Claire sat at the mouth of her cave, watching as water poured down in streams from the curved entranceway. It had started to rain halfway through the day, and she had offered to let everyone stay inside of her temporary home until the bad weather cleared up. They were busy telling stories deeper inside the cavern at the moment, and she could hear them laughing jovially from where she was seated. Claire didn't really feel like joining them. Although she had made much progress with the farming and healthcare, it all felt rather pointless. These dinosaurs weren't smart enough to maintain a civilized lifestyle, and once she was gone, they'd probably fall back into their old habits. Of course, she couldn't stay with them either, or she'd be throwing her life away.

Claire hated being a stegoceratops. She hated the way she looked, she hated the way she felt, and most of all, she hated the way it made her see the world. She didn't want to start drooling whenever she saw a patch of particularly juicy grass or use her tail to scratch her itches. She felt like an animal, and it was rather unbecoming.

"Crazy weather, huh?"

Claire looked down at Owen, who crawled out of the shadows to join her.

"Do you think the water is coming from the ceiling? It must be magic, since they have a fake sun . . ."

When Claire didn't answer, Owen leaned against her foot, nuzzling her gently.

"What's wrong?"

"You've been letting Flo- you know who call you 'Dad'."

Owen bit his lip.

"Claire, I . . . I can't say 'no'."

She nodded.

"I'm not upset about that. It's just a remark. We can't stay here forever, though."

"Why not?"

"We'd miss our lives."

Owen shrugged.

"I wouldn't mind. I don't particularly like being a rodent, but I guess I could deal with it for the sake of the tribe."

Claire closed her eyes.

"I can't stay this way. I thought we could fix me by coming here, but it turns out there's nothing that can change what I am. I just have to keep hiding it."

"I'm sorry, Claire."

She shook her head.

"I'm no worse off than I was before."

Owen nodded. The two of them stared out into the misty, grey landscape through a curtain of rain. After a moment, Owen looked up at her with a pained expression.

"I'm staying here, Claire."

She took a deep breath.

"I can't stay."

Owen swallowed the lump in his throat.

"But I'm still staying . . ."

Claire nodded. Owen folded his ears back.

"Claire . . . are we breaking up?"

She took a shaky breath. Before she could answer, they heard a faint voice in the distance.

"Owen!"

They both looked at each other, not knowing if they had heard correctly.

"Owen! Where are you?!"

Owen pricked his ears. His whiskers twitched, and he leaned forward.

"That sounded like Barry . . ."

"Owen!" the voice called again.

"It's Barry! It's definitely Barry!" Owen exclaimed.

"What? How could he possibly get here?" Claire gasped.

"We did."

"Yes, but there was a magical flying whale involved."

Two bright beams of light appeared in the darkness. When they heard the sound of a motor, they went rigid.

"He's driving a car!" Owen gasped, "Claire, we can't let him come this way. If the stegoceratopses see him, they'll freak out."

"That's not our problem."

Owen frowned.

"Claire, I want these guys to trust me if I'm going to stay here. We can't let them see Barry."

Claire sighed.

"You . . . Look, we'll discuss this later. For now, let's go and see what he wants."

They charged into the pouring rain, wincing as the cold water drenched their scales and fur. Owen climbed up on Claire's shoulder and shivered. He ducked behind her frill to get out of the rain, only to find that it dribbled on him harder whenever she moved her head.

As they approached the turning headlights, they saw the silhouette of a green smartcar making its way across the plains. Claire charged forward until they were only a few feet away. The vehicle stopped. Owen slid down Claire's face and landed on the car's hood. He looked through the front windshield, only to find that nobody was inside the driver's seat. With a puzzled frown, Owen stood up on his hind legs and called out to his friend.

"Barry? Where are you?"

"You're standing on me," the car replied.

Owen gave a surprised yelp and fell backwards. Claire caught him before he could hit the ground. He scampered up to her frill and stared down at the car with wide eyes.

"Barry? Oh my god! Why are you a car?"

"Why are you a rat? Why is your friend a mouse-rhinoceros?"

Claire blinked.

"Mouse-rhinoceros? That isn't even close!"

Owen continued to stare at Barry, his mouth agape.

"Barry . . . You're a machine! How did that happen? Was it magic?"

Barry bounced up and down on his front wheels in an attempt to nod.

"My soul was put inside a magic pot, and the pot fell on a car when the purple-haired witch dropped it. I think the car belonged to the people who are after you, because there's a GPS inside of me that told me their pla-"

Claire lifted her foot.

"I'm sorry, I can't let this go. Mouse-rhinoceros? Barry, you've seen dinosaurs before . . ."

Owen frowned in contemplation.

"How are you able to see and hear us without eyes and ears?"

Barry shrugged.

"I see out of my headlights and my mirrors are ears, I guess."

Owen blinked.

"That doesn't seem possible."

Barry sighed.

"Maybe not, but that's the way it is. In any case, I'm not about to question it, because we have bigger problems."

"What?" Owen and Claire asked in unison.

Barry looked at them grimly.

"There's an army of elephants heading this way. They're going to arrive by sunset tomorrow."

***TSJWFEW***

A din of fearful murmurs and worried whispers flooded the cave as Claire prepared to address her people. The heavy rain had stopped, so there was nothing to block out the sound of her voice. Owen stood to her right on top of the largest rock in the cavern. Barry had parked himself in the center of the crowd after telling the two of them everything he had overheard while his soul was being carried in the witch's pot. Now, it was up to the queen of the stegoceratopses to relay the information back to her people. It was finally time to be honest with the poor dinosaurs, but only as honest as Claire could afford to be in her sensitive predicament. She cleared her throat, and the crowd fell silent.

"Hello, everyone. I'd like to start by telling you that the rumors are true: the war elephants are on their way to the valley."

Just as Claire expected, the crowd erupted into a fit of terrified shrieks. She held up her foot to silence them.

"I know you're afraid, but there's no reason to panic. I have a plan."

She puffed out her chest boldly.

"We have until sunset tomorrow to prepare for the attack, and between now and then, I have no doubt that we can learn to defend ourselves. Just look at what we did back in the prairies. Two days ago, none of you knew how to plow a field, and now we have entire rows of corn planted. This war is kind of like farming, only instead of planting corn, we'll be fighting elephants."

Rock stepped forward.

"Do you really think we can prepare by tomorrow?"

Claire nodded.

"Absolutely. I have no doubt that we'll be able to face whatever comes our way, as long as we work together."

Rock turned to the other stegoceratopses.

"If the queen says it can be done, it can be done."

There was a loud cheer. Claire smiled, but her face fell shortly after.

"There's one more thing . . . After this war is over, I'll be going home to . . . Well, I'll be going home. I'm not leaving you alone, however. I've decided . . . I've decided to leave Owen behind so that he can teach you how to live comfortably in your valley."

She paused to keep her voice from breaking.

"I'm sure that, as long as he stays here, you'll always be safe. He's kind and sweet and-"

She realized that she was going off on a tangent, and coughed lightly. She gulped and closed her eyes.

"You'll be safe here, I promise. That is all."

She turned away quickly before they could see the tears in her eyes and jogged out of the cave. It was sprinkling gently outside, but Claire didn't notice. She made her way over to a small creek and sniffled. She heard Owen running up to her even before he pushed through the long grass.

"Claire?"

"Yeah?" she quavered in a creaky voice.

"Claire, if you're really upset about me staying, I can come back with you."

Claire sniffed and shook her head.

"No, Owen, you belong here. You've made friends so easily, and Flo- she really needs you . . ."

Owen sighed.

"No, that's not true. Rock and Sandy could take care of her. I didn't want to admit it, because I was so wrapped up in the idea of . . ."

He trailed off.

"Having a family?" Claire suggested.

"Yeah, that," Owen said, nodding slowly, "But here's the thing: I can't really imagine myself being part of a family if you're not there. Without you, it doesn't feel . . . complete, I guess."

Claire smiled sadly.

"Kind of a bold thing to claim, considering we've only been on one date."

Owen laughed.

"Yeah, I guess."

They sat quietly for a moment. Owen closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and balled up his hands.

"Claire, I'm not really good at all of this emotional stuff, but I'm going to try to explain my . . . feelings."

Claire snuffed.

"Don't strain yourself."

Owen gulped.

"Okay, here it goes. So, whenever I see you, I get this happy buzz, like I'm really glad that you're nearby. I don't like being alone anymore. I . . . I see you, and I just kind of light up and . . . Oh, god. This sounds really stupid."

Claire shrugged noncommittally.

"Go on."

Owen took a deep breath.

"The thing is, I feel like we're part of a matching set now; kind of like two bookends, only one of us is sometimes a dinosaur and . . . Let me restart. I feel like we're two magnets: no matter what size we are, we're still attracted . . . No, that's even worse."

Claire smiled.

"It's alright. I know what you're trying to say. I just worry that you might be making the wrong commitment. We've only been together for a few days . . ."

"But I've known these dinosaurs for an even shorter amount of time," Owen pointed out, "I just got so attached to the idea of-"

He broke off when he saw Flower waddling towards them. The child stumbled down a small hill and bumped up against Claire's leg.

"Sorry," she said quietly.

"It's okay, Peanut," Owen said sweetly, "Why aren't you with your brother?"

Flower shrugged.

"He's bragging about how he fought off a monster once."

Owen rolled his eyes.

"Did he actually fight a monster?"

Flower raised her eyebrow.

"What do you think?"

Owen laughed.

"Well, let him have his fun. You can help us with a special task. Are you able to find some long vines?"

Flower nodded eagerly.

"Yeah! I know exactly where to look!"

Owen smiled.

"Can you bring us a few?"

She smiled.

"Of course!"

Owen nodded quickly.

"Good girl. Tell the others to look too, in case you don't find any."

Flower galloped away.

"I will! Don't worry!"

Claire turned to Owen with a knowing smile.

"You're planning something . . ."

Owen grinned sneakily.

"Maybe. You'll have to wait and see."