Maple Munchers

It wasn’t commonly known, but Pitch had a small secret: She had a raging sweet tooth. 

The female therizinosaurus was privy to flowers, berries, fruits and the sweetest stems within the undergrowth. She’d never admit it if asked, and always attempted to not get caught indulging–too many sweets and she’d get a stomach ache, and if her father caught her complaining about it, he’d give her a look of “I told you so” for days. And trust him to be insufferable about it to make sure she’d remember next time she started a sweets binge. 

Pitch knew many spots on the isle to forage for such sweets. The meadows of the highlands held the sweetest flowers, the rich soils and rainfall fostering the growth of fresh sprouts hidden underneath the network of flowering grasses. The temperate forests to the northeast were home to evergreens aplenty, with their delicious and refreshing pine saps. Further north, nestled within the evergreens, a lake fosters growth of the largest and most fertile maples Pitch had ever seen. Their shifting colors were enticing and she almost missed the wonderful shade of red the leaves turned in the fall. The isle was full of sweet surprises, and Pitch hadn’t left the ashlands much in an attempt to curb her enthusiastic sweet treat diet. 

However–when Pumpkin and Carpet casually admitted that they’d never tasted a maple tree’s sap, Pitch was appalled. How had two fliers never strayed to the maples, given that they had every opportunity to travel without impediment? At the very least, both of them had tried various little berries out of curiosity; that being said, it was mostly just Pumpkin finding new round objects to try and eat, and Carpet being talked into trying them as well–he’d been fooled into eating a few rocks here and there because of Pumpkin’s habits. 

Unsurprisingly, the therizinosaurus with a sweet tooth jumped at the opportunity to feed her bad habit under the excuse of introducing friends to a wonderful new flavor experience.

“You’ve seriously never been up there? The lake is just beautiful, especially in the fall,” Pitch remarked. Pumpkin and Carpet could practically see the stars in her eyes. 

“Nope,” Pumpkin chirped, popping the “p” excessively. “I never felt the need to go that far north, except for when we visit Biscuit, and even then, we don’t stray east. Even then, I didn’t know trees had sap–much less what sap is.”

“It’s like… tree blood. Or juice?” Pitch explained, with only mild uncertainty. “It’s sweet, but it takes quite a bit to really be enjoyable. Sometimes the tree meat is nice to chew on so you can really squeeze it out.” 

Carpet’s face scrunched in mild disgust. “I didn’t know plants bled. Or had.. Meat. Sounds kinda gross.”

Pitch snorted in amusement. “Well, it’s not actual meat or blood. It’s the plant version! I don’t like that kind of thing much. But the sweet part of it really seals the deal.” Pitch kept walking down the path, watching as the two fluttered around her head and did their best to keep a slow pace for her benefit. “You guys are gonna love it, I promise. I’ll make sure you have a good experience, and then you’ll be flying around the ashlands looking for me like crazy to drag me up north and get my claws into those trees again.”

Pumpkin laughed. “It never hurts to try something at least once!” 

To that, Carpet crowed the most sarcastic laugh he possibly could. “Tell that to my stomach! I swear you’ve tried to poison me before with some of those weird berries. I don’t know how you’re alive with the diet you keep up.”

“Oh blah, you just don’t like new experiences,” the tapejara bickered back. 

Pitch enjoyed their company. There was never a dull moment when the tapejara and tropeognathus were around, and she knew for certain that they’d be around more often to figure out what else they could eat around the isle. 

The trio made their way up the hillside, slowly but surely, and Pitch guided them through the evergreens. When their wings got tired, Carpet ended up sleeping on the therizinosaurus’s back and Pumpkin clung to her chest feathers. She found her way to the lake, following a trail that she’d familiarized herself with for the refreshing mountain lake’s water and the occasional sweet tooth indulgence.

“This looks neat,” Carpet commented softly. Pitch was unaware that he’d woken up, but he stayed content right where he’d been for the past few hours. She chuckled, trying to stay a little quiet for Pumpkin, who was still asleep and clinging to her like a baby bat. Pitch made her way to the maple trees along the gravel shores, recognizing the mostly healed-over scarring on the trees from her last trip. 

“Time to wake up,” She murmured softly to Pumpkin, nudging the tapejara with her wrist. Pumpkin fussed before yawning and hopping off, taking flight to then land next to the base of a scarred tree. Carpet followed and eyed the wounds curiously.

“You do this often, huh?” He remarked. “Show us the magic, oh master of sweets.”

Pitch rolled her eyes before raising her claws and dragging them down the trunk, gouging into the bark and exposing off-white flesh. Sap welled up within the fresh wounds, and she gestured to it enthusiastically.

“Now, you just lick it!” She chuffed, and licked at the higher points of the scratches while Pumpkin and Carpet scooted closer to find out what this was all about. Pumpkin was the first, eagerly nibbling at the tree’s flesh to taste the sap. Carpet watched for a reaction, and once he noticed no significant negative response, he used the small teeth along his beak to pull shreds of the tree off to get a taste. Pumpkin straight swallowed the flesh, while Carpet spit it out to the side. Their lack of response was amusing to Pitch, who watched as both went back in for more. Both fliers had somewhat of a difficult time, as they couldn’t properly lick the sap, but Pumpkin figured out a trick–she set the tip of her bottom jaw along the groove and waited until the sap dripped into her mouth. Carpet didn’t have such luck, and continued to simply tear flesh off to feast. 

By the time they were done, the tree looked like a chainsaw or beaver had gotten after it. The trio found a comfortable place to rest nearby, and enjoyed the lovely scenery and cool breeze that drifted across the lake. Pitch’s sweet tooth was satisfied for the time being, and the fliers were developing their own from their new understanding of what the trees had to offer.