Claire watched the sun setting over the hills and hoodoos that surrounded Badger Ranch. She enjoyed the relaxed lifestyle she now led, yet her heart yearned for normality, a concept that was unattainable while she was a two ton hybrid dinosaur. At least she had a home. If there was a silver lining to the cloud of the past few days, it was that Claire now owned a large chunk of land, courtesy of wing-lady. Of course, her real name was Ellie, as Claire now knew. She dropped in every now and then to check up on her. Claire was grateful to have someone to help her adapt to her new lifestyle, but she had to wonder what secrets this mysterious woman was keeping. Nevertheless, she kept her mouth shut, not wanting to make her situation worse.

With a furrowed brow, Claire focused on a pinpoint of light that had appeared on the horizon. As it drew near, she could make out the glowing shape of a young stegoceratops. Without a moment's hesitation, she ran forward to greet the apparition. The child hugged her around the neck as she caught her in her arms.

"Flower . . ."

"I missed you, Claire. I never got to say goodbye."

Claire wiped her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Flower. I'm sorry for letting you die."

Flower nuzzled up against her chest.

"It's not your fault, Claire. Some things can't be changed. You did your best."

Claire choked and squeezed her tight.

"I love you. I love you so much . . ."

"I love you too. And I'm proud of you. I know it wasn't easy to help June."

Claire sniffed.

"I had to, Flower. I couldn't let her die."

Flower cocked her head.

"Does this mean you're stuck like this forever?"

Claire nodded. Flower bumped her with her beak and smiled.

"You don't have to be sad. I like you better this way. You're plenty pretty."

Claire laughed through her tears.

"Thank you, Flower. That means a lot to me."

Flower reached up and touched the cut on Claire's cheek.

"I'm sorry for hurting you. I didn't know it was my fault until the others told me. It won't last forever, though. Wounds heal."

Claire blinked.

"The others? . . ."

Flower nodded.

"Rock and Sandy and Cloud and Olive . . . They're all with me, Claire. We're happy together. There are more stegoceratopses, too."

"Who?"

"My parents. They're just like I remember them. They told me to thank you for taking care of me."

Claire smiled.

"Tell them it wasn't any trouble. They're lucky to have you, Sweetheart."

Flower put her little feet on Claire's front horn and smiled whimsically.

"I wish you could see it, Claire. There's sunny fields in every direction, with endless green grass. You can run for miles and miles and still come home to your family, and it's never too hot or too cold."

Claire smiled.

"It sounds wonderful."

Flower nodded.

"You'll see it, someday. We all will. For now, be grateful for life. You're going to have a lot of adventures, I just know it. Promise me you'll enjoy it while it lasts."

Claire ran her hand over Flower's frill.

"I promise."

Flower smiled.

"Good. I have to go soon. They're waiting for me back home."

Claire swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Aren't you going to say goodbye to Owen?"

Flower shook her head.

"He already let me go, in his own way. He doesn't want to admit it, but what he needed more than anything in the world was a family, and now he has you. Besides, it's never really goodbye. We'll see each other again, someday."

Claire gave Flower one last hug.

"I'll be looking forward to it."

She let go of her reluctantly, and the child trotted back the way she came. She ran up to meet another glowing figure, a green dragon creature with a snakelike body, and they both flew into the sky, evaporating as they went. Claire watched the heavens with tears in her eyes before turning back to the cabin. When she did, she saw Owen jogging up to her.

"Claire! It's ready!"

He saw the redness around her eyes.

"Are you okay?"

Claire smiled.

"I think I'm going to be."

Owen nodded towards the cabin.

"Come see."

***TSJWFEW***

Ellie lay down her quill and tapped her papers until they were even. After a long day of dealing with problems such as property disputes, food rationing, and population control (not to mention the sugar glider that had been hiding in her bra), she was about ready to drop. Elkay pattered up behind her, seeing that she was beginning a new page, with the quill moving on its own this time.

"Last chapter, huh?"

"Mhm."

"And we're sharing it with Claire?"

"Yes. We're no longer separate. She knows me. We're cool."

Elkay nodded.

"That'll be nice. It's no fun when you have to hide yourself from your characters."

Ellie was about to come up with a sassy reply, but Robin burst through the door with a massive grin, and she figured it would be best to listen to her news.

"Zara is so funny! She doesn't understand American things."

Ellie blinked.

"What do you mean?"

Robin sniggered as Zara poked her head through the window. She beckoned her closer with a mischievous look.

"Zara, tell Ellie what you told me."

"What?"

"About your schedule."

Zara gave a perplexed frown.

"I just said that I need to wake up at seven for swimming lessons, so I'd like to have someone knock me up in the morning."

Robin burst out laughing, falling backwards and kicking her legs in the air. Elkay giggled gently, while Ellie simply rolled her eyes.

"What's so funny?" Zara asked, "I just need someone to knock me up."

This sent Robin into another fit of laughter. As she rolled around on the floor, Alan stepped through the doorway and inched around her evasively.

"Hey, Alan!" Ellie trilled, "What's up?"

"That new dragon wants to see you."

"Who?"

"Neopet or whatever."

Ellie nodded.

"Alright. We'll see what she's up to."

***TSJWFEW***

They found Neithhotep on a tall mountain that overlooked the sea. The leftover sunlight sparkled across the waves, giving her silhouette an almost mystical quality. She was standing over a large stone with fresh etchings that formed a pawprint. Beside it, she had placed an old collar to pay her respects to the hound who had assumed that she didn't love him. Ellie didn't know if she was honoring him out of politeness, but she sensed that there was something more to her mourning.

"I thought you might like to share this space with me," Neithhotep said quietly, "I know losing Zebil was hard for you, and I'm s-"

She cringed.

"I'm s-z-s-z-s . . ."

Elkay gave a half-smile.

"It's okay. I know what you're trying to say."

Slowly, she walked forward and pulled something out from behind her ear. It was a blue, striped tail. Before she could place it on the grave, she noticed something peculiar. There was a tiny ant carrying a bindle full of crumbs across a small stream, making his way to a nutshell that seemed to be his home. Elkay smiled.

"You know, I'll always have my memories of Zebil, but right now, someone really needs a touch of his magic."

She placed a single blue hair on the ant, and suddenly, he became a two-inch-tall white tiger. He spun to the left, then to the right, and grinned enthusiastically.

"Thank you. This is marginally better than being an insect."

Elkay nodded.

"Yeah . . . Plus, it will please a certain demographic, so there's that . . ."

They watched the tiger stroll away to find better accommodations, then turned back to the stone.

"Should I breathe ice over it?" Elkay asked.

"Why would you ever do that," Neithhotep said in a tone that indicated she was making a statement rather than asking a question.

"I like to breathe ice over things."

"Don't."

Ellie looked out at the setting sun and tilted her head to the side.

"So . . . What now?"

Elkay shrugged.

"I guess we just wait."

"For what?"

"For another adventure to find us."

Neithhotep nodded.

"There are plenty of loose ends that could become frayed in our story. I have dozens of Indominus Rex clones waiting to engage in deadly combat. And then there are the souls that flew away when the Tama Potto was broken . . ."

Elkay raised her eyebrow.

"It's nice to know that someone else screwed things up for once."

Neithhotep didn't reply. Instead, she brushed her wing over the memorial stone and glided down from the peak. Relieved that she was gone, Elkay nudged her granddaughter gently and smiled.

"You looking forward to the gap?"

"The what?"

"The gap between novels. You get to write short stories to fill the dead air."

Ellie nodded.

"Sounds like fun. What will we write about?"

"You will write about whatever you want."

"Then I'd better get started."

They began to walk away.

"Ellie?"

"Yes?"

"Whose story is it now?"

"Not ours."

"Why do you say that?"

Ellie thought about Claire and Owen. She could see them in her mind's eye, hanging their new project on the wall. It was a butterfly made out of cedar branches. In the center of the display was a small, chewed-up looking flower. They stepped back to admire their work, leaning on each other for support. Then, they moved to the balcony and mounted their stegoceratops-sized bench swing. Ellie smiled and tucked a loose tuft of hair behind her ear.

"It's Claire's story."

Elkay raised her eyebrows.

"Claire's? But she's so insignificant compared to us!"

Ellie nodded.

"She played a small role, but a hero isn't measured by the size of the challenges they face. The purpose of Fiction, after all, is to remind us that in this vast, untamed world, we are all very, very small indeed."

The End