[Event] Scene of the Crime

“C’mon Cav!” Corax called back over his shoulder, pausing to wait for his friend. Several paces behind lumbered a truly intimidating form. Cavalli was huge. Like really huge. Corax barely came up to the other male’s shoulder, and with the armor plating, Cavalli looked like something out of a hatchling’s worst nightmare. He wasn’t, Cavalli was probably one of the sweetest dinos that Corax knew, but he sure did look the part. Between his dark feathers, red eyes, and ghostly pale face, Cavalli had earned his reputation on looks alone.

Corax knew Cavalli didn’t move very fast more often than not. The same plates that made him so formidable—that made even bigger carnivores think twice about coming to take their meals—also made him stiff and heavy. Cavalli moved carefully, always mindful of his size. Always mindful of his appearance. Normally, Corax didn’t mind how slow Cavalli moved, but today was different! There were rumors of strangers on the island, and some said they’d been seen at the rainbow caves. No one could answer who the strangers were or what they were. It was such a mystery, an adventure. If they didn’t hurry, they might miss them entirely. Corax bounced from foot to foot as Cavalli took each slow, careful, plodding step. It was like watching grass grow.

“I’m coming…” Cavalli rumbled, finally catching up.

Corax had to stop himself from bolting ahead again. They were so close. They were almost there. He took a deep breath and let it out. Patience. Cavalli was always telling him to be patient. He could be. He could totally be patient. It really didn’t take that long. Cavalli had long strides and he really wasn’t that slow. Corax wished he could make himself believe that.

“Are you sure it’s a good idea for me to come?” Cavalli was always worried about things like that. Corax knew it was because of all the stories folks had told about Cavalli, but how was he going to beat the allegations of being a big spooky meanie if he stayed away from folks and acted like a big spooky meanie?

“Of course!” Corax chirped, bumping his muzzle against one of Cavalli’s shoulder plates. “Who better to convince that you’re a nice guy than strangers who haven’t heard about you yet?”

Cavalli looked away and began walking. “If you say so.”

“I do, it’ll be great. We’re almost to the rainbow caves, c’mon.”

“Good, I am ready to stop walking.”

Corax sighed softly, but tried not to judge the other male. After all, Corax was considerably smaller than his friend, and he wasn’t lugging around huge plates. “Just a little further ahead. Look, see, those rocks there are shiny! Besides, you could probably soak in the water while I look around.” He gestured to a small pile of rocks, likely pulled from further ahead for someone’s collection. Or maybe those were the discards; it was impossible to know for sure. They all looked great to Corax. Maybe he’d take a rock home today for his collection.

“That sounds lovely.” Cavalli sighed wistfully, as if he was imagining just that.

Corax had to stop and wait for Cavalli three more times before they reached to cove. By that time, he was antsy. He really wished Cavalli would just hurry for once. He kept it together all the way there, to his credit. But man, it was excruciating.

He shifted from foot to foot as Cavalli sank down into the warm waters, sighing softly. Cavalli didn’t swim often either, his plates making him too heavy to go too deep. Lucky for Cavalli, he didn’t need to swim often. As Cavalli slowly listed to one side, Corax finally lost patience. “Ok, I’ll see you later, Cav. Enjoy your soak!”

Cavalli rumbled something unintelligible, his eyes closed and head propped up on a rock. It sounded vaguely like well wishes.

Corax bolted without a glance back. Cavalli would be fine. No one would mess with him. Plus, what if Corax had missed the strangers? What if someone else had met them? What if someone else had scared them off? He was so worried about the strangers that he almost didn’t notice the changes to the cove itself. He stopped when it finally hit him. Literally. A tangle of vines smacked him in the face wetly, making him gag from the awful smell. He pulled away, shaking his head and scrubbing at his face. What were those? He didn’t remember those the last time he was here.

As he pulled back and away, he looked around. Vines covered almost every surface. Odd flowers bloomed on almost all of the nasty-smelling vines. They looked almost familiar, but the wrong color. Rather than the orange tubes he was used to, they were white with a reddish-purple inside. He knew it hadn’t been like this last time. He shook his head snorting as the smell assaulted him again. Where did those come from? He’d been all over the island, and he’d never seen those before. He would remember that smell. It smelled like what came out the backend of a herbivore. As he backed away from the foul-smelling vines, his foot tangled in more strange vines. Pain seared through his leg as thorns bit into the softer parts of his foot, and he jerked away with a shriek.

He didn’t recognize those either. What were those?! Why were the thorns so long?! He stepped away tenderly with a whimper. Why were all these plants here? Where had they come from? Had the strangers brought them? If so, why? There were so many and they were all horrible.

“Cor?!” Cavalli rumbled, his tone slightly high with worry. Not that his voice could ever be described as 'high'. The other male came around the corner in a trot, looking as if he were ready for a fight. He stopped when he only saw Corax, standing in the middle of the overgrowth. His head tilted in confusion. “What happened?”

“There’s weird plants everywhere, and I stepped on one with huge thorns.” Corax whined as he limped over to Cavalli. “Now my foot hurts. Like really bad.” In fact, it burned, as if he'd stepped on a hot rock.

“Let me see. One may have gotten stuck.”

“Okay…” Corax didn’t think one had gotten stuck, his foot just felt really hot. 

Cavalli poked around his foot anyway, but eventually lifted his head with a shake. “I don’t see anything.”

“I just wanted to see the strangers.”

“I know.” Cavalli bumped his muzzle against Corax’s shoulder.

Corax returned the gesture dejectedly.

“Come soak in the water with me; it might help your foot.” Cavalli said as he began to head back for the shallow pool. "It helped me."

“Sure, I guess.” Corax mumbled as he limped after the bigger male. He hadn’t even gotten to see one clue about what the strangers were. Stupid plants.

"We can look around after a break. We should make sure you can make it home." Cavalli said quietly, looking back at the vines. "I don't recognize those."

"Me neither. Do you think the strangers brought them?"

"Maybe, but I can't imagine why." Cavalli shook his head. "Food?"

"The purple flowers smell like Styraco dung." Corax stuck out his tongue. "I can't imagine why anyone would want to eat that." 

"Maybe it smells better to them. We don't eat plants."

"No, but other plants smell fine!" Corax argued as he limped into the water. "Those are awful."

Cavalli chuckled quietly. "I'll take your word for it."

"Good! Don't go over there! It's not worth it!" 

"I am not leaving." Cavalli said as he lowered himself down into the water. "I don't think there is anyone here but us anyway."

Corax whined softly. This whole trip had been for nothing and now his foot hurt too.