“Thank you,” she replied as she steered Hope toward the outskirts of the lake.
“Turn her so you go on the left side of that log,” I said into Sheela’s ear, and she pulled on the reins. Hope did as Sheela told her, and we turned away from the shore of the beach.
“Now go right around that palm tree. Then left around that boulder!” I pointed ahead, and Sheela yanked on the reins. We twisted through a few more obstacles easily, and I felt like my friend had gotten the hang of handling the magnificent parasaur.
“Alright, take us over to the herd,” I said.
“Yes, Victor,” Sheela replied, and she kicked Hope’s sides to increase our speed. I expected the movement, but I still tightened my arms around Sheela’s stomach.
It took us a good five minutes to circle the lake and come around the other group of parasaurs. A quick count gave me thirty-four in the herd, and I identified ten males in the group. They stood maybe two feet taller than the females and glanced at us suspiciously as we approached.
But they didn’t signal the herd to run.
“Slow down a bit,” I said, but Hope’s speed had already decreased so that we were moving at a fast walk, and I wondered if I’d accidentally controlled her.
The closer we got to the herd, the more I realized how much of a runt Hope was. The males of the group weren’t as bulky huge as the triceratops on the other side of the lake, but they were actually a two or three feet taller at the shoulder when on all fours, and they were a good twenty-five feet tall when they reared up on their hind legs. If hope was a big bed truck, then these were all semi’s. I was going to need a step ladder to get on the back of any of these beasts, or I was going to have to make the leap while standing on Hope’s back.
I knew I could tame one of these crest-headed dinos. I’d already done so with Hope. I didn’t know for sure that I could tame a trike, and something about the three-horned dinos made me think I’d be trying to punch too high of a weight class if I tried. I still hadn’t really used my tame ability, so I needed to practice it on a few more dinos, get the hang of it, and then try it on a triceratops.
“Which one do you think will be the best?” I asked Sheela as we slowly approached the herd.
“There is a group on the opposite side that appears to have smaller ones,” Sheela said as she pointed.
“Yeah, I see them, but they actually look really young. Hope’s young too, but I have a feeling they kind of kicked her out because she wasn’t growing fast enough.”
“The others do seem much larger than her,” Sheela agreed.
“What about the male closest to us?” I asked as I pointed. He was probably the smallest male of the group, but he still stood about twelve feet tall at the shoulder and had a tail that was probably just as long.
“He is still quite large,” she whispered.
“Yeah, but we need a boyfriend for Hope,” I said as I fought against the laughter in my stomach. “I already have a name picked out: Bob.”
“It sounds like a fine name, Victor, but--”
“It’s actually a great name,” I giggled. “Let’s do this. Bring us closer.”
Sheela kicked lightly against Hope’s sides, and the parasaur moved toward the water where her kin drank, washed, and ate. The male we were targeting had a reddish-brown hide, and he let out a long, low-pitched toot when we got within twenty feet of the first female of his group. Sheela’s body tensed, but Bob didn’t run away or attack, so Hope kept walking toward him.
He was knee deep in the water of the lake, some thirty yards from us, and Hope pushed into the ring of females that gathered around him.
“Hey, buddy. How’s it going?” I whispered as the massive dinosaur turned his eyes to me. They were actually a light shade of brown, and they looked at me without any hostility. Any sort of fear I might have had about approaching the magnificent animal faded. This guy was meant to be my pal, and I knew we’d have a great time together.
“I’m Victor,” I whispered as Sheela guided Hope closer. “You are a good looking boy. Look at your skin! It’s quite handsome. You’ve got great muscles too. Look at all the women around you. Are these all your girlfriends?”
Bob let out a low pitched toot, and I felt my rib bones vibrate. It was like a tuba being played into a train tunnel, and a tiny bit of my fear came back.
“I’d like you to come back with me and be my pal. I promise I’ll take good care of you. We’ll feed ya lots of great food, and I’ll take you on adventures every day. Sound good?” We were ten feet from the side of the massive male, and I felt my heart start to hammer in my chest. Or maybe I was just feeling Sheela’s heart hammer so hard in her chest that I thought it was mine.
“Whoooooa boy,” I said as he took a big step away from me. “It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you. I’d just like to pet you. You are such a good looking boy. Awww. There we go.” Sheela had stopped Hope right next to the male’s left side, and I reached out to touch the massive parasaur’s flank. His scales felt just like Hope’s, but each one was almost twice the size as what was on her hide.
My Eye-Q was already open, and I turned my head so I could look into his gentle eyes.
“I’m gonna get on your back now, and you are going to come with me,” I said with confidence that actually surprised me.
Nothing happened for a few seconds, and then Bob sank down lower in the water.
Parasaurolophus Walkeri tamed. Flashed across my vision, and my heart leapt into my chest.
“I did it,” I whispered to Sheela as I let go of her stomach. I held my hands on her shoulders to help me balance when I stood, and then I leaned over so that I could touch the top of Bob’s back ridge. I grunted, leapt, and then pulled myself up on his back.
The ridge on his spine jutted up about four inches, and there wasn’t really a great place to sit without squeezing my nuts, so I kneeled on either side of the ridge and then mentally commanded the massive parasaur to stand up on his hind legs. He shifted backward as he stood up from the water, and I leaned forward so that I could clamp my fingers around the ridge at the base of his long neck.
“Sheela, do you see this?” I asked her.
“Yes, Victor,” she replied as she looked up at me. Her eyes glowed with the light of the sun, and she held the reins tightly against her breasts. “You look magnificent. I am very impressed.”
“Ha!” I laughed loudly, and a few of the parasaurs stepped away with surprise. “Nothing impresses you, so I’ll take it.”
“Not true,” she replied. “You impress me every day, Victor.”
“Awww, thanks. Well, I feel the same way about you.”
“Oh?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Yeah, let’s get out of the water.” I thought about Bob walking to the shore of the lake, and my mount took a big step through the water. The females moved aside to let him pass, and we soon made it back to the beach.
Riding Hope had been amazing, but being on Bob’s back was a whole new experience. I was at least sixteen feet off the ground when he stood on his hind legs, and I towered over all the other dinos. It felt almost like I was riding on a tank, and every step Bob took felt like it equaled three of Hope’s.
“Wow, wow, wow,” I said as I thought about him spinning around on the beach. He was a bit slower to obey my command than Hope was, but I figured that it was because we hadn’t spent as much time together. He still pivoted as gracefully as the smaller parasaur, but I could tell he wasn’t used to making such acute movements.
“Let’s go home, buddy. I want to introduce you to Trel, Galmine, and Kacerie.”
Bob let out a low happy toot, and I patted his shoulder gently.
“Sheela, you ready?” I asked.