This is from fanfiction.net, but might as well put all three of my LBT stories here too! First up, my newest one concerning Ozzy and his OC mate, Oliana. Though I still feel like this isn't one of my best fanfics (I feel that way towards all of my LBT stories), some friends told me otherwise and now I have the confidence to share it here too! I hope you all enjoy it!!
"Oliana? What're you doing?" Ozzy questioned the female Egg Stealer as she scraped the ground with her hind claws.
"Nothing." She looked at him with her usual kindly smile that always broke through the male's tough exterior. She always had a way of doing that. Must be why Ozzy has chosen her as his mate. She's the only one who knew his buttons, what made him ticked, and how to always cool his anger.
Sometimes, her abilities freaked him out. It's like she had complete control over him, though he knew that was far from the case. She didn't control him; instead she worked as a kind of conscience to balance out Ozzy's hot tempers. She was one of the few he treated as an equal…moreso than his own brother.
Ozzy watched as Oliana plucked leaves and grasses and he frowned. "Your not becoming a Moss Muncher, are you?"
"Of course not." she reassured with a soft laugh. "Just doing a little project." She looked at him. "And while we're on the subject of food, can you go out and find me a couple of eggs?"
Ozzy gave her a weird look of suspension, mostly about this 'project' of hers. What kind of project involved digging a hole in the ground and playing with plants? He probably didn't want to know and he turned and began walking off.
"Alright then. I'll be back. And Strut! Spit that disgusting stuff out and come with me to find REAL food!"
Said Struthiomimus sighed and reluctantly got rid of the green food snacks he was trying to enjoy while his brother was distracted. He stood to follow but paused to let his brother go a bit of a distance before he looked to Oliana. "Aren't you going to tell Ozzy?"
The female smiled and shook her head. "No. I want it to be a surprise." She looked to the other. "But make sure you keep Ozzy out for a few hours. I'm gonna be in for a long evening…."
"Right. Good luck." Strut said in his usual cheeriness.
"Strut!"
"Coming, Oz!" He dashed off to his brother, who waited impatiently for him to catch up before they went off in their search for eggs for Oliana and themselves while they were at it. Ozzy didn't really know what to make of his mate's strange behavior. She's been acting a bit…weird for the past few days and it's been bothering him a bit.
'Must be a female thing…' he thought to himself and this thought couldn't help bringing up the memory of how they first met…
"Ozzy?" Strut questioned as they traveled the Mysterious Beyond in search of eggs. It's been a few days since the Great Earthshake struck and separated many herds, mates, and parents from their offspring. But still, food was still hard to come by and hunger made time of the essence. As usual, Ozzy's more than a little sour about their lack of success. This fact showed by his response.
"What is it now?" he question in obvious exasperation. Strut lowered his head a bit at his brother's temper and muttered.
"No need to be rude, Ozzy. I was just going to ask where we're going exactly." He seemed a bit more nervous as Ozzy's orange eyes narrowed and he hurriedly continued. "I mean, I know we're looking for eggs, but is there any place more specific we're looking?"
Ozzy only glared an extra minute longer, pondering why he's been putting up with his brother for so long. But, let's face it, he knew why: He cared for his younger sibling….Somewhere deep, deep, deep…..deep deep…deep down. Plus, Strut was the only companion available to him and he didn't relish the prospect of traveling the Mysterious Beyond alone on their journey.
"I told you before, we're following the Leaf Lickers."
"You mean Leaf Eaters, Ozzy." Strut corrected.
"No, Leaf Lickers. Like you." He added with a scowl, thoroughly disgusted by his brother's preferred choice of food. Strut said nothing for a while, plenty used to Ozzy's constant insults. He wished his brother was more accepting of things, but then he wouldn't be Ozzy if he was.
"Anyway, I told you before, Strut, where these disgusting creatures go, there's bound to be eggs." Seeing his brother was still a bit confuse, he brought it down some more. "We're going to the Great Valley. An egg banquet with no sharpteeth." An Egg-Stealer's paradise.
"The Great Valley? But Ozzy…."
"What?" The older Struthiomimus was really starting to get annoyed with the others constant questioning.
"Um…." Strut stammered. "Have you ever seen this Great Valley place?"
"No." Ozzy replied with his arms crossed.
"Then how do you know it exists, Ozzy?"
Another exasperated sigh and he answered as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. "Some things you see with your eyes, Strut. Others, you see with your stomach. It's out there somewhere, and we just have to find it." He continued walking and Strut hurried to keep up. He still wasn't sure if such a place existed and he was about to nervously state so when another voice cut in.
"I know where the Great Valley is." It was a feminine voice and Ozzy, already in an irritated mood, huffed almost scornfully.
"And what makes you so…." He trailed off when he turned to look at her, beak suddenly frozen in a slight gape and eyes a bit wide. It was a female Egg-Stealer, much darker tone of brown than his brother, almost to the point of being black. But what surprised Ozzy the most was her deep green eyes that communicated mirthful coy personality that was only intensified with the smirk on her face.
Strut didn't fail to notice Ozzy's state, and all the more worrying was his brother stopping a scornful comment. That wasn't like him at all; he ALWAYS finished his insults. The female gave a soft laugh and walked over in a silky, confident manner. She paused beside Ozzy and lifted a hand to his lower jaw and closed his beak.
"It's rude to stare with your mouth open."
This seemed to snap him out of it and he immediately crossed his arms again with another huff, trying to mask the growing feeling of some uncomfortable emotion he didn't understand. He tried to keep his voice to the usual confrontational tone.
"And who do you think you are?"
The female smiled at him. "Name's Oliana. And I happen to live near the Great Valley's walls."
"Really?" Ozzy said with some doubt. After all, if she truly lived there, then why…
"Mm hm. I was visiting my family when the Earthshake hit." She tilted her head a bit, still smiling in what seemed to be a friendly way, though it made Ozzy a bit unsettled. Not the 'She-is-up-to-something' kind of unsettled, but a strange kind of 'I-feel-different' way. He wasn't sure if he liked it or not. "I can take you there if you want."
Strut looked at Ozzy and Ozzy looked back at Strut. The younger brother gave a shrug. "What's the harm, Oz?"
Ozzy looked at the female in his usual glare, considering her. Why not? It's not like he had anything to lose. "Alright. So long as I still give the orders!"
"Not a problem, dear."
Over the next few months, she had proven to be a very useful companion and Ozzy soon found out what those strange feelings were. He was in love with her, as impossible as it seems. He didn't know what it was about her, but he simply couldn't stand making her upset in any way. For a while, he had kept this soft-spot of his to himself, but it only became more difficult to hide.
It must've gotten obvious at one point, because before ya know it, she would begin making advances to him. First it started innocently enough, a few hinted smiles and soft laughs. Then it evolved into things like giving him the occasional nuzzle. He was a bit stand-offish as was expected, but then he began returning the gestures little by little.
The love has blossomed.
Strut mostly stayed out of the two's business. For the most part, he was happy they were becoming a couple; maybe that'll help with his brother's obvious obsession with eggs, give him a new priority. Plus, Oliana's been sticking up for Strut and as a result, Ozzy abused his sibling less. That was definitely something to be enjoyed, though it did feel a bit lonely sometimes when your brother's no longer hitting your head with his tail or foot or something….
This evening's hunt for eggs was as difficult as was expected. Ozzy couldn't wait to reach the Great Valley so this 'fighting-for-survival' ordeal can finally end, and as he and Strut returned to where they left Oliana, they found her sitting on the hole she was digging earlier, half-asleep.
"Oliana?" Ozzy questioned. His consort's partially closed eyes opened a bit and she smiled tiredly.
"Hey, Ozzy…" she greeted quietly.
"I couldn't find any eggs." He walked over to her, eyeing her laying-down position. "And are you done with your little project thing?"
At this, Oliana gave another of her soft laughs and she nodded lightly. "It wasn't easy. But then again, stuff like this never is." Before Ozzy could question her further, she lifted her head to place it under his and she whispered softly. "You're a father."
Ozzy's eyes widened and he generally looked shocked and highly confused at the news. "W…What?"
Finally, Oliana stood up and stepped back so her 'project' would reveal itself to be a nest, with half a dozen eggs nestled inside. Ozzy blinked in disbelief, staring at the eggs, and as typical of overwhelmed new fathers…
He fainted…
Who Knows How Much Later...
"Ozzy? Wake up…"
"Is he dead…?"
"Of course not." Ozzy groaned, the words echoing in his head as he began to wake up. "See? He's fine. Help me get him up." He felt his mate and his brother's claws pulling him onto his feet and at first, he was limp, but then he regained enough consciousness to stand on his own.
"What happened…?" he asked, rubbing his head.
"You fainted. Are you alright?" Oliana asked. The older male nodded and shook himself off, back to himself in no time… And what better way to show it than to reprimand his brother for having a twig in his mouth.
"Spit it out!" Strut did so immediately and cringed as Ozzy seemed about to hit him in punishment. Oliana rolled her eyes with a smile, knowing her mate's A-Okay, and did Strut a favor by stopping Ozzy before harm could be done.
"Be nice, Ozzy. He is your brother." This only got a grunt, but Ozzy left Strut alone. Instead, he turned his attention to the nestful of eggs. The new mother's smile widened as her partner took a close look at their future children. "I'm already thinking of names for them."
"We don't know which will be boys and which will be girls." Ozzy pointed out, trying to ignore an ominous impulse.
"I know, but I have alternatives for each." She went over to him and nuzzled with a purr. Then came her most trusting gesture… "Egg laying got me hungry. Mind watching our children?"
She knew this was risky, she knew her mate had an undying obsession with eggs. But surely he didn't view her eggs, THEIR eggs in the same way. She had complete confidence in something called parental instincts, something every dinosaur, including Ozzy, should have.
"Not a problem." Ozzy responded. He felt confidence as well; yes, he's having a hungry urge towards the eggs, but it'll wear off soon. Maybe a nest-sitting job like this was all it took to turn on those new paternal instincts.
As Oliana went off, leaving the males behind, and Strut settled under the shade of a nearby overhang and Ozzy laying himself beside the nest, they didn't know just how wrong they can be…
Only an hour passed after Oliana has left for a forage. Strut was asleep, no doubt dreaming about green food, and Ozzy was circling the nest, shifting an egg every now and then. It's been a worrisome hour for him, as the eat-instinct was beginning to outweigh the little parenting skills he thought he possessed. At the moment, he's kept himself from doing anything rash, but how long can he keep that up?
He hoped Oliana would return soon.
Unfortunately, given the lack of food around here, she could be gone for a couple more hours. A few times, he thought of waking his brother to watch the eggs for him, but he wanted to do this himself, believing that it'll get better.
It never did.
He was lowering his head to nudge an egg into a new position with his snout and the smell of food flooded his sniffer. Three things were working against him in the split second it happened: his instincts, his empty stomach, and his addiction. With such formidable adversaries, the little voice always telling him to care, not eat, didn't stand a chance. Once his sharp-beaked jaws easily crushed that first egg, it was all over. He didn't really know what he was thinking when he turned on the other eggs, or even if he was thinking at all. All he knew was the pleasuring feeling of breaking the shells and swallowing the delicious fluids inside.
Strut woke up when he heard the cracking shells and groggily looked over to the nest to find his brother hunched over it. He wasn't the smartest Egg Stealer in the world, but even his sleepy mind put two-and-two together and he gasped.
"OZZY! STOP!" He stood and dashed over to his older brother to pull him away, but Ozzy merely pushed him aside, not even glancing at him as he continued his hungry feeding of his own progeny. Strut wasn't gonna give up that easily and shoved himself between his brother and what remained of the eggs. "Ozzy, I mean it!" His older brother glared at him, but the damage has already been done. All but one egg has been eaten already and that one surviving egg was already in his brother's claws. Strut tried to grab it, but Ozzy wasn't going to give it up.
"Back off, Sap Sucker!" Ozzy yelled, one hand holding the egg high enough to make it difficult for his sibling to reach, the other holding said sibling back. This soon resulted in the younger brother tackling the older, still trying to get that last egg. It was like they were hatchlings again, whenever Ozzy stole whatever Strut was playing with and they ended up wrestling for it.
Except this time, it was in deadly earnest.
Unfortunately for Strut, back then he never won these kinds of games, and he had no chance of winning now. Ozzy finally managed to kick him away and stood triumphantly. But before he can enjoy his victory snack…
"Ozzy?" The voice came from behind him and was barely loud enough to hear, but it still startled him. He jumped, dropping the egg and letting it shatter at his feet. He seemed a bit irritated by this, and turned to reprimand whoever startled him, only to step back.
"Oliana…"
The female looked aghast at first, staring at the egg splattered in the dirt. Her horror intensified as she noticed the tell-tale egg fluids around her mate's mouth and she looked over to the nest. She couldn't believe her eyes and she hurried to see if there were any survivors. There were none. All six eggs were gone, shells broken. She practically felt her heart meet the same broken fate. Tears flowing heavily from her eyes and down her cheeks, she buried her face in her hands, sobbing. Strut stayed back, looking heavily disappointed that he couldn't save the eggs. Ozzy seemed distressed as well, as if just now realizing what he had done. A heavy feeling of regret came and it only got worse as he watched his mate grieve and mourn her lost children.
"Oliana…" he repeated her name, edging closer and nudging her with his snout. This only earned him a slash across the face and he jerked back in pain as Oliana glared at him.
"I trusted you, Ozzy!" she yelled through her tears, voice choking a bit. "I trusted you to keep them safe and you…." She trailed off as her voice refused to say more. Ozzy's beak opened a bit, but nothing came out. He wanted to tell her how sorry he was, but his voice refused to say anything as well. Though deep down, he knew that even if he could speak, forgiveness would never come of it. His mate was inconsolable, and he didn't blame her.
And he felt the same breaking in his heart as well as he watched her turn and run…
