The dinosaur lowered his massive head slightly, his muscles relaxing as he exhaled slowly through his nostrils. He took one deliberate step forward, then another, his claws sinking softly into the dry earth. The smaller creature tensed, its body coiling like a spring, but it didn't flee. Instead, it watched him with cautious curiosity, its forked tongue flicking out to taste the air.

As he drew closer, the dinosaur could see the creature's scales were a mottled brown, blending perfectly with the cracked earth around the waterhole. It was slender, with a long tail and sharp teeth—likely a scavenger, surviving on whatever scraps it could find in this dead world. The dinosaur stopped a few paces away, then deliberately turned his body sideways, a non-threatening posture. He dipped his head toward the water, then back to the creature, as if to say, 'I only wish to drink.'

The creature hesitated, then skittered a few steps to the side, giving him space but keeping its eyes locked on him. The dinosaur moved forward, his massive shadow falling over the pool as he bent to drink. The water was warm and gritty, but it soothed his parched throat. When he lifted his head again, water dripping from his jaws, he saw the creature had edged closer again, watching him with something like fascination. For the first time in years, the dinosaur felt a flicker of something other than loneliness.