Chapter 36
The rest of the training went along flawlessly for Croco and the other cadets. As a matter of fact, Oolu reported that there was not even a near-fall during the entire season, which was about four months long. He was very proud of his final class and arranged for them to go to the Silver Skybax, which was the finest restaurant in Canyon City, as a group to reward their achievement. After this came final tests, where they would display all that they had learned in front of the citizens of Canyon City in a recital-like format. Croco and Speedwing performed flawlessly, however the same could not be said for everyone else as Ezrah and Valkyrie were caught by a sudden wind gust and nearly thrown into the side of the canyon. However, they made it out unscathed to the relief of everyone.
On the day after the final tests were completed, there was a graduation ceremony held in the Grand Ampitheater where Oolu cleared the students and challenged them to earn their Apprenticeship. A lot of families were there, but due to the short notice the Hornadays couldn't attend. But still Croco thought about them and especially Nobby as he accepted his graduation certificate. After the ceremony, he made his way back to his room at the Rainbow Ridge Inn and started to pack his belongings into a backpack as he was destined the next day to begin his journey with Alynna to the great Tentpole of the Sky.
As Croco packed his possessions into his backpack, he heard a knock on the door. Upon answering it, he saw Cassie standing outside. A smile came across his face.
"I had some important business to take care of after the ceremony but I set that aside just to be with you," she said. The two embraced as Croco finished packing. He only had three changes of clothes and something that Cassie gave him during his training, so he finished rather quickly and sat on the bed in deep thought. Then Croco looked up at the late afternoon sky.
"Would you like to come with us Cassie?" he asked. Cassie gasped and backed away, shaking her head and wide-eyed.
"Oh no, I'm not a mountain climber," she said, laughing. "Alynna should be a good companion for you though. She knows the Forbidden Mountains like the back of her hand." But deep inside, Cassie didn't want to leave Croco's side. She had watched him grow over the past four years...from a boy who was lost and looking for his purpose to a pillar of strength and fortitude that was unforseeable when he first landed. But Croco still carried one trait from the outside world to Dinotopia, and that was his feelings for females of all species. He got on his knees in front of the protoceratops.
"These have been the greatest years of my life," Croco said. "I wouldn't give them up even if it meant death. You've meant the world to me and I want to be with you." Another knock on the door, this time it was from a navigator of a brach caravan that had disembarked nearby.
"Castra, it is time." he told her. Cassie shook him off but he was insistant. She turned to Croco, the tears flowing down her scaly face. Although she was very outgoing, she rarely showed her true emotions. But this time Cassie couldn't help it.
"I've never...felt this way...about a human in all my years," she said, sniffling the whole time. "But I have to leave you. I'm needed in Waterfall City. You're heading to the Tentpole of the Sky. I'm gonna miss you...Croco." She tried to leave, but Croco had a firm hold of her tail.
"You're just gonna go?" he asked, easing his grip. She slowly nodded as she headed off. "Cassie, I love you!" he shouted, the tears starting to trickle from his eyes also. "Please, I don't want you to leave...you mean too much for me! I still remember my first day in Waterfall City when I first saw you in my room. It wasn't as obvious as it is now, but I knew you were special. The months went by and we got closer and closer to each other until the night after my first flight. I actually had a dream that night that we were mating...you were a human of course, but still we were actually mating! That's when it hit me that we were more than just friends." His crying became less controlled as he finished his statement as Cassie turned around, their green eyes meeting as they looked deep into each other's soul.
"You...really love me that much?" she asked as she was just as confused as Croco. He didn't say anything but Cassie knew the answer right away as she put one of her front feet up to his face and wiped away a tear with one of her toes. "I love you that much too, but you're a human and I am of the family Ceratopsidae. It would never work out and even if I were human, I have a mate and a son back home. You must understand that in order to make it in the world, you have to learn how to let go. This is the last thing I will ever teach you, as your stay at the Tentpole will be the test. I have great faith in you Croco, do not let me down." The navigator knocked again, and though it was subtle Cassie was able to hear it.
"I must be going now," she said. But before she left, Cassie went back and gave Croco a big hug, not letting go for nearly three whole minutes. During this, they whispered words of encouragement to each other, promising that they would keep in touch and that they would meet again in the near future. After they separated, Cassie left the room, but not before letting out an mournful cry as a final goodbye to the young man she loved more than another son. If Cassie had it her way, Croco would be accompanying her on the brach to Waterfall City, but she knew of his dreams of flying again and set her personal desires aside in true Dinotopian nature.
Croco went to dinner alone that night and remained that way, even after Alynna saw him in his dejected state and invited him to sit with her. After coming back to the apartment, he shuffled through his backpack and pulled out the keepsake that Cassie gave him. It was a small silver pendant in the shape of the head of a Protoceratops attached to a shiny brass chain she picked up in Cornucopia and he put it on, holding it close to his heart. Already he was starting to miss Cassie as he slowly cried himself to a dreamless sleep, but even though he wanted to be with her, Croco knew that he wanted to fly more than anything and took the protoceratops' words of wisdom to heart. He would awake the next morning to start the first day of the rest of his life on Dinotopia.
The rest of the training went along flawlessly for Croco and the other cadets. As a matter of fact, Oolu reported that there was not even a near-fall during the entire season, which was about four months long. He was very proud of his final class and arranged for them to go to the Silver Skybax, which was the finest restaurant in Canyon City, as a group to reward their achievement. After this came final tests, where they would display all that they had learned in front of the citizens of Canyon City in a recital-like format. Croco and Speedwing performed flawlessly, however the same could not be said for everyone else as Ezrah and Valkyrie were caught by a sudden wind gust and nearly thrown into the side of the canyon. However, they made it out unscathed to the relief of everyone.
On the day after the final tests were completed, there was a graduation ceremony held in the Grand Ampitheater where Oolu cleared the students and challenged them to earn their Apprenticeship. A lot of families were there, but due to the short notice the Hornadays couldn't attend. But still Croco thought about them and especially Nobby as he accepted his graduation certificate. After the ceremony, he made his way back to his room at the Rainbow Ridge Inn and started to pack his belongings into a backpack as he was destined the next day to begin his journey with Alynna to the great Tentpole of the Sky.
As Croco packed his possessions into his backpack, he heard a knock on the door. Upon answering it, he saw Cassie standing outside. A smile came across his face.
"I had some important business to take care of after the ceremony but I set that aside just to be with you," she said. The two embraced as Croco finished packing. He only had three changes of clothes and something that Cassie gave him during his training, so he finished rather quickly and sat on the bed in deep thought. Then Croco looked up at the late afternoon sky.
"Would you like to come with us Cassie?" he asked. Cassie gasped and backed away, shaking her head and wide-eyed.
"Oh no, I'm not a mountain climber," she said, laughing. "Alynna should be a good companion for you though. She knows the Forbidden Mountains like the back of her hand." But deep inside, Cassie didn't want to leave Croco's side. She had watched him grow over the past four years...from a boy who was lost and looking for his purpose to a pillar of strength and fortitude that was unforseeable when he first landed. But Croco still carried one trait from the outside world to Dinotopia, and that was his feelings for females of all species. He got on his knees in front of the protoceratops.
"These have been the greatest years of my life," Croco said. "I wouldn't give them up even if it meant death. You've meant the world to me and I want to be with you." Another knock on the door, this time it was from a navigator of a brach caravan that had disembarked nearby.
"Castra, it is time." he told her. Cassie shook him off but he was insistant. She turned to Croco, the tears flowing down her scaly face. Although she was very outgoing, she rarely showed her true emotions. But this time Cassie couldn't help it.
"I've never...felt this way...about a human in all my years," she said, sniffling the whole time. "But I have to leave you. I'm needed in Waterfall City. You're heading to the Tentpole of the Sky. I'm gonna miss you...Croco." She tried to leave, but Croco had a firm hold of her tail.
"You're just gonna go?" he asked, easing his grip. She slowly nodded as she headed off. "Cassie, I love you!" he shouted, the tears starting to trickle from his eyes also. "Please, I don't want you to leave...you mean too much for me! I still remember my first day in Waterfall City when I first saw you in my room. It wasn't as obvious as it is now, but I knew you were special. The months went by and we got closer and closer to each other until the night after my first flight. I actually had a dream that night that we were mating...you were a human of course, but still we were actually mating! That's when it hit me that we were more than just friends." His crying became less controlled as he finished his statement as Cassie turned around, their green eyes meeting as they looked deep into each other's soul.
"You...really love me that much?" she asked as she was just as confused as Croco. He didn't say anything but Cassie knew the answer right away as she put one of her front feet up to his face and wiped away a tear with one of her toes. "I love you that much too, but you're a human and I am of the family Ceratopsidae. It would never work out and even if I were human, I have a mate and a son back home. You must understand that in order to make it in the world, you have to learn how to let go. This is the last thing I will ever teach you, as your stay at the Tentpole will be the test. I have great faith in you Croco, do not let me down." The navigator knocked again, and though it was subtle Cassie was able to hear it.
"I must be going now," she said. But before she left, Cassie went back and gave Croco a big hug, not letting go for nearly three whole minutes. During this, they whispered words of encouragement to each other, promising that they would keep in touch and that they would meet again in the near future. After they separated, Cassie left the room, but not before letting out an mournful cry as a final goodbye to the young man she loved more than another son. If Cassie had it her way, Croco would be accompanying her on the brach to Waterfall City, but she knew of his dreams of flying again and set her personal desires aside in true Dinotopian nature.
Croco went to dinner alone that night and remained that way, even after Alynna saw him in his dejected state and invited him to sit with her. After coming back to the apartment, he shuffled through his backpack and pulled out the keepsake that Cassie gave him. It was a small silver pendant in the shape of the head of a Protoceratops attached to a shiny brass chain she picked up in Cornucopia and he put it on, holding it close to his heart. Already he was starting to miss Cassie as he slowly cried himself to a dreamless sleep, but even though he wanted to be with her, Croco knew that he wanted to fly more than anything and took the protoceratops' words of wisdom to heart. He would awake the next morning to start the first day of the rest of his life on Dinotopia.