Lani beamed at Genissa's praise for the saddle.
"Oko and I have been ogling the saddles in the tack shop in town for our whole lives. We never had enough money to buy anything. But since we became Kunpari that changed!"
The triceratops nodded his large head, trying not to preen too much. "It was the first thing Lani bought when our pay came through. Cost a whole month's wage, but we had enough from the farm that month to get by."
Lani knew it would have looked foolish to some to spend all that on something so unnecessary, but Lani and Oko had spent their childhoods only worrying about the necessary, and it was time for a change.
Once the saddle was secure Lani packed the bags with a few light snacks (several whole pumpkins, some apples, a quarter bale of hay and sandwiches for the human travelers.)
"I'm sorry, I don't have any meat." She said to Averill, gesturing to her dinosaur. "Its pretty expensive and well...the vendor hasn't arrived with the fresh order."
Lani paused awkwardly upon hearing Averill's quiet outburst. She was at a loss as how to respond. Oko however came up to her slowly, concern in his small, thoughtful eyes.
"Why would they do something like that?" He said softly before lowering his head to look her in the eyes. He stayed like that for a long while before nodding.
"Nope, you're not bad." He said finally. "You've been hurt before, but...you're free of that now. You're kunpari, and that means you have friends."
He tilted his head slightly, a gesture for her to take hold his his head plate and climb onto his back.
Lani didn't look happy at first but in the end she sighed. "Fine. Its your back Oko, guess its fair you get to say who sits on it."
Whether Averill chose to take the ride or not they headed for the Western checkpoint. The forest rose up to meet them, making the air cool and damp while masking the sun's light with a refreshing green filter. Lani began hearing birds, their echoing squawks filtering through the trees and the chorus of other noises the forest offered.
The ground was soft and spongy underfoot when Oko compared it to the hard stone roads of Tolares. He liked walking here. The trees grew larger quickly, some getting wider than Oko was long, the canopy so far above they almost couldn't make out individual leaves overhead.
"I love it in here." Lani said happily.
They walked on for an hour or so before Oko scented it.
"Lani..." he said, his voice held a slight quaver which made Look around. "I smell...blood."
The wagon wasn't far down the trail. It had been overturned, one side completely ripped apart. Most of the contents was gone, but what was most unsettling was the fact that there was blood everywhere, and no sign of the driver or the dinosaur. Claw marked slashed the canvas covering to ribbons and it lay in a ruined heap by the wagon. Lani was the first to jump down and step closer.
She knocked something with her foot: a gold bangle, also covered in blood.
"Lani! Over here!" Oko had moved on a little farther and stopped dead when he saw something dragged just off the trail. It was a small sauropod, only 12 feet from nose to tail. Its neck sported a savage bite mark that could only have belonged to a huge carnivore.
Lani felt fear creep into her heart and Oko looked about ready to bolt.
"...what...happened here?"
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