The Gang of Five
The Land Before Time => LBT Fanfiction => Topic started by: StrutEggStealer on June 04, 2012, 12:10:39 PM
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And here I guess I have a chance to show of my average writing skills^^
This is my first LBT fanfic!
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Pterano meant no harm, really. All he wanted was a chance, a chance to prove that no job was too big for him, a chance to convince everyone he was capable of being a leader. But, that wasn’t how it had turned out, much like all of his schemes. He was still regarded as a ne’er-do-well, a wild, crazy flyer who never thought things through; a pompous, stuck-up, self-centered jerk with absolutely no sense of responsibility. Pterano snorted in mid-air, staring gloomily ahead into the dusky horizon as the Bright Circle lowered itself before her sister circle took over her nightly duties.
It had only been a little over a month since his banishment, but already, it had seemed to Pterano that he had waited out over five cold times in the Mysterious Beyond. He was still with the far walkers, figuring it better to stick with greater numbers while he abided to his punishment. Now they were traveling along dry plains. Water and food here were scarce, but thankfully, the place where they were resting for the night happened to bear a considerable amount of green food. Pterano had cut off from the group upon entering this oasis and settled himself in a tree a ways off. It wasn’t that he disliked the company, but he had been feeling rather restless on the road and preferred to keep to himself. The other far walkers gave him a wide berth under these circumstances; really, under any circumstances. Pterano wasn’t very popular around here, but the old flyer didn’t really mind. It gave him time to think: about his banishment… about that idiotic Stone… about Rinkus and Sierra, his two henchmen that he hadn’t seen since his banishment and hoped he never would.
Rinkus and Sierra, Pterano mused absently. Rinkus was naive, borderline clueless, and easily manipulated. Pterano wouldn’t hesitate to land a hard whack on Rinkus’ head for some stupid idea or action, but Sierra was different. Nearly matching Pterano in height, wingspan, but being at least six seasons younger and bearing an awful temper, Sierra made a nasty foe. Pterano remembered one such incident when the two had a disagreement, which quickly escalated to a full-blown duel. Both of them ended up winded and nearly knocked senseless from repeated wing-blows, but Sierra, youth still somewhat on his side, kept getting up and coming back harder until Rinkus leapt in-between the dueling flyers and insisted they stop. Pterano couldn’t help shaking one nagging thought: Sierra had nearly beaten him. But aside from all the drama, Rinkus and Sierra had made good enough stooges.
Then the two had ditched him when he had returned to the Great Valley to seek the strange new Stone of Cold Fire. He blamed those ratty Rainbow Faces for spinning all that fancy-talk about the oh-so-magical-and-wonderful stone. Tripe! It was all frivolous tripe, and he was an idiot for listening. But he couldn’t forget that feeling he had, that stirring deep within his gut, that churning desire to go after that stone and claim its powers for himself.
Well, that plan had worked out fabulously. Not only had Rinkus and Sierra turned their backs on him at the last possible moment, but the Stone had also turned out to be a fake. Pterano sighed, hidden within his wings. Nothing had changed for him: he was still banished, but his sentence had been reduced somewhat. ëFive cold times’ is reduced? Well, at least he had been forgiven. And by whom? That oaf Topps still hates my guts, and I’m pretty sure Old Man Longneck would have rather my sentence be a lot longer.
Pterano’s eyebrows lowered in a pensive frown. Had there been any good that had come out of that episode…? Of course, seeing his nephews and nieces again! In their eyes, he was a hero; a brave and bold individual. Most of all, to little Petrie. A minute grin tugged at the corner of his beak. Petrie, his favorite nephew, still believed in him. The little flyer was convinced that Pterano, regardless of the fact that he had a hand in that little swimmer Ducky’s kidnapping (and not to mention that long-ago episode of leading half the herd into a deadly nest of fastbiters; the reason he was banished in the first place) could still change for the better. He had witnessed it himself, when his uncle had saved Ducky from a perilous fall.
Obviously, having ëgood’ inside you is not enough. Pterano grunted. But what else can I do to show them?
==
Tadaah!
Edit: I edited the title of this thread at StrutEggStealer's request.
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OK so, this was rather good! I like your writing style! :DD I didn't notice too many mistakes, and what I did see (and can remember off the top of my head) is that you should put a semi-colon after "who never thought things through" to break up that sentence a bit, as commas become too weak after awhile to hold ALL those thoughts together, and a semi-colon would act better and provide some much needed strength. :yes
If you're going to capitalize the Far in far walkers, the W should be capitalized as well if it's a proper title for them so: Far Walkers. However, since there are more than one group of far walkers (or so I'm assuming), it's probably best not to capitalize this anyway, as they aren't one-of-a-kind (unless of course as said, this is THE only group in existence).
The last thing I saw was the sentence mentioning Petrie with "The little flyer was convinced that Pterano..." etc, that one. That's kind of a sentence fragment there, because you don't actually mention what Petrie thinks, unless it's that the banishment COULD be changed, but as it's after a semi-colon, that indicates it's a somewhat but not completely related clause. So I'd consider rewording that by perhaps writing: "The little flyer was convinced that Pterano, regardless of the fact that he had a hand in that little swimmer Ducky’s kidnapping, (not to mention that long-ago episode of leading half the herd into a deadly nest of fastbiters), could still have the reasons for his exile changed." or something like that. :)
Other than those three things, I'm rather impressed with this, and I like how it's not just a complete reiteration of events, because you're putting Pterano's take on things in there, and explaining his relationship with the rest of the far walkers. So overall, it definitely meets criteria for a prologue. :yes
Somehow I knew that Strut wouldn't be kept out of of this. XD He's someone I'm toying with bringing back in my story as well, as I like revisiting old characters. :yes
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Dude that prologue was amazing. It kept us up to date of what happen before, after the movie. And compared to my frist chapter of my FanFiction this is so much better. I can't believe it's you're first FanFiction as well. Well done and keep it up! :DD
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@Pterano: Wow thank you so much for the feedback^^ I really appreciate it.
meh, I always seem to have some trouble with getting my thoughts in narrations down, but I'm glad you pointed those things out to me. Hopefully it's a little better now :)
@Mr. Wonk: I'm glad you liked it^^ I was going for something that I reckoned happened close enough after Pterano's banishment, but long enough after that there was time for some settling down I guess :D
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Well I wish I was more like you. You don't over analyzing everything. But you tell us a lot of info that we want to know. (Unlike me :lol:)
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Good job there!
To say something useful I realy liked this description:Pterano snorted in mid-air, staring gloomily ahead into the dusky horizon as the Bright Circle lowered itself before her sister circle took over her nightly duties.
I always liked impersonations with celestial bodys :) .By the way isn't it should be like "the Bright Circle lowered herself before..."?Realy don't know,just asking.
I also liked the fact that you realy told the things like how Pterano realy think.For example,Rinkus was a pretty intriguing character,he told Sierra that they should wait till Pterano finds the stone,and betray him only after that,but Pterano don't know this,so he can see Rhinkus as a dumb one.
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(Thanks for all the feedback thus far^^ much appreciated.)
=Part One
Several miles back, in the Great Valley, little Petrie was having trouble falling asleep. No matter how much he tossed and turned in his large nest, amidst his many brothers and sisters, he could not slip into slumber. Something was nagging him in the back of his mind. Petrie finally sat up and sighed. “It no use, me never getting sleep, tonight.”
Mama Flyer hopped closer to her little son. “Something the matter, Petrie?” She murmured softly.
Petrie turned to his mother with a mournful look. “Me thinking, Mama. Me miss Uncle Pterano.”
Mama Flyer stiffened. In the dark of the cave, Petrie would have missed it had the Night Circle not been shining like torchlight outside. He noticed her shiver and he sighed. “Me sorry Mama, me know Uncle Pterano did bad things, but he still my uncle and me still love him.”
Mama Flyer bent and wrapped her little son in her wings. “I know, Petrie. I know.”
“You think he come back soon?” Petrie’s squawky voice was slightly muffled. “That he be let back in when five cold times pass?”
Mama Flyer paused and sighed. Knowing her brother, she would have answered in short: a blunt ëno’ and that would have been the end of it. But she was talking to her son, who idolized Pterano, despite his past. “I don’t know, Petrie. I hope so.” Truly, Mama Flyer did hope that her brother would be welcomed back to the Great Valley, preferably sooner than later. She, like Petrie, wasn’t too happy about the sentence of five cold times’ banishment, but she knew that was what Pterano had to do. He never took responsibility for his actions, never had, and probably never would. To Pterano, responsibility got in the way of things; one didn’t need responsibility to lead a group, he was convinced. Pterano paid for that mistake with whatever dignity and honor he had left, not to mention an undefined length of banishment, after what happened the first time.
“Mama?” Petrie queried somewhere within the folds of Mama’s wings. “What you think Uncle Pterano doing now?”
Mama Flyer grinned. “Oh, I don’t know, probably getting ready for sleep. If he’s still with the far walkers, he’s likely very tired from all the traveling they do.”
“Me see,” Petrie sounded happy, and was that a yawn escaping his beak? “What he be doing tomorrow?”
Mama Flyer carefully laid her little son back into the nest. “He’ll be doing more traveling. That’s what the far walkers do, dear. Travel all the time. He’s probably very tired at the end of each day.”
“Me… me think so, too…” Petrie yawned again, his eyelids drooping until they were closed and his breathing leveled. Mama Flyer smiled gently and bent to give Petrie a little kiss.
~
Sleep for Pterano didn't come that easily. Every noise he heard, every twig snap, or rustle below caused the flyer to jerk out of his wing folds and almost topple off the branch he was perched on. It seemed like there was more noise tonight, or maybe it was just because he didn’t fall asleep immediately.
Just then, the flyer heard another noise, and this time it was the closest yet. Whipping out of his wings, Pterano balanced himself on the branch, glaring fearfully down into the darkness. His claws gripped the branch nervously as he croaked out in as brave a whisper as he could muster. “H-hello? Who’s there?"
Nothing happened. Pterano, narrowing his eyes and tensing his shoulders in case of a take-off, tried again. “I know someone's down there! Sneaking around won't do you any good, so -!” Pterano's beak closed with a loud snap as he heard a new voice below.
“N-no! Wait, see? Nothing wrong, here. I-I’m coming out. No cause for alarm.” There were more rustlings and then finally, a young dinosaur stepped out from behind a large fern. Pterano, threatening demeanor completely forgotten, gawked down at the youngster.
It was a young Egg-Stealer, Pterano could tell that much, but he wasn’t sure why as the Night Circle didn’t really shed enough light through the trees for him to get a better look. Maybe it was something in the little one’s voice that gave away his species. Pale eyes glowing, the youngster peered intently up at the big flyer and piped up a cautious greeting. “’Allo, there. Name’s Taylen, what about yours?” The Egg-Stealer’s accent matched his own and for some reason, Pterano calmed down slightly because of that.
Pterano, in reply, spread his wings, causing Taylen to jump back in fear. The flyer quickly pulled his wings back in. “Everything’s fine, I’m not going to hurt you. I just can’t see you very well from up here.” Not waiting for the little one to respond, Pterano flapped nimbly to the ground. Taylen flinched slightly. “Hey, come on,” Pterano insisted, voice betraying some annoyance. “I told you I wasn’t going to hurt you and I meant it, so settle down.”
Taylen nodded quickly. “Uh, okay, right, sorry about that. So… who are you?”
“I'm Pterano,” the flyer cocked his crested head. “Now, what is someone your age doing all the way out here at this time of night? I’ve never seen you before in our group, so please explain yourself.” He straightened and folded his arms.
Taylen swallowed loudly. “Well, I’m-I’m trying to find someone, two someones, s’matter of fact. And I almost ran into a couple of sharpteeth earlier, so I ducked in here.”
“Is that so?” Pterano remarked. “Well, I suppose the next question on the agenda is who might you be looking for?”
“My brothers, Ozzy and Strut, who disappeared awhile back and I decided I’d go and look for ëem.”
Pterano raised an eyebrow suspiciously. “And where are your parents?”
Taylen paused. “Uhh… back with my herd. Why?”
“You mean to tell me that you’re out here all on your own?” The flyer was shocked.
Taylen shook his head. “No. You’re here, too, right?” The little dinosaur giggled nervously.
Pterano’s beak twitched in a minute grin. “True, clever that. But you really shouldn’t be out on your own like this. How old are you, anyway? You don’t look that old,”
“I’m not: I’ll be fourteen seasons by the end of next month,” Taylen sounded so proud. Pterano started, wings dropping to his sides in total astonishment. Taylen insisted. “I-I’m stronger’n I look, honest.” He thrust a forearm out and tried to flex. “See?”
Pterano could most certainly see, see that this youngster was out of his mind. “Look, um, Taylen. It’s dangerous out here. You need to get back to your family.” He bent so he and the Egg-Stealer were eye level, which was a little lower than what Pterano was accustomed. The flyer could practically taste the disappointment in the youngster’s voice.
“But, but, what about my brothers? I’m really worried ëbout them. They’ve been missing for so long.”
“I’m sure they’re fine, lad,” Pterano said reassuringly through a yawn. “They can probably fend for them – wait, are we talking younger or older brothers?”
“Older by at least two cold times.”
“Of course.” Pterano sighed. “Taylen, I am certain your brothers’ll be just grand. They can probably take care of themselves, so –”
“But that’s just it!” Taylen persisted, insistant. “Mum and Dad sent them out to scout for another home, but they haven’t come back! We all went out searching, and I snuck out to look for them, myself.”
Pterano sighed again. “You should have had one of your parents come with you, at least.” He chided. “A pint-sized Egg-Stealer like you’d be swallowed by a sharptooth in an instant.”
Taylen shrugged. “Mum and Dad gave up way back, but I haven’t. And I haven’t been eaten yet,”
Pterano frowned and shook his head. “The keyword there is ëyet’. You’re way out of your league here, so allow me to point you back in the direction you came from.”
“But wait!” Taylen pleaded. “Please, sir, can’t you help me?”
Pterano nearly choked on his own tongue. “What?” He gasped. Taylen prodded. “Please?”
“Well, uhh…” Perfect time to be tongue-tied, Pterano thought, annoyed. He folded his arms again. “You can't be serious?”
“I am, sir!” the little dinosaur piped up happily. “I made a promise not to stop until I found my brothers, and I intend to keep it.”
Well, this was a fine mess. Pterano narrowed his eyes, obviously put-out. “I, I…” he grumbled. “Well, I guess I can lend a helping wing. Got nothing else to do at the moment.”
“Oh, thank you so much!” Taylen jumped up and down excitedly. Pterano shushed him. “Settle down, will you? Don’t want to wake up every sharptooth in this vicinity now, do we?”
Taylen settled, shaking his head, large eyes still glowing. Pterano shivered. “Well, let’s be on the move, then.” He spread his wings, flying low so that he didn’t lose sight of the youngster, and Taylen didn’t lose sight of him. “Do you know where your brothers were last seen?”
“Yeah! Dad sent ëem to check out the Great Valley!”
Pterano spluttered in surprise. “What? Oh no, oh no. This isn’t going to work Taylen, sorry.” He wheeled around to speed back to the grove when Taylen grabbed his foot. “Why not?” Taylen insisted, tugging the flyer back to earth. He's strong for all his size; I’ll give him that, Pterano thought as he pulled back. Aloud, he ordered, “Will you let go! Listen, lad, I’ve been banished, exiled, kicked out of the Great Valley!”
Taylen let go, eyes wide. “How come?”
“Past mistakes,” Pterano mumbled coldly, hovering. “But, technically, I’m not allowed to set foot or wing,” he flapped his wings for emphasis, “until five cold times have passed by. Now, let’s see: I have at least that amount of time left, so this obviously puts a damper on our plans. Terribly sorry I have to fly off, but you know, ëbanished’.” He made as if to retreat when Taylen gave a powerful leap and jumped on his back. “What are you doing? Are you cr–?”
“Yes, I’m crazy!” Taylen cried. “But you said that you’d help me!”
“Banishment takes priority here,” Pterano replied hotly. “Now, let go!”
“No! Not until you promise to help! Please, sir!” The desperate tone in the little one's voice softened the flyer's resolve. Oh, of all the times to be a push-over. Pterano sighed and slowly landed, realizing that it would be useless to continue this struggle as he would most likely throw the little lad and seriously hurt him.
The flyer grumbled, hemmed and hawed, and then finally whispered back. “All right, fine! I promise, but you have to stop yelling,” he bent to his knees, allowing Taylen to dismount. “And never catch onto me like that again. If I had been up in the air, I’d have crashed, putting us both out of commission.” Despite the scolding tone, Pterano straightened and spread his wings.
“Now,” Pterano flapped into the air. “I’ll try to get you as close to the Valley as I can, but I can’t actually get you in. D’you think you can travel by night?”
Taylen shrugged. “I’ve tried to be on the road by day, but I can make an effort.”
Pterano smiled a small grin. “Grand, then let’s be off,”
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woohoo for perky OC's with British accents!! XD
and aww, Pterano doesn't sound too happy about helping out this feisty little dino. I guess he doesn't appreciate the fact that he likes kids and is willing to change... ah well
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Poor Petrie. This chapter really made me sad. :cry But the story getting even better know. Keep it up! :DD
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Yeah I agree, Petrie was really cute in this chapter. ^^ Certainly a nice juxtaposition here, where you see Petrie pining for his uncle's return and Pterano still struggling with what's gone on. I take it the youngster is uh... Strut and Ozzy's brother? :)
I didn't see anything serious that needed fixing, though you could arguably use "my uncle" for Petrie as he DOES say "my" several times in the seventh film, though he also uses "I" which is inconsistent with his manner of speaking, so not sure the seventh film is ultimately the best to cite for that. :p
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Woo, sorry I left ya hanging...
=Part Two
The next day...
After flying throughout the night, Pterano was tired and Taylen wasn’t much better. The little Egg-Stealer’s gait became slower each step and his pale eyes looked a little duller, but he plodded on, nonetheless. Pterano had to admire the young one’s persistence. He hadn’t said a word of complaint since they started this adventure, just merely voiced questions or concerns like: why were you banished? The flyer frowned. That explanation alone had lasted half the night.
“Sir?” Taylen spoke up hesitantly.
Pterano looked down at his companion. “Yes?”
“Um, how long until we stop?” Taylen turned a rather desperate eye towards the flyer, indicating he wanted to stop that instant, but was too timid to say it.
Pterano sighed. “We can… stop now, I suppose,” he suggested, figuring it best for the both of them. He banked sharply and dropped to the ground to take note of their surroundings. They had made some progress traveling through the dry plains. Pterano recognized the green haze in the distance symbolizing the grasslands the far walkers had traveled through the day previous. They would be back at the Valley before too long, maybe another day of solid travel, provided he or Taylen could take the lack of sleep much longer.
But there was a problem. Their resting place was completely exposed. There was no cover around for at least another two miles. Pterano nervously sucked in his breath as he tried not to think of the predators that roamed these parts. He hadn't seen any so far with the far walkers, but a giant band of dinosaurs was quite different than an aging flyer and a pint-sized Egg-Stealer on their own. He turned to look at his little companion.
But Taylen had obviously not taken any note of their present situation as he had simply curled himself up into a tight little ball at the flyer's feet and seemed to have fallen asleep on the spot. Pterano sighed and reluctantly bent to wake the youngster. “Ahem, Taylen?” He whispered gently, poking the little dinosaur's dappled brown back.
Taylen stirred and mumbled something. Pterano tried again, giving him a slight push. Taylen's pale yellow eyes opened with some effort. “Wha isit?” He murmured. “I thought you said we could stop,” the dinosaur sounded upset.
Pterano hastily defended himself. “We, we can, but not here. See?” he waved a talon at their surroundings. “We're completely unsafe right now. A fast biter could come right along now and decide to have a bit of breakfast while we'd be snoozing away.” He tried to keep his voice level, but the panic was all too real.
Taylen frowned, disappointed. “But I'm so tired,” he protested softly. Pterano was tired too, but since age and experience were on his side, flying straight through the night didn't bother him as much. His system could adapt rather quickly; however, in Taylen's case, the youngster was still in the stages of maturing and he would most likely need several breaks from time to time to rest and refuel.
Pterano frowned. They wouldn't make any progress with continued pit stops. Realizing what that meant he had to do, the flyer sighed and asked. “Taylen? How heavy are you?”
The Egg-Stealer jerked to a stop after getting to his shaky feet and flashed the big flyer a doubtful frown. “Um, I dunno, not very heavy I think.”
“Can you give me an estimate?”
Taylen's snout scrunched up with confusion. “Wha's that mean?”
Pterano rolled his eyes. “An estimate; tell me something that's about as heavy as you are!” He didn't mean to sound so impatient, but it was vital that they got to cover and fast and since Taylen was just about drained – the poor lad could barely stand straight – Pterano knew he was going to have to carry him.
Taylen got the gist and focused his tired mind on the flyer's query. “Um, well, I'd say I'm much lighter than...” he looked around. “That rock there,” he pointed. A massive boulder met Pterano's eyes.
The flyer sighed. Of course you are, he thought grumpily. But shaking his head he bent in front of the little Egg-Stealer and gestured that he mount. Taylen stepped back, a little surprised. “You-you're gonna carry me?” He breathed.
Pterano frowned. “Well, what's wrong? Didn't you jump on my back last night as I was about to fly off? What are you scared of? Hop on!”
Taylen ducked his head meekly and gave a nimble leap to settle on Pterano's back. The flyer grunted as he spread his wings and flapped into the air. Taylen was about as heavy as a nest full of eggs – really, the flyer was surprised at how light he was. The Egg-Stealer yelped as he saw them rise up off the ground and quickly wrapped both of his scrawny arms around the flyer's neck.
“G-great nest-egg!” He croaked. “We-we're, up! In the sky!” He risked a glance downwards and yelped again, seizing an even tighter hold around Pterano's collar and planting his feet against the flyer's back.
Pterano let out a rather strangled cry of protest as he positioned his wings so the two were leveled out horizontally in the air. He shook his head, trying to loose the panicked little dinosaur's arms from his neck but Taylen only held on tighter. “Erk!” Pterano gasped, bucking his head. “Taylen! You're choking me! Just grab my shoulders, you're fine!”
Taylen slowly released his death-grip on the flyer's neck and then clamped his claws around the flyer's scapulars, cringing with terror. Pterano softened up a bit, realizing just how scared the youngster was. “Hey,” he called back. “Taylen, look below!” The Egg-Stealer peeked with one eye over the tip of Pterano's wing. “See that green in the distance? Those are grasslands. We're almost out of the dry plains, lad!” The flyer called back cheerfully. Taylen relaxed then,looking down at the baked yellows and browns of the dry plains, broken up here and there with dead vegetation, and then up ahead the cool, green sliver of the incoming grasslands.
More at ease now, Taylen got to enjoy the ride and remembered that he was in fact dead tired. He snuggled against the flyer's shoulder blades and feel asleep. Pterano, sensing this, steadied his wingbeats down to a gentle rustle and flew on, a small tender grin playing across his beak.
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A'www^^ Taylen's all cuddled against Pterano. I'm guessing that Pterano doesn't mind, much, despite the yelling he did before Pterano, why you bein' such a jerk?
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Pterano, in reply, spread his wings, causing Taylen to jump back in fear. The flyer quickly pulled his wings back in. “Everything’s fine, I’m not going to hurt you. I just can’t see you very well from up here.” Not waiting for the little one to respond, Pterano flapped nimbly to the ground. Taylen flinched slightly.
Taylen so cute! And Pterano so funny as well. :lol It feels really real. I really like this story. Anyway keep it up and :goodluck
I can't believe Taylen bothers are Ozzy and Strut. You really did drop a bomb on me. :wow
(I need to upload my fanfiction sometime soon as well)
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Part Three
Coasting to a gentle stop in the grasslands, Pterano was reassured to see the small forest outcropping he remembered passing by the day before. Keeping mindful of Taylen still sound asleep on his back, the flyer bent low to the ground and gently slid the youngster down his wing to the soft, grassy ground: an elegant movement, and quite effective as well. Taylen remained asleep.
Smiling down at the little slumbering Egg-Stealer, Pterano settled himself against a tree trunk. Not to sleep, even though he was starting to feel the effects of staying up all night, but to keep watch. He would sleep later, maybe when Taylen was more, well, awake himself and alert and could keep watch while he slept.
The flyer folded his talons over his stomach and sighed peacefully. Right now, there was nothing to be worried about: a warm breeze circled lazily in the air, catching the tall grass in its embrace. The sky above was gray and gloomy, but quiet. The flyer’s smile disappeared as he leaned back. Nothing to worry about, indeed! What was he going to do?
Well, I can’t leave the lad alone, he argued. He’s just a child for heaven’s sake. But I can’t exactly go back to the Great Valley, either. I’ll be throttled and exiled for good if I’m caught! Pterano fumed with frustration. What to do, what to do…?
Well, I can’t worry about that now; just have to focus on getting Taylen there in one piece. Maybe we’ll get lucky – maybe his brothers’ll be nowhere near the valley, thus saving us time and my hide! The thought didn’t do much to cheer him, but it was a start. He allowed his attention to be momentarily distracted by a few buzzing stingers that hummed by, oblivious to the big flyer. Pterano relaxed then. It was so picturesque here he saw no reason to cloud his mind with worries. Best not to think about the valley issue until they arrived there. He was still hoping they would complete this journey before reaching the Great Walls.
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uhh-ohh, someone's having second thoughts.
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It was a young Egg-Stealer, Pterano could tell that much, but he wasn’t sure why as the Night Circle didn’t really shed enough light through the trees for him to get a better look. Maybe it was something in the little one’s voice that gave away his species. Pale eyes glowing, the youngster peered intently up at the big flyer and piped up a cautious greeting. “’Allo, there. Name’s Taylen, what about yours?” The Egg-Stealer’s accent matched his own and for some reason, Pterano calmed down slightly because of that.
Pterano, in reply, spread his wings, causing Taylen to jump back in fear. The flyer quickly pulled his wings back in. “Everything’s fine, I’m not going to hurt you. I just can’t see you very well from up here.” Not waiting for the little one to respond, Pterano flapped nimbly to the ground. Taylen flinched slightly.
“Hey, come on,” Pterano insisted, voice betraying some annoyance. “I told you I wasn’t going to hurt you and I meant it, so settle down.”
Taylen nodded quickly. “Uh, okay, right, sorry about that. So… who are you?”
“I'm Pterano,” the flyer cocked his crested head. “What is someone about your age doing all the way out here at this time of night? I’ve never seen you before in our group, so please explain yourself.” He straightened, folded his arms. Taylen swallowed loudly. “Well, I’m-I’m trying to find someone, two someones, s’matter of fact. And I almost ran into a couple of sharpteeth earlier, so I ducked in here.”
“Is that so?” Pterano remarked. “Well, I suppose the next question on the agenda is who might you be looking for?”
“My brothers, Ozzy and Strut, who disappeared awhile back and I decided I’d go and look for ëem.”
Pterano raised an eye ridge suspiciously. “And where are your parents?”
Taylen paused. “Uhh… back with my herd. Why?”
“You mean to tell me that you’re out here all on your own?” The flyer was shocked. Taylen shook his head. “No. You’re here, too, right?” The little dinosaur giggled nervously. Pterano’s beak twitched in a minute grin. “True, clever that. But you really shouldn’t be out on your own like this. How old are you, anyway? You don’t look that old,”
“I’m not: I’ll be fourteen seasons by the end of next month,” Taylen sounded so proud. Pterano started, wings dropping to his sides in total astonishment. Taylen insisted. “I-I’m stronger’n I look, honest.” He thrust a forearm out and tried to flex. “See?”
Pterano could most certainly see, see that this youngster was out of his mind. “Look, um, Taylen. It’s dangerous out here. You need to get back to your family.” He bent so he and the Egg-Stealer were eye level, which was a little lower than what Pterano was accustomed. The flyer could practically taste the disappointment in the youngster’s voice. “But, but, what about my brothers? I’m really worried ëbout them. They’ve been missing for so long.”
“I’m sure they’re fine, lad,” Pterano said reassuringly through a yawn. “They can probably fend for them – wait, are we talking younger or older brothers?”
“Older by at least two cold times.”
“Of course.” Pterano sighed. “Taylen, I am certain your brothers’ll be just grand. They can probably take care of themselves, so –”
“But that’s just it!” Taylen persisted, slightly panicked. “Mum and Dad sent them out to scout for another home, but they haven’t come back! We all went out searching, and I snuck out to look for them, myself.”
Pterano sighed again. “You should have had one of your parents come with you, at least.” He chided. “A pint-sized Egg-Stealer like you’d be swallowed by a sharptooth in an instant.”
Taylen shrugged. “Mum and Dad gave up way back, but I haven’t. And I haven’t been eaten yet,”
Pterano frowned, shook his head. “The keyword there is ëyet’. You’re way out of your league here, so allow me to point you back in the direction you came from.”
“But wait!” Taylen pleaded. “Please, sir, can’t you help me?”
Pterano nearly choked on his own tongue. “What?” He gasped. Taylen prodded. “Please?”
“Well, uhh…” Perfect time to be tongue-tied, Pterano thought, annoyed. He folded his arms again. “You can't be serious?”
“I am, sir!” the little dinosaur piped up happily. “I made a promise not to stop until I found my brothers, and I intend to keep it.”
Well, this was a fine mess. Pterano narrowed his eyes, obviously put-out. “I, I…” he grumbled. “Well, I guess I can lend a helping wing. Got nothing else to do at the moment,”
“Oh, thank you so much!” Taylen jumped up and down excitedly. Pterano shushed him. “Settle down, will you? Don’t want to wake up every sharptooth in this vicinity now, do we?”
Taylen settled, shaking his head, large eyes still glowing. Pterano shivered. “Well, let’s be on the move, then.” He spread his wings, flying low so that he didn’t lose sight of the youngster, and Taylen didn’t lose sight of him. “Do you know where your brothers were last seen?”
“Yeah! Dad sent ëem to check out the Great Valley!”
Pterano spluttered in surprise. “What? Oh no, oh no. This isn’t going to work Taylen, sorry.” He wheeled around to speed back to the grove when Taylen grabbed his foot. “Why not?” Taylen insisted, tugging the flyer back to earth. He's strong for all his size; I’ll give him that, Pterano thought as he pulled back. Aloud, he ordered, “Will you let go! Listen, lad, I’ve been banished, exiled, kicked out of the Great Valley!”
Taylen let go, eyes wide. “How come?”
“Past mistakes,” Pterano mumbled coldly, hovering. “But, technically, I’m not allowed to set foot or wing,” he flapped his wings for emphasis, “until five cold times have passed by. Now, let’s see: I have at least that amount of time left, so this obviously puts a damper on our plans. Terribly sorry I have to fly off, but you know, ëbanished’.” He made as if to retreat when Taylen gave a powerful leap and jumped on his back. “What are you doing? Are you cr–?”
“Yes, I’m crazy!” Taylen cried. “But you said that you’d help me!”
“Banishment takes priority here,” Pterano replied hotly. “Now, let go!”
“No! Not until you promise to help! Please, sir!” The desperate tone in the little one's voice softened the flyer's resolve. Oh, of all the times to be a push-over. Pterano sighed and slowly landed, realizing that it would be useless to continue this struggle as he would most likely throw the little lad and seriously hurt him.
The flyer grumbled, hemmed and hawed, and then finally whispered back. “All right, fine! I promise, but you have to stop yelling,” he bent to his knees, allowing Taylen to dismount. “And never catch onto me like that again. If I had been up in the air, I’d have crashed, putting us both out of commission.” Despite the scolding tone, Pterano straightened and spread his wings.
“Now,” Pterano flapped into the air. “I’ll try to get you as close to the Valley as I can, but I can’t actually get you in. D’you think you can travel by night?”
Taylen shrugged. “I’ve tried to be on the road by day, but I can make an effort.”
Pterano smiled a small grin. “Grand, then let’s be off,”
=
woohoo for perky OC's with British accents!! XD
and aww, Pterano doesn't sound too happy about helping out this feisty little dino :x I guess he doesn't appreciate the fact that he likes kids and is willing to change... ah well
All right, a big thing I noticed in this chapter is to watch your paragraphs! A new speaker means a new paragraph. You have Taylen and Pterano speaking in the same paragraph, so I'd break those up. :)
Something else I saw, is that you used "ridge" several times to indicate Pterano's brows, when a brow, by definition, is someone's forehead, and not the hair that rests on the brow. ;) So I'd say brow is perfectly suitable to use here instead of ridge as ridge just sounds well... too descriptive for a brow. :)
"What is someone about your age doing this time of night?" You can drop the "about" in that sentence, as it's an adverb that's not necessary. "What is someone your age" is less wordy and works better. :yes
"He straightened, folded his arms." is a sentence fragment. I'd put an "and" after the straightened and drop the comma. :) Same with: "Pterano frowned, shook his head." Should add an "and" and drop the comma.
When Pterano offers to help and says he has nothing else to do at the moment, a period should end that sentence, as commas can't. :)
So I really liked this chapter, now that all the grammar corrections are out of the way. :smile I love how you avoid repetitious words when describing Pterano's actions, such as "hemmed and hawed." Excellent. :DD The description was good as well, and it was very easy for me to picture all this, from the glowing eyes of Taylen down to Pterano being grabbed. XD I see you're forcing the old flyer to start heading back in the direction of the Great Valley, and I suspect that's going to lead to him running into Petrie and the gang, even if he has no intention of doing so. XD Looking forward to that! Possibly seeing Ozzy and Strut as well. :DD
Good work!
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Thanks for the feedback^^ hehe English is not my strong language, even tho it's my first :lol
Regarding the setences without the 'and' I kinda picked that up from reading novels with the same type of grammar structure - I noticed they just added a comma and then continued on with the rest of the sentence. I thought that was an intersting idea and tried it out myself. Idk why, to me they made the sentence sound less wordy, but I guess they must sound confusing as well :lol:
Hehe, that's kind of my intention, but I'm not sure how to swing it, since Pterano will most likely be avoiding the Great Valley like the plague. Oh yeah, I can't wait for Strut and Ozzy either. It would be pretty awkward if they met up with the gang as well. I sense... some MAJOR apologizing XD And I'm guessing Littlefoot won't be as forgiving as he normally is...
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Hey, thought I'd give your story a read and I must say I'm quickly getting drawn in :)
I won't go into grammar, as it's been pointed out, and I'm no expert in that area anyway. Anything I'm noticing is just formatting and mainly in the prologue, anyway.
Plot wise, your story holds up very well and has both interesting and down right endearing scenes, like little Petrie in Ch 1 :)
And of course Taylen is just both precious and sounds like a bit of trouble as well ;) in that "doesn't mean to be" kinda way.
Looking good so far.
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Glad it's interesting thus far^^ I appreciate the view, thanks
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Everytime I read this chapter I think of the song 'He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother' by The Hollies. :lol (You could some how use it as a title by changing the bother part) Just a ideal...
Anyway the story really good. I love the part...
“G-great nest-egg!” He croaked. “We-we're, up! In the sky!” He risked a glance downwards and yelped again, seizing an even tighter hold around Pterano's collar and planting his feet against the flyer's back.
Pterano let out a rather strangled cry of protest as he positioned his wings so the two were leveled out horizontally in the air. He shook his head, trying to loose the panicked little dinosaur's arms from his neck but Taylen only held on tighter. “Erk!” Pterano gasped, bucking his head. “Taylen! You're choking me! Just grab my shoulders, you're fine!”
Keep it up and :goodluck :DD
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@Mr. Wonk: Heh, interesting. I'm giving the song a listen to, and it kinda fits^^
Lol that part was a lot of fun to write. Since I'm afraid of heights myself, I pictured myself in Taylen's place (riding Pterano *swoon*) screaming my head off, and probably choking him, too :lol
=Part Four
Just a quick shout out to all those who've read this/reviewed this: thanks and I really appreciate your time spent on reading this and thinking my fanfic was worth the time
~Strut
Taylen slept like a literal rock – he didn’t even snore. Pterano thought sympathetically, Poor lad, he’s obviously not used to all this traveling. I’ll probably end up carrying him most of the way. With a sigh, the flyer shook his head in order to stay awake. He was feeling quite tempted to just close his eyes for a few moments, but he couldn’t allow himself to do that. A few moments could easily become a few hours and they would end up losing valuable daylight as a means of further travel.
But Pterano really didn’t know what else to do as he waited for Taylen to wake up, which, judging by the slow, peaceful rising and falling of the little one’s ribs as he breathed, and that complacent smile on his snout, would not be anytime soon.
Best to let the lad sleep a little longer, the flyer eventually decided. He was starting to get rather jittery from staying in the same place for so long just to watch a little dinosaur snooze. Pterano stood up, anxious for something else to do, and flexed his talons and wings. He noted with some chagrin that his shoulders were particularly achy from last night. Humph, he objected. I don’t care what they think – I’m still in my prime! Certainly not that old!
The flyer spread his wings and let them catch the wind. The membrane rustled in the breeze, whipping out behind the flyer as he faced the breath of air. Shutting his eyes, Pterano drew in his feet and was simply carried up by the draft; his wings acting as an anchor to hold him steady. Once he felt he was of considerable height, the flyer leveled out in a soar. Only then did he open his eyes. He had anticipated the mount perfectly, he realized with a self-satisfied smirk as he looked downwards.
He angled the slope of his wings to forty-five degrees as he spun in barrel rolls through the air. The flying conditions in this area were perfect. Pterano let out a euphoric whoop as he swooped upwards, towards the gray sky, wings outstretched to their full length. His eyes rolled back as he inhaled deeply, nearly drunk with the sensation of flight. At the pinnacle of his ascent, Pterano swung himself upside down and rocketed towards the ground, banking at the last possible moment. He grinned smugly as his talons caught the ground, braking precisely so. He had performed that trick hundreds – if not thousands – of times and the right moments to soar and stop had become rather instinctive to him so he really didn’t need to keep his eyes open at all. Pterano may have been a liar, a schemer, and an irresponsible freeloader, but there was no denying the fact that he was quite a magnificent flyer, and he knew it himself.
A gasp of amazement caused his crested head to snap in the direction of Taylen, still a little droopy eyed, half-sitting and half-lying on the ground, elbows propping himself. He must have just woken up.
“That… that was amazing, sir,” the little one stood, not as wobbly as before and hopped up to the big flyer who suddenly felt quite bashful as he turned his head away slightly, without much idea why.
Taylen continued. “I-I’m serious, that was… emphatic!” He seemed quite proud of himself for using this bold and descriptive word. Pterano could feel a small blush starting as he chuckled.
Oh, come off it! He snapped to himself. What’s the matter with you? You’ve done this plenty of times with an audience, correct? Get a grip, Pterano! Inwardly, the flyer cringed at that phrase, almost expecting a pair of talons to clasp onto his wrists and drag him along through the air.
“Well, um…” he stammered, trying to find the right words. “My thanks, lad. I’m… glad you enjoyed it.” He ruffled his wings and then folded his arms, attention now fully directed on the little one. “Did you sleep well?”
Taylen yawned and stretched in reply. Pterano grinned wryly.
“I’ll take that as a ëyes’, then,” he murmured. “On a different subject, are you hungry?”
The little Egg-Stealer paused and frowned. “Uh, yeah, I guess so.” He shrugged. “Haven't really thought about food, but now that you mention it...” he looked around. “Is... is there anything to eat?”
“I suppose we'd better go and find out,” Pterano suggested quietly. Taylen perked up and nodded, sleepiness obviously forgotten as his face brightened with a delighted smile.
“Okay!” He assented.
Pterano rolled his eyes. Taylen's energy level continued to amaze him. One minute the youngster could be just about dead with fatigue and the next he could be bouncing about like an overexcited hopper. He motioned with a claw towards the small grove. “Let's check back there. I'm assuming you eat green food?”
Taylen bobbed his head. “Yeah! I do, but my brother Ozzy doesn't approve of that. He thinks we should only eat eggs!” His face fell. “But I don't want to eat eggs all the time; neither does Strut. We both like water greens, tree fuzz and ground stars, but most of all sweet bubbles!” he looked around expectantly. “D'you think there are any sweet bubbles around here?”
Pterano found himself once more at a loss for words as he listened to this statement. He snapped out of his momentary lapse in thought with a shake of his head. He was going to have to be quicker mentally to keep up with Taylen's... verbosity. He looked back towards the grove.
“We could... check, I suppose.” He glanced upwards and frowned. The sky puffies seemed rather dark. “But we shouldn't dawdle,” he continued rather crisply. “It looks like sky water, and I don't fly well when it's wet.”
“You could walk,” Taylen's unfailing cheerfulness earned him a weak grin from the flyer.
“Yes...” Pterano admitted. “I... could,” he sighed, smiling. Taylen was growing rather fast on him. “Let's find you something to eat, then.”
“What about you?” Taylen queried, cocking his head curiously to the side. Pterano opened his beak to reply, but made no noise other than a hesitant “um” sound.
The flyer shook his head. “I'm... not that hungry.”
Taylen stopped then and fixed Pterano with such an intense, searching frown the crested flyer jerked to an immediate halt in his stride, looking back at those disturbingly pale yellow eyes. He shivered slightly.
The Egg-Stealer shook his head slowly. “Pardon me, sir, but that's a load of rubbish. You haven't had anything to eat yet all day. You may be bigger and older than me, but you still need to eat.” The sight was adorably comical: Taylen tapped one foot against the grassy ground while his twiggy claws were planted firmly on his hips, the absolute picture of authority. Pterano hid a humorous snicker at his would-be scolder.
Taylen relaxed enough to nod his head towards the grove. “Now, how about we both find something to eat and then be off, 'kay?”
After you, lad, Pterano thought, stepping aside to let Taylen go first. He followed after the little dinosaur into the darker grove. Taylen chirped excitedly as he found some tree fuzz resting inconspicuously on the trunk of a rather bent and rotting tree. Pterano grimaced, not much one for consuming lichen, and instead turned to look for food that resembled something edible. He was rewarded by a sad-looking sapling tree further back full of rich, green tree stars. He grinned as he flapped up, plucking a few choice leaves from the branches before retreating back to the ground to enjoy his meal.
Taylen, tree fuzz bits sticking to the edge of his snout and around the corners of his mouth, spoke up hesitantly. “So... how long until we reach the Great Valley?”
The question hit Pterano like a punch in the gut. He swallowed his mouthful carefully before he could choke and replied, “Well, the far walkers and I were a good four days' worth of travel away, but thanks to our little night flight,” he chuckled humorlessly. “I'd say we have a couple days left to go before we reach the walls...” he drifted off, popping another tree star into his beak before Taylen could ask another question. But the Egg-Stealer persisted.
“Do you think we'll get there soon?”
Pterano answered quickly through his mouthful, “Perhaps, perhaps, depends on how much ground we cover, but I'm certain,” here he paused to swallow. “That we'll make substantial progress before the next few days are out. Just got to keep moving.”
Taylen left it at that, pretending not the notice how agitated the flyer had become at his simple inquiry. Based on what Pterano had told him last night about his banishment due to that long ago fatalistic mistake in leadership, and then nearly getting his nephew and his friends killed by going after a rumored Stone of Cold Fire, Taylen could well surmise that the flyer was considered to be a bit of an outlaw in the valley and was certainly not at all comfortable with the idea of going back before his sentence was up. But the Egg-Stealer was still glad Pterano had made this sacrifice in order to keep him safe. He made a little vow then and there to keep an eye out for Pterano as well, and not let the old flyer get in trouble with the valley's elders for breaking their rules.
=
Heh, this chapter was fun to write. We're making progress, steadily, steadily...
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I don't think he having second thoughts. I would say having butterflies in his stomach. :DD Anyway I have a feeling that he will get caught out. And Mr Threehorn won't like him being in the valley at all. :lol
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Ee-hehe :lol I keep going back to that idea, if he gets caught... idk he will though, he's pretty sneaky ;)
I have a picture up on dA of Pterano and Topps having an Epic Stare-Down. Their relationship always makes me lol, especially after reading Past that Yawns Behind, Topps ends up apologizing at the end^^ Classic!
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I so need to read that. I always love Mr Threehorn and Pterano. :DD
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http://thebattycrow.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d4z82f9 (http://thebattycrow.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d4z82f9)
here's the link, enjoy^^
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I just got around to reading this. I'm really liking it so far. Taylen seems like such a sweet, innocent, but also naive child. He just seems like someone that get's himself in trouble all the time, but he has a good heart. :)
I'm not the best person for giving advice on grammar or punctuation, but it looks pretty good to me. Like Pterano said, I like how you use many different descriptive words to keep it fresh, and you're also ding a good job of aking the character's speech seem like... real speech.
Just one thing I'm wondering. Your talking like you don't know how this is going to end yet. Usually it's good to know where you're going before you start.
I'm looking forward to how this is going to end up. This seems like an awkward place for Pterano to be in, and it's awkward just him being with an egg stealer in the first place. You've got me captivated, so good job on that front! :DD
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http://thebattycrow.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d4z82f9 (http://thebattycrow.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d4z82f9)
here's the link, enjoy^^
I found this so funny. I bet there still doing this today but as skeletons. :lol
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Just one thing I'm wondering. Your talking like you don't know how this is going to end yet. Usually it's good to know where you're going before you start.
Oi vey^^ I know, I'm such a failure on that front. My habit is to plow ahead until I a) either hit a roadblock, or b) I manage to muddle through and fudge up the details.
Lol, but for something like this, I have a pretty clear idea where it's going, I've just been going over so many different scenarios of what I think should or should not happen. ;)
I'm happy that it's captivated you, however^^
@Mr. Wonk: lol you bet^^
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=Part Five
At that moment, far beyond the Walls of the Great Valley in a little red-rock glen, a mother sickleclaw was tending to her nest. She was a large, striking sharptooth with a dull scarlet hide and yellow pinpricking stripes down her back. The bony crests on either side of her head, apparent to her species, were colored a deep, burnt orange and were slightly less evident than her mate’s. Her gold, slit-pupil eyes tenderly regarded the circle of twigs, brittle bones and dried grass at her feet.
With one foot, she rearranged the oblong, milky-colored orbs and gently kicked more of the dried grass over them to keep them warm. She had been in this glen for weeks now, ever since she started laying, and her mate’s presence here was infrequent as he was out hunting a good deal of the time. The longer, deadly talons on her toes glinted as she turned towards the entrance of the glen and caught the Bright Circle’s rays.
A cautious hoot announced the return of her mate and he slowly entered the glen, bringing a slain runner in his jaws. He was more colorful than the female; his flanks were streaked with shades of lime green and his eye crests were bigger. His mate chirped happily as she rushed to greet him, nuzzling his neck and licking his snout. The male relished this kind of attention until he remembered the prize hanging from his clenched teeth. He dropped the dead dinosaur to the ground, bobbing his head towards it, indicating that his mate eat it.
The female cocked her head, confused. Usually, her mate would find something they could share, yet here he was insisting she only partake in the meal. She shook her head and made small, worried grunts.
Her mate looked rather embarrassed as he answered in the sharptooth language: “Almost caught a young swimmer, but they saw me before I got too close.” He sounded frustrated. His mate smiled empathetically – it wasn’t uncommon for sharpteeth to have failed hunting trips – and bumped her nose against his as a way of saying ëit’s okay.’
However, just then, the male stiffened. His legs went rigid as he rose up on tip-claw to sniff the air. A low growl escaped his throat as he turned to his mate. “Something’s out there, I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll come with you,” his mate suggested, catching his arm. The male grunted uncertainly, knowing his mate should stay with the eggs.
“You stay here.” He replied flatly, and went to investigate.
As the female’s back was turned to her nest, a pair of glinting amber eyes appeared from a dense bush which overhung the nest. The eyes were connected to a beaked snout and a long, slim neck which stretched slowly out towards the nest, keeping a watchful eye on the mother sickleclaw. More of the creature appeared as it silently slid out from the bush’s cover. It was a male Egg-Stealer, paler in coloration than most others of his species, but slightly bigger and with a more pronounced profile. He snuck forwards in his venture, one arm reaching longingly for one of the morsels when all at once there came a stifled cry of surprise from back in the bush. The Egg-Stealer froze, eyes wide as his head snapped behind him and then towards the female sickleclaw who, hearing the noise, whirled around to face the would-be robber.
The Egg-Stealer froze, his arm still reaching for the nest. He hesitantly pulled it back in, slowly sliding back into the bush the way he came, a lame smile on his face. “So sorry madam, for the interruption, continue with your business, don’t mind meeAAGH!”
Like lightning, the female sickleclaw sprang forward, talons splayed, needle-sharp teeth bared in a blood-curdling screech of rage.
“Bloody…!” The Egg-Stealer about-faced and dove back into the bush where he faced another of his species – this one was another male with a darker hide and yellow eyes. He looked up at his pale companion who crashed through the thicket, wide-eyed with fear. “Change of plans!” He sputtered. “Run!”
The darker one, slightly slower, peered over his companion’s shoulder to see the mother sickleclaw try to claw her way through the foliage. He gasped. “O-oh, right!” He complied, struggling to his feet. The pale one sent him stumbling forwards with a violent push.
“Move!” He barked.
“Move where? We’re trapped!” The dark one complained. He yelped as a clawed hand snagged his tail, thinking it was surely the sickleclaw, but the pale Egg-Stealer yanked him back and jabbed an index upwards.
“Climb!” He hissed urgently. The dark one scrambled up the steep sides of the glen, followed close behind by his companion. The two left the thicket in the nick of time as the female sickleclaw burst through, growling at the two retreating figures. She let out a warning series of hoots and then returned to tend to her eggs.
The two Egg-Stealers, safely at the top pathways overlooking the glen, stopped to catch their breath after their momentary panic. The darker one peered back down to glimpse the sickleclaw, whose mate had just returned. He gulped loudly and turned to his companion. “Hey, Ozzy?” He murmured.
The pale one, Ozzy, whipped his head around, fixing the dark one with a withering stare. “You… fool!” He panted. “I was this close!” He measured the distance with two of his claws. “What possessed you to suddenly make a noise?”
The dark one gulped again, eyes darting about wildly, like he wanted to hide under the first rock he found. “I-I… stepped on a… ground prickly.”
Ozzy stalked up to his companion, boring down on him. “A ground prickly, eh?” he hissed. “Maybe you should have thought to yourself that stepping on a ground prickly is a hundred times more pleasant than what Ozzy’ll do to you when he finds out you spoiled our lunch!” he raised his claw to land a sharp clout on his companion’s head, but withdrew at the last moment, as if he were still debating the best means of punishment.
The dark one shrank back to avoid the blow, but when none came, he looked up cautiously. Ozzy appeared tired all of a sudden as he sighed and folded his arms over his narrow chest. He continued in a much softer, almost gentle voice. “Look, Strut, brother… I’m just… really hungry.” He mumbled an apology. “This is bordering on ridiculous; we haven’t had anything to eat for the past three days now.”
Both Egg-Stealers, in good light, appeared quite undernourished – ribs stuck out slightly through their hides and even more noticeable when they breathed, Ozzy’s severe face was slightly broken by his cheekbones jutting out and both had dark circles under their eyes.
Strut, the darker one, slowly straightened and nodded. “Yeah,” he agreed.
Ozzy continued. “I mean, it wasn’t so bad back in the valley – remember? – I mean, yeah, we had a bit of a rough start, but at least there were available resources, you know?” He suddenly frowned. “But then those… those little –” he broke off before he could say another word and growled deep in his throat.
Strut rolled his eyes, knowing exactly who his brother was talking about. “Oz, I thought you said you were over it. After all, they didn’t really ruin our meals, we… we were just in the wrong place at the really wrong time.” He tried to chuckle, but all that came out was a distraught whimper.
Ozzy gave an unwilling shrug. “I, well… okay fine, they didn’t.” He harrumphed and looked away. “But I need to blame somebody,” he insisted quietly.
“Well, then,” Strut replied primly, claws stuck on his hips. “Blame yourself. If you hadn’t called so much attention to us that first night, we wouldn’t have had to high-tail it out here to eat! And,” he stepped forward. “Those little buggers wouldn’t have chased after us, started a rock-slide, make us lose the egg and then -!”
Ozzy snarled as he faced his brother. “Okay, Bark Breath! I get it! you don’t need to go all Mum on me!”
At that remark, Strut’s face fell, yellow eyes glistening slightly. “…All ëMum’ on you… wonder how… Mum and Dad…” he sighed a slow, mournful sigh. “I miss home, Oz. I really miss home.”
It was Ozzy’s turn to sigh as he turned, gesturing or his brother to follow. “Me too. But we’ll get home, brother.”
Strut perked up. “Really? When?”
Ozzy grumped. “As soon as we find another, safer place for the whole herd, the entire bloody reason we came out here in the first place!”
Strut bit the edge of his beak, figuring he should probably be quiet for awhile now and let Ozzy stew. “Ah, I see.”
=
Aw, guess who? lol those hapless, hopeless Egg-Stealers, Ozzy and Strut seem to be having some trouble with getting lunch.
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It takes me days to get over 1,500 words. You do it so fast! :lol
I guess it's been a long time for Pterano to get high feedback from someone then. And I think he missing it too. :cry
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It takes me days to get over 1,500 words. You do it so fast! :lol
Hehe, I just plow on ahead through my muddled thoughts and blaze a clear trail :)
=Part Six
The Great Circle was already high in the sky, and the day looked to progress as it normally did for the Gang. They were sitting around in the Tall Trees, trying to figure out what to do. For some reason, none of them felt like doing anything. Ruby suggested that they go and hunt for more sky-color stones, which earned her a challenging smile from Cera.
"You still think you can find more stones than me, Ruby? I told you, I'm the best sky-color stone-finder there is!"
The pink fast runner frowned and folded her arms. "No, Cera. Remember? Ducky found more than we did last time. In fact, I think she found all of them because we certainly didn't find any." She looked at Ducky, sitting atop Spike's head. The little swimmer nodded happily.
"I did-ed find more stones than you, yes, yes, yes, I did!" She giggled. Ruby did a poor job of concealing her smirk as she turned back to Cera with 'I told-you-so' plainly written on her beaked face. Cera scowled.
Littlefoot sighed as he watched his friends argue. Ruby and Cera had been going at it a lot lately. They were arguing more, bragging more and just generally getting under each other's hides. The longneck didn't know what to make of it. Ruby and Cera were his friends, and he knew they were good friends with each other, but he didn't know what had caused this tipping point. He only hoped they would get over it soon. Friends shouldn't make their friends feel bad.
"Guys, come on," he broke in, getting to his feet to stand in between the threehorn and fast runner. "Can you please not start up again with the fighting? I think we've all had enough of it; I know I have." He looked at Cera, frowning sternly. "What is it with you two? Ever since we first went to look for those sky-color stones, you two've been acting more like enemies than friends."
Cera looked away, pouting. "Well," the threehorn mumbled. "Maybe we wouldn't be arguing if someone didn't keep bringing that up,"
Littlefoot frowned again. "I was only bringing it up because you two brought it up!" He stopped himself. This was getting contagious. He shook his head. "Look, can we just spologize, shake claws and be friends again?" He looked at Ruby.
"Okay Ruby?"
Ruby sighed and stuck out her claw. "Agreed," she replied in a low voice. Cera grudgingly nodded.
"Fine," she huffed.
The truce wouldn't last too long, Littlefoot realized, but it would have to do. Before he could suggest, however, that they go and play Swimmer and Splasher in the fast water, there came a low rumble. All noise ceased from the Gang in the Tall Trees as they listened. It was deep and it came from all around and was steadily growing louder.
Littlefoot's head snapped up. One look from everyone else and he knew what it was. "Earthshake!!" He cried. "Run!" His friends didn't need to be told twice. They bolted out of the Trees and split up, each to run to their own family. The rumbling got louder and the ground started to buckle and jump. Littlefoot yelped as he lost his footing. His whole world was vibrating. Behind him, he heard trees splintering as they broke from their root support and crash to the ground, and all around, mighty boulders that even Grandpa Longneck couldn't move cracked and crumbled. Even the Great Walls appeared to sway from this onslaught. And off in the distance, the Smoking Mountains belched out angry black clouds of smoke.
Littlefoot stared, frozen at the sight of the massive cloud of ash. This was unlike anything he had seen before. Never had an earthshake been this violent.
Struggling to his feet despite the rumbling ground, he took off at a sprint to find his grandparents in their cove. He looked back in the direction of his friends and was relieved to see that they had made it away safely.
Grandma and Grandpa Longneck were unsteadily making their way to the cove as well when Littlefoot ran into them, literally, as the ground shot up from beneath him and launched him into the air. He slid into his Grandpa's ankle and skidded to a stop, ducking his head down. Grandma and Grandpa braced themselves as the earthshake reached its climax, roared and then...
... Stopped.
=
s'funny, I had actually learned a bit about earthquakes and volcanoes this past semester in geology... deadly things, but pretty darn cool, too ;P
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I apologise for not reading this when it was first posted. This chapter see the return of the ozzy and strut. And there were some really funny lines in this one.
“I-I… stepped on a… ground prickly.”
I've been there before I can tell you it does hurt. :lol
“Well, then,” Strut replied primly, claws stuck on his hips. “Blame yourself. If you hadn’t called so much attention to us that first night, we wouldn’t have had to high-tail it out here to eat! And,” he stepped forward. “Those little buggers wouldn’t have chased after us, started a rock-slide, make us lose the egg and then -!”
Ozzy snarled as he faced his brother. “Okay, Bark Breath! I get it! you don’t need to go all Mum on me!”
At that remark, Strut’s face fell, yellow eyes glistening slightly. “…All ëMum’ on you… wonder how… Mum and Dad…” he sighed a slow, mournful sigh. “I miss home, Oz. I really miss home.”
It was Ozzy’s turn to sigh as he turned, gesturing or his brother to follow. “Me too. But we’ll get home, brother.”
I never thought about Ozzy and Strut having a Mum and Dad. I hope there can find there Mum, Dad and bother soon. :DD
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One thing. Since you edited you last post to put the chapter in, it didn't move your topic up to the top. I didn't even know that you had a new chapter.
Anyway, this was interesting. Poor Ozzy and Strut seem to be on their lastl legs at the moment. I think I know who that little swimmer the sicle-claw almost caught was. :)
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=Part Seven
It was as though a breath was being held, a collective inhale from everyone in the valley; even the wind had ceased its blow. Littlefoot cautiously poked his head out from behind his grandfather’s ankle, peering at his surroundings. Nothing was actively shaking or being crumbled or crushed, nothing was sliding down slopes and nothing was jouncing up and down like a bunch of nervous hoppers. The earthshake was over.
Grandma and Grandpa Longneck sighed in relief as they realized the danger was past. Littlefoot stepped out from under them and looked off in the direction of the Smoking Mountains. The black smoke that had been spewing from the gurgling pits before had choked off, almost as if nothing had happened. Littlefoot didn’t like it.
“That was a close one,” Grandpa remarked gravely. “Thank the Bright Circle it’s over now.”
Grandma sounded worried. “But earthshakes in the Valley have never been that serious, dear.”
Grandpa agreed. “I know. We had better go and see if anyone needs our help. Come, Littlefoot.”
Littlefoot followed anxiously after his grandparents as they lumbered out of the cove. They met up first with Topps and Tria, who were just stepping out of a rocky lean-to. Topps growled and harrumphed.
“Worst earthshake I’ve seen since the Great Earth Tremble!” He shook off some debris that had settled on his back. “How’d you make out, Longneck?”
Grandpa nodded. “We go to safety just in time, but I’m worried that there may have been those less fortunate.”
Cera and Tricia in the meantime had run over to Littlefoot. Little Tricia was shaking with fear over what had just occurred and Cera was trying her best to comfort her to no avail. “I didn’t think earthshakes were supposed to happen in the Great Valley!” She scowled angrily. “Littlfoot, can you help me calm Tricia down?”
The little threehorn whimpered as Cera nuzzled her gently. “There, there, Tricia, it’s okay. See? The earthshake is over, the sky is cleared up and we can go and play.”
Tricia gurgled in firm disagreement, as much as a little one her age could muster. “No,” she replied stubbornly. ëNo’ was now Tricia’s favorite word and it drove Cera absolutely crazy!
Cera sighed. Littlefoot stepped in, smiling sympathetically. He knew how scary earthshakes could be – he was even scared of them now – and knew that the feeling must be doubled for a little one like Tricia. “Cera’s right, Tricia. The earthshake is over and everything is back to normal, now.”
Tricia didn’t budge from her tiny resolve. Instead, she ducked behind Tria just as Topps and Grandpa Longneck went off to make sure everyone else made it safely through. Littlefoot looked up at his grandmother.
“Grandma? Can I go and look for my friends? I want to make sure they’re safe, too.”
Grandma nodded and smiled. “I think that’s an excellent idea, Littlefoot. In fact, I think I’ll come with you.”
Tria spoke up, nuzzling Tricia. “The girls and I will join you two as well. Come along, Tricia, sweetie. Everything’s okay.” She cooed softly. Cera rolled her eyes and grumbled.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell her,” she muttered under her breath.
=
Aw, I absolutely LOVE little Tricia!! hehe, that's a toddler's favorite word, "No!" innit?
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I love geography! :wow
Anyway this chapter been really good. I hope Ruby and Cera make up soon. You would think The Great Valley was really based in San Francisco. :lol
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You would think The Great Valley was really based in San Francisco. :lol
haha, ikr? :smile, and the Great Earthshake in the first movie could be a direct reference to the Great Earthquake of 1906. Studied that in my class, what a disaster! :o
=Part Eight
Unbeknownst to the Great Valley inhabitants, the Rock Wall, which was used to block up the entrance to the Mysterious Beyond, had been severely weakened by the violent earthshake. In fact, it was already starting to slip from its foundation; not all at once, but pebbles and small rocks rolled down off the surface, followed by a large boulder, and then another and another. In a matter of minutes, a great deal of the wall had collapsed, leaving only the bare minimum on the ground left, averaging an alarming two feet in height.
This new occurance would not have been so bad if there hadn’t been a large pack of dull green fast biters stalking around the Valley’s borders. Not necessarily looking for a way to get inside, but just on the move. When the intoxicating smell of Leaf-Eater met their sniffers and overwhelmed their senses however, they made straight for the entryway, alert and hungry.
~
The first stop Littlefoot, Cera, Tria and Grandma Longneck made was Ducky's swimming hole. Mama Swimmer was already out, assessing the damage down around their cave and hole. She looked up at the approaching dinosaurs and smiled.
“Oh good, you're alright. Tyrone already went out with Topps and Mr. Longneck. I hope everyone else made it okay.”
Ducky, seeing her friends, skipped over. “I did not think an earthshake could get that big in the Great Valley, I thought we were safe here, yep, yep, yep.” She stated worriedly.
Littlefoot lowered his head for Ducky to climb on. “We are safe here, Ducky, but, well, things happen. Right Grandma?”
Grandma Longneck nodded. “Littlefoot, why don't you and the children go and play? The grownups will take care of this. Just promise me you'll stay close by.”
The children promised and, waiting while Spike lumbered to catch up with them, took off at a run to Petrie's nest. Littlefoot hoped that the flyers hadn't suffered much damage to their new home. Only a few days before, during the Days of Rising Waters, Mama Flyer was forced to evacuate her family from their old nest when running mud destroyed it. Petrie's new home was situated in a little cave at the top of a cliff, and the gang knew how reluctant the little flyer was at first to have to move, but now he was quite attached to the cave, and no one was sure how he or his family would handle another move in less than a week.
Upon reaching the cave, Petrie and his family were outside their nest, clearing the rock shelf off where they lived of small pebbles and rocks that had scattered across it. No one was hurt and nothing was damaged. Littlefoot sighed in relief.
Petrie flapped up to his friends and squawked, “You feel that big earthshake? And see big cloud of smoke? Petrie think it never end, but it did!” He waved his little wings wildly.
Cera snorted. “Well, of course we felt it Petrie, we all live in the valley, don't we?”
Littlefoot shot her a look, and then turned his attention to Mama Flyer. “Would you like any help, Mrs. Flyer?”
Mama Flyer shook her head. “No, no. We're fine, Littlefoot, thank you. Why don't you take Petrie out to play?”
Petrie whooped and flapped to land on Cera's back. “Maybe we go see who else need help. Where Chomper and Ruby?”
“We're going to check on them right n-” Littlefoot froze in mid-sentence as he turned to leave. Petrie's home faced the Great Wall, where the main entrance was to the Mysterious Beyond, but now, there was no wall! It must have collapsed after the earthshake. And as he watched, he noticed several fast biters leaping over the pitiful remains of the rock wall and enter into the Valley.
“Guys!” he shouted. “Fast biters are in the Valley! We have to warn the grownups!” He dashed back down the hill, calling out for his grandparents. “Fast biters in the Valley! Grandma, Grandpa! Help!”
Cera was at his heels, bewildered. “What's the matter, Littlefoot? What fast biters? I don't see anything.”
Littlefoot kept his eyes straight ahead as he answered. “ I saw them jump over the Rock Wall, and -”
“The Rock Wall?” Cera sputtered. “Littlefoot, no sharptooth, let alone a dinky fast biter, could cross over that Wall! It's too high!”
“It's not now,” Littlefoot argued. “The earthshake must have knocked it down, and we have to warn the grownups before too many get in!” He put on an extra burst of speed and the gang followed suit, passing confused herds out in the fields, cleaning up debris that had fallen. Littlefoot looked earnestly for his grandparents' faces. Where had Grandpa gone? Was Grandma still back at the swimmer's hole?
He was rewarded by the sight of his Grandfather, Topps, and Ducky's father, Tyrone, making their way towards them from the direction of the Fast Waters.
“Littlefoot, what is it?” Grandpa asked, concerned. Littlefoot and the gang skidded to a stop before they rammed into the grownups. Ducky, still riding atop Littlefoot's head, broke in to explain so Littlefoot and Cera could catch their breaths.
“Daddy, Littlefoot saw fast biters coming into the Valley, he did, he did,” she said to Tyrone. Before he or anyone could put a word in edgewise, all at once there came the sound of panicked screams and shouts of alarm.
Grandpa Longneck raised his head and squinted in the direction of the cries. “Oh no,” he breathed. “Children, get to safety. We'll handle this.”
The three grownups dashed over, running into several dinosaur sprinting from the opposite direction. Littlefoot could soon hear the awful screeching cries of the fast biters. He backed up, nodding at his friends. “Come on, guys,” he said, nodding towards the direction of their secret place. “Let's go!”
The gang followed him, all except Petrie, who flapped up into the air and cried, “Wait, what about Chomper and Ruby? Where- where are they?”
Littlefoot turned sharply and faced his friends. All around them, dinosaurs were either running towards the direction of the fast biters to force them out, while others retreated. The longneck dodged the running feet of various dinosaurs, but managed to take off in the direction of Ruby and Chomper's cave. “Follow me, guys!” he called.
Ironically, at that moment, a few fast biters appeared, leaping into the air, claws splayed and barking with glee at having found so bountiful a meal. The Gang screamed as one landed in front of them, saliva dripping from its open jaws. Behind him, Littlefoot saw another one land. They were trapped.
=
Heh, next chapter will be up soon-ish, please don't kill me for leaving you hanging... *slinks away*
Oh, also, I gave Ducky's dad a name... Tyrone. Thought it was pretty cool, now I need a name for Mama Swimmer... I have one for Mama Flyer...
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Tricia was so cute. Funny how I was listening to The Beach Boys: Good Vibrations the other day and this came to mind. :lol I don't think Tricia would like that song anyway. :lol I feel bad about Cera not being as good as Tria. (Being a mum)
I had to studied the 1906 and 1989 earthquake near and at San Francisco. (In school once) And in one of my exams I used the Japan erathquake as a example to. :DD
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Oh yeah, i remember the japan earthquake. My grandfather used to live in San Francisco, and he told me there would be earth tremors every so often. He was talking to someone on the phone and he felt a shake, and he asked his friend on the other line if he felt an earthquake, and the guy said yeah, and he was over a mile away :DD
=Part Nine
The fast biters gnashed their teeth and hissed as they moved in closer, forcing the Gang into a tight circle. Littlefoot's mind was racing. How could they escape? These sharpteeth would surely snap them up if they moved to run past them. Petrie, clinging onto Littlefoot's neck, whispered in a thin, frightened voice.
“W-what we do, now? Littlefoot, you have plan?”
Before Littlefoot could answer, a dark shadow passed over the quarried Gang and their assailents and the next moment, both fast biters were knocked into the air by… Tria and Grandma Longneck!
“That’ll teach you to come near our young ones!” Grandma bellowed, louder than Littlefoot had ever heard her speak. Tria shook her frilled head after bashing into the lead fast biter.
“Don’t hurry back!” She called after the dazed sharpteeth as they crookedly got to their feet and hobbled quickly away.
“Grandma!” Littlefoot rushed to his grandmother. “You saved us! How did you know where we were?”
Grandma Longneck smiled. “We heard about fast biters getting into the Valley and Tria and I both decided to come and find you children before things got too messy.”
“And I’m glad we did,” Tria mused, nuzzling Cera. “Looks like we arrived in the nick of time.”
“Oh, yes, you did, you did. You saved-ed us, Tria and Mrs. Longneck, thank you so-so much!” Ducky laughed happily. Spike nodded in agreement.
“But where are the rest of the fast biters?” Cera asked. Tria looked in the direction the fast biters had run off in. She frowned.
“From the sound of things, I’d say that the rest of the grownups are driving them off, but this really isn’t the safest place for you children to be right now.”
Grandma nodded. “Come with us, children.” She turned to lead the way farther into the valley, away from danger. Littlefoot stayed close beside his grandmother. He needed to tell her what he had seen.
“Grandma, that earthshake weakened the Main Entrance Wall. That’s how the fast biters got in,”
Grandma Longneck didn’t answer right away, but when she did, she sounded terribly worried. “Oh, my. We had better call a meeting when this is over. If the earthshake was strong enough to collapse the Main Wall, then it would certainly have opened up new crevices for fast biters to come through.”
~
~
Pterano harrumphed to suppress the urge to gripe about not flying well in a downpour. He had only said it five times already and Taylen had most likely heard him, even amid the loud smattering of liquid on hard stony ground of the cliff ranges they had just entered. At least we’re out of the grasslands now, he admitted sourly to himself.
The flyer and Egg-Stealer were on the road again and had been traveling through this deluge for at least an hour now. It could have been longer, but Pterano figured an hour seemed a reasonable estimate. It was possible they had been slowed down slightly by the limited visibility but they still had their sniffers to guide them, and Taylen’s sniffer was invaluable in that case.
The little Egg-Stealer kept close by the low-flying pterosaur, pale eyes squinted until they were almost shut and sniffer poised stock-straight ahead.
“Ahem, Mr. Pterano, sir?” Taylen spoke a little louder, hoping his voice would carry over. “Do you know when the sky-water will stop?”
Pterano chuckled bitterly. “When it stops, lad, when it stops. I’m sorry, but I don’t control the weather.”
Taylen sighed but continued on. He was steadily growing used to Pterano’s brusque temperament and sudden mood swings, like he wasn’t even sure about what state of mind he should be in. One minute he was cold and distant, and the next he could be gentle and open. The little dinosaur decided to stop thinking about the subject as it distracted his sniffer; not that there was much to sniff out in this inundation, anyway.
Pterano was starting to feel a little badly for being so disgruntled towards this youngster. He wasn’t used to traveling with one barely two cold times in age, but he knew that was hardly a reasonable excuse. It wasn’t like he meant to be ornery, but one had to understand his position: going back to the Great Valley after being sentenced to five cold times from the Great Valley was practically like signing any hope he had for the future away. Stay away? No problem, here I am again. Anyone miss me? Oh, what’s that? I’m not allowed back in? Funny… You say no more chances? Three strikes and you’re out? So long!
The flyer shook his head angrily. This wasn’t making him feel any better. Best not to think about it until we get there, remember? Just focus on getting the little one to his brothers in one piece. What happened to that? The sky-water wasn’t helping in the slightest, either. No matter what I do, something always goes wrong! Never once have I done anything right! Just once, can't someone see it from my point of view? Why I'm so diffident to return?!
Incensed, Pterano knew he couldn’t go on much longer in this fuming, distracted state. “Taylen!” Pterano blurted finally. “Hold up, lad, I need to… to stop.” He banked and landed on the ground, tottering slightly on the slick stone surface where he slumped onto his knees, breathing deeply, letting the sky-water course over his tired, frustrated body and trying to clear his jumbled, meaningless thoughts; trying not to scream in utter exasperation.
Taylen was immediately at the old flyer’s side. “Are you alright, sir?” he asked timidly, one claw reaching hesitantly outwards. “Do you need a break? That’s okay, I can – I can keep watch for you if you want to take a nap. I understand.” He rested the claw on Pterano’s shoulder, comfortingly, hoping the flyer wouldn’t smack it away.
“Is… is everything okay?” He asked again, quietly.
Pterano squeezed his eyes shut, halting the sudden flow of hot, hopeless tears. “I’m… fine,” he mumbled, just loud enough for his companion to hear.
A silence, punctuated only by Pterano’s choking breaths and the torrent still hailing from the sky without any sign of letting up, follwed. Taylen waited beside the flyer, claw still on his shoulder, nervously biting the edge of his beak. He knew something was wrong and he was also pretty sure Pterano was trying his hardest not to break down in front of him.
With that thought in mind, Taylen frowned, stepped in front of the flyer and awkwardly moved in for a hug. Pterano was caught completely off guard.
“What, what are you -?” He sniffled. Taylen didn’t answer; he just squeezed tighter.
“We all need hugs sometime,” the Egg-Stealer insisted, snout buried against Pterano’s neck ruff so his voice was slightly muffled. “–Even when we’re older; Mum told me that.”
Pterano, speechless, forgot his own grief upon witnessing this heartfelt gesture from the youngster. Hesitantly, he brought both arms up and placed them on Taylen’s back in a gentle return. The flyer could feel a small grin tugging at the corners of his beak and allowed it to remain. He had nothing to be angry about with this little one around. Taylen had the ability to put his misgivings to flight and he greatly appreciated that. It felt good to be hugged – Pterano had been hugged so infrequently during his life that this was a welcome respite.
At length, the sky-water ceased to fall and the two were left in the middle of a slick, craggy, cliffside path. Pterano registered the halt of the storm and slowly released the little Egg-Stealer.
“We’d best get a move on, then,” he remarked in a gentler tone. Taylen nodded, smiling.
“Do you feel better, sir? My Mum and Dad always said that a hug works best when someone’s down. Picks ëem right up, they said,” he nodded energetically, heartily agreeing with the principle. Pterano smiled and inclined his head in obligation.
“Yes, yes it did, lad. And I thank you for that. It… it helped, really it did.” He stood up then, wincing as his joints popped back into place after being in a squatting position for so long. The sky-water had cleared away the black clouds from before and left in its wake a crisp, clear midday. Pterano frowned at the position of the Bright Circle overhead and spread his wings.
“Come on, Taylen, we can’t rest yet I’m afraid; still have a ways to go.”
Taylen sighed, quickening his pace to match that of the flapping pterosaur over his head. “Yeah, I guess so. Sir?”
“Yes?” Pterano looked downwards.
“If… if you ever need another hug, just let me know, ëkay?” Taylen turned a cheerful, understanding grin in the big flyer’s direction.
Pterano thought his heart would melt as his reserve most certainly was. He nodded graciously and turned his head forwards again before Taylen could see him smile.
=
Aw, Pterano... we all need a hug sometime, right? Taylen, you're such a sweetie!
Sorry for the lack of uploads but my summer classes are almost over, so I promise to upload more when (I'm sane again) they end
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“We're going to check on them right n-” Littlefoot froze in mid-sentence as he turned to leave. Petrie's home faced the Great Wall, where the main entrance was to the Mysterious Beyond, but now, there was no wall! It must have collapsed after the earthshake. And as he watched, he noticed several fast biters leaping over the pitiful remains of the rock wall and enter into the Valley.
I could picture that happening as well! :! I can't wait for the next chapter! :DD
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HOORAY! summah classes are ovah! now I am free.... to work lol
And you have no idea how many times I wanted to write 'The World Beneath' instead of the 'Mysterious Beyond'... and I don't even know why. This ain't Dinotopia, this is LBT!
=Part Ten
“Littlefoot, why don’t you tell everyone what you saw?” Grandpa Longneck asked of Littlefoot. It was later in the day, and many of the grownups were assembled in the Stone Arch of the meeting place. Those that weren’t present were watching the remains of the Rock Wall to ensure no more sharpteeth came through.
Littlefoot took a deep breath. “Well, it was after the earthshake and my friends and I went up to Petrie’s new home to see if they were all right. I, well, I looked over at the Rock Wall and saw that it had collapsed and several fast biters had entered the Valley.”
Topps huffed, impatiently. “Well, if that’s it, then what are we waiting for? Let’s go and build it back up!”
"Wait, Mr. Threehorn," Grandma spoke up. “If the Rock Wall suffered that much damage, then that means other entrances to the Mysterious Beyond around the Valley fell as well. We should build those up before we work on the Main Entrance.”
Topps frowned, not pleased at having his plan of action put last. "Why would we do that? In all the time it would take for us to build up every nook and cranny made by that earthshake, the sharpteeth could just waltz on in here and no one'd be the wiser!" He pawed at the ground.
Grandpa Longneck stepped in to the aid of his mate. "Please, friends, let's not turn this into another debate." He looked at Topps. "I agree that the Main Entrance will have to be repaired, but Grandma has a point about the smaller entrances. A fastbiter could just as easily enter through one of those as it could the Rock Wall, but," he paused. "But I think our main focus should be on repairing the Main Entrance as that's where the sharpteeth will most likely come through."
"But once they find they can't get through the Wall," Tyrone remarked, standing by Mama Swimmer. "They'll come looking for other places to get in by. Couldn't we set up scout parties to search for those smaller openings and close them up?"
"But how will we do that when we're trying to rebuild a wall?" Topps spat. Tyrone rolled his eyes.
"What do you mean, Tyrone?" Grandpa asked, patiently.
"What I'm trying to say is we can have the younger members of the valley, the children, search for those hidden entrances - as they'll be most likely to find them - while we grownups rebuild."
Grandpa thought for a moment and then turned to his grandson. "Littlefoot, do you think you and your friends would be able to find smaller openings to the Mysterious Beyond?"
Littlefoot answered cautiously, wondering if he should mention that Chomper and Ruby's cave was rife with such entrances. "Yeah, I think so. We know about a lot of the tunnels leading there and we can close them up."
Grandma asked, worriedly. "Littlefoot, can you promise me you won't go off on another adventure during all this? It would be too dangerous."
The little longneck figured it would come to this, but since nothing was happening that required him to go into the Mysterious Beyond, he figured there was no harm in making a promise to stay safe. It would put his grandparents at ease while they dealt with the Wall. He smiled a small smile and nodded.
"Okay, I promise, Grandma."
=
Ehh, short chappie... but I think y'all can tell where this is headed hint... hint...
wait, where the frick are Ruby and Chomper?!?!
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My gosh, I love this story! I think perhaps my favorite thing you did was actually get the Egg-Stealers' dialect right, which shows amazing attention to detail. Well-written, well-developed, and I can't wait for more!
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Heh, I'm just so out of it right now, going through awful writer's block and generally feeling lazy
anyway, sorry the last couple of chapters have been slow, this is where the action starts to pick u-- OMG!! THEY'RE FREAKIN' TR-?! erm, I mean, read on
=Part Eleven
Chomper and Ruby’s cave was nestled into the northwest side of the Great Wall; in fact, quite near the Rock Wall Entrance to the Mysterious Beyond. It was partially obscured from view by tall fronds and the fact that the entrance was rather lopsided and didn’t really look like an entrance at all.
Despite the unpredictable exterior, the inside of the cave was adjacent to numerous tunnels that all ended up leading to the Mysterious Beyond. Ruby and Chomper both agreed that a home like this would help them in their mission to find out more about Red-Claw, the tyrant sharptooth that was the new scourge of the Beyond; and possibly, how they would stop him.
When the earthshake hit, Ruby and Chomper dashed for the safety of their home, sliding through the entrance just in time before it was blocked off by a falling cave spike. Ruby shielded Chomper as she pushed him farther back into the cave where the cave spikes were fewer and the walls were sturdier; she knew that back here the cave could withhold immense force – force that would leave the front of their cave crumbling.
Upon reaching the rear of the cave, the two stopped, covering their ears from the terrific rumbling and trying to keep their balance on the unsteady, shaking ground. Before Ruby could tell Chomper to follow her to the absolute back corner to wait out this seism, it settled to a gradual halt and stopped.
That was before the few cave spikes cracked above their heads and rained down in an angry torrent to the floor, trapping them off in this back cavern; from here, there was only one way to run before they came out to the Mysterious Beyond on the other side. But, there was no time for second thoughts. Ruby and Chomper, pursued by the falling cave spikes and rolling boulders, they scrambled to the final entryway at the west corner and hurriedly cleared away the stones set up to shield them from the roaming sharpteeth beyond.
With the obstacles cleared, and the debris not letting up in the slightest, Ruby, despite her better judgment, and knowing there was no other way, shoved Chomper through the entry first before barreling out herself.
The two stood back as they waited for the dust to clear and the noise to settle. The roars and rumbles inside drew to a halt and there was silence from the inside of the cave. But there was a new problem – the rocks and boulders inside blocked Ruby and Chomper off from getting back inside their cave.
The pink fast runner sighed and hung her head. “Oh my, we should not have done that. Now we cannot get back inside.” She looked up and around them, worriedly. From far away, they could hear the strange cries of fast biters and other creatures that made this spooky place their home.
Chomper stared at the blocked-off entrance to their home. He bit his lip. “Well,” he said, trying to cheer his friend up. “We can always find another way back in. There are ways all around the Great Valley that lead here.” He laid a claw on Ruby’s shoulder.
“We’ll get back, you’ll see.”
Ruby looked at the little sharptooth, and then straightened and smiled. “You are right, Chomper – we’ll get back.” She looked up at the Bright Circle and her smile disappeared. “Soon, I hope.”
=
Bwa-ha-ha-ha... next part will be up soonish, what will the Gang do? Littlefoot, remember your promisssee
Then again, won't be the first time he broke a promise... not to give anything away
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I want to give Pterano a hug! :DD
Thanks for these chapters. It made my day. :DD
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I want to give Pterano a hug! :DD
I think he'd appreciate that ;)
glad it made your day^^
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It always makes my day reading your fanfic. (And others :lol)
I make sure my chapter up soon. :DD
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=Part Twelve
“Littlefoot, why are we running?” Ducky managed in-between the jounces caused by Spike’s lumbering gait. The Gang had broken away from the Meeting Arch before they could get caught up in another debate, although surprisingly, the grownups really seemed to have a common goal in mind and things had been wrapped up relatively quickly.
Cera, pace matching the longneck's, called back. “For the last time, we’re going to see if Ruby and Chomper are okay, because in case you hadn’t noticed, they didn’t meet up with us after the earthshake!”
Petrie, catching the threehorn’s sharp retort, spoke back. “If they no meet up with us, maybe they trapped in cave and can’t get out.” The little flyer flapped over to Littlefoot and landed shakily on his head. “That what you think, Littlefoot?”
Littlefoot didn’t slow his pace any as he replied. “I don’t know, but it’s a possibility, Petrie. I just hope they were able to get to safety.”
“Me too,” Petrie nodded. He yawned suddenly, without meaning too. He hadn’t gotten too much sleep the previous night, even after his worries had been comforted. Petrie hadn’t been getting a good night’s sleep in since Pterano was banished a month ago, and though the Gang tried not to press it too much, they could tell Petrie was a little blue since he last saw his uncle. The little flyer wasn’t chatty or funny with his friends anymore and rarely participated in their games. Mostly, he stuck around because they were his friends and he liked the feeling that he was surrounded by those who supported him, but he still couldn’t bring up the fact that he missed his uncle terribly. None of them would understand; Littlefoot would listen and be sympathetic and assuring; Ducky would most likely give him a hug and tell him everything would be all right; Ruby and Chomper would want to know who Pterano was, which wouldn’t help his current state of mind at all; and Cera would scoff and insist he get over it, that Pterano wasn’t going to be gone forever, no matter how much certain members of the Valley would have preferred it.
And especially, they wouldn’t understand his hurt at seeing his uncle fly off for the last time. There was no accounting for the fact that Pterano had been around so infrequently during his hatch-hood that the little flyer barely even knew his uncle, but a big hole had opened up in Petrie’s heart that day, seeing the mysterious uncle he idolized so much be kicked out of the herd for the second time. The little flyer’s thoughts were interrupted as the Gang arrived at the blocked entrance of Ruby and Chomper’s cave.
“Oh no,” Littlefoot breathed. He leaned against the large rock and shouted as loud as he could. “Ruby! Chomper? Are you guys okay?”
No reply. Cera huffed and pawed at the ground. “Hey,” she said flatly to Littlefoot. “Move it,”
Littlefoot moved it. Cera snorted and dashed forward to hit the rock with successive force. A side of it splintered and crumbled, but it didn’t fall. The threehorn glared, backed up and charged again with a harsh squeal. This time, when her forehead connected with the stone, the whole rock shattered and the entrance opened up.
Cera shook her head to clear the dust off of it and turned back to her friends. “You coming?” Not waiting for a reply, she stepped in herself. Littlefoot followed, mentally cheering Cera’s hard-headedness, literally. The threehorn was always one to take action, especially if it involved smashing things.
Inside, the Gang could barely see through the thin layer of dust that clouded the air. “Ruby? Chomper?” Littlefoot called again.
“Hello? Guys?” Cera chimed in, her tone dropping slightly to indicate she was really worried.
Spike sent up a loud burble and Ducky shouted amid that. “Are you in here, Ruby and Chomper? Please, are you safe?”
Petrie didn’t say anything at first. He just stared absently about the dusty cavern. Cera, noticing the absence of the little flyer’s voice, shot him a look.
“What’s with you?” She inquired. Cera’s form of an inquiry sounded so much like an accusation that Petrie snapped out of his reverie, gulping nervously. He and Cera were close friends, but they were also highly critical of one another: Cera constantly teased Petrie of his many phobias and Petrie would come right back at her with some sort of whispered rebuke or insult.
“H-huh? What? Ohh… nothing; me-me fine. Really, honest!” Petrie quickly brushed it aside. Cera wasn’t swayed. By now, Littlefoot had also stopped, and Spike sort of coasted to a halt behind him, blinking up at the little huddled flyer on the longnecks’ back.
“What is the matter, Petrie?” Ducky asked, hopping off of Spike’s back and landing neatly on Littlefoot’s. She placed a gentle hand on Petrie’s back. “Do you need to talk to us? Do you?”
Spike made some sort of worried murmur as he nodded. Littlefoot turned his head around towards his passenger.
“Is everything all right, Petrie?” He asked quietly.
Petrie cleared his throat. “Me told you, me fine,” he insisted.
Cera frowned speculatively. “What’s wrong, Petrie? You can tell us.”
Petrie looked up, a sad look on his beak. “No, me can’t. You all just laugh.”
Littlefoot looked horrified. “Petrie, we would never do that! You’re our friend and whatever you’ve got to say, we’ll listen, I promise.”
Ducky agreed. “You are my bestest friend, Petrie, and I don’t ever laugh at you, no, no, no.”
Petrie looked out at the curious faces that surrounded him and sighed. “Okay,” he said slowly. “Me just… sad, that all.”
Littlefoot raised an eyebrow. “Is this about your uncle, Petrie?”
Cera rolled her eyes. “Oh, give me a break!” She snorted. “Petrie, he’s coming back; how many times do you need to be reminded? He wasn’t sent away forever, you know!”
Petrie’s head snapped about to face the threehorn and he glared angrily at her. “You no know that! He in the Mysterious Beyond where there sharptooths! He could no come back ever! You always say mean things about my uncle, but he not that bad! You no know what it like. Me not see Uncle Pterano since me was a baby, and now he go away, and me no know if me will ever see him again!” The flyer could feel hot tears well up and he broke off, huddling in his wings as he started to sob.
“Me miss him, so much,” he said dolefully.
The Gang was silent for a moment and then Ducky broke it with a quick and tight hug to her friend.
“Petrie, it is okay. Your uncle will come back, he will, he will.”
Littlefoot, after turning an exasperated frown Cera’s way, replied in assent. “That’s right, Petrie. Your uncle’s a pretty tough old flyer, and he can probably handle himself out there against any sharptooth he meets.”
“He is very brave, yes, yes, yes. Remember when he saved-ed me?” Ducky said with a smile.
“Yeah, Pterano will be back before you know it, Petrie.” Cera grumbled as she turned to resume the search for Ruby and Chomper.
Petrie snuffled as he wiped his tears away. He felt a little better, now finally getting that off his chest. He was glad he had friends like these, even Cera. He cracked a small smile at Ducky and Littlefoot.
“Thanks, me needed that,” he said quietly.
Cera’s voice came from farther back, from the back cavern. “Hello? Guys, we have a problem.”
Cera had found the blocked-up back entrance, but still no sign of Ruby or Chomper. Littlefoot frowned.
“This only comes out one way,” he mused. Ducky agreed.
“Yes, into the Mysterious Beyond,” she shivered slightly.
“And Redclaw,” Cera added with a sideways glance.
Littlefoot, face set, stared at the plug in the wall. You promised Grandma, a voice told him in his head. Don’t forget your promise. The longneck shook his head slowly.
“Yeah,” he finally spoke. “They’re… probably out there, now.”
Cera poked one of the rocks with her horn. “Well? What are we waiting for?” She eyed him critically. “Littlefoot, our friends are out there!”
The longneck turned away. “I know, but… I promised my grandma I wouldn’t go off to the Mysterious Beyond until we cover up all of the openings.” He looked back at Cera. “I owe her that; my grandparents are worried sick every time we go off.”
The threehorn glared back. “But you never let that stop you before,” she spat accusingly. “You’re just going to walk away now and forget about them?”
“No!” Littlefoot argued hotly. “I would never do that!”
“You’re doing it, now,” Cera hissed.
The longneck’s face was flushed as he replied defensively. “I am not!”
“Stop! Friends should not fight, no, no, no!” Ducky insisted.
Littlefoot inhaled deeply. “I-I… I just don’t know what to do right now.”
“We can worry about that when we get back. We’re just going to go out, find Ruby and Chomper, and then come back. We can explain everything later!” Cera insisted.
Littlefoot agreed inwardly. If they told the grownups now, there would most likely be a huge debate over what should be done. The longneck didn’t want to admit it out loud or at least to any of the adults, but he knew they were all afraid of the Mysterious Beyond – the Gang was too – but the kids didn’t let that get in the way of doing what they knew they had to. Though Ruby and Chomper both knew the Mysterious beyond pretty well, better than the rest of the Gang anyway, but they probably wouldn’t be able to survive for very long out there, especially if Redclaw, Screech and Thud were on the prowl.
Littlefoot let out his breath and nodded. “Let’s do it,”
=
Meh, I'm so lazy and blobbish right now... I blame summer lol
waitaminnit!! Littlefoot, having second thoughts, about helping FRIENDS?! Then again, he is more often than not the ethical one of the group, even though he disobeys his grandparents in almost EVERY FRIKKIN EPISODE!
Enjoy^^
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That was nice of Chomper to do. Well I hope there can get back into the great valley before it gets dark. But I think the fast biters are going to be busy getting into the valley as well. :DD
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Eh- heh-heh, wait and see ;)
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I see more fights between the gang happening a lot in the future of this story. Like Cera and Petrie. Anyway great chapter! I bet this is Littlefoot 25th disobey or more by now. :lol Can't wait for the next one. :DD
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=Part Thirteen
Ruby and Chomper steadily made their way through the Mysterious Beyond, keeping their ears and eyes alert and on the move in case of a sharptooth sneaking up on them. Both children were terribly nervous about treading this territory, but they knew it would be necessary to keep moving until they found an opening in the Wall, or at least a point that they could easily access over, back into the safety of the Valley. But neither Ruby nor Chomper was comfortable moving farther and farther from their cave, even if it was blocked up. They knew if they had stayed for so long trying to remove the debris from the earthshake, a sharptooth could have easily come by at any moment and then they would have been in real trouble with nowhere to hide and a predator having the high ground.
Ruby sighed to herself as they walked on. The Bright Circle’s face still shone strong, but midday had already passed and it wouldn’t be long before the Night Circle took over. Ruby knew they would have to find shelter before then if they hadn’t managed to get back to the Valley.
She looked at Chomper, plodding despondently beside her and she nuzzled him with her beak.
“Cheer up, Chomper,” she tried. “We know the Mysterious Beyond well, so I am certain we will find our way out of it.” She nodded deliberately, trying to believe it herself. True, they both knew this area – nothing changed much out here amidst the scorched red rocks and sparse vegetation – but they could never tell where a sharptooth lurked and that was the reason they had to be so cautious now.
======
Pterano banked sharply and landed, tottering on his feet slightly. His shoulders and back ached terribly and there was a dull throbbing in his head from lack of sleep, so he decided he had had enough flying for now, at least until he had rested.
Taylen jogged along at a steady pace, feet smartly smacking the dried earth of the canyons where they now were. Pterano recognized this route as one the far walkers had traveled through; the flyer grinned. They were going the right way. The grin quickly dissolved into a look of agitation. They were going the right way…
Taylen looked up at his companion, at the worn expression Pterano’s face held. The young dinosaur cocked his head, concerned. “Um, sir?” He spoke up.
The great crested head faced him. Taylen continued. He no longer felt afraid of this giant flyer. Respectful yes, but Taylen sensed Pterano was only putting on a show a great deal of the time with his dramatic airs.
“M-maybe we should stop for a bit.” He suggested, slowing himself. “You look right knackered,”
Pterano considered. They had made great progress and Taylen had already rested, so why not? He nodded, the corners of his beak curling ever so slightly.
“I would like that, lad, but –” he looked up, shielding his eyes against the Bright Circle’s glare. “We should get a little farther before stopping for a rest.” He gestured with a talon and Taylen’s jaw dropped slightly.
The smooth land opened up into chasms and ditches– some wide enough and deep enough to swallow a whole herd of longnecks. Taylen gulped. They stopped at the edge of the first one and looked down. Pterano doubted he had the energy to make the flight across, much less with the youngster on his back.
Taylen itched the back of his long neck dubiously. “It’s… a pretty long way over,” he surmised.
Pterano inhaled. “Rather, but I don’t see any other way. Going around will take much too long, and climbing down, well, while not completely out of the question, is still risky.” He made a sour face. “We’ll have to go across.”
Taylen looked up, surprised. “D’you think you can, sir?” the Eggstealer asked meekly.
Pterano looked back down at the youngster, his blue eyes fatigued. “No,” he answered shortly, almost crisply. “But, I know that we’ll have to try it sooner or later, so why not face the inevitable?”
Taylen shook his head and made a face that showed he plainly disagreed with that idea. “I don’t think we should chance it, sir. You’re really tired, and I don’t think you’d be able to carry me for very long, especially over these ditches.” He kicked a stray pebble and then leaned over the chasm’s edge to watch it as it fell. He gulped again. “That-that’s a long way down, don’t you think?”
Pterano didn’t answer right away. He surveyed the landscape before them, eyes narrowed, looking for any possible way of easy access across. And then he saw it: a log leaning out over the canyon, easily crossable by just a simple push. It didn’t appear rotten or weak. The flyer smiled to himself.
“Taylen,” he gestured with a talon. “Follow me,” he walked over to the edge of the precipice, over to the log, planted his foot on it and shoved. The log creaked ominously. Pterano tried again, succeeding in making it sway. Taylen watched nearby, wringing his tail.
With an annoyed grunt, Pterano flapped up into the air to gain more momentum and rocketed back down. The log cracked from its root support and toppled over with a thump and a scattering of dust. The flyer surveyed the bridge he made with not a little satisfaction. He stepped aside, grinning at his young companion.
“Ergo,” he remarked dramatically. “We can get across, now,”
Taylen’s eyes got wider in admiration. “W-wow…” he breathed. “Nice… nice one, sir.”
Pterano wrapped his wings about him as he made a theatrical bow. “Thank you, I’m sure.” He looked back out over the log bridge and narrowed his eyes against the glare of the Bright Circle.
“Well,” he started. “We should get going. We have to reach those peaks before the Night Circle rises.”
Taylen cocked his head as he stepped up to the bridge. “Why?”
“That’s the route the far walkers and I took, and that’s the route back to the Valley.” Pterano replied shortly. “I’ll go first, to test it out; make sure it’s stable and then you follow, understood?” He about-faced before the youngster could answer and started the journey across.
The log wobbled terribly, and bits and pieces of the body crumbled and fell as he walked. Pterano assessed his situation carefully as he walked; marking with his eyes the areas in which the wood looked particularly weak and which looked strong enough to support another passenger. He looked back once or twice to make sure Taylen hadn’t blindly bounded out onto the log and was now prancing happily behind, but both times the old flyer was reassured. Taylen stood, anxiously waiting on the other side.
In no time at all, Pterano reached the opposite cliffside. He hopped neatly off and turned. “All right, lad,” he called back. “Your turn!”
Taylen looked a little too eager as he jumped onto the log, which wobbled slightly at the sudden new presence of weight. Not appearing to notice, Taylen took a couple of particularly bouncy steps forward; the log creaked and groaned. Pterano held his hands up urgently. “Steady, boy, don’t put too much stress on that log.”
Taylen stopped then, looking down at the log with wider eyes. He glanced back up. Pterano gestured he go slower.
The Egg Stealer did so, choosing his steps more carefully. At length, he reached the other side and was about to hop off when the log cracked again, but this time it sounded deep and hollow, like it was coming from the very core the wood.
Taylen, instincts taking over, tensed and hunkered down, not two feet from the other side. Pterano, fearing the worst, stepped closer. He heard the sound again and this time, it was slower and deeper; a wrenching sound. “Taylen,” he said slowly, reaching his hand out. “Get over here, now,”
=====
OMFG! I cannot believe how long it's taken me to upload this... but, *sigh* I have finally managed it, emjoy this cliffhanger :smile
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=Part Fourteen
Taylen inched forward and whimpered when the noise came again.
“Taylen,” Pterano said again, voice hardening slightly. “Keep coming,” he didn’t know what the source of the sound was, but he didn’t like it and the sooner Taylen got over there the better. But the youngster stayed in his squat, clutching the log. He couldn’t move.
“Taylen!” Pterano allowed himself something short of a bellow. He reached out farther, waving his claw urgently. “Reach up here and grab my claw, now!”
The little one finally looked up. The noise had stopped. For a moment, neither of them spoke. Then Taylen slowly smiled and moved to get up. The support broke just then, and the log jerked violently. Taylen flopped back down and slipped slightly off to the side.
“Taylen!” Pterano screeched. He was about one step short of going out onto the wood, but decided against it. Right now, with the log in this weakened state, adding more pressure would be sure to break it, sending Taylen all the way down to the bottom of the canyon. He held back, grimacing in annoyance.
Taylen looked up. “I-I… I think it’s gonna go, sir,” he squeaked, absolutely stiff with fear.
Pterano frowned. “Reach up here, lad, it won’t go unless we make sudden moves. Reach slowly,” he emphasized the last word.
Taylen painstakingly lifted his right arm and moved it forward. Closer and closer to Pterano’s waiting talons. The flyer nodded encouragement. “That’s it, lad,” he approved. “Keep going; slowly, slowly.”
Within centimeters of the old flyer’s grasp, Taylen made a minute shift on his perch. The log snapped. Taylen screamed and clutched the support, making the log sway. The front part of the log had been broken off, and the wooden body was now slipping down the side of the canyon.
Scrabbling for a foothold, Taylen leaned too far and slipped off the side, claws slicing into the side as he fell. He squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for his impact upon hitting the ground, but none came. Cautiously, he opened one yellow eye to see he had grabbed the log and his claws had caught. He would have laughed if he wasn’t so blind with terror and relief.
Pterano was at a loss. Taylen was too far away now. “Taylen, can you move closer to me?”
Taylen shrank back and shook his head, clenching his eyes shut again. His legs and tail dangled down; his whole body was hanging by the slim hold he had managed with his flimsy foreclaws. The youngster concentrated every thought, every heartbeat, and every muscle he had into not letting go.
The log shifted slightly to the side; its equilibrium off. Taylen whimpered. He was too scared to move, too scared to notice Pterano stepping out onto the log and reaching for him. Too scared to even feel the old flyer’s talons seize his own and tug his claws out of the wood.
But once his hold was lost, Taylen jerked and struggled. “Ah! What are you doing?” The Egg-Stealer yanked his claws back. The log bucked like a spiketail who was in a battle with a pair of sharpteeth. Pterano fell back, claws smartly grasping the edge of the chasm. Taylen, jostled, lost his hold. After a moment of frantic scrambling, his claws slipped.
“Taylen!” Pterano’s arm sprang out and nabbed a hold on Taylen’s wrist. He grunted as he was very nearly yanked forward, down into the precipice. He tugged back, his foothold on the log weakening and the log creaking again. He growled deep in his throat as he draped Taylen’s arm over the log.
“Grab on!” He barked. Taylen’s skinny arm latched hold. Pterano backed up onto the canyon’s edge and, kneeling down so his weight was evenly spread, leaned out again, arm reaching for the little Eggstealer.
“Come on, then!” Pterano encouraged, “You can do it, Taylen.”
For a moment, Taylen stayed put, and then, finally, he reached out to catch the flyer’s claw. Upon grasping it, Taylen allowed Pterano to pull him to the edge of the canyon, and then drape his arms onto the edge.
Nearly out of breath due to the adrenaline rush and the sheer, dizzying relief that the little one hadn't fallen, Pterano hauled Taylen to safety.
The little Stealer collapsed limply onto the hard, red ground. His ribs heaved with the effort of his gulps of air, and his eyes were clenched shut, squeezing out small, tricking tears.
Pterano, knees going weak, settled down beside him, a claw across his heart. "Taylen," he spoke, softly, gently.
Taylen opened one pale eye, and without warning, threw himself into the old flyer's arms. Pterano barely suppressed an Oof! as he caught the youngster, very nearly bowled over by the sudden force. The little Stealer buried his face into Pterano's neck ruff, his shoulders shaking as he sobbed.
"Taylen," Pterano said again, grunting to right himself. "It's all right, you're safe, lad..."
Taylen's muffled voice broke through. "Thank you, sir." He lifted his head, all tear-stained and distressed. "I-I didn't listen... I didn't listen to you, and I'm-I'm sorry," he lowered his gaze. Pterano tucked a claw under the Stealer's chin and lifted his head up towards him.
"You didn't do anything wrong, Taylen." The flyer admonished simply. "And we're both alive, that counts for something, right?"
Taylen shrugged, cheeks reddening in a blush "But I almost slipped off because I wouldn't--"
Pterano brushed it aside, brusque manner returned as he stood up, helping Taylen to his unsteady feet. "No matter, we made it anyway." He looked up towards the mountains and sighed, grimly. "Well, we'd better get on our way. We're in the Mysterious Beyond now, lad. The border of the Valley."
Taylen nodded and followed after his companion, head ducked meekly.
~~~
Heeeeya! Wow, I'm on a roll^^ good to have these parts over with. Now, onto the Gang!! muhahaha!!
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Poor Taylen! I guess he needed a good hug after that ordeal. By the way great come back with these two chapters. There where fantastic! Also sorry for not replying straight away.
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NP^^ Glad you liked them. And it feels great to get these posted after so long! :p
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I need to get back writing very soon as well. I taken a break just for a few weeks and then something happens and you forget until the year almost over. :lol
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Lol, IKR? Luckily, I had written the first draft down, so I had it all set... it was just the means of getting it uploaded, which takes a far greater effort :p hehe
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Woo, looks like Pterano, and Taylen are closing in on the Great Valley! I wonder what's in store for them, as they both have reasons they would rerally not be liked over there, and there a good deal of opportunity for them to get their selves in trouble around there.
I just wanna know what happens next, the suspense in starting to kill me. :DD
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OK so I'm FINALLY caught up with this. I've really been enjoying the rising action so far, and how this journey is taking us on a character exploration as well as a literal journey. I liked that warm moment at the end there, and then Pterano gets all professional again as he's got to remind the reader that they've still got a bit to go before their destination. :) Ugh I hate reading fics from behind, as then I just have TOO much to say but not enough time to write it all out. I'll try and keep up from now on. :p
Now if I only could find the time to get back to my own fic... >_>
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Hehe no worries, I'm glad you got to it^^
I kind of have Pterano's personality as being rather cold and distant at first, but also kind of wishy-washy, like he's not sure how he's supposed to act. I like switching between the personalities^^
hahaha there will be moar!!
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I'm all caught up to chapter 14, too, Strut.
It's a great adventure. Pterano and Taylen have had quite a journey so far, and I know there's still more ahead. :)
You sure know how to write awesome flyer fanfics, Strut. What an adventure... Pterano, your eggstealer Taylen ;), Petrie, Petrie's mom....
You've really got me into this one, Strut! Super job so far. Another awesome fanfic. :D
(ALSO..GREAT description of Pterano's view of Rinkus and Sierra in the beginning. :) )
Rinkus was naive, borderline clueless, and easily manipulated. Pterano wouldn’t hesitate to land a hard whack on Rinkus’ head for some stupid idea or action, but Sierra was different. Nearly matching Pterano in height, wingspan, but being at least six seasons younger and bearing an awful temper, Sierra made a nasty foe. Pterano remembered one such incident when the two had a disagreement, which quickly escalated to a full-blown duel. Both of them ended up winded and nearly knocked senseless from repeated wing-blows, but Sierra, youth still somewhat on his side, kept getting up and coming back harder until Rinkus leapt in-between the dueling flyers and insisted they stop. Pterano couldn’t help shaking one nagging thought: Sierra had nearly beaten him. But aside from all the drama, Rinkus and Sierra had made good enough stooges.
Yes, Rinkus can easily be manipulated ;) funny rhamphorhynchus, hee heh. You already know I LOVE him! :D :wub :D.
But DO NOT MESS AROUND WITH SIERRA!! He's capable of beating you senseless! :blink: He IS one nasty, fierce, rotten cearadactylus! Watch OUT for him!! :blink:
You captured both of their personalities perfectly with that paragraph of Pterano thinking about them in his head. Good going! :yes
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=Part Fifteen
“Oz!” Strut wailed. “Where-where are we going?” he plodded on listlessly after his more determined brother. Strut couldn’t fathom how Ozzy could keep up such a brisk pace – he knew his older brother was hungrier and more tired than he was.
Ozzy grumbled. “Just keep up! And I’ll tell you later.”
“You said that,” Strut huffed as he stumbled forward a few running steps, “Before! When will it be ëlater’?” Temper flaring, Strut halted in the middle of the pathway, glaring after his older brother. He planted both feet firmly, narrowing his eyes back. “I’m-I'm not going until y-”
“Just get over here!” Ozzy interrupted. Strut flinched, trying to sustain his resolve. He had rarely stood up to Ozzy before they were stranded out here, but those frequencies had become more common of late. Ozzy wasn’t the brave and bold leader he had been, or may have thought he was. Strut was starting to assert himself, and the darker Stealer really didn’t know how to properly react to this new-found independence.
“N-no,” he stuttered, his knees knocking slightly.
“ëNo’?” Ozzy was indignant. “Did you just say ëno’ to me?”
Brother faced brother in a silent showdown. Yellow eyes stared into glinting amber ones, and the very air around them seemed tense with this wait. “Strut,” Ozzy growled. “I won’t have this. Any of this! Get over here! I’m the leader, and I say--”
“You say what!” Strut blurted, clapping both claws over his beak after this loud query. Oh no, he didn’t just…
Ozzy’s eye twitched. “I say when to move, and when to stop; and right now, I-” he stiffened and the next second, a bone-chilling bellow emerged from the rocks nearby. Strut stifled a yelp and Ozzy turned, mouth hanging open.
A massive sharptooth rounded the bend. He noticed the two Stealers almost immediately and fixated on them with his one good eye – the other was blood-red. His limber, sinewy body halted in his tracks as he stared his potential prey down. Red Claw.
“Oh, dash it!” Ozzy sputtered. He turned to Strut - paralyzed by the very sight of this sharptooth – and latched hold of his arm. “Run!”
Red Claw roared as he started after them. Ozzy thanked his hide that Screech and Thud were nowhere to be found… unless that was bad news as well. He thought too soon. Sure enough, both Screech and Thud appeared on the trail ahead of them in an attempt at ambush.
“Jump!” Ozzy barked. Strut needed no prompting. Both Stealers threw themselves off to the side as the two fastbiters sailed past, and resumed their sprint. Red Claw was still hot on their trail, growling and gnashing his teeth. Ozzy and Strut had had rare dealings with Red Claw in the past, but none that precluded a chase. The Stealers would wander across the big brute and his henchmen at a kill or when they had the disadvantage of low ground, and thus couldn’t get at the brothers. But apparently, the luck had worn off.
Fortunately for the Stealers, they were natural sprinters – the main reason they had survived out here for so long – and it wasn’t terribly long before they lost sight of the massive meateater and his cronies, if at least for a moment.
Ozzy saw where they were headed – a narrow embankment; it looked small enough to be inconspicuous, and from there they would have the high ground advantage. “Get to the edge, Strut!”
Strut lost nothing to hesitance. He gave a leap to settle unsteadily on the shelf of rock and turned to see Ozzy land safely behind him. Red Claw thundered in then.
“Climb! Get up the-!” Ozzy whirled to see Strut had already clambered up, and was holding out his tail for Ozzy to grab on to.
Red Claw roared in consternation as the Egg Stealers made their escape. Ozzy and Strut didn’t chance to look back as they sprinted in the opposite direction until the roars were mere talk-backs in the distance. Only then did they stop, in a cluster of gray rock on the high ground.
Ozzy cleared his throat in as business-like a manner as he could. “Well, that’s that. You alright, bro-?” the pale Stealer paused, face twitching with rage.
Strut stopped short in his attempt at taking a bite out of a small, withered bush nearby. “Don’t make another move.” Ozzy hissed.
But Strut didn’t listen, nor did he take a bite. It was an awkward position, stance-wise, with him bending over like that, but also from the situation itself – disregarding his brother’s orders. A part of Strut wanted to obey, but another, stronger, stranger part of him was pushing him forward ever so slowly. All at once, his beak shot out and snagged a mouthful of the dry leaves.
Ozzy tensed, edge of his beak curling into horrible contempt. “So that’s what you think of me, then?” He asked quietly, just below a whisper. Strut finally looked up, finishing off the mouthful, his yellow eyes expressionless as he faced his older brother.
“Of all that’s happened and all I did to keep you safe, all you had to do,” Ozzy stalked forward a couple steps, voice still painfully low, “was keep to that original deal – no-green-food!” Like a coiled spring, Ozzy sprang forward at his sibling. Strut hardly had time to react before Ozzy’s foot made contact with his face, knocking his head back and throwing his balance off. Strut fell backwards onto the rough stones of the path they had just emerged from.
For a moment, there was another heavy silence. Strut moodily rubbed his stinging cheek and Ozzy stared with inexplicable fury at his fallen sibling.
“You… you act like you have all the answers, Oz.” Strut quavered, managing to get to his shaky feet, claws clenched. “B-but you don’t. We’re back to sq-square one, no food, and all you can do is boss me out of trying to find s-something to eat!”
Angry tears flooded his vision but Strut willed them back, shaking his head.
“I’m… I’m done with this whole thing. I’m… going home.”
======
Ruby and Chomper found themselves in an awful predicament. Moments before, they had heard that all-too-familiar roar in the not-so-distant distance.
“O-oh dear,” Ruby stiffened. “Chomper, can your sniffer find a way out to where we need to go?”
Chomper nodded slightly. “I-I think so.” He took a long, deep breath and held it. This was followed by several smaller snorts as the little sharptooth wandered forward a few steps. “Um,” he straightened. “We-we can still go this way.” He pointed forwards. Ruby nodded and followed after him, keeping a wary eye out.
The two carried forward several more feet before Chomper halted. “It… it smells like he came by here. Not so long ago, either.” He sniffed the stone face and grimaced. “And… he was chasing something…” Chomper narrowed his eyes. Why was that one scent so familiar? The smell was heavy, almost musky. Runners in the Valley had a similar scent, but this one was far stronger.
“Chomper?” Ruby queried. “Are you alright?”
Chomper frowned. “I… know that smell, Ruby. It’s really familiar, but I can’t tell.” He sniffed in the direction the scent had disappeared to. “It goes this way.”
“And so does Red Claw,” Ruby surmised.
“But, but I know who that is, or at least I think I do. And they could be in trouble.” Chomper looked up at his friend. Ruby sighed.
“Very well, let’s go find what we will see.”
======
“What ëhome’, Strut?” Ozzy said in a grating tone. “We don’t have a ëhome’!”
Strut finally turned to face his brother, scowling. “Well it was better than out here, for certain! And at least we had food!”
“I’m trying to get food for us, you ingrate!”
“But you haven’t, yet!” Strut insisted.
“But I will! I’m the leader here, Strut!” Ozzy’s eyes flashed, indicating the discussion was at an end. Strut, however, ignored the signs of his brother losing patience.
“And there you go on with the whole ëleader position’, again!” His claws twitched as he clenched them into fists. “You haven’t done a single thing right ever since we started on this dashed journey!” Strut’s voice cracked as it intensified. “Nothing!”
“Shut up!!” Ozzy boomed, talk-backs bouncing crazily off the surrounding rocks. “Barkbreath, d’you want to alert every bloody fastbiter in the area to a free meal?” He growled.
Strut stood his ground. “I’m not going to follow you anymore, Oz. This is it. I-I’m finished.” The dark Stealer had little to no idea how he had managed to say that; he was quaking terribly and not really thinking clearly, but once those words were out, there was no chance of snatching them back.
Ozzy’s sharp features darkened with a withering glare. “You don’t mean that,” his biting tone warned that Strut better not have meant it, for his own good. Strut pursed his beaked snout and set himself rigidly, quieting his shaky limbs.
“I do,” he hissed back.
After another pause, Ozzy snorted, drawing himself up to his full height. “I didn’t want it to come to this, Strut, but you’re obviously unwell.” He spat the words contemptuously. “It’s apparent I’m going to have to drag you back if you won’t come willingly.”
“I’m n-not going!”
Chomper snapped his head up. After the two had skirted around Red Claw and Screech and Thud, the scent had gotten stronger, and the sudden emergence of voices had accompanied it. Very familiar voices, too, although Chomper couldn’t immediately say why.
Ruby picked her way along after him, curious. The voices sounded angry, even if she couldn’t tell what they were saying.
“Are we closer to where we’re going, now?” She asked. Chomper paused to sniff.
“Just up there.”
“óYou’re a pitiful excuse for a Stealer, you know that? All this rebellion, it’s unwanted!” A low voice cried. Chomper jerked to a stop.
“No, it can’t be.” Without knowing why, Chomper broke into a full run, up the embankment and stopping just before crossing into the midst of two very familiar Eggstealers. Ozzy abruptly put a halt to his tirade and glanced up at the small shower of pebbles that had come raining down from the embankment. Strut gave a weak yelp as he jumped back.
Ozzy’s voice quickened. “Wh-who’s there?”
Chomper’s heart raced. They had survived, after all this time? The small sharptooth frowned. The no-good Egg Nappers! Everything that had happened the day of his hatching came flooding back. Taking a deep breath, Chomper stepped out from where he’d hid, eyes narrowed. The two Stealers froze.
“Remember me?” Chomper growled.
======
Ugh! Worst entrance ever! Ah well, anyway, serves its purpose as a connection.
Enjoy my writer's block!! *nuuu!*
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=Part Sixteen
Ruby turned the corner and stopped short as she almost ran into Chomper. She looked up to behold two very bony-looking Stealers. One dark and one light, staring back at them in bewilderment.
Ruby raised a brow as she turned from the Stealers back to Chomper, and then back to the Stealers. “Are they the ones you had looked for to find?” She whispered.
Chomper nodded, not losing his glare. “Yeah, they’re the ones.”
“It’s… it’s that egg, Oz.” Strut quavered, disbelieving that he saw what he saw.
Ozzy nodded slowly, face twisted into some sort of angry astonishment, like he couldn’t quite understand what was going on, but it made him mad. “What are you doing out here?” He hissed, composure regained. “You bring back those parents of yours to finish us off?”
“Well, right now I’m wondering how you two even escaped.” Chomper replied.
Ozzy guffawed. Strut really admired how carefree his brother was acting now, despite their actions of earlier. “You honestly think we couldn’t get away from two brutes like those? We’re Struthiomimuses, my boy. Nothing catches us.” He sneered.
Chomper frowned. He was reminded of just how much he didn’t like these two. “How long have you two been out here?” He figured he should start from there.
Strut cleared his throat before Ozzy could answer with some stinging remark. After all, what happened when this sharptooth hatched was… in the past, right? There wasn’t any need to be aggressive… right? “Ahm, well uh, since then, I suppose. Wh-what d’you think, Oz?”
“ëOz’?” Ruby asked, curiously.
“Oh, uh right, you probably don’t even know our names.” Strut laughed nervously. “Look, I’m Strut, and this one’s Oz, I mean Ozzy. We’re brothers.” The darker Stealer tilted his head. “And-and might we know your names?”
Ruby smiled, oblivious to the Eggeaters’ and Chomper’s past dealings. “Sure, I’m Ruby because that’s my name.”
“Chomper,” the little sharptooth replied.
“Uhh, charmed.” Strut made a move forward, but Ozzy stuck out his foot to block. “Yes, yes we’re quite charmed,” the corners of his beak lowered in distaste. “So where are your little friends? Those buggers who were protecting you before? Are they around?”
Chomper paused to consider. Both of these Stealers were bigger than him and Ruby put together, and though they looked harmless and quite starved right now, the sharptooth remembered all too well how these two had treated his friends. Maybe they were looking for an easy meal right now. Anyway, he wouldn’t give them the truth.
“Yeah, actually. We’re exploring not too far ahead.” He smiled. “Wanna come along? I’m sure they’d be happy to see you.” He tried not to notice how shocked Ruby looked as he said this. Chomper almost never used sarcasm, anyway.
Ozzy raised a skeptical brow. “Really,” he said. Strut shivered.
“Yep, right over those rocks.” Chomper pointed. “Hey guys!” He called over, making both of the brothers jump. “Guess who I found back here?”
“Alright, alright!” Ozzy held his claws up. “Fine, we… we believe you.”
“You-you explore the Mysterious Beyond?” Strut asked, eyes widening. Chomper shrugged. His time, he could tell the truth.
“Yeah, sometimes.”
“Why?”
Ruby nudged Chomper, but he ignored her. “I’m actually supposed to find out more about Red Claw, and how to stop him.”
The two Stealers glanced at one another, and then turned back to the children before them. Strut stifled a giggle. Ozzy wasn’t so courteous. His laugh boomed off the surrounding rocks. Chomper frowned as the brothers gave in to helpless mirth.
“What’s so funny?” He demanded.
“You… you c-can’t be serious!” Ozzy managed, holding his sides. Strut leaned onto the rock wall for support as he continued laughing.
“Why not?”
“A puny little thing like you is going to take on Red Claw?” The pale Stealer’s amber eyes narrowed with ridicule. “That’s the most absurd thing I’ve ever heard!”
“Hah, oh, that was brilliant!” Strut whooped, not quite recovered.
“It’s the truth!” Chomper insisted. “Ruby and I are going to get rid of him!”
“Sure you are,” Ozzy, composure retrieved, stared the little sharptooth down. “Chomper, is it? Well Chomper, let me enlighten you. You. Will. Not. Get. Far.” His neck stretched out with each syllable.
“We will so!” Chomper folded his arms, glaring right back. Ruby harrumphed, uncomfortably.
“Chomper,” she whispered. “We should leave because it’s dark.” She looked up with growing concern at the steadily darkening sky.
Strut broke off his hysterics with a rather strangled-sounding hiccup as he noticed the gathering dusk as well. “O-Oz, we should get back.”
“Very well,” Ozzy sighed dramatically as he straightened. “Wonderful to see you again, Egg,” he declared, absently. He turned on his heel and strode smartly off. Strut hesitated behind, biting his beak, looking at the two children. Hey were so vulnerable out here. But didn’t they say they knew the Mysterious Beyond? That was no excuse, they were only children, andó
“Strut!” Ozzy snapped. The dark Stealer jumped.
“O-oh, right. But, um… Oz?”
Ozzy stopped, but didn’t turn. Strut saw this as a sign to continue. “Well, I mean, they’re alone out here, right now. M-maybe they should… come with us? I-I mean, the Beyond is really no place for chil-children, right?” he looked down at Chomper and Ruby, smiling awkwardly. “Do-do you need someplace to stay, tonight?”
Ruby and Chomper in the meantime had also turned to leave, but at this invitation, they turned back, surprised. Chomper frowned, warily.
“Ab-absolutely no tricks this time! Heh, don’t need to tangle with a sharptooth, thank you!” Strut put up his claws in surrender. “But, um, you can… come with us, if-if you want to.”
Chomper considered. One the one claw, these two had tried to eat him, and had almost succeeded in doing away with Littlefoot. He frowned. But on the other claw, it was night, and now that he saw these Stealers in a different light they seemed, well… far less threatening now that he had grown up some. And the dark one, Strut, seemed almost friendly.
The bright Circle had disappeared over the horizon. Chomper made his decision. “Okay.”
======
Heh, not doing too shabby - definitely helps that I don't have to crunch time into four separate elements of the story: such as the Gang, Ruby and Chomper, Pterano and Taylen, and those Egg Buggers ;)
Now why does Strut remind me so much of Portal 2's Wheatley? Truly Machiavellian
And of course, Ozzy would be that much of a jerkweed... :slap
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Great two chapters. Could Chomper become friends with Ozzy and Strut? Anyway looking forward to the next chapters. :DD
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Woo, another day at my brother's house after the move, an some internet time! Hopefully I'll have internet of my own either tomorrow or Monday, and I can actually get active here again! Yay!
I really liked the re-meeting of Chomper and the eggstealers. I'm wondering if Chomper's thinking in the back of his mind "Hmm, wonder what eggstealer tastes like." :lol
I don't have much time today, but I could do a more meatier review after I get my own internet at my new apartment.
Don't know if I'll make any other posts today, but I've been missing you guys the last 3 weeks. :cry
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I know that feeling Vonboy. I've not been online since my brother always looks what I go on and well I like my privacy. :DD
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@ Vonboy: I'm glad you had time to review, and good luck with the move!
Gahh, hope you get steady internet soon!
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This is very good,
Well thought out and written.
:D
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Wow, thanks so much. I'm happy you think so :)
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Double-posting on my part... I gotta stop that :p
This is a little tie-in, in preparation for the day sequencs. Dangit! This is taking so long! Everyone, just get up and start doing STUFF!
And tensions mount among the Gang... :o
=Part Seventeen
“Great,” Cera muttered. “Now we’re gone after dark. I better get my apology speech ready. After all, I’ve perfected it.”
Littlefoot glared. “Are you saying this is my fault? I didn’t want to go out here in the first place, but then you made me feel like an awful friend for not being worried about Ruby and Chomper!” The longneck was indignant. How dare Cera complain about this situation? After all, this was more her idea than it was his, wasn’t it?
“No, no! Friends no fight!” Petrie squawked, perched on Littlefoot’s back. “Me no want to hear this anymore! Friends give Petrie headache!” he complained, cradling his head.
“Yep, yep, yep.” Ducky agreed, somberly. Littlefoot grudgingly nodded.
“I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “I don’t mean to snap.”
Cera grunted in reply, but it ended the disagreement and the Gang continued on in silence until Petrie started shrieking. “Sh-sharptooth!” He pointed a shaky digit in the distance.
The Gang froze. “Where?!” Littlefoot cried.
“There! M-me see it over there!” Petrie stuttered. Sure enough, a darkened figure rose up several meters away, almost indistinct against the blackened rocks.
Cera frowned. “Well great, he heard us, so we’re in even bigger trouble now. Thanks, Petrie.”
“Cera!” Littlefoot admonished. “Stop it! Everyone, follow me!” The longneck took off down a side trail with his friends at close pace behind him.
“Wh-where we going?” Petrie asked, jouncing up and down on the longneck’s back. Littlefoot didn’t answer because he had no idea himself. But he did know that this trail led to several caves, one of which they could probably hide in.
“Almost there!” He allowed. He strained to hear the excited bellow that usually accompanied a sharptooth sighting, but none came. Littlefoot decided not to worry about that, however. Just focus on getting everyone safe!
At length, they reached the caves. Littlefoot pinpointed one. “C’mon! In there!” he charged through, followed by Cera, and then by the lumbering Spike. Once they were through, they waited. Painstakingly, for what seemed hours. Nothing.
Cera frowned. “Exactly what did you see out there, Petrie? Was it an actual sharptooth, or was it a rock?”
Petrie paused. “Um, me no remember.” He scratched his head. “It look like sharptooth at first, but me could be wrong,” he chuckled nervously.
Cera groaned. “We probably woke up every sharptooth around here scrambling for cover!”
“Cera, calm down. Maybe he did see something. And anyways, this is a good place to stop. We can continue in the morning.” Littlefoot curled up then, and the Gang followed his example. Ducky yawned.
“I hope we find Chomper and Ruby tomorrow, I do, I do.”
“Me too,” Littlefoot sighed.
~
Taylen looked up at the Night Circle and whistled. “Wo-ow, don’t think I’ve ever seen it that big, before.”
Pterano walked beside him, deciding not to fly again as he was far too light-headed from lack of sleep. He grunted in reply. The two had entered the ranges of the Beyond, and from there, they just had to snuff out Taylen’s brothers, and this whole episode would be finished – Pterano wouldn’t be condemned, and Taylen would be reunited with his family. Happy endings for everyone.
If only it could be that simple. Pterano sighed, blinking his eyes.
“You alright, sir?” Taylen whispered. “Oh! You-you’re tired! I’m sorry! I should have noticed. Um, we can stop now, if you want.”
“Just a bit further,” Pterano wanted nothing more than to stop, but they were cresting a ridge, and if they could just get over this ridge, then they could stop and rest. But it turned out cresting the hill wasn’t in the plan as Pterano tripped and sprawled forward on the ground, suppressing a grunt of surprise. Taylen yelped and flew to his assistance.
“Yipes! You-you alright, Pterano? Sir?”
“Fine, lad. M’fine.” Pterano coughed as he struggled to his knees.
“You’re exhausted,” Taylen pointed out. Pterano nodded slowly, closing his eyes. “We need to get you someplace safe to sleep, ëkay? Follow me, my sniffer can help!” The little Stealer gave a yank on the older flyer’s shoulder, almost causing Pterano to topple sideways.
“A-alright, I’m getting up, then.” Pterano grumbled. He didn’t remember the last time he’d been so tired. Gads, he could barely see straight; not to mention it was night time and almost completely dark save for the light of the Night Circle high above.
With Taylen clutching fast to his wrist, there wasn’t much Pterano could do except follow after. He didn’t have the strength to carry on forward himself. Honestly, he rolled his eyes behind half-closed lids. I’m like a bloody blind, walking like this. So much for the fantastic flyer that I am.
“Aha!” Taylen tugged him forward a little more. “In there! It’s a cave and it looks safe! Up high, too!”
Snapping awake, Pterano pulled back on his arm, stopping Taylen. The little Stealer looked confused. “Oy, what’s up?”
“Quiet!” Pterano hushed. Turning his crested head this way and that, his eyes narrowed as he searched the cliffside they were now facing. “These could be sharpteeth nests, lad.”
“Sh-sharpteeth nests, really?” Taylen’s eyes widened.
Pterano nodded.“We have to be careful, follow my lead.” The flyer stepped forward, scaling the cliff face, forcing his eyes to remain open as he passed each opening. At last, he found the perfect spot – a location high-up, between two rock pinnacles, completely isolated. “That’s it, Taylen, right up--”
Just then, a roar shook the night. Pterano froze, talon pointed upwards, crested head snapping towards a distant ridge. “Taylen,” he whispered. “Get up there, now.”
“Righto, sir,” Taylen whispered back. The little dinosaur latched onto the hard stone surface and shimmied his way up towards the spot on top. Pterano stalled below, looking up and then back down again. He wouldn't have preferred to fly, but since there was the pressing matter of surviving or being a night snack, there was no time to waste. Groaning, Pterano spread his wings, almost getting thrown off balance as another ear-splitting roar emerged at a closer distance, though the speaker was still out of sight. The old flyer bit his tongue, gave a mighty, rocketing flap, and soared into the air on an updraft, reaching the top before Taylen.
He held out a weary claw to the youngster. “Come on, up with you lad.” He grunted, pulling Taylen to safety. The two flopped back against the edge, out of breath.
“Wow, that-that was some day, eh, sir?” Taylen giggled, unsuccessfully hiding a yawn. Pterano smiled gently as he wrapped a large wing over the smaller dinosaur.
“That it was, lad. That it was. Get some sleep, now.”
“Do you… think we’ll find my bro-brothers, tomorrow?”
Hopefully we will, Pterano didn’t bother to answer as Taylen slipped into slumber the very next moment.
Hopefully, lad.
======
Soooo YES! We be getting STUFF done, now! Good work, Team! Rock on!
... now if I could only get over my blasted writer's block for the next part :bang
Anyway, enjoy these close tender moments as they last, muahahaha...
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Soo, I finally read your fic :D
in spite of the fact that I'm not a huge Pterano/Eggstealers fan I really like it.
Your OC is well chosen and the plot is exciting ;)
Keep writing! :yes
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=Part Eighteen
“Okay, it’s all clear.” Littlefoot motioned to the others to follow him. The Gang slowly crept out into the early morning light. It had been a restless night for them, amid the strange noises of the Mysterious Beyond; the occasional chilling hoots, and stark cries in the distance. Littlefoot frowned, clearing such thoughts as those away as he led the group forward.
They hadn’t gone far when they reached what appeared to be a flurry of footmarks of various sizes. Disturbingly enough, the most prominent mark was a massive, three-toed print… one they knew all too well; the faint stench given off was more than enough. “Oh no, no, no.” Ducky quavered.
Littlefoot turned in the direction the footprints headed. “Well, we know where he went.” something caught his peripherals: the same footmarks going the opposite way. The longneck frowned. That was odd. “-And there he went,” he nodded.
“He just turned around and left?” Cera resounded, disbelieving. “What spooked him?”
“Didn’t know Red Claw get spooked,” Petrie flapped forward a couple meters, squinting into the narrow canyon.
“So, are we going that way or what? Red Claw’s not there and my sniffer’s not picking anything up,” Cera trotted down a ways. “Let’s go!”
Littlefoot decided not to point out that flatteeth sniffers were totally useless in cases such as scent-tracking. The Gang found themselves in the same canyon and shelf Ruby and Chomper had come down just the evening before. Of course, none of this was apparent to the children as they plodded along; the scents were all mixed with one another, resulting in a hazy, muted experience that was overpowered by the dusty ground.
The Gang traveled in silence, not really daring to do anything else except breathe. Every corner they turned, every ridge they ascended had to be done slowly and carefully, even though the Beyond was abnormally quiet and still this morning and they never encountered another soul. Things looked to be going along smoothly until –
“Chomper!” Petrie squawked, quickly cupping his beak in shock.
“Petrie!” Cera hissed, “We need to be quiet out here!”
“Me sorry,” Petrie whispered. “It just me found Chomper’s footmark down here!” He pointed, excitedly. “Look-ee!”
“Petrie!” Littlefoot’s whisper came out harsher than he intended. “Keep your voice down!”
“Look who’s talking,” Cera remarked, flatly.
“Quiet!” The longneck turned back to Petrie. “What did you find, Petrie?”
“Look!” The little flyer swooped down to the ground where Ruby and Chomper had met up with the Stealers the day previous. “He right here, and then he walk off. This mark Ruby’s, too!”
Littlefoot’s hopes rose. “They can’t be that far, can they?” He ventured. “We’ll follow these tracks, then.” Bending so his neck was parallel to the ground, Littlefoot started off with Petrie overhead, Cera behind, and Spike and Ducky bringing up the rear.
Ruby and Chomper were actually much closer than ënot far’. They were a short ways downwind of the very place the Gang was departing, in a small, inconspicuous outcropping of a cave. Chomper spent most of the night distrustfully awake in his new nest, keeping his eyes attuned towards the back where the two Stealers slept, but nothing came out of it. Ozzy, the lighter one, had ignored them all last evening while the darker one, Strut, had gone out of his way to make sure the two were comfortable. Chomper wasn’t sure he liked to admit it, but Strut was coming off more likeable compared to his stony brother.
This morning however, Chomper woke with a start. The first place he looked was where Ruby was nestled on the other side of the cave. His friend remained undisturbed. The second place he turned to was towards the back. Strut was visible, but judging from the Stealer’s loud snores, visibility was only an option. Ozzy on the other claw, was gone. Chomper tensed and slowly got to his feet, tingly all over. Where did he go?
“Looking for someone?” A gruff voice remarked at the head of the cave. Chomper promptly spun around, tripping backwards in the process and staring up into two, narrowed amber eyes. Ozzy stepped back inside, over the startled shartooth, with two small oblong shapes tucked under his arm.
“Where were you?” Chomper frowned.
Ozzy didn’t cease his steps. “Out, why? Afraid I’d nab you in the middle of the night and try to eat you?”
Chomper tried not to show just how much he had considered the prospect by growling a little. Ozzy turned then, sneering.
“I went to get food, alright? And anyway, where are you still here? Aren’t your 'friends' worried about you?” The Stealer thoughtfully tapped the side of his beak. “That is, your 'friends' who never showed up last night?”
Chomper frowned. “So what if I lied? You can’t blame me, the last time I saw you, you tried to eat me!”
“Like I’d be making that much progress now, without any teeth,” Ozzy opened his jaws to demonstrate. “I’d be left gumming you boy, which wouldn’t be that big of a danger, let me tell you.” The Stealer stopped then to dig messily into one of the eggs, yellow drips coursing down the corners of his beak and down his claws. Chomper grimaced.
Ruby woke up, then. “Is it morning out, yet?” She yawned. “Good morning Chomper, how did you –?” She stopped short upon catching sight of the large Stealer. “Oh!” She quickly corrected. “And h-hello to you, too. Ozzy, good morning.” She smiled.
Ozzy grunted in reply and tossed the remaining egg at Strut, who came to quickly after being knocked on the head. Chomper got to his feet and Ruby did the same. “Well, we should probably be going. Thanks for letting us stay,”
“Don’t let the rocks hit you on the way out,” Ozzy muttered. Strut gulped down the rest of his egg and practically vaulted across the cave.
“W-wait!” He cried, “Don’t –don’t go, at least not, well… are you hungry at all?” He faced his brother. “Oz, why didn't you get them anything?” he sounded appalled.
The pale Stealer glared. “It’s not my job to feed them.”
Strut held back his retort, reminded of the previous day. His face was still a little sore. “Well?” He tilted his head again.
Chomper paused. “Well, I am,” Ruby nodded as well. Strut smiled.
“Oh, okay! W-what do you, ahm, eat?” He glanced first nervously at Chomper, but the little sharptooth was quick to dispel his fears.
“Buzzers or crawlers, mostly. I won’t need to hunt until…” he paused, blushing. He didn’t like talking about the future, especially since his seemed so bleak at the moment. Ruby spoke up, saving Chomper the awkward silence.
“Green food. I like crawlers sometimes.” She looked around. “But maybe there is no green food here, because I don't see any, right?”
Strut raised an eyebrow. This fast runner was going to take some getting used to. “Well, not in the cave, but,” he glanced at Ozzy, this time in anxiety, “there’s a small cluster of creepers and such, might be some sweet bubbles. I found it the other day!” he blurted back, startling both children. “You-you weren’t here, and I just stepped out and I found it, okay?”
Chomper was confused. Why did Strut have to defend himself like that? He was a Stealer, right? Stealers didn’t eat green food. “Why would you eat anything like that?” He queried, drawing a frightened hiccup from Strut.
Ozzy broke in. “Because he likes it,” he grumbled. “He prefers it,” he emphasized the verbs like they were some sort of curse. Strut swallowed.
“But but I…” he shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. I’m taking them to get something to eat, and then we’ll be back, happy with that?” He turned smartly and almost collided with a young longneck who had just stepped into the cave’s entrance.
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:slap Strut's a naughty, naughty boy for liking green food, and Ozzy'll make him remember it till doomsday :p
...jerkweed. :DD just kiddin', I loves you guys to bits!
and what's this? Ohh, this next part is going to be quite interesting.... indeed
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I love this story,
I like stories well thought out and written,not rushed and clamped and make no sense jumping from one scene to another,like I some I read on FanFicion.net.
Keep it up!
~Zimba
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Thanks to all you reviewers, I appreciate the feedback (to see that I doing things rightly-ish)
Moar to come, muahahaha! :D
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Sakes alive, what in tarnation I been up to, leavin' off mah fanfic such as this? And where on earth did I adopt such an accent? O_o
Anyways, here's:
=Part Nineteen
Littlefoot hurriedly stepped back as something charged at him. When he looked up again, his jaw dropped. Never, never in his whole life had he expected…
“Whoa, watch it!” Cera protested, stepped out of the longneck’s way. “What’s the big--?” She too, stopped, but she was quicker to recover. “You’re still alive?” She snorted.
“Who’s still alive? Who?” Ducky asked. She and Spike appeared around the bend and reacted much the same.
Strut was taken completely off guard. He stumbled back a step, stammering furiously. “O-Oz, did you… did you-?”
Chomper broke the tension. “Hey guys!” He waved his claws, cheerfully. “What took you so long?”
“Hi, Chomper, Ruby.” Littlefoot sent a dark glare in Strut’s direction. “Good to see you guys are safe.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Strut found his voice, indignantly folding his arms.
Cera answered that, pouring on the guilt. “Because you two are here, that’s why.”
Ozzy stepped forward and the Gang froze. He looked a lot meaner than they remembered, and the slightly emaciated appearance didn’t really help with the impression. The amber-eyed Stealer frowned. “Ah, my least favorite group of sprout-crunchers,” he sneered.
Littlefoot returned the look with equal intensity. “Look, we didn’t come here to be insulted, least of all by you. We came for Ruby and Chomper.”
“So take ëem, already!” Ozzy snapped. “We’re not planning on stopping you, we’ve got better things to do!”
“Like what, starve?” Cera didn’t miss a trick. These Stealers were obviously just barely getting by out here.
Ozzy’s expression was venomous. Beside him, Strut whimpered, knowing all too well what would come next. “We-we haven’t been doing that badly out here, y’know,” Strut quavered, hoping to stall.
Cera wasn’t convinced. “Oh, please! Both of you are as skinny as Petrie, there!” She gestured with a sharp nod towards the little flyer who was hovering in the air. Petrie gulped as attentions diverted to him and he fluttered down to hide behind Littlefoot’s neck.
Ozzy inclined his head sharply to the left, beak pursed in a hateful grimace. The connection was made, and unfortunately for the two brothers, it was quite close. Ozzy knew it, too. There was no use pretending to these sharp-eyed youngsters. But old habits die hard. “You’ve got until two moments ago to hightail yourselves out of this canyon and bog off!”
Chomper, caught between the cave entrance and outside, spoke up, sounding sympathetic. “Look, Ozzy, we can help you; my friends and me. You need food, and--”
“I-don’t-need-help-from-hatchlings!” Ozzy barked, making the little sharptooth jump back. Ruby spread a forearm out in front of her charge in defense.
“ëHatchlings’?” Ducky piped up, on top of Spike. She looked confused. “We are not hatchlings, oh no, no, no. We are much bigger than hatchlings are.”
“Oh, whatever!” Ozzy blurted, advancing out from the cave. The Gang backed up. “Either you lot scram or I make you!” The Stealer spread his foreclaws threateningly, despite his earlier assurance to Chomper. “We came here to be left in peace, so leave!” Ozzy was left panting in his stance, but he didn’t back down. Chomper and Ruby slipped by an indisposed Strut and rejoined the Gang.
The dark Stealer stared miserably after the youngsters. He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling that upheaval boil in his gut again. But it was far more subtle this time, especially after last night. Ozzy’s just too proud to admit it, Strut’s mind intoned. He’s going to get us killed, or starved, or worse!
Before the Gang was ushered off, Strut pounced upon his chance. “Ozzy, stop it!” He hurried over, planting himself between his furious sibling and the group. “This isn’t right! They’re-they’re only children, after all! Stop bullying them!”
Littlefoot was perhaps the most surprised to see this change in the dark Stealer who had, on the one occasion that seemed so long ago now, insisted that the longneck be thrown off the Valley’s Great Wall. And now here he was, defending them!
Ozzy growled at this interruption. This new-found rebellion wasn't as surprising to him as it was to the children, but it was far more annoying. “Step out of my way, brother,” he ordered.
Strut bristled. “I was here, first!” He flexed his long foreclaws as a challenge to the higher authority. Ozzy was quite taken aback, but he didn’t dare show it. Slowly, he backed off, muttering under his breath.
“Thank you,” Strut replied, softly. He looked over his shoulder then and attempted what he hoped was a friendly smile. This was lost on Cera, and partly on Littlefoot, although the longneck had to admit that something had changed. Maybe not for the lighter Stealer, but definitely for his brother.
“I’m Strut, and that’s Ozzy. You may or may not have known that already,” Strut chuckled weakly. He turned to face the gang properly and his face turned serious as he gazed at Chomper. “So, you think you can help us?”
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So there you have it! Crappy upload is hurried and crappy, I know, but just wanted to get this written down and perhaps some more reviews.
Next part is being fixed as I type!!
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This fanfiction has been submitted for the 2013 fanfiction awards. Give the author some feedback and a rating for the story in this topic (http://gangoffive.net/index.php?showtopic=12636).
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So wake me up when it's all over
When I'm wiser and I'm older
All this time I was finding myself
And I didn't know I was lost - "Wake Me Up" by Avicii
this song reminds me a lot of Pterano :lol
=Part Twenty
“Careful now, lad.” Pterano cautioned. His pep was back after a well-earned rest last night and he wasn’t as apprehensive about the whole mission, now. “Tread softly, sharpteeth are already awake at this hour.”
Taylen, bounced along happily behind his older companion. The little Stealer’s features were lit up in an innocent grin as he took in the sights along the path they followed. He wasn’t bothered in the slightest; the ever-apparent danger didn’t quell his youthful exuberance. For a moment, Pterano felt rather abashed, cautioning the little dinosaur so much.
Grand, I’m becoming a bloody great sentimental.
Taylen tried not to notice the flyer’s growing tendency to mutter or shake his head in some imaginary conversation. It must be an old folks’ thing.
“Sir?” He queried, hoping this was a safe question. “What does… what does the Valley look like? Is it nice?”
Pterano’s mind hiccupped. What? He turned slightly. “Um, well… yes, it is. It’s- quite beautiful, actually; fertile and welcoming, and just,” he sighed contentedly as he finally relaxed into the memory. “It’s a wonderful place, lad.”
Taylen smiled brightly. “It sounds great. How long until we reach the wall?”
Right, back to business, then.“We’re close,” was all he offered. “Soon, we’ll see the tips of the Great Walls.”
Taylen’s head shot up, looking for anything that resembled such. Given that fact that he was looking straight up into the sky, Pterano doubted the little one would be able to spot the great hills too soon. He rolled his eyes. “Come on, I’ll tell you when we get there,” he motioned with his talons and Taylen abandoned his hunt to cheerfully trot after the old flyer.
“My da would always tell me stories ëbout the Great Valley,” Taylen remarked. “He said there was just enough food for everyone, so that’s why he sent my brothers out to find it.”
“Did he, now?” Pterano replied, inattentively. It wasn’t that he was deliberately ignoring the youngster, but there was only so many places his attention could be at once, and he figured it would be best to keep his focus on the next step.
“Yeah! And-and there was this big council held, and I was just a hatchling then, but I saw it all, and my brothers looked right happy, they did! And then, after the big meeting, they--”
Pterano’s wing shot outwards, almost smacking Taylen in the face. He hissed, “Shh! There’s something up ahead.” They were at a sort of crossroads where all these different paths diverged and then disappeared over the next hill.
Taylen snapped his beak shut and crept ever so slowly behind as Pterano advanced one step… two steps. He glanced down each pathway, trying to ignore the large, three-toed imprints of predators neatly embedded in one such path. Fortunately, the tracks led away from their spot, so he wasn’t that unnerved. He listened again for the noises he had heard – it had been sort of a yell, like an exasperated cry, but it didn’t sound anything like what a sharptooth would emit.
Holding his talons up in a warning ëdon’t move any closer’ sign, Pterano chose the path that the footprints led away from. Obviously, whatever was down that way held no interest to a sharptooth so they could proceed as normal, right? Being careful never did any harm, Pterano thought, almost bitterly. A pang of remembrance hit him in his chest like he’d been struck and he winced. How in the Beyond would he know anything about being careful, after never having been careful himself? Ever?
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“So… what we help with? What first?” Petrie chirped. He peeked out from behind Littlefoot’s head where he’d hid before.
“Well, with food, of course.” Chomper remarked. He ignored Ozzy’s grunt of aggravation as he turned back to face Strut. “I guess the first thing is, we need to find a better place for you. This isn’t close to food at all,”
“What d’you mean by that?” Strut’s eyes narrowed slightly, confused.
“It’s always best to stay near food, especially when there’s no food around, so you always know you’re close” Ruby advised with a nod of her head.
“So, we’re… moving?” Strut glanced back at his brother. He offered a helpless sort of smile and shrugged. “Ah, well uh… as they say,”
Ozzy glared. “Go along with them if you want, but I’m not setting foot in with this lot!” He asserted, stamped his foot hard for emphasis.
Chomper winced. “Wait, I thought you said you wanted help!”
“I can help myself, thanks for asking!” Ozzy hissed.
Strut frowned. “Oz, come off it. Look, why can’t we just, y’know, put the past behind us? They have, haven’t you?” He dropped the frown as he looked back at the children. Placated by their slight nods, he turned back. “Yes, they have! You’re… acting like an egg!”
Ozzy laughed, the same dry laugh that echoed off the rocks. “An egg?! Grand, brother, just bloody grand!” he hooted. “Can’t speak the word on any other basis, so you’ve reserved it for infantile insults!”
Strut’s face flushed. “Knock it off,” he muttered, heatedly. “I’m… not afraid of you,”
Ozzy stopped laughing and he sneered. “Yes, you are. This ridiculous rebellion thing you’ve got going is just a ploy; you’re dead-frightened, brother, I know.”
Strut froze, limbs rendered useless and stiff. “You… don’t know… anything!”
“Don’t I?”
Littlefoot cleared his throat. “Look guys, we didn’t ask for a fight. Let us help you and then we can go our separate ways, okay?” He glared at the two. This was just getting silly. These Stealers had to learn to work together, respect each other, like he and the Gang did. Or else there’d be more of this stupid arguing. “First off, you guys have to learn how to be a team, you know, work together. You won’t get very far with squabbling.”
Strut relaxed, even looked away in humiliation. Being told off by youngsters was beginning to grow into a gross habit. He sighed. Ozzy sniffed, but didn’t stand down immediately.
Cera scratched the ground. “Do it,” she threatened. Ozzy gave her a hateful glare but he relented as well.
“Fine, let’s just get on with it, if you please.”
======
Pterano’s pace quickened, and Taylen followed suit, settling into a swift trot. He was confused as to the sudden change in Pterano’s demeanor. It seemed the older flyer was… searching with intent.
“Sir? What’s up?” He piped, trying to keep up with Pterano’s lengthy strides.
Pterano didn’t reply at first. His attention had been diverted and now it stayed diverted. Those were no sharptooth voices… He stepped along quicker and with more energy than he had the day previous. He didn’t think there was there any hope of meeting a fellow flattooth out this way. That would be superb luck! Just what they needed!
As the two rounded a bend and crested another dip, Pterano jerked to a stop so violent he almost toppled over onto Taylen. The young Stealer stumbled backwards to avoid a collision.
“Oy!” He squeaked. “What’s up? Why did you--?” He was silenced the next second as Pterano reached back with a deft claw and snapped his beak closed. There, right there, down the dip and into an outcropping of rocks, they stood, quietly talking. What were they doing out here? And how could they possibly have slipped out? Were… the rest of the adults out here? Pterano started shaking. What if they saw him?
As Taylen struggled to release his much-needed mouth, the old flyer’s mind raced through the options he had: turn around and never look back, maybe they won’t notice, either. He took a step back. On the other claw, he technically wasn’t breaking any rules – he was still outside of the Valley and therefore outside of the jurisdiction of the banishment. And furthermore, why did he need to run like a coward? They were only children after all - he had nothing to fear from them.
Despite all this, Pterano remained unmoved; his chest rose and fell with hollow breaths as he debated. Finally Taylen, annoyed at being silenced so long, shoved against Pterano’s back. He hadn’t meant it to be such a hard push, but the next moment, Pterano toppled forward, slipping partway down the dip with a loud squawk of surprise!
The group down at the bottom broke off their conversation at that. Nine pairs of eyes flitted to the old flyer scrambling to his feet, and five mouths dropped open in total surprise.
Petrie was the first to break it with a loud and overjoyed, “Uncle!”
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:lol well there ya have it! Not as graceful an entrance as Pterano would have hope I guess :rolleyes
he never appreciates my efforts...
Read, Comment, Review, and Enjoy! :DD
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Read: Done!
Comment: in progress!
Review: in progress!
Enjoy: Well, this one's obvious, Done!!!
Nice Chapter! I really love how you keep portraying Pterano.
As it seems everyone's gonna meet each other soon, nice cliffhanger!
Ozzy, you're so... :slap
Keep it up, Strut!!! :goodluck
PS: That song is nice :exactly
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What ho! Brilliant! :smile
Hahahahaa... yesss *evillaugh* soon, my plans will be complete!
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OK! Caught up! I have to say, I like this story as I feel it stays very true to the LBT-verse, and call me a purist, but I find myself liking these types of stories as opposed to say crossovers. I dunno... not to take anything away from those types of stories, but you can't beat a pure LBT story at its core!
Some sentence structure I noticed is just a little awkward due to using past tense when present tense should be used (probably simple typos), though I counted less than five of those. ^^ The most recent one I remember was Ozzy "stamped" when it should be "stamping his foot for emphasis." :) Just examples like that, but as said, I found less than five of them.
I like how in-character this all feels too, and I can tell you're going to great lengths to accomplish that. ^^ Nothing really feels forced or like "ehhh... I don't think that character would behave that way." :)
So yeah! Pterano's finally seen the gang again! Wonder how this'll go!
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Glad you got the chance to review, it's good to see ya on here :DD
Oh really? Well, I'm happy I please. Lol that might come from my LBT-tude as well - my intensely picky LBT-tude X3
Thanks for the review!
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=Part Twenty-One
Pterano hastily righted himself, brushing the dust off his hide and trying to veil his obvious embarrassment at such an unexpected entrance. “H-hallo Petrie… children,” he cleared his throat and managed a sort of half-grin.
Petrie, excitement plain on his beaked face, flapped happily over to his relative, planting himself on the larger flyer’s beak for a hug. “Where you come from? Me miss you so much, Uncle!” The little flyer squealed.
Face flushing with relief, Pterano cupped his talons around his nephew’s body. “I… missed you too, Petrie. Good to see you again so soon.”
“What are you doing here?” Cera harrumphed, not used to being surprised. She stomped forward. “You’re not supposed to be here until--”
“I am fully aware of my banishment, Ms. Threehorn,” Pterano’s voice was terse. “There is no need to reiterate it. Anyway, the reason I am here is because of him,” he gestured to the crest of the embankment. Taylen stood awkwardly, watching the scene below. All eyes turned on him, and the little Stealer’s face lit up in a wide, jubilant grin.
“Oz! Strut! There you are! We’ve done it!” Taylen had suddenly transformed into a streak of dappled browns as he sprinted past Pterano and the Gang to throw himself at his brothers who were caught completely off guard. Ozzy sputtered in absolute astonishment as the little Stealer hurled himself forward.
“T-Taylen! What on bloody earth--?”
Strut wasted no time on the facts. He caught his younger brother in midair and enveloped him in a hug. “Y-you little biter!” He laughed. “What you doing out here?”
Taylen squeezed his brother harder. “Looking for you, that’s what. And now I’ve found you!”
Ozzy broke out of his reverie and managed a quick throat clearing as he laid a hesitant claw on Taylen’s dappled back. The youngster spun around to face his eldest brother and he shrank slightly under that piercing amber gaze. “Taylen,” the pale Stealer began in a low voice. “It’s… been a long time; you’ve certainly grown,” Ozzy frowned, aware of the awkwardness. “Well! It’s… good to see you, is all.”
Taylen smiled and clasped Ozzy’s claw in his own. “Right-o!” he declared. “Stealers alive! I’ve been looking everywhere, and now here I found you! And right where Dad said you’d be, too!”
Strut’s smile dropped in an instant, and was replaced with unease. “Oh… is, well – how… is everyone back home?”
Taylen whipped back around. “Worried ëbout you two, mostly!” His pale eyes widened with emphasis. “Mum’s always talking, and Dad – well, Dad’s kept pretty quiet ëbout it, but I know he’s sad, too!” The smile returned “But now, here you are! Safe and sound! So they won’t have to worry anymore!”
“No," Ozzy managed a dry, humorless laugh. "They should start worrying all over again because we haven’t found another home, yet!”
“Another home?” Littlefoot, rendered speechless by the two simultaneous occurrences, finally caught up with the moment and asked. “Wait, was that the whole reason you two were in the Valley in the first place?”
“When you stoled my baby brother-or-sister?” Ducky put her hands on her hips. Spike burbled in agreement as he fixed the Stealers with a stern frown.
Ozzy snarled. “Yes, and no thanks to you lot, we got ourselves into a bloody fine mess, now didn’t we?” He scoffed. “You had to get so involved when all you had to do was--”
“Now, hold on.” Pterano stepped forward, Petrie perched on his shoulder. The flyer eyed Ozzy critically. “I don’t believe that’s any tone to take with children, especially not with children who happen to be friends of my nephew, so I would take your next words into careful account before you go spewing them off!”
Ozzy backed up slightly, startled at this rebuttal. He frowned right back at the large flyer that – the pale Stealer noticed with some discomfort – was taller than he, but only slightly. “What I meant to say was,” he began again, slowly, “it was a terrible inconvenience for us.” He glowered, more than a little miffed at this forced apology.
Chomper - just as surprised as everyone else - eventually found his voice and tapped Littlefoot’s shoulder. “I’m… confused. Who’s the flyer?”
“Petrie’s uncle Pterano,” Littlefoot replied, softly.
Chomper raised both brows. “I didn’t know he had an uncle.”
“Believe me,” Cera snorted. “Neither did we. And I still wish we didn’t know.”
“Why do you not want to know what you already know?” Ruby queried.
Littlefoot explained. “Well, he was banished from the Valley after he led some of the herd into a sharptooth nest.” He shivered. Even though it was in the past, and Littlefoot and the children had never witnessed it, it was still horrible to recount.
Chomper appeared visibly shaken. “He what?”
“He decided he wanted to be the leader,” Cera resounded, hotly.
Chomper glanced over at the large flyer. “But he looks so nice,” Petrie looked so happy in the company of his uncle that suggesting Pterano was a villain was simply too awful for the sharptooth to imagine.
Ducky piped up. “But he saved-ed me, so that makes him very nice!”
Pterano’s crested head snapped in the Gang’s direction. “Pardon? What was that you said about nice?” he stepped closer. Littlefoot noticed Spike and Cera move slightly closer to him. The Gang had never really felt comfortable in the presence of this big flyer.
Ruby grinned. “Hello, Petrie’s uncle! To Petrie’s uncle, hello!”
Pterano hesitated at this curious greeting. “Um, hello there. Children,” he regarded the circle and his eyes passed over Chomper. The following reaction was instantaneous.
Pterano jumped back about four paces, eyes wide with fear as he pointed a shaky digit. “Sharptooth!”
Ducky waved her arms wildly in protest. “Wait, Petrie’s uncle! Chomper is our friend, he is, he is!”
“Your friend?” Pterano’s reply was nothing short of incredulous. His beak hung agape in astonishment.
“Yeah, he the friendly sharptooth!” Petrie agreed, from his uncle’s shoulder.
Pterano was utterly flabbergasted. A sharptooth – a live sharptooth – was regarded by his nephew and friends as their ëfriend’. This was… this was… “Unbelievable,” the flyer murmured.
Chomper chanced a peek out from Behind Littlefoot. He smiled shyly and waved a claw. “Hi, my name’s Chomper.”
Pterano deigned to take a step closer, but that was it. “Um, charmed.”
Chomper bit his lip, unsure of how to allay the flyer’s fears. A long moment passed before Taylen – forgotten until now – called over. “Sir! Should we get back?” He remembered Pterano’s reluctance about being so close to the Walls, and decided it wise to get the flyer away from harm.
“Back?” Petrie asked, and then his face contorted into an expression of distress. “No! You no leave now, Uncle! M-me just see you! No leave now!” He latched onto his uncle’s shoulder as he cried.
Before Pterano could break in with a word of comfort, or anyone else could think to blink or breathe, there came an unmistakable sound – muted, earth-shaking tremors that resounded from afar off. Pterano felt his knees go weak and his fears were confirmed the next second by Littlefoot.
“Sharptooth!”
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Ooooh! Suspense!
So yeah, introductions all around. Socializing is good! :smile
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Gee! Finally, you uploaded what we all had been waiting for since a long time now: Everyone's meeting each other :lol:
Boy (Girl? :P:) that was a lovely chapter for sure :wow
The reunion of the Eggstealer bros put a smile on my face, their lil remebering of the last meeting with the Gang was simply fun to read (and Pterano being taller than Ozzy made me laugh!) and Pterano just HAD to be scared of Chomper :lol A classic ^^
Oh, I almost forgot Petrie reuning with his dear ol uncle :wub Cera's been a fun to read as well
Overall a great chapter and now they gonna run from a Sharptooth, eh? A certain Sharptooth perhabs? :p Looking forward to that :DD
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Hehe, your assumption might not be too far off... I'll say no mroe XDD
Glad you enjoyed it, this was a lot of fun to write
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(This part is where things happen :angel )
Part Twenty-Two
After a full minute of arguing over the best means of escape – hidey-holes, hidden pathways, canyons, steep cliffs – Pterano finally suggested that a hasty retreat going anywhere away from the offender would be well in order, and no one was planning to argue against such an option.
With the Eggstealers in tow, as well as the Gang, Pterano led them out of the chasm; himself having come that very way. The group was at full pelt, and the footfalls only got louder.
Ducky cringed and clung even tighter onto Spike’s hardy hide. Petrie stuck alongside his uncle, flying. Pterano was sort of hop-jogging ahead – running not being his primary form of locomotion. The idea of flying had occurred to him, but he couldn’t risk going out of sight of the company. And then suddenly it hit him and he almost stopped dead in his tracks.
Just like last time… you want to fly. Go on and fly! Get out! No, no, no! Pterano set his jaw as he fought back against the notion. Memories flooded his brain the next second, but he pressed on. The panic, the confusion, the cries of pain… He squeezed his eyes shut, and made a wrong turn down a separate path and didn’t notice it till--
“Pterano! Petrie!” Littlefoot gasped, screeching to a halt. Pterano’s eyelids flew open to behold – not a sharptooth, but something even worse. A dead end. Pterano stared at the red rocks for a full minute, the footfalls echoing in his ears. He looked about wildly, almost in a panic. But he kept his head enough to connect two and two.
“Go back,” Pterano grunted. Before anyone could ask that the direction be a little louder, the flyer had whipped himself around. “Get back! Move!” His voice took on a new strength – it was hard yet calm. The group backed away from the wall.
Pterano saw the path now. He hop-flapped over the heads of the group, planting himself on the path ahead of them. “Let’s go!” He gestured with a talon and they were off immediately after.
And then it happened. The steps ceased, receding into the distance. The Gang noticed it and called ahead to their older companion. “Pterano, stop! We can stop, now!”
Pterano did so and turned to face a pack of panting, panicked dinosaurs. He was out of breath himself, feeling a little guilty for having forced them into a blind flight back there. “G-grand, we can… stop then.” He leaned against a small stone column and sighed. “Oh, Skyfire,” he muttered.
All heads snapped up at Taylen laughing. The little Eggstealer was nearly on the ground due to his mirth, which wasn’t helping him regain his wind any sooner. “We-we were running so fast, and then suddenly, th-there’s no sh-sharptooth! S-so what were we r-running from?” He started laughing again until Ozzy gave him a nudge to knock it off.
His moment of cheerfulness helped to lighten the mood a bit, and the group relaxed, feeling the danger was well past.
Pterano smiled gently at the little dinosaur. “I agree. I think it's best if we continue on at a walk to save our strength.”
They resumed their way, once or twice feeling the tremors of distant footfalls, but none felt so near and they did not merit much alarm. Pterano kept a wary eye out nonetheless, but they remained undisturbed until the flyer realized a crucial mistake – they were going the wrong way. Looking back around, Pterano saw the distant Smoking Mountains that bordered the Valley and he cursed aloud, “Oh, bloody ditch! We’ve turned!” he pointed with a gloomy claw as the group turned their heads – the young ones utterly surprised at the profanity.
“Splendid.” Ozzy scorned. “So you’ve managed to lead us the way we don’t want to go.”
Pterano snarled, neck ruff bristling. “Shut it! I didn’t mean to. I was distracted.”
“Well then, why don’t you hand the job over to someone who isn’t?” Ozzy made his way to the front, amber eyes narrowed.
Taylen certainly inherited that eerie eye thing from his brothers. Pterano cleared his throat, “I’m perfectly capable of leading, thank you very much!” Did I just say that? That had to have been a direct lie, there was no other explanation.
“Looks like you’re overtired to me, old man.” Ozzy leered.
“Oh, and I suppose an emaciated Stealer is any better?”
Ozzy’s eyes flashed. “Take. That. Back.”
Pterano stiffened indignantly. “I won’t, and there’s nothing you can do to make me, Stealer.”
“My name is Ozzy!”
As the adults argued -- which was all too familiar to the young ones -- Littlefoot couldn’t help but think that they shouldn’t have stopped. The more they stayed in one place, the more nervous he got, and he could tell the others were getting antsy, too. He looked back at Strut and Taylen, the elder Stealer was nervously hopping from one foot to the other, but that could also have been anxiety over the argument.
But the longneck couldn’t shake it. There was a feeling. Something was – he happened to glance upwards and froze. Three fastclaws balanced on a ledge overhead. Their dull red hides camouflaged them perfectly. Littlefoot’s eyes widened in terror.
“Guys,” he croaked, not taking his eyes off. There was no acknowledgement.
“Guys!” The Gang had heard by now, and Chomper was trying to muster up enough courage to tell the sharpteeth to leave them along, but the little carnivore didn’t have the chance because, with the accuracy of a lightning strike – they attacked.
Pterano barely had time to react before the lead one landed on his back, throwing him to the ground.
Ozzy was quicker. As the next sharptooth descended, the Stealer leapt to meet it and gave it a smarting kick in the gut, clouting it across the head as a finishing touch. The sharptooth sank in a lump on the ground, but there was still one more sharptooth the deal with. This fastclaw wisely went for the children. The Gang screamed and quickly about-faced with Strut in the lead, racing back the way they’d come. The carnivore gave chase; its companion, about to take a bite out of Pterano, hopped off and followed.
Pterano groaned as he got to his feet. Ozzy was still nearby. The Stealer flashed him a distasteful glance. “You planning on lying around, or are you going to help?” He dashed off.
Pterano winced as he straightened – his back stung horribly, but he limped afterwards, holding his breath.
======
Ozzy, sheesh! give the guy a break! He just got maimed! :anger Those pesky Stealers...
Uh yeah guys! Run!
Also, Pternao swears? :blink:
This was more fun to write - I think my creative juices flow better when there's conflict, lol
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Wow, I can't believe I haven't read this story until now. :slap
This is very well written and it is an enjoyable read. I especially like your characterization of Pterano and his internal struggles with his emotions and the memories of the past. It humanizes (er.. um... dinosaurizes?) him to a much greater extent that what is typically found in the fanfictions that I have read. I eagerly await your next installment. :)
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Whoa! I thought Pterano would be done... but the attack's not over.. :unsure:
A tense and exciting read, Strut, action is one of your strenghts (along with characterizations etc.).
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Appreciate it, guys :smile
Here's the nest part. Ooooh the chills and suspense! Lol
=Part Twenty-Three
Meanwhile Strut, in a panic, had gone down a path that led to a dead end – the very path Pterano had led them down not moments before. Petrie whirled around their heads in alarm.
“What we do?” He shrieked. “We trapped!”
“We are trapped, yes we are!” Ducky, trembling, held onto Spike tighter. The spiketail shifted himself, ready to protect his sister. He burbled something unintelligible and nodded fiercely towards the front of the path.
“N-now, now. We can still turn ba--” Strut was cut short and his jaw dropped. They were too late, the fastclaws had beaten them. They crouched at the path’s entrance, drooling gleefully at this bounty. Cruel sickle claws practically glistened on their agile feet, and their long, grasping claws flexed.
Littlefoot gulped. “Everyone, get into a circle, we’ll be harder to get at.” He hoped this would work – he’d seen it work with the grownups many times before. Create a shield and you were practically impenetrable. Littlefoot chose not to dwell on the fact that a shield of youngsters with one adult, and a shield composed entirely of adults were very much different; the former would certainly fail without some strong backup.
The group obeyed him wordlessly, except for Strut. The Stealer looked appalled. “Get into a circle?” He almost scoffed. “Hold it, excuse me,” he scooted ahead of Littlefoot and Cera at the front and stood, blocking the carnivores’ path to the children. The sharpteeth growled at this blockage, but their pace didn’t exactly slow, untiló
“Yah!” Strut shot forward frighteningly quickly and slammed hard into the side of the lead fastclaw, narrowly avoiding a crippling bite. The fastclaw toppled over, dazed by the explosive force.
Strut was rather dazed too. It was true that Stealers and their allies were natural fighters against sharpteeth and the like, but this was the first time he had had to use actual force to get rid of a foe, not just his speed. He swallowed as the second fastclaw approached, a little wary after seeing what its companion had suffered.
A strange sort of force had seized Strut, almost like the gut feeling of rebellion of before, but this time it was much stronger and it screamed ëfight back!’ The cowardly Stealer bit back his protests and let the instinct guide himó and his foot contacted with the jaw of the sharptooth, knocking it senseless.
For a moment, he stood panting, surprised at what he’d done. The silence was broken by Taylen who gave an appreciative whoop. “Watcha! Strut, that was amazing! Where’d you learn that? Will I be able to do it? Will I?”
Not having time to answer, Strut gestured once – a quick nod of the head – and said, “Let’s not muck about! Come on!” He dashed out of the close space, and the children were quick to follow. Taylen hadn’t stopped asking questions.
“Oh, that would be absolute winner if I could! D’you think I could, Strut?”
~
Pterano was up in the air, flying down the canyon he and Ozzy were currently following. He was flying low enough to be clearly seen and readily available for aid, but high enough out of reach. He barely noticed the throbs in his back from the fastclaw’s ambush, he was now intent on protecting the children and only hopedó
Strut and the children came racing back the opposite way. Strut swept by his brother, mumbling an apology as he did so. Ozzy glared suspiciously as the Gang raced by as well. “Bloody mountains! Where’s the fire?”
“Right behind us!” Strut squawked.
Ozzy and Pterano instantly turned tail – or wing – and followed the retreating Gang and Strut in the lead. The fastclaws were hot on their trail again, and they were angry.
“Quickly!” Pterano called. “Get out of this chasm!” He briefly considered flying ahead to scout out, but he couldn’t leave the children or the Stealers in this state. “Petrie!”
Petrie banked sharply in midair at the sound of his uncle’s call. “Me hear you, Uncle!”
Pterano nodded. “There’s a good lad, I want you to fly ahead and find a safer path! Now go!”
Petrie wheeled about and was gone. The group continued their flight and Pterano positioned himself at the rear, behind Ozzy, the better to keep an eye on things ahead, but also the better for the sharpteeth on their tails. Pterano was almost within reaching distance. Come on, Petrie, come on!
Suddenly, Petrie’s squawky voice chimed up front, “Me see big ditch we all can cross!”
“Follow Petrie, chil- I mean, everyone!” Pterano caught himself but Ozzy still turned to give him a squinty sort of glare.
ëBig ditch’ was an understatement, but not one the group was willing to dwell on for long. There was a sheer drop in the middle of twenty feet of space, with a natural rock bridge connecting the two sides. And in the center of the chasm was a river – all that way below, just a trickle from the Gang’s perspective.
“Get across!” Littlefoot shouted. He quickly made for the bridge, trying to ignore his aching feet. He reached the bridge and stood aside. “Cera! You go first. And then Spike, Ruby, you go next, and then Chomper!” He glanced back, his breath hitching at the sight of the fastclaws nearing.
“Um, Strut! You and…” he’d forgotten the little Stealer’s name and while he stopped to ponder, Strut had in the meantime, swung little Taylen onto his back in a rush of panic and sprinted across.
“Oh-kay,” Littlefoot was about to cross himself when Ozzy roughly brushed by.
“Watch it, hatchling!” He barked in passing.
Littlefoot recoiled instantly, glaring after the pale form of the darting Stealer. He turned to face Pterano but instead of going across the bridge himself, Littlefoot turned tail and ran along the edge of the canyon, over to a sad looking sapling.
Pterano choked. “L-Littlefoot!” He cried, soaring after him. “What are you doing?”
“I have an idea!” Littlefoot shoved against the sapling, trying to loosen it. “We can’t let those fastclaws get across, so we have to – ung! – create a diversion!”
Pterano was perplexed. “We – we can just…” but he didn’t know what they could just do, and that made him impatient. “Littlefoot! Get across the chasm this instant!”
“I can’t!” Littlefoot insisted – the root support broke and the sapling was felled. “I need to do this!” He pushed the tree along with his nose, Pterano hovering above his head.
The flyer was at a loss. “Littlefoot, get across now! I’ll hold them off!” He would? That’s what his big plan was? That’s what he could just do? Bloody rot and bother, I’m not about to let a child take on this task!
He wheeled about and landed on the ground, blocking Littlefoot’s progress. “Littlefoot, I’ll not ask you again, get yourself to safety!” he hoped he sounded commanding – at least more than he felt.
Littlefoot frowned. “I need to do this!”
Pterano glanced back and saw the fastclaws quickly bound over, barking with fury. “Alright!” the flyer jumped up to avoid them. “Quickly! I’ll distract them!”
======
Yoinks! Let's hope Littlefoot's plan works... whatever it is. Doesn't make me feel any better. Oyyy... :slap
Also, hooray for badass Stealer!Moments! :yes And there are more of those to come. Take that, you derpy fastclaws!
Also Ozzy's a jerk... what else is new?
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Strut! :wow
Wow, happening quite a lot in this chapter :lol
I like the use of adverbs in ER recently... good job, Strut! :)
I do wonder what Littlefoot's up to... :crazy
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Something completely and unnecessarily risky, that's what!! :o
lol thanks!
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=Part Twenty-Four
It proved easier said than done. The shaprteeth were every which way all at once, leaping, snapping, slashing, it was all Pterano could do to stay aloft. While in the midst of distractions, he chanced a peek at Littlefoot – the longneck had propped the tree against the edge of the chasm and was… what on earth was he doing? Climbing down?
“Littlefoot!” Pterano shrieked, forgetting about his two adversaries, who by coincidence were waiting for such a chance as this. The lead fastclaw sprang up at the large flyer, swiping with its foreclaws across Pterano’s middle.
The present brought back with stinging force, Pterano kicked out at the fastclaw, succeeding in forcing him away, but his moment’s hesitation had cost him. The marks he’d received smarted terribly, and he couldn’t well distract with one wing wrapped protectively around his stomach.
Pterano panted, he was panicking now. He had no clue what Littlefoot was planning but he figured he should keep the fastclaws away as long as necessary, at least until Littlefoot made it apparent.
Littlefoot had in the meantime shimmied down the face of the chasm and onto a small, rather hidden plateau that rested about two meters below. His plan was thus: entice the sharpteeth over this way via the hanging tree and once both of them had clambered on, Littlefoot would give the tree a nudge and send the two sharpteeth lurching towards the water far below. Easy as that. At least, it was easier in his head.
Littlefoot had never actually physically murdered a sharptooth – not that he was convinced they would be murdered, but still, one never knew – and a number of things could go wrong with this plan. Don’t think about that now! Littlefoot told himself, sternly. Just go one step at a time…
“Pterano!” The longneck shouted. “Get across the bridge! Now!”
The flyer started at being addressed so, and he very nearly was impaled because of it. “Gah! What is going on?”
“Bring the fastclaws over this way!”
Great ditch is he talking about? Pterano hovered in the air, utterly confused.
“Don’t worry!” The reassuring reply was not as reassuring. “I’ve got an idea. Get them on the tree!”
Pterano wheeled about once again, doubts tumbling around in his skull. He was leading these brutes straight to the longneck! What in the world was he thinking? The fastclaws followed their quarry blindly, unaware of the plan. Eagerly, they hopped up on the tree, shaking the wooden body with their presence.
Pterano leveled his wings so he dropped a few inches in the air. He was at the edge of the canyon, but still had yet to crest it, when suddenly with a monumental spring, the same fastclaw from before caught his foot in its talons and yanked hard, trying to pull the flyer to earth.
Pterano yelped as his balance was affected. He winced at the sting of the fastclaw’s talons as they dug into his foot, at the horrible throb that accompanied the tug. Just as he was about to perform a wing clout of impressive force to the sharptooth’s head, the other fastclaw joined its companion, except this time teeth were used.
Pterano howled with pain. Both sharpteeth hung at his feet, their weight and the hurt pulling him back down to the canyon ledge. “Agh!” The flyer wailed as he was wrenched down to earth. This entire disturbance upset the tree perch and with an ominous wobble, it started to slip. Littlefoot gasped as he watched his plan set into motion without him. The tree slid off the ledge, and the two fastclaws, who had momentarily released the grounded Pterano, were dragged down with it, screaming as they fell.
Pterano screamed as the last of the roots slid from view, his talons outstretched. “Littlefoot!” He scrambled to all fours and crawled forward, glancing downwards.
He hadn’t noticed the plateau, nor had he noticed that Littlefoot was indeed safe and sound, and already attempting to climb up. All Pterano saw was failure. Failure to protect a child, failure to lead a herd, failure, failure, failure…
He covered his face in his claws and sort of fell back onto the ledge. He’d… lost someone. Again! Not just ëhe had lost someone,’ but he had lost someone again, because he couldn't - didn't think to... help. He, Pterano, the fabulous, fearsome flyer, had lost someone. Again.
“Again,” he murmured, his voice gone husky.
Littlefoot grunted below, on the plateau. “Pterano?” He called up. “I need some help,”
Pterano started, flabbergasted. “L-Littlefoot?” He spluttered. The tears that had glistened in his eyes quickly dried at this new revelation. He clamped onto the ledge and peered down. “Littlefoot!”
“Here,” the longneck peeped out, grinning up at the shocked flyer. Pterano quickly got over his surprise.
“Er, right then.” He spread his wings and flapped down to the plateau. “I suppose I’ll have to carry you,” Pterano remarked and without waiting for a reply, bent upon his knee and Littlefoot clambered onto his back.
Easier said than done. Pterano grunted as he got back to his feet and lifted off. He hadn’t expected Littlefoot to be lighter than Taylen, and he knew for a fact that longnecks were noticeably heftier than most other species. But he should have taken into account that both his back and his middle, not to mention both of his feet, were now throbbing from the earlier attacks, which made getting across more difficult than it should have been.
Once reaching the other side, Littlefoot and Pterano were instantly bombarded with praise and accusations on so daring a stunt. Pterano certainly didn’t need to be told that twice. He finally turned to the longneck and glowered, cool demeanor forgotten.
“You have some explaining to do!” He reprimanded. “Now what was the meaning of your plan, and why pray tell did you not think to include me in it?”
Littlefoot was caught off guard, and it took a moment before he could arrange his thoughts. “Well, I… guess I forgot. Sorry.” He offered a sort of weak smile, but it was ignored by Pterano who continued to rant.
“Not only was I out of my mind with worry, but then you had me thinking you had fallen down that bloody ditch along with those fastclaws and what was I to think? How in the world would I have confessed that to your grandparents?” He demanded. “I’m not even allowed to be in the Valley, let alone nip in with a full out confession to the death of a child.” He raised his arms; his wings fluttered slightly.
Littlefoot bit his lip. “I’m sorry. I… I didn’t think of that.” He realized now just how much he had frightened Pterano. “I’m really sorry, Pterano.” He said again.
Pterano deflated with a long sigh. “It’s alright. You’re alive and well, and that’s what’s important.”
“Uncle!” Petrie cried out, suddenly. “You hurt!” Just now noticing the bleeding scratches, Petrie landed on his uncle’s shoulder and wrapped a small, comforting wing around his neck. “You okay?”
Truthfully, Pterano had nearly forgotten about his injuries per result of his chew-out, but now the pain came sliding back with a sickening jolt. He wobbled slightly. How had he managed to stay on his damaged feet like this? “I… think I need to set down somewhere,” he murmured, a talon clutching his middle.
Strut caught the flyer’s arm. “Come on, Oz and I’ve been out this way before. There’s a cave of some sorts up here.” He remarked, cheerfully.
======
So... all is well? Maybe? Hopefully?
Littlefoot!! You never think things through, yet for some reason your plans always seem to work... unfair, much? :bang
Anyway, new update... Thought I'd get it in before the weekend REALLY kicks off :p
oy vey, I can't wait for Monday :p
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Yeah... Monday's are just meh :lol:
Anyway, I sorta guessed Littlefoot would make use of this chasm :DD But Pterano getting injured? :unsure: Well, he'll be alright I guess..
Enjoyable read, Strut!
Wonder what's going to happen next:smile
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OR WILL HE?? :o
Lol tysm for the review! And pff, Littlefoot always makes it :rolleyes
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I am pleased to see that Littlefoot's plan succeeded, but Pterano's injuries are a concern. It seems that for what Littlefoot lacks in cautiousness, he makes up for in blind luck.
Keep up the good work, I can't wait for the next installment!
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I'M NOT DEAD!!!
Ooo this chappie be especially good for upcoming Halloween *laughs evilly*
=Part Twenty-Five
Pterano found himself leaning with his shoulder against a rock and his injuries slathered with a sort of green pulp that had stung horribly while applied. He had no idea what the green stuff was, only that that small pink runner had returned with it after popping out for a moment, saying, “I will be right back very soon”.
The flyer doubted he would get used to this curious speech – but then he reminded himself that he was quite used to Petrie’s speech; after all, he’d been the same way when he was young.
He sighed, wincing at the slight throbbing sensation that accompanied it. This also would take some getting used to. What had happened, anyway? The events just past all seemed hopelessly jumbled together in a giant mess. Fastclaws, running, chasm, Littlefoot… Guh, the flyer lowered his lids in defeat.
And now here was he, injured and exhausted. Fancy not helping out Taylen, after all. He thought, almost bitterly. Well no, that wasn’t entirely true, now that he thought about it. The lad had found his brothers, so there was that, but – here Pterano frowned – his nephew and his friends weren’t supposed to be out here, mucking up the situation.
No, no, not their fault. Only doing what was best, I’m sure. Actually, what were the children doing out here? They’d sort of skipped that part of the introductions. It had been quite a shock, come to think about it. Finding leafeaters traversing the Beyond didn’t seem like such a normal pastime, at least not to Pterano.
The Gang and Taylen were towards the back of the cave, quietly chatting. Strut and Ozzy had disappeared just then for whatever reason. Strut had mentioned something about ëfood’, so that was probably why. The flyer just now realized how hungry he really was.
A familiar presence on his shoulder snapped him out of his reverie, and Pterano glanced sideways to see Petrie. The little flyer’s face was heavy with concern. “You gonna be okay, Uncle?” It was supposed to have been a definite ëyou will be okay’, but thanks to Petrie’s obvious misgivings, it came out as a question instead.
Pterano smiled tenderly at his little nephew. “Oh, absolutely, Petrie. It’d take a lot more than two fastbiters to bring me down,” he winked.
Petrie perked up. “You really fight more than two fastbiters, Uncle?”
Pterano was about to answer when he considered. After that Stone fiasco, he had no doubt changed in the eyes of his nephews and nieces – particularly Petrie. He bit the edge of his beak before clearing his throat. “Well, no… but there was this one time when I met a whole pack of them.”
Petrie’s black eyes widened. But instead of praise, his face took on this almost adult-like suspicion. “You telling truth, Uncle?”
Pterano gave him a knowing smirk. “As truthfully as ever.”
Petrie relaxed then. “Tell Petrie,” he demanded, settling down.
“Tell Petrie what?” Chomper appeared, seemingly out of nowhere – even though he’d only been sitting a few feet away. Ducky was close by and asked much the same thing. Soon, Pterano had an audience, and the little boost to his pride didn’t hurt.
The flyer slowly and carefully turned himself to face the circle of faces, and inhaled. “Well, the tale I’m about to tell has not been heard by anyone before…” he paused and glanced at Petrie. “Well, maybe by one of you,”
Cera snorted as she flopped down on the cave floor, expecting the biggest blatant lie ever. And she would call the flyer out on it, like he deserved. She didn’t feel sorry for him – well, just barely – because, after all, what he did to the herds back then was unforgivable. She was firm and unmoving on that subject, just like her father.
Littlefoot on the other paw, settled down quietly, not really knowing what to expect. Pterano was… a curious one. But the longneck gave the flyer his attention as Pterano began.
“It all began one night,” Pterano’s voice was low and perhaps even a bit foreboding. “I was only a lad, not much older than Petrie here,” he shrugged his shoulder and Petrie grinned, enraptured. “I had never seen a night so dark, it was absolutely black as pitch, like the darkest hole where neither the Bright Circle, nor her sister can penetrate.”
“Sister?” Now this was news to Taylen. The little dappled head shot up in confusion. “What’s all this about a sister?”
“I have sisters, I do, I do,” Ducky commented.
Pterano held up his talons, surprised and slightly miffed at how quickly the attention had shifted. “That’s just a bit of prose, my lad.” He explained to Taylen. “I meant the Night Circle,”
“Ahh,” Taylen grinned and settled back again.
Pterano raised an eyebrow, but continued nonetheless. “Anyway, a night so black as I had never seen before, and I was stuck right smack dab in the middle of it.” Here, though he knew it would most likely result in a backache, the flyer decided this tale needed some pizzazz, so with a leathery whoosh, he unfurled his wings and it was all Petrie could do to stay on-shoulder, through his shock.
The trick worked. The majority of the children gasped and moved back a step.
Pterano grinned devilishly. “I was lost, oh, such a perfect night to be lost on. I was caught on a summer updraft, this night, and found myself encircling sharpteeth territory. Well, being the young rot I was,” ...And still somewhat am, he mused to himself, “I decided it’d be something of a lark to drop down and explore.”
Petrie squeaked. “You fly down to sharpteeth grounds?!”
“All by yourself?” Chomper echoed. Taylen’s jaw just dropped. Littlefoot’s neck had stiffened, but he made no comment. Cera rolled her eyes.
The great, crested head dipped once, twice, in agreement. “That I was, lad,” he remarked to Chomper. “All alone, and in one of the most dangerous places a youngster can be in. I caught myself pondering whether or not anyone was out in this pitch darkness, and indeed, wouldn’t it be fun to bump into them?” His blue eyes searched the faces of the group – anticipation was high. “I crept forward,” the flyer’s voice had slowed. “Every, footfall, silent, as the night.” He flexed his talons in time with the punctuation.
“So, what did you do?” Taylen blurted, almost going out of his mind with suspense.
Pterano just grinned, mysteriously. “I continued with my silent traipse; the darkness seemed to swallow everything in sight, yes!” His sudden exclamation caused Chomper, who had been leaning so anxiously forward, to flop forward on the ground with surprise. The Gang paused to laugh, but were silenced by Pterano flapping his wings.
“Shh! Must be silent!” He hissed, theatrics at full throttle. He narrowed his eyes, wings held stiffly outward. “For certain, it seemed that I too, was swallowed up by this blackness, so that I was like to have passed out of this world entirely!” He made a sweeping motion with one wing. “And as I continued, there was this feeling,” the flyer’s voice had gone as cold as ice. “I felt it in my very bones,”
Normally, the word ëbones’ would not have elicited much reaction, but it was the way Pternao had said it – cold and hushed, as dismal a voice as one could have – that caused the Gang to shift uncomfortably, even Cera.
“And as I crept – silent, mind you – along those bleak, dark passages, I became increasingly aware of eyes,” again, a simple word – ëeyes’ – was once again turned into a veritable verbal weapon. “Eyes that followed my every move, eyes that pierced my very core, eyes,” he paused and grinned ever so slowly. “Eyes belonging to shapeless beings, wandering the Beyond, keeping track of my every breath,” Pterano’s voice was no more than a reedy whisper at this point. He was building it up for the climax. He waved his talons as he continued.
“My progress became more and more wary, and soon I was standing as still as a tree, frozen to the spot with absolute fear, and when I finally had the courage to look around – as hopeless as it was at first to notice anything in this black void – I saw –”
It was at this moment, just when the Gang was being reeled in, and Pterano was already settling into his element, that a voice at the front of the cave – with no prior understanding of what caused such a reaction, interrupted with a loud, “Food’s here!”, unsettling the delicate balance the remained between enraptured fear and startling realization.
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"Uh-huh... y'say there're two of 'em? Uh-huh... and they just walked in? Now, hold on, were they armed? No? Okay, did they threaten you in any way?... Uhh... what exactly happened? They scared ya?.... Uhh..."
Excerpt of Cera's 911 call after this incident :lol
Also HELLO THERE! I'm not dead, just very, very absent :p I have pressing matters elsewhere, unfortunately, but rest assured I'm alive and kicking.
And writing :yes
And drawing... and eating... and laughing :smile
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Good one, Strut :smile
Pterano uses his storytelling skills :lol
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=Part Twenty-Six
“I was not scared, I’m telling you!” Cera harrumphed as she tucked into the pile of green food that Strut had brought back, much to Ozzy’s dismay. The pale Stealer had tucked himself into the back corner upon his return, clutching the a small egg he had managed to scrounge up while out.
“Me hear you scream, you scream loudest.” Petrie insisted, nibbling on a leaf. He yelped at the burning gaze sent his way the next second.
Littlefoot laughed gently. “Hey look, it was a really good story, and we all just got caught up in it.” He glanced at Pterano as he said this. The older flyer – recovered significantly from the shock of his tale being so unexpectedly terminated – was once again leaning against the upturned stone, quietly eating and observing the group. He gave the longneck a subtle wink.
“Oh, me was truly scared!” Petrie nodded his head so hard that he dropped his leaf. “Me never scared that much before!”
Chomper nodded with a slight shiver, gazing shyly over at Pterano. “He can really tell good stories.”
“I’ll say!” Taylen broke in enthusiastically, between a beakful of treestars and treesweets. Strut had gathered up a tasty bundle of the stuff, wrapped in between all this green food. “I would have fainted if I knew how to! ëCause I know that sometimes when a bloke gets scared, he’ll faint, just keel right over! But I’ve never tried it, and I’ve never been so sc-” it was at this point that Strut had taken the liberty of handing Taylen another treesweet and the youngster was distracted as to stuff it in his mouth, ending the monologue.
Pterano felt his face flush with pride, but also something else – gratitude? Oh, come off it! You told them a story, nothing to get all weepy about! Or was it? He’d done something just then – something that was good in a sense – telling the children a story, and though the ending result could have been fine-tuned a bit more, all in all it had turned out nicely.
“Do you know any more stories?” Ruby asked, looking up from her leaf pile.
“Do he!” Petrie interrupted. “My Uncle Pterano know lots more stories!”
Pterano turned his head towards the many pairs of eyes that now flitted his way. He grinned, reveling in this moment. “Well, I do, I suppose.”
“Like what kind of stories?” This was Chomper, and he was very much intrigued.
Pterano waved a nonchalant claw. “Oh, just… stories.” He was teasing and he knew it, but he just couldn’t help it. It was after all in his habit of doing.
Chomper shook his head, clearly not satisfied. “Aw, can’t you tell? Please?”
Taylen seconded that with a vicious bout of nods. “Yeah! Absolute winner, that would be! Pleee-se?”
Ozzy, in the back corner, rolled his eyes. Why did everyone have to be in such a good mood? Not that it was ruining his bad mood – not in the slightest – but still, it was rather annoying to have all this pesky cheerfulness hanging about his head. He finished the last of his egg and settled down for a nap. His stomach growled, but he ignored that. He knew he was hungry – that was all he’d been out here, was hungry, hungry, and more hungry. And then Strut had to go and top off the humiliation with what he called ëfood’! Bah! “Food” was the real stuff! Not rotten, foul-tasting, nasty---
“Hey, Oz?”
Ozzy’s head snapped sharply towards the speaker and he growled deep in his throat. Of all the times when he was unhappy to see his sibling, this was one of those times.
Strut gave a slight start, but he continued on nonetheless. “I-uh, just thought that if, y’know, you were still, um... hungry, ah…” he knew this was probably the last thing he should even think about asking, but it was only common curtesy.
His brother didn’t seem to agree, however. Ozzy’s amber eyes widened. Strut didn’t just… he did! “Wh-what did you say?” As if he needed to ask. “Are you bloody rotting daft?” Though his voice was quiet, it carried through the rest of the cave, and it caused the small group huddled around Pterano to turn their heads.
Strut started to tremble. “We– I just thought, i– it’s…” the dark Stealer’s tongue was useless in his mouth as he tried to form some type of distinguishable words. His legs seemed to lock, freezing him in place. Behind him, he heard the group stirring.
“’ëYou just thought’,” Ozzy taunted, bitterly. “What good has ever come out of you thinking?”
Strut swallowed, hard. He was used to Ozzy’s temper and the things he said, but this… “I– what?” His voice was hoarser now.
“You heard me,”
At this moment, Pterano had taken it upon himself to sit up straighter – biting back a pained grunt – and come to the defense. “I rather think we all heard you, up here,” his blue eyes narrowed. There was something so inherently nasty about this one such Stealer, and now Pterano had an even bigger reason to dislike him.
Amber eyes squinted disgustedly in his direction. “Happy to have obliged, Cone-head.”
Taylen seemed to visibly droop. If anything, the arguing had gotten worse out here. Sure, Ozzy and Strut would have squabbles back in the herd, but they hadn’t been anywhere near as cruel and hurtful as they were now. He was rooted to the spot where he stood, over the leaf pile, miserably clutching a fistful of treesweets he’d been poising to pop into his mouth.
Pterano’s glare intensified. His talons were clenched. “What’s the matter with you? Can’t your brother offer you food without you blowing up?”
Ozzy seemed to find that amusing. “Offer me food? I already had my food.” His leer dared the flyer to do something – perhaps stand up, if he could.
Pterano couldn’t stand up, but his body gave a jerk at that remark. “One measly egg barely qualifies as a snack to a sharptooth hatchling,” he shot back. “You’re no exception.”
Now it was Ozzy’s turn to flinch. “I’m... I’m fine,” he hissed, not willing to give up that easily.
“You’re half-starved,” Pterano sniffed. “Anyone can see that.”
“I can manage on my own.” Ozzy’s voice came dangerously close to a yell. It was then that Strut found his voice – and his legs – and took a couple steps backward before he even thought of speaking again.
“But, Oz... we’ve got enough, here.”
“Shut it, bark breath! I’m not touching that filthy stuff!”
Now Pterano really started, but this time it was more a start of surprise than it was anger. “Why not? What’s so horrible about green food?”
“He doesn’t like it,” Taylen spoke up, probably not the wisest thing to be said at that point, but too late to be taken back.
Ozzy just grumbled something. Pterano tilted his head to the side.
“Whyever not?” He almost grinned here. The thought was almost ridiculous. “I’ll wager you’ve never tried it, or at least tried something so awful it turned you off for the time.” This line did merit a slight grin.
Ozzy turned and scowled. “I merely have never had an interest in trying such lowly stuff!”
“Lowly stuff?” Littlefoot echoed with a slight frown. “Green food’s delicious, and it’s good for you, too.”
Ozzy snorted in contempt. “Anything ëgood’ in that mess I can find just as easily in a nest of eggs. There’s a reason we’re called ëEgg-Stealers’, after all.”
“But, your brother eats it,” Chomper pointed out.
Strut would have loved more than anything to be left out of the conversation. But he asserted. “...It’s... not as bad as you think, Oz. Really.”
Ozzy shifted. This was not going according to plan. True, he’d never wanted to try the stuff. It was droopy-looking and just far too green. Not like eggs. Eggs had substance, and, as far as he was concerned, were far better than anything green food could offer.
Pterano folded his arms, carefully. “I think it’s time you tried it for yourself, before you go off and condemn it.” His gaze was level, and his expression was light.
“Try it?” Ozzy was appalled. “Absolutely not!” The Stealer’s face scrunched into a frown. “Never.”
“Try a bite, Oz!” Taylen spoke in a squeak. “You’ll love it!” He held out his fistful of sweet bubbles. “These’re really, really sweet!”
Ozzy hesitated. He opened his beak, but made no sound. Finally, with a dramatic sigh, he stood up and stalked over to his younger brother. He eyed the bunch of sweet bubbles with displeasure. He wasn’t about to back down from this, but he was totally reluctant to make the move.
All breaths were still. Ozzy reached out with his talons and plucked a single sweet bubble from the bunch. Taylen’s wide eyes didn’t blink once.
The next moment, Ozzy had popped the small thing in his mouth and used the corners of his beak to crush it. The resulting juices that filled his mouth were... sweet! He coughed in surprise. That single little bauble packed some powerful flavor! But then he fell back to chewing.
It wasn’t until he swallowed that Pterano asked. “Well?”
Ozzy took a long time to reply. And in that time, he’d set himself in the back of the cave again.
Pterano frowned. "Well?" He asked, again.
“It’s… good.”
======
*O*
Well, how's that for a chappie's conclusion? Oz finally comes to grips... somewhat. He's still an arrogant jerkweed XDD
Hope everyone had a lovely holiday season!
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Gooooooooood one Strut! :D
I really like how you manage to keep Ozzy and Strut in-character so well and thearguments between the stealers of course :)
Pterano's feelings are also interesting :)
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W0000ooo00o0o0t!
=Part Twenty-Seven
Pterano cleared his throat, loudly, hoping to call everyone to attention. The leaf pile had long ago vanished from the middle of the cave floor, and the first shades of evening were already filling the entrance. The Gang was restless, but there wasn't much to be done, now. Night in the Mysterious Beyond - though enchanting in a way - was quite harrowing.What were you children doing out here, anyway?"
Petrie, still perched on his uncle's shoulder, pointed to Ruby and Chomper. "There was big earthshake back in Valley, and we come out here look for them."
"See, our cave started to collapse, while we were still inside," Chomper added.
"And it connects to the Mysterious Beyond by another tunnel," Ruby jumped in. "So I got Chomper out, and myself out, too. Only then, we were trapped in two ways." She shrugged.
"And well, we came through to bring them back." Littlefoot sighed. Grandma and Grandpa must be so worried.
"All by yourselves?" Pterano's eyes widened. "Did you... did you even ask permission?"
Cera scoffed. "If we did, we wouldn't even be out here in the first place." She paused. "Actually, maybe we should ask permission more often, Littlefoot."
"Why?" The longneck frowned, certain the threehorn had a smart remark in store.
"Oh, no reason," Cera's voice betrayed the hint that there was exactly the opposite. "I doubt we'd be in as much trouble all the time,"
The longneck replied, testily. "Cera, this whole thing was your idea."
Cera snorted in irritation. "I only jumped in 'cause it was a fine time for you to start thinking about what the grownups might say! You never held back before!"
Littlefoot stiffened. Cera had hit home, and she knew it. Littlefoot could have gone on and on about how dodgy and judgmental the threehorn was being, but the truth was that he had hesitated back at Ruby and Chomper's cave. He had literally just stopped. After who knows how many adventures they had been on together, sneaking off to the Beyond without permission hadn't really been that much of an obstacle for the children -- the way they saw it, they would go and be back again. But what Littlefoot had seen in his grandmother's eyes that day was fear. Fear and worry of loss. The longneck had never seen such fear in his Grandma's face, and that look alone was enough to give him a pang of conscience.
Pterano hastily threw up his talons to interrupt. "I didn't mean to start an argument," he protested. "I was merely curious. After all," he relaxed against the back of the rock with a sort of weak smile. "I am assuming that gallivanting off to the Mysterious Beyond is not a normal pastime?"
Spike shook his head, and Chomper smiled. "Well, I guess not."
Ducky giggled. "It is maybe normal for us, yep, yep, yep!"
The big flyer grinned wider. "Am I to expect such adventurism from all youngsters your age?"
Even Littlefoot had to give in at that. With an admitting shake of his head, he replied. "No, we're the only ones. But that's because we've been together the longest."
"The longest? Compared to who?"
The Gang of Five exchanged knowing glances with each other. "That is long, long story, Uncle! That before we came to Great Valley!" Petrie spoke up.
Pterano folded his arms with something like a grimace. "I'm certainly not going anywhere, and anyway I think it's time you returned the story favor. I have high hopes for this tale." He tilted his crested head.
"Where to start with a story like that?" Littlefoot asked, somewhat rhetorically; there was just so much that had happened.
"Start at the beginning, where else?" Cera collapsed onto her front. "The Moving of the Great Herds, back then."
"Moving of the --?" Pterano murmured. "You... wouldn't all happen to be talking about the Fail of the Leaf?" There was the slightest quaver to his voice.
The Moving of the Great Herds, The Fail of the Leaf, Littlefoot had heard it both ways. He nodded. "Well, yeah. That's when we all met."
Pterano quivered visibly, but he swallowed and shifted himself. He didn't know if the children were aware of his past... mistake, and up until now he would have liked to keep it that way. Granted, he probably wouldn't change much in the eyes of the youngsters Ôø? he knew they still held a grudge against him for putting Ducky in such danger when the Stone of Cold Fire had so muddled his brain a month ago. He hadn't meant any harm. He cleared his throat again. "C...continue,"
Littlefoot had caught the hesitation and the shiver of the older flyer. He knew his friends did, too. He doesn't know we know, the longneck felt his stomach tighten up. Giving Pterano pain wasn't exactly on the agenda right now. In fact, Littlefoot would have been happy if they hadn't met up with him at all. It was too awkward. But he continued his tale.
"I hatched while my herd was on the move. It was my mother and my grandparents traveling with me. One day when we stopped to eat, I met Cera." He gave the threehorn a sort of sideways grin.
Cera returned it, except hers was more of a smirk. "He got nailed by my dad for wanting to play."
Pterano was tempted to express that he had absolutely no trouble in imagining that, but held his peace as the children continued. Ducky spoke up next.
"I met Littlefoot after the Big Earthshake, I did, I did! And then we met Petrie when he felled out of a tree, yep, yep, yep!"
Petrie gave a shy sort of shrug. "Me try to fly and climb up on tree, but then me fell out."
"And then we found Spike!" Ducky cried, giving her adoptive brother a hug. Spike returned the favor with a big slobbery lick, which caused Ducky to topple over amid giggles.
"And... and you found the Great Valley like that? Traveling all on your own?" Pterano asked.
"Uh-huh! And we fight off big Sharptooth, too!" Petrie asserted.
"You did?" The big flyer gaped. "...How may I ask did you deliver such a... feat?"
"Well, Ducky was the distraction." Littlefoot explained. He couldn't help but feel more at ease. Talking about that journey back then with his friends seemed to take his mind off everything else happening. "And Petrie was the lookout. We needed to get Sharptooth into a deep pool, and then Spike and I would try to push him in with a big rock."
Pterano would have jumped in surprise if not for his sore back. He didn't have a chance to reply when Ducky suddenly started in with her own version.
"I was scared-ed, I was, I was! Sharptooth almost eated me, a lot of times! But then, I getted him in the water, and Petrie flew down to save me, he did, he did!"
Petrie nodded. "Uh-huh! Uncle, I a flyer, then! I flied down and peck Sharptooth in the eye" The little flyer made a swift striking motion with his wing. "Me go so fast!"
"And what about the rock?" Pterano found his voice, or at least the croaky remnants; he was still so bewildered.
"Sharptooth saw us," Littlefoot admitted, almost bashfully. "He jumped up, and tried to get at us--"
"Me never see Sharptooth jump that high!" Petrie broke in.
"And then I showed up!" Cera grinned, wagging her frilled head for emphasis. "I hit that old rock so hard, it toppled off down into the water, bringing Sharptooth with it!"
"And... and you did this all by yourselves?" The flyer could almost hear his jaw dislocate, he was gawking so much. Really, he must have looked utterly ridiculous, but it certainly wasn't every day one came across such intrepid explorers! And children, nonetheless!
Littlefoot nodded. "Yeah. We got there together," the way he looked, his expression might have been called remiss.
"And then these jokers showed up," Cera broke in with a snort, nodding towards the Egg-Stealers in the back. Ozzy and Strut, their systems full after who knew how long, were languidly draped on the hard stony floor, dozing. Only Taylen was awake - or nearly so. His eyes shot open and he gave a sudden jerk at the mention of his brothers.
"What happened?" He blurted, more curious than insulted. "How'd you get in trouble?" The little dinosaur sort of stumbled his way to the group, settling down beside Pterano. The flyer composed himself and settled back, not quite sure what to expect.
"...Might I ask how many adventures you've had?"
"Oh, loads! I'm sure they've had more when I was gone, but--" Chomper was interrupted.
"'Gone'?" Echoed Pterano. "Gone where?"
"To an island with his parents. But first, we rescued him as an egg from those two." Cera cleared her throat. "I'll start."
Pterano had the feeling this was going to be a very long night.
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Heeeeeeerrrreeee's the next chappie! Haha, somehow I pictured the Gang recounting their tales of derring-do as elderlies, sitting around Council Rock and discussing the old times. ;)
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Ah, an update :idea
Well, telling Pterano about their past adventures sure made him gawk :smile Their adventures are awesome and very hard to believe. I like Pterano's reaction to being told about them :D
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The story got UPDATED! I'm really enjoying this so far. This chapter was especially nice with all the movie references.
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I am glad to see this story getting updated. :yes I love Pterano's reactions thus far, as I am sure the gang's story would be difficult to not only believe, but also to summarize in any form. Based upon how little time seems to take place between the films, the gang must be having wild, life-threatening adventures every couple of weeks or so..
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Whew, after what feels like forever, I'm finally getting back on track with this story! Thank you, summer!
Anyways, this next part is short... Cuz this is filler... fillin' up the ti-ime... lawlz
=Part Twenty-Eight
“It hadn’t been too long after we found the Valley,” Cera resumed. “Well, maybe it had. A lot of new eggs were hatching.”
“I was getting new baby brothers and sisters!” Ducky grinned at the memory. Spike nodded in agreement and chuckled.
“Anyways,” Cera harrumphed at the interruption. “We’d been getting into trouble lately, and it was really unfair because all we wanted to do was have fun, and we were being treated like hatchings!”
Littlefoot thought having Cera tell the story might not have been the best idea.
The threehorn seemed oblivious, however. “So one night, we had a secret meeting up on top of a tall rock, to decide what to do.”
“Me no like be treated like baby,” Petrie mumbled.
Ducky sighed. “No, no, no, it was no fun.”
“Any-ways,” Cera’s snort was pretty evident that she didn’t appreciate all the second-hand comments. “We look down and see a couple Eggstealers,” she made a fairly obvious eye-roll in the direction of Taylen’s sleeping brothers. Taylen couldn’t help but be glad they were asleep and miss such a scathing glance. The little Stealer was finding out fairly quickly that this was one dinosaur he did not want to push. “And they’re stealing an egg from Ducky’s nest! So, obviously, we run after them, because once we saved the egg, and the grownups found out we saved it, then they wouldn’t see us as babies!”
Pterano, unusually silent all this time, nodded slightly. He’d gone through the same thing as a youngster. In fact, there were times when he still went through phases of feeling inadequate or useless or just downright not wanted. His talons were folded against his middle. His throbbing back wasn’t paining him as much as before.
“So we chase them, and we end up in the Mysterious Beyond, and then there was a rockslide. We lost the Stealers but found the egg. Or at least, we thought it was the egg.”
Chomper giggled. “They found me!”
Ducky clapped her little claws. “Yep, yep! And we carried him back to the Valley in his own carrying nest!”
“A carrying nest?” Pterano’s voice was quiet.
“Mostly just long sticks we picked up,” Littlefoot clarified. “It worked pretty well. Petrie was our counterweight.”
Petrie straightened up on his uncle’s shoulder, proudly. “Me keep egg in place! It so big, but Petrie did it!”
Pterano smiled gently. “Continue.”
“Well, it wasn’t really hard to find out that we’d grabbed the wrong egg,” Cera explained. “It was bigger for one thing, so we kind of just let it be and it hatched on its own.”
“We were really scared-ed, we were!” Ducky emphasized, waving her arms. “Chomper was a Sharptooth, so we ran away!”
Chomper giggled at the memory. “Yeah, I remember. You guys were screaming! Guess I was pretty scary when I was a baby.”
Ducky leaned over to give him a hug. “And then you became cute, you did, you did!”
Chomper protested mid-hug. “No, I’m not! I’m a scary Sharptooth!” That earned a good chuckle from around the assembly.
Cera huffed. “Hello? Still have a story to finish.” She shifted, impatiently.
===
Pterano wasn’t sure how much time had passed, only that it was extremely late by the time the stories had ended. He’s been left feeling like the wind had been knocked out of him; rather lightheaded. He was amazed and confused. All those adventures, and only five children? He knew he didn’t know a lot about children in the first place, but he was quite certain that that much adventuring was an anomaly.
Remarkable. He thought to himself. Truly remarkable. He was impressed, and maybe a little envious. All the stories he knew practically paled in comparison. He gazed over the small group assembled before him – all asleep by now and softly snoring. He grinned slightly at the small weight of Petrie lying sprawled over his shoulder.
For some reason it felt… good to be back. Like it was meant to be and not totally forbidden. Well, not technically forbidden yet, as the flyer was still outside the Great Valley’s borders. But he still couldn’t shake that feeling, that foreboding deep within his chest. Pterano sighed. All this work, and now what? Everyone was together, right? So what was to stop him from taking off and leaving? Besides an injured back and foot, of course.
He couldn’t just… leave now, could he?
Could he?
Pterano exhaled in disgust. All these mind games were driving him crazy! He needed some fresh air and fast. Moving slowly so as not to upset his nephew, the bigger flyer carefully slipped Petrie’s small body onto the floor of the cave, close by Ducky and Chomper. The next part was slightly more difficult: moving without causing an eruption of pain.
This proved easier said than done as Pterano rose to his feet, a soft groan escaping his beak. Using the rock he’d previously been lying against for support, he raised himself to his feet and out towards the cave entrance. The Night Circle shone brightly, like it had the night before during his and Taylen’s travels.
Pterano leaned heavily against the opening, and fixated his light blues on the beacon overhead. “What am I doing here?” He asked, softly. As if the Night Circle would answer. “I… I am so lost. All I… ever wanted was a… a chance. Just one chance.” His chest tightened and he inhaled suddenly to prevent what felt like oncoming tears. “Why didn’t I get it? And what, now?”
It was at this point that Littlefoot awoke, just for a moment, but once his eyes adjusted to see that one member of their circle was missing, he became alert. It didn’t take long to pinpoint Pterano’s location, but the longneck was confused. What was he doing?
Wiggling away from Cera and Spike, Littlefoot tiptoed over to the big flyer. He seemed to be talking to himself. Littlefoot frowned, slightly.
“Um, Pterano?”
======
Gaaaaah I know, comebacks are not my thing, but I wanted to get this down. And hey, look on the bright side, we're nearing the end of this venture^^
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AN UPDATE! I wasn't sure this was continuing, so this is WONDERFUL to see! Also, I can't WAIT to see where this is going!
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Haha I admit I've been lazy with updates :)
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=Part Twenty-Nine
Pterano jumped in surprise, which only resulted in more pain from his gimp foot and back. He slumped back against the cave wall once he’d seen who it was and fought to regain his breath and some semblance of balance. “Littlefoot,” he said, voice low. “You’re supposed to be asleep.”
The longneck gave him a funny look. “Well, aren’t you, too?”
Pterano glowered and turned his head away. “I couldn’t settle, and my back was hurting.”
“I’m pretty sure it only hurts if you move,” Littlefoot countered, respectfully. “Are you okay?”
Pterano turned back to face the youngster, his crested head lowered in what seemed like defeat. “No,”
Littlefoot’s features transformed with concern. “Maybe it would help if you sit down. Here, that wall will help.”
Pterano complied, slowly sliding down the wall until he was seated. The pain had since lessened, but there were still sharp barbs along his spine to serve as remembrance of that afternoon.
“Better?”
The big flyer nodded slightly. “For now,”
“Pterano, can I ask you something?”
The flyer hesitated. What number of things could come out of this young one’s mouth? Surely by now they must know of his past and the horrible mistake. Surely by now they must hate him with a fiery passion. Yet when Pterano finally met Littlefoot’s eyes, there was no hate concealed there, only curiosity. Right now, he couldn’t be sure which was worse. Finally, he replied, “You may,”
“Did you come across any longnecks out there? Any that looked like me?”
Pterano nearly laughed with relief. He needn’t have been so suspicious! Littlefoot only wanted to knowó
“And well, I guess I have another question for you. Sorry.”
Well, drat.[\i] Pterano cleared his throat. “Let’s focus on the first question, shall we? No, I have not seen those particular longnecks. I have seen many longnecks, though, so I suppose I could have overlooked them.” He raised a brow. “Why do you ask?”
Littlefoot seems to forget that he had another question because he shrugged. “Well, I was hoping you’d seen a friend of mine. Her name’s Ali. Her herd came through here a cold time ago and well, I was just curious. I know that they’re Far-Walkers though.”
Pterano almost smiled. “I will certainly keep my eye out for her when I get back to the herd.”
Littlefoot grinned. “Thanks. Could you tell her, well if you see her, that we say hi?”
“Certainly,”
That seemed to appease the longneck and there was silence for a moment until Littlefoot asked, “Can I ask you my second question?”
Do I want to hear this second question? Pterano turned a pained expression to the longneck. “Littlefoot, think carefully about what you are going to say. I have… a complicated past, which I’m sure you’re by now well aware of, so if your next question is on anything that happened, please... please don’t ask me.”
Littlefoot licked his lips. “I wasn’t going to ask that. I mean, I am curious, though. My grandparents told me some of what happened.”
“And I’m sure that that ësome’ is enough,” Pterano replied, rather sharply. “There’s no curiosity involved, my dear boy. Just a simple, stupid mistake for which I must now pay the price.” He wrapped his wings about him.
Littlefoot was quiet for a moment, as he let the flyer’s words sink in. “Can I ask you, now?”
Silence met him. He decided to continue. “Why did you come back? Didn’t you know you were coming to the Great Valley?”
“Yes, I did.” Pterano’s reply was so soft that Littlefoot almost missed it. “I thought I would be safe outside the border and I certainly never anticipated meeting up with you children along the way. I… I was only trying to help Taylen find his family again.” His voice sounded so desolate.
Littlefoot nodded back into the cave. “But you did. You really helped all three of them out.”
“And managed to muck up everything else,” came the grumbled response. “You don’t understand. None of this should have happened.” Pterano waved a claw, “I only meant to show the lad the way and then I would go.” He shifted slightly. “But fate has a funny way of working out.”
“I don’t think you messed things up,” Littlefoot was confused as to why Pterano was being so hard on himself. Was he upset about earlier, over the longneck’s stunt over the cliff?
“It’s debatable,” was the short reply. Pterano was getting annoyed. He only wanted fresh air, not a soul-search after all. But he could hardly blame Littlefoot, could he? “I mean, it’s a sort of habit. I suppose I just have that special touch.”
Littlefoot bit his lip. Pterano did have a point. “Are you talking about the Stone?”
“The Stone, the herd, here and now, everything in-between. What difference does it make?” The flyer’s voice was tired, almost weary it seemed. “I saw something I wanted, and fought for it. And in the end, I ended up hurting a lot of dinosaurs.” And then like that, his voice went soft again. “Some of them I hurt… more than others.”
Littlefoot found himself feeling sorry for the big flyer. Well, sorrier. Now that the whole Stone episode was done and over with, and things had time to heal, or at least settle, the young longneck was able to see Petrie’s mysterious uncle in a new light. He inhaled slowly, waiting for Pterano to continue, if he was indeed going to.
He didn’t have to wait long. “I-I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have… you didn’t need to hear that.” Pterano’s voice was little more than a whisper by this point. Draped in his wings, the flyer’s eyelids drooped. He yawned and straightened. “Goodnight,” he murmured in passing.
But Littlefoot stopped him. “Wait, Pterano. I don’t think you… well, I mean you redeemed yourself, right? Back at the Valley?”
The big flyer stopped, but didn’t turn back around. Littlefoot stumbled on. “What I mean is, you did something right, and I know my grandparents believed in you.” Where was this going? How was this supposed to help? All Littlefoot knew was that he wanted to cheer Pterano up. He just had to keep fishing for something. “I believe in you. And so does Petrie. He… he’s always believed in you.”
Did that cinch it?
Pterano appeared to stiffen as a pang hit his heart. He closed his eyes, folding his talons to his chest. Petrie… “Hopefully, he will learn that not all things change... before it's too late,” came the soft, short reply. And that was that.
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