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Jan. 26th, 2011 12:38 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pterosaurThe radio opened with the buzz of insects and a couple sets of mismatched footsteps. One, clumsily bipedal. The other, a limping quadruped. Almost immediately there was the whap and crunch of an insect losing to a beak.
"You're disgusting." The voice belonged to a girl of about thirteen or fourteen. It had a sort of odd quality to it, and was overlaying a quieter series of grunts, squawks, and chirping noises, with clicks scattered about.
The next voice was Above's, overlaying more cawing and vaguely avian noises than she made these days. "At least I don't drag vines around with me for miles and floss with them -"
"Maybe you should!"
There was what sounded like a sigh. "The letter I?"
"I don't know if I'm speaking to you." It was a snippy thing to say, and in a lofty tone of voice, but there wasn't any venom in that tone.
"Of course you are," Above said, matching her maybe-friend. "You'd go insane if you couldn't hear the sound of your own voice."
"Still wouldn't need you for that."
"Yes, you do, you have to have an audience-"
"The letter I!" This was almost a wail.
After a moment, Above ventured, "Insects?"
"Yeah..."
"Okay. I spy, with my little eye, something beginning with the letter Q."
"Quetzalcoatlus. Duh. You're so self-absorbed, Ja____." The voice cut out, leaving a perfectly clear 'raaich' sound.
"Me?" This was punctuated by a bill snapping shut, a sound she almost never made while talking now.
"Anything else out here beginning with Q?"
"Quartz. Over there."
"That's just a rock with sparkly bits in it."
"And they're probably quartz."
"...Fine. I spy with my little eye -" There was a growf some ways away, and heavy footsteps. Both of them stopped. "What is that thing?"
"Doesn't count if neither of us knows what it is." They started again.
"We should find some shelter," the other girl said, after I Spy had identified cliffs and sand. "Someplace to dig in for the night."
"Oh!" Above said, very quietly. Louder, she said, "Over there."
"Mike! Bertram!" Candayce cried, and there was what almost sounded like a collision. After a moment more, she said, "...You taste like peppermint."
"I found these tiny little plants along the ground," the new voice said. A boy's, the same age, nervous and babbling. The sound under his voice ran more to groaning and clicking. "I mean, I know this is the age of the flowering plants and flowering herbs, but, boy, they tasted good, and it's kind of like mouthwash, and I wouldn't be surprised if we couldn't find some oregano and some other stuff, and... Hi."
"I thought you guys were trapped," Above said. She sounded, suddenly, a bit cool. At least, not as excited as the others.
This, the last, was another boy's voice, incongruously overlaying a guttural, predatory growl. He was the one who'd roared. "The second quake. It filled in the corridor where we'd started and some other places, too. It made shelves, sort of. It was tough going, but we climbed out."
"Moriarty was there," the peppermint one said.
"Yeah. Bertram kicked his butt."
Candayce asked, "Bertram?"
"Look at him," the predator said, proud. "He's a tank." More quietly, he said, "You came back."
"I came back. The three of you don't belong here." Above coughed, and in a more casual, flippant tone, added, "We'd have been here sooner, but I got hit by lightning."
"Seriously?"
"Ask her."
"I thought I'd never see you again," Candayce was saying shakily, sounding on the verge of tears if not crying already.
There was a sharp caw followed by a long, piercing call, a sound Above made sometimes when calling down to people, but too distant to be her.
"Loki..." she breathed, marveling.
[Dinoverse, pages 204-206, slightly modified. The language geas may or may not do interesting things to 'Quetzalcoatlus', which is based on a god's name which means 'plumed serpent' or 'precious twin', depending. That telepathy may have (mostly) come through, but her responses still won't. Because I find it funny.]
"You're disgusting." The voice belonged to a girl of about thirteen or fourteen. It had a sort of odd quality to it, and was overlaying a quieter series of grunts, squawks, and chirping noises, with clicks scattered about.
The next voice was Above's, overlaying more cawing and vaguely avian noises than she made these days. "At least I don't drag vines around with me for miles and floss with them -"
"Maybe you should!"
There was what sounded like a sigh. "The letter I?"
"I don't know if I'm speaking to you." It was a snippy thing to say, and in a lofty tone of voice, but there wasn't any venom in that tone.
"Of course you are," Above said, matching her maybe-friend. "You'd go insane if you couldn't hear the sound of your own voice."
"Still wouldn't need you for that."
"Yes, you do, you have to have an audience-"
"The letter I!" This was almost a wail.
After a moment, Above ventured, "Insects?"
"Yeah..."
"Okay. I spy, with my little eye, something beginning with the letter Q."
"Quetzalcoatlus. Duh. You're so self-absorbed, Ja____." The voice cut out, leaving a perfectly clear 'raaich' sound.
"Me?" This was punctuated by a bill snapping shut, a sound she almost never made while talking now.
"Anything else out here beginning with Q?"
"Quartz. Over there."
"That's just a rock with sparkly bits in it."
"And they're probably quartz."
"...Fine. I spy with my little eye -" There was a growf some ways away, and heavy footsteps. Both of them stopped. "What is that thing?"
"Doesn't count if neither of us knows what it is." They started again.
"We should find some shelter," the other girl said, after I Spy had identified cliffs and sand. "Someplace to dig in for the night."
"Oh!" Above said, very quietly. Louder, she said, "Over there."
"What?"
"I spy, with my little eye, something beginning with-"
"Mike! Bertram!" Candayce cried, and there was what almost sounded like a collision. After a moment more, she said, "...You taste like peppermint."
"I found these tiny little plants along the ground," the new voice said. A boy's, the same age, nervous and babbling. The sound under his voice ran more to groaning and clicking. "I mean, I know this is the age of the flowering plants and flowering herbs, but, boy, they tasted good, and it's kind of like mouthwash, and I wouldn't be surprised if we couldn't find some oregano and some other stuff, and... Hi."
"I thought you guys were trapped," Above said. She sounded, suddenly, a bit cool. At least, not as excited as the others.
This, the last, was another boy's voice, incongruously overlaying a guttural, predatory growl. He was the one who'd roared. "The second quake. It filled in the corridor where we'd started and some other places, too. It made shelves, sort of. It was tough going, but we climbed out."
"Moriarty was there," the peppermint one said.
"Yeah. Bertram kicked his butt."
Candayce asked, "Bertram?"
"Look at him," the predator said, proud. "He's a tank." More quietly, he said, "You came back."
"I came back. The three of you don't belong here." Above coughed, and in a more casual, flippant tone, added, "We'd have been here sooner, but I got hit by lightning."
"Seriously?"
"Ask her."
"I thought I'd never see you again," Candayce was saying shakily, sounding on the verge of tears if not crying already.
There was a sharp caw followed by a long, piercing call, a sound Above made sometimes when calling down to people, but too distant to be her.
"Loki..." she breathed, marveling.
[Dinoverse, pages 204-206, slightly modified. The language geas may or may not do interesting things to 'Quetzalcoatlus', which is based on a god's name which means 'plumed serpent' or 'precious twin', depending. That telepathy may have (mostly) come through, but her responses still won't. Because I find it funny.]