[Event] Glitch in the Water

Saskia was on her patrol around the city's centre as Sergeant ordered her to. Her feet crossed the asphalt streets long void of roaring vehicles. Stubborn weeds grew through cracked pavement and vines crawled up lopsided buildings. As different as she'd think they were to those living on the fields and in the forests, birds nested high up and singing their songs all the same. She was once again sent to a calmer corner of the dilapidated cityscape as part of her pack’s routine territory checks, and it made it easy for her to favour observing the critters and bugs than seek tracks of prey and intruders.

At her side, the canal system runs through the city in a narrow line towards the ocean. For what purpose these channels have been built was a mystery to Saskia and she didn't really concern herself with the possible answers. It may have once been part of water treatment system or perhaps it simply redirected the rain water flowing from the mountains peak through the city in a more controlled manner. Whatever it's purpose originally, now it was simply an artificial river with a sluggish current moving between stone walls.

Saskia followed the canal edge with a leisurely pace. The path she walked didn't match her gaze, as she watched the ripples and reflections of the off-colour river. Shadows of fish flickered beneath the surface. The occasional bridge made it possible to cross overhead without the need to leap or swim across. She was grateful for that.

The fish in her line of sight suddenly scattered, and tore her out of her trance. An animal surged after the fish and surfaced briefly ahead of her. Her first idea to what it might have been shattered when she registered the small body too narrow and slim. No penguin on ocean side bird would hunt in these waters, nor did they have quite such long ratty tails. She blinked and took a few steps towards the edge, but the creature took a deep breath and dipped beneath the surface again before she could make out details.

To small for any dinosaur she knew, but it reminded her a little of very young suchomimus. Long snouts, and a certain confidence in the water. It looked comfortable even if this river was less than ideal in her opinion. This might not have been any sort of dangerous intruder, but Saskia quickened her pace along the rim of the canal. It was an oddity either way, and if she was to report on it she wanted to be certain. She had to know more about these new strangers.

The raptor moves fast underwater. She keeps catching glimpses of it surfacing further ahead. She saw it zipping after the fish. Ahead, back and tight circles at a quick pace that reminded her of penguins and cormorants. It looked erratic and unclear in her vision.

Saskia picked up pace in an attempt to catalogue what she saw. Something jagged. Even in the brown tinted water she could make out rectangular patterns, black and white, decorated its light monochrome body. Bits of red and blue caught her eye whenever she tried to focus on the image, and she lost the visuals of TV static beneath the ripples of the river. It was so unclear, it's pattern irregular, it was hard to maintain the shape in her focus. Before she could fully catch what exactly it was, it passed under a slim bridge and with her line of sight obscured, she lost it in the brackish waters behind it.

She didn't stop her pursuit but her gait slowed to a more careful approach. It was hunting, maybe it didn't see her. Maybe it did and did not care for her. Her eyes steady on the water, she kept watch for that striking pattern still vague in her mind.

Like on cue, the raptor bursted from the water with a fish in its long jaws. It hopped onto a small island of rubble, confirming it had legs. Narrow, thin, and a little reminiscent of the oviraptors that were recent visitors to the city before. Just so much smaller. Saskia thought she could creep closer and finally get a defining look of the newcomer, and maybe have a talk if it weren't to skittish. Before she could try, a second raptor of the same kind jumped out of the river, onto the rubble above the surface. The other didn't even hesitate and lunges toward to lock jaws onto the fish it clearly didn't catch. This one was black and blanketed with quill at its rear. A net of green lines laced this one's entire body, even the quills and claws continued the green streaks. The contrast was so clear, Saskia was surprised she didn't see this one coming.

The raptors squabbled and fought briefly. Chirping, snapping, and a quick tug-of-war for the fish.

Saskia, now stood still to observe, slowly approached the edge to watch. Both raptors froze once they simultaneously notice the grey and black cryolophosaurus in the equally grey background. There was a moment where nothing happened. Everyone eyed each other, the raptors' jaws still too stubborn to let go of the fish. The next second Saskia inhaled to speak, and the light skinned raptors didn't hesitate to sacrifice its food to dive back into the river. The raptor accented in a grid of green didn't even look at Saskia when it followed suit and vanished as well.

She was left on her own again. They must have been the shy sort then. Closing her mouth again, words unspoken, she continued downstream along the man-made canal. She didn't catch which direction they went. Without her goals in sight, she was back at an unhurried pace.

The tall buildings surrounding her and the birds singing between broken windows suddenly weren't on her mind anymore. Her gaze remained on the water beneath at her side as she skimmed closer to the canal's edge. She tried to catch just another hint of erratic movement of striking colours on a black and white hide. Near absentmindedly, she crossed a bridge to the other side, knowing a collapsed building blocked the way ahead. She was determined to stay close to the river. The strangers seemed to prefer this over land.

She nearly passed it, but a nice blur of colours below caught her eye.

Something rested on a small embankment, a mossy incline where debris collects, a resting spot just above the waterline. It may had a purpose once when the canals were maintained and monitored, but now the mossy incline simply collected debris swept downstream.

The creature, now familiar shape, was one of the raptors. This one sat with its feathered wings hugged close to its own body. It didn't flee when Saskia approached to look over the edge down on it. Instead it simply watched her back.Silence stretched between them. Saskia let her eyes sweep over the stranger before she let her gaze lock in on its face. She spoke a simple greeting. "Hello."

The small feathered dinosaur looked up at her with black beady eyes, and inclined her head in a slow nod. It was a stark white with a pleasant gradient of colours on her body. Yellow beak gave way to a white face, which ran down into a long blue neck, which slowly shifted into magenta, and the pattern seemingly repeated. Soft cyan, magenta and yellow, each limb a smooth transition to the next. Lastly black accented the edges of its features with a nice rim. They were a pleasantly colourful view. A blur of clouded colours.

It shrunk a little under Saskia's relentless stare.

"You have a hare on your head," the raptor pointed out rather dryly.

"Yes," Saskia confirmed, equally void of emphasis in her voice. Her steady companion of a plush toy was indeed wedged securely on her crest. A slow tilt of her head from one side to the other made the rabbit lean into the motion. It didn't seem to mind.

"You're new here." She returned an observation of her own.

"Yes," the raptor replied. "We are new around here. I'd rather be at the beach if I am honest."

"The beach is full of dinosaurs right now!" A voice called out.

"Some sort of celebration, actually! I don't see why we shouldn't go there." Another crackly voice added.

The two raptors from the fish argument returned, peeking out of the water. They apparently forgot their earlier fight over food and instead looked more curious to see their companion casually talking to a large predator. They slid out of the water, their skin dripping, and settled beside their colourful friend.

Them, next to one another, formed a sort of gradient. Stark black with green, grey with bits of blue and red, and lastly white with a pleasing blend of cyan, yellow and magenta. They complimented each other visually, she thought.

Saskia gave them a flat greeting as well, now staring at them now that she could see them clearly.She noticed the white raptor with the speckles to be rather spiky. It's snout, belly, palms, feet and tail to be a contrasting black against its otherwise light grey colour, similarly angular like a pixelated edge. It had a darker grey accompany the black square specks on its body, which she did not notice prior took the moment. The blue and red, so much more vibrant against the desaturated rest of it, wasn't her imagination.

The black raptor practically looked the same as she imagined. The striking features still were the green grid framing its body, but she could barely tell a clouded darkness at his flanks. A subtle blur darkening the centre of the webbing, which might have caused the colour to stand out more. Beside that the green eyes, vibrant and intense, jittered across her. It stuck its tongue out, which was surprisingly the same colour as its eyes.

Saskia had a good look of each one and filed each description in her mind to retell later. There was a pause while she watched the raptors, who seemed to whisper among themselves since she didn't spoke during that time. They were little, harmless, unimpressive in phisique beside the agility, and not plenty enough in number to be of any concern. This was enough to know not to escalate for her.

"You should go if you want to," Saskia said, regardless of the chatter among the neuquenraptors.

They all startled with various versions of "Huh, what?" before she clarified.

"The event at the beach. Dinos tell stories there."

They looked at each other, their private conversation derailed. One nodded, and the others did the same. In the end they seemed to agree. The two featherless raptors started to chitter among each other again and promptly jumped into the river again. Saskia caught snippets of the words "eerie" and the question whether she spaced out. She wasn't bothered by it, tough she did wonder why they didn't ask her for the answer.

The feathered raptor inclined its head for a small bow, before following the others' example and reluctantly dipped into the artificial river without another word.

Saskia eventually resumed her patrol. Once the raptors were back in the water and she watches them continue their way downstream in direction of the seas. She also continued down the street, the sound of water following beside her.

The city might have been old and quiet, but new creatures kept finding ways to live in it unperturbed.

[1928 words according to Ellipsus]