Mudbath

Selena knew from the start that the surface was treacherous. Not all Atlantians knew that—some viewed it as a paradise, a faraway sanctuary that would save them from being swallowed up by the sea. But as a member of the royal guard, Selena was privy to all sorts of things, and that included matters of the world beyond the dome. She heard about the carnivorous titans that made the surface world their home, the acrocanthosaurus, and the scythe-clawed therizinosaurus. She’d had run-ins with them in Atlantis, now, which only proved their danger. So when she ventured onto the surface for the first time—not on official business, but to do some scouting of her own—she knew to be on her guard.

But she hadn’t expected the surface itself to be so dangerous. Because now she was sprawled out on the grass, panting like an old dog, baking in the heat of the sun.

She had no idea that it was possible for the world to be so hot. And so dry! She felt like her tongue was glued to the bottom of her mouth. She yearned for the comfortable humidity of her home. She knew she had to get back sooner or later, preferably sooner, but her limbs weren’t in the mood to obey her. The sun showed no mercy, with not even a passing cloud, and she couldn’t bear to even open her eyes. She was, at least, glad that she’d come alone. How shameful for a member of the royal guard to be defeated so easily!

“Selena! Is that you?”

Selena willed her eyes to open. She had to squint against the harsh light of the sun, but she could make out the pink face of a young oviraptor in front of her. An oviraptor she recognized. “Hummingbird…?”

“Are you okay? You look really tired.”

“I… I didn’t realize how hot the sun would be.” She felt less embarrassed admitting it to a child than to one of her comrades.

Hummingbird’s little face knotted with worry. “We should find you some mud. That’ll help you cool down. Can you walk?”

“With effort.” And with, indeed, no small amount of effort, Selena got to her feet. The vast world spun around her as she steadied herself, still breathing heavily.

“It’s not usually so hot this late in summer,” Hummingbird said. “That’s what I’ve heard, at least. This is my first summer.”

“Mine, too.”

“Oh! That’s right, you wouldn’t have summers underwater, would you?”

They continued to chat as Hummingbird led her down the hill. Talking got Selena’s mind off of how uncomfortable she felt in her sweltering skin.

Soon, they came to a river with sloping, muddy banks. As they drew nearer, Selena spotted a strange, misshapen lump thrashing about in the mud.

“Careful!” she said to Hummingbird, taking a wide stance in front of the hatchling. “There’s a-”

Hummingbird effortlessly walked under her. “Macaw! Look who I found!”

The mud-blob jumped up (with shocking speed, considering all the mud weighing it down), and that motion was enough for Selena to know it was really him. That boundless energy could only be Macaw’s.

He shook some of the mud off of himself. Hummingbird shrieked and ran a safe distance away.

“Won’t you join us, Hummingbird?”

“Oh, no, mud’s not really my thing.” She started fanning herself off with her wings. “It gets stuck to my feathers and it’s awful to get it all out. I’m okay just doing this.”

It brought a smile to Selena’s face to see that the pair of hatchlings had adapted to the surface so well. They were only the first generation to be born under the sun, yet they’d already discovered how to cope with the world’s fickle weather. She hoped it was a good omen for the rest of them.

“Um, will your armor be okay if it gets muddy?”

Selena snorted. “Don’t worry, little one. My armor was made to withstand much more dangerous things than mud.”

She went down the slope with Macaw, the earth squelching beneath her gargantuan steps and barely squeaking under Macaw’s. The mud was cool and refreshing against her tired feet.

As they drew nearer to the river, the mud grew thicker, softened by the force of the flowing water. Selena settled down, letting the mud coat her belly. Macaw scooped up some globs of mud and helped to spread them across her back and quills.

Selena hummed appreciatively. “Thank you, Macaw.”

“Do you like it?” Hummingbird called down to her.

“Oh, it’s wonderful.” She laid her head down and let herself slump over. Selena wondered why she hadn’t discovered the beauty of mud before. It wasn’t like it didn’t exist down in the jungle. But she’d never had a reason to roll around in it before, not when she never got hot enough to warrant it. Laying in mud was like sleeping on water, with the way it held her there, floating, but still clung to her.

The surface world was no less dangerous than before, but she knew now that it had its own wonders, too.