Win

Two silhouettes have been serenely seen side by side along the seashore of the Kela coast. The sun hadn’t even risen yet, giving the atmosphere some purple undertones and oddly cold vibes. Only a few seashells were scattered on the yet untouched sand. The air was fresh and quiet, as if critters were still asleep. Only the two of them were calmly stepping on the pristine sand from the previous tide.Crepin and Flurry were slowly walking in silence. Until.

“Remind me again why we have to go over there again ?” The taller one asked, with his low, gravelly voice. He tilted his head to the side to look at the other shadow next to his shoulder. As they were getting close to a huge, unusual rock formation that branched from the forest above the beach to the sea. Creating a sort of hollowed structure serving both as a roof and a wall. Hidden on some of the walls, we could notice some odd painted drawings our fellow protagonists weren’t used to seeing.

Flurry huffed, taking a deep breath in the cool morning air. The sand was soft beneath her feet, and the shadow of the large acrocanthosaurus provided much needed shade for the Albertosaurus. Even after all these years, she still preferred the coolness of winter to the sweltering heat of summer.

“A tapejara told us that it had spotted an oviraptor hanging around the area.” Flurry shook her head, allowing her long feathers to flop over themselves. “We need to check it out, and talk to them if possible.” Pausing for a moment, she inhaled deeply. As a tyrannosaurid, her species was known for having the best sense of smell on the island. “And one is here!” Flurry flicked her tail in excitement, before darting forward. She caught the scent- and she wasn’t going to let her quarry scurry away this time. The last few times she had attempted to track one down, they had always fled right before she approached. Well, not this time! 

“Hey careful, those can be nasty!” The big cream acrocanthosaurus replied, as a warning to the youngster. He clearly remembered the last time he saw one, maybe it wasn’t really smart of him to surprise one with a cluster of grapes in his mouth as a peace offering. He clearly had the big lap dog complex, never taking into consideration his impressive stature.

He shook his back with a rumbling sigh, reasoning from his throat to his chest. Crepin was asked to protect the little one and would definitely not let her meet these cackling chickens alone, so he sped up the speed to catch up.

That’s when he noticed a striped figure moving through the arch’s holes, with something in its claws. The creature seemed confused at the sight of the Albertosaurus, dropping what they held in their claws as they turned around, ready to flee.

“We mean no harm !” Said Crepin, loud enough to be heard yet with a calming tone, a weird combo the carnivore was apparently able to achieve with his big voice.

The oviraptor paused, looking back at them warily. Mostly black in color, multiple horizontal yellow stripes ran across its body, creating a complex pattern. Purple warpaint clung to one of its legs, painted in a pattern that resembled leaves. Flurry squinted. She swore she recognized this oviraptor from descriptions given by others… “Are you…Supernova?”

The oviraptor blinked again, stepping forward while looking around nervously. She slowly flexed her large claws, but seemed curious enough to approach. Flurry sighed a bit in relief. Good thing it was Supernova that they had run into. Past reports and encounters had said she was one of the friendlier oviraptors, and was very easily bribed with snacks of small creatures and fruits. Suddenly, Flurry panicked. They didn't have any snacks with them! Desperately, she looked over at the acrocanthosaurus at her side as she stepped forward to engage in conversation with the oviraptor. Hopefully he could find something while she distracted…

“Oh, right, food !” He remembered inside his head, the Tapejara had mentioned it to them before they left, but it totally slipped their minds. He slowly backed away to not scare the Oviraptor and turned around, thinking about what he could bring back. He could see, above the seashore, some colorful trees and bushes that could indicate food. But gathering such material was almost unknown to him. What if he brought back some poisonous berries? That would be the ultimate betrayal. On the other hand, the Kela coast was also known for its abundance of fish and sea creatures, and this was something he was much more familiar with. 

The beast ran to the water until half of his body was submerged and became a statue, scanning the environment and ready to spot any movement. He could hear Flurry and the Ovi having a conversation in the background, things were going fine. Ha! A fish! Crepin plunged his head into the water and bit it's slippery body. His face got out of the water with a laugh, and he turned around to face them.

“You hungry, friend ?” The tall Acrocanthosaurus asked loudly with the huge fish in his mouth. He could see the sparkles in the Oviraptor’s eyes from that far at the sight of such a massive dinner. Crepin walked out of the water and shook his shoulders and tail, making his feathers rustle and spraying water all around him. He then trotted his way back to the two and lowered his head before dropping his trophy in front of their new friend.

Supernova walked forwards towards the fish, sniffing it before grabbing it gleefully in its claws. “A swimming creature!” She marveled. “I have never had one of these before… I shall tell you what you want to know. After I finish this.” 

Flurry turned to beam at Crepin, tail swishing through the sand happily. She had succeeded in her mission- who knew if the oviraptor would give them anything useful, but a win is a win!