This is something that I owed
@The Lone Dragon for exactly 14 months now. It was supposed to be the March 2020 Fanfic Prompt entry.
Supposed is the key word.
FFN Link:
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13803446/1/Abrasive-ObstinanceDescription: Being tormented by Barge and his crew has led to a jaded Trough being an outcast, bitter at the cruel world around him. However, a run-in with a peculiar grown-up might change his cynical outlook… or at least, that was what that annoying swimmer would want him to believe. Why won't she just leave him alone!? Written for the GoF OC Prompt, prequel to Beaucephalis'
The Swimmer Trials.
Words in
italics represent character thoughts.
The Gang of Five forum fanfic challenge prompt themes for the month of March 2020 is "make a story that focuses on another author's OC," and/or "write a story that is set in the universe of another LBT fanfiction." Yes, that did read
March 2020. This is a rather belated entry due to personal real life matters catching up to me, but hey, at least it's begun now, even if I didn't quite make the original deadline.
Those who've read Boundless Curiosity will know that I'd dedicated it to the Seven Hunters continuity thanks to the impact that it had on me in writing. As such, the fanfiction which I have opted for this special prompt is
The Swimmer Trials by Beaucephalis/The Lone Dragon, the
other story which caused me to stick around and write for the Land Before Time fandom.
I have received the author's permission to write his characters for the OC prompt, and have tried my best to make sure you can understand this context set in this fic even if you have not read the original, though keep in mind that there will be minor spoilers from TST Chapters 36 & 38 onwards if you intend to read his story as all of the key characters who I use here first appear in those two chapters.
Since TST is still ongoing and not yet complete as of the time I am writing this, there might be a chance that whatever I write in this fic might end up invalidated in future. Oh well… it is what it is.
Chapter 1: Resilient LonelinessTrough was a miserable swimmer.
Or perhaps, a more accurate word that encapsulated him would be jaded. It certainly showed in his body language. His eyes were unfocused, he was dragging his feet, and there was a noticeable slouch in his posture as he walked. Anyone who so much as glanced his way could see the visual definition of the word 'annoyance' written all over him.
As Trough trudged across the shoal embankment next to the river and caught sight of his peers frolicking out of the corner of his eye, all he could do was glower at them sardonically. Even without them noticing or acknowledging his displeasure, Trough was aware that the feeling was mutual. The yellowish-brown swimmer never had been included in the community — there was an unspoken agreement between the others to socially outcast him.
But in a way, it didn't even matter, because Trough didn't want to associate himself with them anyway. He had never fit in with the foolhardy antics of the boys, and the girls tended to gloss over his subpar features. There was no point in it.
"Well, well, well… look at who we have here! If it isn't lil' terrified Trough!"
…much like there was no point he could see to the arising confrontation that was rapidly coming his way.
Trough cursed his luck as a trio of swimmers cockily strutted in front of him, walking like they owned the entire stream while positioning themselves in a manner that obstructed the path back to his nest. It was clear that they'd very deliberately gone out of their way to seek him out.
He hated crossing paths with them, predominantly as the primary reason that he'd been socially excluded by everyone his age was because he wasn't a part of the 'cool kids' clique, a group which were mainly led by the three imbecile adolescent swimmers who were blocking his path.
Barge, Storm, and Whirler.
Zealous boys followed them around whilst fervently wishing that they were them, while girls followed them in hopes of being together
with them.
Trough had to bite back a comment—and his bile—at that thought.
There's only three of them boys and way
more of you girls. Just think about it rationally, you dolts! Are all of you blinded to the fact that these bullies don't care the slightest bit about your feelings for them? All Barge and his gang care for is the attention that you all mindlessly shower them with as a collective group. They couldn't care less about you as an individual, and those three will likely go through girlfriends and mates like the swimmers who give our species this dumb reputation. Bleah.He didn't have time to deal with this idiocy, but alas, the trio of swimmers had already triangulated themselves, surrounding Trough from three different angles and positioning themselves carefully in a formation which made it difficult for Trough to divert his course and flee the confrontation. To Trough's frustration, he realized that he was trapped, boxed in from all sides by his instigators.
"Looking for a way out, Trough?" Barge smirked when he saw his target darting his eyes about for an escape route, only to realize disdainfully that there was none available to him.
"Why else would he always try to avoid confrontation with us, eh Barge?" Storm smiled coyly, before answering his own question without so much as missing a beat. "Because he's a pathetic wimp, that's why! Trough's too scared that we'll pummel him like the helpless little hatchling he is!" the swimmer proceeded to mock his target, using a babyish pitch to instigate Trough.
Although what Storm suggested wasn't the reason he wanted to avoid confrontation—Trough was certain he could take them on in a fight under favorable conditions—he nevertheless kept his beak shut and his face free of any discernible emotion. He knew better than to get baited by their inane remarks, though he was very tempted to bite back with a snide
"more like because it's a waste of my time to entertain you" in response just so he could see the look on their faces.
Fighting against his abrasive nature Trough got a hold of himself and tried to look for an opening to push past them. He knew that the trio were trying to rile him up and he wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of falling for their bait.
"Hi," Trough finally acknowledged them in a calm and collected voice when he saw that they weren't going to leave him alone. "You three happen to be standing in my way. Do you mind if I cut through?"
"Don't play dumb with us," came Barge's curt response. "You know full well why we're here, Trough."
One of the other two—Trough didn't care enough to differentiate between them—stepped forward in support of their leader. "Not without an interrogation!" they added.
"Right there!" echoed the remaining swimmer. "We aren't just going to let you waltz away!"
Trough tried his hardest to suppress a groan. Well, it looked like his day just got infinitely worse. His original plan to either resolve things amiably or stall things out just evaporated like a puddle of water on a hot day. "What a shame," he muttered under his breath, "I would really prefer if you did…"
Unfortunately for Trough, his backhanded comment was audible enough for Barge to hear. "You actually think that you're in a position to make demands, Trough? Not a chance, you cocky swimmer!" he retorted.
"Cocky?" Trough snorted at Barge's remark, unable to stop himself from commenting on that choice of word. "Speak for yourself."
"You damn hypocrite! You're the one who's full of yourself, Trough!" Barge sneered, the dark brown swimmer pointing a finger up to the air. "It's apparent that you have your head so high in the sky puffies that you genuinely believe you're better than us, choosing to ignore all the evidence screaming that it's actually the opposite."
Barge swung his arm about, gesturing at his two followers, "We're the one with the numbers and the skills backing us up! We have the entire herd wrapped around our tails, not to mention having the swimming talent to back up our superiority! You, on the other hand, are a complete loner who has no one, and yet you actually think that you can stand against us so defiantly? You can't be serious. Go back to the hatchling pond, Trough, it's where you rightfully belong!"
Trough wanted to slam his head against a tree. His previous plan of avoiding a confrontation with the troublesome trio was quickly becoming a lost cause. "That's what this is all about? This
again? Why do you three even care what I think about you?! It's my opinion, and besides, it doesn't matter how skillful or popular you are if you're all conceited jerks!"
"We care because you're the odd one out around here, and still you insist on being objectively wrong," Storm responded in a dismissive voice, speaking as if the answer was rhetorical and should have been obvious to Trough. "Everyone else in the herd thinks that we're the greatest swimmers to have ever hatched since the legends of old, but you, and you alone—" he pointed aggressively at a bored Trough, "—adamantly refuse to believe that, even in spite of all the evidence."
"It's absolutely outrageous!" Whirler concurred. "Herd-wise we three are indisputably the swiftest swimmers in our age group! All the girls are practically throwing themselves at us, and yet despite all that, this loony Trough still refuses to yield."
"Sore loser actually thinks he's better than us!" Storm's face contorted in fury at the very idea. "What a joke!"
"Despicable indeed," Barge spat as he finished, strolling towards an agitated Trough. "One way or another, we will make you change your mind…"
Before Trough even knew what was happening, Barge threw a hard right sucker punch to his jaw, causing Trough to land roughly on his side.
"…and we'll do it by force if we have to!"
"Y-you… that was a cheap shot!" Trough managed to sputter, cradling his beak from his prone position on the ground.
Barge smirked at Trough's fallen form from above. "Maybe if you were a more competent swimmer you would have been able to see that coming and dodge it before I landed the punch." He laughed darkly at the thought. "But, no. You're nothing more than a wimpy loser who doesn't know when to quit."
His amusement slowly faded away when he saw that Trough continued to glare up at him with defiance, and the former bemusement he had was subsequently replaced by a sinister leer as Barge lost his temper.
"Get it through your prideful head, you git! You are
not better than us, so stop acting like you are!" Barge spat, a snarl gracing his beak as he kicked the prone swimmer right in the ribs, causing Trough to wince in pain. "You're nothing here, Trough," he shouted as he roughed his victim up. "
We're the ones who have power and standing in this herd! All the girls kiss up to our feet, and all the boys suck up to us because of our prowess."
Barge stepped hard on Trough, smirking triumphantly as he heard a pained cry coming from the swimmer pinned under his feet. "But you?" A snort. "No one will ever like a loony loser like you."
"Yeeaahhhh!" The posse of Storm and Whirler childishly echoed behind their leader as Barge stepped off the groaning Trough, kicking him in the sides a final time for good measure. As badly as Trough wanted to pummel them back, his aching body refused to follow his orders.
"Don't you ever forget that, loner." With his assault concluded, Barge licked his lips in satisfaction when he saw that he'd finally managed to break Trough to some extent.
"Look at you," Storm cackled at the fallen swimmer. "Not so tough now, are you? Guess you better crawl home in the dirt so that you can go cry to your mommy, gahahahaha!"
"Yeah, because the only ones in the herd who would even give a weird reclusive dinosaur like you the light of day are your own family, you whelp!" Whirler added. "No one else can stand you!"
Barge nodded in satisfaction. "You may not realize it now, but sooner or later you'll regret making an enemy of us. In this herd, it's our way or nobody's way. As long as everyone is subservient to us, no one outside of your pathetic family will entertain you. You got it memorized, mate? Hahahaha!" He then whirled around, strutting off alongside his cronies without so much as sparing a glance back. As a dizzy Trough rubbed his head where he'd been struck, he could make out a sneering Barge taunting his fallen form in the distance.
"Let's see how long you can survive with nary a swimmer by your side before going insane, Trough. It's only a matter of time. Sooner or later you'll crack when it finally dawns on you that you truly have no one to vouch for your dumb prideful self, and when that day comes, I'll relish seeing you grovel at our feet to beg us for company and forgiveness once you see that we were right all along!"
Trough had to ignore the doubts swirling about his mind as he rubbed his aching muscles. At least he finally got what he wanted, the trio of swimmers departing and leaving him be, even if it came at the cost of his pride and a sore body.
"If Barge was going to hit me no matter what, I should have just pummeled him first," he chided himself. Shakily getting to his feet, Trough examined his wounds and scowled in displeasure. "Great, I'm sore all over from all the blows I took. It'll probably be better tomorrow after I take a rest, darn annoying pests…"
As Trough stumbled his way back home, he refused to admit that Barge's emotional onslaught arguably hurt more than his physical blows.
"You're really lucky that mom's out on a nighttime stroll, you know? I guarantee that she will nag you to death if she saw you covered with bruises from head to tail. I mean, just seeing you limping into the nest and looking like this already brings out the nagging instinct in
me, you careless swimmer!"
An annoyed Trough had to suppress the urge to roll his eyes at his sister. Aside from his mother, that specific reddish-brown sibling of his was the only other one in the family who Trough was somewhat close to. "If you want someone to blame, go blame Barge and his crew, Shelly," he muttered, "It's not like I want my body to hurt all over, you know they always pick on me."
"But that's because you always stand against them, Trough." Shelly had her arms by her hips as she examined her brother's bruised body. "If you simply went along with what they were doing instead of constantly heckling them, then you wouldn't make yourself into such a blatant target."
Surprisingly, after everything that he had been through today, this offhand suggestion was what caused Trough's frayed nerves to finally give way.
"Do you really think I'm fickle enough to wind up as some mindless crony to Barge and his gang just because he threatened me, sis?" Trough agitatedly confronted his sister, losing his temper and unleashing his frustration at everything that had happened. "I won't admit defeat to Barge, not even if I'm being threatened by a sharptooth! I'm my own swimmer, I refuse to be drawn into the crude
'Barge and his cronies are the best' narrative like all the other stupid girls, you hear me?"
Shelly pursed her beak. "Rude, Trough. I'm only trying to help," she grumbled, averting her gaze from his. "I know you're mad, but don't generalize all us girls as 'dumb'…"
Trough sighed as he took in the admonishment in shame. Sometimes his hardy nature was his own undoing. "I know…" his face softened as an apology for erupting at Shelly earlier. "It's just… I don't get it! Why do all of them make the conscious choice to chase after swimmers like Barge and his crew? It stymies me! Can't they see it's nothing but superficial dreck? I'm a genuine swimmer, I actually care about others from my heart, and what do I get for staying true to myself? Nothing! Not a friend, not
anyone! They don't so much as spare me a glance even when
I'm clearly the better swimmer!"
"Even if no one else sees that, Mom and I do," Shelly tried to calm him down. "Surely one day someone will look past their initial perception and see you as a great swimmer to be around."
"Well, that day isn't going to come anytime soon." He began to gesticulate his arms about, swinging them around in frustration. "You know what, sis? I think that stupidity is contagious. It pretty much has to be, that's the only explanation I can think of which explains why no one in this herd can actually stand up and think for themselves instead of mindlessly following the opinions of Barge and his crew. The rest are all suckered in by all of the rotten lies! No one will associate with me as long as Barge and his gang tell them not to, they just go along with the stupid narrative Barge cooked up to keep me outcast and alone. Idiots, the bunch of them! I can't stand it!"
"You said it yourself, Trough." Shelly kicked at the rocky floor with her feet, gazing thoughtfully at the ground. "You already know deep inside that the only reason they all go along with the flow is because they don't want to lose their social standing by openly defying their idols."
Gritting his teeth, Trough shot back with a counter. "That's easy for you to say, considering that you do just that so that you wouldn't get picked on the way I do."
Shelly flinched when her brother called her out without so much as a preamble. "I-It's not like that…" she briefly stammered, before hurriedly changing the topic and regaining her composure. "Okay, so maybe I'm not personally willing to go against Barge myself, but this is about you, not me. You, you, you, you got it?" she repeatedly affirmed. "Seriously, you are bringing all of this trouble upon yourself by constantly being at odds with Barge. If you kept quiet and went along with things instead of always opposing them, you can alleviate all this burden."
A glare let Shelly know exactly how receptive Trough was to
that suggestion. While she would normally poke fun at him for not going along with the logical train of thought to alleviate the tension between him and Barge, she could tell that her brother wasn't in the mood for a smart-ass reply, so she instead kept her response serious. "Look, I'm sure that not all the swimmers here are that malicious. I think that some of them don't necessarily agree with Barge's idea of isolating you, they just won't voice their opinions if it means incurring his wrath and ending up isolated themselves."
"That's the same thing as being complicit with Barge, you know? Doesn't really matter if you object to something in your head but don't actually act upon it at all…" Trough curled his tail around his body as he tried to wrap his head around the logic. "And to be honest, it doesn't make a difference if Barge tries to make me displaced by the rest of the herd. If the other swimmers aren't going to stand up for me, they don't really care at all, so they aren't worth having as friends. I'll rather not have their company and instead forge alone on my own path with nothing but my conscience guiding me."
Shelly gave him a consolatory pat on the back, before catching Trough by surprise when she cheekily squeezed his shoulders, earning herself a yelp. "Outcasting yourself from the others before they do the same to you… geez, you really are my brother. Stubborn to the bitter end," she teased.
"It's alright to be alone," Trough defended his stance, taking a few steps away to get some space and be free from his sister's wrath. "I don't need friends, especially if they aren't genuine. And frankly, with Barge's influence, no one is."
"You sure you're doing good, Trough?" Shelly asked after hearing her brother's cynical declaration, gazing at him with worried eyes.
"Positive," he murmured, lazily raising a thumbs-up. "I'm just sick and tired of this constant nonsense. It has always been this way for as long as I could remember. I can't live like this forever! As unlikely as things are, I just want things to change, you know?"
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Shelly couldn't help but giggle. "Heh heh… I'm so sorry, but you totally look like some sort of grown-up elder whenever you're brooding like that."
"Hah! Good one, sis!" one of their brothers cackled from nearby. "Trough the brooder suits our brother!"
Trough widened his eyes, before swirling around and swatting the eavesdropper away with his hands. "Go away, or else," he hissed threateningly at the offending brother, who wisely complied and slunk away when he heard Trough's aggressive tone.
"You know…" Shelly playfully snickered from beside him, before whispering into his ear. "…that rhymed."
Trough snorted, swatting at her next.
"I guess that wraps up our talk," Shelly deftly dodged his swipe. "I'm going to turn it in for the night, and I suggest you do too."
He quickly caught on to his sister's plan. Since the rest of Trough's family had probably heard snippets of their conversation or saw the physical state their brother was in, one of his less kind siblings would inevitably snitch about his injuries to their mother.
But by going to sleep before his mother returned from her stroll, Trough would avoid winding up on the receiving end of another interrogation, at least until the following morning.
Yes, it
was a good plan. He'd already been cornered against his will by Barge and Shelly, he wasn't sure if he could take another one today.
"Good night, Shelly," Trough waved to his sister as she raised her arm to wish him likewise.
"Same to you, Trough," Shelly yawned, shuffling away to her corner of the nest.
And with that, once again Trough was all by himself. While he didn't necessarily mind being alone—namely because everyone else had already formed their less-than-desirable impressions of him—it still did bother him.
Stupid Barge and his crew. It was all their fault. It was already unjust that they were such legitimately skillful swimmers, but of course they just had to be complete asses too. Of course they wouldn't be content with everything they already had until they assimilated and broke down their one vocal dissenter as well.
On some days it still boggled Trough that a large bulk of why he was ostracized to such a horrendous extent was solely because he had opted to take a stand against Barge, Storm, and Whirler. It wasn't fair, but frankly, life wasn't fair.
"I can't live like this forever! As unlikely as things are, I just want things to change, you know?"Trough's own words from earlier came back to him as he lay his sore body down in the nest, trying to fall asleep with a body that was coated with injuries. Futile as it was, Trough still hoped beyond hope that one day everything he had told Shelly would be proven wrong… that someone out there would look past Barge's crooked façade and give him a chance.
As Trough grumpily let himself fall into a listless sleep, little did he know that said change would happen sooner than he expected.
Author's Note:Trough is my favorite original character from
The Swimmer Trials, and one thing that the source material has yet to do, even 68 chapters in, is actually elaborate on how his friendship with his best friend Bluey blossomed to start with. How did they meet? Why did they find solace in one another? Those remain unanswered, and it will probably never be answered.
But hey, that's why this fic exists. The fact that it's unresolved and never explained through a flashback or something (even after a certain point in the story where I downright expected one) made it my choice of idea for the March 2020 OC Prompt. If you liked Trough and Bluey's dynamic in TST, I hope that I can succeed in giving a reasonable explanation as to how the two are the friends they are in the present day. And if you've never heard of them or read that story before… well, I hope that I can sell you on the dynamic between the two unusual friends here as well.
