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The air is cool and thick, a velvety blanket of night. The Night Train chugs along, its whistle a low, comforting sigh in the darkness. Inside the train car, Buddy, the orange T. rex, peers out the window with wide, inquisitive eyes.
"Dad, why is the moon so shiny tonight?" he asks, his voice full of wonder.
Tiny, the green Pteranodon, flaps her little wings excitedly. "Night Train, bright light, what a spooky, fun sight!" she chirps.
Her brother, Don, a wider green Pteranodon, dances in his seat, his collection of glow-in-the-dark pebbles jingling in a small pouch. "Look, look, my pebbles glow like the stars!" he giggles, holding them up.
Shiny, the aqua Pteranodon, adjusts an imaginary crown. "We are brave knights going to a mysterious castle!" she declares, looking at Buddy.
"We're going to Troodon Town, sweetie, for a spooky party at their Roundhouse," Dad Pteranodon rumbles warmly.
When the train pulls into Troodon Town, a shiver of delightful anticipation runs through the kids. The Troodons’ Roundhouse, usually a busy hub, is transformed! Giant, shadowy leaves hang from the rafters, swaying like ghostly curtains. Orange and purple vines, thick and gnarled, twist around the pillars, looking like sleepy, giant snakes.
"It's a haunted house!" Buddy whispers, pulling a small notebook from his bag. "I hypothesize there are no real ghosts, just decorations!"
Tiny rushes forward, her inner reporter bubbling out. "Breaking news! The Roundhouse has turned from normal to strange! What spooky secrets does it arrange?"
Don bops his head to an unseen beat, twirling past a pumpkin-like gourd.
Shiny, ever the role-player, clutches Buddy's arm. "Oh, Sir Buddy, a dragon might be lurking in the shadows!"
As they tiptoe deeper, a soft rustling comes from behind a pile of neatly stacked leaves. A small, furry creature, with huge, liquid eyes, peeks out. It has delicate, leathery wings stretched between its long fingers. It yawns a tiny yawn, showing small, pointy teeth.
"Who… who are you?" Buddy asks, tilting his head.
The creature blinks. "I am Vlad," it whispers, its voice soft and sleepy. "Vlad Volaticotherium. And I was trying to get some sleep. You dinosaurs are very… loud."
The siblings stare. A mammal! A real mammal, and a sleepy one at that.
"He's nocturnal, kids," Dad explains. "He sleeps all day and is awake all night."
Buddy nods, adding "Nocturnal means sleeps in daytime" to his notebook.
Tiny giggles, "Vlad needs sleep, it’s true, so he can fly the night through!"