Disclaimer: I don´t own Dinotopia
Chapter 2 : Findings
The other passengers must have thought he was mad, since he told the driver to stop, once they had entered the Rainy Basin.
Under the head shacking looks of the other Dinotopians Cyrus climbed down the leather staircase, turned around, and strolled towards the woods without bidding the rest farewell.
Don´t say anything you don´t mean...except it gives you an advantage.. He told himself with a sly grin while the distance between the safe Brachiosaurus and him increased from minute to minute.
Once he was surrounded by high trees he looked around once, then hobbled on.
Hell, I don´t even know exactly where I´m gonna meet this guy !
Nervously he watched his surrounding whenever he heard a strange noise : the cry of an animal, rustling in the bushes, cracking of a twig...reactions meant life or death, the faster the better for you - the slower the better...for the carnivores.
He walked on for about an hour.
With a tissue he wiped away the sweat on his forehead.
Damn, he wasn´t used to walk long distances anymore. Living in the city with all those fools had made him weak.
He stopped for a short break, seating himself on a tree trunk.
His eyes wandered around while his hand otherwhile searched in the pockets of his coat after something to drink.
With an releaved expression he pulled out a silver shining bottle -obviously filled with self made alcohol - and let parts of the liquid run down his throat.
Now he felt definitely better.
He was just about to stand up again when something caught his attention.
There, something behind that ferns..what was that ?
Questioning he stood up, carefully walking over to examine the strange object.
He almost stumbled back in total horror at what he saw :
There were standing black boots. Interesting detail about them was, that their owner was partly still in them, to be exactly his feet. The rest seemed to be bitten off.
With utter disgust Cyrus looked at the blood covered remains, bones sticking out of the teared flesh.
He didn´t had to search very long for the answer after the murderer :
Around the boots were a large number of T-Rex tracks.
"Just gotta be hopin none of this stinkin bastards is here anymore.."
He said, trying to gulp down his nervousness.
Yet when he turned around he was directly starring into a T-Rex´s eyes.
His eyes going as big as saucers and his face turning unhealthy white he let out a small cry and stumbled backwards, falling on his back.
Desperately he kicked his remaining working leg, trying to get away from this monster, not able to turn his gaze away from it.
Suddenly there appeared a girl´s head over the creature´s massive one. There was a gloating grin on her oriental looking face.
"Oh sorry, I didn´t intend to scare you !"
He wanted to say a smart thing like :"Good thing then, that ya haven´t" or something else sarcastic, but he just couldn´t, his mind was totally blank.
"Do you think he´ll ever find speech again ?" She whispered to the dinosaur, half giggling, since he had been lying there and starring at them for at least two minutes.
That was, when Cyrus awoke from the trance he hadn´t even known he had been in.
"Wha- what ?"
"Oh, good !" She lauded him, like a teacher would a kid. "Now add a subject, a verb and an object and there you go with your first sentences !"
Either he was too confused to realize that she was making fun of him or he simply didn´t care.
"What is.. ?" He helplessly gestured with his head to the dinosaur in front of him, on which she was obviously sitting on. "Who the bloody hell are ya girl ?!"
"My, what manners I do have.." She said, again gloatingly, as if she was in reality referring to someone else
"My name is Jessica Albert - for short ´´Jessie´´ - and the name of my lovely T-Rex here is Seth."
"Ya..ya ´´lovely T-Rex´´ ?!" He croaked, rather unbelieving of what he´d heard.
"Oh, of course I mean the way coolest dinosaur of whole Dinotopia." She said, affectionally petting the head of this creature with giant sharp teeth.
In mid-petting she stopped, looking Cyrus directly into the eye.
"And you are ?"
"Cyrus, Cyrus Crabb...antiquieties shop owner in Waterfall City." He tried to say as proud as a man sitting in dirt was capable of.
"I see..and that explains of course perfectly why you´re wandering around the Rainy Basin all by yourself, just waiting to be teared apart by a hungry T-Rex.."
She said pretty random.
"Ever heard of ´´minding ma own business´´ ?"
"Uhm...no ?" She fired back.
This girl was driving him nuts ! He had to get away from here as soon as possible !
He tried to stand up on one shaky left leg, his cane only a weak support.
Oh, how he wished right now, to have his right leg back exactly in this moment !
This way he wouldn´t have to suffer under the glances of this brat, who was probably wondering by herself how pathetic a man could become.
To his luck and for his pride´s sake she didn´t offer to help him up, she merely sat there and watched,...waited.
Once he was on his feet again - breathing heavier, but on his feet - he turned around again and started to hobble past the ferns, ignoring her, as if they had never met.
"So you´re really serious about this whole meeting in the Rainy Basin stuff ?"
She asked him, causing him to stop and facing her.
He shot her a toothy, kind of spiteful smile.
"Why should I lie to you ? Besides do I look untrustworthy ?" He asked, pointing at himself, grinning as if this all was one big joke - which it was, in the end.
The girl seemed to seriously ponder about the question, then - after seemingly coming to no conclusion - she bend down to the T-Rex and started to talk to him in a strange growl and snarl language Cyrus didn´t understand, or had even heard before.
He seemed to answer somehow in long, deep, thundering growls as their ´´conversation´´ lasted for a minute.
"To Seth you do," She finally answered, "and me, I´m not sure yet. But I´ll guess I´ll eventually find out in the next few days.."
Cyrus raised an eyebrow, looking not as amused as he had before.
"Whaddaya mean ?"
"Do you expect me to let you simply wander around this place after I met you ? Not that I really care, but I fear my conscience would kill me once I´ll find what the carnivores left of you..That´s why I think I gotta escort you back to your home." She told him rather determined.
Laughing he shook his head.
"Well, then too bad I´m not returning home - for the next days, that is."
"Then I´ll follow wherever you intend to go in the Rainy Basin ! Don´t you understand, Seth and me are the only protection you have around here ?!" She kept pushing the topic.
Cyrus rolled his eyes, yet in his thoughts he reluctantly agreed with her.
If she´s so after saving my life, like a T-Rex ending it, ...then where´s the problem ?
Nothing bad about a free escort I guess..and if there should be, the old Cyrus Crabb should be still able to finish this annoying girl off, human eating scaley at her side or not...
Flashing a false smile at her he agreed.
"Under this circumstances young lady..why not ?"
Would love reviews and a beta reader :) !!