Unorganized Chaos (+ Karma)

                “I don’t think she’s coming back.”

                Apocrypha frowned at the words Kallista spoke.

                Before the pair of dinos were various fruits and a small amount of fish, laid out carefully on banana leaves to keep the food clean and free of dirt. They had been told to meet Pokie back in that same spot they’d met her originally in two days time, and time was up. If she was going to show up, the pair of females wanted to at least make sure there was food to be had.

                But they had been sitting there all day. Apocrypha considered tossing the fish out, leaving meat out in the sun all day wasn’t good. It would spoil fast and she didn’t want to be giving their new friends any sort of food sickness due to rotten meat. Sunrise turned to midday, and midday turned to sunset. And no matter what Kallista said, no matter what she initially thought, Apocrypha could still FEEL it. What was ‘it’? She wasn’t sure, but she didn’t feel like there was any bad news. There was only good, but they needed to wait.

                “We should go and see what other oviraptors we can find. Maybe get some more favor with them and then Pokie will come back-“ Kallista started, cutting herself off and turned her head quickly when she heard something walking through the underbrush near them, getting closer.

                Both listened carefully, and Apocrypha could’ve swore she heard two sets of footsteps. One was sure, confident. The other was…

                She closed her eyes and focused. The second set was quicker, nervous. It wasn’t Paradise she was hearing. His footsteps were quick, yes, but confident and scattered. There was no rhyme or reason. But this one had consideration.

                “This looks delicious!”

                Kallista and Apocrypha looked down as Pokie stepped out of the bushes and saw all the food that was scattered out before them. Beside her was a brown oviraptor, male, with brilliant orange splotches on his crest and hips. The spikes that went up his neck and curved gently towards his crest at the top of his head made Kallista think of a crown. He didn’t say anything as he stopped beside Poke and looked the food over, then looked the Alberto and Tropeo over.

                Apocrypha couldn’t help but enjoy the look of his hide. Brown with fading blue on his rump, tailtip, and toes. Darker brown blotches marked his body and face, giving him a beautiful contrast in her opinion.

                “Thank you. We figured we should get you actual food, not just berries that our son decided to smash. And then for you, we got a few fish, it was the freshest thing we could get.” Apocrypha said and smiled as she bowed her head to nudge the fish towards Pokie before looking back up and looked at the other Oviraptor.

                “It’s very much appreciated. We’ve been running around all day. But, to business,” Pokie said and settled down on the other side of the leaves with her friend. She picked at the fish first, however. Picking one up into her mouth and swallowed it whole as she tilted her head up, closing her eyes and smiled, “The fish around here tastes incredible. But! This is my friend, Lockjaw. I spoke with Paradise. He confirmed how you and Kallista could be trusted. I have an idea of how this is going to go, so I brought Lockjaw with me to answer any questions you all may have over the next few days.” Pokie said.

                Lockjaw had been glancing over the fruits they had on offer and had settled on a melon, bringing it closer to himself and had carefully cracked it open to start slicing up the insides. As soon as Pokie started to talk about him, his eyes shot back up to the other two and he smiled a little, “What she means is, she hunted me down and determined I wasn’t doing a bunch and then told me that I would be here babysitting you two while I show you how to plant and grow your own crops.”

                Kallista tilted her head, furrowing her brows before looking over at Apocrypha and then back at Lockjaw.

                “A few days? Planting and growing our own stuff? What? Are you going to tell us where you’re all coming from yet? Or are you going to make us just do arts and crafts with plants?” Kallista asked, confused with what was happening. She expected answers! Not homework.

                “Look. You and Apocrypha? Nice. I have no issues with either of you. However! I want to make sure I am telling the right people the right things. If you can correctly plant some of the seeds we have and Lockjaw can confirm they are sprouting, I will consider telling you more.” Pokie said and smiled.

                “If it makes you feel any better, you’re not the only ones that Pokie has going through random trials. I wouldn’t really prefer this method either, but here we are. But I have hope in you both, these fruits that you’ve gathered are good. You have an eye for ripe fruit and good food. And you,” Lockjaw said, pointing to Apocrypha, “feel…calm. Plants love that. I can’t explain it. But plants do best with calm individuals, or people that talk to them often. Do either of you talk to plants?” Lockjaw asked and cocked his head to the side.

                Kallista couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Did they talk to plants? Pokie was just nodding along, as if talking to plants was a normal thing to do, part of life. She looked over at Apocrypha and saw her simply smiling.

                “I speak with the local wildlife and plants all the time. They have a lot to say, you just have to listen.” Apocrypha said and smiled. Lockjaw smiled, clicking his tongue as he aimed a finger-gun at her then looked over at Pokie.

                “I’ll take it from here, Poke. When are you coming back?” Lockjaw asked.

                “Two more days. I’ll be back in two days and then you’ll tell me everything that happened. We’ll figure out what to do from there.” Pokie said, getting back to her feet and snatched up the other fish that had still be sitting on display and smiled at Apocrypha and Kallista, “Be good.” She said and smiled, winking before running off.

                “Right! So, tomorrow we will get started. You don’t need to bring anything but yourselves. I’ll bring the seeds we need. Meet me back here bright and early!” Lockjaw said and smiled, snatching up the melon before him before running off without another word.

                Kallista watched him go, slowly blinking as she turned her head to look at Apocrypha. “These things are as scatter brained as they come. They just leave you without even saying goodbye or giving you the chance to reply. They just run off!” Kallista said, waving her wing-arm off to where Lockjaw had run to.

                “Patience, Kalli. We’re making progress. Good progress.” Apocrypha said and smiled.

                “Are we? Because I feel like they’re just training us on how to do their jobs. What if they’re the problem but they seem so harmless that no one expects them to be the problem.” Kallista snorted.

                “You mean to tell me that Paradise is an evil genius?” Apocrypha asked and smirked as she stood up, Kallista getting up as well and flying up to land on her back.

                “No. But…I don’t like it.” Kallista muttered as they started to walk, heading into the trees so they could make it back to their temporary nest nearby to get settled in for the night.

                “It is odd. But I have faith it will all be fine in the end.”

                Kallista just frowned, sincerely hoping that Apocrypha was correct.