POLISHED DRAFT
Finished: 2020-06-24
Chapter Fifteen: An Oasis and a Swimmer
Just as the sun touched the horizon, Littlefoot and Remy stumbled upon a small oasis. To their utmost surprise, they found that the water was clear, and the pond that contained it was near twice the size of Littlefoot. A few shrubs and grasses grew around it, and even small fish were swimming in the depths of the water. Littlefoot leaned over the foliage, giving it a cautious sniff. He then raised his head, searching for any dinosaurs that may have claimed the oasis as their own. In a dying land like this, there was no telling how territorial some may become to ensure their survival.
"I don't see anyone else around…" He lowered his head once more to the shrubs, hesitantly licking a few leaves. There was no bitter residue, so the long-neck ripped a few off the bush and slowly chewed.
"How are they?" Remy asked, slipping off his back.
"Okay. They taste kind of weird, but it's better than bark."
"As long as they're edible." The teenager patted Littlefoot's side. "Make sure you eat, okay?" Remy then took off her hiking backpack, setting it next to a nearby rock. She took a moment to stretch away the stiffness from riding Littlefoot for over an hour. She then grabbed her canteen, dipping it under the water, and then adding a few drops of iodine. "This water should taste better than the gross puddle water I've been drinking all day."
"What do you keep putting in your water, Remy?" Littlefoot asked, half-heartedly chewing on a clump of leaves. "You added the same thing to it this morning too."
"It's just to purify the water. Even if the water looks clear, there could be lots of tiny, tiny things in it that are bad for humans to drink. They can cause all sorts of nasty stuff, mostly vomiting, and diarrhea. The stuff I'm putting in the water kills those tiny things so that I don't get sick." Remy waggled the small bottle of iodine at Littlefoot. She knew there wasn't much point in explaining in-depth about microorganisms, parasites, and what not to the dinosaur and just hoped her explanation made enough sense.
It seemed to suffice since Littlefoot merely hummed at the explanation and dunked his head into the water, gulping down mouthfuls of the refreshing liquid. Seeing as her long-neck companion was keeping himself hydrated and fed, Remy packed away her canteen after having taken several large gulps of water. She then slipped off her boots and socks, dipping her feet into the cool, clear water. She laid back on the hot earth, staring up at the sickly yellow sky. "If there's a lot of water here, I should wash up."
Remy pushed herself back into a sitting position, staring into the water for a moment before she finally forced herself to her feet. Already, her body was growing stiff with the day-long traveling and riding Littlefoot did little to help, if not make her body even sorer. Riding a dinosaur was just as taxing as riding a horse, if not more so since she had to synchronize with the rhythm of the long-neck's long, slow-moving strides.
Pulling out a washcloth from her backpack, Remy kneeled at the water's edge, wetting the cloth. "Who knows when we'll find this much water again." She mumbled before rubbing the sweat and grit from her face and neck. She then draped the washcloth over a rock and watched as a few fish darted between the water plants.
"I guess I could get myself something to eat. That rodent thing wasn't the most filling." She turned back to her backpack and pulled out a collapsible fishing rod along with a small box of hooks and bait.
"What's that?" Littlefoot questioned.
"This is a fishing rod, and it lets me catch fish without me having to lunge at them with a spear or try and shoot one in the water with an arrow. It takes less energy, and I'm more likely to get something. It just takes a lot of patience." With that, Remy set up her fishing pole and cast it into the water. She set the pole between two larger rocks so she could watch it, hands free.
"Do you see any fruit on those bushes?" she questioned, walking back over to where Littlefoot was chewing on some waxy leaves. Before the long-neck could speak, she already knew the answer. There was no fleshy, sweet, succulent fruit for her to enjoy. Even if there was, Remy didn't know if she would risk eating something unknown in this realm. The teenager settled with plucking a leaf off the bush.
"Can you eat leaves?"
"Sort of." Remy spun the waxy leaf between her fingers. "Humans eat spinach and kale in my home realm. They're actually rather healthy for us, but I'm not sure this would be good for me. Even though you can eat it, it doesn't mean a human can eat it. It's kind of like when birds can eat certain berries but people can't. Though, I wonder if my magical necklace could do anything to make sure the leaf would be edible."
"Birds?" Littlefoot craned his neck to look at the leaf Remy spun between her fingers as if it had the answer to his question.
"Small flying feathered things. They are technically the closest living thing to you dinosaurs in my realm." Remy was still spinning the leaf between her fingers, debating if she should have it as a side with the fish she would hopefully catch. Before she could make a decision, however, her fishing pole jerked.
"Got one!" She cried, rushing over to the pole and reeling in whatever was on the other end. A moment later, the teenager was holding a large, dark brown fish about the size of her forearm. "Woah, I didn't think I would catch anything this big." Remy tossed it onto the ground, removing her hunting knife that was strapped to her hip. "I could eat one fillet now and save the other side for tomorrow. Drying it in the sun should work since I don't have any salt to preserve it, and smoking it would take too long."
She made quick work of the fish, descaling, and gutting it before making a small fire to cook her freshly caught meal. Remy threw the guts and scales into the flames to make sure they wouldn't attract any scavengers. As the fish was cooking, she put away the fishing pole and bait, and then cleaned her hunting knife.
Littlefoot watched Remy prod the cooking fish fillet from where he lay on a flat, sun-heated rock. His stomach churned at the sight of blood, which didn't help since he had just finished his own small meal of leaves. At least the fish wasn't as bad as when she had gutted and skinned the rodent late in the morning. "You wouldn't ever eat a dinosaur, would you?"
Remy looked up, almost surprised at hearing the question. "Never. It would almost be like eating another human. You guys talk and have human-like intelligence. It would be alarming to know that my food could speak to me and have just as complex thoughts as I do. It's different with fish and small mammals. They are complex living things with their own ways of life, but it's not like I can make a connection with them like I can with you. They don't understand my ways of life. It's just instinct for them. In this realm, you dinosaurs have more than instinct that drives you."
A moment of silence passed between the two as Remy finished cooking the fish, having filet the other half, and placed it on a rock nearby her backpack. She then extinguished the fire with some water and sat beside Littlefoot, who was staring at the setting sun. "How are you doing, Littlefoot?"
He sighed. "Okay, I guess."
Remy gave him a sad smile and rubbed the base of his neck. "I know it's hard, losing your mother and going on this big journey with a strange creature like me, but I'll make sure you get to the Great Valley. And you'll meet your grandparents there. I'm sure of it."
When Littlefoot merely sighed, already lost in his thoughts again, Remy turned to her still steaming fish fillet. Having brought a simple plate and multi-functional utensil, she could eat it with ease. When she finished her quiet meal, she glanced at Littlefoot again, but the long-neck was still deep in thought, his russet eyes unfocused, staring at the setting sun.
After washing her dishes, Remy sat next to her backpack and watched the sun set further. When the water rippled, caused by a frightened fish, something in the pond caught her eye. Rolling up the legs of her jeans, Remy waded through the water to get a close look at the object. "Is that..?" She dunked her hand into the fresh liquid, her other hand clutching her necklace. When her hand graced the blue crystal buried in the sand, it grew warm. Remy sucked in a sharp breath, the stone around her neck becoming warm in response to the other crystal.
"You noticed it too?"
The teenager nearly screamed, losing her footing and falling into the water. Gasping for breath, Remy stared up in wide-eyed surprise at the owner of the feminine voice. A spring-green hadrosaur was now gaping at Remy, her hand-like paws pressed to her beak.
"Oh, no, no, no. I am very sorry. I should have not scared you like that, no, no, no." The duck-bill stooped over, heaving Remy out of the water and back onto dry land. She looked the teenager over, worry shining in her bright blue eyes. "Are you alright, Miss Thin-skin?"
"Yes." Remy breathed a smile, ringing out water from the bottom half of her hair. "You just surprised me, that's all."
The duck-bill peered closer. "Oh! I've never seen a thin-skin up close. My aunt Chrysa talked about them all the time. She had a realm-hopper companion a long, long time ago. This is amazing, yep, yep, yep!" She clapped her paws, eyes bright with excitement. "Oh. I'm sorry. How silly of me. My name is Ducky."
"Hello, Ducky. My name's Remy. The long-neck over there is Littlefoot." Remy nodded at the sauropod who hadn't moved much other than to gawk at Ducky. The teenager then returned her gaze to the blue crystal in the water, holding her still warm necklace. "It's glowing too. It must be connected to my necklace." Remy released her Shard as it became increasingly heated, a harsh blue glow emanating from it.
"Wow," Ducky breathed. "It is the same color as my eyes. It is, it is." She leaned in closer, her paws itching to touch the necklace. "Why is it glowing like that?"
"It's probably another Shard." Littlefoot craned his neck to peer into the water at the other, the sizeable glowing crystal lodged into the sandy bottom of the pond. "My grandpa once said that larger Shard fragments can cause weird changes in the land, like an oasis just like this…" his voice trailed off, looking over the plants around them.
"It probably is." Remy dipped her hand into the water again, gracing her fingers over the warm stone. "I wonder if there'll be more in the Great Valley. If that great paradise is set in the middle of the wasteland…"
"Great Valley? Shard?" Ducky questioned, glancing between the two.
"The Great Valley is a place where there is all you can eat, the freshest water you can drink, and where you don't have to fear sharp-teeth. Since the land started dying, my family and I had begun the journey there to find a safe haven. Remy joined me a couple days ago and then…I was separated from my mother and grandparents."
"Oh!" Ducky pressed her paws to her beak, blue eyes wide. "I'm so, so, so sorry, Littlefoot." She wrapped her arms around the base of his neck, squeezing him tight. "I know how hard it is to be separated from your family." She gave him a sad smile. "But everything will turn out good in the end, it will, it will."
"Thank you, Ducky." Littlefoot returned the smile. "Would you…like to come with us to the Great Valley?"
"Yes! Oh, yes, I would! Yes, yes, yes!" Ducky nearly danced in place. She stopped, that sad smile returning. "Maybe I'll be able to see my family there. I was separated from them during the earthquake. I am lucky to have found this place and no sharp-teeth and found me either. But this Great Valley place sounds wonderful."
"Looks like we are a trio now," Remy withdrew her hand from the water, shaking droplets off her skin. She sat back and turned to the hadrosaur. "Where did you come from, Ducky? As in, why didn't we see you when we first stumbled upon the oasis?"
"Oh, that's because I'm a swimmer." Ducky giggled and then slipped into the water headfirst like a human diver. With motions almost as fluid as the water itself, she swam under a small alcove under the waterfall. With the sheet of water and dense water plants hiding her light skin, she was almost invisible. A moment past before she burst from the water, a giggle escaping her beak.
"A swimmer?" Littlefoot asked, confused, evident by the tilt of his head. "I thought you were a singer?"
"I am. I am a big-mouth singer, but…my family is a little different from other singers, and that is why we like to call ourselves swimmers." She shyly grounded her foot into the water's edge. "Mama always said it is because of where our herd lays their eggs and raises their hatchlings. It has made us all special. But I can still sing!" Ducky gave a small trumpet, showcasing the small crest adorning the back of her head. "I am pretty good at it, but my brothers are better."
"Interesting," Remy mused, rubbing her still warm glowing necklace. "This realm seems to get more magical the longer I'm here." She glanced at the setting sun, which was almost below the horizon. "We should stay here for the night to rest, and we can continue traveling at sunrise."
Littlefoot nodded, shifting away from the water and curling around Remy. Ducky joined them, curling up across Littlefoot's front legs while Remy snuggled into the base of Littlefoot's throat. The girl's hand clasped around the still warm crystal, silently hoping that it would tell her if and when trouble was near as they slept in the open of an oasis that would attract both predator and prey alike.