Allocene Era

[Polar]

Credits to JuniorWoodchuck from DeviantArt:

*This image is copyright of its original author

"Somewhen, somewhere on Earth, the lands are still recovering from the apocalyptic extinction event that ravaged the planet’s surface and turned it into a near-uninhabitable hellscape. Most surface dwellers got wiped out but below the ground, in caves and burrows, animals found shelter and were able to survive the cataclysmic conditions. It is the descendants of those minute animals that once more conquered the lands and took on the challenges created by the new face of their world. It is them that once more turned Earth into a busy madhouse and it is them that can be seen now. 


A loud serious of cacophonous calls penetrate the calm before one of the frequent and violent storms as two Snaggletooth Fregs happen across a group of Astrorhynchids. With their resilient bony shells designed to withstand whatever the elements can throw at them and armed with chisel-like incisors, they’d be a tough prey for the lanky predators. Only in some rare and dire instances do Fregs dare to attack these living tanks... and even then, they methodically target subadult or elderly, weakened individuals that have become separated from the herd. Utilizing their formidable, moveable rostrum, they brutally pierce their prey’s main artery and watch from a safe distance as they bleed to death.

Smaller animals, like this Striped Yalun depicted above, often hitch rides on the slow-moving Astrorhynchids as they make their way through the bubblemoss. Not only does this help the smaller animals conserve their energy, they are better able to spot their prey as well as approaching predators from their dorsal vantage points. In return for the transport and protection, they act as their carriers’ cleaning units and early warning systems.
In the hopes of scaring off the Fregs, the Yalun perched atop one of the Astrorhynchids’ shells joins in the herbivores’ chorus of yells and groans with its own shrill squealing, elevating the noise to a thunderous crescendo.
Fortunately for all the parties involved as well as all those with fully functional ears, the Fregs are not out for blood but they are merely heading back to their burrow to find shelter from the storm, the noise dying down as sudden as it has started." Reply