Soft cookies and soder... I'm really surprised my dentist doesn't hate me

Aw, would that it'd been 501 million BC... My Facebook needs my stats, or the site will explode

How about Sunday of two weeks from now?

Err, would an Egg Stealer do?

I guess Bushie!

Ruby exhaled, hoping that would calm her misgivings. It didn't, but she attempted to brighten anyway. "Very well, then we must go on ahead." She nodded, as if to convince herself.

I remember when you first joined, you really seemed like someone I'd like to get to know more about . And I'm happy to say, that is absolutely correct!!

*tackle glomp* Happy Anniversary, Ducky!!

Pizza!! And judging from the mad scene in the kitchen, there will most likely also be eclairs in a few...

Wild :3

Tsk, tsk, banned for pointing out a contradiction!

(aaaah it's good to be back X3)

How was your holiday? Lol you don't have to answer this, just a random thought I had X3

What is your favorite situation / circumstance to write / draw about? Dinosaurs or otherwise.

=Part Twenty-Six

“I was not scared, I’m telling you!” Cera harrumphed as she tucked into the pile of green food that Strut had brought back, much to Ozzy’s dismay. The pale Stealer had tucked himself into the back corner upon his return, clutching the a small egg he had managed to scrounge up while out.

“Me hear you scream, you scream loudest.” Petrie insisted, nibbling on a leaf. He yelped at the burning gaze sent his way the next second.

Littlefoot laughed gently. “Hey look, it was a really good story, and we all just got caught up in it.” He glanced at Pterano as he said this. The older flyer – recovered significantly from the shock of his tale being so unexpectedly terminated – was once again leaning against the upturned stone, quietly eating and observing the group. He gave the longneck a subtle wink.

“Oh, me was truly scared!” Petrie nodded his head so hard that he dropped his leaf. “Me never scared that much before!”

Chomper nodded with a slight shiver, gazing shyly over at Pterano. “He can really tell good stories.”

“I’ll say!” Taylen broke in enthusiastically, between a beakful of treestars and treesweets. Strut had gathered up a tasty bundle of the stuff, wrapped in between all this green food. “I would have fainted if I knew how to! ëCause I know that sometimes when a bloke gets scared, he’ll faint, just keel right over! But I’ve never tried it, and I’ve never been so sc-” it was at this point that Strut had taken the liberty of handing Taylen another treesweet and the youngster was distracted as to stuff it in his mouth, ending the monologue.

Pterano felt his face flush with pride, but also something else – gratitude? Oh, come off it! You told them a story, nothing to get all weepy about! Or was it? He’d done something just then – something that was good in a sense – telling the children a story, and though the ending result could have been fine-tuned a bit more, all in all it had turned out nicely.

“Do you know any more stories?” Ruby asked, looking up from her leaf pile.

“Do he!” Petrie interrupted. “My Uncle Pterano know lots more stories!”

Pterano turned his head towards the many pairs of eyes that now flitted his way. He grinned, reveling in this moment. “Well, I do, I suppose.”

“Like what kind of stories?” This was Chomper, and he was very much intrigued.

Pterano waved a nonchalant claw. “Oh, just… stories.” He was teasing and he knew it, but he just couldn’t help it. It was after all in his habit of doing.

Chomper shook his head, clearly not satisfied. “Aw, can’t you tell? Please?”

Taylen seconded that with a vicious bout of nods. “Yeah! Absolute winner, that would be! Pleee-se?”

Ozzy, in the back corner, rolled his eyes. Why did everyone have to be in such a good mood? Not that it was ruining his bad mood – not in the slightest – but still, it was rather annoying to have all this pesky cheerfulness hanging about his head. He finished the last of his egg and settled down for a nap. His stomach growled, but he ignored that. He knew he was hungry – that was all he’d been out here, was hungry, hungry, and more hungry. And then Strut had to go and top off the humiliation with what he called ëfood’! Bah! “Food” was the real stuff! Not rotten, foul-tasting, nasty---

“Hey, Oz?”

Ozzy’s head snapped sharply towards the speaker and he growled deep in his throat. Of all the times when he was unhappy to see his sibling, this was one of those times.

Strut gave a slight start, but he continued on nonetheless. “I-uh, just thought that if, y’know, you were still, um... hungry, ah…” he knew this was probably the last thing he should even think about asking, but it was only common curtesy.

His brother didn’t seem to agree, however. Ozzy’s amber eyes widened. Strut didn’t just… he did! “Wh-what did you say?” As if he needed to ask. “Are you bloody rotting daft?” Though his voice was quiet, it carried through the rest of the cave, and it caused the small group huddled around Pterano to turn their heads.

Strut started to tremble. “We– I just thought, i– it’s…” the dark Stealer’s tongue was useless in his mouth as he tried to form some type of distinguishable words. His legs seemed to lock, freezing him in place. Behind him, he heard the group stirring.

“’ëYou just thought’,” Ozzy taunted, bitterly. “What good has ever come out of you thinking?”

Strut swallowed, hard. He was used to Ozzy’s temper and the things he said, but this… “I– what?” His voice was hoarser now.

“You heard me,”

At this moment, Pterano had taken it upon himself to sit up straighter – biting back a pained grunt – and come to the defense. “I rather think we all heard you, up here,” his blue eyes narrowed. There was something so inherently nasty about this one such Stealer, and now Pterano had an even bigger reason to dislike him.

Amber eyes squinted disgustedly in his direction. “Happy to have obliged, Cone-head.”

Taylen seemed to visibly droop. If anything, the arguing had gotten worse out here. Sure, Ozzy and Strut would have squabbles back in the herd, but they hadn’t been anywhere near as cruel and hurtful as they were now. He was rooted to the spot where he stood, over the leaf pile, miserably clutching a fistful of treesweets he’d been poising to pop into his mouth.

Pterano’s glare intensified. His talons were clenched. “What’s the matter with you? Can’t your brother offer you food without you blowing up?”

Ozzy seemed to find that amusing. “Offer me food? I already had my food.” His leer dared the flyer to do something – perhaps stand up, if he could.

Pterano couldn’t stand up, but his body gave a jerk at that remark. “One measly egg barely qualifies as a snack to a sharptooth hatchling,” he shot back. “You’re no exception.”

Now it was Ozzy’s turn to flinch. “I’m... I’m fine,” he hissed, not willing to give up that easily.

“You’re half-starved,” Pterano sniffed. “Anyone can see that.”

“I can manage on my own.” Ozzy’s voice came dangerously close to a yell. It was then that Strut found his voice – and his legs – and took a couple steps backward before he even thought of speaking again.

“But, Oz... we’ve got enough, here.”

“Shut it, bark breath! I’m not touching that filthy stuff!”

Now Pterano really started, but this time it was more a start of surprise than it was anger. “Why not? What’s so horrible about green food?”

“He doesn’t like it,” Taylen spoke up, probably not the wisest thing to be said at that point, but too late to be taken back.

Ozzy just grumbled something. Pterano tilted his head to the side.

“Whyever not?” He almost grinned here. The thought was almost ridiculous. “I’ll wager you’ve never tried it, or at least tried something so awful it turned you off for the time.” This line did merit a slight grin.

Ozzy turned and scowled. “I merely have never had an interest in trying such lowly stuff!”

“Lowly stuff?” Littlefoot echoed with a slight frown. “Green food’s delicious, and it’s good for you, too.”

Ozzy snorted in contempt. “Anything ëgood’ in that mess I can find just as easily in a nest of eggs. There’s a reason we’re called ëEgg-Stealers’, after all.”

“But, your brother eats it,” Chomper pointed out.

Strut would have loved more than anything to be left out of the conversation. But he asserted. “...It’s... not as bad as you think, Oz. Really.”

Ozzy shifted. This was not going according to plan. True, he’d never wanted to try the stuff. It was droopy-looking and just far too green. Not like eggs. Eggs had substance, and, as far as he was concerned, were far better than anything green food could offer.

Pterano folded his arms, carefully. “I think it’s time you tried it for yourself, before you go off and condemn it.” His gaze was level, and his expression was light.

“Try it?” Ozzy was appalled. “Absolutely not!” The Stealer’s face scrunched into a frown. “Never.”

“Try a bite, Oz!” Taylen spoke in a squeak. “You’ll love it!” He held out his fistful of sweet bubbles. “These’re really, really sweet!”

Ozzy hesitated. He opened his beak, but made no sound. Finally, with a dramatic sigh, he stood up and stalked over to his younger brother. He eyed the bunch of sweet bubbles with displeasure. He wasn’t about to back down from this, but he was totally reluctant to make the move.

All breaths were still. Ozzy reached out with his talons and plucked a single sweet bubble from the bunch. Taylen’s wide eyes didn’t blink once.

The next moment, Ozzy had popped the small thing in his mouth and used the corners of his beak to crush it. The resulting juices that filled his mouth were... sweet! He coughed in surprise. That single little bauble packed some powerful flavor! But then he fell back to chewing.

It wasn’t until he swallowed that Pterano asked. “Well?”

Ozzy took a long time to reply. And in that time, he’d set himself in the back of the cave again.

Pterano frowned. "Well?" He asked, again.

“It’s… good.”

======

*O*
Well, how's that for a chappie's conclusion? Oz finally comes to grips... somewhat. He's still an arrogant jerkweed XDD

Hope everyone had a lovely holiday season!