Lablings

The labs contained a wealth of knowledge hidden in their wretched bowels and knew he must brave them to further his understanding of the human menace. He knew very few scholars of humanity that could also read their runes, so he frequently descended alone into the old halls. The sight of the preserved specimens were familiar by now, and where once they had frightened him he now greeted them as old friends. It couldn't hurt to pay a modicum of respect to such forgotten creatures, and it soothed his guilty conscience regarding prying around their graves. Many of the artefacts that he sought had been destroyed through decades of fighting amongst the dinosaurs that had been trapped down here until the eruption. Though they had seemed to carve out a level each for each species, it certainly wasn't the end of all conflict. Being an Iguanodon he knew all too well of interspecies conflicts, the jostling for power and whatnot. Still, he could not begrudge their fight for survival, even if it left his studies severely lacking in primary sources. Only a handful of dinosaurs lived in the time of humanity, and he had never had the chance to interview them personally but the spoken tales passed down through their descendents were of great scientific value, even if he had to approach them with a pinch of scepticism.

One such tale had led him down here, to the sight of a mass escape during the time of humans. Before the labs were locked down and the remaining inhabitants trapped, there had been a mass exodus of species that became the first few to populate the islands. He was eager to peruse the wreckage, to discover the first sparks of dinosaur liberation. As he turned over what appeared to be another pile of debris, he encountered the small faces of two Acro hatchlings looking back at him. He recoiled in shock as the small pink eyes blinked up at him, empty of malice and simply observing him. He was the much larger creature after all, and he became suddenly aware of how intimidating he must seem to both hatchlings. The dark one was the only one looking at him, the reddish one turning away to hide its face in its companion's side. They were children, he reminded himself, no matter the species and the location, they were only children.

"Hello there," he said softly, keeping his surprise and anxiety out of his voice, "I'm so sorry to have disturbed you." The dark one only watched, its eyes wide like it was trying to drink in his entire being on their surface. The reddish one raised its snout from the feathers of the other and chanced a look at the Iggy who tried to soften his expression again. "I shall leave you alone if that's what you'd like? Where are your parents, shall I go and find them for you?" He had no idea why he volunteered, who knew how crazed the half-starved parents of these hatchlings might be. The dark one finally broke eye contact to reach beside it, rummaging in the pile of what he had assumed to be junk before retrieving an off-white slab. It dragged the slab out, though it didn't seem heavy, just ungainly for such a small creature. He leaned in to observe what the child had brought him and stifled a cry as his light fell upon it. Unmistakably, it was the jaw bone of something large and carnivorous. He needn't guess for long as the little Acro nudged the bone towards him and looked up.

"Mama," she said quietly, her voice cracking like she hadn't spoken in days.

"I see... goodness," he said quietly to himself. There was only one option left to him now, his research be damned. "I can bring you somewhere safe, with food. Would you like that?" At the mention of food the dark hatchling perked up and he realised that she was crested, her brow feathers had simply been flattened to her skull with fear. It made something inside his chest pull tightly and he steeled his resolve. "And you, little one?" he addressed the reddish Acro who still refused to look at him. The dark one nudged her companion and rose to her feet, ignoring his annoyed squeaks. She squeaked back, some unintelligible language that it seemed that only they understood. He repressed his excitement at a possible conlang and stood back, giving them both room to discuss in peace. 

The smaller hatchling whipped her head around, seeming to believe the large dinosaur was going to leave them behind. She scolded the reddish one sharply and grabbed the back of his neck in her jaws. She didn't sink her teeth in or pull, but the meaning was clear and his feet began to move to follow her. She hurried to the heel of the Iguanodon and looked back at him, waiting for him to deliver them to food. Their stomachs were fiery with hunger, the rats had learned to avoid their nest and they couldn't find anything else to eat without mama. The Iguanodon walked slowly, letting their little legs catch up with his long strides, and allowing them time to look around in awe the moment they entered the light. They had never been outside of that complex before, living in the mostly dark hallways and shrinking from the light. Mama had told them it was safer in the dark, and she had died in the light so they had taken this word as irrefutable truth. Now, putting their lives in the hands of this stranger for the sake of avoiding starvation, the light welcomed them with its blinding embrace.

"It's probably very bright in here for you, it'll be even brighter on the surface so please let me know if you want to hide under me," the Iggy offered gently and the dark hatchling accepted quickly. Her head was already aching and the shade under the herbivore's belly was more than welcome. From under him, she could peer out more effectively, seeing broken glass and empty holes in the walls, bent metal bars and claw marks dug deep into the tiles. The reddish hatchling shuddered beside her, feeling something unsettling about the scene of destruction. The thought of this living just on the other side of their safe walls had his mind racing, wondering if one of the claws belonged to the creature that had killed mother. Even the lab outside of their nest seemed so foreign to the pair of them, and they stuck closely to their new guardian as they cautiously explored the scene on their way out.