[Trade] Honor Guard: The Patrol

After some hostile incursions, Atlantis’s newest loyal recruits were employed to patrol the outskirts of the court and watch for suspicious activity.  Rapture found herself sent out alongside Dutchess, an enormous acro that strongly reminded her of some of the dark-pointed cats she’d seen roaming the islands.

They met at the edge of the court, where tangled jungle turned into carefully tended garden.  A dirt trail was worn along their path where many dinosaurs before them had walked this route.  Rapture bobbed her head at Dutchess, who hesitantly nodded her crested head back, and they set off.

It was morning in Atlantis, the dome’s systems simulating not-quite direct light.  The effect was somewhat ruined by the lost panels, though, which allowed blue-tinted light through the water overhead.  It was humid, as Atlantis always was, and Rapture’s feathers felt heavy, as though moisture might be collecting in them.  She shook herself, attempting to clear the feeling.

After long moments of silence filled by nothing but walking, Rapture eventually spoke up.  “So, how was your knighting ceremony?” she asked.

Dutchess glanced down at her, then away, over the gardens.  None of the oviraptors or iguanodons that tended them were nearby; it was just the two of them, on patrol.  “It was….fine,” Dutchess replied, her tone rather flat.  Rapture tilted her head- not the enthusiasm she expected from a new recruit for Atlantis.  Granted, her own feelings were similar.

“Just fine?” Rapture decided to press.  The court’s thinking seemed so black and white- you were for Atlantis, or against them.  Rapture wanted to save Atlantis, but did that mean she was turning against her home?

It took time for Dutchess to respond, as they continued to walk the well-worn path.  “I….worry,” she eventually admitted.  “I worry about Atlantis’s plans.  Surely there’s room for everyone, on the surface?”  The acro stopped to sniff at the ground.  Many scent paths crossed in and out of the jungle border, mostly oviraptor and euoplocephalus, but some from other dinosaurs as well.  None were fresh- no recent incursions.  They carried on.

Rapture allowed herself a moment to think as well.  What they were discussing was dangerous.  Atlantis did not allow thoughts of treason, or questioning their mission, and as outsiders they were scrutinized more than most.  But it was quiet out here at the edge of the court, and perhaps they could speak freely.  “I’m worried too,” Rapture replied.  “I wanted to help when I found out about the cracks in the dome, but now Queen Rhys has gone and declared war on the islanders and I’m scared.  My girlfriend and I have a nest up there- will we still have it, if there’s a war?”

Dutchess stopped to stare at Rapture, and for a moment she feared she’d said too much.  But then the acro’s expression broke into one of relief.  “I’ve been thinking the same things.  I don’t want to fight the dinosaurs I’ve come to know,” she said, then looked at the ground, guilty.  “I’m scared to stay, but I don’t want to abandon Atlantis, either.”

Rapture nodded slowly.  It seemed wrong to leave dinosaurs who just wanted a home to their fate, but she couldn’t just give up her existing home for them.

“Maybe if we help them, we can convince them there’s another way?” Rapture offered.

Dutchess’s expression grew a bit more hopeful.  “Maybe,” she agreed.  The two kept walking, considering what they had just admitted to each other as the dome’s lighting adjusted and the day’s heat grew more intense.  Occasionally, birds called to one another, but it was hard to tell if they were real birds or if ancient speakers were hidden in the undergrowth, still functioning after all this time.

Abruptly, Rapture came to a halt, her head twisting and tilting as she listened.  Dutchess paused as well, looking back at her curiously.  “I think I hear rustling,” Rapture explained.  “There’s something in the jungle.”  Both dinosaurs turned their heads, peering into the thick undergrowth.  Was it just the court monkeys, or had they stumbled upon someone trying to infiltrate Atlantis?

The noises of plants being brushed aside grew louder, and more clearly originating from the ground instead of the trees.  Dutchess and Rapture glanced at each other.  Was this going to turn into a fight?  Both turned back to the source of the sound, readying themselves.

A dun-yellow utahraptor stepped out of the vegetation, his gaze sweeping down the path, then back up.  His eyes locked with Rapture and he flared his arm and tail feathers in a threat display, hissing as he prepared to battle the guard he’d just come across.  Rapture balked, but Dutchess took one heavy step forward, lowering her head and growling, deep and thunderous.  The utah stopped instantly, seeming to notice Dutchess for the first time.  Clearly, he was not up to the task of fighting an acro, and he turned and darted back into the jungle.  Dutchess straightened up, watching the spot where he’d disappeared.  “Should we follow?” she asked.

Rapture shook herself, adrenaline at the near-fight making her tremble.  “I-I don’t think we have to.  And I don’t really want to,” she admitted, taking a deep breath to calm herself.  “You know, you can be pretty scary!”

Dutchess looked surprised, tilting her head.  “Oh, uh, you think so?” she asked.  Rapture nodded eagerly, and the feathers on Dutchess’s crest puffed out, pleased.  “I’m just glad he didn’t actually want to fight,” she added.  

Rapture nodded again.  “Me too,” she replied.  She trotted over to where the other raptor had disappeared and listened intently, but the only sound was the distant crash of his retreat.  It seemed he had been the only invader.  “I guess the iguanodons will be pleased with us for helping out?” Rapture commented, though her voice held a questioning note.

Dutchess gazed into the jungle as well.  “Yeah, I think so.  That’s….good, I think.”  Her voice did not hold much conviction, either.  They both stood still for a moment, wondering if what they had just done made peace even more unlikely.  Eventually, though, Dutchess turned to keep patrolling, and Rapture followed.  Despite their doubts, they still had a duty to fulfill.