Push

According to Vanim, Kyrien was going through his “rebellious teen phase,” which Kyrien refused to acknowledge. As if Vanim would know anything about rebelliousness! The old man had never done anything interesting in his whole life. Kyrien knew it, the twins knew it, everyone knew it. The twins were more fun to play with, but they were constantly exploding with enthusiasm; Frasil was too rough when they tussled and Fainel was always talking. Kyrien couldn’t stand it.

So he left. Not forever. Probably. He just wanted a moment to himself, away from Vanim’s nagging and his younger packmates’ unrelenting energy.

The days passed as Kyrien followed the river. He found its babbling comforting; he was never thirsty, it meant he had fish to eat if he was patient enough, and he could glance at his reflection whenever he pleased. Especially with only himself for company, he liked knowing that he was still the same dinosaur he’d been when he left home. He still had the white patches sporadically strewn over his scales like lumps of loose cotton, the same rainwater-blue eyes. And he still had his golden spots and crest.

He’d been fixated on that detail ever since he first saw himself. It stuck out to him, the same way Vanim’s silver stripes did. He may have inherited it from his father, whoever he was, but it was also uniquely his. He’d never met another dinosaur with those markings. And just recently, the colors had grown even bolder, and shone like miniature suns against the copper of his hide.

No one else in his pack seemed to understand what was so special about it, though. Fainel would gently point out that she didn’t look much like any of them, having taken on most of her appearance from her mother, and Frasil would laugh in his face for staring at himself so much. She’d say that if he spent any more time by the river, he’d drown.

But it wasn’t his fault that he was proud of his appearance. It was just that no one else truly appreciated it. Appreciated him.

Kyrien tore at the grass with a bit more force than necessary as he patted down a place to sleep. The river continued its winding way, heading down into more wooded land. He hadn’t spent much time outside of the plains; Vanim’s pale scales made it his favored habitat. But if he was branching out anyway, it wouldn’t hurt to explore the biome himself.

As he settled into sleep, he looked back upriver, and for just a moment he saw movement in the grass.

#

When Kyrien woke up, he went to the river for a drink. He looked up and saw a pair of emerald eyes staring back at him. His jaw went slack mid-gulp and he struggled to swallow properly. All the while, the other cryo sat and watched, head tilted at the slightest angle, like an uncertain bird.

“Hello?” Kyrien’s voice was a bit husky from the combination of just waking up and nearly choking.

“Hello,” the other cryo said. Her voice had a sweet trill to it, like a whistle. “I haven’t seen you around before.”

“I’m, um, not from around here. I’m from further upriver.”

She nodded, like she expected that answer. “I’m Jolene.”

“Kyrien.”

“Do you want me to show you around, Kyrien?” She nodded towards the woods.

Kyrien blinked at her. He’d come all this way to have time to himself, get away from all the clashing personalities at home. But there was something warm in Jolene’s eyes that made him want to say yes to her. So he did.

The newly-formed pair continued downriver. Despite being his guide, Jolene stayed close to Kyrien, rather than running ahead. Her soft voice narrated all of the sights they saw; she knew the names of all of the trees and flowers they passed, and could tell what animals had gone through the area based on marks in tree bark and tiny tracks on the ground.

Really, Kyrien didn’t care about any of that. But her voice was beautiful and melodic, and he couldn’t help himself but hang on every word. Maybe he’d been more lonely than he thought, walking on his own all that time.

“What’s your home like?” she asked after a while. “Oh, I’m sorry, you don’t have to answer. I was just curious.”

“It’s alright. My pack is just annoying.”

“Is that why you’re alone right now?”

Kyrien nodded. “I don’t think any of them really understand me.”

“That must be terrible. That’s why I like traveling by myself. I don’t have to answer to anyone.” She gave him an apologetic smile. “But walking with you isn’t so bad. I like your company.”

“…Yeah. Agreed.”

He had the sudden realization that maybe it was because he wasn’t blood-related to any of them. Vanim was Fainel and Frasil’s father, it made sense they they got along despite their differences. And what was he? Some orphan that Vanim had taken in on a whim.

But Jolene was all by herself, too. They had that in common.

“Is your den around here somewhere?”

Jolene laughed. “Den? I don’t have one. I’ll be on the other side of the island by tomorrow.”

“Really?”

“If I feel like it. I like to keep my options open. The cities are nice because of all of the open space; you’ll never get ambushed in a city. But the beaches smell very nice, and the mountain air makes your head feel fuzzy. I never stay in one place for too long.”

“That’s amazing.”

“Anyone can do it, if they’re brave enough to not depend on anyone but themselves.” Her voice had suddenly taken an edge to it; a challenge. “But I bet your family misses you. Maybe you should go back to them so they won’t have to worry anymore.”

Somewhere along the way, they’d both stopped walking. She stared him down like she was his prey, waiting for him to make a misstep and tumble right into her jaws.

Deep within him, Kyrien knew this was just what he needed. A final push into adulthood. Vanim had shown him great kindness in taking him in, but he didn’t belong with them anymore. He had his own life to live.

“I think they can manage without me.”

Jolene lifted her head, eyes sparkling. “Oh! In that case, there’s a herd of deer that likes to graze nearby…”

Kyrien followed her further into the woods, the river disappearing in their wake.