It Hurts so Good

                It was always dicey on who Tempest would run into whenever he went through the cities. Most of the time it was no one that would cause alarm, most dinosaurs out and about during the day were rather friendly. But sometimes he’d come across the more aggressive individuals. And that seemed to be the case for the day.

                The dark gray colored hide he had spotted from afar seemed familiar, and as he stopped to look the Cryolophosaurus ahead over a little more he spotted the scars and darker freckling. Where there was Nightingale, there was Desolator somewhere nearby as well. But the whole setting didn’t seem quite right. Night was sitting on a sloped wall that had crumbled away from the main building years ago, watching the street ahead of her in silence, her back turned to Tempest.

                She was quiet. And still. And simply sitting out in the open. All things that Tempest thought odd for her.

                The male Cryo looked around carefully, trying to spot anything out of the ordinary. Surely it had to be a trap? But he saw nothing, and heard no one. Before he could turn to start carefully away, Nightingale had turned her head to the side and spotted him. He got ready to run as she stood and turned to him. Instead of running at him, however, Night calmly made her way down the wall and over to Tempest.

                Where was the psychopathic Cryo that he knew? The one that craved only violence?

                “A little lost?” She asked, not stopping and instead continued to walk past him. Her tail flicking over to brush against his side as she walked. Tempest narrowed his eyes but obeyed the subtle command, turning and followed after her down the street.

                “No. You seem to be, though. Isn’t it too bright outside for you? And you’re not causing terror in the streets. Are you feeling alright? Is this a trap? It’s a trap, isn’t it.” Tempest replied, still not trusting whatever was currently happening.

                Night turned her head slightly so she could look back at him and laugh as he spoke. She shook her head and looked forward again, leading them down one of the main streets that would eventually bring them out of the city. “No trap. Though it is bright. Hungry, but not for food.” She replied simply.

                Tempest raised a brow as he listened, watching her as she walked ahead of him. At least he now knew he wasn’t on the menu. Though her words sunk in a moment after that. He was, in fact, on the menu still. And he had willingly just went along with her demand to follow. But of all the things she could be wanting from him, he supposed a little bit of personal time was not too bad. He might even be able to use this against her later, should she try to kill him when he passed through the city next.

                “So where exactly are you taking me? You know, you should get me dinner first. It’s only polite.” Tempest asked, chuckling at his own stupid joke. Nightingale didn’t seem to find it amusing as she looked back at him and smacked the side of his neck with her tail.

                “Small lake, just outside city. Quiet. Peaceful.” She replied with a snort.

                And so they walked. Tempest making sure to stay behind her in case she did decide to whip around and start a fight. She might’ve been smaller than him, but she packed a punch. On more than a few occasions she’d gotten a good bite off on him, her claws had left plenty of gashes that had to heal over the years as well. Maybe that’s why he was following along. Tempest wondered if he was a secret glutton for the pain she caused. But the idea of spending some time with something that normally would’ve attacked on sight had him curious.

                Once they had made it outside of the city, Nightingale showed him down to a nearby stream that flowed to a nearby pond. The water was beautiful, crisp and clear. The grass around the pond tall and lush. The spots people found that brought them joy and peace were spectacular. He’d have to tell Waverunner of the place. The young Cryo would have a blast picking apart the area and telling Tempest all about the small details of it. No doubt aggravate the absolute shit out of him the entire time, but at least it would bring Waverunner joy.

                Night stopped for just a moment, enjoying the view of the pond and the croaking of frogs before she continued on. She made her way around the edge of the water and then crouched to wiggle into a clump of rocks. Tempest stopped, watching her fit through the two massive slabs of rock that appeared to lead into a cave in the ground. To him, it looked like a deathtrap. It only took a bit of bad luck for the rocks to possibly fall in and trap them in the cave forever.

                “They won’t fall. Never have. Never will. Sturdy.” Nightingale called from inside.

                Tempest sighed, pressing his lips together into a fine line before following after her into the cave.

                It wasn’t as dark as he thought it would be inside. The entrance of the cave giving just enough light to make the interior dim but he could still see the work that Night had put into it. She’d smoothed down the floor over time and had decorated the walls with the bones of small animals. Grass had been used to line the floor as well, keeping it warm inside, but still a nice retreat from the summer sun. The sounds from outside seemed to echo gently in the cave as well. The place really was comfortable. And homey in an odd sort of way.

                Tempest was mostly just surprised that Nightingale knew how to be at peace. He only ever saw her being a menace to society. He had been just about to think that she was going to just want to snuggle when she whipped around faster than he could react to and bit his tail. Not hard enough to draw blood, but there was certainly pain and she was making it clear that she didn’t want to just nap and snuggle.

                “We fight now.” Was the only thing she demanded.

                “I thought we were-“

                “No. We. Fight. Now.”

                As Tempest found himself getting knocked over from a rough shove by Night, he quickly wondered what exactly he had signed up for. It had been such a nice walk with her, and the cave was so relaxing. But he should’ve known. Violence was the only language she knew. And apparently beating him up was an odd sort of display of love.