Fish With Me
Every year, for a few weeks like clockwork, the fish would appear. No one knew quite why or how they did it, but fish would travel their way up through rushing rivers to spawn in the deep inland pools of the island. These were no ordinary fish either- mutated long ago by the same company that had decided to bring back dinosaurs, they were huge and powerful. And they made a great meal for those willing to fight for it.
Eshei pushed her way through the forest, the early dawn light setting a gentle glow upon the ground. Her biolumecent markings seemed to glow even brighter, allowing her to find her way through with no troubles. 5827 followed behind, not looking away from her mate as they traveled together. Their pairing had been recent- 5827 hoped to impress Eshei today by providing a big meal for her.
The river banks were already crowded when they arrived. Other suchomimus were all across the shore, in various stages of fishing. The water bubbled and broiled with the amount of fish within, and Eshei would occasionally catch a glimpse of a fin or tail before it became lost to the water.
“Great.” The brown suchomimus sighed. “The best spots are already taken.” Indeed, there was little room. They could attempt to sit back and wait for a spot to open up, but who knew how long that would take.
5827 nudged against Esheis snout gently. “Don’t worry- if we head further upstream there will be less competition- but the fish will be even more tired!” Eshei seemed to perk up at this and the two made their way upstream. It was clear why few others attempted to go this way- the path was more dangerous, sharp rocks jabbing into their feet as they climbed. 5827 hissed as an especially bothersome pebble jabbed between her claws, but Eshei was quick to help remove it. 5827 flashed the other a grateful look, before they continued on their way.
Finally they made their way to a decent fishing spot. It was small, but unoccupied except for a raptor who had already caught their meal. “Its a great place, huh?” 5827 bragged a bit, swishing her tail in excitement.
Eshei grinned back. “It is! How did you know about it?” It was a small stretch of river between two waterfalls, one climbing up and the other down the mountain they were on. It was the stretch right before one of the spawning pools- one of the last chances to catch fish before they were safe.
5827 winked. “I know a lot of areas around the islands- its crazy what you can find when you go to places few others dare! Now, let's enter the water- its time for some fish!”
The two wadded into the water, carefully keeping their claws spread and mouth partly open to lunge when the first shadow swam underneath them. There were not nearly as many fish as there were downriver, but the fish who arrived here were almost lethargic from exhaustion. A shadow passed underneath 5827, and she lunged- only for her jaw to smack against the bottom of the river as she missed, falling face-first into the water.
“5827!” Eshei dropped the fish she had been wrestling with, letting it dart away as she quickly ran to her mates size. She nudged at the pile of black and white feathers gently- the water was far from deep, but she couldnt help but be worried.
5827 rose, coughing as she spat out water. “Ow….” she groaned, her vision swimming in front of her just like the fish. “Im… fine-” she attempted to stand, only to crash back into the water.
“Ok, no.” Eshei put her foot down, nudging 5827 until she stood, guiding her partner onto land until she was able to collapse under a tree. The brown suchomimus settled next to her mate, resting her head over her back. “Just rest for a bit, babe. You’ll recover faster if you take a break.”
“But… but…” 5827 huffed, finding it hard to form words. “I wanted to catch a fish for you… wanted to prove I'm a good partner.” She buried her head in the grass, groaning. Maybe there was a reason no one fished here…
“You are a good partner!” Eshei soothed. “Besides, part of being a good partner means caring for each other when sick or hurt or otherwise need it. You cared for me when I got ill a few weeks ago- and I’ll take care of you until you recover.” She curled tighter to her mate.
They sat together in silence, losing track of time. It was nice- it was peaceful. The only noise was the splashing of the river, and the noise of the wildlife around. Who knows how long it was until 5827 finally felt good enough to raise her head, blinking. “Ugh…” she groaned. It was much lighter out, the dawn long gone. “Im up… Im up…”
“Do you feel any better?” Eshei asked, slowly standing up. Glancing over at the river, she was pleased to see fish still making the way- they hadn’t missed them, then.
“Yeah.” 5827 stood, stretching. Thankfully she hadn't lost any of her teeth, and there seemed to be no lasting injuries from her little clumsy moment. And she was even hungrier now… 5827 shot Eshei a toothy grin. “Here! Watch this.”
Slowly the black suchomimus stalked over to the river, carefully keeping note of shadows. This time she utilized her long arms instead of her snout, slowly raising them and being ready to lunge at a moments- there! With a splash she surged forward, hooked claws latching onto something that wiggled and thrashed- quickly she brought her snout forward, sinking her teeth in as the fish went limp. Victoriously she brought over her prize, dropping it at Eshei’s feet- a large, juicy, fresh fish. “This is my gift to you- my love.” She crooned, pushing the fish forward.
Eshei smiled, letting out a low coo and reaching forward to nudge against 5827. “I knew you could do it- but now I need to catch you a bigger one!” A mischievous look sparkled in her eyes as she darted for the water.
“Hah! No chance!” 5827 barked. “Ill catch the biggest one!” Together they returned to the water- fishing side by side. Not against each other, but for each other.
