Peaches

“Shelly, careful! These plants need full sun to grow properly. Don’t put them too close to the trees.”

“Sorry, Vee!”

Macaw sat restlessly as his chaperones went about their work. He felt that much of his life had involved watching other oviraptors have all the fun while he was stuck on the sidelines. He loved seeing new places and faces and the traveling of course, but it was like he was only an observer, and not a real member of the flock. And Macaw may have been little, one of the youngest oviraptors around, but he could still be useful! And he was going to prove it.

A determined grin on his face, Macaw stood up from the patch of grass he’d been told to stay in. Shelly and Vee were very wrapped up in their planting, so it wasn’t difficult to slip away unnoticed.

As to how he would prove his capabilities… He had an idea. An old (and large) friend that could help him find something he could use. Last time he’d seen Fainel, it had been by chance, when he’d wandered away from a different babysitter. But it couldn’t be so hard to find a cryolophosaurus. Macaw believed in himself.

…Of course, the world was a big place. Macaw’s whole world was a pair of islands, yet there were plenty of ways to get lost, especially as a young oviraptor. Weird patches of moss grew on the sides of trees, begging him to take a curious bite; cool bugs scuttled over rocks; and birds sang lovely songs in the branches above.

So, in the end, it was Fainel who found him.

“Macaw?”

He looked up at her from his spot on the ground, where he’d found some particularly sweet-smelling grass to roll around in.

“Hello again. You remember me, don’t you?”

Macaw nodded as he sprang to his feet, shaking off stray pieces of grass.

“Did you get lost again?”

Macaw used his hands to mime picking something off of a tall surface and putting it in his mouth. Fainel thought for a moment, then said, “Oh, you’re hungry again? Do you want to find some more fruit to eat?”

He hopped around excitedly.

Fainel sighed. “You can’t just come running to me whenever you want food… But since you’re here, I guess we may as well before I bring you back to your flock again.”

Everything was going to plan. Together, they went into the woods to find more fruit trees. It wasn’t long until the lush scent of ripe fruit reached Macaw’s nose, and he rushed ahead. He heard Fainel laughing behind him. He found some strange, fuzzy fruits on the ground, but they smelled… not very good. And there were ants crawling over them.

“Looks like these peaches have fallen off already.” She saw how Macaw’s nose wrinkled up in distaste when he nibbled one of them. “I guess eating grounded fruit is like eating carrion? You would rather eat something fresh, right?”

Macaw looked up at her and nodded.

“Well, good thing the tree is right over here.”

He whipped around in amazement, and yes! There was! A tree full of plump red fruit! Fainel went towards it to rip off a branch, like she’d done with the apples before, but he scratched at her ankles and made her pause. He held up one of his long fingers.

“You only want one this time? Okay then, just pick one off of the branch. We can keep the rest of them fresh.”

Just as he’d planned, he took a single peach in his mouth and started back towards Shelly and Vee. He was reasonably sure he knew where they were, if he backtracked from where Fainel had found him. This time, she followed him, keeping watch to make sure nothing was out to get him. He appreciated her help; maybe the others would find her useful, too?

Soon (thanks to Fainel’s tracking skills, more than anything) they came across the clearing where Vee and Shelly were. They were going about their business, as usual… did they not notice he was missing? Or did they not care? Macaw watched them digging, planting, having fun. Working as a team.

“They don’t let you help with the seeds, huh?”

Macaw shook his head.

“Is that why you wanted the peach? To show them you can be helpful, too?”

He nodded, slowly. It made him feel silly, having to prove himself at all. Everyone else always knew exactly what was going on, exactly what to do… Macaw didn’t, but that wasn’t his fault! No one ever told him anything!

Gently, Fainel rubbed her cheek against his flank. “Come on. We’ll show them just how clever you are.”

Reinvigorated, Macaw sprang out of the woods and bolted for his would-be caretakers. Fainel wasn’t far behind. The gardeners’ heads snapped up as they heard them approach, and in an instant Shelly was at Macaw’s side.

“Macaw! There you are!” She wrapped him up in her wings and checked him over, and to her relief, she found no scrapes or clinging ticks. “Goodness, I’m so sorry!” she said, looking up at Fainel. “We should have been keeping a closer eye on him. Thank you for bringing him back to us.”

“You don’t need to thank me, it’s the least I could do.”

Macaw wriggled out of Shelly’s grip and showed Vee the fuzzy peach in his beak.

“What’s this?” He gave it a sniff, and his eyes went wide. “Oooh, that smells tasty! Thanks, little buddy.” He handed it off to her, and she eagerly began chewing.

“Um, Vee, should we really be encouraging him to wander away…”

“Relax, Shelly, it’s fine.” He licked his lips. “Where’d you find that fuzzy fruit?”

Macaw’s tail wagged and he hopped towards the woods. Fainel laughed softly. “Macaw knows the way. And I could help you pick the ripe ones off of the branches so you won’t have to eat the rotten ones on the ground.”

“Sounds good to me! Come on, Shelly, let’s get ourselves a snack before we keep working.”

Macaw nibbled at Fainel’s ankle to remind her of the rest of their plan.

“Oh! Right. When you’re done eating, could you show us how to plant those seeds you have with you?”

“I don’t think we should-”

“Sure!” Vee said, stepping ahead of Fainel and Macaw. “As long as you get us plenty of those…”

“Peaches.”

“Yes! Those peaches! Let’s go!”

Macaw proudly led the way back to the peach tree, knowing that both him and his feathered friend would learn plenty in exchange.