Halting the Spread

With a new member in their flock, Fledge and Shiloh elected to show Colubrid around the island’s best places to forage.  Forage locations were important to therizinosaurs, and each group had their spots, unknown to and carefully kept from the others.  It had taken time for Shiloh to decide he trusted Colubrid enough to reveal theirs.  In all honesty, a big part of his decision was because he knew Fledge was saddened by him withholding the information, and he didn’t like to upset the younger theri.  So they were on their way to one of the main spots they liked to frequent.

The trio followed a path worn through the forest, the taller therizinosauruses having to duck below the branches.  The colors of autumn were just beginning to come out, shades of red and orange creeping across the edges of leaves.  The weather remained as warm as summer had been, though.  Colubrid was grateful for it- his flockmates had warned him that the temperature would turn much cooler as winter arrived.  Having experienced no seasons and constant warmth and humidity in Atlantis, the frequent changes in weather were strange to him.  The idea that weather could change not just day to day but broadly, across the year, was a little frightening.  But he looked forward to it, too.  Part of why he had left Atlantis was because he was tired of its unchanging predictability.

Shiloh, walking in the lead, began to slow down as he spotted something strange ahead.  Amidst the warm colors of autumn was a gash of bright green.  He came to a stop, tilting his head as he tried to make sense of the incongruity.  Vines, large leaves, a profusion of plants he knew were not native to this area.

“What’s the holdup?” Colubrid called, stepping around Shiloh’s ankle to look for himself.  Fledge peered over Shiloh’s shoulder, also curious.

Shiloh pointed with one long claw.  “That’s not supposed to be here,” he replied, “And it’s blocking the way to our foraging grounds.”

Colubrid made a birdlike whistling noise as he examined the obstruction.  “Those are some big’uns.  I recognize those plants- they’re from Atlantis.”  His eyes narrowed.  “Someone’s been meddling.”

Fledge stepped around Shiloh, craning his long neck to look at the strange plants himself.  “What do we do?” he asked.  “The trees here are too thick for us to go around without knocking some over.  I…I don’t want to hurt them.”

Shiloh sighed.  Sometimes, Fledge’s empathy for everything, even the things they ate, got on his nerves.  “We might just have to,” he tried to warn the younger, lighter-colored theri.

“Not necessary,” Colubrid declared.  “None of these are poisonous.  I think we’ve just found our new foraging ground for the day!”  Both theris looked down in surprise.

“Are you sure?” Fledge asked, then hastened to add, “I mean, I don’t doubt you, but Atlantean plants are known to be pretty bad news.”

Colubrid laughed, patting him on the leg.  “Not these ones.  They’re fast growing, sure, but they can’t hurt you.  I would know- the iguanodons liked to make oviraptors like me tend their precious plants for them,” he replied, then snorted derisively.  He was glad to be away from court society.  The two theris shifted uncomfortably at the reminder.  Colubrid ignored the reaction, trotting up to the wall of plants in front of them.  “Let’s see here….not poisonous, no, but we need to clear these out, or they’ll start blocking the light and killing off the other plants around here,” he continued, craning his head back to look at where the invasive plants were already beginning to take over the canopy.

Shiloh bristled, his black and orange feathers rising in anger.  The Atlanteans were spreading plants that would choke out the flora already on the island?  “Well, we can’t have that,” he said, his voice  a few shades darker than before.  “Do these taste good?”

Colubrid looked back at him, tapping his claws together in anticipation.  “Oh yes.  Very good.”

“Then I think we’ve found dinner,” Shiloh said, and turned to Fledge.  “What do you think?”

Fledge jumped, as if he hadn’t expected to be spoken to.  “Oh!  Well, if they’re going to hurt the other plants, we should get rid of them, right?  And uh, I’m feeling hungry, I suppose,” he said, nodding.

Colubrid patted him on the leg again.  “That’s the spirit!”  He began to move forward, then paused.  “If you see any plants other than these vines, though, check with me.  Something else might actually be poisonous,” he added.  Shiloh tilted his head, a little more skeptical of the safety of these plants, but didn’t say anything.

The first step to clearing the obstruction was cutting down the vines.  Shiloh immediately stepped forward, lashing out with the long claws on his forelimbs.  Colubrid had to hop quickly out of the way as leaves and thick tendrils began to fall all around him.  After a moment of watching, Fledge joined in.  Using his claws to destroy things did not come naturally to him, but the thought that he was helping his home made him determined to try.

As the two theris worked, Colubrid dragged the vines off to the side, making a big pile they could munch on later.  Therizinosaurus was one of the largest dinosaurs on the islands, and they had one of the largest appetites to match.  Colubrid was glad for it, in this case.  While he wasn’t going to mention it to the others just yet, he had a feeling they would find similar tangles of invasive plants all over the island.  He paused to watch Fledge slash through another set of vines.  Those claws might need to be used many more times before this was over.

Within an hour, the vines were cleared.  Shiloh and Fledge stood among the wreckage, claws stained green from their efforts.  The path to the foraging ground was clear, but as Colubrid suggested, their dinner was right in front of them.  Shiloh used his long neck to pull a few remaining vines down from the canopy, while Fledge plopped himself down in front of the pile Colubrid made and began to chow down.  Shiloh was a little less trusting, but he too began to munch on the tendrils he’d pulled loose.  They were indeed delicious.

As the two theris enjoyed their well-earned meal, Colubrid busied himself ripping the roots of the vines from the ground.  With each plant torn free, another connection to his old life came loose as well.