Sun Speaker- Plants

It was the cold season- the few months of the year when the usually tropical islands would be blanketed in snow and frost. The cold was smothering, burying plants and animals alike beneath its white hide and oftentimes swallowing herds whole in its howling winds. It was no longer safe to stay out in the open, so the Equinox had to move into deeper forest. Hyperion had led the way into the deeper forest from the front of the small herd, occasionally turning around to check on his leader with a frown. Solstice was dull and listless, his usually shiny feathers and his horn duller than usual. The usual leader of the herd always got like this when winter was around, cold and listless without the suns guarding light strengthening him.

Now, the Equinox had found shelter deep in the forest. Deep beneath the trees the snow and wind could not reach them, but neither could the sun. Hyperion carefully scoped out the area, using his horn to make the perimeter of where it was safe and where it was not. The herd was small, only consisting of Hyperion, the listless Solstice, and Zephyr. The brown styracosaurus was watching him now, a distant look on his face. Hyperion snorted. The other male was extremely dull and stupid in Hyperions opinion, but Solstice liked him well enough, so he put up with him. 

Padding over to the shelter they had made by parting branches, Hyperion gently nudged at Solstice. The feathered male stirred, blinking slowly in a confused daze. “The sun…?” he asked weakly, craning his head up as if to catch a glimpse of it before slumping down again.

Hyperion gently rested his crest against Solstice, helping him up. “Gone, but you know it will return,” he muttered. “We must go find food- we need to save the foliage around here for when the snow breeches the forest.” 

Solstice nodded slowly, some life returning to him. “Yes. We cannot grow weak in her absence. Come.” The leader raised his voice so that Zephyr would hear as well, stomping out of the foliage and pointing his nose towards the small stream that flowed in their temporary territory. “We must follow the river- there, we will find foliage untouched by the cold, and protected.” 

Zephyr rose, a sleepy look in his eyes fading away as he blinked into awareness. “Woah, dude. Did the sun tell you that?” He looked at Solstice with awe in his eyes, as the yellow male preened under the attention. Ok. Maybe there was a reason they kept him around.

“The sun tells me much, but this I know from when I traveled here before.” Solstice seemed slightly put out by his own answer, before shaking himself. “No matter! Let us find the river foliage.” He quickly turned and pranced off, Zephyr quickly following and Hyperion behind him.

The path to the pond that Solstice knew of was not long or difficult, but it was slippery. At one point the group had to pass through chest deep water to get to the end, the cold water numbing and irritating. If the sun had been around, the water would not have been as cold. 

Eventually, the pond emerged through the trees. It was small and fairly shallow, but even in this cold weather it was still healthy looking. It was hidden deep enough in the forest that the snow and wind had not reached yet, and the surface was clear of the ice that might otherwise form. Scattered around the pond were large piles of reeds, reaching high into the sky. Eagerly, Zephyr attempted to take a bite out of one. However, as soon as he bit down on the reed, he yelped in shock. “Sour!” he gagged. “This can’t be what you brought us here to eat!” 

Hyperion bristled, rattling his frill in agitation, but Solstice simply laughed. “Oh no, my overindulgent follower!” He spoke brightly, before stepping up towards the pond. It was beautiful, full of life and foliage besides the reeds. Lush lily pads covered the surface, floating gently and some with bright flowers on top. Other small floating plants were scattered across the surface, hiding what else might be in the depths of the pond. “Observe.”

Solstice padded into the water until he was chest deep. It was warmer than the stream water had been, since it was not in constant motion. Dipping his head down, he whisked his horn around in the water, quickly managing to hook one of the lilies before managing to flip it onto his horn. Gleefully Solstice turned from the water, showing off his prize before bringing it to Zephyr. With an astonished look in his eyes Zephyr took it from the larger styracosaurus, not noticing the enraged look from Hyperion in the back. 

“Amazing!” Zephyr bit down on the lilypad, devouring it within a few bites. “What else is edible here?” Already his eyes were wandering over the pond, eyeing the other plants lining the sides and in the water as if trying to determine what else was edible. 

Solstice pointed his horn at a few other plants, mostly flowering ones that littered the sides of the pond. “There are a few plants around the outside as well, however, the most bountiful food is found deeper in the water. It grows on the bottom of the pond, and can be hard to get, but it is worth it.”

Already Zephyr was approaching the water, attempting to reach this plant. Sticking his head underwater he grabbed a mouthful of fonds in his beak, pulling them up until they came lose from the pond bottom. Heaving from the effort but proud, he brought the plants he found to Solstice. “Here, Leader.” He spat them out on the ground before bowing his head, looking up at the yellow styracosaurus with a gleeful expression.

Solstice observed them for a moment, before nodding with a pleased look on his face. “Yes, that's the plant. Thank you.” He graciously scooped them up in his mouth, all while Hyperion looked on with cold but rapidly flaming fury. That little pest! 

Gritting his teeth, Hyperion pushed past the two and sent Zephyr tumbling when their shoulders “accidently” bumped. Without stopping he strolled deep enough into the pond that his head had to be raised before taking a breath. Without giving himself time to think about what he was doing, Hyperion dove. 

Styracosaurus were not meant to swim- their heads were far too big. Thankfully, the pond wasn’t deep. Hyperion stumbled around on the bottom before something leafy caught his attention. Quickly wrapping his beak around it, he grabbed as much of the plant as he possibly could before easily pulling it from the ground.

Breaking from the surface of the water like a majestic sea creature, Hyperion padded towards the pond’s shore with the plants in his mouth. Quickly placing the large pile in front of Solstice, he dipped into a bow. “For our Sun Speaker.” 

Solstice seemed caught off guard for a moment, before stepping forward and brushing his sun touched horn to Hyperions. “Rise, my guard. You have done well.” The two looked into each other eyes, nothing but each other existing for a moment-

And then Zephyr fell into the pond. Hyperion swore he would kick him off a cliff one day.