Here's the next chappy! If all goes well, I should be getting new chapters out every week!
Chapter 8
This was by far way more terrifying than their first encounter. Don't get him wrong, that first pursuit was pure terror, still fresh in his mind; but this encounter was altogether very different. When he first came across them, they were just ordinary Leaf Eaters in his mind. When they tried to kill him, Chomper could've at least understood the reason behind it, and was regrettably almost used to it. But now, he saw them as real cold-blooded killers, murderers, for reasons he couldn't understand. Why would Leaf Eaters kill a Leaf Eater hatchling? It wasn't natural! These creatures weren't natural!
Pushing his legs as fast as they could go, he risked a short glance behind himself just in time to see the smaller male leap at him with claws intent on digging through his skin. With a cry, he instinctively threw himself out of the way, rolling into some undergrowth. His eyes were starting to fill with tears and he did his very best to keep them back so they won't hinder his retreat. Scrambling to get to his feet, he carefully slunk through the undergrowth as if he was stalking a Buzzer, but done a lot more urgently. Hopefully, the plants above him will shield him from sight…
Claws tore through the vegetation directly over him and he cried out as he took off, those same claws barely missing him as they attempted to grab him. Not knowing where was safe, Chomper dashed off in a random direction. Where should he go? What should he do? How was he going to get out of this? He didn't know the answer to any of those questions; right now, he was listening only to his instincts and they were telling him to keep running…
And also, to fight as he felt teeth sink into his tail and he screamed in pain as he looked over his shoulder to see who caught him. Realizing it was the female Domehead, he allowed a sharptooth growl to escape his mouth, his body on autopilot as it didn't particularly care about breaking his promise again. This was life or death, just like before; except this time, nobody was here to save him except himself and the very sharptooth nature he's been burying for so long. Turning around, he sank his own teeth into her muzzle, barely being careful to avoid the twin horns on her nose. Hearing the Domehead's muffled cry as well, he felt his feet leave the ground as she stood back up, attempting to shake his teeth from her snout. But Chomper had no intentions of letting go until she let go of his tail first, instinctively raking his claws against her skin, every one of his actions easily drawing blood.
Her scream only seemed to encourage him for an instant, but the action of screaming has caused the Domehead to release his tail and Chomper forced himself to stop and let go, landing on the ground and dashing off, only to be cut off by the smaller male. His intense fear just as strong as ever, he tried to retreat in another direction, only to be cut off by the leader. Glancing back at the female, he saw that she has recovered and was now glaring death at him. Struggling to catch his breath, he cried out on pure instinct, his words pulled from the very depths of his being.
"Mommy! Daddy!"
For an instant, the Domeheads seemed tense, before they realized that the sharptooth had no parents here to protect him; that desperate cry typical of a hatchling was completely useless. But still, Cepher glanced about with a soft hiss, aware that others could very well respond to the noise. Glaring back at the trapped sharptooth, he spoke with an incredibly sharp tone.
"Someone shut him up before one of those stupid Valley idiots actually start caring!" he snarled, Pacia nodding with a particularly malicious look in her eyes, nearly her entire muzzle covered in blood.
"It would be my pleasure." She stormed up to the sharptooth, who growled at her and attempted to bolt again. Luckily, she caught him, claws clamping onto the back of his little neck so as not to be bitten again. Vengefully, the female Domehead shoved the sharptooth's snout right into the dirt, muffling his cries and sobs. Rus immediately went to the nearest Tree Sweet tree, taking some vines and a fruit before walking up to the struggling sharptooth.
You're gonna die, you're gonna die! Keep fighting! You have to keep fighting! Those thoughts were practically screaming in Chomper's head, but no matter how much he struggled, he couldn't get free of the claws that held him. He was getting dirt in his mouth and he couldn't even spit it out as his sniffer was still being driven painfully into the ground. But then, there was some relief as the female allowed his head to shift and he spat out the dirt and pebbles in his mouth, immediately crying out.
"Let me g-!" That demand was cut off by a Tree Sweet being shoved into his mouth, so far in that it almost choked him and the fruit was large enough to take up his entire mouth. His teeth had punctured the skin of the fruit, drizzling horribly disgusting juice into his maw. He tried to spit it all out, but he couldn't manage it as it was wedged too tightly. Tensing his jaw muscles, he bit down on the fruit, seeing no other option. The Tree Sweet smushed between his teeth, his mouth flooding with the sickening juices and pulp and the large seed almost choking him.
Unfortunately, before he could spit the nasty piece of plant out, the smaller male tied his muzzle shut with a vine, smirking sadistically as he did so. Whimpering, Chomper couldn't bring himself to swallow as he knew it would only make him incredibly sick; too sick to really defend himself. Even holding the Tree Sweet in his mouth was torture and tears flowed freely down his cheeks as he felt his hands and feet being tied as well. Well, this was it. They were going to kill him, and he'll soon join the Swimmer hatchling still in the leader's grasp…
"That's good enough. Now let's get out of here." Cepher told his companions, casting one last look around before running off towards their clearing. Rus followed and Pacia took off after him, still holding the young sharptooth in an intentionally rough hold. The hatchling was still struggling despite his bonds, but neither of them paid any attention as they arrived in the home territory. Without missing any amount of time, Pacia threw the sharptooth against a tree, the hatching's muffled cry barely echoing passed the surrounding vegetation. Turning to Cepher, the others wondered their next course of action. Capturing the sharptooth had not been part of the plan at all, nor was said sharptooth supposed to have seen them with the hatchling Swimmer. Just how much did the stupid little critter see?
Cepher walked over to the hatchling, pulling the creature upright and pushing him hard into the tree to force him into a sitting position. The sharptooth whimpered and only looked up at him with terrified, tear-filled eyes and it brought a smirk on the lead Domehead's face. "You're quite a nasty and troublesome little sharptooth, aren't you?" He taunted, bringing the dead body of the Swimmer to the youngster's face. "You feeling hungry?"
The sharptooth responded to this with a teary glare, his anger showing easily in his fear, before turning his head away. Cepher growled in amusement before lifting a claw and turning the sharptooth's gaze back to him. "Then am I to assume you're enjoying that Tree Sweet?" he continued with his taunts, chuckling darkly as the sharptooth took on a sickened look, an obvious answer to his question. So the little one was starting to grow ill from the fruit… That's good. Then they can use it to their advantage.
With that little piece of info, Cepher immediately turned to business. "I can let you spit it out, sharptooth. We need to have a little chat with you, and for that we'll have to remove that vine." He caught a glimmer of hope in the sharptooth's eyes, no doubt hoping to call for help once his mouth was freed, and it felt all the more satisfying to squash that pathetic little hope. "But if you scream, we'll shove another one in there. If you scream and bite, we'll find a Tree Sweet that's a bit more on the…poisonous side." He snickered at the look of horror on the hatchling's face before he finished his statements. "Knowing that, I'm sure that even an idiot sharptooth like you will be smart enough to cooperate, yes?"
Seeing no other alternative, Chomper nodded. Keeping the Tree Sweet in his mouth was starting to take its toll. His head was starting to hurt and his stomach was trying to rid itself of the Crawlers he had for dinner. He couldn't take it anymore and, despite himself, he felt a bit of relief when the lead Domehead slipped the vine off his snout, the little sharptooth wasting no time spitting the disgusting stuff out of his mouth. There was still the after-taste to deal with, but at least the Tree Sweet was gone. He of course had the urge to scream, but he knew better than to make that mistake, lest the Domehead makes true on his threat.
His coughs and gags settling down, he wondered just what these Domeheads had in store for him and already his mind was swimming with possibilities, most of them having to do with bloodshed. He shuddered and his fear still wasn't going anywhere as the Leaf Eater before him growled out a question that Chomper almost missed, his mind so preoccupied contemplating his fate.
"How much did you see, sharptooth?" For a moment, Chomper didn't respond. Not really out of defiance, but because he was easily confused in this high state of extreme stress. When he did manage to choke something out, it was in a shaky mutter.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about." This earned a growl from the Leaf Eater, as if he thought Chomper was purposely testing him. The youngster tensed up, anticipating some more pain, but none came as the large dinosaur in front of him changed his question.
"What were you doing following us? Someone of your size really shouldn't be out so late." He told him, and Chomper couldn't help but feel a spark of irritation. 'Someone of your size'? What did he mean by that? He was not little! But that issue took the backseat in this situation and Chomper tried to find his voice again, not wanting to see how much patience his interrogator would have for him.
"I heard a scream and I only wanted to find out where it was coming from…" Tears were starting to well up again, but he held them back. "But I didn't find anything… So I used my sniffer and I found you guys…"
"You saw nothing else?" the Domehead growled sternly, glaring into his eyes even as Chomper shook his head.
"No. That's all I saw, I swear." No way was he going to say that he knew exactly how that Swimmer died; although he was pretty sure it was the truth, he saw no gain in accusing them of murder. In fact, that'll probably only make things worse and this situation needed no help in that department.
"He's lying!" the smaller male exclaimed, the female wasting no time nodding in agreement. Feeling his heart skip a beat, Chomper shook his head desperately, unable to keep himself from piping up.
"No, I'm not!" he defended, still hoping beyond everything that his words will count for something. The leader's glare at him never faltered, and Chomper stared right back, trying to keep himself from breaking in case the Domeheads will take that as a sign of deceit. After a long moment of silence, the leader snorted and looked over to his companions.
"I suppose it doesn't matter either way. He has still seen too much and we can't afford him sticking around much longer."
A wave of fear crashed over Chomper as a whimper escaped his throat. Those words certainly had a very threatening ring to it, and he was certain that these might be his last moments. Gathering every bit of air, he tried to choke out some more words, his tears finally breaking loose as he began to sob. "Please…Don't hurt me…" It came out as a soft, pleading whisper and it surprised him that the Domeheads heard it at all.
Giving a smirk, Cepher shook his head as he placed the Swimmer's body on the ground. "
We won't be the ones you'll have to worry about, sharptooth. Only those that you so foolishly call your 'friends'." Reaching out behind their captive's back, he felt the sharptooth tense up as he untied the young one's claws, only to tie them up again in front for easier access. Taking the Swimmer's body again, he shoved it into the sharptooth's hold. "Mind taking that for me?"
The child tried to drop the body, obviously wanting nothing to do with it, but Cepher wasn't going to let him. His own claws forcing the sharptooth's grip tighter, he saw blood start dripping from the body. Shifting his grasp, he dragged the sharptooth's claws down the body, forcing the young one to mangle the corpse and stain himself with its blood. The carnivorous hatchling tried to pull his hands away, and almost seemed about to bite. Cepher wasn't bothered by that and even took advantage of the child's obvious urge to snap by ripping the Swimmer free of his grip and shoving it into that eager mouth.
It took a moment for Chomper to realize what just happened and he immediately let the Swimmer's body go and turned his head away. Unfortunately, he wasn't having a say in this at all and the large Domehead pushed the body insistently against his mouth. Chomper refused it and kept his jaws clamped tight. However, he soon felt claws prying it open and although he tried to struggle, it did not good as the body was pushed back inside. He was about to spit it out again when those same prying claws closed around his snout, keeping his mouth shut against his will.
Sobbing even more, he felt blood trickle in his mouth, replacing the Tree Sweet's disgusting after-taste with its more appealing saltiness. Although his sharptooth nature naturally craved more, he felt revolted by it. This was the same kind of Swimmer as Ducky; who knows, this might even be one of her younger sisters! It made him feel even sicker than he already was and he wanted the body out of his mouth much more than that Tree Sweet. In fact, he'll take another disgusting plant over this any time. But, mercifully, after what seemed like forever, the Domehead removed the body from his mouth and Chomper choked up on both his tears and that horribly delicious taste still plaguing his tongue.
Still whimpering and sobbing, he glanced up at the Domehead, who was examining the torn body thoroughly, and the little sharptooth tried to choke out some more words. "No more…"
"We have all we need." The Leaf Eater responded with a growing malicious grin. Chomper shook his head, trying to throw off the heavy tears tickling his cheek, and he continued his shaky attempts to speak with the question that's been plaguing his mind since finding them earlier that night.
"Why...?"
The Domehead turned his attention to him, his grin never once leaving his snout as he gave the answer Chomper wasn't looking for. "That's not really any of your business, sharptooth."
Feeling claws grab the scruff of his neck again, Chomper had little fight left in him even as he was picked up and carried off to who-knows-where. "My name's Chomper…" was the only thing to leave his bloodied mouth, and even then it wasn't as defiant as he intended it to be. Regardless, he was ignored as the trio left the clearing towards the Longneck nest. But it seems they didn't have to go that far before they ran into an old rival.
"What's with all the noise? Some of us are trying to sleep, Domeheads!" Mr. Threehorn growled as he glared at the trio, the leader of which seemed to be holding something behind his back.
"Your precious sleep can wait, old-timer. Gather your insignificant friends and arrange another meeting." Cepher growled back in his typical dominating fashion, much to Threehorn's increasing agitation.
"What're you talking about?" the impatient dinosaur huffed, only earning a smirk from the Domeheads as Cepher threw something at Topsy's feet. Glaring at the trio before looking down to see what they presented, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped as he saw a blood-covered Chomper staring imploringly up at him, the mangled body of a baby Swimmer laying right beside him…
Later That Night…The Rock Circle has never been so crowded as it seems that every Leaf Eater in the Valley, adult and children alike, has made efforts to attend the meeting. Many of the youngsters looked confused as to what was going on, their parents glaring towards the center of the circle, where Chomper stood free of his bonds next to the incriminating evidence beside him. He certainly didn't want to be here, and he was well-aware that his fate rested in the hands of those around him. It wasn't a good feeling, especially since the vast majority of them were obviously wishing him dead.
As soon as everyone was accounted for, Grandpa Longneck reluctantly started to speak, clearly upset despite trying his best to remain calm with this situation. "Tonight we gather to decide a…sentence… against Chomper for…unspeakable crimes against the Valley…" It clearly took a lot of will to say that, as Grandpa cared very deeply for Chomper and it pained him greatly to say those words. Looking down, he saw Littlefoot huddled by the leg of his grandma, distress and uncertainty written all over the young Longneck's face.
It certainly brought great pain to Chomper as he looked around at the faces of his friends. All of the gang, even Cera whom has accused him several days before, looked incredibly shocked at what was going on around them. Chomper could even feel a bit of disappointment radiating from them, especially from Mr. Thicknose, who couldn't even bring himself to look him in the eye. Unable to take it, Chomper spoke up.
"But I didn't do it! You have to believe me!" he shouted, only to earn a reprimanding glare from Mrs. Maia.
"Don't speak unless spoken to, sharptooth." She hissed. Chomper reluctantly closed his mouth as the Domehead trio spoke up for their part, expertly hiding their true sinister nature as Cepher retold what happened earlier, taking liberty to bend the truth.
"We were out on our night duty when we heard a loud scream closeby the Secret Caverns. I'm pretty sure at least some of you air-heads have heard it echoing through the Valley," This got some mutters from the crowd, many of them agreeing that they indeed heard that scream. "Of course, we felt the need to investigate and who should we find but this piece of dirt killing the child."
"That's a lie!" Chomper interrupted desperately, pointing accusingly at the Domeheads, knowing his future was at stake. "You all-"
"Silence!" Mrs. Maia once more reprimanded, her glare enough to remind Chomper of his place and he fell silent again, a mixture of fear, rage, and despair welling up inside of him. He had to tell everyone the truth, but he supposed that he'll have his time to speak. At least, he hoped he would…
The sharptooth silenced, the trio continued, Rus picking up where his leader left off. "We tried to intervene, but it was too late to save the young one. The sharptooth tried to run, but we certainly wasn't going to let him get away with such a crime."
The other Leaf Eaters nodded, returning their glares at the sharptooth, who remained focus on Grandpa Longneck. The old dinosaur stared back, sympathy heavy on his aged face as he spoke. "You may now speak, Chomper."
The young sharptooth wasted no time, putting every bit of everything he had into his words. "I swear, I didn't do it! I was in my nest sleeping when I heard the scream! I went over to see what it was; I-I thought it would be something that can help clear my name! I found a clearing and sniffed for the hatchling! My sniffer led me right to them!" He pointed to the Domeheads. "They had the Swimmer and I know, I KNOW that they're the ones who killed her!"
There was a heavy silence as confusion etched itself on the Leaf Eaters' face before a hostile chorus of laughter rang through majority of the adult crowd. A Leaf Eater killing another Leaf Eater was practically unheard of in this day and age, especially in such a peaceful place as the Great Valley. This sharptooth was out of his mind if he thought they were going to buy that story.
"Now why would we want to do that?" Pacia countered, her taunting smirk blending in well with the atmosphere around them. "This whole thing took place far from our territory, and even if it was closeby, we
chase, not
hurt, and certainly not
kill."
"You wanted to make it look like I did it! It was you guys the whole time, with the Fuzzer and the hatchlings! It was all YOU!" Chomper defended with all his might. "I bet it's because I bit you, huh?" He was looking right at Cepher, angry tears starting to well up again. "You don't like me because I bit you and now you're trying to get rid of me! I know it!"
"Those are heavy accusations over petty things." Cepher retorted with a growl. "I don't care that you bit me; I've been bitten by sharpteeth who can swat Buzzers bigger than you, kid. So unless you have proof, you have nothing to argue against."
"I do have proof! The Fuzzer still had your scent on it; the clearing you live in, I smelled blood in there, lots of it! Even this hatchling will have your smell on it!" Chomper exclaimed right back, not backing down from this critical debate. But that debate would end sooner than he would've like as Cepher made a final point with malevolent calm, not even skipping a beat.
"Of course that hatchling there would have our scent; we've been in contact with it when we caught you. As for your other claims, no one here has ever smelled any of the scents you're pointing out. Apparently, only you're picking it up so either your sniffer is broken, or you're just lying to save your own skin."
Silence as Chomper's heart fell. He had forgotten that his sharptooth nose was stronger than the Leaf Eaters; they couldn't smell what he could smell. Even the highly trained Spike would have difficulties picking up the scents Chomper could so easily identify. With a mountain of evidence against him, and nothing to support him, he took another approach.
"You guys have to believe me," Chomper muttered, looking to his friends and the few adults that had supported him. "I didn't do it… I admit, I don't really know why they're trying to get rid of me, but you have to believe me, please!"
Even more silence fell, except for the sniffles coming from Chomper and the rest of the gang, who couldn't do anything in defense. Even Littlefoot wasn't so sure anymore; he wanted so much to believe what Chomper was saying, but looking at that poor baby Swimmer who so tragically lost her own life before it really began…he just couldn't. The evidence was just too great.
Finally, after a long moment, Mr. Threehorn spoke up. "I'll be the first to say that I've never been too fond of having you here, Chomper. But like everyone else, I tolerated you as you've shown yourself to be different from the other sharpteeth we've all come across. We all trusted you, Chomper." Glancing down at his daughters, noting the tears on their faces, he found it a bit hard to finish, but pushed through regardless. "But you've betrayed that trust, and worse, you choose to lie to us all instead of telling the truth. You've been a decent sharptooth up to this point and you're still a child yourself, and taking those into account, I say your punishment be minimized…"
This got a very tiny sliver of hope through the dense fog of despair inside Chomper, but even that was crushed with the next sentence.
"Chomper, you're exiled from the Great Valley for the rest of your days."
END OF CHAPTER 8
