Good enough huh?

The islands were calm, and everything seemed to be normal. Life was pretty… boring. At least, it was thought to be that way except for a small hatchling named Nightingale, of the cryolophosaurus variety. She had been snoozing calmly and curled up in the den.

Matted down ferns merely stuck to the dirt and grass strands within the den. Sleeping soundly, till she was rudely awakened by her mother. The den was within a deep trunk of a dead tree that appeared to be way higher than the little size she was.

“Come on! Git up!”, Chirp yelled, almost frantically. Even though it was just for dramatic purposes. She brought food. “Breakfast time!”, she yelled, additionally.

Nightingale knew how her mother was. She was not the nicest, especially in comparison to her father. She adored her father. But her mother? Oh boy, that always leaves a sour taste in her mouth.

“Huh.. what”, Nightingale responded. Her red eyes tiredly fluttered open and close. It must be morning. Mother only did this in the mornings. She grumbled, reluctantly.

Chirp walked up to Nightingale. Lowering her body close as her six dino-fingers curled around Nightingale. It was almost aggressive but not. Chirp never meant harm. At least, not her children.

“I’m up, I’m up!” Nightingale squeaked to her mother.

She wiggled free of her mother’s grip. As she did this, Chirp took a step back and chirped.

No words.

Chirp and Nightingale did not have the greatest relationship, but she provided Nightingale with shelter. That was something.

Nightingale could not wait till she was old enough to be on her own and do her own things. Venturing around solo. Or, secretly, with her father Frog. It warmed her heart, thinking about him to avoid the oddities of her mother.

Chirp stepped out of the den as she walked around the area and chirped again, “Come. Eat.”

Nightingale and Chirp rarely ever saw eye to eye, but they tolerated each other. She was still too young to do much on her own. Hence, her mother always disrupting her sleep cycle. Although, she would have woken up eventually. The heat of the sun was starting to cover the land. The dense forest feels rather thick and muggy. It felt decent, at least to the young one. A breeze would dance along the ferns and tree lines every so many minutes.

Nightingale moved forward, stepping out of the den. She shook her entire body from skull to the tip of her tail. Shaking away the sleepiness and grimaced at the smell.

She did not want to show her mother, Chirp, she was slightly disgusted with how she ate her food. But food was food. It gave nutrition. Supposedly.

Nightingale moved slowly and sleepily toward the dead carcass her mother seemed to have hunted in the early morning. It was a large pelican of sorts. Nightingale only knew it was a large bird. The feathers scattered around the two of them as they began to munch down on the fresh meat.

At first, when Nightingale began to eat meat. She did not like it. It hurt her jaw for how chewy it was. Now that she has had it a few times, it still hurts but not as much.

The duo stood on opposite sides of the carcass and chewed.

Chirp stayed quiet. She was famished and did not want to try. In other words, hangry.

Nightingale’s stomach grumbled. I guess I am hungry… she thought to herself as she continued to chew down the meat. Trying her best to not eat the feathers. She did not enjoy those bits but apparently her mother did. They felt weird in her mouth, especially when it went down her stomach! Yuck!

Chirp paused, meeting her red eyes with Nightingale’s in the middle of chewing. Her slowly chewing as she spoke, “Good find, huh, kiddo.”

Nightingale took a large gulp, not expecting her mother to speak while they were eating. Usually it’s pure silence, only the grinding of their jaws being heard; making the outer sounds of the world inaudible. “Y-yes,” she responded, meeting her mother’s gaze, giving a nod of approval.

“Are you going to go wandering around with your Pa again? Do you need me to show you things?” Chirp continued to chew and chomp down on the carcass, unfazed by her rudeness.

The way she said Pa struck a heart string wrong and that made Nightingale wince.

That was her mother though, always rude, blunt and never understood the nuances of life.

Everything had a purpose and meaning, Nightingale thought anyways.

Chirp waited, finishing her piece of meat with a large gulp that Nightingale heard with her own ears. It made her cringe a little.

“I think so. Pa is supposed to come soon,” Nightingale spoke in response, her tone trying to hide any sign of excitement. Her mother disliked Frog being around her daughter. He was proper with life compared to her.

It ached Nightingale, watching how Chirp’s body shifted as she watched and listened closely.

Chirp grimaced as she spat, “We’ll see ‘bout that.”

Nightingale tilted her head to the side a little. She finished chewing her piece. Her stomach stopped talking and seemed to be fine now. The food was alright. She preferred to eat fish or other sea-life creatures. Although, one may consider a pelican type of bird to be close to the sea-life creature. Just not in a literal sense of living in the sea. She giggled at her silly thoughts, blinking then looked at her mother, whose demeanor was unamused.

“What’s so funny?” Chirp grumbled. Continuing to eat the food.

“Ah, uh.. oh,” Nightingale was kind of caught off guard but tried to be quick witted with a reply before Chirp would become suspicious, “nothing, it’s just. This meat, real good find Ma.”

Whew, Nightingale thought to herself, that was a close call. We don’t need mom to go psycho and go on a rampage.

“Heh, that’s what I thought,” Chirp responded with a shifted demeanor. It was satisfactory at best. “Clean up, at least,” Chirp added before she walked away from the carcass.


Chirp and Frog rarely saw eye to eye anymore. It must have been since Nightingale was born. There was always tension whenever Nightingale brought her father. But she adored him. Nightingale tolerated her mother, to the best she can.

Luckily for this breakfast meal Chirp brought Nightingale was a halfway decent interaction between them. Sometimes Chirp ends up on a rampage and forgets to save something for Nightingale to eat which is why she seemed quite small for her size.