[Gift] To Catch a Coconut by the Tree

A few seasons went by while the trio of styracosaurus juveniles continued to hatch their coconut plans. Custard and Moosetracks were seen grazing together. The two had become rather fond of one another over the seasons’ passings. Even Fudge had learned to accept Custard and didn't seem to mind how much time he was spending with his half sister. The brothers seemed a little closer these days and didn't really act as rivals. Here it seemed more like the two were close brothers who would practice in time for their real rivals. While these two didn't know it, yet, they would soon become rivals and fight for different females when building their herds. 

For now the three styracosaurus were plotting to execute their coconut plans. It was time they brought food to the table for their familial herd. Fudge approached the grazing pair with a big dino-smile on his beaked face. “Are you two ready to carry out our plans and grab some coconuts for the family?”

Moosetracks lifted her head and chewed through the grasses that were within her mouth before speaking. “Do you really think we could still pull it off? I'm sure now that we're older and bigger, the journey down to the beach shouldn't take too long.”

Custer snorted before lifting his striped face to join in on the conversation. “Oh yes… the journey should only take a few hours now. I'm sure we can return before nightful if we leave in the morning.”

Fudge pawed at the ground thinking about their plan and he suddenly thought of a new idea given their larger sizes. “Another thing, shaking the trees shouldn't be that much harder to do now, either. Since we are juveniles, we should be able to just bash our heads into the trunks of the trees.”

“We're still going to need a net to catch them all.” Moosetracks pointed out. “Even then, we should be careful we don't bash the tree into the ground. I'm sure we can still handle being careful of the environment, while being able to collect those coconuts for our herd.”

Custard nodded his head and glanced up at the sky. “We should get ready to get going. Nightfall will start soon and we need to be ready to leave early if we want to make our nets in the forest before we hit the beach.”

Just as he said, nightfall was coming fast. The three juveniles found themselves a safe place to rest. The three of them chose to handle up together against some rock like they always did as hatchlings. It was sad to think that this closeness and friendship would never last forever. Someday each of them was bound to separate from this starter herd.

By early the next morning, the trio had set out and made way for the Kela Forests that surrounded their highland home. The trees were thick and dense, but just as was predicted the trees were covered in various vines and plants that could be used to make sturdy nets. 

Custard, Fudge, and Moosetracks all stopped and gathered the material from the trees. They were determined to make these nets for collecting the coconuts. Fudge would tear the vines out of the trees while Custard worked to make sure they were spun into a proper thread-like material for Moosetracks to weave. The process didn't take long and soon, they each had three nets. The Styracosaurus trio packed up their nets and continued on down to the Isla Kela beaches where coconuts would soon be waiting for them to collect.

Once the trio of styracosaurus had left the forest and made it to the beach, they searched for palm trees; the trees where the coconuts were said to grow on. Custard was able to locate a cluster of trees just down from where they had exited the forest. Each juvenile placed their net at the bottom of each of the trees. 

Afterwards, they would each circle a singular tree and take turns rhythmically bashing their crests into the tree. This sort of headbutting technique was quite good at shaking fruit from the trees without causing damage or knocking the tree over flat. Fudge would start, then be followed by Custard, who was followed by Moosetracks back to the beginning with Fudge. Each round of their bashing sent a Coconut falling from the tree. This process was repeated on each palm tree in the trio cluster. 

Soon each of the nets held three coconuts each. This meant they had collected nine in total. Fudge wondered if this would be enough for their parents, which were four different adult styracosaurus dinosaurs: Fijiila, Lotus, Noir, and Zeus. “Maybe, we should find more trees.” He suggested it to his half sibling, Fudge.

Fudge nodded in agreement before saying, “I think you're right. I thought I saw another cluster just south west of us. We still have plenty of time to collect the coconuts and make it back home before dark.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Questioned Moosetracks. “We should head down there now and grab some more!” She excitedly grabbed her net of three coconuts and jogged down the beach to the next cluster of trees. Custard and Fudge soon followed after her, carrying their own load of three coconuts in their own nets. The trio of juvenile styracosaurus made it to the next set of trees. They repeated their process of laying down their nets at each tree and taking rhythmic turns of bashing into each palm tree and collecting additional coconuts. 

Once everything was said and done, they had collected a total of eighteen coconuts for their parents as a surprise. Boy, were they just ecstatic to see how their parents would react when these three juveniles were the ones to bring home the food. It felt mighty good to finally be the ones to provide for those who provided for them for their whole lives to this point. Each net was tied up into a sack and carried in each of their mouths. Each net contained six green husked coconuts from the palm trees on the northern Kela beach. Custard lead the way back through the Kela forest with Fudge following him and Moosetracks bringing up the rear. They headed back south towards the Kela Highlands, where the herd would be waiting for their return. 

The trek back up the hill was harder than going down, especially with their load of coconuts, but they managed to make it back up to the top and excitedly jogged to where their parents were clustered. Custard, Fudge, and Moosetracks all took turns dropping their net and biting it open to release the coconuts. Noir and Zeus looked mighty proud of their children as they both collected five coconuts each. Fijiila and Lotus were happy enough to share the remaining eight. Each coconut was still covered in a smooth and tough green husk. This husk, however, wasn't difficult for their beaked mouths to break or chomp on and was actually quite nutritious for them to ingest. The juvenile trio beamed with pride watching as each of their parents enjoyed and shared their bountiful coconuts. It sure felt great to put food on the table for once.