Men & Monsters

Trapped in a Closet

"Ah come on, mate! Why not?" Swipe moaned as he shuffled along behind Thorn. The ceratosaurus continuously tried to separate himself from the raptor, but each time he moved away, Swipe followed. His eyes narrowed as his blood boiled.

"You annoy me to no end. Now leave me be!"

"But we make such a good team, we do." Swipe replied with a curly grin and joyful tap to the ground from his right foot.

"Whaddya mean lad? I caught that meal. Not you."

"Roight, but that doesn't mean it wasn't any less delicious, eh?"

"You're a scavenger. At least other scavengers have some sort of dignity, and can speak like a sensible being."

"Oy! Don't ya be puttin' down me Ma's teachin's. Ya should'a heard her tongue. Flawless."

"I'm more than certain..." Thorn turned and started off once again. He didn't even care if he was heading toward the forest, a domain he typically stayed away from. All he wanted was to be rid of his tormentor. With an eager wag of his stiff tail and a wide grin, the deinonychus was right behind him. As he darted up to Thorn's side, he looked up affectionately to the disgruntled dinosaur.

"Ya know, we've got ourselves a good thing goin' eh? Ya the nice one. I'm the good-lookin' one. I'm not sayin' ya ain't bad lookin', I just don't swing dat way ya know? Ah, ya know. And this banter! Classic."

"Well it'll have to remain a classic then, won't it?"

"Ya see? That's what I'm talkin' aboot!"

"Please, I beg of you. Leave me. Find someone, anyone, else to pester. Please."

"Nope! Me Ma always said I was some sorta detecta for good souls. And ya, Thorn? Ya somethin' special. Like I said though, I don't want ya thinkin' of me like that."

"Deal. I won't think of you at all."

"Ah! Such wit! Gosh, we're quite admirable don't ya think? All we need now is a bunch 'a good-lookin' gals to fawn o'er us ya know?"

"Stop. Just stop!" Thorn turned and howled at the raptor. Swipe blinked once as he held his hands close to his form, shocked by the outburst. "Listen, I have a hard enough time just getting by. I have big beasts and pack hunters stealing my food all the time. This has been my first real meal in days. I do not need someone like you following me around."

"Like me? Whaddya tryin' to say there mate?" Swipe cackled.

"Go away!" And with that, the ceratosaurus turned and ran as fast as he could through the forest, leaving Swipe a bit puzzled. It became apparent, however, that Thorn wasn't exactly the fastest dinosaur he had ever met, especially compared to himself. He watched as he trotted along for some ways, when he smiled.

"Ya can't separate best pals ya know!" The raptor took off after Thorn, taking mere moments to catch up with the elder dinosaur. While the ceratosaur huffed and panted, Swipe appeared completely fine at the pace he was running. "Ya know, I know this one fella who was a meat-eata, he was one 'a the fellas I told ya about rememba? The one who died? Yeah. Well he had a friend who was a long neck. One 'a them leaf-eatin' long necks. Like they make any other kind right? Ha! Ya can't make that up. Yep, they were best friends even when everyone else said it wouldn't work. Ya see? This friendship can work." The two dinosaurs came to a stop, with Swipe smiling widely up at Thorn.

"Why do you torment me?"

"That's just what friends do!" Thorn narrowed his eyes. It had been several hours since he had met this nuisance. He talked incessantly, he was of poor taste, he had that terrible dialect, and he ate most of his dinner. It was a wonder he hadn't gotten a stomach cramp from this running. Thorn's upper lip pulled back to reveal his dagger-like teeth as his heart raced. Was he really that willing to get rid of Swipe? He argued with himself internally, with one thought suggesting it would take but one bite, not to mention another meal for himself, while another brought up the morals of it all. It was true: Thorn never killed a beast he had a conversation with, as many carnivores might tend to do. But this one, he thought, could be a real exception.