[Trade] Axel & Mesa - Homecoming

A sudden gust of wind brought with it an unpleasant feeling of cold. The cold nipped at Mesa's muzzle, irritating her sensitive eyes. Snow had been falling steadily since morning, covering the ground with an ever-thickening layer. Tiny snowflakes also fell on the female's skin, initially without any impact - they melted immediately upon contact with her body - but eventually they triumphed and formed a thin white layer on the parasaurolophus' back. Mesa sneezed loudly, shaking off the snowy blanket. She was not a fan of winter.

Axel approached the matter quite differently. His thick, dense layer of feathers protected him perfectly from mild winters - a little snow was no big deal for him. As long as the temperature hovered around zero degrees, not dropping much below that threshold, he had nothing to worry about. In fact, the white, soft fluff gave him a surprising amount of joy. The male rolled happily on the ground and slid on ice-covered puddles, having a great time.

However, he was unable to enjoy winter for long when he saw his friend suffering. The low temperatures were taking their toll on Mesa – she had been gloomy since morning, and every gust of wind caused her to shiver. Initially, their only (and so far effective!) way of coping with the cold was to spend the night together, cuddling up to each other and trying to conserve as much heat as possible. However, this method proved insufficient in the face of worsening weather conditions – even Axel's closeness no longer gave Mesa any relief. So they had to come up with something else.

After a short but fruitful discussion, accompanied by the discontented grumbling of the freezing female, they came to the conclusion that there were two solutions to their problem. One was to move to another part of the island, somewhere closer to the active volcanoes. The new place would certainly provide them with the warmth they craved, but the journey would be long – too long for that idea to even make sense. The second option involved taking the opposite course of action – instead of looking for a new place to live, it consisted of staying exactly where they had been living and building themselves a shelter. Neither of them had any experience in such undertakings, but it still seemed to them to be the most sensible way out of the situation.

The first step in their plan was, of course, to find a suitable location. Until then, they had not been tied to a specific location, wandering around the island and discovering new areas as needed. Recently, they had been staying mainly within one of the vast, dense coniferous forests, which provided them with shelter from the gusty wind and the gaze of larger predators. The wooded landscape was interspersed with sharp escarpments and cliffs, rising from under the snow like treacherous traps. Both Axel and Mesa had no doubt that this could be a good place for their first permanent home.

As for the exact location, they wanted the chosen place to be as sheltered as possible, thus providing them with comfort and a sense of security. Mesa immediately came up with a good idea to use one of the nearby escarpments for this purpose. The two companions set off in search of a suitable rock formation.

They moved eastward, almost in a straight line, trying to spot any promising locations among the dense forest. Despite their young age and lack of experience, they were critical in their choices. Axel, much more spontaneous and excited, looked around eagerly, noticing new, promising cliffs every now and then. Mesa was definitely more critical - she approached the rocks and examined them with surprising precision, usually disagreeing with the therizinosaurus about their supposedly good quality. It quickly became clear that only a slope she found herself would satisfy her.

Fortunately, they did not have to wait long – finally, a place appeared that seemed perfect for both of them. The curved, large escarpment formed an almost right angle, providing them with an ideal base for shelter – even in its original form, the rocks significantly reduced the unpleasant gusts of cold wind that blew through the forest from time to time.

It was time to move on to the next stage – gathering the necessary materials. Their plan was to collect a dozen or so branches and logs, which they could lean against the slope, thus creating a small, triangular shelter. There was no time to lose – in winter, dusk came quickly, bringing with it a bitter cold. So they set off in search of building materials.

They walked away from the place they had chosen for their new home, carefully observing the surrounding vegetation. They agreed that it would be best to choose young, flexible trees with branches densely covered with dark green needles. To their dissatisfaction, it turned out that finding a sufficient number of already felled logs was next to impossible, so they had to rely on their own muscle power. Every time, after selecting their next victim, one of them leaned their shoulder against the rough bark and pushed mercilessly against the trunk. The flexible trees put up considerable resistance, but they couldn't do so indefinitely - each time, after a moment of effort, Axel and Mesa heard the loud crack of a broken trunk.

The determined duo managed to gather enough trees within an hour - a sizeable pile lay next to them. They both breathed a sigh of relief, breathing heavily from exhaustion. The sun was slowly setting in the sky, and they still had a lot of work ahead of them, so they had no time to rest. Mesa grabbed one of the trees with her beak, dragging it laboriously behind her. Axel, due to his less than impressive bite strength, chose a different technique - he clumsily tried to roll the logs across the snow, gradually moving them towards their destination. This part of the plan, although seemingly the most trivial, also turned out to be the most time-consuming. There were a dozen or so trees and only two builders, who were not suited to this type of task.

The logs dug through the sparkling layer of snow, leaving deep ruts behind them, which became deeper the closer they got to completing their task. The pile of trees stacked under the embankment grew with every quarter of an hour until it finally reached its peak – the breakneck undertaking was completed successfully.

The two herbivores were relentlessly chased by time, but they were getting closer and closer to their goal. All that separated them from their first peaceful sleep in their new home was the skilful placement of trees and branches on the slope. It seemed an incredibly difficult undertaking, but the two friends had an idea. They started by digging a narrow, fairly long groove parallel to one of the walls of the slope - perfect for anchoring the lower end of the logs. Mesa's hooves and Axel's long claws were good tools for digging, so it took them only a moment. Then came the more difficult part – positioning the trees correctly. It took them some effort, but they found a way. At the very beginning, one of them pushed the tree into the previously dug groove. The next step was Mesa's domain – she pried the other end of the tree with her snout, lifting it slightly, just enough for Axel to take over the load. The male, clearly larger and stronger, positioned the next trees in the right place with one last strong push.

Finally, all the logs were placed in their proper places, forming a solid wall. The branches of the trees spread out to the sides, sealing the structure with their needles. The whole thing looked truly impressive.

Axel and Mesa entered their shelter, blissfully enjoying its warmth on their skin. They breathed a sigh of relief as they watched the sun set – they had succeeded.