welp! This was supposed to go online days ago
~~~~~
Chapter 1: The lone boy and the mysterious stranger“Urgh, where do I bloody have to go?!”As the scorching sun penetrated the land just like it did yesterday and the day before that, a young longneck halted in his movement. He was still very young yet a bunch of even smaller longnecks - hatchlings that were barely able to walk on their own, were looking up at the boy with big, curious eyes.
Squinting his eyes, he tried to make anything of the field of rocks loosely scattered in the desolate desert but, all truth be told, he didn’t know where to go.
“Will I ever escape this bloody hell?”He’d been roughly trying to maintain a straight direction during his journey but, lately, he was really just walking towards whatever direction he deemed to be the best. And, right now, that was the hilly field of rocks to their left. Maybe some of these rocks would at least offer some shade during the worst hours of the day? Reluctantly, he started walking towards his new destination, the small hatchlings following him.
The Mysterious Beyond had become a hostile place ever since the drought had started. Finding food and water was near impossible, the places still offering them became fewer and fewer. The boy didn’t know how much longer he would be able to survive under these conditions but he had to try his best, no matter what.
As soon as they found a rock large enough to offer shade for all of them, the little hatchlings fell asleep immediately which left the boy alone with his thoughts. For alone, he was…
“Shorty no, don’t leave!”The boy named Shorty closed his eyes in a mixture of sadness and anger. Whenever he was feeling lonely, images from his past and, sometimes, even the voices of those he dearly loved found a way into his mind. It wasn’t pleasant, considering what he’d done. It had been his decision after all that led to all of this… What would he give to be with his family right now…
Well, at least certain members of it.
“No, I mustn’t think about this all the time, it’s not helping!”With a resolute expression, the boy focussed on his surroundings again but the heat of the early afternoon sun soon got the better of him and Shorty fell into an uneasy slumber...
*
It wasn’t until two or three hours later, that the boy rose from his sleep. Tired and exhausted at first, he immediately jumped to his feet when distant footsteps could be heard, shaking the very ground beneath his feet. Something was approaching, something large!
“A Sharptooth?!” Shorty immediately panicked, rushing over to the hatchlings to wake them up. Why he was still protecting them despite them being a nuisance and competition for the little food he could find... it was beyond him but he guessed it kinda had to do with how he came to be with them in the first place. Losing them now would only mean that his brave acts would have been for vain!
“Get up!” he yelled quietly, glancing over his shoulders as the rumble increased. The footsteps, upon paying attention to their rhythm, didn’t seem to be originating from a bipedal creature like a sharptooth. No, that was the same rhythm that he knew all too well from his endless journey…
“A longneck?!” Shorty didn’t drop his guard but the realization meant that there was no immediate reason to run. With careful steps, the confused and frightened baby longnecks scattering behind him, he stepped out into the scorching sun again, only to see a fully grown longneck with a brown colouration walking very close. It looked very strong but there was no fight in its faraway expression.
*
The longneck noticed them immediately, a glint of curiosity entering his face. Wasn’t he just looking for a sign of his lost son in this goddamn desert? In front of him stood a lone longneck child, coloured green, looking at him in a mixture of suspicion, fear and mild interest, clearly trying to appear strong as he paid his attention to the child. Behind the kid, a bundle of hatchlings of different colours, still very young, looking frightened, were hiding behind their older protector.
The longneck could only muse how that constellation came to be but, frankly, it didn’t concern him. The hatchlings were much too young and the older child, while certainly about the size he’d expect his son to be, was of the sort with a bumpy head - that wasn’t his son. There was no need for further proof so he turned around and left the scene in a slow trot, head hanging low. Just another disappointment during his endless search.
“Maybe it’s about time to give up…” the male thought bitterly while tears welled up in his eyes. Would he ever find the only family that was still left?
*
“What the hell was that?”Shorty blinked in confusion as the adult turned away and left without a word. He was relieved that there was nothing to fear from the grown-up after all but still something about the encounter nagged him. Something he couldn’t quite place yet.
Shorty felt a sensation at his side when one of the hatchlings nudged him with a questioning look on their face. A quick glance confirmed that all of them were following the retreating stranger with their eyes.
“Yeah… I know what you mean…” Shorty suddenly sighed before he knew quite what he was thinking about this himself. Seeing the grown-up go caused a strange feeling of loss inside of him that he couldn’t quite explain and a sense of longing which also seemed to radiate off the hatchlings. He may have been leading and protecting them but he wasn’t a father figure at all. The little ones were probably better off with a real family.
“That guy was strange though…” Shorty noted. After all, most longnecks didn’t walk around all alone. They formed herds or stuck to their family at least. But this folk had been all alone. The fact that he left without a word, without even a sign that he cared about their predicament, being orphaned and all alone, didn’t exactly encourage Shorty. But that was when something else made its way back to his mind.
“I have no clue where to go, maybe I should follow this guy? If he’s surviving on his own, he probably knows what he’s doing…” It was a bit far stretched but it was the best plan the little boy could come up with. Wherever he had been walking, things were either terrible or even worse than that. It was his only reasonable chance to escape the iron grip of the desert. If there was an end to it at all, that was.
And so he quietly told the hatchlings that they’d be following.
“...but, I’d like to observe that guy for a little while. We still don’t know if he’s dangerous or if he’ll chase us away so we’ve got to keep distance and be quiet so he won’t notice that we’re following, got it?”
Shorty never truly knew if they understood what he was saying but, regardless, they seemed to obey so he began moving before he’d lose sight of the stranger. The ground was mostly consisting of rocks so he wouldn’t leave much of a trail to be followed. Therefore, he’d have to be alert from now on.
They followed unsuspiciously for the rest of the day. Shorty couldn’t learn anything about the stranger that he didn’t already know. When it was getting dark, he settled down for the night soon so Shorty did the same thing in close proximity but still out of hearing range since the hatchlings would often cry from hunger and thirst. And this night was no exception after all…
*
The longneck jerked awake. He’d been dreaming about his son again and, as occurred so often, had to witness him dying a painful death. He’d been having such sleep stories for a little too long to be left disturbed by them in any way but it was an ever so frequent source of sorrow. With a slight groan, he heaved his heavy body up. Soon, it would be time to leave this cursed desert for it was devoid of food and water which had drained his stamina a lot during the past weeks.
Besides, his son clearly wasn’t here - nor was anyone for that matter. Anyone roaming these lands was either stupid or lost. The longneck was ready to continue his lone journey when, suddenly, a peculiar feeling struck him. He didn’t know why but something told him that he was being followed and the male could usually trust his instincts very well.
“Stupid or lost… I’m betting these lost kids decided to follow me.”With heavy steps, he retracted his path from the previous day just a little bit… only to learn that his instincts hadn’t let him down that morning…
*
A weak rumble of the ground shook Shorty awake. Groggily, he raised his neck just a little, just in time to see a rather familiar longneck walk in onto the scene. Shorty immediately jumped to his feet but the longneck didn’t make any aggressive gestures. Quite the opposite, his expression was rather laid back.
“I should have known you guys would follow me…” the grown-up spoke. His voice was deep and strangely soothing. No matter what past lessons told him, something told Shorty that this individual meant no harm so he, reluctantly, relaxed a little.
“I guess it’s only natural for a lost lone child to do that…”
“Hey, I’m not lost at all! And anyway, we weren’t following you!” Shorty found his bravado much quicker than he’d expected, retorting to the stranger who, apparently, found his response amusing.
“Of course not,” the grown-up mused. “Only an idiot would roam these lands. Admittedly, things are going downhill everywhere but this area has been a desert even before the land dried up.”
“Oh yeah?” Shorty exclaimed, irritated. “Well, maybe I was just passing through?!”
“Kid, this acting tough thing doesn’t work on me and neither does lying,” the grown-up sighed. “But, alas, I should move on…”
Shorty panicked for a moment. This longneck had seen through him immediately. Every instinct was screaming at him not to trust strangers but what choice did he have? Going back to being all alone, slowly watching the hatchlings die one after one until he, too, would lose the strength to keep going? What a disgraceful end of his short life that would be! No, he couldn’t let things end like that. This was a rare chance he needed to take even if it’d mean losing the last bit of pride he still had in him…
“Wait…” Shorty called weakly, his bravado gone, only fear and concern left.
“Huh? Changed your mind?” the grown-up wondered casually, halting in his movement.
“Actually…” Shorty hummed and hawwed. “You see… yes, I’m lost.” Saying these words hurt but maybe the grown-up could give him directions. “Could… could you tell me how to escape this desert? If we don’t find something to eat and drink soon…” His gaze wandered over to the hatchlings who were still very sleepy.
“Hmm, guess I could,” the longneck mused.
“Anyway…” another thought just struck the green bumphead longneck. “I really wonder… you were walking in on us like that yesterday and left without a word and now you’re suddenly playing the nice guy? I’m not sure I can trust you, stranger…”
“Oh, about that…” the stranger put a thoughtful face on. “Well, I suppose it won’t hurt telling you lot… I was actually looking for someone when I met you the other day.”
“Who were you looking for? Me?” Shorty’s bravado was back and his father’s lessons about not trusting strangers now fully surfaced.
“No, I was searching for my son. I was a little surprised to see you who should be around his age but you got the bumpy head so I turned around and left.”
“How’d you lose your son? Damn, you must suck as a father…” These words slipped past Shorty’s mouth before he realized the potential impact but, rather surprisingly, the stranger reacted with calm words.
“Truth is, I never met my son but I don’t think that is a story you’d be interested in hearing.”
“Well…” Shorty considered for a moment. The stranger’s statement hadn’t really convinced him of being a trustworthy guy but at least he didn’t seem to shrug him off or call him out of his blunt statement. Maybe following him was a real option there but he still knew too little.
Meanwhile, the adult surveyed the little longnecks carefully, a conflict between radical and emotional thinking breaking lose. Little could he care about a bunch of kids that weren’t his when he couldn’t even find his own. Little should he care, thus. What he should do was to move on as fast as he could searching somewhere else, finding other dinosaurs who might have heard something about a boy called Littlefoot. It had taken him long enough to hear about the fate of his mate already... However, as his gaze fell on the poor longnecks who were marked by hunger, thirst and loneliness, some parental instincts kicked in. If he left them again without another word, surely they would never make their way to adulthood. It didn’t make any sense in a logical way of speaking to look after them but not doing so might just very well add to the burden he was carrying around day after day. He surely wouldn’t ask the kids but if they asked… could he really tell them to go on alone?
“So, what about the directions now?” the grown-up inquired, offering a small smile. The boy was still mistrusting him so maybe that’d help. “I will be leaving for greener lands soon,” he explained calmly. “There is no place around that doesn’t suffer from drought but where I’m going there should be enough to go around. No promises though, the land is changing faster than I like…”
Shorty considered this. There was currently no telling whether that was an offer to tag along or just him telling them that where he was going would be less desolate than where they were right now. There was only one way to know…
“Where would those lands be?”
“So you are interested?”
“Why, sure I am? Didn’t I already admit I’m lost?!”
“Right…” Bron collected his memory. Pointing towards a direction roughly behind him, he explained. “Well, if you head about this way, you should soon see some mountains. They’re not tall from what I recall and easy to climb. There are many rivers and small lakes though I can’t guarantee they haven’t dried by now. I’ll be heading there to look for my son anyhow. Can’t really recommend the areas I’ve been to lately so this is the best shot I can offer you kids.”
“Interesting…” Shorty commented, distrust still apparent in his voice. “So… basically, we’ll be heading the same way?”
“If you decide to follow my directions, then yes,” the male replied casually. “But in this open land there are no set paths to take."
Shorty felt another nudge to his side. The hatchlings were all giving him a look of plead and it didn’t take a genius to understand - they wanted to follow the stranger. Frankly, Shorty wanted this lonesome life to end as well but he still couldn’t bring himself to step over his distrust and the little pride he had managed to preserve. Besides, would that strange guy even accept? At least he wasn’t taking any measures to discourage them.
“Well, I’ll be taking my leave here,” the longneck spoke with a sense of finality. “I won’t chase you away if I see you on my heels again though…”
Even though it was just for a split second, Shorty noticed the subdued wink in the strangers eyes and that was just the confirmation he needed to make up his mind. Giving a small nod to the hatchlings, he also set into motion, going after the stranger. Maybe, soon, he would be a little more than that but some unwariness still remained. Shorty would have to see whether it was a good decision but for now he would rather take the chance.
*
The adult didn’t need to look back to know that they were following him at a safe distance and, therefore, reduced his speed a little not to give them a hard time keeping up. In due time, he would formally offer them to tag along but, for now his gaze was far on the horizon, carrying a weak smile. Maybe he would never find his own son but he might have very well just saved another parent’s child from almost certain death. At the very least, it was enough to give his spirits a little boost. Maybe there was a point in life even without Littlefoot, his mate who passed away and his in-laws?
Feeling a little lighter, he lead them out into the open lands where the burning morning sun greeted them like an old friend.
~~~~~
For some reason I'm really proud of that last paragraph
Like... it's not a cliffhanger and all and actually sounds nice
So, instead of Shorty retelling the event, I decided to rewrite this chapter completely from scratch and take a more direct approach. That way, I was able to pay more attention to the feelings of both Bron (which, I believe, I didn't pay any heed to in the original) and Shorty. The chapter also concludes at an earlier point which means the scene will continue at some point while in the original I just left it there mostly. Feel free to tell me what you think about the changes (or the chapter in general, I think it's a much better than before but I may be biased
)
Before I move on to the reviews, here's one thing that I'm still undecided about so I thought I'd give my readers a chance to give me some advice on the matter.
As you may know, Littlefoot originally only shows up in the story once he reaches the oasis where most of LBT 10 (and most of SDP) are taking place. My earliest drafts of the story (still written in my native language, little fun fact haha) included his journey to that place as well, however I scrapped it rather early in the development of the story. Given how Littlefoot and Sue (nor the gang for that matter) are properly introduced and kinda just pop in into the story at some point, I feel inclined to add his early story too. It would give the story a more complete look even if it mightn't be the most thrilling addition. There is *some* room for character development during his journey, probably not too much but maybe think of it as a bit of a LBT 10 novellization embetted into this story (which is pretty much that anyhow, just my very personal take on it). So what are your thoughts on this matter? I'd really appreciate hearing any opinions, good or bad
Anyway, review time
~~~~~
Now this is an excellent way to introduce a story - present just enough that the reader sees that the three main characters are connected, but leave how they come together as a mystery that has yet to be told. I don't really have much more to say at the moment, but I look forward to seeing how the narrative goes from here relative to SDP's original incarnation.
thanks rhombus, I'm glad you liked the introduction I came up with
I remember reading the original on Fanfiction.net never left a review cause I’m
apparently a lazy ass but I loved it even if I did want to slap the green off of Shorty at times.
Will be following this new version closely.
That's cool, well I'm glad you did at last
Though I think you'll still want to slap "the green off Shorty" from time to time (gee that's a pretty creative phrase anyhow
) Feel free to review either here or on there. I know I used to just dump my chapters on there but I realized I actually had quite a few readers on there who really enjoyed my stuff haha.
~~~~~
Due to being behind on schedule, the next chapter might be up really soon, hope you have enough time to read
