(
OOC: FBS: Ohhh…I feel so terrible doing this to you,
but I had this whole next scene planned and partially typed out even before I posted my last entry.
I promise you, though, Ozzy and Strut
will be back, and you’ll have plenty of time to meet with them.
)
Ozzy and Strut didn’t say a word. They just scrambled to their feet and took off in a flash back the way they came.
“…What just happened?” Guido, who had jumped back in surprise and frozen in a cringing position when the egg stealers had appeared, asked.
“Uh…that was Ozzy and Strut, the two egg stealers I met the other day,” said Pangaea, who was in a similar position to Guido, having done the same thing. “Sorry, Sparky,” he said, thinking that she must be disappointed that two of her favorite LBT characters had just run away. “I guess there is a downside to being one of the coolest dinosaurs out there. Though if it makes you feel any better, I think they would have run away even if you didn’t have those claws. They probably don’t want to be seen by anyone in the valley.”
“As for your question, well…therizinosaurs definitely didn’t evolve from ornithomimosaurs, but they
are related. They’re both coelurosaurs, but therizinosaurs are maniraptorans; they’re closer to oviraptorosaurs, dromaeosaurs, troodontids, alvarezsaurs, and birds. Ornithomimosaurs, tyrannosaurs, and compsognathids are outside Maniraptora. I think therizinosaurs just evolved from some random basal maniraptoran.” He paused. “Do you follow me?”
Guido gawped. “I’m lost,” he said. “What are you talking about?”
“Hoo boy,” Pangaea sighed, “I’m going to have a lot of explaining to do…”
--------------------------------------------------
Ozzy and Strut continued running deep into the forest, yelping and whimpering in fear. Eventually they began to tire, and frantically hid behind a large tree. The two egg stealers sat with their backs against the trunk, hyperventilating.
“What…” Ozzy panted, “was that?”
“I dunno,” Strut responded. “It didn’t look
or act like any leafeater or sharptooth I’ve ever seen.”
“Now there’s something I can agree with you on,” Ozzy muttered. “She acted like she was happy to see us!”
“Yeah, she said she’d always wanted to meet us. She even knew our names! It was like she knew us!”
“Well, I am
certain that I have never seen that creature before!” Ozzy declared.
“Wait, do you remember what that Gooey guy told us?” Strut said, “that there were other creatures in the valley like him who knew all about us? Maybe he was telling the truth!”
Though he didn’t want to believe it, Ozzy had to admit that that sounded plausible. “Well, if that’s the case, then we’ll need to be extra careful looking for eggs around here,” he said.
“You know, he also told us to leave. He said the others would be mad at us if we came down here. Maybe we should have listened to him. Maybe we
should go. I mean, I’d rather go back to the Land of Mists than be torn to bits, or eaten, or stomped, or slashed, or gored, or…”
Ozzy rolled his eyes as Strut prattled on. As he did so, his gaze fell upon the forest floor, and noticed a large, round purple fruit lying in the leaf litter near the foot of the tree. Ozzy’s desire to punish Strut for the tree star incident earlier had been temporarily smothered by his brief but fearful run-in with the strange long-clawed dinosaur, but now he felt his vengeful temper beginning to smolder again.
Quickly checking to make sure that Strut was still preoccupied with his own rambling, Ozzy leaned forward, stretched out his arm, and picked up the fruit. The rind was slightly soft; evidently the fruit had been sitting on the ground for some time.
Perfect, Ozzy thought.
“Oh, Strut?” he said innocently, hiding the fruit behind his back as he turned to face his brother.
Strut, who appeared to have been on the verge of putting himself to sleep with his own blathering, snapped to attention. “Yes, Ozzy?”
“I almost forgot; I have something for you.”
“Really!? That’s so nice of you, Oz; you never give me presents!”
“So, do you want it?” Ozzy asked.
“Yeah! Gimme it!”
“With pleasure.”
SPLAT! Ozzy shoved the overripe melon into Strut’s face.
“There! Now we’re even!” Ozzy snapped.
“Hmm…not bad,” came Strut’s muffled voice from inside the melon.
“You’re not supposed to enjoy it!” Ozzy yelled, pulling the fruit off of Strut’s face and smashing its remains over his head. “Now come on, let’s go find some breakfast!”
