[Collab] Making Friends

The tunnels beneath the sea were restricting, and it felt to Ikkuno like the walls were closing in on him at all times. The dark wasn’t an issue – actually, he rather liked the dark and found some sense of comfort in it. Mostly … it was the cold. The feeling of a chill nipping at his toes, the cold water of the sea above them and occasionally dripping down onto him, it threatened to fling his mind to the past, to dislodge memories he tried so hard to bury.

At least he had company. His mate walked at his side, so close that her feathers brushed against his side. Asmagosa spent most of the journey chatting with Snowshoe, a friend they’d made a while back. It was Snowshoe’s idea to bring the two of them to a place called Atlantis. Asmagosa’s curiosity didn’t let her say no, and Ikkuno refused to let her go alone, so there they were.

It seemed like forever that they were wandering around the caves, and it felt like with every breath Ikkuno could snap. But in the end he managed to hold himself together long enough to emerge from the tunnels into the very, very green world of Atlantis.

The growth of the plantlife within the dome was incredible! Flora the likes of which Ikkuno had never seen before sprouting all over the place and in so many colors. It was distracting, and it was so bright that the dark tabby raptor almost had to squint in the light.

“Whoa, this place is amazing!” Asmagosa commented in wonder as they were wandering through the jungle. She paused to lean in close to a strangely shaped flower, speaking to Snowshoe as she did. “This is where you’re from, Snowshoe?” She asked, sniffing the flower curiously. “The world above must look so drab compared to this.”

Ikkuno had to agree with that. He and his mate still didn’t really know a whole lot about why the oviraptors had suddenly appeared – only that they were scouts and they were on a mission – and it’s not like any of them were keen on sharing the finer details. They hadn’t even bothered to ask Snowshoe, who they assumed would just tell them the same vague things as all the others.

It was fine, though. Ikkuno was happy just to be friends with the brown oviraptor, and he had always figured that if it was important enough, Snowshoe would tell them. There was no point badgering or demanding information, especially if the oviraptor didn’t think it would be of any help.

Snowshoe laughed lightly, eyeing the area around her. She quickly swooped in, grabbing Asmagosa by the feathers. “Don't get too close to that plant- it bites.” The flower in question snapped down at the raptors, narrowly missing. “A lot of plants around here do that, actually.” There was a reason she had left this place, after all. “Anyways. I seem to remember you two saying you wanted to meet other dinosaur species?” 

Asmagosa nodded at Snowshoe’s question, watching in a mix of fascination and alarm as the flower she’d been nosing at suddenly snapped shut. It had completely escaped her notice in the beginning, but the plant had thorny ridges that probably could have actually caused harm if her friend hadn’t saved her.

“Yeah.” The bioluminescent raptor said with a nod, going on to ignore the weird plant to instead focus on their oviraptor guide. “Are there many others around here? Our pack leader, Storm, doesn’t like it when other dinosaurs cross into our territory, so Ikkuno and I can only ever really meet new folks when we go off on our own.”

Ikkuno dipped his head in agreement, stepping up beside his mate and briefly touching his snout to the side of her neck. He was still a bit rattled after the tunnels, and so far this place’s safety was questionable. The plant Asmagosa had been looking at was small, but what if there were much bigger ones? More dangerous ones? It was becoming obvious that everything about this place was a threat, but hopefully with Snowshoe to guide them they could avoid most of the more aggressive plantlife.

“New friends.” He offered quietly to Snowshoe. Always more peaceful than his packmates or even his mate, Ikkuno mostly just wanted to be friends with everyone. Including mysterious dinosaurs in an unstable dome at the bottom of the sea.

Snowshoe nervously scraped at the ground. “Well… the dinosaurs here. They are unlike anything I have seen above ground. They are very… short. Very spiky. Fairly aggressive. They are greatly impressed by displays of strength and skill. There is a high chance we pass one on our journey through the jungle.” She nodded at the trees nearby. “Shall we go onward?”

And indeed, almost as soon as they entered, something approached from the leaves. “Who are you?” A gruff voice called out. A… rock? Pushed its way through the bushes. Dark red, yellow, and black patterns covered its body, and orange eyes glared at them. Gold-tinted spikes were all along every inch of its body, and a large tail swung at its side.

“Jasper!” Snowshoe stepped forward, a friendly but slightly nervous expression on her face. “I brought some visitors!” She nodded at the two raptors behind her. “They’re here to meet new dinosaurs! Your an Euoplocephalus- explain a bit about that!”

Jasper snorted. “Nice try, Snowshoe. You know you're not supposed to let anyone back here.” She eyed the two raptors. “I’ll humor your efforts- if you can prove your worth it.”

Ikkuno’s lavender eyes went wide as he beheld the creature that emerged from the bushes. Whoever she was, she was bigger than he and Asmagosa, and even than Snowshoe. Perhaps not in height, but in width and length for sure. She looked rather intimidating, what with all the spikes and the club-like tail, but as she spoke, it became apparent that she was friendly enough.

Glancing at his mate, he was just in time to see Asmagosa tip her head curiously. “Prove our worth?” She questioned. “How? What do we need to?” Pausing, she narrowed her eyes a bit. “... Nothing dangerous, right?”

The euoplocephalus shook her large head, amused. “Of course not. The jungle is already dangerous enough.” She reassured them. “No, I’m talking more a skill or something – we can’t just let anyone into Atlantis, but … perhaps if you could be of some particular use to our cause?”

Their cause. Ikkuno had heard it over and over again from Sombra, who seemed to be almost fanatical about it without ever actually saying what it was. For a moment he was tempted to ask, but decided against it. It didn’t matter. What did matter was that he and his mate had to do something, present some sort of skill.

“Does being a portable light source count?” Asmagosa asked with a snicker, indicating with a toss of her head to the glowing spots and stripes along her body. She didn’t bother to wait for a response though – and Jasper didn’t look very impressed anyway – as she instead turned to look at Ikkuno.

Her gaze softened considerably as he met her eyes, and then she asked Jasper, “does your cause need fighters?”

Jasper hummed thoughtfully, tipping her head, her orange eyes sparkling. “We have plenty of warriors, but there’s never enough.” She said simply, not divulging a whole lot but at least answering the question.

“Well that works for me. But Ikkuno’s not really the fighting type. He is fast though – and I’m not too bad myself.” The bioluminescent raptor informed the euoplocephalus, giving her mate a chuckle. “Wanna race, Ikkuno?”

Oh, a race. Okay. That worked. Ikkuno could do that. Straightening himself up, he turned to look around, his sharp eyes quickly spotting a narrow path through the jungle. It wound around them, lots of twists and turns, but he was sure he could do it. He was agile enough!

So without a word to any of them, Ikkuno turned and darted off at a run. His feet followed the track around the area, leaping over objects, ducking under branches or large ferns, nimbly dodging as some of the aggressive plants tried to take a bite out of him. Asmagosa caught up to him after only a few seconds, following his lead.

She struggled a bit more with weaving and dodging, more the type to charge headlong into a fight and throw her entire body into it, but that’s where Ikkuno came in. He was able to lead the way, and her quick thinking made it possible for her to keep up and on her feet. 

It was hardly even two minutes before he came racing back up to them, skidding to a stop next to Snowshoe and giving her a greeting nod. His heart was beating fast and he was a bit winded, but he was still happy with the results. His mate came to a stop next to them a few moments later.

“See?” Asmagosa said breathlessly, though her her voice was full of pride for her mate as she leaned over to bump her head against his affectionately. He leaned into it, appreciating her support, and then turned to Jasper. Hopefully they passed – especially with Asmagosa agreeing to fight for ‘the cause’ if asked.

Snowshoe did her own quick lap show of agility, although she knew Jasper already knew what she was capable of- flaring out her feathers and jumping on top of the larger herbivore. “Did we pass?” She asked, a slight teasing tone to her voice.

Jasper grumbled good naturally. “Yeah, yeah. If you get in trouble, remember, you never met me!” Snowshoe jumped off Jasper's back, landing in the mud before turning to the two raptors and giving them a grin. Easy enough. This time, at least...