Chapter Sixteen: Reunions and Goodbyes
Sorrel ran towards the lumbering Apatosaurus, her heart soaring at the sight of her friend. The gray sauropod let out another bellow as she also began to walk faster, the little black Velociraptor skittering beside her. As the Apatosaurus and human met, Hyacinth lowered her neck and Sorrel wrapped her arms around the other female’s head. Hyacinth nuzzled Sorrel, grinning for ear to ear. “I was so worried that the feathered sharptooth had killed you. I’m so glad that you’re alive.”
Sorrel pulled away from Hyacinth, her smile just as big as the Apatosaurus’s. As she turned to also give Orchid a hug, she spotted the little black feathered Velociraptor. “Who’s this?”
“That’s Black Smoke,” Orchid spoke enthusiastically as she ambled up to the young woman to give her a nuzzle. “She helped us find you. She’s a Scarcarrier. Isn't it so cool that we have met another Scarcarrier. First, it was Crooked, who could heal, then it was Heat and his ability over fire, and now it's Black Smoke, who can track anything. Oh, you never met Crooked and Heat. We should go back to that forest. Maybe we could meet up with the herd again. That would be so cool, wouldn't it, Hyacinth?” Orchid grinned as she turned her head toward the Apatosaurus she stood next to, wiggling with excitement. “I would love to see Pine again. I know I said that I wanted to meet that one legendary spiketail, but they might actually be a female. If they are a male, they are probably courting a female or are already mated. I know a few of my herdmembers that are even younger than me and are mated. It's insane to think about them, you know, doing that, at that age. I would not be ready to be a mother so young, I still want to go on adventures. I guess since I have never been courted and there were never really any males around my age that I was interested in, I just didn't have any good choices.”
“Okay, spiketail. I think they understand,” Black Smoke grumbled, giving a roll of her neon blue eyes. Orchid had been rambling on almost nonstop since they had first started tracking the thinskin. “And if that’s all you need me for, I’ll be on my way.”
“Where are you going? You don’t have pack anymore. Do you want to come with us?” Orchid turned her attention to the Velociraptor.
“With two massive herbivores and a thinskin? I think I’ll pass. I prefer being alone.” Letting out a small trill, the black Velociraptor shook out her short black pinfeathers before turning away from the group. Within a few moments, her black form was gone from sight.
“Are you leaving right away? Shadow Watcher’s voice broke the reunion. “Did you want to see Stone Claw one last time?”
“Stone Claw!” Sorrel shouted. “I almost forget about him. No, I’m not going to leave yet. I want to make sure he is okay.”
Shadow Watcher gave a small nod as he gripped the lower part of the Therizinosaurus’s neck in his jaws and began dragging it toward the canyon. Sorrel followed closely behind, still cradling Digger in her arms. Hyacinth and Orchid trailed a few feet behind them, a bit uncertain about the Utahraptor. They knew he was on good terms with them, but seeing the large feathered carnivore dragging another dinosaur unnerved the pair of adolescents.
It did not take long for the group of travelers to return to the canyon. Shadow Watcher and Sorrel carefully maneuvered down the narrow pathway while Hyacinth and Orchid looked on from above. The two herbivores were unable to descend with the others, their massive bulk a hindrance. Hyacinth’s feet could not even fit on the thin path.
“Woah!” Orchid shouted form above, her brown eyes wide at the sight of Stone Claw’s broken form lying motionless amongst the rubble. “What happened to him?”
Sorrel looked up at the purple Stegosaurus before returning her gaze to the sandy feathered Utahraptor she was now crouched next to. She reached out a hand to stroke the soft feathers around his neck. “He was crushed by a boulder that fell during the earthquake.”
“Oh…I hope he’ll be okay. He seemed like one of the nicer ones. Not saying that you aren’t nice, umm…Shadow? You’re cool and all...Whoa! Who is that? That’s a good sickleclaw right? I really hope they are with your Shadow. Sorrel! Watch out. It’s too large to be your type of sickleclaw.” Orchid let out a bellow at the approaching predator.
Sorrel turned around to see Heat Flare’s white head from behind one of the fallen boulders. A large rodent hung limp in her jaws as she approached Sorrel and Shadow Watcher crouched beside the wounded raptor. When the brown and white female spotted Orchid, she dropped her prey and gave a loud hiss. “So you brought live food, Shadow Watcher? Even better. I get to have myself a hunt.”
“No!” the smaller Utahraptor shouted, jumping to his feet. “I brought you dead prey. Those are the friends of Sorrel. You can’t kill them. I brought your favorite,” he nudged the strange, long-necked herbivore toward his packmate. “Therizinosaurus. It just happened to be feeding nearby. I knew you liked them so I decided it go after it. It didn’t take much to kill it. It didn’t know I was there, so a quick bite to the neck and it was dead.”
Heat Flare gave a small grunt at Shadow Watcher as her emerald eyes scrutinized the prey. “I would be impressed if it wasn’t an adolescent. It was probably too dumb to know that you were even there. I enjoy Therizinosaurus not only for the exotic taste, but also for the hunt. Full-grown adults with experience are difficult to kill. If you were trying to impress me or win me over, you haven’t.”
“Umm…” was all the black feathered male could do as Heat Flare crouched down, beginning to rip the feathers off the strange herbivore’s body.
The large brown and white Utahraptor ripped most of the feathers off around the Therizinosaurus’s belly. When the soft brown feathers and down were pulled away she began rasping a tongue over the bare skin, taking away any stray feathers. With no feathers left, Heat Flare sniffed at the pale brown flesh. Satisfied with her work, she sat up on her hunches. With one of the three claws on her forepaws, she slit the Therizinosauru’s stomach open. Placing her three-clawed forepaw back on the ground, she dug her jaws into the now open body cavity. The brown and white feathered Utahraptor pulled out most of the internal organs, pushing aside ones she did not want while keeping the others by her feet. Pleased with her organ piles, she began eating the tangy flesh where it was most tender, on the hind legs.
“That’s really gross,” Orchid muttered from above the canyon, a grimace of disgust on her face. The gray sauropod beside her said nothing, looking close to losing her own food as she observed the feasting below.
Shadow Watcher turned his attention to his injured packmate. He sniffed at Stone Claw’s prone from, letting out a soft sigh. The sandy feathered male had not waken since he had nudged him earlier. The black Utahraptor settled onto the cool, stony ground. He laid his head down on his forepaws, silver eyes staring up at the gloomy gray sky. How long would it take for the healer to get here? How long could Stone Claw last?
Only the sound of Heat Flare ripping at the flesh off the dead carcass and crunching on its bones filled the silence. Digger, having been set down on the ground by Sorrel, let out a small chirrup as she watched the large Utahraptor devour her meal. As if feel the omnivore’s gaze on her, Heat Flare turned her sharp, green gaze to the tiny female. The carnivore let out a low growl, bearing her bloodstained teeth, her entire head drenched in scarlet blood. The mauve Oviraptor let out a small chitter before turning back to Sorrel, snuggling into the human’s side.
Sorrel patted Digger’s head, smiling down at her. A sudden thought crossed the young woman’s mind. “With all the excitement of being reunited with my friends, I forget to introduce you to Hyacinth and Orchid. I’m guessing you’re going with us, aren’t you?”
Just as Digger nodded her head, Shadow Watcher swiftly stood to his feet, sniffing the air. “Ice Wind and Snow Feather are back with Moon Splash,” he announced.
At her packmate’s words, Heat Flare looked up from her meal. With white head feathers now stained red with blood, she stood up, padding over to the returning trio. She was greeted by Ice Wind, a dull brown feathered male only a few season’s older than her. “You’re a mess.”
The massive female only gave a grunt at him, sweeping her emerald gaze over the small female, Snow Feather, standing behind him. The pure white, adolescent quickly adverted her golden gaze away from the older female. This had been her first hunt and an eventful one at that. Before she was wishing to catch something, maybe even a simple rodent, but now all the shy adolescent desired was that no packmember died today.
“Let me see Stone Claw,” a gravelly feminine voice broke from the group as an elderly Utahraptor pushed her way passed the other two. She was about three-fourths the size of an average sized Utahraptor. Her body covered in shorter silver pinfeathers than that of her norther forest counterparts. She possessed the same, long decorative feathers on the back of her forearms and tail tip. Beneath her silvery fluff were many scars, most clearly not created by another set of natural weapons. They were runes.
“Here,” Shadow Watcher spoke, stepping aside for the silver feathered healer. “Shifting Sand didn’t come?”
“She was out when we got Moon Splash,” Ice Wind spoke, eyeing the left overs of Heat Flare’s meal.
“Don’t even think about it,” the white and brown female snarled.
Moon Splash crouched down next to Stone Claw. She glanced at Sorrel before looking up at the canyon cliff side where the two herbivores watched. Letting out a small, almost aggravated sigh she eyed Heat Flare and Shadow Watcher. The black male shifted with discomfort under the elderly female's icy blue gaze. Heat Flare on the other hand, completely ignored the Healer, too focused on growling at Ice Wind. The dull brown, orange-eyed male kept darting forward, trying to steal a piece of meal from the younger female’s meal.
“Looks like I have my work cut out for me this time,” Moon Splash growled to Shadow Watcher as she placed a three-clawed forepaw at the top of Stone Claw’s neck. She slowly ran her forepaw down the sandy male’s back, feeling for any broken bones. She then moved to his pelvis, also feeling for damage. “Three breaks in the lumbar…all the thoracic vertebrae are fine…the pelvis is completely shattered…I’ll worry about his tail later. Being able to walk is more important.”
The elderly female shifted slightly, placing her other forepaw onto Stone Claw’s spine. She gave a soft click and began to hum, rocking side-to-side; icy blue eyes drooping close. Soft clicking noises echoed throughout the once more dead silent canyon. Stone Claw’s vertebrae where being set back into place and his spinal cord regenerating by the silver Utahraptor’s unique ability. When Moon Splash had finished with the sandy male’s spine, she stopped humming and rocking, but her eyes stayed hooded. Shifting her three-clawed paws to Stone Claw’s pelvis, she began the ritual again.
Once Moon Splash completed her task, she drew back. “What trouble you have gotten yourself into. And to think you were the careful, thoughtful one. I thought it was Shadow Watcher whom was hurt when the two got me.” The female chuckled standing up and turning to Snow Feather. “I’m done here. Let’s go. I have a few other things to finish.”
“Wait!” Sorrel shouted. “Could you please check Digger? I patched her up but I'm worried she might have internal bleeding. Shadow Watcher flung her pretty hard into some rocks.”
“Hurting helpless little creatures now, are you?” Moon Splash mused, throwing an amused glance at the black raptor as she approached the blonde haired woman.
“She stole Ebony Sky's egg!”
“Hmm...,” Moon Splash hummed as she spread her clawed paws over the mauve Oviraptor. “And you didn't kill her?”
Shadow Watcher opened his mouth, stumbling over his words. “I-Ebony...she...” He trailed off, shifting uncomfortably, silver eyes averted from the elderly female.
“You found out,” Moon Splash laughed, her silver paw falling from Digger's body. “The Oviraptor is fine.”
“You knew?” Shadow Watcher shouted. “You knew that she...she...she didn't...want it...” he trailed off.
“Well it was with the troublemaker of the pack. Foolish and impulsive. They were never destined to be mates.”
The black Utahraptor let loose a low growl before stalking off. Sorrel watched as Shadow Watcher stalked down the canyon, his growls echoing off the walls.
“Hey, Sorrel. Can we get moving? I really want to get to the Great Valley, but we have to visit Angela's grave first,” Orchid called from above the canyon. “I so badly want to meet that legendary spiketail. I really hope it’s a boy. And really hope the longneck is a boy too so that Hyacinth can have someone…”
“Umm…” Sorrel trailed off as she tuned out the rest of the Stegosaurus’s ramblings, looking in the direction Shadow Watcher had abruptly left. “Bye, Shadow Watcher,” she shouted. “See you around sometime?”
Without a backwards glance, the agitated Utahraptor just lifted his black feathered arm in acknowledgement. With that, the young woman said her good-byes to the rest of the raptor pack before wrapping Digger securely in her arm and quickly climbing out of the canyon to join the two waiting herbivores.
***
Two weeks quietly passed since Sorrel had officially left the Utahraptors. She and the pair of herbivores, along with the tiny Oviraptor, trekked along at a leisurely pace. There was no need to get to the Great Valley at any specific time and after the exhausting adventures they had just been through, it was nice to relax. The time was passed getting to know the newest member of their unusual little group as well as Hyacinth relating more stories to Sorrel of her great-aunt Angela’s time spent with the dinosaurs. They spent a day with the mixed herd on their travel through the forest and would have spent more time if Orchid had had her way, but Sorrel was now anxious to get to her great-aunt’s grave site. Luckily for the group, they did not meet many predators during their journey, and the ones they did come across, they were easily able to evade them before being detected.
Now the group slowly lumbered into the grove of flowering trees where Angela was buried. Sorrel slid off of Hyacinth’s back and reverently kneeled down by the grave, brushing a hand over the rocks placed over the disturbed earth. “Hey, Aunt Angie. I finally made it to this world,” the young woman greeted in a choked whisper. Images flashed through her mind of the times spent with her beloved great-aunt. It was Aunt Angie’s enthusiasm that had set her niece on the path to the dinosaur world.
“I wish you could have been there when I first appeared,” Sorrel continued as tears glistened in her dark brown eyes. “I guess it wasn’t meant to be, but your spirit will always live on in me and all those that you have touched both here and in our world. I love Hyacinth, she’s so sweet and nice. You would be proud of her. She made it to the northern land to find me, along with her new friend, Orchid. I met the pack of Utahraptors. They took care of me until Hyacinth came, just as they promised you they would. They were pretty cool.”
The young woman paused for a moment, a gentle breeze playfully teasing her short blond hair as if it were her great-aunt acknowledging her words. “I love you.”
The gray Apatosaururs smiled down at the young woman before leaning down to nuzzle her. Sorrel smiled back at the sauropod giving her head a hug.
“I love you too, Mother,” Hyacinth muttered, nuzzling the grave. “We’re going to the Great Valley just like you wanted us to.”
“So we’re finally going?” Orchid asked.
Sorrel nodded, turning to the purple Stegosaurus. “To the Great Valley.”
That’s the end of the Truth’s Exposed. I’m not sure when I’ll be posting book two, “Sincere Heart.” It’ll at least be a few months since I want to focus my energy on my originals. When I get going on it, it’s going to be so much fun. They’ll be a few twists and turns along with a couple more thinskins to meet.
Comments anytime are appreciated. Even if this book is finished, still comment on it if you would like. Fan art is also very welcomed. You can still submit characters too if you would like.
And one last thing, I have changed Digger’s underbelly to a light mauve color instead of cyan.
Happy Holidays to all and here’s to a Wonderful New Year filled with many more stories!
Kittybubbles =^..^=
