La Brea

Summer was always a pain for a large, dark Acrocanthosaurus, especially those covered with feathers. The heat was reaching its apex in the Dead City, and she could find no relief from the stagnant humid air that barely stirred from day to day in a meagre breeze. While hiding from the heat in an underground carpark, she overheard the murmurs of conversation above her. 

"This heat is killing me," a voice moaned, sounding as fed up as she felt.

"Stop whinin'," a second voice snapped, "we're headin' to the coast tomorrow."

"Tomorrow can't come soon enough! I can't wait to feel that cool ocean breeze on the beach..." That made her perk up. If it really was cooler by the ocean, it may be worth her while to make the trip too. She could keep to the woods on the way, the dunes opened out right at their edge and she could keep herself shaded on her walk. Utilitarian to her core, she plotted her route in her fuzzy, heat-swamped mind as she dreamed of a cold breeze to finally life her sticky feathers from her skin.

This wasn't the first time she had seen the beach, but it was the first time she had seen it this busy. Watching from the treeline, she scanned the sand and found every alcove, every inlet taken by at least one creature. So much for her relaxing day at the beach, she thought, though the breeze was just about managing to reach her where she stood in the woods. Still, she was craving more, and even if she couldn't reach the sea for a dip in the waves she could try and seek her cooldown somewhere else. She slid down the steepest banks at the far edge of the beach, the grass still spurted through the sand this far out but it was isolated and too far from the ocean to be attractive to most of the day's visitors. She walked along the water worn cliffs until she found what she was looking for, a hole in the stone leading below the earth. Her first steps into the sea cave were heavenly, cool stone under her feet for the first time in forever. She hurried further in, chasing the frigid air deeper into the caves. The sea breeze was funneled through the rock, intensifying it and making her feel like she was standing on the edge of a summer storm. Further into the cave, into the dark, her natural environment. She knew by this point that if she encountered another dinosaur she would be practically invisible in the dark, aside from her eyes and her dimorph. The cave narrowed around her but she continued to move forward, still seeking the relief of the breeze. She squeezed her hips through the narrow opening with considerable effort and took a moment to shake the dirt from her feathers. The pause allowed her eyes to adjust to the dark more and she stopped in her tracks at the sight around her.

The cavern she had wriggled her way into was caked in crystals along the floor and walls. They were visibly colourful, even in the dark, and she found herself marvelling at the formations and how they grew to tower over her. This must have been hundreds of years worth of undisturbed growth, was she the first to see these in all their glory? Surely not, the way here was fairly easy to navigate, even for one of the largest Acros across the two islands. There must have been countless visitors to these caves over the years, but they remained beautifully intact. Finding a space clear on the ground, she lowered herself to the ground, feeling the cool stone on her chest. The twin joys of cooling off in this wretched summer and the sight before her left her breathless. As she lay there, the hours passed and the sun began to slide lazily across the sky until it began to hang over the opening in the cavern's ceiling. 

With the addition of light, the crystals seemed to spring to life. The way the light danced across their gleaming surface almost made them look like they were moving, rigid glasslike forms turning into fluid reveling creatures in the summer sun. Her eyes lit up as the sun crept further over the crack in the roof, not minding the sudden rise in temperature as she watched the lights projected on the stone with awe. She felt the urge to break off some of the crystal in her jaw, carry it home and set it in the morning sunlight to watch every day. The impulse was strong enough that it caught her off-guard, hadn't she just been admiring how remote and undisturbed this place was? She chided herself internally, resolving to sit in the cavern for as long as she could before having to part from the sight. As she watched the lights shift and change across the walls, she felt something wet blooming around her feet. Looking down in surprise, she saw a trickle of water gush through the hole she had come from before being sucked back out through it . The tide, she thought, the tide was coming. She pulled herself upright and hurried back through the hole. The water level was rising and already up to her knees by the time she managed to squeeze back through it. It was to her chin by the time she struggled her way out of the entrance, finding herself pinned to the cliff wall by the advancing tide. The stone cliffs were unyielding though, and she managed to get a foothold on them until the water rose high enough to let her scramble up to dry land.

She watched the water churn beneath her as the evening tide brought the water up to a dangerously turbulent level. She took a moment to catch her breath and considered the crystal cave again. Perhaps it was so peaceful because things rarely made it out of it? She shuddered as the evening air struck her wet feathers. Perhaps the summer heat wasn't so bad after all.