(Well someone pointed out
that yeah, since when do these kids get to just walk back to the Great Valley no extra problems...well it's probably happened sometimes, but not now
Unfortunately. So warning of violence and death in this chapter. No named characters but still, yeah, this sharptooth's kinda hard core. Also, as said, well this is the last actual chapter, though I do have an epilogue afterwards)
XII: Proof of Concept As the runners slowly walked back over towards the others, no one was sure at first what to say. Well mostly no one. "You are all welcome to come with us to the Great Valley, you are". It was sweet little Ducky's voice that said this, gazing right at the matriarch of the runner herd and, even for one so young, seeming, at least as far as she could, to understand the immense grief that now swept through the regal but vulnerable female.
She gave a smile, placing a hand on the swimmer's back, "Thankyou, dear one" her voice was soft with grief. She glanced to her mate. "We should at least escort you back" was his answer. Thus with it decided, they all headed out away from the small enclosed clearing and Harper wished to never see the spot again.
The gang and Guido traveled together in about the middle of the herd, of course, and the other kids right near them since Dinah and Dana seemed to want to stay so close to Cera that they almost tripped her up quite a few times. For once she didn't get onto them though, just sighed, shook her head and continued on. Petrie, also for once, didn't ride but rather flew near where Harper was. This left Ridge walking near the other kids as well, but any awkwardness was soon pushed aside and he and Littlefoot fell to talking.
"So, you're friends of Harpers?".
Littlefoot looked shy as to how to answer this, "Well...more her brother Petrie's friends and he came after her and we came after him" the longneck answered, "not that we wouldn't guard and protect any young one from the Great Valley, I mean...".
"No worries, I understand" Ridge laughed. They walked on for a bit and then Ridge went on, "I hear the rest of my herd's at the Great Valley?". Littlefoot nodded. "Well, knowing them they will probably want to stay" the spiketail went on, "is it really as great as it's made to sound?".
Littlefoot smiled, "Beyond that" he answered.
"No I believe Beyond would be where we are now" Ridge kidded. After such trials and worry, all the children were finding easy laughter.
"Well we think you should stay, Ridge" Harper threw out for what it was worth, "don't we kids" she smiled to Dinah and Dana, urging them on. The little kids smiled and nodded. "Yeah, you should stay!" Dinah said.
"Well I guess it's been decided" Ridge's father laughed, "I'll inform the herd leader of how he's been outvoted by children when we reach the Great Valley" he smiled.
"What about you and your own?" Pterano turned to the runners curiously. "I can attest that the Great Valley is as great a paradise if not better then words make it sound, do you feel you'll be called to stay as well?".
The matriarch smiled as she caught what Pterano was asking, he was finding out whether or not the only herd of ground walkers he'd found in a while to accept him would be abandoning him or not. She wasn't sure why, if the two young ones were his own sister's hatchlings as said, and if his sister did live in the Great Valley, he didn't as well, but it wasn't really a matter she felt she should pry into. Instead she just answered the question put to her.
"I...am not sure of our own plans" she said, "as you've no doubt picked up on, we are a bit of a mystery to most and thus looked at critically a bit".
Pterano nodded, not sure if this was a yes or no, but moving on. He wasn't actively scanning as he should be as the unofficial scout of the herd, but being the only adult flyer he was flying higher up and thus spotted movement up ahead of them. Through a pass they were about to go through, something darted from the right over to the left. It was just a blur but...something felt off and Pterano felt a warning sense flare up. "E-Everyone hold!" he used a normal level of voice and whispered for some reason as yet unknown to himself even.
"Oh, well..." Harper was in the middle of what was probably a defense of those in the Valley to the matriarch, when she was cut off by her uncle's words and the small herd pausing.
"What is it?" Ridge's father asked. Pterano frowned, about to say what he was thinking, how he didn't know, when the answer slowly stepped out.
For most sharpteeth, stealth and speed was their vital weapon; few would casually reveal themselves to a herd. But this small but effective hunter knew where his skills lay and knew the intimidation factor those smart enough to know of him and his kind felt. He smirked in pride and satisfaction as he stepped out and watched the frowns of uncertainty and some fear come over the flatteeth's faces.
The word that held all his power was soon enough whispered out, by Ridge's father, "Spitter..." he backed a step or two up.
"Get around the children, now!" the matriarch whispered to her mate, who was already moving with knowing what he must do and why. He motioned to his herd and they followed him in forming a ring about the nine children and Guido. Pterano flew down closer, mind working through what to do. He'd heard the word and it was one he'd hoped with all his soul had been just an untrue myth of the Mysterious Beyond. Apparently not. Apparently these devils existed.
"W-What's a Spitter?" Harper asked, glancing up to her uncle who had always known everything about everything before. His look was grim and he closed his eyes though, "Sharptooth...with...with a horrible defense that...".
"Look out!" Ridge's father called in warning to the advisor of the runners on the right of the blockade. A hiss came from the sharptooth as a small frill, looking no more than a slight coloration about the neck, flared and...Harper (along with most of the other children) gasped as she caught sight of something her mind couldn't fully process at first. A black liquid came from the sharptooth's mouth and flew across the air before hitting the advisor, the pain causing him to falter outside the protective circle of his fellows. Most, if not all of the kids closed their eyes and glanced aside, but even if they avoided the sight, the cry of the attack to a paralyzed victim sent a chill down each of their spines.
Satisfied he had one victim, the spitter wheeled about to face the herd once more. Suddenly, as he seemed to gear up for another spit to take down more, a blur of blue and green leapt and spun from the side, the matriarch runner delivering a kick straight to the sharptooth's side that sent him skidding down off his feet and across the dirt. Despite the dangerous situation, the kids were impressed. The spitter stopped, on his side, and Ridge's father, seeing an opening, rushed, tail up and aimed his spikes down to finish the sharptooth. He hit only dirt as the spitter rolled out of the way and to his feet though, hissing angrily in a vocalization only before crouching, red and green coloration that denoted a deadly spit appearing again about the neck as he hissed.
"Dad!" Ridge cried in shock and worry as his father prepared to parry. Just as the spitter let lose his acid, though, he found himself reeling again and the shot flew harmlessly past the spiketail by mere inches. As the sharptooth fell over to his side, Ridge's father glanced over and noticed Pterano flapping there after having knocked the spitter down.
The flyer immediately turned his address to the matriarch, "Madam I feel getting out of this pass may be imperative so...".
"Already on it" she didn't even have to hear all he would have said. "Forward" she directed both her runners, the children and adult spiketail.
"Come on" Littlefoot and Ridge both turned and said, giving their typical encouragement needed to get the others moving even before they could consider freezing. Ridge seemed hesitant himself though, along with Petrie as both kept an eye in back of them on their relatives as Ridge's father and Pterano stayed.
"They'll be good, they'll be good, go!" Harper said, despite her own worry, and again in that quiet form of good judgment she wasn't even aware she had that had first paused Ridge from recklessness back in their captivity and now keep him and Petrie moving off from a situation they couldn't help in and would only endanger themselves if they tried.
The spitter stood and shook himself, growling lowly as he noticed majority of his intended other victims escaping. Pterano flapped there covering the exit and then noticed the spiketail wasn't leaving.
"She meant you too!" he called.
"No way, I'm not leaving you to face a spitter alone!" Ridge's father said.
"I can fly away and you ground walkers can't, so you're the one's who must go" the words left Pterano's beak before he could take stock of them.
It is not my fault they couldn't fly away is it?!Pterano hadn't even realized how...far separated that old excuse and this statement on ground walkers and flyers he gave now were, until then. Neither that or how his actions, now, in this pass, were such a far cry from...then as well.
"Well then put those wings to use!" Pterano snapped back to the moment at hand as the spiketail delivered a hit of his tail to the spitter as the sharptooth had tried to gear up for a shot at the distracted flyer.
Pterano gave an abashed smile of thanks to the spiketail after his own lapse in attention.
"Come on!" the patriarch runner, now through the pass with the others, called, "hurry, we can cut off the pass with a rock all set to roll". Both Pterano and the spiketail beat wings and feet to out speed their pursuer and thankfully the spitter wasn't up on flattooth language enough to get the warning ahead of time, so his charge was a few seconds delayed. All the seconds the runners needed to push the rock over and block the sharptooth's pursuit.
They heard the spitter give a few more screeches, but it soon became clear that he was cut off, and he soon ceased his noise, probably moving on to the one victim he had managed to secure, the grim thought hit some. They all still moved off a distance or so before taking breaths. Both Ridge and Petrie rushed over to all but hug the life out of their relatives as they were safe. Harper was relieved Pterano was alright too, of course, but let her smile say this. That and it held a look of pride in him that Pterano had never seen before. Petrie was starting to get that smile too. It was the look you got...when you deserved it.
Both Pterano and the spiketail glanced to each other. Now with their eyes opened a bit, they felt an apology to each other for their slight disagreement a day or so ago was in order, but actions speaking louder than words and all, they'd sort of just taken care of that.
"Ok..." Guido sighing and seeming to pass out on the floor broke the tension, "I can live without ever seeing one of those again!". There were quiet chuckles of agreement as Harper and Petrie helped the glider back up.
(Alright I know you probably all know this by now, but in case you're curious, yes I was using a Dilophosaurus of Jurassic Park fame and skills for the Spitter sharptooth. I didn't find any material on them being fan integrated before so I just came up with what they would probably be called.
)
