Storm

A storm was brewing. Silver could smell it in the air, the fresh tingle of ozone that forecame what was to come. Agitated, he lashed his feathery tail around before looking back onto the den where his friend and his son rested. Their den was well hidden, on the edge of a forest and carved underneath a rocky outcliff to create a warm, if cramped burrow. He scowled lowly, before crawling back into the den. “A storm is coming.” He murmured lowly. Comet lifted his head, eyeing his old friend with sleep hazed eyes from where he had been resting. Sirius didn't even react, too focused on his two young offspring- a son and a daughter. They were currently hidden behind the curve of their fathers body, seemingly sleeping if the lack of baby noises was anything to go by.

Comet looked towards the sky, poking his nose out of the den before quickly bringing it back. Without feathers he was much more sensitive to the cold, and judging by his reaction the harsh wind was uncomfortable. “We’d best stay in the den for now then.” He spoke back in a quiet volume, seemingly trying to not wake up his grandchildren. 

Silver huffed back in agreement, although his feathers still stood on end. “We need to move to a new den soon.” He grumbled. “There’s not enough room here.” Already he was used to waking up with someones tail in his mouth or head on his leg with just the three of them. Once Nebula and Nova were bigger and more energetic, the problem would only become worse. 

Comet grunted in agreement, and gestured for Silver to come closer. Sighing, Silver crawled closer to his friend, basically his brother, allowing the featherless cryolophosaurus to nestle into his side. It wasn't long before Silver fell asleep too, the worry of the storm quickly slipping from his mind as he dozed off.

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Silver was awoken by the crash of thunder, causing his feathers to flair up in distress. Quickly he scrambled for the entrance, leaving Comet to fall to the floor with a muffled curse as Silver poked his head out of the den, almost instantly becoming soaked by the pouring rain. In the back he could hear the whining and shuffling of the two hatchlings, and the sound of Sirius gently shushing them. 

Nervously, Silver looked up at the sky. The rain was coming down fast. Their burrow was on a slope, and while they have had slight flooding in the past the rain had never been this bad while they lived here. However, Silver had a feeling that would change tonight. Already water was starting to spill into the rim of the burrow from the cliff above, not a huge amount but it would only grow worse as the storm dragged on.

Silver turned back into the den, nudging Comet into wakefulness. At first the dark cryolophosaurus glared at him, but he soon noticed the slowly pooling water and swore under his breath. He quickly turned to prod at Sirius, who had finally managed to calm his hatchlings down. Turning towards his father, he cast a curious glance that quickly turned to horror as he noticed the issue. “Nebula and Nova are too young to travel in this weather.” he breathed, panic on his face as he quickly clutched his oblivious offspring closer. 

Comet nudged his son carefully. “We’ll help you out.” He reassured. “We’ll have to carry one each; the weather is too rough to have them on our backs. Are you able to lead us to safer ground, Silver?”

Silver nodded, poking his head out of the den again. Behind him he heard soft squeaks of protest as Sirius and Comet carefully scooped up the hatchlings, holding them firmly but gently in dangerous mouths. Quickly, they began to run. The forest offered them some shelter, but it was not enough to quell the fury of the rain. Silver’s feathers quickly became drenched, the weight of the chilling water almost taking him off his feet. 

Everything was blurry, forcing Silver to blink near constantly to keep the water out of his eyes. Even his nose felt blurry- attempting to scent the air just got him a nose fall of water, causing him to sneeze and sputter like his lungs were full of water.

Soon they came up to where Silver was leading them- up the slopes of a mountain that lead into the highlands. He didn’t have a plan in mind, but he knew there was likely to be shelter up there, among the high cliffs and the environment meant to withstand heavy rain. Heaving himself up and over the first rock in order to get to a narrow passageway, Silver turned to his packmates. Sirius and Comet were right behind them, the whimpering hatchlings seemingly doing their best to stay still and quiet. Stretching out his neck, Silver gently took Orion from Sirius to allow the tired cryolophosaurus to make his way up the rocks without an unpredictable hatchling dragging him down. Sirius was extremely distressed, lashing his tail around as he tried to use his body to shelter his hatchling as best as possible. The storm was rough, and it was clear he was worried his hatchlings would not survive the journey.

Orion cried as he was transferred, seemingly disliking the feeling of Silvers soaked feathers. Silver couldn’t help but agree with the hatchling. Sirius quickly scrambled up besides them, turning to his father about to attempt his way up "Give her to me." He urged, streaching his neck down to his father with tension visible in every line of his body. Comet grunted but obliged, passing Nebula over to Sirius. The purple cryolophosaurus visiably relaxed, quickly pulling back to allow his father room to make it up while attempting to shelter Nebula with his body the best he could. Comet made it up with little difficulty, stopping to press against his son in silent reassurance before turning to Silver.

Handing Orion to Comet, Silver began to lead the way again. The path up was rough and muddy, water draining down from the top and trying its best to wash them away. Still, they continued- they had no other choice. Several times they stumbled, Comet almost ending up face down in the dirt when a particularly deep patch of mud made him stumble and almost drop Orion in the comotion. Sirius quickly darted in, catching his hatchling on his head while Silver steadied the older male. Comet let out a hiss of thanks but they had no time to stop as they continued onwards.

Eventually, the ground leveled out, a large cliffside soon coming into view through the forest. Silver flicked his tail, following the edge of the cliffside while scenting the air. There had to be some sort of shelter…

A few minutes later, Silver let out a hiss of victory. There was a crack in the cliff wall, partly hidden by a wall of lichen and moss. Poking his snout through, he investigated the small cave. There was a very narrow crawl space that would block anything bigger than a cryolophosaurus from getting through, and a much larger space beyond. There seemed to be faint traces of others of their kind, but they were long gone. Silver squeezed himself into the den, quickly shaking himself to rid the excess water from his fur. From behind him he heard a muffled hiss as Comet shoved his way through, dropping Orion gently on the ground. The hatchling immediately mimicked Silvers actions, shaking himself off so hard to fell to the ground. Sirius soon followed them in, quickly gathering his hatchlings into a pile in the corner in order to dry them and keep them warm. Comet tugged on Silver, bringing both of them into the huddle as well. They all needed the body warmth, after all. 

Together, the pack curled together in a pile of what would become their new den. They were tired and damp and displaced from their home, but with morning the rain would leave, and they would make this place their new, much safer home.