A New World
Here's the next chapter of my Dinotopia crossover story. I hope you all enjoy it and sorry for the long wait.
Chapter five: First day of School, the second beast man and Crossing path's again
Tabitha let out a yawn as she stretched her arms high up over her head, while she walked with her half-brothers through the streets of Waterfall City. Tabitha had stayed up late last night with Zippo in going over the 'Book of Dragons' to help the librarian translate the runes in the book. But she luckily had to call it a night as she reminded Zippo that she had to go to school tomorrow, and had promised Zippo that she would help him with the book after school was finished. Shorty was, as usual, on Tabitha's shoulder as he let out a yawn of his own before slumping down to sleep a little more as he curled around Tabitha's neck.
"You look tired," said David when he took notice of Tabitha's yawn.
"Yeah," replied Tabitha as she rubbed her right hand over her eye. "I didn't get very much sleep last night, but I'll be fine."
It was only the half-truth that Tabitha was telling her half-brother. Tabitha didn't want to tell her two brothers about the 'Book of Dragons', otherwise she would have a huge argument with Karl about dragons being nothing but myths. Speaking of Karl, he had arrived home last night and tried to apologize to her. But Tabitha said that his words were meaningless to her, and the only way for her to forgive him is that he shows he's sorry through his actions. After that, Tabitha had gone to bed with Shorty curling up beside her head. That came back to where they were now as Tabitha, and her two half-brothers walked through the city streets as they headed towards their new school. As they walked through the streets towards their school, a man came walking by them before he stopped to politely greet them.
"Breath deep," said the man with a smile.
"Seek peace," greeted David as he returned the same smile to the man.
Tabitha blinked as she looked at her half-brother in confusion at what he had just said, while Karl looked at David with a strange and disturbed expression. They soon continued on their way, but after they were far away from the man, Karl spoke up with his voice laced in disgust.
"I can't believe you just said that. 'Seek peace'," muttered Karl. "You give me the creeps."
"Karl, grow up," said David in exasperation. "It's a greeting."
"Ah," voiced Tabitha in understanding. "So basically, it's like the same greeting that Zippo and Marian shared at the library yesterday, right?"
"Yep," replied David with a smile towards his half-sister.
It wasn't long until the three half-siblings arrived at their new school where Zippo was outside with a group of children. As the three half-siblings drew closer they began to hear what Zippo was saying to the children, with the children repeating after him.
"Other's first-self last."
"Other's first-self last."
"Do one thing at a time."
"Do one thing at a time."
Zippo soon took notice of the half-siblings coming towards him and the children.
"Ah, here are your three new class mates. David, Tabitha and Karl." Zippo said once the three half-siblings stopped to stand in front of him, and the children as he introduced them.
"Breath deep, David, Tabitha and Karl." The children greeted simultaneously.
"Seek peace," echoed Tabitha and David together as they politely greeted the children.
Shorty, who had awoken from his sleep, also greeted the children with a chirp, while Karl had a look of disbelief on his face.
"No way," he said stubbornly. "I'm not staying here. This school if for little children."
"Then you should be right at home." David said with a smirk.
"Yes, it's a beginner's class," explained Zippo.
Tabitha began to laugh at Karl. She found it amusing that her older half-brother was going to be placed in the same grade level as the children they were going to be class mates with. Karl gave his half-sister a quick glare before he looked at Zippo, and shook his head at the librarian.
"Forget it Zippo," said Karl as he began to walk away.
"And here we go again," whispered Tabitha to Shorty. "Karl likes to give up on things quickly before he even tries them."
Shorty let out a scratchy laugh before Zippo quickly chased after Karl a few steps. The librarian didn't want Karl to go through Dinotopia without learning the Saurian Language that could help him in the near future.
"Oh, no. I'd thought you be delighted," said Zippo quickly as Karl turned to look at him. "The visiting tutor in this class is your traveling companion, Marion."
At the mention of Marion's name, Karl decided to take the class if it meant that he would see the girl he had become attracted to. Tabitha rolled her eyes when she saw the look on her half-brother's face, and glanced at Shorty, who looked at her with a raised non-existing raised eyebrow.
"Speak the name of a beautiful woman in front of Karl, and he will do anything to see her pretty face." Tabitha explained in a low voice. "Women are the bait on a fish hook and Karl's the fish."
Shorty let out another scratchy laugh before Zippo led the three half-siblings and the children into the school. Once they were inside, the children and the half-siblings began to take their seats at either desks or benches. The desks and benches were all lined up in a straight line in front of a long blue carpet that created a small aisle. The room felt like any other school room that Tabitha had been in when she had attended school back home. But it felt a lot smaller to her and her half-brothers since they were attending a class with children.
The room had a few bookshelves with books sitting in them. In a corner near the front windows of the class was a globe that showed the large island of Dinotopia, which was surrounded by the world's ocean. Standing on a small wooden platform, with a wooden desk in front of her, was Marion, who was wearing the same clothing that she had worn when the half-siblings had first met her.
Tabitha sat down in a grey brown desk, which was a little too small for her, near a young ten year old girl with long blonde hair tied into two pigtails. The girl was wearing an old fashioned blue dress with a white collar and brown slip on shoes. Shorty was still perched on Tabitha's shoulder as he gazed around the room in curiosity. Karl and David were also sitting in the small desks across from her, but David didn't seem to mind the size of the desk too much. Karl on the other hand was a little disgruntled at having to sit in the small desk, like he was one of the smaller children. Tabitha had to hide a smile of amusement at seeing Karl sitting in the small desk before turning her attention towards Marion as she began to speak to the class.
"Alright everyone, settle down," said Marion as she got everyone's attention on her. "Now, in this term we will be studying Saurian. At the end of the term you will sit in examination, and write your answers in footprint language."
'That sounds like fun.' Tabitha thought with a smile as she gently scratched Shorty underneath the chin, thus making him purr in the process.
"Now, who can tell me the first code of Dinotopia?" asked Marion to the class.
One of the children, a young girl with brown hair tied up into two side buns, raised her hand before answering Marion's question.
"One rain drop raises the sea," she said.
"Very good," praised Marion before she picked up a sheet of paper from her desk and stepped down from her podium. "I will now read to you all the codes of Dinotopia."
Tabitha listened attentively as Marion began to read out the codes of Dinotopia, along with Shorty as his tail swished gently back and forth behind him. Marion walked down the aisle as she read aloud to the class.
1. One raindrop raises the sea
2. Survival of all or none
3. Weapons are enemies, even to their owners
4. Give more, take less
5. Others first-self last
6. Observe, listen and learn
7. Do one thi-
Marion stopped midsentence when she noticed that Karl wasn't paying attention to her. Tabitha also noticed as well when she saw that her half-brother's head was down. She also noticing that he was drawing something on the surface of his desk. Marion took a closer look at what Karl was doing, and saw that he was drawing two stegosaurs on the surface of his desk.
"Karl," said Marion in a stern voice.
Karl looked up from his work in embarrassment when he saw Marion standing over him. She gazed down at him like a mother, who had caught their child stealing a cookie from a cookie jar.
"That is unnecessary destruction of public property." She paused as she looked down at the drawing again before adding with slight amusement. "And that is not how stegosaurs reproduce."
While the children laughed silently among themselves, Tabitha and David sent their half-brother a glare, who gave them a weak smile in return. Tabitha sighed in exasperation as Shorty sent a glare of his own at Karl before he gently nuzzled his head against Tabitha's to relax her. That action caused Tabitha smiled at Shorty in appreciation as she gently petted him. Marion continued on with reading the final codes of Dinotopia.
8. Sing every day
9. Exercise imagination
10. Eat to live, don't live to eat
Once she was done reading the codes of Dinotopia, Marion turned around to look at the children within her class before asking them another question.
"Now, who knows where we would find all the codes of Dinotopia written on?"
Almost all of the kids in the classroom had raised their hand up as a few of them shouted 'Me, me, pick me'. Tabitha let out a soft chuckle at the sight of the children, who eagerly wanted to answer the question that Marion asked them. It reminded her of how she had been the children's ages, and had been just as enthusiastic as them in wanting to answer the questions that her teacher would ask her, and her classmates a long time ago. Karl didn't bother in raising his hand, while David raised his hand. Tabitha didn't raise her hand up for she wanted to give her older half-brother a chance to answer the question. Marion smiled at David's eagerness to learn as she pointed at him to answer her question.
"In Fountain Square," answered David cheerfully.
"Very good David," smiled Marion before she continued on towards her desk.
Karl gave his brother a weird look before David quickly got defensive with his brother.
"What? I read it in Zippo's city guide."
Karl shook his head at his brother in aggravation before glancing at Tabitha, who was giving him an cocky smirk before he turned to glare down at the surface of his desk in anger. Sometimes he wished that Tabitha wasn't his sister.
"And a very special significant to all Dinotopians," said Marion as she placed her sheet of paper back onto her desk.
Marion soon took the children and half-siblings outside to help teach them more about the Codes of Dinotopia as she led them to Fountain Square. In the middle of the Fountain Square was a large twenty foot slab of stone standing vertical, and proud within the city. Written on the slab's surface were the familiar footprint markings that Tabitha and her half-brothers have come to know of. The half-siblings and children followed Marion up the steps as they got closer to the large slab of stone.
"Ancient legends tell how it was brought up from the world beneath, tens of thousands of years ago." Marion explained as they now stood in front of the large slab of stone.
"What's the world beneath?" asked Tabitha curiously.
"It's a mythical place where Dinosaurs were said to have found sanctuary at the dormant of time," answered Marion as she turned to face her class.
One of the children, a boy wearing a black school uniform, pointed to one of the rules that were imprinted near the very top of the slab of stone.
"Rule four; give more, take less," said the boy.
"Very good," said Marion as she smiled at the little boy.
Marion then pointed to the foot print letters that were written at the very bottom of the slab.
"You can see down at the very bottom here that the eleventh code is missing. All that can be made out are the first three letters, F-I-N."
Tabitha looked closer to see that a huge chunk of stone had been taken out near the bottom of the slab. Tabitha frowned in thought as she stared hard and long at the words at the bottom of the slab.
'F-I-N...I have a feeling that the last word would be 'D'. So the letters would make up the word 'Find', but what would be the last word after 'find'?' thought Tabitha to herself.
"Nobody knows what the eleventh code is," continued Marion as Tabitha turned her attention back onto her. "Anyone here want to guess what the eleventh code might be?"
"Find a way out of here?" guessed Karl silently in a joking matter to his half-siblings.
David shushed him in annoyance, while Tabitha jabbed her left elbow hard into Karl's ribcage, thus causing him to grunt in pain. That action caused Marion to look towards them.
"Did you say something, Karl?" asked Marion.
"Uh...yeah," said Karl as he rubbed his now sore side. "I have to go to the bathroom, do I need a pass?"
"No," replied Marion. "But tonight's homework will be on the codes."
Karl stared at Marion in shock at what she had just said.
"Homework?" he asked in disbelief before he decided that he had had enough before grumbling, "forget it".
Marion silently watched as Karl dismissed himself from the class. Tabitha and David looked at one another with non-surprised looks upon their features.
"Just as I figured," whispered Tabitha quietly to her brother. "Karl will always give up on everything that's school related."
David couldn't help but nod in agreement to what Tabitha had said before they returned their attention on Marion, who continued to teach the class about the codes of Dinotopia. It wasn't long before school was done for today and the children begin to head for home. David, Tabitha and Shorty were the last ones out of the school with Marion walking with them. Tabitha soon stopped as she turned to face Marion and David.
"Well, this is where we part ways," said Tabitha with a smile. "I'm going to be wandering around the city for a bit before heading back to Zippo's house."
"Okay, just don't stay out too long," cautioned David with a serious look upon his features.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine," said Tabitha with a humorous eye roll. "Besides, I have Shorty with me."
Shorty chirped happily on Tabitha's shoulder at the mention of his name. Tabitha turned and began to walk, but stopped as she turned to give David a playful smile.
"Have a good time with Marion, David," said Tabitha.
David blushed as he gave Tabitha a scowl, while his half-sister only giggled at him before she ran off into the crowed. David rolled his eyes at the disappearing form of his half-sister before he and Marion walked off together.
Scene change: Palace
Mayor Waldo was in his office, writing down a few things on a piece of paper before one of his human advisors came walking into the room with a fearful expression upon his face. Waldo looked up to gaze at his advisor curiously before asking him what was wrong. His advisor was a little hesitant at first, but soon spoke after swallowing down a lump in his throat.
"Mayor Waldo, a Beast Man has come to speak to you. He says that it is of great importance." The man said in a nervous voice.
At the mention of 'Beast Man', Mayor Waldo grew tense with fear before he stood up from his desk.
"Tell this Beast Man that I have more important things to do right now and that I do not wish to see him," ordered Mayor Waldo.
"Is that so," said a voice from the office door.
Mayor Waldo and his advisor quickly turned their attention towards the open door of the office, and saw Chui standing there with his arms crossover his chest. The panther's face held a serious look as he glared at Mayor Waldo before he let his arms fall to his sides, and began to walk towards the human. Mayor Waldo fell back into his chair as he stared fearfully up at the Beast Man that now stood in front of his desk. Chui glared down at Mayor Waldo with his intense golden amber eyes before turning his gaze on the advisor, who was trying to walk out of the room without being noticed.
"You will be staying here as well, little man," said Chui as the advisor froze and stood as stiff as a board in the corner. "You will be a witness to this conversation that I will be having with your mayor."
"Y-y-yes sir," said the advisor in a stutter.
Chui let out a huff before he turned to look back at Mayor Waldo again, who sat stiffly within his chair. There was a tense silence for a moment before Chui finally spoke.
"I came here to talk to you about a situation that can no longer be ignored," said Chui with a hard look upon his features.
"S-s-situation?" questioned Mayor Waldo with a stutter.
Chui let out a huff as he stared at the man in front of him in exhaustion before he continued on with what he needed to say to the Mayor of Waterfall City.
"My village has sent me to talk to you about the Sunstones," said Chui with in a patient voice. "You have probably been informed by most of your people that some of the Sunstones around the island have been going out."
"I-I-I have no idea what you are talking a..."
Chui cut Waldo off by slamming his paw/hands down on the surface of the mayor's table as his patient was starting to stretch to its thinnest.
"Are you that ignorant to the world around you, you incompetent fool?" growled Chui in a dangerous voice. "If you keep ignoring to what's being playing out before you, than your only source of protection against those predatory dinosaurs' will fail! Thus all the predatory dinosaurs will come knocking on your palace doors when you least expect it!"
Waldo soon grew flustered and furious with the panther in front of him before he quickly stood up in his chair to glare eye-to-eye with the Beast Man.
"I don't know how you got into Waterfall City, but you can just turn right back around and head back to your village." Mayor said angrily as he pointed to the door of his office. "And tell your people that if any of your kind ever set foot into Waterfall City again I..."
"Your threats are empty Mayor of Waterfall City," interrupted Chui with a glare. "You and your people have no back bone to defend yourselves against the major threats that are coming closer to both your Cities, and Villages with each passing day. Much less against my own people."
Chui soon stood up to his full height again before he turned and began to make his way towards the door of the office. He then paused in his steps before turning to look over his shoulder to glance at the mayor once again.
"I have given you my warning of the danger that is to come," added Chui with narrowed eyes. "What you decide to do will be up to you, Mayor of Waterfall City."
With that said, Chui turned and walked out of the office with the end of his cloak flowing behind him. Mayor Waldo and his advisor let out a collective sigh as he slumped into his chair. His encounter with Chui had left him exhausted and nerved wracked before he and his advisor shared a look of fear between each other.
Scene: Tabitha
Outside in the streets of Waterfall City, Tabitha was walking around as she took in the sights of the city. Tabitha looked through the windows of shops to see what they had in them before heading for the next shop. While she was doing that, Shorty was sleeping on her shoulders again as he wrapped himself loosely around her neck. Tabitha soon came to a shop that held some old style musical instruments in its window, but her eyes lingered on one musical instrument that reminded her of her childhood.
Sitting on a wooden stand was a violin that looked to be made of the finest wood, and was polished to perfection. Tabitha remembered how she used to play the violin when she was little. She had once performed in her school recital when she had been six years old, and the person who taught her how to play the violin...had been her mother.
At one time, Tabitha would try not to remember the painful memories of losing her mother. But over time, Tabitha began to let herself fall into the memories that she had created with her mother. While there were some memories that were painful for her to remember. Tabitha would always remember the happier times she had spent with her mother, and through those happier memories, Tabitha felt as if her mother was still with her. Watching over her in spirit, even while she was stranded on this island where dinosaurs are still alive and living together with humans.
Tabitha continued to look at the violin within the store's window for a while before she started to turn to continue her walk down the street. But she was not paying attention when she turned away from the window, and thus bumped into someone else who was also not paying attention to where they were going. Tabitha soon found herself falling down to the ground along with the person she had bumped into as she landed down hard onto her backside.
"Ow!" exclaimed both Tabitha and the person.
Shorty let out a squawk of surprise as he tightened his grip on Tabitha's shoulders before he glared at the person who had caused his friend to fall down. Tabitha let out a groan before she turned to glare at the person that had bumped into her. She was about to yell at him, but her words quickly died in her throat when she got a good look at the person.
The person that she had bumped into wasn't actually a human at all, but an anthropomorphic fox with reddish orange fur. The fox had white fur running down from underneath his muzzle, throat, chest and stomach. The fur on the fox's paw/hands, arms and legs were a dark reddish brown. The tip of the fox's tail was also tipped with a bit of reddish brown along with its ears.
The fox was wearing a brown hooded cloak over top of a dark green sleeveless shirt, and tan colored shorts that were a little frayed at the edge of the leggings. Around the fox's waist was a leather hip bag that had some kind of strange markings on it. Tabitha knew by just taking one look at the fox that it was male by the way his body structure was made.
The fox let out a groan as he opened his eyes to reveal golden brown orbs that stared at Tabitha, while his face was scrunched up in pain. His expression soon changed from pain to fear when he saw Tabitha staring straight at him, and realized that the hood of his cloak had fallen off. Tabitha quickly understood the fox's fear as she jumped to her feet and looked around to see if anybody was looking. The fox also stood up as well as he looked around in fear at the people that were walking around the street. Luckily, none of the citizens of Waterfall City had turned their attention on Tabitha and the fox. The citizens seemed to be completely oblivious to what was going on around them. Tabitha then surprised the fox by quickly grabbing his right paw/hand, and dragging him into a nearby alleyway. Once they were hidden in the shadows of the alley, Tabitha let out a sigh of relief.
"That was close," muttered Tabitha before she looked at the fox.
Now that the fox was standing up straighter, Tabitha could see that he was at least an inch taller than her. The fox was looking at her with wide eyes that mirrored befuddlement within their depths. Tabitha snapped the fox out of his confusion by speaking to him in a calm voice.
"You might want to pull your hood back over your head," she advised.
The fox blinked in surprise at the calm voice that Tabitha spoke in, but he quickly did as he was told as he pulled the hood of his cloak up over his head again before he spoke.
"Y-you aren't afraid of me?" asked the fox curiously.
The fox's voice was slightly deep and smooth when he spoke, and Tabitha could only guess that he was only a teenager, probably around her age or so.
"Not really," replied Tabitha with a shrug of her shoulders. "Besides, I've seen things that are a lot scarier than you on this island."
"That's comforting to hear," muttered the fox in sarcasm.
Shorty squeaked from Tabitha's shoulder as he glared slightly at the fox in front of him. The fox quickly noticed Shorty and stepped back in fright at the sight of him.
"What on Dinotopia is that thing?!" exclaimed the fox with wide and fearful eyes.
"This little guy's name is Shorty." Tabitha replied in a calm voice as she pointed to her little companion, who sat on her shoulder. "And he's...well, a dragon."
The fox stared at her in confusion. "A what?"
"A dragon," repeated Tabitha casually. "And my name's Tabitha, the new comer on this island."
The fox stared at Tabitha in surprise as he began to relax around her and Shorty before speaking.
"I should have known that you're not like the other humans on this island." The fox muttered as he looked Tabitha up and down. "What with you wearing strange clothing like that."
Tabitha raised an eyebrow up at what the fox had just said before crossing her arms as she gave him a disapproving look.
"I don't know whether to be insulted by that statement or not," said Tabitha with Shorty huffing back in agreement.
The fox's fur frizzed for a moment when he realized what he had said, and he quickly started to correct himself.
"W-w-what I meant to say is...A...is that you're clothing is more fashionable than what the other people within Waterfall City are wearing and...A..." The fox trailed off as he found that he didn't have anything else to cover up his mistake before bowing his head in defeat. "Sorry, I didn't mean to insult you or anything."
Tabitha continued to stare at the fox for a minute before chuckling at his antics. She then held her right hand out towards him.
"I'm just messing with you," said Tabitha with a friendly smile. "But I would like to know your name though."
The fox blinked before looking down at the hand that was offered to him then looked back up at Tabitha with a smile.
"My name is Tod," said the fox as he shook hands with Tabitha.
"Nice to meet you Tod," Said Tabitha before she and the fox let go of each other's hands. "So what brings you here to Waterfall City?"
Tod hesitated for a moment as he looked at Tabitha with distrusting eyes for a sec before looking down at the ground below his bare feet.
"I'm looking for a friend that came here to Waterfall City," answered Tod in a low voice.
Tabitha raised an eyebrow at Tod for a moment before realization crossed over her face. Tabitha then leaned forward and began to speak to Tod in a whisper so that no one else could hear their conversation.
"He wouldn't happen to be a large leopard going by the name of Chui, would he?" asked Tabitha in a soft voice.
Tod snapped his head up in surprise as he stared at Tabitha in fear and distrust.
"How did you know his name was 'Chui'?" questioned Tod with a hiss.
"I met him last night," answered Tabitha with a reassuring smile. "He helped me when I got lost wandering around Waterfall City, and got ganged up on by a couple of drunken men."
Tod stared at Tabitha in surprise when she said the Chui saved her from a group of drunken men last night.
"That's weird," voiced Tod as he took on a thoughtful look. "Why would Chui go out of his way to save you? I mean, the Beast Men and the humans of Dinotopia aren't exactly best friends with each other."
"Why's that?" asked Tabitha curiously, while Shorty cocked his head to the side.
Tod didn't answer for a moment as he looked out of the alleyway's entrance for a moment before looking back at Tabitha again.
"I'd prefer that we talk in a place where we won't have anyone interrupting us," whispered Tod.
"Then I suggest that we move to the rooves of the city." A familiar voice spoke in the alleyway behind the duo.
Tabitha, Shorty and Tod flinched at the voice before looking into the alleyway to see Chui standing in front of them with his hood up.
"Chui!" exclaimed Tod in surprise.
Chui shushed the fox before motioning for the trio to follow him deeper into the alleyway, with the two teens quietly trailing behind him. About a second or two later, the foursome stopped as Chui looked up towards the roof that towered above their heads.
"That should be a good place to talk," voiced Chui with a rumble in his voice.
Tabitha looked up to the roof with a slight frown upon her features. 'He can't be serious,' was the thought that went through her head before looking up at the Chui.
"Um...how exactly are we supposed to get up there?" asked Tabitha before she turned her gaze up towards the roof again. "I don't see any ladders or stairs that can help us climb up there."
"Us Beast Men don't need any ladders or stairs to help us get up to high places." Chui said as he looked down at Tabitha with an amused look on his face.
Tabitha looked back at him in confusion for a moment before Chui surprised Tabitha by wrapping one muscular arm around her waist, and lifting her up from the ground. Before she could let out a protest, Chui bent his legs and jumped into the air. Tabitha let out a surprise yelp as Chui's jump sent him flying higher than anyone Tabitha had seen. They flew out of the alleyway and landed on the roof of the building. Tod flew out of the alleyway a second later after Chui had landed on the roof. Chui knelt as he set Tabitha gently down onto the surface of the roof top. She had a surprised and dazed look on her face, while Shorty sat tensed upon her shoulders.
"Woah...that was something that I wasn't expecting." Tabitha voiced in a breathless voice before she looked up at Chui, who continued to kneel beside her. "How did you guys jump like that?"
"It's something that all of us Beast Men can do." Tod said with a smirk on his face as he drew back his hood and cupped his hands behind his head. "When you've been living in the Rainy Basin for most of your life, you tend to have to learn new skills quickly. We also need keep on your toes whenever we're being chased by T-rex's once in a while."
"You guys live in the Rainy Basin?" asked Tabitha as she slowly stood up after she was sure she was able to.
"Yes," replied Chui as he stood up to his full height beside her, while also drawing his hood back as well. "You see, our tribe is not really well liked among the humans and dinosaurs of this island. So we live in the Rainy Basin, far away from the humans and plant eating dinosaurs of the cities and villages. They see us as unnatural beings on this island, and consider us dangerous amongst their kind."
Tabitha frowned sadly as she stared up at Chui along with Shorty, who had finally relaxed on her shoulders, before turning to look at Tod who was sitting on the edge of the roof.
"Though imagine our surprise when we meet you," said Tod as he pointed towards her. "You're the first human that we've met that doesn't seem afraid of us."
Tabitha blushed as she raised her hand up to tuck a strand of her hair behind her left ear.
"Well...I guess you could say I'm a bit of an odd ball within my mixed up family," said Tabitha with a slight shrug of her shoulders. "My mother always told me to see past what people looked like on the outside, and get to know them before I judge them."
"Your mother must be a wise woman to tell you that," spoke Chui in a solemn voice.
Tabitha looked up at Chui with a sad smile appearing on her face.
"Yeah, you could say that she was one of a kind."
Chui gazed down at Tabitha with his piercing eyes staring straight into her own, as if he was looking right into her very soul. Tabitha quickly turned her head away before clearing her voice.
"So, if you guys aren't supposed to be in cities or villages, what are you doing here in Waterfall City?"
"I've been meaning to ask the same question as well to my companion." Chui said as he turned his gaze on Tod with a raised eyebrow. "Shouldn't you be back in the village with the other members of our tribe young fox?"
"Sorry Chui," said Tod with a sheepish smile on his face. "After I heard about you going to Waterfall City to see the Mayor about the 'You-know-what'. I had to come here to see that you didn't do anything too rash."
Chui let out a low growl within his throat as he glared at Tod. Tabitha became curious as to why Chui had needed to see the Mayor of Waterfall City, and couldn't help asking the question that popped into her head.
"What exactly did you need to see the Mayor for?" asked Tabitha.
Chui glanced down at Tabitha for a second before letting out a sad sigh.
"Since you and your half-brothers are stuck here on this island. Then it is best that you should know what is happening around here."
Chui turned his head towards a large tower that stood tall in the middle of the city. Tabitha also looked towards the tower, and she couldn't help but be amazed at the sheer size of the building.
"That...is one big tower," stated Tabitha.
"That tower is the holding place of the Prime Sunstone," spoke Chui as he continued to stare up at the tall structure before him. "The Prime Sunstone helps restore power to all of the sunstones that are being held within the villages and cities, which are spread out all over the island. The people here say that the Prime Sunstone is the most powerful among all the sunstones, and that it's almost completely flawless."
"That sounds pretty amazing," said Tabitha as she turned her gaze on Chui again. "But...where exactly do sunstones come from?"
"The people of Dinotopia say that the sunstones came from the World Beneath, and were mined from there." Tod answered as he walked up to stand beside Tabitha. "You could say that the sunstones are pretty old. The humans use to find a lot of them on the island after the entrance to the World Beneath had closed up. But now sunstones are pretty rare to find these days."
Tabitha glanced at Tod for a moment before Shorty let out a chirp that caused her to look at her dragon friend for a moment. She noticed that Shorty was staring up at the tower and quickly turned her gaze towards the structure. She saw a white light glowing from the very top of the tower. She stared in amazement at the sight before her.
Tabitha turned to glance at Tod again. "That's the Prime Sunstone, right?"
"That's right," replied Tod with a nod of his head. "It's that time again to reenergize the other sunstones around the island."
"Which won't do much good," muttered Chui in a low voice.
Tabitha, Tod and Shorty turned their gazes on the leopard in confusion. Tabitha felt a foreboding coldness growing slowly within her stomach at Chui's words.
"What do you mean, Chui?" she asked.
Chui didn't answer for a moment as he continued to stare up at the tower before him. He soon took in a deep breath before he answered Tabitha's question.
"The sunstones on this island are going out," spoke Chui as he kept his gaze locked on the tower. "As you were probably told, the sunstones are the cities and villages source of protection."
"Yeah." Tabitha voiced as she remember the destroyed village that she, and her half-brothers had stumbled upon before they came to Waterfall City. "I saw a dead sunstone in a village that had been attacked by T-rex's."
"Then you should know this." Chui said before he turned his gaze on Tabitha as a serious expression appeared on his face. "The sunstones will soon go out, along with the Prime Sunstone. Once they die out there will be no protection against the meat eaters that will come after you and the other humans that live on this island."
Tabitha went pale as she stared up at Chui in fear, while Shorty let out a whimper as he curled around Tabitha's neck. So...Dinotopia isn't a perfect paradise after all. It was a place where humans lived in ignorance of what was happening around them, and a Mayor that didn't realize the danger that was arising on the island. Tabitha turned her gaze towards the tower again as she stared up at the bright light of the Prime Sunstone. A large hand gently touched Tabitha's head, which brought her out of her thoughts before she turned to look up at Chui, who was the owner of the hand. Chui was looking down at her with a stoic expression upon his face, but Tabitha saw sadness and sympathy within his eyes.
"It's best that you do not tell anyone else about what you've learned from us, Tabitha." Chui said in a gentle voice as he removed his hand from Tabitha's head. "The people here within Waterfall City won't believe you if you told them of the danger. You must also keep our meeting a secret as well."
Tabitha looked up at Chui in confusion before Tod stepped in.
"If the humans on Dinotopia found out that you've befriended us then they might think you've taken our side or something." Tod explained with a sad frown. "If they did, then they'll consider you an enemy to them, and throw you out of this city."
Understanding came over Tabitha as she nodded her head at Tod.
"Alright, I'll keep our meeting a secret."
Chui nodded his head before he turned to look up at the sky to see that the sun was setting.
"The day is almost done," voiced Chui before he turned to Tabitha once again. "We should end our conversation now so that you can get back to the librarian's home."
"Yeah, Zippo and David are probably worried about me," said Tabitha with a smile.
Chui nodded his head before kneeling down to wrap his arm around Tabitha again. Tabitha allowed the leopard to wrap his arm around her waist as he picked her up. Chui leapt back down into the alleyway with Tod following right behind them. The sensation of falling caused Tabitha's stomach to jump a little, but the landing that came after was something she had not expected. When Chui landed on his feet, it was light and silent, and Tabitha didn't even feel the jolt from the landing. She was set back down onto her feet again before Chui stood up to his full height, with Tod standing right beside him.
"I have to admit that you two are pretty amazing," said Tabitha with a smile.
Tod puffed out his chest in pride, while Chui only returned Tabitha's smile with one of his own.
"You're a smart girl, Tabitha," praised Chui as he knelt down to be at Tabitha's height. "Make sure you study hard within Waterfall City, and stay out of trouble."
Tabitha nodded her head as Shorty let out a chirp from her shoulder. Chui chuckled at the little dragon before he spoke to Shorty.
"You make sure you keep an eye on your friend little one."
Shorty let out another chirp before purring as Tabitha gently scratched him underneath the chin. Chui and Tod lifted the hoods of their cloaks over their heads again to hide their faces from the people of Waterfall City. Chui looked down at Tabitha one last time as he gave her a gentle smile.
"Goodbye, Tabitha," said Chui softly. "You, Shorty and your half-brothers take care of yourselves."
"And if you're ever in the Rainy Basin, drop by and say hello," said Tod with a playful wink.
Tabitha let out a chuckle at Tod's offer before answering him.
"I'll see if I can after I get my Saurian partner."
The two Beast Men nodded their heads at Tabitha before they turned, and began to walk down the opposite end of the alleyway. Tabitha and Shorty watched them walk away before she turned, and began to walk the opposite way they were going. As she walked, the words' of the two Beast Men echoed through her head, and the thought of the sunstones going out weighed heavily in her mind.
To Be Continued
White Hunter, howling out to you and creativity!