Whisp's Journey: Chained

They were surrounded on all sides. Even if Whisp could sidestep or jump over the clubbed tail dinosaurs, he wasn’t sure if he could take on the large herbivore.

There was also the matter of the hatchlings. Tilly was gentle, but clearly afraid, and while Magpie was willing to fight, he doubted he’d even dent their strange armour. Plus, she was still a little woozy from nearly being eaten by the dangerous plants around them.

What choice did they have?

Whisp sighed. “Fine, we’ll come.”

The large herbivore had a satisfied smile on her face. “Move fast, the jungle is eager to eat stragglers.”

Not wanting to get left behind, Magpie and Tilly climbed into the log once again, Whisp gently carrying it between his teeth. The guards kept him boxed in as the large herbivore led the way.

⚜···—–—⚜—–—···⚜

The view of the ocean was tinted orange by the time they reached what appeared to be the edge of the jungle. There were metal walls that seemed to be placed to prevent the poisonous and carnivorous plants from reaching the other side. It was a wonder how it held up for so long.

Whisp swore he saw something moving through the trees above, but he couldn’t tell what they were. They certainly weren’t birds.

A gate was maintained by two clubbed tail dinosaurs, but once they saw the spiked thumb guard, they pushed the gates aside, allowing them to enter.

“Whoa,” said Magpie and Tilly. 

‘Wow,’ Whisp agreed.

The part of the jungle before them didn’t seem as deep or tall, allowing more sunlight to part through the trees. The flora too seemed friendlier, and from a distance, the trio could make out a large pond and a waterfall.

“Don’t get comfortable just yet,” the spiked thumb guard spoke, breaking their attention. “If you want to step foot over there, you’ll need to be judged by the queen. As of the moment, she’s elsewhere, so you’ll be spending the night in prison.”

Magpie scoffed. “Prison? That can’t be bad.”

⚜···—–—⚜—–—···⚜

Magpie never regretted her words, not even when face to face with an angry adult. This might be the first time she wanted to take them back.

Prison, as it seemed, was far from bad. It was the absolute worst, containing a bunch of dinosaurs who were locked out for just stepping foot into the jungles below the ocean. None of them were happy, and it wasn’t hard to see why, just by the assortment of caves, holes, chains, or ropes holding them in place.

“HEY LET US OUT!” Magpie yelled, the gate shut tight behind her.

“Too late for that,” the spiked thumb dinosaur said. An unusual hairy creature did something to the gate with an odd looking twig before hopping onto her back. 

“You can try to escape, but let it be known we will find and recapture you,” she continued in her smug confident voice. “And next time, you’ll be chained up like your so-called guardian.”

Wisp sat down behind the other two, his backlegs and neck chained up in metal, the deed done by smaller but swift dinosaurs.

“Magpie, maybe we should do what she said,” Tilly suggested, holding tightly onto her red bucket.

“Hatchling, what do you have there?” The spiked thumb dinosaur asked.

“M… My bucket,” she said shyly.

“Oh, such pristine condition, I know someone who would love it.” She tried to reach over.

“No, it’s mine,” Tilly answered in a small voice, her tail tucked underneath her.

“Fraid not. All such human trinkets belong to the iguanodons now, like myself. So hand it over,” she started, the furry creature from before hopping between the bars to try and pry it from Tilly’s mouth.

But Magpie wouldn’t let such a thing happen to her friend.

“Get OUT of here, you fucking furry thing!” She yelled, shoving the creature aside with her horns. And for extra measure, she stomped on its tail.

The creature, clearly hurt, yelped and hopped back onto the iguanodon’s back. One of the guards, the oviraptor, seemed to be mildly concerned about what other words the hatchling knew.

She scoffed loudly and rubbed the creature’s fur, trying to soothe it. “Such abhorrent language! And spoken by a hatchling your age nonetheless. I’ll make sure her majesty is made aware of this, mark my words.”

The iguanodon then turned her gaze to the two guards, who suddenly stood more rigidly. “You two! Make sure that the hatchlings don’t leave this cell until sunrise. And don’t slack off on the job.”

And with that, she marched off.

Magpie peered between the bars. “Yeah, you better go. I bet your stupid furry thing will think twice about messing with me now!”

For a moment she stood proud, confident that she taught that iguanodon a lesson. But behind her, she heard some sniffling.

The styra turned around and saw Tilly, curled up on the ground with her head inside her precious bucket. Whisp did his best to comfort her with his tail, but it didn’t seem to help.

“Tilly?” Magpie asked in a careful voice. “It’s okay, she’s gone now.”

Tilly pulled her head out of the bucket, her nostrils dripping with tears. “Why was she so mean? She made us come here, she put those chains on Whisp,  she didn’t say please.”

“There’s… not always going to be nice dinosaurs around all the time, Tilly,” she hesitantly replied to her friend. “Not just here, but, like, on the surface too.”

The carnotaur lowered her head, unsure about how to feel about the news.

“But there’s a chance to find some nice dinosaurs too,” Magpie continued. “Remember when we first met? I didn’t like you at first, I didn’t know if I could trust you, but… I found out you’re one of the playful and cheery dinosaurs I’ve ever known. And persistent. That means you’re really good at never giving up.”

“And like you always find a way to get me to lighten up, even if I don’t want to. You’re too good at it sometimes, like back when we met Whisp,” she pointed out.

Tilly sniffled. “I think it was from that sour apple you found that morning,” she suggested.

“It was not!”

“Was too.”

“Was not!”

“Was too!” Tilly insisted,  causing both hatchlings to laugh. Even Whisp couldn’t help himself, smiling at the both of them.

“I think… It was good I trust him. We wouldn’t have found the ovi-ovri- the ovis that were sneaking into our hideout every night.”

“I wouldn’t have had the chance to know you two,” Wisp added. “Or have gotten the chance to let Tilly taste fish for the first time.”

“Oh my gosh, I forgot!” Tilly remembered. “They were so yummy! Or get you out of the plant.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me of those things,” Magpie shuddered.

The trio gave a gentle laugh, but soon it died down. They were still inside the jail cell for the night.

“You can’t see the stars down here,” Tilly said with a frown. We’re too far away.”

“The moon’s there though,” Whisp comforted the hatchling. “See, that’s why there's still light down here.”

“I wanna go home…” the hatchling said, pressing herself against Whisp. Magpie did the same, still a hatchling at heart.

Despite the discomfort of the chains, the cryo sat down and curled his tail around them. Both hatchlings nestled as close as possible for warmth.

“We’ll get back home,” he reassured them both. 

He then gazed beyond the bars, the trees, and the strange transparent glass that split the jungle from the sea and looked to the moon. Somewhere farther down the coast, was his pack and Brambles.

Perhaps she too was looking at the moon tonight.

‘We’ve got to get home.’