"ROOOOOOOOOAR!"

Owen chased after Lily, curving his fingers into claws. She squealed with glee and ran under the bench-swing on the porch. Owen made growling sounds and stomped over to where she was hiding.

"Where is Lily?" he growled, "I can't see her anywhere!"

Lily giggled and put her hands over her snout.

"She's hiding somewhere nearby . . ."

Owen dipped his head down and peeked under the bench-swing.

"ROAR!"

Lily screamed excitedly and ran out into the open. Owen pursued her, scooping her up halfway through the field.

"Got you!"

He blew into her belly, and she kicked her legs with glee. When he lifted his head, she leaned forward and chomped down on his nose. Owen winced.

"Why do you always do that?"

Lily laughed at his nasal voice, letting him go. He looked into her eyes and smiled. She had yellow scleras, but there were blue irises around her pupils. Owen thought they were the prettiest eyes he had ever seen.

Placing both hands on his cheeks, Lily smiled up at him. She always looked so proud. Proud to be a daughter and proud to have a father. Owen smiled back, and he felt his eyes prickling. Before he could get sentimental, Lily bit his nose again.

"Ow! Li-ly!"

Claire came lumbering out of the cabin.

"Is she giving you a hard time, Owen?" she hummed.

"No harder than usual," Owen chuckled, "She's a real handful . . . or footful, in your case."

Lily smiled and placed her hand on his mouth.

"Looks like she's sick of your jokes, Owen!" Claire teased.

"My humor is too intricate and sophisticated for her to understand."

"She doesn't understand much of anything," Claire laughed.

Owen smiled and shook his head.

"She understands plenty. I can see it in her eyes."

He held up Lily by her armpits.

"You understand me, don't you?"

Lily gave a smile that seemed to display the mysteries of the universe. Owen found himself thinking that maybe she did understand . . . until she bit him on the nose again.

"Ouch!"

Claire laughed.

"You never learn your lesson, do you, Owen?"

"Maybe not."

Claire laughed gently.

"Well, you can take a break now. I'm going to the island for a quick visit. I can take Lily with me."

Owen shook his head.

"No, that's okay. We have an afternoon of fun and games planned."

Claire pursed her beak.

"Owen, you were up all night when she was crying. You need a break."

Owen pouted.

"How am I supposed to be the best dad ever if I don't spend every waking moment with her?"

Claire frowned.

"Owen, take a break. You need rest."

Owen considered it, but when he looked down at Lily, who was wagging her tail eagerly, he shook his head.

"I can watch her for a little while longer. If I get tired, I'll bring her to the island and meet up with you. Deal?"

Claire looked at him reluctantly.

"Owen . . ."

"Please."

Claire sighed.

"Alright. Just don't push yourself too hard, okay?"

Owen grinned as he scooped up Lily.

"I won't."

***TSJWFEW***

Around noon, Owen knew that he was in trouble. He felt himself becoming sluggish, and he wasn't keeping up with Lily as well as he should have been. The trouble with having a half-dinosaur child was the unpredictability of her behavior. Very often, she would charge something for no reason, only to hit her head and cry. Owen wasn't sure why she didn't learn to stop running towards solid objects, but maybe she got her impulsivity from him. In any case, he found himself lying on the bench-swing with Lily in his arms, utterly exhausted.

"We're just gonna take a quick nap, okay?" he said, half to himself, "Your mommy wants us to be rested up so we can play. Just close your eyes for a minute, and we'll be back on track."

Lily squeaked and tried to wiggle out of his arms. Owen squeezed her firmly.

"Don't go. I just need to rest for five minutes. Then we can play all day."

Owen wasn't sure when he fell asleep. One minute, he was looking out at the field, and the next, he was dreaming about hiking in the mountains. Eventually, he realized that he had never packed for the climb, and that he must be asleep. He awoke on the bench-swing. It didn't take him long to notice that something was wrong.

"Lily?"

Owen felt around for the child. She was gone. With lightning speed, Owen stood up and looked around frantically.

"Lily? Lily, where are you?"

His heart racing, he tested the front door. It was locked. Lily must still be outside. Owen did a full circle of the cabin, utterly terrified.

"Claire's gonna kill me!" he gasped.

When he returned to the front of the house, Owen felt his heart leap with joy. Lily was crawling across the field, heading towards the forest. It was odd, very odd, that he hadn't seen her before. It would have taken her several minutes to cross the meadow, and she was in plain sight.

Owen rushed forward, calling out as he went.

"Lily! Lily! Lily!"

She ignored him, disappearing into the woods.

"Lily! Come back!"

When Owen reached the border of the field, Lily was gone. How was that possible? He should have caught up to her by now.

"Lily? Lily? Oh, god! Lily!"

Owen searched the forest, but Lily was nowhere to be found. She was too light to leave much of a trail, and there were countless directions she could have gone. Owen felt his insides imploding with guilt. He had lost his daughter. He was the worst father ever.

As he stood at the edge of the forest, Owen's breaths grew shakier. There was a lump in his throat, and his vision was becoming blurry. After a moment, he knew what he had to do. He ran back to the house, entering through the kitchen. He searched the drawers, pulled out a toaster and a fork, and placed them on the counter. For a moment, he hesitated. But only for a moment.

There are very few good reasons for a person to electrocute themselves, but changing into a hybrid dinosaur to sniff out their lost daughter is one of them.

***TSJWFEW***

When Owen recovered from the unpleasantness of the transformation, he ran across the meadow, covering the distance in far fewer steps than before. His sense of smell now heightened to an incredible level, he could tell without a doubt that Lily had traveled this way. He followed her scent into the forest. Trees came crashing down all around him, but he didn't care. His scales were too thick to feel the sting of the branches, and besides, he had more important things to worry about.

"RRROWL!"

Owen called out, but although he knew what he was trying to say, the words turned into indiscernible noises. Closing his eyes to concentrate, Owen focused on his facial movements.

"L- LRRR!"

He brayed in frustration and tried again.

"LRRRLRRR!"

He stomped his foot. Well, that was that. He couldn't speak. It didn't matter, anyway, because he would be able to find Lily by her scent alone. He continued down the trail, his nostrils flaring continuously.

When he reached a thinner part of the forest, Owen pulled back his head and snorted. There was a tiny, brown puddle on the ground, which was a sign that Lily had come by not too long ago. Owen had never known any child who could produce such foamy leavings. It was perfectly healthy, but gross all the same.

Owen squeezed through two trees and continued down the scent-trail. He crossed a river, but stopped on the other side. Was it possible that Lily had been washed away by the water? No. Her scent continued up a steep hill. She had hopped across the stepping stones. She was determined to get herself into trouble.

As Owen climbed the hill, a second scent joined Lily's. It wasn't going down the same trail, but rather, seemed to be crossing it. It was fresher than any other scent in the forest, and Owen felt himself getting distracted. When he cleared the ridge, he saw the source of the smell. A young black bear was rooting through the dirt in the middle of a clearing. It looked up at Owen and roared. Without thinking, Owen dashed forward and attacked the animal. It was prepared to fight, but Owen clamped his jaws around it before it had the chance. After shaking the corpse a couple times, Owen dropped the carcass and pulled open the ribcage with his claws. He started tearing out the bear's insides, tilting his head back to swallow the larger chunks of meat.

Halfway through his meal, Owen froze. He had let his instincts get the better of him. He must be the worst father on earth, to abandon Lily like that. With a guilty rumble, Owen licked his chops and continued to follow his daughter's trail.

***TSJWFEW***

Eventually, Lily's scent became so strong that Owen was positive he'd bump into her at any moment. He expected to see her peeking out from behind a tree, or else charge up to him and ram her head into his leg, as she so often did. He swiveled his head from side to side, trying to spot a beige dinosaur through the trees and bushes. Finally, he found her. To his horror, she was skipping across a log that was hanging precariously over a large canyon. If she slipped, she wouldn't survive the fall.

Lily!

Owen ran up to her. When she heard his footsteps, she turned around with a surprised look. After a moment, her eyes went wide, and she backed up rapidly.

No, Lily! Come back!

As Lily scooted further down the log, Owen realized just how terrifying he must look to her. Steadying his breathing so that he could speak to her calmly, he stepped towards the uprooted tree with trepidation.

Lily, it's me.

She whimpered and backed up until she reached the edge of the log. Her foot slipped over the end, and she squeaked in fear.

It's me. It's your daddy.

Owen tried to lean forward, but Lily sucked her lips inwards. As she squinted her eyes, she curled up until she was very small. Owen's heart fell. He knew what that face meant. Lily started crying. At first, she coughed and hiccupped, but soon, she was bawling her eyes out. She whimpered and shrieked and made a whole lot of unhappy noises. Owen bit his lip and inched forward.

Don't cry, Lily. I'm not going to hurt you. I know I look scary, but it's just me inside of this body. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid . . .

Owen leaned over the log. If he could snatch up Lily quickly, he could at least prevent her from falling, which was his primary concern. He scooted forward with his belly pressed against the bark, keeping both feet firmly on the edge of the cliff.

Shhh . . . I'm coming, Lily. I'm coming.

Suddenly, the log slid forward. Owen's weight had caused it to tear away from the ground. Thinking fast, he dug his claws into the wood. Lily shrieked as she dangled over the edge. Owen yanked the log back until it was almost horizontal again. Lily climbed back up and started crying harder than ever.

Don't fall, Lily! Don't fall! I can't lose you . . .

Owen could feel the log slipping out of his grasp. He wasn't strong enough to pull it back over the ridge. All he could do was delay the fall. Poor Lily refused to move towards him. She was inches away from her salvation, but to her, moving to either end of the log meant death. Owen felt his heart breaking as he saw the fear in her eyes. She was utterly terrified. Trying one last time to pull the log back up, Owen grunted with concentration, but his efforts were fruitless. A bead of sweat ran down his forehead, and he felt the log slipping very far, indeed.

Lily! Oh, god! Lily!

Owen stared at his daughter, wishing with every fiber of his existence that she would recognize him. He didn't blame her for being afraid. He'd be terrified too if he saw a giant carnivorous dinosaur with a mustache staring at him.

His last shred of hope was beginning to fade away. Lily was paralyzed with fear, and that wasn't about to change. Owen felt grief overcoming him. He started breathing unsteadily, and before he knew it, tears were trickling down his cheeks.

I'm sorry, Lily. This is all my fault. I shouldn't have let you run away.

Owen started sniffling. He couldn't stop himself from sobbing in a kind of roar-bark. The log was slipping further with each passing second.

I wanted to be a good father, but I screwed up big time. I guess it runs in the family. You'd have been better off without me . . .

From out of nowhere, a small, green butterfly fluttered into view. It flew over to Lily, landing on her front horn. Forgetting all about her mortal peril, Lily smiled with glee. The butterfly took off once more and landed on Owen's snout. It remained there for a very long time. Slowly, Lily walked forward.

Owen felt his strength coming back to him. He dug his claws deeper into the log and prayed that Lily would come close enough for him to reach her. She moved towards the butterfly. It flew off of Owen's face, and for a moment, he feared that he was out of luck. Then, Lily dashed forward and bit his nose.

His heart swelling with joy, Owen let Lily crawl up on top of his head. She sat on his snout and looked into his eyes, smiling happily. Owen stood up and let the log crash into the canyon. Lily jumped at the loud noise, but Owen held her firmly against his face with one paw. As she slipped into the crook of his arm, Owen felt himself shrinking. His claws disappeared, and his teeth sunk back into his mouth. He was relieved to be human again, but he was even more relieved that Lily was okay. Crying with joy, he held her against his chest and kissed her forehead. She giggled and bit his nose once more for good measure.

As Owen carried Lily back to the cabin, the green butterfly danced around his head. He shifted Lily to one arm and raised the other. The butterfly landed on his finger. Its wings creaked up and down slowly. Lily watched it with fascination. Owen smiled as it took flight once more.

"Thank you, Flower."

***TSJWFEW***

When they got home, Claire was still in the other world. Owen was relieved, as she would have panicked if she had returned only to find them absent. With an exhausted sigh, he sat down on the bench-swing, placing Lily on the ground.

"Don't you go running off, you hear? I might not be able to find you if you disappear again."

Lily smiled up at him innocently. Then, she scrunched up her face tightly. Owen's jaw dropped as her scales changed color. Soon, she was as brown as the deck she was sitting on.

"Oh my god . . ."

Lily exhaled and changed back to her usual hue. She lifted her arms, opening and closing her hands. Owen picked her up.

"How did you do that?"

Lily squeaked. Owen twisted his mouth thoughtfully.

"Maybe we should keep this our little secret."