[Comm] Dog Days 3/3

The day was hot, and everything was miserable. Creatures all across the islands were attempting to seek out shelter and shade from the fiery warmth. Small critters buried deep into their dens, while the large reptiles that had claimed dominance over the islands found themselves shady spots to huddle down in. However, two particular Anteosaurus were left without shelter. The two had been traveling for so long that they had never settled down in a permanent spot. Anywhere they had attempted to settle at, the two had quickly outgrown. However, now the almost adults were finally able to find an actual den. And one of the two was more than eager.

“Rost!” A dark muzzled Anteosaurus painted, dark feathers stuck to his side with sweat and various debris from their long walk across the forest. White marks above his eyes gave him the expression of being permanently surprised. “Wait! Can’t we just find a nice place to wait this heat out?” Apparently, they also magnified his puppy dog eyes.

The other Anteosaurus turned to him with an annoyed grunt, shaking his own feathers out. They were in no better condition. Rost had much lighter colors, allowing him a bit more leeway with the bright heat. However, they both had been traveling for so long that even his tricolor feathers were matted. “We need to find some kind of den…” Rost grumped, scraping his claws across the ground. “We’re big now- big enough to hold territory. We need to secure a place to safely live. It’s not a good idea to keep traveling forever, Patina. The heat is a perfect chance to try and scope areas out.”

Patina whined, barely stopping himself from dropping over dramatically. “Well, could we at least search in more shady areas? We need rest, or we’re gonna end up helpless out here.”

Rost tilted his large head to the side, before dropping it with a sigh. “Yeah. Fine. You're right. This is pointless.” The Anteosaurus’s head dropped. 

“Hey, it's ok!” Patina stepped forward, nudging Rost’s side with his own head. “We can still look for dens! And this way, we can find one that will protect us from any future heat waves.” 

Rost sighed, in relief this time. “Yeah! That's true. Thanks, Patina.” He sent a grateful look towards the other Anteosaurus before looking towards a nearby forest. “We can check there. It should be pretty cool.” Rost playfully nudged against Patina.

“Great! Let's go!” Patina yelped, quickly running ahead in a burst of sudden speed that left Rost coughing dust. 

“Patina!” Rost yelped, quickly charging after the dark feathered Anteosaurus with a laugh. The two of them ran together, side by side into the forest. The cool relief of the forest's shade was a much needed sensation after all the time spent looking for a den out in the arid grasslands. 

The forest was also home to many more interesting scents- Rost’s nose twitched as he took in a sniff. The smell of fresh leaves, new plants, and multiple animals was everywhere. This place was so lush compared to the hot grassland. A small lizard crawled across a nearby tree, quickly catching sight of the two Anteosaurus before scattering into the brush again. 

The two continued to wander through the forest for a period of time, poking their large noses into whatever interested them. This almost ended badly for Patina when he stuck his head into a large burrow, only to frantically back out of it as a very aggressive badger lashed at his muzzle. Thankfully, Patina managed to dodge the swipe and back away with his dignity unharmed.

It was also Patina who stumbled across the den first. He had wandered off a bit from Rost again, unable to resist following a small mammal that ran across his path. The rabbit darted into the thick underbrush but, unrelenting, Patina just barged on through- and right into the side of a large tree. Stunned, he fell back with a whine, attracting the attention of Rost.

“You alright?” Rost asked when he finally made it over, panting a bit from how fast he had run. 

Patina made an affirmative noise, pulling himself to his feet and instantly almost falling again. The reason behind his near fall was made clear as he looked at the tree more closely, noticing a deep crevice made by its large roots. Underneath the roots was a large mound of dirt. Curious, Patina attempted to scrape away at the dirt underneath the roots. It came away easily, much softer than the dirt surrounding it. “Rost, check it out!” Patina scraped away some more of the dirt, widening the gap.

Rost joined him in poking at the dirt, swiping his own claws through it. “We can make this into a burrow.” He realized, looking at Patina. “It won’t be hard- the soil is plenty soft, and the tree is big enough we should be able to dig out enough room. As long as we don’t dig too much under the tree, it should be safe!” Rost started to dig, sending dirt flying as he scooped pawfuls of dirt out and sent them flying back. 

“Ooh, digging! I love digging!” Patina cheered, quickly squeezing in next to Rost. Patina was much better at digging than Rost was, and within a few minutes had made a large dent in the dirt pile. Rost angled himself to the side, pushing the dirt that Patina off to the side so it would not fall back into the den. 

Carefully, they dug and shaped the burrow. The work was just as tiring and sweaty as their earlier search, but the pair were fixated on their slowly forming den. As the day dragged on, the burrow became wider and wider. Patina was careful when digging, digging an entrance and then a wider area underneath.

Eventually, the two were too tired to keep working- dust and dirt coated every inch of them. The top of the den was more root than dirt, with some of the roots curling down the sides of the burrow to keep it stable. The floor was pure dirt, but already it was soft- soon enough it would be filled with various soft pelts and plants. The space in the middle was not large, but it was enough space for the two of them to squeeze into with some wiggle room. 

Together, Rost and Patina crawled into their new den. They were tired and dirty and sore, but they couldn't help but feel accomplished. “Goodnight, Rost.” Patina muttered as he dropped his head down into the dirt. 

Rost smiled back, before resting his own head onto Patina’s back. “Goodnight.” There was still work to be done, but a break was in order. A nice, long one.