Here's the next chapter. Mind you that updates will come weekly again
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Chapter 21:
Bron wandered along the high walls of the place that was their home for an unknown period of time. The adult was deep in thoughts after his first talk with his son, having met him only hours ago.
"Did I do the right thing by telling him my story?" he wondered.
"Probably yes... He seemed to drop his shell the longer I spoke..." Bron decided after some thinking. He really hoped that their relationship which started off under really unfortunate circumstances would grow stronger soon; he hoped he could convince Littlefoot of staying with him. Now that he had finally met him, now that he finally had a confirmation that he and his parents-in-law were still among the living, he didn't want to lose either of them. Though, if he had to choose between them, Littlefoot would be his choice, obviously.
"Only would he want to separate from his grandparents?" Bron knew that it would be tough to convince him of staying with him and his herd rather than his grandparents who had taken care of him for the better part of his young life.
"If only Grandpa wasn't so stubborn..." Bron sighed. It would have been so easy... They would join his herd and travel back to the Lands of Daily Skywater once the event they all awaited would have occured.
"But no! Grandpa and Grandma HAVE to stick to their oh so great valley, pffft!" Bron thought, infuriated. He didn't get what was so great about this Great Valley of them. He sort of imagined it to be quite similar to the place he was currently standing at... a green oasis in an, otherwise, hostile land, bordered against the outside world and filled with way too many dinosaurs.
"Even worse is... it's not just our kind living there but all kinds of dinosaurs... how disgusting!" He wasn't a specieist but he didn't like the presence of dinosaurs other than longnecked ones.
"On a side note..." his mind mentioned grimly,
"their Great Valley must protect them from pretators somehow... But what could possibly protect them better than their own friends in the herd? There is safety in numbers and we Longnecks sure make a much bigger impression on Sharpteeth than any other kind of leafeaters..." Bron couldn't understand. Why had they to decline his offer? Didn't they want to reunite the family after such a long time? What would his mate think about this, was she still alive? All these questions troubled the brown-coloured grown-up for he couldn't answer any of them for certain. He had his suspicions but no clear evidence that his assumptions would turn out to be true...
His thoughts returned to the event that was the actual reason for leaving his homeland, daring the perilous journey through neverending wastelands and other unlucky situations.
"But we have made it without losing a single member!" Bron cheered.
"We even grew in numbers!" he pointed out. Ali and Fiona had joined up his herd.
Suddenly, Bron remembered something; he remembered the little one asking him what he expected to happen. Now that he was in a thoughtful state he might as well think about that as well, so he thought.
That was, when Bron heard the noise down at the forest. He craned his neck and turned around.
"What's going on down there?" he wondered. Just at that moment, he saw Willie storming into the forest, whipping Shorty with his tail.
In a rage, Bron stormed down the wall towards the forest. Knowing Willie, Bron concluded he would only punish Shorty like that for a good reason.
Bron hurried even more for he knew that, whatever Shorty had done this time, he had done it due to his snappy reaction earlier...
"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR BLOODY MIND!?!?!" Willie thundered. "Oh... wait until Bron arrives. This time he won't leave it at a lesson, I promise you that!"
Shorty couldn't reply - not only because he suspected that all his ribs were broken after the impact with the tree but also because his view was fixed on the bleeding girl.
"What have I done?!" he cursed again and again, his sanity slowly returning to him. By the amout of blood oozing out of the many injuries he had inflicted on her, he assumed that his actions would result in her death.
"I'm screwed!!!"Some grown-ups gathered around the girl whereas others fanned out to find some leaves able to cease the bleeding hurryingly.
Ali was disturbed by the sight of the girl bleeding yet she couldn't stop gazing at the black longneck, hardly any spots of her body still being black but rather red and covered in blood, until grown-ups blocked the view on her.
"Are you- are you alright, Ali?" Littlefoot asked, swallowing hard. Memories which he thought he would never ever have to deal with in his life again, returned to him with brutal, unponderable force. It suddenly appeared to him like it had been yesterday when he saw the huge Sharptooth ripping a huge piece of flesh out of his mother's back. He distinctly remembered all the blood that spouted out of the horrible wound. The youngster instinctively felt a strong admiration for his mother for saving his life by risking hers.
"And losing..." he was reminded by the stinging feeling in his heart that quickly moved up to his eyes. Littlefoot reminded himself that he had to stay strong for Ali who seemed paralysed and petrified.
"Look at all the blood..." she whispered. "She is going to die..." Tears began to moisten her eyes.
"I can't believe why somebody would hurt a much younger kid..." Littlefoot said, having no understanding of such a cruel act. "I knew Shorty was trouble..."
"But I do..." Ali stated.
"Huh?"
"See, I can't tell you. This is something you really shouldn't know unless Shorty wants you to," Ali explained.
"Why?" Littlefoot asked. "Are you worried he's gonna do that with me if I know about it?"
"That also... but mainly I think I'd hurt the trust he has in me by telling you things he might not want you to know."
"I can't believe that you even care for such a thing!" Littlefoot then shouted. "Somebody who has the desire to kill can't and mustn't be trusted!"
"Littlefoot, you don't understand! Please, cut it out, I beseech you..." Ali sobbed. Tears were running down her face at a quick pace. "It's not his fault alone..."
"I-I didn't mean to..." Littlefoot stammered, feeling guilty for shouting at his friend.
Ali got closer to Littlefoot and rubbed her neck against Littlefoot's in an attempt to seek comfort on the one hand, and to accept Littlefoot's unspoken apology on the other hand. Both seemed to work since Littlefoot returned the gesture caringly.
"Let's go back to the berry bushes, I suggest," Littlefoot piped up.
"Yes, I think so," Ali responded. She soon stopped sobbing but she remained kind of disdraught.
As Bron stormed towards the forest, he saw Littlefoot and Ali only a little distance away. He quickly considered and decided to ask them what has happened for he didn't want to be unprepared for whatever he would have to witness.
"Littlefoot! Ali!" the two young Longnecks heard a voice calling.
"Bron!?" Littlefoot and Ali wondered in unison.
"What's going on in there?" Bron shouted in excitement and fear.
"It's Shorty, he..." Ali began but Bron had already stormed off. He had been able to read all he needed to know in Ali's eyes to have a relatively good idea what was going on.
Littlefoot and Ali hurried to gain some distance to the forest because neither of them wanted to witness in how big a trouble Shorty actually was...
When Bron came running into the forest ragingly, a few more trees had to pay with their existance; Bron uprooted them in his rage.
"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!?" Bron barked gruffly.
"Shorty has severely injured a member of the herd, Bron," Willie replied matter-of-factly.
"So has he? Is that true, Shorty?" Bron snarled, his brain drawing pictures one more insane than the other.
"Yes Bron," Shorty replied quietly. The boy looked at the ground in defiant shame.
"Where is the injured one?!" Bron then barked. He began to tremble somewhat.
"Over there!" Willie replied, pointing at the bulk of Longnecks that had gathered around the small body that lied on its belly in a puddle of its own blood.
"Scoot!" Bron ordered.
The crowd stepped back to allow their leader to look upon the beaten girl.
Bron observed the little one very carefully. He noticed her injuries and very soon he also noticed what was responsible for them.
"HAS HE REALLY USED THOSE ROCKS?!?" Bron's gaze wandered to Shorty who was tainted in the girl's blood. The sight of the young one had deeply terrified him for he knew Shorty's background and quite possibly his motives.
"After all this time, Shorty... I thought you'd hate your father for what he's done to you and now you're just becoming like him," Bron said in a surprisingly calm tone. "I'm disappointed of you!" He didn't pay Shorty any more attention which was now focused on the hurt young one's wellbeing. Some Longnecks had apparently found the leaves that might save her. Bron, personally, covered the injuries that were still bleeding a little very carefully, hoping he wouldn't lose a member of his herd - a member who meant much more to him than most of the others...
"I wonder what's going on over there..." Littlefoot mused after having arrived at the berry bushes. During their short walk, he had recalled some memories, some of whom he didn't even knew they were still in his head - memories of his mother. He remembered the dramatic death of his mother and, particularly, her last words:
"Listen to your heart, Littlefoot... It whispers, so listen closely..." It almost made him tear up just like Ali moments ago.
"I'm worried Cho won't make it, that's all I want to know... if she," Ali gulped. "If she 'll recover... or not."
"So you know her?" Littlefoot wondered, not hiding his own sadness.
"Yes, I know her..." Ali whispered with a choked voice.
"I'm sure she'll make it," Littlefoot assured her sympathetically. "The grown-ups know how to stop the bleeding."
"I hope so..." Ali snivelled. Tears formed in her eyes. "This girl has spoken to me on the first day I was conscious again and she's such an innocent soul... I can't believe that Shorty tortured her like that." Ali broke into tears, sobbing on the ground.
Littlefoot placed himself next to his friend and rubbed his head against hers to console her.
"What did you talk about?" Littlefoot asked emotionally.
"She wanted to know how I am feeling and if I wanted to play with her but I couldn't because I was still very weak back then," Ali replied shakily. "So we just... talked, you know? But then I got to know Shorty and when I saw how he treated the girl I decided not to talk to her as long as Shorty was around and he was always around... I don't think he has any friends besides me."
"Ah, I see," Littlefoot said. "I'm not surprised that he has no friends..."
"He's actually pretty nice if he wants to," Ali sobbed.
"Maybe he has a crush on you?" Littlefoot guessed.
"Huh?"
"I mean, he called you a sweet flower back at the treesweet tree..." Littlefoot explained.
At that moment, Ali considered this for the first time. How could she have not noticed this yet? Shorty was only so sweet towards her because he had actual feelings for her...
"Hmm, makes sense..." Ali mumbled. If Littlefoot was able to tell that Shorty had a crush on her, how long would he need to figure out that she had feelings for him? Ali prefered to admit her affection at a point in time that she felt was right rather than her secret being discovered by Littlefoot.
"Are you going to stay friends with him by the way?" Littlefoot then asked carefully.
"It depends on him..." Ali responded, calming down. "I'll talk to him as soon as possible. I hope I can help him to change... hopefully for the better."
Ali soon regained her composture.
"Thanks!" she eventually said, smiling weakly.
"Don't mention it!" Littlefoot said happily. "You have comforted me earlier after all."
"True, I guess that's what friends are for, right?" Ali snickered - a funny sight since her face was still wet from the many tears.
"True. Thanks for this surprise earlier by the way," Littlefoot exclaimed.
"You're welcome!" Ali chuckled shyly.
"Let's eat!" Littlefoot suggested.
Ali agreed. So they ate a lot of berries that Ali especially needed for she was still fairly thin and they played around a bit.
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Lots of stuff happening in this rather long chapter. Something you will have to get used to... I doubt any of the next chapters will be significantly below the word count of 2000 words... rather above
Tell me your thoughts, praise, critism, suggestions, possible thoughts concerning the next chapter etc
NOTE: The first part about Bron was originally not longer than my comment is... the revamping was worth it I hope. Tried to enhance my style a bit... I tend to forget descriptions and thoughts when I write dialogues
In chapter 22, we will see an momentous talk between Shorty and Bron and some more of Ali and Littlefoot. It's rather short with 1500 words
