Chapter III: The Lovely Lesson
“Sweet tour,” Star complimented. She enjoyed it but still found it a little tiring so yawned deeply.
“Thanks,” Littlefoot replied proudly, beaming.
He had just shown them the Sheltering Grass and warned them never to go near it, reminding them of what happened to him and his friends last time they tried that. The others nodded in agreement and gazed out over the ominous sand with dread. They kinda wanted to live. At this point, all three of the newcomers were getting a little sleepy. Their energy wasn’t too far gone, but they found the tour to be a little monotonous. “This is this, that is that, etcetera.” They liked very much to know where things were and more about them, yet the attention span of a child often leaves much to be desired. Syn rubbed her eyes and her body jerked slightly as she silently hiccupped while Asp yawned much louder than Star had and stretched his arms to the sky. He knew it would be rude to say they were bored now, so he found a more subtle way of ending that state.
“So what do you guys do around here, like, for fun?” Asp inquired. He asked casually, not drawing any attention to the fact that he desperately needed some of that.
“We play games, and thatës pretty much it,” Littlefoot replied, thinking as he spoke.
“Yeah,” Cera cut in as she began talking in an emphatic tone, “but sometimes we go on amazing adventures out in the Mysterious Beyond!”
The three visitors looked curious, as in fact, they were. Amazing adventures in the Mysterious Beyond? That sounded beyond epic to them all, and they weren’t going to stand there without hearing more about it. Syn was too shy, however, and Asp was a faster speaker than Star was.
“What part of the valley is this Mysterious Beyond in?” Asp wanted to know, and his interest increased the pitch of his voice. He cleared his throat at once in embarrassment from his squeaky inquiry.
“Oh, the Mysterious Beyond is anywhere outside of the valley,” Littlefoot explained. “It wasn’t long after we moved here and this became our home that everything else just became the unknown.”
“Interesting,” Asp said in reply with a hand on his chin. Then there was silence. The kids suddenly had nothing more to say, so they simply shifted uncomfortably from standing in one place for so long. They looked around without direction, hoping that someone else would say something. When Asp yawned again, it became contagious, and so the four followed suit. Their minds totally focused on the prolonged inhalation, they were completely caught off guard when an abrupt noise rippled through the air.
“Good day, children,” an old voice called to them. Syn and Asp jumped, the latter just about falling over if not for the former, and Star quickly turned to its owner, being not as prone to jerking in surprise. Littlefoot and Cera had seen far too many sharpteeth and heard the voice enough not to be startled much at all. Their eyes simply opened quickly. They all looked to see a very old dinosaur all on fours looking at them with a cheerful but tired expression, the kind not from laborious weariness, but that of being elderly.
“Hello, Mr. Thicknose,” Littlefoot answered cheerfully. He looked at the children and was pleased to see new faces. Certain that Littlefoot and Cera had mentioned his wonderful, fascinating lectures, he skipped the introductions.
“Ready for a new lesson?” he asked them, eyes shining.
“I guess,” Cera said somberly. He ignored her tone.
“Who’s this guy?” Asp whispered to Littlefoot, his hand beside his mouth to muffle the question.
“Our teacher,” Littlefoot whispered back. “Sorry I forgot to mention him. His lectures can be pretty boring.”
“Alright then,” Mr. Thicknose began. “Today’s lesson is going to be about love.” He put extra emphasis into “love,” his expression somewhat giddy at the thought of teaching on such an important subject. He recalled his childhood with this matter, and how he never cared enough about it or paid attention to it. That’s why he was all alone.
“Huh!?” Cera exclaimed, and Mr. Thicknose chuckled.
“You kids are getting older,” he explained, “and it’s important that you learn how to behave towards a possible partner. Let’s see how you do. You there, the little yellowbellies. Pretend you two were in love. What would you say and do?” He stood back and watched them with interest and low expectations.
Asp didn’t think for very long. He quickly looked around the flat, grassy area they were in and spotted some flowers. They were bunched together and had red buds, beautiful and fragrant. He walked over to them, plucked them gently, and breathed in their aroma, making sure they were good enough. He turned around slowly with a cool stride and presented them to Syn.
He bowed before her, and said, “Only one with beauty like yours is deserving of such beauties of nature. Please, accept these flowers along with my love.” He spoke softly but with passion, and though his head was bowed, he looking at her with penetrating eyes.
Syn turned very red. She forced a smile despite her tension and tried to relax to no avail. She tried reaching for the flowers, but her body was stiff and unresponsive. Finally, she jerked control back and reached out, slowly take hold of the red plants in Asp’s hand. That was the limit of her reaction though, as she was too embarrassed to form any words. Fortunately, Asp quickly covered for her, wanting it to seem like she was really participating.
“You are wise to waste no words, as your smile speaks well for you. Thank you for accepting my gift, and myself. May I forever please you as I did just now.” No shade could hide the brightness on Asp’s face. His smile was as genuine as they come, and Syn turned away bashfully, almost giggling from not knowing what else to do.
The others were very impressed, especially Mr. Thicknose. He suddenly had high hopes for this boy, as it was rare to find a romantic child, especially a male. They usually found things like this unimportant or gross. He could visualize at once Asp with a mate and very happy someday. He certainly had the skill to attract a girl.
“Splendid job, lad, splendid,” Mr. Thicknose congratulated him. “I have never seen such a well-done answer to this topic. You showed generosity and thoughtfulness. You were kind, sophisticated, and polite, even helping when you needed to. You’ll go far with romance.” Asp beamed and fidgeted with the dirt using his foot as his hands were behind his back. Now he wanted to try the longnecks, so he looked at them both, now having high hopes for this generation. Kids had come a long way since he’d been one. “Now, Littlefoot and uh-” he trailed off, regretting his cancellation of introductions as he looked at the girl.
“I’m Star!” she informed him merrily, jumping as she said so.
“Thank you,” he replied, clearing his throat. “Yes, Littlefoot and Star, let’s see how you do.”
The sky puffies overhead had been moving slowly, and now they had finally come to rest under the bright circle. The Great Valley was suddenly filled with a dim shade, and while it was pleasantly cooling, it sucked away the jovial atmosphere that normally hung about when daylight was sharing its gift in all its glory. A breeze rustled through some tree branches then stopped almost as suddenly as it had come. In the clearing where they stood, it was suddenly so quiet that you could hear a tree star drop. Littlefoot swallowed twice, looking hard at Star. This would have been far less awkward if she had licked him so earlier.
“Um,” he mumbled then grew silent for a few seconds, “you like nice today.” Then he suddenly froze as his eyes widened. Star looked at him expectantly. “Err, not that you didn’t look nice yesterday! I mean, I didn’t see you yesterday so maybe you really didn’t. Wait, I mean surely you all always look this nice. That is-” fumbled out of his mouth at a great speed until it stopped abruptly. He gulped as blood rushed to his face, and he shifted his weight from side to side. He was almost shaking as all eyes were on him during this moment of being completely lost and embarrassed.
Star grinned and had to keep herself from laughing. She looked down for a moment then glanced back up at him, eyes shining like the stones near the Smoking Mountain. She approached him very slowly, and Littlefoot was too tense to consider backing up and moving closer. It was all on Star to save him now. She reached Littlefoot then just stood there for a while, looking into his eyes. Suddenly, like a bolt of lightning, her face jolted forward, and she kissed him on the cheek.
“Thank you. You’re a sweet boy,” she told him softly. Unlike Asp, however, who was very mild in his expressions to Syn, Star wore a countenance that was as seductive as they come. Littlefoot tilted his head up and swallowed hard to get the lump out of his throat. He was so stiff that he nearly fell over. His mouth was dry so he sounded somewhat hoarse at first, but finally the words stumbled out of his mouth, the only ones he could think of to say in response.
“You’re welcome.”
Mr. Thicknose was not entirely disappointed, but had expected more from one of his star students. He hadn’t taught about this before, but Littlefoot usually caught onto things faster than most others, sometimes than anyone at all. He wondered if maybe he should have spoken more about it rather than just thrusting the kids into unfamiliar territory, but he didn’t have much to say on the matter. Love is unique for everyone. He can guide the kids, but he can’t instill what love is or what methods work best. There was no science to this, and that made Mr. Thicknose doubt the very foundation of the lesson. But then he shook his head. This matter was important and needed to be brought up. He wouldn’t let these fine children spend their adulthood single if he could help it.
“You may want to get some advice from the yellowbelly boy, but not too bad,” he told Littlefoot for his “grade.” “You approached her comfortably and started conversation. You were complimentary but just got a little tongue tied in the process.” Littlefoot grinned and chuckled sheepishly, and Asp looked awkward. He was not used to getting compliments so being an example made him rather uncomfortable. He shifted and did not meet Littlefoot’s eyes.
“I guess I don’t have to do this,” Cera said quickly and hopefully, breaking any tension in the air. “No other kids here.”
“Not to worry,” Mr. Thicknose assured her with a smile. “You can practice with me.” Cera’s mouth hung agape, but only for a moment.
“Ugh, gross,” she thought to herself, squinting her eyes slightly, but Mr. Thicknose thought it was only because the bright circle was shining down unhindered again. He decided that he would start off, as it was tradition for male dinosaurs to approach the girls.
“Good morning, my dear,” he said to her formally.
“Yeah, hi, whatever,” she mumbled. Mr. Thicknose gave her a warning look but continued.
“You have some rather nice horns for a female,” he complimented, awaiting her bashful pleasure at being spoken to so highly.
“What did you say!?” she exclaimed angrily, taking Mr. Thicknose by surprise. “My horns are just better than anyone’s, certainly any boy’s!” She stomped on the ground, turned away, and began walking off, sulking most severely.
“Looks like I can give some tips to Mr. Thicknose as well,” Asp whispered to Syn, and she giggled slightly with a hand over her mouth. Mr. Thicknose hadn’t heard, but he cleared his throat at just that moment, so Asp thought that he had. He straightened up immediately in reform.
“Now then,” Mr. Thicknose continued, hiding his awkwardness, “I hope you all have seen what isn’t a good idea to say to someone you like. Compliments can be a double-edged stone that must be used properly.”
“Riiight,” Asp whispered, and Syn couldn’t suppress her laughter this time. Mr. Thicknose turned to her sharply.
“What is it you find so entertaining, young lady?” he asked her. He knew exactly what, but his pride forced him to ask anyway. Asp quickly stepped forward in reverence.
“It’s my fault. I told her a joke during the lesson,” he admitted, and Syn looked at him in silence.
“See to it that that does not happened again,” the old dinosaur warned him, giving him a look that complimented his words and tone. Asp nearly shuddered.
“Understood,” he replied, barely above a whisper. Syn took ahold of his hand and squeezed it, and so Asp was able to relax and get some color back into his face. Mr. Thicknose felt that he had planted a seed in the children, and nothing more could he say to help them along with this. Love is learned by experience, trials and error, and will. He had no idea what the future held for his students, but he was determined to set them on a clear path.
“Alright, you are all dismissed,” he told them.
The children walked briskly away, but Asp circled around behind Mr. Thicknose without him noticing, as he was still deep in thought. He plucked a large leaf and dipped it in a nearby puddle he had seen earlier. He then set it right in front of one of Mr. Thicknose’s front feet then hurried back to his friends. Cera snickered, but Littlefoot and Syn looked concerned. They didn’t dare get Asp in any more trouble, but they didn’t want Mr. Thicknose to hurt himself. Asp assured them that he was tough and would be fine, so they quickly hurried away so they wouldn’t be caught at the scene of the crime.
“They’re good kids,” he thought to himself. “They don’t need much guidance either. I wonder if I’m not all that needed.” His thoughts troubled him, as self-doubt is a powerful foe. At last, tired of thinking and hungry, he started to head over to some bushes for a snack. However, he stepped on the leaf, slipped forward with a cry, and came crashing down onto his belly, sore, but otherwise unharmed. He spied the slippery green food as he lied there and said with a frown, “Then again…”
********************
“That teacher is a real piece of work,” Asp said half-jokingly, half upset for calling Syn out like that.
“He means well,” Littlefoot assured him as they walked along a field of tall grass that reminded him of Spike. He loved eating here. Asp shrugged his shoulders, believing the longneck but done with the subject.
“Let’s play a game or something,” Cera suggested, her boredom echoing from the tallest mountain. They all paused to think about it. A game was a good idea but a rather general one.
“Hide and seek?” Asp offered before anyone else had a suggestion.
“That would be awesome!” Star concluded, jumping up excitedly. No one objected, so all the kids began to hide. Littlefoot found a big boulder, and Asp and Syn found some berry bushes together. They might get hungry while they hid. Star was looking this way and that for a good spot and finally settled on the same place Littlefoot was, but there wasn’t enough room so he whispered that she find another place. Cera found some tall trees to her liking and hunched down behind one. Suddenly, Asp froze, and a huge smile curled across his lips.
“Hold it!” Asp shouted with a laugh, and they all stopped and looked at him. “Guys,” he said, still barely able to talk through laughter, “We can’t all hide. Someone needs to be picked to find the others.”
“Oh, right…” Littlefoot said, embarrassed along with the rest of them. Their minds were still stuck on that awkward lesson from Mr. Thicknose, so they’d actually forgotten the rules of the game for a moment. They all came out from hiding, as they’d all seen where everyone was anyway.
“I can be the one who looks,” Asp offered and waited to see if anyone had a problem with it. When no one did, he went over to a tall tree, leaned against it, and closed his eyes. He counted to three in his head then began counting from one out loud.
Littlefoot ran a ways and crouched down behind a bush he could circle around as Asp looked, Cera made her way into a large crevice in the valley wall, and Star hurried away and knelt behind a tree. Syn looked all around, trying to decide on a perfect spot, but she kept finding reasons to hide somewhere else. Wanting to impress Asp by being found last was making her indecisive. She wandered around for a while and still could not find somewhere that suited her. So, instead of settling down, she kept up her search long after Asp had finished counting.
“Ready or not (though I hope you all are) here I come!” Asp called out. He ran from the tree excitedly then slowed down after a few seconds to scan the area. He wanted his eyes to work before his feet had to do much. As expected, however, there was no one in sight. He glanced around several trees and found nobody. He then began walking in a direction that wouldn’t lead him to any of them. As he got farther and farther away, Cera giggled. She was certain that he couldn’t hear her from that far away. Well, sometimes certainty can be wrong. His sensitive ears had perked up, and he turned and began coming back. Looking toward the great wall, he made his way towards a small opening in it.
“Uh oh,” Cera said to herself, backing up to be more hidden in the darkness. She did NOT want to be the first one caught. Her pride was screaming at her to keep out of sight. She went around a small corner invisible from the outside so that even if he poked his head in somewhat, it would seem empty. That was a good idea, but she stepped on a stone and let out a quiet but audible cry. Asp quickly arrived at the crevice and grinned.
“Well, I’m sure that no one hid in there. It’s gross. I saw a lot of bugs crawling around in there when I got here.” Of course, that wasn’t the case, though he knew it might be, so he had decided to find her in the easiest and safest way possible.
“Eek!” Cera screamed as she rushed out and bumped into Asp. They would have fallen over if he hadn’t been expected this, but he had braced himself for impact, keeping them both on their feet. He laughed heartily as she backed away from him with anger on her face.
“That wasn’t fair!” she complained. “You tricked me!” It was obvious by his laughter that he really hadn’t seen anything there earlier.
“Since when did hide and seek have finding rules?” he asked with a smirk.
“Since- since- there just are, okay? So I didn’t officially lose!” she insisted, her face red and hot.
“Okay, Cera. You didn’t lose. Got it,” he told her quickly with a nod and serious expression.
“Are you being sarcastic?” she asked, tone rising.
“Me? Sarcastic?” Asp looked and sounded quite injured. He put a hand to his chest and continued, “Goodness gracious, far be it from me to utter words that aren’t lined with sincerity! It’s official- you didn’t lose.”
“Well, I’m glad we got that settled,” she replied, satisfied as she turned away.
“Heh, she is so clueless,” Asp thought, chuckling to himself then he rubbed his hands together. “Okay, now to find the others.” And he knew just how to do it. He started climbing up the side of a cliff wall, and, when he was satisfied at his height, he bent over and grabbed a handful of dirt. Pulling his arm back, he thrust it as hard as he could into the area below. He leaned his head outward, holding a hand to his ear, and listened very carefully as the dust started to settle. It was faint, but he heard it alright. Somebody sneezed. He scurried down and began running towards the noise.
“It sounded like a guy, so it must have been Littlefoot,” he said to himself. He ran through some bushes until he hit someone. The impact knocked him down, and he stood up quickly and rubbed his behind. Then he glanced forward to see the angry expression of a grown clubtail.
“What’s the big idea, throwing all that dirt at me!?” he bellowed. He pressed his face against Asp’s menacingly.
“Are you the one who sneezed?” Asp asked him curiously.
“Hey, are you even listening to me!? Answer my question!” the clubtail bellowed.
“So it was you who sneezed then?” Asp repeated with a yawn. This conversation was boring him.
“Yeah, it was, and I don’t appreciate- Hey!” he screamed when Asp turned and walked away casually.
“It wasn’t Littlefoot after all. Oh well. At least I have my backup plan.” As he moved along, however, someone blocked his path.
“I wasn’t finished talking!” Mr. Clubtail shouted. “Now you listen here-”
“Hey, will you quiet down, already? I’m trying to find some friends of mine.”
“Quiet dow- You insolent child!” His voice was red with rage, and his bopper tail was starting to curl around. “Respect your elders, you brat!”
“You’re my elder?” Asp questioned.
“Of course I am!” he exclaimed, face almost purple now. “Do I look younger?”
“Do you look younger than what?” Asp pressed, yawning again.
“Than- Oh, that does it!” He stomped the ground so hard that Asp nearly fell over. “I am going to knock some sense into-” Suddenly, Littlefoot emerged from his hiding place and got between them. He stared at Mr. Clubtail pleadingly.
“Please, calm down. Asp is new to the area. Give him a little break, okay? I’ll talk to him about this.” Littlefoot had an apologetic tone that eased the anger in the air, and Mr. Clubtail’s expression slowly grew mild. He looked at Asp then back to Littlefoot.
“Pfft. Fine. He isn’t worth my time anyway.” With that, Mr. Clubtail tromped away. Littlefoor turned to Asp at once.
“What did you think you were doing, talking to Mr. Clubtsail that way?” Littlefoot asked him. “He might have hurt you!”
“Oh, it’s not what I thought I was doing, it’s what I did. You hid really well, and you seemed like the peaceful type that likes to break up fights. Now just Star and Syn remain,” he finished rubbing his hands together again and looking around. Littlefoot just stared at him for a moment in disbelief.
“Wait a minute!” Littlefoot asked in shock. “You started a fight just to find me?”
“Well, the dust storm didn’t work, but that was my second plan if it failed. Well, see ya. I have some girls to locate.” With that, he turned and began walking away, searching carefully with his eyes. Littlefoot stared as Asp walked away.
“His ways are even sillier than that yellowbelly herd I helped a while back!” the longneck exclaimed. Then his voice softened as he watched the yellowbelly go. “But I guess they work too.”
********************
Asp turned his head this way and that. He was expecting to have a hard time finding everyone else, as he was out of ideas of how to outsmart them, but his worries were needless. He grinned as he spied the tip of a tail protruding from behind a tree. He crept over silently.
“Hm,” he said very loudly. “I sure hope everyone is hiding well. I wouldn’t anyone giving their position away with, oh, a tail or something.” Immediately, Star pulled her tail in out of sight.
“Phew, that was a close one, Star,” Asp called out. “If you hadn’t pulled your tail in, I might have seen it.”
“Thank goodness!” Star thought to herself. “I wouldn’t want to give my location away.” Then she paused in thought for quite some time. The entire area was silent as Star began analyzing what had just happened. Suddenly, she exclaimed, “Hey!” and came out from behind the tree, laughing. Asp, wearing a big smirk, walked directly in front of her and crossed his arms with a grin.
“Aw,” she moaned in mock sadness. “Bad tail!” she shouted, thumping it hard in the ground. Asp chuckled then moved on.
“Now to find Syn. She’s a really good hider,” Asp said to himself.
Syn, however, had not hidden at all. Her search for a good spot had merely led her far from the others. She would never give up, so she pressed on. The grass was cool to her feet and made the trek comfortable. The sky was clear, but some trees she was passing gave a peaceful shade. A hum slipped from her mouth as she did her best to find a place where she would never be found. Suddenly, her tune was interrupted by a small cry of surprise. She turned around and looked about but saw no one. Walked ahead for a bit, she nearly fell into a hole. She flailed her arms to stead herself, emitting a loud, “Whoa!” but she managed to stay on her feet. When she had regained her balance, she was breathing hard from the ordeal and her heart was racing. She finally peeked down into the little hole, and she couldn’t help but notice what was in it- a baby threehorn who must have just fallen in. Pink and looking very frightened, she tried jumping out, putting her front legs up on the wall, but it was no use. Syn looked around for a parent, but there was no one in sight.
Syn lied on her side and reached her arm down as far as it would go and tried to pull her out, but the hole was too deep. Her hand barely poked the little threehorn’s nose. The bright circle was beating down hard in this spot, no shade, so the baby must have been very uncomfortable. She had to get help to get her out, but she didn’t want the baby to get bright circle burned in the meantime. Running back to a tree for a leafy branch, Syn returned and covered the hole. Making sure it was secure, she quickly turned to find someone but immediately let out a cry of alarm for doing so earlier than she’d expected. She had just bumped into another threehorn- a very, very angry one.
Chapter End
“Yeah, this is Asp. Sorry if I sound annoyed right now. I am, actually. Next time on Familiar Love, Mr. Threehorn gives my best friend a hard time, and no one, and I mean no one, messes with Syn when I’m around… He had better make up for it!”
