I had yet to determine whether having heightened senses was a blessing or a curse. On one hand, I could detect a greater range of happenings with minimal effort. On the other hand, I didn't always like my discoveries. I never really considered myself the eavesdropping type, but sometimes, it was a matter of personal safety. I hated to break the trust of those close to me, but if they were talking behind my back, that trust wasn't so sturdy to begin with. That's why I listened in on a conversation between Zia and Mr. Lockwood from outside the latter's newly-assigned hotel room.
"Just leave me. I know Moonwatcher only told you to come here because no one else wanted to."
"They were busy, but I'm sure they'd love to spend time with-"
"Not Maisie. She prefers Claire. She doesn't want me anymore."
"Of course she does . . ."
"Why would she, when she's becoming- becoming a-"
"Do I need to sing you the gay song, or are we gonna sidestep the bigotry for now?"
". . . You see? No one wants me. I can't keep up with this world, and the people I love are slowly slipping away from me."
"You could just have an open heart, though."
"I'm afraid that it might be too late to start. Even if I could find a way to un-learn my habits, Moonwatcher is making it very difficult for me to live happily. Why does she hate us so?"
"No idea. Has she been giving you trouble, then?"
"She made me wipe with seashells."
". . . Oh. That's not very cash money."
"No, indeed, it is not 'cash money'. She wants me gone, I just know it! I'll bet she's trying to get Claire to attack me, too."
"Claire wouldn't do that . . ."
"I wish I could be so confident, but I've seen the way she looks at me. And now she's with Eli, and we all know what he did. I'll be dead within the week, and Maisie will be left in the care of two killers."
Part of me wanted to stay and hear Zia's rebuttal, but my heart was slowly breaking, and I had no right listening in on the conversation anyway. I marched down the hall, flexing my claws every now and then as I twitched with anger. I batted at the air, tearing apart an invisible opponent. Well, invisible in the sense that no one but myself knew who I was imagining out of thin air. And I hated that I was almost doing exactly what he said I'd do, but the anger he aroused in me was consuming my heart. I bared my teeth, grinding them with frustration as I stepped into the elevator.
(Come on, Claire, don't do this. Calm down.)
I bent my fingers into hooks, trembling with rage.
(He thinks I'm a killer . . .)
(So don't be.)
(He has no right to say those things! What has he been telling Maisie?)
(Calm down, calm down. He can't turn her against me. She's my daughter. She loves me.)
(And he's trying to TAKE her from me!)
(I'll make him sorry!)
(I'll make them all-)
"Mummy?"
I snapped to attention as Maisie stepped in front of me. I looked around.
"Maisie, were you sitting alone in the lobby?"
"Mhm. Owen told me to wait here, because Moonwatcher has something she wants to show him. Can we play?"
I rubbed my forehead. It was pounding like it never had before.
"Maisie, I'm not feeling well. Can this wait?"
"Aw, but Mum, I wanted to go to the pond and-"
"Maybe some other time."
"But Mum, Owen says it's gonna rain tomorrow, and-"
"Maisie, not right now."
"-the minnows, and I'm not sure I'll have another chance to-"
"Maisie, stop."
"Please, please, please, Mum, I-"
"I SAID NOT NOW!"
SNAP.
I didn't mean to do it. I didn't even realize what had happened until I heard her shriek. I looked down and saw her cradling her arm, eyes wide. A half-moon-shaped cluster of red perforations had appeared on her skin, not deep enough to do any physical damage, but emotional damage, on the other hand . . .
The bite had clearly been intended as a warning, but that didn't make it any better. As the severity of my outburst washed over me, I stumbled backwards on shaky legs, covering my beak. Maisie looked down at her bleeding arm with misty eyes.
"Mum . . ."
"Find Owen. Tell him what happened."
She whimpered.
"But Mum-"
"You need to get away from me right now."
Her lip quivered. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I touched her face gently with my front horn.
"I love you, Maisie. I'm sorry. Go on. Find Owen. He'll know what to do."
She nodded, squealing under her breath, and ran out of the hotel, still holding her arm. I watched her go, waiting for her to be out of sight before breaking down in tears.
***TSJWFKFEW***
"Owen, you remember your father, right?"
He narrowed his eyes as Moonwatcher led him through an empty barn and into a dirt-covered pen.
"Of course I remember my father. Why?"
"You had a lot of problems when he was around, correct?"
"Well, we didn't exactly get along, if that's what you're asking . . ."
"And how would you describe your relationship now?"
He grunted.
"Well, clearly, you already know, what with you being uncomfortably involved in our lives and all."
She snapped her fingers.
"Right, you are, Owen. I know all about the way your father treated you, and how it fed into your current self-esteem problems. Now, toxic people don't become toxic because of external forces alone, but I have a feeling that closure would do you a lot of good right now."
"So you're trying to force another Saturday Morning Cartoon lesson on me?"
"With magical realism, yes. When was the last time you saw your father?"
Owen stopped dead in his tracks.
"You didn't bring him here, did you?"
"I did."
Owen groaned, rubbing his forehead.
"Oh, Moonwatcher . . ."
"It's okay. He's incapable of hurting you."
"What, did you tie him to a post, or something?"
"Better."
She pointed at a pink body rolling around in the mud. Owen blinked.
"That's a pig."
Moonwatcher nodded slowly. After a beat, Owen's eyes went wide.
"Moonwatcher, did you turn my father into a pig?!"
"Eeyup!"
Owen sighed and marched up to the hog. It paused to look at him, then went back to rolling around in the muck.
"Are you sure you have the right pig?"
"Positive."
"He doesn't seem too bothered, not that I expected anything more."
"That's because I erased his memory. As far as he knows, he was always a pig. The person he used to be is dead, though he can easily be restored to his former state."
"Okay, so what's the point of this exercise?"
She smiled.
"YOU get to decide what happens to him."
Owen sighed.
"What are my options?"
"Change him back, feed him to Claire-"
"I'm not feeding my dad to Claire."
"Neither of them would know."
"But I would. That's off the table."
"Well, if you want, he can end up on someone's table. We can send him to a slaughterhouse-"
"That feels wrong."
"Okay, so we can release him into the wild and see how he fares."
"He'd probably get eaten."
"Yeah, but our hands would be clean, and you'd get your closure."
"It's still the wrong thing to do."
"So you'd rather change him back? . . ."
After a pause, Owen hummed.
"Well, I'm not sure he deserves that, either. Can we maybe just leave him like this forever?"
"Sure."
"Great. Lesson learned. Can we go now?"
Moonwatcher cocked her head.
"Do you maybe wanna say something to the pig?"
Owen rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, okay."
He turned to the hog.
"Hey, Dad! Thanks for nothing, you useless sack of meat! I hope you spend the rest of your days wallowing in shit, because that's what you deserve!"
"Nice."
Owen turned around.
"Hey, am I allowed to kick it?"
"Go ahead."
Owen was about to hop the fence when Maisie came running up the hill, sobbing fiercely. He glanced at Moonwatcher with worry, then went to see what was wrong.
***TSJWFKFEW***
Claire hadn't left the lobby. She figured it was best to stay put, in case they wanted to tranquillize her or something. She had stopped crying a little while ago, but her eyes were still burning. When Owen and Maisie came walking down the red carpet, she lifted her head.
"Hey, Claire."
She bit her lower beak.
"Owen, I am so, so sorry-"
He held up his hand.
"That's okay. Accidents happen."
She batted her eyes.
"But- But Owen, I-"
"It's not your fault. This was beyond your control. It wasn't that serious, anyway, so we can just forget about it."
"I- Are you sure?"
"Of course."
Claire's eyes darted back and forth.
"I- I thought you'd be mad at me . . ."
"No, that wouldn't be fair. I've made mistakes, too."
"But none as bad as this . . ."
Maisie, who was looking very nervous, spoke up.
"Mummy, he says it's okay."
Claire cocked her head.
"Maisie."
"It's okay, Mummy," she insisted, "I'm okay."
She looked doubtful, but Owen patted her snout.
"Don't worry, Claire. Everyone's fine. Let's focus on something else, alright?"
She churred gently.
"Owen, I appreciate you being so calm, but what I did-"
"Look, if you're still freaked out, we can both watch Maisie tomorrow."
"I can't believe you'd let me near her, after this . . ."
Owen shrugged.
"Well, believe it."
Claire frowned.
"I just don't underst-"
Maisie kissed her front horn.
"Can we go to the pond, tomorrow?"
"Well, sure, but-"
"I don't think the rain will be too bad."
"I . . . Well, don't forget your umbrella, okay?"
She smiled.
"I won't, Mum!"
Claire stood frozen in place as the two of them left.
That was quite unexpected.
***TSJWFKFEW***
Being sufficiently spooked by the accident, Claire sought out the aid of someone whom she trusted with this type of issue. She travelled by boat to Isla Sorna and tracked Dory's scent to a small cave, where she found her former nemesis sleeping soundly.
"Dory?"
Amber eyes stared back at hers.
"You've come back."
"Yes, and I need your help. I'm sorry for leaving you here, but-"
"It was my decision. Anyway, I'm quite happy on this island."
"Doesn't it get lonely?"
"No."
"Wouldn't you prefer someone of your own kind, here? I know that a lot of males do well with multiple females-"
"What are those?"
"Females?"
"And males."
"Well, a male is what you are, and females-"
"I don't think so. Whatever these things are, I don't want to have anything to do with them. And I'm fine on my own, and calling myself neither."
"Oh. Well, I was hoping you could help me with-"
"I can't help you any more than I already have, I'm afraid. I've told you everything I know, but if it bears repeating, fine. You are better than you think you are, and if you sink into darkness, don't let it take hold of you for too long. There's always a way out, even if you can't see it, at first."
"Oh."
"Take care."
Neither of them said anything after that, but Dory's words rang through Claire's head all night, and into the day following. She had forgotten all about taking Maisie to the pond by the time the sun rose over Isla Nublar, but Owen reminded her, and asked to have a brief meeting beforehand, just to discuss how things were going.
Claire brought up the subject of school in the Visitors' Center restaurant. Owen had been watching Maisie the day prior, and this morning, he had brought her to breakfast, despite everything that had happened between her and Claire. She was currently off to the side of the patio, eating a breakfast pastry that- unfortunately- was shaped like her mother. This was probably by design, considering Moonwatcher's gauche merchandise, and Owen's lingering desire to get under his ex's scales. He thought he knew how to raise Maisie best, and given the disaster in the hotel lobby, he was probably right, but that didn't mean he had everything figured out.
"You know, it's getting to the point where we really should think about getting her an education," Claire suggested.
"She's doing fine," Owen said, setting down his coffee, "Iris has been teaching her language and grammar, or whatever the British version of that is. Zia's teaching her about basic health and medicine, and she'll branch out once Maisie's older. Franklin's been teaching her early computer skills. I'm passing on some of the trade skills I picked up; it's more arts-and-crafts right now, but she's pretty clever. I think she's gonna be ready for the more complex stuff soon."
Claire rolled her eyes.
"Look, there's more to school than that. She'd be getting exposure to the wider world, other ways of thinking . . . she could make friends. Kids her age. Besides, she could benefit from learning from professional teachers, people who're-"
"Who're what?" Owen asked with a suspicious edge to his voice, "More qualified?"
"I wouldn't call you unqualified, and certainly not my friends. But they weren't trained specifically for teaching children, and neither were you- or me, for that matter," she added quickly, "We don't even understand the mechanics of this world, really. Maybe it'd be best for her to learn from people who've been here for most of their lives."
"Like dinosaurs?" Owen sneered, "Can't we find a human-only school?"
"These dinosaurs are highly educated."
"Getting a fancy degree doesn't mean you're better qualified for anything. I never went to college, and I turned out fine. I get that you're all about 'expanding your worldview' and 'having diverse social experiences,' but living a simpler life with us has done Maisie a lot of good. She used to be cramped in that teeny old multiple-acre estate, but now she can roam free. She's seeing more of the world, like one of those fish from the store that they keep in cups, only we got her a bowl."
"Yeah, but the world is an aquarium."
"Baby steps. Besides, Moonwatcher's been modifying the education system lately. You hear she banned biology classes?"
"In all fairness, she didn't ban biology classes. She just edited the curriculum to avoid mentioning that things can become other things. I think she's been spending too much time with Jen. I get the feeling that this is somehow intended to get under the skin of me and my dinosaur-friends, but I'm not sure. She seems to have it out for Eli, specifically. It's weird. Also kind of implication-y, since she said that the only way she knows how to show love is by hurting people, which- yikes- but also, does that mean Eli is secretly her favourite? Or do abusers lie their asses off in this universe, too?"
Owen hummed noncommittally. Claire decided to change the subject.
"Moonwatcher's quirks aside, Maisie needs a proper education. I truly believe that I'm a better, more well-rounded person for having had all the education I did. There's nothing wrong with being blue-collar, Owen, but is that really the life that Maisie-"
"Now, hang on! Maisie may have grown up in a mansion, but total isolation didn't do her any favours."
"Which is why she needs to go to school."
"With HUMANS. You can't have her socializing with all these dinosaurs."
"Owen, you can't-"
They were interrupted by a shattering sound. While their backs were turned, Maisie had slumped out of her chair and fallen onto the floor, half-eaten Claire pastry lying among mangled fragments of the broken plate. Her parents shot each other a panicked look before running over to cradle their fallen child. Owen touched her forehead, then went to feel her pulse, only to reveal the bite-mark, which was starting to turn black.
"Oh my god . . ." he whispered.
Claire gasped, covering her mouth.
"This is my fault."
Owen's face fell.
"You did this? When? How?"
Maisie came to life, pulling down her sleeve in panic. Claire's face contorted into a betrayed scowl.
"Maisie, you were supposed to tell him about the accident!"
"She said she fell in the playground while you weren't watching," Owen breathed, "She lied to me."
Maisie whimpered, reaching out for Claire.
"I didn't want him to send you away . . ."
Claire's eyes brimmed with tears.
"Maisie . . ."
She grabbed her daughter fearfully as she began to convulse. Owen leapt to his feet.
"We need a first aid kit!"
As he turned to run, however, something happened. Maisie's eyes ignited with a fiery glow, and she lashed out at Claire, growling fiercely. Sharp teeth appeared in her mouth, and quills slipped down the back of her neck. Claire screamed.
"HELP! SOMEBODY, HELP!"
Maisie's growling subsided, and her eyes returned to normal. The quills and teeth remained. Claire turned as Moonwatcher shot towards them, jumping onto the patio.
"Claire, what's going on?"
"I bit Maisie, and- and-"
She knelt beside the shivering child.
"Looks like she got infected. I thought this might happen. Owen, get away from her. It can only be transferred to humans, and she'll have more violent spells until she changes fully."
"Fully? . . ." Claire echoed.
"Into an Indoraptor. She'll lose her sense of self and become a complete monster if we don't cure her in time."
Claire covered her mouth.
"No . . ."
"It's okay. I know how to undo this. If we had a Lilylotusdrop, the white flower of Asterpara, this would be a quick fix, but they're too rare to track down in such a short amount of time, if at all. I know of a blue flower that will undo this infection if we find it in time, but we must feed it to her before she changes fully, or we won't have a hope of saving her."
Maisie whimpered.
"I don't want to die."
Moonwatcher patted her head.
"Don't worry, sweetheart. This isn't death, just something much, much worse. But we can fix you."
Claire nodded frantically.
"Where's this flower? How do we find it?"
Moonwatcher placed Maisie in her arms.
"Bring her to Iris. Explain the situation, make sure she can't escape. When you're done, meet me by the main portal. We're going to Asterpara."
She jogged away.
"I'm going to call Jen. She might know where to find the blue flowers. And I'll have her ride on your back, because time is of the essence!"
"How long do we have?" Claire shouted.
"Six hours!"
She stared down at a very frightened Maisie, whose eyes were wet with tears.
"Mommy . . ."
She kissed her forehead.
"I won't let anything happen to you. I promise."
She turned to Owen.
"I'm sorry."
Deciding to waste no time, she dashed away, leaving him alone. With a heavy heart, he slipped his hands into his pockets and made his way up to the barn.
***TSJWFKFEW***
"The . . . blue . . . flowers . . . should . . . be . . . easy . . . enough . . . to . . . find," Jen drawled, "I . . . use . . . them . . . in . . . my . . . cooking."
Claire nodded rapidly.
"Where are they, Jen?"
"I . . . have . . . a . . . map."
She pulled a scroll out of her shell. The parchment was light purple, and the surface was covered in neon lines that ranged from pink to green to blue. Claire frowned.
"I've never seen a map like this one before . . ."
Moonwatcher peeked over her shoulder.
"Looks like a Normal Map to me."
After a pause, she frowned.
"My jokes are wasted on you people."
Claire slapped the ground with her tail.
"No time for jokes. We have to save Maisie!"
***TSJWFKFEW***
Owen stared at his father, who was currently pushing filth around with his snout. He despised this wretched creature with all of his heart, and he was seriously considering Moonwatcher's offer to send him away to some meat factory.
"You know, I was told that I could feed you to a dinosaur. But I don't think Claire deserves that. It'd be too weird, and I'll bet your meat tastes awful."
The pig didn't answer.
"Should'a quit smoking, I guess. I'll bet whoever eats you is gonna get cancer."
The pig yawned and shook itself off. Owen's frown deepened.
"You don't deserve to be eaten. I'd be letting you off the hook for everything you did. And you wouldn't even be around to appreciate how humiliating it would be. How about I send you to some poor family who can't afford to eat? It'd be the only charitable thing to ever come out of your sorry life."
The pig collapsed on its side, ears twitching as flies buzzed around its head. Owen hopped over the gate.
"I'll bet you're enjoying this. Even as an animal, you somehow managed to make me miserable, because now I have to choose what happens to you, and I know that if you get what you deserve, I'm just gonna feel like crap afterwards. Why couldn't you have been the kind of father who I'd want to save? Why did you have to be so crap that feeding you to a dinosaur feels like a valid option?"
The pig grunted. Owen stood over its grubby body, fists clenched.
"It'd be a lot easier to kill a pig than a man, but then again, you've always been a pig, haven't you? I wish Moonwatcher hadn't told me that it's you in there, because now I have to feel badly about making you someone's meal. As much as I'd like to see you get chomped, you're still my father, and it'd be kind of messed up to kill you, even indirectly. Maybe this is how Eli felt."
A pause.
"You don't get the joke, because you haven't been around, and also, you're a pig. But Eli killed an old man, and everyone seems to like him okay now. I'm sure my friends would be okay with this, if they knew what you were like . . . what you did to me."
He glared at the hog, which was falling asleep. Suddenly, he swung his leg out and kicked it in the gut. It squealed and raced across the pen.
"Pay attention when I'm talking to you! You should be scared to death! Why aren't you afraid of me? Why don't you understand me?"
The pig grunted, rocking in the corner of the pen.
"You tried to make me afraid, but now I'm the one who's in charge, and I'm gonna make you regret every time you beat me senseless."
He kicked the gate open and reached for a rope.
"We're gonna pay a visit to some hungry carnivores, how does that sound? . . ."
***TSJWFKFEW***
Moonwatcher hacked through another cluster of tall ferns.
"Come on! If we don't find a blue flower soon, we're screwed!"
Claire walked alongside her on the footpath that ambled through the forest, Jen riding on her back like a bouncy bean bag.
"We'd probably move faster if you didn't insist on slicing through every patch of foliage like you're a cartoon explorer!" Claire growled.
"Ex-cuse me, Claire, but the proper term is 'animated explorer!'" Moonwatcher shouted over her shoulder, "'Cartoon' is a vile term that degrades animation, the obviously superior storytelling medium, implying that it's intended for children! Besides, those ferns were probably fake film fans, and also fascists!"
"The . . . political . . . affiliations . . . of . . . plants . . . can . . . be . . . quite . . . complex," Jen added.
"You didn't say they weren't fascist, so you technically agree with me!" Moonwatcher said, raising her hand, "High five, Jen! Up high! Down low! Too slow, amirite?"
Jen, who had just finished raising one of her hands for the first high-five, lowered it again.
Claire frowned.
"Kinda weird that you're dunking on fascists when that's literally what you are."
"I adopt whatever political stance will annoy you the most. Learned from the best. No ethics, just torment."
"Alright, shut it!" Claire interrupted, "This is taking too long. We have to find those flowers before it's too late, and that's pretty soon, by my guess. Moonwatcher, can't you just narrate us to where the flowers are?"
"No, that's NOT how it works." Moonwatcher crowed, crossing her arms with indignation, "Narration exists in fictitious universes. We're in Asterpara, which was created by The Star, as opposed to Overworldians. We're being narrated, obviously, but there's no malleable canon for me to sculpt. There's just established facts that can't be changed, for symbolic reasons."
"We . . . do . . . not . . . have . . . time . . . to . . . engage . . . in . . . rants . . . about . . . the . . . benefits . . . and . . . disadvantages . . . of . . . objectivity . . . versus . . . subjectivity . . . with . . . regards . . . to . . . truth . . . at . . . the . . . moment," Jen said, taking considerably more time than Moonwatcher to finish her sentence, "The . . . flower . . . patch . . . is . . . still . . . quite . . . far . . . away."
"It wouldn't be if I had my way," Moonwatcher growled, hacking through some more plants, "I may not have power over the canon in Asterpara yet, but believe me, I'll crack the code someday! I'll crack this place open like a motherfucking gryphon egg!"
A thick tree stood in Moonwatcher's path, and when she couldn't immediately hack it aside, she punched it several times before giving up and walking around it. Claire was surprised that the glare the tree received from Moonwatcher didn't kill it on the spot. She was equally surprised to see the bark form a glare of its own. She slipped by it, quills bristling with unease.
"You know I've already made pretty brilliant modifications to your world, right? Next thing I'm working on is natural selection. Once I've made sure that my plan is viable, it's gonna be flat-out gone."
"You're fighting evolution now?"
"Hell yes! That shit's gotta go!"
Another cluster of plants was hacked away in seconds.
"You people think that nature is always right, but nature never made a goddamn autosaur, did it? By the time I'm through, everything we lost to nature will be restored, and every creature who died an undeserving death will be avenged."
She paused, leaning on her sabre.
"Hey, Claire, what do you call a deer that's born missing a leg?"
She rolled her eyes.
"I don't know, Moonwatcher, what do you call it?"
"Eaten by wolves!" Moonwatcher barked as she punched a shrub, "Nature hates those who are different, and natural selection actively kills them to make room for the most boring option! The mechanism for evolution is inherently evil. It thrives on death and ignores the souls it stamps out. That's why I've altered all the deer, to prove that my system works. Now, if a deer on Isla Nublar is born disabled, it comes out with a wheelchair already attached!"
"And if its disability requires something other than a wheelchair? . . ."
" . . . Shut up. Also, deer get awesome-as-fuck anti-predator rocket launchers automatically attached to their heads! That'll even the playing field!"
"I'm not sure that's exactly-"
"They explode their way out of their parents to fatal effect, thus ensuring that they can't be abused!"
"Is abuse rampant in deers?"
"It's rampant in all species. As an added bonus, all deer will be born with missing limbs now, barring any other deviation from the norm. That'll teach the cocky ones a thing or two!"
"You're implying that deer develop privileged beliefs in the embryonic stage? . . ."
"Yes, Claire, they fucking do. None of us are born pure. Even if you come out different, you can't escape those beliefs, because you're taught to hate yourself if you only exist to be someone else's toy with no agency of your own, to the point where you'll explode if you ever have sex, and-"
"This sounds personal."
She narrowed her eyes.
"Be glad that you can fuck, Claire. Even with a weird-ass cunt, you can fuck. But if I fuck, I'll blow shit up, most notably myself, and I don't need that piss-fuckery ending me right now, because I'm already fucking miserable trying to sort your shit out!"
Jen lifted her hand.
"Moonwatcher . . . a . . . word . . . if . . . you . . . please?"
"What the FUCK do you want?" Moonwatcher yelled, whirling around.
Jen shrunk into her shell, slightly.
"The . . . political . . . affiliations . . . of . . . plants . . . is . . . of . . . concern . . . to . . . us," Jen said simply, "These . . . flowers . . . are . . . moderately . . . conservative."
"And?"
"They . . . are . . . offended . . . by . . . curse . . . words."
"I don't give a shit! You hear me, flowers? I'm gonna chop off your taints and feed them to sick people!"
"Whenever . . . they . . . hear . . . curse . . . words . . . they . . . move . . . three . . . kilometers . . . away . . . from . . . the . . . source."
". . . Oh. Shit."
Moonwatcher paused for a moment.
"Shit," she said more quietly.
Claire shoved her aside.
"Enough of this nonsense! I'll lead the way!"
***TSJWFKFEW***
Owen yanked on the rope, causing the pig to squeal in pain.
"Well, get a move on, then! I don't have all night to find someone who wants to eat you!"
The pig choked pathetically, exposing yellowed tusks. Owen grumbled.
"Don't try to squeeze pity from me! It won't work!"
The animal fell over, lying on its side, wheezing in pain. Owen's lip twitched.
"Stop it!"
He knelt beside the heaving chest. The pig looked up at him through dirt-encrusted eyelashes.
"I'll bet you're faking."
It grunted.
The sound of a motor caught Owen's attention. Eli was driving towards him. He rolled his eyes.
"Great. Just great. Hey, Eli! Do you wanna take this thing off my hands?"
He cocked his head.
"Like, as a pet?"
"As a roast."
Eli shook his head.
"Can't eat organic food. Closest I can do is bio-fuel. Plus, I don't have it in my heart to . . . you know."
"Can you run it over and say it was an accident?"
"No? . . ."
Owen ran his fingers through his hair.
"Great. The one time I actually need you to do something bad, and you refuse."
"Well, I can probably get rid of it for you, if it'd make you like me."
"When did you decide to become a kiss-ass?"
After a pause, Eli raised his eyebrows.
"Well, thank you for not taking the easy joke. You're learning. Anyway, I thought we ought to learn to get along, what with us both being parents to Maisie now."
"But mostly me."
"I suppose. But I wouldn't mind having a kid, you know? Seems kinda fun."
"Well, it hasn't been fun lately."
"Why not?"
"Claire bit Maisie."
"She WHAT?!"
"Yeah, and she's off searching for a flower to heal her . . . without me."
"Oh . . ."
"Didn't you wonder where she was?"
Eli gulped.
"No, I was . . . rock-hunting."
"Rock-hunting? . . ."
"Um, yeah, for . . . my stomach. Dinosaurs swallow rocks, right?"
"Everything you eat is liquid."
Eli batted his eyes.
"Ah. Waste of a day, then. Will Claire be back soon?"
"I hope so, for Maisie's sake."
"Is she seriously injured?"
"She's becoming an Indoraptor."
Eli's eyes went wide.
"Oh. So she'll be a dinosaur, too?"
"Not a dinosaur like you. She's becoming violent."
Eli's face fell. He looked around in panic.
"Where is she?"
"In her room. I'm not allowed to see her."
"I can boost you up to her window."
"Well- HEY!"
Eli dipped his snout under Owen's body, carrying him away. He took the pig in his mouth, biting down gently, so as not to hurt it. When they reached the hotel, they counted the windows, and finding a nearby tree, leaned against it. Eli lifted Owen up to a high branch.
"Climb up and tell me what's going on!"
He did as he was told, begrudgingly. When he reached Maisie's window, he saw her thrashing around on her bed as Iris pinned her down. After a struggle, she subsided, holding out her arm to examine the new quills that had sprouted from it. She buried her face in her paws and started weeping as Iris consoled her.
"Well? . . ." Eli asked.
Owen slipped down his back and landed in the grass.
"She's not doing well."
"Oh, no . . ."
Owen sat at the base of the tree.
"This is all my fault."
Eli shook his head.
"It's nobody's fault."
"Maisie didn't trust me. If she had told me sooner-"
He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.
"I'd like to be alone, Eli."
"You sure?"
"Yes."
"And the pig? . . ."
"Leave it."
He nodded slowly.
"Okay, Owen. I'm sorry this happened, but don't blame yourself. Just find a way to make things right, if you can."
He drove off, leaving Owen alone with his pig-father, who was grazing in a patch of clovers. Owen sighed and leaned his head against the bark of the willow.
"Please hurry, Claire . . ."
***TSJWFKFEW***
"I'm telling you, I remember them being paler!" Moonwatcher barked, "These are navy blue! I think I'd remember navy blue flowers!"
"You . . . said . . . blue . . . flowers . . . and . . . these . . . are . . . them."
Claire snapped at them.
"Enough! Are these the flowers or aren't they?"
"They aren't!"
". . . are."
"AREN'T!"
". . . ARE."
Claire snarled and took them in her mouth.
"Moonwatcher, you've done nothing but lead us astray. I'm taking these flowers back to Maisie, and that's final!"
"Claire, wait! You'll never make it back in time!"
"Watch me!"
She sprinted through the forest, kicking up dead bark as she ran. Her feet pounded louder than her heart, and her lungs ached with each breath.
"I'm coming, Maisie, I'm co-"
She skidded to a halt when she saw pale, blue flowers growing around the trunk of a healthy-looking tree. She cocked her head and sniffed them delicately.
". . . No. I can't take that chance. Moonwatcher's trying to poison Maisie for dramatic effect, I'll bet. These must be parasitic vines."
Something inside of her told her that she should at least take both, but the sensible side of her insisted that Moonwatcher was leading her into a trap. She moved on.
By the time she neared the portal, her time was running thin. The passage hung just over the ocean, waiting for her to cross it. She turned her arms into wings and took flight.
No sooner had she cleared the tree tops than a dragon nipped at her tail. She turned back to see Moonwatcher and Jen perched on its back.
"Claire!" Moonwatcher pleaded, "You took the wrong flowers! I'm sure of it!"
She snarled, swiping her paw across the dragon's face.
"Hey!" she snipped.
"I'm sick of your lies!" she roared, "I'm doing this alone!"
"Oh, no, you're not!" Moonwatcher huffed.
On her command, the dragon chased after her, snapping fiercely. Claire screamed into the night, trying to locate an escape route with echolocation. A clap of lightning and a thick downpour interrupted her attempt, and the dragon grabbed onto her leg.
"Wait, Claire! Moonwatcher's telling the tr-"
She bit down hard on the dragon's arm, clutching the dark, blue flowers in her paw. The dragon winced, then prepared to breathe fire. A tiny voice interrupted them.
"I'm . . . slipping . . ."
Moonwatcher gasped as Jen slid down the wet dragon's back.
"Stick, Jen, stick! You're a snail!"
She slid off the tip of the tail, falling towards the ocean with her arms extended. As she did, a massive figure burst from the water. Jen screamed as she fell into the mouth of a hungry whale. The cry was cut short when the lips snapped shut. The survivors stared down in horror.
Breaking from her trance, Claire dove through the portal. It closed behind her. She rushed towards the hotel, flowers in hand, and crashed through Maisie's window. She was lying on the bed, tearing away at her pillow like an animal.
"Maisie!"
When she lifted her head, Claire pried her jaws open and shoved the plant inside, then held her mouth shut as she clawed her in fury. Eventually, she swallowed, still snapping at her mother's paws. Claire let go.
"You're okay, Maisie. You're going to get better, now."
She waited. Maisie's rage subsided, but her saurian features did not. Blinking away the redness in her eyes, she focused on Claire.
"Mom? . . ."
"Is it working, Maisie? Do you feel yourself changing?"
Her lip quivered.
"I- I'm not-"
Another violent spell overcame her, and she thrashed around furiously before collapsing in her mother's arms.
"It didn't work . . ."
"Maisie!"
"Mommy, I don't want to go . . ."
Claire's beak quivered.
"Maisie . . ."
"Please don't let this happen to me . . ."
Claire sobbed helplessly.
"I'm sorry, Maisie. I'm sorry."
***TSJWFKFEW***
Owen turned as Moonwatcher landed in the field beside him. The pig lifted its head, then went back to grazing.
"You're back!"
"Yes, I'm back."
"I saw Claire return. She went to heal Maisie a few minutes ago. Did it work?"
"I dunno. Like I said, I just got back."
Owen sighed.
"Listen, Moonwatcher, about this pig-"
"OH, YOU MISERABLE MAN! DO YOU NOT SEE THAT I'M TRYING TO TRICK YOU?"
Owen frowned.
"Is . . . Is this pig not my father?"
"Even if it was, you wouldn't believe me, would you?"
"I- um-"
She shook her head.
"Just forget it, okay?"
Owen hummed.
"Yeah, okay."
He knelt in front of the pig.
"Hey . . . sorry I kicked you earlier. I thought you were my dad."
The pig blinked. Owen took a deep breath.
"I mean . . . even if you were my dad, that wouldn't make what I did any better. I shouldn't be a monster like he was."
"Oink."
"Yeah, that about sums it up . . . Run free, little piggy."
He lifted the rope from around the pig's neck. Its snout twitched.
"I'm sorry about everything. I hope you can forgive me, someday."
He patted its head.
"I guess it's hard to forgive people, huh? But I suppose it's for ourselves, most of all. I don't think I'll ever forgive my father for what he did, but I can still move on, and make good decisions. How does that sound?"
The pig was petrified. Owen stood, turning away.
"See you later, pig!"
He had taken his third step when the pig spoke.
"Owen? . . ."
Slowly, he turned around.
"D-"
He didn't have time to finish his thought, for at that very moment, a streak of red and cyan darted in front of him, snapping up the pig and shaking it by the throat. Zia dropped the lifeless body and licked her lips. Noticing Owen's horrified face, she gulped.
"Oh . . . Were you going to eat that? . . ."
Before Owen could reply, the pig's body became a glowing light, which changed shape until a white flower grew in its place. Owen batted his eyes.
"White flower, white flower . . . THAT'S THE WHITE FLOWER!"
He tore it from the ground and dashed into the hotel.
"Maisie! . . . Maisie! . . ."
***TSJWFKFEW***
Claire lay over Maisie's sleeping form, stroking her hair gently. She looked at Owen, who sighed gently.
"It's okay, Claire. Everything turned out fine."
"But it almost didn't."
"Well, 'almost' makes a big difference."
They fell silent as Maisie's eyes fluttered open. She looked up at Claire with a tender smile.
"That was exciting, wasn't it?"
"That's one way to put it."
She giggled and held out her hand.
"Look what I can do!"
Claws sprouted from her fingers, then sunk back in. Claire felt a lump in her throat.
"Don't do that anymore, Maisie."
"Why not?"
". . . Because it's wrong."
She pouted.
"But Mum, now we're both-"
"Don't."
Maisie nodded sadly. Turning to Owen, she sat up in her bed.
"Are you going to send Mummy away?"
He shook his head.
"No, I'm not."
She smiled and gave him a hug.
"Thank you."
Owen smiled, running his hand down her back, then turned to Claire.
"Do you wanna tuck her in? I have to speak with Moonwatcher about something."
"Sure."
She watched him go, then pulled the covers over Maisie's chin.
"You be good, okay?"
"Yes, Mummy."
"I love you very much."
Maisie sat up a little.
"Are you going somewhere?"
Claire nuzzled her until she was relaxed again.
"I'll always be with you, sweetheart. But sometimes, we can't-"
She broke off when she started choking.
"Get to bed, okay? You need your rest."
She lumbered out of the room with a heavy heart. Maisie rolled over.
"I love you!"
Claire turned her head, but found she couldn't speak. She nodded instead.
She shut the door gently and made her way to her room. She sat down at the desk and wrote a note on the hotel's stickypad.
Dear Owen,
I'm sorry for everything I've done. I can't be a part of this family anymore. Take good care of Maisie. Tell her that her Mommy loves her, even if she can't be with her. You two have been the best part of my life. I'm sorry I couldn't fight harder to keep you.
Claire
She slipped the note under Owen's door and stepped into the elevator. Once she was out of the hotel, she didn't stop walking until she hit the beach. Once there, she sprouted wings and flew towards a full moon. Behind her, Eli sped onto the sand, stopping at the water's edge.
"Claire! . . . CLAIRE!"
It was too late.
She was already gone.