The crystal walls of the canyon seemed to close in around me as I realized the full extent of my predicament. What had started as a simple exploration had become a nightmare of identical-looking passages and confusing turns. Every direction I tried led to another branching path, and none of them looked familiar.
"Father!" I called out again, my young voice cracking with panic like a teenage boy trying to impress a girl. "Anyone!"
But the only response was my own echo bouncing off the crystal-embedded walls, distorted and multiplied until it sounded like a dozen lost wyrmlings crying for help.
I tried to follow the stream back the way I'd come, but it split and rejoined in ways that made no sense. Had the water been flowing left or right when I'd first entered? I couldn't remember, and my panic was making it harder to think clearly like trying to solve math while someone tickles your feet.
Taking what I hoped was the main channel, I pressed deeper into the canyon system. The crystal formations grew more elaborate as I walked, creating natural sculptures that would have been beautiful under different circumstances. But now they just looked like glittering maze walls designed to trap lost wyrmlings.
The blue sun was climbing higher overhead, and the heat reflecting off the crystals was making me dizzy like being stuck inside a giant disco ball. My tiny body wasn't built for extended exploration without food and rest, and I could feel my energy flagging.
That's when I noticed the change in the air. The scent was different here – less familiar, carrying traces of smoke and sulfur that didn't quite match my family's territory. The territorial markers carved into the canyon walls had changed too, featuring different symbols burned into the stone.
I had crossed into another family's territory.
The realization should have made me more cautious, but honestly, at this point I was just desperate to find any adult T-Rex who could help me get home. So when the canyon opened up into a wider valley and I saw caves carved into the cliff faces ahead, I felt a surge of relief.
The Lavaforge territory was marked with designs completely different from my family's domain. Where our caves were carved with flowing, organic lines that followed natural rock formations, these caves had been shaped with precise geometric patterns like someone with serious OCD had designed them. The lava flows here had been channeled into decorative fountains and pools, creating an almost artistic landscape.
But what really caught my attention was the sound of voices – young voices, wyrmling voices – coming from one of the lower caves.
"Hello?" I called out tentatively as I approached. "Is anyone there? I'm lost!"
The voices stopped abruptly, replaced by the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps like a herd of caffeinated elephants. Moments later, a young female T-Rex emerged from the cave entrance, her scales gleaming crimson red in the blue sunlight.
My breath caught in my throat like a fish forgetting how to swim.
The words that could describe her: she was the most beautiful T-Rex I'd ever seen. Perfect rainbow pattern strands on crimson red tiny scales without a single blemish, arranged in patterns that seemed to flow like liquid fire across her elegant form. Her cute twinkling amber eyes were bright with intelligence and curiosity, and when she moved, it was with a grace that made my clumsy movements seem even more awkward by comparison.
With adorable eyes scanning through me, she demanded in her sweet tone, "Who are you?"
Bewildered by her breath-taking appearance, I was dumbfounded for a second like a computer that just crashed. Regaining myself, I replied, "I am Rider Rex. Sorry, I lost my way and ended up here. Can you inform me where I am?"
Positioning herself protectively, she replied, "This is Lavaforge territory... how dare you intrude. Rider Rex... seems I heard this name. Yes, the name of the newborn son of the leader. Are you him?"
I scratched my head like a confused monkey. "Yes, you know about me? Seems my name is already famous in the forest."
With curious eyes circling around me like a detective examining evidence, she said, "Famous? Yeah, purple T-Rex born inside the leader's family can be considered a hot topic circulating between T-Rex."
I met her eyes with mine. "What do they talk about me?"
She brought her breath close to my face. "Handsome."
I stepped back a little, startled by her actions like a cat seeing a cucumber. "Handsome? I thought they were mocking me, considering me a defect product. Are you lying to me?"
"Lying? Pallet was taught by her grandmother to never lie. I was just giving my own opinion. Everyone in the tribe has the same boring crimson color – gives me headaches trying to distinguish them since they all look similar to each other like a bunch of red jellybeans. I like your luminous violet color blended with crimson flame."
I was a little dumbfounded by her unexpected reply. A wyrmling the same age as mine, with top-notch appearance together with words that carring matureness unlike other peanut-sized brain wyrmlings like comparing Einstein to a goldfish.
Suddenly, my heart began racing faster. A sensation born from nature circulated in my blood vessels. I was unaware of this strange feeling that happens when a T-Rex finds his future mate, unconsciously happening inside me.
"Why are you so quiet? Are you afraid I will eat you, or do you also have a boring personality like every member of this family except grandma?" Pallet asked.
"Boring? No, I also want to have conversation, but first can you show me the way out from this place? My family must be worried about me since I suddenly disappeared."
Step... Step... Step...
Pallet panicked like a cat hearing a vacuum cleaner. "Oh no, those boring old fellows are here! Hurry up, Rider, run away from here! Families of tribes appear close to each other on the surface but are actually enemies of each other. Scorchclaw and Lavaforge families are in conflict of interest. You have trespassed in our territory, which is a crime. Hurry up and run away before my family members catch you!"
I, I was about to run away when suddenly two big T-Rex appeared, jumping out from the cave entrance and blocking my path like bouncers at the world's scariest nightclub.
"Where do you think you're going, strange fellow?" The double-in-size juvenile T-Rex, probably around the same stage as my aunt Sparkwing, had well-developed flame ridges along his spine. Both of them looked at me playfully, like cats staring at a new toy mouse.
Pallet stepped in front of me, preventing them from slashing their big claws onto me. "Brothers, stop! Before doing anything irrational, he's not some animal you're attacking. He is a T-Rex like us!"
Both of them scanned thoroughly through my body like airport security having a bad day. "T-Rex? We almost thought some strange animal broke into our space."
"Sorry, I'm lost. I entered your territory by mistake," I replied honestly, suddenly very aware of how bedraggled I must look after my wandering in the canyon like a hobo who'd been through a washing machine.
I explained to them, "I was exploring with my papa, and I got separated in the crystal passages. I don't know how to get home."
The juvenile and wyrmling brothers exchanged glances, and I caught whispered fragments of their conversation.
Maybe they were identifying me:
"...purple scales..."
"...never seen coloring like that..."
"...could be a scout..."
"What's your family name?" the juvenile asked more formally.
"Rider Rex Scorchclaw," I replied, and watched their expressions change dramatically like someone had just told them their favorite TV show was canceled.
Both remained in their hunting stance. "Pallet, move away. Even if he broke into our place by mistake, he's still accountable for the crime."
Pallet stood firmly facing her brothers. "No, brother. He is the son of the leader. Harming him can endanger our family's business."
Both of them sneered like bullies who'd just found their favorite victim. "Only three weeks old, lecturing us on politics. We're warning you – step back, brainless sister."
Before they could finish their words, a rumbling voice sounded like thunder having a bad mood. "Pallet, listen to your brothers. You forget the teachings of our Lavaforge family – males make decisions, whether right or wrong. Females have to obey them without question."
The thunder of approaching adult footsteps echoed through the valley like a stampede of elephants wearing concrete boots. I found myself huddled between them as massive forms appeared from the main cave complex.
The T-Rex that emerged first was enormous even by adult standards, his dark red scales marked with distinctive flame patterns that spoke of high status within his family. His amber eyes fixed on me with an intensity that made me want to hide behind the nearest rock like a mouse spotting a very hungry cat.
"I heard your conversation," he rumbled, his voice carrying the authority of absolute leadership like a principal who'd caught you skipping class. "A strange wyrmling in our territory?"
"Papa," the juvenile spoke up quickly, "this is Rider Rex, leader Scorchclaw's youngest son. He says he's lost."
"I was exploring the crystal canyon with my papa," I explained, trying to keep my voice steady despite my nervousness like trying to sing while riding a roller coaster. "I wandered too far and couldn't find my way back. I didn't mean to cross into your territory."
The male – who had to be Chief Magmaroar based on his bearing and the deference the others showed him – studied me with calculating eyes like a chess master planning his next fifty moves.
"Exploring, you say. Or perhaps scouting our defenses?" another voice interjected, and a third adult emerged from the caves like a villain making his dramatic entrance. This one immediately made me nervous. He was smaller than Magmaroar but carried himself with barely controlled aggression like a chihuahua that thinks it's a wolf. His most distinctive feature was a brilliant red crest running along his head and neck, giving him an intimidating appearance.
"Rider, be careful with your words in front of that person. Uncle Scarletmane has a cunning personality," Pallet whispered in my ear like sharing state secrets.
"A Scorchclaw wyrmling, wandering alone in our territory," Scarletmane continued, circling around me slowly like a shark who'd skipped breakfast. "How convenient. How... suspicious."
"I'm not suspicious!" I protested like a kid caught with cookie crumbs on his face. "I'm just lost! Please, I just want to go home to my family."
"Of course you do," Scarletmane replied with false sympathy thicker than honey on a cold day. "After you've gathered whatever intelligence you came for."
"Uncle, he's just a baby," Pallet spoke up bravely, again stepping between Scarletmane and me like a tiny bodyguard facing a giant. "Look at his scales – he's barely developed any flame ridges. He couldn't be a spy even if he wanted to be."
A giant tail swung like a whip in the air, directly slapping the beautiful wyrmling's face. Her small figure was crushed on the ground, blood spilling through the corner of her lips like a broken flower.
"Pallet, you still dare speak for an outsider?" Magmaroar warned like a teacher who'd lost all patience. "Step back. If any other single word comes out of your mouth, I will not hesitate to kill you."
Anger flushed through me like hot sauce hitting taste buds. How could a family treat their own girl so cruelly? But I was helpless,
"He broke into our place, acted as a spy. What punishment should we decide for him, brother? Roast his bones and eat and drink his body parts inch by inch?" Scarletmane asked harshly, crimson orange flame filling up between his teeth, preparing to roast me alive .
"Halt!" Magmaroar's voice cut through the argument like a sword through butter. "Scarletmane, we can't harm him. Scorchclaw is a madman – if he hears news we killed his kid, he'll go to any length to destroy us."
"Why are you, brother, afraid of him? If we attack together, I don't think we couldn't handle him," Scarletface argued like someone who'd never met the business end of Scorchclaw's temper.
Magmaroar snorted, the air around him pressing with his heated anger like a pressure cooker about to explode. "Stop influencing me with your cunning words! There's a difference between using your mouth and your hands. Have you ever seen him fighting? That bastard is a battle maniac. We were at the same age point, but through his world-defying battle spirit, he evolved into leader before me, while I still need a couple hundred years. The gap between hunter and leader is too wide now. We can't take any rash steps."
Scarletface gritted his teeth like a grinding machine having mechanical problems. "Then we should imprison him and ask for compensation for crossing our boundaries."
"That's a good idea," Magmaroar continued, his tone remaining formal like a judge delivering sentence. "Hold him until his father arrives to collect him. Throw him inside prison."
"Pallet, since you've appointed yourself defender of an outsider, you are equally punished to imprisonment for a week."
We were led into a dark chamber where the walls were cracked and leaking with pungent water smell like a bathroom that hadn't been cleaned in centuries. Small poisonous insects were crawling on the ground.
Compared to my disgusted reaction, Pallet remained composed as if she was used to this kind of treatment, which melted my heart like ice cream on hot pavement.
I immediately bowed down, apologizing for my mistake. "I am sorry, Pallet. Because of me, you are imprisoned in this dirty place."
No resentment showed on her face. Instead, she gave me a warm smile like sunshine breaking through storm clouds. "Don't feel guilty. It was my own decision to protect you. How could I let them kill my first friend?"
Her mature words were extraordinary for her age. Her breathtaking beauty flashed through me like an arrow to the heart.
I gently sat beside her. "Can I ask why you made a strange-looking dinosaur like me your friend when there are plenty of T-Rex who would be ready to become friends with your cute appearance?"
"You know, this place once was our family's art chamber, my favorite place. And just because I don't want to obey their manly norms, as punishment they ruined my favorite place like bullies destroying a sandcastle.what could I little whirling do , now this is my room"
"After a week of my birth, I had spent more than a week inside this place. From the beginning, I understood my life is colorless, that's why I chose art to fill this gap."
I, despite having a brain with intelligence from another world, was jumbled by her too-mature words, scratching my head .
She looked at me. "I just want to say, your different body color amazed me, and I was preventing myself and my family from getting annihilation because of the crime of killing the leader's son ."