Roasting and toasting

The golden light of dawn was finally cresting the horizon after another long winter night, causing the snow to shimmer and sparkle. In the warmth of their den Calamira and her mother were just beginning to wake from a deep and cozy sleep. Sitting up clumsily the little Styraco released a massive yawn and shook her head as if to shake the drowsiness from her body. The well padded den was a refuge made all the more enjoyable by the increasingly low temperatures outside. Something about being toasty when the wind was howling and heaps of snowflakes were blowing by was just extra satisfying. It made her feel safe and comforted, not having to worry when the weather got worse.

Once she had become mostly alert, Cala surveyed the den with a little more energy, noting her still sleeping mother and lack of anything else happening. Suddenly feeling full of energy and craving activity as only the young do at such early hours, she scampered around the den for a bit, hoping the movement would wake her mother, but to no avail. Cala huffed to herself, debating what to do next as boredom began to quickly settle over her like a thick fog. Youthful energy was building up in her little striped body, and she was looking for an outlet. Just as she was wondering what to do she peered out of the entrance and caught a flash of movement outside. Sitting up a little straighter Cala glanced back at her mom and hesitated only a second before darting outside to investigate. That had to be someone new to talk to, and Cala was gonna investigate!

The morning light was bright and the feeling of the sun on her back slightly offset the chill in the air. Calamira bounded along with springy steps, forging her way through the snow with some effort since the top layer had formed an icy crust she had to punch her way through with every stride. Glancing around the thickly wooded area she wondered where the other Dino she saw might have gone. A flash of orange and black in the distance caught her eye and Cala set off after it without a moment's thought. She didn't have to go too far before she found a curious sight and stopped to take it in.

A very large and feathered dinosaur was hunched over a crackling fire with an assortment of edible looking things scattered around him, from mushrooms to different types of bark and leaves and berries. Cala tilted her head and watched the Therizinosaurus use his clawed hands to set a flat stone over some of the burning logs so that it made a flat surface. How weird. 

"What're you doing?" Cala asked, startling the much larger dino who hadn't seen her approach. 

"Huh? Oh! Hello there, I'm making some yummy food," he explained. He seemed to have a good natured personality, and gave Cala a kind smile as he added, "I'm Flambé. What's your name, friend?"

"Cala." Once she decided he seemed pretty nice, Cala had an idea that made her little silver eyes light up with excitement, "can I help you make the food?" 

"Totally, what sounds good? I have some winter berries, and all kinds of other plants!" 

Cala considered for a moment, rolling the options around in her mind. Seeing a pile of nuts among the piles of ingredients, she pointed at them and chirped, "you should try putting those in the fire!" She wasn't sure how exactly he intended to get whatever he put in back out, but that seemed like a problem for him anyway. Cala was happy to just throw out ideas and see what happened. Dutifully, Flambé scooped up some of the dry nuts in his claws and set them on the stone to roast. So that's what the stone was for. She kind of figured. 

They waited a bit in silence, watching the fire crackle and the nuts begin to hiss softly. Cala was going to suggest they try the roasted nuts with some of the sweet smelling greens when she was distracted by a loud POP! And then another, which sent one of the larger unshelled nuts flying past Flambé's head! 

"Woah," he yelped, ducking down just before another chestnut whizzed by. Calamira jumped back just in time to avoid being smacked by another. Flambé swatted the rest off the stone with his claw tips and scrambled back, laughing more with relief than because it was funny. "Well that was close! I guess those aren't good to cook, live and learn!" 

Cala nodded, still shaken but also thrilled with their experiment. Another idea came to her and she gleefully hopped to her feet and declared, "I'll be right back!!" Before she set off back to her den to collect more food for experimental cooking. Flambé didn't have time to reply before she was bounding away and simply shrugged and remained where he was, poking at one of the exploded chestnuts with great caution. 

Within a few minutes Cala was digging through the back of her cozy den where her mom was still asleep for now. Pulling out a colorful dry ear of corn she raced her way back to the fireside and offered it to the big theri with a triumphant look. He took it and turned it between his claws, admiring the colors, "Very neat!" 

Cala bounced from foot to foot in anticipation, "you should put it on the fire too!" She cried. Unable to think of a reason not to, Flambé obliged and set the corn next to a now charred shell that remained from the prior experiment. Together they waited and when they heard more of the quiet hissing start they collectively backed up several paces. This time the pops were quieter though and Cala saw the kernels bounce off either onto the slab or out into the fire, expanding in the blink of an eye with each pop. It kept going and going until the cob was mostly empty and the corn bits were piled high, some starting to overcook. Flambé scooped some up, setting a few in front of Cala and eating some himself in a big bite. 

"Oh wow, that's good!" He exclaimed. Cala nodded in agreement, it WAS good, really good! "Thank you for sharing Cala," he added. Together they polished off the rest of the corn and chatted a while before Cala realized it was probably time to go home before her mom missed her. She'd had plenty of adventure for one day, and hadn't had to go too far either.