SHORTS 9: Pterodactyl Problems [Takes place during "Bros Before Dinos"]

Dipper approached Y/n, who was standing in the church's nave. "Are you okay?" he wanted to know.

"I should be the one asking you that question," Y/n joked. "You know, that pterodactyl almost got you."

"Yeah, if it hadn't been for you saving me back there," Dipper admitted, rubbing his arm sheepishly. "Y/n, I-"

The pterodactyl jumped out, catching Y/n's legs in its mouth and trying to drag her down, but Dipper managed to grab her hand. Mabel, Soos, and Stan followed him and began pulling, hoping to free her, but the dinosaur was far more powerful than all four of them.

Despite this, they refused to give up.

Dipper gritted his teeth after mistaking Y/n's contorted face for pain. "Y/n, don't you dare let go, okay?"

Y/n was at a loss for words in this situation. She was perfectly fine and in no pain, but she was torn. She didn't want them to be pulled along, but she also didn't want to be eaten.

The pterodactyl fought back, pulling harder each time. Dipper's slipping shoes, which were losing traction, drew Y/n's attention. "Don't worry, Dipper," she reassured him. He appeared helpless, while she appeared assured, as the two exchanged ferocious stares.

She was yanked one more time, and his grip on her hand slipped, but she didn't fall because Dipper grabbed the pendant from her necklace. Y/n's gaze was fixed on his hands. "Dipper, it'll snap."

"No! Just- take my hand! " He held out one hand while the other was clasped around her necklace.

"No, you're gonna get pulled down, too!" Y/n yelled back. "You need to let go!"

Dipper was adamant in his refusal to listen to her pleadings. In the midst of the struggle, Y/n managed to exchange an uncertain look with Stan. They were both at a loss for what to do.

But at the moment, she does.

With one swift swipe, her hands came behind her neck and unhooked her necklace, and the force was shocking as she was quickly taken down, her gasp echoing. Dipper screamed her name into the darkness, but there was no response.

She counted for at least 7 seconds before her back struck the edge of the geyser. She rolled around till her face was in direct touch with the soil. Y/n took a deep breath and stood up, as if she were just viewing the sunset. She was just here 5 minutes ago, when they were being chased by the pterodactyl.

Speaking of the pterodactyl...

A loud hiss caught her attention, and her eyes followed the noise. Due to the crack of the floorboards being covered with debris, there weren't any light sources that could help her see in the darkness. But she could guess that the creature was lurking to the left of her. "You can come out, I'm not gonna hurt her."

Seemed like the dinosaur's instincts triggered the moment it heard her voice after the silence as it suddenly charged towards her, stomping its big, meaty claws. Y/n remained unmoving, observing its movements and before she knew it, the pterodactyl was already in front of her, its mouth widening and screaming at her face.

She merely blinked, her eyes slightly furrowed. "Rude," she said, "You do not scream in other's faces."

The pterodactyl closed its foodhole and simply tilted its head in curiosity, seeing that this human didn't have any evil intention. But it wanted to test the waters and began opening its mouth and slanting its head to properly fit her in its mouth.

But before she was about to be eaten, the two of them heard flapping sounds from the other side of the cavern. It was their young, wonkily flying around until it shoddily landed on the ground, producing a loud thud.

It was crying, letting out whines for help– and that sent Y/n into protective mode, suddenly having the need to help the creature. She stepped forward, but the mother, sensing her movement, suddenly jumped in between them, retaliating with a screech.

She reassured the bigger pterodactyl, placing her hands in front. She tried to tune its motherly instincts down. "Shh, shh, shh. I'm trying to help." She turned her voice into a whisper, going for the calm approach. Carefully, and slowly, she outstretched her hand and kept eye contact with the creature.

When the pterodactyl stilled and made no further movements, Y/n took it as a cue to proceed and placed her hand on its forehead. It was cold, and the texture of the scales gave her a tingling feeling. It blinked once, twice, thrice before it was finally comfortable with her touch. Her heart warmed when the mother pterodactyl leaned forward a bit to accept her touch.

"Let me help your flapling," she offered in a low voice, eyes shifting towards the young creature from behind it.

The mother finally relented, tramping to the side. Y/n made her way towards the smaller one who was still fretting and fussing, all the while letting out squeaks of discomfort. "What's wrong?" She mumbled, her hands not knowing where to place.

She saw its tummy rumbling, and she reached her hand towards the area in which the vibrating increased. The flapling didn't seem to care about the direct touch as Y/n proceeded to place her hand on its beak, attempting to open its mouth to inspect something inside. She sees an unusual bandaged limb stuck by its tonsils, flicking the uvula with its fingers.

"What the..." she questioned the phenomenon. She reached forward and hesitantly poked the arm, watching it move in response. She enclosed her hand around the bandaged branch and began pulling it out.

The flapling mad sounds of discomfort, its feet stomping around lightly in anticipation. Y/n dug her feet on the ground to increase her grip as the thing seemed to be holding itself back. She pulled some more and slowly it let up, revealing more of its bandaged arm. Next was a shoulder, then their torso, and eventually their face-

"Howdy!"

"You-!" Her speech was cut off when the young creature coughed up the rest of the man's body. "McGucket, right?" She asked. "I thought you're dead already," she wondered aloud, remembering the exact moment where the man was eaten right in front of them.

McGucket was still smiling widely, even after a somewhat traumatizing experience. His eyeballs were so far apart from each other that the girl didn't know if he was looking at her or not. The man feigned a curious expression. "Do I know you?!" He exclaimed.

Y/n stuttered out a response, "We- You- I was with the group of people here earlier? The one with the pig?"

"No idea!" She decided that it was impossible to converse with this guy. "Now, I don't know if I should thank you for pulling me out yer- uh, dinosaur but I almost ate that thang!" He grinned excitedly.

The mother pterodactyl hissed at the old man, but he was unperturbed as he danced around, laughing.

She could only stare horrifyingly at McGucket. She had never met this man in her life, and he had exemplified immense oddity, acted stranger than any other creatures she had encountered.

While the man was busy playing with his spoons, Y/n placed her hands on her hips as she was deep in thought. "I need to get out of here," The flapling and its mother happily played around, celebrating now that the baby's discomfort had ceased. She suddenly frowned as she remembered the events before she fell down here: Dipper's screams, Mabel and Soos' forlorn faces, Stan's reluctance. They all flashed through her mind.

Now her heart was at a crossroads.

"Ugh, I'm not even sure if I could show my face to them again. They probably think I'm dead." Her gaze shifted to the bigger pterodactyl, growling whenever McGucket made a stance towards them. "McGucket, please leave them alone."

The baby pterodactyl tried its best to avoid him, swerving left and right to dodge his grabby hands. "But I'm hungry!"

"So are they," she pointed out. "They probably want to eat you as much as you want to eat them. You should be thankful that they're sparing you."

She began playing with the twigs and sticks around her as she sat in boredom. The flapling noticed her and made its way towards the girl. It tried to take her attention by poking her with its beak, and it was successful when she turned her face and placed her hand on it. "What is it?" she asked.

The creature wordlessly nodded off to its mother, who was about to take off. The baby tried to flap its own wings, but its feet weren't floating off the ground.

It wants to learn how to fly like its mom.

So she stood back up and spent her time trying to teach the little one how to fly– even though she didn't have the ability to do so in the first place, but she tried.

The flapling was a fast learner, just like she was. And the mother was proud, judging from the blank stare. It learned how to fly for the first time, and it even trusted her to climb on its back to know what it's like to soar in the skies. Even McGucket was given the chance to ride the creature around despite their misunderstanding from the beginning.

They spiraled around the cavern as much as they could, before they heard a ruckus from the other cave. "Y/n! Where the heck are you?"

Her lips formed a smirk as she recognized the voice. She was well aware of who would be searching for her. "Do you want to play a little prank on an old man?" She caressed the pterodactyl's scales.

A loud screech echoed down the tunnel, and Stan could see the pterodactyl's shadow approaching. "Here we go," Stan deadpanned, resigning himself to his fate.

The dinosaur encircled him. Stan gestured toward the pterodactyl. "Hey, I punched you in the face before, and I'm not afraid to do it again! Come at me!" He challenged the beast, taking an arrogant stance.

Stan feared the pterodactyl would not comprehend him as it charged at him. Stan screamed and covered his face in defense. The dinosaur eventually came to a standstill, and Stan heard hysterical laughter from behind the pterodactyl.

"What the-" He noticed Y/n sitting on the neck of the dinosaur. "Y/n?! What- what did you do that for?"

She was coming down from her laughter. "It was a prank. Never heard of a prank before? Even I knew what a prank was and I don't-"

"I know what a prank is!" Stan yelled angrily, and the pterodactyl opened its mouth as if to threaten him, forcing him to take a step back. "I'm just- how? How did this happen?" He gestured to the dinosaur.

Y/n leaped down from its neck as her hands caressed its meaty skin. "Long story. I'll tell you on the way home."

***

kimmiepines