Cool Kids

“It’s so hot out,” Boneice groaned, pressed flat into the cool grass. “I feel like I’m being cooked.”

Kelorvir was in a similar position, lying a few paces away. “We should find some mud. That always feels good on a hot day.”

“For you naked guys, maybe,” Auk scoffed. “All it does to me is get stuck in my feathers.”

“Well, I don’t hear you coming up with any genius ideas.”

Macaw watched from a patch of tall grass, brows knit tightly in concentration.

Auk, Boneice, and Kelorvir were the cool kids of the flock. They were a tight-knit group, always together despite their bickering. Adults found them tiring, but reliable when push came to shove, charging them with “junior plantings,” where they would add companion plants to the beds the adults had already sown. They were the ideal juveniles for a young, impressionable hatchling to latch onto.

But they would never give Macaw the time of day. He was the baby of the flock. Too little to understand what plants were supposed to go where and which dinosaurs could make good helpers (as opposed to potential predators).

And that was exactly why Macaw needed a plan to get in their good graces. He ran out of the grass, seeking out two accomplices he knew he could count on.

#

“Those three?” Hummingbird’s tail swished nervously. “They’re kind of mean, don’t you think?”

“Oh, that’s just how all juveniles are,” Peach Pit said. The old euoplo had taken to overlooking their trespasses into Atlantis, on the condition that they didn’t start trouble with any other stone warriors. Admittedly, Macaw was the one who took advantage of that most often, and risked violating the terms most often. But he let Hummingbird tag along. “Getting bigger makes them think they’re better than everyone else, until someone teaches them a lesson.”

“And I guess that’s what you want to try to do, right?” Hummingbird asked Macaw.

He nodded. If they learned that he and Hummingbird were useful, too, maybe they’d let them along on a junior planting sometime!

“Oh, I know just what you kids need,” Peach Pit said. “There’s a special fruit that can help you to stay cool and hydrated, even on the most scorching days.”

“I thought it’s always the same temperature in Atlantis. How do you know they would work?”

“Well, hypothetically.”

That was good enough for Macaw. He gave Peach Pit a pleading look. They needed those fruit!

Hummingbird sighed. “I guess it can’t hurt to try.”

“Alright, then. Hop aboard, you two, and we’ll see if we can find a watermelon patch.”

“Watermelon,” she repeated, scrambling onto his back. Macaw followed.

“Like I said, they’re good for hot days. Nice and hydrating.”

He began to walk deeper into the jungle, with a practiced ease that Macaw envied. Even with his bulk, he moved like the tangled roots around him were nothing more than stray pebbles under his feet. He never stumbled, his pace always steady and moving in a consistent rhythm. Hummingbird and Macaw bounced up and down in time with his short strides.

Macaw stole a glance at Hummingbird and wondered if she would like to ride Fainel with him. It would be a matter of convincing not only his fellow oviraptor, but also Fainel herself that it would be a good idea. As fun as it was to ride with Peach Pit, he could only dream of what it would be like to ride on something swifter, so he could feel the wind whistling in his ears as they ran.

Hummingbird caught him staring. “Macaw, you’re thinking of something silly, aren’t you?”

He grinned, and went back to watching the jungle around him.

#

“Thank you for helping us move all the watermelons.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it.” Peach Pit had fashioned a sled out of fronds and vines, and with it he was able to drag half a dozen watermelons behind him all at once. “I’ll get them a little closer to your flock, and you can hand them over yourself.”

“But you helped! They should be able to thank you!”

“I need to get back to my post in Atlantis. Besides, do you think anyone would believe you if you said a euoplocephalus helped you bring these up from underground?”

Hummingbird thought for a moment. “Well, I don’t think they’d believe that we did it all by ourselves, either.”

Macaw thought it would make them sound cool. These overlooked hatchlings had a mysterious benefactor! Wouldn’t that be awesome? He gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

“If you’re sure…” She still sounded hesitant, but as long as she still went along with it, they would be fine.

“I think this is close enough.” With a wave of his tail, Peach Pit knocked the watermelons off of the sled, and lowered himself so that the oviraptors could hop down (not that Macaw waited; he’d taken the leap as soon as Peach Pit was done talking). “Bring those friends of yours over here so you all can cool off together.”

Hummingbird was slow and careful as she got down from the euoplo’s back, using his glowing spikes as footholds. Next to her, Macaw picked himself off the ground and shook blades of grass off of his skin.

“Thank you again, Peach Pit.”

Peach Pit thought better of correcting her this time, and only nodded before he stepped away.

“I’ll keep an eye on the watermelons,” Hummingbird said as the euoplo left them. “You can find Auk, Boneice, and Kelorvir. Right?”

Macaw gave her an affirmative nod and ran off to where they’d been resting earlier. And, Luckily, they hadn’t moved far, pinned down by the sweltering heat. He hopped into the middle of the triangle of juveniles, prompting Kelorvir to open an eye.

“Oh. Hi, Macaw.”

Boneice grumbled, “How are you always… everywhere? Don’t you get tired? Or hot? We’re in the middle of something here.”

“Dying,” Auk said. “We’re in the middle of dying.”

Macaw scratched at Kelorvir’s side to try and get her to stand up.

“Huh? Do you need something? Ow! Don’t scratch so hard…”

Auk laughed. “Oh, no, Kelorvir! Macaw’s mind is made up, and he’s not gonna let you go until you’re moving.”

Macaw gave him a good kick.

“Hey!”

“I think he wants all of us, actually.”

“Fine, fine, I’m getting up!”

Boneice, not wanting to get pecked herself, stood up without any prompting. “Okay, so what is it you want?”

Macaw’s tail wagged as he led them to where Hummingbird was watching over their harvest of watermelons.

“There you are!” Hummingbird called, nervously glancing between the older oviraptors. “H-Hello! Do you want some watermelons? They’re can cool off anyone on a hot day!”

Boneice looked at the size of the fruits, then to Macaw and Hummingbird. “How did you get these over here? They can’t have been growing here, there’s no plants they could have grown off of.”

“Um!”

“Quit questioning it, Boneice!” Auk was already digging into the hard exterior of one with his beak. “You should never question free food!”

She rolled her eyes, and muttered under her breath. But despite her skepticism, she soon joined him, along with Kelorvir, Macaw and Hummingbird. All of them enjoyed a feast of watermelons, the perfect treat for a hot day.