Chapter 12
The next day, Croco continued on with his studies, but obviously he was still struck with grief over the loss of Sirius. But he still went on and became somewhat of a favorite in the library, at the Aqua Stadium, and in the poet's hall. While living in his outside world home of Webster, New York, he was part of a rock band with three other friends of his who called themselves "Sonic Overload." Croco played bass guitar and was a backup vocalist and occasionally wrote songs for the band. He shared some of the lyrics as well as the original poetry he composed since he was on the island. Most of his lyrics were of angst and rage while his poetry was of peace and happiness, which Cassie immediately pointed out as a product of the way of Dinotopian life.
About six weeks after the passing of Sirius, and after Croco had changed out of his swimming apparel following his morning swim, one of the elders knocked on the door of his room.
"Croco..." he said, "...you have a visitor." Croco rushed to get dressed, but he didn't know why he had company. 'Odd,' he thought, 'hardly anyone knows me here, so who would want to visit me?' But when he came out to greet the visitor, it had became apparent. It was a little girl, no more than ten summers old. Her long, flowing brown hair came down to her waist and her eyes were almost as green as Croco's. The girl stood firmly by the side of her saurian companion, a deinonychus whose dark green hue gave way to an ivory white on its underbelly. When Croco saw who it was, he turned pale as if he saw a ghost.
"Kaala?!?" he gasped, "Is it really..." She rushed toward Croco as he held out his arms.
"Yes, it's me...Kaala!" she squealed as she leaped into him. Then Kaala motioned to her companion. "Come Riojay...it's Croco!" Riojay nuzzled the young man and they walked up to Croco's room in the facility where Cassie was waiting for them. She could tell that they knew Croco from somewhere else.
"Friends of yours, I assume?" she said with a hint of glee. Croco introduced Kaala and Riojay to the protoceratops, after which Riojay eyed Cassie with the intent of making a meal out of her. But Croco reassured her that he was only playing and that he did that all the time.
"So how did you guys get to Waterfall City?" he wondered as he lied on his freshly made bed.
"We took the gliders on our side of the river," Kaala told him. "The ride was fun! Closest I'll ever get to being a Skybax rider like you're gonna be." Riojay spun around as if he were still on the glider, then he sat on the bed next to Croco. The deinonychus put his head right up against Croco's chest as if to nuzzle, but never did.
"I miss you Croco," he said, "Not same at home without you." Croco put an arm around Riojay's neck and gently scratched it. Then he jumped up at started towards the door.
"Who wants to go for a walk around Waterfall City?" Croco asked. Both Kaala and Riojay jumped up and he led them out of the Haven and back over the bridge. With Cassie as their tour guide, they spent the whole day walking around the great city while she told them interesting details about each of the landmarks they visited. They stopped to watch a meeting at the Round Table Hall, where Kado was operating a typewriter-like device in the middle of the circular table. After the meeting, Croco introduced his friends to the exhausted troodon.
"Just hope you never have to type out long speeches with your feet," he told them with a toothy smile. They laughed and parted ways. The next stop was the Sabertooth Statues at the southern edge of the city. Cassie told them the legend about the statues and the falls, then told them to make their way back to the Haven as it was getting late. The next day when Croco woke up, he was surprised to see that Kaala had a half-eaten piece of fruit in her hand. She started shaking him as he was still half-asleep.
"C'mon Croco!" she said loudly, "Cassie and I just had some breakfast!" He told Kaala about his morning routine of going down to the Aqua Stadium to swim before breakfast and asked her if she wanted to come.
"Sure!" she said with delight and went into an empty room to change into her swimsuit. Croco did the same in his room and he took Kaala by the hand and led her to the Stadium. He dove in and was expecting her to come in after him.
"Are you a good swimmer?" Croco asked. Kaala told him that she was somewhat good, but that she would rather go down the water slide instead. And so she did while Croco played with the dolphins. After about an hour, they decided to leave where Cassie was waiting to take them to a different section of the city. This routine continued for about four more days until they had seen every corner of Waterfall City. The fifth day saw them go into the library where Kado was waiting for them.
"Breathe deep, seek peace Croco and Kaala," he said. They returned his greeting and asked them what they wanted to look at for the day. Croco wanted to see more scrolls about pterosaurs, specifically about Quetzalcoatlus, while Kaala was looking for something at her level on predators. She came across a scroll entitled "Humor for Predatory Species," which was a collection of jokes put together by a Utahraptor. It didn't take long before Kaala and Riojay were howling with laughter and soon Croco came over to see what the commotion was about, only to find Kaala reciting a joke.
"...So the velociraptor said, 'If a T-Rex would go to any extreme for a meal, then surely I could.' He ended up jumping in the river and you know what happened.....he ends up in the jaws of another Rex...and he said 'Wow, it's been a long time between meals for me,' then the first one lowered itself to the second one's stomach and said, 'see...told ya a Rex would go to any length!'" All three of them started laughing hysterically to the point where Kado took the scroll away from the girl.
"I don't think that's appropriate reading for a little girl," he said sternly. "Those are jokes and riddles gathered up over many thousands of years by a wild utahraptor. The only ones that read that are carnosaurs that come from the Basin." With that, Riojay nudged the troodon.
"But I come from Basin," he pleaded. Still, Kado wouldn't let them have the scroll. However, he did let Croco check out one called "The Mysteries of the Skybax." He then followed Croco to the main door, not saying anything until he was about to exit.
"Sorry if I startle you, but I see you have a keen interest in pterosaurs and wanting to be a Skybax rider," he told him. Croco confirmed this and he led him back into the library. "Well if you come by the library around midday tomorrow, I'll introduce you to a friend of mine. But that's all I am going to tell you." Croco was a little confused.
"Are you sure..." he started, but Kado cut him off.
"I've already talked to Castra about it and she says it's OK," he told him. Then Kaala tapped on Croco's shoulder, telling him that they were overdue to leave Waterfall City and needed to return home to Neopylos. Kado recognized this and led the trio out of the library, where an apatosaurus was waiting for them. Kaala told them that they were supposed to meet her parents in Bonabba. Though Croco wanted her to stay, he knew that she had to be going.
"Breathe deep Kaala," he said.
"...Seek peace Croco, and good luck!" she replied.
"Say hello to your parents and Nobby for me!" and the apatosaur, with Kaala and Riojay walking beside it, slowly lumbered off toward a barn in order to make preparations for their journey through the Rainy Basin. Kado and Croco waved until they were out of sight then turned to reenter the library. But there was something about this "friend" of Kado's that made him feel very uneasy and nervous. He tried to forget about it as Cassie met up with him and they went back to her house to retire for the night. Still, he was nervous about the next day and Cassie went to sleep beside him to try and calm his nerves.
The next day, Croco continued on with his studies, but obviously he was still struck with grief over the loss of Sirius. But he still went on and became somewhat of a favorite in the library, at the Aqua Stadium, and in the poet's hall. While living in his outside world home of Webster, New York, he was part of a rock band with three other friends of his who called themselves "Sonic Overload." Croco played bass guitar and was a backup vocalist and occasionally wrote songs for the band. He shared some of the lyrics as well as the original poetry he composed since he was on the island. Most of his lyrics were of angst and rage while his poetry was of peace and happiness, which Cassie immediately pointed out as a product of the way of Dinotopian life.
About six weeks after the passing of Sirius, and after Croco had changed out of his swimming apparel following his morning swim, one of the elders knocked on the door of his room.
"Croco..." he said, "...you have a visitor." Croco rushed to get dressed, but he didn't know why he had company. 'Odd,' he thought, 'hardly anyone knows me here, so who would want to visit me?' But when he came out to greet the visitor, it had became apparent. It was a little girl, no more than ten summers old. Her long, flowing brown hair came down to her waist and her eyes were almost as green as Croco's. The girl stood firmly by the side of her saurian companion, a deinonychus whose dark green hue gave way to an ivory white on its underbelly. When Croco saw who it was, he turned pale as if he saw a ghost.
"Kaala?!?" he gasped, "Is it really..." She rushed toward Croco as he held out his arms.
"Yes, it's me...Kaala!" she squealed as she leaped into him. Then Kaala motioned to her companion. "Come Riojay...it's Croco!" Riojay nuzzled the young man and they walked up to Croco's room in the facility where Cassie was waiting for them. She could tell that they knew Croco from somewhere else.
"Friends of yours, I assume?" she said with a hint of glee. Croco introduced Kaala and Riojay to the protoceratops, after which Riojay eyed Cassie with the intent of making a meal out of her. But Croco reassured her that he was only playing and that he did that all the time.
"So how did you guys get to Waterfall City?" he wondered as he lied on his freshly made bed.
"We took the gliders on our side of the river," Kaala told him. "The ride was fun! Closest I'll ever get to being a Skybax rider like you're gonna be." Riojay spun around as if he were still on the glider, then he sat on the bed next to Croco. The deinonychus put his head right up against Croco's chest as if to nuzzle, but never did.
"I miss you Croco," he said, "Not same at home without you." Croco put an arm around Riojay's neck and gently scratched it. Then he jumped up at started towards the door.
"Who wants to go for a walk around Waterfall City?" Croco asked. Both Kaala and Riojay jumped up and he led them out of the Haven and back over the bridge. With Cassie as their tour guide, they spent the whole day walking around the great city while she told them interesting details about each of the landmarks they visited. They stopped to watch a meeting at the Round Table Hall, where Kado was operating a typewriter-like device in the middle of the circular table. After the meeting, Croco introduced his friends to the exhausted troodon.
"Just hope you never have to type out long speeches with your feet," he told them with a toothy smile. They laughed and parted ways. The next stop was the Sabertooth Statues at the southern edge of the city. Cassie told them the legend about the statues and the falls, then told them to make their way back to the Haven as it was getting late. The next day when Croco woke up, he was surprised to see that Kaala had a half-eaten piece of fruit in her hand. She started shaking him as he was still half-asleep.
"C'mon Croco!" she said loudly, "Cassie and I just had some breakfast!" He told Kaala about his morning routine of going down to the Aqua Stadium to swim before breakfast and asked her if she wanted to come.
"Sure!" she said with delight and went into an empty room to change into her swimsuit. Croco did the same in his room and he took Kaala by the hand and led her to the Stadium. He dove in and was expecting her to come in after him.
"Are you a good swimmer?" Croco asked. Kaala told him that she was somewhat good, but that she would rather go down the water slide instead. And so she did while Croco played with the dolphins. After about an hour, they decided to leave where Cassie was waiting to take them to a different section of the city. This routine continued for about four more days until they had seen every corner of Waterfall City. The fifth day saw them go into the library where Kado was waiting for them.
"Breathe deep, seek peace Croco and Kaala," he said. They returned his greeting and asked them what they wanted to look at for the day. Croco wanted to see more scrolls about pterosaurs, specifically about Quetzalcoatlus, while Kaala was looking for something at her level on predators. She came across a scroll entitled "Humor for Predatory Species," which was a collection of jokes put together by a Utahraptor. It didn't take long before Kaala and Riojay were howling with laughter and soon Croco came over to see what the commotion was about, only to find Kaala reciting a joke.
"...So the velociraptor said, 'If a T-Rex would go to any extreme for a meal, then surely I could.' He ended up jumping in the river and you know what happened.....he ends up in the jaws of another Rex...and he said 'Wow, it's been a long time between meals for me,' then the first one lowered itself to the second one's stomach and said, 'see...told ya a Rex would go to any length!'" All three of them started laughing hysterically to the point where Kado took the scroll away from the girl.
"I don't think that's appropriate reading for a little girl," he said sternly. "Those are jokes and riddles gathered up over many thousands of years by a wild utahraptor. The only ones that read that are carnosaurs that come from the Basin." With that, Riojay nudged the troodon.
"But I come from Basin," he pleaded. Still, Kado wouldn't let them have the scroll. However, he did let Croco check out one called "The Mysteries of the Skybax." He then followed Croco to the main door, not saying anything until he was about to exit.
"Sorry if I startle you, but I see you have a keen interest in pterosaurs and wanting to be a Skybax rider," he told him. Croco confirmed this and he led him back into the library. "Well if you come by the library around midday tomorrow, I'll introduce you to a friend of mine. But that's all I am going to tell you." Croco was a little confused.
"Are you sure..." he started, but Kado cut him off.
"I've already talked to Castra about it and she says it's OK," he told him. Then Kaala tapped on Croco's shoulder, telling him that they were overdue to leave Waterfall City and needed to return home to Neopylos. Kado recognized this and led the trio out of the library, where an apatosaurus was waiting for them. Kaala told them that they were supposed to meet her parents in Bonabba. Though Croco wanted her to stay, he knew that she had to be going.
"Breathe deep Kaala," he said.
"...Seek peace Croco, and good luck!" she replied.
"Say hello to your parents and Nobby for me!" and the apatosaur, with Kaala and Riojay walking beside it, slowly lumbered off toward a barn in order to make preparations for their journey through the Rainy Basin. Kado and Croco waved until they were out of sight then turned to reenter the library. But there was something about this "friend" of Kado's that made him feel very uneasy and nervous. He tried to forget about it as Cassie met up with him and they went back to her house to retire for the night. Still, he was nervous about the next day and Cassie went to sleep beside him to try and calm his nerves.