Woof, Woof!

Macaw had been one of the first oviraptors to hatch on the surface, rather than the tunnels and jungles beneath the islands. And he loved the feeling of sunlight on this scales, and kicking up sand on the beach…

But, like all hatchlings, curiosity was a far stronger motivator than satisfaction with the status quo.

The rest of the flock didn’t want him going underground, of course. It was too dangerous, the plants too unruly, the euoplocephalus too ornery. Macaw took all of this as a challenge, and a rule: if he wanted to get into Atlantis, he would need to do it alone, and in secret.

And, like all hatchlings, he was all too talented at sneaking off and getting into trouble.

The tunnel leading to Atlantis was long, but the creatures swimming around him and the explosive colors of the corals kept him entertained through his journey.

When he finally made it, he ran around with a strong spring in his step, overwhelmed by all the new sights and smells around him. Tangled up in the roots of trees were long-abandoned cables and wiring, and somewhere in the distance he heard fans buzzing to give the place an artificial wind. And the plants! Were these the mature versions of the seedlings his flock was planting? They were so unbelievably tall and sprawling that the thought of them existing overground made his head hurt.

He wove his way between towering trees, seeking anything exciting he could find. He ended up following a trail of cables that was mostly intact, unlike the others that had been torn apart by overgrown foliage. Electronics always led to something interesting.

It led him to a piece of paneling that had fallen from a wall. The device itself was a long tray, covered in raised bumps about the size of Macaw’s toes. Each bump had a little glyph painted on it. Curious, Macaw pressed one down…

C.

He flinched at the noise. It seemed to come from everywhere, echoing over the trees and against the high walls of Atlantis. He tentatively pressed the button again.

C.

Was it the button that caused it to make that noise? Knowing that it wasn’t the call of a hungry predator, Macaw fully embraced the chaotic potential of the device.

C.

A.

N.

I.

I.

I.

I.

I.

“What’re you doing over there, kid?”

Macaw jumped at the sudden voice. Lumbering towards him was an absolute tank of an herbivore, covered in thick spikes and ashen feathers. Some may have found the beast intimidating, but Macaw was covered in spikes himself, and was too excited over his new toy to think very hard about the thick club at the end of the euoplocephalus’s tail.

I.

“Found an old soundboard, huh?” The euoplocephalus stepped closer and peered down at it with his beady little eyes. “I can never do much with them because my feet would crush it before it could make a sound. But you’re got the perfect tiny toes for it.”

Macaw regarded his white toes with renewed interest. He was so small that his flock seemed to find him a hindrance more often than not, a baby in need of a sitter—which meant they would have to assign someone to keeping an eye on him, rather than their important gardening work. He’d never thought his size would actually be useful for anything other than running away and hiding.

“Here, try… this one.” Very carefully, the euoplocephalus pointed out a certain button with his head. Macaw pressed it down with his toe.

Woof!

It barked!

Macaw grinned wide as he hit the button several more times.

Woof!

Woof!

Woof!

The euoplocephalus laughed. “See the symbol they’ve drawn on it?”

Macaw studied it. It was like… A misshapen egg, a normal one, and a weird-looking leaf.

“It says ‘dog’. Get it? D-O-G. Dog. So it barks like a dog.”

He knew how to read! Macaw had heard that humans had used special symbols to convey meaning—his flock had used paint to make their own special signs—but he’d never met a dinosaur that could read the original, human-made letters.

“And we can use the individual letters to make bigger words, too… what’s your name, little guy?”

Macaw’s tail drooped. He wasn’t very good at telling people what his name was, on account of not speaking.

“Well, that’s okay. Why don’t we use my name instead? Lobo. L-O-B-O. Here, let’s find the ‘L’ first…”

Macaw followed his instructions carefully.

L.

O.

B.

O.

A thought occurred to him. If other dinosaurs knew how to read, how to make words out of little shapes… He could talk without having a voice at all!

He eagerly repeated the process with Lobo, learning different words and letters. By the end, his head was swimming with them like a bowl of alphabet soup. He was sure he’d forget most of it in an hour, but it was a strong starting point.

Somewhere off in the distance, there was a loud and steady thudding, like another creature approaching…

“I think it’s your time to go, little fella. Don’t want anyone cranky to find you having fun down here.” He nudged Macaw away from the delightful soundboard, and Macaw pressed his beak into the soft feathers of his face. “Study hard! Maybe one day you’ll be able to read as well as old Lobo here.”

Macaw nodded vigorously. Yes, he would study hard! And then he could teach everyone else, for once!

Shaking with excitement, Macaw ran off back the way he came, leaving Lobo and the soundboard to the depths of Atlantis. Someday, he’d come back, and show Lobo all he’d learned.