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"Ready?" asked Sicily, throwing a black scarf around her neck. She turned to look at her roommate who stood waiting by the door nervously, and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Are you sure it's safe out there?" Priscilla asked uncertainly. She may be one of the bigger things alive right now, but that didn't mean she would be any good against predators.

"Relax," Sicily said, "As long as we stick to the shadows and don't run into any police, we should be fine."

It was easy for her to say, as a young hen, she was fairly small and could find any place to hide; Priscilla, being a half grown parasaurolophus, it wouldn't be as simple.

Priscilla followed the carefree chicken from the room and down the stairwell, past where her mom was working in the kitchen.

"Okay mom, me and Priscilla are sneaking out to the park to get some pine for my girl right here," she said, grabbing a jacket from the hook and slipping it on. She ruffled her feathers into it, cozying it up, "Don't worry if we're not back right away."

Sicily's mom looked up from her work and sighed, "Just try not to be out to long. And don't make too much noise, stay to the shadows. If you get caught out after curfew, remember I'm going to deny I ever knew you existed."

"Okay, we'll be good," Sicily assured her.

"King Cluckfast. Never thought there'd come a day I'd actually be encouraging my own daughter to sneak out," Sicily's mom mumbled to herself, "I suppose all parents go wrong somewhere."

...

"Hey, don't forget to bring the eggs out to the compost before you go, the garden needs the vitamins."

"Sorry mom, already out the door!"

As Sicily led the parasaur out into the cool evening air, Priscilla took a deep breath of the semi-fresh air. She knew it wasn't home, but perhaps it wasn't too bad; perhaps she could get used to it.

As they made their way down the street, sticking to the shadows, Priscilla couldn't help but notice Sicily humming to herself, like she was following along to a song only she could hear. Looks like she was wearing those things she called "earbuds", connected to a wire leading to her pocket, and Priscilla couldn't help the curiosity, still not sure how those things worked.

"So, uh, what are you listening to?"

Sicily looked back at Priscilla, eyes lighting up at the question.

"You want to hear?" Sicily asked, "You're going to love it!"

Sicily took out one of the earbuds and held it up to Priscilla. Priscilla bent down and looked at it a second before slowly bringing it to her ear.

Music burst to life that Priscilla couldn't understand. Priscilla pulled the earbud away and looked at it again, the music going quieter. How did it do that? Sicily nodded her assurance, and Priscilla once again brought the earbud to her ear.

"Dance for me dance for me dance for me, o-o-oh."

Sicily must've seen the look on Priscilla's face. "They don't have anything like that where you come from, do they?"

Priscilla shook her head.

"So what did you listen to back in the great Jurassic?"

"I don't remember," Priscilla admitted, "But I'm sure it sounded nothing like... whatever that was." She shifted on her feet shyly.

"Tell you what," Sicily said, taking back the earbud, "When we get back home, I have a whole playlist of hits I'm gonna introduce you to! You're gonna be shaking your tail end to Tones & I and Lady Cluck-Cluck in no time."

Priscilla wasn't sure about that, but she appreciated Sicily's enthusiasm.

As they walked down the dimly lit streets, Priscilla took in her surroundings, everything a reminder of how foreign she was here. With every step, she felt the cold, hard-pact ground under her feet that Sicily called sidewalk, as if it itself knew they were never supposed to touch it.

She looked up at the sky, at the stars that glowed faintly above; the sun and moon had risen and set so many times over this earth, once and again, as her fossilized body had layed buried far beneath, forgotten by time itself. She was not meant to be here, she was not meant to be remembered, and yet here she was, walking on the very ground which her body was supposed to be firmly cemented underneath in the lost reaches of history, following in Sicily's wake, enthusiasm in the young hen's every step as she listened to her tunes, as if Priscilla's presence here was the "chillest" thing in the world.

Priscilla took in a deep breath of the night air, maybe foreign, but with just the faintest touch of the freshness she felt she should remember.

And there she felt just the lightest touch of warmth in her heart, knowing that in Sicily's eyes, she did belong here, that to her friend, she was simply a dinosaur stepping out into a brand new world.

Priscilla could manage it like that.

A few blocks later, they finally reached the park, and Priscilla came to a stop. She took a breath and looked around.

"This is it?" she asked.

Sicily nodded, "Pretty neat, huh?"

Priscilla stepped onto the grass and felt her claws gently through the soil. She looked around at the trees and the space, empty of the structures that had made up the rest of this place. It still wasn't home, but maybe it reminded her of it, just a little.

"Sometimes being cooped up in town we forget about the world that we live in," Sicily said gently, "Sometimes coming to the park helps us remember, if only a little bit."

Just a little bit.

Priscilla nodded, feeling just the slightest bit more relaxed. Priscilla bent down and took a small nibble of grass, but it still wasn't yet in season, and it tasted just a bit dry.

"Okay, now to get you some grub," Sicily said, taking out some heavy gardening shears.

Now that she felt a bit more at home, Priscilla felt okay to roam around from tree to tree, checking them out. Some of the trees didn't seem like the kinds she would be used to in her past life, and she wasn't even sure if they'd be edible, but some of the trees, particularly some of the pines, were exactly what she needed in her troubled life right now.

She found a relativity low tree and started picking at the branches, nibbling at a few of the bright green needles. As the taste of fresh pine filled her mouth, she realized this was the first time she had eaten a fresh meal in perhaps her entire modern existence. Something about being able to eat fresh food out in the fresh night air as her kind was meant to do brought a light touch of comfort to the anxiety that had built up in her soul since she'd awakened.

Much better than the "Christmas" needles Sicily had brought up for her earlier. Perhaps if the tree had been fresh it would've been a different story, but Priscilla still couldn't understand the logic of digging up a tree, and putting it in you den just to let it dry out over the course of the next few months.

Sicily took a few snippings from the tree, and using her claws, Priscilla began to kick back the dirt to create a hole for the stash. Sicily looked at her.

"You know, I do got a bag for this."

Sicily slipped her bag off her back and opened it; Priscilla tried to stuff the branches in, but she noticed the problem right away, there wasn't enough room.

"Alright," Sicily said, raising her wing to her beak in thought, "We should probably make a pile here and come back for it when we're done. I really should've gotten that wagon from the shed, shouldn't I?"

Priscilla put down her branches, then went back to making her stash.

"No digging!" Sicily reiterated sternly, "They don't appreciate it around here. Besides, nobody's going to want those branches but you."

Priscilla looked down at her hole, disappointed, it was a nice hole too.

As she turned to the next tree, she was sure to sweep her tail over the branches so they tumbled lightly over the hole. At least that way, it didn't have to go to waste. Sicily just looked at the dinosaur in total befuddlement.

The two of them continued their work, and within a few short minutes, Priscilla had gathered up a nice armful of assorted pines to carry back with her.

"We should get out of here now," Priscilla said, "Before any predators show up."

"There are no predators here," Sicily reminded the dinosaur, "Worst case scenario, we run into some cops and they take me home with a serious scolding."

Priscilla looked at Sicily, the word sounding strange in her mind. "Cops?"

"They're the ones who tell you what to do and punish you if you don't do as they say. You know, those 'police' I told you about."

Priscilla narrowed her eyes, confused, "So they're like... the bullies."

"Exactly," Sicily said, "Except they have the law to back them up."

Priscilla still didn't understand this whole "law" thing, the Earth was just the Earth and nature was just nature, it didn't make sense to have a sort of creature to tell you otherwise.

But Priscilla's instincts told her it was best to avoid conflict whenever possible, so perhaps it was best to follow Sicily's lead and stay out of the way of these "cops".

"Here, come with me," Sicily said suddenly after thoughtful a moment.

Sicily led Priscilla through the park until they reached an open sandy part spotted with strange intricate metal builds which made no sense to Priscilla.

"The playground," Sicily said proudly, "Wait here."

Sicily went into the playground and quickly glanced under all the pieces of equipment, then returned to Priscilla.

"No one's here," Sicily announced, "We got the place to ourselves."

"People come here often?" Priscilla asked, putting down her load by the treeline where she wouldn't forget it.

"Mostly during the day," Sicily replied, "But occasionally some of the High Schoolers will sneak out here at night and start kissing and stuff."

"Kiss?" Priscilla was confused.

"Oh, it's something some weirdos do because they got nothing better to do." Sicily said, "Personally, I think it's much more fun to show off how the whole egg laying process works, but it's too loud for out here, we'd definitely get caught doing that. Here, let me show you the swings."

Sicily led Priscilla over to the swing set and hopped on. Priscilla watched as Sicily began to swing her legs back and forth, causing the seat to rock with her.

"There, why don't you try," Sicily said, pointing to the seat next to her.

Priscilla looked at the seat uncertainly and at the vines suspending it from the overhanging... branch?

She cautiously tested the strength of the vine, then sat down.

SNAP!

Priscilla tumbled to the ground, taking the whole seat with her. Sicily, unable to control herself, burst out laughing. Flinging herself from her seat, she hurried to Priscilla's side and offered her a wing. Not that that would've been good for the both of them, Sicily would've definitely toppled too. Priscilla managed her own feet and gave herself a light swipe to clear the sand.

"Okay, maybe the swing wasn't the best idea," Sicily admitted with a laugh.

Priscilla picked up the broken seat and tried to attach it back to the set, but seeing that it was useless, she let it drop limply at her feet.

"They'll fix it," Sicily assured her.

Sicily wandered toward the playset, climbing up the steps to the elevated platform where she was level with Priscilla, Priscilla stepped up next to her, feet still firmly on the ground.

"You seem very much like it's best I remain hidden," Priscilla said to Sicily, "Is your kind really that dangerous where I have to keep hidden from them all the time?" Priscilla tried to imagine a bunch of chickens acting like the fierce predators her instincts had told her to avoid, but she just couldn't.

"I only know what I've seen in the movies," Sicily admitted, "But you are a dinosaur, extinct for millions of years; the very fact that you were hidden away in a laboratory shows that you must be of some great value to someone. Losing you I fear is the last thing they'd want to do if they'd found out how successful they really were in creating you."

The reminder of the millions of years that separated her from her own time still hit her hard, but she couldn't focus on that at the moment.

"Does that mean that I have to stay hidden forever," Priscilla asked, "That I can never be free?"

A longing opened up in her of the environment that she missed so dearly. She was a parasaur, she was supposed to be traveling through forests or tropics or something like that, not here in this far removed town with a hen whom her species was never meant to coexist with, regardless of how much this park might remind her of the home she had once lost.

"No, it's not like that at all," Sicily assured her, "It's just... We don't know who would be a friend and who would be an enemy. I don't want you falling into the wings of any wayward scientists, so if we want to find out who our friends are, we are going to have to be careful, okay?"

Priscilla nodded, sadly.

"But why do I matter so much to you?" Priscilla asked finally.

Sicily looked at her, a new sense rising at the question. Why did she care? As cool as it was to have a dinosaur around, she knew that wasn't it.

"It's because I saw something in you," Sicily answered at last, "When you came to my house, I... saw something in you. You were a dinosaur, but you were also a person. And I could see..." Sicily's voice cracked, "That somehow you understand."

Then, without explanation, Sicily burst into tears.

Priscilla said nothing, she just wrapped her arms around her friend like Sicily had done for her earlier, and Sicily just let the tears come out.

When she was done, Sicily pulled away and wiped away her eyes with a wing.

"We should get going," Sicily said finally, "Best not to hang around here longer than we need to."

So with that, Sicily leaped down the slide, hopping down to the ground, back to her old enthusiastic self.

Priscilla followed her back toward the treeline and her load of pinebranches, when she stopped and took one more look at the playground.

She went over to the swingset, picked up one corner, and shifted it to the side just a little.

When Priscilla joined Sicily again at the treeline, the chicken just looked at her skeptically for a moment.

"It seemed a little crooked," Priscilla said, "It's nicer this way."

Sicily burst out cluckling, a couple of snorts breaking their way through.

"Who goes there?!"

The two of them froze. They looked up to see a flashlight beaming through the trees on the opposite side of the playground.

"Yeah, we probably should get going," Sicily said.

Priscilla quickly gathered up her load, and a few moments later, the two of them had vanished into the darkness of the trees.

As the young Police Cockerel stepped into the playground, shining the flashlight this way and that, taking in the damage, Sicily and Priscilla watched from behind the treeline.

"That's Joel," Sicily whispered to Priscilla, "He absolutely hates it when he catches me out after curfew. Don't tell anyone, but I think he's kind of cute."

Joel focused his flashlight on the swingset and made a quick call into his walkie-talkie and wrote something out on a pad of paper. Then, with a sigh, he turned around and went back the way he came.

"Yeah," Sicily said again, "I think we should get out of here. Don't let me forget the wagon next time."

When the two of them arrived back home, Priscilla got her armload through the door, then-

SLAM!

"Don't slam the door!" Sicily's mom squawked hopelessly.

They made their way to the living room where Sicily's mom sat watching her favorite program's favorite commercial break. Sicily held out her wings, proudly presenting Priscilla's load.

"Great, now that my daughter is officially a criminal, how was it?"

"Oh, you know," Sicily said modestly, "just the normal public felony, and Priscilla broke the swingset."

"Wonderful," Sicily's mother said.

As they were saying this, Priscilla went to a nice spot in the living room and laid her branches down.

"Wait, not on the floo-" Sicily's mother cried, noticing just a second too late, "Okay, I guess I'll just be sweeping up pine needles for the rest of the next century."

Priscilla glanced back at her a moment, and then proceeded to arranging her branches into a neat pile on the floor. Done, she looked down on it satisfied.

"Plenty for later," Sicily exclaimed.

"Aren't you going to eat any of that?" Sicily's mom asked as Priscilla made her way back to Sicily's side, "After all that trouble, you might as well get the job started."

"No, I'm good," Priscilla said politely, "I ate at the park." Then Priscilla looked at the two of them, "Listen, I just want to say, thank you for taking me in; you two have been so nice to me. I don't know what I would've done if it wasn't for you two."

Sicily's mom looked at Priscilla, and her face softening.

"Don't worry about it," she said, "We're here to help."

There was a moment of silence between the two of them, then Priscilla nodded gratefully.

"Okay," said Sicily finally, clapping her wings together, "As promised, Priscilla, let us retire to our room, and I can introduce you to some of those greatest hits I told you about."

Priscilla just shrugged politely at Sicily's mother before turning to follow Sicily down the hall.

"Just keep the volume down will you? We don't want to disrupt the neighborhood with whatever that is you call 'passing for music' these days."

But Sicily was already halfway to the stairwell by now, Priscilla following just behind. "Booty shaking, here we go!" Sicily declared.

"We aren't really going to be shaking our tail ends to the music are we?" Priscilla asked self-consciously.

"Well, you don't have to," Sicily said, "But this music's gonna to be so good, you're gonna want to."

Priscilla still wasn't certain, but it never hurt to see how thngs went.

"Don't worry," Sicily said, turning to face her, "Boys absolutely love it."

And then the two of them disappeared up the stairs, out of sight.

Sicily's mother chuckled to herself. Those girls were going to be quite a wingful for her, she was sure.

But at the same time, she got a sense of something else. Sicily needed Priscilla, she didn't know how, but somehow Priscilla would play a part in Sicily's life that she hoped would turn things for the better.

Then...

"DANCE FOR ME DANCE FOR ME DANCE FOR ME, O-O-OH!"

That song!

"Turn that music down!" Sicily's mom squawked.