Uhh, sorry for the long wait guys
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Chapter 3: Memories of the past:[/u]
"A story?" Littlefoot was a bit surprised about this. All he expected this lesson to be was boring and tiring but this was something else. Thicknose rarely ever told stories from his own life. He anticipated that getting up this early might have been rewarding this time...
Thicknose was hanging around on his own, minding his own business like always. People thought of him as a weirdo – somebody to be avoided. They thought he was crazy because he always said, did and thought unusual things. Usually, that only earned him rejection and bullying from his peers but, in this special case, they actually had an application for him.
"Hey you!" A group of four sturdy threehorns approached Thicknose from behind. Rambo, the one to call out for Thicknose, was their leader. Thicknose feared him more than anything else because he would constantly taunt, bully or even hurt him for no apparent reason. Rambo wasn't actually his name but everybody referred to him as that. Thicknose prepared for the worst.
"Yo Thicknose, whazzup dude?" Scotty, the best-looking and most popular threehorn among the females, spoke up with a crooked grin.
The other two threehorns following Rambo were Ray and Tower. Ray was always hyper-energetic and annoying but he was also very cunning, smart and submissive which was probably the only reason Rambo tolerated him. Tower was a threehorn of few words. His name, too, was rather a nickname than his actual name but he was referred to as "Tower" due to his impressive size and his tall frill, the power of which Thicknose got to experience more than once in his life.
Rambo stepped forward, the other three backing him up – Ray and Scotty looking down on Thicknose who was small and weakly built arrogantly while Tower gave him a grim stare.
"I have an offer to make, Thicknose," Rambo announced. "As you probably know, the Sweet Bubble Day is approaching and I'm sick of the grown-ups excluding us from the festivities. There's something you could do for me, Thicknose. If you succeed to do what I'm asking you to do – yes, I'm asking you, not ordering, then I will cease to think of you as a useless failure and stop bothering you. That will also be the case for my gang."
"You'll love the job, dude!" Scotty sneered.
Thicknose was very surprised about this hence he ended up gawking at Rambo awkwardly.
"You understood what I said, dumbass?" Rambo asked in a low, threatening tone.
"Y-yeah, sure," Thicknose replied uneasily. "I am waiting to hear what you would like me to do..."
"Basically, I'm asking you to find a way to make overripe berries more potent. We were able to save some before the grown-ups had collected all berries in the Valley but they are not enough to have a sufficient effect on us." Rambo explained. "You do a lot of crazy stuff so surely you could make this work?"
Thicknose considered hard. He knew that overripe berries had a certain effect on dinosaurs (and he knew for certain that he hated the taste of them!) but he didn't know what exactly it actually did. So how would he know how to make them more potent? The offer Rambo made was promising though.
"Well, I can try my best," Thicknose answered eventually. "There is no guarantee that I find out how to improve the berries but I will do all I can to complete the task I am given."
"Oh fantastic!" Ray shouted. "I can't waaaa-ait!"
"Idiot, he has to find something first," Scotty scolded.
"Very well..." Rambo spoke slowly. "I'll show you the place where we hide the berries. One of us will always be nearby to ensure you're not up to something. I expect you to succeed so you better don't dissappoint me, Thicknose! Come along!"
Thicknose was scared but he knew it would be a chance to prove his abilities and to get out of the constant attacks of Rambo's gang. At first his legs were hesitant to move. However...
"Move..." A soft push from Tower made Thicknose walk as fast as he could.
For the rest of the day, Thicknose spent in a cave at the outskirts of the Valley where the Threehorns had stored the berries they managed to gather. Under the watchful eyes of Tower, Thicknose puzzled what he could do with these berries all day but there was no solution. There wasn't any plant that he knew that had a desireable effect on them. But he'd be damned if he didn't find a solution!
Only when the Bright Circle was replaced by the Night Circle, Thicknose decided to call it a day. Maybe he would find answers in his sleep..."Uh, Mr. Thicknose?" Ruby piped up hesitantly. "I'm wondering if what you are supposed to do in the story is what you are trying to teach us?"
Thicknose gave an amused chuckle.
"Oh no, Ruby. My intention is absolutely not to teach you how to make berries even more fermented," Thicknose answered truthfully. "Although... I reckon I may be giving you children ideas anyway..."
Littlefoot and Cera exchanged a suggestive glance.
"Well, the intention of the story is what is going to happen with me later in the story so sit down and let me continue..." With a smile, Thicknose picked up the story again...
The next morning, Thicknose wasn't any wiser. The fact that he didn't find a solution made him very uneasy and frustrated. He knew the other Threehorns would beat the crap out of him if he didn't do what they expected him to. Resignated, he decided to ask around for advice, his self-esteem lowering considerably.
Of course he couldn't ask any of the residents of the Valley since that would just give away their plan but the Great Valley was typically populated by a lot of migrating dinosaurs whose population not seldomly exceeded the population of the residing dinosaurs. Hence, Thicknose went to the popular places of the Valley to ask strangers for advice. It took him a lot of willpower to battle his extreme shyness but he succeeded though his still felt very awkward around the strangers, many of whom were either shrugging him off, chasing him away or just laughing about his words. The longer the day, the more frustrated the Threehorn became.
He was still walking around looking for more migrating dinosaurs when it was about to turn dark. He was tired, demotivated and just outright dissappointed of himself when suddenly a female voice adressed him.
"Seeking answers, are we?" It was a rainbowface, appearing out of nowhere to his right. "I know how simple-minded these dinosaurs can be. They only care for themselves and don't even bother about a curious, young Threehorn like you."
"That's right," Another rainbowface, a male, emerged from behind a rock to Thicknose's right. "Do not worry, we will help you to find a solution to your problem," he spoke in a friendly voice.
The female stared at the male.
"Oh are we?!" she hissed.
"Yes, I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to help him out," he whispered quietly.
"We're already influencing this world too much as it is!" the female retorted fiercely.
"Oh like that would make a huge difference!" the male argued.
The argument went on for another few moments. Thicknose watched them curiously though their voices were so low that it almost seemed like they were talking in a language he couldn't understand. Finally, they turned to him again.
"Well, I guess we can help you out after all, " the female eventually adressed him. "Don't mind our little argument.
"You can?" Thicknose had to reassure himself. After a full day of being shrugged off, ignored and chased away, his hope to find the answers he was looking for were pretty much non-existant at this point.
The rainbowfaces nodded, the male eagerly, the female in a slightly annoyed manner.
"That's great!" Thicknose exclaimed excitedly. "You're preventing this day from turning to my worst day ever!" He was just about to ask them how exactly they could help him when his alarm clock rang.
"Hang on... how can you claim to be able to help me without even knowing what my actual problem is? Did you spy on me?"
"Yes and no," the female Rainbowface spoke neutrally. "It's true that we've been following you for quite a while now but it was not our intention to spy on you."
"Yes, we were more curious if somebody helps you or not," the male added, giving Thicknose a friendly smile.
"Of course they didn't..." the female sighed. "Oh well, they'll always care for themselves only. It'll never change..."
"Yes, but that is not important right now," the male reminded his partner. "We agreed to help this young fellow so let us get to the point, shall we?"
"Yes, yes... of course," the female grunted. "By the way, if you're wondering how we can claim to be able to help you without knowing the problem... you must know that not the wisdom itself matters but the way you are seeking to gain it."
"In other words..." the male chimed in. "Even if it turns out that we don't have the answers that you're looking for, we can help you to find a way to find a solution for your problem. Searching for answers can be a lot of fun, you know?"
"Yes, I know what you are talking about," Thicknose voiced up formally.
"Well, we managed to pick up some things but could you explain to us again what your problem is and what you know already about the problem in question?" the female requested.
"Of course," Thicknose replied and began explaining his situation to the two Rainbowfaces. He told them about the Threehorns always bulling him, about their quest and the consequences if he failed.
"Oh such a mean gang of rogues..." the male answered.
"Fermented berries you say, huh`? How the heck did they get that idea?" the female inquired. The fact that he knew about the very concept of fermented berries seemed to shock her.
"Well... there is going to be a festival to celebrate the Warm Season..." Thicknose responded shyly.
"The first ripening of berries traditionally marks the beginning of the season and the celebration is typically held 15 days later to give them enough time to get overripe...I don't know what overripe berries do but the adults must find it very enjoyable..."
"What exactly are they doing during this festival?" the male Rainbowface asked.
"That is something I don't know because children may not participate..." Thicknose answered truthfully.
"And that's good!" the female shouted agitatedly. "I think I know what the grown-ups are doing during this festival and I'm not liking it..."
"Interesting... I didn't know that the very concept of this is known to their species..." the male mused though he quickly realised to talked too much. "Uhh.. nevermind."
"What kind of help are you looking for by the way? Isn't that what we're here for?" the female interrupted her partner to draw Thicknose's attention before he could ponder what a "species" was.
"Well, I need to find out a way to make the effect of the berries stronger because the Threehorns only have very few berries."
"How many?" she asked.
"Well, if I ate them, they would keep me fed for a day, maybe two..."
"Okay, I know a way to achieve what you are looking for but I must warn you not to participate at whatever these Threehorns are planning to do with the berries..." the female explained urgently.
"Why? Are fermented berries bad?" Thicknose wondered.
"Not exactly..." the female replied. "I won't tell you what exactly they do."
"Yes, but we warn you for a reason my friend," the male added wisely. "However, I can only recommend watching these Threehorns when they do. You won't regret it." The Rainbowface grinned mischievously.
"Okay, so what do I have to do?" Thicknose questioned eagerly.
"It's pretty simple since it works on its own once you've mixed the skin of a certain fruit into the pile of berries," the male explained.
"Okay, where can I find that fruit?" Thicknose inquired. His excitement was growing.
"Too far from here for a young Threehorn to go on a journey to find them," the female replied.
"Don't worry, let that be our business."
"In our herd there is a Flyer we can commission to bring you a pile of these fruits – they are tasty by the way," the male explained. "We once saved her from a sickness so she agreed to help us if we need something."
"We'll be at this very place around the same time of the day tomorrow to deliver the fruits," the female told.
"Worry not my friend, this is a promise," the male added, twinkling at Thicknose.
"Thank you, Rainbowfaces," Thicknose spoke submissively, bowing down in front of them. "I am clearly in your debt now..."
"Don't worry, we're happy to help," the female replied with a smile. "You owe us nothing."
"Much appreciated," Thicknose spoke. "I will be here tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow, my friend," the male Rainbowface spoke.
"See you... and thanks once again!" Thicknose exclaimed before walking home."The next day," Thicknose narrated. "The next day I indeed received those fruits from the kind Rainbowfaces. They were orange in colour with an odd shape and a very thick, almost shell-like skin. If I showed you one of those – of course I don't have any with me right now, but just in theory, if I showed you any of those, you probably wouldn't recognise them because, as I said earlier, they are only growing in faraway places."
Littlefoot had listened with mild interest so far. When Thicknose spoke about the fruit, he suddenly remembered something from an adventure long ago...
"Uhm, Mr. Thicknose, may I ask where exactly these plants grow?"Littlefoot questioned curiously.
"Why do you want to know? Hopefully not to try this yourself?"Thicknose replied, observing the Longneck curiously.
"No, just out of curiosity," Littlefoot explained to the old Threehorn. "I believe I may have seen a fruit before that matches your description..."
"Well, I was told back then that they grow in a place called "The Land of Green Valleys"," Thicknose answered the question.
"Are you sure you aren't referring to "The Great Valley"???" Cera asked rudely.
"Yes I am, Cera. As a matter of fact, I've been hatched in this very Valley and the story I am telling you takes place at this very place." Thicknose chuckled to himself.
"Hmm, I have never heard of such a place..." Littlefoot admitted, puzzling.
"I haven't heard of this place either," Ruby spoke up. "So it must be very far away because all places I don't know of are..."
"Actually, it's not too far away from here..." Thicknose mentioned. "Remember that the Flyer was capable to fly to that place and back within a night and a day."
"Is this the only place where they grow?" Chomper asked.
"... or are there more places where the fruit is growing?" Littlefoot completed the question of the Sharptooth.
"As far as I am aware, chidren, they only grow in one place," Thicknose responded truthfully.
"Though of course my information may be outdated. If so, I would appreciate to know the place you are thinking about, Littlefoot."
Ducky puzzled which adventure of them Littlefoot could possibly be referring to.
"Gee, I wonder which adventure you are thinking about, Littlefoot, yep, yep, yep."
"The Valley of Mists." Littlefoot could see the expression of their teacher change rapidly.
"Oh dear, you have been to that place?" he spoke in shock. However, he also seemed to be annoyed at something.
"Mr. Thicknose? Could it be that the Valley of Mists had a different name before it got this name? I remember my friend Ali telling me, that it wasn't always so hostile there..." Littlefoot mentioned uncertainly.
"Oh, how could I forget?! Of course!" Thicknose shouted. "To answer your question, the Land of Mists is the place I am refering to."
"Then I've seen the fruit before!" Littlefoot exclaimed.
"And I hope you will not make use of that information," Thicknose warned. "The reason for this will become more clear if you allow me to continue the story."
"Of course!" the gang shouted in unison, only Petrie merely looking at Thicknose in a bored, distant manner.
"So I went to the place where the berries were stored and..."
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... and not soon after Ducky was found severely injured by his readers for not telling the whole story
Well, I think there's enough things in this chapter for reviewers to mention so feel free to leave a review, yep, yep, yep!!!
The next chapter will obviously continue where this one left off
