Chapter Three:
The Birth of the Gang of Five:
Author’s Note: My apologies, Arvens and Malte, but my mind could not think of a better title.
It was evening. A small threehorn herd had stopped when one of their number had laid a clutch of eggs a few weeks ago. It was getting close to time for the eggs to hatch.
The father, Agahnim, was pacing back and forth on look out duty. He could smell sharptooth not that far away. He was particularly anxious this night. The others who were still awake could hear him muttering under his breath like he tended to when he was nervous.
The mother was fast asleep near the eggs. Well, at least, she was fast asleep, until she heard an odd cracking sound. She half-opened an eye to see what it was. She was nothing, so she closed it again. The cracking sound continued, until its level of annoyance was beyond ignoring. She got up to see just what was going on. After a moment, her sleep-induced mind registered that it was the eggs that were cracking.
“Agahnim!” she hissed, excitely.
“What is it?” he asked, grumpily, looking away from the direction of the smell of sharpteeth.
“The eggs are hatching!”
“What?” he said, coming over to see. He looked down and sure enough, a small threehorn was sticking out of one of the eggs.
“Oh, my gosh!” he said, looking upon the little creature, breathlessly, “The oldest!”
They couple became more and more excited as each eggshell broke, revealing another offspring. There was one left, and the little infant inside seemed to be having tough time breaking open the shell. Agahnim and his mate were tempted to help out, but they knew that the hatching must by done on its own.
One leg emerged, then another, then another, and another, until all four limbs had escaped the egg. Agahnim began laughing, in memory of something he had witnessed that was similar to this.
Half mad with being unable to escape, the little threehorn began running around wildly, unintentionally chasing its siblings around, who giggled at this funny sight, but avoided being run into, regardless. The moving egg run into Agahnim’s foot, breaking the shell, revealing a little girl.
“This one will be named Cera.” Agahnim said.
His mate smiled. “Such a pretty name. After you sister?”
“Yes.” Agahnim said, hiding the sad look that crossed his face, but not before his mate saw.
She didn’t say anything. The hurt was still there, regardless of how ëtough’ he always acted, but she knew he had feelings, all the same, and wounds, both external and internal.
She returned her attention to Cera, who had retreated until Agahnim after some lightning frightener her. “Cera.” She echoed.
Two nights later, not all that far away, there was a family of swimmers. They had also stopped to hatch their young.
The mother, Larana, was resting by the eggs. Watching over them intently, while her mate had gone away for a moment to catch a quick bite to eat. She had closed her eyes to relax a bit, when something bumped her face. Her neck recoiled in surprise, and she looked at the nest to see one of the eggs hopping around until two feet emerged, followed by arms at the other end of the egg. The little swimmer poked its head out. It was a girl. She looked and spotted a bug. She gazed at it in wonder and reached out to touch it. In her attempt, the egg she was still in rolled out of the nest and onto the ground. She jumped up and continued chasing the bug. Larana got up and kept an eye on her.
The infant chased the insect into a log and out the other end, where she landed on a small creature, both breaking the shell and scaring the thing she had jumped on into running. A snapping turtle opened its mouth at her and bite her little head of, but Larana stepped in took the child away, back to the nest, where the others eggs had hatched at this time.
“Momma.” The little swimmer giggled as she was carried back to the nest, where she gently laid into it with her sisters.
Later that very same day, in the tops of the great trees that still overlooked the world, a third hatching was taking place. There were four hatchlings in this flyers family. They begged the mother for a first meal, but she had none, as she had just sent the mother out to get some grub.
One of the hatchlings, a particularly curious one, had jumped onto the edge of the nest. The mother, Katira, quickly grabbed him away from him and scolded him, as he was too young to be trying that. But he was not discouraged, when she turned her back on him for a moment to see what the one who had tugging on her wing wanted, he jumped onto the edge again, and saw some other flyers soaring through the air.
ëIf they could do that, then so can I.’ Is what he was basically thinking, so he jumped off, over the edge.
Katira turned back to him just in time to see him jump. She shrieked as he went over the edge and took off after him.
He found himself falling as he was desperately trying to fly. He whirled around in the air and saw the ground getting closer. His instinctive fear of falling had kicked and he tried flapping harder, and thought that he was a goner, but Katira caught up to him and flew him to the nest. He was whimpering and cowering at the bottom of the nest as soon as he was placed back where he belonged for the time being.
Katira breathed a sign of relief and comforted the poor little hatchling. He calmed down, and she thought that he would be alright, but little did she know what psychological damage his silly attempt at flying had just done to him that would hinder his journey flight later.
“Aren’t they beautiful?” Thunderclap asked, as she looked over her eggs.
“Quite.” Embassy said, looking at them, then at enviously, “I hope to someday have some of my own.”
“Not while we’re out here.” Brook said, overhearing them as he rested, “We can wait until he reach the Great Valley, it’ll be tough enough traveling with one clutch of hatchlings.”
“You’re right, sadly.” Embassy said, then looked at the eggs, smiling, “Oh well, at least I have an opportunity to practice motherhood by way of baby sitting beforehand.”
“You’ll need it.” Brook said, light-heartedly.
“Hey!” Embassy said, slightly insulted.
Brook held a slight laugh and remained still.
It was not long before they were all asleep. Thunderclap’s tail was wrapped around the eggs, to protect them, but still there was danger lurking about, as even hatching could be dangerous.
“Get hot in it.” The lone egg-eater said, emerging from the wooded area to the left of the clearing where the longnecks were. He moved, surely, and silently towards the eggs. He leaped over Thunderclap’s tail and began eating the eggs.
One egg after the next was devoured by him as his monstrous appetite took control of him. He was just finishing the second the last and looked hungrily at the final egg. He reached over and grabbed it.
“Hey!” He heard one of the longnecks yell out, “Put that egg down!”
The egg-eater looked over and saw the younger male had woken up and he turned tail and ran. But he found himself faced with the three females of the herd and tossed the egg into the nearby river to distract them in order to make his escape.
“The egg!” the herd cried out almost in unison as they forgot about the egg-eater, unintentionally trampled him to reach the river, and looked into the waters in search.
“There it is!” Brook said, slipping his tail into the water and brought the egg out using it.
“Good job, Brook!” Elder Thunderstride said, “Thank the Great Circle for your sharp eye!”
“Ah, well…” Brook said, embarrassed. “I owed it to Bron.”
“Thank you.” Thunderclap said, rubbing necks with him.
“You’re welcome.” He answered and looked down at the egg. “Hey, I think the egg is moving.”
They down at the little miracle of life and saw that, it was, indeed, twitching a little bit. The thought that little creatures that were about to live only to be gobbled up by an egg-eater disheartened Thunderclap for a moment when she remembered her other eggs after the little struggle, but her attention was turned back to the little longneck that was about to come into the world.
First they legs emerged, upside down, then it rolled over the shell collapsed altogether, revealing the little one they called, Littlefoot.
He looked around, until his eyes caught sight of a pair of front legs and he looked up to see their owner.
He was an enormous longneck that lowered its neck until it was almost eye level with him.
“Well, here I am.” It said.
He recoiled in fear of the giant for moment, until he felt the rough lick his back and after the fear had subsided, he realized it felt good and that this could be none other than his mother. He licked her nose in response they two rubbed noses in affection.
“Looks just like his mother.” Could be heard from behind.
Littlefoot got up on her head. Thunderclap raised her gently and when it was to normal height, Littlefoot, slid down her neck and onto her back. He explored a little bit and looked around at the other four.
Tunderstride and Grayvale leaned in close to him to get a good look. He rubbed noses with each of them. After he had done the same with Brook and Embassy, he yawned and curled up on his mother’s back to fall asleep, as he was not worried as long as these five adults were around. He knew they would be together, always.
“You are my beautiful Littlefoot.” He heard his mother say to him right before he fell to sleep.
