"My name is Larann," she told them. "I'm sorry for not telling you." She hung her head, embarrassed at her lack of manners.
"You have been though a lot lately," Sawa said, approaching her and putting his hand on her head. She looked up at him. "You can tell us about yourself in your own time."
"You have accepted us," Mura told her. Larann looked over. "We know you are kind and gentle. If we only knew you as wife, we are still blessed."
"Mura and Sawa are right. Most men call their mate wife, even if they know their name as a mark of respect. A woman letting her husbands call her by name tells people that she holds them in high regard."
"Then you should call me by name," she told them. The three nodded. With that, Sawa and Mura went off to hunt. Shuiss and Larann stayed to continue to observe the Dilophosaurus's morning.
She was amazed at how similar they looked to the artist renderings of the creature. They stood about as tall as a human and had an unusual double crest on its forehead. In the pale light, she could see a light glow coming from it. Its tail was as long as a small car and swished powerfully behind it, scraping the ground at times when it walked.
"Are they supposed to glow like that?" she asked.
"Yes. It is a sign of health. The older ones don't glow as much." Shuiss told her.
"Are they the only animals that glow like that?"
"Most of the meat eaters have some amount of glow on their faces. I think it is to help them see in the dark. Or maybe it is to warn its prey one last time before it is devoured." Larann laughed uncomfortably.
The morning passed quickly as they monitored the creatures. It wasn't long before Sawa came back.
"The kill is ready," he said. "Mura is with it waiting for me to get back so you should get in your place. We also found a meadow of paver flowers."
"What is that?"
"The nectar of the flower makes anyone who eats it fall asleep." Sawa looked at Shuiss. "Do you think it will work on the meat eaters?"
"There is no telling. They don't usually eat plants of any kind. The better question is will they avoid the kill with the nectar on it."
"If they do, we'll have to try again. Watch for them to leave the caves." At that, Sawa ran off. Shuiss turned to Larann.
"It would be better if I carry you on my back. I'll be able to move faster and protect you better." She nodded and climbed up, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.
"Comfortable?" He asked.
"Yes," she said.
"Hold on tight," he said before darting out of the cave down the hidden path. We turned down a path that would take us to the clearing. As he got closer, they slowed, peeking out to see if the carnivores had taken the bait.
The females came out of the cave and let out a loud thrumming sound before walking over to the kill. They didn't seem to notice that it wasn't the males who brought it.
When they disappeared from view, Shuiss darted from his hiding spot and ran across the clearing to the cave, hugging the walls of the cliff face.
When they reached the caves, Shuiss helped Larann down and they moved cautiously deeper. As the space widened, they stared in shock at what they had found.
There is the center of the cave was a cage where several eggs had been placed.
The cage had been made with a metallic substance not unlike steal. Larann went up to it and looked at it carefully. There was a latch that held a door closed. The Carnivores would be unable to open it, but a human or beastman could.
"If we opened this, do you think that they would take their eggs and leave?" Larann asked.
"I think they would. This type of creature protects their eggs even to the point of death."
"Then lets take them out of the cage and see what happens." She unhooked the latch and started pulling out the large eggs.
Being careful not to shift them too much, she placed them in the center of the cave while Shuiss helped and pushed the cage out of the way.
Then they heard scraping at the entrance. The two looked at each other and Shuiss looked around for an entrance to the storeroom. But in this particular cave, there seemed to be no storeroom.
As the sounds got louder, Shuiss stood in front of Larann, ready to protect her from whatever came when Sawa and Mura came into the cave. They both heaved a sigh of relief.
"The paver flower worked. We won't have much time, but the females are asleep."
"Then help us take the eggs out of the cave and put them in the village clearing." Shuiss, Sawa, and Mura picked up the eggs and hauled them out of the cave. They set up a small, protected area so that the eggs would be safe and then all four of them raced back up the cliff to the cave above.
"Let's pray that this works." Sawa said. He stared down. An hour had passed before the first female woke. She lumbered around, shaking her head and tried to head back to the cave.
But then she realized that her eggs were no longer in the cave. Heading over to the new nest, she let out a loud chortle like sound.
The other females were also waking. By then the males were coming back with their kills, but when they realized that the eggs were no longer stuck in the cave, it was like they celebrated.
Setting they took the kills to the females, but after scarfing the small creatures down, they lifted the eggs in their mouths. It was almost comical, but they darted off into the woods together, no longer stuck in the old village.