Chapter Two: Story Telling
West. Follow the setting sun. That was where the Great Valley laid.
Hyacinth remembered a conversation between her and Angela long ago about the Great Valley. All she could remember about the exchange was that to get to the Great Valley, the herd had to follow the setting sun. Therefore, they did, with the aid of Sorrel’s compass.
The tiny herd traveled in relative comfort for several days. They did not take many stops during the day, most of the time eating and drinking their fill during the night. Luckily, they had come across enough food to sustain them and any predators they encountered were small enough for Hyacinth and Orchid to chase off.
Hyacinth lead the small herd. Her knowledge of the landscape allowing them to avoid any danger. She and Angela use to transvers this terrain every year to watch the annual migration of the mountain dwelling pterosaurs. Would she ever take the journey again and see the large pterosaurs, now that Angela had passed on? Maybe she could continue the tradition with Sorrel…
At the moment, the tiny herd was telling stories of their past adventures. Orchid was nearing the end of her own story. It was about Pebble, a childhood friend, and her playing hide-and-seek with her little brother, Moss.
“Then Pebble and I ran into this super dark cave. No one could fine us. It was super funny watching the adults look for us. They had no idea where we were. They would look in once place then call out our names. They were looking under bushes and roots but they never thought we would hide in that big scary cave. It was so funny! But then…my little brother, Moss, started crying. I felt so bad when I figured out it was him. Normally I can’t stand when hatchlings cry and I just want to comfort them, but knowing it was my little brother. I had to come out of the cave. I couldn’t let him be sad that his big sister was missing. He just wanted to play with me and he was scared that he would never see me again when the adults couldn’t find me and Pebble. So, I ran out of the cave and roared at him like a sharptooth. He screamed until he noticed it was me. Moss was so happy to see me, even though Pebble and I had been hiding only for a little bit.” As Orchid’s long winded story came to its end, she gave a sad sigh. “I really wish that my sister and Pebble were still alive.”
The purple Stegosaur’s nest mate had died from an illness a few seasons ago. Frozen Wasteland, more commonly known by herbivores as Coldbreath, had killed her best friend, Pebble. She had liked staying in the back of the herd, even when her parents told her not to. Orchid was always at her side, until one day, Pebbled paid for her mistake. Frozen Wasteland was stalking nearby and had targeted her as the weakest of the herd, killing her. He had flipped her over and dug into her soft belly, tearing her inners out before any of the herd members could do anything.
As of a few seasons ago, Frozen Wasteland had become known as the Walking Terror of the North. He shared a similar title with Sharptooth, the Walking Terror of the Mysterious Beyond. However, the dark green behemoth was long since dead, only surviving in legends told in hushed whispers. Still, it seemed that other large carnivores were rising in power, becoming legends themselves.
There was Jungle Fang, a green slicingfang known for his ridged spine. Rumors Digger heard while living in a costal tropical region, said that he was near the area where she was living. He was taking down large herbivores to show his dominance in the area. His reputation was slowly becoming worse than Sharptooth’s in the tropical area.
Then, there was Redclaw. A large bonecrusher that patrolled the perimeters of the Great Valley. He was joined by a pair of featherless sickleclaws, a brother and sister. They worked with him. However, they were not meant to help bring down prey, like most herbivores believed. Redclaw may be past his prime, but he could still hunt as well as any other carnivore, if not better. No, his Utahraptor companions brought down his enemies, killing their hatchlings and loved ones in their sleep when he could not.
Lastly, there was rumors of Sharptooth’s three children. Not much was known about them, but most believed they were still out there, waiting to attack the five herbivores children who killed their father. Many stories thought they would be as large and fearsome as their father and possess the supernatural strength that he did.
Sharptooth’s strength and size were only a few of his horrifying traits. He was known to jump heights and lengths no other carnivore his size could. His relentless pursuit of one herbivore for days on end lead many to think of him as crazy. His resilience to withstand almost any attack horrified any who had battled him. That was, until the five herbivore children pushed a boulder on top of his head, killing him before he could even drown in the dark blue abyss below him. Still, many that know of Mythcarriers, dinosaurs with supernatural abilities, believe that he was a Scarcarrier, one whose dormant power is activated by a rune carved into the flesh. But, as of now, no one knows for sure, other than his remaining family.
“Hyacinth,” Sorrel spoke up from the Apatosaurus’s back. “It’s your turn to tell a story.”
The longneck glanced to her human companion and smiled. She then turned to the setting sun they were following. She could not tell anything too scary as there were always predators lurking and she did not need her friends panicking. She also did not want to tell anything that seemed boring, since her friend’s stories had been intriguing. Hyacinth turned back to Sorrel and the idea for her story came to mind. “How about I tell you about how my mother and I found the stone that is in Sorrel’s ring and our encounter with a pack of curveteeth.”
“Curveteeth?” Orchid asked, cocking her head to one side, curiosity instantly swirling within her brown eyes. “What are those?”
“They’re sharpteeth,” Hyacinth grinned before she began her story.
***Flashback***
“Let’s stop here for a drink, Hyacinth,” an elderly woman spoke atop a gray scaled Apatosaurus.
A much younger and much smaller Hyacinth stopped at the riverside, waiting for her human caretaker to dismount. Angela slipped off the horse-sized sauropod, patting her warm gray scales as she walked up to the flowing water. Kneeling down, the elderly woman cupped her hands and dipped them into the cool water. Bringing them back out, she sipped the clear liquid.
Hyacinth watched Angela drink for a moment. It always interested her to watch thinskins. Even being cared for by one for all her life, Angela still had many surprise. The way she walked and drank, the extensive knowledge she knew…it amazed the young Apatosaurus. Gradually, Hyacinth lowered her head to the cool water and drank alongside her adoptive mother.
As her thirst was quenched, Hyacinth dunked her head into the water. She gripped the thick leaves of a river plant growing in the fertile riverbed with her teeth. Jerking her head out of the water, she pulled the aquatic plant with her.
“Look, Hyacinth,” Angela gasped, pointing at something in the water.
Chewing her plant, the Apatosaurus lowered her head to the river again. Her teal eyes searched for the object her caregiver had pointed out. She could not find it until a silver fish flashed past her sight. It suddenly leaped out of the water, hitting her in the side of the face with its tail. At the surprise and flash of pain, Hyacinth dropped her plant. “Hey!” she shouted at the fish as it landed back into the water. “You made me drop my food!”
Irritated, she dove her head back into the water to grab the half-eaten plant, only to spot something shiny from the corner of her eye. Pulling her head out of the water, Hyacinth looked at the object. It was a light blue crystal wedged between two rocks in the river. It was about the size of Angela’s eye and jagged in shape.
“Is that…?” Hyacinth asked, raising her head away from the dancing water. “Is that a piece from the comet? The Stone of Cold Fire those rainbow…er… Gallimimus told us about?”
“Yes it is, Hyacinth,” Angela said as she reached out for the stone. “It must have broken off when the comet flew overhead last night. She smiled, tracing her fingers over the water just beyond where the blue crystal lied. The elderly woman then gazed toward the towering mountain, shaped like a Triceratops’s head. That was where the stone had collided. She gave a soft chuckle before raising to her feet.
Hyacinth watched Angela. The elderly woman leaned against her companion’s side, grumbling about her joints and back. The Apatosaurus looked back to the water. Lowering her head to it, she stared at the light blue crystal, recalling how fascinated her caretaker had been when they talked to the two Gallimimus about the strange space rock.
Without a moment more of hesitation, Hyacinth dove her head into the water. Through the watery haze, she spotted the jagged crustal. Stretching her neck out forward, she carefully gripped it with her teeth. She was careful not to brush her tongue over the sharp edges, which could easily cut it. Pulling her head out of the water, the Apatosaurus turned to Angela, the blue crystal carefully gripped between her teeth.
Angela grinned up at the sauropod, stroking her gray scales. “Hyacinth! Thank you. You didn’t have to do that, my dear.”
“I know,” she said, dropping the stone into her caretaker’s open hand. “But I saw how interested you were in it this morning when you were talking with the Gallimimus. It wasn’t hard to get.”
The elderly woman continued to smile down at the stone. She watched the sun dance across its surface with the simplest of movements. The long legged runners knew what they were talking about. This was defiantly a piece from the Stone of Cold Fire. It was the same color as the sky on a clear summer day. If felt cool to the touch, even during this hot summer day. It radiated a strange aura, even without the runes, enabling a human to travel back and forth between dimensions, carved into it. This stone also possessed other powers than just dimension traveling.
“Just to make sure…” the elderly woman muttered to herself. She set the stone down beside her feet. She then unhooked her necklace. Slipping the simple chain and pendent away from her chest, she placed it on the ground. She smiled at Hyacinth. “Speak to me.”
The Apatosaurus started at her as if she had grown an extra head. Angela laughed at the child. Shaking her head, she picked up the stone Hyacinth had just pulled from the river. “Can you understand me now?”
“Yes. What did you do? Why did you take off your necklace?”
“Just testing to make sure this is a Stone of Cold Fire.” Angela placed the stone back onto the ground and clipped her necklaced around her neck again. Taking the jagged stone in her hand once more, she smiled down at it. “I’m sure my great-nice would love this. I’m always telling her stories about you. I know she wants to meet you someday.”
“Another human?” Hyacinth exclaimed.
Angela nodded, dark brown eyes still locked on the light blue crystal in her hand. “We’ll have to go visit an old friend of mine, too. I haven’t seen him for a long time now…I wonder how he’s doing?”
“Who is he?”
“Oh, you’ll find out soon enough.”
Hisses suddenly filled the air, causing the pair to freeze. Hyacinth craned her neck to stare at the tall grasses that grew around the riverbed. Wicked, scaly jaws peeked out of the lush plant growth. The long curved teeth of the front half of the jaws were like mismatched scissor blades. The owner of the jaws took another stepped forward, his yellow eyes locked on the sauropod child and elderly thinskin. He took another step forward, hissing to his three companions still hidden in the long grass.
“Curveteeth,” Hyacinth whimpered. “The rainbow faces told use about them.” She lowered herself to the ground, cowering at the sight of such terrifying predators.
“Masiakasaurus,” Angela corrected, bring the jagged piece of the Stone of Cold Fire closer to her chest. “Their mainly fish eaters with teeth like that. They won’t harm us, food wise. I have a feeling they don’t want us here. Come, Hyacinth. Let’s go before they think of doing something other than staring us down.”
“Where do you think you’re going thinskin?” the thick surly voice of the male asked. He was hard to understand as the long teeth in front of his mouth jutted outwards, disabling him from pronouncing many of his carnivore growls and hisses correctly.
“Nothing,” Angela replied curtly. “My longneck friend and I were just getting a drink. We’ll be on our way now.”
“You won’t be going anywhere,” the male hissed. His three pack members quickly darted out from the riverbed grasses, hissing at Hyacinth and Angela. The sauropod instantly froze at the sight of the three Masiakasaurus and their wicked teeth. Only a small whimper emitted from her as the trio circled them, their leader looking on as he growled.
“What did the longneck pull out of our river?”
“Only a simple stone. She thought it was pretty. She gave it to me to hold onto since she can’t.”
The dull green scaled leader stepped forward, hissing at the elderly woman. “Liar! She stole something from our river. Aster Scar saw the rock fly over this area. Fragments could have fell from it. I know you thinskins value those stones. Give it back!”
Angela did not reply to the Masiakasaurus, only hauling herself atop Hyacinth’s back. “Run, Hyacinth! Run!”
With her caretaker on her back, the gray scaled Apatosaurus suddenly reared up with a shriek of fright, her forelegs flailing in the air. As she crashed to the ground, one of her large two claws caught the closest female Masiakasaurus in the snot, dislodging a few of her long curved teeth. Blood flowed from the gash on her nose and the gaping holes where three of her lower teeth were seconds ago. A few of her other teeth were obviously loose. The male companion came to her aid, instantly lapping at the wound on her scaly aqua snout.
With two of the three distracted, Hyacinth ran for it. The other female quickly followed suite, snapping at the horse-sized sauropod’s heels. The Apatosaurus could feel her chest clench with fear as she heard the dull yellow scaled Masiakasaurus snap her wicked teeth at her tail and feet.
“Hyacinth, focus ahead,” Angela shouted, watching the vicious female curvetooth. The elderly woman turned her body around so that she was facing the carnivore. Her right hand gipped the light blue pendent that hung from the thin sliver chain of her necklace, while the left clung tightly to the sauropod’s back. Bringing it to her lips, she whispered, “Please, let this work, please.” She then began to mumble strange words under her breath that neither herbivore nor carnivore could understand. It was a strange rough, yet airy whisper filled with hisses, growls, and grunts of an ancient language rarely used by even the creators.
Angela shouted her last word, uncovering the pendant. A pair of runes on each side of the light blue stone glowed with a soft light before it suddenly burst from the stone. The yellow scaled Masiakasaurus slowed her chase, dark green eyes narrowed at the glowing runes carved into the crystal.
“What are you doing, Dry Reed?” the male who had been cleaning his companion’s wounds shouted. He had sprinted forward to help give chase, his teal body quickly closing in on Hyacinth’s tail. He opened his jaws wide, ready to snap down on the gray scaled tail only inches away from his long curved teeth.
“River Fly! Stop!” Dry Reed shouted, her dull yellow form almost hidden within the yellow-green plants growing by the muddy riverbed. “You’re going to lose your sight!”
Her warning came too late. River Fly cried out in pain as a bright flash filled the air. He stumbled forward, falling over his feet and stumbling to the soft grasses. The teal Masiakasaurus lay where he fell, blood slowly oozing from his closed eyes, running down his scaly cheeks like bloody tears. The Stone of Cold Fire had burn his eyes. It took his eyesight. He was blind.
“Brother!” the aqua scaled female cried as he watched the male collapse. She rushed from her spot, the dull green leader trying to stop her. Her staunched wounds would start bleeding again. She did not care. That was her brother. Her nestmate. “Brother!” She yelled out again, running up beside him. “River fly!”
“Sister…” the male mumbled, turning his head in the direction of the soft female voice. “It hurts. My eyes…they hurt. I can’t…see…”
The aqua female nuzzled her brother, consequently smearing her blood from the deep wounds in her gums over his dark blue-green scales. Neither cared, both hurting from the pain of their wounds. The leader slowly walked up beside them, yellow eyes narrowed down at River Fly. He raised his gaze to the fading form of Hyacinth, Angela riding atop her back.
“Maybe thinskins are more powerful than I thought…”
*****
“How did that work?” Orchid asked. “What was it, in Angela’s necklace? Those curveteeth sound really cool. I wouldn’t want to meet those particular ones, but maybe a friendlier group, like those raptors we met when we picked up Sorrel.”
“I never really asked Angela about it afterwards, I was just happy that we escaped…” Hyacinth answered.
“Do you think the stone in my ring could do the same thing?” Sorrel asked, raising her fair, slender hand to Hyacinth.
The Apatosaurus peered at the ring, teal eyes narrowed at the delicate piece of jewelry. “I don’t know… I can’t remember what all those markings looked like on Angela’s stone. I would think so.”
Sorrel hummed in thought, drawing her hand back. She gazed at the golden ring, naming some of the runes carved in the stone and golden metal. She only recognized a few of the about dozen etchings. There was the familiar dimension traveling rune carve in most of the stone of her ring. The four smaller runes on each side of the now spherical crystal, she had no idea.
“You would still have to learn those words Angela was saying,” Digger spoke up, knowing what Sorrel was thinking of.
“Yeah…” Sorrel sighed, twisted the golden ring on her middle right finger. As she looked away from her ring, she gazed out at the dry lands the tiny herd was traveling. She could make out the forms of other, larger herbivore herds in the distance. Most stayed in their own groups, not mixing with other herds.
The young woman swept her dark brown eyes to the other side of Hyacinth. Through the dim light of the setting sun, she could make out a large form of a lone herbivore. It was bright orange and appeared to be casually moving. “Hey,” Sorrel spoke, pointing a slender hand toward the dinosaur. Maybe we could stay with that one tonight. I’m sure it’s not safe to be alone after dark, when the carnivores are out.”
“Sure! Let’s go,” Orchid shouted, trotting at a faster pace to reach the bright orange dinosaur. Soon enough, the tiny herd was standing in front of a male Triceratops. A small clump of plants hung from his beaked mouth as he glanced up. His dark brown eyes swept curiously over the unusual group for a moment before turning back to his late meal. “Yes?”
“Umm,” Hyacinth glanced to Sorrel, then to Orchid. “We were hoping we could keep you company tonight, if you wouldn’t mind. It’s dangerous to be alone out here at night.”
“Really?” the male asked. “Been sleeping alone for seasons and still standing here. Seems like you just want an extra set of defense.”
“Well,” Orchid stepped forward. “Does it matter? We’re staying and you can’t make us leave.” With her words, the purple Stegosaurus laid down on the ground, brown eyes daring the Triceratops to even touch her. Her tail was at the ready, the creamy color spike thagomizer ready to strike him if he dared charge her.
“You traveling to the Great Valley?”
“What?” Orchid asked, surprised at the question.
“Are the lot of you going to the Great Valley?” the male repeated.
“Yes, we are,” Hyacinth answered, glancing unsurely to the young woman now standing on her back.
“Well, you’re in luck. I happen to know the way and you get an extra protector. Don’t think a sauropod like you can do much, nor can that...thinskin and crestbeak.”
Hyacinth felt a slight pinch of defensiveness for her ability to keep her small herd safe, but said nothing. She instead laid down on the dusty, sunbaked ground. It was still warm from the late afternoon heat and felt nice on her tired body. She felt Sorrel slip off her body, Digger still in her arms. The young woman seated herself in front of the Apatosaurus’s head, watching as the bright orange Triceratops continued his feast.
Slicingfang: Giganotosaurus
Curveteeth: Masiakasaurus
Large Bonecrusher: Tyrannosaurus rex
