Hey, guys. I finally finished this chapter, which I've ben working on for literal months. It took forever, but I'm just glad to have gotten it out of the way. I can only hope I've done it justice, and I apologize for the lengthiness. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy, and have a great week!

Kyra and Pterano glided through the open skies, overlooking the tall and slender trees that covered the valley. They swooped downwards, skidding across the water.

The two flyers took pride in who they were. It seemed that there was nothing to lose by being a flyer. They had the best of both worlds. Not only could they be agile and light on their feet when on land, they were even more formidable when in the sky, where they felt free.

Kyra landed on a ledge atop a high rock overlooking the rest of the valley, Pterano landing moments after her. He battled against the wind, and almost made a perfect landing when a nearby branch tripped him, sending him tumbling onto the ledge.

Kyra laughed, pointing a finger at him. "A bit rusty, aren't you?"

Pterano stood up, dusting himself off. He hunched his shoulders and scrunched his beak as he imitated her. "A bit rusty, aren't you?"

"First of all," Kyra began, "I do not hunch my shoulders over, and I don't even talk like that. Who even is this character?"

"If you say so, dear," Pterano teased, sitting down beside her.

"So...how's Petrie?"

"He's fine," replied Pterano, "He wanted me to play some sort of game with a pointy seed...but as you can see, I've no time for games."

Kyra lifted her head, bringing a hand to her chest. "Not now, my dear nephew. I'm afraid I've got a whole day of wasting time to get to."

"Oh, very funny," said Pterano, slowly nodding his head as he placed his hand on his chest. "A flattering impersonation. But I'm not nearly as dramatic as you make me out to be, my dear. When have I ever done that with my hand?"

"You just did!" Kyra cackled, gesturing towards Pterano.

Pterano groaned, sitting back down. "Yes, yes, let's just forget about it now, shall we? Besides, you still have something you need to talk to me about."

Kyra dragged a twig across the dirt, her green eyes briefly looking up at him. "I do?"

Pterano looked at her with wide eyes. "Yes. I told you about what happened to me, and you promised to do the same."

"Oh." The enthusiasm quickly fled from her voice. "You know what happened. I ran away."

"I know that, but I need to know what happened after."

Kyra didn't say anything.

"Kyra." Pterano took both of her hands into his. "If we want to move on from our past, we need to be completely open and honest about it. You know that."

Kyra gave a sigh of finality. She knew that he was right. What she didn't know was why she was so afraid — he already knew the worst of it, which was her running away. Regardless, much time had passed between now and the time she fled, and Kyra harbored more than just a few secrets.

"When I left, I didn't really know where I was going..."

There was a loud clap of thunder as the storm raged on. Kyra's vision was almost completely obstructed by the water trickling from the dark clouds. She was trying to find somewhere to land — except she couldn't quite see anything below her. Hence, it would seem she had no choice but to keep on flying.

She felt surprisingly lonesome flying in the sky. Now that the initial panic of her situation had worn off, reality was hitting her. She'd lost so much — her mother, her brother, three of her best friends, and those who were left behind were left with a gaping hole in their hearts. Kyra considered herself lucky to still have her love, but at this point, she'd lost him too. So, she continued on — alone, afraid, and unsure.

As she glided aimlessly through the vast skies, she felt numb. She was tired, and didn't want to feel anything. She had no worry over her head about possibly getting lost, since she hardly knew herself where she was headed.

Suddenly, a loud strike of lighting snapped her out of her dazed and numbed stupor. The lightning illuminated her face momentarily, as well as the land, shrouding it in a pale blue light. The sky water was falling harder. Kyra couldn't keep flying, or she would she be struck to the ground before she ever had a chance to find some ground to land on.

The sky water beating against her back, she took a nosedive. She folded back her wings and flew to the ground, the downhill winds causing her to plummet at a faster rate than she anticipated. Her body skidded across the soggy grass, landing in the shelter of a canopy of trees.

There was no way to tell where she was, but it hardly even mattered to Kyra anymore. Tired, aching and sore, she curled up in a patch of grass, slowly nodding off, too fatigued to notice the shadows creeping around her.

Kyra awoke early, at the break of dawn. The sky water had stopped, leaving large puddles as proof of the storm last night. She yawned, stretching her aching limbs. She was relieved to find that she was dry, and more importantly, that she was still alive.

Her eyes wandered, landing on a what looked like a baby rainbow face staring curiously at her. Kyra gasped, keeping her eyes locked on the hatchling.

The tall grass rustled, and a taller rainbow face stepped out. From the looks of it, this was the hatchling's mother. The female rainbow face walked over and lifted her child by the tail.

"You never listen to anyone, do you?"

The hatchling giggled bashfully.

The mother set the hatchling down behind the tall grass, nudging her forward. "Go now. Your father's looking for you."

Kyra immediately rose to her feet. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know anyone lived here—"

The rainbow face laughed, her glimmering gray eyes glistening. "Don't apologize. You're very welcome here. What's your name?"

"Kyra."

"What a lovely name. I am Val."

"Val...do you know where I am, by any chance?"

"You're in the swamplands," Val answered.

"The swamplands?!"

Val nodded her head.

"Well...can I talk to your leader then?"

Val laughed heartily. "I don't have a leader. Here, we all belong to ourselves."

Kyra looked at the rainbow face as if she were crazy. "What?"

"Allow me to explain," said Val. "This is no ordinary herd. We are made up of dinosaurs of all kinds, and we stay as long as we need before moving on."

Kyra shook her head, still very confused.

Val wrapped her arm around the flyer's shoulder. "I'll show you what I mean tonight. But for now, let's get you something to eat. You must be hungry."

"O-Okay...sounds good, I guess."

The day was passed by Val showing Kyra around the swamplands, telling her what to look out for, and where to find the best food.

When dusk fell, Kyra was told to take a seat beneath the canopy of trees where she had slept the night prior. Unsure of what was about to commence, she reluctantly sat down.

"Um...what's going on?"

"You'll find out soon enough," said Val.

Kyra groaned silently, leaning backwards against what she thought was a tree. When she heard a grunt, she turned to see that the supposed 'tree' was actually a large hollowhorn. She immediately scooted forward.

"Sorry."

When she looked around her, she saw a small group of dinosaurs, none of which were all the same. There were hollowhorns, flyers, and some small lizard-like dinosaurs.

Another rainbow face came up to Aurora, kicking a pile of leaves towards her with his tail. Val smiled at him, nuzzling his cheek. He did the same to her before taking a seat beside her.

"My friends, let us give thanks to the wonderful dinosaurs who helped gather this delicious food." Val looked towards Kyra, "Also, let us welcome our new guest, Kyra."

Kyra felt a bit uncomfortable being put on the spot, and could do nothing but wave awkwardly.

"Anyway," Val continued, "I promised to give this radiant young flyer an explanation about our herd, and I will deliver. You see, anyone is welcome here. It doesn't matter who or what you are — we're all just trying to find our place in a harsh and unforgiving world."

Kyra wrapped her arms around her knees, bringing them towards her chest. She'd yet to wrap her head around the entire concept of being in a herd with those not of your own kind.

There was the sound of wings flapping in the air as a grin spread across Val's face.

"Samuel! Welcome back. We've missed you."

Kyra's heart nearly burst out of her chest. She recognized that name. She knew a flyer with that name. Slowly, she turned around to see if her instincts were correct. There was no doubt in her mind now, there was Samuel — Sierra's deadbeat father. Haniel's abusive husband. Her murderer.

Samuel seemed to recognize Kyra as well, for when he saw her, his yellow eyes widened. However, he did not acknowledge her. He landed on the grass, folding his wings and taking a seat near some hollow horn hatchlings.

Kyra's green eyes were blazing with fury. She wanted to yell at him to get away from those innocent hatchlings, or, alternatively, yell at the hatchlings to get away from the flyer before it was too late.

Alas, she had no proof of Samuel's misdeeds. She'd make herself look like a fool if she even tried to out him to eveyone else. So, she kept silent — but not out of ignorance. She knew very well what Samuel was capable of.

"Good evening, Val," Samuel greeted. "Sorry I'm a bit late. I wanted to fly around and enjoy the nature."

Every time he opened his mouth, every time he spoke, Kyra wanted to wound her arms tightly around his neck and choke the life out of him. There was no excuse for what he did to Haniel. Samuel devastated Quincy, who loved her more than anything, more than Samuel ever did. Because of him, Sierra and his siblings grew up without the love of either of their parents. He'd ruined their lives, and he was able to get away scot free, with no real penance aside from banishment.

"It's quite alright, Samuel," Val said with a smile.

If only she knew, thought Kyra.

"Oh! We have a new visitor. Samuel, this is Kyra. Kyra, this is Samuel."

Samuel finally acknowledged Kyra with a slight nod of his head, and she did the same. It was an awkward greeting, with the two of them knowing the events that took place the last time they'd seen each other.

That night, Kyra slept with one eye open. She watched Samuel's every move, refusing to take her eyes off of him. It wasn't until Samuel went to sleep that Kyra let down her guard.

The following day, while Kyra was taking a sip of water, she felt strangely uncomfortable — like she was being watched. From the corner of her eye, she could have sworn that she'd seen Samuel perched on one of the large rock formations. When she turned her back, he was gone.

This process continued for the entirety of the day. Kyra would simply be minding her business, when she would see Samuel behind her, watching her with his beady eyes. But whenever she turned around, she saw nothing. It felt like she was going insane, but if she was aware of the fact, she couldn't really be spiraling into insanity, could she?

She didn't eat or sleep. She would just sit by the ledge, standing vigil, and keeping her eyes peeled for the brown flyer. Early one morning, when the bright circle wasn't even in the sky, she heard the flapping of wings get closer. Kyra immediately turned her head around, and saw Samuel standing there.

The yellow flyer didn't hesitate. As she leapt for him and pounced on his chest, she didn't even bother to think about the consequences of her actions. Breathing heavily, her eyes wide, and her pupils turning to narrow slits, she screeched in his face.

No one had ever seen such a look of pure terror on Samuel's face. He held his hands over his face, shielding himself from Kyra's wrath.

"How dare you show your face around me?"

"I-I didn't know you'd be here—"

"Do you know what you did?"

"W-What?"

"Do you remember what you did?"

"...Can you get off me...?"

Reluctantly, Kyra stepped off of his chest, sitting down in front of him.

"Do you remember what you did to Haniel?"

A painful expression crossed over his face as he nodded. "How...How is Haniel...?"

Kyra hesitated a moment. "...She's dead. She died the morning after you left...after you attacked her."

Samuel's eyes widened, and it looked as if he'd been punched in the gut. "D-Dead...? My...Haniel?"

"Yes. Because of what you did."

Samuel was still in shock as he shook his head. "No," he mouthed silently.

Kyra narrowed her eyes at him. "No? What do you mean no—"

"NO!" Samuel suddenly pounced on her, just like she had done to him moments before. "No...that's not possible. There's no way that Haniel is dead. She can't be dead."

Kyra kicked him, pinning him to the ground. "It is possible, and it's the truth."

Samuel was in denial, and that denial manifested in the form of unhinged anger. He latched his teeth around Kyra's arm, causing her to screech in pain.

Kyra dug her claws into his skin, but Samuel did not relent. His teeth cutting through her flesh, he kicked her square in the stomach, sending her flying over the end of the ledge.

In a world of pain, and unable to battle the force of the downhill wind, Kyra plummeted downwards. She let out a panicked screech, desperately trying to stay airborne before falling into the dark waters below with a loud splash. The last thing she saw was Samuel scuffling to get into the air, and then flying off.

The ripples in the water grew until they vanished. The rapid current carried her downstream in the least gentle of manners. The powerful waves slammed her body against the rocks, giving her no more than a few seconds to recover and watch the shimmering sharp toothed fish dive in and out of the water before carrying her along again.

She washed up on a rocky shore, covered with large rocks almost as dark as night. Sore and bruised, Kyra crawled up on top of a more flat piece of rock. Then, with a single sigh of exhaustion, she collapsed onto the stone.

When she stirred an entire day later, it took a few minutes for her blurred vision, shifting in and out of focus, to finally adjust. The sky was grey with ominous clouds looming over, the cries of various creatures filling the chilly air.

Her head throbbing, she managed to prop herself up onto a rock at a higher elevation. She trudged across the sand covered rocks, sniffing the air for any possible food. Her entire body ached, and she was starving. She was so hungry that she managed to forget the fact that she wasn't protected anymore. Still, the beaches were relatively empty — or at least it appeared so.

Just when she began to lose hope, Kyra managed to spot a pile of fish lying in a large patch of dirt, surrounded by tall and jagged rock formations. Her hunger overriding her other senses, she flew over and made a sloppy landing in front of the pile, ignoring the crunching sound underneath her. She sniffed the fish, which smelled somewhat fresh.

It was clear that someone had caught these fish, and had most likely gone to catch some more, but Kyra wasn't thinking logically. All she could think about was her hunger, and that she needed food.

Without any further hesitation, she gulped down one fish, then another, and then another. Before she realized it, she was raiding someone else's food supply.

A loud and powerful screech that sounded almost like a terrified scream sounded through the air. Kyra looked up, and a large flyer, about twice her size, came into view.

The flyer was gigantic — bigger than any flyer she'd ever seen. Jade colored scales covered it's colossal body, and on it's head was a giant and rectangular teal colored crest. Along it's beak, near it's conspicuous yellow eyes was a patch of scales a more yellowish shade of green than the rest of it's body. Millions of tiny hairs lined it's neck, and it stood on a pair of two powerful and long legs.

One look at the flyer, and Kyra could tell it was a female. However, when the flyer bared the razor sharp teeth that filled her mouth, Kyra quickly realized that it didn't matter whether it was male or female — the flyer was a lethal creature that had the potential to kill her either way.

Kyra quickly fled, and the flyer flew after her. She stopped to sniff the dirt, pushing some of it away with her snout. Buried an inch under the pile of dirt was a clutch of now mostly crushed eggs.

The flyer's pupils widened for a moment as she bellowed in distress. When she looked at Kyra, they turned to narrow slits, moments before she resumed her pursuit of the yellow flyer.

Kyra hadn't even realized what she'd done. Initially, she thought that the flyer was distressed because Kyra had eaten all of her food. But as she flew directly above the patch of dirt, she realized that the rough landing had caused her to crack some of the eggs.

She felt sorry for the mother, but this didn't mean she wasn't going to try and get away. Kyra zoomed towards the coast, swooping downwards towards the rocks. Because of her size, she was able to turn and fly upwards. The other flyer, however, was too large to make such a tight turn. She skidded across the earth, leaving numerous scrapes on her lovely green scales.

She didn't relent. She let out a screech, turning towards the cliffs, as if calling for someone. Then, she took to the sky. Flapping her wings, she picked up speed and quickly caught up to Kyra. Her sharp teeth latched onto Kyra's leg, and refused to let go.

Kyra cried out in pain, desperately flapping her wings to try and break free. With one powerful lurch and a bite on the other flyer's side, along with practically clawing out her face, she managed to break away, the sound of her flesh tearing echoing through the clouds.

As she fled, Kyra looked back at her leg. There was a huge gash, from which blood was flowing freely. Panicked, she increased her pace.

A light blue flyer showed up in her path. He was roughly the same size as the female, and looked just as angry. Kyra managed to evade him, but the female was still on her tail.

She soon came to a split in the paths. One was wider and easier to maneuver through. Kyra could get through it easily. The other was more narrow. The larger flyer wouldn't be able to get thorough without injuring some part of her body. It would be harder for Kyra to fly, but she could manage.

The other flyer, her face now covered in several angry claw marks, was quickly approaching. Kyra quickly flew towards the narrower row of cliffs. The flyer barely managed to squeeze through, and struggled to dodge the branches jutting out from the rocks. Kyra looked behind her and turned around just long enough to see the flyer be hit in the face by a branch. Now was her chance.

Kyra flew up, but she misjudged the flyer's determination. The larger flyer followed her, clipping her wing as she emerged from the opening. When Kyra heard the warning screech, she felt her heart sink. She didn't want to take any drastic measures, but it was either her or the flyer trying to eat her.

She looked down and spotted a ravine covered with an overgrowth of thorns in the cracks. That would do the trick. Kyra flew just high enough before turning tail and flying downwards. Her predator immediately followed suit.

Inches away from the thorns, Kyra slowed down and made a sharp turn. The flyer let out a panicked screech as she realized she wouldn't be able to evade the sharp vines. From above, her mate let out a screech of his own. The pupils of his light green eyes were huge, and filled with fear.

The flyer fell face first into the thorns, hitting the ground with a loud crunch. As soon as she did, all movement ceased. She stopped struggling.

Kyra did not stop to rest. She glanced at the flyer sitting on the top of the rock from the corner of her eye, and kept flying.

Then, as if the two larger flyers weren't enough, a trio of slightly smaller flyers led by a pale beige flyer zoomed past Kyra. But they weren't after her. They headed towards the patch of dirty where the nest was. The male flyer screeched loudly, and flew after the three smaller flyers.

Kyra couldn't be bothered to try and stop them. She had to get away. Even if she did try and help the pair, sharpteeth had no conscience. They were not sentient. They would eat her as soon as they got the chance. Even so, that flyer was someone's mate. She was going to be someone's mother. Kyra desperately hoped that she hadn't killed her, and kept on flying.

Kyra flew for days without any food or water. She didn't stop to look for anything, nor did she stop to take a break from flying. All she did was fly wherever the wind would take her. It was safer in the sky, she continued to reassure herself. Nothing could get her up here, and the clouds made for a good hiding place. She tried to focus on the positive aspects of her situation, but it was getting harder to do so.

Her wings were getting stiff. Her vision was failing. Whether that was because of the immense heat of the desert or her malnourished body, she didn't know. Her stomach begged to be fed, and she continued to ignore it.

After spending nearly a week being airborne, Kyra began to feel more than sick. She'd already expelled the contents of her stomach until there was nothing left, and stepped now began to feel weak and faint. Her vision was fading, the world around her turning into a mass of oranges and yellows.

Finally, after so many days, her consciousness began to fail. Her eyes clamped shut and she stopped flapping her wings. Her body went completely limp, plummeting through layers and layers of clouds.

She landed on the brash desert ground, uncomfortably warm with cracks running through the earth. Her breathing grew slow and weak, her eyes slightly opened, enough to show nothing more than the whites of her eyes.

Deprived of the energy she needed to move, Kyra remained on the ground. In her mind, she knew one of three things would happen: one, she'd be eaten by a hungry sharptooth roaming the desert for a meal. Two, a kind dinosaur would come across her half dead body and help her get back to full health. Or three, no one would do anything and leave her there to die. She was counting on the third option.

She spent hours lying there in agony. She wished she would just die already. She'd lost her mother and her brother, her father had lost his entire family, and it was probable that Pterano wanted nothing to do with her, wherever he was.

There was no one she wanted more in the world than her family. She wanted to feel her father's comforting and tender touch, to hear her mother's calming voice that always managed to make everything alright, and she wanted to laugh along to Randy's stupid jokes. But she couldn't have any of that.

At last, two sharpteeth came to put her out of her misery. They were the color of tree bark, with vibrant red crests over their menacing yellow eyes. One of the sharpteeth sniffed the the flyer's body, repulsed by the fowl smell.

He grunted retracting his snout before whispering to his younger partner. They seemed unsure of whether or not the flyer was dead. The other sharptooth brought his nose to the limp body before him, giving it a rough nudge.

Kyra grunted loudly, startling the two predators. She opened her eyes, watching the sharpteeth closely. The look in her eyes could be described as hostile, but there was fear in them, uncertainty leaking through.

One of the sharpteeth growled at her, looking somewhat disgusted.

She'd accepted that this was how her short life would end — with her pushed to the edge of starvation, her loved ones gone, and her dreams remaining unfulfilled.

She closed her eyes, bellowing sadly and lowering her head, resigned to her fate.

The sharpteeth's cold and unnerving stares never left Kyra. They seemed bewildered and confused, almost as if they were second guessing themselves, having second thoughts about killing this flyer.

A loud rumbling vibrated underneath the earth. In the distance was a large could of dust, making the air thick with dirt and debris. When the dust began to clear, a heard of humongous longnecks with long whiplike tails were visible, paying no mind to their surroundings as they continued on.

Contrary to popular belief, sharpteeth were not stupid. Their minds were very sharp, it was only a matter of how they used it. In the case of these two sharpteeth, they were aware that they needed to make a decision. So, one of them lifted Kyra by the neck and grunted to his partner before the both of them ran off.

The two dinosaurs carried their potential prey off to their home in a small forest. The world was changing, and food was becoming harder to find. Because of the ever-changing climate, the forest's vegetation had wilted and died off, prompting the leaf eaters to look elsewhere for nourishment. Likewise, the predators had been pushed to the edge of the desert in pursuit of a kill. They were starving, just as much as Kyra was.

The older sharptooth set Kyra down on the ledge of a flat rock, going down to the stream for a drink.

Kyra was mere minutes away from death. She was breathing, but barely. She didn't respond to any external stimuli, simply lying there, unresponsive and completely still.

A heavy rustle echoed through the forest as a light breeze blew in the air. Kyra had lost such a large portion of her body weight that a little bit of wind was enough to gently push her frail and tiny body off of the ledge and into the water below.

Drifting weightlessly in the green depths, Kyra could taste the freshwater entering her mouth. Her skin began to regain it's moisture, and her eyes suddenly snapped open. Her breath escaping in the form of bubble, she did a quick scan of her surroundings. The water seemed endless, as if there were no beginning or no end.

It acted as an effective mask for pretadors. Kyra didn't even see the oddly shaped swimming sharptooth advance towards her until it gave a warning call. Kyra's eyes widened, and she flew out of the water and onto dry land as quickly as she could, the sharptooth barely missing her.

Kyra felt immensely relieved to find that she was still alive. The moisture of the water was enough to revive her, but she was still lacking in strength. She needed food, but there was nothing to consume.

The two sharpteeth focused their eyes on their prey, growling softly. Then, several loud chirps sounded through the trees. Climbing across a log was a pack of smaller dinosaurs, who had been attracted by the smell of meat.

These dinosaurs were slender and tall, and light on their feet. Their long tails pointed towards the air and their yellow eyes conspicuously watching the two larger sharpteeth, the agile little predators hopped down from the log.

The sharpteeth were quick to defend what they thought was their kill. They growled and roared, jabbing at the other dinosaurs, even killing one of them by biting it's neck, shaking the life out of it's tiny form.

The corpse fell onto the ground, and while the fighting continued to ensue, Kyra grabbed the dead dinosaur by the tail, sneaking off with it.

She was still too weak to fly, so she continued walking, trying to get as far away as she could in her condition.

Near a shore, a herd of rather large four legged dinosaurs were grazing on the remnants of the small clutch of trees still growing in the corner of the sandy beach. Their calls, thick and airy sounds produced through their snout and nose, blocked out any other sound.

Kyra flew onto the back of the largest one of them she could spot, and stared at the dead dinosaur in her mouth. She'd known since birth that she had the capability to eat meat. She simply grew up with so much green food that killing for food had never even crossed her mind.

This time, there was no green food. The dead dinosaur lying limply between her teeth was all there was to eat. If she passed up this opportunity, she might not find another meal for days. So, she took a bite of it's flesh. She chewed it down, bit by bit, and swallowed. She repeated this process until she'd completely devoured the dinosaur. By the end of the entire ordeal, she felt sick to her stomach.

The herd soon moved on, and the other smaller dinosaurs never returned. The most likely case scenario was that duo of sharpteeth had killed and eaten them all. Unfortunate for the small and agile creatures, but good luck for the sharpteeth, who hadn't had a kill in months.

Kyra decided she would hitch a ride for as long as she could. It would give her a chance to rest, and while their calls were loud and obnoxious, it was better than being exposed in the open. The dinosaurs were so large that they didn't even notice Kyra's presence, which worked out perfectly fine.

When nighttime fell, Kyra couldn't fall asleep. Not only was she without anyone she trusted, and moving around, there was too much background noise. Eventually, she gave up on sleep and resolved to look at the millions and millions of stars dotting the night sky.

Kyra took off in the morning. She'd decided she could never get used to dinosaurs who smelled like they defecated over themselves, or dinosaurs who constantly made so much noise. With that, she flew off into the horizon.

As she soared through the sky, the familiar smell of trees and vegetation entered her nostrils. She carried on, determined to reach the oasis she pictured in her mind.

Just as a canopy of trees came into view, her wings began to fail. Her body wasn't up to speed with her mind, and after a panicked attempt to stay in the sky, she took a nosedive downwards.

Burrowing through layers of leaves and twigs, Kyra skidded across the grass, landing into a lake with a loud splash. If there was one thing she needed to stop doing, that was it.

Kyra looked up to see a strongly built rainbow face shaking herself dry. Once she'd shook the last droplets of water from her tail, her vibrant and curious teal eyes met Kyra's startled green ones.

The rainbow face didn't charge or attack, nor did she run away. She seemed intrigued, fascinated, almost delighted. And that gleam in her eyes — it was practically childlike.

"Are you alright?"

"What?"

Kyra hadn't meant to sound so rude. She panicked, and that was all she could manage to say.

"I was asking if you were alright," repeated the rainbow face, eyes remaining fixated on the flyer as she stepped closer. "That must have been quite a fall."

She laughed and smiled. When she smiled, she smiled with her entire face.

The rainbow face clearly meant well, but Kyra couldn't find it in her to care.

"Does it matter? Just let me die already. Kill me. Devour me until I'm nothing but a pile of bones. I've got nothing left to live for."

"Now, I couldn't do that. You must have been through so much. If you just gave up, what would all that suffering be for then?"

"Nothing. It would all be for nothing, which I'm perfectly fine with. I have nothing left."

"Just because you've lost everything, it doesn't mean it's the end of the world. There's always room for improvement."

Kyra didn't say anything.

The rainbow face furrowed her brows. "Hold on. I'll get you something to eat." She backed away into the shelter of the trees. "Stay there!"

And so, the kind rainbow face managed to find a delicacy for Kyra. She found tree stars, tree sweets, ferns, and various fruits. There was even some fish in there.

Kyra didn't hesitate in the slightest, and quickly dug in. The rainbow face sat down and watched her finish the entire meal.

"Would you like to stay at my place? Until you regain your strength?"

Kyra swallowed a grape, and shook her head. "No. I shouldn't. I'm not a rainbow face."

The rainbow face snorted. "So? We don't care."

"I know, but...I do."

"Oh." The rainbow face went silent. "…Alright. Would you still like a place to stay?"

Kyra nodded meekly, and once she was done with her food, she was led to an intricate system of caves.

"I come here every day," said the rainbow face. "If you ever need anything, don't be afraid to tell me."

"Thank you," said Kyra. "Oh— what's your name?"

The rainbow face told Kyra her name, but Kyra hardly heard any of it, and soon fell asleep. The rainbow face smiled, and then left for home.

Kyra spent much of her time in the caves. She saw the rainbow face every day, and the two grew very close.

One sunny afternoon, the rainbow face was resting on a patch of dirt, soaking in the light of the bright circle while Kyra laid on a ledge above her.

Kyra felt a strange sense of security with this other dinosaur. She felt at peace, and at ease. Then, while she was relaxing on the top of the ledge, she broke down into tears.

The rainbow face looked up, worried. Not shocked, just worried. "What's wrong, love?"

"I ate meat," sobbed Kyra, her voice cracking. "I ate another dead creature! What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing's wrong with you. If your body was able to accept the meat, then that's natural."

"But it's wrong! It feels like I'm a sharptooth!"

"Well...nobody's perfect."

"I feel disgusting..."

"There's something you should know," said the rainbow face, sitting up. "There's nothing wrong with being what you are. I know you're upset because what you ate was a living thing just like you are, but so is everything else. Sharpteeth are also living creatures who need to eat to live."

"I know that, but I can never see myself as one of them. They're cruel and heartless beings."

"That's not true. They just don't communicate like we do. And it's not their fault that they are what they are, and that they have to kill to survive. Just like it's not our fault that we need to run from them in order for us to survive."

"I'm still disgusted."

The rainbow face frowned. "Tell me, when you were growing up, were you told to stick to your kind and never speak to any other kind of dinosaur?"

"Yeah...I do believe I should only be friends with other flyers. Why?"

"It's just that...you're friends with me..." A smile turned the corners of her mouth upwards. "...Right?"

Kyra's eyes widened slightly, as if she'd come to a sudden realization. Then, she looked away. "Well...I don't know."

"You do know that this way of thinking is quite narrow minded."

Kyra looked back at her, indignant. "Excuse me?"

"There's a lot of diversity in this world, and there's a reason for that. It's so we can coexist, and help each other. If you only stick to what you know, that's all you will ever know."

The rainbow face refused to utter another word, and left in silence, leaving Kyra with her thoughts.

That brief conversation shattered Kyra's entire world view. Everything changed. She'd realized that she, along with everyone else who believed what she believed in, was wrong.

She needed to rediscover herself. She needed to find out who or what she really was.

Kyra spent the next month or so getting back to full health. On the day of her departure, she thanked her host not only for helping her, but for opening her eyes. The two shared a brief embrace before Kyra returned to her place in the sky.

She glided and soared, all the way to what used to be her old home. By now, it was nothing more than a pile of rocks. She'd held some hope in her heart that there might be something left, but she saw now that there was nothing more to come back to. All the flyers were gone, and all that was left were a few remnants of what used to be.

Kyra collapsed to her knees, her hands close to her chest, which felt as if it were engulfed in flames. Suddenly, the grief and the pain all seemed fresh again.

"I'm so sorry, Randy."

Pterano's gaze had remained solely on her as she spoke. His attention never faltered, he was never distracted by anything. For him, while Kyra told him her story, all that existed was her.

"Another group of flyers spotted me while I was visiting home and chased me. A rainbow face helped me then too," said Kyra, "That was how I met Amelia, and eventually, how I found you."

"My word..." Pterano blinked away the tears budding in the corners of his eyes. "I knew you were strong, dearest, but...that was incredible. You are amazing."

"No, I'm not. I had help."

"From the rainbow faces, I presume?"

Kyra nodded before looking out towards the bright blue sky. "They just seem more open minded than most...they're so warm and welcoming."

"Do you know the name of the one who helped you and changed your views?"

"Dana, I think...I don't know. Something with a 'D'. I wish I remembered her name. She really did help me, and I'll always be grateful.

Pterano squeezed her hands, a sympathetic look in his ebony eyes. "But you also helped yourself. You made it through that horrific ordeal, and you still came out on top. That's quite noteworthy, if you ask me."

Kyra permit herself a grateful grin. "Thanks, Pterano. But...I'm not better yet."

"But you will be," said Pterano, tenderly gripping her chin. "It'll take time, but you will be able to look back on this, one day. We can heal and move on, together. You aren't alone anymore."

Kyra closed her eyes and leaned on his shoulder, perfectly content in his arms. "Together...I like that."

Pterano and Kyra flew across the valley, the wind blowing through their wings. Kyra scanned the landscape, searching for the family of rainbow faces.

"There!" She pointed towards the ground and dived downwards, Pterano subsequently following her.

Andy was happily snacking on a bush of leaves, his tiny infant daughter standing at his feet. Sophie was trying to get his attention by repeatedly nudging the back of his foot with her snout. Andy was used to it by now, however, and did not budge.

Amelia and Tristan watched the rambunctious hatchling persist, chuckling to themselves.

"She's so much like Di," said Amelia, laughing.

"Yeah," agreed Andy, swallowing his food. "She's mean. Just like Diana."

Kyra landed just in the nick of time to hear the end of Andy's sentence. Hearing that name sparked something in her, like a long lost memory.

"Diana," she exclaimed, turning to Pterano. "Pterano! Her name was Diana!"

Andy peered over at the flyers, confused. "I'm sorry?"

"I was starving in the mysterious beyond," Kyra began to explain, walking over, "A rainbow face named Diana helped me. She gave me a place to stay. And...if it weren't for her, I'd still be a bit narrow minded."

Tristan raised a brow. "Like Threehorn?"

Kyra failed to repress a snort. "Well...yeah."

"I'm not surprised," said Andy. "Di loved helping others...but she didn't like a big deal being made out of it. That might be why she never told me about you."

Kyra offered a sweet and good natured smile. "Did...Did she not make it to the valley?"

Andy gave a sad shake of his head, wincing. "No, I'm afraid not. She, uh, sacrificed herself for our daughter and I."

Kyra felt a pang of sadness in her chest as she looked down. "Oh...I'm so sorry."

"She believed in coexistence," continued Andy, "But there was nothing she loved more than her family. She always said she would die for us if she needed to...and she did."

Kyra couldn't find her words, nor did she know what to say.

"But she would be so happy to know that she managed to make a difference in your life," said Andy. "Believe me, she would."

"She really did change my life," said Kyra, her voice soft as she held back tears.

Andy looked up at the sky, a lovely and gentle shade of blue, with puffy white clouds that seemed to form the shape of some type of two-legged dinosaur. His light brown eyes turned moist and glassy, as clear as the fresh water of the valley's watering hole. He then gave a smile that seemed to fluctuate between sad and happy — it was almost bittersweet.

"She changed mine too."