Author's Note: Hello everyone! Thank you for all the reviews and comments here and on AO3! This is a fairly niche story so I was surprised by even a few people taking an interest in it. If you want to chat with me more directly, keep an eye out for an invite to a discord server I'm in the process of setting up. I've made two other servers for large fanfiction projects and one was quite successful so I've decided to make one that's a hub for all my content creation sort of work. Fanfics, original creative work, and the amateur research I do. For example, I'm going to start a YouTube channel this year where I'll talk about animation news and niche folklore studies. I'll set up roles and hidden channels so people are only subjected to the cringe they ask for lol. I know that some people think that having a discord server like this is an exercise in narcissism.

Yep.

In all seriousness, I'm far more motivated to work on my creative things when there is an audience that I can interact with. I also just like to talk and meet knew people as I get feedback on my work. So even if you just want to chat with some random people who have watched a strange tv show about a group of shapshifting dinosaur teens with lots of dinosaur inaccuracies and heavy handed environment lessons, then consider joining just for that. Enjoy the chapter! I'll try to get some kind of schedule worked out soon.

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Chapter 7
The Aviary

"Not another one?"

"I thought you wanted to take a bunch of pictures," Caruso argued. "You said, and I quote, 'Hurry up Caruso, I need to fill up this memory card'. So take your pictures!"

Buzz rolled his eyes and lowered the camera. "Of the dinosaurs, not of you."

"You needed a little pizazz in your shots."

Buzz snorted and wiped some sweat off his nose. It was freaking humid in the enclosure. "You're not 'pizazz', dude. You're in the way. I've known you, what, a year now? I'm still not convinced you aren't putting up your personality like an act."

"Someone's testy," Caruso said to cover up the near-pout. "It's not my fault I look this good."

"Trying to tell me about your fifteen-step skin care routine on the plane while I was trying to sleep says otherw-MOVE!"

A pteranodon swooped over their section of safety cage.

Caruso ducked and Buzz successfully snapped his picture. He frantically checked it in his camera's viewfinder.

"Dang it," Buzz sighed.

"Did you get it?" Caruso asked.

Buzz shook his head and turned the camera to show his friend the fuzzy blur of blue and grey. "I didn't have the shutter speed fast enough. Could have sworn I set it when we got here."

"I think you have the settings on automatic," Caruso pointed out.

"No it's on Program."

"Yeah but it switched back after the last shot didn't it?"

Buzz blinked and looked at the settings dial. "Oh. Thanks, man," he said, a little sheepish. That was a basic photography thing. He must have been distracted, too excited about the trip.

Caruso noticed more things than people gave him credit.

Caruso waved him off as he leaned on the rail, gingerly to avoid getting any disgusting smudges from the railing on his special safari outfit. He had insisted on stopping by the hotel to change, unlike the rest. Then he went to catch up with Buzz. Despite the groans and mild teasing, Caruso had gone ahead and bought a whole new set of outfits for the trip. He wanted to look sharp in all the photos.

Fiona convinced him to ditch the hat at least. But he didn't regret the classy dark blue fishing shirt and khaki pants. Not the height of fashion of course. But the bandanna around his neck gave a rather refined accent in his opinion.

He eyed flying animals while Buzz fiddled with his camera. "Are you done yet?"

The look Buzz shot him was enough of an answer.

Caruso leaned his head back and bit back a groan. Not that the pterosaurs weren't interesting, but he was actually hoping to see a real stegosaurus some time.

He guessed it was an unspoken agreement that all his friends, and himself, were incredibly interested to see "real" versions of their dinosaur species. They didn't voice the curiosity though. It felt...weird.

Fiona of course wasn't going to be able to see a real spinosaurus, but hopefully she was having fun.

The pterosaur enclosure was pretty enough. A giant glass dome trapping humidity and a bunch of creature that would probably be happier in the sky. They weren't like butterflies that were small and stupid enough to be happy with flowers and the occasional dead fish.

At least the animals here didn't seem want for fish. There was a giant pond down below the glass catwalks where they saw dozens of flying reptiles go about their day catching fish.

Caruso glanced up at the sound of giggling.

There was a pair of teenage girls about their age a few feet away. They were cute, although not as cute as the staff guy further down the walkway giving a tour.

Caruso was about to shoot the ladies a charming smile, really to just to be polite, when one of them snickered again and gestured up at her hair. He frowned and look where their attention was.

Oh. They certainly didn't look attractive any more. They were laughing at Buzz, mocking his hair.

Caruso knew Buzz didn't give a shit. Still...

"Excuse me ladies, do you mind if my friend takes your picture? He's a great photographer," he asked.

Buzz looked up, confused.

The girl who had gestured, miming Buzz's hair, flushed suddenly. She and her friend probably realized they were noticed.

"O-oh...sure?"

"Er... Thanks?" Buzz said as he stepped back with his camera, going along with it for now. He had to go to across the walkway and waited until a group had passed by and weren't in the way.

"You mind if I'm in this one?" Caruso asked easily.

The girls smiled at him. "Nope!" one said a little too quickly.

He sidled up and the three of them smiled as Buzz took the pictures.

"You really shouldn't judge people by your opinions on their style," he whispered coolly.

They both fidgeted, uncomfortable as he stepped away.

"Uh... thanks!" Buzz said as they hurried away. He glanced at his friend. "Dude. What was that? That was a weird as hell pick up if that's what you were going for."

The other teenager shrugged. "Oh well."

Buzz rolled his eyes and went back to studying his shots. "I don't mind being your wingman." They both snickered a little at the pun. "But at least warn me." He frowned as his camera. "These are pretty good. Dang it. Should have got their contacts anyway." He looked up. "If they wanted the photos, you know."

"Shame."

Buzz eyed him. "Why you all grumpy, man?" He rolled his eyes, figuring he could already guess. "Geeze, we'll get to the gyro-spheres."

Caruso waved his hands. "No! I'm not trying to rush you. I promise. I just..."

He trailed off, looking behind Buzz.

"What?"

"Get your camera ready and turn around verrrrry slowly," Caruso said.

Buzz looked confused, again, but did as Caruso said.

The pteranodon hanging off the safety cage next to them didn't spook and fly off. It clicked its beak a few times, making a chattering noise.

"Cool," Buzz breathed as it turned its head, as if to look at them more closely.

It was very pretty with dark green markings.

"Big bird," Caruso mused, quietly, absentmindedly saying so to mess with Buzz. He got picky if someone genuinely were confused whether pterosaurs were dinosaurs or birds. It was kinda funny. "Is it safe?" He didn't see a lot of the other animals actually touch the observation cages. None of them actually.

Buzz rolled his eyes but didn't take the bait. "Look at those markings."

The two boys startled at a loud bang as a keeper harshly smacked a heavy baton against the cage. "SHOO!"

The animal shrieked as it took off, big gusts of wind from the wings battering them for a moment.

"Why'd you do that!?" Buzz snapped at the guy, who ignored them to talk into his radio.

"This is aviary to security. We got a couple of observation cage segments that lost power. Birds are getting a little too curious."

"Roger that."

The man huffed and looked at the boys. "Sorry kids. We're gonna have to close this section of the walkway for repairs."

"She was just hanging out, man," Buzz complained, annoyed that the pteranodon had been spooked and his photo shoot was interrupted.

The man rolled his eyes. "Yeah yeah. Come on, move along." He ushered them and the other groups of people back to an intersection piece of the boardwalk.

They begrudgingly went along with it.

"What happened?" Buzz asked.

"Don't worry about it kid. It's routine." The tour guide who Caruso had been ogling came over at the commotion. "Sometimes the smaller animals tear up the wires. The safety cages are electrified. That part must have shorted out." He smiled at them reassuringly. "Don't worry. The cages are way too strong for them to break through, we're just following protocol."

"You shock them?" Buzz said. He couldn't help get angry at that.

The guide looked sympathetic. "Trust me, kid. It's for their safety as well as yours. They're very curious and don't realize how strong they are. That and you look like fish to some of them." He chuckled at that one. "The Greeny liked you. I hope you got a bunch of pictures."

"Greeny?"

"Just a nickname some of the keepers have for some of the younger pteranodons." He pointed out about five pteranodons perching and flying nearby. "They're new. A fresh batch from the lab. Only a few months old. They're still trying to integrate into the flock. They stick close together though. They're super smart too, like parrots. That one that was looking at you really likes people. We call her Chatterbox."

She looked very big for only a few months old.

Curiosity got the best of them. "How come?" Caruso asked.

"Watch this," the keeper smirked. He raised his voice. "Hey folks! Some of you might want to see this. It's really cool!"

Some of the people grumbling about being moved came closer as the keeper moved toward a railing.

The guard from earlier rolled his eyes. "Don't reward it."

"Chill out," the tour guide said.

Buzz realized why the man smelled like fish when he pulled out a smelly sardine from his pouch on his side. His stomach growled, pretty loudly too. He glared at Caruso, daring him to make a quip.

The keeper whistled as he approached a strategically placed "window" in the cage, hitting a button to open it. It didn't look very big for even most of the small animals to get through but some of the younger ones probably could. Why have a window anyway?

He hit another button and a blue flashing light above that section of the cage switched to red.

The guard didn't look happy, mumbling about screwing with the electricity right after a section already blew out. The tour guide ignored him.

The tour guide whistled again and there were gasps and some cheers as the pteranodon from earlier swooped into view, landing on a tree branch right outside the window/gap/hole in the cage.

"Good girl! Good girl!" the tour guide said while throwing the fish to her.

She caught it, tilting her head to swallow it down, chattering her beak.

Some of the other animals were a little riled up, some flying closer, also wanting treats.

"What's your name kid?" the tour guide asked Buzz.

"Buzz."

"Hm. I think we can manage something," he turned back to the giant flying reptile. "Hello Chatter! Hello!"

Chatterbox made a squawking screeching noise. "He-eELLO!" The sound was deep and rattlingly.

Park goers laughed and cheered at the trick.

"Mommy! It can talk!"

"Hello Buzz! Hello Buzz!" the tour guide said.

Fish good but fish giver is being stupid again.

Buzz jumped, thinking someone was standing behind him. He missed Caruso glancing around.

"He-LLOO B-AHH." The vague sound was close enough but "Buzz" was clearly too hard for Chatterbox.

Just the "b" sound was rather impressive.

"Good girl!" the keeper said, throwing Chatterbox another fish.

She didn't eat it this time though. She turned her head to another one of her "flock" perched on a concrete structure very close.

The crowd ooohed and ahhed as she threw it to the other pteranodon, who happily gobbled it up.

Chatterbox turned back and flicked her head as if asking for more but the keeper was already closing the "treat" window as people clapped.

Sad. Stupid game.

Buzz jumped again, eyeing a man recording the encounter on his phone. He wasn't standing that close though.

"Sad?" Caruso mumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing," Caruso shook his head, clapping his hands along with the others.

"That was cool," Buzz said as the tour guide came back.

"Yeah we sometimes do shows with some of the smarter ones," he said with a shrug.
"You said the new ones are still trying to get into the flock," Buzz said, trying to ignore why he felt like asking. "Are they getting enough food? Like, do the other animals not let them eat."

The tour guide looked a bit surprised. "Oh they get food. There's plenty of fish for them to hunt in the artificial pond. But the big one can bully a lot of the newcomers for a while. It all works out in the end." He smiled. "What about Chatterbox huh? She's pretty cool right?"

"Didn't know pteranodons could talk."

"Oh most of them can't, but some species can mimic noises well enough."

"Which one is the big one?"

"You can't miss her. She's around somewhere," the tour guide chuckled. "Biggest one here. Always starting fights to assert her dominance. She's a bit scratched up. Always gets the best nests, even though none of her eggs can hatch." He glanced at his watch. "I got another tour group in five minutes. You kids enjoy the park, alright?" He walked away.

"I don't like that they get shocked," Buzz mused.

"I mean...makes sense though," Caruso said with a shrug. He frowned. "Hey, did you..." he trailed off.

"What?"

"Nothing. I thought I heard something weird."

"Oh you too?" Buzz laughed. "I think it was the guy behind us."

"Whew. Thought I was going crazy."

"Me too."

"..."

"Weird stuff to say though."

"Yeah. Maybe it was his kid actually?" Caruso agreed. "Hey, you get enough pictures?"

Buzz sighed. "Nah. But I got all week. I'll come back tomorrow. Let's meet up with the others yeah?"

They left, glancing around at the pterosaurs flying around, not quite able to differentiate them.

One was watching with some curiosity as they walked away, not used to the new words in her head. She didn't really understand all the words but she just knew the meaning of some of them when those two spoke in a way she could understand.

Camera. That was the small thing that some of the watchers had. Sometimes they flashed like little bits of lightning that she saw when storms raged outside where she couldn't fly, the hard sky in the way. It was for... taking pictures? She still wasn't sure what those were.

But would the watchers take any thing?

Too many things she couldn't understand. The reptile dove off her branch and glided down to the lake. The mean one wasn't watching at the moment, too busy guarding her eggs. Eggs that never hatched. None of the eggs hatched.

She could probably catch some more fish for her sisters before she was spotted.

Endnote: Thank you everyone for the reviews! They mean a lot to me. Sorry this took almost a year to update! It's such a fun little story and it doesn't take me too long to write. I should give it more attention.

Remember to look out for my discord server.

OH I almost forget. This story needs a better title. I'm open to suggestions.