[Trade] Barbatus and Wollemia

Barbatus looked at the female with undisguised interest. She was undeniably striking – a veritable riot of colour, shimmering before his eyes in various shades of brown and grey. Both her head and tail were crowned with impressive plumes, reminiscent of the feathers of birds of paradise. Her colourful feathers were speckled with white freckles, similar in appearance to tiny snowflakes. The female's eyes were olive-coloured, contrasting with the grey of her muzzle. And those piercing eyes - they looked straight at him.

This was not their first encounter - they lived in the same territory, among the electrifying greenery of the tropical forest, so their paths had crossed several times before, even when Barbatus was still an inexperienced adolescent. The female was clearly older than him, more sedate, her rebellious nature somewhat tempered by her age. He was intrigued by her.

The Iguanodon let out a quiet, inviting growl as he emerged from the bushes. Despite the age difference, he towered over her, proudly flexing his muscles. When he saw the sparkle in her eye, indicating that she was not only watching him intently but also liked what she saw, he waved his spiky tail flirtatiously.

However, Wollemia was not naive enough to be impressed by such cheap tricks. She approached him, circling the male, carefully examining every inch of her suitor. It was clear that he had only recently reached adulthood, which was an undoubted disadvantage. However, his movements were marked by energy and health, and he did not seem to lack ambition - he had potential.

The female neighed melodiously, to which Barbatus responded with a similar, though much lower sound. She repeated this several times to test his determination - he did not disappoint her.

However, their loud, joint singing proved to be a disastrous idea. Their voices carried loudly through the jungle, alerting every male in the area to what was happening. Finally, one of them reacted.

A much older male rolled out onto the clearing, wagging his tail irritably. His greenish scales blended well with the background, camouflaging him among the vegetation - he was only noticed when he was suddenly a few metres away from the two love birds. The rival immediately turned his gaze towards Barbatus, scrutinising him carefully. He roared loudly, looking at the younger male with frustration. According to the veteran, this territory belonged to him, so he was not going to tolerate any cocky youngsters in the area.

Wollemia ruffled her feathers in momentary fear. She immediately moved to the edge of the clearing, getting out of the way of the iguanodons, who were seething with anger. She had no intention of exposing herself to any harm.

Barbatus slightly reduced the distance between himself and his rival, keeping his eyes on the other male. He hoped to get acquainted with the female painlessly, so any competition was very much in his way. He roared loudly, and his furious vibrato echoed off the surrounding trees.

The older of the two climbed onto his hind legs, showing off his size in all its glory. Once he was sure that both had taken note, he dropped violently to the ground, slamming his front legs into the soil with a thud. He was not afraid of confrontation - his greenish sides were covered with irregular scars, souvenirs of past battles. Many of them had been won.

This move was the trigger for Barbatus - the brown male lunged forward, charging madly at his opponent. The older rival did not back down; on the contrary, he eagerly moved to meet the youngster. They collided with a loud bang, so hard that they both felt their brains brutally banging against their own skulls. There was no joking around with a fight like this.

Each of them pushed against their rival with all their might, trying to throw them off balance. However, both were too determined for this to work – they dug their long clawed fingers into the ground too fiercely, mercilessly tearing up the lush green grass. They needed to change their technique.

They both tried hard to lift their front legs up, climbing over their rival as if over a mere rock. However, the constant whirlwind of the fight made this desire difficult to fulfil. The males pushed each other fiercely, braced against each other with their shoulders and chests. The older one swung his head aggressively, hitting Barbatus's shoulder blade with a dull thud. This was not enough to decide the outcome of the fight.

Soon afterwards, it turned out that the older male's move was a mistake - trying to deliver another blow, he lowered his head, giving Barbatus space to climb on top of him. The youngster was not going to miss this opportunity. He pushed off violently from the ground, lifting his front legs in the air for a moment. Before his rival could fully comprehend what had just happened, Barbatus fell on him with crushing force, digging his massive claws into the greenish, scaled skin. The veteran roared in pain, desperately trying to defend himself, but the brown male had no intention of letting go. He leaned forward, shifting even more of his weight onto his front legs, causing his competitor additional pain. The injured male tried to strike with his sharp beak, but Barbatus was in complete control of the situation, keeping his distance as much as he could.

The older male lost his balance and fell to the ground, the force of the impact almost knocking all the air out of his lungs. Barbatus triumphed, letting out a satisfied grunt. He had not been sure of his victory. He surprised even himself.

Wollemia moved a little closer, though she still kept her distance – she didn't get along with aggressive males. She watched the exhausted youngster closely, seeing his sides heave heavily in time with his rapid breathing. After a moment, Barbatus slid off the defeated male's body, provoking another roar of pain and despair. The veteran had irretrievably lost his admirable reputation - being defeated by an inexperienced youngster was a real blow to his honour.

The brown iguanodon, staggering on his legs from exhaustion, approached the female who intrigued him, staring into her olive eyes. He had impressed her, he had no doubt about that. With the last of his strength, he nudged her affectionately on the shoulder, burying the tip of his nose in her soft feathers. Wollemia reciprocated the kind gesture, brushing the male's cheek with her beak, congratulating him on winning the fight. They both looked with slight irritation at the other male, who had already managed to get up and drag himself to the edge of the clearing. Barbatus, tired from the duel, lay down on the soft patch of grass, sighing heavily. The female snuggled up to his side with a quiet purr of contentment. They clearly enjoyed each other's company.