Pangaea was about to say something in response to Amy, when suddenly a blue fast biter leapt out of the bushes, landing in a crouched position directly in front of him, Guido, Amy, and Pterano. Its jaws gaped slightly as it hissed, its gaze fixed menacingly on Amy. But a moment later a look of what appeared to be surprise came over its face, and its glance shifted...in Pangaea’s direction.
Pangaea felt like he had just about had a heart attack, so startled and terrified he was by the fast biter’s arrival. But then he took a double-take, and for an instant he forgot his fear, as he realized that he knew this sharptooth, and not just from watching the
Land Before Time series...
“You!” he exclaimed, pointing at the fast biter.
“
You!” the fast biter roared back. The word was in Sharptooth, but it needed no translation. This was the same fast biter that had ambushed Pangaea on the edge of the Great Wall when he had first arrived in the Land Before Time, and both of them knew it.
“I thought I recognized you before! You’re Screech, aren’t you?”
The fast biter’s response was an angry snarl.
Pangaea figured that Screech probably wasn’t in the valley for diplomatic purposes. He also knew that, while Pterano could certainly fly to safety, neither he nor Guido, being gliders, could take off from the ground, and, having seen Amy’s wounds, he wasn’t sure if she could, either. In any case, none of them had any chance of outrunning the fast biter on open ground. Quickly, Pangaea tried to think of a way to distract him.
“Uh...hey!” he said to Screech, “Do you understand Leafeater? If you do, put both of your hands over your eyes until I tell you to take them off.”
Pangaea wasn’t sure if Screech understood him, but the fast biter did give him a very strange look. Whether he was simply perplexed that his prey was attempting to communicate with him rather than running away, or had indeed comprehended the bizarre instructions, he certainly wasn’t falling for Pangaea’s thinly veiled ruse.
Pangaea looked at Guido, Amy, and Pterano out of the corners of his eyes, and shrugged. “It was worth a shot,” he said. Then, in a whisper, he added: “Amy, can you fly? If yes, do it now. If no, you and Guido run as fast as you can to the nearest tree you can climb.”
(OOC: I spent a long time writing out my confrontation with Screech beforehand, but it turned out so lengthy that I’ve had to stagger it, posting it in multiple installments. So, if you don’t mind, please no one get involved in this. I’ll let you all know when I’m free to interact with again.
)
