Scheming In The Dark

Their bellies full from the banquet, the raptor trio began to make their excuses.

"We can't leave the surface for long."

"We have territory to defend!"

"We don't want to be any more of a bother." 

Eventually their excuses wheedled their way into getting an escort back through the waterfall tunnel, reuniting with Lego once again at the edge of the court clearing.

"Hello little ones!" she greeted cheerfully, "Did you have fun?"

"We did!" Foxglove replied with equal cheer, "We ate a lot and everybody was really, really nice to us!" 

"That sounds lovely," the Euoplo responded, but her eyes skimmed over the small pink one to land on the other, more cynical members of their pack.

"It was good," Thistle said sincerely, trying to assuage her worries.

"We didn't get arrested anyway," Misu grumbled, his usual grumpy demeanour. Lego looked concerned at that.

"I should hope they wouldn't arrest children," she giggled nervously.

"They do," Thistle interjected, "We saw a baby Cryo in a pit, she found an Ovi egg and wouldn't let go of it so they put her in a hole. I think she just wanted to protect it," she finished sadly. Lego looked mortified.

"I-  oh my goodness, that is unacceptable," she finally spluttered, "Once I have you three safely home I'll go back and get her out of there." She began to trot off into the jungle before it occurred to her to wait for their little legs to catch up. The tunnel wasn't far from the court, with little dangerous plants in between. Instead of sidestepping them like last time, the raptors watched in awe as the Euoplo swatted the drooling acidic plants like bugs with her club.

"I think she's pissed," Misu whispered to the girls.

"I think that means that not everyone in the court knows everything that happens in it," Thistle pondered.

The mouth of the waterfall tunnel emerged like a dark eye in the middle of the foliage. From this angle, without the drama of the water on the other side, it looked far more intimidating. The darkness inside seemed impenetrable and despite knowing of the whimsical glowing plants inside, the raptors hesitated.

"Are you okay?" Lego asked, stopping abruptly and turning to look back at them. With her bulky, armour plated body she had to turn around ninety degrees just to see the mini pack of raptors clutching their claws together anxiously. 

"Looks a bit... scarier from this side," Thistle said, though Tiramisu scowled at her for outing them. "I know it's the same as last time but..." She trailed off, looking pleadingly at the Euoplo. Lego hummed, looking into the dark tunnel she had traversed nearly every day since she had left the nursery. She couldn't imagine being afraid of the path, but she tried to put herself in the position of very small outsiders to Atlantis and saw the tunnel through their eyes. She supposed it was very dark, the plants might be strange to the raptors, Misu had been sneezing at their pollen earlier. An idea struck her and she crouched down.

"I'll carry you all through it this time, you'll see there's nothing to be afraid of!" she offered. Foxglove scrambled up top immediately, though Lego couldn't feel her little claws she heard the way they grasped at her osteoderms like footholds. Thistle was more hesitant, at least taking the time to thank Lego for her offer before jumping up and holding out a hand for Tiramisu to join them. The little brown raptor looked at Lego, his permanently suspicious mindset clear across his expression. He fixed her with a firm glare that seemed to say 'I'm keeping my eye on you' before he joined the rest of his pack. Lego wondered why she felt such menace from such a small creature that she could probably flatten in one blow of her tail. There was a conviction to him, she recognised, the curmudgeonly demeanour focused entirely on keeping the girls safe. She had seen the same belief in Talos, a fellow Euoplo, where he thought the more trusting members of Atlantis needed a firm hand like him to keep them safe, to balance them out by being overly-careful with new experiences. It made her grow a little fonder of the brindle raptor, knowing his grouchiness was just a front for a heart that cared too much for those closest to him. She wondered idly if the girls knew this.

"What makes the plants glow?" Foxglove asked as they walked through the tunnel.

"I don't really know, that's a question for our more experienced gardeners," Lego admitted, "I could ask them for you but I fear you won't return to hear the answer."

"We're coming back," Tiramisu said gruffly and the Euoplo desperately wished she could see his face, "We've gotta rescue that baby Cryo in the pit." To her surprise, Lego heard the other raptors hum in agreement.

"We can't leave her there, it's not fair, she only wanted to protect that little eggy," Foxglove added, her voice trembling with tears. 

"If it was one of us, we'd want someone to come and help us, we're lucky enough to be in a pack but she wasn't," Thistle agreed.

"And if she is part of a pack they aren't worth shit," Misu said vehemently, "I'd never leave you two behind like that."

"We wouldn't leave you either, Misu," Foxglove said emphatically, and Lego heard the sound of her shuffling across her back. She could only imagine the hug taking place and it made her heart soar.

"If you're going to stage a jailbreak, you'll need to be careful," the Euoplo warned, "The Iggys have eyes everywhere." The implication seemed to settle in over the raptors and the air grew unbearably tense. Lego hurried to clarify, "I want to help you, but you'll have to promise me you'll keep a low profile. I don't think my word will save you, or Larry's word for that matter."