All across the valley was peaceful, with tall graceful trees towering over nesting grounds full of large, content eggs. King Cauda stretched out his neck, gazing at his land. He sighed, happy, then carefully picked a few choice leaves off the middle branch of his favorite tree, the conifer. He swallowed, letting the pieces of branch mix with the leaves, feeling them go down his gullet. Then he bent down and picked up some rocks with his teeth, gulping them whole. He smiled, satisfied with how well his kingdom was prospering.
The king was fairly young, only 50 years, but he was built to be a leader. With his long, strong neck, matching long tail, and weighing 40 tons, he was the largest apatosaurus for miles around.
"You know, daughter, for generations our family has led our fellow sauropods through a period of peace." Cauda looked down and smiled at Vidette, his eldest daughter. She was only a few years old, but she was wise beyond her years. It was always more apparent to Cauda when he saw how Vidette interacted with her younger sister, Ludicra. He loved them both, but Ludicra was much more brash.
With Vidette he could have his talks.
Vidette giggled. "I know, you've told me this story before."
Cauda frowned in worry. "But it's important that you know everything. Until now, you were too young. But as a future leader, you must be aware."
Vidette stopped giggling and looked up, concerned. "Aware of what?"
"You know about the murderous allosaurs, who slashed and killed hundreds of the smallest sauropods, forcing them to hide in the bushes and shadows until they grew strong enough to fight back."
Vidette nodded. "But grandfather Lentus saved us from all that, right?"
Cauda let his gaze fall upon his kingdom. He thought about his grandfather. Cauda was only a juvenile at the time, and he remembered what it was to live in fear. His heart used to beat so strongly he was afraid it would burst every time he heard the shrieks of nearby predators. Though he had spent all his free time eating so he could grow big, for the first few months he was still too small to protect himself. He used to hide with his brothers.
"I used to have brothers." Cauda cleared his throat, his eyes starting to water at the though.
"What happened to them?" Vidette said in a low voice.
"We were all so young. One day, the allosaurs took us by surprise, and my brothers and I knew we had to stick together; it was our best chance at fighting them off. Then my father arrived. He told us all to run away. I did as I was told, and ran as fast as I could, without looking back."
He took a deep breath, remembering the fear of the day. "But I was the only one of my siblings to make it."
"I'm so sorry," Vidette said. "I had no idea."
Cauda's heart warmed to his daughter. It was nice to be able to share with her. "I ran until I was completely out of breath, trying to block out the screams of the monsters tearing off chunks of my brothers' flesh. I turned around, for a split second, and then saw my father, covered in blood, walking away with a small allosaur. My brothers were nowhere to be seen."
"Panting, I fell against another tree and hoped I would be safe until I could find real shelter. Then I felt a large splash on the top of his head. I looked up, and heard my grandfather sobbing. Cautious, I strained to hear for signs of allosaurs. There was nothing. I poked his head out from behind the tree, and scanned the area. My jaw dropped when I saw my grandmother, Amare, on the ground, her neck bleeding out.
"I ran over to her body, calling out 'Grandmother!' My grandfather turned, eyes full of rage. Out of instinct, he swung his tail at me.
I jumped out of the way, pleading with him. But he did not seem to hear me. Fortunately I was small enough to get on two legs and scamper away in time.
I kept calling to me, 'Grandfather! Grandfather!' until finally he snapped out of it. He told me to get away, that they would be back at any moment.
I asked him, 'What happened to grandmother?'
He looked crestfallen.
"Allosaur attack-I...I couldn't stop them this time," he said. He frowned, his body shaking in anger. "We cannot go on like this. We have to put a stop to it."
I asked him how, but he just kept muttering to himself. Then he ordered me to find my father. The last thing I wanted was to see my father, but his tone was so sharp and scary I felt compelled to obey. I ran as fast as I could, right into a passing ornithopod.
He gave me a crooked smile, and then walked towards Grandfather.
I was confused, but didn't think about anything more about it, and poured my energy into finding Father. The next day, all the allosaurs were gone, and so were the ornithopods."
Cauda was lost in thought, at the memory. Vidette stayed quiet, soaking it all in.
"Sir?"
Cauda blinked, still remembering his grandfather fondly. Lentus had taught him how to be a good leader, decisive and never second guessing how to run his kingdom. And it had worked. With the allosaurs supplied with constant fresh meat, the sauropods and their allies had not had to fight for their lives in years.
"Sir!"
Cauda shook off his thoughts, and looked down at the creature trying to get his attention. It was a compsognathus, a small, nasty, but necessary to running the kingdom dinosaur species. They were the messengers between the herbivores and the carnivores, to ensure the peace. They weren't often needed, but when they came around it usually caused an annoyance.
Cauda tried not to look annoyed. "Yes, yes, what is it?"
"Your majesty," the compsognathus said, with a a bow. "My name is Callidus, newly assigned to the sauropod kingdom. "I'm afraid I have some bad news."
Cauda chuckled. "You messengers are always the same. Very doom and gloom. So what is it this time?"
Callidus looked very solemn. He bowed his head. "It's the allosaurs. They plan to attack."
