not know. Yet, it sounded familiar at the same time. Clicking like those weird Eurhinosaurus from his last memories of his old life.

The sounds of what he would later know as dolphins. He sank to the ocean floor. Laying there with his scales blending into the darkness. Resting in the sands as the sounds grew closer. Until he could see them. He lurched forward, maw agape. Fangs gnashing as blood filled the water. Panicked squeaks and bodies fleeing in all directions. He paid no mind to them, as he caught his prize. The water cleared, revealing a dolphin in his maw. To slow to react, it made a nice catch for the beast.

He swam away with his ride. Taking it to the shallows of a nearby river system. Swimming until he could rest on the riverbed. The beast would let his ten foot tall frame rise above the water. Dropping his victim before setting into his meal. He would look feral to anyone that watched him feast in that moment. Yet, he did not care. He would finish the meal and finally feel full. Content and ready to find new nesting grounds.

Strange smell. This awoke me?

The smell was what brought him to this river system. Yet, he could see nothing. Hear nothing. He was alone as far as he could tell. This annoyed him deeply. Sighing, the male would swim away into the rivers. Gliding along the surface until he felt uneasy. Not fearful, but cautious. He sank into the water. Watching and waiting.

PLEASE DON'T FLATTER YOURSELF
A sound reached ears that were honed in on anything and everything. Footfalls. Heavier than that of the creatures he once knew. A dragon, perhaps? He was unsure. It could have been a dinosaur as well. They were loud under the water. Sending ripples through him as he listened. Until those steps drew ever closer and a voice reached him. Sentient. It was a creature like himself, but in what vein? The beast would have this answered as a bellow escaped the creature unseen and he narrowed those emerald orbs.

It was a sound that brought a primal way of thinking forward. A challenge in its volume, the male slithered closer to the shoreline. Eyes on the shadow of a large creature above the waves. He snarled, aa snake like hiss leaving him and causing bubbles to rise up. He would lunge without much care or thought.

Not attacking yet, but erupting from the water in a shower of droplets as he landed a solid ten feet from the other. Eyes blazing as he held his head high in defiance. His own bellow like that of creatures old. A sound she likely knew as the once mighty deinosuchus. The bellow like her own was a warning. A challenge. His display an attempt to intimidate a threat.

Joke was on him. This threat was different.