Long Lost

After many weeks spent assisting ovis, then euoplos, Fainel, Hummingbird, and Macaw had successfully infiltrated the heart of Atlantis. Macaw was eager to explore the old human facilities, and Fainel was curious as to what the iguanodons were up to, but their reception hadn’t exactly been warm. They’d been chased out of the city under threat of imprisonment, and even Macaw hadn’t dared to venture in again.

That was, until they met a rather different sort of iguanodon near the border. Melon had been raised by oviraptors…

“Wait, Hummingbird, you didn’t know about iguanodons before we came down here, did you?”

“No! I told you, I was really little when we left Atlantis. I don’t think I was ever in the city. Melon must have been with a flock other than ours.”

“She’s right. My flock didn’t use so many bird names.”

…which meant that, despite superficially resembling the high-ranking courtesans, he lacked their courtly graces, and was just as much an outsider as Fainel and her two charges. Thus, after a bit of negotiating with the border patrol, the trio was let into the city, under the pretense that they were accompanying Melon, a long-lost courtesan himself.

“Any idea what to do now that we’re here, Melon?” Fainel whispered as they made their way down the streets.

“Honestly, I have no idea where to start,” he admitted.

Fainel didn’t blame him; even without a personal stake in the matter, it was dizzying to think about. The city seemed to stretch on forever. All around them were towering stone buildings, courtyards blooming with exotic (but not deadly, hopefully) flowers, and voices! The area was densely populated, not just with iguanodons but with their aides, as well. It wasn’t so unusual for Macaw and Hummingbird, but Fainel had grown up in a small family pack, so the constant movement and chatter was a little disorienting.

Macaw scrambled up Melon’s flank, earning a yelp from the startled iguanodon, and settled on his shoulders. Fainel was sure he’d gotten bigger since they met, though he was still small enough to ride on anyone’s shoulders. He tapped Melon’s side to make the group stop walking.

“Do you have an idea, Macaw?” Hummingbird asked, straining to see him from the ground.

He nodded sharply, and pointed off to the right. Following his gaze, Fainel saw a sprawling garden path, and at its end, a massive building she could only assume was someone’s dwelling.

“I get it,” Hummingbird said. “If we get one of the big, important iguanodons to like us, we’ll have a foot in the door! And the most important iguanodon will be in the fanciest den!”

“Excellent idea, Macaw.” Macaw puffed up his chest at Fainel’s praise. “Iguanodons seem to like big social gatherings, too. Melon, why don’t we try to get you invited? I’m sure you’ll fit right in!”

“A party?” Melon pawed the ground apprehensively. “I don’t know…”

“We’ll be there, too,” Fainel assured him. “It’ll be a good opportunity for all of us.”

Hummingbird hauled herself onto Melon’s back as well. “We should ask around! Maybe someone will tell us about who lives at that den.”

“And when their next party is.”

With a solid goal in mind, the group set off again.

#

The fancy den belonged to an iguanodon named Blackmist. He was held in pretty high regard by the other iguanodons, and was apparently the current head of a distinguished dynasty.

“Fainel, what’s a dynasty?”

“Oh, that’s like a family.”

“But isn’t everyone from a family? Why does it make Blackmist so special?”

“That’s… complicated…”

No one was very keen on saying just what his ancestors had done to earn him such high esteem, but suffice to say, Macaw’s judgment had been correct.

“Blackmist?” Cassia, the latest iguanodon they’d asked, was more indulgent in his answers than the rest. “Yeah, he throws plenty of ragers. He’s having one this evening, in fact.”

“Tonight? We came at just the right time, then!”

The iguanodon paused and looked at Fainel, an appraising grin on his face. “Oh, your servant is chatty! I like her. Are you all new to Atlantis?”

Melon wheezed out a laugh. “Is it that obvious?”

“I’ve never seen any noble let a cryo do all the talking for them. Folks like you gotta be careful, or people like Blackmist will gobble you up.”

Melon didn’t find this very reassuring.

“But,” Cassia continued, “if you want a good ‘in’ to our lovely aristocracy, he’s one of your better options. He’s willing to overlook uninvited guests if a certain someone’s name in invoked.”

“Yours?” Hummingbird asked.

He looked down at her, for the first time in their entire conversation. “Wow, you are the tiniest little thing I’ve ever seen.” He ignored her indignant squawk and Macaw’s silent giggling. “But you are correct!”

Fainel cocked her head at the strange iguanodon they’d run into. He had a tall crest, but it seemed a little wilder, rougher around the edges, not finely combed like some of the others she’d seen. He clearly didn’t have much of a birthright himself, but he’d somehow managed to weasel his way into Blackmist’s good graces anyway. Maybe that was a good sign for them?

“Do we want to know what you did to get Blackmist to overlook stuff like that just for you?”

He smirked. “Let’s just say that I and a cousin of his have a long and storied history that I won’t bore you with.”

It was an ominous answer that Fainel eagerly accepted.

#

Later that evening, the unlikely allies—a cryo, two young oviraptors, and a iguanodon in way over his head—were standing outside the tall, spiked-topped gate of Blackmist’s manor. After the entrance, most of the house was completely open, with rooms that were large and interconnected and the roof open to show a blanket of artificial stars. Fainel wondered what this place had been when the humans were still around. It seemed much too spacious and ungainly for humans to traverse, but surely they hadn’t constructed all of these buildings with the iguanodons in mind?

But the bigger question weighing on her mind was whether or not Cassia’s word would be enough to get them in.

There weren’t any guards out front, so they didn’t have to worry about getting arrested like on the outskirts of the city. For a while, Fainel thought she wouldn’t have to explain who they were at all.

Until a very tall, very imposing, white iguanodon came prancing over to them.

“And just who would you four be?”

Fainel knew the second she saw him that it was none other than Blackmist himself interrogating them. “We are-”

“I didn’t ask you, serf.”

Fainel decided she did not like Blackmist very much.

“M-Melon, sir,” Melon offered weakly.

“That’s lord to you.” Blackmist smirked. “Everything about you reeks of insecurity. You’ve never been to the court before, have you?”

“No, sir. Uh, lord.”

Blackmist stepped closer. Instinctively, Fainel hid the oviraptors behind her feet. Blackmist gave Melon a critical once-over, one that didn’t seem like it would have a happy outcome for them.

“We were told to come here by an iguanodon named Cassia,” Fainel said quietly.

It was like a switch had been flipped in Blackmist’s brain. Suddenly, his stormy demeanor was gone, and he smiled, acting like Melon was an old friend. “Well, if anyone is to be your introduction to court life, I’m honored to be chosen! Come, Melon, I’ll give you a tour of the grounds. The usual faces of these gatherings have become so boring…”

He went to Melon’s side and pushed him forward, and before any of them knew what was happening, the pair were halfway across the ballroom.

“Uh, I guess I’ll see you guys later?” Melon shouted back to them.

The trio stood haplessly as their “in” to the party was dragged off.

“Huh,” Fainel said. “That’s not how I thought it would go.” Apparently, she’d been more correct than she thought when she said Melon would fit in.

“So, um, what do we do now, Fainel?” Hummingbird asked.

“Well, we’re at the party now. I don’t think anyone will have a problem with us looking around. Why don’t you two try to make some friends?”

Macaw, ever eager to find someone to match his energy, gave Hummingbird an encouraging nudge and set out into the crowd.

Hummingbird sighed. “Someone has to make sure he doesn’t get eaten, right?”

“I don’t know, he’s pretty good at getting himself out of scraps. You could do some scouting yourself, if you wanted. Or come with me.”

The oviraptor shook her head. “No, I think I can do it myself. Good luck, Fainel!”

She smiled as she watched the hatchling—or could she be called a juvenile now?—make her own way through the crowd. They’d both grown so much, both figuratively and literally. And now Fainel had her own work to do.

So the trio, now split up, and began to mingle with the other guests of Blackmist’s party.