Goose Chase

The day was pleasant and warm, the perfect day for lazing about. This peace was quick to be broken by raucous Tapajara chattering.

“Mac! Mac! Have you heard? Have you seen? The Oviraptors!” An excitable grey Tapejara squawked, poking at the yellow Tapejara draped over tree branches beside her. Another tan Tapejara was perched to his other side, nudging him awake as well.

“Everyone’s talking about it! We should get in on this.” She chittered. Mac blearily opened his eyes opening his large beak with a yawn.

“Faire? Briar? What’s the fuss.” He mumbled with a shake of his head. Faire was bobbing on the spot, excitement poorly concealed.

“The Oviraptors have come out of hiding. Well, kind of. At the very least we know they have something to do with all this… weird plant stuff going on. But…”

“But they’re really shy and barely anyone’s had the chance to talk to them.” Briar interjected. “Faire and I were thinking we should get involved. I mean we can fly, they can’t. Surely they won’t be that hard to get answers out of?” She suggested. Mac clacked his beak thoughtfully, before bringing himself to his feet. He rubbed the sleep from his face and smiled.

“Yeah ok, sounds like fun to me. I can’t resist a little goose chase.” With that the girls cheered, raising their wings to take to the sky.

Signs of the Oviraptors were hard to miss. Plant life was growing wildly on the islands, and the forest the flock made their home in was no exception. Huge growths of strangling vines threatened to choke the life out of entire groves, and bizarre plant life they’d never seen before seemed to be popping up everywhere. Despite this, the trio were quick to discover that tracking the exact location of any Oviraptors proved difficult. The were small and light, rarely leaving behind footprints one could follow. Not to mention they seemed to prefer to stick to the underbrush, which was hard to see from up in the air. The feverish excitement from earlier had become swiftly replaced by disappointed frustration. Faire in particular was, as per usual, poor at hiding her feelings.

“I mean come on, how hard can it be. Why are they so damn secretive.” She cursed. Briar had been quiet and contemplative for most of their search, but finally spoke up.

“I have an idea. I know someone who might be able to help us. She’s good at this sort of thing.”

Mac and Faire were more than happy to take Briar’s lead, the younger Tapejara taking them to the edges of their forest. She trilled loudly, clearly expecting a response. And a response she got, a distant honk orienting the trio in the right direction. When they arrived at the source of the honk, they were met with a large brown Therizinosaurus sitting calmly in a clearing, watching rabbits feeding nearby. She looked up at the descending Tapejara and bowed her great neck down in greeting.

“Briar, my dear. It’s been a while.” She boomed deeply, yet softly. Briar smiled and ran up to the Therizino’s side, nibbling her plumage affectionately.

“Eri! Sorry I haven’t come and visited you sooner. These are two of my flockmates, Faire and MacMac.” She said, gesturing out a wing at her companions. Mac bowed his head back at Eri respectfully.

“But you can just call me Mac. Briar said you might be able to help us on our search.” He said, peeking up at her. Eri cocked her head, a trace of a smile past her beak.

“Oho, on a quest are we? What is it you’re looking for?” She asked, looking back down at Briar.

“You’ve heard about the Oviraptors I’m sure. We wanted to help track some down and maybe get some answers out of them, but they’re proving really elusive. You’re really good with shy animals though, so we hoped you might have some advice?” Eri rocked back on her haunches thoughtfully, casting a glance at the overgrown shrubbery around them. 

“Yes, I’ve heard of them. And I’ve certainly seen the chaos they’ve been sowing… er, pun unintended. I’ve yet to formally meet any, but I’ve seen them. Personally I think flying around the way you do is putting you at a disadvantage. They’re likely just to spook and hide the moment they see your shadow. Take a walk, I think a different perspective on the matter will surprise you. I would also suggest being mindful about how you approach trying to get answers from them. I suspect they’re not going to be the most forthcoming.” She suggested, gesturing at a gap in the bushes behind her. “Follow that path. It should be enlightening.” The Tapejara trio nodded and bowed in thanks, bounding off in the direction the shaggy behemoth had pointed them at.

“Thank you Eri. We’ll make sure Briar comes and visits you more, and I’m sure Mac and I would like to get to know you better when we’re not in such a hurry.” Faire called out as they left. Eri nodded slowly, waving them farewell as they disappeared into the bushes.

Just as Eri had suggested, a grounded approach was proving far more effective. They realised quickly they were following a game trail through the thicket left by none other than an Oviraptor, quickly proven by the fresh tracks and an occasional shed feather. This Oviraptor had clearly been busy, fresh earth overturned where they’d been planting more seeds. The trio were not particularly effective on the ground like they were in their air, but hurried their pace nonetheless to catch whoever was behind this. Suddenly they caught a glimpse of white and grey feathers, running quickly ahead of them. The Tapejara broke into a run, trying to chase down the Oviraptor. They were white and sparsely feathered, with purple marks on their tail and shoulders.

“Hey! Wait up! We just want to ask you some questions, please!” Called out Mac.

“We won’t hurt you! Please wait up!” Fair pleaded between strained pants.

“We won’t take much of your time, really!” Shouted Briar. But it was no use, their awkward pterosaur anatomy stood no chance at keeping pace with the gracile and nimble Oviraptor. 

“Stop stop stop. This isn’t gonna work, we need to take a different approach.” Mac panted, coming to a stop.

“What do you suggest we do? We’d be fast enough to catch them on the wing, but there’s no way we’ll be able to keep track of them.” Briar said with clear exasperation. Faire hummed, looking at the foliage around them.

“Well, I don’t know how clearly you two saw them. But from what I could see, they looked kind of thin. I wonder if they’re hungry.” She queried. Mac’s eyes widened, and he nodded along.

“Yeah, you’re right. Geez, I mean they’ve obviously been working really hard with all this… plant… stuff. Maybe they haven’t had enough time to eat properly.” 

“Eri did say they wouldn’t be forthcoming. Maybe if we offer them food, they’ll be willing to talk?” Briar suggested. Mac nodded again, crouched and ready for launch.

“I think we’re onto something. Let’s gather up some food and try again.”

The Tapejaras went to work quickly, flitting about and gathering as much food as they could. Thankfully many of the plants the Oviraptors had been planting seemed to bear fruit, including some the trio recognised. They gathered as many berries as they could fit in their beaks, before hunkering down next to the entrance of one of the game trails. They set most of the berries aside on a large round leaf. Stomachs were grumbling however, a long day of fruitless searching had worked up quite the appetite, and the trio couldn’t help themselves from snacking on a few. They laughed and sang as they recounted the day’s experience, and their jovial feast didn’t go unnoticed. The sound of crunching footsteps hushed the Tapejara, and they eyed the game trail expectantly. The Oviraptor they had been chasing earlier slowly and wearily revealed themselves, eyeing the platter of berries hungrily.

“I- erm… I don’t suppose… may I have a few? S-sorry for running earlier. Those just smell so good.” He asked nervously. Briar smiled and patted the ground next to her.

“Of course, there’s always room for one more. Come join us and have something to eat!” She crowed

“We’re sorry if we gave you a fright, we didn’t mean to!” Faire apologised.

“And perhaps while we eat we can have a little chat and get to know eachother a bit better?” Mac suggested. The Oviraptor nodded, nervously sitting himself down next to the Tapejara.

“Of course, that’d be nice I think. My name is Maol, pleasure to make your acquaintance. I uh… I heard you saying you had some questions when I was uhm… running from you. Let me answer some for you.”