Cactus Juice

Life as a herbivore was a constant challenge, but, usually, finding food was not one of them. The tropical islands of Kiama were warm and lush, with all kinds of environments and plant life found all across it. But that was the problem. With so many species of plants, many non-native to the island, it was hard to tell what was safe to eat or not. Every herbivore born into a herd, nurtured by their herdmates, were taught what to eat and what to avoid. However, when leaving the known land where they were born, things became much more dangerous.

A rag-tag group of herbivores had gathered together to make their way through unfamiliar lands to them, filled with unfamiliar foliage. Lead by a large female parasaurolophus who’s green hide crashed with the dry shrubland around her, two smaller herbivores plodded behind her. One was another hadrosaur, slightly younger and leaner but just as large. The final member of their small herd was a black splattered dacentrurus, looking much more at home in the desolate land than the other two.

The stegosaurid was the first to break the eerie silence, shoving his shoulder spike against a long thin bush with a low growl. Curious, he swung his long head around to the bush, the rumbling in his stomach urging him on. Taking a quick bite of the gray bush, he was quick to spit it out onto the ground, making disgusted sounds and swinging his tail around in dismay. The two parasaurolophus turned to him in concern. “Inkspill?” The female was the first to break the silence, stepping forward carefully and resting a hoofed foot against his shoulder spike. “You alright?”

The dacentrurus finally finished spitting out the remains of his bite, the quills along his back bristling. “No,” he snarled, his voice having a biting edge stronger than a carnivore's bite. “Every plant around here is either dead, made of thorns, or both! Why did you bring us here, Mintee? We have been walking all day, and have not come across a single edible thing!” 

Bay, the younger parasaurolophus, paced closer to the brush, poking it with his white beak in curiosity only to reel away as harsh branches dug into his skin. The whole brush seemed to be only made of small twigs, with no leaves or soft and edible parts to be found. Snorting, Bay pawed at the plant with his hoof, smashing it into the ground.

“We’ll find something eventually.” Mintee shook her feathers out, nudging against Bay gently as if she had noticed his dismay. “We just need to keep moving. I've never been here before, but I’ve heard stories of larger herds than us passing through and even living here. We just need to find a more… green area.” Despite her strong words, Inkspill could hear a small bit of doubt in her voice. He sighed, flicking his tail before craning his head up to peer around the horizon. There was nothing around as far as he could see, just the same, repeating plant. They were totally gonna die here.

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A few hours and several miles later, they were all exhausted. Mintees feathers were covered in branches and thorns, and several tufts of feathers had been left behind. Bay was dragging his feet and occasionally coughing, having tried to take a bite out of several plants only to get the feeling of painful branches stabbing at his gums. Surprisingly, Inkwell was the one who saw them first. Letting out an excited snort, he flicked his head forwards. Ahead of them, the ground had become much more rocky, and because of that there were actual, green plants. Not a huge amount, but enough that it made all of their mouths water in excitement.

Bay was the first one to reach the plants, taking a mouthful of the plants. He made a face. They were… better than the last ones, at least? They were still rough, but not nearly as thorny. Still, they would do to help get their energy up. Mintee and Inkspill gathered to his sides, taking their own hesitant bites of the bushes around them. It was food, but. It was not pleasant. “Its… something at least.” Mintee shook out her feathers, before something caught her attention in the horizon. In the distance, something large and green and with a different shape… brushes? “Look!” she urged the other two, rearing onto her hind legs for a better look. Bay joined her in the pose, while Inkspill huffed and shook his head before trotting off. The other two quickly scrambled after him, as they went to investigate.

When they arrived, Inkspill was not impressed. A large patch of flat, circular shaped plants were scattered across the ground, covered in large spikes with small red fruits on the top. Curious, the dacentrurus pressed his beak against them and sniffed. A sweet, delicious scent filled his nose, but at the same time sharp pricks caused blood to well up on his nose. Inkspill jolted his head back with a yell, wiping at this nose and lashing his tail. Bay yelped, having to dodge out of the way of Inkwells lashing tail. “Hey!” He snapped, before seemingly noticing what the stegosaurid had. He attempted to mimic the earlier action, only to yelp and draw back and he got pricked as well. Inkwell let out a laugh, grinning at Bays glare.

Mintee shoved between the two of them, giving them a light glare that had their bickering pipe down. She took her own turn investigating the plant, but was much more cautious in her curiosity. “Its definitely food…” she hummed lowly, before poking her hoof against the sharp plant. The cacti were small, and the fruits even smaller, but there were plenty around. “Question is- how are we going to eat these safely? The spikes are small, but. I don’t think they would be good to eat.” The female shuddered, turning her head to look at the many thorns snagged in her feathers. 

Bay hummed, confidence returned and wiser from his prior experience. “Maybe we can scrape them off?” Hesitantly he raised his hoof, attempting to brush it forward against the plant. However, his frequent nervous stuttering made it difficult for him to make contact with the plant, much less succeed in getting any of the spikes off.

Inkspill huffed in irritation. “Here.” He stomped forward, before turning his side and revealing his shoulder spike. Carefully, he began to gently shift the sharp edge up and down the chosen cactus, managing to scape off a good few spikes and shorten the others at the very least. Soon, the cactus fell to the floor, no longer able to take the abuse. Carefully the dacentrurus picked the cactus up in this mouth. There was prickling, and it was a little uncomfortable, but it wasn’t painful. Carefully he crunched down, only to be met with a burst of refreshment and a pleasant flavor. Inkspill quickly scarfed down the cactus, before turning to the other two. “Water.” he gasped. “They have water in them.” 

The two parasaurolophus seemed stunned for a minute, before Mintee grinned happily. “Told you guys we would find something!” she proclaimed smugly. Bay groaned. Inkspill laughed, some kind of pleasant buzz filling his head as he turned back to the patch to continue to prepare the food for his herd mates. This was great! Nothing could go wrong!

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Hours later, they woke up in a pile where the cacti patch had been. Inkspill groaned, only to yelp as he was shoved off of Bay from where he had been laying on top of the larger herbivores. “Get off me you…” Bay swayed, attempting to get up but quickly collapsing. From behind him Mintee groaned, her feathers a mess and covered in… cactus juice? Looking down at himself, Inkspill noticed he was the same. “What…what happened….?” Bay huffed in misery. “My head hurts….”

Looking at the disaster in front of him, Inkspill sighed and let his head fall back into the dirt. “The cactus…” he groaned. He couldn't wait until they left this place behind…