Once again, a familiar urge woke him up.
Right on queue, a couple hours after midnight. Buddy blinked up at the moon. It was light enough that he could somewhat see in the dark, but only in front of him before all the shadows meshed together. He sighed. He had given up trying to fight the instinct that had awoken in him weeks ago. He was starting to get older, and some newer behaviors were starting to bloom. He still was a small juvenile, but he now felt the need to set borders all around his "territory," as far as Pteranodon Terrace stretched. He naturally slipped into making his rounds once a day and once per night.
What annoyed him most was feeling more and more tired during the day. But every time he tried to sleep it off, he felt a strange panic rise that forced him to go. And so, careful to not wake up the rest of his family, he crept out of the nest and went off to perform his routine patrol.
He still hated it. He was constantly tired during the day, and his family noticed. He did not tell his parents about setting his markers at night; though they knew he did it during the day. Pteranodons did not have this urge at all, causing his dad to laugh at this new behavior. Delores had warned his mom about this development before it happened though, and she was less amused and more understanding. Buddy would have to ask Boris Tyrannosaurus if he could adjust his natural clock to find a better time for this; next time they spoke.
He was half asleep as he set the markers. Mark that tree, that rock, that bush. Every sent mark was strategically placed at the confines of his family's home, to keep intruders out. It was just something he had to do, even if he knew his home was relatively safe.
As he continued down his path, he struggled to stay awake. Rocking as he lifted his leg to his dad's sixth favorite oak tree, Buddy sighed in frustration towards his own instincts. This would take two hours to finish doing, based on his estimations from previous night rounds. They took longer because he was groggy and couldn't see as well in the night sky. He remembered to avoid another one of Don's holes as he stumbled towards his next checkpoint grumpily.
Approximately ten minutes down the line, he was still sleepy before a new scent boldly announced itself and made his skin crawl. Alert overtook him as he looked around before rapidly sniffing the ground. What... what was this? It smelled like a raptor, but one he had never met before. But what shocked him was the feeling of hostility in him. The smell of his hormones were high in a sharp energy he could only describe as something somewhat like anger. Standing for a second, stunned, Buddy lifted his head and rapidly looked around.
He gulped.
He was always a more timid soul, but his own changing body chemicals were confusing him and making him change. He felt the uneasy anger of invasion. He could tell that this-this intruder was inside his territory, his home. It was enough to make him yearn to defend it. And so, tentatively, he followed the scent. Quiet as he slipped through the leaf covered forest floor, he could smell the exact direction of the raptor and follow accordingly. The closer he got, the more red flags and flaring negativity slammed into him. He... he shouldn't be here... he needed to go back. His common sense was now battling his instincts as he halted on the forest floor. A couple leaves fell from the trees as he looked around. He could still feel the scent coming closer, closer...
And that was when he saw it. From the darkness of the brush, two amber eyes glowed. Slitted, the eyes were confident and aggressive, yet still sparkling with joy. Buddy took a step back, body freezing in fear.
The raptor spoke from the darkness. He was full grown, but very young. He arrogantly assumed, "No parents? You're the only one?"
The young tyrannosaur was too scared to respond, or even realize the true depth of such a question right now.
"Oh, this is gonna be too easy. I hit the jackpot!"
The raptor darted from the bushes, towards Buddy with open jaws.
Adrenaline burst in the child's body, and instinct forced him to move. He turned and ran through the forest, realizing that his grace and speed was only achieved because he recognized the landscape. The raptor hissed behind him, and Buddy understood how fast this raptor was. He couldn't outrun him! Even here!
Then, he spotted it. A patch of darker shadow under a tree. Never more thankful in his life for Don's obsession with digging holes, Buddy leapt into the tunnel as he heard the raptor attempt to get a bite in.
Buddy shoved himself as deep into the hole as he could. His head brushed against the dry dirt of the wall as he turned to the direction of the entrance. He could smell the raptor sniffing out the dimensions of the hole... then he saw the shadow of a foot dig into the hole's opening and pull dirt back. He was trying to dig him out!
Panic coursed through him as he skidded against the floor, pushing as far back into the wall as he could. He was going to die! This raptor was going to attack him and he'd die! Once again, instinct started to take the wheel. There was only one thing he could possibly do now. He opened his mouth.
He let out a pitiful, high pitched cry.
With a gasp, Mrs. Pteranodon woke up. Shooting upright, she felt an uneasy sense of alarm as she looked around the dark nest. Mr. Pteranodon groaned as he woke up too, mumbling, "Something's wrong."
Mrs. P. knew for a fact that something had startled her awake. But what? Heart pounding, she climbed to the nest's edge and continued to look around.
"One, two, three... where's Buddy?"
She looked back to her husband, who was looking down at the three sleeping pterosaurs with wide eyes. And then, it sounded off again. The squeak that she realized had awoken her.
The helpless cry echoed across the forest and to the cliffs. Maternal instinct kicked into overdrive as she opened her wings and leapt into the air, "Stay with the kids!"
The alarmed squawk of Tiny waking up was quickly behind her as she flew as fast as she could towards the direction of the cry. It sounded again. She tilted her head into the direction, estimating where it came from, and continued her race. She was nearing the southwest edge of Pteranodon Terrace. So many questions were speeding through her mind. What was Buddy doing way out here in the night? What danger was befalling her child? What was happening?
Another shrill cry sounded from below. The pteranodon pulled back her wings and rapidly descended. And there she saw it; an unfamiliar raptor digging out a hole. Instantly realizing what was going on, she changed her course to attack the aggressor.
"Stay away from him!"
She aimed to drive her pointed beak into the raptor, but he dodged away from the dive. The pterosaur grunted in displeasure, realizing that her strongest potential hit had been wasted on thin air. And yet, as she turned around and circled above, she noticed that his attention was officially off her son and turned to herself. That was one small victory.
She performed another dive, gliding towards the intruder with upmost force. His tail moved from one side to another, and he changed his footing before side stepping. As she flew past him, however, she jerked her beak and slammed it against his leg, sweeping him down. She landed on the ground, skidding to a halt as she turned to face him. He stood, but was limping from the injury inflicted. Was it enough? Mrs. Pteranodon aggressively squawked, loud and low pitched, as she flapped her wings to intimidate him.
The raptor hissed in pain. The sound of loose ground destabilizing caused both to turn to see green eyes staring from the opening to Don's tunnel. Taking the opportunity, the raptor turned and jumped towards him in a desperate attempt to kill. Motherly instinct caused the pteranodon to run towards him, "No!"
Buddy ducked back into the hole as his adoptive mother squawked and once again slammed her beak into the raptor, into his side. On the ground, however, she gave up her greatest advantage. The raptor swirled around, reminding her of how agile they could be, and opened his jaw. She jumped back, but not before a stinging pain erupted from her arm. A barely landed graze of teeth knicked the skin from her hand. The iron smell of blood flooded her senses as she felt his tail slam into her stomach. And then, she was on the ground.
"Do I have to kill you?! I'm only after the juvenile rex, won't you leave me alone!"
Mrs. Pteranodon grunted as she stood up, silently noting the bruise that tail swipe was going to leave. She spat towards the raptor's direction, making her intention to protect his prize known.
"Your funeral."
The raptor did his best to stand despite limbing. As he awkwardly lumbered towards her, she realized that he was too close already for her to take flight. And for a moment, her life flashed before her eyes.
Then, a flash of orange. The raptor let out screams of surprise and pain as Buddy grabbed his neck and clamped down. The bite force of the Tyrannosaurus Rex was legendary, and right now the legend was playing out before her. Blood sprinkled the ground as Buddy held on despite being smaller. His eyes were glazed in adrenaline spiked instinct as an almighty crunch echoed through the trees. The raptor instantly fell limp, dead on the ground.
The victorious two reptiles stood in shock, panting for air.
Buddy stared down at the raptor. Mrs. Pteranodon knew that Buddy had hunted with Annie's family in the past, so he was not unused to taking life. In fact, it was not the kill that seemed to leave him shook. His eyes were rapidly shifting, as if just now processing the entirety of the attack tonight. The pain in Mrs. Pteranodon's chest and hand stung, but not too much to run to her precious son.
"Buddy!"
She rapidly checked him over. No injuries. The only blood on him was from the raptor. In great relief, she sighed, only to notice Buddy staring at her arm. "Your hand..."
"Just a scratch." Mrs. Pteranodon responded. Buddy drew closer to her hand and gave the wound a sniff, then looked up to her.
"No infection."
Mrs. Pteranodon smiled softly at the young rex. She pulled him closer to herself and lifted her beak towards the sky. The loud, positive sounding squawk was for her husband, to let him know that the danger was over.
She pulled Buddy along. He stuck close to her as she drew a protective wing over her. Her heart was still pounding, and her body was still tight with the need to defend. But she did her best to loosen up as the two walked slowly across the forest floor. They were heading towards the nest. Buddy eventually paused for a moment. The pterosaur looked down to see his head down. He looked up, tears in his eyes.
"I'm sorry!" He choked.
Confused, but always supportive, Mrs. Pteranodon bent down to reach his level. As a sob shuddered through his body, he continued, "I was resetting scent markers, then I smelled him, then he came, and-"
His eyes widened as the rest went unsaid. She smiled despite her pain and stroked his head. "Honey, he was the aggressor, not you-"
"-He thought I was alone. Said I would be 'easy.'" He jerked away from her, bitterness and sorrow in his eyes, "He was referring to adult t-rexes. I get it now."
Mrs. Pteranodon remained silent, understanding that he had more to say. "During one of my migrations with Annie's family, I heard Boris and Delores talk about keeping us close, because we were still small enough that one kind of dinosaur could be a threat to us. The second largest raptor out there."
Despite all her emotions, Mrs. Pteranodon was still impressed as she watched him put all the pieces together at such a rapid pace, "Dakotaraptor. They sometimes seek and kill young tyrannosaurus' so they won't reach adulthood and become a threat to them. This-this is my fault!"
Mrs. Pteranodon tried to stop him then, but he tearfully interrupted her, "This shouldn't have happened. You shouldn't be hurt. You wouldn't be hurt, if you never had adop-"
"-Buddy, look at me!"
Buddy was stunned into silence as she raised her voice. She seldom shouted, only raising her voice when necessary. And this moment was necessary. She needed to shoot down these thoughts of his, here and now. She leaned close to him, staring him in the eyes.
"This is not your fault. This is just a thing that happened. Delores and the conductor both warned me about dakotaraptor myself; way back when we first found out you were a t-rex. That's why I keep you within squawking distance."
She reached out, taking his arm with gentle care, "But I need you to listen to me, and listen to me closely. We do not for a moment regret adopting you."
She started to cry herself, "We eagerly took on the challenges and risks when we first found your egg. And we eagerly accepted them again when we met Delores and Annie. I could not imagine a world where you're not my son. And for you, for all my children, I would put everything, even my own life, down on the line to keep you safe. It's what parents do. T-rex, pteranodon, doesn't matter. You're my son, and I love you with every fiber of my being. I love you, and I have never regretted adopting you that day."
Buddy crashed into her chest, sobbing loudly as he nuzzled into her like a new hatchling. Despite her bruising, Mrs. Pteranodon embraced him and hugged him tight. She was still bleeding, even if the bleeding had slowed. Despite her condition, she was fearless and selfless for her son. As the two hugged, she breathed a sigh of relief. They had survived, and her son was right here without a scratch. She would go through the ordeal tonight all over again for this moment. Buddy felt weaker and weaker in her arms, and she adjusted their positions so she could hold him. She rested her beak against the top of his head as she hummed a familiar lullaby. She could stay here forever, despite the pain in her arm. Just her and her child, holding each other. Her little boy, destined to grow into a giant, still small enough to hold in her loving arms.
Eventually, the crying stopped. But he did not speak either. Guessing what was going on, she checked on him. Indeed, his eyes were closed and he was fast asleep. She chuckled, understanding how exhausted her poor son must have been. Though he was far heavier than he used to be, she picked him up and continued the walk back to the nest. She would take care of her wound once she returned and set Buddy in the nest. This was going to be one heck of a story to tell her husband and kids. She hoped that they could wait until morning, because she was exhausted herself.
But she would do it all again if she had to. It was what she did. She protected her children with her life. It was a duty she was happy and honored to fulfill.
Author's Notes:
Hello, I'm in my twenties and I enjoy Dinosaur Train! So obviously, that means feelsy, angsty fanfiction. Apparently. I honestly got inspiration for this one-shot watching an episode of Jurassic Fight Club, but I had to do some research to change things up a little. In the episode a dinosaur called "Nanotyrannus" attacked two t-rex babies so they wouldn't grow up to be a threat to it. But since this show the species "Nanotyrannus" was demoted to a specimen of baby t-rex; so I had to research another dinosaur to use. And, well, Dakotaraptor fit what I was looking for. For this fic, I decided to focus on Mrs. Pteranodon as the primary protector for Buddy in this, as Buddy has always been a momma's boy. They have a closer bond. Writing a fight scene for Dinosaur Train show was kind of strange too, but I enjoyed it. And yes, t-rex has an insane bite force!
Hope you all enjoyed!
~ Ashla.