While Jackson was busy arguing with Abe and Chloe talking about the conditions of the prisoners, Jocelyne was left behind. She certainly didn't need to go and interrogate anyone to find out what the captive humans were thinking and she was sure that Sobek had been telling the truth about how the dinosaurs treated them. After all, despite the frightened faces, no prisoners looked hurt, thin or particularly traumatized.

Rather than wasting precious time talking to humans, Jocelyne preferred talking to the dinosaurs.

It was Sobek she had to convince, that was clear; however, Sobek was unlikely the only one that take the decisions. As charismatic, intelligent and wise as a leader might be, he couldn't rule such a large herd on his own strength alone. He would need to lend some of his power to other dinosaurs to administer the various departments into which the pack was divided efficiently.

That was probably why the herd was divided into castes. This was primarily due to the nature of the dinosaurs, which prompted them to rely on a pack leader, however to divide the pack so selectively it was clear that Sobek aimed to use ranks and castes to establish order.

After all, a leader couldn't be everywhere at the same time. If Sobek had been busy there in the city but suddenly an accident had happened in some corner of the desert, it was necessary that there was another dinosaur that could make the decisions by taking the place of the pack leader.

Because of this, Sobek was likely to rely on the advice of other dinosaurs to rule the pack well. After all, a dinosaur that had to control only a small area of land certainly knew more about it than the pack leader, who instead could not dwell on it because he had to embrace the whole territory. So to do a job in that area, Sobek would certainly have preferred to ask tho that particular dinosaur for help.

Therefore, if Jocelyne wanted to conclude the negotiation well, she had to relate not only with Sobek but also with other dinosaurs, in particular with those immediately below him, the 'moons'.

Unfortunately, interacting with a dinosaur was certainly not the same as interacting with a human. They had different expressions, thoughts, body language, interests… it was complicated.

He decided to try. She pretended to walk casually and 'accidentally' bumped into Buck's paw. "Oops! I'm sorry, really!"

Obviously the t-rex hadn't even felt the hurt, but seeing her apologize she pretended to understand: "Um... no problem, don't worry"

"Oh thanks. You are really nice"Jocelyne flattered him. "You are Mr. Buck, right?"

"Just 'Buck' is enough"

"I understand. We spoke last night, even if briefly. I wouldn't mind getting to know you better"

While she spoke Jocelyne was sweating. The tyrannosaurus didn't seem unwell or bothered, but she couldn't be sure. Damn, why did dinosaur expressions have to be so different from human ones!?

Fortunately, after a few moments Buck sat down, as if he wanted to lower himself to his level. "I'm glad of it. I also wouldn't mind meeting you. You are the first human I speak to"

"For real?"

"Yes. Before conquering the city I had never even seen humans, and since I am in charge of the assault legion I have not had the opportunity to speak to one of the prisoners"

Right, Buck was the assault commander. Which meant that he was practically the equivalent of a high-ranking general. "The reception team explained to me that you are the leader of this 'assault legion'. What is that?"

"Oh, nothing special. I simply command our best warriors. Mine is the strongest legion of the entire army, the one that launches the attack first"

"Really interesting. I guess you are a brilliant strategist"

"Not really. The great strategist is the pack leader. I'm just someone very good at commanding and fighting"

Well, there was no doubt about this statement. After all, which creature was better suited to command and fight than a tyrannosaurus rex? "Tell me about you now" Buck said. "Is it true what the pack leader says? That you are young?"

Jocelyne rolled her eyes in annoyance. "By human laws I'm young, yes"

"This is strange. In our pack you would be considered an adult. Why is it different for you humans?"

"Uh? Would I be considered an adult here?"

"Well, of course. You are already in the reproductive age, aren't you?"

The question caught Jocelyne off guard. "I have been menstruating for two years already, so I might have children now too!" she exclaimed, even though she was yelling in her mind: 'What the hell am I saying!?'.

"Precisely. For us, a creature who reaches sexual maturity is in effect an adult. So among us you would be considered an adult and you could already do things as an adult"

From that brief dialogue Jocelyne understood two things. First, that the dinosaurs kept asking her if she was young not because they were upset by her age, but because they were confused by human standards. Second, that the modesty of the dinosaurs was much freer since they didn't mind asking certain questions aloud. She decided to quickly change the subject: "What do you mean with 'I could do adult stuff'?"

"Well, first of all you shouldn't follow adult orders anymore unless they are in a higher position than you. And then you might decide which role you want to contribute to the growth of the pack, and once you get started you might rank up if you're good enough. Oh, and of course you could start a family, entirely independently and according to your tastes. Tell me, do you humans form a family only after passing what you call 'majority age'?"

"Almost always"

"So you don't mate before then?"

"It's not that simple..." Jocelyne's face was turning red. "Rather, how would I go up in rank?"

"You should get noticed by the pack leader or in any case by a dinosaur with a higher rank than yours, all according to your abilities"

"And what are the advantages of moving up in rank?"

"Well, the higher you rank, the more respected you are. Also you can command dinosaurs that have a lower rank than yours. You are also more attractive to females… or in your case, to male partners, since you would demonstrate that you have excellent blood to pass on to the next generations. And the higher you are, the closer you are to the pack leader" The t-rex paused. "Of course, you would also have duties. You would be assigned tasks and you should always complete them at your best. Also, you should take care of all the dinosaurs below you, and be the judge in case of disputes..."

"Disputes?"

"Of course. In short, in such a large herd it is impossible for everyone to always get along"

"And how are disputes between you resolved?"

"There are only two ways: either to argue in front of an impartial third party, or to fight. The second possibility is granted only if the first is impossible to implement. Whoever wins in the fight has the right to life and death over the opponent and the loser must accept his decision. The fight takes place without weapons, except those that the contenders manage to build on the spot, and no outside help is allowed; for the rest they can fight as they want"

Jocelyne considered. Once again it was amazing how close the dinosaur society was to that of a very common herd. "Are there so many disputes between you?"

"No, not a lot. Most dinosaurs are quiet. However, it may happen that someone wants a more comfortable place to sleep, or steals food from another out of spite, or wants someone else's female. We generally fight especially for this last case... do you humans also fight to mate?"

Jocelyne bit her lip. "No, we don't. At least not always" she replied.

"So you rely more on the mating ritual? Come to think of it, do you have any mating rituals?"

"Something like that..."

"Interesting! How are they?"

Jocelyne bit her lip. That conversation was embarrassing her more every moment, but the t-rex seemed really interested, so he tried to explain himself in the most minimalistic way possible: "Well, it depends... sometimes the man takes the woman out to dinner... yes, in short, he offers the meal..."

"Why? Wait, if the woman is not distracted with food she attacks the man?"

"What? No! It's just a form of courtesy. Then sometimes the opposite happens... in short, it is the woman who invites the man to go out. Then there are various ways to woo... some sing, others take their partner to dance..."

"Uh, then we're not that different. When it's time to mate, we too dance for our females, and sometimes we sing for them. But generally it is always the male the one who does it..."

"We humans are a progressive species" Jocelyne replied, even though she tasted hypocrisy in her mouth: gender equality wasn't true everywhere after all, and the nation where she came from was an example.

"You are truly strange creatures. In what period do you go into heat?"

"We don't go into heat!"

"And how do you know when it's time to mate?"

"When we want to do it, we just do it!"

"That's all? Wow, if this is so easy then I understand why you are so numerous..."

Jocelyne's face was now a tomato. She wasn't sure she could carry that conversation further, but luckily an angel came to save her life. Though the horns she had on her head looked more like a demon. "What are you doing?" Carnopo asked.

Jocelyne greeted him respectfully: "Hello, Mr. Carnopo"

The carnotaur looked at her sideways. Jocelyne could feel her skin tighten as that relentless gaze of hers was directed at her. The girl had no doubts: unlike Buck, Carnopo was decidedly hostile. Despite this, he politely replied: "Hello, ambassador" he said.

"We were just talking" Buck said, answering the earlier question.

"You will do it later. The pack leader wants to resume negotiations" Carnopo said, before turning to Jocelyne. "He invites you to return immediately to the central square"

"You can tell him that I will"

The carnotaur barely looked at her, then turned and walked away. Jocelyne mentally breathed a sigh of relief: Carnopo's murderous intent had rekindled her survival instinct and now her heart was pounding.

As if to sense her concern, Buck reassured her. "Don't mind him. He doesn't like those of your kind"

"Why?"

"The pack leader saved him from one of those places you call a 'zoo'. He hates you for holding him captive" Buck snorted. "But don't worry, he's loyal to the pack leader. He won't twist a hair on you, no matter how much he hates you or your species"

Jocelyne swallowed. She didn't like that situation: the fact that among the members of the pack closest to Sobek there was someone who hated humans wasn't a good omen. She jocelyne certainly did not blame him for her hatred of him, after all humans were not famous for respecting other life forms, but she at the moment she was in danger of compromising the negotiation. "Can you assure me he's really that faithful?"

Buck smiled. "I understand your concern, but you can rest assured" he replied. "Carnopo never disobeyed even a single order from the pack leader, even those he didn't like. Since he's been here, he's had countless opportunities to kill humans. He could have done it when we captured your workers, or he could have taken advantage of the prisoners, and the pack leader would never have known it. He never did. He trusts the pack leader blindly and will never do anything that would jeopardize what the pack leader aspires to. And since the pack leader currently aspires to peace, Carnopo will not try to harm any human, not without an order"

This reassured Jocelyne a little. After all, one of the few emotions that could outclass hatred was loyalty; not just trust, but a deep belief in a particular person, strong enough to put aside even the wildest anger. If Carnopo was as faithful as Buck described him, then he would hardly have aimed at ruining the negotiation. Jocelyne couldn't know for sure, of course, but Buck's statement aside it could be based on other factors: the way the carnotaur looked at Sobek, how she talked to him, how he moved, how he acted. Jocelyne had known Carnopo for less than two days, but she had been able to observe him a lot, and his behavior coincided with what Buck said.

However, this was not the time to have bad thoughts. She had to focus and get busy: Sobek wanted to start the negotiation, seriously this time, and she couldn't afford to irritate him. She quickly reunited with Chloe, Jackson and the other humans and together they returned to the central square, where chairs had been placed for them and Sobek was already waiting for them.