Courtships

The trees seemed to sigh at night, exhaling at the end of the day and relaxing at the silence they could enjoy. Sure some of the island's denizens were more active at night, but by and large it was a more peaceful place, and it felt like even the less sentient organisms recognised that. The trees barely moved in the night air, letting their leaves flutter as they willed. Crickets rubbed their legs together to create the night chorus, singing back and forth as fi...

The blue-and-yellow crest on the female’s head bristled slightly. An electrifying shiver of excitement ran through her entire body. Wellspring pressed forward relentlessly, at a steady, measured pace – though it had to be said that this steadiness was difficult to maintain when her whole body was frantically straining to move forward. The female lowered her head, her attention drawn to a slightly bent, battered bush. It looked as though someone had inadvertently bumped into it with their ...

The wind gently, almost silently, moved the slender twigs. The trees, which only recently had been completely dormant in their winter slumber, were now slowly coming to life. The whole forest had changed beyond recognition, transforming from a gloomy, grey-brown place into a place brimming with life and energy. The spreading branches were now covered in green, lush buds, clearly signalling to everyone around that spring had arrived. Cinnamon was leaning against one of these trees brimm...

The sun was slowly rising above the horizon, casting a vivid orange glow over the whole archipelago. Half of this astronomical giant’s disc was already peeking out from behind the distant mountains, glowing like burning metal heated to a red-hot glow. Ignis leisurely preened his dark feathers, cleaning them, while gazing at this wonder of nature. The orange glow both calmed him and filled the male with new energy. It reminded him of a raging fire. Standing beside her partner, ...

“And that's how you escape a forest fire after an eruption,” Kamui finished sagely, nodding his head. He enjoyed relaying his wisdom to the youth of the colony, and did so every time he was asked to supervise a flying session with those just learning to use their wings. “That's cool, can we go fly now?” one of the assembled tropeognathus juveniles asked, their contemporaries shifting restlessly. ...

The sun slowly climbed into the sky, illuminating everything around it with its rays. The archipelago slowly came to life - birds began to sing, thick bushes shook with small mammals running around, insects of all kinds rose into the air in groups, even plants seemed to turn their leaves, chilled by the night, towards the sun. The new day also had an effect on the dinosaurs - especially the Sons of The Sun. The worshippers of the sun always woke up from their sleep as soon as the first rays o...

The warm rays of the sun reflected off the lazily rolling waves, creating shifting glints on their surface. The water near the shore was astonishingly clear, with a light, delicate blue colour – transparent enough to see the stone-strewn bottom without obstruction. Beneath the surface, numerous schools of small, silvery fish swam chaotically, changing direction with surprising speed whenever something disturbed them. Among them, much larger and more colourful fish appeared from time to time...

The branches of a still quite young, towering tree shook violently, rustling with leaf buds. Winter was slowly fading into oblivion, and nature was beginning to revive after a long period of capricious weather. However, it still had a lot of work to do. Among the branches covered with rough bark, other, much smoother, elongated structures were also visible - impressive blue-black claws. Contrary to expectations, these fearsome daggers did not belong to a predator. Quite the opposite - ...

The thick bushes, shrouded in darkness, moved slightly, echoing the movements of the animal hidden within them. The rustling of twigs and leaves carried through the cool, windless night, making the hair on the necks of all the small animals living in the immediate vicinity stand on end. What would happen if these sounds were the result of the actions of a bloodthirsty predator lying in wait for their lives? Fortunately, tonight was unlikely to end in bloodshed - at least, that was not ...

Charcoal inhaled the cold air, full of various scents. It was early morning, and the sun had barely appeared in the sky, timidly spreading its warm glow over the archipelago. The male, despite the rather gregarious nature of his species, was alone. This was not surprising - young males, upon reaching adulthood, could rarely count on the comfort of being a member of the herd. Energetic, adventure-seeking youngsters were usually exiled and banished until they were able to build their own herd....