Dawn of the New

The dawn had risen early in the sky when Diei set out to hunt. The fresh morning air made her energized, causing her tail to swish and flick in excitement. Opening her mouth, she breathed in slowly. The day had arrived at last- her realm, her time of triumph. Here in this long abandoned section of the city, she ruled. The walls of this section were too small for any of the larger carnivores to weave their way into, and anything else that made their way in? Well, that was just prey.

And right on time, the smell of fresh food caught Diei’s attention. Her lips curled into a gleeful smile as she made her way down the long abandoned streets, a path long traveled by her. The yellow cryolophosaurus squeezed her way through alleyways, ignoring the small critters that squeaked and scurried away; she had bigger game to catch. As Diei drew closer to the food she couldn’t help but wonder just what had made its way into her claim- an injured deer? The scent of blood was fresh enough to cause Diei to break into a run- one that split to a full stop as she entered the clearing and the happy grin on her face turned into a snarl.

The carcass of a large buck was strewn across the small street, the park that had overgrown into the outskirts of the city often tempting hungry woodland creatures into the city. Normally, a find like this would make her thrilled; but the familiar carnivore feeding from it did not.

A purpled and grey feathered cryolophosaurus’s attention was already on her, a bit of meat tangled in his teeth. An amused look was across his face, and he flashed a grin her way. “Hello there, Diei. Didn’t expect to find you here.”

Diei snapped back. “Noctis! That's a lie and you know it! You broke our deal!” She surged forward, standing across from him. She was much bigger than the other, despite them being the same age, and stockier too. However, Noctis was not one to back down so easily. They had come into conflict many times as their hunting grounds overlapped, and it always ended with traded blows that resulted in a tie. An agreement was made- Diei had the day and Noctis the night. But here he was! Big, ugly (pretty) face and sharp, shiny teeth bared in a smile. 

“Whatever could you mean?” Noctis replied, still crouching over his meal with that smirk on his face. “No terms of our deal have been broken yet.”

“It's not nighttime anymore you rat!” Diei howled, lunging forward and tackling the smaller cryolophosaurus to the ground. They rolled around in the dirt angrily hissing and clawing at each other, snarls and feathers filling the air. Noctis was able to wiggle his way fairly quickly, still with that grin on his face! “The sun's out!” Indeed, dawn was on the horizon, peeking over the ocean and filling the world around them with warmth.

“Pay attention to the world around you, the stars are still out and it's still dark!” Noctis mocked. And he wasn’t wrong- the sky was still dark in color where the sun had yet to reach it, allowing the stars to shine down on them (in a mocking way, in Diei’s opinion.)

The yellow female swallowed back the insult she was going to spit, begrudgingly realizing that she and the purple male had a point- they were in a period of it both being active by the confines of their deal. “Fine.” Diei said through gritted teeth. “What would you suggest we do then?”

Noctis sent her another grin that she unfortunately still found charming. “Well, there’s plenty of food here.” He nodded at his kill. “We could always… share.”

Diei stared at him. “Are… you serious?” She asked slowly. They had known each other for years, been at each other's throats for just as long- and today was the first time he had ever suggested sharing a meal with her! What did he think they were- friends?

“Of course!” Noctis ripped a bit off of the stag before tossing it forward, letting it fall at Diei’s feet. The yellow cryolophosaurus eyed it warily, but the scent of fresh meat was too much to resist. She slowly lowered her head, and then lunged forward to snap it up. Noctis made no move to stop her, instead simply huffing in amusement and resuming his meal. Diei crept her way closer, before starting to feed from the other side. The two of them ate in silence, slowly, as the world around them grew lighter. Diei felt herself gradually relax as the air around them lightened, both in daylight and temperament. She found herself sneaking looks at Noctis on occasion- he really was, well, handsome, wasn’t he? Silver feathers with hints of purple and grey, and complex markings on his face. Eventually she even caught him in the act of glancing at her- but Noctis didn’t look away. Their gazes bore into each other- grey into red- until Diei jerked away, resuming her meal. Noctis huffed softly, but didn’t comment for once, and resumed eating.

By the time the carcass had been picked clean, they both were making steady eye contact. Noctis shook away bits of food from his teeth before slowly inching closer to Diei. She returned the gesture, and they slowly brushed their snouts together. The world seemingly paused for a moment- their rivalry forgotten for a moment as the sun rose behind them, day and night winding together above their heads. 

Noctis was the first to break the silence with a low murmur. “You know… I always thought the day was beautiful.” The light of day tinted his feathers, giving them a glow that Diei couldn’t help but notice.

“I’ve always been fond of the moon.” Diei added in an almost wistful tone. “But I do not get to see it often here.” Even now, decades after humans had vanished, smog still clung to the city sky.

“I know a place.” Noctis smiled knowingly. “The moon shines so beautifully- it should be full tomorrow. If you like, I can lead you there.” 

Diei paused for a moment- was she really doing this? The two had been bitter rivals for so long, but one shared meal and they were already planning a date? But looking at the handsome male before her, she found the sting of loneliness easier to bear. “Sure. It's a date.