Chapter 24
Croco had just awoke one morning when he saw Nalina standing outside his basket. He was reading a scroll that he had picked up from Kado just before he left Waterfall City. She came in, landing right on top of him causing him to let out an angusihed groan. Nalina giggled as she looked over the scroll at him.
"Whatcha readin'?" she asked playfully. Croco peered up to see her.
"Oh, it's just something I picked up in Waterfall City," Croco told her. "It's a scroll about pterosaurs that Kado the librarian gave to me. We became real good friends over the months." Nalina moved the scroll aside so she could look deeply into his green eyes. Even though she was only sixteen and he was twenty-one, Nalina wanted Croco in the worst kind of way. And Croco had a bit of a crush on her too, as he was always sneaking up on her and wrapping her up in his arms or splashing and sneaking up from below the surface when they were swimming in the lake.
And Melanie was observing this as well from her perch in the main trees as well. She always made sure to ask one about the other when they were at ground level. Most of the time they were pretty straightforward, as they liked her dearly. But once, Croco altered a story where they were caught giving each other a quick kiss, and much to his surprise, Melanie bought into it. As much as he didn't like to lie, he felt that he had to in order to be able to see Nalina again.
As the weeks went by, Croco and Nalina grew closer and closer to each other, and it became apparent they were in love with each other. Melanie knew this and called them into the central tree one morning after breakfast. Croco braced himself for a scolding but the smile on her face quickly reassured him that he did nothing wrong.
"I see you two were made for each other despite your difference in years." she said warmly. Nalina giggled while Croco stood and scratched his head in thought. Somehow he had a feeling that it wasn't going to work out between them.
"I don't know if were exactly made for each other," he said. Nalina and Melanie wanted to know why. "Well...when two people meet and they start to like each other a lot, they tend to think that they were made for each other. Then reality hits them when one goes off and leaves the other behind." They all thought hard about what Croco had just said.
"Please don't tell me this is a premonition," Nalina said, shaking him as hard as she could. Melanie tried to calm her down but it didn't help. Croco broke away and put his hand on her shoulder.
"It's okay Nalina," he said and started to coo, "Don't worry about the future yet, instead just have fun today while you can. You're only young once and when you get older, you're gonna wish you had these years back." This reassured her greatly and Melanie dismissed them to their morning activities, but not before she pulled Croco aside.
"You're wise beyond your years Mr. Hallaway," she said. "Whatever you choose to go into after the Games you will change the way it has been done." Croco smiled as she was saying this, knowing that she saw good things in him.
"Thank you Melanie," he said, "but there's only one thing I want to do, and that is to fly again." He was emphatic in this statement and Melanie laughed, seeing great joy in his youthful energy.
"Well save your enthusiasm for when you get to Canyon City. This is good practice for you if you want to be a Skybax rider as you're going to have to get used to high places. Think living only two necks off the ground is really high, you should try it from about one hundred and fifty." Croco asked what a neck was and Melanie told him that it was the primary unit of length used on Dinotopia and that one neck equaled forty feet. "We're at 130 necks," she explained, "and your mile is 5,280 feet. So that..." Croco understood and pleaded to get back to his chores. Melanie dismissed him, but not before giving him more words of encouragement. She had become a big influence in Croco's life and he thanked her for it. As he got down, he could feel the effects of the altitude for the first time. 'No wonder I'm always so outta breath,' he thought as he scrambled toward another one of the main trees.
After dinner, Croco headed back to the lake for a swim, but not without Nalina trailing too far behind. She had been wondering where he was all day and he told her that he had a few extra chores to do and decided to hang out with couple of his other friends as well. Nalina understood as they slinked into the water and they didn't come back out until almost sunset. When they were finished, Nalina took Croco's hand and led him not back to the trees, but to a little clearing in a field some ways from the main trees. Croco was a little uneasy about this.
"What are you doing?" he asked nervously. Nalina smiled as they sat down on the ground, which was still damp from a brief shower earlier that day.
"I've heard some of the older girls talking about what it would be like to mate for the first time," she said. "Some have done it, and I was wondering what it would be like." Croco was in shock that she wanted to do this with him.
"Are you kidding?!? If Melanie finds out, she's gonna have our necks!" he said loudly.
"C'mon Croco," she said sweetly, "it's not like anybody's gonna find out." Just as she grabbed Croco to kiss him deeply, the evening bell rang. Croco pulled her off of him and stood up.
"That's the bell! We gotta get going!" he said as he started back towards the trees, but Nalina blocked him and took off his shirt while nipping at his neck.
"We're not going anywhere," she said as she let a hand run downward from his chest. "Besides, all Melanie's gonna do is give us a warning not to do it again." Croco knew she was determined and decided not to resist anymore, even if it meant getting into trouble. But Nalina knew that he would like it, and sure enough he did.
About an hour later, they snuck back into the main cluster of trees and said a quick goodnight to each other, with Nalina going one way and Croco going the other. Taking care as to not get noticed, he tiptoed stealthily back up to his basket and was in bed before anyone had even noticed he was gone. His dreams that night were of a Skybax that could carry two riders side-by-side, one being him and the other being Nalina. However at sunrise, Croco heard a loud banging on the rail next to his basket. Thinking nothing of it, he ignored it and went back to bed. Then he felt his basket being shook, and that finally woke him up in an angered state.
"Darren! I thought I told you..." he shouted as he looked up to see Melanie standing with her hands on her hips with a wooden spoon hanging out of one. She had a cross look on her face as she addressed Croco.
"I heard about what happened between you and Nalina last night," she said sternly, "and I shall see to that it doesn't happen again. Any mating behavior is strictly forbidden between young folk in Treetown."
"But Melanie," he begged, "it was her idea to begin with!" Melanie folded her arms, uninterested in hearing Croco's case.
"It doesn't matter whose idea it was, the fact that you did it to begin with deserves discipline. So tonight you will start sleeping with the dinosaurs every night for the next week. Now get going to breakfast young man." Croco's heart sank when he heard his punishment. But he thought that it would in a way remind him of his nights sleeping with Nobby in his first weeks on the island. Still, he felt as if he let everyone down and hung his head in guilt as he made his way over to the dining tree for breakfast.
Croco had just awoke one morning when he saw Nalina standing outside his basket. He was reading a scroll that he had picked up from Kado just before he left Waterfall City. She came in, landing right on top of him causing him to let out an angusihed groan. Nalina giggled as she looked over the scroll at him.
"Whatcha readin'?" she asked playfully. Croco peered up to see her.
"Oh, it's just something I picked up in Waterfall City," Croco told her. "It's a scroll about pterosaurs that Kado the librarian gave to me. We became real good friends over the months." Nalina moved the scroll aside so she could look deeply into his green eyes. Even though she was only sixteen and he was twenty-one, Nalina wanted Croco in the worst kind of way. And Croco had a bit of a crush on her too, as he was always sneaking up on her and wrapping her up in his arms or splashing and sneaking up from below the surface when they were swimming in the lake.
And Melanie was observing this as well from her perch in the main trees as well. She always made sure to ask one about the other when they were at ground level. Most of the time they were pretty straightforward, as they liked her dearly. But once, Croco altered a story where they were caught giving each other a quick kiss, and much to his surprise, Melanie bought into it. As much as he didn't like to lie, he felt that he had to in order to be able to see Nalina again.
As the weeks went by, Croco and Nalina grew closer and closer to each other, and it became apparent they were in love with each other. Melanie knew this and called them into the central tree one morning after breakfast. Croco braced himself for a scolding but the smile on her face quickly reassured him that he did nothing wrong.
"I see you two were made for each other despite your difference in years." she said warmly. Nalina giggled while Croco stood and scratched his head in thought. Somehow he had a feeling that it wasn't going to work out between them.
"I don't know if were exactly made for each other," he said. Nalina and Melanie wanted to know why. "Well...when two people meet and they start to like each other a lot, they tend to think that they were made for each other. Then reality hits them when one goes off and leaves the other behind." They all thought hard about what Croco had just said.
"Please don't tell me this is a premonition," Nalina said, shaking him as hard as she could. Melanie tried to calm her down but it didn't help. Croco broke away and put his hand on her shoulder.
"It's okay Nalina," he said and started to coo, "Don't worry about the future yet, instead just have fun today while you can. You're only young once and when you get older, you're gonna wish you had these years back." This reassured her greatly and Melanie dismissed them to their morning activities, but not before she pulled Croco aside.
"You're wise beyond your years Mr. Hallaway," she said. "Whatever you choose to go into after the Games you will change the way it has been done." Croco smiled as she was saying this, knowing that she saw good things in him.
"Thank you Melanie," he said, "but there's only one thing I want to do, and that is to fly again." He was emphatic in this statement and Melanie laughed, seeing great joy in his youthful energy.
"Well save your enthusiasm for when you get to Canyon City. This is good practice for you if you want to be a Skybax rider as you're going to have to get used to high places. Think living only two necks off the ground is really high, you should try it from about one hundred and fifty." Croco asked what a neck was and Melanie told him that it was the primary unit of length used on Dinotopia and that one neck equaled forty feet. "We're at 130 necks," she explained, "and your mile is 5,280 feet. So that..." Croco understood and pleaded to get back to his chores. Melanie dismissed him, but not before giving him more words of encouragement. She had become a big influence in Croco's life and he thanked her for it. As he got down, he could feel the effects of the altitude for the first time. 'No wonder I'm always so outta breath,' he thought as he scrambled toward another one of the main trees.
After dinner, Croco headed back to the lake for a swim, but not without Nalina trailing too far behind. She had been wondering where he was all day and he told her that he had a few extra chores to do and decided to hang out with couple of his other friends as well. Nalina understood as they slinked into the water and they didn't come back out until almost sunset. When they were finished, Nalina took Croco's hand and led him not back to the trees, but to a little clearing in a field some ways from the main trees. Croco was a little uneasy about this.
"What are you doing?" he asked nervously. Nalina smiled as they sat down on the ground, which was still damp from a brief shower earlier that day.
"I've heard some of the older girls talking about what it would be like to mate for the first time," she said. "Some have done it, and I was wondering what it would be like." Croco was in shock that she wanted to do this with him.
"Are you kidding?!? If Melanie finds out, she's gonna have our necks!" he said loudly.
"C'mon Croco," she said sweetly, "it's not like anybody's gonna find out." Just as she grabbed Croco to kiss him deeply, the evening bell rang. Croco pulled her off of him and stood up.
"That's the bell! We gotta get going!" he said as he started back towards the trees, but Nalina blocked him and took off his shirt while nipping at his neck.
"We're not going anywhere," she said as she let a hand run downward from his chest. "Besides, all Melanie's gonna do is give us a warning not to do it again." Croco knew she was determined and decided not to resist anymore, even if it meant getting into trouble. But Nalina knew that he would like it, and sure enough he did.
About an hour later, they snuck back into the main cluster of trees and said a quick goodnight to each other, with Nalina going one way and Croco going the other. Taking care as to not get noticed, he tiptoed stealthily back up to his basket and was in bed before anyone had even noticed he was gone. His dreams that night were of a Skybax that could carry two riders side-by-side, one being him and the other being Nalina. However at sunrise, Croco heard a loud banging on the rail next to his basket. Thinking nothing of it, he ignored it and went back to bed. Then he felt his basket being shook, and that finally woke him up in an angered state.
"Darren! I thought I told you..." he shouted as he looked up to see Melanie standing with her hands on her hips with a wooden spoon hanging out of one. She had a cross look on her face as she addressed Croco.
"I heard about what happened between you and Nalina last night," she said sternly, "and I shall see to that it doesn't happen again. Any mating behavior is strictly forbidden between young folk in Treetown."
"But Melanie," he begged, "it was her idea to begin with!" Melanie folded her arms, uninterested in hearing Croco's case.
"It doesn't matter whose idea it was, the fact that you did it to begin with deserves discipline. So tonight you will start sleeping with the dinosaurs every night for the next week. Now get going to breakfast young man." Croco's heart sank when he heard his punishment. But he thought that it would in a way remind him of his nights sleeping with Nobby in his first weeks on the island. Still, he felt as if he let everyone down and hung his head in guilt as he made his way over to the dining tree for breakfast.