Chapter 11
Croco proved to be an apt pupil, and had already mastered the saurian alphabet within the first few months. He was starting to read some of the scrolls with some ease, but his favorite was one titled "The Great Guide of Pterosaurs," which had a lot of information on Quetzalcoatlus skybax, pteranodons, dimorpodons and many of the other pterosaur species that called Dinotopia home. Kado saw this and told him that he could keep it as long as he took care of it, which he swore to do. Croco spent a lot of time at the library, reading about the dinosaur species he loved as a small boy. Only this time, it was written by that saurs themselves.
Another one of Croco's favorite pasttimes was swimming at the Aqua Stadium, much to the shegrin of Cassie as she couldn't swim. He loved the huge water slide, as he was an avid roller coaster and thrill ride fan back in New York. And he also enjoyed swimming with the dolphins that lived in the large tank. One day as he was about to climb in the water after a hard day of learning, one of the dolphins poked its head out of the water. Croco thought it was odd and he started to walk away, but the curious dolphin followed his every move. He then ran into a woman who was a frequent visitor to the Stadium.
"I see you got a friend in Sirius," she told him. "He's the only dolphin I know in there that tries to avoid people." Croco looked at her in astonishment.
"Whoa, I thought dolphins enjoyed the company of people," he said. The woman nodded. "Are you saying that this one...Sirius...doesn't like people?" She nodded again, but she caught a glimpse of him and knew he was telling him something.
"What are you waiting for, jump right in!" she said. Croco did just that and Sirius circled him. Then he dove and leaped clear over his head, the joy on Croco's face was evident. He swam after the dolphin and took a hold of his dorsal fin and Sirius took him under the water, diving to about twenty feet below the surface before returning Croco so he could take a breath. This continued for a good two hours before an impatient Cassie bellowed at him to exit and return to the Haven for supper. As he climbed out out, Sirius popped his head out of the water and Croco turned to him.
"Goodbye Sirius," he said, "I'll come back to play tomorrow." Sirius made a waving motion with one of his flippers and disappeared beneath the surface. A few seconds later, he flew out of the water as Croco and Cassie watched. Cassie sighed as they made their way out of the stadium and back to the Haven.
"That dolphin's sure got a thing for you," she said. Croco didn't know why Sirius only liked him and not anyone else, but he thought about it as he walked back over the bridge and into the great educational center, still wet from his swim. He hurried to get dressed for dinner as the protoceratops had already made her way to the dining hall. Soon, Croco was down there himself, but was still thinking about the dolphin that befriended him.
The next day as they made their way to the library, Croco instead made a turn to the Aqua Stadium, much to the dismay of Cassie. Just before he was about to enter, she charged in front of him to block the entrance and in doing so, causing Croco to fall on his face. Then she pinned him down with her front feet.
"And just where do we think we're going?" she demanded. But Croco wouldn't tell her anything until she got off of him. Cassie refused to at first, but eventually gave in after Croco wouldn't stop telling her that he wasn't going to talk. She backed off to let him stand back up.
"Why were you going to go into the Stadium?" she demanded, still blocking the entrance. Croco took some time to think before dropping to a knee to get at eye-level with his companion.
"I wanted to see how Sirius was doing," he confessed. "He's become a close friend of mine like you and Timbo...and before that Brock and Nobby and Kaala." She then told Croco that he could go back after his lessons for the day were done. And after he completed his studies and chores at the Haven, he didn't think twice before slipping into a pair of swimming shorts and making his way over to the Stadium to play with Sirius. This routine continued for several months as Croco and Sirius had gotten used to the presence of each other.
But one day as Croco made his way to the great pool, he called for Sirius but nothing happened. He tried calling again, only to have the same result. Then he jumped into the water, expecting him to pick him up or circle him, waiting for him to grab his fin. When he didn't come again, Croco climbed out of the water and tracked down one of the caretakers of the dolphins. He knew that he hadn't been his usual frisky self over the past few days but didn't suspect anything.
"Excuse me, but do you know what happened to Sirius?" he asked, "He isn't in the main pool." The caretaker, or "dolphin keeper" turned around and saw Croco. She looked him over.
"You're the young man that he has grown attached to," she said sadly, "It pains me greatly to tell you this, but sometime during the night, he ceased to live as a result of the illness he had contracted. I am sorry." She told him that he had lived a full life, but that did nothing to console Croco as he was sobbing loudly on her shoulder. They were soon joined by Cassie, who motioned for him to bend down to see her at eye level.
"I know how much you loved Sirius," she said while cooing softly. "I enjoyed watching you two play together and will miss him as much as you will." But even Cassie knew that wasn't the truth, as she wasn't the one who played and frolicked in the giant pool with him. The dolphin keeper then noticed a marking on Croco's right arm, which was one of several tattoos covering his arms and the back of his neck. It was a gold shield, triangular in shape, with a solid blue winged creature in the middle resembling a pterosaur in the middle and two dark lines running down from its feet. Around this it said "Born of the Sky," and the dolphin keeper was mystified by this.
"Do you know what that mark is?" she asked him. Croco shook his head. "That is the same as what Oolu has on his uniform! Where did you find it?"
"Oh...this?" he said, pointing to his arm, "I found it in a book from the outside world and because I was always flying somewhere, I thought it would be cool to have it tattooed on me as a reminder of what I am...and that is a flyer." They continued to chat until Cassie insisted that they leave.
After they parted ways with the dolphin keeper and exited the stadium, Croco asked about Oolu. Cassie told him that he was the head Skybax instructor in Canyon City and along with his skybax Lightwing, was the Aerial Habitat Partner who kept track of the weather and the pollen and dust levels. Naturally Croco wanted to meet him, but she told him that he was really old and on the verge of retiring from his duties of Habitat Partner and Skybax instructor. However, that didn't ease the pain of Sirius' death and Croco went to bed that night shaken and crying, knowing that a good friend of his was now gone.
Croco proved to be an apt pupil, and had already mastered the saurian alphabet within the first few months. He was starting to read some of the scrolls with some ease, but his favorite was one titled "The Great Guide of Pterosaurs," which had a lot of information on Quetzalcoatlus skybax, pteranodons, dimorpodons and many of the other pterosaur species that called Dinotopia home. Kado saw this and told him that he could keep it as long as he took care of it, which he swore to do. Croco spent a lot of time at the library, reading about the dinosaur species he loved as a small boy. Only this time, it was written by that saurs themselves.
Another one of Croco's favorite pasttimes was swimming at the Aqua Stadium, much to the shegrin of Cassie as she couldn't swim. He loved the huge water slide, as he was an avid roller coaster and thrill ride fan back in New York. And he also enjoyed swimming with the dolphins that lived in the large tank. One day as he was about to climb in the water after a hard day of learning, one of the dolphins poked its head out of the water. Croco thought it was odd and he started to walk away, but the curious dolphin followed his every move. He then ran into a woman who was a frequent visitor to the Stadium.
"I see you got a friend in Sirius," she told him. "He's the only dolphin I know in there that tries to avoid people." Croco looked at her in astonishment.
"Whoa, I thought dolphins enjoyed the company of people," he said. The woman nodded. "Are you saying that this one...Sirius...doesn't like people?" She nodded again, but she caught a glimpse of him and knew he was telling him something.
"What are you waiting for, jump right in!" she said. Croco did just that and Sirius circled him. Then he dove and leaped clear over his head, the joy on Croco's face was evident. He swam after the dolphin and took a hold of his dorsal fin and Sirius took him under the water, diving to about twenty feet below the surface before returning Croco so he could take a breath. This continued for a good two hours before an impatient Cassie bellowed at him to exit and return to the Haven for supper. As he climbed out out, Sirius popped his head out of the water and Croco turned to him.
"Goodbye Sirius," he said, "I'll come back to play tomorrow." Sirius made a waving motion with one of his flippers and disappeared beneath the surface. A few seconds later, he flew out of the water as Croco and Cassie watched. Cassie sighed as they made their way out of the stadium and back to the Haven.
"That dolphin's sure got a thing for you," she said. Croco didn't know why Sirius only liked him and not anyone else, but he thought about it as he walked back over the bridge and into the great educational center, still wet from his swim. He hurried to get dressed for dinner as the protoceratops had already made her way to the dining hall. Soon, Croco was down there himself, but was still thinking about the dolphin that befriended him.
The next day as they made their way to the library, Croco instead made a turn to the Aqua Stadium, much to the dismay of Cassie. Just before he was about to enter, she charged in front of him to block the entrance and in doing so, causing Croco to fall on his face. Then she pinned him down with her front feet.
"And just where do we think we're going?" she demanded. But Croco wouldn't tell her anything until she got off of him. Cassie refused to at first, but eventually gave in after Croco wouldn't stop telling her that he wasn't going to talk. She backed off to let him stand back up.
"Why were you going to go into the Stadium?" she demanded, still blocking the entrance. Croco took some time to think before dropping to a knee to get at eye-level with his companion.
"I wanted to see how Sirius was doing," he confessed. "He's become a close friend of mine like you and Timbo...and before that Brock and Nobby and Kaala." She then told Croco that he could go back after his lessons for the day were done. And after he completed his studies and chores at the Haven, he didn't think twice before slipping into a pair of swimming shorts and making his way over to the Stadium to play with Sirius. This routine continued for several months as Croco and Sirius had gotten used to the presence of each other.
But one day as Croco made his way to the great pool, he called for Sirius but nothing happened. He tried calling again, only to have the same result. Then he jumped into the water, expecting him to pick him up or circle him, waiting for him to grab his fin. When he didn't come again, Croco climbed out of the water and tracked down one of the caretakers of the dolphins. He knew that he hadn't been his usual frisky self over the past few days but didn't suspect anything.
"Excuse me, but do you know what happened to Sirius?" he asked, "He isn't in the main pool." The caretaker, or "dolphin keeper" turned around and saw Croco. She looked him over.
"You're the young man that he has grown attached to," she said sadly, "It pains me greatly to tell you this, but sometime during the night, he ceased to live as a result of the illness he had contracted. I am sorry." She told him that he had lived a full life, but that did nothing to console Croco as he was sobbing loudly on her shoulder. They were soon joined by Cassie, who motioned for him to bend down to see her at eye level.
"I know how much you loved Sirius," she said while cooing softly. "I enjoyed watching you two play together and will miss him as much as you will." But even Cassie knew that wasn't the truth, as she wasn't the one who played and frolicked in the giant pool with him. The dolphin keeper then noticed a marking on Croco's right arm, which was one of several tattoos covering his arms and the back of his neck. It was a gold shield, triangular in shape, with a solid blue winged creature in the middle resembling a pterosaur in the middle and two dark lines running down from its feet. Around this it said "Born of the Sky," and the dolphin keeper was mystified by this.
"Do you know what that mark is?" she asked him. Croco shook his head. "That is the same as what Oolu has on his uniform! Where did you find it?"
"Oh...this?" he said, pointing to his arm, "I found it in a book from the outside world and because I was always flying somewhere, I thought it would be cool to have it tattooed on me as a reminder of what I am...and that is a flyer." They continued to chat until Cassie insisted that they leave.
After they parted ways with the dolphin keeper and exited the stadium, Croco asked about Oolu. Cassie told him that he was the head Skybax instructor in Canyon City and along with his skybax Lightwing, was the Aerial Habitat Partner who kept track of the weather and the pollen and dust levels. Naturally Croco wanted to meet him, but she told him that he was really old and on the verge of retiring from his duties of Habitat Partner and Skybax instructor. However, that didn't ease the pain of Sirius' death and Croco went to bed that night shaken and crying, knowing that a good friend of his was now gone.