mothers and children

[cauchemal]

Who: Mal Cobb, Angelica Sexby, and some Parasaurolophus dinosaurs.
What: The miracle of life and angry mothers.
Where: A clearing in the park.
When: At some point during the port (day 1 or 2)
Warnings: Not much to speak of, probably.

Comments

[naughtbutlife]

Still trying to wipe the excess mud off of her bottom - embarrassing only because a small noise had startled her and sent her tumbling - Angelica followed Mal with just as much desire to have a look at the gigantic creatures. She stopped trying to fix her appearance and joined Mal in the brush, nodding and taking her word for it about the relative harmlessness of the beasts.

"I see one, but surely there must be others," Angelica mused aloud, glancing over her shoulder and then squinting into the distance to try and spot the others.

She was startled by a soft noise beside them, but luckily this didn't send her flailing into the earth. "Look, Mal," she whispered. "Look, one of them moves. Is it hatching?" As clearly Mal knew more about these things than she did.

[cauchemal]

Mal started to lean forward to get a closer look at the egg that Angelica indicated, and as she did so, a tiny twig snapped under her foot with a crack.

The watching hadrosaur's head went up and she snorted; not so much an alarm as a sort of "who's there?" Mal froze and gripped Angelica's hand, as much to say, wordlessly, don't move.

After a moment, the hadrosaur decided there was no great threat and lowered her head again. Meanwhile, the moving egg tipped over. A soft tapping sound could now be heard from within.

"It's hatching," Mal whispered. "I think we are about to see something few humans have ever witnessed."

[naughtbutlife]

Angelica easily obeyed the silent command, as she was already frozen on the spot with the fear of being charged by the great creature. While it looked almost lazy as it rested there, she imagined that if startled properly it was perfectly capable on going on rampage.

Wide-eyed and slightly awed, she watched the egg roll from side to side until it stopped, though the tapping noise continued. "A birth?" she whispered, sounding both terrified and thrilled.

She took Mal's hand again and crept along with her in tow to have a closer look.

[cauchemal]

Mal nodded, and they leaned forward just a little closer.

A hairline crack, barely visible, formed on the surface of the egg. A few more taps, and a tiny chip, smaller than a child's fingernail, broke away.