Miraculous Rescue

The dark gray, hard rock made an unpleasant sound as Nova's tiny claws scraped against it. The female clung tightly to the highest rock shelf, nervously spreading and folding her wings for several minutes. She didn't know what to do.

The jungle, whose distant edge was just visible on the horizon, looked completely different today. It was no longer the typical dense, green forest, perpetually covered in a milky white, damp fog. Over the last hour, it had changed beyond recognition.

In fact, the female should have realized that something was wrong as soon as the fog, so typical of tropical forests, disappeared. Despite this, she tried to convince herself that it was just some completely insignificant trifle. Now, however, as the sun was already setting in the west, she knew that it was no coincidence.

A thick, disturbingly dark smoke hung over the jungle. Some of the lower and more scattered parts of the forest were now bathed in bright orange - they were being consumed by fire. The flames moved quickly, like a deadly pack of predators, greedily devouring everything in their path. If they maintained this terrifying speed, they would be capable of consuming the entire jungle by evening.

With a few clumsy jumps, Nova left her lookout post. With an unpleasant scratching sound, she jumped down to a lower cliff, landing next to Skipper. The females looked at each other. Although they didn't exchange a word, they could easily see each other's growing anxiety. Both reacted strongly to the situation. It wasn't just about how much of the forest would be destroyed (although, admittedly, they both liked to venture into the jungle from time to time, so it would be a great loss) — their minds were constantly assaulted by thoughts of all those who would die today, consumed by the merciless fire.

Nova, though she hadn't said it out loud yet, was intensely considering the order to go there, right into the middle of the trouble. Skipper needed only one glance to guess her partner's intentions. The smaller female approached her companion, nestling affectionately into her speckled feathers. Part of her wanted to hold back these desires, but she knew she would fail at the task anyway. Besides, she herself could not in good conscience condemn so many lives to death.

Skipper took a deep breath, enjoying the cool, crisp air that gently washed over the cliffs. These were the last moments when clean, invigorating air flowed into her lungs. Soon, her airways would likely fill with tarry smoke, exacerbating her illnesses once again. However, she had to accept this sacrifice.

Skipper took flight with a few powerful beats of her tiny wings. She circled slightly above the rocks, warming up before her flight. Nova quickly followed suit, bouncing nimbly off the rocky ledge. Soon, the two females were close together. This time, Nova spun several circles in the sky—she had to carefully assess her strength before flying away from the rock where they had taken off.

Finally, they set off, side by side, synchronizing their wing movements so smoothly that from a distance they probably looked like a single creature. They were two dozens or so minutes of fairly rapid flight from the edge of the jungle. Then they had to go a little deeper into the forest - the fire was spreading so rapidly that it was already halfway through the jungle, and their help was most needed somewhere near the line of fire.

~*~

The smell of smoke was becoming difficult to ignore. Skipper felt tiny particles suspended in the air irritating her respiratory tract—she coughed several times, trying to maintain a steady course.

As they had predicted, the safe edges of the jungle were teeming with all kinds of creatures. Each of them was so focused on ensuring their own safety that they paid no attention to their forced companions in misery—herbivores fled here side by side with predators. Here, in the place where animals threatened by fire already fled, the help of the flying females was not needed.

So they flew on, bravely pushing through the smoky sky. They flew low, directly above the treetops, looking for anyone who needed their help. They tried hard to ignore the charred remains they passed when they got too close to the wall of fire.

Suddenly, something caught their attention. Skipper, slightly smaller and more agile, flew even lower, her belly almost touching the leaves growing on the branches. Their exceptionally good eyesight rarely failed them—indeed, below them, lost in the thickening smoke, loomed a large blue spot. Right next to it was a smaller but much more mobile dark dot.

Neither of the tapejaras could risk descending to the ground - taking off in these conditions would be extremely difficult. Their maneuverability and visibility were limited not only by the clouds of smoke, but also by the dense, almost intertwined vegetation. They were also too far away to effectively communicate with the unfortunate souls below—no explanations or clarifications were possible. All Nova and Skipper could do was squawk and whistle at the strangers, hoping that it would help.

The first whistle was short, but loud and shrill enough to easily attract the attention of Dart and Silvercloud—it was emitted by Skipper, who was nervously circling above their heads. Unfortunately, the two flyers looked like two dark streaks against the smoky sky, so they were ignored. Threatened by the fire, the females turned in the wrong direction, approaching the arched line of fire instead of moving away from it.

This time it was Nova who shouted—her voice was slightly louder, and her whistle much more drawn out. This, combined with Skipper's short, rhythmic cries, signaled to the grounded females that these sounds were not accidental.

Silver paused for a second and raised her head, trying to see anything in the clouds of smoke that might help her make a decision. She couldn't be sure who was above them, but those cries and the spots in the sky... It all reminded her of Sage and Appy.

Dart, although she had come to completely different conclusions, was also inclined to follow the strange sounds from the sky. When those two strange flying reptiles, Gianna and Polaris, had last visited her, they had mentioned that they sometimes guided dinosaurs lost in treacherous waters to safety. Maybe those dots in the sky were them? Dart couldn't be sure either, but in the current situation, she fully trusted these strangers.

Nova and Skipper were delighted to see that the next whistles had the desired effect—the unfortunate pair immediately followed every sound. The flyers flew quickly, easily choosing the shortest route to the edge of the jungle. Despite their lack of experience, they turned out to be good at it—Dart and Silver had no trouble following the proposed route.

It took them almost a quarter of an hour to reach the safe haven that was now the edge of the jungle. It was only when the happy fugitives ran out into the open that the females could take a good look at them. Albertosaurus and utahraptor  (the former looking rather unusual) - despite the favor they had just done them, they had to be careful. Skipper and Nova prepared to land, choosing a high broken tree trunk as their target. They were close enough to talk to the strangers, but still out of reach of potentially hostile jaws and claws.

“Thank you, you both saved us!” Words of relief poured out of the blue albertosaurus' mouth like a torrent. It was safe to assume that protection from the predators' teeth was not necessary after all.

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