Five-Second Rule

The sun lazily rose in the sky, greeting the scrub lands with warmth and golden rays. Illuminating the soft blankets of snow that drifted down the night prior and causing it to slowly melt away, leaving behind soaked soil and content plants.

Mud squelched beneath Cloud’s feet, the cryo uncaring about choosing more solid spots to walk. In fact, she was actively looking for a nice muddy area. Lowering her head to inspect this patch, she clicked her tongue disapprovingly. The mud patch was too small, unsuitable! She turned away in search of a better area, being all too picky about where exactly she’d have her mud bath. Cloud passed by patches of thin snow layering more shaded areas in the land. This predator wanted a nice sunny area, with warm mud to soak into the cracks of her scales and soothe her aches.

It didn’t take her long to find what she was looking for. Cloud’s eyes settled on a large muddy patch, so kindly formed in direct sunlight. Briefly inspecting the patch with a sniff, she lowered her body and, with zero gracefulness, rolled into the mud. The cryo landed in the mud with a splat, eagerly wallowing in the warm patch.

Her dark gray hide was now turning a dark brown as she coated her body in the mud, soaking up the warmth and soothing old wounds. Cloud could easily be mistaken for a completely different cryo now!
An enticing, almost sickly so, sweet aroma traveled through the air, suddenly attacking her nostrils. She sneezed, lifting and shaking her head, snout pointed up in the air. Cloud’s head turned to the direction in which the scent was coming from, guided by her nose. Slowly rising from the mud patch, she shook herself and started off towards the smell.

Cloud left a trail of mud drops where she walked, still covered in a droopy coat of brown, very clearly not having shook enough of it off. She didn’t really care, though. As the smell became stronger, she could hear someone complaining about something.

The cryo peeked over the hill from where the aroma was strongest, catching a sight of a pink and blue raptor. It seemed like the raptor was being followed by bugs, failing to swat the annoying things away from him.

“Shoo! Ugh, you infernal insects! I am not a tasty treat, I say! HEAR ME!!”, he cried out.

Unfortunately, the bugs don’t understand him.

Cloud hissed and slid down the hill, confronting the intruder. She really didn’t like raptors, and would certainly not tolerate this one in the pack’s territory. The intruder squawked in surprise at her sudden
appearance, flapping his arms like a startled bird. … Doesn’t he know he doesn’t have wings?

“Hey!”, she barked, “what are you doing here?” She glared, brandishing her teeth at him. The raptor looked… disgusted? He should be intimidated! “What are you? You’re a dripping mess! Back, dirt beast!”

The muddy cryo jumped back as he waved his claws at her. “Wha— I’m a cryo! Don’t shoo me!” She snapped her jaws at him. As the raptor jumped back himself, Cloud paused and inhaled deeply. The sweet scent she had followed… was coming from the raptor? Her gaze stuck on him as she watched him attempt to swat at the bugs again, to no avail.
“Why do you smell like that?”

He tilted his head at her. “Ah well, I enjoy wallowing in all kinds of flowers.” As if to punctuate this statement, he shook himself, loosing some petals trapped in his feathers Cloud hadn’t even noticed. “My name is Sugarsweet. And you are?” Sugarsweet extended his hand out to her, as if to offer some nice gesture, but cringed and retracted it slowly when he remembered her condition.

Cloud huffed and looked down her snout at him. “Cloud. Now you must leave.” The raptor snickered at her, unable to take the larger cryo seriously when she’s covered in so much mud, which is now starting to dry on her scales.

“What?”

“Eheh, its kind of hard to take a muddy dino seriously, no?” His teeth flashed in a grin and Cloud growled. “You are being chased by bugs. You fare worse than me.” Sugarsweet grumbled, but didn’t deny that.
With another swipe at a fly near him, he asked, “If you help me get rid of these horrible beasts… I’ll leave your territory?” Cloud was about to deny him, but then an idea formed in her head. The cryo grinned. “Sure. Follow me, I know just the thing.”

Foolish raptor, he followed her, not at all questioning her sudden change in demeanor. Oh, she’d get her little payback for him daring to snicker at her command. Mud cracking on her scales, she retraced her steps back to the mud patch she was wallowing in before tracking Sugarsweet’s scent. This was not a very difficult thing to do, since Cloud had left a little trail from the mud dripping off her.

Sugarsweet began to say something, but before he could finish, Cloud rammed her head into his side. The raptor flailed briefly before landing into the mud patch behind him. He shot up, outraged at this betrayal, “You said you’d help me! How does this help?! My feathers are going to be dirty and crust over!”

The cryo laughed at his plight, flopping into the mud patch herself. “The mud will mask your scent, and that is obviously why the bugs are following you.”

Shaking himself, the raptor stared dumbfounded at Cloud, who was now joyfully rolling around in the mud. Well… the mud wasn’t that bad. Maybe it would help.

Sugarsweet begrudgingly attempted to wallow in the mud, clearly skeptical about the mud bath. As he coated himself with the mud, the insects were now unsure about where their delicious sweet treat went and began to disperse. He sat up in the mud, sighing heavily and shaking himself.

“So? Is wallowing in some mud really so bad?” Cloud asked as she continued to roll around.

Sugarsweet blinked at her. “Yes. I hate it.”