"I'm flying, Mama, I'm flying!"
Penumbra squealed with glee as she made a particularly daring leap over a fallen log. Her plates fluttered rapidly, emitting a high-pitched whirring sound, and her feet kicked up dust as she hit the ground. She turned, giving a bold snort, and repeated the jump. She grunted as she once again touched down.
"Did you see, Mama? Did you see?"
Her mother smiled.
"Of course I saw, Sweetheart. You're doing great."
"I'm flying!"
"Not quite, but you're getting there."
Penumbra scrunched up her face and flitted her plates. She didn't rise from the ground, but she felt a little lighter.
"I coulda sworn I was flying, Mama. I felt it."
Her mother smiled and nudged her shoulder with her beak.
"I know you're excited, but don't go jumping off cliffs just yet, Penny. You have to make sure you're strong enough to make it across before you leap."
"What if someone pushes me?"
"If they do, they'll have to deal with me. But let's hope no one is that cruel."
She nodded to the side.
"I think it's time to go now. We don't want to break curfew."
Penumbra hopped over the log twice more before following her mother out of the woods. The sun shone through the trees in clumps, dappling their backs with patches of light. Penumbra noticed that her mother's massive feet made a great deal of sound when she walked, so she tried to do the same. Being much smaller, she was unable to accomplish her goal.
After a few seconds of stomping, she galloped forward and grabbed hold of her mother's tail with her beak. She would often walk this way when they were moving through crowds, because Penumbra happened to be skinny, and wasn't able to brave the sea of bodies like someone as large as her mother. She was a veritable tank! It was wise to hold onto her tail and never let go. She couldn't think of anything more terrifying than losing her mother.
Speaking of which, they were moving into town now, so the mass of bodies was once again an issue. They wove between humans and stegoceratopses, but mostly humans. There were more of them lately, or maybe there were less stegoceratopses.
Penumbra let go of her mother's tail when she saw a cart full of apples. She licked her lips and ran up to it, wagging her tail eagerly.
"Apples, Mama!"
Her mother turned her head gently.
"Those apples aren't for us, Sweetheart."
"It says they're for sale."
"Not for stegoceratopses. Just for humans."
"But what's the point of that? I'd eat ten times as many apples as a human. Why can't we buy some?"
"Nevermind that, Penny. I don't have money, anyway, so let's keep moving."
Penumbra cocked her head and looked at the apples sadly. She was very hungry after her flight practice, and she didn't see any harm in having a bite to eat. Maybe if she told the seller how hungry she was, he might make an exception to his rule. Then again, her mother didn't have any money, so she'd be wasting her time.
"Penny."
She turned around and scampered up to her mother.
"It's okay, Mama. I can wait until we get home."
As she spoke these words, the door of the shop behind the cart opened, and a burly man stormed towards them. Penumbra had to crane her neck to see his head, which was perched on his shoulder like a watermelon, for he had no visible neck. A clump of curly hair poured out of his shirt, which had a low collar. He smelled funny, Penumbra thought.
"Get outta here. We don't serve your kind."
Penumbra's mother backed away, herding her daughter gently with her front foot.
"We're aware. We were just leaving."
"I saw your kid sniffing around my cart. If she stole anything-"
"My daughter is well-behaved, sir. She didn't touch a thing."
He laughed.
"Trained like a dog. Still, I'm not keen on having her breathe all over my produce. Don't come back, you hear?"
"We weren't planning to."
As they marched away, another man walked up to the cart. He was young, probably only eighteen or so, and had short hair. His eyes glossed over Penumbra as she stared over her shoulder with longing. She looked away quickly, hoping he hadn't seen how much the store owner's remark had hurt her. Apparently, he hadn't. To add insult to injury, he was buying an apple. Perfect.
As Penumbra slunk away, however, she heard his footsteps approaching her. He bent down and handed her the apple. She was too shocked to understand, at first, but he held it closer to her face, and she plucked it up with her beak delicately. She smiled up at him through the fruit, and he smiled back. Penumbra's mother opened her mouth to thank him, but was cut off when the store owner marched up to the man.
"Where do you get off, giving away my merchandise!"
"I bought the apple. It's my choice what I do with it."
"I have rules."
"But you're not the one who enforces them."
The young man pulled some sort of badge out of his pocket, and the store owner's face fell. He stumbled backwards, holding up his hands defensively.
"My apologies. I was unaware that you were a soldier. You don't look-"
"It doesn't matter what I look like. We are what we are, and I don't take too kindly to aggressive remarks."
The store owner gave a nervous laugh. His bald head was glistening with sweat.
"Hey, no harm done. What if I gave you an extra something, huh? As you said, you bought the apple . . ."
He surrendered the fruit to the soldier, who proceeded to trot over to where Penumbra and her mother were watching the scene unfold. He tossed them the second apple, and Penumbra had to cover her mouth to stop herself from laughing when she saw the store owner's face. Her mother whispered a word of thanks before shepherding her daughter away from the shop. When the bell on the door gave a tinkle, signaling the departure of the merchant, Penumbra peeked over her shoulder to look at the soldier. He smiled and winked at her, and she tried to do the same, but ended up blinking.
Even so, she was sure he knew what she meant.