Chapter 10

Chorus of Sanctuary

Of all the places in prehistoric earth, North America truly had the greatest variety of dinosaurs ever known to mankind, no other place in the world had species more well known to science and it was here that species that made the face of their entire family line like the tyrannosaurs or ceratopsians were the most well known of all. Here in Alberta Canada, our story begins in a large open field, below a trio of pteranodons that flew right above, where many types of dinosaurs were nesting together in one big happy gathering near a rather large watering hole. A massive migratory herd which was around for many years, with much of the open field that was surrounded by dense forest, now occupied for nesting groups as they have chosen here as the safest spot to nest and lay eggs. The herd often migrated as the seasons changed in their world between summer and winter, and now in the spring it was the perfect time for nesting and to begin the next generation for the herds.

While there were a handful of ceratopsians like pachyrhinosaurus and pentaceratops starting families with safe distances from one another, much of the herd consisted of hadrosaurs, or duckbills, which were the most common and successful groups of dinosaurs in the cretaceous period. Especially the helmeted variety as the nesting grounds now had numerous species that were beginning to raise families of their own for the first time. Lambeosaurus being one of the largest to ever exist had hatchet shaped crests and there were 2 varieties present and yet since food and space was plentiful they got along fairly well along with their gentle social natures to bond with their peers. Corythosaurus and their helmeted shaped crests while smaller than their larger cousins but were no less than being part of the family. It was the unique shapes and sizes of the crests and exotic headgear which enabled these dinosaurs to stand out from many others along with the unique sounds they emitted through them, though one species stood out from them all and was famous enough to be considered the face of the hadrosaur family, parasaurolophus.

One mother, a dark green one, was carefully arranging her eggs after doing another routine morning check on her future family of 8. Lowering her head down to sniff them, she let out a low rumbling sound from her crest to them, as if she were trying to sing a little lullaby to her babies much like how human mothers would play music to encourage the development of healthy babies. Sound was an important thing for babies as the first sound they would ever hear would be the heartbeat of their own mothers, in this parasaurolophus' case, the mother was trying to communicate her very own specific melody to the young inside as it became imprinted on them as they listened to it inside their shells. In one egg, a baby parasaurolophus could see large shadows of dinosaurs passing by through her shell as she tumbled about inside, along with one of them looking straight at her, letting out a rumbling affectionate song which put her and the rest of her siblings at ease.

Eventually, one by one the eggs began to tumble about as signs of life were apparent inside them. The mother leaned down towards them and sniffed them with affection, as the first egg cracked open, emerging from it was an infant parasaurolophus, Paris. As she broke free from her shell she shook her head clear before locking eyes with her mother who nuzzled her most gently as she let out a happy cry greeting her. The mother then began noticing cracks in each of the other eggs and went to help the rest of them hatch, as feet, tails or heads began popping out of them, mom began to press on the shells gently so they'd weaken and crack making it easier for the hatchlings to escape from them. It wasn't long before the whole nest was teaming with life and the pounding of little feet, the same went for nests all around them as many adult dinosaurs bellowed out in joy in celebration of becoming new parents.

For Paris' family, it was now time for their very first meal, thankfully their mother prepared in advance anticipating when they would hatch, as she had already laid out their nest bedding with a number of lush soft green leaves and ferns, which they quickly took to eating away at hungrily, as she lay down on her belly and watched them closely with loving care. The energy they got from their first ever breakfast enabled the hatchlings to run about energetically as they felt their batteries supercharged by a great rush of fresh organic energy. Their mother also felt it was time they got some exercise as she stood up and began to call to them, signalling them to follow her as she took them out for a little exercise. Following her mother, Paris and her siblings could see all kinds of amazing sights from the lush forest surrounding their nesting grounds, the large watering hole in the distance and not to mention the many different dinosaurs surrounding them right now as they were welcomed into the world with the many sights, sounds and smells they were gathering from all around them.

For most species, travelling in herds would have brought up various communication problems, but not for Paris and her kind, for they could easily recognise the specific calls their individual species gave out and of course by their distinctive headgear which enabled them to easily recognise others of their own kind, and Paris along with her siblings had imprinted their mother's voice so they'd never forget or lose sight of her ever. While the different species were usually friendly with one another and tolerated each others' presence, in times of nesting they much rather keep to themselves, as Paris curiously headed to the sounds of another nest filled with baby edmontosaurus that also were newly hatched, straying away from the rest of her family. She could smell that these babies were similar yet different to her yet it piqued her interest, along with the plants in their nest which were different from what her mom provided. As she leaned in to grab some for herself, snatching a piece away from a baby which then cried out, the mother edmontosaurus turned to the intruder in her nest and growled at her, making Paris drop what she was holding in her mouth as she was driven back to her family! The mother edmontosaurus would have followed, had Paris' own mom stood her ground and bellowed back at her, warding her off as both sides stood off for a few minutes before calm was restored and the families returned to business as usual.

Paris' mom grunted at her a little which made her lower her head in sorrow, but hearing the calls the edmontosaurus were giving to one another piqued her interest in sounds, as she thought about making some of her own. As her family went to the waterhole for a drink, Paris then trotted off to a space a little further off as she tried to let out a few cries of her own, hoping to imitate the same call her mom did for her just now and also wonder what other kinds of sounds she could make. Her cries though were rather loud and unpleasant like shouting and not to her satisfaction as she could tell she wasn't getting it right. Trying again, her cries ended up attracting some unwanted audience hidden in the underbrush, as some hissing soon interrupted her chorus right before it was at her final number. Leaping out of the brush were a pair of trodden, attracted by the noise she was screaming and the fact she strayed far from the rest of the herd! As they snarled and circled her, she nervously cried out as they closed in on her!

In response she let out a loud sound from her crest, driven by her fear and defensive instincts, a piercing sound which drove the trodden mad as they screeched and slammed their heads at some nearby trees in an effort to block it out! Her sound soon gave out as she couldn't hold it for long, as she panted in exhaustion. The trodden regained their senses and snarled baring their fangs at her, ready to attack again, as the ground began to shake underneath followed by a low bellow! As they looked up they widened their eyes as Paris' mother came in the nick of time, slamming her front legs on the ground and bellowing out a warning cry! Realising they were out gunned the 2 scavengers were forced to beat a hasty retreat into the underbrush from where they came, as Paris stroked her head on her mother's leg who then brought her back with the rest of her family. It was thankful for the dinosaurs here, as troodon were the only predators that lurked about in the nesting grounds, as the area was heavily defended with high cliff walls and narrow paths which kept larger predators out. However, all good things must eventually come to an end, as little did Paris know, when the time to move one would come she'd have to leave this tranquil paradise behind and endure a long trek to their new feeding grounds in the north where new challenges awaited her and her kind along the way.

In this story begins Paris' journey as from a young age she has a love for singing and even knows how to use her crest's sonic screech as well too. Given how grass dinosaurs can summon allies it's clear here she is friendly and likes to make new friends too, also how Paris summoned the animals to attack the Alpha Gang and poachers too is derived from what happened here.

I used references from Disney Dinosaur with the egg in the nest as a reference here along with the nesting grounds too, since I found it easier to write this story compared to Fossil League for the time being I hope you don't mind ion I focus on this for a little while since I can take a day or so to finish the chapter if it's not too busy.

Stay tuned for the arduous challenges she will soon face in her teen years to come.

Reply to reviews

Drew Luczyński

Technically she isn't altered yet but even after that you could say her attachment to Laura is there from what happened here even after the Alpha controller modified her. Plus Laura did love dinosaurs genuinely too. Be sure to see other members of the group in chapters to come. You could say it's like that for Tank and the other alpha dinosaurs maybe Rod and Laura also spent time with them when the A Team brought them back. Since Laura used Tank a lot we can see that here, plus Tank being a girl too.

Since it was at least 6 months since they were in the dinosaur period and Dr Z having to somehow take care of them all behind Dr Ancient's back wonder how they grew up within such a short time unless the stones accelerated their age you think?

tsukikami02

Tank managed to make it through this far and stay ahead of predators too so she's been well.

Can be sure that Rod and Laura's parents raised them up better than Dr Z did for the Trio though wonder how their dad didn't end up like them, though since he seemed the oldest of the bunch maybe he was more mature than them too.

Well megalosaurus was in the jurassic and going by chronological order I can assume they found his egg first.

Hope you like Paris' first chapter.