A song for the defenders!

Cinnamon rose up onto her hindlegs as the euoplocephalus waddled closer to examine her, eyes gliding over her feathers. Kielo’s eyes, which were obscured by the mask he wore, betrayed no emotion. However- each movement was slow, critical. As if preparing for the moment that Cinnamon would suddenly surge forward and barrel him over. However fighting had never been her strong suit, she would have to earn his approval in other ways…

Kielo’s heavily armored body lumbered backwards, finally giving Cinnamon a bit of space.
“What can you do?” He rumbled, the sound low and soft all at the same time. Soothing yet… Intimidating. “We do not wish to battle you. But the unworthy may not be granted further passage.”
Behind him she could see the dense jungle looming, the colorful plants alluding to the danger that awaited just beneath the surface…

Cinnamon shook her body, feathers slimmed against her body nervously. She shook again, attempting to loosen her feathers and not appear quite so small… There was one thing she could do. But the mere thought caused her front legs to plant in the ground like an unsteady newborn fawn. There was no way around it though, her trumpeting voice was the only advantage she had here. Besides, she heard that Doe had done it and that it had gone well! Surely it would go well for her as well!!
But what if she stuttered-
What if her voice cracked?-
What if she got interrupted?-
Thoughts raced, meeting the rapid beating of her thankfully still caged heart. Though she feared that it might soon explode from her chest from the sheer anxiety-

“Well?” Kielo rumbled, breaking her rather suddenly from her thoughts. He had little to no patience in his posture, shifting his sturdy legs every now and then. As if ready to fall into a defensive stance and swing his great clubbed tail at a moment's notice.

Cinnamon inhaled slowly, a deep breath which expanded within her chest and rattled her crest ever so slightly.
It was time to do what she was built to do… Sing.

She focused her gaze on the jungle, the lush greenery and gracefully hanging vine… The vibrant flowers and deadly plants which colored the background in vibrant hues of reds and pinks. Anything other than the impatient cream colored euoplocephalus before her. From these things she drew the inspiration for her song, a song fit for such fierce defenders of the untamable wilds.

Cinnamon’s voice rose like the sun over the horizon, a song of haunting beauty. A trumpeting call that echoed through the valley and jungle, filling Atlantis with the melody of the song of a lone parasaurolophus. A song carved deep within her very ancestry, one that transcended generations but was never truly the same with each singer.

Anxiety hummed deep within, rumbling in her bones like the song that echoed deep within her powerful crest-
Keep singing.
Her trumpeting song grew in strength as she raised further onto her hindlegs, lifting her head to the sky and haloing herself in the golden light of the sun. Cinnamon imagined the sunlight dancing and dappling around her, as if encouraging her to continue her performance. Perform, display. Show.
Show them your healthy coat. Display your beautiful healthy voice, show them what they will miss unless they welcome you among their ranks. Whispered some primal side of her, the one which had likely thrummed deep within her ancestors-

And for what it was worth… It seemed the plated warriors were just as enthralled by her song as she was. While Kielos was silent, watching her intently through that eerie mask of his, the others joined her song. Adding their low rumbles and booming thumps of their clubbed tails against the earth to her trumpeting song. It was a cacophony of music, war and unity threading into one. It was beautiful, truly beautiful. It softened Cinnamon’s anxiety and fueled her on, strengthening her resolve and her voice as her call rattled her very crest and hummed deep within her bones. Then, when she finished and panted out her last few notes… His club tapped the ground in approval. He watched as she lowered herself to the ground to rest and gain her breath.

“You are still young, and yet you performed well. Your song filled Atlantis with its truth, it rattled each of my plates and filled my heart with every note of your soul. You bore yourself to us with nothing but your music, something that no soldier dares do in fear of harm. But you were afraid, and you did it anyway. You did it afraid, you held your head high and sang your truth despite the fear that you may be rejected-” Kielos lumbered forth, sunlight dancing off his dense armor. Both natural and made. “You sang it beautifully. We are honored to have you among us, and to let you pass. Though do so carefully, dangers wait in the jungle beyond. Hold your song to your heart, and hold fast to that bravery.”

As he spoke she lowered herself further down to the well trodden earth, bending her front legs to level her chest with the ground to be closer with the shorter herbivore. His armored head leaned forward, brushing softly against her crest in a gesture of acceptance.

“Go forth, young one. May your song soothe whatever waits in the deep jungle.” His voice rumbled low in her ears, no longer intimidating. Instead now it soothed some ache deep with her, an ache that she didn’t know she had. An ache that feared being pushed away again despite doing her best. But these warriors of this hidden home… They accepted her. Despite their guardedness and hesitation, they welcomed her thanks to her proving her worth to them through song. Perhaps that was how her herd had once done it… Perhaps it was how her parents had earned their places… Alas she would never know, as her egg had been left abandoned and cold.