Chapter three: Waterfall City and Zippo
Dawn soon came after the terrifying attack of the Tyrannosauruses last night. The Brachiosauruses and their passengers safely made it out of the Rainy Basin, with their Skybax escort following them from high within the sky. Tabitha was sitting in the middle seat with David, who was looking through a book that Marion let him borrow for the trip. Unfortunately, he couldn't read it for the words were written in those weird footprint patterns they had seen on the signs in the last outpost, before they met Marion. Tabitha was playing around with Shorty, who was climbing up and down her back. She would stretch out her arms one at a time to let Shorty climb around on as well, while smiling at his antics. She burst out laughing, when the little scaly creature decided to hang upside-down by his tail on her right outstretched arm. Karl was up front with Marion as he watched Tabitha fool around with the little creature that she was growing attached too. Not once has Karl ever seen Tabitha smile in his life when their father brought her into their home. He frown in anger and disappointment. He couldn't believe that the place they were stranded on was having a positive impact on his half-sister. Karl turned to look at Marion as he brought up the subject about fighting against the Tyrannosauruses if they ever came upon them again.
"So what's the best way to fight those things?" asked Karl.
"We don't approve of violence in Dinotopia," replied Marion, with her hair now tied up into a ponytail.
Karl looked down at Marion in disbelief before he continued his argument.
"Even when it saves your life?" questioned Karl. "That T-rex almost killed us back there!"
"Our lives are no more precious than that of a tyrannosaurus," said Marion calmly.
Tabitha turned to glance at Karl and Marion, along with David as they listened in on the conversation. Shorty stopped his playful antics as he sat still on Tabitha's shoulders. He also became interested in the conversation that was taking place. Karl let out an exasperated sigh at what he was hearing from Marion.
"Come on Marion," said Karl insistently. "Eat or be eaten, kill or be killed. That's the law of the jungle. We're human beings, and that means we're at the top of the food chain."
"Yeah?" said Tabitha as she entered the conversation. "Well tell that to the next T-rex that we meet if we ever go back to the Rainy Basin. Because here, I think we're at the bottom of the food chain now Karl."
Karl turned to glare at Tabitha with a look that said 'shut up'. Tabitha only glared back at him with a challenging gaze of determination. Marion soon spoke again as she brought Karl back to the conversation at hand.
"We are recent guests on this planet," said Marion as Karl turned to look at her again. "The dinosaurs have been here for a hundred and sixty million years. Mammals like us are only recent-"
"Look, I like my dog back home, but he's not getting his drivers license, you know what I'm saying." Karl interrupted with sarcasm dripping from his voice.
"You feel superior to him?" stated Marion.
"Well, yeah, you bet I do," said Karl proudly.
"But you're not," continued Marion firmly.
"Karl feels superior to everything," said David with a smirk on his face.
"Yeah, that's true," pipped Tabitha with a smirk of her own. "That's what makes him so intolerable."
Karl ignored his siblings as he continued talking with Marion.
"If dinosaurs are so smart, then how come they're doing all the manual labor?" questioned Karl.
"Dinosaurs take pride in their strength," said Marion.
"Well they're still carrying us around on their backs," scoffed Karl.
Tabitha rolled her eyes in annoyance at her brother trying to convince Marion to think things his way. She shared a look of exasperation with Shorty and David.
"There are many things you can learn from a Brachiosaurus," said Marion.
"Oh, yeah, like what?" questioned Karl in a challenging voice.
"Like humility," replied Marion firmly.
Tabitha burst out laughing, along with Shorty, at what she had just witnessed in front of her.
"Oh, Karl, you just got owned by a girl!" exclaimed Tabitha, while pointing a finger at her half-brother.
Karl glared at his sister before turning away to look forward again. The trip was spent in silence as each half-sibling went into their own thoughts of what they had experience so far within their journey. Shorty had moved down from Tabitha's shoulders, and was now sitting in her lap with a content look on his face. Tabitha was thinking about the T-rex attack back within the Rainy Basin. She remembered what had happened when those Tyrannosauruses had almost made her a snack. How they had easily been struck down by two powerful blue fireballs that had appeared from out of no where.
'I wonder where those blue fireballs came from?' thought Tabitha as she turned her gaze up towards the sky.
Tabitha let her gaze linger on the sky for a while until she thought she saw something flying high above the clouds. Tabitha blinked in surprise, but when she did the thing that had been flying within the sky a few seconds ago had disappeared.
'That was strange,' thought Tabitha.
Shorty, sensing Tabitha's confusion, also glanced up at the sky to see what Tabitha was looking at, but saw nothing. Shorty stared up at Tabitha and gave a chirp in a questioned that asked 'what are you looking at?'. Tabitha blinked when she heard Shorty chirp at her, before looking down at the little creature that sat in her lap.
"Oh, sorry Shorty. It's nothing," said Tabitha with a reassuring smile.
Shorty didn't look convinced, but soon let out a purr as Tabitha gently scratched him under the chin. The journey continued for about an hour, when the Brach that Tabitha and her half-brothers were riding on came around the corner of a large group of rocks. What they saw had their mouths' hanging open in astonishment.
There, before their very eyes, was a large and majestic city that sat on a lone island, with multiple waterfalls flowing over the edges and through water gates into the river below.
"Welcome to Waterfall City," announced Marion with a proud smile.
"Whoa," whispered Tabitha as a large smile appeared on her face. "This place is…spectacular!"
"I've never seen anything like it!" exclaimed David as he turned to look at Marion.
Marion looked to Tabitha and David with a smile, before the Brachiosauruses continued on their way towards the city. It wasn't long until they were crossing the stone bridge of Waterfall City towards the entrance, where a large globe of the planet hung above the arch way.
"It's a beautiful city," commented David as they traveled across the bridge. "It's like something out of a fairy tale."
"You can say that again David," said Tabitha as she stood up within her seat to get a better look at the city, with Shorty sitting on her shoulders as he let out squeaks of excitement. "It must have taken a long time for your people to build this place, Marion."
"Yes," replied Marion with a nod. "But with the help of the dinosaurs, we were able to build this city through cooperation."
Tabitha then turned her attention on the globe, before frowning when she noticed how different the map looked from the ones they were use too back home.
"Marion, your world map is a little bit off," spoked David as he pointed to the globe that hung over the archway of the stone gate. "America isn't joined with Europe."
Marion smiled as she turned to David to explain why the map was like that.
"At the beginning of the Triassic Period, all of the continents were joined into one huge super continent called, Pangea."
"I'm surprised you didn't know that, David," said Karl smugly.
David glared at his brother, while Tabitha only smirked as she spoke to Karl. "Right…just like how you didn't know that the Brachiosaurus we're riding on was a leaf eater."
Karl turned to glare at Tabitha, while David and Shorty let out quiet snickers in the process. The two Brachiosauruses soon walked through Waterfall City where people, who were wearing clothing from the 1700's and 1800's, were excitedly cheering when they noticed Tabitha, Karl and David. They either all stood on balconies or in the streets as they waved to them. Some of the dinosaurs that lived in the city also let out cheers of their own as they all roared, squawked or hooted in their own language.
"Now this is a welcome party." Tabitha commented as she looked around at the people of the city in surprise and amusement.
"Why are they all looking at us?" asked David curiously.
"There haven't been new comers in many years," replied Marion with a smile. "You're celebrities."
Tabitha blushed at the word 'celebrities' as she wasn't use to being the center of attention back home. So the thought of people greeting her, and her half-brothers like this was kind of embarrassing. Shorty, who didn't seem to mind all of the attention that the people were giving them, merely sat up straight on Tabitha's left shoulder. He puffed out his chest to make himself look more important in front of the crowd. Tabitha rolled her eyes at her little companion's antics, while she shyly waved to the people along with her half-brothers. Marion smiled when she saw that they were getting closer to their destination.
"The Mayor of Waterfall City is coming to greet you," said Marion.
Tabitha turned her attention forward and saw where they were going. It was the city square where a large slab of stone stood with a giant fountain. On the surface of the stone were the same markings again. Near the town square was a large, grand looking, building where the Brachiosaurus stopped in front of.
"This is the palace," said Marion as she pointed to the building.
Trumpets blew as Padfoot dropped the ladder for Marion, Tabitha, Karl and David to climb down from their ride. Tabitha turned to look at Padfoot as Marion was the first one to go down the ladder.
"Thanks for getting us here," said Tabitha with a polite smile.
"It was my pleasure," replied Padfoot as he smiled back at Tabitha.
Tabitha then turned her attention on the Brach, who turned to glance back at her and the other passengers.
"And thank you for carrying us here!" called Tabitha to the Brachiosaurus.
The Brach let out a gentle hum in his way of saying 'you're welcome' to Tabitha. Tabitha nodded to the Brach before she followed after her half-brothers, who were half way down the ladder. Tabitha jumped the last three steps down before following Marion and her half-brothers to the entrance of the palace. They stopped a few feet in front of it as the large doors opened. Stepping briskly out the doors was a man that looked to be either in his forties of thirties.
He was wearing flashy robes with a strange hat on his head. His brown hair was curly and he had dark brown eyes that shone brightly with joy. Tabitha could tell he was someone that the people of the city held great respect, despite his strange taste in clothing.
"Who's that guy?" questioned Karl with a smirk. "He looks like a clown with all those robes on."
Tabitha gave her brother a look, along with Shorty, at what Karl had just said, before she smirked at what Marion said next.
"Hello, father," greeted Marion with a smile.
David chuckled, along with Tabitha and Shorty, as Karl stared in shock and embarrassment as Marion walked up to the man. Marion kissed her father on the cheek before pulling away as the Mayor had a relieved expression upon his face.
"I've heard all about the Tyrannosaurus attack," spoke the Mayor. "I've been so worried about you."
"I'm fine, there's nothing to be frightened of," said Marion in a reassuring voice. "But I would like to speak to the senate about what has happened."
"Yes, of course, plenty of time for that," spoke the Mayor. "Dinner is at eight O-clock. Quarter to nine by the time the speeches have dragged on."
Tabitha rolled her eyes at the joke the Mayor made and she couldn't help, but smile when she heard Shorty letting out a coughed laugh from her shoulder. The Mayor then turned his attention on the half-siblings, and quickly stepped forward to greet them.
The Mayor cleared his throat and began to speak. "On behalf of the citizens of Waterfall City I, Waldo Syvill, the 207th Mayor of Waterfall City and speaker of the Dinotopian senate, extend to you our warmest welcome and hospitality."
With his speech done, Waldo, Marion and the rest of the citizens began to clap as they all welcomed the half-siblings. Waldo then turned and began to walk towards the doors of the palace with Marion following him, before Karl quickly stopped him.
"Excuse me, Mr. Mayor," spoked Karl as Waldo and Marion turned to look at him. "Our plane crashed into the sea. David, Tabitha and I escaped, but our father was trapped in it."
"We were hoping that you could help us," said Tabitha as she stepped forward.
"What we need is a search party," added David.
"Now don't you worry dear boys and young lady, the senate awaits you and we will address all of your concerns." Waldo said with a smile before he and Marion turned, and continued on their way towards the palace.
The half-siblings glanced between each other. David and Karl looking nervous, while Tabitha looked annoyed at what the Mayor had said before she spoke softly between them.
"Why do I get the feeling that we aren't going to get any help from this guy and his people?" questioned Tabitha.
Shorty let out a low growl as he glared after Waldo with a distasteful look within his eyes. Tabitha raised her right hand up and gently petted Shorty to calm him down. She and her half-brothers then followed the Mayor and Marion into the building. All of the citizens of Waterfall City followed after them as they all gathered within the largest part of the building, where it looked like a cross between a council room and court room. Tabitha looked up towards the balconies and saw many different kinds of dinosaurs staring down at her and her half-brothers. Waldo and Marion led them to a table with an ancient looking scroll displayed out in front of them. On the scroll were names of people, and the dates of when they were shipped wrecked on Dinotopia.
'Woah, those are a lot of people,' thought Tabitha with a raised eyebrow.
Waldo then began to speak to the people of Waterfall City, who have all seated themselves within the room.
"Recorded on this scroll, you can see the names of those ship wrecked souls whom destiny has delivered to our land." Waldo explained to the half-siblings who stood before the scroll. "They number thousands, from all corners of the earth from every century. Those poor unfortunates cast away on the winds of misfortune, only to find a better life. A life of harmony and fulfillment here on the shores of Dinotopia and we are their descendants, welcome."
The people and Waldo began to clap as they gave the half-siblings their warmest welcome. Tabitha looked around the room with a frown of uneasiness, before Marion led her and her half-brothers up to the table where the scroll sat. Waldo gestured towards the scroll, urging the siblings to sign, while Marion handed David a feather quill to use. David took the feather and began to write down his name and the date that they had crash landed on the island. Waldo looked down to see his name before he spoke.
"Welcome to Waterfall City, David Scott!" announced Waldo before he and the people went into a round of handclapping again.
David handed the quill to Karl, who also wrote his name down before Waldo once again told the people his name as well.
"And a very warm welcome to you too, Karl Scott!" announced Waldo again.
Karl then gave Tabitha the quill as she walked over to the scroll. She stared down at it thoughtfully before she wrote down her first name, but instead of writing down her father's last name, she wrote down her mother's last name. She handed the quill over to Marion, who placed it back on its resting place.
"And we also welcome you to Dinotopia, Tabitha Winters!" announced Waldo once again.
Karl and David bother stared at Tabitha when they heard Waldo announce her last name. David had a look of confusion, but it held a mix of understanding in it as well, while Karl stared at his half-sister in disbelief. Tabitha gave Karl a glare before she turned to face the crowd with a small smile upon her features, along with her brothers as the people of the city continued to clap for them. They then turned to face Waldo again as he began to speak to them.
"Now then," he started with an excited smile on his face. "We would like to formally accept you into the Waterfall City academy where you will, after training, be given the chance to become full Dinotopian citizens and to find your Saurian life partner."
David, Karl and Tabitha shared a look of confusion before they looked at Waldo again.
"Saurian?" asked David.
"You mean one of those scalies?" said Karl.
Tabitha gave a harsh nudge to Karl's ankle, while glaring at him, along with Shorty, when he said that word in front of all the dinosaurs that were present within the room.
"We don't use that ugly term here, but yes you three will be paired up with a Dinosaur," explained Waldo.
Tabitha stared at the Mayor in disbelief before she looked at Shorty, who stared back at her.
"Okay, this is officially moving too fast for my taste," Tabitha muttered to her little companion.
Waldo, who now finally noticed Shorty on Tabitha's shoulders, had a look of surprise on his face. He was about to say something, but quickly decided against saying anything about Shorty's presence for the time being. Marion then spoke to the half-siblings.
"There's a ceremony and we take a vow," explained Marion. "It's like a marriage."
"Marriage?" questioned Tabitha as she turned to look at Marion with an appalled expression upon her face.
Karl and David were a little uneasy about this whole thing for they never asked for any of this.
"Well…thank you for the offer, but we have to get back home," said David as he politely declined the offer given to them.
"Our dad is still out there," argued Karl firmly. "There's no way that we can stay here."
"Also…I don't think we're cut out for living in this world of yours," said Tabitha with a frown.
"We understand that you three must be upset," said Waldo in gentle sympathy. "But many Dinotopians have lost their friends and families in the ship wrecks that brought them here, but I'm afraid that your past lives are gone."
'Not like I have much of a past life back home,' thought Tabitha bitterly as she shoved her hands into her pockets.
"This must be a big shock to you," said Marion as the three half-siblings turned to look at her. "But once you truly understand the wonderful life here you'll…"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hit the brakes Marion," said Tabitha as she held up her hands to stop Marion in her explanation. "You think it's that easy to forget everything that we are forced to leave behind?"
"Marion, we have to get off this island," said Karl firmly.
Marion was a little sad and confused as to why the siblings didn't want to stay. Waldo then stepped in with an uncomfortable expression upon his face.
"Um…I'm afraid that is impossible," explained Waldo as the half-siblings turned to look at him. "Over the centuries a few have tried, but they've all perished on the Razor Reef."
"Razor Reef?" echoed Tabitha with a look of concern upon her face. "You mean this island is surrounded by a reef that doesn't let you pass out into open waters?"
"Yes," replied Waldo solemnly.
"But, wait a minute," said David as he spoke to the Mayor curiously. "How do you know that no one's ever made it?"
"Have you ever heard of Dinotopia before you arrived?" asked Waldo.
"No," echoed both David and Tabitha.
"Exactly," said Waldo.
Tabitha and David shared a glance with each other, with Tabitha raising one eyebrow at her half-brother.
"That answers that question," muttered Tabitha in sarcasm.
Waldo became excited again as he gestured for the siblings to follow him to the upper balcony.
"Now, you can't imagine how exciting this is for us," said Waldo. "You're the first new arrivals for many a long time and we are all waiting to hear of the changes in your world. Come along, come along!"
'Oh boy,' thought Tabitha with a roll of her eyes.
She and her half-brothers followed after Waldo up the stairs to the podium. Once they were up there, Waldo led David up to the podium.
"Our last off worlder was shipped wrecked here in 1924, so what are the principle society since then?" asked Waldo as David walked up to the front of the podium.
Suddenly, one of the dinosaurs, a Triceratops, spoke near the podium as Waldo turned to look at the dinosaur in confusion.
"What?"
The Triceratops spoke again and Tabitha thought she hear what sounded like 'War' and 'Germans'.
"Oh yes," said Waldo in realization before he turned to look at David. "Are you still at war with the Germans?"
"No, no we won that one." David answered both Waldo's and the Triceratops's question.
"Oh, well done!" exclaimed Waldo as he and the people within the room clapped their hands in congratulation, before Waldo brought David up to the front of the podium. "So, do tell us about the significant historical events that have fallen."
Tabitha crossed her arms over her chest as she watched David take the spot light to talk about what had been happening within their world.
"Uh…significant events, let's see." David muttered thoughtfully as he began to think about what he should say to the people. "There was the war in Vietnam, and…uh…the Watergate, the Gulf war, the Cold war and that's when they knocked down the Berlin Wall."
"They knocked down a wall?" asked Waldo.
"Yeah," replied David as he turned to look at Waldo.
"Was there something wrong with it?" questioned Waldo curiously.
"Uh…that's a little hard to explain," said David before turned back to look at the citizens again. "Let's see, what else."
"Uh-oh, he's going to go into his complicated words of technology," voiced Tabitha to Shorty, who looked at her while tilting his head in confusion. "Just listen, you'll get the idea."
"Oh, the space program, Apollo eleven, that's when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon." David said and that made Tabitha slap her head in exasperation.
'Way ta-go David, you just spoke something that will confuse these people for decades.' Tabitha thought as Shorty cocked his head to one side in confusion at what he heard from David.
Shorty wasn't the only one as all of the people and dinosaurs looked at one another in confusion. Wondering as to how a man could walk on the moon, but David continued on, oblivious to what was around him.
"Technology is very advanced these days, we all have mobile phones, DVDs and laptops and everybody is on the internet."
Waldo then interrupted David's talk as Tabitha's half-brother turned to look at him.
"I'm sorry, I-I'm afraid we're all a little confused," said Waldo. "I thought you said someone walked on the moon."
David heard a few people laughing and he blushes a little in embarrassment before Waldo ushered him off from the podium. David walked back over to his half-siblings and stood beside Tabitha as she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry about it," Tabitha reassured her half-brother. "They're just a little…unknowledgeable about the outside world. They'll understand eventually."
David gave Tabitha an appreciated smile before they turned their attention on Karl. What they heard come out of his mouth made Tabitha frown in displeasure.
"The most significant event in my history is falling out of the sky and watching my father swept away to drown." Karl said in a bitter voice that held some malice in it as he looked down at the people who became quiet down below him before adding in sarcasm. "Welcome to Dinotopia."
Karl than walked off the podium with Tabitha watching him, while she shook head in disapproval. They were soon led down the stairs again where they met up with Marion at the bottom. People and Dinosaurs began to walk out of the room before Marion began to lead the half-siblings out. She then took them on a tour through Waterfall City. Tabitha looked around in amazement at the bustling city they were in as many people and dinosaurs interacted with each other.
"Whoa," voiced David as they walked through the city. "It's just…it's just incredible, isn't it?"
"You'll get used to it," said Marion.
"I wouldn't be too sure of that." Tabitha muttered as she watched a few people walk around the streets.
Some of the people and dinosaurs were looking curiously at her and Shorty, who continued to ride on Tabitha's shoulders.
"I don't understand how such a place this big hasn't been found before or isn't on any maps," said David.
"Is that so surprising?" asked Marion with a smile.
"What do you mean?" questioned Tabitha as she turned to look at Marion curiously.
"Are there no mysteries left out there where you came from?" asked Marion.
"Well, no" answered David. "There are a lot of things we don't know about in our world."
"Well then this is just another one," said Marion.
They soon came to a large library that held many books and scrolls among rows of shelves. Tabitha stared up in wonder at the place they had entered. Many humans and Stenonychosaurus wandered throughout the library as they looked through shelves or were climbing up ladders as they search for books or scrolls to read.
"This is the Ancient Library of Dinotopia," said Marion as they walked through the building.
"This is your library?" asked David in amazement. "It must be centuries old."
"It must be a really hard job to keep this place clean of dust and spider webs," said Tabitha in a joking voice.
"The library is taken great care of," said Marion as she turned to look at Tabitha. "This place is of up most importance."
"Look at all of these scrolls," spoke David before he turned to look at Marion. "I would love to read some of them."
"You may find that a bit difficult seeing as they aren't written in English," said Marion.
"Oh," said David in disappointment.
The group stopped to see a Stenonychosaurus walking on a strange machine that looked like a prehistoric treadmill, while reading a scroll.
"What's he doing?" asked David curiously.
"Dinosaurs hate turning pages," explained Marion. "They do their best thinking when their feet are moving."
"Not to mention getting a good work out in the process," added Tabitha with a smile.
The Stenonychosaurus that was on the treadmill turned to look at them before he spoke.
"Deke ta malta," greeted the dinosaur before he turned back to looking at the scroll.
David was a little confused at what the dinosaur said, but nodded to him before he continued deeper into the library with Marion, Tabitha and Karl following after him. David continued to walk through the library as he gazed up at all of the scrolls. He was so mesmerized by all of the scrolls and books that he didn't notice another Stenonychosaurus, who was also distracted with looking at the scrolls on the shelves, walking up behind him with an arm load of scrolls. The two bumped into each other with the Stenonychosaurus accidently dropping the scrolls he had been holding to the floor. The Stenonychosaurus had light green scales with light yellow stripes going down his back.
"Gosh, I'm sorry," apologized David.
Tabitha quickly came up to David's side and was expecting the dinosaur to speak in a different language that they couldn't understand. Instead, what they heard out of the dinosaur's mouth was a England voice that spoke perfect English.
"No, no, no it's quite alright, it was completely my fault," said the dinosaur as he picked up the scrolls from the floor.
"This dinosaur can talk!" exclaimed Tabitha in surprise as she and David shared an excited look between each other.
Karl and Marion soon came up to them, with Karl looking at the Stenonychosaurus in surprise, while Marion only smiled before speaking to the dinosaur.
"Deke ta malta, Zippo," greeted Marion.
"Deke ta malta, Marion," the dinosaur, Zippo, greeted back before he turned to look at the three half-siblings. "David and Karl Scott and Tabitha Winters, right?"
"That's us," said Tabitha with a friendly shrug before pointing to Shorty. "And this is Shorty."
Shorty chirped his greeting to Zippo, who looked a little surprised to see Shorty sitting on Tabitha's left shoulder.
"Fascinating," said Zippo as he gazed at Shorty for a while. "I never thought that one of the stranger creatures within Dinotopia would accompany you on your journey here to Waterfall City. They usually keep well away from any city or village that is inhabited by humans and dinosaurs."
"Let's just say that Shorty here is an exception to being around me and my half-brothers, which are Karl and David by the way." Tabitha said as she gestured to Karl and David.
"Ah, of course," said Zippo in understanding before he got back on topic. "And yes, I do speak English and French. Bonjour mon ami."
"Bonjour," said David, glad that he was having a conversation with a Dinosaur.
Zippo laughed in response before he continued on with his chattering.
"I can understand seventeen major human and saurian languages and imitate many natural sounds, I was top of my class," said Zippo.
"Then you must have gotten straight 'A's in all of them," said Tabitha with an impressed look upon her face.
Zippo blushed under his scales at the complement. "Yes, well…"
"So, how many dinosaurs can talk?" asked Karl curiously.
"All of them," replied Zippo as he turned to look at Karl.
"But very few learn how to speak English properly if that's what you mean." Marion explained when she saw Karl grow confused at Zippo's answer.
"Oh, how exciting to meet you, you know…I just love mammals," said Zippo in an excited voice.
Karl and David were a little nervous at what Zippo had just said, while Tabitha only shook her head in amusement with Shorty letting out a scratchy chuckle.
"I have to leave you now," said Marion to the trio. "I'm going to speak with the senate, goodbye."
Marion turned and began to walk away before David quickly stopped her.
"W-wait a minute," said David as Marion turned to look at him. "Where are we supposed to go?"
"Yeah, where are we going to sleep? On the streets?" questioned Tabitha with a look of concern on her face.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you've been told," said Marion as she gave David and Tabitha look of apology before looking over to Zippo. "Zippo here has kindly agreed to give you temporary accommodation in his house."
"Yes," replied Zippo with a nod.
'That's good to know,' thought Tabitha with a smile. 'I don't think I can stand sleeping outside in the city on a cold night.'
"Goodbye," said Marion before she continued on her way out of the library.
"You mean we're staying with a din…" started Karl before Zippo interrupted him.
"Librarian," corrected Zippo.
Karl looked over at the retreating form of Marion before he uncomfortable corrected himself.
"Right, librarian," he said.
"Yes," said Zippo as he patted the scrolls he held under his right arm.
The foursome glance over to the entrance of the library as they watched Marion walk away from them, before Tabitha cleared her throat and spoke.
"So, where exactly is your house?" asked Tabitha curiously.
"Oh, it's not that far away," replied Zippo reassuringly. "I just have to put these scrolls back where they belong, and then I'll escort you to my home."
With that said, Zippo put the scrolls that he had been carrying back on the shelves where they belonged, before he began to lead the half-siblings to his home. As they were traveling through the streets, Tabitha let her eyes wander over the people that they pass. She still couldn't get over how strange and different the people looked. She continued to look around, not paying attention to where she was going, before she suddenly collided with someone tall and sturdy. Tabitha let out a grunt of surprise, while Shorty squawked indignantly, before she back up to see who or what she had bumped into. Tabitha's first thought was that she might have ran into one of the dinosaurs. But when she looked up to apologize, she saw that she had collided with a person that looked to be two feet taller than her.
He was wearing a brown, almost black, cloak with the hood drawn up over his head. The cloak covered his body completely so Tabitha couldn't really see the figure of the being in front of her. As for the person's face, Tabitha couldn't see it for it was cover in the shadows of the person's hood. But she did see the person's golden amber eyes staring down at her with a hard expression within them. Something about the eyes made Tabitha freeze for a moment as she stared into them with fascination, before she quickly gathered her wits together.
"S-sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going," said Tabitha with a smile of embarrassment as she stepped out of the person's path. "I just got a little distracted by what was going on around me."
The hard look within the person's eyes softened to an expression of surprise as they stared down at Tabitha for a moment, before the person turned his head forward. Then he spoke in a slightly deep voice that sent a shiver down Tabitha's spine.
"Make sure you watch where you're going next time." He said before he continued on his way down the street.
Tabitha watched the person walk away with a raised eyebrow, while Shorty let out a soft chirr as he tilted his head to the side curiously. Tabitha was brought out of her musings when she heard Karl calling out for her to hurry up. Tabitha glanced back at the hooded figure for a moment longer before running after her half-brothers and Zippo.
To be continued