This is my entry for `Halatia's "Raptor Rapture contest. I know, this is the third contest I've entered this month. I'm on a role!

The challenge was to write a genre story involving a dinosaur; I chose fantasy because it's not something I've ever written before and as a writer I need to be constantly challenging myself. I've never been a big fan of fantasy, honestly. Too often it's the same setting of medieval castles with kids and wizards and knights and dragons. The majority of the genre feels so... homogeneous. Seen one, you've seen it all. So while I was required to "carry the hallmarks of a specific genre," I tried to subtly mix things up with the setting by placing it in an alternate reality where dinosaurs live and steampunk technology is utilized. Admittedly I wasn't able to highlight the steampunk as much as I would have liked to, but it doesn't detract from the plot any.

Critique is desired.