Crossing Paths- Comet and Silver

Deep in the Alpha Labs, an abandoned facility, life was rough. Food and water was scarce, dangerous equipment was located everywhere and hungry predators roamed the hallways. Despite the danger, life still flourished in a way. With the doors to the lab now open, dinosaurus could come and go, fetching food and water from the surface and retreating into the abandoned human building for shelter. Sometimes, eggs were even hidden in the questionable safety of the labs, shoved into tight crevices to be kept safe while the parents hunt. Sometimes, the parents never return.

Comet wondered if his parents ever wanted to come back for his egg. Were they tragically slain while out on the hunt? Killed by some larger carnivore while protecting his egg? Or was his egg abandoned, left to the mercy of whatever scavengers could pull his egg out from the nook it was hidden in?

Regardless, Comet survived. He survived the unknown amount of time his egg was left to rot, survived the hatching process, and he survived the many hours he spent afterwards calling out to parents who would not answer him. But Comets’s luck was quickly running out- while he managed to snag scraps of food for a few weeks, larger carnivores had started to take notice of his presence, and they viewed him as an easy source of food. Comet was still too young to avoid other creatures; his best chance was to hide whenever he was not searching for food.

Now was one of those times. After stealing away with a scrap of meat from an old carcass that must have been another predator's kill, Comet attempted to carry his measly morsel away into one of the multiple hidey-holes he had located across the laboratories. These ranged from places such as under strange human structures, cracks in the wall, and anything Comet could wiggle into in general. 

This time, Comet happened to be close to one of his favorite hiding places- a toppled over structure that leaned against the wall, creating a place big enough for him to turn around in and stretch out as much as he wanted. That was not the reason it was his favorite place, however. That had to do with the fact that this was one of the rare rooms he knew of with a window. The halls of Comets home were twisted and dangerous, with the rooms closer to the entrance tending to be the most active and dangerous ones. This room was the one place he could get a view of the outside world, no matter how fleeting. Comet wasn't even tall enough to get a proper view of the out of reach window, but if he scrambled onto another item he could just barely get a view of the outside and the wonderful green that was so unlike the cold gray and harsh neon green lights of his home.

Comet quickly dropped his scrap onto the ground, tearing into the small amount of food hungrily. It had been a long time since his last meal, and even this small bit of rotting flesh was like a feast to him. It was gone within seconds, and Comet did his best to ignore the still persistent panging in his stomach. This was enough, he told himself. He was fine.

The sudden sound of claws on stone shook him from his musing, and Comet instinctively threw himself into his hiding place, curling into a ball in order to cover as much of the white splashes on his scales as possible. A crashing sound and a noise of pain sounded out from the room, as well as a screech of pain. Comet opened his eyes in shock. That screech of pain sounded like the one he had made when his claw had gotten stuck in a crack in the floor, causing him to trip while running.

Comet couldn't help but poke his head out, curious and feeling an instinctual pull towards the sound. Lying on the floor underneath the window in a bundle of lashing limbs was him. Well, not really. While the creature closely resembled what glances of himself Comet had got into reflective objects scattered around the Alpha Labs, there were several differences. The colors were wrong, this intruder being a lighter shade than himself with several other, lighter colors on his body. Most shocking of all, instead of a coating of scales, this creature had a pelt of fluffy feathers. 

The paler intruder finally found their feet, shaking themselves off and sending feathers flying. They quickly found Comets gaze with bright yellow eyes, bouncing forward and squeaking “Oh! Another cryo!” excitedly.

Comet ducked his head back into the cover instinctively, before peering back out in suspicion. “Cryo…?” he creaked, his voice weak from lack of use. Not many creatures bothered to talk to him, most simply chasing him around or ignoring him. It was a miracle he knew enough to respond. 

The new “cryo” walked forward happily, seemingly unaffected by the fall. “My name is Silver! Do you live here? I swear I didn't mean to fall in, I just wanted to check out the area and there was a tasty bug and I really wanted it and so I might have accidentally ran off a ledge into this place!” The now dubbed Silver quickly blabbed out, tail waving happily as they checked out Comet. “Oh, you're my age too! But you seem a lot smaller, is there not much food here? You should come outside with me, there's plenty of food!” 

Comet felt a headache coming on. This stranger was spouting out so much information, talking so much he could barely keep track. He called him a cryo, so they must be the same species? That would explain why they looked so similar. And Silver came from outside… was that why he had feathers? Looking at himself compared to Silver, the feathered hatchling was much cleaner than he was and seemed healthier. Was there more food outside?

Lost in his thoughts, Comet was jolted out of it by the realization that Silver was now face to face with him. He yelped in surprise and fell back, expecting the other hatchling to jump on him and tear him to bits like all the other carnivores would do. Instead, however, Silver just blinked at him. “Your kinda strange, aren't you? Do you have a pack, or are you alone like me? I can only smell you in this room. Anyways, are you able to lead me to the exit of this place? It… doesn't feel safe.” The hatchling shook himself at the end, seemingly more spooked now as he took in his surroundings. 

Comet’s eyes widened as he processed what this stranger was saying. “You… you want to leave? But- it's dangerous! Everything always stalks around the exits! I've never left and I've spent my whole life here! Its too dangerous!” His lips curled back as he faced Silver. “You carcass brain! You’ll die!”

Silver looked back at him, seemingly focused on one specific part of what Comet said. “You…. you’ve never left before?” His tail swished in agitation. “What have you been eating? Is that why you're so small? You’ve never chased bugs before?” The expression on his face was deeply sad. “Well, that settles it! We need to leave!”

“We-we?” Comet blinked. Had this fluffball not processed anything he had just said. “Uh, I just said that if you try to leave you will die, and now you're trying to drag me into it? I've already learned my lesson, what makes you think Im ever going to go with you?” Comet hissed angrily, lashing his tail. “No thanks, I would rather stay here, safe!”

“But are you really safe?” Silver challenged, seeming unphased by Comets hissing. “You're living in a place that most creatures never venture into, because most who enter don’t come out. Even those who do live here usually don’t stay here full time, because it is too dangerous even for them. But you want to stay here? If you don't escape, you’ll be the one who dies!” His teeth snapped in the air as he raised his head to tower over Comet, seemingly showing off his larger size and health compared to his own. Suddenly, he dipped his head down, peering at Comet with a genuine and pleading look. “Help lead me out, and I can help you out there! Come on, it's your best shot. We’re fast enough to outrun anything that looks at us twice, and small enough to sneak around!” 

Comet tilted his head in confusion. The outside… he didn't want to believe it, but could he really escape this place? He had been too scared to make a break for their entrance, but this strange newcomer was both hyping him up and scaring him. But… Silver wasn’t wrong. Comet had no clue how big he would get, but currently he was small and fast- the perfect size to evade larger carnivores. And food was growing more and more dangerous… but the decision was made when he looked into Silvers hopeful eyes. Now that the anger and fear had passed, he was able to think more clearly. Did he really want to send the only other member of his species he knew off alone to wander the halls until he perished? Did he really want to stay here, in this gray place, when he could be out in the green? The answer to both of those was no. “Fine. Fine, I’ll lead you out, and you’ll help me out there. Deal?” Comet huffed in defeat, eyeing the other cryo. 

“You bet! Oh, I'm so happy!” Silver grinned widely, seemingly bursting into an energetic dance, hopping around in excitement. “I can’t believe I found a friend in this dusty place!”

Friend? Comet thought in shock. This stranger had just burst into his home, demanded he leave the labs with him, then thought they were friends. Then again… Silver seemed to be alone too. He had never mentioned a family or pack, and Comet couldn't help but feel a burst of fondness as he watched Silver continue his little dance. Maybe they could be friends… if they made it out.