On and on the team marched. The sun had almost reached its zenith, and the tropical weather was beginning to get on their nerves. True, they were used to the heat, but the humidity of the forest was what gave them trouble. Even though they had spent quite a bit of time at the park, with similarly humid conditions, they still weren't used to the humid heat.

"How long do you think it will be before we find our targets?" Asked Alice, who had pulled out a fan and started waving it at herself. Tristan merely groaned at her question. "We'll find them when we find them. Now focus."

"Of course, glorious leader."

"Was the snark necessary?"

"Yes."

Vera sniggered(1) at her friend's bickering. Tristan seemed to do this with all of his female friends, and tended to bicker more with the girls he was closest to, including his siblings. It had gotten to the point most of his friends thought this was his way of flirting. Now they needed to figure out which girl he liked best. Vera already knew it wasn't her. Besides, she really didn't see anything special in him, or anyone else for that matter.

At least at the moment...

"You think we might see Gastornis or Diatryma while we're exploring this forest?" interjected Vera, hoping to break her friends' arguing.

Alice responded first. "Unlikely - they haven't even evolved yet, and even if they had, they were restricted to the Europe during the Paleocene."

"You sure?" questioned Tristan. "We did see a Liliensternus that was temporally and geographically displaced."

Alice scowled at his retort. "Quiet, you Trottel."

"First I've heard you call me that. What did I do this time?"

"Be a jerk."

"More so than normal?"

"Yes, now stow it-"

SQUAWK!

Instantly, the group grew still and silent.

Before them was a bird not unlike a serima, though noticeably more muscular. Coming in at about a meter in height, it was large, but not superbly so. It had a blue colored head, a brown and white body, and a red throat. Most notable about this creature, though, was its large beak, which was only very large, but also hooked at its ends. Clearly, this was a predator.

"...Okay, who mailed the terror bird to North America?" wondered Alice, loud enough that her team could hear her, but the bird could not.

Tristan could only shrug in response. "I got nothing on this. Maybe it is an early bathornid?"

"Probably," noted Nigel.

Then the bird looked at the group. For a moment, both man (and woman) and bird grew rigid, each sizing up the other, waiting to see who would flinch first. Eeventually, the bird decided it did not like the odds before it and began to walk away. The team quickly followed it - an animal unknown to science would be a worthwhile rescue!

XXXXXXXX

Back at the park, one of the more recent arrivals is exploring his new home.

Slinking out of the underbrush, the male Ophiacodon had to squint as the rays of sunlight fell onto his face. When his vision adapted, he took the opportunity to observe his surroundings.

One difference from his old home was that the world was less barren. Grass had covered areas that were once vacant except for ferns and the occasional tree. Small, fur covered animals in strange, soft growth scampered across these plant filled fields, eating seeds, the grass, or occasionally, each other. Overhead, fuzzy fliers darted about, occasionally descending to capture one of the small ground dwellers.

The sight of such small creatures triggered the predatory instincts of the synapsid. Carefully, it inched its way toward the mammals, taking great care to avoid letting the small creatures know it was watching them. Once it was within range, it struck.

A moment later, and it was swallowing one of the tiny creatures, savoring the taste of its blood. The little creature was rather filling, though more would have made for a nice meal. Already, the carnivore was searching for more to eat.

As it scanned the horizon, though, it noticed a peculiar sight on the edge of its vision. There, to the north, lay an area that gradually changed from green to white. Confused, the mammal-ancestor ambled toward it, taking care to avoid the horned creatures grazing on the plains, as well as the bipeds caring for them.

A momentary shiver halted the Ophiacadon. Confused, it tried to see if the wind was blowing, but it could not sense any change in the air currents. Perplexed, but still curious, it continued onwards, and found that the closer he got to the white stuff, the more often he shivered. YEt he refused to back down until he was at last upon the white stuff. At this point, he could now see that it was powder like, yet also had crystalline traits. Putting his paws on the white stuff, he found it was cold to the touch. After a moment of mental conflict, he took a lick. The stuff was cold, yet refreshing, and seemed to dissolve in his mouth.

It was just as he had suspected - the white stuff was snow.

But why was there snow in such a warm place? Wasn't snow supposed to come in the winter?

A loud trumpeting noise focused the predator on a group of gray colored creatures, who all seemed to be staying away from the snow...well, except for one creature, covered in long fuzz, which was trudging through the snow. All of them had large, blunt teeth, with the one that trudged through the snow having the longest. As they were feeding on the grass, the mammal-ancestor assumed that they were herbivores.

Also, the smallest member of the herd was right next to him. It was trying to feel him with its...long...nose?

Confused, the Ophiacodon initially refused to react, before trying to nudge the newcomer away. When it refused to take the hint, he pawed at its nose. He got smacked in the face in response. Angered, the reptile screeched at large, grey skinned creature.

He regretted doing that.

The little animal's response was to trumpet at him loudly enough that he cringed in pain, his ears ringing in pain. His spirit was broken by the noise, and he darted away, retreating to the safety of his new home. On his return, he deliberately knocked away the log he had used to scale his new home's wall - he did not want to meet any other large creatures within the foreseeable future.

XXXXXX

Terence watched the synapsid run off, confusion marring his features. What had scared it enough to run away so fast? It soon darted out of sight, though, leaving the tyrannosaur with nothing to look at.

Sighing, the tyrant turned his attention back to his exhibit, which he was once again scent marking.

As he neared his sister's exhibit, though, he found her staring right at him. For a moment, he was unsure how to react, until she offered him a piece of meat. Accepting it, he calmed down, deciding to enjoy the meal.

It had only been a day since the fight with the prehistoric dragon, but Matilda seemed to have grown more accepting of him. The fight with the dragon had, unknown to the staff, established Terence as the dominant of the two siblings, which Matilda, though annoyed, was willing to accept. Though it would take some time to fully sink in, this territory was now Terence's, with Matilda sharing it as a subordinate. The problem about space would not last too much longer, though - the park was already preparing to expand the rex exhibit, in case the team decided to bring back more of them.

For now, though, the siblings' issue had been resolved.

XXXXX

Back in the past, the team is still on the trail of the giant bird.

Ambling through the undergrowth, the team watched as the bird effortlessly maneuvered over rocks and logs, easily outpacing them. The sudden increase in rough terrain had left the team winded, much to their own annoyance.

"*huff*...IS this..*huff*...bird...*huff*...finished running yet?" questioned Tristan, irked at how far he had to go through such uneven terrain.

"You're one to talk," replied Vera, who couldn't wipe the smirk off her face when Tristan scowled at her.

"Actually, I think he did stop," noted Nigel. He and Alice, along with Aiden, had come to a halt to observe the resting bird...who had been joined by seven more of its kind.

Wondering why the birds were all looking intently at something in the distance, the team circled around them, in order to look at the clearing the avians were staring at.

When they finally fond a good view, the object of the bird's attention revealed itself: a herd of large, grey furred animal, ambling by a river. On the banks rested a mix of Thoracosaurus and river dragons not unlike the ones the group had encountered earlier. Oddly enough, there was also a group of tiny dragons not unlike the ones the group had rescued in the Cretaceous, which were busy cleaning the teeth of the river dragons.

The team, however, was mostly interested in the herd of mammals...and the pack of bear sized predators sneaking up on them.

XXXXXXXXX

AN:

(1) I wasn't sure which synonym for laughter to use in this situation, so I apologize if it annoys you.

Also, there was an Ice Age going on between the Devonian and Late Permian. THat is why the Ophiacodon knows what snow is, and why Walking With MOnsters had snow in the Dimetrodon episode.

Oh, and I am not shipping Vera with Tristan. I already have plans for who they will end up with.

Now, Read and Review! This is Flameal15k signing off!