"That was some strange earthquake," I muttered, lifting my head up a bit. The ground shook for an hour this time, the longest one I've ever felt, but also the weakest. My babies slept soundly nearby in the nest, cuddling up with little squeaks and moans. They were awfully tired anyhow, they had a long day today.
And so did I.
Chasing after them.
They started to talk a few days ago, and I could make out little bits of their language into clearer words. Cal helped me a bit, like a second mentor or teacher, and I was surprised on how he taught my younglings the same way as his own, and the fact that it worked. I just needed to keep up with the program a bit.
Morning was just around the corner as I suspected, since a faint glow turned the clouds light grey with small transparent hole that still prevented light from seeing the world it lost. The ocean still flowed and crashed into the shoreline, then sprinkled salt upon the island's cliffside, bleeding rocks and soil back into the ocean to renew the process. The air was chilly and frosty, and a newfound coolness froze the plants that still stood drying but very much alive in a whitish outline. A faint ocean breeze of salt fizzed into the atmosphere, and for once, I felt peaceful.
For now.
Nighttime was the only time I could relax.
Morning rose into the new day, and everyone awoke just in time, Cal setting out to catch fish with Hope, who now was allowed to fly and hunt with her father, while me and Trixie cared for my younglings.
"They have incredible colors," She grinned, nudging Sunspot, the one with the red-ish outline, "You decided names for them right?"
I nodded, pointing with my beak, "The blue one's Crystal. Sunspot's the orange Quetzalcoatlus near you, Ava's the lavender one, and Major Jr. is my youngest one, he's black and white."
"Albino?"
"I don't think so," I frowned peering at Major Jr.'s exotic colors, "He's black and white, and has orange. It's weird though, how they got these vibrant colors. Its pretty cool..."
"Well I've never seen your kind all the time. So I'm sure the colors will go away after a while, and turn into yours. They're going to look just like you," Trixie grinned.
"-YY'think?"
"Well sure! If they have the same genes as you and Major, perhaps they'll turn out to be similar to what you are today." I shrugged back as an answer.
I guess so. She glanced at me, cocking her head, before pulling back with Crystal beneath her wing.
"You felt the earthquake last night, didn't you?" She wondered, "You look worried."
"How'd you know?" I questioned back, tilting my head in a frown, bobbing my beak a bit.
"I saw you wake up Lavender, and you never went back to sleep until it morning. Besides," She pointed to my eyes with her free, "Your eyes are pretty red, so you must be tired."
"I'm not tired."
"C'mon Lavender," Trixie muttered, flashing her glimmering eyes, "You can't spend your life resisting sleep. You'll get sick!" I looked at my sagging wings, then stared at Trixie's healthy ones, flowing like the leaves upon the trees. I sighed softly, letting my visible breath puff up like smoke.
I was losing myself a bit from my restless nights.
And if I were to survive, I needed to wake up and come to my actual senses.
"All I want to do is protect them," I whispered to Trixie, staring at Major Jr. as if a past reflection stared back at me. He opened his wings, then flapped them, making me smile.
"I see that. But it takes time. It was hard for me the first time when Hope was born. But now, things are turning our way. They're mature, fun, playful, and smart. I'm sure the same will happen vice versa with your own if you just allow yourself to take control of time-"
"HEY!" A female pterodactyl's voice made us all jump simultaneously, and Trixie sank back, eyes popped clear out her head in fear. Hope's faint shadow flapped in the distance, growing larger and larger, yet from my perspective, she looked panicked and worried. Her balance was off, wing flapping off beat, and eyes wide and scared as she glimpsed at the earth below.
"She slipping!" I cried, alerting Trixie, "She's gonna-"
I cut off. Her flapping went off balanced for a bit, before suddenly, her wing tilted unnaturally, dropped left to point down to the ocean, then allowed gravity to yank Hope down with speed.
Her mother's eyes widened, and both of her hearts froze solid as we watched with terror, seeing a young pterodactyl plummet towards the ocean, twirling like a tornado.
"NO! HOPE!!" Trixie shrieked, urging herself to take off, but she froze, hesitant to leave. And I could see in her eyes, leaving her younglings would bring trouble. I felt myself begin to leave, but I too froze.
I was scared.
No...no, don't you dare...GO! I hissed at my increasing fears. An image of Major's face splattered in my mind, and I closed my eyes wincing painfully.
C'mon.... I clutched my head, trembling hard.
Another image of him smiling flooded my heart, seeing his large wings hug me with pride.
"I'll always be there even when I'm not Lavender," He whispered, nudging me, "....you know what to do...so don't be afraid..."A clicking sound, like time or clockworks snapped inside my brain, and before I knew I, I lunged off the nest, diving down towards the pterodactyl in panic.
"Lavender!" Trixie's voice cried, "You're wings! You could die...!" Her voice faded as my stomach lurched in the new falling feeling. I flapped my wings harder, allowing gravity to use my huge weight as an advantage, and slowly, I began to edge closer to Hope.
But it wasn't fast enough.
The sight of the rocks below made my heart skip a beat, seeing its jagged points glow in the wet waters, and thus flew faster to avoid such an impending death, screeching to myself as encouragement.
"C'MON!" I cried, then outstretched my foot claws as I spun upright in the fall. Hope's screams were growing louder as my first claw snatched a hold onto her wing. Then the next.
And then the next.
"HOPE, REACH!" I screamed to her.
But by the time I caught her fully, claw in claw, I was way too close to the ground. My eyes widened as the jagged rocks sprung up at me, and I thrusted hard, pulling tons of muscles in my wings as I flapped up.
Then, Hope's skull smacked right into a rock formation with a sickening crack.
My belly slid right through another.
But before another injury was put into place, I flapped hard upwards, ignoring the peculiar pain in my chest. I strained my wings hard, pumping them with so much energy, I thought they fell off back into the ravaging ocean. But somehow, I found myself back at the nest, wheezing uncontrollably.
"Lavender! Hope!" Trixie cried, seeing her baby. My vision was starting to fog up somehow, and I caught myself with my wings, heaving hard through my winded lungs as I landed awkwardly. Trixie caught Hope, then fell back, grasping onto her hatchling as if she hugged a rough and scarred tree.
"Hope?" Trixie cried in sorrow, "HOPE?! HOPE!!" The pterodactyl's wings laid limp in the nest, while her brother stared at their older sister's silent body. Trixie began to sob as she clutched Hope, trembling with fear. I stared at the limp female pterodactyl before a spasm of pain uplifted in my chest.
What in the world... I muttered in my mind, placing my wing onto my chest.
And out came the blood.
Lots of it.
"Not my Hope..." Trixie wept nearby, "Not now...not yet..."
I trembled hard as pools of my own blood stained the nest, bringing wonder towards my little ones behind me. A huge gash slid perfectly through my belly in a straight line from one side to the other. I stumbled at first, then began to buckle with ramshackled bones.
"Lavender..." The pterodactyl began, then stared at me with wider eyes, "Oh my gosh..." I took a limp step, before silently dropping to the ground, while everything began to fade all around me.
"No, no, no, LAV!" Trixie's faint voice screamed, "NO! Get up, Get up!!" She looked around in the dark forest screaming.
"Help! Help!"
Her last shout was inaudible however, and so was everything else.
Then everything faded to black.