Chapter 11

Leaving the old Longneck to his sleep, he wandered off, considering the group at just the furthest he could reliable recognize them. From this distance, those damned webs merely made the old female look like she had just come from a shower under falling waters somewhere.

Groaning, he muttered something non-definable, even to himself, under his breath. He would not be made out to be a coward, certainly not while he lived. Even if that meant he had to deal with this now.

Grumbling some more, he went in search for the pink Threehorn, because no matter how much he'd like to deny it, it had been a logical explanation. He had accepted everyone else back, even Pterano of all creatures, but had kept Tria at body's distance. What a mess...

He found her in her hidden glade, a place he was quite certain she thought he did not know about. Ah well, that secret might be out as well at the rate things were going.

"Tria?" He did not flinch when she did, he refused to admit he did.

"Ah..." She blinked at his approach, sky-blue eyes almost shuttering close as he approached. By the time he was at her side, they had become unreadable. For someone as emotionally open as her, that was almost scary.

"Am I right in assuming you are not really doing anything now?" He settled down at a respectable distance. "This does not seem like a meeting-spot, really."

"It isn't." She looked away, looking over the small area. It would be a tight fit for any more grown-ups than the two of them comfortably.

"It's nice, I suppose." He mused, taking a deep breath. "Just like the reeds." Oh, that look... she knew exactly what he meant with that.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Cera had learned not to question her father's moods too much, that usually ended up weird. But when he returned to their nesting-site... and so did Tria... it took a lot out of her not to speak up.

The awkward could be scooped up in solid chuncks, but they were sleeping on the same bit of Valley floor, the last time of which at this point had changes of the Night Circle ago. Grown-ups were just weird all around.

Quirking an eyebrow, she noted a shape among the nearby trees. Briefly passing through some light getting under the tree-stars, Chomper's mother was walking calmly away from the corner they were living at. The light-green form was nearly grey in the gloom, looking like a living shadow as it headed towards where the Longnecks had their own place.

That also felt weird still. Chomper's father had remained firmly in his corner of the Valley, aside from a few instances. Chomper's mother meanwhile walked around like she was a regular resident and didn't still send some dinosaurs running for cover out of sheer instinct.

She wondered how much weirder it was going to get, before it all settled into a new normal. Knowing this place, it could get very weird still.

Instead of spending most of the night wondering about it, the older Threehorn-child settled in her normal place, while Tricia seemed to be taking her cues from her and only curled up once she had.

The two grown-ups also rested down, bidding them goodnight without any statement regarding both of them being here now. She hoped they'd at least talk about this tomorrow, otherwise she just might explode.

Glancing at Tricia, her little sister had already fallen asleep, sublimely unaware of the drama... or perhaps just youthfully-immune. It was kind-off enough to make her jealous.

"Go to sleep, Cera." Tria softly reminded her, which was fair considering the height of the Night Circle already.

"Alright, alright." She curled around her younger sister, feeling her father at her back. The one undeniable upside to this whole mess was the fact that now, there were windbreaks on both sides of them again, which was helpful considering the colder times were coming soon again.

Nopes...

Dino-person?

Chapter 9

"Well?" Cera looked up at the large pink form resting at the water's edge. In the distance, she could just make out Littlefoot's family, barring his grandfater, and no doubt was her friend somewhere nearby, but that was a concern for later on.

"Mind... I am speculating, since only he can give a definite opinion about, well, his opinions..." Tria mused, crossing her forelegs as she got comfortable. "Tell me, Cera... how often has Grandpa Longneck lost a partner?"

"Errr..." The orange form blinked in confusion.

"Indulge me, dear."

"Just the once... I believe?" Cera looked over at the Longneck-herd on the other side of the waterhole. "I never heard anything about a previous wife or something." Then again, why would she hear about anything about Longneck-history?

"Yes, he and Grandma met young and are one of those couples that last a lifetime, according her." Tria chuckled. "What about Mr. and Mrs. Swimmer?"

"I guess it doesn't count for whatever your point is that he leaves with Farwalkers for Cold Times?" She was realizing that they were getting somewhere now.

"It does not. Chomper's parents?" The older female looked over at Tricia, who was quietly watching them both.

"Not that I heard anything." Then again, Chomper had not exactly spend long with them himself, so it might well just be that he did not know himself either.

"And your father?" Sky-blue eyes focused firmly on the older hatchling. "How often did he suffer from a broken heart because of loss?"

Cera didn't answer that, the mere reminder of her mother a sharp hurt in her chest.

"Your father did three times... The first time me, when my father dragged our herd away suddenly before even giving me a chance to say anything to him, leaving him to wake up one day and notice me gone. Which granted, is not as bad as his loss of your mother, but it will certainly have hurt him dearly, even if he would not admit to it on pain of death." Tria evenly pointed out. "Then, of course, your mother, whom I am very sure he loved as dearly as he ever did me. He still has not told me any details on the matter, aside from the statement that she very much was killed by Sharpteeth. And at the same time, he lost all your nestmates." Then, she gestured to the newly arrived Sharpteeth, Tyra briefly looking over at them. "And third this mess."

"Shouldn't he be happy then? Happy that this time he got you back?" Cera found that her voice wavered at the question.

"Should he?" Tria countered. "He now has to deal with the realization that he might lose a love a fourth time."

The younger Threehorn made to counter, but no sound passed her lips.

"Life is unpredictable at best." The older continued on as if not noticing her. "Yes, he is older than me - by a bit - but that does not mean old age will get him first, not to mention all the other ways someone can be lost even without dying. Can you assure me he'd be able to handle a fourth broken heart, Cera?"

She could not. Cera inwardly had to admit that she could not, not after seeing how he had handled the third time.

"I think - and again, this is just speculation - I think your father is not sure himself. And until he is, he will not admit that it might be a thing that can happen in his future."

"By refusing to accept that you are what he loved." She realized softly.

"Yes." Tria answered softly, lowering her head a touch. "And we both know him, Cera. Trying to force the issue will only make it worse."

"So..." It was a painful thought, and had she been less humbled she might have stubbornly refused to accept that her father could be afraid of anything. But certainly this was a better explanation than any other she could think of. She could hardly begrudge the older Threehorn-male his desires to keep his heart safe. "We wait?"

"We wait." Tria nodded lightly, looking out over her. "I will not force your father into this, Cera, I do love him too much for that."

sandwich

Eternity

Pie

Chapter 7

One of the humans also said something and Bron could see the yellow human flinch at whatever it was. Beside him, the lighter Sharptooth purred something, which made her mate make a very interesting sound he couldn’t quite place.
In front of them, his mother-in-law was talking softly to one of the humans, this one mostly white. Littlefoot seemed intrigued, though his eyes kept moving back to the yellow form.
“You cannot be serious.” The elder female recoiled and Bron nearly shot forward to get his son out. Having sensed what he wanted to do however, the female Sharptooth was already in his path, shaking her head lightly.
“It is far too early for something like this, Cian.” Hadria pointed out, eyes fixed on the white human. “We barely came home.”
Oh, that did not sound good by any means. He didn’t even need to hear whatever it was the humans were saying to know that.
“You cannot ask this of me.” The elder female’s voice had dropped again and he noted with some horror that there was despair in there. “Cian, even you must be able to see how poor he looks. He will not survive this.” Below her, Bron saw his worst fears confirmed when Littlefoot’s attention turned to the back, eyes looking at the dangerously thin older male Longneck.
Grandpa Longneck flinched, almost recoiling. “Dear?” The neat separation fell apart when the grey male moved forward, bypassing even the other returnees to join his wife. “What are they asking?”
There was a tremble in the old body, though Bron was unable to tell if it was exhaustion from the trek here or something deeper.
She turned to him in answer, and with that profound abilty that one can only gain by being together for most of their lives, it seemed he knew everything just from that look. Their heads met gently, and though he could not hear it, he saw her mouth move.
He could tell that the Sharptooth did manage to hear her though, the light-green form shifting. Below them, Tria considered the scene, sky-blue eyes narrowing lightly. Even the humans were not making a sound, from what reached him, at least.
“I will go.” The tension had bled from the elder female at the touch of her mate.
“Wait, what?” Tria’s eyes snapped upward. “Longneck…?”
“I will not argue the point, Tria.” Grandpa backed away some and Bron was more than sure that this time the trembling was from apprehension at his wife’s statement.
“I am pretty certain we can all agree that there are better options.” Pterano spoke up. “Far better options.”
Even the Sharptooth seemed to think so, a deep growl filling the air around them. It was getting quite clear that it might well result in another of the Valley’s day-long arguments, when a human made itself heard again. It was not the yellow one, though from the reactions, it might well have been a worse one.
Bron could not stop his instinct to back away when the Sharptooth roared in anger, red eyes alight with rage.
“Tyra.” Despite her attention being on the female above him, Littlefoot almost scampered out of the way when Chomper’s mother wheeled on the one that had spoken, roaring something that was both accusation and challenge. “I am not deaf. Stand down.” She strained against the words, something having put her near a bloody rampage. “Tyra. I can and will stop you. Stand down.”
“Me thinkest we ought to let her.” Hadria countered sharply. “Someone has apparently forgotten exactly what led to these events.”
“If someone does something here, it will not be us, Hadria.” Grandma looked down. “Chomper.”
“Errr… yes?” The little Sharptooth was still standing between his father’s feet, where he had been translating what he himself had understood.
“Tell your father he can eat the human that last spoke.” Whatever the thought-process that led to that statement, it seemed to mollify the other grown-up Sharptooth, even if he didn’t like the thought himself.
“You are aware that a bunch of children are here, right?” He finally made himself heard, almost flinching at the look his mother-in-law gave him. It was as if he was a youngster again, feeling the full judgement of the elder female when first meeting her. “Mama Longneck...” He dearly hoped the endearment would help him reach her. “With all due respect, I don’t think they ought to see that.” Either the very act itself, or even the mere fact that Grandma Longneck of all creatures had ordered it. Luckily, from what he could tell, Chomper had not yet translated it to his father.
“Bron.” The voice was cold, colder than he had ever heard of her. “He just suggested getting it all over with, removing these webs from us. I do not need to remind you what happened when Threehorn tried.”
He did remember… how could he not remember when she had told everyone that the stones were a part of them now, as much as any other part? That removing them could – and most likely would – kill them, no matter how carefully done. The human had suggested killing them all… it certainly explained the fury, because who wouldn’t be when threatened with death?
He came to almost admire the white human when it spoke up once again, drawing the elder Longneck’s attention down again. The small form, barely twice the height of Littlefoot broke free from the group, closing the distance between dinosaurs and humans. The act had to be admired, since Grandpa Longneck was shifting his weight in threatening ways. His tail wouldn’t do much against to something that small and probably nimble, but crushing was very much a feasible option.
“Do that.”

Heavy

Usermanual

iteration