[Trade] Headbutting 101

The soft footfalls that barely stirred the forest floor were steady and measured, careful to avoid the trip hazards of thick roots and tangles of brambles. With a firm tug, the Pachycephalsaurus ripped the bramble branches from the path he had made and tossed them into the depths of the shrubs. He tapped the dirt down with his feet just to be safe before looking back down the trail, over a fallen log. 

“Alright, follow on now!” he called softly into the dark winding pathway. The rapid tapping of little feet hurried towards him with increasing speed until three dark shapes emerged from around the corner. The three Pachy hatchlings ducked under the log and circled his legs before coming to a stop, clearly full of nervous energy. They weren't far now, he thought to himself, they would soon be able to exert that energy as much as they liked. “C'mon little soft heads,” Dozer teased gently, “we won't get anywhere if you keep starin’ at me with those big ol’ eyes.” 

The forest was a place of gifts for any Pachy with the sense to see them. Everything from filling out a varied diet to training their young could be done within Kela's forest edges. Even further still, one could find true opponents for battles of strength, if one was willing to risk their life of course. Dozer relayed all this to the hatchlings as they walked along, and at least two of them were listening intently. Starset was taking her time along the trail and stopping to prod at anything that caught her interest. When he turned around to chastise her she had her entire head in some poor creature's burrow.

“What if there's something cool in there?” She protested as the adult pulled her out by the tail.

“And what if there's something venomous in there?” he countered. Starset puffed her cheeks at him but followed obediently as they resumed their trek through the forest. She was doing her level best to listen to the lecture since it was genuinely interesting to her, but nothing pulled her attention more than the actual sights and sounds of the forest. Every critter that skittered across her path made her perk up and triggered something in her brain to chase after it. Tony had pulled her back more than once, his feathery face creased in worry. 

Tony hadn't been hatched in the forest like the others, only introduced later at a few weeks old. He felt it created a gulf between him and the trees, missing the rigid and unchanging concrete he had been born within. Now he was here with his uncle's herd and trying to broaden his horizons while flinching at every shift in the plants around him.

Lazuil kept her place close to Dozer's heels as the foliage grew thicker and her eyes grew wider. Every dark avenue seemed to beg for exploration but she wasn't as audacious as Starset, she would remain close to her guardian's side until he told her otherwise. It made her feel a bit of a teacher's pet, but Tony keeping equally close reassured her that she at least wasn't looking like a weed in front of him. Starset already thought she was a pushover, having known each other since they had hatched, so there was little face to be saved with her.

“Here we are!” Dozer proclaimed proudly, "Your proving grounds." The hatchlings stepped out from behind him to see a clearing filled with patches of flat, pale mushrooms that grew perpendicular to the ground. Their flat heads looked like the inside of a tree trunk, concentric circles gradually reducing to nothing but a brown blotchy dot in the dead centre of each mushroom. Starset squinted at the tableau before looking up at her caretaker.

"What do you mean?" she asked bluntly, making Dozer splutter.

"Oh, is this where we're supposed to practice headbutting?" Lazuil interrupted, stepping up to one of the mushrooms.

"I'm glad at least one of you paid attention during your lessons," Dozer sighed, "Yes, these are solid but soft, bouncy even, and you can practice your aim without getting hurt." Without waiting for further instructions, Tony ducked his head and charged full speed at the nearest mushroom. He couldn't see where he was going but as promised his dome collided with a soft surface that pushed him back onto the grass, looking up through the leaves to the blue sky beyond.

"Ha! Cool!" he giggled, kicking his legs until he righted himself and shook the dirt from his feathers. Instantly intrigued and feeling mildly left out, Starset pawed the ground and charged into the biggest one she could find. While she felt no pain upon collision, the recoil also landed her flat on her back and cloudwatching.

"Can we please just-" Dozer pleaded but he was interrupted by the manic giggling of Lazuil as she bounced off of another mushroom. "I haven't even explained it yet!" he whined as all three hatchlings kept headbutting the soft fungus.

"It's not complicated, uncle Dozer," Tony said grinning.

"Are you gonna tell us how to headbutt? We're Pachys, we don't need to be taught," Starset snorted.

"I thought you were just here to bring us through the woods," Lazuil admitted softly, "The rest kinda seems obvious." Dozer watched helplessly as the hatchlings continued to practice their aim on the large flat mushrooms, each bragging about how close they managed to get to the centre with each attempt. Sure, it might be self-explanatory but would it kill them to humour their elder for a little while? DOzer let out a long suffering sigh that was entirely ignored by his proteges and settled himself into the grass. He wondered how bright and brave they would all be when their brains were scrambled like eggs and he asked them to find their way back out of the woods. If they had waited just a moment longer he would've explained the concept to them but here they were, tiring themselves out and completely ignoring the long journey back. And if they thought he was carrying them back they had another thing coming!

***

As the sun began to sink lower into the sky and only a scant few hours remained before dark, Dozer crouched low to the ground to let the three exhausted hatchlings climb onto his back. Perhaps orienteering was a lesson for another day.