The Gang of Five

The Land Before Time => LBT Fanfiction => Topic started by: LBTlover247 on June 25, 2018, 09:21:25 PM

Title: Our Past and Our Future
Post by: LBTlover247 on June 25, 2018, 09:21:25 PM
Hello! It's been almost a year since I posted my contribution to the  Fanfiction Prompt Challenge and decided to begin a series based off of my oneshot. I know some of you were looking forward to reading what I had planned and I apologise for the long wait. I was trying to make it as much like an episode as possible and trying to redeem myself from not doing what I did in "Past and Future" (writing style, length, etc).

Anyway, so this is the first in a series of oneshots and short stories featuring the gang of seven and my OC. The series will span from when Chomper and Arya meet to sometime after the events of Past and Future which will also be rewritten and posted here.

I will also edit this post to add new chapter links for gangoffive as well as Fanfiction.net if you prefer that format.

Past and Future (http://www.gangoffive.net/index.php?topic=15643.0) (The Challenge entry version)

Without further ado,
Welcome to Our Past and Our Future.

Our Past and Our Future
1. An Encounter in The Canyon- Gang of Five (http://www.gangoffive.net/index.php?topic=16028.msg468008#msg468008)  Fanfiction.net (https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12978995/1/Our-Past-and-Our-Future)
1.5. Past: Lessons- Gang of Five (http://www.gangoffive.net/index.php?topic=16028.msg470500#msg47u0500)  Fanfiction.net (https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12978995/2/Our-Past-and-Our-Future)
2. Smells Like Friendship- Gang of Five (http://www.gangoffive.net/index.php?topic=16028.msg476578#msg476578)  Fanfiction.net (https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12978995/3/Our-Past-and-Our-Future)
3. The Hunter Becomes The HuntedGang of Five (http://www.gangoffive.net/index.php?topic=16028.msg4854ý73#msg485473)  Fanfiction.net (https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12978995/4/Our-Past-and-Our-Future)
3.5. The Coldest Day- Gang of Five (http://www.gangoffive.net/index.php?topic=16028.msg491868#msg491868)  pFanfiction.net (https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12978995/5/Our-Past-and-Our-Future)
4. A Bridge Over Troubled WaterGang of Five (https://www.gangoffive.net/index.php?topic=16028.msg517467#msg517467)  Fanfiction.net (https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12978995/6/Our-Past-and-Our-Future)
5. There's Always Something BiggerGang of Five (https://www.gangoffive.net/index.php?topic=16028.msg527462#msg527462)  Fanfiction.net (https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12978995/7/Our-Past-and-Our-Future)
Title: Re: Our Past and Our Future
Post by: LBTlover247 on June 25, 2018, 10:21:14 PM
Here is the first chapter of the series! Hope you all enjoy.

An Encounter in The Canyon
Summary: While exploring the Secret Caverns, the gang find themselves trapped in a canyon. Chomper makes a new friend in a young Sharptooth who shows them the way out.

Update- July 03, 2021: Revised spelling/grammar as well as sentence/story flow.


The heat of the Bright Circle burned from high in the sky. It was the middle of the Warm Times which meant  it could get awfully hot during the day. Many creatures both big and small searched for ways to combat the heat, whether that be finding shade or going for a refreshing swim.

 In the Mysterious Beyond, a group of seven young dinosaurs emerged blinking from a cave, adjusting their eyes to the brightness of the mid-day sun. The group consisted of seven different kinds: A Longneck, a Threehorn, a Spiketail, a Swimmer, a Flier, a Fast Runner and, surprisingly enough, a Sharptooth. They had all entered the Time of Great Growing some time ago and were now in their early to mid-teens.

The group looked around at the small canyon they had entered with interest. They  planned on exploring the unknown parts of the Secret Caverns that day and, unfortunately, a cave-in cut them off from the way back to the Great Valley. So, they had no choice but to go deeper into the tunnels to look for a way back. None of them recognized this new area so their adventurous nature urged them to explore it.

The canyon itself was large with tall rock walls that dwarfed them on either side, a narrow stream running through it. Small bushes and sparse vegetation dotted the ground.

Cera was the first to speak. “Great.” The Threehorn groaned. “Where are we now?”

“Maybe we came out somewhere else in the Valley?” Littlefoot replied thoughtfully,  stepping further into the chasm as his friends trailed behind him.

“Doesn’t look like any part of the Valley I’ve seen.” Cera grumbled.

“Where do we go now? Now where do we go?” Ruby asked, the Fast Runner bring up the rear with Chomper, the young Sharptooth.

“Hmm. . .” Littlefoot paused. “Maybe if we follow this canyon we can see where we are?”

“That is a good idea, Littlefoot! Yep! Yep! Yep!” The Swimmer named Ducky, cried. Spike, the Spiketail walking beside her, grunted and nodded his approval.

The rest quickly agreed and they began walking farther into the depths of the canyon. Sometime later, they came to an intersection that went off in three different directions. Here, the stream emptied into a small shallow cove before continuing down the farthest passageway on the right, where it turned into rapids. More bushes dotted the landscape, though larger and fuller than the ones that they had been seeing up until now. It reminded them of the small patches of green areas they sometimes came across in the drier parts of the Mysterious Beyond during their travels.  

Deciding to take a break, they separated and went to go eat or drink their fill. Some of the Leaf Eaters went to the bushes to eat while the others went to the cool water to quench their thirst.

Chomper carefully waded into the moving water to try his luck at catching some lunch. Ruby had been teaching him in the art of fishing when bugs weren’t filling him up anymore. He was a fast learner and had caught on quickly, even if he failed every so often. He was nearly waist deep when the wind shifted, and a scent entered his nose. He froze and began to sniff as to try to identify the smell, his eyes started darting around nervously.

Littlefoot, noticing his friend's sudden apprehension, looked at him with concern. “What’s wrong, Chomper?”

Chomper didn’t answer as he waded back to shore, continuing to sniff the air. After a few moments, he stopped and turned to the others who had figured out something was up. “Guys, we’re not in the Great Valley. I think we’re in the Mysterious Beyond.”

“W-What make you say that?” The Flier, whose name was Petrie, whimpered from his perch on Spike’s back.

“Because I think I smell a Sharptooth.” He paused to double check and his face quickly changed to one of alarm. “And it’s coming this way!”

His friends’ eyes widened and a few expressed their horror at the news that they may have to face the dreaded predator. They were bigger now, but even a small Sharptooth could do some serious damage, especially when in a pack. The canyon also prevented them from spreading out too far so if a fight were to happen, it would be in close quarters and injuries from both the Sharptooth and themselves would be a real possibility.

Littlefoot desperately searched around for something that might help them and spotted a large outcropping on the far side of the chasm big enough for them all to hide behind. It wasn’t be the best hiding place, but it was better than nothing. If anything, they could use it to keep something between them and the Sharptooth.

“Over there!” He shouted, running toward the pile. “We can hide here!”

“Won’t it find us?” Cera questioned with a frown. “I mean, that’s not a very good hiding place.”

“Do you have any better ideas?” Littlefoot retorted, raising challenging brow in her direction. Cera grumbled something under her breath, but quickly ducked behind the mass of stone with the rest of the gang quickly following.

No sooner than they had ducked out of sight, a silhouette of a Sharptooth appeared on the wall of the middle path. They held their breath and clutched onto each other as the shadow drew closer, getting smaller with every step.

Finally, a pale grey Sharptooth belonging to Chomper’s kind stepped into view. It had honey coloured eyes and was littered with faint scars that showed the harshness of life in the Mysterious Beyond. A particularly fresh-looking scar seemed to be in the process of healing on the side of her nose. The thing that surprised them was that it looked to be about their age, if not slightly older. Most Sharpteeth that they had encountered on their adventures were adults and very few had young with them.

The Sharptooth approached the water, stooping down and swallowing a couple gulps before rearing back up. Its pink tongue darted out to lick stray water droplets from its muzzle. Then it paused and, to their dismay, began to smell the air. The gang braced themselves for the inevitable sprint once the Sharptooth figured out where they were. The Sharptooth’s gaze soon fell onto the rock pile and it opened its mouth.

I know you’re there.

Chomper flinched when she, her voice was definitely female, addressed him. He mentally cursed his kind’s superior sense of smell. Of all the places he and his friends hid from Sharpteeth, this was one of the worst! Luckily, he knew if it came down to it, they could probably take her in a fight. He knew Cera would be all for it.

Come on out.” The female’s voice brought him back from his thoughts. “I smell Leaf Eaters with you. Live ones. If you’re not going to eat them then what are you doing with them?

Chomper noted that she sounded genuinely curious, not judgemental like other Sharpteeth he had gotten the chance to talk to. Even his parents were somewhat at odds with his choice of friends, it had only gotten better after Littlefoot and the others left the island. Out of the corner of his eye he could see his friends watching him expectantly, waiting for him to translate.

Dumbfounded, Chomper replied. “They’re . . . They’re my friends.” His declaration seemed to puzzle her as she cocked her head sideways and frowned. He was waiting for her to start laughing or say something rude.

. . . Okay.” She breathed deeply. “Well, you can come out you know. I won’t try anything.

Chomper’s jaw dropped. He could hear his friends whispering to him in concern and for him to translate what was happening. He raised a hand to them, silently both reassuring and quieting them, before replying. “R . . . Really?

The female Sharptooth nodded, a small smile gracing her lips. “Promise. I’d rather not risk getting my tail handed to me.

Chomper grinned widely and eagerly translated the conversation to his friends, his mind still trying to grasp what just happened. Was this a Sharptooth he could possibly teach to be friendly? She seemed nice enough. And she didn’t try to attack them yet so that was a plus. He couldn’t stop smiling when it set in that what happened had happened. But, of course, someone had to bring logic into it . . .

“Are you crazy?!” Cera screeched when he suggested leaving the flimsy protection of the rocks. “You actually believe that Sharptooth?! How do we even know she’s telling the truth? What if she tries to eat us?”

He opened his mouth to reply but Ruby stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “One way to find out if she’s telling the truth is to see if she’s telling the truth.”

“Yeah,” Chomper said, grateful that the Fastrunner was backing him up. “And if she’s not telling the truth, we can easily deal with her. She might even know the way out.”

Littlefoot stepped up between them which drew their attention to the Longneck. “I agree with Chomper.” This caused Cera to huff and roll her eyes while Chomper beamed, glad that someone else was on his side. “There are seven of us and one of her. If it comes down to it, we can take her if she decides to fight.”

“Well, duh.” Cera snapped. “I’m just saying what’s the use in trusting her if we do end up fighting. It’s a waste of time!”

Littlefoot turned to the rest of the gang, exchanging nervous glances with them. They took a deep breath to steady themselves before nodding in agreement. Littlefoot gave Chomper an encouraging smile and motioned for him to take the lead.

The young Sharptooth gulped, trying to squish the ball of nerves in his belly, finally emerging from behind the rocks with his friends trailing behind him. They stopped in defensive stances once they were within view of the other Sharptooth. She tilted her head and her eyes roamed over each of them head to toe as she scrutinized them. Then as if sensing their unease, she stepped back as if to show them that she meant no harm. Chomper appreciated the gesture and let out a breath, the others seemed to do the same.

Both groups lapsed into silence, hesitant to make the first move. Littlefoot nudged Chomper’s side to draw his attention and nodded towards the female Sharptooth. Chomper nodded in understanding and stepped forward.

Uh . . . Hi.” He started shyly, giving a small wave. “M-My name’s Chomper.” His face heated up when the female’s lips twitched into a small smile. “And these are my friends. . .

Chomper then introduced each of his friends. He pointed to each one as he said their name and watched the Sharptooth nod. When he was finished, he turned back to the other Sharptooth with a grin.

 “I’m Arya.” She said, returning the smile. She was careful to not show her teeth as to not accidentally frighten the Leafeaters.

Chomper felt his face heat up again and his eyes widened, causing his friends to ask if he was alright. He shook himself and quickly translated, earning a few mischievous smirks which made him grimace and his face reddening more. He couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed. After the whole, Time of Great Giving incident, he’d pretty much given up on encountering a Sharptooth who would be willing to even be nice to him. Now, here was a Sharptooth who was being nice and he could hardly contain himself.

Arya’s voice brought his attention back to her. “So, uh what are you guys doing here? This is . . . kind of my home.

Wait, you live here? Alone?” Chomper asked, tilting his head. “Where are your folks?

Arya didn’t say anything at first, nervously picking at her claws, then she sighed. “Well, Dad didn’t stick around so I never got a chance to meet him. And Mom . . . got really sick and passed away towards the end of last Cold Time.

Chomper winced. “I’m sorry.

Honest question.” She replied with a shrug. “Anyway, back to my first question: What are you guys doing here?

Chomper quickly explained how he and his friends had ended up in the canyon. Arya eagerly listened and her eyes almost bugged out of her head when he mentioned living in the Great Valley. He rolled his eyes as that was a familiar reaction of just about everyone when they found out he lived in the Valley.

It’s a long story.” He said then continued his account.

When he finished Arya stared at him, jaw slack in bewilderment. “Well,” She started after gathering herself. “I can show you how to get out of here if you want. It’s easy to get lost in here if you don’t know where you’re going.” The Sharptooth said, gesturing behind her to where the canyon split into the three paths.

Uh,” Chomper blinked and glanced at his friends. “How do we know you won’t lead us into a trap?

Arya shrugged. “You don’t. But it’s better than wondering around here for who knows how long and running into a Sharptooth who actually wants to eat you.

Chomper frowned. Arya did bring up a good point. They would be able to get home faster and there would be less of a chance of encountering any more Sharpteeth. And there will also be more time to be able to talk to Arya and get to know her better. Chomper glanced back  and was met with the encouraging smile of Littlefoot, which reassured him.

He took a  breath. “Okay. Can you help us get out of here?

No problem.” Arya replied smiling. Chomper grinned in return and  begin translating for the others.

However, before he could open his mouth, Cera beat him to it. “You done talking to your girlfriend Chomper?” She smirked, raising a brow. Spike, Ducky and Petrie snickered while Littlefoot and Ruby grinned at him playfully.

Chomper glared at her. “She’s not my girlfriend, Cera!” He growled, but that just made her laugh. His frown deepened and he clenched his claws into fists, a low growl rising in his throat.

Thankfully, Littlefoot stepped in before things could escalate any further, although he still wore a grin. “So, what’d she say?”

“She said that she’d show us the way out.” He replied, his frown melting away as he turned to the friend that wasn’t trying to get on his nerves.

“That’s great!” The longneck exclaimed. “What’re we waiting for?”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Cera cried, butting in between the two and frowning at Chomper “You’re actually going to trust that Sharptooth?”

Chomper frowned, a look of hurt more than anger. “I’m a Sharptooth. Do you trust me?”

“Well, yeah.”

“And I trust her.” He insisted. Chomper sent a pleading look to his friends, a slightly protruding lower lip and large eyes, hoping to convince them. It seemed to work as they nodded and turned to stare expectantly at the Threehorn.

Feeling the peer pressure, Cera relented with a groan. “Fine.” Then she glared at Chomper and growled. “But if we get eaten it’ll be your fault!”

Chomper rolled him eyes and sighed, a small smirk on his face. “Yeah, I know.”

With Arya in the lead, the group left the cove and went down the same path that she’d come in. It was slightly narrower than the way they came, forcing them to walk in pairs, and it had more twists and turns. They also saw how easy it would be to get lost as they passed more paths splitting off in many different directions and going who knows where. At one point, they passed a particularly wide, but short trail that housed a cave, which Arya pointed out as her den.

And the entire time, Chomper happily chatted with Arya. He’d found out that she mostly ate Scaly Swimmers or scavenged already dead Leafeaters, and that she would only hunt when she absolutely had too. And even then she would only target the old, sick or otherwise weak herd members, but she drew the line at the young ones.

I may need to kill to eat, but I’m not heartless.” She had explained to him. “It’s really sad when someone who has their whole life ahead of them doesn’t get to experience it. And I’d rather not be the one to cause more suffering than I already do.

She then prompted Chomper to explain how and why he was living with Leaf Eaters. So, he recounted how his friends had accidentally found and hatched a Sharptooth egg in the Great Valley and the many adventures they had since then. He also explained how his parents sent him to live in the valley to keep him safe from Redclaw. Like last time, Arya listened attentively to his story and chuckled when he told her about him having friends for diner.

I still can’t believe they'd actually thought I’d eat them! I mean, apparently I bit Cera’s tail when I was a hatchling, but don’t really remember doing that.” Chomper laughed, which caused Arya to chuckled a bit as well. “It’s sort of an inside joke between us all now, so that’s good.

Meanwhile, the rest of the gang were watching Chomper and Arya laugh at something he'd said. While they felt somewhat left out, they were happy Chomper had found a friend of his own kind. Littlefoot, who saw the young Sharptooth as a little brother, was especially excited. If Chomper had friends in the Mysterious Beyond, then he wouldn’t be lonely if he was to someday leave the Great Valley. Although, Littlefoot never wanted it to happen under negative circumstances, he still knew it was a very real possibility in the future.

He heard Cera grunt beside him. He glanced over and saw her sneering at the Sharpteeth’s backs. While Cera’s default expression was an annoyed stare, Littlefoot could tell there was something more to it.

“What’s wrong Cera?” He whispered, not wanting the Sharpteeth in the lead to hear.

Cera grumbled, sounding much like her father but he wasn’t about to point that out. “I don’t like this.” She hissed back.

Littlefoot rolled his eyes. “Of course you don’t.” He said sarcastically.

“I mean it!” She snapped, glaring at him. “We don’t even know this Sharptooth. What if she’s lying? She could be leading us into a trap for all we know.”

“I know, but it’s either that or get lost. Chomper thinks she’s telling the truth and that’s good enough for me.” He said, glancing at the Sharpteeth in front. Chomper and Arya seemed to be starting up a new conversation.

Cera groaned in irritation. “Why are Longnecks always so trusting?”

“Depends,” Littlefoot smirked mischievously. “Why are Threehorns always so stubborn?”

He knew it was a bad idea the moment the words left his mouth. But he couldn’t help snickering when Cera whirled on him with a hard glare. Thankfully, instead of lashing out at him, she just rolled her eyes with a huff, shaking her head and grumbling. Littlefoot just kept grinning as he heard the others behind him quietly giggling as to not draw Cera’s wrath.

Arya blinked as she watched the scene unfold behind her. “Is the Three- uh . . . Cera always like that?

Chomper glanced back at the Threehorn with a raised brow having heard some of the conversation between her and Littlefoot. “Sort of. It’s a . . . uh Threehorn thing. She’s not so bad once you get to know her.

Not much later, they finally reached the exit of the canyon. Their current path widened considerably until they were suddenly free of the confines of the stone walls and staring at the  dry, rolling landscape of the Mysterious Beyond. The Bright Circle was beginning its descent, telling the young dinosaurs that it was later in the day. In the distance, they could see the mountains that bordered the Great Valley, making it was obvious to the gang that they hadn’t traveled as far from the Valley than they’d originally thought.

Even though he was happy that they made it out of the canyon, Chomper was disappointed, knowing that he would have to say goodbye to his new friend. He wished they could stay longer, but he knew they had to get back before the grown-ups started looking for them.

Arya turned to the group and smiled. “Well, here we are. If you want to be back before the Bright Circle leaves the sky, you’d better hurry.

The young Leafeating dinosaurs nodded to the female Sharptooth in thanks, knowing that she wouldn’t understand them verbally, before starting in the direction of the familiar mountains. Chomper sadly followed them, his head lowered and tail drooping.

Hey Chomper!

He perked up as Arya called his name and he turned to her. “Huh?

Don’t be a stranger next time!” Arya cried.

With a wave, she turned and walked back into the canyon. Chomper waved in return and watched as her tail disappeared around the corner with a huge smile on his face. Oh, there was defiantly going to be a next time! He had to think of a way for there to be a next time. Would he have to sneak back here or would his friends not him? Would they join him? Chomper was so deep in thought that he was startled by a distant shout.

“Chomper!”

He quickly turned and ran to catch up with his friends. “Coming!”


Whew! Although I love the new text editor on here which is way easier than the old one, this still took so long to edit. Stay tuned for the next installment!  :OhYou
Title: Re: Our Past and Our Future
Post by: rhombus on July 02, 2018, 12:39:12 AM
This was certainly a promising beginning to the story.  :) It seems that Chomper has not been asked to leave the valley despite the Time of Great Growing coming to him as well, though his diet is changing out of necessity - from his favored buzzers to the allure of fish. Though now it seems something else might be alluring to him.  If there are any criticisms that I would have for this chapter it would be that the banter of the gang could be elaborated on a bit more to give the feel of the gang growing up.  For one, it would have made sense for Cera to be the one suggesting that if the sharptooth did anything that they could fight them off due to her threehorn arrogance.  And Ruby's concerns for Chomper's Time of Great Growing could shine through in the events of the chapter.  All that being said, however, this is a promising start and I look forward to seeing what happens next.  :yes
Title: Re: Our Past and Our Future
Post by: LBTlover247 on July 04, 2018, 12:38:15 AM
Thanks so much for the kind words, Rhombus! I'll take your criticism under advisement for future entries. Even though the spotlight is mostly on Chomper and Arya, I'm going to try to give the gang their own spotlights as well.

And, thanks for the idea of Ruby being concerned for Chomper during the Time of Great Growing. I completely forgot about that scenario when I was writing this and when I was planning out the general plotline of the overall story. Although I did touch upon it (Ruby teaching him how to fish when bugs couldn't fill him anymore), I'm hoping to go more in depth in the future.

Also, I was wondering if you could spread the word about "Our Past and Our Future" if its not too much trouble. You are the only one to review it so far since I posted it on here and on FF.net.
Thanks again!
 :OhYou
Title: Re: Our Past and Our Future
Post by: Sovereign on July 05, 2018, 10:01:57 AM
As rhombus said, this chapter certainly created a good premise for this fic. The dialogue was rather good and the banter certainly was nice enough to draw me into the fic. The descriptions were rather well done too and the eventual journey into the Mysterious Beyond certainly was an enjoyable, familiar-feeling scene. On those accounts, this was a good way to start the story and it leaves open all possible paths in the coming installments.

The main problem for me is that Arya’s introduction felt a bit quick and easy. Perhaps she and the overall scenario of the story could have been developed a bit further as right now, that scene felt a bit rushed. Yet, the later parts of the scene with Chomper getting his friends to trust the other sharptooth worked rather nicely and the chapter certainly ended on a positive note. With Chomper’s problems and Arya’s largely unexplored character, I’ll certainly take a look on which way this story will take in the next chapters! :)
Title: Re: Our Past and Our Future
Post by: LBTlover247 on August 29, 2018, 01:36:27 AM
Hey everyone! This oneshot takes place in my ‘Our Past and Our Future’ timeline/AU but it’s before Chomper met Arya. It serves as a sort of a more in depth backstory/flashback.
I also wrote this for the July prompt for fanfiction prompt challenge over on the Gangoffive forum. So enjoy! Also, don’t forget to read and review!
   Past: Lessons
"There comes a time in everyone's life where a choice must be made, one which may irreversibly alter the path ahead." When Chomper is on the verge of starving, he must make a choice if he is to stay in the Valley. This may be the hardest thing he’s had to do, but luckily he has the support of his friends.


It was another warm day in the Valley, the Bright Circle shone brightly as it always did during the Warm Times. It was the perfect weather for friends to play in the water. In fact, that’s what Littlefoot and the others were doing while she sat on the bank, waiting.
   
Chomper had yet to show up.
   
The young Sharptooth had went through a growth spurt over the last Cold Time and was now only a little shorter than Ruby, who was now half the size of her parents. And with the growth spurt came the growing appetite. It was getting harder and harder for him to find enough bugs to fill him up on a day to day basis. He sometimes spent most of the day just trying to find enough to eat. The thing that really startled Ruby was that the poor Sharptooth was beginning to lose weight. It wasn’t noticeable at first but after a while he started to look sick, constantly being in pain from an empty belly.
   
Ruby knew she wasn’t the only one to notice. Littlefoot was also distressed about his friend’s plight, sharing worrying looks with her and the others when Chomper wasn’t looking. They all knew that something had to be done in order to save him. And they knew that if nothing was done then either Chomper had to leave the Valley or, and more morbidly, he would starve to death. Nobody wanted their friend to leave and they certainly didn’t want to watch him waste away.
   
No one was more frightened about the predicament than Chomper. Although he didn’t voice his concerns, they could tell that he was terrified of what was going to happen. Chomper loved his friends, and the Great Valley, and would do just about anything for them. He just hoped it wasn’t having to leave. He hatched here after all.
   
Ruby was then alerted to the sound of rustling bushes. Out stepped Chomper, whose attention was on his feet as he approached the pool. Something must have happened as she could see tears pricking his eyes. It was something they noticed happening a lot more recently and the miserable sight broke her heart each time.
   
She stood and met him some of the way. “Chomper! Hello my friend, my friend hello!”
   
“Hey Ruby.”
   
His dejected greeting as he passed her erased her friendly smile. The others had paused what they were doing when they heard Ruby’s welcoming shout. They too frowned in concern as they watched the Sharptooth lean down to take a drink. It was apparent to them all that today was another bad day for the young Sharptooth.
   
“What’s wrong, Chomper?” Littlefoot was the first to approach him, the others soon crowding around him as well.
   
Chomper gulped down the water and sniffed. “I . . . I overheard some adults talking.” His voice was shaking, trying to keep his emotions in check.
   
“So?” Cera snorted, which caused Littlefoot to nudge her and shoot her a warning glance.
   
Chomper swallowed, his throat suddenly becoming dry despite the drink he just had, and continued. “They were talking about me.”
   
“What did they say, Chomper? Chomper, what did they say?” Ruby questioned. Her elder sister instincts were flaring with the urge to protect, as was usual these days.
   
So Chomper recounted how, as he was foraging for creepy crawlers in a place full of holes and rotten logs, he stumbled across two adults. A Spike-thumb and a Swimmer were browsing leaves off the bottoms of trees and engaged in conversation. Not wanting to disturb them he hid behind a nearby bush and overheard bits of their chat.

"I can’t believe that Sharptooth’s still around" One said.

"He’s getting too big." the other agreed. "I’m surprised he hasn’t attacked anyone yet."

Then, Chomper recalled, it got worse. "He should have been kicked out a long time ago."The Spike-thumb had said. "It’s only a matter of time before he eats someone!" Chomper explained that he ran off after hearing that last part.

By the time he had finished, tears were starting to stream down his cheeks. His friends had varying levels of surprise etched onto their faces. And in Cera’s case, the Threehorn looked ready to march right back to those idiotic grown-ups and give them a piece of her mind. Chomper was at times emotional, even more so since entering adolescence, but it took something truly upsetting to make him cry. Lately, it seemed to happen more and more. Littlefoot was the first to recover from the shock and speak up.
   
“Don’t listen to them Chomper.” He started, nudging the Sharptooth to comfort him. “You’re our friend and you’re a good Sharptooth. You deserve to be here, just like everyone else.” The rest nodded and hummed their agreement.
   
Chomper gave a small smile and wiped his eyes. “Thanks, guys.” Then his face fell as a thought crossed his mind. “But if I can’t find something better than creepy crawlers to eat then I’d really have to leave.”
   
Ruby frowned in thought. She did have one solution in mind. Scaly Swimmers were abundant in the Great Valley with all the water that it contained. Some could even get to a good enough size that a full grown Sharptooth could easily fill its belly. She had seen it happen out in the Mysterious Beyond and some kinds of Sharpteeth actually fed exclusively on Scaly Swimmers. Even her family sometimes fed on them and she was taught from a young age how to catch them. However, dinosaurs were disapproving of Chomper’s current diet of insects, what would they say to this?
When she and Chomper first arrived in the Valley, they agreed not to eat meat within the Valley walls. It was easy for her since her kind could live off of green food as well as meat, but it was harder for Chomper. After all, his kind solely ate meat, but it was agreed upon that he could eat the insects and water creatures that called the Valley home. But Scaly Swimmers contained blood, something that would be extra disturbing to those who would come across him eating one. Would that be accepted as a possible substitute?
   
Ruby pondered this as she took in Chomper’s current state. She was just able to see his ribs poke out whenever he took a deep breath. His once sharp red eyes were now dull and bags could be seen under his eyes from sleepless nights dealing with stomach pain from hunger. He looked to be in pain, both physically and now emotionally. He needed food and fast.
   
With that final thought racing through her mind, she looked at the fast water. She knew there were Scaly Swimmers there and she knew how to catch them.  She abruptly turned and made her way to the fast water, ignoring her friends’ worried inquiries, and waded into the water just below her waist. She paused there frozen with her hands at the ready, waiting for one of the fish to swim nearer.
   
She noticed a sudden flash of movement out of the corner of her eye. It was a lone Scaly Swimmer lazily swimming by. Ruby slowly got into position and breathed to steady herself for the strike, vaguely aware of her friends watching her in confusion. Then with a blurring strike, she snatched it from the water and flung it onto the shore making her friends yelp and jump away in surprise.
   
Chomper stared gobsmacked at the wiggling morsel at his feet, then up at Ruby as she came to shore. Of course he knew that she could fish and that her kind ate the Scaly Swimmers. He also knew that he had eaten some. But that was before they came to the valley and they promised never to eat meat inside the valley walls. Chomper knew all of this, but couldn’t help salivating at the sight of the flopping Scaly Swimmer. Even just one of these could certainly remedy his hunger.
   
He involuntarily licked his lips, aware that his friends were looking at him with nervous expressions. He glanced at the Fast Runner who was now shaking herself dry. “A-Are you sure Ruby?”
   
The Fast Runner sighed and gave him a solemn look that proved just how hard this was for her. “Eating this is better than not eating this, Chomper.”
   
Chomper gulped, staring at the Scaly Swimmer as its movements finally slowed. He wanted to refuse, but a sudden pang of hunger made him wince. Stomach pain was the norm for him these days, but this seemed worse than before. Like his stomach knew there was a potential source of food nearby and was urging him to take it. Chomper sighed before taking the first bite, ignoring his friends’ disgusted complaints.
   
Immediately, the sweet metallic flavour exploded on his tongue and he had to hold back his moan of pleasure. He was mildly surprised at how juicy the Scaly Swimmer was as he could feel them slowly running down his chin as he chewed. After a few more bites, Chomper was delighted to feel some relief from his hunger that he hadn’t felt in a while.
He was so focused on eating that when he went to take another bite, he was surprised to find that the only thing left were the bones and the head. When he looked up, Chomper was met with the sickened grimaces of his friends. He winced and wiped the juices off his chin, embarrassed that they saw his momentary lack of control.

Ruby cleared her throat. “Does that feel better Chomper?” She asked with a small smile.

Chomper nodded and licked the stickiness from his lips. He didn’t feel any more pain and for once he wasn’t hungry. His belly had a comfortable weight that he hadn’t felt for a while and it felt better knowing that he didn’t have as hard or as long for it. Chomper smiled at the Fast Runner who returned it.

Littlefoot moved beside Chomper, careful to avoid the Scaly Swimmer remains. “So,” He began, his attention on Ruby. “Do you think this will work?”

The Fast Runner nodded. “Yes, I’ve seen grown Sharpteeth survive on Scalies in the Mysterious Beyond. It’s only a matter of learning how.”

“But won’t grown-ups be against Chomper eating Scaly Swimmer?” Petrie piped up from atop Spike’s back, shuttering at the memory of moments ago.

Cera snorted. “Who cares? As long as he’s not eating anyone!”

Littlefoot looked at the Sharptooth who hadn’t spoken since he finished eating. Chomper indeed looked better and Littlefoot saw a brightness in his eyes that he hadn’t seen in a while. “What do you think Chomper?”

The Sharptooth glanced nervously around at his friends then down at the bones of the Scaly Swimmer at his feet. He almost started salivating again at the thought of getting more. It’d been so long since he had actual meat that he almost forgot what it tasted like and some part of him missed it. However, the other part was worried about what would happen if he agreed. When he was just eating Crawlers, he could sometimes pretend that he wasn’t really a Sharptooth despite not being able to eat green food. But if he chose to learn how to catch Scaly Swimmers, he was one step closer to being a real Sharptooth.

“If it means I won’t have to leave the Great Valley. . .” Chomper said after a while before sighing. “Okay, I’ll do it.”

Not much later, the young Sharptooth found himself nearly waist deep in the Fast Water. The others, except for Ruby, sat on the bank to watch the lesson. Chomper stared at the bottom, scanning for movement since after he first waded out he noticed some Scaly Swimmers dart away. He tried not to move in the hope that they would come back if they saw that the coast was clear. Ruby was next to him, bent over with her head close to the water’s surface in the proper stance. Chomper wordlessly copied her and got into positon.

“The first thing you need to know about catching Scalies is that there is a lot of waiting.” She began, eyes glued to the water. “And because there is a lot of waiting, you need to be patient. Patient is what you need to be.”

Chomper nodded in understanding. Patience was the first rule that was instilled to him by his parents when he was just learning to hunt. Even though he instinctively knew the basics right out of the egg, it took some time to learn to wait for the most opportune moment. Although, he still had trouble remembering his lessons from time to time.

After a short wait, he spotted a Scaly Swimmer lazily swimming out of the corner of his eye. His muscles tensed in preparation to spring as he watched it move closer.

Ruby must have spotted it too because she continued on with the next part of the lesson. “Okay, since your arms are well. . .”She paused to gesture to his short arms. In response, Chomper raised a brow at her causing Ruby to chuckle softly. The Fast Runner bent down until her chin was barely touching the water and her eyes never leaving the Scaly Swimmer in front of her. “You’ll have to use your mouth. Wait for the Scalie to get close and then grab it. But you’ll have to be fast because if you’re not fast you won’t catch it.”

Like before, she struck with blinding speed, this time using her head to snatch the Scalie Swimmer. Ruby used the momentum to throw it to the bank where it flopped around. The others flinched in surprise, but weren’t as startled as before. Chomper watched as the wiggling slowed and looked to Ruby who wore an expecting expression. It was now his turn.
Chomper mimicked her stance and waited for another Scalie to swim by. Thankfully, it didn’t take long for him to spot one on its way over. He tensed as the Scaly Swimmer stopped and held its position directly in front of him, mentally playing back Ruby’s demonstration. He took a breath to steady himself and then struck at it with all the speed he could muster. Unfortunately, the Scaly Swimmer was faster as he completely missed and ended up with a mouth full of water. Chomper came back out sputtering and coughing, ridding the water from his mouth and nose.

Ruby chuckled, flicking water off herself from Chomper’s splashing. “That was a good first try, Chomper. You just need to practice until practice isn’t practice anymore.” She then gave him an encouraging smile. “Just like with Log Running.”

So Chomper tried again and again to catch a Scaly Swimmer. After a while, he started getting closer and closer with each try. It was both encouraging and frustrating since he could sometimes feel them slip out of his jaws and was left spitting out water. Ruby had since waded back to shore to watch and give him advice when it seemed like he needed it.

He growled under his breath as he watched another swim in front of him. With a breath, Chomper struck at it and with a rush of excitement he finally felt his teeth clamp down onto the wiggling body. Unfortunately, the rock he was standing on shifted making him lose his balance and disappear under the water with a splash. He came up sputtering and trying to shake off the water, having lost the Scaly Swimmer.

Seeing his friend was getting frustrated, Littlefoot decided to step in. “Uh Chomper?” He started nervously.

“What?” Chomper growled, sounding harsher than he meant to be.

“Maybe you should take a break.” Continued the Longneck.

Chomper sighed. To his dismay, he’d actually gotten worse in catching Scaly Swimmers where he would miss them by a wider margin than when he started. He chalked it up to being tired and he could feel the familiar hunger pangs beginning again. Chomper then remembered the Scaly Swimmer that was still sitting on the bank from Ruby’s earlier teachings. In fact, having a rest and something to eat sounded pretty good right about now. With that thought in mind, he turned and waded to shore and shook himself dry.

“Do not worry, Chomper.” Ducky piped up from beside Spike as the two were enjoying a snack of leaves from a nearby bush. “You will get the hang of it. Yep. Yep. Yep.”

He smiled appreciatively at her. “Thanks Ducky.” Chomper replied before moving towards the dead Scaly Swimmer to start eating.

Ruby watched as Chomper dug into his meal. She sympathized with young Sharptooth since she was once in his place and knew how frustrating it could be. Only she wasn’t in danger of starving or being kicked out of her home. Chomper was and if he couldn’t feed himself soon then both options could become a reality.

The one thing that cheered her up was Chomper was doing better than she did after her first lesson. Perhaps it was because his predatory instincts were stronger than hers. After all, he was a pure Sharptooth while she was half Leafeater. Needless to say, Ruby was confident that he would be able to succeed at this because he didn’t have to go through this alone. Ruby saw that Chomper had once again reduced the Scaly Swimmer to bones. She noted that this time he wasn’t consumed by hunger and ate more slowly. That was a good sign that he was on his way to getting better.

“You did great, Chomper.” She said with a smile as she approached him.

Chomper huffed in response. “I didn’t even catch anything.” He looked at Ruby and she saw how defeated he looked. Chomper looked to be on the verge of tears. “Every time I try, I miss! What if I never catch one?”

Ruby placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “You will, Chomper. You just have to keep trying. If you keep trying, you’ll catch one.”

“I’ll never be as good as you.” Chomper quietly replied, his saddened gaze turned to the ground.

“Well,” She began. “I had a lot of practice to be as good as I am. And you know what?” Ruby gently tilted Chomper’s chin so he was looking at her. She smiled. “You did better than I did my first time.”

“Really?”

Ruby chuckled at his shocked expression and nodded. “And if you did better than me on your first try, imagine how much better you’ll be after many tries.”

This seemed to cheer Chomper up as a new determined light shone in his eyes. He gazed at the fast water in time to see a group of Scaly Swimmers swimming past as if they were taunting him. Chomper turned and saw the encouraging faces of his friends who he would have to say goodbye to should he fail. He wrinkled his nose and squinted at the Scaly Swimmers in defiance. No way was he going to let a bunch of Scalies beat him!

“You’re right, Ruby!” He said. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome, Chomper. Chomper, you’re welcome.” She replied, grinning. “And don’t worry about being hungry, I’ll help you with not being hungry.”

So after taking a break to play a much needed game of Toss the Seed, Chomper went back to the Fast Water for round two. He was in much better spirits this time around after playing with his friends. Chomper was usually too busy hunting Creepy Crawlers to be able to.

Chomper once again stood motionless in the water and waited for the perfect time to strike. Unfortunately, he missed another Scaly Swimmer and was left sputtering and shaking his head. However, he didn’t let it bother him as he got ready to try again He kept trying until the Bright Circle started its descent in the sky. And the closest he came was having the Scalie in his jaws, but it escaping before he could get it to shore. Ruby decided to call it a night and caught him his dinner before they joined the others in one last game before they were called back to their nests.

After a few more days of practice, Chomper was starting to look like his old self again. Ribs weren’t sticking out whenever he breathed and he was gaining more and more energy. Yet, he was never able to get a Scaly Swimmer to shore. He was now great a catching them in his mouth, but they never quite make it to dry land. His friends were supportive and cheered him up when it looked like he was starting to get burnt out. And Ruby kept her promise and caught him Scalies to eat when he couldn’t.

Now Chomper stood in the slow current of the fast water, eyeing the lone Scalie swimming in front of him. He snarled and readied for the attack. Like the other times, he struck with the speed of a bolt of Sky Fire and felt his teeth close around it. Feeling it trying to wriggle its way to freedom, Chomper tightened his grip until he felt the tips of his sharp teeth pierce its skin and tasted blood on his tongue. Then he flung it towards the bank. And, unlike the previous times, it landed on dry land where it flopped around.

It took a moment for Chomper to process it but when he did, his face broke into a huge grin. “I did it!” He cried. “Ruby, did you see?”

Ruby laughed in joy as Chomper waded to shore. She met him as he exited the water and gave him a congratulatory hug. “I did, Chomper! I knew you could do it. Do it, I knew you could.”

The others congratulated him on his first successful catch and he thanked them before he dug in. Chomper was blown away by how much tastier this Scaly Swimmer was compared to the ones that Ruby had caught for him. He was always told that food tastes better when you work for it and he agreed whole heartedly.

From there on, Chomper practiced day after day and improved to the point where Ruby didn’t need to catch him his meals as often. Sure, there was the odd time where he was having issues but those were becoming few and far between. And during those days, the young Sharptooth filled out to a healthy weight and became the ball of eagerness and energy he was known for. Ruby and the rest of the gang were relieved to see Chomper improving in health, knowing that they postponed, if not completely destroying, Chomper’s possibility of exile.

Ruby smiled to himself as she watched the young Sharptooth fish. Her and the others decided to break for lunch and were lounging around on the bank. She turned and was munching on a nearby berry bush when she heard a yelp followed by a splash.

She whirled around in time to see Chomper surface and spit out water. Unlike the last time he ended up under water, he was laughing as he tried to rid himself of the water. The others who had seen him flail before he fell in, began to laugh as well and Ruby joined in.

Ruby watched as Cera leapt into the water to begin a splash fight. “Everything is going to be okay now. Now everything will be okay.”

Thanks for reading!
Title: Re: Our Past and Our Future
Post by: Sovereign on August 29, 2018, 10:16:11 AM
It's nice to see a new chapter of this story as it has really been a while after the first one. This installment was certainly quite nice as it explores one of the most popular ideas in the LBT fics: Chomper’s future. The initial explanation about the current situation was written quite well as was the Gang’s conversation with Chomper. It’s quite logical that the adults would be the first ones to realize the danger of a hungry sharptooth among them, even if it brings an unsavory situation upon the Gang.

The latter part with Chomper emphasized nicely his relationship with Ruby as well as the predator’s willingness to stay in the Valley as long as possible. The dialogue was certainly written well here but I fear even the scaly swimmers won’t be enough to feed Chomper forever which creates some interesting possibilities in the future. This installment as a standalone chapter (I think of this simply because of it also being a prompt entry) feels a bit light on actual developments as these themes aren’t something we haven’t seen before but I trust this installment will have important implications for the future ones. Nice job with this chapter! :^^spike
Title: Re: Our Past and Our Future
Post by: OwlsCantRead on August 29, 2018, 10:37:24 AM
I echo what Sovereign says above about this story idea: I've read quite a few "How will Chomper survive in the valley" stories before myself (they're usually plot points in longfics though)... though personally it's been a while since I've read the last.

Ruby's interaction in teaching Chomper here is a really smooth idea and neatly integrated in as she becomes a pseudo-tutor of sorts. I like that. :P
Title: Re: Our Past and Our Future
Post by: DiddyKF1 on September 01, 2018, 01:13:38 PM
This was quite a nice read. I've always thought of the many possibilities that Chomper would likely face in his future.  More often than not, biased banishment seems very possible, but this was a nice take on one of the positive possibilities.  Chomper and the Gang's emotions were captured very well, and the Sharptooth's newfound development is something for everyone to look forward to.  Even though they're friends with someone who would likely become an endangerment to them, it is their loyalty that comes first, and they are determined to keep him around for as long as possible.  Nice job!  :)
Title: Re: Our Past and Our Future
Post by: rhombus on September 01, 2018, 03:31:28 PM
This was a wonderful new entry to the story.  :) The issue presented by Chomper's diet and growing body is one that has been explored several times in the fandom before with varying degrees of tragedy or resolution being the result.  Though the possibility of using fish is one that has been mentioned before, I do like how this chapter takes a different path and focuses on the learning process and Ruby's skills as a teacher.  Maybe it is the teacher in myself, but I find it interesting to see how Ruby uses her knowledge of her friend to encourage and instruct him in how to catch his new food source.  The encouragement of his leaf-eater friends, even if they find the idea of eating fish to be icky, is also on full display here.  Showing that although their instinctual disgust cannot be avoided, that their friendship with him is still as strong as ever.  Though Chomper will still undoubtedly have to leave one day (unless he becomes the valley equivalent of its undertaker :p ) he now can be hopeful that by the time he leaves perhaps he and Ruby will be strong enough to face the resulting challenges.
Title: Re: Our Past and Our Future
Post by: LBTlover247 on February 05, 2019, 09:02:49 PM
Hey everyone! Sorry this one took so long, but I was very busy and couldn't find a lot of time to work on it. Future updates may be slower which a apologize in advance for.

Anyway, enjoy this chapter and I can't wait to hear what you guys think!

Smells Like Friendship
A few days after their adventure in the canyon, Chomper decides to sneak into the Mysterious Beyond to pay Arya a visit. The two get to know each other better and a friendship starts to grow. That is at least until Redclaw and his Fastbiters show up.

“Don’t be a stranger!”

Arya’s voice had echoed in Chomper’s head ever since they returned from the Mysterious Beyond. For the last couple of days it taunted him nonstop, especially when he was by himself or he was trying to sleep. Some nights, he even saw her in his sleep stories which was kind of embarrassing. He kept it to himself for fear of being laughed at by his friends. They had teased him mercilessly on the way back to the valley for his behaviour with Arya and he didn’t want a repeat.

Chomper lay curled up, staring at the walls of his cave. It was early morning, the Bright Circle just peaking up over the mountains and casting a warm glow over the valley. He was used to waking up early as his predatory instincts urged him to get up and find food while it was still sluggish. Not to mention the many adventures that started as soon as the Bright Circle hit the sky- sometimes even before then. But today something else woke him from his slumber.

It was yet another sleep story about the female Sharptooth. He and the gang were back in the canyon and instead of him having to translate, they were all able to understand each other. They were having a great time laughing and playing together like they had known each other for years. Chomper never wanted it to end, but he soon found himself back in his cave with the first signs of light on the horizon. Chomper sighed, he probably wasn’t going to see her again so why was he so upset? Nothing will happen like it did in his sleep story and he would soon move on. He tried being friends with other Sharpteeth once and failed miserably. What was the use in trying again?

But then he remembered that Arya was different. She didn’t attack them and instead helped them like any other dinosaur. And she didn’t shun him after finding out that he was friends with Leafeaters. She had even invited them back, an invitation he hoped to accept sometime.
Chomper silently gasped as an idea suddenly struck him. They could go visit her! He remembered the route they took when they left the canyon and he could also backtrack the trail using his nose. Their scents wouldn’t be that old or faded, and he was an excellent tracker. The hard part wold be to convince his friends. Chomper remembered how hard was to convince them, especially Cera, to trust Arya. What would they say to this? Littlefoot and Ruby would be the easiest to persuade, but Ducky, Spike, and Petrie were harder as they might be nervous. Cera would flat out refuse and try to convince the others as well. The more he thought about, Chomper came to the conclusion that his friends wouldn’t want to go visit a Sharptooth. Even though Arya was nicer than other Sharpteeth, they barely knew her. Unlike Chomper, they didn’t understand her or see a potential friendship, a friendship Chomper desperately wanted. If he wanted to see Arya again, he’d have to go alone.

The sound of footsteps echoing off the cave walls caught his attention. From around a corner came Ruby, yawning and rubbing her eyes.
“Good morning, Chomper. Chomper, good morning.” The Fast Runner greeted him.

“Morning, Ruby.” Chomper replied.

Ruby started stretching her arms over her head to get rid of the stiffness from the previous night. “Are you ready to go meet everyone? I think Littlefoot has something planned for us today.” She asked.

Chomper weighed the options in his head. He didn’t want to upset his friends by declining to hang out with them today, he hardly missed a chance to be with his friends. But he also really wanted to go see Arya and see if her offer to visit was sincere. Thinking quickly, he feigned a pained grimace.

“I don’t think I can come today.” Chomper winced and grabbed his belly. “I think I got a bad Scalie last night. I’m not feeling well.”

“Oh, that’s too bad.” Ruby’s face grew concerned and she approached him, putting a comforting hand on his head. “Do you want anything? Is there anything I can get you?”

Chomper shook his head with a small smile. “No thanks. You go ahead and meet the others. I’ll just stay here and rest.”

“Okay.” Ruby sighed. “Feel better, Chomper!”

“Bye Ruby!”

Chomper watched as the Fast Runner disappeared around the corner. He waited a while to make sure she was far enough away before leaving his cave. He felt horrible lying to Ruby but if he didn’t go now, he’d lose the courage to try. As he stepped into the light of the Bright Circle, Chomper hoped that his hastily thought out plan wouldn’t be a bust. He crept through the valley, ducking into any nearby bushes to conceal himself from view. It was better that no one saw him. They’d just gotten over him adding fish to his diet and he didn’t want them to add another reason to distrust him to their list.

Thankfully, Chomper made it to the entrance that he and his friends used quickly and without drawing attention to himself. It was a tunnel through the barrier wall that was blocked by vines growing on the other side. The vines were strong smelling Tree Sweet vines that repelled Sharpteeth similarly to the Tree Sweet trees in the Hidden Valley. Chomper often had to hold his breath when pushing through them. Ever since he and his friends found this entrance a few cold times ago, it’s been their go to route to the Mysterious Beyond. They had travelled it so often that, even with the many forks, Chomper knew it by heart and soon he was in the Mysterious Beyond.

Chomper then set of along the path he remembered, pausing to sniff the ground every so often. The scents were still there, albeit faded and distorted, so he had to concentrate more on picking them up. He was attentive as he walked, on the lookout for any Sharpteeth that might be on the prowl.

It was nearing midday when he found himself getting close to the canyon. His journey so far was thankfully uneventful but the closer he got to his destination, the more anxious he became. Thoughts of Arya turning him away or her revealing her true nature swirled around in his head. His heart started to race and his breathing became laboured as all the negative things that could happen popped into his head. He stopped and leaned on a nearby tree to steady himself. What was he thinking?! Last time ended so horribly and it was bound to happen again.

Before he could sink further into his panic, Chomper remembered his sleep story from last night. In it, Arya looked so happy and genuine, just like when he first met her in her canyon. Then the echo of her offer that stuck with him for days returned- don’t be a stranger. It was said with such kindness that it must have been real.

Chomper took a deep breath, expelling all the negative thoughts from his mind, and continued on. He could just see the canyon emerging from behind the trees as he came around the bend. And before long, the enormous crack in the rock wall loomed in front of him like the mighty jaws of a Sharptooth. Chomper felt the doubt creeping back up but shook his head and leaned down to sniff at the ground near the entrance. He found the old scents of him and the others leading deeper into the canyon and was about to follow the trail when he found a new scent. It was earthy and metallic, something that was usually associated with a predator, but had the sweet tang that all females had. Having remembered this smell from a few days ago, he recognized it as Arya’s. The scent couldn’t have been more than a few hours old and it moved away from the canyon. So Chomper turned and began to track it along the wall.

The young Sharptooth followed the trail around a bend a short distance away and came across a stream flowing out of one of the many passages in the canyon. He stopped behind a bush and surveyed the area, the trail had ended here so she must have been around somewhere. Chomper spotted her on the bank of the river, digging into a Scalie Swimmer with a pile of bones beside her, indicating her previous catches. He watched as she tossed the newly cleaned bones onto the pile and moved towards the stream. She dipped her head into the water and swirled her face around to wash away the blood and juices from her face.

Chomper was so preoccupied that he didn’t notice the stick until he accidentally stepped on it, causing it to crack and he winced at the sudden noise. He saw Arya whirl around with a snarl, growling in his direction, though he knew he was out of sight. However, the look on her face was unnerving as he was reminded that he was dealing with another Sharptooth and not a Leafeater. It was discouraging to see the same face that that was laughing with him a few days ago, contorted in such a way. He was tempted to just turn back, but he had come this far that he was determined to see it through.

“Who's there?” He heard Arya growl. He steeled himself and slowly emerged from the bush, giving a nervous wave.

Arya's snarl slowly melted away when she realized who it was and she tilted her head in surprise. “Chomper?” She cried, raising a brow. “What are you doing here?”

Chomper tugged at his arm, too nervous to meet her eyes. “I . . . Uh. Y-you said ‘don't be a stranger’. I was taking you up on your offer.” He looked at her to see her regarding him with a blank stare, blinking occasionally. His eyes then widened as he was suddenly overcome by a wave of anxiety. “U-Unless you were just saying that?

“No, no" Arya began and then snorted in amusement. “I just didn't think you'd come back so soon.”

Chomper let out a breath and his lips twitched into a relieved smile. However, the moment was interrupted by a growl and he winced in embarrassment. He had completely forgot to eat before he left and was now paying for it. Arya snickered and Chomper felt his face heat up.

“Sorry, didn't have breakfast yet.” He said, chuckling nervously.

Arya laughed and waved him off, nodding towards the river. “Help yourself to some Scalies.” He nodded and followed her to the bank.
 
While he waded into the water, Arya went over to the pile of bones. She picked up a bunch and carried them a short distance away where she used the talons in her feet to scrape away dirt to make a shallow hole. Chomper watched as she dropped the bones into it and he realized she was discarding her inedible leftovers in a similar way that he did in the valley. He had only made the mistake of not disposing of them once and he heard about it immediately. They made such a big deal about how he was becoming a killer and he was honestly scared of being run out for a while. Thankfully, it all blew over and now he always made sure to dispose of his bones out of sight. Arya made two more trips of gathering the bones and dropping them into the hole before kicking the dirt back over them. The female Sharptooth then walked over to watch from the bank.

Chomper shook his head and turned his focus to the water. A flash of movement caught is eye and he got into the position that was so familiar to him now, muscles tensed to get ready for the strike. He could feel Arya’s eyes on him and he really didn't want to mess up in front of her. The Scaly Swimmer was now within reach and with a blurring strike, it was launched towards shore. Unfortunately, he gained so much momentum that he kept going after the Scalie had left his jaws. He stumbled and went under with a mighty splash. He shot back up sputtering, all too aware of laughter coming from the bank.

“You okay?”

Chomper nodded, trying to shrug off the embarrassment. “I uh meant to do that.”

Arya smirked. “Sure.”

“Yeah, wait until I-"

The rock that Chomper was standing on gave way and sent him back into the water, sending a huge wave towards the bank, soaking Arya. He quickly resurfaced, spitting water from his mouth and looked to see a dripping Arya shaking herself dry. Chomper froze in horror at the realization of what had just happened.

“I-I’m so sorry! I didn't mean to!”

To his surprise, Arya started laughing. “Don't worry about it. A little water never hurt anyone.” She said, then snorted in amusement. “That was actually kind of funny.”

Chomper smiled sheepishly at her as he waded to shore and dried himself off. He turned and began to dig into his Scalie which had long since stopped flopping around. As his belly was being filled, he found himself getting progressively calmer in Arya's company. In between bites, they talked and Chomper was once more convinced he was right about her sincerity. Here they were, having a friendly conversation and he could almost forget that he had only met her a few days ago. When the Scalie was nothing more than bones, Chomper went to catch another. That sound of her voice made him pause.

“So who taught you how to speak Flat-tooth anyway?”
Her question caught him off guard and he stood there blinking at her for a moment. He quickly shook his head and replied. “Uh I taught myself.” At her stocked stare, he scratched the back of his neck bashfully. “I guess I picked it up when Littlefoot and the others hatched me. The rest came from watching other Leafeaters during hunts. Why do you ask?”

The female Sharptooth fiddled with her claws. Chomper remembered her doing the same thing when he asked about her family back when they first met. He realized that it must be a nervous habit of her's. “Can . . . Do you think you could teach me.”

This time it was Chomper who’s eyes widened in shock. He froze as he went over her question in his head over and over again thinking he’d heard her wrong. Does she really want to learn how to speak Leafeater? If she did, then it was one step closer to being like it was in his Sleep Story. Chomper was so focused on his thoughts that he didn't realize how long he had been standing frozen with a slackened jaw. Arya was looking at him with a concerned frown, her head tilted slightly. He mentally shook himself and opened his mouth to answer.

However, he was cut off by a loud roar that sounded too close for comfort. He knew that roar, having heard it multiple times when he and his friends were out in the Mysterious Beyond. They turned in the direction that it came from just as a second roar echoed, followed by rumbling footsteps that seemed to shake the leaves.

“Redclaw!”

“He sounds close too.” Arya agreed, then she frowned and began sniffing the air. Chomper saw a smirk slowly form on her face before turning to him. “Come on,” She started, walking further away from the canyon. “I have an idea.”

Chomper jogged to catch up to her quick pace. “Why aren't we going towards your canyon? Wouldn't that be safer?”

She hopped over a fallen log and slid down a short slope before replying. “I want to keep them from finding out where I live for as long as I can. If I lead them back to the canyon, they could easily track me back to my cave.”

The female Sharptooth led him through a forest away from the stream, making them weave around and jump over trees. The thundering footsteps and roars behind them seemed to only get closer, forcing them the keep up the quick pace. Then Chomper got a whiff of something that made him grimace. The scent was horribly similar in stench to the Murky Swamp back in the valley and it was only getting stronger.

They burst through a bush and Chomper had to cover his nose when they came to the edge of a large swamp which was the source of the smell. A quick glance at Arya showed that she wasn't as bothered by the scent as he was, only wearing a grimace that made her nose wrinkle. He was about to ask her why they stopped when she jumped into the murky water. Chomper gaped at her as her light grey scales were painted brown with the smelly mud.

Arya turned and waved at him. “Come on! It'll mask our scent.”

Chomper’s mind flashed back to when he and his friends went to the Meadow of Jumping Water and Spike fell into one of the stinking pools. They were in a similar predicament and the same giant Sharptooth  that was chasing them was repelled by the smell, not that Chomper blamed him. However, that didn't keep him from inwardly gagging at the thought of being up close with the stench for an extended amount of time.

A roar that sounded like it was just on the other side of the bush brought him back to reality. He plugged his nose and hopped in, following Arya as she wadded out to the roots of a nearby tree. They ducked down behind the twisted roots, nearly chest deep in the disgusting water, and waited. Chomper had to breathe through his mouth to keep from taking in the horrid scent, but even then he could barely stand it. Arya looked to be in a similar state, though her calm demeanor seemed to deny it.

They watched the bush they came from through the gaps in the roots, the footsteps were getting increasingly louder and the water rippled from the vibrations. Suddenly, the bushes exploded as Screech and Thud burst through them, followed shortly by Redclaw who flattened the bushes to the ground on his way in. Chomper’s breath hitched and a quick glance from Arya made him try to silence his breathing. The older Sharpteeth stood on the swamp’s bank and looked around, causing Chomper and Arya to instinctively freeze. They could tell that the swamp’s smell was affecting the older Sharpteeth as they grimaced and snorted in disgust. The Fastbiters sniffed at the edge of the water where their scent trail ended, but coughed when all they managed to get was the overwhelming stench of the swamp. They were so close to the adult Sharpteeth that if they made any sort of movement then they would be found out. The only thing that was saving them was staying absolutely still and the swamp masking their scent.

They stayed huddled together behind the tangled roots of the tree for a while before it looked like the older Sharpteeth had given up, growling in both frustration and revulsion as they disappeared back into the bushes. The footsteps and growls eventually faded, letting Chomper and Arya relax and sigh in relief. They waited a little before getting out from their hiding place to make sure that the they were far enough away and wouldn't double back. As they waded back to shore, Arya began to chuckle lightly which made Chomper smirk before joining in. The relief and adrenaline from narrowly escaping death had them giggling as they shook the mud off.

Arya giggled wiping the stray mud off her cheek with a hand. “Did you see the look on Screech’s face?! He looked like he was about to throw up!”

“I wouldn't blame him.” Chomper replied, laughing. “This place smells like rotten eggs and Clubtail waste put together.” That caused Arya to laugh harder which made him snicker.

Not wanting to be near the smell themselves anymore, they back tracked to the creek where they could wash the rest of the mud off. Even though they were clean, the smell would linger for a while unless they rolled in something else to mask it. At least it wasn't as overpowering as before. Arya told him of other tricks that she had learned while living in the Mysterious Beyond. Covering yourself with mud was great for masking your scent as was demonstrated but it also could be used for camouflage. She looked at him weirdly when he told her about Tria's mud pool and how it was used for relaxing.

Now they were lounging outside Arya's cave, having moved to the relative safety of the canyon. They sat there for a while, letting the Bright Circle warm their scales, before Arya asked him what he was going to say earlier. Chomper blinked, remembering the conversation they were having before Redclaw interrupted them. Arya wanted to speak Leafeater!

“Uh,” Chomper began. “I was going to say yes to teaching you how to speak Leafeater.”

Arya grinned. “Really?” She cheered when Chomper nodded, a smile on his own face. “So, what's the first lesson?”

Chomper paused to think. This wasn't the first time he had taught someone, he taught Spike how to track some Cold Times ago. Although, Spike just needed a push in the right direction since he already could find things with his nose, mainly food. Learning how to talk in any language was difficult and took a long time. He had no idea how even he was able to learn to talk Leafeater, it just sort of happened. How on Earth was he going to teach Arya when he doesn't even remember his first lesson? His mind went back to when he taught Spike. He simplified the basics to where they made sense not only to himself but to his student as well. If he could explain it, he could teach it.

“Well, I guess we could start with greetings.” Chomper began after a while. “This is hello.” He then repeated the word in Leafeater, then he nodded at Arya. “Now you try.”

Arya wiggled her mouth, trying to contort it in the way that she'd seen Chomper do. Chomper smiled while biting his tongue to keep from laughing at the funny faces she was making. Finally she managed to get something out.

“R-r. . . Heh. . .row.”

“That was really close for a first try!” Chomper said, amazed. “Try it like this.” He then said the word slower and emphasized his mouth movements for her to see. Arya silently mimicked the movements a few times to get a feel for them, looking to Chomper for approval. When he nodded, she tried to say it  the way that Chomper did.

“Heh. . . Low. Hello.”

Chomper cheered, jumping up from where he sat. “You did it! Now let's try introducing yourself.” He said with an excited grin. Arya laughed before watching him slowly emphasize the next couple of words for her to mimic.

They kept going until the Bright Circle was passed its highest point in the sky. Chomper realized how late it was getting and thought it was time for him to head back, not wanting his friends to come looking for him. Although it was a short lesson, Arya was able to catch on to Chomper's teachings quickly, which greatly impressed him. She could greet someone, introduce herself and say goodbye fluently, albeit with a heavy accent. He assured her that it was just a matter of remembering what the different sounds meant as well as practice and repetition. He promised to return soon to give her another lesson and then exited the canyon, walking back towards the Valley. He had made it back to the Secret Caverns just as his friends appeared on the path leading up to the caves.

Once they got up to him, Littlefoot was the first to speak. “There you are, Chomper! We've been looking everywhere for you.”

“Ruby told us you weren't feeling well so we came to check on you.” Ducky continued with a look of concern. “Only you weren't here. No, no, no.”

Chomper winced and rubbed the back of his neck. He should have known that they would check up on him. Having friends that worried about you was great, but not when you want to do something alone or without their knowledge. He regretted lying to them and disappearing but they would have never have agreed to go see Arya.

“I uh was feeling a bit better and decided to go for a walk.” He gave a small apologetic smile. “Sorry for making you guys worry.”

Ruby stepped closer and wrapped an arm around his shoulders with a grin. “Its okay Chomper. Just tell us next time. Next time tell us.”

“Great!” Cera interrupted impatiently. “Now that we've found Chomper, why don't we play a game of Toss the Seed?” Everyone agreed and started heading to the field where they usually played.

 Chomper breathed in relief before following his friends. He was thankful that they didn't question him further on his whereabouts. If they had asked anymore questions, he didn't know how long he would be able to keep his secret. He soon found himself walking next to Cera who looked at him with a raised brow. She then frowned and sniffed him, a grimace forming on her face. Chomper nearly froze when she opened her mouth.

“Why do you smell like a swamp?”

Thanks for reading! And let me know if you have any ideas for future scenarios. This was my first time editing on Gangoffive with my tablet and it was tricky. If you guys see any mistakes let me know.
 :OhYou



Title: Re: Our Past and Our Future
Post by: Sovereign on February 12, 2019, 03:17:52 PM
This was a rather nice way to deepen the fledgling friendship between the two sharpteeth and one that seemed to be written quite naturally. Chomper’s willingness to meet Arya again was emphasized very well and his effort to reach out to his new friend really fit his character. The brief discussion between Ruby and Chomper seemed like a believable way for the sharptooth to hide his true intentions from the fastrunner.

I quite liked the reunion of Arya and Chomper and the former’s willingness to learn leafeater seems to signal that we’ll see her get to know the rest of the Gang soon enough. Thus far, her character development has been quite effective even if it remains to be seen just how things will go for her as well as for her new friends. Red Claw’s appearance, on the other hand, wasn’t my favorite part as he’s rather extensively used in the fics but it remains to be seen what’s his role this time.

As for the future, I’d say we’re not that far into this fic and I’d dare say the author often has the best ideas about his or her story’s direction. I’ll take a look at the coming chapters certainly as this installment was a bit more solidly written than the previous ones. Keep these chapters coming!
Title: Re: Our Past and Our Future
Post by: rhombus on February 13, 2019, 10:22:26 AM
"Why do you smell like a swamp"

Uh oh, Chomper, I think someone is on to you.  :p  This was another interesting entry that added to the interactions between Chomper and Arya.  Obviously both Chomper's conscious mind and subconscious are fixated on the female and the potential of a friendship with another being that shares his dietary preferences.  The method that Chomper uses to sneak out of the valley fit his character well (as does his mistake in assuming that no one would check on him) as does his desire and willingness to teach her leaf-eater.  Though, with Cera's pointed question, I sense the truth is going to come out soon.  I suspect Arya will be making further appearances involving the gang soon enough.

A good chapter as always. :) I look forward to seeing what happens next.
Title: Re: Our Past and Our Future
Post by: LBTlover247 on July 02, 2019, 02:32:18 AM
Hey guys! Sorry this update took so long. We've recently moved and I have been struggling lately financially and mentally so I didn't have a lot of time or the motivation to write. This may affect future updates so please be patient.

Here's a fun fact: While developing Arya's character, she went through many backstories and story arcs, as well as names. One that I played with for a long time was having Arya being Redclaw's daughter (as one reviewer already seemed to guess towards). I was going to have a sort of Romeo & Juliet type story, but it seemed a little cliché. I still don't know if I'll have Arya actually end up being his daughter or not. What do you guys think?

Anyway, here is the next chapter. Enjoy and please review!

The Hunter Becomes The Hunted
Summary: The Gang become suspicious of Chomper's recent behaviour and decide to follow him. He leads them into the Mysterious Beyond where a surprise is waiting for them.


Littlefoot knew something was up when Chomper didn't meet back up with them after lunch.
 
It was another beautifully warm day in the Great Valley and the group of young dinosaurs had spent the morning playing in a watering hole. When the Bright Circle was at its highest, they decided to break for lunch and agreed to meet up afterward to resume their game of Swimmer Splasher. Sometime later, the Leafeaters were waiting by the watering hole for Ruby and Chomper, who had left together in the direction of the Fast Water. Ruby arrived shortly after the others did, but there was no sign of the young Sharptooth. When asked about his whereabouts, Ruby told them that Chomper wouldn't be joining them as he had claimed that he wanted to spend the rest of the day by himself. This greatly confused them as the young Sharptooth usually never turned down a chance to be with his friends.

Littlefoot looked at the Fast Runner bewilderedly. “Did he really say that he wants to be by himself?” He asked, frowning and tilting his head.

Ruby nodded, confusion etched on her face as well. “Yes. He did say that, but I don't know why he said that.”

Littlefoot didn't know either. While they were splashing around in the water, Chomper looked like he was having fun, if a bit distracted. He kept glancing up at the Bright Circle as if he was waiting for a certain time and he wasn't as into the game as he usually was. When they had asked him, he said that he was okay but they could see that something was defiantly bothering him.

“Maybe he just want alone time?” Petrie spoke up from a nearby branch, shrugging.

Ducky, who was sitting atop a large rock, tilted her head in thought and stroked her chin. “He's been having that a lot lately. He has, he has.”

“Well, I think he's up to something! And I want to find out what.”

“I don't know, Cera.” Littlefoot started, stepping forward in hopes of deterring the Threehorn from doing something reckless. As if he had a chance. “If we follow him, it would be a betrayal of Chomper's trust.”

Cera snorted. “But if he's lying then it'll be a betrayal of our trust! I mean, what if he's in some sort of trouble or one of the Grown Ups find him sneaking around and think he's up to no good?”

It was common knowledge among those that knew him that Chomper wasn't the best liar. Whenever he tried, he would stumble over his words or not be able to make it believable enough to fool anyone. When he claimed to be ill a couple of days ago, Ruby had given him the benefit of the doubt because she didn't want his pain to worsen if he was in fact telling the truth. And then when they couldn't find him later on, there was some doubt in the truthfulness of his words in the back of their minds. The answer they had gotten when they finally found him was sort of flimsy, but they collectively decided not to read much into it. That is, until Cera pointed out that he smelt like a swamp and Chomper started to squirm, trying to come up with a good explanation.

“I say we follow him and find out what he's up to.” Cera concluded, walking in the direction that Ruby had come from and stopping a short distance away with a confident grin on her face.

They shared a glance, no doubt the same thing running through their minds. Leave it to Cera to voice what others were too scared to say. And although she was known for her bluntness and headstrong tendencies, she did have a point. They were all worried about Chomper being in any potential trouble or doing something that he shouldn't. They were reminded of the time when he had his last growth spurt and before he had learned how to fish. He had begun to waste away before their very eyes and they were scared that they might actually lose one of their close friends. They didn't want anything like that to happen to him ever again.

Finally, Littlefoot sighed. “Well, I guess we could make sure he's okay.” He said slowly as if trying to convince himself it was a good idea.

“But how we find him?” Petri asked as he fluttered down from his branch to perch on Spikes back.

“I know!” Ducky cried, jumping up from her rock. “Spike could sniff him out! Just like he did at the Time of Great Giving that one time. Yep, yep, yep!”

Littlefoot turned to look at the young Spiketail. “Well Spike?” After a second to ponder he idea, Spike nodded which caused Littlefoot to beam. “Great! Ruby, can you take us to where you last saw Chomper?”

The Fast Runner nodded and gestured for them to follow her. In no time, they found themselves on the banks of one of the many rivers that ran throughout the Valley. There was disturbed dirt in an area off to the side near some bushes and a small red stain which showed that something was eaten there recently. It was the usual scene that Chomper left behind after he had finished eating, which didn't bother them as much anymore. And luckily, the rest of the Valley was slowly becoming used to it as well, except for the few dirty looks directed at the young Sharptooth from time to time.

Ruby walked over pointed to the patch of disturbed dirt. “He buried his leftovers right here.” She began. “His smell should be here so Spike will be able to sniff for him.”

Spike grunted and nodded, before stepping next the Fast Runner and taking a sniff. Immediately, he was hit with the sour metallic smell of blood which made him grimace in disgust. He quickly ignored that and focused on the more familiar scent of his friend. Although his dietary needs made Chomper regularly smell of blood, it was very subtle and it had just became part of his unique scent. It took a little more sniffing, and trying not to gag, but he eventually found the scent he was looking for. He perked up and began to follow it away from the river, aware of his friends following behind him.

The scent trail led them across the Valley, though bushes and places that were out of sight from other dinosaurs. The further they went, the more suspicious and confused they became as it seemed that Chomper seemed to purposely avoid being seen. He had stayed clear of the areas with major foot traffic and had sometimes even gone into the bushes suddenly as if hiding from an approaching dinosaur. The group eventually came to the conclusion that the young Sharptooth was definitely up to something if the way that he acted was any indication. They just hoped it wasn't anything that could get him into trouble.

They soon found themselves staring at the stone wall that surrounded and protected the Great Valley. It wasn't far from where they were playing in the watering hole, but the constant backtracking and bush whacking had made the trip longer and more tiresome. Spike led them along the stone wall and up ahead they spotted a large tunnel. As they got closer, they recognized it as the same tunnel that they frequently used to travel into the Mysterious Beyond during their adventures.

They stopped at the tunnels entrance and Littlefoot turned to Spike who stood beside him. “Did Chomper go in there, Spike?” He asked. The Spiketail sniffed the air and nodded, grunting an affirmative.

Cera snorted. “Why would he go in there?”

“Only one way to find out.” Littlefoot replied, shrugging. He the gestured for Spike to take the lead and followed behind him, the rest walking into the familiar darkness after them.

After a while, they pushed aside the strong smelling vines and were greeted with the sight if the Mysterious Beyond. Thankfully, the tunnel let out in an area that was hidden by trees and bushes so they didn't have to worry about being spotted while they exited. There was a small pathway, worn down by the amount of times they used it, that led to a huge field broken up by large trees and bushes that dotted the area. As they passed by the bushes and stepped into the open, they began to become apprehensive of what they could possibly find. All they knew was that their Sharptooth friend was up to something and he had come out into the Mysterious Beyond by himself. And although it wasn't the first time, they couldn't help but worry.

Once free from the bushes, they looked around to make sure that the coast was clear. Even though a Sharptooth could be lurking somewhere out of sight, it was better to be safe than sorry. A habit they had picked up after many excursions into the Mysterious Beyond, only this time they were missing the one who would smell if anything was nearby.

“Hey!” Petrie chirped. He swiftly landed on the back of Cera, who he was closest to, and pointed in the direction he had been looking. “Me think me see him! He way over there!”

The others quickly looked to where he was pointing and in the distance they saw a purple form leaving the field. He appeared to be walking towards an area that they knew contained a thick forest, one that was easy to get lost in if you weren't careful. Fortunately, they were far enough away that Petrie's cry went unnoticed by the Sharptooth and they watched him disappear behind a boulder.

“We better catch up so we don't lose him in the trees.” Littlefoot said before starting to lightly jog after Chomper and the others fell in step after him.

They soon rounded the boulder just in time to see his tail melt into the green of the forest. From there, they quietly followed him at a distance, managing to stay downwind as to avoid being detected by scent. Once, they had to quickly duck behind a bush because Spike had accidentally rustled some leaves which drew Chomper's attention. After a few seconds, the Sharptooth carried on and the others crept out of hiding. The further on they went, the more familiar the area seemed to become. However, they couldn't figure out the reason why they felt this way.

Eventually, Chomper stood before a large cliff face which served as the opening to a canyon. The others watched from the trees as the young Sharptooth fearlessly walked into its depths. Littlefoot frowned as he looked upon the huge hole in the rock wall. The feeling of recognition was back and now it was even stronger. He looked to his friends and saw that they wore the same expressions, seemingly feeling the same as well.

Cera was the first to break the silence. “Does this place seem familiar to anyone else?” She asked, speaking lowly. The rest nodded their heads, quietly voicing their agreement.

“Me thought it just Petrie.” Petrie replied shrugging. He had settled on a small branch when they had stopped to watch Chomper.

“This place is very familiar, though I don't remember being here enough for it to be familiar.” Ruby said. She then gestured in the direction that Chomper disappeared. “But if Chomper knows this place then we should too!”

Littlefoot turned back to the canyon in thought. Chomper had come straight here from the Valley so he must know exactly where he was going. And if he had been here before then the others must have been here before too. However, they had been in so many canyons during their adventures that it was hard to remember each one individually. It also doesn't explain why Chomper would leave the safety of the Great Valley to come to a canyon in the Mysterious Beyond without telling his friends. Chomper was also acting really weird and had been so for a while. Ever since. . .

Littlefoot's eyes widened in realization and he whipped around to his friends. “I think I remember this place! Remember a week or so ago when we go lost in that canyon?”

“That really narrows it down.” Cera huffed, rolling her eyes.

Littlefoot ignored her and continued. “I think I know why Chomper came here. Come on!” With that he bolted from the bushes and towards the canyon, his friends hurrying to catch up.

Once they entered the giant stone archway, they had Spike pick up the trail again as the ground proved to be too hard for foot prints to be distinguishable. They also had to be careful since the sound would bounce off of the walls and alert their quarry. Even their footsteps, which they tried to silence as much as possible, and Spikes occasional sniffs echoed around them which made them inwardly wince. The canyon itself was a maze of passages, all differing in size, that split off of the one that they currently travelled. Their path twisted and turned like a Legless Ground Crawler and if it wasn't for Spike’s tracking then they would have no hope of finding Chomper.

As they rounded another corner, their ears picked up a familiar voice which the group quickly recognized as Chomper's. They could faintly hear bits of what he was saying, but it sounded like he was talking to someone. And it was in Leafeater. They glanced at each other in confusion and started to creep closer to where the sound was coming from. Soon, they were able to hear more of the conversation between Chomper and the mystery dinosaur. Chomper was speaking slower than he usually did and it sounded like he was putting more emphasis on his pronunciations, then he paused.

Littlefoot frowned when a female voice with a heavy accent began repeating what Chomper had said, albeit more slower and broken. The voice was low yet feminine, somewhere between how Cera and Ruby sounded, but had a growling undertone to it. Like someone who didn't move their lips enough when they talked. He heard Chomper praise the owner of the voice and then move on to say something else in the same way he had done before. Littlefoot looked back at his friends and locked eyes with Cera, who raised a brow, and he gave a small shrug in response.

They silently made it to the next corner and slowly peeked around it. The canyon opened up into a larger space with a tiny stream cutting throughout it off to the side and continuing down another path. Near the banks of the steam stood a large boulder with a fallen log, covered in moss and still retaining its roots, leaning against it. A voice brought their attention to the base of the boulder and the sight made them suck in a breath.

Chomper was sitting comfortably across from a light grey form which they recognized as another Sharptooth. Thankfully, the Grey Sharptooth had its back to them and both Sharpteeth were too distracted by each other to notice the gang. Chomper opened his mouth and instead of saying something in Sharptooth like they were expecting, he spoke very slowly in Leafeater. He emphasized his pronunciations as he did before, but they saw him exaggerate his mouth movements while saying each word. It was a relatively simple phrase, something that most younglings were able to say while learning to talk.

‘Do you want to be friends?’
 
From their vantage point, Littlefoot watched as Chomper looked at the other Sharptooth expectantly. What was Chomper expecting exactly? Littlefoot knew that, excluding Chomper and very few others, Sharpteeth couldn't speak Leafeater. It was a well known fact that-

“. . . Do y-you. . . want to be. . . f-friends?”

Littlefoot blanched and he heard his friends gasp and, those who could, quickly cover their mouths. Chomper was teaching a Sharptooth how to speak Leafeater?! Is that why he's been sneaking off? Why was he doing that?

Cera hissed. “I knew he was up to something!”

“Shh, Cera!” Littlefoot hushed, nudging her shoulder.

The shock had worn off enough that he began to remember the second voice that they had been hearing. The feminine, heavily accented voice had come from this Sharptooth! And the more that he watched them, the more Littlefoot found that the female was incredibly familiar, just like the canyon had been. Then it finally hit him like a strike of Sky Fire. Back at the entrance, Littlefoot remembered their adventure when they became lost in this very canyon and had help from a friendly Sharptooth who showed them the way out. He didn't know for sure before, but now he knew that she was the same Sharptooth.

“Guys, remember that Sharptooth who helped us get back?” Littlefoot whispered. “I think that’s her.”

“But,” Ducky started. “That doesn't explain why he lied. No, no, no.”

Cera snorted. “Well, he's got a lot of explaining to do!” And before anyone could stop her, Cera stepped out from behind the rocks and started marching right towards the two Sharpteeth.

The sudden appearance of the Threehorn startled the Sharpteeth, not that Littlefoot could blame them as he had been on the receiving end of her anger on multiple occasions. Chomper jumped up with an audible gasp while the female tensed and moved into a defensive stance. Her legs were some distance apart for stability with her tail held straight out for balance and her head was lowered, bearing a vicious looking snarl. Littlefoot winced and then sighed in defeat before leading the others out from their hiding place.

Cera?!” Chomper yelped, moving to stand between them and the female Sharptooth. He then glanced behind the Threehorn to see the rest of his friends. “W-What are you guys doing here?”

“We could ask you the same thing.” Cera replied with a huff. She then moved closer, which made the female tense, and narrowed her eyes. “What are you doing in the Mysterious Beyond? And why are you teaching her Leafeater?” She continued sneering at the Grey Sharptooth who hissed back at her.

Chomper blocked the other Sharptooth from view of the Threehorn, hoping to pacify them both before things got any worse. “She's my friend.” He declared confidently. “And she wanted to learn.”

“But why lie to us?” Littlefoot stepped  in, nudging Cera back a little. “Why come all the way out here alone? You know how dangerous it is.” He heard the others chime in with their agreements.

“We're your friends Chomper.” Ruby said, moving closer to place a hand on his shoulder. “And friends worry about friends even when there's nothing to worry about.”

Chomper sighed. “I'm sorry. I-I just really wanted to see Arya again and I figured you guys wouldn't want to.” He turned his gaze and saw Arya looking at him with a confused head tilt, having zero idea what was going on since she understood only a few words. Chomper smiled slightly and turned back to his friends. “But I think you guys should officially meet.”

He then turned to the female Sharptooth and growled something to her, gesturing to the gang. Whatever he said seemed to calm her down as she dropped her defensive stance, but still eyed them nervously. Her and Chomper exchanged a few words, glancing in their direction occasionally, before Chomper gently nudged her forward with a smile. They were confused as the previously vicious looking Sharptooth fidgeted anxiously, like a young dinosaur going up to speak in front of a large herd. With Chomper encouraging her, the Grey Sharptooth took a breath.

“H-Hello. . . my name is Arya.” She started making their eyes widen. Although her accent was thick, her words were decipherable enough to understand. She then looked at Chomper who eagerly nodded and she continued. “Do you. . . w-want to be. . . friends?”

At first, they didn't know what to say as they were too overcome by shock. In the background, Chomper was giddy, bouncing on the balls of his feet and smiling so hard that his cheeks must have been starting to hurt. Arya watched them with anticipation, nervously playing with her claws. They glanced at each other, Cera raised a brow in doubt of Arya's honesty but thankfully didn't voice her opinion.

Finally, Littlefoot spoke. “Uh. . . Okay.”

Chomper cheered and pumped a fist in victory which caused them to smile, including Arya. He rushed forward and had each of them introduce themselves in the way he had demonstrated before. One by one they said their name slowly and with exaggerated mouth movements and had Arya repeat what they had said. Arya caught on quick and was able to point to each of them and remember their names, although some came out sounding weird because of her accent. Chomper never stopped smiling, showing how happy he was that his best friends had accepted his new friend. Now he wouldn't have to be sneaking out of the Valley anymore to visit Arya.

“So Arya,” Ruby started after the introductions were finished. “What made you decide to learn how to speak Leafeater? It must not be easy. Easy it must not be.”

Arya frowned in confusion before looking to Chomper for a translation. After talking for a second, she turned back to the Fast Runner. “I-I want. . . to be friends.” She replied shakily followed by a grin.

,“I think she was lonely.” Chomper elaborated, casting a small smile at the female Sharptooth. “She's been alone ever since her mom died during the last Cold Time. We were probably the first to talk to her since then.” Upon hearing this, they gave Arya a sympathetic look as they knew what it was like to lose a family member.

They then passed the time making small talk with their new friend and helped Chomper teach her more Leafeater words. Arya would sometimes point to something and ask what it was, a short phrase Chomper had taught her, then they would tell her what it was in Leafeater. Other times she would rely on a game of charades or expressions to get across what she was trying to convey. Littlefoot and the others were amazed by her progress in such a short amount of time. There were slip ups occasionally, but she didn't let that deter her. The more that they talked, the more that Arya seemed to open up and let her playful personality start to shine through.

Meanwhile, Chomper was the happiest that they had seen him in a long time. He was grinning from ear to ear and happily teaching Arya new words or chatting with her in Sharptooth, then quickly translating for the others. They were impressed by his determination to teach something so complicated and the efficiency of his lessons. Even after his failure during the Time of Great Giving some Cold Times ago, he had confidence that his friendship with another Sharptooth would work out this time.

It was during these lessons that they noticed something else. Sometimes, when him and Arya were conversing in Sharptooth, Chomper would suddenly become very bashful and his face would heat up which would make Arya and the others snicker. They noticed that he would watch Arya with a warm smile, watching her intently. Cera and Littlefoot shared a knowing look with Ruby, catching on to another possible reason why Chomper wanted to teach her Leafeater. It was adorably amusing to watch.

Sometime later, they decided to end the lessons as the Bright Circle was beginning its decent from the sky. They said their good-byes to Arya, promising to return soon, and started the trek back home. Chomper was still in good spirits that his friends had accepted Arya as another one of their social group and was chattering on about what he and Arya had done the last few times he ad met up with her. At least they knew why he had come back stinking like a swamp few days ago.

As Chomper grew more excited about what they were going to do now with the whole gang together, Cera smirked. “Chomper's got a girlfriend! Chomper's got a girlfriend!” She chanted teasingly.

Chomper interrupted his plans for future adventures and swiftly directed a glare at the Threehorn. “She's not my girlfriend.” He growled.

“Stop teasing him, Cera.” Littlefoot stepped in, smiling a slightly in spite of his friend's annoyance. “He's just excited to have another friend.”

Cera laughed. “ Yeah, a friend who's a Sharptooth and a girl! And a friend who he was looking at like Spike looks at Tree Sweets!” At this everyone chuckled. They then laughed harder when Chomper got red in the face and shouted, his voice cracking in either anger or embarrassment.

Cera!

Hope you guys enjoyed it! Stay tuned for the next installment.  :OhYou
 
Title: Re: Our Past and Our Future
Post by: Sovereign on July 03, 2019, 02:53:42 PM
This chapter was a rather straightforward continuation to the last one as it was very unlikely that Chomper and Arya’s friendship would be a secret to the latter’s friends for long. Their conversation about whether or not to look for him was very in-character for all members of the Gang and its a given they’d sooner or later want to find out what’s wrong with their friend.

As for the latter parts of this installment, the reunion between the Gang and Arya went quite well and at this point, the situation looks good for everyone. Arya is most likely going to approach the Gang as a whole and considering how this story has advanced thus far, it’s likely she’ll end up as their friend. However, what follows is a complete mystery as this story hasn’t really revealed most of its cards. Will it be simply about Arya’s development or is there some drama on the way?

Overall, the writing itself is getting considerably better and deeper which is always good. The plot, however, has been quite simple thus far and I’d perhaps yearn for something more to happen besides Arya and Chomper’s relationship. Even then, you’ll decide what happens and we’ll see that in the next installment. :)littlefoot

Title: Re: Our Past and Our Future
Post by: rhombus on July 05, 2019, 02:03:16 AM
I am terribly sorry to hear that you have been having financial and other troubles lately.  :( I hope that your situation improves.  In any event real life concerns take priority to writing, so take all of the time that you need to deal with your situation.

Oh, Chomper, you are a terrible liar and now it seems that your friends have decided to do what they do best – have a little adventure that gets them into trouble.  :OhYou Though they want to not betray Chomper’s trust, their concerns about his wellbeing are quite in-character and provide an understandable justification for their suspicion and eventual decision.

I love how you capture the banter and concern of the group as they go on their search for wherever Chomper has ran off to.  Their observations seem quite spot on as does their banter.  For example:

-.-
Littlefoot's eyes widened in realization and he whipped around to his friends. “I think I remember this place! Remember a week or so ago when we go lost in that canyon?”

“That really narrows it down.” Cera huffed, rolling her eyes.
-.-

Really captures the dynamic between Cera and Littlefoot quite well.  Additionally it not-so-subtly hints at the fact that the gang has gotten lost or into trouble too many times to count.

The eventual discovery of Arya and their formal introduction to her was done quite well and in a believable fashion.  Cera would be the one to take the initiative and make herself known, and the act of a sharptooth trying to speak to them in leaf-eater would certainly break any tension like a rock being thrown into a stream.  Things look promising now for the possibility of Arya being a new friend of the gang’s though this does open up the question: what awaits them all next?  In any case I do look forward to reading the answer to that question in the next installment.  :)
Title: Re: Our Past and Our Future
Post by: LBTlover247 on October 03, 2019, 12:37:09 AM
Hey guys! This was originally going to be an entry for the  August 2019 fanfiction prompt challenge over on Gangoffive, but I missed the deadline. This is also the longest chapter for this fic at 5,740 words so that might explain why its so late. Also, it kind of got away from me when writing this as I drew upon some personal experiences.

Warning: The following story contains death, minor gore descriptions, illness, and instances of emotional distress. If any of this offends/triggers you please don't read.

See bottom for Behind-the-scenes info.

The Coldest Day
‘Write a story about a character rising to the occasion after experiencing a loss or hardship in life.’ While out on a hunt, Arya is reminded of when she had to quickly grow up after experiencing the worst hardship anyone could endure.


Maybe learning how to speak Leafeater was a bad idea.

Arya winced from her hiding place in the bushes. In front of her was a whole herd of Swimmers, the large numbers strongly indicated that it was a migrating herd. She watched as an adult female lay prone on the ground, her breathing laboured no doubt in excruciating pain and surrounded by her herd mates. There were also a group of younger Swimmers at the feet of the adults and they were nuzzling and cuddling with the downed female. From her vantage point, Arya could see tears trailing down the faces of those gathered and even though she had no idea what they were saying to each other, she knew what was happening.

They were grieving.

Today was one of those days where the Scalies didn't seem to want to get close enough for her to be able to catch them. It was also one of those days where she was getting bored of eating the same thing everyday so she decided to try her luck at hunting. Or scavenging, which was what she usually did on days like these as she was still too small to go after the bigger prey items. So upon exiting the canyon, the young Sharptooth turned her nose to the wind and sniffed for any signs of food. After a few tries, Arya managed to pick up a scent originating from nearby that had held some promise. It was from a Swimmer, but it was tainted and bitter smelling which she quickly recognized as some type of infection and Arya wrinkled her nose in disgust. Although it smelled bitter, most infections didn't affect the taste of the meat except at the immediate site of it. And thankfully, Sharpteeth had strong stomachs so they were able to eat meat that was nearly rotting and not get sick from it. However, there was one rule that you always had to follow while scavenging: if it tastes bad, like really bad, spit it out. Sometimes it was just too rotten to safely consume.

Arya followed the trail which led her to a large Swimmer herd and the young Sharptooth scanned the sea of dinosaurs to find the one she was looking for. Spotting a smaller gathering on the outskirts of the herd, she carefully stalked towards them through the bushes to keep out of sight. Soon, she came upon the Swimmer that she had been tracking. It was an adult female with a particularly grisly looking gash on her leg. The wound was long and looked deep and it was oozing a blood tinged yellow liquid. It was no doubt severely infected and the source of the bitter scent which had led Arya here. The female definitely looked to be on her last legs as she lay there panting on the ground surrounded by what looked to be her family. It looked to be only a matter of time until she passed.

Even though she was a hunter, Arya felt uncomfortable watching such a private moment unfold before her. Therefore, she settled down in the bush and avoided looking in their direction to give them their privacy to say goodbye. Being able to understand them wasn't necessary as body language could speak volumes and mourning was universal.

Finally, Arya was shaken from her thoughts when one of the gathered Swimmers made a loud, wailing call. Immediately the others joined in as well as did many from the rest of the herd not too far away. She had heard these types of calls many times during her life in the Mysterious Beyond and knew at once that this was a mourning call. Many herds practiced this and let out the haunting call when one of their own had passed on, it was something all Sharpteeth recognized. Some even used it as a dinner bell to let them know when there was fresh meat around.

After the herd finished their calls they then began to move on, the adults who had gathered around the dying female wrestling away some of the youngsters. They must have been the female's offspring as they desperately clung onto the female's body to keep from being separated. The gut wrenching cries that came from them brought tears to Arya's eyes and she winced again, quickly looking away. She was thankful that her lessons weren't advanced enough yet to hear what they had said, the pure emotion behind them was enough. Arya watched with sympathy as they joined with the rest of their herd and they soon disappeared from the field.

When the last tail rounded the corner, Arya quietly stepped out of her hiding spot. She sniffed and wiped her eyes as she walked towards the dead Swimmer, her appetite had suddenly disappeared. As she got up to the body and poked it with her claw, she realized it was still warm and the eyes haven’t even begun to cloud over yet. If the Swimmer was still breathing it would look like she was just asleep, aside from the giant leaking wound on her leg. Arya suddenly felt sick as her mind replaced the Swimmer’s body with someone else’s, the two deaths were way too similar in her mind.

“Don't take more than you need, but don't waste what you have.”

It was something that her mother had taught her. Life in the Mysterious Beyond was brutal and wasting food could sometimes be a death sentence. So inner turmoil or not, she needed to eat. Arya forced herself to take a bite while avoiding looking at the face. It made it easier to think that this was just some random dead dinosaur and not someone's mother. Or the dinosaur that she kept picturing in the Swimmer’s place.

Growing up, it was always just Arya and her mother. Her father had left before her egg was even laid and Arya didn't understand why anyone could abandon their mate and future child like he did. The first thing that she saw once she was free of her egg were her mother's rust coloured scales that shone brilliantly in the Bright Circle. If it weren't for the honey coloured eyes that Arya had inherited from her then you would've never guessed that they were related. Arya learned later on that her grey scales came from her father's side, much to her dismay. She quickly noticed that whenever her mother talked about the male, there was sadness in her eyes. It was obvious that she still loved him, even though he had abandoned her to raise a hatchling, their hatchling, alone. When Arya had asked why he had done so, her mother had said that he wasn't ready for the responsibility of becoming a father. Arya was of course mad upon hearing of this reasoning, soon adopting an unsympathetic attitude towards the unknown male. If he didn't want her then she didn't need him.

However, since she was being raised by a single parent, Arya often had to accompany her mother on hunts from an early age. Normally, one parent went out hunting while the other stayed behind to watch over the hatchlings, but there was no one else to watch Arya while she was gone. So she followed her mother on hunts, staying behind and watching from a safe distance while the adult Sharptooth made the kill. And through observation, Arya quickly learned essential hunting skills which she then practiced on smaller creatures such as crawlers or ground fuzzies.

But she also learned that not all hunts were a certainty and it took a lot of skill as well as luck for it to be successful. On those days that luck was not on their side, her mother took her down to a large watering hole to try their luck at catching Scaly Swimmers. Unlike with stalking the herds, they had to wait for the Scalies to come within striking distance, which required more patience than a young Sharptooth was able to express. Still it amazed a young Arya when her mother suddenly struck the water and came back up with a large Scalie wiggling in her mouth.

Arya bounced in excitement as the adult Sharptooth waded to shore. “That was so cool, Mom!” She cried, jumping around the adult's feet. “How did you do that?”

Her mother dropped the Scalie, which hung still in her jaws, on the ground and chuckled. “Its something that my mother taught me when I was your age.”

“Can you do it again?”

The adult female laughed at the awestruck look on her daughter’s face. “Maybe after we're done eating.”She said before nudging Arya towards the dead Scalie.

“Why?” Arya questioned, tilting her head in confusion which made her smile.

“Because if I catch more than what we'll be able to eat then we would be wasting food. Tell you what, I'll show you how to catch them later for supper tonight.” She replied gently. Arya vigorously nodded her head which caused her mother to chuckle as she watched her daughter dig into her meal.

Just as she had promised, later that day her mother led her to the water's edge and they waded out until the water reached Arya's waist. Although the water only went just passed her ankles, the adult Sharptooth stood beside her and coached her on the proper technique for fishing. She wasn't successful the first few times but her mother encouraged her that with more practice she would become a pro in no time. So Arya practiced anytime that she could and soon she was finally able to catch a Scaly Swimmer all by herself with her mother watching on proudly. And because she was the one to catch it, it was the best meal she'd ever eaten.

As Arya got older, her mother let her have a more active role during their hunts. She would give a loud roar to scare the Leafeaters into running towards an area where her mother would ambush them and deal the killing blow to one of the unfortunate herd members. However, there were times when that strategy would only succeed in causing the Leafeaters to become defensive and guard their weaker herd mates. When that happened, it forced Arya and her mother to abandon the hunt as it became too dangerous and not worth the risk. Now that Arya was contributing to the hunts, she realized why her mother mostly targeted the old, sick, or otherwise weaker dinosaurs. A healthy Leafeater could seriously injure a Sharptooth and, if one were stupid enough to take on a whole herd, could even kill them. And since her mother needed to be able to provide for her daughter, she couldn't risk an injury.

One Cold Time was especially harsh for both Sharpteeth. Arya had recently entered the Time of Great Growing and was quickly become a prolific hunter to the smaller prey items that she encountered. However, finding prey in the frozen wasteland of the Mysterious Beyond was becoming harder in that they regularly went without food some days. And since she was still growing, most of the food that they did manage to find went to Arya, despite her protests. Though the meager amount of food wasn't enough to fill either of their bellies and they went hungry.

It was during one hunt that Arya noticed her mother becoming slower, almost tired, and her breathing seemed laboured. Her mother had quickly brushed off her concerns and told her to focus on the hunt, but Arya was still worried. She kept an eye on the older Sharptooth while the two stalked the weakened Spikethumb, sneaking concerned glances at her periodically. Luckily the hunt was a success but Arya watched as her mother struggled to regain her breath from the sudden exertion of the killing strike. They wouldn't have to go hungry that night and hopefully her mother's exhaustion was due to the lack of food lately.

It wasn't.

The Spikethumb carcass lasted them a few days but the adult female's energy didn't seem improve. In fact, Arya feared that it was getting worse as even simple tasks, such as a short sprint, left her mother heaving for breath and wincing in pain. All the while she assured Arya that she was fine and that there was nothing to be worried about.

It was during a hunt a few days later that Arya realized that something was indeed wrong. Arya had chased their chosen target into a ravine which was their agreed upon ambush spot. When the old Swimmer rounded the corner, Arya's mother shot out from behind some rocks with a loud roar and her mouth wide open aiming a killing bite to the neck. However, the panicked Swimmer swiftly dodged her lunge and bolted in the opposite direction which urged her to give chase, lest she lose their opportunity for a meal. However, in her hurry to go after the Swimmer, she failed to see the large rock in her path. She stumbled over it and crashed to the ground, allowing the Swimmer to escape.

Arya yelped in fear at seeing her mother fall and rushed to her side. “Mom! Mom are you okay?”

Her mother winced, breathing hard. “I'm fine, Sweetie.”  She gasped which caused Arya to bite her lip.

“M-Maybe we should go home?” Arya said shakily, nudging her mother in comfort. “You don't look so good, Mom.”  Thankfully after a moment, her mother agreed and nodded, unable to speak clearly through her panting.

Arya, being too small to be of any help, watched as the adult Sharptooth struggled to get back to her feet. Once fully standing, her mother paused to steady her breathing as even that small exertion seemed to be too much for her. Then they slowly made their way back to the shallow cave in which they had made their den. On the way, Arya snuck concerned glances at her mother, the raspiness of her breathing worried her. The female Sharptooth gave her a reassuring smile when she caught her daughter watching, though that didn't ease her worries.

Her mother's strength seemed to run out just as they arrived back at their den as the adult Sharptooth collapsed on the ground in an exhausted heap. Arya once again yelped in fear, and seeing that her laboured breathing had returned, gently nuzzled her.

Then she heard a soft rattling noise and her heart, which had begun to race when the adult Sharptooth had first stumbled over the rock, froze. It suddenly felt like Hard Water had broken under her and she was dumped into water that was so cold that it ached. She quickly realized that this was so much more than the normal weakness that came from hunger and the Cold Time. It was the beginning stages of Water Lung.

Water Lung was a kind of sickness that affected a dinosaur’s breathing. They couldn't breath properly and it felt like they had water or some other kind of liquid stuck in their lungs. It started with a dinosaur becoming tired or short of breath after even the smallest exertions. Then they would begin to cough, sometimes hacking up what was in their lungs, and have to deal with chest pain. Eventually, the affected dinosaur would become weaker and weaker until the sickness claimed them. And while there was medicinal plants that would help ease the symptoms, Water Lung was extremely difficult to treat. It was especially hard during the Cold Time when there were no plants available. However even with the plants, recovery depended on how Water Lung affected each dinosaur or how minor the case was.

Arya's mother seemed to be in the beginning stages of the sickness, but the combined complications of not eating and the Cold Time were taking its toll on the Sharptooth. The adult seemed to be in a trance, focusing on catching her breath while trying to manage the pain and Arya didn't know if her mother even realized that she was still there. Arya felt tears prickling at her eyes as she watched her mother struggle to breath and the rattling made her want to cover her ears. Her mother was in no condition to hunt let alone leave their den.
The young Sharptooth sniffed and wiped her eyes before curling up against the adult's side. She clenched her eyes shut with a grimace. While she was hungry, Arya refused to leave the den as she felt that she needed to be there for support. It also comforted her somewhat to know that her mother was still there. 

Arya continued stayed by her mother's side for days, only leaving to drink, hunt or relieve herself. Whenever she went hunting, Arya barely managed to find anything that could satisfy her hunger, let alone a fully grown Sharptooth’s, as many of her usual prey item’s hid during the Cold Times. Her mother still declined food as the pain and fatigue from her illness destroyed her appetite. Every day she seemed to get weaker and her bones became more and more pronounced.

Her coughing and the rattling from her lungs got progressively worse, making her hack up the gunk that was in her lungs and leaving her exhausted and gasping. Arya was nauseated every time she saw her mother enter another coughing fit that usually ended with her spitting out a glob of yellow-green mucus. It was also terrifying to listen to someone go through and Arya was scared that every coughing fit might be her mother's last.

A few weeks after her mother became too sick to leave their den, Arya stared at the looming dark clouds from the safety of the cave. While the young Sharptooth was out hunting, the wind had picked up and she felt the sudden drop in temperature. Arya quickly headed home when she saw the dark clouds rolling in, signs that a storm was coming. She had made it back just as the wind kicked up enough ground sparkles to blind anyone stuck in the brewing storm. A shiver raced up her spine so she retreated back to her mother's side.

The adult Sharptooth was exhausted from coughing and dealing with the pain of her sickness so she slept a majority of the time. Her only reaction when Arya pressed up to her side for warmth, was a twitch of her lips into a tiny smile that disappeared into a pained grimace a second later. The rattling had also risen in volume to where Arya could easily hear it when she entered the cave. Arya often had to cover her ears to block out the horrible noise, silently crying to herself. Tonight, the howling wind was comforting as it was a welcome distraction from the rattles. Arya was content to watch the storm until a faint voice broke through the wind and knocked her from her thoughts.
 
“Ari.”

Arya perked up and turned to look at her mother who had a hazy golden eye trained on her. This was the first time she had hear her mother speak in a while since it took too much effort most days. She sounded very hoarse, barely able to project anything above a whisper, and he rattling was still present but Arya was too happy to care.

She swallowed the lump in her through and crawled closer to the adult Sharptooth’s head. “Yeah Mom?” Her voice was thick with emotion and her eyes were starting to well up.

Seeing her daughter tearing up, she smiled. “It’s alright, Sweetie. Don't cry.”

“H-How is it alright?!” Arya whimpered, sniffing and wiping her eyes. “You're getting worse! I don't know what to do. I . . . I'm,” Arya paused and hugged herself, tears now running freely. “I'm scared.”

“I know, Sweetie.” Her mother replied.

What else she was going to say was cut off by  another coughing fit, causing Arya to jump away to give her some space. However, this time she was so tired that she couldn't muster the strength bring anything up and was left gasping when it was finished. The adult female grimaced in pain from her raw throat before settling back down.

“But whatever happens. . . know that I love you. I want you to . . . keep going. No matter what.” As her mother paused to catch her breath, Arya jumped forward and nuzzled her mother's cheek.

“Love you too, Mom.” Arya she replied, tearfully nuzzling her mother's cheek.

They huddled together that night for warmth as the storm raged outside. The combination of howling winds and her mother's rattling kept her awake until she was so exhausted that she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer. When Arya opened her eyes the next morning she was met with silence. Confused, she looked around to find that the storm had long since passed and ground sparkles had partially buried the entrance to their den. She then turned to her mother to find her still sleeping soundly, her chest rising and falling with her shallow breaths. Arya let out a sigh of relief knowing that her mother had survived another night. With one last nuzzle for her mother, Arya left the den in search of food.

Thankfully, the ground sparkles that piled up at the entrance wasn’t as deep as she thought they were as it barely came to her hips. She was in awe at the immense amount of white that had deposited overnight as a result of last night's storm. It was nearly waist deep in some places which forced her to dig her way through. Eventually, her nose led her to an area known for its hilly terrain.

As she crested a particularly steep hill, Arya felt the ground shift under her and she was suddenly sent tumbling down the other side, kicking up a cloud of ground sparkles. Her decent was only stopped when she collided with a large, hard object. Arya picked herself up and shook herself free of the small white particles, unknowingly bumping the object that had stopped her. Her bump had knocked off some of the ground sparkles that had piled on top of it to reveal what it actually was.

It was a young adult Swimmer that looked not to have been able to find shelter during the storm the previous night. Arya’s stomach growled and she immediately went to work on tearing through the meat. The Swimmer was stiff as Hard Water and Arya struggled to tear off a piece even with her sharp teeth. Although the toughness of the Swimmer slowed her down, she ate ravenously as it had been a few days since her last meal.

After she ate her fill, Arya bit off another chunk to bring back with her to the den. Even though her mother usually refused to eat what she brought back, Arya hoped that today would be different. So with the morsel stored snuggly in her jaws, the young Sharptooth began the trek back up the steep hill, having to utilize her claws to grip and aid in her climbing.

Arya finally made it back to the den just as the Bright Circle left its highest. She was exhausted but as she entered the cave, she was met with silence. Arya frowned and dropped the meat to look around the den in confusion. There was nothing except for the eerie silence and the feeling that something wasn't right. She slowly picked up the meat and walked towards her mother, eyes darting around for anything that was amiss.

Arya dropped the meat in front of the adult Sharptooth. “Hey Mom, I brought you something to eat.” There was no response. Arya was used to this as her mother sometimes slept heavily on days when she felt even the smallest bit of relief. And although she really didn't want to disturb her nap, Arya tried again.

“Mom?” Nothing.

Arya then nudged her mother's face and called to her again, this time louder, but there wasn't any acknowledgement. She felt her breathing constrict as panic started to take hold of her. The young Sharptooth tried again and again to rouse her mother, getting louder and desperate each time. Tears started to drip down her cheeks as her panic grew. Then Arya remembered the silence that had greeted her back when she returned to the den and how it felt so wrong.

There was no rattling.

Cold fear seemed to grip her as Arya rushed to her mother's chest and placed her ear against it. Arya pleaded to herself and to anyone who would listen that she would hear something, anything that would prove that everything was fine, but silence once again greeted her. It felt like all the air suddenly left her body and she began to shake. Shock and despair started to race through her and she crumbled to the ground as heavy sobs escaped her. Her mother was gone and she was right to have feared the silence.

She cuddled into her mother's side long after her tears had dried and her sobs had made her throat raw. Arya wearily watched as the Bright Circle descended behind the distant mountains. She felt as if a numbness had taken over her body and she lacked the will to move just yet so she made the mental decision to wait until morning to leave. That way she could spend more time with her mother before having to say goodbye for the last time. Unfortunately, by the time the Bright Circle had risen again, Arya was still awake and feeling even worse. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't fall asleep with the swirl of emotions racing through her head. What was once a place of warmth and comfort at her mother's side was now cold and barely blocking the wind.

Arya slowly got to her feet and wiped the crust of dry tears from her face, that had sprung up several times during the night. The Bright Circle seemed to taught her with its warm glow which shone through the cave’s entrance, making Arya direct a glare outside. How dare it be a nice day while she had her world crumble around her! She screwed her eyes shut as she took a deep breath, opening them to be greeted with the still, serene face of her mother. If it weren't for the fact that she was cold and stiff, Arya could have still mistaken her for being asleep.

Then her eyes caught the slab of meat she had brought back yesterday. Usually she would've had the leftovers for breakfast the next day, but yesterday’s events had soured her appetite. Also, the meat suddenly reminded her of an old Sharptooth tradition. Whenever a Sharptooth died, a piece of meat was left next to the body to help them in the Great Beyond. Although the actual purpose of the meat was lost over time, it was largely thought that the meat sustained them until they made their journey or acted as and offer to buy them passage. Arya's mother had taught her about the tradition when they unexpectedly came upon a dead Sharptooth with a sizable piece of meat placed next to him.

Arya swallowed the lump in her throat before picking up the meat in her jaws. She was hoping that she wouldn't have had to partake in the tradition for a while, if at all, but if it would help her mother in the Great Beyond then she had to do it. She gently set the slab down in the crook of the adult Sharptooth's neck and backed away, biting her lip. The metallic taste that she used to crave, now turned her stomach.

Gazing upon her mother's face, her lip trembled and she felt her eyes sting as more tears gathered. With a sob, Arya pressed herself to her mother's side in a final hug, burying her face into the spot where the jaw transitioned into her neck. This was Arya's favourite place to cuddle on bad days or days when she needed extra comfort. It was a place of safety where she was comforted by her mother's strong heartbeat and shielded her from the rest of the world. Arya tried to think back on those days, hoping to replace this memory with a happier one, but her mind remained blank. The young Sharptooth breathed in her mother's scent to remember it for as long as she could, knowing that this would be the last time. She winced when she also picked up the death scent that was slowly beginning to overtake that of her mother's.

Arya took a shaky breath and picked herself up, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. Once more looking at her mother's still face, she opened her mouth to recite a prayer she'd heard her mother speak when she taught her about the tradition. She spoke low as her voice was hoarse and shaking from crying.

“M-May your journey bring you p-peace.”

With a final tearful goodbye, Arya stepped out into the white landscape of the Mysterious Beyond. The light and cold wind burned her eyes which were now greatly sensitive due to the amount of tears she had shed. Forcing her eyes to stay open, she picked a random direction and started walking away from the cave as the wind suddenly began to feel colder. Though she didn't care as she wanted to put as much distance between her and the cave as possible.

She knew that she should have probably went back to the Swimmer carcass to get something to eat, but it was too far away and was probably almost gone by now. Also, Arya didn't feel like eating or much of anything for that matter. A strange numbness had taken over her the moment she had stepped out of the cave, but she didn't stop walking.

Arya only stopped when her legs couldn't go any farther and she all but collapsed under the branches of a huge tree, far from where she had started. She decided to spend the night there as the thick branches served as a shelter from the cold wind as the Bright Circle was starting to go down. The young Sharptooth was so exhausted by the day's events that she fell asleep quickly and deeply, and thankfully no sleep stories plagued her that night.

Arya soon entered a cycle of either walking until she couldn't anymore or staying where she had decided to make her temporary den for days on end. The numbness that she felt on the first day lingered and grew until she just laid and stared at nothing for hours. This took a toll on her health as her bones were starting to show through her skin and she lacked the energy to do anything. Her scales soon became dull and her eyes were bloodshot. And even though the first signs that the Cold Time was coming to an end had begun to happen, Arya still shivered as if it was still the height of the Cold Time. Arya's appetite was still near nonexistent so she ate just enough she keep herself alive and would feel sick if she ate more. The numbness scared her but she felt powerless against it.

Then, one day, Arya stumbled across a stream flowing from a canyon during one of her walks. The water had a swift current that prevented it from forming Hard Water in some places, but it didn't look too deep. Arya carefully perched on the bank and took a sip, shivering as the cold liquid ran down her throat.

A sudden flash from the deeper water in the middle of the stream caught her attention. It was a Scalie Swimmer! Her stomach growled which surprised her, usually she had to force herself into even thinking of eating. She hungrily watched the Scalie lazily swim against the current, trying to decide if she should try to get it. Another growl, this time accompanied by a twinge of pain, decided for her as she found herself stepping into the freezing water. Arya stiffened and let out a strained yelp as the cold water seemed to chill her to her bones in the blink of an eye, leaving her shivering.

Arya took a second to prepare herself before wading deeper into the water, the cold nearly taking her breath away. When she was close enough, she entered the fishing stance and tried to control her shaking. The Scalie Swimmer didn't seem all that bothered by its possible doom lurking not to far away and stayed where it was. Deciding to tempt fate, Arya carefully inched her way closer and her movements caused the Scalie to become flighty and move further away from her. She paused for a second before resuming her stalking, more slowly this time, until she was within striking distance. The young Sharptooth desperately tried to control her shivering as she tensed her muscles to get ready for the spring. She couldn't afford to mess this up.

Then she lunged, water exploding and flying everywhere. When Arya raised her head, the wriggling Scalie was speared on her sharp teeth with blood dripping from where her teeth had broken the flesh. She clasped it tightly in her jaws and waded back to shore. Once back on land, she dropped the Scalie and placed a foot on it to hold it in place while she shook herself dry. Teeth still chattering, she took her meal to a nearby log where she was sheltered from the wind as she ate.

While she wasn't able to finish the Scalie Swimmer, she was able to eat more than she had previously without feeling ill. Arya felt proud of herself, something that she hadn't felt for a while. There was a small break in the numbness and she was starting to finally feel closer to how she had felt before. Although she knew that it would be a while before she was actually back to normal if at all fully. Until then, if the canyon wasn't inhabited already, Arya decided that she had found a place where she could heal.

At least for a little while.

Thanks for reading! As promised here are some Behind-the-scenes info.

Water Lung is the LBT universe version of pneumonia. Much of the symptoms are the same but extremely difficult to treat for as the plant that cures it is rare. And much of what Arya goes through is based on personal experiences when I lost loved ones (though not to the extremes that Arya goes through).

On a happy note, I am almost done planning out the next chapter! It’s going to be back to Chomper and the gang getting closer with Arya. Hopefully I will have it done soon.
   


Title: Re: Our Past and Our Future
Post by: rhombus on October 14, 2019, 01:58:39 AM
My apologies for the delay in giving this chapter a proper review. This chapter accomplished quite a lot in a relatively short span as we get to see how a tragedy in a leaf-eater family provides a window into her own past tragedies.  The portrait of Arya's mother that this chapter provides is a sweet one, showing a hard-working mother that did her best to raise her daughter alone. 

Though, unfortunately, one brutal Cold Time pushed her far beyond her limits...

The resulting scene of her parting is one of great emotion that greatly humanizes the predators.  The magnitude of this memory of loss and what it means for Arya does put her lessons in learning leaf-eater into sharp focus.  Yes, for her it does give her an insight into other dinosaurs, but it also means that she must be more aware of what the sating of her hunger means in terms of the suffering of her victims.  I do wonder if that might be a major plot point going forward.

This was a beautiful, if saddening chapter, that has further fleshed out Arya as a character.  I look forward to seeing what happens next. :)
Title: Re: Our Past and Our Future
Post by: Sovereign on October 20, 2019, 03:11:23 PM
Actually, I think this was a really strong chapter. The tone you set was very solid and it made Arya’s flashback really easy and enjoyable to follow. It balanced emotion and detail far better than many other fics and the feels were rather well established. It can easily be seen that you’ve improved quite a lot since the start of this fic which has been encouraging to see.

The story itself was quite well-built and it was nice to see more background created around Arya. The flashback started with a good overview about her family which was effective in simultaneously being told simply and emotionally and this aspect is one I found really nice here. Also, the loss of her mother was mostly beautifully told and it was easy to see how big a blow that was for the young sharptooth. Finally, it was good to see that she managed to find some relief after the many hits the fate had sent her way.

There were two issues I’d like to point out, however. Arya’s mother’s last words were rather cliché and generic and even if that is often unavoidable with sequences like this, that scene would have worked better if they had spoken about something more unique to those two. Also, the chapters continue to have very little to do with each other which is quite weird. In many ways, this installment was completely independent from the rest of the story which makes building a coherent fic a bit challenging.

Then again, this was the best chapter you’ve made thus far. It had the best premise and I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I’m saying that this chapter could have been written by some of GoF’s top authors. You still have work to do on the long-term planning of the plot but I’m confident in saying that you are on the right path. Keep up the good work! :duckyhappy
Title: Re: Our Past and Our Future
Post by: LBTlover247 on July 19, 2020, 02:19:16 AM
Hey everyone! This chapter took so long as the plot went through many changes and I lacked the motivation to write most days. This is also the longest chapter I have written yet!  :ChomperBurned

This is my entry for the June 2020 fanfic prompts over on Gang of Five. The prompt was for ‘Adapting’ and I went with a changing perspective angle as well as a physical one.

A Bridge Over Troubled Water
While venturing to open up the cave that first brought them to Arya's canyon, the gang are separated by a rockslide. Now Cera and Arya must work together to get back to their friends.


“You want us to do what?!”

Chomper winced as Cera’s shout seemed to bounce off the surrounding rock walls. Well, if Arya didn't know they were coming before then she definitely did now.

Over the past few weeks, it had become a regular routine for them to make the trek into the Mysterious Beyond to visit their friend. They always made sure that there was less of a chance that anyone would become suspicious of their whereabouts by taking an indirect route to their secret passageway or sometimes doubling back if they felt someone was following them. Although with their reputation over several Cold Times, many adults had given up on trying to keep them out of trouble; or keep them in the Great Valley period. It had also become easier since they had entered ‘The Time of Great Growing’ as their parents became much more lenient on supervision seeing as how they could take care of themselves better now than when they were younger. Chomper was so glad that his friends had accepted Arya as a part of their group so quickly. Sure, at first they were wary of the female Sharptooth, but the more time that they spent around her and got to know her, the more comfortable they became.

Except, while Arya and the others were acting friendly towards each other, Cera was still on edge. She was more defensive than usual, passive-aggressively giving digs at Arya when the subject of her predatory nature came up or whenever she struggled with Leafeater. It annoyed Chomper when she made these comments and he did his best to defend her but then the Threehorn would turn on him. One of her favorite things to torrent him with was that he supposedly had a crush on Arya. One time, it had gotten so heated that Littlefoot had to get in between them before it got physical.

All the while, poor Arya didn't seem to have a clue as to what was going on as she could only pick up some of what was being said.

And that day while on their way to the canyon, Chomper had brought up the idea to reopen the cave entrance that had originally lead to them meeting the female Sharptooth. He had argued that it would be a safer route than having to venture through the perils of the Mysterious Beyond each time. Then they wouldn't have the risk of running into Sharpteeth as they so often did. Just yesterday, the group had come across a pack of three Fastbiters ripping into a carcass while they were following the trail that ran through the forest. Luckily, the Fastbiters were so focused on their meal that the group quietly snuck away. Chomper hoped that by opening the cave they could avoid a similar situation like that from happening again in the future.

“I mean, why don't we just invite Redclaw and his Fastbiters into the Valley for an all you can eat buffet?!” Cera cried, sarcastically. 

“But Redclaw is too big to fit in the cave. He is, he is.”

Ducky was quickly silenced by a glare from Cera before the Threehorn continued on with her rant. “What about Arya? How do we know that she won't ever use it herself to get into the Valley?”

“She wouldn't do that!” Chomper exclaimed indignantly with a frown. “You know she doesn't hunt unless she absolutely needed to.”

Cera let out a huff from her nose. “So she says. But what if she's been lying to us all this time just to figure out how to get into the Valley? What if she only wanted to learn Leafeater just to trick us later on?”

During the Threehorn's tirade, Littlefoot saw how Chomper's eyes narrowed and his face become tense. He knew that if he didn't put a stop to it now then it was only a matter of time before there was another confrontation between the two. So the Longneck quickly placed himself between the both of them in an effort to try and calm things down.

“Look,” He began. “It might be a dangerous idea, but Chomper’s right. We're risking a lot by walking the same trail every time, but we're also risking others finding out about where Arya lives. Which she already seems to be worried about.” He directed that part to Chomper, asking for confirmation to which he was met with a nod showing it to be true. “Plus, I don't think Arya would do that to us. We're her friends!” The others nodded and murmured in agreement.

Fine! But don't come running to me when this bites us all in the tails. Literally.” Cera growled.

It didn't take them long to reach their usual meeting spot, which was the same spot where they had caught Chomper secretly meeting up with Arya weeks ago. The small alcove was just spacious enough that if they wanted to play a game of some sort, then it wasn't too crowded. Or if someone wanted to be lazy then they wouldn't get in the way of the others’ fun. There was also enough water and food for when they decided to break for a snack or drink.

As they rounded the corner, they saw the female Sharptooth off to the side kicking dirt over her discarded lunch. Arya must have sensed they were approaching as before any of them called out a greeting she looked up and waved at them, smiling. After a final covering of dirt she jogged over towards them, meeting at fallen log which served as their sitting area.

“Hey guys!” 

Matching her enthusiasm, they smiled and greeted Arya, minus Cera who huffed. Even though it was only a few weeks since she had started her lessons, Arya's Leafeater had improved greatly, although she still had a heavy accent. She could now hold somewhat of a conversation with them, but it sometimes took her a second to translate what she was hearing or wanted to say in her head before responding. She also still struggled with more complicated words or phrases which sometimes confused everyone involved or made for a humorous situation.

“What’re we doing today?” Arya asked with a smile.

Littlefoot glanced sideways at Chomper who met his gaze with a nervous look. “Well, do you remember where we met? The first time?” He waited a second for the female Sharptooth to nod then continued. “We were thinking of opening up the cave entrance for a safer passageway.”
 
Arya frowned, a sight they came to know as her trying to figure out the translations in her head. Unfortunately, it looked like she was stuck on some part of the translation as she switched to Sharptooth to speak to Chomper. This happened usually when she couldn't think of the correct phasing or needed a better translation. The two exchanged a few words before Arya’s thinking face returned.

“That place is dangerous.” She said finally. “The rocks are. . . “ She paused again trying to come up with a word. “Clumsy.”

“Clumsy?” Littlefoot was very confused and saw that his friends were as well. He even heard some hushed snickering, Cera's being the loudest.

Chomper, trying to hide the fact that he was smirking himself, quickly spoke to her in Sharptooth. “Clumsy? What were  you trying to say?

Stop laughing.” Arya replied with a playful glare, making Chomper grin. “I meant that part of the canyon is unstable. Easy to cause a rockslide.”   

“Well, what now?” Cera said once they heard Chomper's translation. “If the canyon is unstable then no doubt the caves are too.”

“I do not want to cause another cave in, I do not. No, no, no” Ducky agreed, nodding.

“But what if they aren't?” Chomper argued. “I remember the cave in happening further in. Maybe it gets more stable the further in it goes.”

“There’s only one way to know for sure.” Littlefoot stepped forward, drawing their attention. “I think we should check it out and see how stable it is. Then we can go from there.”

“I agree with Littlefoot.” Ruby said. “Knowing is better than not knowing.” The rest of the group soon followed the Fast Runner's lead and voiced their agreements.

Cera sighed begrudgingly. “As long as we're just checking it out. . .”

Littlefoot smiled and turned to the female Sharptooth. “Can you take us there, Arya?” She paused to work out what was said before nodding and gesturing for them to follow her.

Arya led them deeper into the canyon and they soon remembered how easy it would be to get lost in there with the many twists and turns they took. Soon, they came to a four-way junction with a small lagoon which they quickly recognized from their first trip into the canyon. It still looked the same as the last time they saw it.

“This is where we met.” Arya said before turning to them with a hesitant look. “Uh, where now?”

Petrie, who had settled on Littlefoot's back, spoke up. “What if Chomper and Arya follow our smell back to cave?”

“Uh-uh.” Chomper replied, shaking his head. “They'd be too old and faded to track.”

“Anyone remember which way we came from?” Littlefoot asked his friends.

Ruby placed her hand to her chin in thought and hummed. She looked around, studying the different paths intensely. “Well,” She said finally. “We came from the opposite direction that we had left before. So if we left in the opposite direction that we came, then we might be going the right way.” With that she pointed to the path directly in front of them.

The others blinked in confusion, Arya whispering in Sharptooth to Chomper asking him for a translation. He shrugged and tried his best to make sense of what Ruby had meant to say. He loved Ruby like a sister, but sometimes she made no sense.

Uh, keep going straight. . . I think.

Littlefoot was the first to return to himself. “Er, thanks Ruby. Let's go guys!” They followed the Longneck and entered the path that lay directly in front of them.

Soon, they were greeted with the familiar dark opening of the cave from their first trip into the canyon. But just as they started up the incline to the entrance, the rocks underneath them started to shift causing them to freeze. The shaking grew in intensity and they quickly tried to regain their footing but the rocks finally gave way, sending them tumbling back down the incline. They grunted as they landed on the ground in a tangle of limbs. When the shaking didn't stop, they realized that instead of it being just a rockslide, it was actually an Earthshake. A sudden loud cracking sound caused them to look up to see huge boulders breaking away from the surrounding walls and falling towards them. With a scream, they bolted back down the trail, dodging rocks as they ran.

Then as suddenly as it began, the Earthshake ended abruptly and a large wall of rocks now blocked the way they had came. Littlefoot groaned as he picked himself off the ground, not even remembering falling during the chaos. He coughed at the dust that was settling and gazed around the receding haze to check on his friends. They too were groaning, picking themselves up and coughing. The Longneck could see some bruises and scratches littering their bodies, but they otherwise looked fine. He shook himself, sending the thin film of dirt that had collected on his hide flying, thankfully nothing was hurt.

“Is everyone okay?” The Longneck called as he came over. He was met with a groaning chorus telling him that they were fine. But something was off.

He had only heard four voices! Another look around confirmed that only four of his friends were accounted for- Ducky, Petrie, Spike and Chomper. Cera, Ruby and Arya were nowhere to be found. Littlefield quickly pointed it out to the others and they began calling and looking for the girls.

“We’re over here!” The faint sound of Cera’s voice brought their attention to the rock wall. They collectively let out a breath of relief.

“Are you guys okay?” Littlefoot shouted.

“Yeah,” Cera replied. “A little dinged up, but Ruby hurt her foot. What about you?”

“We're okay!” Littlefoot said. “We need to figure out a way to get you out of there.” He could've sworn he heard Cera say ‘No duh!’ as he looked around for something that would help.

There were too many rocks to move so they couldn't clear the path and he didn't want to cause another rockslide. Then he remembered a log that he saw back at the pond which looked sturdy enough to function as a ramp. It was a trick he and his friends had used on multiple occasions and was proven to work. After discussing his idea with his friends, he went to tell the ones that were on the other side of the rocks.

“Seriously?” Cera said when the Longneck had told them to ‘Wait there, we'll be right back'. “Where are we going to go?” The lack of a response told her that they had already left or that she was being ignored. That was fine, her question was rhetorical anyway.

All things considered, they were lucky they weren't hurt worse during the Earthshake. They had gotten away with a few bruises and scratches, some worse than others. Cera had received a shallow gash on her left shoulder and another running down her tail, it was times like these were she was glad for her tough Threehorn skin. Arya had sustained a gash just above her right brow that oozed blood down her face and a raw area on her shoulder where a rock had hit her. However, Ruby was the worst off with what she thought was a twisted or badly bruised ankle and now sat on a rock nursing her sore foot.

“Well,” Ruby pipped up, her smile quickly switching into a pained grimace. “I don't think we'll be able to clear the cave. Clearing the cave is something I don't think we'll be able to do.”

Cera snorted, a smirk making its way onto her face. Whether Ruby was simply making an observation or trying to look for the humor in their predicament, Cera appreciated the timing. A sneeze brought her attention to Arya who had wondered some distance away to inspect the blockage. The Sharptooth grimaced and tried to wipe her nose, accidentally smearing dirt across her face.

Arya trotted back over to them. “Told you, this place is dangerous.” She said.

I didn't want to come here in the first place! I knew something like this would happen.” Cera grunted with a grimace, annoyed that the Sharptooth felt the need to state the obvious. Arya looked at Cera and tilted her head in concentration, showing that she was trying to translate something in her head. Honestly, Cera couldn't care less at this point.

Finally, Arya opened her mouth to speak. “Where are the others?” Her accent merged the words ‘Where’ and ‘are’ together, making it sound like she drew out the first word, and the TH was pronounced with a D sound. Thankfully it was understandable.

“They went to go find something to help us.” Ruby replied, smiling softly at the Sharptooth. “Something to help us is what they went to go find.”

Cera huffed and started to pace. “It'll take all day for them to get the log Littlefoot was talking about back here. And we have no idea if that plan will even work!” She stopped to glare at the rocks and her feet pawed at the ground, an idea quickly coming to her mind. “I say we smash it down and get out of here!”

With that, the Threehorn started to charge the rock barrier, kicking up the dust that had settled after the rockslide and ignoring the warnings of her friends. Everything seemed to drown out as she focused on her target as she got closer with each step. Then suddenly a grey form darted in front of her, blocking her path and forcing her to skid to a stop. Arya stood there in a wide stance panting and giving Cera a stern look. The Threehorn was reminded of their second meeting when Arya had immediately went into defense mode upon the Threehorn’s surprise entrance.

“Rocks are cl- . . . un-unsteady, yes?” Arya growled. Cera wasn't sure if she had actually growled or if her accent was so thick that the tone she used just sounded like she did. “You'll get hurt.”

Cera frowned. “Hurt? We're already hurt! Ruby can barely walk because of her foot! Besides, it’s better than waiting around all day for something that might not even work.”

Knowing that a fight was probably coming, physical or verbal, Ruby hobbled over to them to the best of her ability. Even though she kept her injured foot off of the ground, every hop sent a jolt of pain shooting up her leg making her wince. Seeing the Fastrunner’s painful struggle, Arya darted over to her side to offer her support. Ruby gave her a thankful grin to which Arya gave a small smile in return.

“Arya’s right, Cera.” She said after catching her breath. “If the rocks are still unstable then they could fall. And falling rocks are dangerous, dangerous they are.”

Cera's lips pulled back into a snarl and her eyes narrowed at the pair. Her teeth clenched as she growled. “Why do you all take her side?!” The Threehorn exploded. “We wouldn't even be in this mess if we weren't visiting her. I still think this is all some big trick and it’s a matter of time before she turns on us.”

During Cera's rant, Arya had a hard time understanding all of what was being said as it was way too much information all at once. However, she did manage to put together that the Threehorn was talking about her and not in a nice way with the way that she sneered at her. In fact, all of the interactions she'd had with the Threehorn were not very friendly. At first, Arya thought that was just another Threehorn thing she would have to get used to, but she treated her friends differently than her. Then, there were the many fights Cera and Chomper got into with her name being brought up more than once. All the Threehorn's anger and annoyance was usually directed at the female Sharptooth at almost every instance. That lead Arya to the conclusion that seemed to take the air from her lungs.

“You don't like me, do you? . . .” Her voice was so small that they barely heard it. Ruby looked at her with sympathy while Cera rolled her eyes, still too worked up to notice the female Sharptooth sagging.

“You sure do understand a lot, don't you?” Cera replied condescendingly.   

Cera!” Ruby scolded with a frown.

Arya lowered her gaze and carefully extracted herself from Ruby's side, walking some distance away. Ruby watched her try to busy herself, an obvious attempted distraction, and made it a point to not even glance in their direction.

She whirled on Cera with a rare snarl. “Are you happy now?! She was just trying to help. Helping is all she was trying to do!”

“Whatever.” Cera huffed. “You should probably sit down. You look like you're going to fall over.”

The Fastrunner sighed as she watched the Threehorn stomp off to the opposite side of the canyon, hopefully to cool off. Then she gingerly settled down on the ground because Cera was right about her falling over. The short walk over from the rock that she had been sitting on and standing around like that had really taken a lot out of her. Gently rubbing her sore ankle, she watched her two friends mill about in obvious emotional distress. She mentally decided to wait a little bit for them to calm down before approaching either of them.

Some time later, Ruby managed to limp her way over to the annoyed Threehorn, sitting down next to her. The two sat in silence for a bit before Cera took a breath.

“Let me guess,” She started turning to the Fastrunner. Most of her anger had left by now but she was still in a bad mood. “You want to know why I don't like Arya, huh?"

Ruby knew she had to tried carefully as what she said could set the Threehorn off again and there wouldn't be any progress made. What they've been doing up until now in the hopes of getting Cera to warm up to Arya hasn't working. She needed a new strategy.

“We've already heard why.” Ruby said gently as to not poke the angry Threehorn, quite literally in this case. “But I want to hear the why we didn't hear.”

Cera went quiet and turned away from her with a frown. The silence between them stretched on and Ruby distracted herself by massaging her hurt ankle which was beginning to swell. She couldn't wait to get it into some cold water to help bring it down.

Finally, Cera began to speak. “Remember that one ‘Time of Great Giving’ where Chomper tried to make friends with Sharpteeth? And he got upset when it didn't go as planned?” She refused to meet Ruby's eyes and spoke quietly as if she didn't want anyone else to hear what she was about to say. “I'd hate if Chomper got hurt again.”

Ruby was taken aback by Cera's admission. She knew that Cera was very protective of her friends, but to hear her actually say that her friends feelings are important to her is surprising to say the least. Threehorn’s were known to be tough and proud, both physically and emotionally, and showing emotions or discussing them was often viewed as being ‘weak among other Threehorns. Thankfully, Cera was more sympathetic than others of her kind, but it was rare for her to talk about her deeper emotions.

Ruby smiled. “I'd hate it too. But your way of keeping him from being hurt is also hurting him too.” At Cera's confused look Ruby tried to explain. “You not liking Arya is making him feel like he has to choose between us and her. And I don't think he wants that. That is something I don't think he wants.”

“I guess so.”

Ruby continued with an encouraging smile. “If you gave her a chance, I think you might like her.”

Cera sighed in surrender after a moment. “You want me to apologize to her, don't you?” She said giving the Fast Runner an accusatory look which was met with a grin and a nod.

With another sigh, Cera stood and paused to help Ruby stand up before slowly heading towards the other side of the canyon. A sudden grating sound followed by a huge boom caught their attention and they quickly looked in the direction of the noise. It turned out that a rock from the wall had come loose and fell to the ground, landing at the base of the wall. They also had a glimpse of Arya who had climbed up a short distance on the wall, darting out of they way of the falling boulder. They could tell that it had started the Sharptooth as they could see her widened eyes from where they stood.

Hey!” Cera called out which drew Arya's attention. “What happened to ‘rocks are unsteady, you could get hurt’!?” She watched in exasperation as Arya merely cocked her head before glancing at the discarded stone and then up at the wall. As the female Sharptooth started to hop from stone to stone, Cera shook her head. “What is that Sharptooth doing?” She muttered to herself.

Once they made it to the foot of the blockade, Arya jumped to the ground in front of them, a smile on her lips. “I have an idea!” She cried excitedly.

“Really?” Ruby said before Cera could open her mouth. “Tell us so that we can hear it!”

Arya pointed to the rock that had fallen earlier and said. “We move some rocks so we can climb out.” She then pointed to the wall and they saw that there were new crevices and ledges, most likely created when the rock fell.

Cera frowned. “That was my idea earlier, ya know, before you stopped me.”

Arya smiled sheepishly under the Threehorn's glare. “Not just by smashing it. We need to think about how and where so it works. And it'd be safer.”

“So we have to use strategy for this to work.” Ruby summarized with a nod.

“. . .Yes?”

Cera rolled her eyes at Arya’s clueless expression and snorted. Ruby's weight on her side made her remember her hurt ankle. There was no way she was going to be able to help move the rocks let alone climb them. “What about Ruby? She can't do anything with her ankle.”

“Yes, I will need help. Help is what I will need.” Ruby agreed, nodding.

“Well,” Arya started, placing a claw to her chin in thought. “We could. . . help her climb? She could help us know which rocks to move too.”

The Threehorn turned her gaze to the wall then to the displaced stone, mentally laying out the plan in her head. A few seconds later, she refocused on the others and shrugged. “I guess it's better than nothing. Let's do it.”

Before she could move, Cera felt Ruby nudge her shoulder and then gesture towards Arya when she turned to look at the Fastrunner. She raised her brow expectantly making it clear that it wasn't the end of the conversation. Right, the apology. Cera thought with a roll of her eyes and shake of her head, the four-footers way of facepalming. Arya looked confused as her eyes darted between them both, having most likely picked up on the silent conversation between the two.  Cera closed her eyes momentarily and sighed before looking at the female Sharptooth.

“Look Arya,” She started, nervously dragging a law through the dirt. Dealing with emotions made her fidgety so she usually dealt with it by either ramming something, like a tree or rock, or pawing at the dirt as she was doing now. “I wanted to say . . . I'm sorry. For what I said earlier and how I've been treating you. It wasn't okay and I hope you can forgive me.”

While Cera talked, Arya listened with a blank face, the only indication of what she was feeling was the slight frown forming on her face. There was an awkward silence once Cera had finished speaking and no one felt brave enough to break it. Both Cera and Arya looked anywhere but at each other, mostly staring intently at the ground. Then after what felt like forever, someone finally broke the silence.

“Hello.”

It was low and unsure, but Cera snapped her attention to Arya immediately with a perplexed squint. “Huh?”

“My name is Arya. Do you want to be friends?”

“What? Why are you- What does that even mean?” Cera sputtered, aware of Ruby trying to hide her snickering with her hand. She must have looked hilarious because she saw Arya trying and failing to hide a grin.

“We uh . . . s-start over?” Arya replied, her golden eyes widening a little to show her nervousness. “Like we never met before.”

Cera glanced sideways at Ruby who was beaming and nodding enthusiastically at her. Here was someone who she was horrible to just a few minutes ago, giving her a second chance for to be like it had never even happened. And despite Cera denting her pride by realizing that she was in the wrong, Arya had given her way to avoid wounding her pride any further. Although it was a relief, the consideration she had shown the Threehorn was like a stab to the gut. She really was wrong about Arya. The Sharptooth hadn't and probably won't ever do anything to hurt her or her friends and didn't deserve to be treated like she would.

“Yeah, okay.” Cera said finally with a smirk, which was met with Arya's grin. “Now why don't we try getting out of here?” The others nodded and Cera escorted Ruby a safe distance away before returning to the foot of the blockade.

After a while, her and Arya decided that the best way to start would be to test the wall for weak points before they started moving any of the rocks. It was agreed that Cera was to give it a hard hit and then quickly move out of the way to see if any rocks dislodged. The Threehorn couldn't help but give the Sharptooth the stink eye remembering that was her idea earlier before Arya had stopped her. Arya merely shrugged in response before going over to wait with Ruby. Cera snorted as she backed up, preparing for her charge, and pawing the ground before thundering at full speed towards the wall.

As soon as her horns made contact, she whirled around and retreated to where the others were watching. Cera had heard the grinding sound of moving stones behind her while she ran and was proud to see a few rocks had dislodged from their places and came to rest lower on the wall. Now the wall had a much shallower angle which would make it easier to climb. Unfortunately, near the top the slope still seemed to be too high for them to reach.

“I'll test it.” Arya said once the dust had settled.

The female Sharptooth ran and with surprising agility jumped from rock to rock, sometimes using her claws to grip and pull herself up. However, the higher she went, the more trouble she was having as the ledges became more out of reach. Her claws couldn't seem to get a good enough grip and she started sliding.

After a few failed attempts she turned to look at them, and shouted. “Far as I can go!” Arya then carefully made her way back down.

Cera and Ruby were impressed as they watched her climb. Arya had managed to make it at least halfway up the wall on her own before being unable to go on. They waited for her to reach them before they started discussing what to do next.

“I think I could make it . . .  if I had help.” Arya said once she had returned. Cera nodded and followed her back to the slope.

Although being a four-footer meant that she had an easier time with climbing up hills, she didn't have sharp claws for gripping onto the rock. So climbing the wall was harder than Arya had made it look. However, working together helped them to reach the halfway point faster than Arya's previous run. Arya was in the lead with Cera giving her a boost when she had a little trouble reaching the next ledge. And in turn, Arya would grab her frill to help pull Cera up when she was having trouble pulling herself up.

When they reached the higher ledge that had stopped Arya before, Cera pushed her up onto the ledge before she could slide back down. She smiled at the Threehorn in thanks before turning to see the remaining distance to the top. She was now closer to the top than she had thought and the next couple ledges didn't look as high as the one she was standing on.

Arya turned her attention back to Cera. “Wait here. I'll try to get to the top.”

With that, she resumed climbing. The stones weren't as close together as she thought but she was able to pull herself up using her claws. Soon, Arya found herself situated on the final ledge just before the top of the wall. She turned and waved to the others with a smile, which they returned. She took a minute to breathe, thankful that the rocks didn't seem to be as unstable as they had feared. Sure, some had shifted slightly which caused her to lose her balance but it had held and she was quick to steady herself.

Eyeing the final obstacle, Arya tensed her leg muscles in preparation for her final leap. After taking a calming breath, the female Sharptooth launched herself as high as she could feeling her claws dig into the rock. The edge of the rock collided with her ribs and she grunted at the impact, but she used her legs and arms to push her way up. When both feet were finally under her she breathed in relief at actually reaching the top. From down below her, Arya could hear her friends cheering and she gave a celebratory whoop in return.

Okay, now what are we dealing with? She thought as she looked over the opposite edge.

It didn't look as steep as the other side had which was a relief. Going down a hill was much easier than going up one and it seemed to be the case here as well. But they would still have to be careful on the way down as who knew if these rocks were as stable as the ones on the other side. And with Ruby's ankle, they would have to come up with a strategy on how get her down safely. After analyzing the wall's opposite side thoroughly, Arya carefully made her way back down to where Cera was waiting and together they climbed back down the slope.

Once they got back to where Ruby was sitting, Arya relayed what she had saw and they started coming up with a plan on how to get Ruby up and over the wall. They eventually decided that Cera would support the Fastrunner from below while Arya helped pull her up. They would do the same on the way down with Cera jumping down first to support Ruby and Arya helping to lower her down before jumping herself. Of course, since Ruby was still in a fair amount of pain and tired easily, there would be multiple breaks during the climb.

So they began the arduous climb to the top with Arya in the lead. The plan worked well and they made it to just before halfway before Ruby needed a break. Even though Cera and Arya were the least hurt of the three, they too appreciated the rest as they had been working to move the rocks and climbed the wall once already. After regaining the strength, they resumed their ascent and finally reached the top of the barrier after pausing two more times. Now they sat on the peak catching their breath and preparing themselves for the dangerous descent.

Arya was once again trying to figure out the best way to climb down when she saw something out of the corner of her eye. She frowned and gazed down the canyon where she saw moving figures in the distance. They were to far away to properly tell what they were but she recognized some familiar colours.

“Um,” She started which gained the attention of the other two. “Are those the others?”

After squinting in the direction that Arya pointed, Cera snorted. “Yeah, it is. Took them long enough!”

“Should we wait for them?”

“Nah,” Cera replied, a smirk making her way onto her face. “By the time they get here we would already be on the ground.” Cera jumped down onto the next rock, pausing to make sure it was stable enough before continuing. “Besides, they left us alone to figure a way out by ourselves. Why not mess with them a little?”

“Cera,” Ruby scooted herself off the edge with Arya's help, her feet finding Cera's head and the Threehorn lowered her down gently. “You know they left us alone to find something to help us because if they don't leave us alone then they wouldn't be able to help us.” Once the Fastrunner was safely on the rock, Cera rolled her eyes and jumped down to the next one.

“I'm in.” Arya chipped in with a devious grin as she landed beside Ruby.

Ruby’s eyes shifted from Arya to Cera who both had matching grins before smiling as well. “Well, I bet they didn't expect for us to think of a way out ourselves. They would probably think we’d be angry they left us alone even if we weren't.”

It was a slow climb down as for each rock they stopped to make sure it was stable before moving onto the next one. But even though they took their time on the way down and stopped for breaks periodically, gravity made it easier than the climb up. By the time that they made it to the foot of the barrier, the others had gotten close enough to see the girls make their way down. The log that they struggled to push the distance to the rockslide lay forgotten as they watched on in amazement.

When they made it to the ground, Ruby looked up and waved at them, smiling brightly. “Hello, my friends! My friends, hello!” Her greeting was met by dubious stares and a few distracted greetings back which caused the three to snicker.

“Took you guys long enough!” Cera huffed as she closed the distance between the two groups with Arya, who was supporting Ruby, followed. “We weren't getting any younger, you know?”

Littlefoot's gaze ran over the trio with a look of bewilderment on his face. “What happened?”

“We climbed out.” The way that Cera said it made it sound like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Yet, the blank stares and silent blinking proved that it was anything but.

The silence was broken when Arya pointed to the massive log that took them the better part of a day to move and innocently asked. “What's the log for?”

That caused Cera and Ruby to start snickering and Arya quickly joined in. The others looked at each other confused then back to the laughing females. Obviously, going to retrieve the log to help them out was a waste of time and effort. Littlefoot quickly realized this and shook his head in exasperation, a smile slowly spreading across his face. He was thankful that they were alright and had managed to think of a way out themselves. He only wished it was before he and the others had gone through the trouble of getting the log.

“Well,” He started gathering everyone's attention. “I guess there's nothing to do now but go wash all this dirt off.”

“Yes,” Ruby replied as the gang started in the direction of the cove. “Water should help my hurt ankle to be less hurt.”

As they got further away from the caved in section of the canyon, Chomper noticed that the usual tension between Cera and Arya seemed to have lifted. The two were happily telling the others how they had scaled the rock wall by themselves while also making sure Ruby's pain was lessened. They smiled and laughed as if the animosity they shared a few hours ago had never happened. He knew something had to have happened while they were gone between for them to be acting this way.

Chomper thought about asking them about it, but then decided against it. If they were friends now he really didn't care how it happened, only that it did. It felt as if a weight was lifted off of his shoulders as he wouldn't have to worry about his friends not getting along. He smiled as he watched Cera laugh at something Arya had said, who then scrunched her nose in a mock expression of offense.

Maybe his dream of all his friends being happy together was finally getting closer.

Thank you for reading! Writing this kinda got out of hand so that's why it’s so long.

While I was writing this chapter, the plotline (as well as the overarching plotline of the entire AU) went through some rewrites. For example: they are unable to clear the cave route. This is because I had new ideas for future chapters that wouldn't have made sense had I stuck to the original idea. However, most of the bigger plot points remained the same.

I do have the next two chapters’ basic outlines finished so I just have to work out the details and write the final story. Also, please send me any idea/scenarios You may have and I'll see if I can fit them in!
  :OhYou
Title: Re: Our Past and Our Future
Post by: rhombus on July 27, 2020, 02:01:35 AM

It was a pleasant surprise to see that a new chapter had been posted for this story.  I can definitely relate to the struggles of having to re-plan chapters and the resulting delays that come from that.  Rest assured that the end result in this chapter was a pleasure to read.

The highlight of this chapter was definitely the antagonism between Arya and Cera.  Well, to be more exact, Cera's antagonism towards Arya.  With her background with sharpteeth, Cera's mistrust is understandable, but still incredibly unhelpful.  Littlefoot manages to intervene before Chomper has some choice words for Cera during their trip into the cave, but after the earthquake he is no longer available to keep the tensions in check.  Thankfully Ruby is there to act as a good-natured messenger and Arya is willing to do a reset of their relationship.  The fact that they are able to work together and get out of their predicament before the others could help is a nice finishing touch to an event that should help mend the relationship between the sharptooth and the threehorn.
Title: Re: Our Past and Our Future
Post by: LBTlover247 on May 26, 2021, 01:43:05 AM
Hey guys! Sorry it’s been awhile, but I hope you all enjoy this new chapter. It’s a little shorter and I’m not quite 100% on how it turned out, but it’s to get the ball rolling on the overarching plot I’m trying to incorporate into the story.

Also, this was supposed to be an entry for the 2021 season of the prompt challenge over on GOF for the month of February, but I didn’t finish it in time. So, I decided to wait and submit it for the May 2021 prompt: ‘Hunting can be a reassuring experience; a reaffirmation that you are on top of the food chain. But, rarely, you can be reminded of your own mortality. For sometimes the hunter can become the hunted.’

And without further ado, here is the next installment! Hope you all  like it!

There’s Always Something Bigger

A Farwalker herd arrives at the Great Valley, bringing news of the possibility of approaching devastation. Meanwhile, Arya is ambushed at a kill site and comes to the realization that her new way of life could come crumbling down.

It was another beautiful day in the Great Valley. The Bright Circle shone brightly and there was a light breeze keeping it from becoming too warm.

However, a commotion near one of the main entrances of the Valley kept some residents from enjoying the day. A mixed Farwalker herd had arrived and, although it wasn’t an unusual occurrence, they were clearly agitated. Many of the herd’s members were underweight with some having their bones being noticeably pronounced through their skin and others were sporting recent injuries.

The leader of the herd had asked for an urgent meeting with the Valley’s council. So, the members of the council were quickly notified and everyone gathered at the Stone Circle, the designated meeting place, and hushed murmurs echoed amongst those in attendance. To say that the residents of the Great Valley were nervous about the seriousness of the situation would be a huge understatement.

Littlefoot anxiously shuffled his feet in the spot on the edge of the Stone Circle where he and his friends had chosen to listen from. When he had heard about the emergency meeting that was going to be taking place, the young Longneck eagerly talked his friends into going to eavesdrop. They were reluctant to go sit in on some boring meeting, but he had convinced them. Unlike his friends, Littlefoot had always enjoyed listening to the Grown-ups talk about various issues, it made him feel included in the well-being and goings-on of the Great Valley. Even when his ideas for solutions were shot down a majority of the time. 

Grandpa Longneck, the unofficial leader of the council, called for attention which halted the whispers of those gathered. “Now, we're all here at the request of Mr. Spike-Frill, the leader of the Farwalker herd that had arrived earlier today.” He began. He then turned to the dinosaur in question, a male leaf green and beige Spike-Frill with blue eyes. “If you would be so kind as to explain why you called all of us here?”

The leader wore a troubled look and nodded as he stepped forward to address the crowd. He quickly thanked everyone for agreeing to meet with him so abruptly before going on to explain his reason for the gathering.

The Spike-Frill told them how he and his herd had come from far west of the Great Valley where a drought and a series of other natural disasters killed off much of the green food. The newer, harsher environment proved too difficult for some of them to live and before long, many herds and families lost loved ones due to starvation. So, he and his herd made the difficult decision to leave in search of a safer land. It was risky, many dinosaurs were weakened by hunger and wouldn’t be able to defend themselves should they be attacked but the alternative was a slow, agonizing death.

But with the mass exodus of Leafeaters from the area, Sharpteeth weren’t far behind.  And as they were weakened by lack of food, many members of the herds were felled by the tooth and claw of the predators. So, they desperately searched for a place that would be safe and have plenty of green food. They had heard stories of the Great Valley from other Farwalkers that told of bounty and protection and decided to find sanctuary in the Valley.

“Yeah, you and every other herd that comes through this area!” A voice shouted from somewhere in the crowd. “So, why call a meeting about it?” Many dinosaurs murmured in agreement.

“Because, we weren’t the only herd to flee our homeland, nor were we the only ones who’d heard the legends of this wondrous Valley. There were many herds and many . . . Sharpteeth.” Mr. Spike-Frill shuddered as if the very word brought back horrid memories. Worried murmurs and gasps echoed throughout the Stone Circle and the Spike-Frill turned to address the Council. “I asked you all here today to warn you of the possibility of the mass arrival of newcomers to your Valley and in turn the increase in number of Sharpteeth in the surrounding Mysterious Beyond.”

This new revelation startled everyone at the meeting, both worried and angry exclamations were voiced and suggestions were made on what to do about it. Most didn’t want the probable flood of dinosaurs to be allowed to enter the Valley with the reasoning that there wouldn’t be enough food to sustain both them and all the residents. Some turned their anger onto Mr. Spike-Frill leader for supposedly bringing the problem to them in the first place. Others focused in the increased number of Sharpteeth and the number of possible break ins that could likely follow as well. All in all, it was the typical meeting in the Great Valley- lots of shouting with little possibility of getting anything done.

Once again, Grandpa Longneck was the one to call for order and thanked Mr. Spike-Frill for the warning and expressed his sympathy for the turmoil he and his herd had went through. Then, he proceeded to sternly remind the other residents that the Great Valley was a welcoming sanctuary for all who needed it. They would just need to be mindful of how much they ate should the amount of Farwalkers to food ratio becomes worrisome. As for the threat of Sharpteeth breaking in, it was suggested that the known entrances should have someone nearby to raise the alarm in case of a sighting.

From their place in the back, the Grown-ups’ debates became background noise as Littlefoot turned to his friends and gestured for them to sneak away. He was worried about the news and saw that the others looked worried as well. They walked to a nearby hill overlooking the Stone Circle and the meeting taking place within it to discuss what they had heard.

“I feel bad for those Farwalkers.” Littlefoot started. “They had it really rough.” He glanced back in the direction of the Stone Circle, his heart aching for the suffering of the herd.

“Yes,” Ruby agreed with a nod. Her face also showing distress at their plight. “And being followed by Sharpteeth makes what seems rough even more rough.”

“But what about what the Grown-ups said about guarding the entrances?” Cera huffed. “How are we going to sneak in and out of the Mysterious Beyond without them noticing?” Sure, she was sorry for the Farwalkers, but their arrival had brought along some problems.

Ducky suddenly gasped and held her cheeks in dismay. “What about Arya?” She cried. “She’s all alone in the Mysterious Beyond! What if Sharpteeth find her canyon? Oh no, no, no!”

“Well,” Littlefoot replied thoughtfully. “Arya said that her canyon is pretty confusing unless you know your way around.”

“Yeah,” Chomper piped up with a small grin. “And she doesn’t leave the canyon unless she needs to. Most of her food and water is already there.”

Littlefoot nodded and continued. “We should probably wait a few days for all of the excitement to die down before we visit her. That way we won’t give away our secret entrance. What does everyone think about it?” The rest nodded in approval of the idea.

“But what if she thinks something’s wrong?” Chomper asked in sudden concern. “Like we forgot about her or something?”

Ruby placed a hand on his shoulder and offered him a smile. “What if we gave her a message so that she wouldn’t think anything was wrong? She won’t think anything is wrong if she got a message.”

“Yeah,” Littlefoot said, nodding. “That’s a good idea Ruby! We just need someone to deliver it . . .”

Petrie looked around, confused and nervous. “W-Why everyone looking at Petrie?”

She really did it this time.

In hindsight, it was only a matter of time before the owner of the kills she stole from would catch her, but she did it all in the name of survival. Scaly Swimmers could only keep her hunger sated for so long until she craved red meat. She just wished she was caught by anyone except the ones who currently held her captive.

They had taken her by surprise when she had decided to follow the scent of a recent kill to a small grove some distance away from her canyon. Hiding in the undergrowth, she checked her surroundings to assess whether it was safe for her to approach before she crept closer to the Swimmer carcass. When she was out in the open, two Fastbiters suddenly exploded from somewhere in the bushes and pounced on her. The young Sharptooth put up quite the fight, landing a few bites and scratches on her attackers, but even though she was nearly their size, they outnumbered her and quickly pinned her.   

Arya winced as the claws dug deeper into her back, pushing her firmly into the dirt where it smeared on her face. The Fastbiters above her cackled in sick glee as their leader watched on silently, his massive form nearly blocking out the Bright Circle. She did her best to mask her fear and glared up at him only to be met with his amusement.

Redclaw chuckled as Arya squirmed underneath his Fastbiters. At her wordless growl, he leaned down to her level, his own glare meeting hers. “You must be really desperate to try to steal from my kill. I could kill you for that. You know, survival of the fittest, one less mouth to feed. . .” He smirked as she froze and her eyes widening in horror at the idea of death. “But I may have a use for you.” He growled menacingly.

. . . What use exactly?” Arya questioned, her voice shaking despite her attempts to strengthen it.

His grin widened and he straightened up, moving towards his kill and bending down to take a bite. “You are friends with the Little Biter who runs with Leafeaters, are you not?” It wasn’t really a question, more of an off-handed comment, that filled Arya with dread. 

“What? N-No I-"

Screech cut her off with a yelp as he roughly ground her face into the dirt, his sharp claws making more scratches on the back of her head. “Don’t bother trying to deny it! We’ve seen you with them.” He hissed.

Arya grit her teeth in pain; her wounds weren’t overly large or deep but they stung and oozed blood steadily. Tiny stones dug into her face where it was pressed to the ground, adding to her discomfort. She heard them snort at her suffering.

Oh, don’t worry Young One.” Redclaw said, false sympathy dripping from his words. “What I have in mind for the little traitor and the walking feast will not bring harm to them . . . At least not directly.

Although, she was still at the mercy of the two Fastbiters, they had loosened their grip allowing Arya to wiggle into a more comfortable position to where she could raise her head to meet the gold and red gaze of her captor. Redclaw leered down at her with a devious smirk that sent an uncomfortable shiver down her spine.

Arya swallowed against the lump of dread forming in her throat. “What are you going to do?

I take it you’ve noticed more herds than normal around here, correct?” He paused to regard her expectedly with a brow arched. She silently nodded in confirmation and he continued. “And with more herds means more Sharpteeth and more competition. Competition in my territory that I would have to deal with.

As he continued to speak, Arya watched as Redclaw seemed to grow more agitated, starting to pace the clearing and bare his teeth in a snarl. And taken into account his infamy in the Mysterious Beyond, it made for a truly terrifying display. One probably few had witnessed and lived to talk about it. Arya desperately wished she wouldn’t be one of those witnesses, but the claws holding her down told her otherwise.

But you,” Redclaw suddenly grinned and leaned in until they were nearly level with each other. “Are going to tell me how to get into Leafeater Valley and tell me what their defenses are.

Arya's eyes widened in shock. Leafeater Valley was what Sharpteeth called the Great Valley because of the sheer amount of Leafeaters living there. Redclaw planned on getting into the Great Valley? The Valley was considered mystical in that it promised a never-ending feast for Sharpteeth, the same way it promised endless green food for Leafeafers. But the Great wall surrounding it made getting into the Valley was next to impossible. few Sharpteeth managed to find a way in and they were promptly run out by the herds that called it home.

B-But I d-don't-

Then find out!” Redclaw roared, making her flinch. “Make your little friends tell you everything you need to know and relay it back to us. Then I will be the first Sharptooth to make Leafeater Valley part my territory.

Arya stood straighter in an attempt to appear braver than she felt and glared back at him in defiance “And if I don’t?

Then we will kill you right here and go after that gang of yours when they come looking for you.” He replied, meeting her glare with an unimpressed frown before straightening up to his full height. “However,” He continued. “If you tell anyone about our arrangement, your friends will be next on the menu.

His threat made her tense as a shock of fear rushed through her. Arya knew that the gang were fairly experienced with getting rid of or outwitting Sharpteeth, but if they were in the canyon then they would be easily trapped. Then there was the fact that Redclaw even knew about her hiding place to begin with. Who knows just how much they knew about the frequent visits or her lessons in Leafeater? One thing for certain was that she was no longer safe in the canyon as she thought and neither were her friends.

Finally, Arya sighed and looked up at the towering Sharptooth with a compliant expression. “. . . Okay. I’ll do it.

The triumphant smile that stretched across his maw at her surrender made Arya wish that she could rip it off his face.

Thanks for reading! I may come back later and edit this chapter like I started doing for some of my earlier chapters. Hopefully, I’ll get around to posting the edited versions soon.
 :chompysmile
Title: Re: Our Past and Our Future
Post by: The Mr E on June 04, 2021, 11:27:52 PM
Things certainly are getting intense. It's always intriguing when someone throws in a new, big scenario like the influx of leafeaters and sharpteeth, if done right.  Kinda funny how rash and insensitive the grown-ups can be in a place like The Great Valley, but it's perfectly in character with what I recall. I love the direction this is taking, and by 'love', I mean 'preemptively wincing for painful reads'.
Title: Re: Our Past and Our Future
Post by: rhombus on June 20, 2021, 11:37:43 PM
Oooh... now this is quite the escalation of the overall situation. With the coming arrival of the refugees will come the usual challenge of resolving territorial disputes and handling further pressure on the valley's food supply, but, in addition, also the threat of the sharpteeth who are following the arriving "food". Not only does this place a greater risk over Arya than before, but now it seems that she has found her own trouble: the direct notice of Redclaw and an ultimatum that she might not be able to turn down... and survive. Though this chapter is short it certainly has brought the tensions up to a crescendo. I look forward to seeing how things develop from here.