"Absolutely not!" Grandpa exclaimed, grabbing Nahla by the tail and gently pulling her away from the edge. "I know it must be very difficult for you, but no way am I going to kill you. One: It's actually against the rules of the Great Valley to kill any leaf eater, especially a child, so I could end up getting banished for life. That's why in a way I'm glad Mr Threehorn didn't kill you. Two: I've lived a good full life without killing anyone and I don't intend to start now." He looked out over the horizon, sighing. "I'm sorry," he said eventually.

Grandpa sighed. "Do you need some time alone?" he asked her, ready to shoo away the other young ones.

"Ducky? Spike?" came a familiar voice to all of them. Somehow, Grandpa Longneck had managed to climb to the spot where they all were now.

The two elderly longnecks exchanged worried glances as Nahla ran away.
"Nahla!" Grandma called. "Oh my...."
"I have to go after her," said Grandpa. "We can't have her running into trouble again. Littlefoot, will you be okay staying here?"

"Littlefoot had a bad sleep story," Grandpa explained, still trying to calm down the terrified longneck. Grandma just lay there, feeling helpless. She looked over to Nahla.
"How are you feeling?" she asked her.

"Shh, it's over now," said Grandpa, wrapping his neck around his grandson in a comforting way. "You're back in the Great Valley, Nahla is recovering well, and there is no longneck as black as the night sky here." He was concernced, though. Should he just tell Littlefoot that he had seen Hades in his sleep story? He decided to leave it for now and talk to him about it later, and he rubbed his head gently against the young longneck.

Both of his grandparents were sleeping peacefully. Grandma shifted her head slightly, but apart from that and the obvious signs that they were breathing steadily, there was little movement from either of them.

Grandma ate the treesweets that were by her side, and almost immediately her head felt clearer, although it was still painful, and her muscles were still weak. She stayed awake and watched the others drift off into sleep. She uncomfortably shuffled further away from Littlefoot, not willing to take the risk. She then looked over to Nahla, knowing that the colours were familiar, but she was struggling to remember exactly where from. It wasn't going to bother her for now, though. For now, she needed more rest.

"For now," Grandpa replied. "It can only really survive in the Shadowlands, so it should die out of her system eventually, as most illnesses do. If she eats well and gets strong again I'm sure it'll go."

Grandpa placed the sleeping longneck down, before answering his grandson. "He tried to, Littlefoot," he said solemnly. "But he failed. We have to make sure she stays with at least one grown up until he calms down." Within a few moments he heard shifting and moaning from the other large body in the area, and her mate walked up to her. "How are you feeling, dear?" he asked as his wife opened her eyes and looked at him.
"Awful," she replied. "What happened?"
"Well, you've caught a bad illness, probably from Nahla," Grandpa replied. "I got some treesweets for you that will help you recover quicker." Grandma looked at him, shocked.
"You mean... the Shadowlander's curse?" she questioned faintly. Grandpa hesitated for a moment before slowly nodding at her.