Witching Hour

Wisp wandered through the open woodland, utterly carefree in his adventure. His mother was still sleeping and he did not want to wake her up - they had already had lots of fun playing today, “wrestling” (she easily pinned him with just her muzzle, while he was so small that he couldn’t even make her foot budge) and playing tag and hide and seek, so he decided to find his own fun while she rested.

The clearing that he found himself in was so pretty as well - gently lit by the moonlight filtering down through the trees, adding a silvery tint to the grass and tiny white and blue flowers that covered the space between the trees in a sweet-smelling blanket.

He didn’t need to crouch to sniff the flowers. They were tall enough that he was almost lost amongst them anyway, and almost had to stretch up on the tips of his toes to smell them individually. They smelled… almost good enough to eat.

Wisp tested with a nibble - which was not so much a nibble as it was biting the flower off its stalk entirely. It did not taste nearly as nice as it smelled. A little bitter, a little sweet, a little chalky. He did not like it. He opened his mouth and shook his head, trying to spit it out, but it was stuck to his tongue. He shook his head more, so vigorously that he unbalanced himself and fell over into the flowers with a huff.

The unpleasant tasting flower fell out of his mouth, though the taste itself lingered. That was okay, though. Now he was on the ground, and falling over had made him look up to see the dozens of fireflies that were floating around through the air, like stars but so much closer.

He kicked his gangly legs as he tried to right himself, eager to chase them and see what they tasted like. Maybe they would be less bitter. Something so pretty and glowing had to be tasty.

Wisp jumped and leapt, snapping his teeth towards the fireflies as they danced effortlessly around but just missing every time he closed his jaws. That was okay though, he wasn’t really hungry - just curious.

It was only when he ran out of breath that he stopped chasing them around through the clearing and stood still once more. Dew had started to gather on the flowers and grass in the clearing, making everything sparkle in the pale moonlight. Wisp inhaled and sighed contentedly. Pretty.

He should probably go back to his mother at some point. She might be awake and they could play some more, or he could curl up in her feathers to get warm and sleep as well. The dew clung to his scales as well as the flowers, and it was a little chilly now. Only… as he looked around, he realised that he had no idea where he was, which meant he had no idea how to get back. In that moment, he felt exactly as small as he was, and he shifted his feet uncertainly. He chirped quietly, halfway calling out for his mother and halfway pacifying himself. He wasn’t in any danger, just… lost.

Completely and totally lost.

He sat down, chirping quietly in small sounds of mild distress. His mother had to come find him eventually, right? She always knew where he was, she would be able to find him here too.

He waited for what felt like hours, crying and chirping quietly, but in reality it was only a few minutes before he stood and started wandering around again, trying to find anything familiar that could take him back. The only problem was that he hadn’t been paying attention to his surroundings while he was chasing fireflies or investigating flowers - there was nothing to be familiar with in the first place.

He was about to sit down and give up again when a bright, chipper voice came from behind him.

“Are you lost?”

Wisp turned, startled, only to relax in an instant when he saw that he was in the company of another hatchling carnotaurus - a little shorter than he was, and more robust. She had feathers, but not like his mother’s. Puck’s stomach was bare, as well as her legs. And she was fuzzy. Covered in tiny down feathers that all stuck up at odd angles. She was pale enough that she almost glowed in the dark, save for the dark markings that lined her underside and legs and the flash of yellow on her chest.

“Yeah.” Wisp’s voice was almost pathetically small and sad. He had not thought that he had gone so far. Was he ever going to see his mother again?

Wisp’s sad eyes pulled at Puck’s heart. She shook out her fluffy feather coat and stood up a little straighter, wordlessly offering Wisp some of the confidence that he desperately needed. “Well, let’s get you un-lost, then!” she chirped. “Can’t be that far, right?”

Wisp looked a little brighter at that and got to his feet again. “I’m Wisp,” he offered, already happier to be in good company than he had been with being in the clearing alone. He didn’t even question how she might know how to get to where he wanted to be.

“Puck!” the pale hatchling replied in kind, brightly. “How did you end up landing here?” 

“Esploring,” Wisp replied. “My momma was sleeping so I went for a walk and found these pretty flowers. They don’t taste good,” he made sure to inform her, his voice suddenly grave and serious.

Puck laughed. She would make sure to remember that. He was lucky they only tasted bad and were not actually dangerous to eat. Maybe he would learn something and not be tempted to try more potentially dangerous plants in the future. Though… as she watched him sniff curiously at a different flower, maybe not.

“That one probably doesn’t taste very nice either,” she warned.

Wisp gave her a guilty look and ducked his head sheepishly. She was probably right. He followed along behind her instead, admiring the twinkle of the stars high up above as they were revealed by the gently swaying branches.

She had to remind him a couple times to keep up, encouraging him gently when his attention drifted. He seemed very nice though, aside from the occasional needed reminders. He was sweet when he talked about his mother and all the things that they did spending the day together, and it was almost immediately evident that he was a complete and total momma’s boy. He idolised her and adored the time that she gave to him.

Puck’s eyes squinted playfully as she teased him into playing with her as well, trying to maintain his higher spirits as they adventured back through the woodland. It would not only keep his mind off of the journey and the fact that he had gotten lost in the first place, but having him chase her and try to catch her would keep him focused and on track and not see him wander off again.

Every now and then she let him catch up to her, then she’d turn and chase him in return. He was definitely faster than she was, and he could have drastically outpaced her, but he let her catch him on occasion as well, just to keep the game going.

Before long, they had returned to surroundings that did actually stick out in Wisp’s mind as being familiar. His mother had helped him learn the area near their nest so that he would always know how to get back - he just went a little too far this time. But now he recognised her scent in the air, and he could just make out the outline of her dark, shaggy feathers rising and falling as she slumbered peacefully. Puck decided, when she took note of the increased energy in Wisp's stride, that she quite enjoyed being helpful like this. She just hoped that she did not cross paths with Wisp for this same exact reason - more for his sake than her own.

“Thank you!” Wisp chirped, turning his snout over his shoulder towards Puck. Curiously, and confusingly, she was already gone. He couldn’t even detect a trace of her scent in the air, like she had never been there at all.

Oh well. Wisp happily waddled up to his mother’s side and hunkered down in her feathers, tired and content to be by her side once again.