Scene of the Crime

Flying high above Isla Kela, a black and tan trope looked out amongst the scrubland before him. The winds were calm, perfect flying weather, which the old pterosaur was thankful for. As he cut silently through the sky he spotted a dead tree along the shoreline of rainbow lake. Carefully flapping his large wings he settled upon its branched, which creaked and bowed beneath his weight. 

 

Thankfully he wasn't as heavy as he used to be, his body now light and frail with age. Sighing heavily the tropeognathus, Kamui, looked out at the colorful lake. He didn't usually come to this area of the islands. Though the lake was a gorgeous view, it wasn't one that provided life like other bodies of water. Prey here was scarce, and the open fields meant no hiding spots if something, or someone decided to be aggressive. However, he came to see what was going on. 

 

After being exiled from his flock, he had heard of strange new dinosaurs roaming not only Isla Kela, but also Isla Pera. Now he was on his own he figured he may as well use his new found freedom to see what was going on. As his eyes scanned the area, he saw nothing of note. The only places to hide at rainbow lake was the high, dried grass, the only thing able to live in the harsh environment. If you can call the dried grass alive that is.

 

After a moment of searching he noticed something. Not movement, but a few small mounds of dirt, clearly recently disturbed. Carefully, Kamui spread his wings and glided over to the area. As he landed he inspected one of the mounds before carefully trying to uncover whatever it was that was buried there. Soon he uncovered a seed, but not like any he had seen before in his many years. Confusion draped his mind, why would someone try to plant a seed here of all places? It was devoid of life, and what plants did grow here were dry, dying, or already dead. Seemed like the worst place to make a garden. 

 

After inspecting the seed, he carefully covered it once more with dirt. No harm in letting them be after all, even if they didn't grow. His eyes scanned the area once more, this time finding some footprints near the planted seeds. As he looked, he realized they weren't like any other footprints he had seen before. Grant it, new species weren't necessarily uncommon. With the earthquake that had rocked the islands, there were many new species that ended up being introduced to the islands. However, Kamui had made a point to learn all their prints to better hunt and avoid trouble. These ones? They looked familiar but he couldn't quite place what species they belonged to.

 

As he looked on, mind wandering on who the prints belonged to, he noticed a single feather stuck within some dried plants nearby. Carefully he approached it, taking a deep inhale to see if the scent helped to trigger any of his thoughts and memories. At first, nothing came to mind. It wasn't like anything he had smelled before... and yet he seemed to have memories of the scent. 

 

"What are you..." Kamui whispered, closely inspecting the feather. It wasn't anything exciting, just a simple brown feather. Confusion warped his face. He leaned in once more to get the scent, before it finally clicked. 

 

He did know this species before, but only ever one. Magpie, the oviraptor that ran one of the shops. However, this only lead to more questions rather than answers. Kamui had interacted with Magpie numerous times. He had even considered him a friend, but anytime Kamui had asked about other oviraptors, Magpie had always sadly told him he was the only of his species. Yet, the evidence before him suggested otherwise. The brown feather surely wasn't from Magpie, his friend having only black, white, and purple plumage. So who did this belong to? How many more oviraptors were out there? And better yet, where did they come from? 

 

Kamui's mind swirled with thoughts, trying to piece together the puzzle that lay before him. Though he was old, his mind was still sharp, but with so little information, he needed more to go off of. With a bit of an old man grunt, Kamui took to the sky once more, curiosity driving him to try and figure out more. Why were they planting seeds? Seems strange to plant specific seeds, and rainbow lake of all places? Supposedly they were at other locations too, so why bother planting stuff at all these different spots? It didn't make sense to him. 

 

As Kamui continued to soar overhead, his eyes scanned every little thing below. The dirt, the grass, the rocks, they could all hold potential clues as to what was going on, and better yet why these new oviraptors were doing what they were doing. Soon enough, on the otherside of a late Kamui spotting something that stood out among the warm colors of rainbow lake, a small green sapling of some sorts. 

 

Kamui landed gracefully beside the strange plant, the only one in the area that was still green and seemed to have life in it yet. It was clearly a new plant, but what stumped Kamui was the fact it was one he had never seen. It's leaves seemed so thin, almost twisting and twirling in corkscrew like structures. As he looked closely trying to decern what type of plant it was, out of the corner of his eye he spotted yet another bit of green amongst the yellows and browns. Pushing the dried grass aside another, slightly larger plant seemed to be growing in the dead area. This one had beautiful pink flowers, an a sweet, almost intoxicating smell. Kamui only smelled the plant once before breaking out into a coughing fit. What were these plants? Stranger yet, it was clear they had only been planted no more than a few days ago, and though neither plant were enormous, both were much larger and seemed to grow much faster than any plant he had knowledge of. 

 

Kamui furrowed his brow, trying to figure out what, why, and better yet how. How had these oviraptors kept their existence hidden for so long? Sure oviraptors weren't the apex predator, but why go through the trouble of keeping your entire population hidden? Was there another island he was unaware of, or was there something else. Something deeper. Thoughts swirled like a hurricane within the old tropeo's mind. So many questions, and yet no answers. 

 

After awhile of continuing to search the area, Kamui seemed to find nothing else of note. Flying slowly back to the dried tree he had perched at, he landed on it once more to give his old bones a break. Maybe Magpie could enlighten the old tropeo. Kamui didn't think he would have lied to him seeing as they were friends, but maybe he had a reason for hiding his fellow species existence? Kamui sighed, knowing he would never find out unless he could find his friend and ask him personally. With a grunt Kamui took to the sky once more, it was time to find Magpie and try to unearth this mystery.