Two massive nostrils dipped down around me, sniffing me, before Rexcelsis pulled away, squinting. I probably smelled either disgusting or good. Or both.

Hey, at least I didn’t have to sweat!

But I was warming up fast out here in the sun.

As I turned to look around at my environment, a sudden force shoved me off my feet, sending me rolling.

Rexcelsis stood, tail dripping, facing away from the watering hole.

…

He splashed me. As he raised his tail to do it again I started shouting in my little dinosaur voice.

“Graa! Raaagaaa!”

It wasn’t really completely helpful.

But Rexcelsis seemed to understand. He looked at his tail, then at the water. Then at me.

And he raised his tail to swing it down again.

I flinched, covering my face with my hands.

Have you ever been shot by a hose while somebody covers the tip with their thumb to make the blast more powerful? Yeah?

Well picture that, but times a hundred.

I was rightfully spooked.

Thunderous rumbling emanated from before me, and I slowly opened my eyes to look.

Rexcelsis had dropped his tail and bursts of his deep voice were exiting his massive mouth.

Are you… laughing?

So, the Chaotic Monarch was a prankster…

A drop of water rolled slowly on down my nose, finding its way into my mouth, and dripped onto my tongue.

I’m… so… thirsty!

The realization hit me like a truck. I hadn’t drank anything in two days! Sure, I’d eaten meat, and had that delectable egg yolk, but really, I hadn’t been drinking nearly as much as I would’ve had I been sitting at my computer desk. Being fine going without water for so long was definitely a dinosaur thing, not a me thing, so keep that in mind, if you ever find yourself as a dino.

I immediately plodded over to the watering hole, plunging my head beneath the surface and drinking deeply. I slaked my thirst while the cool water wrapped itself enticingly around my head.

I wanted to go further into the water.

It was almost like it was calling me. It felt so good to let go, and just fall in.

Gulp. Sip. Gulp.

I probably needed to breathe, but I didn’t feel any indications of that in my chest.

Instead, I heard a voice.

“Hello there little baby!”

It was a woman’s voice. Soothing, and calling to me.

“Wouldn’t you like to come for a swim?”

I took a step forward. Then another.

You are [Entranced]. You are attracted to the affector.

The box didn’t stop me, though. I continued moving forward, my feet getting wet now, eyes closed as I pictured her. Maybe it was a friend of mine from highschool. I didn’t have many, but the few I did I shared an unbreakable bond with.

She didn’t sound the same, but that didn’t mean anything!

“Come on, baby, hop in the water and swim with me!”

I opened my eyes happily, looking into the deep, and jumped into the water.

The woman there was beautiful. She was the prettiest person I’d ever seen. It was an inhuman perfection. And yet, somehow, she reminded me of my mother.

Her blue eyes sparkled as she smiled wide at me, joy evident in her gaze. Silver locks of hair floated around her, shining in the light coming through the water.

She wore a dress, green like seaweed. In fact, it might’ve been made out of something like that.

She laughed, turning to swim only a little deeper.

I struggled to keep up.

“Come on baby! You’re so adorable! Swim to me!”

I kicked, starting to swim down.

But something held me back.

I recognized the feeling of my tail. It was the only dry part of my body now, and something held it.

I kicked, flailed, wiggled, and pulled. But no matter what I did, my tail was stuck!

“Aw, poor baby!” the woman said sadly. “Are you stuck on something? You can do it!”

I kicked harder, pushing against the wall of rock that lined the drop into the deep. Still, no matter what I did, I couldn’t break free. A puzzled look crossed the woman’s face. It was cute.

She swam up towards the water surface, concern clear in her pursed lips and frown.

“I’ll get you free! Don’t worry!”

My eyes followed her form as she popped above the water, and my gaze widened. I needed to see her.

I swam up to follow her, but my body wasn’t made for swimming. My small hands didn’t do much to propel me, but at least my long feet were useful, and kicking raised me slowly. As my head broke the surface, she gasped.

I followed her horrified gaze, looking at something behind me. Glancing there, I saw the monstrous Rexcelsis was standing with a predatory grin, his foot clamped down on my tail.

“No!” the woman shouted, diving back under the water, a huge scaley tail flopping onto the pond's surface. I blinked. First in surprise that she had such a pretty tail, and then in realization that she wasn’t a human. Or a dinosaur. She was some kind of mixture!

You are no longer [Entranced].

Quickly, I observed her before she got to slip any further away.

Siren of the Watering Hole [Lvl ???]

The Chaotic Monarch’s eyes glowed red, and two blasts of pure hot energy shot forth from his horns, piercing the water.

Steam erupted from the pond, and I closed my eyes as the force of the explosion shot me back into the trunklike leg of the titan behind me.

When I looked back to the water’s surface, a steaming body floated upon it.

Siren of the Watering Hole [Corpse]

Once a fiend capable of entrancing melodies that would enrapture many a victim, this beast changed tactics to exclusively prey upon babies that drank from the watering hole.

I glanced back at Rexcelsis, who seemed disgusted by the corpse, and was fishing it out of the water with his massive tail. As he removed the body, the siren's own tail fully emerged from the water, like a serpent being dragged from its den.

It was actually a pretty disgusting sight, covered in some sort of slime, and tipped with fins. Rexcelsis scooped up the corpse, and tossed it over to the line of xaptors, before he cleanly severed her head from her body with one sharp talon.

Guess having this guy on my side isn’t a bad idea...