[Event] Something about Old and New Things

As calm as the morning began, dinosaurs from all around the isles congregated to the beaches. The sound of waves was near overshadowed by the early chatter of visitors and some even set up their own stations to share food and stories. Feet left diverse prints all over the small dunes and shoreline where wind and waves washed them off.

The tide was low, leaving large patches of wet sand. Tide pools captured colourful marine life till the water rose again and uninhabited shells were scattered all around. Hatchlings and young dinos had their noses surrounded around those pools to watch the trapped creatures swim in circles. Others raced across the wet flats and fought in the mud, while the majority of parents and herds stayed on the dry grounds farther up on the shores.

Fennico sneezed. The salty air had been itching his nose all the way to the island's edge, but he couldn't be happier to be here. He felt sand between his toes as he slowly slid past other dinosaurs and muttered brief excuses as he nudged between bodies. Many of the islanders conversed while pacing the dry edges of the beach, cautious of the tide returning, while others have already picked a spot to settle for the event.

He wasn't too sure of the origin of this gathering, but he knew it had been a tradition to share and celebrate the history of the Kiama islands. He wasn't in a hurry and simply enjoyed the elders sharing wild stories of the past, youngsters playing under the watchful eyes of their parents, and even newcomers from Atlantis handing out curiously crafted foods.

Birds of the sea squawked and squabbled up above. He watched the seagulls as they threw themselves into the crowds for even the smallest piece of food. Oviraptors are still such an unusual sight to him, but he had to admit their efforts to keep the greedy birds off their morsels of food was admirable. Did they even have such things as gulls where they came from? Maybe not as locals came to the rescue and helped discourage any more airborne thieves.

Fennico's attention dropped from the pesky gulls down to the sandy ground as he found his foot on top of a large conch shell. His weight pressed it into the sand before he lifted his limb and he found the shell was a pearly pink in colour. Or maybe red? No, from this angle it looked purple even.

For a brief moment he completely forgot the gathering dinosaurs around him, and the buzz of conversation faded out as mere background noise. His nose towards the ground he set his foot onto the sand and crouched down. The conch shell shimmered each time he looked at it from another angle.

Before he could decide that this was quite enough of a distraction, he noticed a critter watch him with beady eyes. Curled legs, swinging antenna and a round, dusty-grey shell covering its lower part. A hermit crab if he wasn't mistaken. It was likely interested in the shell, though it might be just a little too large for the fella. Fennico decided to take a step back anyway, while still remaining crouched close to the ground, just to see what it would do.

It was interesting to watch the hermit crab claw at the slightly weathered shell as if to examine it for damage down to each bump and crack. He could believe it enjoyed the colours like he did, but it was more likely that it was more interested in checking the size and texture. He was quite fascinated by the thorough inspection that he noticed only seconds later that another hermit crab showed up. Oh, and there's a smaller one behind that one. Fennico saw more crustaceans emerge from the bushels of shore grass.

Three, then suddenly five- No, six.He counted them again, and in the end here were seven.

Each had their own unique shells. A glossy blue one, a porcelain white that had a single chip at the tip, one with thin brown stripes, another with quite the hypnotic pattern it made him squint, and one brown and boring, the crab itself looked vibrant in contrast. The smallest he saw, had a slightly transparent shell to carry and Fennico was puzzled before he recognised it as the curious design of, frankly, a dirty plastic cup.

It was almost like they held conversation between each other he couldn't understand while they clawed at each other or sized one another up. Regardless what shell one carried, or what colour it might've been, they slowly created a line. The smallest shuffles to one end, and the largest ones fight position at the other side with the conch.

He noticed the original crab who came here first at second place, but even the largest crab in the line still seemed slightly too small for the large shimmering shell. All the crabs patiently waited for the exchange to start, but it looks like it might stall till another crab showed up. But to Fennico's surprise, the new leader took the initiative and dropped its old speckled shell of a marine snail, and quickly slid its abdomen into the pearlescent conch. Wiggling into its new home, it seemed quite pleased.

With that one decision, shells cascaded down the line, as the next crab dropped its shell to grab the larger one in the front. The next passed its old shell down to claim the one in front, and that pattern continued to the last one. The smallest in line, finally, rid itself of the flimsy plastic cup and find comfort in a proper shell.

The moment passed fast, at least it seemed so to Fennico. It was like he watched something fascinating, just to blink and now there were seven happy hermit crabs with seven beautiful shells.

He watched for a second longer, before he stood up from his crouch. His knees ached from keeping the posture, and he considered that it might've been longer than he thought. He could use something to snack on. He believes to have heard that the Oviraptor he watched earlier could cook sap and juices into a sort of candy. Considering the occasion, he knew he at least now had a small story to share with the others, even if it wasn't such a grand one like a terrible storm or dangerous individuals.

Something about marine animals and the passing down of old and new things.

[1087 words according to Ellipsus]