The young stegosaurus swallowed a chunk of pumpkin. The flavor was deep and full of mush, satisfyingly filling her ravenous stomach. She plucked one of the pumpkins from the patch, holding it carefully between her beak. She gave her hide a thick shake before turning around and plodding back towards her nest, settled close to a dry riverbed, swarming with dusty stones, pebbles, and brittle, leafless bushes.

Clouds were rolling on the horizon, foretelling a large thunderstorm. Her tongue was as dry as sand, and though pumpkins and plants quenched some of her thirst, it couldn't compare with the fulfillment of fresh, cold water.

Her babies crooned softly, their voices hoarse and earnest as they shuffled around in their nest, full of dry, crackly leaves and old branches. She lowered her head and nuzzled them each in turn. All three stared up at her with their round, baby blue eyes. She reassured them that water would come soon, and gave them the pumpkin as temporary nourishment. The little baby stegos tussled and pushed at one another as they fought for the most food, and softly, the mother clacked her teeth to urge them to share.

Obediently, the biggest chirped, his glittery red plates shifting as he stepped away to allow his smaller siblings their full. His mouth was painted orange with pumpkin guts, and his sisters were squealing with hunger. They stuck their narrow heads into the pumpkin and consumed as much as they could.

Feet stomped towards the nest, and though the footsteps were heavy, they were familiar to her ears. The mother turned to see her mate, a green male with glittering golden plates strapped along his back. They shifted as he moved, reflecting stunning sunlight. It was this unique look that had caught her eye, and with a soft, loving bellow, she leaned forward and nuzzled his chin.

He uttered softly to her. A storm was coming. The riverbed would flow once more. The female nodded happily, turning her golden eyes back to her nestlings, whose bellies were now round with fullness. Though she could see the dry skin around their mouths, the worry that had eaten at her gut for the last few weeks was at last abating, as the scent of petticor drifted along the wind. She leaned forward and grabbed the remains of the pumpkin from her now yawning children, and gingerly she passed it to her mate. Gratefully, he swallowed it.

The two stegos curled up by their nest, their barbed tails cradling the edges like some sort of a sharp fence. Their eyes drew to the sky, watching as stormy dark clouds began to roll in. Their thirst would soon be quenched, and their children would be okay.

❀

Thunder crashed.

Lightning split open the jagged sky, and rain sheeted down from the heavens. The mother stegosaurus quickly urged her hatchlings to their legs, her feet splashing as water swept up over her toes. The young stegos each let out frightful cries as yet another monstrous clap resounded through the air and water licked at their bellies. The male stegosaurus huffed, stamping his feet impatiently, his eyes flashing periodically to the riverbed—no—the raging rapids.

The storm had pushed on for many hours, and now, in the wake of night, the parched plains were beginning to flood.

The mother stegosaurus nudged her kids urgently to higher ground. The youngest, a little female, was so small in the water that she had to paddle. Her wails were hardly audible over the thundering rain, and the mother gave a hefty push to get the young stego ashore. The little female hurried over to her brother and sister, both huddling by their father. The mother grunted, urging them forward as water swept over her legs. She turned her head. The river was already upon her.

She cried out as they continued to wait. She tossed her small head, begging them to leave as more and more water crashed over her. At last, the male gave her a stern stare, and their golden eyes met for a heartbeat. He turned, and began to guide their three youngsters further uphill.

The water was at her stomach now, and she pushed as hard as she could to make it ashore, but it kept dragging and dragging at her skin. Her legs kicked as hard as they could.

Then, pain ripped through her leg, and she dipped underwater.

The stego's eyes flashed through the dark mist, and a long, black shape dragged her further towards the raging river. She kicked it's head. Blood frothed from her injury where skin flapped in the current, but the creature's iron grip failed and she quickly pushed to the surface. She gasped in lungfuls of air, paddling urgently to stay afloat. Fright swallowed her heart as she realized that the shore was beyond sight. All she could see was murky water and white caps as the rapids tore her downstream.

She let out a bellowing, desperate roar, and faintly she heard a heartbroken response. The noise was rapidly whipped away as she was slammed into a rock. A sickening crunch sounded, and pain seared across her ribs as she was floundered around like a broken ragdoll.

A large, black log bobbed to the surface beside her. She paddled towards it, her lungs, ribs, and shredded leg throbbing in pain as she fought against the current. Her round feet found purchase on the log, but her relief was short-lived. The log was alive.

The deinosuchus let out an earsplitting hiss, snapping its head around and closing its massive jaws around the mother's neck. Her cries were abruptly cut off, and as rain thundered against the racing river, the crocodilian beast dipped beneath the surface, dragging the limp mother down into the swirling depths with him. He was ready to feast.

~*~
Written on December 21st, 2021.