A/N: Holy cow, it's been a while! Well, here you are, graced with another chapter of "Twins on Dinotopia"! Since I finally have my own computer (a laptop, no less, oh happy day!) I'll try do make the time between my next updates a little less

Chapter 04

Phoenix lifted her head from the soft pillows the next morning when she heard knocking on her door. She stumbled out of bed, the silk pajama bottoms she'd been given were slung low on her hips and the top had come off in the twisting and turning, leaving only her sports bra. She padded to the door and pulled it open. Connor's slight grin, as well as his presence, caught her off guard. "What are you doing here?" she asked groggily, stepping back to let him in and grabbed her shirt.

"The convoy leaves in an hour," he answered as he came in, his arms crossed. "I've already been to your sister's room."

"Good for you," she yawned, stretching.

"Are all the women on the outside like you?" he asked, eyeing her.

"Only the hot ones," she said, going behind a screen to change. "So where are we going again?"

"Dolphin Bay Hatchery," he answered, going to her bedside table. A silver chain rested on it. "After that, wherever your assignment takes you."

"What kind of assignments are there?" she asked.

"Depends on your habitat," he said, running the thin chain through his fingers. "Sky, sea or land."

"So what, you're supposed to pick a favorite?" she asked, coming out from behind the screen. She wore a black camisole and her cargo camouflage pants. She took the chain from him and put it around her neck.

"I wish it were that easy," he admitted, studying her as she pulled her shoes on. Her belly button was indeed pierced with a tattoo of a Chinese character over her naval. Celtic knot work twisted around her upper left arm and her namesake was in the small of her back.

"Kay, I'm ready," she stated, tying up her hair.

He jerked his head. "Let's go."

She grabbed her bag of extra clothes and followed him out. "So I know you don't have a habitat yourself but do you have a favorite?" she asked.

He gave her a sideways glance. "How do you know I don't have on?"

"Your father," she answered.

Connor sighed and shook his head. "I don't have a favorite. People rarely do until they've been assigned one."

"So why don't you have one yet?" she asked.

"You know, I don't see how that's your business," he said hotly.

A slow grin spread over her face. "Ooh, touch a nerve have I?" she asked.

"You know, you seem pretty nice until you open your mouth," he retorted.

"Likewise."

She could have sworn she heard him growl.

They joined Jade and the mayor outside the mansion. A brach also awaited them but it lacked its armor. "There you are!" Jade exclaimed. "Took you long enough!"

"Sorry," Phoenix said, holding up her hands.

Jade sighed and began climbing the ladder to the carriage on the brach's back. Phoenix followed her, then Connor.

"Good luck!" the mayor called as the dinosaur began walking.

When they got to the hatchery the next day, a young woman met them outside. "Connor!" she said, waving.

"Hello, Marian!" he drawled good naturedly, dropping down and hugging her. He picked her up a little bit, swinging her. "How've you been?"

"Never better!" she said brightly then noticed Phoenix and Jade. "Are these the newcomers?"

"Yup. That's Jade, the other one is Phoenix. Girls, this is Marian, daughter of the Lord Mayor of Waterfall City and the Matriarch of Dolphin Bay Hatchery," Connor introduced.

"Breathe deep," Marian said.

"Seek peace," Jade replied without hesitation. Phoenix gave her a strange look. "What? It's their greeting, the mayor told me," her sister explained.

"Come, my mother is this way," Marian said, heading toward the house as other people seemed to come from the woodwork to take care of the brach.

Jade caught Phoenix throwing glares at Marian and Connor, who still held onto each other. Marian would affectionately run her fingers over the man's back every so often. Jade nudged her sister. "What's the matter with you?" she asked.

Phoenix frowned. "What do you mean?"

Jade rolled her eyes, knowing her sister all too well.

Phoenix and Jade spent the next few months helping out in the farm and hatchery. It became clear to them that there was indeed something between Marian and Connor but nothing major. They'd grown up together so it was supposedly to be suspected.

Close to the day when they would "commune" with the dinosaurs, Phoenix was sitting on the beach, watching the dolphins play in the bay. Jade sat next to her. "Whatcha thinking about?"

Phoenix vaguely pointed. "How those dolphins can get in and out of here with that reef."

"Rosemary told me. Supposedly there's a gap in the reef but no one can find it," she shrugged. "Now what else you thinking about?"

Phoenix shrugged. "Nothing."

"So you don't care that Marian was giving a half naked Connor a massage after plow duty today then, huh?"

Phoenix stiffened. "So?"

Jade chuckled. "Connor pulled a muscle so he took off his shirt and she worked it out for him."

"The poor baby," Phoenix said dully.

"Yeah, you should have seen him. The fields were hot today and he was soaked-"

"OK, you can stop now," Phoenix said testily.

Jade sighed and shrugged. "Alright."

Phoenix sat amid all the others in the barn. The stags and brachs were outside. There were even a few trikes. "Clear your mind," Rosemary said. "Open it to the earth and the saurs."

The twin noticed others getting comfortable so she laid back and stretched. She heard the calls and stomps from the dinosaurs and something began to happen…

Rosemary studied the students. Something was wrong, someone was "misplaced." She closed her eyes and opened her own mind. When she opened them, she knew. "Connor," she said loud enough for him to hear her. He lifted his head but next to him, her daughter didn't stir. "Would you go sit by Phoenix, please? She's next to her sister in the back."

Connor frowned. "OK," he said, and stood up.

He found the bolder twin laying on her back next to her sister who was on her stomach. He sat down on the opposing side and lowered his head, focusing on the natural noises. His head spun and he wasn't aware when he fell to the side, his heading resting on Phoenix's stomach.