"A Quest Of Friends"

[Thundertail]

IC: Bentfeather and Tebo with Hazen, Partnership Day!

Bentfeather flew to the front desk to wait for Hazen and Tebo to catch up, telling Mizzy to hold any of his business until he returned; and by the time the two boys got there, he hopped aboard Tebo’s shoulder. Out the doors and down the steps to the street they went, running the gamut of a troop of jugglers in Juggler’s square as they went into the city proper. Through the crowds of colorfully dressed people and equally decked out saurians they pushed, pausing a while to see a precession of twenty recently Partnered couples pass in parade fashion. These ones ranged from old to young, older saurians with their humans riding them, hatchlings with their youngster children by their sides and other arrangements that seemed to be as diverse as anything Hazen had seen.

“I do not have a Partner yet…”, Tebo replied at Hazen’s inquiry. “But with luck, maybe that will change!…”

At a large intersection near the rear of the Hall of Hadrosaurs and Ceratopsians, Bentfeather had them both stop for a somber precession wearing darker attire to pass by. “These ones celebrate Partnerships lost, friendships that can not be broken even in death.”, the humans and saurians moaned and nodded as they passed. “Please wait here a moment…”, Bentfeather said.

The Microraptor took to the wing in an upward spiral, gaining altitude until he was just above the tall buildings. In a lazy spiral he maneuvered around the crowd from above; twisting and turning around the neck of a Bracheosaur there until he was vertical with the street below. With a long cry he plummeted to the ground, only pulling out of it when he was mere feet from the cobbles; then swooped up and fell back on Tebo’s shoulder. Bentfeather bowed sadly as the crowd in the area gave him respectful applause.

“Thank you…”, his voice was barely heard as he wiped a tear. “Um,… That was an aerial death-dirge in honor of my Partner, Nicolai Sanders…”, he sniffed again. “I suppose I never gave him a proper farewell…”

“Have no worry, my friend.”, Tebo said to the creature on his shoulder. “It was very beautiful!”, Hazen voiced his comments on it too.

“Let’s go…”, Bentfeather suggested meekly.

Onward through the crowd the trio trudged, and after a mere two blocks more their spirits rose considerably; for who could stay sad in a place where such joy and happiness inundated them from all sides? Soon they all got into the music being played by pipers piping on Niccolos, horns of every description, zithers and accordions; each playing their own tune with their Partners and others dancing along to their beat, and each musician tried to outdo each other in the loudness department as well! Hazen dearly wished he had remembered to bring his guitar, for he had want to put his musical skills into play, and have a tremendous jam session besides!

As the swaying rithyms of the musicians played, whole crowds swayed along with them as their cheering deafened out even the roarings of the many waterfalls that gave the city it’s name. For some reason a stretch of sidewalk was empty of people, and Tebo noticed a hopscotch court chalked onto it, evidentially left there by children before the festivities started; and he was so swept up in the celebration that he hopped along the hopscotch court like the professional he used to be as a little kid; Bentfeather squawking as he clung to the lad’s shoulder. Hazen watched this at a walking pace, and chuckled within himself at that silly act, but did not join in as they waited for him to catch up.

At the end of the street they turned west, and stopped at the ritziest eatery in town, for the Booraza Café was serving free fare to all celebrating citizens; and had delicacies from their specialty menu along with every sort of catered item one could imagine, and the trio picked this or that tidbit from tables as they passed. They washed their scant meals down with the various fruit concoctions that also were served before wading into the crowd once again for more merrymaking. They let the tide of the crowd lead them around to Fountain street, and up it through many more spectacles such as tumblers and other acrobats; and several more short parades of newly Partnered pairs passed by, and the trio hoped their cheering could be heard by them through the din.

Nearly all morning and early afternoon this went on, and they found themselves near the front of the Hall of Hadrosaurs and Ceratopsians; at a wide tunnel that ramped down below it, the sign above it read in saurian: ‘Waterfall City Hatchery’. Downward they walked, and the celebration above seemed to diminish to nearly nothing in the Sunstone sconced tunnel, and the humidity began to rise along with the heat. Soon the tunnel stopped, and huge oaken doors loomed before them; and Bentfeather had Tebo open one side to let them in.

“Is everyone having fun so far?…”, Bentfeather asked quietly, smiling. “I suppose you’re wondering what we are doing here. The celebration of Partnership Day is a celebration of life; and what better way to celebrate it than observing how life begins!”, he snuck a look inside. “Now try to be as quiet as possible, lest you disturb the young ones…”

In around the corner they seemed to creep, but straightened their stances at the sight of many adult human and saurians milling about the arrays of nest boxes; chatting quietly on various hatchling-related subjects. Human children peered into the nest boxes, most filled with a single large egg of various coloration and pigment; many ran around, parent at want to corral them to silence. Hatchlings were about to, scampering about in an almost tag-like manner; hatchery workers in white headpieces as the females were wearing or in brown aprons as the males were, and all workers answered inquiries and catered to the visitors as the situation mandated.

As they all stepped inside, they were greeted by a male worker, who bowed and spread his arm to indicate the hatchery as a whole; then they got to work going on a tour of the place. As Bentfeather told each which dinosaur the various sized and shaped eggs were, they noticed that many were wobbling in their nest boxes; and Bentfeather said that those were the ones about to hatch, and they only do that a day or so before they do so. Behind them a barely waist high Lambeosaur jumped out from around a corner and scared a hatchling Monoclonius, who ran screaming into another room; and when no other hatchling was in sight, she began looking for more victims.

Seeing one, she hid once more among the legs of a small knot of humans examining the cauldron of boiling water that gave the incubation room it’s humidity. In ran a baby Miasaurus, and she stuck her tail out in a flash; sending the other sprawling as it bawled in pain, and sending her in hiding as she waited for her mayhem to settle down. In the mean time, Tebo palmed an egg to stillness as he noticed it was shaking hard enough to fall out of the nest box as Bentfeather cooed it to stillness; and Hazen just took up the rear, listening to Bentfeather’s instruction but not really participating.

All of a sudden he felt a slight thump near his legs, making him turn and look down with a start; but it was a good thing he was against the nest box shelves or he would have fallen. What he saw was a little bipedal dinosaur barely as tall as his waist, sprawled on the floor where she skidded to a stop; mewling for a second, then using Hazen’s pant cuffs to wrest herself to a standing position. She smoothed the material a bit before looking up at Hazen; and as both regarded each other for a moment, Hazen heard his name called, and he rushed back toward his mentor.

The tiny Lambeosaur saw something in that encounter, something she just couldn’t place; but it was something that she was determined to find out more of, so she followed this unusual human from a distance. He seemed to be taking a tour of sorts, but the other human seemed to have his Partner on his shoulder - she didn’t trust flyers! She snuck around so she could get a better look, sneaking peeks around tables and through the legs of the many others present; and saw that they were all going into the Playroom! She sauntered in like she owned the place, and saw them all sit on the human chairs there; and the flyer had perched himself on the large ball in the room, balancing precariously as he gave instruction, so she watched from the edge of the rug in the center of the room.

“Now that you have seen how hatcheries work, you can understand the importance we place on it; for it is our lifeblood.”, said Bentfeather as he balanced. “I didn’t lead you here so you could choose your own Partners… Though if you wish, you may.”, he saw Tebo and Hazen watch him, plus spied the little Lambeosaur doing the same. “Special bonds can be made when young, and those bonds can last a lifetime… AWK!…”

Suddenly the ball rolled out from under him, and he landed backwards on the carpeted floor! Tebo was just beginning to get up when they all heard the miniature huffing chuckles of the hatchling that was suddenly beside Hazen, and all turned to the little one as Bentfeather got up. The Lambeosaur hatchling looked sheepish as she grasped Hazen’s pant cuff again, wrenching it nervously; then she lightly moaned in a saurian greeting. As Bentfeather sidled up to the creature, she crouched a bit and backed up a step, but no more.

“Well, well!… Who do we have here..!”, Bentfeather said sweetly. “Come to visit…?”

The little one chortled a string of baby talk, but Bentfeather could almost tell what was being said, so he translated as best as he could. “I think she said that I was funny… That you, Tebo was smart… and Hazen was nice but sad…”, he looked at her.

“Isn’t that right, sweetie?…”, she nodded, clutching Hazen’s pant leg tighter. “She seems to like you…”, the Lambeosaur hatchling nodded, then chirruped some more.

“I think she doesn’t want you to be sad any more…”, another nod at Bentfeather’s guessed translation. “…and maybe she could help.”

“She seems to like you a lot…”, Tebo observed, then smiled. “Hazen’s got a girlfriend!… Hazen’s got a girlfriend!…”

“Stop that, scamp!”, Bentfeather scolded. “What do you think, Hazen?”, he turned to the lad to say…
_

TAG: Hazen, any and all!

[o8jedi]

IC: Hazen Baker, Waterfall City and WC Hatchery

Hazen hissed through his teeth when he heard that Tebo did not have a partner of his own, not wanting to make him feel any more self-conscious about that than he already may or may not have. Still, judging by how Tebo conducted himself after that point, it was water under the bridge and he followed them through the city's festivities.

They paused a moment to allow Bentfeather to fly for a moment. From the ground, it was a wonderful aerial ballet. By the time Bentfeather screeched and plummetted, Hazen knew exactly what was going on: he was mourning his fallen Partner.

Once he was completed, Hazen nodded, adding, "I completely understand. You have every right to grieve in your own way." The rest of the morning and early afternoon was met with enjoyable entertainments. Hazen hadn't visited a local festival in years and he had fond memories of when he was a child come flooding back to him. The next thing he knew, he was going down into the city's hatchery. He was only partially paying attention during the tour, having visited a hatchery before and having memories resurfacing. How he wished he could follow up on that little one . . .

He examined the various species' eggs as they went by and heard a few screams and cries. He turned to see a small hadrosaur of some kind playing pranks on some of the others. He sighed, thinking to himself that there was always one troublemaker in a group of youngsters. Clearly, this hadrosaur knew what she was doing since staff was constantly trying to maintain a sense of quiet calm (which was difficult to do with the crying hatchlings she left in her wake). He turned back to the tour.

A few minutes later as the group was about to move on, Hazen was almost knocked over. He stabilized himself against the nest boxes as he looked at what caused it. He wasn't terribly surprised to see the young hadrosaur from earlier. She helped herself up using Hazen's pants as a support in addition to a kind hand from him. She looked up at the human with a look that almost asked if she was in trouble.

Hazen smiled slightly in return and asked, "Are you alright?" She nodded slightly. "Well, maybe you shouldn't be playing so rough with the others, alright?" Just then, he heard Bentfeather summon him. Hazen looked at the little one and said, "I've gotta go." As he crossed the threshold, he got one last glance back at her. She was cute enough, but wasn't exactly drawn to her, either. He then thought again about the little one before catching up with the tour.

After a few more rooms, Hazen sat down in a chair, watching Bentfeather conclude his tour, before crashing from his spherical perch. He felt a tightening around his pant leg. He glanced down and saw the little hadrosaur again. His eyebrows raised in surprise. Evidently, he had some sort of impression on her. Those suspicions were confirmed after Bentfeather asked her a few questions. Tebo made a joking remark and Hazen pointed at his eyes with two of his fingers before pointing them back at Tebo, a common sign back home for "I'm watching you." Then, Bentfeather asked him about what he would like to do with her.

Hazen had to admit that he was flattered by her wanting to cheer him up. He smiled and chuckled uneasily before looking down at the juvenile. "I think it's sweet you want to do this for me," he began, "but I'm not really sure that you could help me. I-it's complicated." The hadrosaur gave him a puzzled look and Hazen tried to think of how he could put it to the young dinosaur. "Umm . . . maybe later?" The look changed to one of resentment before she bleated something and trampled off to some other part of the hatchery. Hazen looked around, not sure what he had done. "Was it something I said?" he asked.

A worker began, "That's Redcrest. Her mother is in Sauropolis, undergoing guard training. Her father is also a busy Lambeosaur, working as a merchant here in Waterfall City. He can't exactly afford a babysitter and his Partner doesn't have a family of his own and also assists him running his stand so he drops her off here. With no playmates of her own, she often torments the other hatchlings. To be honest, I'm surprised she took a liking to you; she almost never shows an interest in others."

Hazen started to feel sheepish, hearing her story. "I think I get the idea." He sighed taking it in and wondering what he got himself into. "I should apologize to her, but I don't know exactly what to say. I mean, the sadness she picked up on isn't really something she would understand." Bentfeather prodded him to elaborate.

Hazen sighed and said, "Well, when I came here, I was picked up by Tebo's uncle Patel. They were going to deliver something to the town of Irenic and I tagged along. We stayed at the hatchery there and I was able to witness the hatching of three Triceratops eggs." He then smiled, thinking back on the day. "I even got to name one. Syd. Man, he was so adorable..." Hazen realized he was digressing. "Anyway, I had been thinking about Syd a lot lately and I just wanted to sort of see how he was doing. Never got around to sending a letter to follow up on it, but it has been something I've been thinking about." He looked back at the door that Redcrest went through. "Man, I feel like a heel now."

TAG: Bentfeather, Tebo, Any and all!

[Thundertail]

IC: Bentfeather and Tebo Lewis with Hazen Baker, the Waterfall City hatchery.

“Well, it’s no crime to be that way,”, Bentfeather said after hearing what Hazen said. He paced the floor toward the ball, but dared not land atop it again! “Especially when you seem to have another commitment, as it were!”, he considered some thoughts for a moment, then smiled. “You know, Hazen; you never cease to amaze me!… Here I thought you might need some companionship to help you work out your problems… Now I see you already had one, and wished to see him again!…”

“You should have told us!…”, Tebo added.

Bentfeather looked at the hatchery worker. “Do you suppose that Redcrest’s father would appreciate a babysitter for her?… For a little while, you understand.”

“I’ll have to find out when he comes for her this evening…”, the worker said uncertainly. “Is he a qualified caregiver?… He might ask that…”

“Never fear! He shall be amply taught!”, Bentfeather promised.

“Perhaps I should prepare a note for him.”, the hatchery worker said. “I’ll need some information when I’m done.”, he left in a hurry at the sound of a crash. “Breathe deep…”

“Seek peace… (If you can, old fellow!)“, Bentfeather chuckled, then turned to see Hazen’s confusion. “If you have a Partner that young, you should learn how to take care of one. Am I not right?”, Hazen nodded. “You see, now that I know this, a solution can be found; and who would have thought that the solution would come to you!”

“I’m sure I can find lots of books on the subject at the library!”, Tebo told him. “There are ones on hatchlings in general, Hadrosaurs in particular, the little problems they are likely to have, there’s ones on problem children, and ones on any medical problems too!… I should gather them for you right away!…”

“You may search for them tomorrow…”, Bentfeather told his student. “Today is a day of celebration, after all!”, he turned to Hazen, seeing his look. “You may try to apologize to Redcrest, if you wish…”, Hazen nodded and went off to search the hatchery for the little Hadrosaur.

Tebo and Bentfeather watched Hazen leave the playroom, looking this way and that for the miniature dinosaur; and as his form left their sight, they noticed many of the other hatchlings had arrived while they were talking. Several were romping around, conversing in baby-talk and playing with the various toys that were there for them. Some stacked blocks or pulled wooden automatons across the floor or played with balls of various sizes; as was their want right after their Noonmeal served to them elsewhere in the hatchery. Tebo looked especially hopeful at many of the little dinosaurs as they played near them, but his mood dimmed as they were drawn away by other things that interested them. Bentfeather noticed this strange behavior, and remembered him stating that he was without a Partner for himself. He had always been fond of this yearling human, and found that his personality closely matched his former Partner’s; and he suddenly came to a decision about the lad.

“Tebo, may I say something to you?…”, he said softly.

“What is it, sir Bentfeather?”, asked Tebo.

“You know the flight I took today at the parade?…”, Tebo nodded at Bentfeather’s antics earlier. “With that flight, I said my final farewell to Nicolai Sanders.”, he swallowed before going on. “This means that I have put away the past at last, and I am ready to go to the future.”

“I don’t understand.”, Tebo said.

“Ever since you came to me to learn, I saw within you something fantastic and bright.”, said Bentfeather. “Endearing qualities that I would want to experience for the rest of my life.”

“What are you saying?”, Tebo asked, just barely getting what he was saying.

“It means, my dear boy…”, Bentfeather raised a hand to Tebo. “That I would be more than happy if you would be my Life Partner.”, he smirked. “That is if you wish to put up with a worn-out old feather duster like myself!…”

Tebo’s eyes lit up. “Oh, Bentfeather!…”, their palms touched. “It would be an honor!”

Tebo drew the Microraptor into an embrace, of which neither protested. The hatchlings there saw something important was going on, and paused their playing to witness the event. As the pair gigglingly released each other, they heard Hazen Baker’s footfalls at the doorsill of the playroom, and looked up suddenly at him and the tiny Hadrosaur at his side…
_

TAG: Hazen, any and all!

[o8jedi]

IC: Hazen Baker and Redcrest, Waterfall City Hatchery

Things happened so quickly for Hazen that he couldn't exactly interject that he wasn't Partners per se with Syd. After all, all he did was give him a name. Surely that didn't hold that much significance, did it? He got in "Well, it's..." and "Umm, actually..." before potential arrangements for him to babysit the little hadrosaur were being made. Hazen sighed and shook his head to himself. While he had to admit that not telling them about Syd sooner was his error, any troubles that may be caused by this arrangement would be theirs.

In any case, he walked out of the room to find Redcrest. He glanced around what appeared to be a dormatory and found her sulking form, crouched in the corner of the room with an overturned crib nearby, obviously the source of the crash he heard earlier. He walked closer to her and saw that she was crying. Now he felt really guilty. He swallowed and knelt down to her level.

"Redcrest?" he said quietly. "It's me." The hadrosaur turned sharply away from the sound of the grown-up. "Listen," Hazen said, "I want to say I'm sorry. I didn't know that I'd make you sad. The last thing I want to do is make you cry." She turned slightly and Hazen saw the tear streams on her face. Hazen reached out to wipe them away and he was surprised to see she let him. He smiled and scooted closer. He gave her neck and body a few reassuring rubs.

Redcrest turned around and burbled something. Hazen shook his head and said, "I don't quite understand." She then pointed at Hazen. He guessed that she wanted to know his name.

Hazen said, "You can call me Hazen. Can you say that?"

"Haysa!" she said, trying her best to say her new friend's name.

Hazen chuckled. "I think that's close enough." Knowing that she was trusting him again, Hazen began to think that babysitting her may not be a bad idea after all. "Say," he said, "You want to play some games with me?"

Redcrest yipped excitedly and trotted around the room. Hazen stood up and allowed her to lead the way to the playroom. The pair stopped shortly after crossing the threshold. Hazen looked at Tebo and Bentfeather, seeing that they were locked in a tight embrace. Judging from the look on Tebo's face, he could tell something important went on. Redcrest grabbed his pantleg, a bit unsure of what was going on. Hazen walked closer to the pair and said, "Did I miss something?"

Bentfeather explained that the two of them had become Life Partners and Hazen smiled, congratulating the two of them. "I'm sure you'll make a wonderful couple. So I take it that Tebo's the bride?" he joked. After Bentfeather chided him, Hazen then said, "I think I'd like to hang around here for a bit, if it's alright with you. I sort of promised Redcrest here that I'd play a game or two with her. Also, remind me to talk to you about Syd some more when we head home."

Little Redcrest looked at the flyer and the boy and then back at Haysa. Something special had just happened between the flyer and the boy, though she wasn't quite aware of what it was. She also hoped that Haysa would be able to share that thing with her. He seemed to be getting a little less sad since he started talking to her and, though he was talking to the other grown-ups now, he was officially the best friend she ever had. She hoped that she would play some more with him tomorrow and the day after that.

TAG: Tebo, Bentfeather, any and all.

[Thundertail]

IC: Tebo and Bentfeather with Hazen and Redcrest, the Waterfall City hatchery.

It was a fine thing to see all of them happier than they were a few moments ago, Bentfeather thought; and with good reason as this was a very special day, in more ways than one. Tebo and he had become Partners, and Hazen would soon know the love one could expect with taking care of a hatchling. Redcrest did not seem to be very bad as she snuggled Hazen’s side, as hatchlings become attached to others very quickly; and even though Redcrest was rumored to be destructive at times, he figured it was just because she was left to her devices while her busy parents worked… Idle claws are the Evil One’s tools, after all!

Becoming Partners with Tebo was a private and solemn event between two beings, but seeing as they were caught in the act, as it were; they both had no qualms about admitting it to Hazen; and told him proudly besides. Bentfeather had to admit that he had neglected to meet the boy’s family proper, and this would be a perfect opportunity to get to know them as well. As with Hazen and Redcrest, they seemed to be getting along fine after their brief misunderstanding; and the Microraptor thought they would be the best thing for each other, the little one would know to trust the companionship of grownups and Hazen would learn to care about another creature.

As Hazen said his last comment, Bentfeather had an idea. “Perhaps you might like to send a message to Syd, wish him Happy Circumspink Day, or such…”, he looked around, but found no hatchery workers present at the moment. “We can have a Postal Bird summoned, and you can send a message if you wish!… Hatchery workers usually have Postal Bird whistles.”

A look crossed Redcrest’s face at the mention of a hatchery worker, and maybe they needed one for some reason. She knew how to get a hatchery worker, and have them come on the run! She spied one of the hatchlings, playing with the wooden blocks across the room; and with lightning speed and before anybody could do anything, ran over and knocked the hatchling’s block tower to the ground! Immediately the Chasmosaur began to bray and bawl, it took him all of Playtime to get his creation right!… Hazen scolded her lightly as she scampered back to his side innocently, and within moments a female hatchery worker came in to se what was the matter. After soothing the miffed hatchling, she gave Redcrest an evil stare before standing and turning to leave.

“Oh miss…”, Bentfeather said awkwardly. “If it would not be a trouble, would you have a Postal Bird sent… No big hurry.”

“Right away, fine saurian.”, she said, then made a comment. “I’d watch her, if I were you!”, and left the room in a rush.

“That was bad!”, Bentfeather told Redcrest, and both Tebo and Hazen told her likewise; then after all were done, Bentfeather had a thought. “You know, I think she was trying to help us. Redcrest heard me mention wanting a hatchery worker; and her prank brought one right away.”, he flew down to the floor to be more eye to eye with her. “Isn’t that right, sweetie?…”, she nodded.

“She could have done it in a nicer way, though.”, Tebo said. “Knocking over someone’s thing is mean!”, she hung her head.

“She meant well…”, Bentfeather said as he rubbed under her chin - his feathers tickled! “But maybe she could be taught to do things in a nicer way. She’s very young, and no doubt doesn’t know any better…”

“Yeah, she’ll learn.”, Tebo said, accepting Bentfeather on his shoulder as he rose. “Sooner or later, at any rate…”

Just then a shrill whistle that was painfully at the top of human hearing was heard from somewhere in the hatchery, and Bentfeather smiled. “She summons a Postal Bird…”, he commented. “Well, my friends. I think we can take that as our cue to leave!…”

“Why?”, asked Tebo.

“Since I have just acquired a new Partner, it is only proper to meet his family!”, Bentfeather replied, palming his cheek. “Besides, I have never properly met them, though I saw your mother at her tailor shop… Remember the concert? She wanted to sew gold thread into my cape, but I said it would be too flashy!…”

“Oh!…”, Tebo giggled as he waved to Redcrest. “Bye, bye…”

Bentfeather turned to Hazen. “If you wish, we could leave you here so you can get better acquainted with Redcrest… You know the way from here?…”, Hazen nodded as he smiled at the baby Hadrosaur.

Redcrest wondered why her other friends were leaving, but smiled as her other friend seemed to be staying; and she returned his smile as good as her saurian mouth could manage…
_

TAG: Hazen, any and all!

[o8jedi]

IC: Hazen Baker and Redcrest, Waterfall City Hatchery

Hazen waved goodbye to Bentfeather and Tebo as they left to celebrate the rest of their day. As a Postal Bird flew inside, Hazen looked down at Redcrest and gave her a big smile. "I need to send a message right now, but if you've got any games you like to play, I'd be happy to have you show me." Redcrest snorted and made a pouting face. "It won't take long," he said.

"Please give your destination and message," said the bird. "Messages over 50 words will incur a surcharge."

"To Sascha Triceratops, Irenic. Message reads: It has been several months since we first met in the hatchery and I wanted to find out how your children were doing, especially Syd. I can be f-found . . ." Hazen glanced down at Redcrest, who was tugging hard on Hazen's pant leg, trying to hurry him up. Hazen put a finger up. "In a minute," he said before turning back to the bird. "I can be found in Waterfall City, where I'm continuing my education. Sincerely yours, Hazen Baker. Could you read that back to me?" He looked back at Redcrest, pleading with her to have some patience.

The bird cleared its throat: "'To Sascha Triceratops, Irenic. It has been several months since we first met in the hatchery and I wanted to find out how your children were doing, especially Syd. I can be f-found, in a minute. I can be found in Waterfall City, where I'm continuing my education. Sincerely yours, Hazen Baker.' Is this satisfactory?"

"Yes--NO!" Too late, the words escaped from his lips and the bird flew off to its destination. Hazen sighed. "Well, there goes that message." By now, Redcrest was hopping up and down with the tugs. "Alright!" Hazen said as he knelt down to her. "Alright. Now we can play. Now what are some of your favorite games to play?" he asked.

Redcrest gave a little bleat before scampering back to the Chasmosaur that was playing with blocks. With a single kick, she knocked the tower over, again causing the hatchling to start crying and again bringing in a worker to calm him down. Hazen quickly rushed over and grabbed her by the hand, leading her away, but not before meeting an icy stare from the worker. Once they were away from the crying Chasmosaur, he said, "You wouldn't like it if someone kicked over your toys, would you?" Redcrest sheepishly looked down and shook her head. Hazen smiled. "See? It pays to play nice. Now, let's try a game that doesn't involve hurting others' feelings." He looked around for a toy to play with and he saw the ball Bentfeather was standing on. He kicked the ball over to her and she stopped it. Hazen sat down so his back was beside a wall. "This is a very simple game," Hazen said. "It's called, 'Get the Ball Past Me.'" Redcrest just gave him a confused stare. Hazen then said, "Just roll the ball my way."

Redcrest complied and Hazen leaned for it, intentionally and comically missing it. The hadrosaur chortled, noting how funny her human friend was acting. He grabbed the ball and rolled it back to her, "Okay, you just scored a point. If I stop the ball, it's a point for me. First to ten wins." Redcrest rolled the ball again and again, Hazen made a comical effort to catch it. Redcrest laughed again and Hazen knew she was getting the hang of it. "I'm gonna get it this time!" Hazen said as he rolled it back. Without waiting, Redcrest rolled it quickly and Hazen stopped it. "Ha ha! I got it this time!"

Every time they finished a game, Redcrest would bleat, "Again!" in Saurian. Hazen complied each time until a deep, but quiet bellow came from somewhere in the hatchery. Redcrest squawked excitedly and grabbed Hazen's hand, trying to lead him to the source. Hazen followed her the best he could and saw what he presumed was her father. His crest was red like hers, but had several yellow highlighting stripes, which extended to a wattle that hung below his chin. The father snorted seeing the strange human his daughter dragged along. She began to excitedly chirrup to her father and Hazen could only stand by since he couldn't exactly understand her baby speech.

After hearing his daughter's report of the day, he began to speak to Hazen, who unfortunately hadn't quite mastered the Hadrosaur dialects. Hazen bit his lip, trying to translate it. "You are kind man, Haysa. Come for eatings and talkings."

Hazen shook his head slightly. "With all due respect, you're going to have to enunciate your speech a bit more clearly. I think you just invited me over for Eveningmeal." A quick harrumph and a nod from the father confirmed his translation. "In that case, I'd be honored, Mister . . ."

"Polongo. Like river. Come," he beckoned and Hazen followed him out.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, sir," Hazen said, "and it's actually 'Hazen.' Hazen Baker."

Redcrest stayed at Hazen's side the entire time, happy that the nice but sad man was meeting Papa. Maybe after Eveningmeal, he'd play with her some more or better yet, live with them! She could barely contain her excitement and ran ahead, waiting for the grown-ups to catch up.

"Don't go too far!" Hazen warned.

TAG: Any and all.

[Thundertail]

OCC: Here’s a long one!…

IC: Tebo Lewis and Bentfeather, on the way to Tebo’s house.

“Do you think Hazen will do well with Redcrest?”, Tebo asked as they left the hatchery and headed toward Mosasaur Harbor.

“I’m sure he will, my friend…”, Bentfeather told him. “Taking care of an offspring is a big responsibility: but being an older human, he should adapt in time.”, he smiled. “He has more within him than he knows!”

At a corner they saw another small parade of recently Partnered pairs form up, and Bentfeather had Tebo go there to ask if they could join in; and since it was a day for Partners, the rest participating gladly gave them room in the parade! They were placed near the head of the line, along side a yearling Triceratops the size of a hippo, who was decked out with a crimson tasseled saddle blanket and an ornate saddle car that sported a very beautiful blonde girl of medium age; and flanked on the other side by a hatchling Ankylosaur and a tiny baby boy being carried by his mother, all in flowing sky blue silk garments. A dozen other pairs were also in the cue, a mixture of species, genders and ages; and all were decked out in their finest attire, waiting for their parade to begin. A Stegosaur carrying a miniature bandstand and six players took up the rear, and they struck up a tune akin to a march; and all in the parade took up the cue and proudly began to march down the street, waving and otherwise greeting the crowd on the sidewalks.

These parades were usually pretty short, and this one dissipated six blocks into the city; where many had evidentially agreed to stop for their own private celebrations. Tebo and Bentfeather said their farewells to them all and continued toward their destination at Mosasaur Harbor. Celebrations had obviously gone on here at the harbor as well, as the streets along the dockside was a sea of color and throngs of people and saurians. Tebo’s father’s ferryboat, the Coelacanth, was moored in it’s usual slip, and his father, Tobias stood perched on her railing, waving and calling right along with his Ankylosaur Partner Randy; and shouted all the harder when he saw Tebo emerge through the shifting crowd.

“Hail, my son!…”, Tobias shouted as Tebo came towards him. “Has your mentor given you the day off?”

“Hail, father!…”, Tebo said in return. “Happy Circumspink day to you… And you too Randy!…”, the Ankylosaur chortled.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, sir Bentfeather…”, Tobias bowed. “May your Circumspink day be merry and grand!”

“Yours too, I’m sure…”, Bentfeather returned. “We decided to make a visit to the family of my star pupil.”

“And there is a secret to tell!”, Tebo added. “But it might be best to gather the family; for this secret is special indeed!”

“Then let us adjourn to our home, so the secret can be told properly!”, said Tobias, then whispered to Randy. “I’ll tell you what it is later, my friend!…”

Tebo led the way to their apartment above warehouse 135, where meals were being prepared by Matilda their Dromeosaur nanny; his baby sister Sally already in her high chair in the kitchen, fidgeting excitedly at everything going on. He paused so Bentfeather could regard her a moment, then went to introduce the Microraptor to the Dromeosaur before retreating to the common room.

“You have a lovely place…”, Bentfeather commented.

“We do our best…”, Tobias said as he had followed them in, and placed his sailor’s cap on it’s peg on the wall before sitting. “So, what is this grand news?…”

“Is mother here?”, Tebo asked. “She should know too…”

“She went to visit the Cronins, over by the Cryptoclidus Wharf. She will be back soon.”, Tobias replied. “So sir Bentfeather, how is Tebo’s instruction going?…”

“He is just about the brightest student I ever had the privilege of teaching!…”, Bentfeather said as he transferred from Tebo’s shoulder to the softness of the couch back he was sitting on. “If he learns any more, the stars he will be reaching!…”

“That’s good.”, Tobias said. “We weren’t very hopeful when he was in Beginner’s class with his grades. But with the gift you gave him, he seems to be doing much better… Who would have thought that all this time it was his eyes!…”

“A person’s mind is not based on how a person can see.”, Bentfeather told them. “But how much a person that person can be.”

“Very well put!…”, Tobias said as Matilda came in carrying Sally, who was cooing at the ride, and placed her on his lap. “As I said, we do our best… Do you want to see mister Bentfeather, Sally?…”

At that cue, Bentfeather flapped and landed on the armrest of Tobias’s chair so the little human could see better. She gurgled in wonder at the feathered thing before her as she reached for Bentfeather’s reaching hand. She pawed the hand several times, confused at the feathery textures, and then she began to pluck at the feathers on his little arm, causing him slight pain!

“Ooh!… careful honey…!”, Bentfeather said sweetly. “I only have so many of those!…”

“Sorry…”, Tobias shifted Sally out of range. “She’s curious about everything…”

“All hatchlings are at that age!…”, Bentfeather replied and flapped back to the couch Tebo was sitting on, then continued the previous conversation. “Yes, Tebo is doing very well at the library. There isn’t many things left to teach him, and he learns so fast!”

“Then he should be graduating soon.”, Tobias continued. “He will be a full librarian before long.”

“It said that once I do, I will be allotted my own apartment in the city, and earn an allowance for expenses.”, Tebo said. “Not that I’m trying to run away from home, papa…!”, he smirked.

“Well, you’ll always be welcome for a visit…”, Tobias smirked back as his wife opened the main door to their apartment and rushed inside with a bejeweled Harpymimus on her heels. “Guess who’s home…!”, this he cooed to Sally, who bobbed delightedly.

“Hello everyone!… Oh! More guests!”, Raina observed as she placed a large wooden bowl on the table in the kitchen. “I was over Sonya’s family’s place, and she decided to join us for Eveningmeal…”

“I hope it’s not an imposition…”, Sonya’s squeaky voice said.

“I will set extra places…”, Matilda said from the kitchen.

“So Tebo. Everybody is here now…”, Tobias began. “What is this grand news you won’t tell us?…”

Both Tebo and Bentfeather looked at each other and smiled, and Tebo started first. “Today, as you know, is Circumspink day.”, then it was Bentfeather’s turn. “A day where one celebrates the Partnership between humans and saurians.”, then Tebo said. “Today we have made an important decision about ourselves.”, and Bentfeather concluded. “Both Tebo and I have officially become Partners!…”

With that revelation, the whole room erupted in applause; and even Matilda in the kitchen paused her work to join in. Tobias rose to clap Tebo on the back after handing the still clapping Sally over to Raina, shaking Bentfeather’s hand as well. The room was suddenly loud with congratulations and other comments, and Raina went to Tebo and kissed both him and his new Partner, baby and all! After a slightly belated kiss from Sonya, everyone sat in places in the common room and regarded the newly Partnered pair, and soon Tobias had words to say.

“I’m so proud of the both of you!”, he said. “We have no spare rooms, but we can arrange a place to sleep in Tebo’s room…”

“That would scarcely be necessary, my fine sir.”, Bentfeather begged off. “I am a very independent creature, and have my own apartment in the city. I also sometimes sleep at the library, but I suppose an extra place to sleep couldn’t hurt!”

“Well, you’ll be most welcome here, fine saurian.”, Tobias said. “The Partners of my family are always welcome… That includes you, Sonya…!”

“You’re too kind!…”, Sonya replied.

“Sonya and I run the tailor shop together.”, Raina explained to Bentfeather, who nodded. “We’re more business partners than anything, but I’ve known her since I was a girl, and know her like my own sister.”

“Excuse me…”, Matilda said from the kitchen doorway. “Eveningmeal is served…”

Presently, everyone got up and trooped into the dining area, Bentfeather taking roost on his new Partner’s shoulder; and all were placed accordingly around the table, including Matilda who sat last as she was serving. Nothing much was said as all inspected their food, and Bentfeather commented favorably at his meal of grasshoppers and green beans to Matilda; for both were of similar shape. As all ate, similar comments were said as they ate; and after that nothing more was said until the meal was nearly over, several spans of minutes later.

Tobias began light conversation about what goes on at the harbor, where many funny situations seem to happen all the time. He told of a Cryptoclidus that pulled a ferry across the harbor so fast she couldn’t stop, so she leapt up out of the water at the last second and wound up on a dock; and another time when Randy’s brother Sammy fell into the water, and a Liopleurodon that pulls larger craft had to save him. He said that Sammy looked like a commodore as he rode the giant beast into an empty slip! He had many more tales to tell, and ended with saying how proud he was of his own craft, the Cealocanth.

“Yes, she’s a sturdy craft, all right.”, Tobias was saying. “Just paint her once a year, caulk any leaks and she’s ready to go every morning. She has logged thousands and thousands of miles under her keel - and she has never even gone out of the harbor!…”, all chuckled!

“That is very interesting…”, Bentfeather said. “But I’ve been wondering, who is Matilda’s Partner? Is it little Sally…?”, he saw her dark look and relented. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to pry…”

“It is all right, sir Bentfeather.”, Matilda said. “I never had a Partner. My mate was killed in the harbor in a rigging accident, and we never mated. Taking care of Sally helps sooth my longing…”

“We treat her like one of the family.”, Raina said. “Her help around here is greatly appreciated, especially with all of us working like we do.”

“I see…”, said Bentfeather.

At Tebo’s cue, everyone left the dining table and went back into the common room. Tobias put Sally on the floor to crawl around, and sat in his usual chair; and watched as the rest came and sat where they wanted. Soon Matilda came in with fruit and vegetable drinks as further conversation began to slowly be made. They talked about Bentfeather’s former Partner, his passions including poetry and many other things that go on around the library. He expressed his desire to meet and chat with Tobias’s partner Randy; whom he was informed that he was just downstairs in his paddock. Raina and Sonya made comments about the characters they meet while working at the tailor shop; and that reminded bent feather to make a compliment.

“Yes, you do good work there! When I sent my cape over to get the hem repaired, you dry cleaned it and even ironed the pleats!”, he said. “Your other work with tebo’s attire that night was remarkable. Mister Hazen was very dapper in his suit, and miss Sarah looked absolutely ravishing in her gown…”

“Thank you, sir Bentfeather, for those kind comments.”, Sonya said.

“We were very busy that week.”, Raina said. “We had gowns of all sorts, but we had a hard time fitting a suit for Hazen.’, she smiled. “We’re glad everything turned out all right, though…”

“Everything went swimmingly!”, Bentfeather chuckled, then noticed Sally slumbering on the floor. “I think it is someone’s bed time…”

“You are right!”, Matilda said, rising and scooping the still sleeping infant up. “I will be a minute…”, she walked the child away.

“Ah!… To be young…!”, Bentfeather said. “And I suppose with that, I must be going…”, Bentfeather rose, then turned to Tebo. “Please be at the library early, my friend. There will be a surprise waiting for you there!”, he flew to the door being opened by Raina and was lost to the night…
_

TAG: Hazen, any and all!

[o8jedi]

IC: Hazen Baker, Hall of Hadrosaurs, Waterfall City

Hazen was led inside the small (by hadrosaur standards) apartment by Polongo and Redcrest, who was excitedly chirruping. Hazen assumed it was her way of describing what her home was like. He looked around the main living room, spying the hadrosaur-sized furniture and a few of Redcrest's toys, which had been lying around. A table as tall as Hazen was stood near a kitchenette and two doorways led to bedrooms. Fortunately, there seemed to be several human-scale pieces of furniture, including chairs complete with ladders to climb into them.

Polongo said, "Eatings at half time. Seamus make."

Hazen nodded, hoping that Polongo meant that the meal would begin in a half hour. "And Seamus would be?" he asked.

"That'd be me," said a somewhat scruffy-looking but likable character, offering a hand for a handshake which Hazen gladly reciprocated. He was wearing an apron overtop his well-worn but ornate looking clothes."Seamus MacEwen. Polongo here and I are Partners."

Hazen nodded. "Hazen Baker," he said, "I met Redcrest today at the hatchery. My instructor, Bentfeather, gave me a tour. I've been keeping her out of trouble ever since."

Seamus chuckled. "You must have some special gift you are able to do that! Every night, Polongo would worry and hope that she wouldn't cause a ruckus again, but the day a hatchling does what it's told is the day that men walk on the Moon!"

Hazen gave a knowing grin, "You have no idea." Then, he received a jolt, pulling him away from the conversation. Redcrest had taken Hazen's hand to show him her home. "Guess I'll see you in a half-hour!"

Redcrest held on tight to Haysa's hand as she pulled him to some of her toys. She excitedly told him stories about the games she'd play and which ones were from Mommy. Haysa smiled at them and back at her. She grasped his hand again and pulled him to her room, which was littered with even more toys and things than the living room was. As he navigated the maze of stuff, he looked at her bed, which was filled with straw and was as big as a human grown-up's bed. He seemed impressed by it, but she grabbed a picture frame from the endtable and carried it to him. She held it up to him and he took it slowly.

Hazen looked at the picture. "What's this?" he asked. Redcrest warbled something to him. He picked up on one word, though, and he repeated it. "'Mama?'" Redcrest nodded. He looked closer at the frame. It was of a female Lambeosaur wearing a variation of the guards' clothes he had seen yesterday. He remembered what the worker had said about Redcrest's mother and he smiled. "She's very pretty and looks very nice." He glanced back at the dinosaur. "You miss her don't you?" Redcrest didn't react. "Don't you even know her?" he asked. Redcrest shook her head slightly. Hazen could see tears welling up in her eyes.

"Oh, Redcrest," he said as he knelt down beside her, giving her a comforting hug. "I had no idea she left before you hatched. I'm sure she misses you very much." He heard and felt a few sobs as she cried. "There, there," he said, "You still have your daddy and Seamus. That's not a total loss." He felt her hug get tighter. He looked at the little Lambeosaur and thought a moment. He was convinced that what she needed most, at this moment, was a friend. He was going to babysit her whenever he could and he was going to do it as a willing participant.

At the meal, Hazen learned more about what Polongo's and Seamus's line of work. Like most merchants, Hazen noted, they dealt in food. Fine teas and roots, to be exact. Supposedly, there isn't a single root of Arctium longevus in the city that didn't have their involvement. After their meal concluded, Hazen smiled at the happy family. He wanted to inquire about why Redcrest didn't have any siblings, but he didn't want to pry and figured that something must have happened to the rest of the clutch.

During their post-meal tea, Hazen said, "I couldn't help but notice that Redcrest sort of . . . keeps you busy." Polongo snorted questioningly. "I was wondering if I could babysit for her. She seems to like me and--" Evidently, all he needed to hear was the word "babysit."

"Very good! You go next sun," said Polongo authoritatively.

"Y-you mean tomorrow?!" Hazen asked. "I-I don't know about that. I've got a lesson with Sir Ludwig and--"

"Me need this," explained Polongo. "No get resttime. Need Redcrest safe."

Seamus spoke up. "I think you should accept," he said. "I can guarantee that we'll have a long day ahead of us and we don't know when we'll be back home."

Hazen looked at the two of them and back at Redcrest. With a sigh, he said, "Alright. I'll pick her up first thing tomorrow morning."

Polongo smiled and hooted, "Many thanks!"

TAG: Any and all!

[Thundertail]

IC: Bentfeather and Tebo, Waterfall City library.

Bentfeather poured over the paperwork on his desk, whistling a tune for no real reason as the paperwork was the tedium of every day administration at the library; and he should have been concentrating more on his task as he signed the form he was working on in the wrong place, but couldn’t explain his not being miffed at his mistake. It couldn’t have been because Hazen was going to be absent today for his music lessons, as he was quite fond of the boy despite his troubles; and it couldn’t be the fact he slept on that hard nightstand in that dorm room above last night, though he tossed and turned all night for it’s discomfort! As he wondered, his mind reversed back to the day before, where he and Tebo Lewis became Partners; and smiled to himself the broadest his saurian mouth could manage; for once again he had found a family, and at last he found the reason for his happiness!

This feeling brought on a desire to do something he seldom did while working, and he went to the phonograph on the shelf, selected a tube-like recording and set the tone-arm to it; and the jazz-like tunes by Mudfoot the Magnificent soon filled the air. He bent back to his work as the full intensity of this morning’s sunshine radiated through the window, lighting his desk and himself in blinding solar radiation. He squinted through the glare and corrected his mistake, setting that paper aside to tend to the next paper in the stack. Onward he worked until the recording was nearly through when he heard his office door slowly creak open, and smiled as he raised his head to see Tebo Lewis enter with several other sheets of paperwork for him to go over.

“These are the receipts from the front desk…”, said Tebo as he saw his new Partner and smiled. “And how are you today, my friend?…”

“I didn’t sleep at my apartment last night. I slept here…”, Bentfeather told him. “I slept on a hard nightstand!…”, he winced as his back cracked.

“Here, let me…”, Tebo rushed over and began to gently massage his friend’s back. Nearly through the procedure, Tebo commented. “You know, I sometimes do this to Randy when he has a backache… That’s a big job, let me tell you!…’, just then Bentfeather sighed as a few more vertebrae cracked.

“Wonderful!… Just wonderful!”, said Bentfeather as their palms touched. “Um,… Like the music…?”

“Like you said: just wonderful!”, Tebo chirped and sat a moment as Bentfeather got down to business once more. “Need help?”

“No, almost done…”, he faltered. “Um,… Tebo, remember when I was visiting last night that I said I had a surprise for you?…”

“I think so…”, Tebo had forgotten!

“Well, there is a thing I will not stand as I am temporary head librarian.”, Bentfeather began. “As you know, Nicolai Sanders was my Partner; and it was he that was head librarian here.”, he looked sheepish. “I won’t have a Partner of mine not being head librarian…”

“What do you mean?”, Tebo Lewis asked.

“Well, I made some recommendations to officials at the Library Guild, and none of this is official yet as they have not as yet gotten back to me…”, Bentfeather rambled, making Tebo antsy! “I have put your name up as the next candidate for head librarian!… I hope you don’t mind…”

“Me sir?!…”, Tebo squeaked. “But I’m nothing but an apprentice!”

“Why not, my boy?!”, Bentfeather smiled. “You are smart… Perhaps smarter than me sometimes!”, Bentfeather told him. “You know all the library procedures like the back of your hand, and I’ve seen you read nearly everything in the library!”, Bentfeather made a far off look. “All I need to do is teach you the administrative aspects of the position and council you on decorum concerning high officials and you will be up to par with the position.”, he smiled. “Besides, the benefits to you will be far greater than simply being a librarian!…”

“Like how?”, Tebo still couldn’t believe what he was hearing!

“Well, as you know, when you graduate and become a regular librarian; you get an apartment and an allowance for personal purposes.”, said Bentfeather. “As a head librarian, you get a first-class suite in the best section of the city, and may be obligated to entertain very important guests as you wish. Your monetary allotment will be virtually limitless! You will be able to obtain anything you could possibly want or desire!”

“You mean it would be like I was rich?…”, Tebo was shocked.

“Almost!…”, Bentfeather said impishly, then became a little serious. “Of course, this is not official; and please do not tell anyone just yet… It will be our little secret!”

They clasped hands as Bentfeather turned back to his work, but not before smiling at Tebo’s excited looks. As the Microraptor worked, Tebo soon took an interest in what was on the papers. After many minutes of this, Bentfeather looked up and regarded his new Partner in a serious vein.

“What is on today’s agenda?”, he asked the boy.

“The Archaeological Guild members are here again.”, Tebo announced officially. “They have with them an artifact brought back from,…”, he hesitated, knowing his mentor’s old Partner died on this expedition. “From the Outer Island expedition. It looked like a Tyranosaur bust with glowing green eyes…”

“Those must be green Sunstone gems.”, Bentfeather’s eyes lit up. “Was there any inscriptions?”

“Not that I saw, but maybe…”, said Tebo. “I also have a small project.”

“What is that, pray tell?…”, asked Bentfeather.

“Well, you know how Hazen Baker is now taking care of that hatchling.”, Tebo said, and Bentfeather nodded. “I was going to look around and find books that might help him…”

“A noble gesture!”, Bentfeather said. “I suggest you look in the copy bins. Maybe there are ones already made up so he doesn’t have to return them any time soon.”

“I will do that…”, Tebo made motions to rise from his chair. “Oh, and that news?… Best news I’ve heard EVER!”, he got up, smoothed his mentor’s head plumage and trod out of Bentfeather’s office…
_

TAG: Hazen, any and all!

[o8jedi]

IC: Hazen Baker, Waterfall City

Hazen was still feeling somewhat groggy when he started walking from his boarding house back to the Hall of Hadrosaurs and the cool morning air was giving him more chills than helping to wake him up. After a brisk walk in the equally brisk morning, he knocked on the door to the apartment he visited yesterday.

After a few tense moments, the door opened and Seamus MacEwen opened the door. "You're just in time!" he said, "Polongo is just saying goodbye right now." Hazen heard a deep, yet quiet rumbling from inside, apparently his goodbye. Seamus stepped aside and let Hazen in.

No sooner had Hazen crossed the threshold when Polongo came out of Redcrest's room. He then gave the last few instructions. "Morning eatings made. Can go anywhere, but be back by moon."

Hazen nodded. "Is she still asleep?"

"No," replied Polongo, "Wake-up now."

"Alright," Hazen said with a smile. "She'll be in good hands."

"Breathe Deep," said Polongo and Seamus in unison.

"Seek Peace," replied Hazen. After the door closed, Hazen went to the kitchenette and find Redcrest's breakfast. When he got it off the counter, he saw Redcrest shuffling in, rubbing her eyes. "Good morning," Hazen said as he came over to the table. "Ready for a fun day?" A groggy affirmative came from the little Lambeosaur.

Once she was fed and ready for the day, Hazen took her outside, starting the walk to Ludwig's studio in Juggler's Square. He kept an eye on her so she wouldn't get lost and, in high-congestion areas, would take her hand to make sure she didn't run off. When they arrived at the studio, he led her in. She dragged behind, a bit nervous about what was in this place. When he came into the appointed practice room, she marveled at all the shiny and weirdly shaped things. Hazen smiled at her, noting her curiosity.

"They're musical instruments," Hazen explained. "Grown-ups use them to play songs. That's what I'm here to learn how to do." Redcrest babbled excitedly. Hazen asked, "Want me to sing you a song?" She hopped, both out of excitement and because he guessed right. "Alright," Hazen said, "let me get my guitar out." He pulled out his guitar and quickly tuned it. Her eyes went wide at the red color and the knobs and things sticking out of it. Hazen strummed a chord. "I don't know too many Dinotopian children's songs," he said, "but hopefully you'll like some from the outside world." Redcrest sat down as best she could to hear her freind sing.

Hazen played a simple little tune, emphasizing counting and colors. Unknown to him, he had another person in his audience as Ludwig was standing at the threshold, watching this sight. When Hazen finished his song, Redcrest cheered and Ludwig applauded. Hearing the claps caused Hazen to stand up in surprise. "Ludwig!" he said. "I'm sorry, I didn't know that you were there."

"Don't worry, Hazen, you did well, given your audience," he said as he approached his pupil. Redcrest scurried behind Hazen, grasping his pant leg. "And who do we have here?" he asked.

"Her name is Redcrest, sir," Hazen said. "I'm sitting her while her father is at work." Ludwig glanced at Hazen. Hazen thought he was planning something, but it quickly disappated when he spoke again.

"Now, then, we have a lesson, do we not?" Hazen grabbed a chair and a music stand, pulling them to the center of the room. He grabbed another chair for Redcrest. As Ludwig got his own seat, Hazen turned to Redcrest.

"I've got to practice for a bit, so I'd like you to sit here and be good. Think you can do that?" Redcrest nodded. "Good," Hazen said as she took her seat. Hazen sat down in his seat and said, "I'm ready."

"Good," said Ludwig, "Let's start with that concerto for lute I gave you to practice." Hazen nodded and, after pulling out the appropriate sheet music, counted himself in and began to play.

Redcrest grew bored with the song Haysa was playing. It wasn't fun like the last one! She looked around at all the other instruments, seeing the funny tubes and horns and things. Haysa's back was to her, so he wouldn't know if she got up. She carefully sneaked out of the chair and went to look at the other stuff. She first came to a stack of horns, complete with the parts you blow in right at her level! She didn't know which part made what sound, but she put her mouth to some of them and blew. All that came out was a wooshing noise. It didn't sound like a horn! She tried again, blowing and trying to make a sound and then BLAAT! A note rang out. She yelped in surprise, but smiled with satisfaction.

Hazen nearly jumped out of his seat when he heard the note. He stopped his performance and looked back. He was about to speak up when Ludwig said, "No, no. As a musician you need to deal with interruptions, especially during performances. Continue."

"But, sir," Hazen protested, "She's very young. She could brea--"

"Continue," pressed Ludwig. Hazen sighed and picked up where he left off.

Redcrest blew into a few more horns, finding that some of them made different, funny sounds. She then went to an array of pedals and tried stepping on them. Boom! Boom! They were drums! She stepped on them in as musical a fashion as she could, unintentionally causing her babysitter to mess up again and again. Hazen sighed and looked back at Ludwig, who gave him a subtle hand gesture indicating him to continue.

After playing with a couple drums, Redcrest again moved on, seeing a rack of small instruments. She pulled them out and looked at them before dropping them on the ground, unsure of what to do with them. Hazen heard a few crashes and he turned around, seeing what was happening. He couldn't go on. He put his guitar down and hurried over.

"No, no, no, no, no!" he said, grabbing a few clarinets and inspecting them for damage. "Redcrest, these aren't just toys. You could have broken them." Redcrest looked confused, not entirely sure why her freind was talking like this. Did she do something wrong? Hazen started to put a few of them away when he heard a couple sniffs. "Oh, no," Hazen said, "Please don't cry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." Too late, she began to full-on cry. He immediately gave her a hug, showing her he wasn't mad at her.

"Now you see the folly in bringing her here?" said Ludwig. Hazen turned so he could see his instructor. "Clearly, you have other priorities. You should have told me about them so we could schedule another day."

"Sir," Hazen protested, "I found out about this yesterday. I couldn't send you a Postal Bird. There wasn't any--"

"Then you could have sent one to me first thing this morning. I would have understood. Any inconvenience your new duty may have caused would have been one of scheduling, rather than potentially destroyed property." He picked up a clarinet, looking at it. "Well, none of the valves are broken. It is a good thing that she is still very young. A higher drop may have caused some serious damage indeed."

Redcrest had stopped crying and Hazen sighed. "I guess we need to reschedule," he said.

"Yes, we do." After a new date was set, Hazen walked out of the studio, leading Redcrest by the hand. She saw how sad he was and started to try and sing the song he was singing earlier. Hazen smiled, touched by her trying to cheer him up. One thing was for certain, he would need some help to try and properly babysit for her. He figured a trip to the library would be more than necessary and started to go there.

TAG: Tebo, Bentfeather, Any and all.

[Thundertail]

IC: Tebo Lewis, at the library.

Tebo Lewis walked out of his new Partner’s office, feeling like his life had changed a million fold by comparison to how he felt before going in, for the news Bentfeather had given him had opened the door to vistas previously undreamt of to the young man. He admitted a happiness he had ever known when the funny little dinosaur offered to be his Partner yesterday, but never conceived of the accolades he would get today! To be told that he had been recommended to be the chief librarian of the Waterfall City library, only the finest library Dinotopia had ever known which contained the works of the minds of the greatest creatures ever to be conceived - and they were all to be at his beck and call!

Tebo Lewis knew that he still had to work for this honor, for Bentfeather’s endorsement didn’t necessarily mean he was going to get the position; for there were quite a few librarians working here now that were far more qualified than him, and Mizzy and Jake were the ones that sprung to his mind - for they would deserve it more than he. He smiled as he rounded a corner shelf and saw a confused patron looking through the shelves, whom he helped before moving on. In a storage alcove he acquired a book trolley and wheeled it into an area of the library where the books he was searching for could be found.

Tebo knew he had to find books and other publications on hatchling care for his friend and classmate, Hazen Baker; and being an apprentice librarian at present, knew exactly where they would be located. He found one on hatchling care named ‘The First Joy’ down the middle of one aisle on the left and another one named ‘Care For The Newly Hatched’ up above on the right; and selected ‘Cures For Baby’, ‘Problems Of Hadrosaurs’, ‘Making Hatchlings Eat’ along with many others he felt sure would be needed. Many of these books had copies already made, located in bins around the area; but he could not find several of them, and made a note to go to the Copy department and have them copied for Hazen.

Tebo set the book trolley near Bentfeather’s open door, noticing his Partner was no longer in there, and proceeded to tend to other library duties until the catered Midmeal cart was prepared. He saw Jake at the front desk, and hailed him in passing; asking if he had seen Bentfeather anywhere, and he replying that he was headed for Study Room 2 and where the Archaeological guild was holding their research. Tebo thanked Jake and made his way over there, but not before assisting Mizzy in the finding of a hatchling lost in the library; and after the little human girl was reunited with her group, Tebo at last made it to study Room 2.

“Ah Tebo!… Come in!”, Bentfeather said as he noticed him hovering by the doorway. “And how are you today?…”

“Marvelous, sir Bentfeather.”, Tebo replied, nodding to the Triceratops Archaeologist and the many colleagues present. “Am I intruding?”

“Not at all, dear boy!”, Bentfeather said as he flew to his shoulder. “I had just told them about our Partnership, and they are thrilled!…”, Tebo noticed they were more concerned with their work than them!

“We were just about to decipher the glyphs on this piece…”, the Triceratops said. “They bear no resemblance to anything we know…”, the green crystal eyes of the Tyranosaur bust twinkled menacingly.

“It came from the Outer Island, from the expedition my former Partner met his fate on….”, Bentfeather informed. “It was found in the bowels of a ruined temple…”

“The glyphs have to be in some kind of carnivore script…”, said an Ovaraptor assistant. “It was deep inside a territory controlled by a rogue Carcaradontasaurus, and evidence said there was some kind of civilization there…”

“May I look at it?…”, Tebo requested, and the Triceratops allowed room.

The bust itself was somewhat stylized, but it was a pretty accurate rendition of a Tyranosaur carved in some dark volcanic stone, but many of the parts was of lighter stone; and the cartouches seemed to be inlaid into the piece. Tebo ran fingers over the symbols, ones of dinosaurs and weird chevrons and other pictographs; which seemed to be inlaid somehow into the base. The thing had seams where parts of stone was fastened somehow to each other, the spot most prominent was where the jaw of the bust met the skull; and Tebo tried to pry at it with no effect, save for the worried looks of the Archaeologists in the room!

He examined the pictographs more closely, and saw that their inlays protruded more than the lettering did; and at a cartouche of a Tyranosaur he pushed slightly. Something inside the bust clicked and he backed away from the piece; and soon more clattering came from within the thing! Tebo thought he broke the artifact as he backed away from the table it was on, and suddenly some of the other symbols and pictographs began to slide out of the thing; pulling back in or spinning in place as the machinery within began their mysterious purpose. All of a sudden the jaw of the bust dropped, making the green Sunstone eyes glow brightly; and a cylinder began to protrude from the neck, rotating until it resembled a till of sorts. The cylinder contained an amulet with four different colored Sunstones set in a gold base with a long gold chain; and Bentfeather had Tebo reach in and take it out.

“What a strange thing…”, Bentfeather said as the Triceratops rushed in to examine the new artifact.

“The bust seemed to have been a Puzzle Box of some kind…”, said he. “Containing some kind of treasure.”, as he got near, the amulet began to glow, the large Archaeologist moaned and shook his head! “Ugh!… Put it away!”, he backed off, and the glowing dimmed.

“Are you all right?”, Bentfeather asked as Tebo placed the amulet back into the till. “It must react to the presence of saurians… But I am too small for it to effect me.”

“It gives you a headache!…”, the Triceratops complained. “But legends say there are such things. Things that gives the wearer special influences over dinosaurs.”

“What is it doing here?… In this artifact?”, Tebo asked what everyone there wanted to know.

“Perhaps the ancient ones saw the power it possessed, and tried to hide it…”, suggested the Ovaraptor. “Or maybe the priests there took it away from their leader so he could not rule them…”

“That is merely conjecture!”, the Triceratops told her. “But the only way we will know for sure is when we decipher the glyphs.”, he scowled at the Triceratops bust, now seeming all the more evil to him. “Just keep the amulet in that till so it doesn’t hurt anybody else!…”

Tebo tried to push the till back into the bust without result, but the mechanism sensed the pressure and closed of it’s own accord; glyphs and symbols returning to their original positions a moment later. “Let’s go leave them to their work…”, suggested Bentfeather, Tebo complying. Then he addressed the Archaeologists. “Good luck with this project. Breathe deep…”

“Seek peace…”, said the Triceratops. “Oh, and that was a brilliant bit of experimentation on your part, human.”

“Thank you, kind saurian.”, Tebo smiled at him. “Humans are naturally curious!”, and Bentfeather prodded him to leave the room.

“And how did your project go?…”, asked Bentfeather after they left.

“I got all the books I think Hazen might need.”, said Tebo. “There are a few that need to be copied still, but the ones I got should be enough to get him started.”

“That’s good.”, Bentfeather said as they neared his office, noticing the book trolley there. “Let’s have a look…”

Tebo went to display each one, laying each out flat beside one another; then Bentfeather commented. “Nice selections… This one explains the basics… Yes, Redcrest may be a problem for him sometimes…”, he looked at his Partner. “This will be a start, of course! Perhaps I could instruct him personally… Or have a professional caregiver tutor him…”

Just then they both heard a loud crash coming from Bentfeather’s office, and both peeked in to se what was the matter. What they saw was a little Hadrosaur chick amid a tumble of books, brick-a-brack and other things on the floor; gasping and crying, trying to get free. They saw Hazen trying to help her, cooing words to shush the little one. As they rushed in, Hazen looked up sheepishly and tried to explain himself…
_

TAG: Hazen, any and all!

[o8jedi]

IC: Hazen Baker and Redcrest, Waterfall City Library

A short walk later and Hazen was standing before the great doorways of the library. He looked at the little Saurian and said, "I need to pick up a couple of books here and then we'll hunker down for a little while," he explained. "While we're here, how about I check out a nice book for you? Something with nice, pretty pictures." Redcrest chirruped her approval as they stepped in. "Now we have to be quiet," Hazen reminded her. "People are trying to read here."

After stopping by the information desk and asking if Bentfeather and Tebo were here, Hazen led the way to the children section. Not only were there child-sized desks and reading treadmills, the shelves were spaced lower so that little hands could reach them. "Go on," Hazen said, "You pick one." Redcrest quickly darted off to find a book.

She pulled out books and scrolls, looking at the pictures on the outside to see if anything looked good. She looked over at Haysa and, remembering what he said back at the music place, put the boring books back in their place. He smiled at her, seeing what she was doing. After a few books and scrolls, she pulled one out with a picture of a sad-looking dinosaur on it and a happy man looking at it. She walked back to Haysa and held it up.

"What's this?" Hazen asked as he grabbed the book and then read the title. "The Saddest Ceratopsian?" He opened the book and looked at a few of the pictures. It seemed innocuous enough. "If this is what you want, then sure." Redcrest took the book back and held it close to her. "I guess that means 'yes,'" Hazen said with a smile. He took her by the hand and led her to Bentfeather's office.

He knocked on the door and it opened slightly. "Hello?" he asked, peeking his head in. No one was inside. "Looks like he's somewhere else." He poked his head out the door, tempted to tell her to stay here while he looked for his mentor. He thought against it, however, remembering what happened at Ludwig's studio. "I'm sure Bentfeather will come back soon," he said as he turned back. No sooner had he done so when he saw Redcrest climbing up onto a counter. She had seen the ancient phonograph and wanted to get a closer look. "Redcrest, wait!" She sat up, knocking her head on a bookshelf above the counter. It came off its supports and both it and its contents came crashing on her. She fell to the ground with a scream and the other items on the counter were knocked off as well.

Once the clutter settled, Hazen rushed over to her crying form. He started to move books and pieces of debris from off her. "It's gonna be okay, I'm here!" He removed a book from her head. "Hey," he said. "It's me," he said. "It's okay." He got a couple more books off of her as he heard the door open. It was Tebo and Bentfeather. He turned to them and smiled sheepishly. "She got interested in the phonograph," he said simply before returning to the task at hand.

Once she was uncovered, Hazen began to examine her for any injuries. She continued crying, both scared and because of minor boo boos. Once he saw she was okay, he hugged her and softly hummed. "There, there," he said. "It's over now. I've got you." He looked at the mess they created and he saw a white peice of something. "Oh, no," Hazen said. He reached over and picked up a piece. One of Bentfeather's wax cylinders was broken. Its data was now lost. He looked at his mentor and said, "I'm so sorry, sir."

TAG: Bentfeather, Any and all.

[Thundertail]

IC: Tebo Lewis and Bentfeather with Hazen Baker and Redcrest, in Bentfeather’s office.

“There, there…!”, Bentfeather flew into his office to land beside the fallen hatchling crying on the floor. After hearing Hazen describe what happened, he continued in a sad voice. “You did…? That’s terrible!…”, Redcrest bawled honkingly.

The phonograph, laying on it’s side and bullhorn askew, seemed to be all right; but when Tebo went to right it, rattled and gave off a pinging sound! The many wax cylinders lay strewn about, but it was a good thing they were in their protective canisters; for they were quite old, and only the one on the phonograph itself seemed damaged, but that was a newer recording. The shelf and the rest of it’s contents lay about, and the picture of Bentfeather’s former Partner had a cracked glass pane; but other than the books strewn about and the broken hardware for the shelf, the general mess was minimal and would clear up easily once they got to it.

All this Bentfeather ignored as he went to examine Redcrest, who still cried and sniffed; for a creatures life was more precious than mere possessions. Tebo turned from the mess to the mewling child and bent to see her.

“Let me take a look at her…”, Tebo said as he smiled at the child, trying to look cheery. “I read a few books on medicine…”, he hunkered down too. “Let me see you for a minute…”, he addressed Redcrest in a childlike way.

Tebo looked Redcrest over thoroughly, running fingers along her to check for broken bones or fractures; especially the more hurt areas, of which she winced and whined in pain. All the while Tebo made cooing gestures and winced sympathetically at Redcrest’s show of pain; and finding nothing serious, Tebo looked and found only a few minor scratches, then rose to find something to treat them within the confines of Bentfeather’s office.

“I think she’ll be all right…”, Tebo said as he searched a few minutes. “She’s just a little hurt and scared…”

“So everything will be all right, eh?”, Bentfeather said, then looked at Hazen‘s saddened face. “Or will it?”

As Hazen looked at the debris his new charge had caused, he hung his head. “I see you are finding child care a difficult job…”, said the Microraptor, smiling. “Never fear, for Tebo has found you many books that will help.”, he flapped to where Hazen had sat, by Bentfeather’s desk. “Have no fear Hazen, for this behavior is normal in some hatchlings.”, he said this quietly.

After Hazen apologized once more and ranted about how hard it was; Bentfeather asked. “Is her behavior caused by people ignoring her, boredom, from anger or curiosity?”

After his answer, Bentfeather said: “All Hadrosaur hatchlings are intelligent and curious. They need constant stimulation to feed their hungry minds.”, he looked at the hatchling being treated by Tebo. “Obviously she isn’t getting that, and it has her setting off to find her own… It is this, and the fact that she is young and a little uncoordinated to manipulate the things she is interested in; resulting in her breaking those items for her clumsiness.”

Bentfeather hopped to his desk and thought a moment. “From what I gather, Redcrest’s family is too busy to give her this stimulation.”, he looked Hazen directly in the eye. “I suppose it is up to you to give her what she needs… And to teach her to be satisfied with the things she gets.”

“Oh, the phonograph?…”, Bentfeather replied after hearing Hazen’s concerns about it. “Please, do not worry about it… really!”, he flapped to it. "See, the reason why it has lasted for three hundred years is constant maintenance. It has been repaired many times in it’s day…”, he tried to straighten the bullhorn, and it collapsed onto the tone-arm; ripping it right off it’s mountings to clatter on the floor! “… Of course, it will need more extensive repairs this time!…”, he smiled in a cheesy way. “But don’t worry, all right?…”, Hazen nodded.

“I think she’ll be Ok now…”, Tebo said as he rose, Redcrest at his side; and she got along side Hazen where he sat. “Just a few boo-boos and bruises!”, this he addressed to Redcrest.

“Tebo has a way with children.”, Bentfeather informed Hazen. “He has a baby sister, and loves little Sally to death!…”, he smiled, then became serious. “Um,… Why don’t you go get that book trolley, Tebo?”, the lad did as was told.

“And now let’s see you…”, Bentfeather said after he flapped to the desk and peered down at Redcrest, smiling. “We’re going to find out just why you’re such a terror…!”

The hatchling cringed at the last word, but calmed down as she reached for hazen’s hand. She looked at Bentfeather, and then at Hazen; wondering why she was getting this attention all of a sudden, then turned as she heard Bentfeather’s voice say her name.

“Does Redcrest like others to like her?…”, he said, and she nodded. “Did you know that if you do bad things, people do not like you?”, her eyes widened. “If you do good things, people will like you…”, Bentfeather smiled. “Now, does Redcrest want people to like her, or not like her?…”, she nodded, grabbing Hazen’s hand tighter.

Bentfeather crouched to the hatchling. “Don’t worry, child!… We like you very much; but we have to teach you not to do bad things… Ok?…”, she nodded.

Just then the cart wheeled to a stop by the desk, and Tebo began to place it’s contents onto the desk. Immediately Bentfeather began to pull over the volume that Hazen would most likely need at this point. Hazen pulled it the rest of the way when it was within his reach, and read the title that was in English. Of course, it was the book titled ‘Problems Of Hadrosaurs’; and he began to thumb through the pages, noticing the somewhat funny chapter titles. Of the most colorful chapters there was ‘Copro Training’, ‘See With Your Eyes, Not Hands’, ‘Common Tantrums’, ‘Getting Into Things’ and many more. It looked like a very informative book, and Hazen put it down after many moments; then made a few comments on it, as well as his new responsibility.

“Yes, I’m sure these will help you take care of Redcrest…”, Bentfeather replied as he saw the hatchling leave to see Tebo, who had sat on the floor at her waving approach. “Caregiving of an infant is a full-time commitment, and it is trying at times.”, the Microraptor told him. Tebo and Redcrest grasped hands; then it turned into a tentative game of ‘Pat-a-cake’, making Bentfeather smile. “But you know what I think?…”, Hazen shook his head.

“I think you will do well for her. Very well indeed!…”, Bentfeather grasped his hand. “And if you’re patient with her, I think she will be good for you as well!”…
_

TAG: Hazen, any and all!

[o8jedi]

IC: Hazen Baker and Redcrest, Waterfall City Library

As Bentfeather came down to help sooth the crying hadrosaur, Hazen said, "We came here after my music lesson to try and get some books to help me out here. I was going to check up on you, but faster than I could do anything about it, Redcrest was trying to check out the phonograph. She bumped her head and everything just collapsed on top of her."

Tebo began to thoroughly examine her for any injuries and she calmed down more. Although it made him happy to see that she was, as he suspected, more scared than hurt, he felt bad about allowing this to happen. When Bentfeather asked, Hazen sighed and said, "I knew taking care of a child of any species was hard, but I didn't really know how hard. She's just really inquisitive and probably has entertained herself up to this point. Pity I had to learn that the hard way. And that it cost you a phonograph." Bentfeather reassured him that the phonograph would be alright, as well as most of the records, but seeing it fall to pieces on him didn't really reassure him much.

After leafing through Problems of Hadrosaurs, Hazen smiled. This was exactly the sort of information he needed. "I can't say that I ever thought I'd need a child-rearing guide until I was going to have one of my own. Still, thank you for your help. I just hope things will get easier from here on out." Bentfeather gave him a few words of encouragement, causing Hazen to smile again.

"Thank you, sir," he said as he put his other hand on Bentfeather's. "Even now, despite her troubles, she's made an impression on me." He looked back at the mess and wondered if he should help clean up. Then, he had an idea.

He turned to Redcrest and saw that the game had ended. "Want to play another game?" Redcrest honked slightly, wondering what it was. "How about we sort through this stuff?" Redcrest whined, not wanting to pick up this mess. "Don't worry," Hazen said. "It'll be fun. Do you know what a rectangle is?" Redcrest nodded and grabbed a book, holding it up. "Well," Hazen said, "we're going to sort these things by shape." He grabbed the picture, making sure he picked up the glass so she wouldn't hurt herself. "Rectangles go here," he said after disposing of the glass and setting it down, "And circles go here." He picked up a record and set it down. "Now, as you can see, we have a lot of rectangles. Think you can help me?" Redcrest nodded and chirrupped. "Good!"

Redcrest grabbed a few books and put them in the rectangle pile. Hazen also helped sort the items and began transferring them to the counter. Every once in a while he'd say, "I've got a circle," while holding up a book and Redcrest would giggle, pointing out his mistake and Hazen would have her explain why he was wrong. He looked at Bentfeather when their job was nearly done and he gave him a silent nod of approval.

Soon the office was looking a lot better than it was. "We did it!" Hazen said, holding his hand up. "Give me a high five!" Hazen said. Then he remembered that she had four fingers. "Umm . . . four!" Redcrest held her hand up, unsure of what to do and Hazen gently hit it. "There we go!" he said. He picked up his book as well as the children's book Redcrest picked out. "Again, thank you for your help," he said to Bentfeather and Tebo. He turned to his hadrosaur friend. "Say bye-bye to them, Redcrest."

Redcrest burbled a goodbye to them as Hazen took her hand and went to check the books out. A few minutes later, the pair were outside. "How about we just spend some time playing with some toys at home?" Hazen suggested. Redcrest nodded, liking that idea.

TAG: Bentfeather, Tebo, any and all.

[Thundertail]

IC: Tebo Lewis and Bentfeather, Bentfeather’s office, Waterfall City library.

Tebo and Bentfeather waved at Hazen and Redcrest as they left the office, both glad they had helped clean everything up; then looked at each other and smiled as the pair rounded a corner and was out of sight. Instantly Bentfeather’s face drew into a worried look as he realized his beloved phonograph was broken, and Tebo’s did too at his friend’s solemn look. Finally shrugging, Bentfeather sighed and spoke.

“Well, I guess we’d better get a repair person to fix the shelf…”, he said.

“Who will fix the phonograph?”, asked Tebo. “It got pretty broken with that saurian wrecking ball around…!”

“Hush!… She doesn‘t know any better, you know!”, Bentfeather scolded as he paced to think. “I know a fine tinker, at the Hall of Mechanical Wonders.”, Bentfeather said at last. “Sir Mario tuned it up three years ago, worked as good as when it was first made!…”

“Jake is good at setting up shelves.”, Tebo said, thinking. “I saw him when he rearranged the whole science section once…”

“A fine solution!”, Bentfeather said. “You do that… And see if you can find a box to put the phonograph in…”, he took out his Postal Bird whistle and blew. “A Postal Bird will summon sir Mario, and things will be set right in no time!…”

“That’s right, friend!”, Tebo said as he grasped Bentfeather’s hand before rushing off to perform his tasks.

Bentfeather watched Tebo rush off, then opened the window to allow the Postal Bird access once he or she got here; then his face saddened once again, without anybody in the room to cheer him up. The wreckage behind his desk loomed back there, reminiscent of what had become of his life since the news of Nicolai Sanders’ death reached his ear slits. Sighing once again, he flapped to where his former Partner’s picture lay; regarding it like his spirit still occupied it, a tear welled as he remembered the times they had had together.

“You left too soon, my friend…”, Bentfeather said softly to it. “I only hope that what you left behind proves better than what you took with you…”

As if to answer him, flapping was heard at the window; and an orange-scarved Postal Bird hopped to attention on the windowsill, ruffling as she surveyed the room. “Please state your name, destination and message in that order.”, she said.

“Hello, fine flyer.”, Bentfeather said after he composed himself and flapped to the desk. “I wish to hire a repair person… I seem to have had an accident…”

“I see that.”, she said. “Postal Bird 284, at your service…”, she repeated her request.

“Greetings. I am sir Bentfeather, assistant chief librarian of the Waterfall City library.”, he told her. “I wish to hire sir Mario, of the hall of Mechanical Wonders, to repair a phonograph… As you can see, it is quite broken!…”

“Do you want me to add that last statement?”, 284 asked.

“No, I guess you better not…”, Bentfeather said. “But you can add ‘You will be amply reimbursed if the phonograph is repaired quickly’… And that’s about it.”

“Thank you sir…”, 284 made a theatrical display of taking off and flapped out the window, shower of feathers in her wake.

Watching her go made him think of the reason why he was going to the office in the first place, and he sighed as he dutifully got to work signing forms and other duties of the administrative nature. He had made a mental note to start Tebo’s training in these duties yesterday, and was about to get him started on it today; but as it turned out, things did not turn out as planned! He chuckled ironicly to himself as he worked, never even noticing the two Waterfall City guards now standing before him in front of the desk, and further scrutiny told him it was none other than officer Ajax and his partner Olu; so he dropped his stylus and scooted erect to address them.

“Good day, fine officers!”, Bentfeather said and bowed. “To what do I owe the pleasure?…”

“Greetings to you, fine saurian.”, Ajax replied. “We were sent by the Guard guild to give a message to one Hazen Baker.”, he looked around. “Would you know if he is in the library?”

“No…”, Bentfeather wondered the same thing! “I do not believe he is here, but he was here less than an hour ago…”

“Perhaps it is best that he is not here…”, Ajax said. “Our guild has deemed to give the boy a chance at being a full-fledged guard pending training…”, he placed the scrolled document on Bentfeather’s desk. “However, it all depends on whether he is finished with your tutelage or not. The Guard guild requires that all cadets complete Beginner’s class - or it’s equivelent - before training is considered.”

“Rest assured that Hazen is doing fine with me.”, Bentfeather told them. “But his schooling is far from completion. I have given him an ongoing assignment along side his normal classes. He is to be caregiver and babysitter to a Lambeosaur hatchling…”, he chuckled slightly. “Actually, it was more the hatchling’s idea than mine!…”

“I see…”, Ajax said, looking at Olu. “I will tell my superiors…”, then he suddenly remembered something. “Oh, and please let him know that the invitation expires after one year’s time.”

“I will let him know…”, Bentfeather said.

Both guards did an about-face, to look at the forms of Tebo Lewis and Jake; the former backing up a pace while the other had a wooden tool caddy in his hand. As Ajax and Olu left the room, Tebo went to Bentfeather while Jake went to inspect the broken shelf.

“Did I miss anything?”, Tebo asked whisperingly, and Bentfeather told him in a similar manner…
_

TAG: Hazen, any and all!

[o8jedi]

OOC: Monster post time!!!

IC: Hazen Baker and Redcrest, Hall of Hadrosaurs, Waterfall City

Hazen and Redcrest returned back to the apartment to rest, recover, and play. After quick noonmeal that Hazen made, factoring in Redcrest's favorite foods, Hazen asked Redcrest to show him a game she liked to play. Through the book, he inferred that, since hadrosaurs were exceptionally curious and intelligent as hatchlings, it would be best for her to show him her interests and he would build games around that. Redcrest got a large ball and rolled it Hazen's way. He smiled, remembering the game he taught her. "So you want to play that again, do you?" Redcrest yelped an affirmative.

Hazen sat down and rolled the ball back to her. A few rounds later, Redcrest started to show a little more aggression than usual. Hazen was starting to grow concerned when suddenly she swatted the ball with her tail. It smacked Hazen full on the nose, bouncing off him and into the kitchenette. It rang off several pots, knocking them off the rack and clattering loudly onto the floor. Hazen's hands went to his face just after the hit to make sure his nose wasn't broken. A small amount of blood was trickling out his nostrils but it still seemed to be pointing straight. Still, it hurt.

Redcrest screeched at the banging of pots before looking back at her babysitter. She walked up and chirruped questioningly. "No," Hazen said, "it's alright. Just a little bloody nose." He got up to take care of it and Redcrest followed him, concerned for his well-being. He grabbed a handkerchief and held it to his nose and it became a bit red. Redcrest warbled something. Hazen looked down at her and saw the concern she had. He knelt down. "I know you didn't mean to," he said. "And don't worry too much about my nose. It'll get better." He moved the handkerchief away from his nose and smiled at her.

Redcrest gave him a hug hoping his nose might feel better. Hazen reciprocated it, happy to to reassure her. He looked up and saw, from the window, some of the mist from the waterfall. The sun was perfect and a rainbow appeared. "Look," he said to Redcrest. She turned and saw the pretty band of colors. Redcrest smiled and softly cooed. Hazen had an idea. "Want to have one in this house?" Redcrest gave him an excited look. "Come on," he said.

He grabbed a glass pitcher and filled it with water and set it on the windowsill. He adjusted it slightly trying to catch a sunbeam properly. Then, painted on the wall, he had one. "There!" he said. Redcrest looked and saw the band of colors. It wasn't as big as the one outside, but it was there. She tried to grab it, but it just stayed there. Hazen came up to her and tried to explain, "Rainbows are actually beams of sunlight. If it goes through water, it splits into those colors. That's why you see rainbows after it rains or through the mists of the falls." He positioned her hands as if she was holding a cup. He then raised her arms so the rainbow was sitting in it. "There," he said. "Now you're holding a rainbow." Redcrest turned and smiled at Hazen, giving him a big hug and giving a Saurian purr. Hazen smiled. "You're welcome."

They spent the rest of the evening playing simple games and performing fun little science experiments (sometimes under the guise of magic). The sun had set and it was time for her to go to bed. He helped her clean up her things and helped her into her nestbox. He sat on the edge. "Time for the story," he said, pulling out the book they checked out earlier. "The Saddest Ceratopsian," he began. He opened up to the first page. It showed a hatchling Triceratops, who was sitting alone in a grassy area, not unlike what was on the cover. Her eyes were big, like she was about to cry. Although the text was in Saurian, he had no problems reading it. "Triceratops like friends, but Shaka had none; She tried her best, but couldn't find someone; Someone to laugh with and someone to play games; and someone who wasn't mean or called her names."

He turned the page, which showed Shaka being tormented by several other dinosaurs on a playground. "The others called her stupid and made jokes about her frill; She asked them to stop, but knew none of them will; 'Her horns are too small and her tail's too long!' They even made up their own mean song!" Hazen turned to Redcrest and said, "I bet you those mean ones don't have a friend, do they?" Redcrest warbled, "No!" and shook her head. Hazen smiled and turned the page again.

Shaka was now on a path leading away from a distant town. A human figure was silhouetted by the sunstone light also on that path. "Shaka felt so bad, she ran away; 'They won't notice that I'm gone the next day!' She found a rock and laid down there; softly crying to the cold, jungle air." Redcrest's eyes fixed on the artwork and didn't leave.

Tears were now coming down Shaka's eyes as a human parted the tall grass to find her there. "Then, from out of the grass, came a human; It was her Partner, the kind Mr. Newman! He gave her a hug and said, 'It's alright, the jungle is no place for you tonight! Young dinosaurs can be mean and hurt others feelings, but your family won't ever knock you down like young treelings.' And before they went home, he said something true:"

Hazen turned the page and started to hesitate on the last line. "'Especially me, your Partner, because . . ." Redcrest saw the picture of the human holding his hand out, palm facing toward Shaka, who in turn had her paw against his hand. Both of them were smiling broadly and Shaka wasn't sad anymore. Hazen cleared his throat and finished the line. ". . . because I love you.'" He dwelled on that line as he turned the page, which showed both human and ceratopsian making their way home. "The End," he said.

Redcrest looked at her hand and back at Hazen, sizing him up. She held her hand out like Shaka did, but Hazen didn't notice (or didn't want to notice), putting the book away and sitting up. He grabbed a blanket and draped it over Redcrest. "Have pleasant dreams tonight," Hazen said. He slid a few covers over the sunstone lamp, leaving one slightly ajar for a night light and gently rubbed her still-undeveloped crest. "I'll see you soon," he said with a smile. Redcrest closed her eyes. Hazen thought she was going to sleep but didn't notice a small tear trickling out of her eyelids.

He sat in the living room. That book had opened up a range of feelings inside him. He now realized how much he cared for Redcrest. He might even dare say that he was starting to love her. Still, there was the matter of Syd. He was still wondering whether or not he would still be interested in becoming the young Triceratops' Partner, especially now that he was a little older and understanding of what was in store of such a relationship. A flutter at the windowsill shocked him out of the daze.

"Postal Bird 327 here for a Mister Hazen Baker," said the source.

"That's me," Hazen said as he walked over. "What's the message."

"From Sascha Triceratops, Irenic: 'Splendid to hear from you! The children are doing fine and Syd takes after his father, who I realized you haven't met! You'll always be welcome at our home if you come back soon. If you still wish to be my son's Partner, please say so!' End of message."

"Great!" Hazen muttered to himself as he walked back to the chair he was sitting in.

"Would you like to send a reply?" asked the bird.

"Yeah," Hazen said as he made a detour for the kitchen. "But could you stay here for a few minutes, I need to think."

As Hazen filled a bowl of water and grabbed a few dates, the bird replied, "Certainly, however a surcharge will be involved."

He gave the fruit and drink to the bird and sat back down in the chair, weighing the pros and cons of the situation. If he had any doubts as to whether or not he would be getting any sleep tonight, he knew he would sleep soundly after such a thorough racking of his brain. The Postal Bird cleared his throat. "It has been nearly a half-hour since I arrived. Do you have a message or not?"

With a sigh, Hazen nodded. "Yes. Yes I do." He cleared his throat and began, "I thank you very much for your hospitality. Rest assured that at my next visit, I will meet your family and we can properly catch up. As to your son..." He continued with the message, realizing now that he had indeed made the right choice. After the Postal Bird flew off, he stood up and looked at Redcrest's door.

He quietly came in and heard a few soft whimpers. He realized now that Redcrest had been crying. "Hey," he whispered. "What's wrong?" Redcrest sat up and, recognizing Hazen, grabbed onto him and hugged him possessively like a prized teddy bear. She was surprised when Hazen hugged her back almost as tight as she was hugging him. She felt something wet hit her head and looked over. Hazen was crying himself. "Redcrest," he said, "I want to be there for you no matter what." He broke the hug and held up his hand, mimicking what he saw in the story book. "I know now that I want to be your Life Partner. All I need is you to say yes or no." Redcrest excitedly held her hand up to his and they maintained that pose.

Hazen looked at the young saurian and smiled. "You know," he said, "you're the first real family I've had since I came here. Thank you." He again hugged her. She warbled something quietly. "It's time for bed now," Hazen said. She laid back down and Hazen re-tucked her in. "I'll be nearby," he said. "And I'll tell your Daddy for you." He gave her another affectionate rub and whispered, "Sweet dreams." And sweet dreams, she did indeed have.

TAG: Bentfeather, Tebo, any and all!

[Thundertail]

OCC: This part has something to do with the plot of the RP, and will involve everyone soon.
_

IC: The Freshwater Guild, under the city.

Fran Stroud did not exactly hate his job, for it was beneficial to the smooth running of the city; even though it was smelly and messy sometimes, and wet all the time. One doesn’t go about making sure the undreground plumbing of Waterfall City flowed without running into those personal problems, he thought as he guided the cargo boat down a side passage; Sunstone lantern hanging from the thatch craft’s bow, ducking his head as it maneuvered through a narrow intersection.

He peered this way and that through the dimness, large rain hat and heavy raincoat creaking as his thick boots braced the sides of the boat for support. Fran was down an adjoining channel from the chute that was blocked, water in that channel many feet deeper and washing over the stone embankment into the one his boat was maneuvering down. At a stone landing he stopped the craft and got out at a narrow ledge, a servicing platform usually used by workers to unload and offload cargo from similarly designed boats; and scanned down the chute with the lamp to the iron grate that was closed at the far end.

Many tons of debris had washed up against it, forming a dam there that blocked both water flow and barred the way for any cargo boat to pass here. One of his co-workers had already arrived, a dull green Mosasaur named Mondor; tough and knowing these passages well, and he was busy trying to clear a large plank from the base of the blockage with his strong jaws. Sliding in from another side passage was one of his other co-workers, a Criptoclydus named Sue; who had just opened up the gate at the upper end of the water flow, racing the rushing water back to the site of the clog. He smiled at both of them as Mondor gave up his tugging and came to receive further instructions.

“It’s no use, boss…”, Mondor hissed. “It’s stuck fast!…”

“The extra water pressure isn’t helping, either…”, Fran observed.

“Want me to close the other gate?…”, Sue asked, and was about to; but the human halted her.

“No, I have another idea.”, Fran said as he turned. “Beyond this section is the Polongo Slide…”, he indicated the blocked grate. The Slide sent cargo boats down a 500 foot, 80 degree incline; propelling the boat straight out and through the lower Rainbow falls and into the lower Polongo, down to Sauropolis and the many settlements in between. “If we build up the pressure and open the blocked grate, the blockage will be blasted clear.”

“Leave it to humans to think of such violent ways!…”, Mondor chortled as he rose from the water. “What do I do?”

“Just be ready to push when I give word.”, Fran said as he turned. “Sue, you swim to the lower end of the Polongo Slide and be ready for my word to open that gate. Mondor, you continue to push on my mark.”, fortunately the cargo tunnels echoed tremendously when no water was present, and anybody could hear any voice for miles down there. “I’ll guide the blockage through the locks at the lower platform….”, and off they went.

Sue darted into the nearest drain pipe, slithering with ease through; and down past the next two sections to reach her position at the locks to the lower gate. Fran Stroud got into his boat and took a side chute to the next level, the zig-zagging chute made safer passage than going down the Polongo Slide section a dozen feet away and unblocked. The ride was smoother as he came out onto the main cargo section one level lower, stopping in the channel he was in to observe the channel now devoid of water due to the clog; and at the locks he closed them half way to guide the debris closer so it could be collected when it was freed.

“OK everyone!…”, Fran Stroud called as his echo reverberated throughout the artificial caverns. “Open the gates, Sue!… Start pushing, Mondor!…”, he then waited, holding his gaffing staff like one waiting for battle.

At first nothing happened save for dark trickles of water, then all of a sudden it was like a floodgate letting go; for a ribbon waterfall of offal and liquid began to gush down the 500 foot slide. It hit the lower crest and caromed out of the channel slightly, flotsam roiling in the wake of the water; and the rapid flow slowed as it hit the first of the locks, curling the debris in the swirling eddies. Fran grabbed at the debris as it went by, leading some of it into the side channels the locks made; but most still swept by him, only to hit the grate at the downslope end of the great chamber.

In a grunt of pleasure, Mondor slid down the Polongo Slide; clawed flippers scratching against the trough of the channel for control, and stopped with a satisfied grunt near Fran. However, Fran was not concerned by his friend’s antics; for his concern was for the large, sack-like object he was wrestling with on the end of his gaff stick. The Mosasaur saw his struggling and grabbed the sacklike thing with his jaws to pull it free of the rest of the flotsam, then with great effort hauled the sack up onto the landing at frank‘s feet.

“What is that?…”, Mondor asked. “It stinks of death!…”

“Beats me…”, Fran told him. “A sack of laundry or…”, he was cut short by what he saw as he peeled away what lay on top!

Though bloated and desiccated, both of them could see it was a dead body; and human by the disheveled hair and wet, ragged clothing. A waterlogged stench hung on the corpse, over and above the rotted smell of flesh. Frank had to turn away and cover his face, but Mondor licked his chops in anticipation of an unexpected meal. Fran held his friend back as Sue entered the area - and nearly retreated the way she had come at the sight.

“He must have drowned…”, Fran said when he could in a queasy voice. “We must tell someone right away… We must get him out of here…!”

“Who is he?…”, Sue asked, many yards away.

“Aw!… I was hoping for a snack!”, Mondor groused rumblingly.

“Don’t fool around like that!”, Fran said. “Remember our civic duty!”, he looked around. “Mondor, we’re going to use your back to haul him to the surface…”

Fran and Sue hefted the body onto Mondor’s back, lashing it down with some loose ropes that were in the flotsam; and began to lead the Mosasaur down passageways along the chutes, he complaining that land travel hurt his feet! At least an hour later they had made their way up to the upper levels of the Cargo Chute system, to a pumping house just below street level just outside Aqua stadium. Here were supplies and tools to fix pumps and other plumbing jobs including parts, plus a workbench for fixing smaller things; and the workbench held a dispatcher’s station that held writing paraphernalia and forms and such. In an old earthenware jar there were many small items found within the passageways below, and in that jar was a slightly broken Postal Bird whistle; but it would serve to summon a guard when all else failed. Fran Stroud grabbed the whistle, scampered up the flight of stone steps to the street above and blew that whistle for all he was worth!…
_____

IC: Cargo Chute workers and guards, the streets above.

Within moments the streets filled with curious onlookers, and Fran Stroud paused only a moment to nod as he continued to blow the whistle. Moments after that a guard riding his Corythosaur steed pranced into the area; and once he found the source of the whistling, hopped down and addressed the sewer worker, dark complexion a sheen of sweat.

“See here…!”, said the guard. “What goes on here…?”

“Down below!”, Fran said in a hurry. “We found a body!…”, he pointed. “In the tunnels!…”

“Control the crowd.”, the officer said to his steed, who immediately began to comply. “Now, say it again slowly.”

“We were cleaning out a section of the cargo chutes.”, Fran told the guard as they started back for the steps below. “We got the debris cleared, and this body was in the flotsam.”

“Where is it?…”, the guard said as he followed the worker down the stairs. “Did you move the body?”

“We had to move it to the pump house.”, Fran said as Mondor got out of the way to let them pass. “We couldn’t leave him down there!”

“It probably doesn’t matter… Ohhh!”, the smell hit the guard. “He probably fell in upstream…”, the guard paced around the body, never experiencing anything like this in his life! “Um,… Looks like he died many weeks ago… Do you have a stretcher handy? We need to get it to where it can be examined professionally…”

Nodding, Fran scurried among items of the pump house and found some first aid materials in a small closet set up for janitor’s tasks with buckets and mops; and in a corner of this space stood a folding canvas stretcher leaning against a wall amid some pipes snaking into the wall. He wrenched it out as it was jammed in with all the other things, and dragged it back to the cadaver and the officer; the latter had covered the former with a heavy tarpaulin, tucking it under so it was tight.. Both struggled to get the waterlogged corpse onto the contraption, and both struggled to get it out of the pump house and up the stairs to the street beyond.

Gasps rang out at street level when the stretcher met the sunlight, and the whole crowd edged closer for a morbid look; and the guard’s steed had a harder and harder time keeping them at bay. An elderly Skybax pilot was walking into the artea on his way to the aerie on the roof of Aqua Stadium when he noticed the commotion. He paused to look, and the corythosaur officer began to push him back before he had an idea; and in a warbling dialect, asked if he would help control the crowd. Gladly the pilot agreed, and a better job was done in controlling the crowd.

At a slight misstep, Fran’s foot stepped onto a corner of the tarp, and it dragged down off the corpse’s face, revealing the carnage in full daylight. The elderly pilot turned and saw the face, then stopped to turn and approach the body. He looked it over carefully before speaking.

“I know this man.”, he said.

“You do?”, said the guard. “Who is he?”

“I don’t know his name…”, the pilot said. “But I delivered a parcel for him several weeks ago from Sauropolis.”

“Where did you deliver it to?”, asked the guard.

“I went to the Waterfall City library.”, said the pilot. “To someone named Bentfeather Microraptor.”

“Well, if he received a package from this man, then I think we should pay him a visit!”, said the guard. “But first, help me take him to Doctor Forschie… He’s the best healer in the city; and maybe he can decipher just how this poor fellow died!…”
_

TAG: Hazen Baker, any and all!

[o8jedi]

IC: Hazen Baker, Hall of Hadrosaurs, Waterfall City

A sunbeam slowly crossed Hazen's eyes. He opened them slowly after moving in the chair he was sitting in. Morning already. Stretching and grunting, the world began to take form in front of him. He was still in the Hall of Hadrosaurs at Polongo's flat. He must have fallen asleep waiting for Polongo and Seamus to return. He sighed and sat up, holding the blanket that was draped over him close. But that blanket wasn't there before. They must have returned home sometime during the night.

He looked over and saw both Polongo and Seamus were at the table, eating their breakfast. He stood up and walked over, scratching his head as he went. "Do you have some breakfast for me as well?" he asked quietly.

"The lad's awake!" said Seamus with a smile. "I'll fix you something." He got down from the table and went to prepare a plate.

"Sorry we were late," said Polongo in his deep Saurian voice, "but thank you for looking after Redcrest."

Hazen smiled. "You're more than welcome. I'd do anything for her." He sat at the table. "In fact, I, uh, I want to tell you something." Polongo gave a questioning rumble. "Well, last night, I read a story to her and it got me thinking. Well, to make a long story short, I asked her to be my Life Partner."

Polongo raised his head, somewhat surprised that this human made such a bold decision in such a short amount of time. "Did she accept?"

Hazen nodded. "She's more than a friend," he said. "She's like a daughter to me, or at least how I imagine offspring would be." Everyone chuckled at that statement.

"Well, welcome to our family," said Seamus. "'Fraid we don't have much room around here, but you will always have a place to stay here if you need it."

"I'm very humbled by your generosity," he said, addressing the two of them. He ate breakfast and once finished, said, "It is time I went to class." He took his dishes over to the sink to do them.

Polongo, already decked out in his best, said, "I hope you have plans to take care of Redcrest during that time."

"Don't worry," Hazen said, "I'll talk to Bentfeather about my possibly doing more home-based study. That way, she won't have to be left off at the hatchery again."

Polongo nodded in approval. "Breathe deep, Hazen," he said.

"Seek peace," Hazen returned.

"Papa!" came a cry from Redcrest as she burst out of her room. Polongo took the time to listen to her side of Hazen's Partnership with her and for her to say goodbye for the day. It pleased Hazen to see that, even though he was a busy Saurian, he still cared deeply for his daughter and what she had to say. Not too many people back home could say the same.

After feeding her breakfast, Hazen grabbed a few books and told her, "We have to go to the library again. I'm going to try and pick up my lessons so we can have more fun together, okay?"

Redcrest was a bit annoyed, but she warbled excitedly anyway. After all, he was now her Partner; even if they did have to go to the quiet, boring library, just being with him was going to be fun enough!

They made their way out and Hazen began to whistle a little tune, noticing the bright, sunny day it was. Although it was very familiar to him, Redcrest looked up at him, wondering what that song was. She made a questioning burble and Hazen looked back at her. "It's a song from the Outside," he explained. "It's a happy song about how the blue sky has finally come out after a rainy day." He began to sing it out loud, not expecting her to learn it, but she seemed to enjoy it anyway.

OOC: For the tune, click here. And yes, I'm a '70s rock junkie.

IC: Along the streets, Hazen saw a commotion forming. Something had happened and, judging by the smell, it happened in the sewers. But this wasn't just the smell of refuse and waste. Something else was wrong. He knew better than to investigate and he held tighter onto Redcrest's hand just to make sure she didn't run off on him. He asked a bystander what was going on.

"They found a poor soul near the cargo chute!" said the Compsognathus as a guard tried to disperse the crowd. "He must have been dead for days."

That was all Hazen needed to hear. "Come on," Hazen said as he led Redcrest away. Even though she hooted her concerns about what happened, he deflected questioning by trying to get her mind on another song.

He entered the library, again reminding her to be quiet, and started to head to Study Room 3. When he got to the doors, he heard a conversation going on. Something important. Despite his better judgment, he eavesdropped.

TAG: Bentfeather, any and all.

[Thundertail]

OCC: Cool 08jedi! I got all their 8-tracks!… LOL!

IC: Doctor Forschie, His office at Fountain Square.

Though it was true that there has been many deaths in Waterfall City, they were all of the natural kind where a person would die of old age; or at extreme worst, an accident may have occurred. This death was a strange one indeed, doctor Forschie thought as he saw this poor bloated soul; the back examination room was brightly lit, and braisers of incense were lit to ward off the smell. He had seen the results of drowning before, and some were more gory than this; but there was something not quite right here, and he was at a loss as to what it was.

The evidence was there, as it always was; to the method in which people died, and it was his job to find it quickly. After a result of a test, he found that the lungs were not filled with water; as the drowning person’s last attempt to breathe would draw a lungful of water, ending him quickly. This was not the case, which led him to believe that he did not die in the water; but somewhere else, and his body was disposed in the cargo chutes. His examination of the myriad of bruises and abrasions on the body were indeed evidence of a rough ride through the chutes, but there was almost no bleeding in these spots; further indicating that his heart had stopped long before he was put into the water.

A long blunt gash on the back of his head had seen bleeding, coagulation just barely washed off in the water; and the shape of the wound told him that the man had been clubbed there with a blunt object. The only conclusion doctor Forschie could come up with was the man had been murdered, and there was a killer now residing in Waterfall City!

“What is his name?”, doctor Forschie asked the guard behind him, a necessary presence since this was a questionable death. “Has his next of kin been notified?”

“We do not know.”, the guard replied, this one neither involved with discovering the body nor officer Ajax. “The guard on scene said a witness knew something about him, and was investigating the lead.”

“I see…”, said doctor Forschie. “Well, my medical examination proves the man was murdered; and his body was disposed of in the Cargo Chutes.”, he looked concerned. “I’ve never heard of anything like this in my life!… I mean, killing someone out of malice is against all civilized thought!”

“Well, don’t you worry.”, the guard said. “We will find the culprit…”
_____

IC: Bentfeather and Tebo and others, the Waterfall City library.

It was just another morning at the Waterfall city library, and Tebo had set up Study Room 3 for another lesson; Bentfeather coalesced another lesson for Hazen and was ready for another day. All seemed well as a light flow of patrons began to meander past the front desk, manned so to speak by Mizzy; and light fog wafted past the upper windows of the library unnoticed by those below. As Tebo placed the last books on the study table, he turned to Bentfeather as he flapped on to it and spoke.

“Do you think Hazen will bring Redcrest today?”, he asked.

“It seems likely.”, Bentfeather told him. “After all, the care of youngsters is a full-time occupation!”

“I thought so…”, Tebo centered one of the chairs. “That’s why I placed all breakables in this room to higher shelves!”

Just then a dark skinned Waterfall City guard and his Corythosaur Partner showed up at the door, unspeaking and waiting to be noticed by the pair. At the Corythosaur’s rumbling cough, both turned and stared at the intruders.

“And what can I do for you today?”, asked Bentfeather as he saw. It could have been many reasons why they were here.

“The saurian at the front desk said that a sir Bentfeather was here…”, prompted the guard. “We need him at doctor Forschie’s office right away.”

“I am he…”, Bentfeather said. “But I have no time for a checkup. I am to teach a class very shortly, and do not have the time!…”

“It is not that… I’m afraid something terrible has happened.”, said the guard.

“Goodness!… What is it?…”, Bentfeather gasped. “Does it concern Hazen Baker, my student?… Is he ill?”

“There has been an accident.”, the guard said after conferring silently with his Partner. “A human male was found in the Cargo Chutes, drowned as far as we can tell.”, he coughed. “A Skybax courier said that he was the man that had him send a parcel to you some weeks ago. We were wondering if you might be able to identify him…”

“Well, certainly I could give it a try…”, the Microraptor said, thinking.

Then he noticed Hazen and Redcrest standing just outside the door. “Oh, Hazen my boy!…”, he fluttered, thinking quickly. “Um,… Something unexpected has come up. Tebo and I have to go with these officers for a while, but we will be back as soon as we can.”

Tebo saw Redcrest and gave her a little wave, and she returned the gesture. Both Hazen and Redcrest had the look like they had heard all or part of the conversation, and tried to stay out of the way; but Bentfeather beckoned them in and had them take their places at the study table.

Bentfeather pointed to the desk. “Now Tebo has set out a few books for you to study. Please do that until I return… And please try to keep your charming charge entertained until then too!…”, he winked as he turned. “Ok, I’m ready to go…”, he hopped on Tebo’s shoulder, and they preceeded the guards out of Study Room 3...
_

TAG: Hazen, any and all!

[o8jedi]

IC: Hazen Baker and Redcrest, Waterfall City Library

As the guards escorted Bentfeather away, Hazen furrowed his brow. The guards had mentioned that something had happened at the Cargo Chutes and that it may have been a man who sent something to Bentfeather. He knew that it was the unfortunate body that had been brought up and stunk so bad. But why was Bentfeather involved? As much as he wanted to find out, he knew that he couldn't just get up and follow them to the coroner's office (if they even had a proper coroner) because of Redcrest.

He sighed and looked at her. "If your best friend was needed in an important investigation, what would you do?" he halfheartedly asked her. Redcrest shrugged, not really familiar with why the big men were here in the first place. Hazen sighed and looked at the books that had been assigned. They weren't particularly thrilling selections and he knew Redcrest wouldn't exactly focus on them if he read them aloud. Hazen stood up. "Why don't we see if we can find any books about where I came from?" he asked. "You'd like to learn more about me, wouldn't you?"

Redcrest nodded. "Uh-huh! Uh-huh!" she warbled.

Hazen smiled at her. "Come on, then." He took her hand and made his way to the Outside World section. Not wanting to have her bored, he quickly pulled out a few books and scrolls that he thought would effectively sum up American life as well as the world today. They returned to the study room and Hazen spread them out on the table.

He helped her up on to a chair so she could see and he opened a book entitled Maps from the Outside World. "Okay," Hazen said as he quickly looked for a current map. Unfortunately, he had to settle for one from the mid-to-late 1930s. "This is a picture of the Outside World." He opened the book, showing the world in Mercator Projection. "Now," Hazen began, "Dinotopia should be somewhere around here," he said, pointing to a blank spot in the Pacific Ocean, "but noone in the Outside World knows about it. Anyway, I came from here." He pointed at a large band stretching across North America. "The United States of America."

Redcrest was more than a bit surprised to see a picture of the world. The sheer size of the planet was almost unfathomable. Still, to see a graphical representation of Hazen's home went a long way in establishing what her partner was like.

Hazen then flipped to a map of the United States themselves. "In a way," Hazen said, "we're a lot like Dinotopia. We have lots of farmlands and small towns, but we also have lots of big cities." He pointed a few out on the map, sporting funny names like "New York" and "Los Angeles" and "Detroit." Redcrest laughed at Detroit in particular, thinking it sounded made-up. "No, seriously!" Hazen defended, "there really is a Detroit."

He pulled out other reference books, hoping to show how Americans dressed and pictures of the cities themselves. All he could manage to find were old woodcuts. He sighed. "I guess they don't have a lot of pictures," he said. "A lot has changed since these books were made. It's a shame I can't describe them all."

Hazen then looked at the pieces of paper that were out for notes. He smiled and looked at Redcrest. "How about I draw them?" he suggested. Redcrest seemed to like that idea. He gave her a pencil and a piece of paper. "Now, I'm going to try and draw some stuff from the Outside World and you can draw whatever you want, okay?" Redcrest didn't respond as she was already starting to make a few scribbles.

They spent most of the day drawing pictures. While Hazen was trying to illustrate great monuments from home like the Washington Monument or the Statue of Liberty, Redcrest did a few blobs and scribbles, mostly detailing her imagined adventures with Hazen. On one occasion, Hazen caught Redcrest trying to scribble on the pages in the books, but he told her that people may want to read them and they couldn't see beyond them. He gave her a fresh sheet of paper and moved the books out of her reach.

Finally, Bentfeather and Tebo returned. Hazen stood up and said, "You're back! As your student, I'd like to know what that was all about." Redcrest was still drawing and didn't pay attention to what the grown-ups were talking about.

TAG: Bentfeather, Tebo, any and all.