The tall grasses had given way to a shorter lusher green grass that covered the flat plains they were riding though. The seemingly endless sea of greenery was dotted with trees here and there along with other shrubbery.

The vast variety of animals that lived in this place was astounding. Anna never even imagined so many different creatures could exist before coming to this place. She watched a herd of one of the many strange beasts with some interest. The creatures reminded her of deer, except they were covered in feathers and had bird-like beaks that they were using to tear chunks of the thick green grass from the ground.

“They’re called pong-pongs,” Qrixit said.

“Pong-pong,” she replied.

“Yes, that’s it,” he said.

“Thanks,” she replied.

“You’re welcome,” he said.

She went back to watching the pong-pongs graze.

“Their eggs are quite tasty,” he added.

“It’s been a long time since I had any eggs,” she replied.

“We should go and collect a few then,” he said.

“That sounds good!” she replied.

Qrixit pulled the wagon off to the side of the road and they got off. They unhooked Trinna and tied her off nearby, allowing the massive reptile to graze on the greenery while they prepared to raid the pong-pongs nests.

Once finished taking care of the wagon, Qrixit retrieved two long bone spears and several large sacks from the back of the wagon and handed her one of each.

“Pong-pongs are usually quite docile, but occasionally they become aggressive when you go near their nests,” he said. 

“Okay,” she replied.

“If they start acting aggressive, poke them with the spear,” he added.

“I can do that,” she replied.

“They have thick feathers and tough hides, so make sure you really put your arms into it,” he said.

“I will,” she replied.

“Pong-pongs like to make their nests under trees or in thick brush, so I’d say we should head over there,” he said.

He gestured towards a copse of trees with his spear. She nodded, and they set off from the wagon, staying a good distance from the herd of pong-pongs as they made their way to the trees. The beasts watched them suspiciously as they passed by, circling around the smaller members of the herd.

Those things are bigger than I thought they were, more like elk, or maybe even a moose than a deer. I really hope they stay over there. I don’t want to have to pick Qrixit up and run with him.

As they approached the trees, she noticed several pong-pongs lurking around, eyeing them.

“What are we supposed to do about them?” she asked.

“They’ll run off,” Qrixit replied.

“Are you sure, cause they don’t look like they’re going to run,” she asked.

“I’m sure. Just make sure you seem confident,” he replied.

“Confident? How do I seem confident to a pong-pong?” she asked.

“Just stand up straight and puff out your chest,” he replied.

“I think my chest is puffed out enough,” she said.

He cocked his head to the side, eyeing her for a moment before looking back at the trees.

“You’re probably right about that,” he replied.

The pong-pongs scattered as they neared but still kept a close eye on the interlopers. She noticed several large nests made from grass and brush on the ground around the trees.

“Don’t take the ones with black dots,” Qrixit said.

“Why not?” she asked.

“Those ones will hatch,” he replied.

“Oh, okay,” she said.

When she reached the first nest, she crouched down and placed her spear on the ground. The nest was filled with large tan eggs. Each one was around six inches long and four and a half inches wide. She started to fill her sack up carefully, taking the heavy eggs and placing them inside quickly.

The nest had twelve eggs in it and none of them had black dots, so she took them all. She moved on to the next nest and found that about half the eggs would hatch eventually, so she made sure to carefully move them, so she didn’t harm the baby growing inside. The nearby pong-pongs didn’t seem to appreciate her efforts though and started to make chirping sounds and stomp their feet.

As they collected the eggs, the pong-pongs became more and more agitated. By the time the two of them filled their sacks, the pong-pongs had begun to move closer, aggressively chirping at them.

One rushed at her suddenly. She snatched up her spear and stabbed it in the chest. It squealed loudly and rushed away.

“We have to go now!” Qrixit said.

He got up and rushed over to her, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her towards the wagon. Several of the larger pong-pongs broke away from the herd and started to chase after them. The beast closed in on them and was right on their heels as they neared the wagon.

Trinna looked up at them, disturbed by the commotion. The moment she saw the pong-pong, she stood up stiff-legged and puffed her body out. She opened her mouth and let out a loud hiss before rushing at the pong-pong, stopped only by her tether. The pong-pong took one look at the massive hissing lizard before fleeing back to the safety of the herd. Qrixit pulled her all the way to the wagon where he spun her around.

“Why did you do that?” he asked.

“You said to stab them if they got aggressive!” she replied.

“I didn’t mean for you to injure one!” he said.

“You told me to stab it as hard as I could though!” she replied.

“You’re so small. I didn’t think you were strong enough to hurt one!” he said.

“Well, I am!” she replied.

They both looked at each other for a few moments before bursting into laughter.

“Come on, let’s get Trinna hooked back up. We need to get out of here before they realize she’s nothing but hiss,” Qrixit said.

She nodded, and they put their haul of eggs in the back of the wagon before quickly hooking Trinna back up and getting back on the road. The pong-pongs glared at them menacingly as they rode away, but none of them seemed to want to irritate Trinna or come near the wagon.

When they were well away from the herd, she reached into the wagon and took one of the eggs from the sack she’d filled and held it up.

“So, how do you eat this?” she asked.

“Crack open the top and suck out the insides,” Qrixit replied.

“Right, so how do I do that without breaking the whole shell?” she asked.

“I’ll show you,” he replied.

He passed her the reins, and she passed him the egg. He then took a small stone knife from his belt and started to tap away at the top of the shell. He chipped a large chunk of the thick shell away and tore a hole in the membrane beneath it before handing it back to her.

“Thanks,” she replied.

She took the egg from him and started to suck the goopy contents of the egg from the shell.

It’s all slimy and gross like any other raw egg, but it doesn’t taste that bad.

She ate about half of the contents and then passed the egg back to Qrixit. He gratefully took it and finished off the remaining goop before placing the shell next to him on the seat.

“You’re keeping it?” she asked.

“Trinna loves eggshells,” he replied.

“I thought she only ate plants,” Anna said.

“She eats eggshells and insects as well,” he replied.

“Well, we’d better save them for her. She did stop the pong-pongs from stomping on us,” she said.

“That is true, though I’m certain she did it for her own reasons,” he replied.

“Probably, I mean, who would give her dried fruit if we got trampled?” she said.

“Exactly, she is a greedy creature,” he replied.

“In this case, I don’t mind,” she said.

He chuckled, and she leaned back on the bench and looked up at the clear blue sky. Off in the distance, a flock of large reptiles soared above the grasslands. They bore a resemblance to the wyverns she’d seen in the past, though they had long beak-like snouts, and their leathery wings were connected to all their limbs instead of just their forelimbs. She tapped Qrixit on the shoulder and pointed at the flying reptiles when he looked over at her.

“What are those?” she asked.

He squinted his eyes for a moment trying to see what she was pointing at.

“Sky terrors,” he replied.

“They sound dangerous,” she said.

“Not really. They just look fierce. Honestly, I’ve only seen them eat fish,” he replied.

“Fish? Does that mean there’s a river over there?” she asked.

“More likely to be a lake this time of year,” he replied.

“What does the time of year have to do with whether or not it’s a river or lake?” she asked.

“During the rainy season, many lakes overflow creating more rivers,” he replied.

“That sounds like a pain in the ass,” she said.

“It is, but we should make it to the trade city before it begins, and we will wait there until it ends before returning to the wastes,” he replied.

So, this place has a season that they can’t travel here, too. I guess the other side of the world isn’t that different after all.

“So, are we going to stop at the lake?” she asked.

“Normally I wouldn’t, but I know how much you enjoy the water, so I suppose we can,” he replied.

She squealed happily and pulled him into a hug.

“Stop, stop! You’re ruffling my feathers!” he said.

“Oh, sorry,” she replied.

She let him go, and he scooted away from her on the bench.

“I don’t see why you find it necessary to squeeze me every time you get excited,” he said.

“It’s just something my people do. I can’t help it,” she replied.

“I realize that, but some races would consider it an attack, so you really need to learn to control yourself before we get to the trade city,” he said.

She sighed.

“I know, but it’s hard to just stop doing something you’ve done your whole life,” she replied.

“You need to try, or you’ll get yourself into trouble you can’t get out of one day,” he said.

She nodded then looked off into the distance watching the sky terrors again.

I don’t think I can stop hugging people, or if I even want to.