[Trade] A Lakeside Encounter

“You two, over here!” A voice called, rough and irritated.

Prometheus lifted his head, turning his attention to Sunnuithë—a striped black and white Styracosaurus with a plated armor-like exoskeleton set along her spine, almost like an alligator. A flash of black, white, and purple rushed past him, just barely outside of his blind spot. Poltergeist was the sty’s name, if he recalled correctly. Poltergeist was a bit standoffish, but Prometheus didn’t mind him. The shuno turned and made his way over to the two styraco’s, craning his neck down to look at them curiously.

“Well? What?” Prometheus asked.

Sunnuithë huffed, a hot puff of air blowing from her nostrils, visible in the cold atmosphere. “We’re headed further into the grassland, there's a couple lakes this way that I know of. Just keep up, alright? We won’t stop for you.” She replied, barely giving Prometheus enough time to process his statement before she turned and began leading them onward.

Poltergeist threw Prometheus a glance, shaking his head briefly as he moved to follow the other styraco.

Prometheus sighed, fixing himself to stand straight and begin trailing behind the smaller herbivores, albeit far slower. They weren’t the friendliest companions, but he much preferred it over solitude. He’d just have to make sure he didn’t lose sight of them.

The trio of herbivores walked for what felt like hours, the sun beginning to set on the horizon as they finally arrived at their destination, a beautiful lake overflowing with plant life. Sunnuithë had already settled by a patch of tasty dandelions and ferns, while Poltergeist had taken up sunbathing in the last light of the day. Prometheus had half submerged himself in the lake, resting his head on the shoreline and enjoying the cool water. The area was quiet and peaceful, undisturbed by any other dinosaurs, it was a perfect place for a rest after a long day of traveling.

With the water lapping at his limbs in gentle waves, Prometheus began to drift into sleep. Expecting to be undisturbed, he was confused and startled when a cold beak touched his nose. His eyes snapped open, expecting to find one of the styraco’s in front of him, but instead stood a much smaller creature. One he hadn’t seen often. A sandy colored Oviraptor with reddish-brown patches along her spine and darker stripes that resembled that of a python. She had bright green eyes, wide with curiosity as she clacked her beak quietly.

“Oh-! Hi there..?” Prometheus lifted his head, still half dazed from being pulled so suddenly from his sleep. His voice drew the attention of Poltergeist and Sunnuithë, who seemed equally confused at the presence of the odd omnivore.

“Hi hi! I am Sonora, you are very big, yep yep!” The oviraptor—Sonora, exclaimed with a chirp. She could not stand still, constantly moving her feet or flapping her feathered arms, her tail swishing like an excited canine.

Prometheus paused, confused by her excitement. Where had she come from? He hadn’t heard her approaching, nor had the styraco’s noticed her before she’d spoken. He shook off his thoughts. “I’m Prometheus. It’s nice to meet you, Sonora— where did you come from?” He asked softly as he looked down at her.

“From the coast of course!” Sonora clacked, flapping her feathered arms as she turned away from Prometheus, her gaze settling on Sunnuithë and Poltergeist with interest. “You are all strange creatures, yes, yes.”

“…We’re the strange ones?” Sunnuithë scoffed, tossing her head with a snort. Pushing herself to her feet, the styraco walked right up to Sonora, circling around her with narrowed eyes. “What even are you? Some sort of deformed raptor?”

“Close enough! I am Sonora, I am an Oviraptor!” Sonora replied happily, her tail swishing behind her.

“Sonora, huh? An Oviraptor? I haven’t heard of one of those before.” Sunnuithë said, her head tilting as she gave Sonora a thorough once over look. 

“We are new around here, yes, yes.” Sonora nodded rather enthusiastically as she replied, 

Still standing aside, Poltergeist’s eyes had brightened with intrigue as he pushed himself to his feet and approached the other three cautiously. He lowered his head, circling around the oviraptor similarly to how Sunnuithë had, before settling at the other styraco’s side. His voice was quiet but steady, as strong as Sunnuithë’s but not nearly as loud. “New? So you came from one of the labs? But I thought we had cleared those already?”

“No, no, we come from Atlantis!” Sonora shook her head and flapped her feathers. She turned her attention to Poltergeist now, locking onto the purple striped styraco. “It is much different up here than in Atlantis, very calm! I like it, yes, yes.”

“Atlantis?” Poltergeist asked.

“What do you mean ‘up here’?” Sunnuithë interjected with a loud huff, stepping halfway in front of Poltergeist—much to his annoyance—to recapture the oviraptor’s gaze. “What is Atlantis? What do you mean you came from Atlantis? Is it a lab?”

Prometheus frowned, “Don’t be so rude, Sunnuithë. There is no need to interrupt.” He said, his tail flicking against the water's surface. He sighed, looking at Sonora once more. “I apologize… on her behalf. I promise not all of us are like that, in fact, Poltergeist here,” He paused to turn his head to Poltergeist briefly. “Is quite pleasant most of the time, if a bit quiet!”

Sonora only laughed, clueless and loud. “Oh, I took no offense, no, no! You three have many questions, and I can answer some of them, yes.” She replied with a clack. “Atlantis is the dome where we live. There are many things down there. The jungle is quite dangerous for newcomers, but Sonora can show you around!”

Poltergeist and Sunnuithë both shared a wary glance. Sunnuithë seemed far more skeptical out of the two, however Poltergeist was conflicted, unsure how to react to so much information.

“A dome?” Prometheus and Sunnuithë questioned in unison.

“Yes, yes, of course. The dome! Atlantis! Many things to show you.” Sonora replied hurriedly, repeatedly lifting and stomping her feet as if doing a dance. “The Gray One—Sonora does not know you, but the Gray One is quite like the big mean things in Atlantis, they are what you want to avoid, yes, yes.”

“Excuse you?” Sunnuithë grumbled, tossing her head in annoyance with a harsh exhale. It’d be of no use to anyone to attack the poor oviraptor, even Sunnuithë knew that, but that didn’t mean she didn’t desperately want to.

“Come now, come. The tunnels are far, yes, yes.” Sonora spun around, as if she’d decided for all of them that they were coming with her. “The big one might not fit, Sonora would not know!”

“Hold on now, we’re not going anywhere with you. We don’t even know you!” Sunnuithë spat coldly, lifting one foot and pawing at the ground with clear irritation written across her whole form.

Prometheus paused, his eyes narrowing. He pushed himself to his feet slowly, lifting his body off the ground and craning his neck down to look at the other three. He towered over the others, his tail flicking back and forth. “Sonora— slow down, please. As kind as you are, Sunnuithë does have a point. We just met you, I don’t know if we can trust what you’re saying.”

Sonora paused, tilting her head. “Oh, this is very true. My apologies!” She replied with an exaggerated sigh. “I suppose I will need to take you another time, yes, yes. But Sonora has a busy schedule, so I must be going now.”

Poltergeist lifted his head with a confused huff. “Uh… see you, I guess?” He said, turning away and returning to the rock he’d previously been sunbathing on, murmuring something about ‘really weird raptors’.

“Oh! Uhm, alright then. Goodbye, Sonora.” Prometheus said quickly, confusion lacing his voice. He hadn’t expected her to leave so suddenly, but he supposed the little oviraptor had seemed like she was in a hurry.

“Good riddance, don’t come back.” Sunnuithë snorted with a shake of her head, turning to trot after Poltergeist with her head held high.

Prometheus frowned once more, watching as Sonora waved a feathered arm at him and smiled before hopping away just as energetically as she had appeared. Sonora had been a pleasant companion, however brief their interaction. Prometheus hoped to come across her another day.