We Were Playing in the Sand

The time that Hart had spent with Opal had been exhausting to say the least - but finally he had been given a new assignment. This assignment was something a bit different than he was use to- it was another seed run like he was use to, but this time his partner was a rather.. Interesting character. 

“My name is Hippocampus.” He had said, looking a bit awkwardly at Hart,”You can just.. Call me Hippo. If you want, of course.”

Hart stared down at the juvenile Oviraptor. It was abnormal for him to be paired with someone who was practically a trainee still, especially since at this point he was considered a “senior seed sewer” despite his young age. He had, after all, been among the first Oviraptors to go on the surface even if he wasn’t much older than Hippo when had. ‘Hippo seemed to pick up on Hart’s hesitation- and seemed to almost shrink under his gaze. 

“… I know I’m probably not what you expected in a seeding partner,” Hippo said as she kicked some of the dirt,”You’ve probably heard that I have some.. memory issues.. but I’ll do my best!”

Hart tried to soften his gaze as the younger Ovi looked up at him hopefully, but the back of his mind could only think about the implications of ‘You’ve probably heard about me’. He knew he was suddenly becoming one of the most senior Oviraptors who hadn’t died yet - but why was he getting paired suddenly with all the difficult dinosaurs?

“Alright.. well.. Hippo, do you know where our next assignment is..?” Hart eventually asked.

He watched the gears in Hippo’s head turn for an uncomfortable amount of time. 

“I remember.. it is near water,” He said,”I do love water. I was really excited to get to go there.”

Hart’s facial features tightened as he fought back an audible sigh. 

“Were going to the Rainbow Lake.” Hart said as he began to step forward with Hippo diligently following,”The plan is to put these special seeds in the water. They’re aquatic plants so they have to stay wet- you’re carrying the water skins for the seeds journey and I’ll carry the seeds. The Rainbow Lake is very dangerous- it’s a hot spot for surface dwellers. You’ll have to be extremely careful.”

Hippo nodded diligently as he seemed to be listening but for some reason Hart wasn’t exactly convinced. 

[…]

The Rainbow Lake was not far from where Hart had been stationed with Opal to till the soil. Every hour Opal made sure to top off the seed bag with some of the water skin’s water. The journey had been a bit nerve wracking - especially since he knew that he had been paired with a Oviraptor greener than a unbudded leaf. Once he saw the shimmering rocks of the Rainbow Lake he felt himself tense even more. He knew these shallows were a common spot for surface dwellers to dwell. 

“Look!” The enthusiastic voice of Hippo trilled as he saw the sandy Oviraptor trot forward,”They’re so pretty!”

Hart winced as he saw the Ovi step so boldly into the opening that surrounded the Rainbow Lake. He paused, half expecting a Tropeo to swoop down and carry Hippo off. When that didn’t happen and he watched Hippo get closer to the water and shimmering rocks he tentatively stepped out himself. 

“… It doesn’t look like anyone is here right now,” He said as he cautiously surveyed the area. 

“The way the rocks shimmer is so pretty, especially with how it reflects off the water.” Hippo said endearingly as she drew closer and closer to the edge until finally the alkaline water was lapping at their talons. 

“Don’t drink it. In fact, don’t touch it,” Hart said,”I made that mistake my first time here. Got me really sick. Like, dying sick, and all I had was a sip before the taste made me spit most of it back out,” Hart shuddered as he settled the special seeds next to him. 

“Water.. that you can’t drink.. and shouldn’t touch… “ Hippo said as though repeating the orders in his mind despite fighting the instinct to hop straight in,”… how are these seeds special?”

“Dunno, the Iguanadon said they should be strong enough to survive being in here. They’re a lot smarter than I am and I know better than to question them,” Hart said as he unpacked several of the seed packets. 

“You don’t question them?” Hippo asked as she turned to look at Hart,”… The Iguanadons I mean.”

The question made Hart pause. Hippo was young and naive and hadn’t seen the consequences of a scorned Iguanadon. He however had. Enough to know to be afraid of them. Enough to know not to question them. 

“… No.” He said finally,”I don’t question them. Things are simpler that way.” 

Hippo seemed to last out an unimpressed tsk and Hart was wondering if his ‘memory issues’ were the only reason that he had been paired with Hart. 

“There, that should do it. Just take this entire pouch and throw it in the water.. apparently it’ll dissolve or something. I don’t know.” He said as he tossed one of the pouches to Hippo. 

“Alright.. if you’re sure..” He said as he grabbed a pouch and started tossing them in. 

“I’ll keep a look out.” Hart said not trusting the inexperience Oviraptor to keep a guard out. 

Hippo was looking into the water as though he was about to lunge in there himself and hope to dissolve. 

“Okay.”