A.N. Merry belated Christmas and a belated New Year! Here's the next chapter in TWoF.
Soundtrack: Assassin's Creed III Chase Theme by Lorne Balfe
With the sudden appearance of Zini and Aya, the rescue had taken a turn towards a more complicated route. Rather than just worrying about the safety of four group members, plus the Dracorexes if they decided to come live in the Park, now they had to worry about the safety of two stowaway simians. The whole time she's been in the Park, this was the third time Hazel had to deal with something like this. The first time was with Broken Jaw and his friends and the second was with Mikiya during the events at Temporary Park.
According to Aya's testimony, they were both stuck with babysitting duty for the day and wanted to try something new. When word got out about a new rescue, they jumped on the opportunity. So when nobody was looking, they snuck into the jeep and hid in one of the bags. Of course, they didn't tell anybody about it. Their excuse would be they wanted to "spend some alone time together".
Hazel was annoyed, though she imagined the rest of her friend group would be just as upset, especially Yar and Plio. For the next several minutes, she lectured the two of them of how irresponsible it was to smuggle themselves into their rescue into the past. Especially since they were not informed ahead of time.
"I can't believe you two!" she scolded, the two lemurs now looking ashamed. "What the heck were you two thinking!? Do you realize what you just got yourselves into!? We were rescuing raptors for Pete's sake! Not to mention Bedivere nudged that truck and moved stuff around. You could've been squashed!"
"We're sorry, Hazel!" Aya pleaded. "But we wanted to come along! We thought it would be a good opportunity to see what you do in a rescue and we thought we could assist in any way."
"Yeah! Plus babysitting is boring! I wanted to stretch my legs!" Zini seconded.
The Asian sighed and face palmed. If these two were going to get lectured by Plio and Yar later, she may get a good amount from them too. She's just about in as much trouble as they are. Though, she wasn't expecting them to be here so she could say that in her defense. She knew Zini as a lemur that was prone to mischief, but the fact that Aya was here and that it was Zini's idea in the first place was a complete shock. And she was supposed to make sure he stayed out of trouble. It would seem she too wanted to go on an adventure, but didn't think things through properly.
Hazel stared at the two of them like a mother would scold a child. "What am I going to do with you two?"
"We could open the portal and send them back to the Park," Daniel suggested. "It's an easy fix."
She thought about that. It was an idea. She could inform the others at the Park to give Yar and Plio a head's up about two of their number sneaking away on a rescue. They could handle them by then.
But then again, they already overheard evidence of a large horned predator in the area. Sending them back would just be a waste; this was already an opportunity. Thinking more on it, if they came along, they could get their wish and see what a rescue was like. If they did a good job with helping, Hazel could suggest they come along on the next rescue. That is, if the rescue went well. Plus, they could help with other tasks like scouting. Nobody in the group was that great at climbing trees like they were. Well, Hazel and Daniel possibly could but they weren't that nimble.
"We could send you back..." she pondered. Their expressions now turned into one of guilt. "But...maybe you could be useful right now."
Agreeing to it, she let the two know of her decision, much to their glee. "Alright, you two can come along. But when we get back, you've got a lot of explaining to do. Yar and Plio will want to know about this."
Zini waved his hand dismissively. "Yeah yeah, we'll deal with it later. Right now, let's get this adventure going! I'm ready to do something cool!"
"Alright alright. Calm down. If you guys are going to come along, you need to do exactly what we tell you. We're not at Prehistoric Park anymore."
"Yes, we know," Aya agreed. "We'll do whatever you tell us. Thank you for letting us come along."
"Sure, but don't give out all the thanks just yet. We still have a rescue to do," she informed.
"Pardon me for the intrusion," Lancelot stepped up to stand next to the small group of newcomers. His eyes fell on the small mammals and scrutinized them. "But who are they? What's this about a Prehistoric Park?"
Hazel wanted to smack herself. So much for being discreet.
The introductions went off rather quickly. The Dracorexes have never seen lemurs before and were quite marveled at the small creatures. However, it was the concept about Prehistoric Park that got them very curious.
Hazel's original plan was to let them in on more information near the end of the rescue. However with the appearance of Zini and Aya, it was better to just spill everything on the spot. As the Dracorex led the group to the mountain range that contained the cave tunnels leading to Carnotaur country, the Time Travelers explained everything to them.
The first thing they explained was Prehistoric Park. They were from about 65 million years into the future and came to this time period to find a female Carnotaur. Diablo, the friend in question, was in the middle of his mating season. If they didn't find him a mate, he could destroy their home in a Rut-induced rage, something he has no control over. This of course made the Dracorex rather upset as they abhorred any vicious carnivore, especially since they would allow carnivores like him to live in their home.
Flia defended Diablo and the other carnivores back at the Park by saying they were friends with them. Everyone got along in the valley. The lemurs too said their testimony and supported that claim. Well, they were friends with most of them in the valley and they held some reservations on the decision to find a girl for their former enemy. There were the few carnivores that were ornery but they haven't caused too much trouble as of late. The Residents of the valley all live in harmony and it was a place for new beginnings. They also explained the carnivores were all well-fed so they wouldn't think to attack the other Residents to sustain themselves.
Lancelot contemplated the idea of living in the valley. This prompted Hazel to explain the upcoming migration to the Feeding Grounds. The Herds will need some "extra protection", given that the native wildlife will go after the smaller members. The leading male Dracorex said he will think about it. While he was uncomfortable living with carnivores, he was still considering the offer. That was a good sign in Hazel's book.
They were about a few miles out when they saw the mountain range. Again, they got the attention of a few passing dinosaurs. Just like before, they didn't stop to answer any questions. Hazel was grateful they weren't dealing with members of Aladar and Neera's herd. That would have been awkward. They were 200 years into the past so that problem was void.
It was sunset by the time they were close to the caves. Seeing that it would be too dark to go any further, they decided to camp there for the night. They were right at the edge of the forest bordering the mountain range; about another hour driving through and they would reach the caves. They stayed in the clear grassland as it was the best spot in contrast to the ruggedness in the forest.
Tired from the flight, Aeros and Flia opted to rest at the campsite while the humans and lemurs went out to gather firewood. Not wanting to leave them alone on the venture, Lancelot had 4 Dracorex come with them, two for each group. Daniel and Zini were accompanied by Tristan and Bedivere while Hazel and Aya were with Pellea and Parisa.
Getting the firewood was tedious due to the overgrowth and having to find wood that wasn't too damp, but at least it kept them busy. However, Hazel got very insecure when Aya brought up a topic she really wanted to avoid.
"So what do you think about Daniel?"
Hazel picked up a sizable branch about two feet long. It was thick enough to fit in her palm. Adding it to her pile, she straightened and glanced at the lemur on her shoulder.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, how is he to you? Do you think he's cute?"
The woman gasped and gawked at the now smug lemur. "What the-!? Aya!"
"Oh come on," she teased. "I may be a different species than you, but he is quite hot...not romantically speaking in my view, of course."
"What the heck brought this on!? Did Eema or Irwin spill their opinions onto you and you're inclined to agree with them?" she prodded, her cheeks now red with embarrassment. "Wait, did they ask you to come along just to try to match the two of us up!?"
"No! I'm just saying. We may not have known him for long, but he seems to be a good human. He's helpful, compassionate, respectful, not to mention a little charming, again not romantically speaking from me, mind you."
"Ugh, Aya, I do not want to get into this," she demanded rather pressingly. "He's a good employee, and maybe friend material. He's helpful. That's all."
"Right, helpful," Aya chuckled. "Hazel, I'm happy for what you did, pairing me and Zini together. It was the best thing to happen to us."
The human softened, remembering the time she and Aladar unknowingly worked together to pair the two single lemurs during that one courtship ritual. It was a full blown success; Zini stopped his antics of trying to get himself with any woman he saw and Aya was no longer trying to be someone she wasn't.
"But, we've noticed how you've been as of late. You're great with everybody in the park, but you've got nobody special in your life."
"I have you guys," she offhandedly said, reaching for another log.
"I mean a special somebody to call your mate, or whatever you humans call them."
Hazel sighed. The memories of her past began to resurface. They plagued her heart, bringing on a dark cloud she thought she pushed away. "I've...been in a few before. They didn't go well. The last one I was in was...the worst. I learned my lesson then and I wish to avoid that sort of pain again."
Aya became sympathetic. She patted her friend on the neck, reassuring her. "Okay, so you've had bad times before. But this is a new time in your life. You aren't getting any younger. If you avoid something so great such as this because of a few bad times, then you'll be missing out on the good in the future. You can't dismiss things like this because of a bad time. Nobody is perfect. I mean, when we met, I was trying to be like those other females and you told me to be myself."
The human felt her eyes begin to sting. The tears began to well up. Wanting to avoid looking like a mess, she wiped an arm across her face.
"Give him a chance. Who knows, something may come out of it."
Hazel was silent for a moment. She opened her mouth to say something but found her response to be a little touchy. Thinking more on it, and seeing she was just with Aya at the moment (the female Dracorex were scouring the perimeter around them to make sure there weren't any other dangers), she decided to let her in on her thoughts.
"Daniel is...good-looking, I will admit. I'm not set on being in another relationship right now. I've decided beforehand to make my own judgments first before I press on a real decision. So don't think I'm fully set on the idea. Still, he and I do have some things in common. I'm just...making sure he's a good fit."
"Then do that," Aya supported. "But don't wait too long. Don't let the past failures pull you down."
Hazel nodded. She will think more about it, but she did have a point. Perhaps letting her and Zini come along was a good idea. Once she gathered enough wood, she made her way back to the campsite.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Unbeknownst to Hazel, Daniel was having his own interesting time with Zini. Much like what happened to the leader-to-be, the yellow lemur was giving his own insight on the two of them getting together. And much like Hazel, Daniel was quite aghast on the matter.
"No," he firmly said.
"Hey come on. Don't hate it till you try it," Zini remarked.
"I said no."
"Do it."
"Again, no."
"Go out with her."
"No."
"You know I'm not going to stop until we agree on something."
"Oh my gosh, why did Hazel let you and your girlfriend come along?" the irritated Daniel complained. "I know you to be a prankster, but a romantic counselor? From what I heard, you had the worst time trying to find a girl."
"Well that's true. I won't deny that. And I prefer the term, 'Love Monkey', if you don't mind," the yellow lemur let him know. "Seriously though, you seem to be a guy with experience in romance, just by taking a look at you. So tell me, have you been in a relationship?"
The agent's temper boiled again. Not wanting to start a conflict, and seeing that the girl in question was not around, he decided to give him a blunt answer.
"Well, yes and no. I've encountered girls that were interested in me, but I turned them down."
Zini winced. "Ooh, ouch. Well that's no fun. There's got to be at least one girl that struck your fancy."
Daniel stared at the ground, despondent. The logs he carried began to feel heavier than expected. The memories of that one girl rose once again. They stung his heart, the pain he thought he buried long ago.
"There was...one. But that was a long time ago."
"Oh. What happened?"
"She's gone," Daniel said quickly. "That's all you need to know."
Zini got curious and leapt on the other shoulder, wanting to face the now depressed human. "Gone as in she left you or gone as in...really gone?"
The man looked away and proceeded to return to the campsite. "I don't want to talk about it."
He brushed Zini off, the lemur unceremoniously landing on the forest floor. The lemur was used to things like that, given his antics back home. However, he didn't let this bother him. Not wanting to give up on him, he followed after the human, making large and long jumps just to keep up with the man that was briskly walking away.
"Well I'm sorry to hear that happened, whatever it is. But you can't let that stop you. You have to stop looking back and start looking forward."
Daniel stopped. This allowed Zini to hop on a rock, then onto the log pile, and stare at him in the face. "Don't throw this chance away. Just try it. I've seen you looking at Hazel before. I know you're interested in her."
The man wanted to swat the lemur away. His temper went up again. "What!? So now you've been spying on me!?"
"Hey, it was unintentional, most of the time. Come on buddy, I've seen what you're like around her. Now I may be a lemur, but I know a good lady when I see one. She's brave, she's beautiful, she's tough, not to mention she's a lot more...talkative when she's around you. She only does that to folks she's comfortable with. I think she likes you, but I could be wrong."
The rookie gawked. He felt his heart stop. Hazel likes him? That can't be right. She's friendly, that's true. She's already teaching things he never thought he'd learn before and while he was supposed to be a man on a mission, he was finding the experience rather enjoyable. Plus, that mission he's really on entails high expectations from his actual bosses. He can't be in a relationship.
Though, she does have more to her than meets the eye. There are things about her he finds to be...agreeable with him. Not to mention she's attractive.
Still, this is Zini he is speaking with. He was known to be a blunder in romance before he met Aya, or so he heard. What he's saying can't be right...can it?
The rustling right next to him prompted the man to look over. Expecting it to be some hungry dinosaur, he prepared himself to run. Fortunately, it wasn't. The red hide and adorned horns on the head betrayed the form of Tristan.
"No sign of carnivores here. You can keep going."
Daniel smiled politely. "No, we're good. I've got enough wood. We're going to head back."
Tristan nodded and walked away, looking to get to Bedivere to let him know of the update.
Once they were alone again, he returned his attention to the annoying lemur. His expression took on a serious approach. He stared down at the lemur and gave him his two cents.
"Look, thanks for trying to help me, but I'm not in the mood to be with anybody. Hazel's just another employee and that's that. I'm just here to learn. So don't think you can just go about trying to pair me up with some girl."
"Whatever you say, buddy," Zini answered, not at all fazed by the pseudo-threat that was given to him. "But seriously, give her a chance. Open up a little more too. Something good may come out of it."
Daniel sighed and just pressed onward. He really wanted to get away from this conversation as soon as possible.
"Hey if you'd like," Zini flexed his arms and cracked his knuckles, "I can break the ice for you."
"Uh, no thanks."
"Really? You sure? I'm pretty good at it. I did help Aladar get together with Neera."
"Yeah no. I'll pass."
"Ooh, here's an idea. Why not the two of you sit down and you groom her?" Zini suggested. "You know, you look for grubs on her body and sweet talk her as you do it? She'll like that."
"That's not what humans do," he corrected.
Once again, they heard the vegetation next to them rustle. Daniel stopped and prepared for whatever was coming up at him. Popping his head out of the large fern cluster was none other than Tristan again. His "dragonic" head caused the leaves to shake before becoming still.
"Uh, I don't mean to intrude or eavesdrop, but I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. To impress the female Hazel, maybe you can do a headbutting contest with me or anyone in the group? Usually, a contest like that would attract any female of our kind. The champion of the contest, and the one who successfully woos the female afterwards would win them over. That certainly happened in my case."
Daniel grimaced at the consequences of such a contest. "Um...thanks Tristan. But humans don't do that."
"Well, I had to give it a try," he shrugged. With that, he disappeared back into the darkness of the vegetation to continue his guarding. They proceeded onward towards the campsite, the day's light above becoming ever darker.
"Oh oh! How about this?" the lemur made another radical idea, much to the human's chagrin. "You cry out as loud as you can, reaching deep down to find your inner voice, and let out your basal instincts?"
"Again, that's not what humans do. If you really want to know what humans do to impress each other, we usually talk things out or we impress them with something they'd be interested in. We go out on dates so we can get to know each other better. Usually, it's to a nice location they both would like or have a meal together. If they have certain things in common and they get along with each other, it would lead to something."
Despite that logical explanation, Zini seemed to have ignored it. Daniel could only become more frustrated from that point on, though he did his best to be cordial about it. "Hm...well that could work...maybe. Hey I heard this when other human males are romantically involved with someone. I think I'm saying it right when I say...she's thick in all the right places," he said so in a flirty manner.
"Seriously Zini? That phrase?" Daniel wanted to smack him off the logs again. This lemur was doing a fairly good job with pressing the right, or wrong, buttons.
Zini stopped. "What? What's wrong with it? Also, I know what thick means but what does it mean like that?"
"Stop talking. We're done with this conversation."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
After collecting the much needed firewood, the group relaxed around the campfire. The ones that were not experienced seeing fire controlled this way were quite curious about how it was made this way. Surprisingly, it was Daniel that explained the basic uses of fire, from light to warmth. The effects of the flames brought a sense of calm to them.
Because it was a little warm that night, the two humans decided not to set up their tents. The other reason they didn't was because it was already dark and doing that would be a little difficult at that time. The events of that day also tired them and they were not in the mood to do some more work.
It was also fortuitous the knights remained by their side, for they each took turns to keep watch for any signs of trouble approaching them. If any kind of danger was coming, they would alert them.
The time travelers continued answering any questions they had, especially about the concepts of Time Travel (and about the jeep). Well, Hazel did most of the work. She told them of the many adventures she and her friends went on while leaving out mentions of the two Fireballs that would come to the planet in 200 years time; she didn't want to freak them out. She also spoke about what else they would encounter in Prehistoric Park, including the other denizens they could meet, assuming they agreed to come with them.
The whole time they spoke, the two humans sat on opposite sides of the campfire. Daniel looked apprehensive and reserved, only giving Hazel a quick glance before looking the other way. Hazel wondered why Daniel was giving her a lot of space. She wanted to sit with him. Did she do something wrong? Was he upset about the whole raptor rescue and the abruptness of her actions? He was uncomfortable during the whole thing so she assumed he was not feeling very good about it. This is his first rescue mission; any recruit would find the whole thing jarring the first time.
She made a reminder to herself to apologize to him later.
They slept soundly that night, the sounds of the wildlife provided a natural and unnatural ambiance. Living in the park for so long, Hazel was used to this sort of thing. However, in the middle of the night, she saw Daniel tossing and turning a lot, only to lie still for at most a few minutes. She could tell he was not used to this sort of thing.
The next morning, the group packed their things and made their way towards the mountains. The two Pteranodons had their saddles secured on them just in case. The drive led them through a natural path going through a forest. The ground was a little bumpy, but nothing the jeep could handle.
They didn't see much during the drive itself, except for some colorful birds and a few small dinosaurs crossing their way. Though going through the forest itself brought about a nostalgic sense of home. The trees there were similar to the ones in the Park.
They really were in the Mesozoic Era, and Hazel was in her element.
About an hour in and the group finally made it to the base of the mountains at the other end of the forest. Hazel's neck hurt when she looked up to see the top of the mountain. The mountain she stared at was bare rock. Different shades of grey scaled the whole rock face. Jagged edges and steep slopes without any good platforms and paths made it near impossible to traverse, and neither of them were experienced rock climbers. Not even the lemurs wanted to risk a climb like that.
Thankfully, climbing wasn't necessary. Right in front of them was the cave opening. Vines grew on the bottom of the mountain and then over the opening; the leaves cascaded down creating a natural curtain that barely covered it. It was large enough to fit a medium sized dinosaur.
Seeing that going through the cave with the jeep would be a little difficult considering there would be areas it wouldn't be able to go through, Hazel decided to return the jeep to the Park. Retrieving the Time Poles, she set them up and opened a portal back home.
The temporal window stunned the Dracorex. Hazel instructed Daniel and the others to remain behind as should be gone for no more than 5 minutes. Coming back through the portal led to a commotion at the Holding Pens. Hazel informed the scrambling employees she was just there to drop off the jeep and for one of them to return it to the vehicle garage.
As they prepared for handling their instructions, Hazel retrieved her bag and Daniel's (plus checked to see they both had their pairs of Time Poles). Aeros and Flia still had their saddles on so she didn't need to worry about those. She also retrieved Daniel's stun gun as that would be needed later. Once she got what she needed, she ran back to the portal, crossing the threshold into the other side.
As she proceeded to close the portal, she noticed the Dracorexes had been quietly observing the time window, especially while she was away. Daniel and the others were doing their best to answer their questions about the portal and what was happening on the other side. Seeing the greenness of the valley beyond really got them interested. Even Lancelot was looking even more convinced.
In fact, it was after she closed the portal that he approached her with vigor. He proudly claimed to her he made his decision. The Dracorex Knights agreed to come home with them after the rescue, all because the valley offered a good sanctuary for them to live in. Hazel was quite pleased to say the least. However, he did have his doubts about the carnivores living there.
That was fine. All herbivorous newcomers felt like that whenever they first arrived. Once they get a proper tour of the place and meet some carnivores themselves, their fears will be quelled.
With the preparations now set, the group made their way into the tunnels, with Lancelot in the lead. The setup of the expedition was simple yet effective; a group of Dracorex will cover the front while another group would handle the rear, all while keeping the time travelers in the middle. It formed a protective ring of sorts.
Not long after they crossed into the cave, something green got Hazel's attention from the darkness beyond. Over to her right, she saw a large cluster of conical, green plants. She ran over to them, catching the attention of the rest of the group. Aya, who had stayed on Hazel's shoulder since she got back from the 21st century, hung tightly to her bag. The GoPro that stuck onto the strap she avoided, per the human's instruction before. Following close behind her were Daniel, Aeros, Flia, and Zini.
She stopped in front of the wall and gazed at the plant cluster. The memory of touching one of these things and helping a certain wounded dinosaur ran fresh in her mind. The cluster she was looking at was even bigger than the one she saw before. The smell was sweet and mild, like cherry medicine. The scent made her want to vomit.
These were definitely the same type of plants she encountered before.
"What are these?" Daniel inquired.
"Oh hey I know these things! We used to see a lot of these on our old island," Zini remarked. "I never thought I'd see more of them again," he took a whiff and recoiled. "Smells like them too."
"Well, what are they?" the man asked again.
"Uh, according to the elders, they're some kind of special plant that helps with healing wounds. The elders used to put the sticky stuff inside them on us whenever we got injured or something. Kind of stings a little, but they work."
"So they're basically an antiseptic?" Daniel assumed.
The bright-colored lemur eyed him curiously at the new term. "Anti-what now?"
"A healing ointment."
Zini shrugged. "Eh, I guess."
"This is great!" Hazel exclaimed as she put her bag down, the lemur on her shoulder maneuvered herself to avoid getting caught in the straps. "I never thought I'd see these things again."
She then opened her bag and retrieved three Ziploc bags from within. Opening one of them, she began to reach out for the plants.
"Sorry guys, I need a few minutes to collect some. The Park will want to check these out. Daniel, can you please help me?"
Daniel obliged and the two of them began to collect the plants. They all varied in sizes, from palm-sized to even smaller. They were planted firmly on the walls and the floor, but with a bit of effort, they managed to uproot them. The leaves were rubbery and the base was rough, like a rock. One slight movement and the liquid inside sloshed around like a bottle with liquid. As they did, Hazel got the idea to use a couple to help the Dracorexes that got wounded during the encounter with the Velociraptors. She instructed Aya and Zini to grab a few and help them out. The pained outbursts from the knights gave away the successful application of the ointments.
"Why are we collecting these plants?" Daniel asked the woman.
"Plio and I used a few of these when we helped Bruton before. They help with speeding the healing process from what I know. They're kind of like Neosporin in a way and just as effective. I never got to collect some during my first trip back, but now I'm making up for it. We've got botanists and specialists in the Park that grow certain plants for our specialized eaters. I figured if we collect some, we can figure out how to cultivate these things. They could be useful for future medicines."
During their time in Temporary Park, Nigel had recruited several botanists and specialists. They already had a few, but with the growing number of Residents, and the addition of a couple of greenhouses, they needed more help. A number of the Residents were specialized eaters. Plus, it gave the paleo-scientists a chance to study ancient vegetation in a more hands-on setting.
By collecting these plants, they could try to grow more so they could be used in their own medicines.
"I see," he nodded, now understanding it. "What are they called?"
Hazel stopped. She never got to ask Plio the name of this sort of plant. She wanted to smack herself. How stupid of her.
"Uh...I'm not sure. I don't think it has a name," she said quickly. "Well, we could try to come up with one. Maybe, cave thumb? Or cave warts? Rock warts? I'm not sure."
Daniel thought for a moment before making a quick suggestion. "How about...cave aloe?"
The woman's face brightened and she shot him a smile. "Ooh I like that. For now, we'll call them Cave Aloe."
Once they collected enough of the plants, and the wounded Dracorex were done being treated, they continued on their way through the tunnels. As it became darker, the humans retrieved their flashlights to shine the way. Again, the Dracorexes were marveled at the human invention, even taking a few seconds to observe the tiny rays coming from the cylinders in their hands. Crossing through the pathways and clusters of stalagmites and stalactites, they cautiously traversed the cave system.
As they did, the flyers that were with them were getting more uncomfortable.
"Oof...I never liked caves," Flia shivered next to Hazel. "Not enough room for me to fly or stretch my wings."
"I feel you there," said Aeros. "It's a little too tight for my comfort. Though at least the caves keep us dry from any rain."
It was then that a drop fell from the ceiling onto his head. Aeros jumped and squawked. This caused the whole group to stop and turn to him. He had jumped back by two feet and was looking up at the ceiling. Water had seeped through the cracks and fell onto a small puddle below, where he once stood.
The male Pteranodon grumbled and huffed. "Never mind."
Daniel chuckled. "Aeros, I know you to be a brave warrior, but I didn't think you'd be scared of a little water."
"Don't even start it, Daniel," he warned.
"Let's keep moving," Elaine told them all from the rear. "Dangerous creatures make their homes here. It is best if we don't overstay our welcome."
They pressed on. The walls were random in the tunnels, from wide mouths to tight corridors. The turns were either mild or sharp, something they needed to watch out for. They also encountered forks in the pathway, with Lancelot choosing the one they needed to go through. Ancient flying creatures flew above their heads, maneuvering around the stalactites. When Hazel got a glimpse of them, she thought them to be bats only to realize they didn't come around until after the age of the dinosaurs. They were too quick for her to discern, but she assumed they were cave insects of some kind. Or perhaps gliding lizards.
Going through the tunnels, Hazel was getting even more nostalgia. She and her friends went through a cave system like this before, on their way to the Nesting Grounds. The only difference being this was a little smaller than the one they used, in terms of tunnel size. A sauropod, much less a herd of large dinosaurs, would have a hard time going through this system. The narrow corridors also meant they'd have to go in a single file, which would slow them down. This place was meant for smaller dinosaurs to fit through, dinosaurs like Lancelot and the other Dracorexes.
The Dracorex definitely knew their way around, being as they went through this route before. Although Parisa informed them there were other routes they could take, they chose this one as it avoided the other dangers of the cave. Such dangers included unsteady rock platforms, narrow wall pathways, deep ravines, and stalactites so unstable, even the slightest sound would cause them to fall. Sometimes, small carnivores would use this system to get to the lands beyond. The Dracorexes surely had their fair share of battles here. One of which involved escaping some raptors in a cavern that had unstable stalactites. The battle sounds caused the rock formations to fall and kill the pack, with the Dracorex Knights escaping on time. Thankfully, none of them encountered any carnivore on the trek.
Hazel checked her phone. It was 1:52 PM. They had been going through the tunnels for a few hours now. Looking on ahead, she saw Daniel walking quietly. On his shoulder was Zini, who lay across his shoulders, no doubt preparing to take a nap. Aya was just merely admiring the cave scenery.
Remembering what she needed to do, she backtracked to where Flia was and whispered to her. This also got Aya's attention and she listened in on what they were talking about. She then whispered to Aeros, who nodded in understanding as well. The pterosaur nodded to her and the human returned to her position in the group.
"Zini, Aya," she called out, getting the lemurs' attention. "Aeros is having some trouble scratching a certain part of his back. Can you two please help him?"
The time travelers looked back and saw Aeros fiddling around with his wings, turning around to try to get a certain portion he couldn't get properly.
"Ack! Can't...seem to...get it," he then stopped and made a defeated expression. She could tell he was playing it up per her and Flia's request. "A little help please?"
"Oh. Of course!" Aya said and hopped off the human's shoulder. Thanks to the discussion, she too was let in on the plan. She then gestured to Zini to follow her, which he did begrudgingly. He made a complaint about his nap being disturbed.
Her opening now prepared, Hazel jumped on the chance to make her move. She walked briskly and then kept pace with Daniel's stride.
"Hey. You doing okay?"
"Fine. Just making sure I don't trip," he remarked indifferently.
Hazel frowned and sighed. "Listen, I'm sorry about what happened before."
He looked at her with a confused gaze. "What do you mean? You didn't do anything."
"No, I mean, about the raptor rescue. I was too forward with it and I should have been more considerate about you. It was your first rescue and it was a spur of the moment. You weren't prepared and I should have better than to throw you in like that."
He shook his head. "No. It's not your fault. I'm not upset at you at all."
Her eyes widened. "Oh. Uh, that's good I suppose. But you were being quiet and it seemed like something was bothering you. I thought I did something that made you upset."
"No, it's not you. You didn't do anything. I just..." he sighed, "have a lot on my mind."
"I see," she glanced at the floor, thinking of his response before looking back at him. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"It's fine. Just something I need to deal with later. Work related stuff."
Hazel nodded. But that didn't answer one thing she wondered about. "Okay...did something happen last night? You seemed...upset about something."
Daniel froze. He then gave her a sheepish laugh. "Oh. Nope! No! Nothing happened. Just a couple of guys talking about weird stuff and I got a little peeved. That's all. Guy outing, you know."
The woman relaxed. "Oh. Okay."
It was then that one of the Dracorexes slowed down to be at a similar pace to them. The grey hide she sported revealed her to be none other than Alymera. Her voice was quite cordial and noble, like a princess.
"I hate to interrupt whatever you two are talking about, but I would like to ask you to keep your voice down. Other individuals go through these caves and we don't want to get any unwanted attention."
The human swallowed. She had a point. "Right. Okay. We'll quiet down."
Satisfied by the answer, the female backtracked to the others behind them to tell them the same thing. The commotion in the back dissipated to just a few whispers.
Daniel chuckled and leaned towards the woman in a hushed tone. "If this wasn't a rescue mission and we didn't have to worry about predators, it would have been a nice stroll through a cave."
Hazel snickered at that. It wasn't all the time they got to go through a cave like this.
"You should feel privileged. Not many people get to witness an ancient era, much less interact with the locals," she whispered to him.
He rolled his eyes playfully. "Right, that's true."
Daniel then took in a breath and gently nudged her on the arm with his elbow, getting her attention. "Hey, I just want to get this off my chest," he started, getting the Asian on alert for whatever he was about to say. "You're pretty good at this, rescues I mean. I'm completely out of my element here, but you're truly a lady on a mission. You know your stuff really well."
The experienced adventurer blushed. "Oh. Thank you. You're uh, you're not bad yourself."
"I've uh...I've been in a few exploits before, but not at this level. Also, I was pretty intrigued about the way you talked to your lemur friends before. You know, when we found them."
She furrowed her brows, put off guard by the mundane discussion from before. "Oh. You liked how I did it? I was just scolding them."
"Yeah, but it was how you did it. I found it...kind of amusing. In a good way. They shouldn't have done that, but you told them what they needed to hear in a respectful way. You were firm, but not too extreme. Force isn't always the answer to everything. So yes, I liked how you did that."
Once again, she blushed. Her heart was beginning to race because of that comment. He was admiring her. The discussion she and Aya had last night was beginning to get to her. This was supposed to be a simple apology discussion, but now it turned into...this.
Hazel wanted to stop herself, but she found she couldn't. She...liked it.
She stretched her arms and then clasped them behind her back. "Well, thank you. It's too bad I never got to play my ocarina last night."
Daniel raised a brow. "You have an ocarina on you? And you can play?"
"Yeah. My sister gave it to me some time ago for Christmas. I play it sometimes. I'm not an expert player but I know enough to play it."
He gave her a warm smile. Hazel felt her stomach flutter. "I'd like to hear you play sometime."
She did her best to keep her emotions under control. "Sure. First, let's get this mission done, then we'll talk about a personal concert for you."
He cleared his throat and focused ahead. "Right. You've got a point."
The two of them walked on in silence, taking care not to make any loud sounds due to Alymera's warning. There may not be any talking, but Hazel's mind was going off in a symphony of thoughts. Especially because she was right next to the rookie she was beginning to admire.
"Damn it Aya!" she screamed in her mind. "Now look at what you've done! Still, he did say all of those things. And he said he liked how I did things yesterday."
Hazel did her best not to glance at him. Her stomach and her heart were tickling her like soft blades of grass. "Oh shit...does he really like me?"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
After spending so long in the tunnels, they finally reached the end of the cave system. The light at the end of the cavern shone through, the vines barring the sun's rays, creating intricate shadows on the cavern floor. That was a relief for Daniel. He had been to a number of caves with his family, but those were tourist destinations. The presence of predators and unsafe caverns made it a little discomforting.
Finally reaching the lush forest beyond, Daniel got the chance to breathe in some fresh air. The smell of sun and earth hit him hard. The group went off to the side to take cover in the underbrush for a well-deserved break. It was already late afternoon. They spent much of the day in the tunnels.
As he sat down and drank from his water bottle, he couldn't help but look over at Hazel. She was chatting with Flia a few yards away, the pterosaur finally able to stretch her wings properly. He couldn't stop thinking about the talk they had in the cave.
He meant it when he said those things. The way she spoke to her friends when they stowed away, how she did things out in the field, and the fact that she could play music he greatly admired. Most individuals would be scared witless when in a different time period, especially during dinosaur times. But Hazel, she was right at home. She was used to this kind of thing and her ability to speak without the use of a Communicator like his gave her an edge.
Though, she was worried about him. That he had no idea about. He didn't mean to worry her that much. Though, he kept her distance because of the talk he had with Zini, and with Tristan except he wasn't involved too much.
Still, Zini was right about a few things. She was brave, she was tough, she knew her way around, he couldn't not admire her. The whole time they stayed there, he couldn't stop looking at her. He couldn't tell if his talk with Zini was getting to him, or if it really was just him.
"She is...admirable. I won't lie," he told himself.
He quickly took out his phone and aimed the camera at her. Zooming in with his fingers, he took a quick snapshot while she looked up at her friend. The angle she was in was enough for him. He rather liked that angle.
He stowed the phone away before anyone would notice. When he did, the sound of small footfalls made him look to his right. The two Dracorex known as Dagonet and Bors had returned. They left to scout the area. They were breathing heavily, like they ran a mile.
"We found some fresh tracks," Bors informed the group. "My brother also picked up the scent of a carnivore."
The younger Dracorex barked, he lifted a foot up and started to scratch the side of his head, kind of like how a dog would.
The two Dracorexes led the group to where the tracks were, about a half a mile from where they were. It was a forest pathway, the trees and the vegetation weren't too close together to cause an obstacle, especially for whatever left these tracks. Once they got there, Hazel reached into her bag and retrieved a tape measure. Kneeling down from one set, she started to measure them, from the largest ones to the smaller ones.
Daniel quietly watched her do her work. Again, he couldn't help but admire the way she analyzed them. She muttered the measurements and began to say her thoughts out loud on whether it would fit a Carnotaur.
The large three-toed footprints signified a large carnivore in the area. The question was, there were a lot of large carnivores that could have left tracks like these. However, Lancelot and the other claims they got from the Park did say this was Carnotaur country. These tracks must belong to one. The other question was whatever left those smaller footprints.
If a Carnotaur left these tracks, did it have a family? Was it in a pack? He asked Hazel that and she said it all depends. Certain carnivores could hunt in small groups. But Diablo and Xenaya were the only two Carnotaurs she encountered so she couldn't say for sure. Flia then confirmed it was possible as she encountered similar creatures that did hunt in groups. Though not much with a Carnotaur like Diablo.
It was then that Lucan stepped up next to Hazel. He sniffed at the track she was at and then used a foot to gently feel the print. He moved his leg from side to side, but not so much as to interfere with the form in the muddy earth. He then straightened and replied in his rough Scottish accent.
"These tracks are fresh. We are close."
Suddenly, they heard a roar. It made the lemurs cower behind the Pteranodons and the Dracorex crouched on guard. Hazel straightened, her hand instinctively fell on her dagger. Daniel moved a hand to the stun gun that was slung over his back, his hand now on the hilt of the weapon.
It only lasted a few seconds, but the direction of it came from towards the east.
"I'd say a little too close," Aeros offhandedly said.
"Aeros and I will scout ahead for it. Stay close to the brush for cover," Flia said as she turned towards the rear, her wings now outstretched.
"No need to tell us twice," Hazel commented.
"Hey wait for us!" Zini called out to the flyers.
He and Aya hopped over to Flia and Aeros. The two of them climbed up their backs, Aya on Flia and Zini on Aeros. Observing the male Pteranodon, Daniel saw him narrow his eyes a bit when the lemur hung onto him. He figured Aeros was letting Zini go on just for this situation. He wasn't used to allowing anybody to ride him; that privilege was reserved for Daniel. The other possibility was probably because he wasn't as close to the lemurs as Flia was. Again, he wasn't used to it.
As the two Pteranodons took off, with the lemurs hanging onto them, the rest of the group silently followed the footprints to the source.
When they flew out of sight, Daniel brought his focus back on the woman, who was still inspecting the set of tracks. "So what should we expect when we find the female Carnotaurus?"
She turned to him, unsure of what to make on the situation. "Well, I'm not too versed on most breeding behaviors, but from what Nigel taught me, female creatures in Heat tend to include certain behavioral signs. Among them would be enhanced territorial instinct, amorousness to their species' opposite sex, and EXTREME irritability that borderlines homicidal…in a few cases."
When she said that, the terrifying roar returned again. This time, it was accompanied by a similar roar, except it had a deeper frequency to it. The land group moved quickly to get to the source. The vegetation didn't bar their advances though as they were able to get to where they needed to be.
Ahead of them was a pair of Carnotaurus. The smaller one was red and looked like a smaller version of Diablo. Daniel was about to guess that was their target when he noticed the orange markings on its hide. The horns were also forward, not upward. This one must be a male. It was the second one that got their attention. This one had green scales and was similar in size to Diablo. This one towered over the smaller male. The horns curved upward and much of the back was black.
Daniel shuddered. That frightening behemoth is their target.
The group quickly took cover in the brush, keeping their heads down so as to not give away their position. Daniel chose to crouch behind a cluster of large ferns, a couple of the Dracorex following him along with Hazel, who peered on the other side of the vegetation. All of them peeked through their green barriers to watch the carnivores do whatever they needed to.
"Okay, we found the Carnotaur," said a nervous Gawain, who was cowering right next to Daniel. "Now let's get out of here."
"No!" Lancelot loudly whispered, the subordinate knight ducking in a submissive manner. He was one of the ones who chose Daniel's hiding place. "They came here to retrieve one. They promised to bring us to their land should their mission succeed. We must see this through."
This earned a groan from the younger Dracorex.
Turning his attention back at the Carnotaurs, he observed them in their ritual. The smaller male was looking rough at the moment. He was covered in numerous bite marks, scratches, and the right side of his horn was bitten off. The female then made a cough. He witnessed her spit something out, the object bouncing on the ground in an arc before becoming still. She had bitten off his horn.
The female was looking beaten up as well, but not at the same degree as the male. She had wounds too, but compared to the male, they were superficial as they were shallow. So this is what a Carnotaur mating ritual is like. The change of color was half of the equation, the actual combat aspect was something that surprised her. Daniel theorized this sort of courtship was made to weed out the weakest of the males if they couldn't subdue the female to mate with them. It made sense on paper, but seeing it first hand was tough to watch. Procreating for this Carnotaur species was a necessity, but very dangerous.
Daniel spotted movement over to his left. Looking past the foliage, he saw a group of small dinosaurs cowering nearby. He was about to say "raptor" when he took a closer look at their features. They were violet grey in color and they didn't sport the sickle claw on their feet, like a titular dromaeosaur would. Actually, they looked more like the ornithomimids at the Park, except they were smaller and had shorter necks. They were natives, no doubt, but why were they waiting nearby? They should be running from this place, not remain nearby.
A word came into his head. Scavengers. They had to be. They were probably waiting there to get scraps of whatever was left behind from this fight. It was a gruesome matter, but it was just one part of nature.
The roars of the Carnotaurs brought his attention back. The two roared at each other and butted heads, the sounds of their skulls crashing went off with a loud boom. A single bout was all it took though; the female towered over the smaller male that was now writhing on the ground. The female then drove her head down and bit at his throat. The sound of a gushing crack reverberated. The male fell silent and lifeless.
She reared her head and roared, out of victory and literal sexual frustration. Seeing a nearby boulder, she stomped over to it and slammed her horns into it, bits and pieces of it clattered on the ground. She then stormed away towards a nearby stream that was several yards away to try and cool off as well as quench the heat in her core.
The Dracorexes around them went on guard when the scavengers from earlier approached them. Unlike other carnivores in this time period, they didn't approach them with the intent to kill. Rather, it was a slow, dignified approach.
"Watch it, flesh eaters," Lamorak barked, but not so loud to get the female Carnotaur's attention. "There's more of us than you. You won't be getting a free meal out of us."
He prepared to attack them when Hazel moved up and blocked him. She outstretched her hand and stopped him from doing it.
"Wait. I don't think they want to attack us."
"But they're carnivores!" he argued. "If we don't do something, they'll kill us!"
"Don't attack. They're not your typical carnivores. If they wanted to kill us, they would have done so by now. It looks like they just want to talk."
"How can you be so calm when they are carnivores?" Gawain was the next to ask, who was also on guard next to his brother.
"You all think that carnivores are terrible monsters out to get you. While in most cases, that can be considered true, they are merely doing what they can to survive. Beyond the need to survive, they aren't that terrible, most of them at least," she said. This puzzled the Dracorexes, especially since they are used to battling carnivores to defend the weak. She then glanced over at all of them. "Let me do the talking."
With that said, the large group took a few steps back, mostly because they wanted to see how this would play out.
"What are they?" Daniel asked.
"Nqwebasaurus," she answered.
"How'd you know that?"
"If you read a lot of dinosaur books, then discerning species is a cakewalk. Don't worry, they're omnivores."
"Meaning?" Lamorak inquired, still in his defensive state.
"They eat greens and meat," she told him.
Once again, Daniel was impressed by how knowledgeable she was in the field. Even he couldn't quite figure out what they were called or why they were called that. She was a walking encyclopedia on dinosaur nomenclature.
"I'm surprised," the tiny ornithomimid quipped in a squeaky tone. "Not many would know what we really are the first time. Normally we'd have to correct them."
"I apologize for my friends' cautious behavior," she said.
"Don't worry," said the little omnivore. "We get that a lot."
"We're guessing this is your first time dealing with a carnivore's 'time of the year?'" another one asked, this time in a lighter tone than the other.
Hazel stammered and then made a light chuckle. "Uh…maybe? I guess you can say that? I think I've seen one but I'm not so sure."
The little omnivores giggled. "Typical," the one who spoke first said.
"Are you here for that dead guy over there?" one of the ones in the back squeaked and gestured to the corpse of the male Carnotaurus. "We can share the spoils with you, just don't get the girl's attention."
"Um no thank you," she respectfully declined. "Do you know who that female Carnotaurus is? It seems like you know a lot about her. And we just got here."
"Oh her?" the leading one gestured his head to the still drinking female further from them. "That's Lilith. She's the carnivore that rules the area. Anything she comes across is dead meat. That's why we all like to follow her. We're simple scavengers that like to pick at her leftovers."
"Is she always like that?" Daniel voiced, wanting to know if all female Carnotaurs were like her.
The same Nqwebasaurus shook his head. "No, she's actually great. We get a steady supply of food to help out with our diet, but whenever she gets like what she is now, she sometimes kills a large portion of the pack. And that's if she's too irritable."
He glanced back at his small group of 6 and then at the newcomers. "There used to be a lot more of us before Lilith snapped her jaws at us. It does seem bad and scary, but we'd rather deal with her bad temper carefully than starve to death."
The man looked over at Hazel, an idea striking him. He saw the same expression on the woman's face. He knew she was thinking the exact same thing. Considering that Hazel was more experienced at this, he allowed her the first move of doing the invitation. Besides, he wanted to see how it was properly done.
"Well, my friends and I came here for her because we need her to help another friend back home," Hazel began to explain with confidence. "Getting her to come with us is going to be pretty difficult in itself. And since you just mentioned you're having a hard time surviving with her around, let's broker a deal."
The tiny dinosaurs perked their heads up at the mention of a deal. They kept their mouths shut as she explained the terms.
"If you help us with getting her into a portal we'll soon set up, you guys can come with us and live in our home. You'll have enough food, water, and plenty of space to run around in. It's a very lush valley where everybody gets along. No other predators will bother you. You can live in relative peace. So what do you say, want to help us out?"
The ornithomimids looked at each other, tiny whispers going about as they considered the idea. However, the final decision fell on the leader. The leading dinosaur made a series of chirps, loud enough for them to hear but not enough to get the female Carnotaur's attention. This caused the small group to go quiet.
With his voice now uninterrupted, he made his decree. "Okay. We'll help you."
This satisfied the Time Travelers. Hazel was about to get to work on a plan when he spoke once again. Her face fell on the next thing he said.
"But we're not going with you after this."
This surprised the larger group, most considerably on Hazel herself. Looking at her, he could see the utter shock on her features. Daniel guessed this was the first time she encountered a denizen that declined their offer to live at the Park and made it final. Although, remembering the stories back at Prehistoric Park, there were three other denizens that were the same but they changed their minds; Broken Jaw and his friends. They were unexpected, yet they decided to come live there.
This time, however, he could clearly see there was no way to make them budge. They were staying. While that did not affect Daniel too much, this clearly bothered Hazel a little bit.
"Wait what?" she blurted out. "You're denying this chance?"
"Yeah, while what you said is nice and all, we rather like this lifestyle," the tiny alpha explained. "It's a tough way to live, but it agrees with us."
"But you said you're starving, and there are other predators here that could hunt you down. You're just throwing this opportunity away?" she went off again.
""We'd prefer the term, 'politely declining'," he squeaked. The rest of his troupe nodded their heads in unison.
"But if you say no, after this, we'll most likely never see each other again. This is your one and only chance at escape from the dangers here," Hazel tried to convince them again.
The Nqwebasaurus shrugged. "Fine by us. You guys are nice, but we already made up our minds."
He saw one of her eyes twitch. She clenched her fists. Daniel knew what was going on. If she went off now, they would give away their position to Lilith, and then their element of surprise would be ruined. Thinking quickly, he stepped forward and placed a hand in front of her, pushing her back a little. While this startled the woman, she was quickly silenced when he used his other hand to cover her mouth.
"Alright, we understand," he told them. "We appreciate your help in this. Give a moment of privacy so we can discuss the plan of dealing with Lilith."
With that done, he led Hazel along to another part of the brush. Now behind a cluster of ferns and a large tree, he released his hold on her. She gasped loudly and scowled.
"What's your problem?" she berated him in a loud whisper. "Why'd you stop me?"
"You heard what they said. They don't want to come with us to the Park."
"Yeah and I was trying to persuade them against the idea."
"They made their choice. If they don't want to come with us, we can't force them to."
She facepalmed out of frustration. "It worked last time with Broken Jaw, Caius, and Flit."
"They decided against their decision. There's a good chance these little guys won't be the same. We need to respect that. Look, we can't always be a 'white knight' to everybody. They are accustomed to their way of life and don't wish for it to be uprooted. The best we can do is to respect their decision and move on. They're willing to help us retrieve Lilith. That's all we need right now."
His explanation now complete, Daniel took a deep breath and exhaled. He could clearly see she wasn't accustomed to being declined. Disappointment was clear in her features. He could imagine the idea of giving someone another chance to live elsewhere and be in peace, yet get immediately declined. He guessed she had some kind of track record of succeeding in convincing individuals to come with her and her friends to their home. This one just broke the record. Her reputation had been toppled by that single answer.
But he was right, and the reluctant acknowledgement she just made confirmed it. It was disappointing, but it was how things are. Everyone had a choice, and they already made it.
The discussion now completed, they briskly yet silently called them all to get to their part of the glade so they could discuss their plan of action.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
20 minutes later…
Everything was now in place. The portal was set up in the cave they came from and everybody was where they needed to be. Their preparations did nothing to get Lilith's attention and ire. She was too busy trying to deal with her Heat rage.
At the moment, the black-backed Carnotaurus was sharpening her horns in front of a large tree, dragging her horns up and down the trunk. Pieces of bark flaked off with each slide she made. The drag marks on the trunk were like horrid scars. The last tree wasn't as sturdy as this one and was uprooted a little. This angered the female to the point where she toppled it with a vicious headbutt.
Hazel, Lancelot and three of his knights, and the Nqwebasaurus leader slowly approached the ornery Lilith. Hearing their small footfalls, the predator snapped her head and snarled.
"Who are...no...stay away!" she growled and then shook her head, the Heat condition prevented her from getting any words out. "Leave or die!"
The leader in-training brought her hands up, brokering a peaceful gesture. "Easy lady. We just want to talk."
She roared and stomped her foot, causing the earth to mildly shake. Her Heat induced delirium prevented her from acting cordially. The group backed away cautiously as she snarled at them. "No! No talk! Go or die!"
"Please, just let us help you!" Hazel tried to convince her again.
Lilith roared and faced them. She opened her maw, revealing teeth as sharp as knives. Pillars of saliva dripped down from her jaw. She took one step forward and eyed the single human. In response, Hazel tensed and backed away, who was then followed by her team. This only resulted in the predator following close to the group.
Lancelot leaned his head close and murmured. "I don't think it's working. We need to go with the other plan."
Hazel agreed with a brisk, agreeable cue. "Yeah. Good idea."
Using two of her fingers, she brought them to her mouth and blew. A loud whistle echoed in the area, the sound startling the large predator. Lilith shrieked and shook her head madly. Two large aerial creatures swooped in and pecked at the female. Riding on the back of the red one was Daniel. The two lemurs were both on the purple one. The flyers pecked at her in various places on her back and face. Their attacks, while effective in getting her attention, did little to cause serious damage, except for the lucky hits on or near her eyes. What they succeeded in doing was annoy her.
During one part of the bout, Flia hovered back and swooped towards Hazel. Taking this as her cue, she lifted her arms up. The Pteranodon grabbed one of her arms with her talons and the two sped away. Behind them, the ground team, and the others that hid in the other parts of the glade, came and attacked her.
Hazel didn't need to look back to see that phase of the plan worked. The ground team had nipped at her feet and attacked her in their own ways to get her attention. Daniel and Aeros had also succeeded at keeping her from making lethal attacks on the non-flyers. In no time at all, the teams retreated towards the two rescuers headed towards the cave, with Lilith snapping her jaws close behind them.
Using her strength, Hazel hauled herself up her friends' talon. Moving her legs and arms, as well as Flia's coordination, she climbed until she grabbed onto one of the straps. That allowed her to haul herself onto the saddle. Zini and Aya moved themselves onto both sides of the saddle and held onto their own straps, both of them flanking the human.
This chase was nerve-wracking. Any rookie would buckle at the stress of it. Daniel, who was new to it, was probably beginning to be overwhelmed by the pressure. However, taking a quick look at him and his partner, who were attacking at one part of her back to get her attention away from a Dracorex that headbutted her leg forward, she saw he had gotten accustomed to the idea. He was learning.
It went on for several minutes. Whenever she slowed down, they approached her to make minor attacks, angering her again. The same went whenever her attention was faltered by the movement of other creatures or if she started to lose interest. The ornithomimids bit at her, the Dracorex bleated or headbutted her, the flyers pecked at her; they did everything to maintain her attention.
Together, they led her back to the cave. Hazel saw the familiar twinkling blue lights of the Time Poles in the darkness. She reached into her pocket and felt the remote. Pressing the right button, the cave shadows lit up in a blinding light for a brief moment before dissipating. What once was a darkened tunnel now showed a large portal with a lush valley beyond.
The rescue group sped through the portal's threshold, with the exception of the Nqwebasaurus as they dove off to the sides of the temporal window. Their job was now complete. The Dracorex were instructed to go towards the right side of the portal away from the designated area until they came across a group of keepers and other volunteer Residents to help them settle into their new home. They followed that instruction and fled the scene. Diving after the newly arrived prey was the ornery Lilith. Her arrival caused the employees, and any rookies present, to scramble to action.
During the planning process, Hazel messaged Nigel to help with preparing for Lilith's arrival. However, he replied saying he was busy on another matter and for her to reach out to Marcus. Doing that, she let Marcus in on the situation. He worked with Bob and a few other employees to get Diablo into one of the Holding Pens. She also instructed him to get some volunteer Residents to help with the transfer, particularly Residents that could handle attacks made by Diablo. Hazel could only imagine how chaotic that was.
Soaring over her home, Hazel saw Diablo locked in one of the Holding Pens. Not far away were four other Residents, all of which were Tyrannosaurs, lying on their stomachs with some vets checking on them. Retrieving her radio that she placed in her pocket beforehand, she switched it on and made her order.
"This is Hazel to everyone at the Holding Pens! Our new rescue is here! Let Diablo out and steer clear of them!"
Their order clear, the gate that held the ornery Diablo opened. This caused him to cautiously go forward and escape the Holding Pen vicinity. Swooping in closer, they could tell he was still in the effects of the Rut from him shaking his head violently as well as roaring at the commotion going on around him. They lowered until they were closer to Diablo, but not close enough for him to snap his jaws at them.
"Diablo!" Hazel called out.
He roared then fell quiet, recognizing the two females.
She smirked. "Your opponent is coming through."
The duo flew away from him and landed near the Holding Pens, but far enough to avoid getting caught up in the fray. The trained keepers with the tranquilizer guns kept a fair distance from the Heat-induced female Carnotaur. She was snapping her jaws at the humans, but failed to get any good attacks in as they kept dodging every one of her moves. Behind her, the portal shrank out of existence.
Diablo set his eyes on the female and roared. Pulled from the annoying humans, Lilith set her eyes on the male. She too roared and the two of them lunged in for the attack with renewed vigor. Headbutts, bites, scratches, and tail slams went up during the fight. Their hides were thick, but they were new, getting distinctive wounds that were rather ugly. Their wounds did little to slow them though.
Both Hazel and Flia were so focused on the fight that they didn't notice a crowd gathering around them. Employees and a few Residents passing by happened upon the brutal spectacle. Like the experienced pair of rescuers, they cringed at every hit the Carnotaurs made.
While that happened, Hazel and Flia failed to see Zini and Aya sneaking away from the area. Now that they arrived back at the Park, and still in one piece, they still needed to return to the clan discreetly, along with an excuse in mind should they ask where they had been for the last day and a half. Unfortunately, as they snuck away, they were stopped by Yar, who happened to be in the area when Lilith arrived. He scolded the two for their irresponsible stunt, yet nobody else could hear him as he was outmatched by the predator pairs' roars.
The fight went on for a few minutes before Diablo finally made his move. Positioning himself onto Lilith, the ritual began. The female allowed it to happen so long as he was strong enough to hold her. It was difficult at first, with the female constantly escaping the grapples plus savagely mauling any area of Diablo's body she could sink her teeth into. Eventually, the struggling stopped.
Everyone that was present and had a Communicator immediately yanked them off their ears as the pair started to exchange kinky phrases. Most were smart enough to leave them in peace as well as spare themselves the psychological scarring. Any Resident that was present immediately evacuated the area, both to be considerate of the moment and out of embarrassment. This was especially true with Flia and Aeros, who promptly left the scene to avoid getting their eyes scarred. Daniel, who was on Aeros at the time, was unwittingly brought along for the ride and was spared the sight. The only one who bore witness to it and could not escape the ritual fully was Hazel. Her gift to understand Prehistoric Speak was a curse at the moment as she heard every single kinky phrase from the pair. Despite her ears being covered by her hands, they did little to fully block out the dirty talk. The only thing that was spared on her was her eyes. The woman screamed and fled the area, the sight of her former enemy coupling with his new mate burned into the recesses of her memory.
If that wasn't enough, the few that still remained for whatever reason they had were approached by an oblivious Espantos. The Terror Bird was returning to his enclosure after a quick lap around the valley when he saw the coupling. While he did show signs of shock, it was followed by understanding. He seemed quite undeterred by the ritual.
"Oh! That's why I felt the ground shaking. All of the children in the audience, cover your eyes."
Upon saying that, the remaining employees, while not children, covered their eyes from the ritual. He then turned his head, his gaze now fixated into nothing. However, he was definitely looking at something if his expression turned serious.
"Do you mind? This is rated T for Teen! I would cut it here if I were you," he squawked angrily.
"Who are you talking to?" one of the employees asked.
"Nobody! Let's give them some privacy, like what we should have been doing!" he quickly said before fleeing.
This prompted anybody still remaining to evacuate. The only ones that stayed were the few keepers that had the tranquilizer guns, as well as the vets that arrived. They needed to stay to make sure the couple did not harm anybody else that approached them as well as barring the area from access. Unfortunately, this meant they had to suffer through the torture of the dirty business.
A.N. Oh Espantos, always thinking of the audience and breaking the 4th wall at the same time. Oh and poor Hazel! xD