The moon hung low over the jagged cliffs and rolling plains of this dusty part of Iowa, its pale light illuminating the chaos unfolding beneath. Two men, Gerald and Jeremiah, clung tightly to the reins of their rumbling Einiosaurus, its horned head battering through the underbrush as it barreled away from the cries of pursuit. Behind them, the flickering glow of torches grew brighter, the shouts of the town authorities cutting through the crisp night air.

“Gerald, I told you we should've waited until midnight to break into that damn vault!" Jeremiah hissed, clutching the saddle’s edge as their mount lurched over uneven ground.

Gerald shot him a sharp look, his eyes wide with adrenaline. “How was I supposed to know the back wall was reinforced? You told me it was fully wooden and safe for Bramble to break into! And not to mention the fact that you didn't tell me that the damn Sheriff was in town!”

Jeremiah’s face paled. “Wait, the sheriff? You mean him? The one with the giant…”

Before he could finish, the Einiosaurus skidded to a halt, its massive claws digging into the dirt. The 2 bandits almost fell off from the sudden stop but managed to hold on and watched with terror as the ground trembled and a massive shadow descended in front of them, and with a deafening thud, a 6 meter tall Hatzegopteryx landed before them.

In the dim light of the moon, it's monstrous silhouette took shape–wings folding in like sails of leather, their tips brushing the ground. It's long beak glinted as it caught the faint light, it's sharp point promising a painful demise.

It's eyes, glowing faintly amber, locked onto them, unblinking and predatory. A crest rose from the back of its skull like a dark crown, it's surface cracked and scarred. The creature's towering frame loomed over them, it's senewy neck twitching as it tilted its head..almost as if it was studying them.

There, perched atop the fully grown Hatzegopteryx, was Sheriff Malrick. The pterosaur let out a low growl, trying to intimidate the already terrified Einiosaurus. Malrick sat tall in his saddle, his silhouette imposing in the dim light, with only a short-sword strapped to his back

“Evening, gentlemen,” Malrick drawled, his voice low and steady. The Hatzegopteryx let out a bone-rattling screech, its beak snapping as it shifted on its clawed feet. “I reckon you boys are in some deep shit tonight eh?”

Jeremiah’s grip on the saddle tightened. “Gerald, I think it's time we considered surrender” he whispered, his voice trembling.

Gerald, however, wasn’t ready to give up. He tugged on the reins, urging Bramble to back up and get into a charging stance. “We can charge past him! He’s just one man,” he said, though his voice lacked conviction.

“One man with that!” Jeremiah shot back, nodding toward the towering Hatzegopteryx.

The sheriff leaned forward, his hat casting a shadow over his weathered face. “I’d think carefully before you do anything foolish. Ol’ Zephyr here doesn’t take kindly to troublemakers.” As if on cue, the Hatzegopteryx let out another piercing cry, nearly bursting the bandit duo's eardrums, not to mention causing Brambles to freak out even more.

Gerald swallowed hard, the weight of the situation settling in. The torches and voices of the authorities were closing in from behind. Bramble shifted nervously, her tail swaying, sensing the tension in the air.

“What’s the plan, Gerald?” Jeremiah asked, his voice barely audible over the thundering heartbeat in his ears.

For a moment, the two men stared at the sheriff, their minds racing. Then, Gerald tightened his grip on the reins and muttered, “We’ve only got one shot at this.”

The sheriff’s eyes narrowed. “Go on, then. Make your move.”

Gerald quickly shouted "Hiyah! Move Brambles move!" And the Einiosaurus charged straight ahead, slowly gaining momentum as the distance between it and Zephyr closed.

                          ---'°•|~~~|•°'---

Malrick grinned, finally a real challenge. He let out a low whistle and Zephyr quickly sidestepped as the Einiosaurus ran past them, Malrick shouted "Now boy! Stop that steed!"

Zephyr quickly grabbed Bramble's tail with his beak before shoving his front and back claws into the ground and attempting to stop the Einiosaurus, Zephyr managed to slow the beast but Bramble could not fully be stopped as it started to slowly drag Zephyr with it.

Malrick quickly improvised by sliding off his saddle and onto Bramble's tail, he slowly crawled upto where Jeremiah and Gerald were sitting and said "I swear if Zephyr has injured feet after this I'll be fixing it with your nasty skin!" Before grabbing the 2 bandits and throwing them off the dinosaur.

He then quickly grabbed Bramble's reins and forced the dinosaur to stop "Easy girl, you can stop now. Don't worry Zephyr won't bite. It's only those bastard thieves we're after".

Slowly but surely Bramble came to a stop, Malrick petted her for a bit saying soothing words to calm her down before he jumped off the dinosaur's saddle and walked over to where the 2 bandits were still laying on the ground, clearly dizzy from falling off. Malrick took advantage of this and quickly tied their hands and legs before tying them both to their Einiosaurus.

He patted them both on the head before saying "As much as I'd love to stick around, I'll leave you two and your prehistoric cow to the authorities of this fine town. But if I see you two poking around in places you shouldn't again then next time I'll just let Zephyr eat you both, he's never had a taste of human before but I'm sure he'll love it".

He nodded towards Zephyr who let out one final screech of victory before lowering himself for Malrick to mount. Which he did quickly and efficiently.

Malrick said to him "Alright boy, let's get a move on, I think it's high time we finally flew home, back to Carolina." He grabbed the reigns and held on tightly as Zephyr got ready to take off.

Zephyr started a slow jog which slowly increased into a gallop until finally he jumped into the air and spread his massive wings, flapping and soaring through the sky.

On the way Malrick quickly did a fly over of the small town, waving and watching as the Townfolk cheered him on. After all, it never hurt to meet his admirers.

Bramble the Einiosaurus

Zephyr the Hatzegopteryx