Picky Eater

Fainel didn’t have as negative of an opinion on the oviraptors as some of the other inhabitants of the islands. She had no idea why they’d stayed hidden for so long, but maybe it was for good reason. They could have been trapped until recently, or were worried the larger dinosaurs would attack them—something that was, unfortunately, proving true. Either way, she didn’t regard them with suspicion, but compassion.

So when she came across a single oviraptor, hardly bigger than a dog, she was worried for him more than herself. She’d seen oviraptors around before, even made pleasant conversation with them, but she’d never seen just one at a time. They always traveled in pairs, at least, or in packs with a clawful of members. And this one was only a hatchling! He was chasing after butterflies in the meadow and hadn’t even noticed her approaching.

“Excuse me,” she said softly, not wanting to startle him. “Are you lost? Is your pack nearby?”

The oviraptor reared up and regarded her with his big, red eyes, but he didn’t say anything. But she did hear the growl of a hungry little stomach.

Fainel looked around again; no oviraptors in sight. “Poor thing, you’re hungry! Why don’t we find you something to eat?”

He swished his tail, once, then trotted over to her side. Fainel led him towards the treeline, to keep him hidden from any other carnivores about. And maybe something there would be able to fill his stomach. What did oviraptors eat, anyway? Utahraptors were carnivores, but the ovi’s hard beak reminded her of a styracosaurus, and they were plant-eaters.

“What are you hungry for, little one?”

The ovi cocked his head, deep in thought. Then he ran to a nearby tree and put his arms against it, scratching his claws against the bark.

“Oh, do you want leaves?” Fainel walked over and took a branch in her jaws. It wasn’t an action she was used to, but with some effort she managed to pull its end down to ground level so the ovi could sniff at it.

He dug his head into the branches, prying them apart with his long fingers. It was like he was looking for something. But evidently, he didn’t find it, because when he stepped out from the leaves he looked up at her and shook his head.

“No?” Fainel struggled to speak with the branch in her mouth. She eased it back up so it wouldn’t smack either of them in the face. So he wasn’t hungry for leaves, but he wanted something out of a tree…

“Fruit! Are you hoping to find fruit in these trees?”

His face lit up and his tail wagged like a puppy.

“Okay, fruit it is!” Fainel scoured her memory for any fruit trees she’d seen in the area. “Come on, I think there’s an apple tree this way!”

She broke into a light jog, and the oviraptor ran to keep up with her. He was so excited that he didn’t seem to mind the exertion. It took some time to find it, but eventually they arrived at the apple tree. Among the green leaves were bright bundles of red fruits. The oviraptor was salivating just looking at them. Once again, Fainel pulled a branch down, letting him pick an apple in his beak. He hopped excitedly to the foot of another tree, where he laid down and began chewing away. This time, Fainel ripped off the whole branch. It would save her (and her jaw) some trouble if he was still hungry.

“How does it taste?”

The oviraptor’s tail slapped the ground in satisfied wags. Fainel accepted that as an enthusiastic compliment to her fruit-finding skills. And thank goodness, finding plants wasn’t something she usually worried about…

“Macaaaaw!” Came a voice from the undergrowth. “Where are you?”

The ovi perked up, though he, as usual, didn’t answer. He gave her a look like he was willing her to be quiet.

The other voice groaned in frustration. “Come on, come out already! Oh, Mischief is going to kill me…”

Leaves rustled as the hatchling wiggled, which Fainel supposed was a wordless laugh.

“Are you Macaw?” she whispered to him.

He nodded, but then he dipped his head down and nibbled quietly. Like he was hiding.

Whoever was looking for Macaw clearly knew him—otherwise, there was no way he would know Macaw’s name, since he wasn’t very talkative. It was probably another oviraptor. Fainel weighed her options, deciding she’d rather disappoint the hatchling than make his family worry.

“Hello!” she called out. “Macaw is here! He’s safe!”

Just as she thought, it was another oviraptor that came out of the bracken. This one was dark, with a large feathered crest, but he wasn’t much bigger than Macaw. When he came into sight, he hardly seemed to notice Fainel, which was proving to be a trend with young oviraptors.

“There you are!” He stomped over to Macaw and headbutted him, in a rough, playful way rather than truly aggressive. “Where have you been? I’ve been looking all over!”

Macaw stuck out his dark tongue and continued to eat his apple.

“I found him not too far from here, in the meadow,” Fainel explained. The newcomer’s head snapped up. Had he really not seen her? She was the one that called out to him to begin with…

He narrowed his eyes, watching her with some suspicion. “And why did you bring him here?”

“I was worried he was lost. It’s not safe for a little hatchling to be out all by themselves.” She looked at Macaw, who was still happily munching away. “Although, if he said you were looking for him, I wouldn’t have led him away. I could have kept an eye on him there.”

“That’s our Macaw,” said the newcomer. “Not much of a talker, no sir! Hey, where’d you get that apple?”

“Do you want one? The branch is over there.” She pointed with her snout to grounded branch, still laden with a dozen fruits.

The newcomer stared, licking his lips noisily. “Thank you very much!”

He went over and loaded up his arms with apples. More than she expected he’d be able to eat in one sitting, but hopefully he knew to save them for later and to not eat them all immediately.

“You’re welcome…” she trailed off, hoping for him to finish for her.

It took him a few seconds to realize what she was doing. “Bowie!” He turned to Macaw. “Come on, we should get going. Mischief wants us back by sunhigh, remember?”

Macaw spat out the seeds of his apple, set the core at Fainel’s feet, and stood tall and ready to set out. Bowie handed him a few of the apples so he couldn’t have to carry them all. With a confirmation that neither of them were overloaded, the pair were off.

“Thank you again for the apples!” Bowie called over his shoulder.

“Oh, it was nothing! Stay safe, you two!”

Fainel wondered where they were going, and why they were out on their own in the first place. But those were questions for another day. For now, she was happy to have gotten them a nice snack.