Kiva: Ambassador
From the Rainy Basin

The 18-year-old girl raced through the forest as fast as she could, pushing aside vines and low hanging branches. Her heart pounding, Kiva could hear the pounding footsteps gaining on her, and the low growls of the three meat-eating giants that hunted her.

'They're trying to herd me towards the clearing,' she thought. 'They're learning.' Following their lead, she ran towards the clearing, and sprinted out of the forest.

Instantly, a massive carnivore burst through the trees ahead of her. She tried to turn; but another carnivore, similar to the first, cut off her exit. The third carnivore, the one she knew was chasing her, closed off her last hope of exit.

Coolly, she stared up at the tall carnivores. The three fingers on their hands told her that these were the infamous Giganotosaurus. Taller than the Rexes, these were the true kings of the dinosaurs. While frightening to behold, especially when one is bearing down on you with its maw wide open, they were beautiful creatures. A turquoise color usually ran down its head and back, while a rich gold color resided on its belly. Truly a royal creature… with a royal case of bad breath.

"You three did very well today, " she said, in the Giganotosaurus' tongue. "The clan will be pleased."

Suddenly, the wind shifted, and all three dinosaurs tensed as their noses picked up the mouth-watering scent of smoked fish. Kiva did not posses the powerful olfactory senses of her saurian clan members, but she could hear better than most other humans. A trail passed through this region; and, as close as Kiva could tell, it was now being traveled by a small convoy.

A quick whistle brought the tallest Giganotosaurus' head down to her level, where she quickly climbed on. Standing between the dinosaur's eye ridges, Kiva could see the head and neck of a Brachiosaur moving slowly down the trail. 'That's odd. We were not informed that a convoy was moving through here today.'

"Thunderhead, Clapjaw, Snaptrap! Let's go investigate."

Kiva quickly sat down as the three giants set off at a brisk pace towards the oncoming convoy. Their long strides ate up the ground quickly, and Kiva could tell they were anxious to meet their first convoy. Kiva was glad that she was here to accompany these three juvenile troublemakers, or they certainly would have made a mess of the ordeal.

"Now I want you three to promise me something. You must promise not to say or do anything until I find out what's going on here." A trio of growls assured Kiva that the three juveniles understood and would obey her implicitly.

Before she knew it, the four of them had caught up with the convoy; which consisted of a single Brachiosaur in full armor with passengers, a Protoceratopsian translator, and three Styrachosaur guards. At the approach of the three Giganotosaurs, the convoy stopped. Kiva stood and hailed them. She could barely contain her laughter as she saw the shocked looks on the human's faces. 'It happens every time.' Kiva struggled to remember the dialect the humans used to communicate with each other.

"Breathe deep, guests. Welcome to the Rainy Basin." Kiva was stunned at the strain speaking normally placed on her voice. 'It's been too long.'

Luckily though, Kiva had nothing to worry about, as the Protoceratops squawked out a greeting in the dialect of the Giganotosaurus.

"Seek peace, friend. My name is Turq, and you may speak in your native dialect. I am quite fluent in nearly all of the Rainy Basin dialects, including that of the Giganotosaurus."

"I am grateful, Turq. My name is Kiva Stoutheart; respected member and teacher of the Quickstrike Clan. Tell me, why does this convoy impose itself upon our territory without prior notice?"

"Please, forgive our intrusion. We are on an urgent mission to acquire medicinal herbs for an illness spreading through a village near Treetown. We had no time to negotiate passage through your territory, but we are hoping you will be lenient enough let our infraction slide this once. In compensation, we have brought double the amount of fish specified for passage."

Thunderhead shifted restlessly beneath Kiva. He could smell the fish, and he was beginning to drool. She also noticed the other two were also growing restless. They were merely waiting for the tiniest of signals from her, and they would gorge themselves on the offering of fish. They were smart enough not to go for anything else. But Kiva was not satisfied with that.

"Save your fish, Turq." Thunderhead growled in surprise. Kiva gave him a small thump on the head, and he became silent.

Turq stuttered in surprise. "B-but…"

"Yours is a mission of mercy. I will alert my clan, and you will have no more to fear of them. Any along your way will also give you some measure of protection. I speak only for my clan, however. Save your offering for someone with less understanding."

Turq sputtered his thanks, and Kiva signaled her students to move away. Her three protégés watched longingly as their intended meal walked off down the trail. Then, in unison, Thunderhead and his two brothers, Clapjaw and Snaptrap lifted their voices, alerting the rest of their clan about the convoy's passage through their territory.
Kiva leaned forward and stroked Thunderhead's snout.

"Come, my brothers, it is time for us to return home."
As Thunderhead and his brothers headed back to the temporary campsite, Kiva fell silent. She thought about the strain those simple sentences had placed on her vocal chords. 'It's been too long since I've had any human contact. Far too long.'

Treetown. Turq had spoken of Treetown. Kiva suddenly realized something. She had never once stepped foot outside the Rainy Basin. 'There was a whole island out there, waiting to be explored, and I've always been content to stay here and dream about it.'

Beneath her, Thunderhead growled a question.

"Yes, I'm fine, Thunderhead. I'm just thinking."

"What about, Kiva?"

"Have you ever thought about leaving the Rainy Basin?"

"What do you mean, 'Leave the Rainy Basin'? We carnivores aren't allowed over the bridge."

"That's not entirely true from what I heard."

"And what's that, Kiva?" Snaptrap piped in.

"Do you remember the stories about Arthur Denison?" Kiva asked absently. Snaptrap and Clapjaw nodded; while Thunderhead merely grunted, not wanting to throw his "sister" off her precarious perch. Kiva continued her explanation.

"Well, he got into a fight with old Lee Crabb a while back, and with the help of a Giganotosaurus and his mate, they gave chase."

"I remember that!" Clapjaw said excitedly. "Yeah! It was old Stinktooth! They let him over the bridge!"

"But they had good reason," Thunderhead replied, sagely. Besides, they had to return as soon as their mission was complete. What could we possibly say that would allow us over there for an unspecified amount of time?"

"How about: 'Hi. We're just three carnivores and a human, and we want to go sight-seeing'?" Clapjaw said, humorously. No one laughed.

Thunderhead stopped and fixed his younger brother with a menacing glare. Clapjaw dipped his head in submission.

"This is serious, brother. Kiva has a great desire to see the rest of the island, as do many of us. But it's just not possible."

Throughout the debate, Kiva was silent. But after a pleading glance from Snaptrap, she decided that it was time to calm things down. Pulling out her Dragon Flute, a gift from the leader of a passing convoy who taught her how to play, she began to play a soothing melody. Silence pervaded the forest; it seemed as though every creature had stopped whatever it was doing to listen to the haunting sound. When her song was complete, the three Giganotosaurs moved off towards home.

After a moment's silence, Kiva spoke softly.
"I shall speak to Goldeye on the matter." Though he said nothing, Kiva could almost see the sparkle in Clapjaw's eyes.

----

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Goldeye roared in full voice. Although Kiva's second name did her justice to facing any kind of confrontation, Goldeye and Silvercloud were the only two creatures she could not face bravely. Still, she fought for her brother's happiness.

"But Goldeye, I've never been outside the Rainy Basin before. The only contact I've ever had with other humans has been via convoy encounters, and you know there haven't been many of those."

Goldeye sighed. "Kiva, you I would allow to leave in a heartbeat. But your brothers are another matter. Thunderhead I could trust to accompany you, as he is level-headed. Clapjaw and Snaptrap, they are something else entirely. Juveniles they still are, and I wouldn't trust them even if they ceased to eat meat and became herbivorous. Besides, what could you say that would convince the rest of the Dinotopian society to allow you and three meat-eating escorts to roam the island?"

"I know the citizens of the island love knowledge, and have gained much from Dolphinbacks of the Outside World. Yet, there is little they know of the Forbidden realm of the Rainy Basin. Their knowledge is confined to what they already know from the tales told by convoy members and old scrolls, far too ancient now to be factual any more. There is much they could learn from an ambassador from this place. "

Goldeye gazed down at her thoughtfully. "You are determined to convince me, aren't you?" Kiva bowed her head. "You've had so little contact with members of your own race. You're growing older, and I daresay better looking than the gangly little juvenile you once were." He sighed in resignation. "Very well. If you can convince the rest of the Dinotopian society to allow you…" Kiva glanced up hopefully. "You AND your brothers to cross the bridge, then you have my permission and my blessings."

Kiva gave full-throated shout and raced off to tell her brothers the good news. Goldeye gave a slight shake of his head. He started when his mate, Silvercloud, appeared at his side.

"You have an ulterior motive, don't you?" She growled softly.

"Yes. I believe it's high time Kiva met someone of her own race."

"Let her decide that, love. Kiva knows what's best. Trust her to make the right choice."

"I hope so, Silvercloud. I really do."