Night Raptor

"*That thing... almost took my mother's life, and scarred my father's mind*".- Mary Jane Fitzgerald about The Night Raptor

The **Night Raptor** was a monstrous, enigmatic cryptid that brutally killed its victims at night in the forests of Santa Clara, California. He is a character in The Hawk and The Crow, who appeared in Tome II: Rite of Passage.

Its name comes from the brutal viciousness of its attacks and the time where its attacks take place. The creature is believed to slaughter its prey by attacking the torso and head of the victim.

## Background

Early settlers in North America began spreading tales of the creature's existence after numerous coyote and bobcat carcasses were found in the forests of the Southwest in the mid 19th Century, as the settlers told each other tales of finding entire convoys of adventurers, families, and gold prospectors who had been murdered, their faces left unrecognizable and their torsos appeared to have been eaten clean to the bone.

In 1984, the Night Raptor had an encounter with the couple of Alan and Janet Fitzgerald, who were investigating a series of murders taking place in the woods of Santa Clara, California. During the encounter, the Night Raptor injured Janet and almost killed her, but its attempt was halted by Alan, who lit up a torch and scared off the cryptid. For a couple of years, the Night Raptor attacks suddenly stopped, and ever since then, it became a urban legend that spreaded throughout the state of California.

## Appearance

The Night Raptor's appearance heavily resembled a Dromaeosaurid, albeit with a few characteristics unnatural to those species of dinosaurs. It appeared to be a chimaera of various dinosaurs, with Suchomimus-like features in the snout, and Megaraptoran claws. The Night Raptor appeared to be covered in some sort of black, tar-like substance. It is possible that this substance is a natural secretion of the Night Raptor, used for camouflage and/or defense. It seemed to have a distinctive smell that could betray the Night Raptor's presence to nearby animals, but they typically only picked up the scent when it was already in striking range.

### Roar

The Night Raptor produces shrill roars and vocalizations. It also has clicking sounds that are quite similar to Leopard Seals.

## Personality

The Night Raptor had an extremely brutal nature, as it killed well in excess of its dietary needs, leaving corpses partially uneaten and slaughtering an entire herd of deers that would have likely fed it for weeks. Given how it never seemed to leave the forest it called home, it could be considered a highly territorial creature.

The Night Raptor's main weakness was its extreme photophobia. Direct sunlight, fire, or even brief sparks would make it recoil in fear at best and try to flee at worst. Continued exposure to light appeared to disorient the Night Raptor and send it into a panic, and fire proved to be supremely effective at killing it.

## Powers and Abilities

The Night Raptor is a swift and shadowy cryptid with a series of abilities that make him an extremely dangerous creature.

* Speed - The Night Raptor is able to sprint at unnatural speeds and it easily caught up to a fleeing herd of deer. It also boasted excellent acceleration, being able to go from motionless to top speed (or vice-versa) in less than a half-second, allowing it to make sudden strikes on its prey.
* Loud Screech - While chasing prey, the Night Raptor uttered a high-pitched roar or screech, possibly serving to disorient or terrify prey while hunting.
* Claws - The Night Raptor possessed elongated claws that exhibited an exceptional ability to slice through skin, flesh, and bone.
* Tracking - The Night Raptor's senses were keen enough to keep up with its speed, letting it efficiently hunt prey in the darkness and navigate the forest. It could seemingly sense over truly vast distances, flawlessly homing in on creatures far enough away that it still took several minutes to close in even with its freakish speed.
* Camouflage - The Night Raptor's most impressive feat was its ability to become virtually invisible in poor light conditions, such as nighttime or a dense forest. This enabled it to confuse its prey and perform quick ambush attacks.
* Skin Oil - The Night Raptor appeared to secrete or otherwise cover itself with a viscous tar-like substance that was foul to smell or taste. The substance may also contribute to its camouflage and/or serve as an aerodynamic lubricant to increase its running speed.

## Weaknesses

Despite the abilities the Night Raptor has, it does have limitations.

* Light-providers - All types of light-providers, such as direct sunlight, fire, flashlights, flash granades and sparks can disorient the Night Raptor. Its photophobia caused its dark-adapted eyes to not handle bright light, and its oil skin proved to be extremely flammable.

## Trivia

* The Night Raptor is mainly based on The Night Feeder as it shares similar traits.
* The substance that was on the Night Raptor appeared completely visible against Abigail Montgomery's body, suggesting that it was part of its ability to blend in with its dark surroundings, possibly by having light-absorbing properties like the real-world substance Vantablack.
	+ Furthermore, this liquid bears similar properties to petroleum or an oil substance, which might be a reason why it was so flammable and afraid of fire.
	+ Another reason for this creature to have an aversion to light could be because its camouflaging ability depends on the absence of light, since hunting in a well-lit area would make its dark camouflage stand out instead of hiding it.
* The Night Raptor's sounds are based on King Ghidorah's sound effects from Godzilla: The Planet Eater, and the Ion Dragon from Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.