Pangaea had been silent for some time now. Daniel was the only one who had so much as responded to his discussion of dinosaur diets, and even he hadn’t spoken in a while. Cera and Tricia had been quiet for even longer.
Feeling awkward, Pangaea began slowly, nervously wandering around (trailed by Guido as usual). Gradually he moved away from Daniel, Cera, Tricia, and Petrie, closer to where Sparky and Nana were. As was typical of him, he was too shy to attempt to start a conversation, hoping instead that someone would speak to him first.
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Screech heard Red Claw calling for him and Thud. “Over here, next to all the food, O great tactical leader!” he yowled back, his tone waterlogged with sarcasm.
“Red Claw’s not going to like you talking to him that way,” Thud warned his companion.
“Like I care,” Screech muttered, cracking another bone between his jaws. “That overblown maniac’s the one responsible for putting us through this torture!”
“His plan did get us food, though,” Thud pointed out, looking out over the carcass-strewn battleground.
Screech growled. He was angry with Red Claw for causing him and Thud so much grief through his increasingly deranged quest for revenge, but he couldn’t argue with Thud’s logic. “True,” he conceded reluctantly. I suppose he is keeping up his end of the bargain. We help him hunt, he supplies enough food for all three of us. Still, what good is an easy meal if you’re not alive to enjoy it?
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Meanwhile, somewhere in the Great Valley…in the forest…beneath a rather dew-laden tree…
GLOOSH!
“GLAUGH! WHAT THE–?!” Ozzy hollered as a splash of cold water hit him in the face. Sputtering and wiping the water out of his eyes, he looked up to see several large spreading leaves on which a considerable amount of water had condensed overnight, one of which had spilled its dewy cargo directly onto his head.
Ozzy grumbled. While in the Land of Mists, he had received this unwelcome wake-up call more times than he could count, yet he never got used to it. One of the things he had been looking forward to when he and Strut finally found their way out of that foggy wilderness was no longer having to wake up that way. Yet on his first night back in the Great Valley, that was exactly what happened to him. The irony of it made Ozzy scowl. Sometimes he felt like the unluckiest egg stealer in the world, which did nothing to help his fragile temper.
At that moment, Ozzy turned his attention to another constant thorn in his side, as he became aware that, at the moment, that thorn was absent. “Strut!” he shouted irritably. “Brother, where are you?”
Ozzy received no response, but it turned out he didn’t need one, as he spied a brown-and-beige-colored tail sticking out from behind some nearby bushes. As Ozzy approached, he saw that Strut had his head down, and for a moment wondered if his brother had found a nest.
“Strut, did you find something to eat?” he asked earnestly.
Strut’s reaction was to instantly tense up in apparent surprise, and at that moment Ozzy realized what was more likely going on. “Strut!” Ozzy shouted angrily, “are you eating tree stars again?!”
Ozzy heard a gulp. “No uhm naw,” came Strut’s muffled response.
“Strut, turn around,” Ozzy ordered sternly.
Strut didn’t move.
“Now!” Ozzy bellowed. “Or I’ll kick you!”
Reluctantly, Strut turned to face Ozzy. His cheeks were full, and he was wearing a very guilty expression.
Ozzy glared at his brother.
“How many times have I told youó?! Spit those out!”
“Buh Othyó”
“SPIT THEM OUT!”
PTUH! Strut obliged, spewing a mouthful of slightly chewed, saliva-soaked leaves into Ozzy’s face.
The orange-eyed egg stealer stood there with a look of utter disgust and unconcealed fury, pieces of damp tree star slowly dripping off his beak.
“What? You told me to spit them out!” Strut protested.
“I’LL BEAT YOUR HEAD IN, YOU SPINACH-SCARFING, BEAN-BELCHING, FUNGUS-FEASTING NITWIT!!”
Strut decided that running would be a wise course of action to take at that moment, and bolted. Ozzy followed shortly thereafter, screaming botanical-themed obscenities at his brother as he chased him through the forest.
