ArtyDino49

I nudge Lilac with my snout as the first beams of sunlight enter our cave. She’s a deep sleeper, so it takes a few quick jabs with my snout to wake her up. “Lilac, we’re going on a trip today.” She yawns and gets up. She looks at me and then tilts her head, obviously a bit confused. “Are you springing impromptu trips? I thought that was my thing. Making you go to Atlantis a few weeks ago, for example. I thought I was being nice letting us take a break before helping the Oviraptors, Eucephalus, and Iguanodons move to that other island. Now you want to do another trip? Have I perhaps infected you with my energy?” She pushes me with her hip lightheartedly. “No, no, don’t worry. I’ve done this trip multiple times before you arrived. The only reason I haven’t done it in a while is because someone needs to take care of you, since food is so scarce. It rained recently, though, so we’re pretty well off because of the attraction of prey to the new plants-” Lilac interrupts. “Sure, sure, but

I ran into the thick cover of vegetation, away from Duststorm. You’d think that after being eaten by a giant predatory flower and being covered in digestive acids for a few seconds, I’d want to get the heck out of here and back to our home in the scrublands, but we haven’t achieved my goal. I haven’t seen Pokie and Duststorm still hasn’t apologized to him for pouncing on him, nor did we find out why a species called Oviraptors are planting dangerous flora on our island. We don’t even know who ordered them to do so. And so I run. However, Duststorm is faster. He does the hunting, and there isn’t much big and slow game in the scrublands, so he’s sprinting after birds and rabbits almost all the time so we have enough to eat. Even in an environment with way more dense vegetation than he’s used to, he gets to me after only a dozen seconds. He bumps into me lightly, and grumbles. “I get that you want me to apologize to this dinosaur and find out what the Oviraptors are doing, and are

The tunnel before us is not what I was expecting. It’s see-through, and surrounded by all sides with water. It goes through the ocean. Not what I was expecting to have to go through to go to the homeland of the Oviraptors so I can get Duststorm to make up for what he did. By “human-tunnel,” I just expected a tunnel through a mountain or something. Not this. A nudge against my shoulder takes me out of it. Duststorm. “So, do you still want to go through?” Duststorm is still not that excited for this. You’d think by now he’d have given up on trying to change my mind, but he’s nothing but stubborn. He’d get bitten by a rattlesnake to prove a point. He’s apparently used to it, for some reason, but still. “C’mon, we’ve spent a good amount of time just to get to this point. And you still have to make up for what you did to that Oviraptor. Don’t think that I’ve forgotten about what started this whole thing. This is your fault.” I nudge him back playfully, before starting through the

Duststorm is saying some weird stuff. Apparently while on his little trip to the beach, good thing he got me a deer to keep me full for a while, he found a new species of dinosaur. From his description, it’s not something that my parents have ever told me about. “So, this weird dinosaur, after you attacked it, told you that it came from a human-tunnel? Those words? And more importantly, you attacked him?" I’m a little angry about that. Actually, a bit more than angry. “After I keep lecturing you on being nicer to dinosaurs, you attack someone!” He backs away a little. Despite his faults, at least he feels bad. Dang it. I can’t stay mad at him. Stupid me being a nice dinosaur. “Fine, we can talk about your social skills later.” He mumbles a bit. Something like “I knew you’d say that.” I sigh. I really need to talk to him about this later. “So, this weird dinosaur, called an Oviraptor, is spreading seeds for someone? And they’re dangerous?” He nods. “Yeah, pretty much. Not our

I’m in a cave with my family. My siblings are here, I’m all snuggled with my parents,  Wisp and Brambles,and everything is alright. The soft breathing and warmth makes me happy. Literally nothing could go- A crack of thunder nearly explodes my ears, and I jerk up. “Mom!?! Dad!?! Siblings!?!” Only red eyes meet my gaze. Before I scream, I remember. My siblings and parents are long gone. It’s been years since I wandered away while we were moving to a different place to live. Duststorm is here though. The kind Crylophosaurus who, according to him, has lived in this horrid scrubland for pretty much his whole life. He’s fed me, given me shelter, gave me a source of water, and even taught me how to fight. I shake my head. I’ve been feeling weird about Duststorm when I think about him too much. The thunder cracks again. I jump again. I’m scared of thunder. I used to cuddle with my family, but they’re not here right now… Haven’t been for a while. --- I tilt my head and face her. The

It’s especially hot today. I know my scrubland doesn’t usually have that great of a temperature on the best of days, but it’s extra hot today. The sand is extra hot, singing my feet if I leave them on the sand for too long. But I have to patrol my territory. Due to this heat wave, there’s a higher chance other predators will enter it. There’s a stream of clean and clear water running through my turf, and that would be much appreciated by others. I can’t allow that though. It would be nice of me to share the water with others besides Lilac, and she would probably want to. But I can’t.  If I let one other dinosaur in, then they would tell everyone about the nice Crylophosaurus giving access to their territory. Then I’d have to deal with hordes of thirsty dinosaurs. And then while they’re here, they would eat all the prey in my turf. I’m not going to allow that. I’ve been getting kinder to strangers ever since I’ve met Lilac. I’ve given her food, shelter, and someone to talk to. One

The field before me is beautiful. A vast expanse of green and lush grass, with scatterings of blue flowers amongst it. After my encounter with the strange dinosaur, Pokie, by the Grand Arch. I’m rushing to get to my home so I can tell Lilac about what I’ve seen. I’m hoping that her experience from being from somewhere else on this island will tell me about where to find the human buildings that are connected with the appearance of Oviraptors and their spreading of invasive plants. I sniff the air and, dang it, another Oviraptor. As long as this one hasn’t talked to Pokie since I tackled him to the ground, I should be fine. As long as I actually use what Lilac calls “social skills.” I follow the scent, slinking through the tall grass. I promise myself to do this peacefully, and not violently. I smile, thinking about how happy Lilac will be about this. Finally, I can see the Ovirapor. He has a striped crest of black and white feathers atop his head. It hides his crest that has the

I wake up in darkness. I’m cold. Where are my siblings? Where are my parents? Usually I wake up in a pile, snuggling with my sisters and brothers in a pile of conserved warmth. But I’m cold. Alone. I panic a little, stumbling as I stand up. I run aimlessly, before tripping over someone. They bolt up, and lightly bite me. “What’s going on!?!” Right. Duststorm. Lilac was lost, she’d strayed off from her mother as her and her siblings were being moved from one den site to another. While wandering into a scrubland, she bumped into Duststorm. A brown feathered Crylophosaurus. After a tension filled conversation, he let her live in his burrow until she could find her parents. It’s been a few months. Remembering that she just woke Duststorm, the irritable dinosaur. The one who would most definitely kick her out if she did too much to annoy him. The one who, from what she’s seen, is pretty strong for someone her age. “S-Sorry… I forgot where I was again…” He sighs. He used to be

Since encountering the strange dinosaur, its seed, and its feathers, I've been staying here for a while. The Grand Arch, I've learned it's called. Even after staying here for a few days, it is still quite, well, grand. Not just because of its size, but also because of the ocean behind it. And when the sun sets behind that window, beauty itself is manifested. It is still a hard place to live, though. There's no good drinking water near it, so I often have to travel a good while inland to get some decent water. Still somewhat brackish, but it's better than the water in the ocean. But back to the main reason I'm here. The weird dinosaur that’s been planting seeds in the ground for some reason. I must get answers to my questions, and I'm not going to ask that nicely. The strange dinosaur is too skittish to just walk up to in a diplomatic manner. One of the many downsides of hunting dinosaurs for food, I suppose. But I can use my reputation to my advantage. Sure, it may be a bit immoral.

I sniff the air, nostrils flaring as I search for the faintest trace of prey. The desert is quiet today, too quiet for my liking, the only sound is the dry rasp of the wind pushing across the sand. In the past few months, I’ve grown large enough to claim my own permanent territory. Finally, after weeks of starving and being constantly parched, I have my own burrow next to a stream of water surrounded by the amazing scent of flowering cacti. No more fear, no more constantly being paranoid. In this barren area, even though I’m only a juvenile, I am the largest predator here. In this forgotten corner of the Kela Scrub, I rule. I do not fear predators and their teeth and claws in the night, others fear my teeth and claws in the night. I sniff again. Until today, it seems. That’s the smell of a predatory theropod. Judging from the scent, and assuming I’ve scented this species before, it would be a… My heart nearly stops. It smells like me, but slightly different. That can only mean