Disclaimer: I don't own Dinotopia. The characters are my own. Other than that, I'm just a poor starving fanfic author.




The storm hit without warning. I didn't even know it was coming until it was already upon the ship. Earth's tropical regions are known for such squalls, blowing in hard and fast, and leaving just as quickly as they came.

I was just another passenger on the cruise ship, one of those big fancy deals with fine dining and an on-deck pool. It was my reward for graduating college. An around-the-world vacation. I was going to see things I had never seen before, go to places I had only dreamed of. Little did I know that I would end up seeing more than I bargained for.

I was on deck when the squall hit. The wind whipped my hair in all directions and my stomach as well. I grabbed the railing as tightly as I could, but rain had made it slick, so it slid from my grasp like a fish. A wave rose out of the ocean, slamming into the deck with the ferocity of a mad bull. I didn't stand a chance against such fury. The rails couldn't save me now. The wave dragged me overboard, a predator with its prey in it's claws. My screams were lost in the winds of the storm. I thought I was going to die. I would have. Alone in the water in the midst of an ocean storm in not exactly the most favorable situations for human survival. But Fate wasn't through with me yet.

As I flayed wildly, sputtering and trying to keep me head above water, I saw a fin rise out of the waves not ten feet away from where I was. Shark, I thought, it won't be the storm that kills me then. The fin came closer, and I braced myself for the attack I knew was coming. It never did. Instead of a mouth full of razor sharp teeth ready to tear me apart, I saw the elongated, smiling snout of a dolphin. It submerged and swam under me. I instinctively grabbed its dorsal fin. I didn't know where it was taking me. I just closed my eyes and hoped for the best.

Though how I did it, I'll never know, but while I was clutching the dolphin's fin and holding on for dear life, I somehow managed to fall asleep. Perhaps I merely blacked out. The next thing I remember was waking up on a beach. The sun was just rising. My mouth was dry and parched, my eyes had sand in them and burned. I was a bit worse for wear, but I was alive. As I looked out into the ocean waters of this unfamiliar stretch of coastline, a shrill squee pierced the air, and a sleek gray form, undoubtably the dolphin who had saved my life, was clearing the water in a fantastic leap.

I watched the aquatic acrobatics for a few minutes, but my stomach rumbled. I knew I should try to find food. Beyond the beach lay a dense green forest. There would most likely be fruit or berries of some kind there, and the thick layers of branches in the canopy would provide me with protection from the sun. Still wearing the t-shirt, baggy pants, and sneakers I had worn for reading on the ship deck, I wasn't exactly equipped for a jungle expedition. But I had to find food, and more importantly, fresh water, and the forest was my best bet for finding it. With one last glance at my playful savior, I made my way into the trees