Hello, everyone! Here's a chapter about Rinkus, as promised. He's a very fun character to write, to be honest, and I love exploring his dynamics. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and have a great week! :)

The petite pink flyer, as timid as ever, glanced at Sierra from the corner of his sharp eye, silently scrutinizing the brown flyer.

Probably moping about Danielle again, he mused silently. Sierra was essentially the only friend Rinkus had left, and the only flyer he ever spoke to nowadays, on the rare occasion they did speak to one another. It saddened Rinkus to think about how low he'd fallen. He used to be such a charismatic flyer with so many friends who admired him, blessed with a handsome accent that could make others swoon.

But life had beaten him down until he was completely and utterly broken beyond repair. He'd forgotten how to hunt with the same agility he once had, nor did he look at life with the same outlook he had years ago. He hardly felt sane anymore. Not only had he lost his love, he'd lost his brain.

He dragged his Claw across the dried soil, crushing a line of busy ants who had been unlucky enough to be in his way, leaving a trail of their squashed corpses.

Rinkus was hardly bothered. Those ants may have served a unique purpose in the grand scheme of things, but whatever happened, happened. If it became apparent that it was one's time to go, they could make no bargains. Such was the circle of life.

He recalled his parents, and their teachings. They were the best role models he could have in his life. The love they harbored for each other gave Rinkus a prime example of what love was.

Despite this, his parents seemed to have had completely different beliefs that clashed, but they made Rinkus who he was now. He would not fight unless he had to, but he was very cunning, and knew fully well when he could manipulate a situation to his advantage.

"Us flyers don't sit around idly trying to think up ways to hurt others," his mother would say. "If we need to fight, we fight. It's always been that way."

"But son," added his father, "While your mother is right, don't forget that in a world so full of danger, you must always be using your wits."

"That's right," his mother agreed. "No one can run away from the great circle of life, Rinkus. But many dinosaurs die young because when faced with danger, they don't know what to do. But if you are cunning, and know how to think on a whim, you will never be destroyed. At least, not before your time comes."

Rinkus gave his parents a blank stare.

"Do you understand, son?" Asked his father, absentmindedly sliding a hand around his wife's shoulder.

"I...I think so. May I go fishing with the others now?"

His parents glanced at each other, a knowing smile on both of their faces. His mother turned towards him, nodding her head.

"Just be careful, love."

Rinkus's face lit up as he spread his wings. He darted towards the end of the ledge, taking to the air.

The bright circle was high in the sky, it's blinding rays stretching out across the land like a cluster of exceptionally long arms. The landscape, covered in green, abounded with strange and bizarre looking plants, such as the tall ferns that looked almost like full grown trees.

Rinkus flew down towards the lake, landing on a slippery and wet rock. He dipped his head into the dirty swamp green waters, watching as the fish glided through the water. The moment one came within reach, Rinkus lunged for it. He slipped off the rock, falling into the lake.

Flapping his wings, he snapped at his intended prey, chasing it onto the rock. He watched as it flopped around, it's shimmering body deprived of moisture. Just as Rinkus climbed onto the rock, a lilac colored blur swept past.

"Wha— Hey!" The pink flyer looked up to see a lilac colored flyer soaring through the sky. She peered at him from above, her icy blue eyes glowing with false innocence, practically mocking him. It was Alexandra, no doubt. She had the type of shrewdness that could shame the most cunning of dinosaurs.

Rinkus narrowed his eyes, silently cursing the thieving flyer as well as his rotten luck. He returned to the skies, pursuing the other.

The lilac flyer quickly flew ahead, as fast as light. Rinkus was astonished by how swift and agile her movements were, however, it was nothing he couldn't manage.

He chased her through the falls and the narrow tunnels of the caves, until she managed to temporarily evade him by picking up the pace and passing through another intricate tunnel.

She flew out onto a cliff, resting to enjoy the food she'd stolen.

"Finally," she mused aloud, a contented sigh leaving her mouth.

She began to gulp the fish, but unfortunately failed to realize that the fish was positioned tail first, as opposed to head first — like it should have been.

The fish became lodged in her throat. Her eyes widened, and she began to gag, clutching and clawing at her throat. Her wings flapped furiously in her frenzy, loud squawks of panic filling the air.

Up on top of a cliff at a higher elevation, her friends were watching. There was Tress and Randy, whom she knew because her best friend, Danielle, knew them. The same applied to Kyra and Pterano, as well as Sierra, because of whom she knew Rinkus — somewhat.

"Hey," said Sierra, "Hey, Danielle. Look over there."

Danielle startled, looking in all sorts of different directions. "Huh? Wha—What?"

"The bright circle's barely up and already Alex had more 'n she can handle."

Danielle cast her gaze downwards, and her azure eyes softened with sympathy and worry for her friend when she spotted her. "Somebody should help her."

There were murmurs of agreement within the group, but no one actually flew down to Alex's aid.

Danielle sighed — this was nothing new to her. "Well, don't everybody fly off at once."

Just as she prepared to swoop down, an unmistakable pink flyer came into view. Rinkus landed in front of Alex, preparing to steal back his food, with the hope that she hadn't devoured it already.

He arrived to find her choking on it, struggling for breath. He wouldn't lie, he did care for her, despite her obnoxious antics. She was so aloof and carefree, that Rinkus himself often felt free when with her.

He rushed over to take a closer look. He couldn't be cunning in this situation, he thought. Or perhaps he could, but not the type of cunning where one had to outsmart one's enemies, but more so the type where one would have to be smart and find another way around their dilemma.

Rinkus suddenly remembered a method he'd seen the full grown flyers use on hatchlings who couldn't quite chew yet and accidentally ate more than they could swallow. Alex's skin gained an unnatural purplish tinge, so Rinkus acted quickly. He wrapped his hand around her stomach, curving one hand into a fist. Then, he repeatedly slammed his hands against her stomach until the fish flew out, half covered in saliva.

Rinkus released her, giving her a chance to catch her breath. Alex inhaled and then exhaled, trying to normalize her breathing. Once she had, she looked up at Rinkus, and her eyes bore through his.

"HOW DARE YOU?"

"W-What?"

Alex frowned, gritting her teeth. Her voice was smooth and suave, yet it had a certain quality that immediately grabbed the attention of others.

"Everything was going perfectly. And now..." her breath hitched, and she prepared to raise her voice a few octaves, "...YOU DO THIS!"

"Alexandra," cried Rinkus, "I don't understand what I did!"

"Don't play coy with me,"she snapped, grimacing, "And don't call me Alexandra."

"Would you please just tell me what I did?"

"I had this whole plan in mind," she explained, her voice lowering, "I was going to impress you, but no, you just had to swoop in and save my life like some kind of hero."

"You...wanted to impress me?" Rinkus pointed to himself, smiling bashfully. "So you do care about me! You...you like me!"

A contemptuous and unamused scowl on her face, Alex rolled her eyes, opening her mouth slightly. Then, she offered a cynical chuckle.

"Don't push your luck," she snarled, followed by a brief pause as she looked away. "And...thank you for saving my life."

Rinkus grinned triumphantly, his hands on his hips. "You're welcome, my dear."

Alex forced a smile, laughing under her breath. "You're cute, Rinkus, but not that cute."

She tore away from him, taking off towards the sky, leaving Rinkus in a cloud of dust.

Rinkus laughed to himself as he recalled the day, staring at the cave wall. Alex had been rather rude and somewhat of a snob when they first started off, but she came around eventually, and became someone Rinkus was proud to call his mate. However, her teasing him never changed, and Rinkus was glad of it. He was glad to have known her.

But because of her horrific fate, many things he used to enjoy, such as fishing, were now tied to the tragedy of her death. At least, for Rinkus, it was. But in his heart, he knew that his beloved Alexandra would never want him to refrain from doing something that brought the both of them so much joy. Everything he would do now, he would do for her. He would live on for her. He would keep trying for her. He would do it all, for no one else but her.

He turned and gazed up at the night sky, covered with dazzling stars, some stars shining brighter than others. Rinkus liked to imagine that the brightest star, the one that he saw every night in the exact same place each time, was Alexandra, as if she were watching over him. She had always strived to shine brighter than anyone else.

Rinkus didn't care if it was foolish or childish, or if others thought that there was nothing beyond death, that Alex was just dead and gone and that her absence was final. At the least, it gave Rinkus something nearly tangible to associate his fallen lover with. He reached his hand out, and then blew a kiss towards the sky, the glow in his dark eyes reflecting that he seemed to be in a faraway daydream.

"Goodnight, Alexandra— ah, um— I-I mean, Alex. Goodnight, Alex. I miss you, darling. I love you."