Thank you!
And here's the next chapter...WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME, I'M LIKE A DEMON PHANTOM WHATSIT THING WITH ALL THE POWER OF WHO KNOWS WHAT, WHY DO I INSIST ON UPDATING SO QUICKLY...?
Ahem...please enjoy.
Chapter Ten: Pyron’s TaleThe residents of the Great Valley were hardly given time to recover from Kosh’s death when Ulciscor made his next move.
“You two,” he snarled at Topps and Thicknose. “For your crimes, you shall be imprisoned in the secret caverns!”
So saying, four Bludgeoners seized them and wrestled them towards the caverns, but restraint was hardly needed. Seeing Kosh crushed to death before their very eyes had done much to suck out the last of their fighting spirit. The glassy look they gave the anxious population as they were dragged off was one of defeat.
But there was one more nasty twist of fate in store for Topps as he and Thicknose sat sullenly in the cave and a massive boulder was slowly shoved in front of them. Many leaf-eaters had followed them Bludgeoners to the cave entrance, and despite the trepidation, were whispering words of encouragement to the prisoners.
“Don’t worry! You’ll be out soon!”
“Continue the fight…”
“We’ll wait for you…”
But Topps suddenly noticed that his wife, who was standing amongst the crowds, was remaining silent.
Swallowing hard, he leaned forward as close as he could to her and whispered,
“Tria…I…”
Tria shook her head.
“How could you do this?” she hissed. “Don’t you see how dangerous they are?”
“Well…”
“And what about your daughters?” Tria demanded. “How would they cope if their father ended up going the same way as Kosh just because he defied someone?”
“But we can’t let him get away with it!” Topps insisted. “I was fighting to make living in our Valley better for Tricia…and Cera, when she comes back…”
Tria sighed.
“Perhaps. But they wouldn’t find their dad dying worth having the Valley liberated. Their family is more important than their home, and if you’re going to have that sort twisted perspective Topsy…I’m afraid…I can’t do this.”
Topps’ blood ran cold.
“This?” he muttered. “What’s this?”
Tria took a deep breath.
“Us,” she said. “I’m sorry Topps. I wanted it to work too.” She gave him a sad smile, but only got a expression of disbelief in return.
“I’m sorry Topps,” she repeated. “But it’s over. I really hope you get released soon. But after that things will have to change. Goodbye.”
Before Topps could say anything, Tria had walked away, and he retreating figure was the last thing he saw before the boulder was placed firmly over the entrance, imprisoning him and Thicknose inside.
*
“I don’t care what you say Torq,” Nott snapped. “I am not going down that tunnel!”
“But we can’t let ëem get away!” Torq insisted, growling softly.
“I have to admit Nott,” Yuti, who was casually leaning against the wall, added. “You were all for pursuing them earlier, and we have the upper hand. Why stop now? We know this area better than they do.”
Nott glared at her.
“I didn’t ask for your opinion,” he hissed.
Yuti laughed.
“No. You never ask for anyone’s opinion. You just rely on your swollen head.” She smirked. “I think you and that bladeback would get on well…”
Nott kicked the wall angrily.
“Whatever…the point is, there have got to be better ways of pursuing these intruders. Like you said, we know this area better than them. We have to make sure they don’t find the shiny stones.”
Yuti rolled her eyes.
“You and your bloody shiny stones…”
“They belonged to the Stingy Fastbiter!” Nott declared, his eyes slightly mad. “And they’re all we’ve got to live for…”
Yuti’s smirk slipped slightly, and she nodded.
“If you can call it that…the point is, I just live for the sake of living. I’ve got nothing left to live for. That was taken from me a long time ago…no shiny stones that probably came with the cave to begin with are going to fill that space…”
“You mean…” Torq looked confused. “There was no Stingy Fastbiter…?”
“WHEREVER they came from,” Nott interrupted loudly. “They’re ours, not theirs. And we need to do everything we can to make sure these biters are dealt with permanently.”
Torq and Yuti gave affirmative nods.
*
The evening began to settle in, and the setting Bright Circle was casting a magnificent orange glow over the Fanged Forest. Ferox was just beginning to get to his feet, having almost recovered from his injuries from his fight with Kai. He plodded slowly over to join Xal, who was gazing up at the sky, apparently lost in thought.
Ferox cleared his throat.
Xal turned, and was taken by surprise. “Oh, Ferox. You’re standing?”
Ferox nodded. “So it would seem,” he replied.
Xal slowly smiled.
“Excellent,” he said. “You’ll soon be fit enough to serve as a commander in the Piercer Platoon.”
Ferox blinked, wondering if he’d misheard.
“You what?” he said eventually.
“Piercer Platoon,” Xal repeated. “Our foot-soldiers that we will use to vanquish Ulciscor’s Bludgeon Brigade.”
“Wow…” Ferox murmured. “I wasn’t even aware we had an army…”
“Well, they were used when we attacked the Great Valley that first time. And Gigas has been building them up over the years so that they’re stronger and more ruthless than before.”
“Oh yes…” Tyra murmured, walking over with a look of dissatisfaction on her face. “I do remember you saying he could amass a large army…”
“Quite,” Xal replied, his smile slipping slightly.
“What is it with this one?” he thought.
“She can’t seem to accept me as her leader…I shall have to do something about her…soon.”The tension was broken when a belly-dragger waddled up to them.
“Hey, Xal,” she said. Xal glanced down.
“Yes Dil?” he asked.
“A word from Gigas,” she said. “He says the troops are all ready, present and correct. He’d like you to come and inspect them.”
“Certainly,” Xal replied, his smile returning. “Come, you two,” he insisted. “I would like you to come and see our foot-soldiers with me.”
Ferox glanced at his mother.
“You don’t have to-” But she was already shaking her head.
“No. Son, I would like to see what Gigas and Xal constitutes as correct…”
*
Ferox had to admit – the Piercer Platoon were impressive.
They comprised of slender, yet powerful medium-sized sharpteeth, all with powerful jaws, long arms tipped with neatly deadly claws and a strange, triangular-shaped at the base of their tail. Their hide was a sinister leathery black and their eyes yellow and, in Tyra’s opinion anyway, unfeeling.
But even she had to admit – the marching exercise they were doing in unison was certainly well disciplined. They certainly looked like they could be highly useful and effective soldiers in the right hands. But, she thought, as she looked at Xal with the mad gleam in his eye, were Xal’s hands the right ones?
“Very good,” Xal complimented, his grin broadening. “You should keep this up, Gigas.”
Gigas smiled back.
“Oh, I shall…”
Ferox had a faraway look in his eye as he gazed at these Piercers. He was supposed to be a commander of them? Well – he could think of worse positions to be in…
Xal was thrilled with his new foot-soldiers. As everyone else settled down for the night, he continued to watch them in the forest clearing, marching and responding to commands he bellowed at them. He thought he was the only one around, and so it surprised him when he was approached by Tyra.
“Pretty striking stuff, eh?” she murmured as she sidled close to him.
Xal glanced at her.
“Yes,” he said. “And they’re going to be our key to success. Our soldiers will be better than their’s…”
“I’m glad you think so,” Tyra continued. “Perhaps then you’ll stop using kids to do your dirty work for you.”
Xal stared.
“What are you talking about?” he hissed.
“Saureen,” Tyra replied, looking him dead in the eye. “My only granddaughter. You sent her, as well as your own boy, on some crackpot ëmission.’ How could you use kids as weapons?”
Xal seethed.
“For your information Tyra,” he snarled. “Seizon isn’t even my son, he’s my stepson…”
Tyra gave a derisive snort.
“And that makes it all OK does it?”
“Secondly,” Xal snapped, cutting over her. “When we were being attacked by Ulciscor’s henchman, the safest thing to do for them was to send them away. They might as well do something useful to me whilst they’re there, surely?”
Tyra nodded.
“Right…I see…so it’s got nothing to do with the whole ëAmbassador’ thing, then?”
Xal’s eyes widened.
“Yes…” Tyra replied lightly. “I know all about that. Dil told me so – she seemed to be under the impression that everyone knew about it. But you’ve only created that codeword so that anxious parents and grandparents like me and Ferox can’t know what you’re up to!”
Xal didn’t reply.
“Surely the mission for her and Seizon was to go directly into the Great Valley?” Tyra continued, sounding appalled. “Do you realise how much danger that puts them in? Not just from the Valley residents, but from Ulciscor as well?”
Xal still didn’t reply.
“I’m sorry Xal,” Tyra pressed on. “But I can’t take any more risks. When Saureen returns, me, her and Ferox will be leaving this forest, and we shall take no further part in your revolution.”
At this, Xal did respond.
“WHAT?”
“I’m sorry,” Tyra continued. “I understand your dream Xal, and it is a noble dream. But going about it the way you are is simply immoral. As a parent and grandparent, by sole duty is to protect my loved ones, and so that is what I shall do. I may even send a flyer messanger to speed up the process. Goodbye.”
And she turned and walked away without a backwards glance.
Xal watched her depart, his blood boiling.
“You shouldn’t have interfered Tyra,” he thought.
“Now you know too much. And I can’t let you disrupt my plans.”He turned and walked in the opposite direction at a quick pace, until he found Gigas briefing a group of Piercers.
“Gigas,” he said. “I have a task for you and the Platoon.”
“Yes?” Gigas looked eager.
Xal took a deep breath.
“It’s Ferox’s mother,” he explained. “Tyra – she’s become a liability. I need you to conduct a Piercer operation that is efficient enough for Ferox not to suspect anything. She’s declaring her intentions to leave, and we can’t let that happen. No longer can she defy us. As quickly as possible, we need to take her out.”
*
It was a morose picture.
Littlefoot and the others continued to walk with Kai throughout the day. Even though they had no idea where they were going, they didn’t dare say this. In fact, they didn’t dare say anything.
Littlefoot could not get the awful image of the impaled Sharptooth out of his head. In was seemingly permanently ingrained there, determined to haunt him throughout his days and sleep-stories for many years to come. But what was even worse was the fact that Kai was prepared to do it – would he even hesitate to do the same to them if they declared their intentions to leave him?
Eventually, the Bright Circle began to dip below the horizon, staining the sky orange, and Kai suddenly stopped.
Everyone watched him nervously.
“Right,” he said, turning around to face them all, the first words he had spoken since he had killed the Sharptooth. “Time we rested for the night I think.”
Though slightly non-plussed, none of them dared argue. Littlefoot exchanged a brief glance with Cera and Ruby, but hardly needed to. Their expressions read the same: What the hell are we going to do now?
Kai curled his spiked tail around his neck, and seemingly fell asleep, but at the same time was almost completely silent. It was eerie how quietly he slept, but Ruby took this as opportunity to communicate with the rest of them.
“Don’t worry,” she whispered. “Just get some sleep now – we’ll think of something else in the morning.” She glanced nervously at Kai’s form. In the dark it was impossible to tell whether he was asleep or not, but he didn’t react to her statement. Ruby breathed again.
The other five all nodded in agreement to her but didn’t say another word, and just lay down and closed their eyes.
Littlefoot knew he should try and rest. He had been walking pretty much all day – he should have been exhausted. But he was too worried to sleep. For the first time, he thought about his grandparents. They must be out of their minds with anxiousness! How could he have been so selfish? And this ëadventure’ he was on now was far more dangerous than anything else had ever done, with the possible exception of searching for the Valley. The dinosaur he was in the company of was insane and dangerous…how much longer would he last?
In the hope of even some form of comfort, he looked up at the sky hoping to see his mother’s star (for he was convinced dinosaurs turned into stars when they died) but there were too many smoky black sky-puffies tonight. Sighing, he closed his eyes and rolled over. But it was a long time before he finally got to sleep.
As a few trees whistled in the evening wind, and tumbleweeds rolled across the ground, suddenly the still air was split apart by an eager voice.
“Oy, Kai!”
Kai’s eyes flew open immediately. Carefully, he got to his feet and strode silently over to where a slightly comical looking pink flyer was standing on a rock and gazed at him with contempt.
“About time, Rinkus,” he snapped. “I’ve been feigning sleep for hours. But what news?”
Rinkus grinned maliciously.
“It was a success,” he replied. “Ulciscor has successfully taken over the entire Valley and the Bludgeoners rule the roosts.”
“Excellent!” Kai breathed, his grin mad and eerie in the low-light. “I expect I should head back over there then? The sharpteeth must have given us the slip – we’ll get them eventually though. I’ve been leading this lot-” He gestured at the six sleeping young dinosaurs,
“Round in circles for the past few hours. I don’t think they’ve got wind of it, but I did overhear them talking about a ënew plan’ in the morning…”
Rinkus cackled.
“Good luck with that! But I’m afraid the word from Ulciscor is that he doesn’t want you returning just yet.”
Kai frowned.
“Why not?”
“Well…” Rinkus lowered his voice and leaned closer.
“Is there a spiketail amongst those brats?”
“Yes? Why?”
“According to what a Bludgeoner told me, that kid is the son of Ronan and Opal.”
Kai gasped.
“What, seriously?”
“Yes…and so you can see why he shouldn’t be returned to the Valley?”
Kai nodded. “If the residents find out, they’ll want him as the heir to the Valley as supposed to Ulciscor’s nephew.” He gestured behind him again. “I’ll have to make him see sense once I kill the spiketail…that is what Ulciscor wants, correct?”
“Yep,” Rinkus nodded, talking about attempted murder with the same air a sane person would talk about the weather.
“But…” Kai looked troubled. “I can’t make it look too suspicious – Ulciscor’s nephew may not be willing to return if I’ve killed his friend. I’ll have to make the spiketail’s death look accidental…”
“Well…” Rinkus’ evil grin had returned once again. “Just a few miles ahead is a massive river of fast water. He could simply…fall in?”
Kai, twigging what Rinkus was getting at, grinned too, the evil glint in his eye even more apparent.
“Oh yes…” he breathed. “I guess it’s decided then. Tomorrow I shall lead the brat to his watery demise, and then the rest of them back to the Valley.”
And without even thanking his informant, Kai strode away.
*
Seizon scratched his chin.
“OK,” he said. “So this is basically our situation. We’re trapped in a huge cave network of which the actual size and geography aren’t known. There’s a Sharptooth pack much larger than ours after our blood, with Redclaw patrolling on the outside, a spiked longneck now doubt around somewhere, very little in the way of food, and even more little in the way…of a way out?”
“Yes,” Saureen replied icily. “And you’ve forgotten to mention that it’s all your fault as well.”
The pack had found themselves in a spacious cavern that was thankfully deserted of any of Nott’s henchmen, and that is where they’d been all day, listening out for approaching sharpteeth. Thankfully, nothing had come their way, but as Seizon had said, there was no way out as far as far as they could see.
“The cavern’s very vast,” Lini piped up. “One tunnel must lead to some form of a way out eventually.”
“That’s very true,” Al agreed. “But I don’t think it’s wise we go searching for one right now…it’s the night.”
“How do you know?” Pyron demanded.
“These walls are very sonorous,” Al explained. I was listening to one earlier, and I heard the evening chorus. That’s when a whole load of feathered flyers come to sing in the evening…”
“How do you know this stuff?” Chomper asked, awed.
“Anyway,” Seizon cut across them. “If that’s the case, I suggest we get some sleep before finding a way out of here tomorrow. Everyone agreed?”
Everyone nodded, but then Saureen raised a query.
“What if Nott and the others come for us in the night?”
“Good point,” Seizon noted. “OK – we’ll take night shifts.”
“I’ll go first,” Pyron volunteered.
“Excellent,” Seizon nodded. “Right – night all!”
And with that, he flopped down and prepared to sleep.
Saureen sighed.
“Likes to move things quickly, doesn’t he?” she muttered.
About an hour later, the six sharpteeth not keeping watch were all fast asleep. Well, apart from Chomper. For some reason he simply couldn’t sleep. He rolled over on a different side to his usual, trying to get more comfortable, but it was hopeless – which was strange, as he was more than used to sleeping in caves.
It might have been Lini’s snores, but Chomper was fairly sure that his insomnia had more to do with something, or someone pressing on his mind.
Pyron had been relatively quiet since the fight with Nott and his minions, and had made it almost a duty to be close by to Nycha all the time. This did make some sense – she was his sister after all, but Chomper was well aware that this level of protectiveness from him was not normal. Casting his mind back to fight, he remembered how Yuti had slammed Nycha to the ground and Pyron had immediately rushed to her aid. It was certainly sibling love, but was it possible Pyron’s fear was based on a lot more than just her physical well-being.
He now remembered what Pyron had told him about her earlier.
“Ever since that disastrous episode, Nycha’s trying to prove she’s not weak. I think that’s why she’s so attracted to Seizon – to her, he’s a strong young Sharptooth, who will lead her out of her dark state of mind.”
Perhaps being beaten into the ground by another Sharptooth wasn’t exactly the greatest confidence boost, and Nycha had been getting those degenerate thoughts about herself again? Pyron had evidentally been worried that her dark state of mind would return if she had beaten up more severely. Upon realising this, Chomper found an unnatural rush of sympathy towards Nycha, which was bizarre in its own right – why should he feel sympathy towards someone who had insulted and attacked him? Then again, her entire family had been killed…
Deciding he didn’t want to be kept in the dark any longer and giving up on any more hope of sleep, Chomper got to his feet and slowly crept around his sleeping companions to where Pyron was standing.
Pyron glanced over his shoulder as Chomper approached, but other than that didn’t show any signs of surprise.
“Take a look at this,” Pyron beckoned, placing his foreclaw on the cave wall. Chomper peered closely and noticed a thick line of algae and lichen at a point just above their eye-level. Swallowing nervously, he had little doubt to how it must have gotten there.
“At certain points,” Pyron deduced. “Up to this line must be underwater. I knew some parts of the legend of the Stingy Fastbiter were true…”
“They say he drowned…?” Chomper murmured.
“Exactly…there must be a huge underground river in here somewhere, that rises and falls – at a guess – according to the tides.” He shook his head. “We can’t stay in this cavern much longer, not unless we want to drown…”
Chomper nodded, but soon dismissed it. After all, he was here for a certain reason.
“Pyron?” Chomper queried delicately.
“Yeah?”
“Can I ask…about…?”
“Nycha?” Pyron replied casually. “And the way I reacted when she was attacked?”
Chomper frowned.
“How did you know I was going to ask that?”
Pyron smiled a little sadly.
“I saw it coming a mile off. You were going to ask eventually. Basically, I was worried it would put a knock on her confidence and revert her to a state which…” He shook his head, before absent-mindedly scraping his claw across the lichen.
“Sorry…” Chomper muttered. “If it’s too personal…”
“No,” Pyron shook his head. “It’s about time I got it off my chest anyway.” He turned to face Chomper.
“Chomper – I’m about to give you mine and my sister’s life history. Brace yourself. It’s a story I’ve never told anyone else. I’ve given Seizon a few background details, but the full story is a little more…dramatic.”
“So how come you’re telling me?” Chomper asked.
“Because I trust you,” Pyron replied, smiling at him, a smile that lightened Chomper’s heart a little.
“OK…” Pyron murmured. “I suppose I’d better begin.” He took a deep breath.
“It starts with the pack we were born into,” he said. “Not one like this – big, successful…up to a hundred strong. Made up of fastbiters the tetrarchy thought were elite enough to be part of it.”
“Tetrarchy?”
Pyron nodded. “That’s the name given to the four individuals who were in charge. Everything went through them. The point is, they were obsessed with being the best. Most other packs in the area feared us and large sharpteeth tended to just avoid us. The tetrarchy told us we were the best because we were the best at what we did. Hunting and killing…and the fact that we were completely focused on what we did. And so if anything came up to distract us, it would have absolutely disastrous consequences. And unfortunately, one day my parents sowed the seeds to the biggest distraction of all – they had kids.”
*
A brilliantly silver feathered fastbiter leant over her nest, her eyes shining with desperation.
“Go on, little one!” she coaxed. “Push, push!”
Tears of delight began to well up in her eyes as a tiny, downy, bright orange head poked out from the eggshell.
“Tion!” she called gleefully, as her mate, a mahogany red fastbiter came over to investigate. Tion gasped in delight also.
“Oh, Saya…” he murmured, nuzzling his wife. “We’ve done it…”
Saya bent lower to help her hatchling break free from the egg, before licking the little one tenderly.
“It’s a boy…” Tion noted. “So…any names?”
Before Saya could reply, she noticed another egg began twitching, the shell cracking…
“Tion!” She whispered hoarsely. “I don’t believe it…it’s another one!”
Soon, Tion and Saya had two wonderful hatchlings – an orange boy called Pyron and a lilac girl called Nycha. The only two survivors in a clutch of ten. But in an unforgiving world, that was as much that could be expected.
And would they even be around that long?
“Well,” came a voice. “This seems to be quite a happy gathering.”
Tion and Saya, automatically picking up their children, turned to face a turquoise fastbiter that had just strode towards them. It was Fang – one of the tetrarchy. He gazed at them with contempt.
“Are you sure you’re ready for this, you two?” he demanded. “Being parents are quite demanding jobs…”
“Well, we’re prepared for that,” Tion replied instantly. “There’s two of us and two of them. It’ll be easy.”
“I sure hope so,” Fang replied. “Otherwise things will go downhill for this pack. And we’ll have to make…” he drew a breath. “Cut-backs.”
“We get the euphemism,” Saya replied icily. “And we hear you.”
“Loud and clear,” Tion added.
Fang nodded.
“Good. Well, I’ll be seeing you two later then…” He then walked away.
“We’ve got to watch our step…” Tion murmured to his wife. “If they think these two are going to be a problem…”
“Our children are blessings,” Saya replied, nuzzling them both. “Not problems. You hear that you two? You are special, and loved with every breath. Nothing is ever going to change that.”*
It was a fantastic picture,” Pyron sighed wistfully. “That we were special enough to make the pack function just like the rest of them. We didn’t realise we were singled out differently as kids. We were our own best friends, and thought the pack were the finest group to ever exist…” He started smiling sadly. “We always used to fantasize that we were would one day lead the pack into glory. I mean, there weren’t many other young fastbiters around.”
“How come?” Chomper asked.
Pyron looked him dead in the eye.
“Because…having children was a major distraction. Those who dared go through with it were cut out of the group permanently.”
“You mean…?” Chomper was horrified. “The tetrarchy killed them?”
“I believe so,” Pyron nodded sadly. “They didn’t do the same with our parents – not straight away anyway, because they were some of the best – it was always said that if one of the tetrarchy were to die, one of our parents would take their place. But I think them having us might have coloured their view a bit. And that’s when…it happened…”
“What did?”
“The pack was out hunting a longneck,” Pyron explained. “It was a massive group effort, and the tetrarchy had insisted we had come along to the hunt too. We were old enough by that time…but still too young to do with the thing effectively.” He closed his eyes, the memory obviously painful for him.
“Nycha got scared…” he whispered. “She was scared about hunting a longneck and immediately hopped off. The problem is, she was running straight into the path of another longneck…”
Chomper gasped. “What happened?”
“What do you think happened?” Pyron asked. “Mother went after her and pulled her out of harms’ way. Seems simple enough, but that was at a vital moment when she was supposed to slit the longneck’s throat. This delay meant that they entire pack had to call that hunt off.”
Chomper winced. “And how did that go down?”
“Not well,” Pyron replied, massaging his head as the pain of the past flooded back to him. “The tetrarchy quickly made up their mind. But it was done immensely subtly. One day, they gave my parents the order to chase down some swimmers down below us on a mountainside…the moment they went off to do it there was a massive rockslide…” He closed his eyes again. “They were killed very quickly.”
Chomper gasped.
“The tetrarchy told us it was the swimmers’ fault,” Pyron continued. “But I later came to the conclusion that the entire thing was staged by them. Our parents weren’t elite enough. So they had to be taken out.”
“Didn’t they try to take you out too?” Chomper asked.
“Oh yes…just not then. Subtlety was quite a skill of theirs. They attacked us that very same night, whilst we were asleep.”
Chomper swore. “Cowards,” he said. “You got away OK?”
“Oh we did,” Pyron nodded. “We did – but the worst part came afterwards.
*
Pyron and Nycha sprinted off into the night, leaping over gullies and not daring to look back, in fear of seeing the tetrarchy in pursuit of them. Pyron was leading Nycha along by her hand and they quickly ducked under a tall tree to rest.
Panting, Pyron sniffed the air.
“I think we’ve given them the slip,” he gasped, relieved.
Nycha was silent. She seemed to be pondering something. Finally, she said,
“So…why are they trying to kill us?”
It was something that had been playing on Pyron’s mind too, but suddenly he saw it. He would have seen it at once if the grief of his parents’ death hadn’t been on his mind.
“Don’t you see?” he demanded of his sister, sniffing back tears. “They’re making us go the same way as our parents! That’s how they work – they cut out anyone from the pack they deem unfit. That’s why they rubbed out mum and dad…they were spending too much time looking after us and not helping out with the hunting.”
Nycha gazed back at him, confused.
“No Pyron…” she said. “Those flatteeth killed mum and dad…it was their fault. I…” Tears suddenly welled up in her eyes. “I just don’t understand what WE did wrong…”
Pyron was too desperate to get away to stay and try and convince her of the truth, but he later wished he hadn’t been so hasty.
“Come on, Nycha,” he was saying desperately, gesturing to the lizard he had caught. “Come on, eat…you’ve got too…”
But Nycha wasn’t in the mood. She just stared straight ahead, unseeing, unfeeling…it seemed her entire being had been sucked into the night, extinguished…*
“And that was the worst part…” Pyron explained, and for the first time, to Chomper’s horror, tears were beginning to well up in his eyes and fall down his face.
“She wouldn’t eat, wouldn’t talk to me…she had just shut off. And for a long time, it felt like I hadn’t just lost my parents, pack and home on that fateful night…but my sister as well…”
He gave a great hearty sniff and the sobs came thicker and faster.
“Until we joined this pack,” he sobbed. “She barely said a word. Everyone here seems to have given her a bit of strength, and Seizon’s acceptance has possibly made her feel like a new person…like she was worthy again…but deep inside…” he closed his eyes and tears dripped onto the stone floor. “Deep inside…I think she still blames herself. She can’t accept that the tetrarchy were corrupt from the beginning and that she did nothing wrong. When she doesn’t blame herself she takes it out on others. Flatteeth, and…you…and I’m so sorry Chomper, I really am…and I’m so afraid…” he swallowed. “So afraid of something happening to her and her never knowing how much she means to me…how much she’s worth…”
Chomper watched as Pyron broke down and continued to sob quietly. Many things were whirring in his head. The words Pyron had spoken seemed so familiar to him.
“Nycha…” he thought.
“She’s just like me…I’ve always felt guilty about something beyond my control. The fact that I’m a Sharptooth…and perhaps I too have failed to notice how much I mean to others…and failing to see what’s right before your eyes is a dangerous thing…”He knelt down beside Pyron.
“Pyron…I take it Nycha isn’t the only one here doing a bit of self-blaming.”
Pyron looked up at him.
“What…?”
Chomper smiled.
“There’s no way you’re responsible for the way she feels…if anything you’re on of the reasons she’s still going…listen, you told me, did you not, that you wanted to hold this whole group together?”
“Yeah…?”
“Well,” Chomper continued. “I believe you can. And I’m sure everyone else does too, especially Nycha, as you’re the only one she ever opens to…and you know you can trust our judgement because this is where you belong. You mean so much to us and we mean a lot to you. You’re part of us, and so this is how you can work so well in it. Bring this group together and make Nycha the cheerful little sister you’ve been telling me about.”
Pyron began to smile.
“I have a dream also,” Chomper continued. “I dream of one day leaf-eaters and sharpteeth living in harmony. It’s a difficult thing to go towards, but I know I have the support of everyone in the Great Valley, and so, for me, that’s the best place to work at it – home is where the heart is. And that’s also where your dreams come to life.”
Pyron placed his hand on Chomper’s shoulder.
“You’ve got my support to,” he said.
Chomper smiled.
“Really?”
Pyron nodded.
“For real,” he said. “Thanks so much Chomper…I think you’re right. When you open up to people, they become friends – people who can support you and get you everywhere in life…I should have seen that a long time ago.”
With that, the two instantly embraced like brothers. It was incredible, Chomper thought. Pyron had always said he’d comfort him and watch out for him. Well, now, he seemed to be returning the favour by doing the same for him.
They released each other.
“Well,” Chomper said. “I’ll take over your night shift. You should get some…”
“Wait a minute,” Pyron muttered, sniffing the air. “Do you smell that?”
Chomper sniffed, and gulped. He recognised that smell as well.
“Yuti?” he murmured. “Nott’s scarlet woman…?”
Pyron stared at him.
“Scarlet…what? That’s an odd thing to say…”
Chomper shrugged. “First term I thought of…”
Pyron chuckled slightly and sniffed again.
“Well, by the smell of things, she’s alone…”
“Yeah,” Chomper agreed. “But…hang on…”
Pyron smelled it too.
“She’s moving away?” He frowned. “Where is she sneaking off to on her own?”
“No idea…” Chomper replied. “But somehow I don’t think it’ll be beneficial to us…”
“Agreed…” Pyron nodded. “Should we go after her?”
Chomper glanced uneasily at the five sharpteeth sleeping behind him.
“We really shouldn’t…” he murmured. “They’re relying on us…”
“Yeah…” Pyron agreed.
There was a pause.
“Should we go after her?” Chomper asked.
“Yeah, alright.”
And so they did…
~0~
And off they go...what is Yuti up to? Only time will tell...I know, of course...
So, what did you think of that chapter? What did you think of Pyron and Nycha's backstory, Kai's plans to kill Spike, Xal's plans to kill Tyra, and all that went on between Tria and Topps...?
I grant you, I'm not that good at writing emotional scenes, but I hope you still get the gist of what's been going on anyway.
If you have any improvements to suggest, I'll be happy to hear them.
Thanks for reading!!!
