Fanfiction.net link:
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13459031/1/Hidden-NeedsMerry Christmas, everyone! Today I am posting my long-delayed response to the Summer Prompt Exchange. The prompt that I responded to was this one:
"We all know that Petrie's kind were likely omnivores or carnivores in real life… but what if that was also true in the LBT narrative as well? Write a story where Petrie's "little secret" (that he likes insects or fish) is revealed to one of his friends or to the gang itself."
Unfortunately this prompt gave me a lot of difficulty due to my uncertainty of which tone would be appropriate, and also my desire to keep the story itself at a reasonable size. Now, however, I think it is ready to see the light of day, and I hope that you enjoy the story. 
In the end I decided on treating this story as a kind of single chapter, which could serve as a springboard into new stories set in this same continuity. Before I go, however, I would like to give a big thanks to OwlsCantRead and Historian1912 for their assistance in beta-reading and providing feedback for this story. I greatly appreciate your help. ----------------------
Hidden Needs
“At the last moment, the fish and I exchange a troubled glance. The murrel seems to be demanding an explanation. Alas, I am in no position to start justifying the unusual treatment. What comes next is a new experience for both the fish and me.”
― Tahir Shah, Travels With Myself
There were many calls that a young flyer needed to learn in life. Alarm calls, threat calls, identity calls… with each having its own meaning and traditions behind them, as well as the expected responses to hearing each one. But out of a wide array of various calls, there was one in particular that could always be expected to turn even the most patient family of flyers into the most ferocious tempest of chaos imaginable.
“Who is ready for breakfast?”
Petrie’s eyes jerked open with the speed that could only come from instinct. Before he could even comprehend what his legs and wings were doing, Petrie was rapidly speeding towards his mother’s outstretched foot and what it contained within…
It was such a shame that his brother was in the way.
Within the span of a few seconds Petrie collided into his brother, and then each of his siblings crashed into him in turn, sending them all tumbling into a confusing pile of wings, feet, and beaks. Upon seeing the resulting scene it took Volant all of her willpower not to erupt into boisterous laughter.
“Now, now, children… I have enough for everyone. But if you are not behaved then I might just eat the good stuff myself…”
As if animated by one mind the pile of moaning children was suddenly transformed into nine upright bodies, rigid with attention. Only their eyes retained the irrational eagerness that was there before. Eyes that were fixed on what their mother was now breaking into nine even segments. Though it only took her a few seconds to complete the ordeal, it seemed like an eternity to the attentive little flyers. When she was finished, Volant wisely stepped out of the way.
“Dig in, children!”
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“Well, that couldn’t have possibly gone any worse,” Cera grumbled.
“Well, we did not get eat-ed, so it could have been worse that way. It could, it could,” Ducky said in an attempt to look on the positive side.
Ruby sighed heavily. “Well, even though we did not get eaten, that does not mean that things went well. Whose idea what it to try to find sweet bubbles anyway?”
She was greeted by five exasperated glares.
Ruby defensively put her hands on her hips. “I suggested that we find some in the valley!”
With Ruby becoming bristled, now it was Littlefoot’s turn to play peacemaker. “I think a lot of us decided to go to the Narrow Pass. After all, Spike was already halfway there.”
Spike’s eyes went wide upon hearing his name being mentioned before continuing to munch on a bush with the most innocent expression that he could manage.
“I am just glad that we all made it out!” Chomper exclaimed happily before suddenly looking confused and placing one of his digits to his chin. “Uh, I mean in…”
“Glad to see that at least one sharptooth is happy we’re all still in one piece,” Cera muttered, glaring at the sheepish-looking sharptooth.
Littlefoot sighed. “Now, Cera, that is unfair. That fastbiter was chasing Chomper as well.”
“Now that I think about it, he was probably the only other sharptooth besides Chomper who I’ve ever seen happy about all this. I swore I heard him laughing while those two blue fastbiters were yelling at each other,” Cera said, “It was like our nearly being ripped apart and saved by some sharpteeth not liking each other was just a big joke to him.”
Ducky took a deep, calming breath. “Well, thank goodness we are all safe now. We were almost not safe. Nope, nope, nope.”
Littlefoot closed his eyes with a resigned expression, as though he knew what was coming now that Ducky had unintentionally brought the topic back to their narrow escape.
“That’s right! We almost became food today. All because we didn’t see those fastbiters until we ran into them!” Cera erupted, “If Petrie had been here when we had that idea instead of sleeping or eating or whatever that beak-brain was doing, then it would have saved us a lot of trouble!”
It was then, right as Cera finished a volley of words, that the threehorn felt a new weight on her back. “Uh… what did Petrie miss?”
“Oh, nothing,” Cera said sarcastically, her fiery eyes boring into the flyer perched on her back, “All our fastbiter friends just decided to show up at the same time, that’s all.”
Petrie blinked before looking to his left and right. “Fastbiters in the valley? But me not hear any alert!”
Ruby groaned before deciding to take one for the team. “We went on an adventure that became a misadventure. But we are all here now, so…”
“But we almost weren’t! We were this close to having them chewing on our spines, picking their teeth with our bones, and tossing our tails off somewhere and leaving them to rot,” Cera cut Ruby off while painting a grisly picture of what was nearly their fate, “There might not have been anything left of Ducky. One of them looked like he could’ve swallowed her whole without even trying!”
“Cera…” Littlefoot cautioned while Chomper looked around awkwardly at hearing her latest rant.
“...I mean, I can fight well, but against two entire packs… there is not much that we could do… we would be like snapping shells to the...”
“Cera!” Petrie screeched.
It wasn’t so much the exclamation that silenced everyone so much as the identity of the person making it. As Petrie noticed the surprised stares of the rest of his friends, the flyer found himself looking away awkwardly. “Uh… maybe we could play something?”
Littlefoot nodded with a smile, quickly speaking up in agreement before Cera could interject. “Yeah! Now that Petrie is here we can do the pinecone game.”
“Yeah!” Chomper agreed quite quickly, eager to end the argument caused by their close shave earlier.
“Oh, alright,” Cera said, grudgingly going along with it when she saw the rest of the gang eager to take up the suggestion, “But Ducky’s on my team this time!”
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“Pass it to me! To me, Littlefoot!”
As Littlefoot used his powerful tail to send the pinecone to his pink teammate, Petrie sailed in the air like a leaf carried aloft by a lazy thermal. To the untrained eye it might seem like he was conserving energy for an eventual dive towards the pinecone, but in reality all of his energy was currently being spent on his troubled thoughts.
“Ha! You snooze you lose, flat-head!”
“We will see about that, Cera!”
Petrie briefly jerked back to awareness as he made a slight movement towards the two very loud adversaries down below. But of course, he would not dare to dive at them unless there was an opening where no one was looking.
Much like certain other things…
He didn’t dare even put his thoughts into words concerning the conversation from earlier. His friends had nearly met their doom and he had not been there for them. The implications of that weighed heavily on his mind. The fact that it was their own fault for going out without him and that they were chased by sharptooth every other day did little to calm his head.
And then, there was the way Cera had described things… it sounded so close to…
“Petrie, look out!”
The flyer was rather forcibly brought back to the present by the pine cone as it arced rather higher than Littlefoot had intended. Had he been paying attention, Petrie could’ve knocked it towards a teammate. As it was, he was the one who ended up being knocked towards a rather inviting hole.
“Oh my gosh!”
“Petrie, are you alright?”
It took a few moments for the small flyer to regain his bearings. When he did several things came into sharp relief. First, Littlefoot, Ducky, and Ruby were looking at his fallen form with concern. And second, he was laying in the small trench that served as their goal.
Despite everything still feeling a bit fuzzy he put on a weak smile. “Goal for Petrie team!”
Ruby’s concern slowly turned into relieved amusement as she picked up the pinecone next to the fallen flyer and tossed it to the opposing team on account of it being their turn. “You make it look so easy, Petrie, but the landing did not look easy!”
Petrie shook his head as he got up. “Me landed?”
Ducky snorted as she helped him up. “No, you fall-ed.”
Cera grunted at this. “Come on, Ducky! Let’s show these guys how this is done!”
Ducky gave her friend a hug before she ran off towards her teammates, leaving Littlefoot with Petrie by the goal.
Littlefoot gave him one final look over. “Are you sure that you are alright, Petrie?”
Petrie took off as if to reassure his friend, slowing moving forward as he searched for a thermal. “Y-yeah, Petrie just fine! What make you concerned?”
Littlefoot frowned. “Well, you took a hard hit…”
“Petrie had worse…”
Littlefoot continued. “And you are headed straight for that tree,” he drawled.
This came as news to Petrie as he finally took notice of where he was actually heading. Sure enough there it was right in front of his face, the loving embrace of a thick branch. He took an evasive swerve in order to avoid this unforeseen obstruction before he finally rolled into something like a controlled soar.
Littlefoot blinked. “Uhhh…”
“Me fine!” the flyer affirmed from far above, “Let’s beat Cera! Petrie no want hear her brag!”
The sauropod merely shook his head at the flyer’s antics. He supposed that Petrie was right: they did have a game to win.
“What’s the holdup? Are we playing or not?” Cera called out impatiently. When she didn’t get an immediate answer she asked again with some concern. “Uh, guys?”
Littlefoot put on a smile that was more confident that he felt. “Oh, we’re playing, unless you guys are conceding already…”
“Oh, I will show you, longneck! The game is on!” Cera eagerly sent the pinecone flying, her teammates rushing to keep up with the overenthusiastic shot.
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“Alright, guys, the girls have caught up! We need to…”
Littlefoot was interrupted by a certain pink fastrunner clearing her throat. Turning his neck around with a momentarily dumbfounded expression, he found himself greeted with an amused smirk and a small wave from Ruby.
“Uh, sorry, Ruby. We need to beat the other girls and Spike! They have caught up and if Cera wins this one she will not let us live this down!”
“I definitely won’t!” Cera taunted in the distance, having heard the longneck rather clearly.
The sauropod rolled his eyes with amusement at his friend’s affirmation. He quickly dropped his voice to a soft whisper to ensure that Cera would not be able to eavesdrop further. “So, we need to come up with a plan, guys.”
Ruby put a finger on her beak as she considered the possibilities. “We could double up on her so that she does not know where the pinecone will end up. But if we did that then she could also double up on us!”
“And Cera and Spike might be slow, but they are also strong!” Chomper exclaimed.
“I’ll show you slow!” Cera shouted. In the distance she began to pace around Ducky and Spike impatiently. “Speaking of slooowwww… what is taking you all day? Trying to find a way to outsmart the genius threehorn? Hah, good luck with that!”
Littlefoot shut his eyes tightly at the sound of Cera’s haughty laugh. Bright Circle, give me strength… But he decided that Cera was right. His team had to think of a solution soon or else they would be subject to more of Cera’s taunting.
“We don’t have all day, Slow Foot!”
Littlefoot sighed.
Case in point. Well, let’s think about this… On Cera’s team we have power in Cera and in Spike… when he isn’t munching on a bush. But I don’t think that Cera will permit that for the game point. So the weak spot is Ducky.He looked over to the opposing team only to notice Ducky whispering something to Cera, which earned the small swimmer an annoyed grunt from the threehorn. No doubt that Ducky was keeping Cera from taunting Littlefoot again.
Littlefoot smiled slightly.
Thanks, Ducky, but I think you might be our path to victory! And then he turned his focus to his team.
I am strong and Ruby is fast, but Chomper is a weak spot. He could be useful as a distraction though… hmmm… wait, I am missing something.Littlefoot’s eyes widened slightly as he attempted to locate the wayward flyer. He had almost forgotten that Petrie was even there due to his silence. It was then, when his eyes focused on the small flyer’s perch on a nearby branch, that he noticed Petrie’s distracted stare. It was like he was in another world.
Littlefoot frowned. “Are you feeling okay, Petrie?”
The longneck watched as Petrie was almost startled out of the branch by his question. Petrie quickly recovered, however, before answering shakily. “Uh, sorry. Petrie alright.”
Littlefoot was unimpressed by the answer as Ruby also gave Petrie a concerned look. Finally, Littlefoot broke the awkward silence, “Are you sure, Petrie? If you need to sit this out I am sure the rest of us could…”
Petrie did not let Littlefoot finish. “No! Petrie can do it! Let’s just come up with plan before Cera open big mouth again!”
“Hmph!” Cera’s audible refrain could be heard in the distance.
Littlefoot rolled his eyes. “Alright… here is my plan…”
----------
Petrie flapped his wings with a bit more force than was required, sending him to the desired altitude faster than intended. Though he could not say whether this was due to a desire to put the threehorn in her place or rather due to his annoyance at his own absentmindedness.
Silly Petrie! Now you got Littlefoot all worried because you focus on food! Now is time to focus on game!He shook his head as he went into a controlled spin, surveying the ground as he did so. As expected, Cera and Spike were emerging from their side in a synchronized trot, passing the pinecone between each other. Ducky, meanwhile, was playfully running to the side of the play area. It was a trick he had seen before.
Ducky be final tosser because everyone focused on big people! No one focus on little people!He narrowed his eyes conspiratorially. This gave him an idea.
Cera hurriedly passed the pinecone back to Spike just before ending up in a collision with Littlefoot. Since they weren’t supposed to hit each other hard, she settled for the next best thing, getting in the longneck’s way again before he had a chance to reorientate himself.
Petrie rolled his eyes as he directed his focus to the spiketail. Ever since Cera had barrelled through them all in one of their earlier games, the “Cera Rule” insisted on the pinecone being dropped if someone was hit. So if the little flyer collided with the spiketail….
Ruby had the same idea as she began to catch up on the spiketail’s head start. However, there was a hidden threat that she had overlooked…
“Hey!”
Cera nonchalantly used her horns to lift Ruby over her and continue to advance as if the fastrunner had not even been there.
Petrie grimaced.
Maybe we need ‘Cera Rule’ even when she not have pinecone!“Pass it to me, Spike! I will catch it, I will, I will!” Ducky called from further up ahead, the small swimmer having been almost forgotten by her opponents.
Petrie went into a steady dive. This was what he had prepared for. He would dive on the pinecone like it was a… No, Petrie, focus!
Spike glanced away from Ducky, spotting a rather tasty looking bush. His sister shouting his name brought Petrie back to what he was doing.
Now my chance! Petrie dove straight at the pinecone just as Spike began to swerve his tail for a pass to his sister. It wasn’t until the pinecone began to rush up to meet him that Petrie realized that there was an issue with his plan.
Not good…Petrie did not so much as catch the pinecone as the pinecone caught him. Soon the two of them were locked in an awkward embrace as they sailed head over wings in a barely controlled tumble into the center of the field of play. It was then that Petrie did the smartest thing that he had done in the entire game.
He let go of the pinecone.
The small flyer struggled to regain his bearing and altitude as his wings fluttered in a blur of activity. He could rapidly tell, however, that he was going to collide with the ground sooner or later. He simply could not fight his momentum as it yearned for the consummation of gravity’s embrace. Thinking quickly, he tucked his wings towards his body and went into a shallow dive towards the least objectionable crash site.
He entered the water with a resounding splash.
Instinctually Petrie allowed his wings to spread open once he was a few body-lengths into the transparent depths. Then, with a smirk in his eyes, he rolled back upright and began to ascend back towards the surface.
Just like Momma show us.He surfaced in a deafening splash as he struck out at the water with a few beats of his wings. It was only then, once his ears could again register the sounds of the terrestrial world, that he realized that his crash had more of an impact that he had assumed.
“Are you okay, Petrie?” Ducky asked, standing at the water’s edge. She’d been about to jump in when Petrie reappeared.
Cera and Littlefoot both appeared on the water’s edge as well, concern evident in their features.
Petrie blinked as realization came to him. His friends had just seen him dive into the water and only come up after some time within its depths. They had only seen that once before… back before they had entered the valley…
Sharptooth might finally have fallen into the dark depths of the pool, offering the children the assurance of safety that they had sought for so long. And, for the longneck, some measure of vengeance. But their victory came at a horrible price.
For their flyer friend had not risen from the watery depths. It now seemed like the pool would serve as his final resting place.
“He was my friend.”
“Poor Petrie.”
“Poor...poor Petrie…”The flyer shook the memories from his head.
“Petrie fine!” he tried to reassure them as he attempted to swim to the shore. This was greatly assisted by Ducky unceremoniously grabbing him and dragging him to the shore. The resulting hug cut off his breathing far more than his controlled dive had done.
“Petrie… can’t… breath…” Petrie choked out despite returning the gesture. It was then that he was let go by his friend and finally could regain his breath.
“Just couldn’t stay away from the action, could you, Petrie?” Cera asked in a mocking tone that was quite obviously forced. Her sarcasm did not reach her eyes, which were instead filled with distress.
Petrie shook some of the water from his wings as his eyes met the gaze of the others. Ruby tilted her head with concern, whereas Chomper’s predatory gaze also shook with worry. Even Spike had a worried look.
“Petrie fine, guys!” Petrie assured once again, now feeling quite awful about his stunt.
Perhaps if crash on land they be less upset? Petrie pondered,
They not know me can...“Maybe we should take a break?” Littlefoot offered finally before Petrie could complete his thought. The sauropod fixed his gaze on Cera before giving her a bit of a nudge.
“Fine! I guess we all need to have lunch with our families anyway.” Cera muttered without any venom. “But you are all going down in the next game!”
“Dream on, Cera! You will only win in your dreams!” Ruby retorted with a smile on her face.
“You’re asking for it, Pinkie!” Cera protested.
Petrie allowed his gaze to fix itself on his playful friends as their concern quickly turned back into playful banter. He knew full well that this was not a sign of shallowness of feeling, but rather a manifestation of the resilience that they all shared. And perhaps, a sign of confidence in his own abilities as well.
But this also provided him that perfect opportunity to sneak out from his faux pas. He had almost shown too much…
“Are you sure you are okay, Petrie?” Ducky asked, unintentionally sneaking up on the flyer.
Petrie nearly squawked as he reared back and put on his best reassuring smile to ease Ducky’s concern. “Me okay! Me just, uh, be me. Me flyer, not swimmer, heh.”
If only Ducky know. A morose thought suddenly entered his head, which he slapped away immediately.
No, she must not know. No one must know.Ducky gave Petrie a skeptical look but otherwise just stood there awkwardly, unsure of what to make of her friend’s reaction. “You would tell me if you were feeling bad, right?”
Petrie could nod truthfully at this. He was indeed feeling well. “Of course, Ducky. Petrie feel fine now.” He looked towards where the pinecone had landed some distance away. “Pinecone just pass Petrie better than Petrie pass pinecone!”
Nothing was said for a few seconds, but as the flyer and swimmer shared another look the inherent hilarity of the situation hit them both. Their laughter echoed against the trees for several moments as their concern turned into relief. In the case of Ducky the relief was for her friend, and in the case of Petrie it was for Ducky feeling better. Only the distant hum of a swimmer’s call interrupted the moment.
“I guess it is time for lunch,” Ducky said before turning towards her brother, “Ready to go home, Spike?”
She was startled to not see her brother where she had expected him to be. But that was when a distant grunt of affirmation called her to action.
“Leave some for me, Spike!” Ducky yelled as she hurried to catch up with her brother. While Spike had never actually eaten everything like he pretended to want to, Ducky wasn’t about to lag behind and risk him changing his mind.
Petrie could only snort in amusement at the scene as the two green dinosaurs faded into the bushes. It took him several moments to realize that he was alone, as the others had evidently taken their leave while he had focused his attention on Ducky and Spike. His stomach, however, made the determination first as it let out a growl.
“Yes, belly. It lunch time.”
Petrie took off into the air with a single beat of his wings, although the hungry flyer had no idea that his ascent had been watched.
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The snapping shell was utterly unaware it was being watched as it went about its business in the water. Like a solitary rock it stood defiantly in the blue depths, only detectable by the most powerful flyer eyes or the persistent beak of the most desperate fastrunner.
Petrie frowned. Luckily for this snapping shell Ruby was nowhere to be found, and his beak could not penetrate its shell even if he tried.
No. His eyes were on other prey.
He scanned the waters around him as its depths were completely open to him. With the sole exception of the slightest bit of distortion and a bluish hue the bottom of the lake was as clear to him as the verdant fields that surrounded them all.
He narrowed his eyes as he continued scanning. The excellent vision of the flyers was not a secret to anyone, but its purpose could never be shared.
Never.
Petrie sucked in a deep breath as the amazing scent of moisture calmed his nerves. It was one of the hardest parts of his existence to keep his secret, and it wasn’t like he didn’t find himself being tempted to let it slip on an almost daily basis. Sure, he used his eyes to help Chomper find new buzzers… and sure, he was the eyes in the skies for his friends, but still…
A grunt left his beak.
Enough of that. It lunchtime and lunch not catch self.The thoughts went silent then. They always went silent when he focused on his gift. The gift of his kind. The gift that could never be spoken of.
The slightest hint of movement caught his attention as his head focused with deliberate stillness upon the minute waves in the lake. It took only a few seconds before the wave pattern repeated once again.
Petrie smiled. The gift never let him down.
He leaned forward on his perch as the branch barely registered his presence. At the same time he counted the body-lengths as if he were making a silent prayer. Then, extended his wings out, he prepared himself for the dive.
Unlike the pinecone he resolved to be the one doing the catching this time.
Petrie did not take his eyes off of the disturbance in the water as he said the customary blessing.
Oh, Bright Circle, guide my wings, guide my beak, and guide my eyes.He let go of his perch.
…Thank you for food Petrie about to take…The water blurred below him as he descended towards its depths with a speed that any outsider would have mistaken for a lack of control. He, however, knew exactly what he was doing. As Petrie counted off the body-lengths, he prepared to extend his wings at exactly the right time.
The scent of moisture was now overwhelming as the misty air threatened to consume him like a sky puffy on a stormy day. But it would take more than that to break his concentration.
Now!In a swift movement Petrie extended both wings, turning his downward fall into a sudden lurch forward as he extended his head and neck forward as if he were reaching for something just out of reach. Then, with an instinctual jerk, he dunked his beak towards the water.
The fish never stood a chance.
The surge away from the water was always the most intense and challenging part of the hunt, and this was no exception. But just like the initial strike at his prey, his wings seemed to know what to do as his heart rate and wings synchronized into a blistering crescendo of activity. Within moments, however, his body struggled over the threshold of the shore which finally allowed Petrie to drop his body and its precious cargo.
His delicious catch was torn into before he even had time to settle onto the ground. It completely disappeared down his throat shortly thereafter.
“Ahem.”
Petrie’s blood ran cold as the clearing of a throat tore through his consciousness. Where once was the fog of contentment there was now the sudden chill of realization.
Ruby glared at the flyer, her hands firmly planted on her hips. “Is there something you want to tell me, Petrie? Because I think you have a lot to tell.”
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The fastrunner’s glare did not abate as the flyer stared back in slack-beaked shock. Her words had shattered the flyer’s complacency like a thunderbolt shooting through the sky. In one moment his world was filled with contentment, brilliant colors, and the welcome sounds of the natural world. Then, in the next, everything seemed to grow silent and still. It was as though he and her were the only two creatures in existence, which was not a pleasant perception considering that Ruby appeared ready to bite his wings off without a second thought.
Petrie swallowed. “Petrie can explain...”
Ruby did not stir. She did not even change her expression as the flyer opened his mouth again to provide the promised explanation, but no words were forthcoming. Suddenly Petrie’s mind was blank at the horror of what the revelation of his secret would entail.
He barely suppressed the urge to take flight when his vision was suddenly filled with an enormous pink beak.
“For someone explaining, you are not doing much explaining!”
Petrie’s ability to speak, already nonexistent, faded into memory as Ruby’s harsh words echoed in his mind. This is what he had always feared. Worse still, it was what he always hated - the secret. The secret Mama had always told him to keep. Now the secret appeared to be costing him a friend, and he knew that it would not stop at just Ruby.
He did not know exactly what he was doing at that moment even as his body acted on its own volition. With Petrie refusing to fly away from what it perceived as a pink threat, and with his beak being unable to explain his actions, his body settled on the third and final option. With a suddenness that surprised even the fastrunner, Petrie folded his head into his wings and began to sob.
“Petrie?” Ruby asked, managing to sound both concerned and confused at the same time as she tilted her head in an inquisitive manner.
“Petrie not want to keep secret!” he suddenly exclaimed in a screech that was both muted and unnerving, “And now Petrie fail! Everyone be mad! Maybe family lose valley… Maybe Petrie lose friends… why Petrie be so stupid?” Petrie did not look up as he screamed his recriminations at himself through his wings, muffling them into incoherence. It took a few moments before his frantic words faded into mute hyperventilation.
“Petrie. Petrie. Petrie!” Ruby said increasingly insistently as she tried to get the flyer’s attention.
The repeating of his name only confirmed what Petrie feared in his mind. Ruby was so mad at him that all she could do is shout his name over and over again…
He blinked. Then why did she sound concerned?
Sheepishly, and without dry eyes, he put down his wing and looked up at the fastrunner. The same mute incomprehension reigned over his mind, but this time his beak knew what it wanted to say.
“Sorry…”
Ruby watched Petrie as the flyer simply stared at the ground. “Sorry that you got caught keeping a secret?”
Petrie shook his head as he continued to stare at the ground, crestfallen. “Sorry that me keep secret in first place. Momma always say we have to keep secret because ground-walkers not understand. Now Petrie ruin everything!”
“You haven’t ruined everything, Petrie.”
This made Petrie’s head snap upwards. “What you mean? Now everyone know, everyone be mad, everyone want flyers to go away.”
“I don’t want you to go away; and the others won’t want you to go away,” Ruby reassured with a sympathetic, if exasperated look, “We’re mad that you told us nothing.”
Petrie swallowed and then nodded. “Me know, and everyone have right to be mad. But what if Petrie say it before? Then everyone know we fish-munchers!”
“Petrie, you’re talking to a ‘fish-muncher’,” Ruby replied as she pointed to her beak, “The others don’t hate me. Do you?”
Petrie shook his head emphatically, “No, but that not point…”
“That point looks like a point to me!” Ruby affirmed before continuing to stare at the flyer with something indiscernible in her eyes. It was like Ruby was sizing up her friend in a new way for the first time.
Petrie sighed before looking down again. “With flyers it different. We fly, so others may think we snatch up eggs or babies!” He made an almost comical gesture as he raised his wings in an intimidating gesture that wouldn’t scare a tinysaurus, “That why Momma tell Petrie and siblings to keep it secret. If others only see us eat treestars, then maybe they keep thinking we not bad flyers.”
“Then just tell your friends,” Ruby said, “We’re not going to tell anyone. Just make sure that you talk to us.”
Petrie took a deep breath. “Telling secret not only what Petrie worried about…”
The fastrunner appeared to consider the flyer’s words for a moment as he trailed off. Then, with a nod, she got straight to the point of the matter. “You are worried that your friends will feel betrayed?”
This made the flyer look down crest-fallen as he merely nodded in response. But there was something in his movement, something indistinct, which made the fastrunner wait. She could sense that Petrie was not done.
Little did any of them know that their conversation was being watched by a silent observer.
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Ducky held on to her collection of sweet bubbles for dear life as the conversation played itself in front of her. Gone was any thought of bringing these to her flyer friend to cheer him up after his injury. Instead, in its place, was confusion and stunned silence.
“Me not want to hurt friends! Entire reason Petrie keep this secret is to protect friends! Why does Petrie have to fail so hard…”
The small swimmer held her breath as Petrie’s words barely registered above the gentle rustling of the waves. But what Ducky could hear was more than enough. Her own hurt was one thing, but the sorrow of her friend was something else entirely. It made her own sense of shock and betrayal fade into the background.
“Petrie… what is done is done. But you will not be helping anyone by keeping this inside. I am what I am and you are what you are. Our friends have accepted a half-tooth and a sharptooth already… so what is another, uh…”
“But me have no teeth…”
“Uh, maybe, fish-beak?”
Ducky covered her eyes as her body gave up a snort at the absurdity of it all. If any hint of malice remained in her then it faded with that display of Petrie’s innocence. This was her friend. The same Petrie who cared for his friends and who wouldn’t hurt a buzzer. The fact that he would hurt a fish did not particularly matter to her at the moment. Her friend was in distress.
With a defiant look that would have given even Cera pause, she rose from the bush that served as her cover. In the process she dropped her collected pile of sweet bubbles.
After all, it was obvious that Petrie favored other food now…
-------
“Uh, maybe, fish-beak?”
Petrie considered his friend’s words with more than a little bemusement. It was so absurd, yet comforting to hear Ruby’s uncertain yet well thought-out comments on a time so overwrought as this. But ultimately the underlying situation remained: one of his friends knew his secret. Now nothing would be the same again.
It was then that he heard it. It was barely perceptible, but it was there all the same. The sound of rustling bushes and trampled grass.
Ruby’s shocked face, with beak agape, confirmed what he had heard. With deliberate slowness he turned around to see what cruel fate had decided to impose upon him… and he was not prepared for its judgement.
Against the verdant bush, the swimmer’s silhouette barely registered in the flyer’s eyes. Nonetheless, with each of her footsteps, his breaths became shallower and shallower.
This was it. His secret was out.
He watched, as if powerless to control his destiny, as the swimmer strode up to his position. In her footsteps and lack of obvious emotion he caught an obvious sign of the threehorn influence. It was now obvious that his betrayal had caused his friend to assume the most harsh demeanor in preparation for what she would have to do. Obviously a betrayal like this would only justify one punishment. Petrie would have to be disowned.
And as the swimmer extended her hands he accepted the inevitable. He deserved whatever physical violence the swimmer sent his way…
He did not expect to be rendered breathless by a hug from the swimmer for the third time that day.
“Petrie can’t breathe!”
Ducky took a deep breath as if to will herself not to throttle the hapless flyer. At the same time she fixed her eyes upon his as if to stare into his soul. “Petrie, we trusted-ed you with our lives, so I do not know why you did not trust us in return, no, no, no!”
Despite the genuineness of her sentiments, or perhaps because of them, Petrie looked down.
“Petrie… Petrie be idiot.”
He was rendered breathless by yet another hug as Ducky stared straight into his captive eyes. Much to his surprise he could not move from the swimmer’s steadfast grip.
Ducky gave him a weak smile. “Yes, Petrie is being a bit of an idiot, he is, he is! Why did you think you needed to keep a secret from me? We have been friends for so long, we have, we have!”
The swimmer’s question was clear and her subject was obvious, and despite that Petrie’s answer was anything but. In the end he could only give an obvious answer.
“Uhh…. me idiot? Me not know if you hug me or punch me for keeping secret.”
This was simultaneously the right and wrong answer as Ducky nudged him in the wing, sending him down to the ground. Then, as if to mock the original gesture, she hugged him again.
Petrie blinked.
Me hate being right.[/color]
The moment seemed to lag into eternity as the swimmer did not relent in her almost frantic embrace of her friend. Just like before Petrie was faced with a green dinosaur maintaining almost a vice-like grip on his features as he took it upon himself to regret his previous life decisions.
Petrie clenched his eyes shut.
At least Ducky not hate me!He was then forcefully dropped.
Me think…The little flyer rose from his unexpected perch on the ground as Ducky looked back at him with a pointed expression. He swallowed, although he was now more prepared for whatever she had to say. At least now he did not have to fear for their friendship.
“Even if you did not feel comfortable about telling the others, you could have told me.”
Ducky’s words hit hard even though he was prepared for them. Ever since Chomper there was no question on whether the gang was willing to accept those of ‘alternative dietary preferences’, as long as those preferences did not include the gang. But the subtext in her query was obvious here: I trusted you, so why did you not trust me?
Petrie looked down for a moment as he nodded contritely at her condemnation. “Me should have. Petrie too much of a scaredy-egg and… and Petrie swore promise to Mama.”
He took a deep breath.
“Me had to choose between family and friends, and me… choose family.”
Petrie immediately regretted how cold his words sounded once they escaped from his beak, but ultimately the sentiments were true. He had to think not only of himself but also of his siblings, Mama, and the other flyers. If they were forced to leave this safe valley because of his big fat beak, then what would that make him?
When Petrie finally looked up he was somewhat surprised to see Ducky nod thoughtfully.
“Family is important. For us swimmers it is almost everything,” Ducky noted before giving Petrie a serious look, “But I would never make you choose between family and me, Petrie. As long as it hurts no one, Ducky can keep a secret, too. Yep, yep, yep.”
Petrie’s eyes met her shimmering eyes then as if to stare into her very soul. Was she saying what he thought she was saying? That she would have shared his secret?
Petrie nodded and offered a kind smile. “Thank you… but me think Petrie keep this secret long enough. Just… just make sure Petrie’s big, stupid beak not hurt family.”
Ducky’s hand was on Petrie’s shoulder in an instant. “Do not worry. I will make sure of it.”
Ruby looked upon the scene with a broad smile as she watched the two friends reach an understanding. Then, sensing the time had come to act before anyone lost their resolve, she decided to speak.
“Maybe we should explain all this to our friends?” Ruby suggested.
Petrie looked up as if to request wisdom from the most resolute dinosaur. It took several moments but eventually Ducky looked down upon him with a forced smile and a heavy sigh.
“An explanation to friends might go better than an explanation to strangers! Yep, yep, yep!” Ducky finally affirmed with more than a little amusement.
“Me hope so! Explanation leave Petrie breathless right now!” Petrie protested in the most anemic manner possible.
------------
“Alright, so we are here… can we get on with it now?”
The threehorn’s annoyed tone did not match her eyes as she hesitantly watched the exchange of looks between Petrie and Ducky, and then between Petrie and Ruby, and then back again. As much as she did not want to admit it she was getting nervous at the implications. Had Petrie found something bad? The constant glances was driving her bonkers. If whatever they knew was so horrible that the three were being apprehensive, then the rest of them had best hear it now so that they could deal with it!
Cera turned towards her sauropod friend as if looking for him to second her call. Instead she merely saw his gaze take on a concerned expression as he caught the general vibe of this meeting.
But truth be told, she could not blame him. Since when did Ducky ever call an important meeting, let alone set conditions on Cera before it even began?
“I want you to promise to listen to everything Petrie has to say before you say anything.”Cera took a deep breath in an unsuccessful attempt to calm her offended threehorn pride. At least Ducky had asked her about it in private…and she would comply for the sake of her close friendship. But that didn’t mean that she had to be happy about it!
Ruby took in a deep breath before giving Petrie a look. It was only when the flyer reluctantly gave her a nod that she finally spoke. “Petrie wanted to tell us all something very important. Since he is being fair to us and telling the truth, I think it is only right that we should also be fair to Petrie and keep his secret.”
Cera blinked for a few moments as the words echoed in her head. Telling the truth… secret. She then looked back at the diminutive flyer. Seriously, what kind of big secret could Petrie hold?
Spike murmured with concern as Ducky walked back to her usual place at his side. Chomper, meanwhile, walked over to Littlefoot as if he were unsure what to do in this situation. This left Petrie in front of them all, acting as if he were facing a jury of his peers. The only thing behind him was the stream and half of a fish that Chomper apparently didn’t finish.
Cera held back a disgusted look. Now was probably not the time.
“Um…” Petrie finally began, his wings hunched over as if he were weighed down by some unseen weight, “...Petrie want to start by saying me sorry. Sorry for keeping big secret from you all. Me told to do so by Mama and she have good reasons… but me should trust you. Me should have told you all long time ago!”
Cera felt her stomach sank at the flyer’s words. This was obviously something quite significant if it had worked Petrie up this much. True, he had never exactly been the group’s outstanding voice of bravery, but whatever he was holding in was obviously eating at him.
“Whatever it is, you can tell us, Petrie.” Littlefoot soothed with a reassuring nod.
Spike nodded as well before offering an affirmative grunt.
“Yeah! This wouldn’t be the first time you guys have kept a secret!” Chomper exclaimed before pointing at himself awkwardly, “Like me!”
For some reason the last affirmation coming from Chomper appeared to make Petrie even more nervous as he eyed the half-eaten fish at the water’s edge.
For the love of the Great Egg, Chomper, what have we told you about not leaving bits around! Not only is it disgusting, but it creeps out the little guys! Cera fumed to herself as Petrie actually walked towards the disgusting remnant in the awkward gait of his kind, Heck, it kind of creeps me out!
It was then that Petrie turned around and gestured at the fish with an almost sorrowful expression.
“This my secret.”
And then he consumed the fish in one swift gulp.
------------
Ever since he had been a yearling Littlefoot had remembered being warned about the Tharn, the dangerous paralysis of uncertainty that came with tremendous fear. From the horrors of losing his mother, to surviving in the Mysterious Beyond, and to his and his friends’ adventures, he had assumed that he was immune from the effects of this terrible aliment that often affected leaf-eaters. But now, as his mouth and legs refused to obey the commands coming from his flat head, he realized the error of his assumptions. All he could do is stare blankly at the flyer before him. He looked like Petrie. He sounded like Petrie. But he had just swallowed a fish whole. Under such circumstances he said the most intelligent assessment that he could manage.
“What?”
The reaction from Spike was less restrained as the spiketail quickly hurled himself headfirst into the nearest bush, before peeking out as if unsure what he was looking at. It was a sentiment that Littlefoot could relate to.
Chomper, meanwhile, had an almost conflicted expression on his face as gleeful eyes at finding a new sharptooth friend were joined by an unreadable expression that this friend was one who he’d already known.
But, then again, did they really know him? If Petrie was a sharpbeak then what else was a lie? What could any of them believe?
As Littlefoot stared back at the flyer he could see that the damage had already been done from their combined reaction to his demonstration. Gone was the reluctant certainty that the flyer had shown previously and in its place was a resigned sag of his head. Only Ruby and Ducky’s resolute expressions behind him showed support amidst the horrified expressions.
Littlefoot swallowed. This was still Petrie. Whatever he was, he had always been. And, as his friends, they owed it to him to find out what that was.
“Y-you… you’re a sharpbeak, Petrie?” Littlefoot choked out before taking a step forward in order to take the initiative before his body lost its resolve. “H-how long have you known?”
Petrie swallowed. “Petrie always know. We… my kind prefer fish.”
This hit him hard. This was not a matter of Petrie keeping a dark secret about himself, this was him sharing a dark secret about his kind. His entire kind. How could no one else in the valley know about this? It was unthinkable…
Littlefoot blinked. But he had seen it with his own eyes. And it was Petrie who was willing to finally share it with them. Despite the feeling of betrayal… Littlefoot knew it was right to offer his understanding, even if his mind was actively rebelling against the new information.
He walked forward and gave Petrie the slightest hint of a reassuring smile. “I’m sure it took a lot of courage to tell us this, Petrie. But you understand if we…”
It was at exactly that moment that Littlefoot was pushed aside as a yellow threehorn burst forth towards the hapless flyer.
“Cera!”
--------------
Petrie could only look on in horror as the threehorn barrelled towards him at tremendous speed. Had the reveal of his secret finally set the threehorn off? Regardless of whatever her rampage would bring Petrie remained stationary. Well, as stationary as his shaking legs would allow him to be. It was then that he saw Ducky step in front of him as if to offer protection.
“Now, Cera! Be nice to Petrie, he… ah!”
In one swift movement Cera dropped her horned nose down and tossed the swimmer onto her threehorn back without missing a stride. Now it was just Petrie face-to-face with Cera’s intimidating horned face.
Petrie barely opened his beak as if unsure what to say. “Me understand you mad.”
He was nearly knocked down by the force of Cera’s exasperated snort. “Mad? Mad doesn’t even begin to describe it! You’re a sharpbeak! All of you beak-faces are! And you couldn’t even bother helping us when we were running for our lives? Do you have any idea how much it would have helped if you had told us what the sharpteeth were saying?”
This made everyone stop. Even Ducky appeared to pause from her perch on Cera’s back.
Petrie frowned. “It would help if Petrie knew sharptooth. But Petrie only know flyer and leaf-eater. Sharptooth only sound like roars and grunts to Petrie.”
Cera looked down with an appraising look. “So you don’t know what they are saying?”
Petrie shook his head. “Not a clue.”
Why she not hurt Petrie?Cera moved her tongue within her mouth as if collecting her thoughts, but her glare did not leave Petrie’s face. “And you only eat fish?”
Petrie nodded readily, “And some tree stars and sweet bubbles! Sometimes they okay.”
She sighed. “And let me guess, your mom does not want anyone to know because she is afraid that we would chase them off.”
Petrie hesitantly nodded. “That… why Petrie not want to tell. Petrie scared.”
Cera leaned down so that her snout touched Petrie’s chest, making him retreat slightly. “Petrie, I swear to you two things. One, I will not allow your family to be chased out of the valley.”
The flyer’s heart threatened to beat out of his chest. This was going better than he could have possibly hoped for, especially considering that this was Cera they were talking about. “And… the other thing?” he prodded timidly.
Petrie let out a yelp as he was quickly pinned down by the threehorn’s massive snout. “If you ever keep a secret like this from us again, then you will be a smudge on my foot!”
The sudden lurch made Ducky fall from her unexpected perch on Cera’s back, landing right next to her flyer friend. Then, without missing a beat, Cera stormed off. She had said her piece.
Almost.
“I am going to give your mom a piece of my mind!”
Petrie struggled to get up as his wings burned with the sudden desire to fly off after his friend before she ruined everything. Thankfully the task of averting this outcome was not left to his wings.
But to a certain longneck’s tail.
“Oomph!”
Petrie was only able to see Cera tumble to the ground as Littlefoot’s tail quickly disappeared from the scene lest his friend find out the source of her unfortunate fall. When Cera arose to look for anything to ram for her sudden misfortune she only saw an innocent-looking longneck who was not even looking in her direction. With a grimace and a defiant grunt she began to continue on her way.
“I have an idea, Cera.”
The threehorn nearly tripped again upon the longneck’s interruption, but she was able to avoid losing face a second time. Instead she turned around with an annoyed expression.
“If it doesn’t involve knocking some sense into a flyer, then I don’t care!”
Petrie was now well on his way to the threehorn as he prepared to defend his mother’s honor. “Don’t hurt Mama! She only want what best for…”
He was quickly silenced by a pair of pink hands which quickly secured his beak and body in a firm, yet delicate grip. Not now, Ruby! Me try to save Mama!
“If we confront Petrie’s Mom then she will know that he gave up the secret,” Littlefoot explained, “We can’t do that to Petrie!”
This made the threehorn pause for several moments as her head bobbed a few times as if contemplating the possibilities, “But we can’t let this go on! What if someone else finds one of Petrie’s brothers or sisters eating a fish? Do you think my Dad would ask any questions before getting stomp-happy!?”
“Your Dad not need any help being stomp-happy!” Petrie attempted to say, but thankfully for everyone involved it came out as a distorted collection of muffled sounds against Ruby’s hands.
“Littlefoot’s right, Cera!” Ruby exclaimed as she continued to cradle the flyer in her hands, “We need to make Mom know she was wrong without making everything wronger.”
This made Chomper nod in agreement. “Yeah!” But then he looked uncertain all of a sudden. “How do we do that?”
Petrie’s eyes welled with hope.
Maybe Littlefoot have idea!Littlefoot sheepishly looked around at that point as if noticing everyone’s gazes converging onto him for the first time. “Um… I haven’t quite figured that out yet.”
Cera’s eyes narrowed. “Well, I have! We go up to Petrie’s mom and tell her that we saw one of Petrie’s brothers munching on a fish! Petrie is clear, we get to knock some sense into the beak-brain, and everyone is…”
“Then Mama punish all us young flyers!” Petrie exclaimed in horror, “It not like Mama stupid like Petrie. Mama never get caught with fish!”
The flyer sighed in annoyance at the whole situation. The reveal of his secret had gone better than he could have possibly hoped, but now another ugly possibility had presented itself. Who was he to tell his friends not to talk to his mother? Or to the valley? Sure they had all kept secrets before, but this was different. Wasn’t it?
It was then that he looked up and noticed that every one of his friends was staring at him.
What Petrie do now?Ruby put a finger to her beak. “You know, Petrie, that might be a good idea…”
Petrie looked around with concern, noting the sudden air of agreement between his friends as Littlefoot and Cera shared a knowing nod. It was then that he swallowed hard.
Me hope it good idea. Me not even sure what idea Petrie think of!----------
The next morning:Volant murmured to herself as the blissful veil of sleep lifted from her mind, replacing the welcome darkness with a darkness that was almost as welcome. As her consciousness slowly returned fully, so did the sounds of the early morning. Buzzers chirping. The distant mating call of a tiny biter. The gentle rustling of the plentiful vegetation below. And, somewhere, the tell-tale splash of a gulping fish.
Her eyes snapped open. Breakfast wouldn’t catch itself.
She stretched her wings to their maximum extent as the unwilling joints groaned with annoyance at their owner’s enthusiasm. But they soon relented as her muscles worked out their tensions in one brief spasm of anticipation. It was only then that she closed her wings and checked on the contents of the family’s nest. It was only when she counted nine sleeping forms twice, and then triple-checked to make sure Petrie was still there for good measure, that she nodded with some reassurance.
I can never tell with Petrie, she thought with amusement, Though, truth be told, with how Grandma Longneck was saying the kids were acting last night she was almost convinced that Petrie and his friends would be off on some adventure tonight. The fact that her gut feeling was wrong for once filled her with reassurance.
As she took off she did not notice the smirk on Petrie’s face.
The scent of the morning air rushed into Volant’s nostrils as she bounded into the open air with the grace that could only come from years of experience. Knowing just the right amount of distance to ensure a safe egress, she opened her wings when she was five body-lengths from her cliffside home. She quickly gained altitude as her wings caught the moist air and her beak aimed for the distance, unseen clouds.
Just as quickly as she had arose, she now felt absolutely awake.
A dark morning. To be expected with the hidden Night Circle, she thought to herself as she altered her angle of ascent so as to avoid the usual flight paths of the other morning fishers. A flyer always had to know her weaknesses, and her eyes were not as effective in the darkest of mornings. All it would take is one swift flyer crashing into her to result in nine orphaned children. As a result she was careful to direct her path towards the open lake, letting its moisture guide her path. The light of the stars would give her silhouette enough distinctiveness to deter any possible collision from her fellow flyers.
Her nostrils caught the scent path quickly as she adjusted her orientation to match its findings. As she did so Volant struggled to see any details from the ground below. Even though the darkness would provide some cover, she knew that all it would take is one pair of eyes to ruin absolutely everything. After all, if it was light enough for her to fish, then it was light enough for some leaf-muncher to see her.
With the utmost caution, she looked around.
The darkness of the canopy of morning fog still kept its watchful vigil over much of the valley, casting an opaque haze over its denizens and keeping both them and her from their respective gazes. As her eyes trailed over the gentle waves of the lake, however, she could clearly see the light of the stars and the first beams of sunlight reflecting upon its depths. There was nothing there to hide anything from view, apart from one’s eyesight.
She took a deep breath as a cursory glance at the water’s edge confirmed that no one was present. Not even the earliest risers of the swimmers had arrived at the usual swimming spots. She supposed she would not get a better chance at a clean dive than now. It would be a risk… but then again they all were.
She did not waste anymore time with such unproductive thoughts as she brought herself into a controlled turn, modifying her flight path into one that followed the water’s edge and allowed her eyes to fixate on the scattered and distorted beams of light emitting from the horizon. Beams that allowed only the gentle waves of the water to appear against the black void. To anyone else it would not have been much at all, but to an expert fisher it was all that was needed. Any fish disturbing the surface would stand out like a yellowbelly at a valley meeting.
She allowed herself to let out a sigh as she allowed her wings and eyes to seamlessly scan the waters for any hint of a viable meal.
I will need to teach the kids how to do this soon. But it is always dangerous the first few times. I still remember…She quickly dove as her eyes caught movement in the water. But then, just as suddenly as the dive had commenced, she rose back to her original altitude. It had merely been a hopper jumping to a new perch.
Volant continued to scan the waters.
Aunt Ella lost a child to the training. And she didn’t have to worry about… well, it can’t be helped. As long as we are in the valley we have to keep the secret! It was only now that her path briefly grew erratic before she regained control. Regardless of how much was dependent on instinct, she knew that she would not forgive herself if anything happened to her children. The idea that some of them were even beginning to fish on their own outside of the valley filled her with dread…
That was when she saw it.
It took her a moment to confirm her suspicions, but the tell-tale bobbing of something in the water was unmistakable against the usual rhythm of the waves. Against the gentle fluctuations of the current the mysterious lump appeared to go to and fro, without any obvious struggle. With the apparent size and shape, however, she knew this could only be one thing: a dead fish.
She quickly tucked her wings against her body as the rushing of the air soon filled her ears with a deafening roar. An already dead fish might be a lousy meal, but it was still a meal. And no food, no matter how meager, should be turned down under the Bright Circle’s gaze. With the same degree of willingness and majesty that she would show for a proper live fish she quickly descended through the air, before turning her dive into a controlled arc. Then, with a sudden lurch, she extended her beak to grasp upon the welcome flesh. As soon as its weight and taste registered in her beak, she quickly adjusted into a level flight with the water. Then, with a graceful landing on the dew-drenched grass, she tore into her meal.
Bright Circle, thank you for this meal I have taken, she mentally affirmed as she quickly consumed the fish in a swift gulp. Though to anyone looking upon the scene it would have been uncertain whether her speed was due to a desire for secrecy or due to the taste of her catch. With the last bite, she grimaced and licked the inside of her mouth.
“Fastrunner? That smelled like fastrunner,” she muttered to herself, “Urgh… well, I see why you didn’t want to finish it, Ruby.” She then snorted in amusement at the absurdity of it all. It was almost tragic that Chomper and Ruby could never know the secret and know that they were not truly alone. But it simply had to be.
“It was better when it was fresh.”
The flyer went numb as the soft words echoed in her consciousness like something from a distant dream. Wordlessly she turned to look over at the unseen voice as the unmistakable pink hue of the fastrunner appeared through the grass. As if to mock the flyer and her growing terror the fastrunner merely extended a hand and waved nonchalantly.
Not good. Not good at all. Volant’s mind raced through the possibilities as everything she was seeing registered in her mind in one instant. Fastrunner… knows secret… waved… not scared… left dead fish…
Volant blinked.
Maybe she knew about my kind outside of the valley and never said anything to the valley residents? Yes… yes I can save this… just as long as the others do not know.Volant gave a slight nod to the fastrunner. “So, you know of my kind’s secret?”
Ruby did not react though Volant swore she could see a smirk radiate in the fastrunner’s eyes. “We do.”
The flyer closed her beak and swallowed silently at those two words. “Who is we?”
She could only stare at the fastrunner in trepidation as the grass around them appeared to sway from unseen and unheard winds. Then, in a scene that made her heart skip a beat, five unmistakable forms appeared around her. The gentle spiketail, Spike, and his sister. Chomper, the friendly sharptooth. And a longneck and threehorn duo that both had their gazes fixed squarely on her. It was all too perfect. It was all too choreographed. It was then that everything clicked. She had been tricked!
Volant’s eyes narrowed at the fastrunner as the smirk still gleamed in Ruby’s eyes.
“You planned this!” Volant accused. It wasn’t even a question, it was her stating a fact.
The flyer stared back at the children in shock. Petrie’s friends had always been a curious and intelligent lot (even if at times they had the survival instincts of a yellowbelly) but this kind of deceit was uncharacteristic of them. In the intervening seconds she could feel her shock quickly turning into anger.
“I never put two and two together until I saw you diving one day,” the fastrunner interrupted the flyer’s thoughts with the abruptness of an ambush, “And that is when I realized what I should have always realized! I had seen one of your kind eat fish before!”
Volant blinked as she turned towards Ruby, her face suddenly blank. But as she processed her words she realized where she had gone wrong…
Of course Ruby would have had experience with other kinds in the Mysterious Beyond… and she never misses a detail…“When Ruby mentioned it I thought it was some stupid fastrunner sleep story or something, but I figured there would be no harm in testing it!” Cera affirmed with a snort.
Volant took a step back as Ducky and Spike took a step forward. Despite having the entire sky as a potential refuge she felt like she was backed into a corner with no escape.
It was then that Littlefoot cleared his throat which made the threehorn reluctantly back off with an audible huff. “S- so your kind are fish-munchers?”
Volant swallowed. It had been so easy to feel angry when she realized that she had been tricked, but having her own duplicity be laid out made that anger turn inward. She had brought this upon herself.
“Yes. Yes we are.”
Volant closed her eyes for a moment.
So this is it… how am I going to make this better? The valley will never accept this news… us flyers will be pariahs! And if they think we are threats and any of the children get too close to the ground… Urgh! What do I do? She did not even realize that she had her head in her wings until she felt the slightest tap on her side.
She jerked back and only calmed down when she saw the small swimmer looking up at her.
“I know that you are scare-ed, but why? Ruby eats fish, and we are not afraid of her.”
“And I eat fish too!” Chomper affirmed, earning a sigh from the nearby threehorn.
“But neither of them lied to us,” Littlefoot added in an uncharacteristically cold tone before looking up at her with a hurt expression. “You never mentioned this, and Petrie never mentioned this…” He shook his head. “Why?”
The elder flyer looked down, ashamed. “Children, please don’t blame Petrie. I told him and all of his brothers and sisters to keep the secret.”
Littlefoot nodded but did not relent. “Why?”
This made the flyer put a wing to her face.
Why indeed?The gang stared at the flyer for several moments as she collected her thoughts. Those several moments turned into what seemed like an eternity as they began to look at one another questioningly. It was as if they were concerned that they had broken the elder flyer.
“It… was done to keep the Great Herd together. Back in those days few knew of our secret, and the rest could be convinced that we were different from the other kinds of flyers. Though to be honest, deception was not my first choice.”
Littlefoot turned back towards the flyer, surprised at her words. “It wasn’t?”
Volant shook her head. “It was suggested to me, and I agreed to it.”
The threehorn stared at the makeshift nest in the distance with a mixture of protectiveness and envy. The Mysterious Beyond could be cruel and fates uncertain… but after what he had lost he would give anything to make sure no one else in his herd had to go through the same pain.
His family was gone, but others could still remain. He owed it to the herd. He owed it to himself. But most of all he owed it to his fallen mate and daughters.
An inner fire appeared to gleam in his eyes. No matter how distasteful this was… the alternative was worse.
“You wanted to talk, Threehorn?”
Topps barely suppressed a roar at the flyer’s sudden arrival. It only took a slight lifting of his head to see the flyer perched on the dead tree which stood like a monolith against the expanse of desolation around them. He fixed her with a glare but made no aggressive moves.
“You flyers have been following us ever since the dry river. Are you following because you think that we know the way? Or are you after a free meal?”
Volant had no obvious change in expression before answering. “You don’t know the way, and neither do we, but there is protection in numbers.”
Topps nodded. “You fear the big sharpbeaks.”
Volant returned the nod. “We do. Better to take the risk and land on a threehorn’s back than to be ripped to pieces in the air.”
The threehorn sighed. “You did find us water.”
Volant remained silent at this, allowing the threehorn to finish his thoughts.
Instead he turned around as if to ignore the flyer as he fixed his gaze on the nest in the distance. And to the longneck’s beyond.
Damn that longneck and his stupid idea!
But the nest was still there. A reminder of what they still had to lose.
‘Fine! I’ll… do it for you, Amber…’ He swallowed as a memory of his mate appeared in his mind... ‘Basher, Reva, Sana, Cera…’
Volant looked around awkwardly as the threehorn continued his silence. When his voice did come again it nearly startled her off of her perch.
“I will be honest, flyer. Most of the far-walkers are stupid.”
Volant blinked but continued to say nothing. If the threehorn was going to malign those who couldn’t fly, then she wasn’t going to stop him.
“But those of us who have been around know what you flyers do. And we know that all of you are sharpbeaks, even if small ones.”
Volant rolled her eyes dryly. “So you want us to fly off with the buzzers?”
Topps gritted his teeth. “Yes, but this is more important than what I want.”
Volant grew silent. She had not expected this.
The threehorn composed himself and sighed heavily. “I am sure if that stupid flathead and I say that we remember seeing leaf-munching flyers, than the other far-walkers will tolerate your presence. Your kind aren’t the really dangerous ones anyway.” He snorted darkly. “None of us are fish.”
Volant was nearly left speechless. Part of her wanted to thank the threehorn for his generosity or to give additional assurances that any eggs would be safe, but she knew how threehorns behaved. As a result she took a safer route. A route that would appeal to both his ego and skills as a leader.
“The others are that stupid?”
Topps snorted. “Oh yes! Without us threehorns keeping everyone in line, this herd would be doomed! Now let’s get this nonsense over with. Without some eyes in the skies we will be little more than a bunch of bones!”
And with that Volant flew in a wide circle as this threehorn led her and some other curious flyers towards this unusual herd of many leaf-munching kinds.
And my kind… well… at least I won’t have to keep up this lie for long! --------
Volant sighed. “And now, four Cold Times later, here we are.”
“Wha... My dad did... What?” Cera couldn’t quite seem to get the words out. She couldn’t think straight. Her dad had been directly involved in this little deception, and she hadn’t had a clue.
“Whoa,” was all her longneck friend could muster out at first, as Spike let out an incoherent exclamation that challenged Littlefoot’s for brevity. It was obvious that the revelation that his grandparents had known all along was still sinking in.
Ultimately it was the fellow sharptooth who broke the awkward silence.
“So he did this to protect everyone? That is pretty nice for Mr. Threehorn.”
Ruby interrupted before Cera could recover from her stupor and take offense at Chomper’s comment. “And he did not break the secret afterwards.”
Volant nodded. “We did our part for the herd so he allowed us to stay in the herd. But there have been some close calls.”
“And then came today,” Littlefoot finished.
“And then came today,” Volant affirmed, “You children have always been good at figuring things out, so I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised that it would be all of you that figured it out first. I just wish that this secret could have lasted until Mancha and I raised our kids… now things are going to be…”
“Just fine!” Cera exclaimed, making everyone else look at her in shock. This shock soon turned into curiosity, however, as she began to stare at her friends before muttering something inaudible under her breath. Something that the adult flyer could not overhear.
As Volant continued to watch the scene, however, she could see Cera glance at Chomper, then Ruby, and then the others as nods were exchanged between them. It was like watching a conversation take place without words. All the while the gang slowly began to look more and more confident as some kind of mysterious consensus was reached.
Ruby then turned around and offered a magnanimous smile and two outstretched arms. “We won’t hurt Pet--- you flyers like that. But we do want a little help for a little problem.”
Volant breathed a sigh of relief and gave the fastrunner a grateful nod. “Of course. What can we flyers help you kids with?”
-------------------
The next morning:There were many calls that a young flyer needed to learn in life. Alarm calls, threat calls, identity calls… with each having its own meaning and traditions behind them, as well as the expected responses to hearing each one. But out of a wide array of various calls, there was one in particular that could always be expected to turn even the most patient family of flyers into the most ferocious tempest of chaos imaginable.
“Time to wake up, Little Ones!”
Petrie’s sleep-glazed eyes forced themselves open as the collective groans of his siblings erupted around him. As soon as he opened his eyes, however, he noticed something that made him groan as well.
The Bright Circle not even up yet!As the small flyer forced himself up with his wings, he blinked his eyes in order to remove the sleep that threatened to occlude his vision. It was only when he had rubbed his sleepy eyes with his wings that he could see his almost infuriatingly cheerful looking mother giving them all a reassuring look.
“Now, children, this is how early I usually get up to get the early fish! Aren’t you glad that you get to fish early like Mom?”
She was greeted by another torrent of groans.
This made Volant cross her arms in mock indignation. “Now, children… no complaints! Chomper gets up this early to get his food as well! So show me just how well your training is going!”
This made Petrie and his siblings look at one another in confusion. The same question was plastered on all of their faces: Huh?
Thankfully Volant was there to clarify the situation. “Since Chomper needs red food and all of you kids need additional training, I have come up with the perfect solution! All of you kids can help get fish for Chomper in the morning and we can use this excuse to explain things if any of you are discovered.”
Petrie could only groan at this. He could easily guess who had come up with this idea…
-------------------
“Oof!”
Petrie landed on his perch with a resounding thud. After hours of soaring and diving his wings felt like they were made of wilted treestars. Only his satisfied stomach seemed to approve of the morning’s proceedings, as did a noticeably chipper purple sharptooth.
“Thanks for the help again, Petrie!” Chomper exclaimed as he rubbed his belly once as if to punctuate the point.
Petrie merely offered a polite nod as he relaxed. He had to admit that there was something satisfying about catching his own breakfast for once. If only his brothers and sisters were as proficient…
“Tired?” Petrie’s perch finally spoke.
Petrie did not immediately get up, but he did glare at the back of Cera’s crest as he longued on her back. “You guys gave Mama this idea?”
This made Littlefoot roll his eyes. “Someone insisted…”
“Hey, it did help Chomper with his food finding problem!” Cera protested.
“And it gave me more time to sleep, which is good because I was sleepy.” Ruby acknowledged as she let out a yawn. “Though I guess now you are sleepy.”
The flyer rolled his eyes. “Petrie glad that you noticed. We even now?”
This made everyone stop what they were doing as they looked in Petrie’s general direction. Silenced reigned for several moments until Ducky spoke for them all.
“Yep, yep, yep!”
This made Petrie sigh with relief. Then, despite the protests of his exhausted wings, he forced himself upright. “And it give brothers and sisters excuse if they get caught catching fish. We can just blame it on helping Chomper get red food.”
This made Cera and Littlefoot noticeably cringe, while Chomper shrugged innocently. “Uh… glad to help, I guess!”
This made a good-natured chuckle go through the seven friends as the absurdity of the situation washed over them. Despite the revelations of the previous day there was one fundamental truth that was never in doubt: that no matter what, their friendship would endure for years to come.
