Shorty's Dark Past

[rhombus]

I love what you have done with this chapter.  The greater attention to the characters' thoughts and expressions during their dialogue really added to the detail which the reader can gleam from the story, while at the same time avoiding becoming so detailed that one is telling instead of showing. This was especially pronounced in Littlefoot's and Bron's thoughts before Littlefoot told his story, and during the little sauropod's story.  We are now getting some hints at Bron's opinion of having non-longneck friends, which I suspect may create a bit of a rift between his and his son's perspectives.  

The thoughts of Ricky are also foreboding... although his intentions towards Shorty (to harm him or to manipulate him) are uncertain at this point.  Whatever it is I am sure Ricky's intentions are not good.

Once again, this was a very good chapter.   I think that your elaboration of additional detail and thoughts really improved the narrative and heightened the engagement with the characters.  I look forward to what happens next.  

[Ducky123]

Thank you for the review, rhombus! I'm very glad that I've managed to apply your advice and thereby improved my writing!

We are now getting some hints at Bron's opinion of having non-longneck friends, which I suspect may create a bit of a rift between his and his son's perspectives.

Yep, it's not gonna help building a father-son relation between them. Bron hides it but it greatly annoys him and, like I already said in response to DarkWolf, there is a reason for his attitude towards other species...

The thoughts of Ricky are also foreboding... although his intentions towards Shorty (to harm him or to manipulate him) are uncertain at this point. Whatever it is I am sure Ricky's intentions are not good

Heh, I've tried not to let the reader know what he's up to this time Considering he's taking orders from Hart, it's a good guess to say he's up to no good. Whether this is the case or not, you will know in a chapter or two

Once again, this was a very good chapter. smile.gif I think that your elaboration of additional detail and thoughts really improved the narrative and heightened the engagement with the characters. I look forward to what happens next. in-yes.gif

Thanks again, I'm looking forward to receiving these reviews as well  

The next chapter is scheduled for next weekend (not this weekend)

[Ducky123]

Argh, this took way too long again

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Chapter 43:

"I will start the story the day before the big earthshake occured," Littlefoot narrated. "It was the day my mother told me to stick to my own kind. We were following the Bright Circle to where it touched the ground day after day and this day was no different. I was hungry because there wasn't much food around. I still remember my grandparents giving me some of the bark of the leafless trees so that I have SOMEthing to chew on..."
"Oh yes, those were hard times..." Bron spoke with unusual darkness in his voice. "Things have improved since the time of your birth which was during the worst drought I ever witnessed. Many fell victim to hunger, thirst and sharpteeth. That was the reason why I took the risk of leaving on my own, trying to find a better place for you to grow up."
"It was a very hard time for sure," Littlefoot admitted. Life in the Great Valley was like paradise compared to the outside world and he knew he was a bit spoiled in that regard but he also knew the harshness of life in the Mysterious Beyond too well...
"It was also the day I saw a Treestar for the first time in my life," Littlefoot continued. "Shortly after my grandparents gave me the bark, my mother called me over to her. She gestured upwards to a single, green Treestar, rubbing it off the tree to give it to me. It made me really happy and because it was so special I didn't actually eat but keep it."
Bron laughed at this. "Hahaha, how cute is that?!" More serious, he added. "I missed so much of your childhood, Littlefoot..."
"Oh yeah..." Littlefoot replied. He had also missed a lot of time with his dad... "If I remember correctly, I also played with that Treestar."
Bron chuckled but didn't say more.
"Then I suddenly saw a young threehorn playing and I got curious." Something changed in Bron's expression but he didn't interrupt. "It was chasing after a flying bug, ramming and smashing some rocks which really impressed me back then. I mean... I couldn't do that," Littlefoot exclaimed. "Cera's headheadedness literally hasn't changed much since we first met..." he mused, chuckling to himself.
Bron was still hard to read but Littlefoot assumed he simply didn't want to hear about a Threehorn but about him. Yet, he had to tell him that part of this story... "Just when it had almost got the bug, the bug sprayed some purple juice at the Threehorn. I was laughing so hard!" Even nowadays, Littlefoot would sometimes tease Cera with that.
"Y'know, Littlefoot," Bron suddenly spoke up, amused. "That once happened to your mum when we were kids."
"Oh really?" Littlefoot was very eager to hear more about his mother's childhood. He'd one day ask his father about it but today it was his turn to be the story speaker.
"Haha, yeah. I was laughing just as hard at her!" Bron admitted bluntly. Chuckling, he added. "Well, she didn't talk to me for a few days though... anyway, go on. What happened then? Laughing at a Threehorn can be the last thing you do..." Bron's voice turned dark as he said this.
"That's true..." Littlefoot knew too well how furious Cera could get if she had the urge to restore her reputation and pride... "The Threehorn charged at me and I did the same since I thought it was just a game. The parents stepped inbetween though and her father growled at me to get lost and told his daughter never to play with Longnecks."
Bron felt the urge to state that the Threehorn was bloody right but kept it for himself.
"My mother caught me before the Threehorn could chase me away. Back then, I didn't understand what the Threehorn told his daughter. I didn't get what was so wrong about interacting with other kinds because they were similar to us."
"Similar?" Bron couldn't keep his mouth shut anymore but managed to remain calm. "They look different and they have different traditions and rules. Besides, they're competitors for food, water and good nesting areas," Bron argued.
Littlefoot felt a little uneasy about Bron's opinion of other kinds. He reminded him a lot of Mr. Threehorn who also disliked other kinds though he had softened up somewhat. If Bron shared the contemption which Mr. Threehorn often displayed, then Littlefoot wasn't so sure if he'd stay on good terms with his dad. Shoving that thought aside for the time being, he picked up the story again.
"Well, my mother explained that it's just always been that way because of all the differences. I didn't ask any further when she promised me I'd meet many Longneck playmates in the Great Valley and we moved on." Littlefoot cleared his throat before continuing. "I met the Threehorn again. It was early morning – still dark but just about to dawn, when I woke up because a hopper caught a flying bug that was resting on my nose."
Hearing that, Bron snickered again, the seriousness in him seemingly gone again.
"I tried to follow the hopper because I was curious," Littlefoot explained.
"Oh, you're just like me as a kid," Bron mentioned. "I was also like that, you're just like your father!" He seemed to be proud about that fact.
"I guess it runs in the family then?" Littlefoot joked. "Anyway, while following  the hopper, I encountered the Threehorn girl again. She was claiming it was her hopper and slid down a slope into a small, bubbling pond where the hopper had gone too."
"See how other kinds take things away from us?" Bron remarked but Littlefoot chose to ignore his comment.
"Well, we played in the pond anyway, trying to pop bubbles. But then..." Littlefoot switched to a unusually dark voice. "But then Sharptooth came."
"Oh, finally some action!" Bron exclaimed merrily. However, he quickly realised what he had just cheered for. "Uhh, I mean... that's the part I really wanted to hear from your story," he spoke in guilt.
"Yes, I figured..." Littlefoot replied somewhat gloomy. The memories were gnawing on his mood. The fear for his life, the grief... he just hoped he'd make it through his story without crying.
"The ground suddenly started shaking. We were looking around, wondering why the ground was shaking but then we saw the terrible beast. It was the ugliest, scariest and meanest creature I've ever encountered. I've met several Sharpteeth on my adventures already but this one was bigger, stronger, hungrier and more evil than any other Sharptooth!"
Bron was listening very closely now.
"Obviously, we were screaming for help and tried to run. Sharptooth almost got us but we managed to reach a tight forest of spiked trees and bushes where we hid."
"Smart..." Bron remarked. "He couldn't get you in there, right?"
"Well..." Littlefoot sighed. "He tried to climb through an opening in the roof of the forest but couldn't reach us. We tried to lose him by seeking a way through the spikes and exit the forest someplace else while he would lose the sight of us but the Threehorn chose a wrong path and we ran right into his jaws!"
"Why did you follow her then, when you knew it was the wrong path!?" Bron demanded gruffly.
"Well, I just couldn't let her run into her doom alone," Littlefoot responded in defence of his actions.
"You know you could've got yourself killed there?" Bron asked unbelievingly. "Why'd you care for a strange kid?"
"Well, I got away, didn't I?" Littlefoot answered a little harsher than he intended to. Bron's constant bickering about other kinds slowly ennervated him. "I know better than to do that again today..."
"Okay, it's fine," Bron recoiled. "Go on please."
"Sure," Littlefoot replied. "Sharptooth missed us and we ran back into the forest as fast as our legs could carry us. Unfortunately, I tripped across some vines and got entangled in them. Sharptooth was gaining on me, snapping his jaws after me as he tried to crawl closer to me. I struggled to get free, my heart exploding in fear and exertion. I could smell the blood in his breath and feel the breeze caused by his snapping jaws. I thought it was over but I didn't give up just yet. One last time, I used all strength I had to push against the vines..." Littlefoot paused momentarily for the sake of narrating the story as exciting as he could.
"So... what happened?" Bron asked eagerly. "Did he swallow you whole?"
"Of course! And I ressurrected!" Littlefoot joked sarcastically. "I snapped the vines and broke free while Sharptooth got slapped by the spiked vines in the face!"
"Ha!" Bron seemed to be pleased by the outcome of the situation.
"He reared up, tearing the spiked trees apart and roared in fury. Then he leaped high into the air, trying to make me pay for it. When he impacted the ground, his momentum threw the two of us to the ground. He opened his wide jaws aimed straight at us, about to eat us alive, when a mighty tail appeared out of nowhere, slapping Sharptooth with such power, that he was thrown against a nearby mountain!"
"That's how your mother entered the fight?" Bron reassured himself in awe. When Littlefoot nodded, he replied. "How brave of her to take on that beast... she was never eager to enter a fight unless it was necessary..."
"She was absolutely determined to protect me from Sharptooth and she was furious!" Littlefoot mentioned. " I got up and tried to stay behind her while she battled Sharptooth. She eventually whacked him to the ground again, turning around to run for it but..." Littlefoot hesitated. Something stung somewhere very deep inside of him.
"But something bad happened..." Bron concluded.
Littlefoot gulped. "Sharptooth got up again and leaped right onto her back... I saw him biting mother, ripping a huge part of her back and eating it right away. There was so much blood! It seemed to come out of the injury like a fountain..."
Now Bron gulped as well. Out of pure instinct, he lowered his head and nuzzled Littlefoot who didn't object at all. "That's so terrible..." Bron spoke in dismal. "That's nothing a child should ever witness. Now I'm even more surprised how you managed to not despair or even get caught in a permanent shock."
"A permanent shock?" Littlefoot wondered. He had never heard of such a thing.
"Yeah, it's when you witness something so terrible that you shut down completely, mentally. I've seen it happen to a child who lost its parents... or at least I assume she lost them. She never ever spoke about it..."
Littlefoot was still too severely affected by the story he was telling to realise who Bron was talking about... "Oh no, that didn't happen to me... I think," he replied uncertainly. "What happened to the child?"
"She is fine nowadays," Bron replied though deep in his mind he had to remark that the girl currently wasn't fine at all... but regarding her shock, she was. "You can recover from such a shock but it takes time and the scars always remain."
"Oh, alright then, shall I go on?" Littlefoot asked though he really didn't feel like telling the story any more.
"Only if you want," Bron offered for he knew how depressing it was for his son to go through the darkest hours of his life again...
"I do," Littlefoot affirmed. He knew he owed it to Bron that he knew the full story and all the gruesome details. Besides, the more enjoyable parts of the story were yet to be told...
"Mother eventually managed to shake Sharptooth off her and continued to retreat, me and the Threehorn following in shock. Sharptooth followed in hot pursuit, attempting to get more flesh from my mother but mother eventually managed to whip him before collapsing to the ground. Sharptooth lost his balance, sliding down a steep slope. Just when it seemed like it was over and we were safe, the ground started shaking!"
"The earthshake that split the land..." Bron murmured.
"Yes, I was right there, where the land split," Littlefoot replied. He had experienced many earthshakes before as they were quite common but never had an earthshake been nearly as powerful as the one that split the lands and divided the herds.
"Suddenly, the ground cracked open right underneath my feet!" Littlefoot went on. "It was the first strong earthshake in my life. I wasn't scared when the ground rumbled and shook a little but that earthshake was different so I was scared. Everything around me was moving up and down, left and right and shaking so hard that it was almost impossible to keep my footing. I tripped several times! The next thing I remember is that, suddenly, Sharptooth was after me and the Threehorn again. As if the earthshake wasn't scary enough! He got closer and closer. When the weight of his feet impacting the ground with every step of his broke it – after all the earthshake cracked the dry ground over there anyway so it didn't stand his massive weight, we ended up on his foot, screaming in terror!"
Bron was listening, his mouth agape with a mixture of excitement and amazement.
"Abruptly, a new rift opened right next to Sharptooth, emitting lots of hot steam which almost burned us! We tumbled over while Sharptooth was trying not to lose his balance which was actually impossible since the piece of rock we were on was moving like crazy, the gradient steadily increasing as the rock was about to be turned around as it seemed. Soon, the slope got too steep and we all were tumbling down towards an extremely deep ravine. The rock seemed to slowly break apart. I was panicked, screaming for my mother while trying not to fall to certain death. We were the first to lose our footing but we managed to hold on to Sharptooth's tail, climb up and walk across his back. But then, just when Sharptooth was about to fall down himself, my mother came rushing in, whacking that beast down the ravine and catching the threehorn and me just in time while Sharptooth fell much deeper than these walls surrounding this little place are high! I noticed a fresh cut on my mother's neck, drawing a lot of blood but I just kept running. The Threehorn and I finally separated since she was running after her parents while I was going along with my mother who just tried running away from the crack still forming, big pieces of land crashing down into it – and so were the dinosaurs on it."
"Geesh!" Bron commented but didn't say more since he wanted to hear the story without any interruptions.
"Suddenly, the earthshake got even worse! The ground was moving up and down, throwing every dinosaur to the ground. The last thing I remember is getting knocked out by a piece of ground. I don't know what happened then. I only know it was dark and masses of Sky Water were pouring down when I woke up again. I didn't know where I was and I was all alone. No trace of mother, no trace of just anyone. Only I was there... and a devastated landscape. I started calling for my mother and, since I didn't seem to be hurt aside from a slight headache, I went out into the dark, randomly looking around in hope to discover and reunite with my mother. I was searching for a long time but eventually, I discovered her, laying on a shelf of rock. Unmoving. I raced down a slope to reach her."
Bron gulped. He knew what was coming now. This would be the last time Littlefoot ever saw his mother and the last words of the love of his life and best friend since he could remember. Bron prepared himself for the terrible truth.
Littlefoot felt the stinging in his heart returning with brutal force. It was physical pain he was feeling, being reminded of the message he was told and the terrible sight of his dying mother. He remembered every word as if it was engraved into his mind and the occasional scary sleepstory would make sure he'd never forget them. Never. These words, although just recalling them was often enough to make him tear up, were holy to the young dinosaur. They were so full of wisdom and love, so full of regret and pain, yet so wonderful. And so goddamn sad...
Littlefoot took a deep breath before telling Bron about his mother's last moments as detailed as if it had happened just the previous day...

"Mother?" Littlefoot whispered as he arrived at his mother's fallen corpse. Gone was her determinedness to protect him from harm, gone was her strength. The only thing that remained was her fallen body which was covered in her own blood that was still seeping out of the huge hole in her back and the deep cut on her neck, forming a little lake of blood she was laying in though the rain slowly washed it away. The young Longneck feared for the worst but then his mother, much to his relief, moved slightly, emitting a groan.
"Please get up," he pleaded in worry.
"I'm... not sure I can, Littlefoot..." his mother spoke weakly, attempting to get to her feet.
"Yes you can! Get up!" Littlefoot encouraged her, his eyes getting a little moist. She was so weak and somewhere deep inside he knew she wouldn't be able to get up but he didn't want to lose hope just yet!
The huge Longneck struggled to get up, heaved her huge weight up but then her legs gave in and she collapsed back to the ground, breaking the little shelf of rock she was resting on.
Finally, it was dawning on Littlefoot what the inevitable result of his mother's injuries would be. The moisture in his eyes increased and his vision became blurry. His gaze was fixed on the fallen dinosaur, tears forming in his eyes. He knew now that he'd never see her again; he knew now that the Longneck in front of him would never rise again. But she still had something to say...
"Dear, sweet Littlefoot... do you remember the way to the Great Valley?" Littlefoot heard his mother say very quietly, the distant thunder almost covering her weak voice completely. He stared into her eyes so full of regret but also pure love.
Sobbing, he answered, more in a trance and not really saying the truth. "I think so..." The first tears began mixing with the rain, streaming down his cheeks. "But why do I have to know it!? You're gonna be with me!" Littlefoot knew perfectly well that she wouldn't and there was an unmistakible portion of doubt in his words as he spoke them. Nevertheless, he couldn't let go of the thought that she'd recover somehow... as unlikely as it seemed. He still wouldn't lose hope!
"I'll be with you, even if you can't see me..." his mother suddenly responded, her voice becoming fainter.
Littlefoot instantly knew that this was really the last sign that his mother knew his end was near even though he didn't get the cryptic message. "What do you mean if I can't see you? I can always see you!" he retorted teary-eyed. His mother stopped moving, only her voice could still be heard.
"Littlefoot..." Her voice didn't seem to come out of her mouth anymore but rather from somewhere he couldn't quite figure out. It was almost as if it came from where the thunder came from... "Littlefoot, let your heart guide you... It whispers, so listen closely..."
Silence. Only the sound of  raindrops impacting the ground and what seemed like a strange echo of  his mother's words remained. His mother was completely inanimate, her eyes closed, her mouth shut, her chest unmoving... no sound coming from the huge body.
Littlefoot wasn't capable of accepting the ultimate truth. He was clinging to any sign of life his mother may show but there wasn't any. "Mother?" he asked quietly. When no response came he repeated his plead a little louder and more fearful. "Mother?!" Only the wind answered, almost as if it was hissing at him, that he was all alone...
That was when he broke down...

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Well, there you go Littlefoot told Bron how the love of his life lost her life. For a change, I've decided to dedicate the whole chapter to just one sub-plot unlike my usual approach, switching back and forth between them. I'll probably do this in the next chapter as well.

Anyway, there's one thing again I'd like to ask my readers: I had Littlefoot telling most of the story himself (except for the end), instead of choosing the approach rhombus often uses in his fic which I only used at the very end. Now this story Littlefoot is telling Bron isn't finished of course and I've planned that Littlefoot tells Bron the whole story. However, I know that it may get a little boring for you readers so here's my question: Should I retell the whole story of the first movie in short (with Bron reacting to the events - you can probably tell he'll like certain parts but dislike other parts. Besides, Littlefoot also wants him to learn how the friendship with Cera, Ducky, Petrie and Spike came about ) or should I skip the less exciting parts? Also, should I keep the narrating style I used in this chapter or should I switch to Littlefoot experiencing the things he narrates? The latter is probably going to be more interesting and allowes for better writing but it'll be much harder to include Bron's reactions... any advice/opinions?

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and sorry for not updating sooner  

[rhombus]

Overall this was a very nice chapter.  

I must agree with your use of having Littlefoot narrate the story in the beginning as opposed to simply using a flashback.  Flashbacks are useful if one is telling a story to the reader who has never heard it before, but flashbacks are not as useful at conveying the opinions of the person to whom the story is being told.  In this case, Bron's opinions are a major focal point, so having the interplay between Littlefoot narrating the story and Bron's reactions is a good choice.  That being said, switching back to a flashback at the end is also a good choice, in my opinion, as it will allow the next chapter to open with the reactions of both father and son to the most tragic part of the story.

As for how to proceed with the next chapter, I would agree that retelling the entire story might be a bit much, but showing Littlefoot talking about the introduction of his friends (and thus getting Bron's reaction to his friends' demeanors and histories) and how they killed Sharptooth together would be a nice touch.  I can tell that Bron is going to have a lot to consider once Littlefoot has told his tale.  

[Ducky123]

Thanks for the review, rhombus

Overall this was a very nice chapter. smile.gif

I'm glad you think so since I was afraid it'd be kinda boring (which may have been the reason why I lost my motivation to write for a while   )

I must agree with your use of having Littlefoot narrate the story in the beginning as opposed to simply using a flashback. Flashbacks are useful if one is telling a story to the reader who has never heard it before, but flashbacks are not as useful at conveying the opinions of the person to whom the story is being told. In this case, Bron's opinions are a major focal point, so having the interplay between Littlefoot narrating the story and Bron's reactions is a good choice. That being said, switching back to a flashback at the end is also a good choice, in my opinion, as it will allow the next chapter to open with the reactions of both father and son to the most tragic part of the story.

Yeah, exactly. I left the emotional reaction for the next chapter, ending the chapter with the emotional stuff while showing the reaction in the next one. Though, here it's probably going to be in two chapters, since the next one will focus on the other plot going on simultaneously

As for how to proceed with the next chapter, I would agree that retelling the entire story might be a bit much, but showing Littlefoot talking about the introduction of his friends (and thus getting Bron's reaction to his friends' demeanors and histories) and how they killed Sharptooth together would be a nice touch. I can tell that Bron is going to have a lot to consider once Littlefoot has told his tale. in-yes.gif

I thought I should definitely retell how they killed Sharptooth (that'll surprise Bron ) anyway. I could reduce the middle part to just telling how Littlefoot met them indeed. That way I'll cover his friends and killing Sharptooth while reducing the "boring" parts to a minimum...

[DarkWolf91]

Love it!

I liked the decisions you made with Littlefoot's re-telling, and the flashback at the end. I agree with Rhombus in that I don't believe going over the entire movie is necessary, just main points. Such as meeting the gang, killing sharptooth, and maybe the part where they fought and split up. I am interested in hearing Bron's reactions

[Ducky123]

The fight, yeah... good idea I should probably include it indeed, yep, yep, yep!

Thanks for the review. I'm glad you liked the chapter! As it currently looks, the next chapter might be up rather soon. I managed to write quite a bit of the next chapter inbetween exam revision this week already  

[Ducky123]

next chapter, wrote most of it yesterday  

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Chapter 44:

"Who are you?" Ricky instantly released an imaginary sigh of relief. "Shorty doesn't recognise me!" He was lucky that his colours had changed quite a bit through the years. When he and Shorty last saw each other their skin-colours were pale. Now they were much stronger and darker. On top of that, their voices had changed; they were sounding less like a child but a little more mature and deeper though not like an adolescent's voice yet...
"Name's Ralph," Ricky lied. It was all part of his great plan – pretending to be somebody he wasn't. He belonged to Hart since he was the one who fathered him in the first place. Serving his purposes was the least he could do to show some gratitude. Therefore, Shorty also belonged to him so he hadn't been entitled to run away... Ricky wasn't sure if Hart, was he aware of his actions, would want him to do what he was planning to do but he assumed it so he carried out his plan...
"Whazzup buddy?" he exclaimed cooly, grinning at the green Longneck in front of him who gave him a reserved look.
"What do you want?" Shorty grunted suspiciously. He was full aware that he wasn't supposed to talk to anybody due to being grounded but if people were dropping by without asking for permission he thought he might as well be allowed to chase them off... The first impression the blue Longneck by the name Ralph made on him wasn't exactly positive either so he was actually quite in favor of projecting his anger on unsuspecting and unfamiliar targets... such as him.
"Easy pal, why so rude?" Ricky sneered with false outrage. "Was jus' sayin' hello, y'know?"
"Name's Shorty..." Shorty snarled, giving Ricky a cold glare. "You do know that this area is only free to enter for members of my father's herd?" Now Shorty entered the terrain of lying as well which was his element, frankly...
Ricky's level of excitement rose when he realised he indeed stumbled across his brother. He almost failed to hide it but caught himself in time. "Aww, c'mon! You probably made that up anyway!" Ricky snorted. "Ain't you got friends, bud?" he then insisted with some amusement. He knew too well that he didn't have any friends either but tried to act like the cool guy he wasn't, not needing any friends.
"Again I ask you, what do you want?" Shorty growled, more vicious this time, anger building up within him.
"Man, what's wrong with ya?" Ricky teased. "I'm being kind and you sound like you wanna kill me!"
"If you were kind, you'd answer my question..." Shorty remarked with a growl.
He had a point. Maybe he should tell Shorty what he wanted? Well, what he pretended to anyway...
"Besides, you were asking if I had any friends but you're wandering around all alone too? Suspicious if you ask me, Ralph..." Shorty pointed out. "And what were you doing here in this lonesome forest anyway!? There are more populated areas here y'know?"
"'Kay, if you insist..." Ricky spoke, piqued. "I jus' arrived here, y'know, so I was exploring this neat lil' place when I ran into you. Thought I should say hello, y'know, like a well-behaved Longneck does. Oh, and I DO have friends. They were just too cowardly to come here so it's just me and my dad. Stupid of 'em if you ask me. Who knows what we're here for? There must be a reason..."
The stranger's response didn't help Shorty to build any trust but at least he didn't seem to be up to anything so he'd tolerate his presence for the time being. "That's less boring than just doing nothing!" he noted. He could still chase him off later... "Fair enough..." he simply replied.
"Wanna join me exploring the valley, mate?" Ricky then proposed. "Or got something better to do?"
That put Shorty into a tricky situation the outcome of which highly depended on his response. Of course he could simply say "yes" and go along. Nobody from the herd was watching and if anybody asked where he was, he'd just say he'd gone to the watering hole to drink. Surely he was allowed to meet his daily needs... Besides, Bron was busy talking to his replacement, Littlefoot. He wouldn't notice him either if he sneaked away. Still, Shorty knew it'd save him a lot of trouble if he just stayed where he was supposed to be.
Still, it was against his pride to admit that he was grounded. What should he do?

Yuyun was dosing in the warm rays of the afternoon sun when she heard a familiar, warm voice greeting her.
"Hello Yuyun," Ali spoke warmly. "Sorry if I woke you up..."
"Ali, what a surprise!" Cho's mother replied in joy, rising to her feet. "Don't worry, dear, I was just relaxing. We all need a break every now and then, especially after this demanding journey." The grown-up chuckled to herself. "Anyway, what are you doing here? I take it you want to see my little one again?" She gave Ali a warm, knowing smile.
"Oh yes, I'm indeed here to visit Cho again," Ali replied. After all, she had to make up for all the time she neglected the friendship horribly... "On the one hand, I'm just curious how she's doing;" the young girl spoke. "She's sleeping, isn't she?"
Yuyun nodded. "Sleeping like a rock since you came over in the morning..."
Ali emitted a short laughter. "Haha, so I thought." Turning more serious, she added. "On the other hand though I feel like I have to make up for the time I spent with Shorty, neglecting Cho who was so kind towards me when I was injured and weak..."
"Oh Ali, you know Cho doesn't blame you for that and neither am I," Yuyun assured the young girl.
"I know, still I feel like I should be there for her now," Ali responded. Littleoot is talking to Bron right now anyway so it's the best thing I can do to visit Cho right now."
"Fair enough," Yuyun admitted. "You know, Ali, Cho actually told me about you after she made friends with you..."
"She did?" Ali asked curiously.
"Yes, she usually never talks a lot about these things," Cho's mother mused.

Yuyun layed on the rocky ground, resting her legs after hiking across the mountains. Bron had called it a day in the afternoon since the place offered some safety and enough space for all members as well as a narrow stream with crystal clear water.
When she saw her adopted daughter Cho returning to her just around the dawn of night, she instantly noticed the happy face she was wearing. "Hmm, now that's interesting. She's hardly ever like that..." she puzzled. Usually, Cho was always kind of melancholic, depressed or just unsocial and odd but she still loved her little one. Moments like this were rare so she got very curious what made her so happy...
"Hello dear, what have you been up to today?" Yuyun asked her adopted daughter warmly, smiling at her lovingly. Usually, the little girl wouldn't answer her this question but today seemed to be diferent.
"Hello Yuyun," Cho greeted her adopted mother as formally as ever. "I think I have met a new friend. She is really kind. Kind of like a big sister I never had..."
"A friend?" her mother exclaimed in surprise. "Why dear that's wonderful! I'm so happy for you! What's your friend's name?"
"It's Ali," Cho replied. "Tomorrow I will meet her again if I can and introduce you to her, she is really kind."
Yuyun felt a deep pleasure as she heard her daughter telling her the news. She had never been able to find a friend; the other kids wouldn't play with Cho though she didn't exactly try to get engaged in their games. She rather played on her own so it was quite some developement of her.
"I would love to meet your new friend, Cho," Yuyun reassured.
"But Yuyun?" Cho suddenly asked.
"Yes dear?"
"Please don't be shocked when you see her. Ali is the girl we rescued in the desert."
"Oh, that is who you made friends with?" Yuyun was quite surprised about that.
"Yes, you see... I saw her and for some reason I knew she would be different than all the other kids. I was totally right. She's really like me... in a way..."
Yuyun didn't comment on that further. Instead, she nuzzled her daughter gently who didn't object at all (sometimes she would).

The next day, she got to meet Ali indeed. Yuyun was just glad her injuries healed so quickly. She still remembered how terrible her skin looked due to the excessive sunburn.
"Well, do you think I can try to talk to Cho again?" Ali asked. She really wanted to talk to her again as she had just remembered how kind a soul the little girl was when she talked to her in the morning.
"Sure, let's see how our sleepyhead is doing, shall we?" Yuyun chuckled. "I'm just glad she made it and I'm sure she'll be fine in no time just like you, Ali."

"Should I be a coward? Should I be daring? Should I disobey Bron?" Shorty just didn't know... but then a thought occured to him. "Why am I caring for somebody I barely know when I'm not caring for others I know too well?" In other words, why should he risk the truce with Bron for that idiot? Why should he try not to lose his face in front of somebody he didn't know? Surely, it wouldn't help restoring the little self-esteem he still had but it wasn't exactly someone he cared about. In front of Ali, he would've gone with Ralph to show her how daring he was. However, Ralph wasn't Ali so his decision stood.
"Sorry, but I can't," Shorty spoke outright. He really did mean it. Even though Ralph appeared to be a jerk, he was still better company than his shadow or his reflection in the water. "Honestly, I'm technically not even allowed to talk to anybody right now."
Ricky, remembering hearing about Shorty hurting other children, quickly realised he'd have a better chance to keep the conversation going if he didn't act like a jerk this time. Nothing would be gained if he made his brother dislike him or even wake his anger that he already felt earlier.
"Grounded, eh?" Ricky questioned, attempting to sound empathetic though he wasn't so sure if he succeeded.
Shorty nodded, swallowing down his pride. He prepared himself in case Ralph had in mind to make fun of him.
"Ah, that's uncool..." Ricky replied, trying to sound sorry. "Don't worry buddy, I've been there too. Your dad's as strict as mine then?" Ricky was really curious now. Who was that "dad" his brother was referring to? Surely, it wouldn't be his actual dad?
Shorty, being quite surprised by the boy's reaction, began to drop his surveillance. "Well, actually he's absolutely not..." Shorty admitted. With some anger, he added. "Though I don't think he really cares about me. He's just busy getting to know his real son. I don't matter anymore all of a sudden..."
"Oh..." Ricky began to like that development. "So... you've been adopted? That sucks."
"Yeah..." Shorty grunted.
"You can be lucky you were adopted though," Ricky remarked. "Most orphans just get killed out there without anybody giving a damn. My dad wouldn't give a damn anyway but that's just my dad..." Ricky suddenly realised that he had let down his guard too much. His brother mustn't figure out who he truly was..."So anyway, your dad's not strict at all?" he questioned as if nothing had happened.
"Mmh, he really isn't," Shorty replied honestly. "I usually get away with a lot of mischief. He'd scorn me but who cares?" Shorty had a feeling the other boy maybe wasn't so much different at all. He certainly seemed to be understanding of his problems.
"Then how'd you get yourself grounded when you normally get away with everything?" Ricky wondered, trying not to tease Shorty. His brother seemed to open up and he'd better make sure he'd stay on good terms with him for now...
"Well, I've gone too far this time..." Shorty sighed, annoyance and regret welling up in him.
"Oh?" Ricky decided to see if another theory of his was true. "I've heard somebody almost killed a youngling from their herd the other day when I arrived here. That wasn't you, was it, Shorty?"
Shorty was surprised to be accused of almost killing Cho, but then again he was not. The fact alone that Ralph had heard about this made him suspicious again but Shorty knew how fast gossip was exchanged when such a huge number of dinosaurs met at such a small place. He'd probably picked it up from some conversation. In fact, Shorty had done that earlier that day when he was so bored that even the most boring gossip was still more interesting than staring at something doing nothing at all all day...
"Y'know, Ralph," Shorty spoke casually. "Usually, I wouldn't tell you this since I barely know you..."
"But?" Ricky grinned. He knew he had him where he wanted him.
"But you seem to be understanding and not judgemental so I'll tell you. Maybe I'll feel better afterwards..."
"Sure thing, bro," Ricky replied, relaxed. "My dad's judging everyone right away and it sucks! Just trying not to become like him, y'know?" Again, Ricky slightly recoiled. "Too much info again..." he reprimanded himself. But it'd benefit him as long as Shorty didn't find out.
"Yeah, so... yes, I'm the one who almost killed the youngling..."Shorty admitted. "Go ahead and hate me..."
"Don't worry, why'd I hate you?" Ricky quickly answered. "Though, why'd you do this?" This question was of particular interest for the blue Longneck. If he knew how to spark Shorty's wrath without becoming its target himself, then he might even be useful in the end. And he'd enjoy manipulating him...
"Remember what I told you about my dad not caring about me anymore since he met his real son he abandoned before his hatchday?" Shorty explained. "Y'see, I was jealous of course and just generally pissed off because my girlfriend seemed to know that flathead, therefore I wasn't interesting for her either."
"You got a girlfriend? Good job, mate!" Ricky jeered.
"Not really," Shorty grunted. "As I said, she seems to like that other guy better than me." The thought of Littlefoot talking Ali away from his awoke his fury again but Shorty suppressed the urge to release it. " Anyway, so I ran away, furious. I was full of energy and I just needed to let it out on somebody... That somebody happened to be one of the annoying kids I often bully around. It's especially fun when I bully her because she's just a weirdo. Sometimes I can yell the ugliest insults at her and she'd just ignore me and then again she explodes at the littlest mention of an insult..."
"So Shorty's turned into a bully too? That's very interesting..." Ricky mused. He knew very well why Shorty became what he was now. Apparently, when somebody felt worthless, they'd lower others to rise themselves, even if these others stood no chance. Yes, that made Ricky actually quite proud. His brother wasn't the annoying brat he used to be after all.
"Anyway, when I finally caught that girl, I started beating her and I started to feel better. I lost control over myself and started torturing her. When I was done, she was bleeding so badly, that she'd have died without quick help from some herd members."
"Geesh," Ricky was sincerely shocked. "Well, I see why you did that but that was stupid!" Ricky's outrage was acted of course but deep inside he grew a little bit of respect for his brother, knowing he could technically do that to him if he wasn't careful. Ricky was of strong built, but Shorty seemed even more muscular than him, his tail in particular...
"I know..." Shorty cursed. "If anything, it made everything worse. Now everybody just views me as a threat to their children and those I care about despise me. Admit it, I'm a loser with no friends everybody hates!"
"Oh, so I was right about you not having any friends after all?" Ricky asked teasingly, forgetting that he shouldn't act like a jerk. However, Shorty took it lightly.
"Well, not anymore, Ralph..." the green Longneck sighed. "Not anymore..."
"Well..." Ricky was thinking hard. He had to find the right words now. "Looks like we both are pretty lonely right now. My friends are a bunch of eggs and your friends probably just don't understand you, not understanding why you did this, or they never really cared about you in the first place! A true friend would stick to their friends no matter what, right?" Ricky realised just how much crap he was saying but it seemed to have the desired effect on his brother. He wouldn't tell him any of this if he were still sane and if it wasn't necessary... What he was talking about right now was against his philosophy. "So..."
Shorty suddenly realised what the other Longneck was alluding to. The thought seemed a bit strange – after all he never really valued having friends nor did he ever get any until recently. "Does he want to be my friend?" Shorty wondered.
"So... wanna be friends?" Ricky offered.

"Hello little sleepyhead," Yuyun cooed. If it weren't for her injuries, one could think she was slumbering peacefully. In truth, she wasn't really sleeping. In fact, it was much closer to nonconscience. "Your best friend Ali is here again to visit you, Cho."
At first it seemed like Cho would just keep on sleeping but when her mother mentioned Ali's name, she shifted ever so slightly.
"Are you awake, dear?" Yuyun wondered.
Ali observed how the little Longneck slowly shook off her unconscience, her mind slowly beginning to process the information that Ali was standing right next to her. Yawning, she slowly opened her eyes just a bit, her adopted mother's warm smile greeting her. Cho tried to return the smile but failed at it since pain erupted in her head. Instead, her features were contorted into a grimace of pain.
"Are you alright, Cho?" Ali spoke softly, a spark of worry in her voice.
Hearing Ali's voice, Cho's motivation to fight the drowsiness in her head increased, and the pain was suddenly a lot easier to endure. Cho tilted her head towards Ali, relying on her hearing sense. Then she opened her eyes again, this time much wider. Ali's bright, blue eyes met her – her friend was smiling at her.
"Hello again," Ali spoke, smiling.
Cho returned the smile even if it was hardly noticeable.
"I'll leave you girls alone now, okay?" Yuyun voiced up, knowing that Cho didn't like having too many other dinosaurs around her. She could have a talk with her once Ali left.
"That's fine," Ali replied.
Cho nodded slightly.
"Have fun!" Yuyun tweeted before turning around and resuming her late afternoon sunbath.

Shorty considered his options. He knew he was technically not even allowed to talk to Ralph but he also realised the chance Ralph offered him here. Shorty still didn't fully trust him but he trusted him enough to hang around with him. If Ralph didn't hate him for what he'd done, maybe that was Shorty's chance to make a fresh start? Besides, Shorty had learned to value friendship when he met Ali. A friend was better then no friend. Maybe Ralph could even turn out to be somewhat useful to him?
"Are you serious?" Shorty responded carefully. "Nobody wants to be friends with a loser like me..."
"Aww, don't worry bro. You're alright. Really." Ricky reassured.
"And you don't mind that I can't leave this place for some time?" Shorty inquired. "I won't be able to do anything fun!"
"Well, you could always sneak off..." Ricky offered.
"No, I won't." Shorty had already made up his mind about that. "If I show my dad that I'm trying to redeem myself, behaving and not causing any fuzz, then he might lift the punishment. He usually isn't one to hold a grudge for very long..."
"Fair enough, I'd just be glad if I had somebody here I can consider a friend," Ricky explained. "So... my offer still stands. Wanna be friends, Shorty?"
"Well, I don't see why we shouldn't..." Shorty replied. Then he grinned at Ricky.
"Great!" Ricky exclaimed, surprised how easy it was to act like a good guy. He even kind of enjoyed it... kind of.
"Well, I'd better buzz off before we're caught chattin' ," he then called happily. "I'll drop by again tomorrow around this time, 'kay?"
"Sure, seeya!" Shorty replied, smiling. Maybe this day would start his redemption. It'd take him weeks, if not months, and he probably really had to change, not just pretend to do so. Yet Shorty felt like he could succeed. He already had a good idea what to do in the near future...

The two girls watched the grown-up Longneck leave. Only when she was out of hearing range, Cho spoke up. "Hello Ali." Her voice was weak but not nearly as croaky as it had been in the morning. "I didn't expect you to visit me again so soon..."
Cho's ability to form full sentences again greatly relieved Ali. This time, they would be able to have a longer chat.
"Well, I was spending most of the day with my friend Littlefoot but now he's talking to Bron so I thought I'd come over again," Ali explained.
"Littlefoot?" Cho asked. "Who is that? I don't remember any Longneck of this herd by that name. And why is he talking to our herd leader, Ali?"
"Oh, your memory doesn't fail you, Cho," Ali chuckled. "You see, Littlefoot is someone I met long ago when I was travelling to the Great Valley with my old herd. We had lots of fun and a really cool adventure, he's really nice!" Ali's gaze became very dreamy.
Cho couldn't help but chuckle despite the pain it caused her to do so. Even though she had absolutely no idea about these things, she just knew what Ali felt there.
"I'll introduce you two tomorrow when I visit you again, Cho. I'm sure you'll like him!"
Cho didn't particularly want to meet a dinosaur she didn't know but she knew that Ali would greatly appreciate it if she didn't act like the unsocial creep she usually was. Though in a strange way, she knew she would get along with Ali's friend when Ali was with her.
"Okay, I'm curious," Cho replied. "Though, what does he have to do with our herd leader? Why is he talking to him?"
"Oh right... You see, Cho... you probably know that Bron had a son he never found?" Ali started to explain.
Cho nodded slightly.
"Well... Littlefoot..."
"He is his son?" Cho suddenly piped up in excitement.
"Why yes, good guess!" Ali exclaimed in surprise.
"Hey, that totally makes sense..." Cho suddenly thought out aloud.
"What?" Ali wondered. She just hoped Cho would talk in riddles again like last time.
"Did Shorty oww..." Cho froze when her excitement got the better of her. She had moved her body around just slightly but was instantly greeted by a tsunami of pain.
"Oh no, are you okay?" Ali was quite worried about her friend now. She didn't want to imagine what pain she went through right now...
Cho took a while to respond. "I... think so..."
"Don't move yet," Ali advised. "I'm already glad you can talk. That's more than I hoped for. Just make sure you don't cause additional pain."
"Don't worry, Ali... I will not move... again," Cho replied.
"Oh I still don't get why Shorty hurt you like that!" Ali suddenly shouted at noone in particular. Seeing her friend suffer while trying to stay strong without whimpering enraged her. Cho didn't deserve that. Ali was amazed that the intense pain didn't make her cry. She would've cried when she was hurt at Cho's age...
"I think I do now," Cho whispered. All the talking slowly seemed to take on her voice. "Did... did Shorty see Littlefoot?"
"Huh?" Ali was confused for a moment. "Why yes, he was right there when Littlefoot found out that Bron was his dad. So was I by the way... why did you ask?"
"Then it makes sense..." Cho gave Ali a serious look.
"What makes sense, Cho?" Ali asked, confused.
"Don't you see it, Ali?" Cho wondered. When Ali shook her head, Cho sighed. "How did Shorty react then when he found out about Bron's real son?"
Ali considered for a moment. Then realisation finally hit her. "Oh, now I get what you mean, Cho..."
"It was my bad luck that I happened to cross his path," the girl explained. "He needed a vent – that was... me." Cho's expression went dark. "It could have been anyone smaller than him..."
"Then why you?!" Ali demanded in fury. "He always picks on you the most as it is!"
"As I said, it was bad luck that he ran into me," Cho repeated. "It is true that he hates me most."
"Why?! Why you, Cho?" Ali just didn't get it and she knew the next talk she'd be having with Shorty would be a very long interview...
"I'm the only one who doesn't submit to him, Ali," Cho answered. That wasn't the full truth but it was a valid reason. She was a dreamer, an individual. She had her own, sometimes stubborn, view of the world. She wanted to do what she wanted to do and not what others told her. Of course there were some rules she had to follow that actually made sense... like staying in a herd, not wandering too far from the others, being polite and so on... Shorty's rules didn't make sense to her so she didn't care about them... which earned her Shorty's loath.
Being the awkward girl she was, she also didn't want to reveal certain things to Ali. They had always been her very own secret she'd never give away. Unfortunately, one particular dinosaur knew them anyway...
"I will not tolerate this any longer, Cho," Ali shouted, determination in her voice. "Shorty will be up against me if he ever harms you again!"
"No Ali, that doesn't seem right..." Cho retorted weakly.
"So it feels right that he's almost killed you?!" Ali couldn't help mocking Cho for her naivety.
"No..." Cho's answer was simple but Ali wasn't any wiser.
"Then what is right in your eyes, Cho?" she inquired, sighing.
Cho sighed as well. "Nothing, Ali... nothing is."
Ali felt some anger rise in her stomach. Why couldn't Cho just say what she was supposed to say for once?!
"Again, I don't get what you mean, Cho. Sorry..." Ali admitted, swallowing her anger. "If only you were more direct sometimes, not talking in riddles all the time..."
"I'm afraid that is a part of me, Ali... I have always been like that and I don't think I can change; I don't think I want to," Cho admitted. "Let me try to explain, okay?"
Ali nodded.
"For some reason I... I just can't blame him for what he did to me... I know I should hate him, fear him, feel the desire to pay it back... but, frankly, I just feel sorry for him."
"You feel sorry for him?" Ali couldn't believe what Cho told her.
"Yes, I do," the smaller girl replied almost defiantly.
"You'll have to explain that, Cho..." Ali sighed.
"If you knew Shorty for as long as I do, then you would see what I mean," Cho explained. "You know his backstory... you know the violence and wrong views he was confronted with in his early childhood... you know how he was never formally adopted and therefore feeling unwanted sometimes, especially now that Littlefoot is more important to Bron than he ever was... you know how all the other kids in the herd didn't want anything to do with him..."
"Well, they also don't want to play with you..." Ali remarked carefully.
"Yes, but that is because I chose not to play with them," Cho explained. "I am who I am; I am different, I am weird and odd. You try to understand me, Ali. You didn't judge me because of my skin, you didn't mind that I'm a loner with no friends, you didn't mind me being much younger than you... You are what every other dinosaur I have met so far wasn't... You are a true friend, Ali."
Ali brushed all reservations she had aside. Giving Cho a look of gratitude, she gently nuzzled her cheek which the girl returned, smiling.
"Strange, isn't it? I understand how others are thinking but nobody understands how I am..." Cho mused. A particularly nasty wave of pain delayed her next words. "I can somewhat relate to Shorty, Ali. He's an orphan just like me. If he has known his mother, he will miss her." With a lot of sadness in her voice, she added. "I miss my mother too – my real mother..."
"He won't miss his dad for sure..." Ali murmured.
"At least he knew him..." Cho mentioned, her mood becoming a bit darker again.
Ali realised that Cho had probably just told her something no other dinosaur had ever got out of the Longneck with the black skin. According to Bron, she had never said a word about her family. Hinting at the situation in her family already was more than she had ever expected. Already in the morning, she had mentioned her mother, now she was mentioning her dad. Ali felt that Cho was on a good way.
"But true, he won't miss him I think," Cho admitted. "Anyway, I can also relate to Shorty because he knows what it means to be lonely. I believe it is why he became such a jerk. He wasn't important to anyone..."
"While you became the victim of the jerk even though you were in a similar situation?" Ali remarked. "Come on, Cho.You could've also become like him but you became the very opposite!"
"Shorty isn't like me, Ali," Cho argued quietly. "That's why he became what he became and I became what I became. However, I believe Shorty can change if only he has someone to whom he really matters – someone who really matters to him."
"I don't doubt he can, Cho," Ali replied. "However, he will have a very hard time redeeming himself and I'm not sure if the constant negative reactions he'll obviously still receive for a while won't make him doubt his decision..."
"We will see, Ali," Cho spoke optimistically.
"Yeah, we will..." Ali replied, not as optimistically.

A short break occured between them. Now that they had finished their discussion they had nothing to talk about anymore... or did they?

Cho stared into Ali's warm,blueish eyes. She still didn't know how she was able to endure the pain in her small body. It was always there, like something was slowly feasting on her from her inside. Yet, when Ali was around, she had something else than the terrible pain to focus on. Right now, it were her eyes fascinating her. They were exactly the colour of her mother' s eyes – those loving eyes she'd first looked into on the day of her birth... those eyes so full of pain when she saw her mother fall victim to him...
"No, I mustn't think about that right now!" Cho tried to force her thoughts in another direction. Luckily, Ali spoke up just at the right time.
"You know, Cho... there's something I didn't get when I visited you in the morning..."
Cho, happy to have something else then her physical and mental pain to focus on ,replied eagerly. "Yes, what would that be, Ali? I'm not sure if I was thinking straight earlier..."
"You're now at least," Ali chuckled. "Remember when you mentioned that we two have a lot more in common than I could imagine?"
Cho commissioned her brain but it refused to deliver what she needed to know. Eventually, she resigned. "I'm afraid I can't remember, Ali," Cho answered, smiling apologetically. "Did I say that before I snoozed off?"
"Oh yes..." Ali laughed. "You were half asleep already!"
"That explains it..." Cho would've joined Ali's laughter but she supressed it to avoid the eruption of pain that would follow inevidently.
"Do you think you can remember what you may have meant when you said this?" Ali requested. "I'm sure that's one of your riddles again, isn't it?" The pink girl giggled.
"Ah yes, I think I know what I meant but I will not tell you, Ali," Cho answered. "This is something I had to figure out myself when I met you so you should also figure it out yourself."
"Aww, any hints?" Ali begged.
"I shall grant you one hint but no more, okay?" Cho grinned at Ali.
"Alright, what is the hint?" Ali was very curious.
Cho grinned even wider until the point where it started hurting. She knew Ali wouldn't approve of the answer. "The answer is hidden in your eyes... happy puzzling."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So there you have it Let me know what you think about the various developments in this chapter and I hope you liked it ^^

The next chapter will resume where chapter 43 left off...

[DarkWolf91]

Interesting! I love how you switched between Shorty/Ricky and Cho/Ali. There were some interesting revelations in this chapter about Cho in particular, and how she relates to Shorty. I am happy to see that Shorty is trying to turn over a new leaf, but I get the feeling Ricky's going to be right there to sabotage his efforts
Can't wait to read more!

Just one correction that stood out to me while I was reading, when Shorty said 'not making any fuzz,' I believe the proper expression you were going for is 'not making any fuss'

[rhombus]

Ah, a lot of developments in this chapter. The interactions between Ali and Cho were very well done and elaborated quite a bit more on her character and her history.  Likewise, the Ricky and Shorty conversation alludes to the fact that Ricky is on a scheme of his own.  It is very telling that Ricky things more highly of Shorty now that he has turned into a bit of a bully.  I fear that we may see a tug-of-war for Shorty's loyalties in the near future.  The only question is who will win?

I look forward to the next chapter.  

[Ducky123]

Ah, I'm glad you two like the new developments  

There were some interesting revelations in this chapter about Cho in particular, and how she relates to Shorty.

Yep, yep, yep. Some of the things she talked about with Ali will be very important later on so stay tuned  

I am happy to see that Shorty is trying to turn over a new leaf, but I get the feeling Ricky's going to be right there to sabotage his efforts sad.gif

I fear that we may see a tug-of-war for Shorty's loyalties in the near future. The only question is who will win?

Oh yeah, this will be so much fun to write   Who will win? I know but you do not (yet).

Ah, a lot of developments in this chapter. The interactions between Ali and Cho were very well done and elaborated quite a bit more on her character and her history.

Yep, you indeed learn more about Cho. It's funny how much fun it can be to work with such a complex OC like Cho and how she interacts with other characters in the story. A lot about Cho is still unknown to the reader. Certain information is hidden in my writing but I'd honestly be surprised if anybody figured this out at this point of the story already  

It is very telling that Ricky things more highly of Shorty now that he has turned into a bit of a bully.

A bit of a bully... HE ALMOST KILLED POOR CHO! He's a biiiiiig jerk. Anyway, yes, that's indeed interesting. You never know, maybe Shorty will grow so much on Ricky that he gives up on his evil plan? Who knows... other than me that is...  

Just one correction that stood out to me while I was reading, when Shorty said 'not making any fuzz,' I believe the proper expression you were going for is 'not making any fuss' in-yes.gif

Uhm, I think you're right   I'll make sure to correct it.

[Ducky123]

Anybody still remembering this story?    :blink:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 45:


Silence. Littlefoot had interrupted his story telling. He was by no means capable of going on now after painfully reliving his mother's last moment.

Even the distant sound of chattering dinosaurs seemed to have been muted temporarily. Only the wind was blowing, a mild breeze touching their bodies.

"Oh Mother..." Littlefoot was on the edge of sobbing, moisture was forming in his eyes, blurring his vision.

Suddenly, huge drops of water impacted the ground. Littlefoot looked upwards to see his father crying.

"Dad?" the little Longneck spoke up softly. The fact that his dad was crying kind of helped him shake off his own grief.

"Thank you, Littlefoot, thank you..." Bron whispered. "I admire your strength at this young age. You are my son..."

"And you are my dad..." Littlefoot spoke silently. Bron's reaction wiped away every little bit of doubt Littlefoot had in him. Bron was his dad, there was no question about that anymore. Littlefoot felt strongly connected to him for the first time since they both shared the pain of losing the most important dinosaur in their lifes.

"Thank you very much, son," Bron choked, not hiding his tears. "You can't imagine how important it is for me to finally know how my mate spend her last moments. She died protecting you. Only through her efforts, I now have the opportunity to meet you at last, Littlefoot, I'm so proud of her... and I'm also proud of you, my son."

"Thanks... it's true that my mother saved me from Sharptooth," Littlefoot said hesitantly, some darkness mixing into his voice. "However, maybe she would have never had to save me if I didn't wander off the herd back then..."

Bron gave his son a sad smile. "Oh Littlefoot, there's no reason to blame yourself. Look at me... I should have been there to protect you two but I was somewhere out there searching for the Great Valley. I've blamed myself for her death so many times but eventually I realised that there are things in life we can't change. We can only try to accept them the way they are and move on. Call it fate if you want but things happened... Most bad things also have a bright side to them, you know?"

"Yes... I know exactly what you mean," Littlefoot responded. "If  Sharptooth hadn't killed my mother, I would have never met my friends."

"And I would have never become a herd leader," Bron smiled. "They're like family to me, y'know?"

"Yeah... just like the dinosaurs that live in the Great Valley..." Littlefoot agreed.

There was a short moment of silence  between the two Longnecks until Bron spoke up again.

"Well, should we go on with the storytelling?" he requested carefully. "Of course I can understand if you'd rather not."

"No problem, I can continue the tale if you like," Littlefoot answered, lacking enthusiasm which, however, soon returned to him as more pleasant memories replaced the grief he was still feeling when he thought of his mother.


The little Longneck was resting on a small ledge in front of a small pond. He had been lucky to stumble upon some water in a hostile landscape such as the one he found himself in. All alone, he had to go on the journey his mother and grandparents were supposed to go with him together. Now it was only him, a defenceless hatchling without any orientation where he was or where he was going, who was left.

After he had drunk enough water, he simply sat down, staring into the clear water of the pond, dully. Once the surface had calmed, he could see his own reflection staring at him. A sad face, a face that was marked by hours and hours of crying for his fallen mother, a face that was just as indifferent about the world as he currently was. He was at that point where he honestly wouldn't mind if Sharptooth had got him too.

He kept on staring at the very same spot on the water until his vision became blurry but he wasn't actually looking at his reflection but at an imaginary picture that lay behind the visible layer. That was a much better place than the cruel reality he was locked in. In his world, there were no Sharpteeth who could have killed his mother. They were playing at a wide river surrounded by wet grasslands and tall forests and then he joined a group of young Longnecks that seemed to be his age..

*splash*

Any other dinosaur would have been alerted by the sound of something diving into the water but not Littlefoot. Even when the unknown swimming object chose to move towards his general direction, it didn't catch a quantum of his attention. Eventually, something green jumped out of the water, landing on the ledge Littlefoot was resting on. It had jumped out of the water just at the spot Littlefoot had been staring all the time but he was so deep in trance that he hardly noticed that, instead of his reflection, he suddenly had a little green creature standing in front of him, eyeing him with big eyes full of curiosity and hope, carefully edging closer.

"Hello," exclaimed the green creature happily, looking at him expectantly but Littlefoot merely shifted his head ever so slightly.

"I said hello!" the creature repeated, talking louder this time.

Reluctantly, Littlefoot allowed a small part of his mind to return back to reality. The fact alone that he hadn't been able to escape reality completely made him so sad that a single tear formed in his eye, rapidly rolling down his cheek. The creature – it was a female Swimmer hatchling as far as he could tell, followed his tear with her eyes curiously.

"What is your name, huh?" she questioned again, receiving no answer from the griefing Longneck yet again.

"Hmm, maybe you cannot talk yet, huh, huh?" the little Swimmer wondered.

Littlefoot couldn't help but fully pay the little, green creature in front of him his attention now.

"Longnecks don't talk to... ehh whatever you are..." Littlefoot shrugged her off, thinking about the words of the scary, old Threehorn as he spoke. He was pretty sure the creature was a Swimmer but he had never seen a Swimmer before so he thought it was better to act as if he didn't know.

"I am a Longneck, see?" the little Swimmer declared, stretching her neck as much as she could to make it appear long. "And I have a looooooooong tail, just like you," she added, also stretching her tail but soon she got tired from stretching. Littlefoot's critical glance was upon her.

"Alriiiiiight..." she admitted. "I am not a Longneck, I am a Bigmouth, yes I am."

Littlefoot had heard the term "Bigmouth" before so he concluded it was simply another word to call a Swimmer. He had to admit that her beak was indeed kind of big.

"But I am all alone, I am..." Suddenly the girl turned very sad, her eyes becoming tearful. Littlefoot got curious now.

"I lost my family in the big earthshake..." she sobbed.

"Do you wanna come with me?" Littlefoot asked carefully. He kinda liked the positive attitude of the Swimmer. When he figured out that they were in the same situation – without a home, without a place to go and without anybody they knew and loved, he knew it would be better to stick together despite the difference between their kinds. He admitted that he was sick of being all alone with his dark thoughts.

The eyes of the little Swimmer grew big as she heard Littlefoot's words.

"OH YES!!!" she screamed in extreme joy, performing a jump that catapulted her high in the air compared to her size. Realising that she might have been a bit too overexcited, she dimmed down her voice a bit.

"Oh, hehehe... oh yes, yes, yes, I do,I do!" she added, chuckling and nodding encouragingly.

"Alright, come on!" Littlefoot told her. "But you have to keep up!" he warned.

"I will keep up, I will!" the Swimmer promised with a smile. She was so happy not having to wander around on her own with someone to talk to even if it wasn't one of her kind.

"Where are we going?" the Swimmer wondered while humming.

"I'm going to the Great Valley, you can come with me," Littlefoot adressed the Swimmer again.

"Do you think my family went to the Great Valley too?" The girl wondered.

"Hmm..." Littlefoot pondered for a second. "Maybe, my mother said that's where all the herds are going."

"Oh I hope, I hope, I hope!" the Swimmer exclaimed hopefully.

After a few steps, he decided to introduce himself properly.

"My name's Littlefoot!"

"And my name is Ducky, yes that is what it is, yep, yep, yep!" the Swimmer spoke up, laughing.

For the first time since he had lost his mother, Littlefoot had something to distract him. And now he also had something in mind – a goal to reach: The Great Valley!


"...So that's how I met Ducky, the Swimmer." Littlefoot finished. Now he gave Bron some time to react.

"Ducky sounds like somebody you can have... lots of fun with," Bron guessed, a little unsure. Of course he didn't like Ducky at all but she sounded like somebody very well suited for Littlefoot if she was a Longneck herself.

"She really helped me to feel better," Littlefoot admitted. "Because... Ducky is playful and always optimistic. That's just what I lacked back then..."

"Yeah, I see..." Bron muttered.

"Well, soon after I found Ducky, I also found another friend of mine..."


"Do not touch the cracks, Littlefoot!" Ducky announed merrily as they walked across the mostly barren land. The land was so dry that the Bright Circle had completely dried out the ground, making it hard as rock. The high difference in temperature during the day when it was unbearably hot and the night when it was unbearably cold had been too much stress for the dried earth so it cracked, the cracks widening every night and day.

"Huh?" Littlefoot hadn't listened to the girl.

"I said do not step on the cracks, hehehe," Ducky who was apparently amused by Littlefoot's absentmindedness chuckled softly.

"Oh? Is this a kind of... game?" the Longneck wondered.

"Yep, yep, yep! It is a game, yes it is!" Ducky chirped as she was jumping from one block of dried earth to the next.

"Never played that one..." he admitted thoughtfully. "How's it named?"

"I do not know," Ducky answered. "Let us call it the "Do not step on a crack-game," she laughed.

"Hmm, kinda long, don't you think?" Littlefoot replied critically."

"Well, you can call it by a shorter name if you like, yes you can," Ducky suggested happily as she made an especially daring jump, barely avoiding the crack she had intended to jump across.

"Fair enough," Littlefoot said, shrugging.

"So... are you going to play too?" the Swimmer wondered.

Actually, Littlefoot didn't feel up to it at all but he guessed it probably wouldn't make things worse so he agreed to Ducky's invitation.

"Well, why not..." he answered grimly. "Though you have an advantage, Ducky."

"Huh? Do I, do I?" Ducky wondered, almost stepping on a crack.

"Your feet are smaller and you only have two..."

"Oh, that might be true, yes, yes, yes..." Ducky admitted. "However, this game is not about winning, it is about..." Ducky failed one of her more daring jumps, landing directly on a crack which gave in due to the impact so her leg got stuck.

"... it is about... not losing, yes it is..." The girl grinned innocently. "I think I am stuck now, yes I am.."

"Need a lift then?" Littlefoot grinned, pulling her out.

"Thank you very much!" Ducky gave the Longneck a friendly smile.

"Okay, then let's go!" Littlefoot called, beginning to jump with more or less success. His feet were simply a tad too big.

"Hehehe, your name is Littlefoot but your feet are not very little, no, no, no," Ducky laughed.

"Yeah... I guess." Littlefoot shrugged.

"Well, just try your best at not stepping on too many of them then," Ducky suggested brightly. It was this positiveness of Ducky that made him like the small Swimmer so much. In the matter of merely an hour or two, he already felt so comfortable around her as if she had always been at his side, travelling to and through terra incognita.

Soon, Ducky started humming a random melody.

"Du-dubi-du... dappadappadu..." Suddenly, she started hopping through Littlefoot legs who had spread them to avoid stepping on a crack unsuccessfully. He laughed.

"Dippidappadi-dapadu, do not step on a crack or you will break your back!" Ducky sang merrily. Then, all of a sudden, her stomach started rumbling loudly.

"Hmm, my stomach is talking," she stated in amusement.

"Yeah, mine too," Littlefoot confirmed, finally noticing his huge hunger he had been supressing until now. Just as it occured there was a palm tree right ahead of them. The green food didn't look very tasty but it would feed them so Littlefoot started pulling on the palm to remove the thick leaves.

"Hmm, wonder what this tastes like..."

"Arrrrrrrrrgh!" Something abruptly shouted  high up in the tree, scaring Littlefoot for a moment.

"The tree is talking!" Ducky realised in a mixture of curiosity and surprise.

"No it ischin't!" Littlefoot retorted in a muffled voice.

"You should not eat talking trees, nope, nope, nope," Ducky adviced cheekily.

Littlefoot continued to pull on the food that seemed to resist his attempts to eat it the more he tried until...

A small stick-like creature came sliding down the palm branch Littlefoot was pulling on. While screaming, it slid right into the Longneck's snout.

"AHHHHHHH!!!" he screamed, letting go of the branch as if he had tried to chew on lava. The branch which the creature was still clinging to, was abruptly swinging back into its previous position before the Longneck had started pulling it. The creature was flung off the tree due to the high speed of the branch. It sailed through the air until gravity won against momentum. With an audible thud, it crashed into the ground full force, breaking through it.

Ducky, who had hidden behind Littlefoot, was the first to approach. Peeking into the hole that had opened up, she soon spotted a rather terrified little Flyer in it.

"Who are you, huh?" she questioned kindly.

"M-m-my name Petrie..." the Flyer stuttered shakily though at least he seemed unhurt to Ducky. After all he took quite a drop...

"Petrie huh? Funny name!" Ducky laughed though it was in no way derogative.

"I f-flied?" the Flyer suddenly asked excitedly, hope sparkling in his eyes.

"No, you fall-ed," Ducky answered, imitating the grammatical incorrectness of the Flyer.

"No, I falled... ohohoh..." the Flyer wailed in disappointment.

"You cannot fly? Then how did you get way up there?" Ducky interrogated the Flyer.

"I climb," Petrie stated.

"But you're a Flyer, not a Faller..." Littlefoot remarked sceptically.

"Yes, it hard to fly..." Petrie admitted, imitating it to the amusement of the two.

"Hehe, we can't do it," Littlefoot snickered, Ducky also joining in.

"Nope, we cannot do it alright," Ducky agreed, smiling warmly at the Flyer. Then a thought occurred to her.

"Hmm, Littlefoot? Can Petrie go with us to the Great Valley? Can he, huh?" she requested, giving the Longneck a sweet look.

"Well..." Littlefoot thought about this for a second. Unlike Ducky, Petrie didn't seem that big of an addition to the team since he was disabled but if Ducky had grown fond of him... "Yeah, why not..."

"Yay, come along Petrie!" Ducky shouted in joy.

"Thank you bunches!" Petrie stuttered, following after Littlefoot and Ducky.

"So... are you all alone too, are you?" Ducky asked carefully.

"Me only one left..." Petrie responded with grief in his voice.

"Well, make that three of us..." Littlefoot spoke somewhat grimly but Ducky's general attitude soon managed to brighten up not only Littlefoot's mood.


"So... he's a Flyer who can't fly?" Bron questioned as if mocking his son.

"He learned how to fly eventually, don't worry," Littlefoot assured though Bron remained kind of reserved.

"Very well... what happened next?" he questioned.

"Well," Littlefoot cleared his throat. "We eventually stumbled upon Cera, the Threehorn I told you about, later that day while wandering through a creepy forest with lots of dead trees... Cera was pretty scared because she claimed to have met Sharptooth in the underground. Of course I thought it was nonsense back then but I was wrong... she narrated the story to us much in the way I'm telling you this story right now. Ducky was impressed by the story of course and Petrie got scared while I was actually quite mad at her for telling us things which are not true – again, it later turned out that she WAS right... The whole situation kinda led to the discovery of the fifth member of our group..."


"AHHHHHH!!!" Ducky screamed as she darted through the air. By accident, Cera had catapulted her high into the air and now she was sailing through the air, trying to avoid crashing into trees. Despite the danger of this, Ducky actually enjoyed the whole situation. For once, she was flying! Kinda... much rather she was as long as her momentum kept her high up in the sky. Soon, she began losing height, the ground approaching way too fast for her liking.

"Oh no, no, no! I am going to get hurt!" Ducky realised, considering the drop. It was just at this moment, however, that she saw the huge leaf. Stretching her arms, she managed to get hold of it, slowing her fall considerably. Landing on yet another leaf ensured that she got back to the ground rather safely.

"That was too close, yes it was..." Ducky sighed, dusting herself off. Still it had been fun.

"Ducky!" Ducky heard Littlefoot call in the distance, apparently worried about her whereabouts. Ducky was just about to call back when she suddenly heard another noise right next to her that quickly woke her curiosity. Snoring. It seemed to originate from a small area with tall grass.

"I wonder... is anybody in there?" Ducky thought to herself so she carefully peeked into the tall grass.

"Hello-hoh..." she said in a sing-song manner, amazed to see an egg that was bigger than her.

"Hello?" she repeated when no answer came, except for snoring, that was. The Swimmer crawled around the egg curiously, inspecting it.

*crack*

Suddenly, the top of the egg popped, revealing the head of a hatchling peeking out of his egg timidly. Ducky was watching this with utmost interest. When the baby saw Ducky, it quickly retreated back into the shells of its egg.

"You should come out, you should!" Ducky proposed to the egg. "You're late, yes you are, yep, yep, yep!" Ducky was now standing on the egg, waiting for the hatchling to finish hatching. Soon, she couldn't hold back her curiosity anymore and removed the top of the egg.

"Come out!" she exclaimed. "You are all alone, are you not scared-ed, huh?" The hatchling's head finally craned out of the egg,  curiosity in its eyes. However, it simply yawned and fell on its back, falling asleep again. Ducky began tearing off the remaining egg shell.

"We are going to the Great Valley, you can come with us, yes you can," Ducky offered kindly. Then she finally realised what kind of dinosaur she had just seen hatching.

"Ehhh... you are a Spiketail, so we will call you Spike!" Ducky announced happily, retreating as the Spiketail began eating his nest. Then he fell asleep again.

"Ducky!" Littlefoot's voice echoed across the landscape.

"I am over here!" Ducky shouted. Soon the group had caught up with her.

"There you are!" Littlefoot sighed in relief.

"Yes, and lookie what I found!" Ducky exclaimed in joy, pointing at the sleeping form of Spike.

"A sleeping Spiketail hatchling... wow," Cera grunted sarcastically.

"Well, hatching must be very tiresome, yep, yep, yep," Ducky chuckled warmly.

"I too young to 'member hatching," Petrie piped up.

"Can we take Spike with us? Oh please, please, please?" Ducky begged, looking at Littlefoot in particular.

"Spike? What a Spike is?" Petrie asked.

"That is his name, dummy, hehehehehe," Ducky responded, laughing.

"Well, I think he'll be a burden, slowing us down and eating our food!" Cera argued.

"But Cera, he is all alone, yes he is!" Ducky retorted. "He is like us, he is on his own and needs some company."

"Why how do you even know?!" Cera screamed. "For all we know, the parents could be right around the corner!"

"What parent would leave their egg undefended?" Littlefoot reasoned. "There are so many things out here that would just eat them..."

"Well, I'm voting no!" Cera shouted, glaring at the Longneck threateningly.

"I want him to come along, yes I do!" Ducky retorted fiercely. "What about you, Petrie?"

"Er... well, me not sure. Both of you got point," Petrie answered uncertainly.

"Littlefoot?" Ducky begged.

"Well, it's up to me I suppose..." the Longneck sighed. "Alright, if you manage to get him to follow us and keep up, we will take him along," Littlefoot replied.

"WE?!" Cera boasted.

"You don't have to come along..." Littlefoot shrugged.

"Spike, wake up!" Ducky shouted, trying everything to wake up the Spiketail but all efforts failed. The Swimmer was almost considering to resign but then another thought hit her. One thing she noticed besides his sleepiness was his huge appetite so she looked around nearby until she found a few berries.

"How is this going to wake him up???" Cera interrogated Ducky.

Ducky didn't respond but concentrated on her task. As soon as she held the berries close to the Spiketail's snout, he started sniffing and snapping his mouth after them.

"Hmm, that not wake him up but it make him follow?" Petrie concluded.

"Apparently..." Littlefoot mused.

Spike got to his feet, Ducky having to sprint away to avoid the Spiketail from eating her berries.

"Well, he's still sleeping!" Cera ranted but Littlefoot with Petrie on his head had already began to move.

"Yeah, but he's moving so let's go!" Littlefoot exclaimed, going after Ducky.

Reluctantly, the Threehorn followed.


"For once I must say the Threehorn had a point..." Bron spoke. "He was a burden for you..."

"How do you even know, dad? You weren't with me on this journey!" Littlefoot replied.

"He wasn't of any use for your group, or was he?" Bron said, testing Littlefoot.

"Even if he wasn't, how can you leave a hatchling all alone to get eaten by sharpteeth sooner or later?!" Littlefoot retorted. "That would have been morally wrong!"

"Sometimes you have to make hard decisions in life..." Bron spoke darkly. "Sometimes you have to let down others in order to ensure your own survival. Spike was only another mouth to fill and he wasn't useful to your group as a hatchling that just hatched!"

"Well we all made it, didn't we?" Littlefoot remarked. "And besides, he did help us when we were fighting Sharptooth!"

"Well, I can't blame you for making that decision at your young age, Littlefoot," Bron declared though actually he felt quite the opposite. "Would you continue with the story now?" Bron requested. He wanted to hear the actual exciting part about Sharptooth.

"Sure but tell me first: Is this enough information about my friends now?" Littlefoot answered.

"Yeah, it is. Go on please..."

Littlefoot recollected his thoughts, then he picked up the story again...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, took me long enough, huh? Here is the continuation of the storytelling plot and as you can probably tell, there will be a part three of that plot in the near future

So... any thoughts?  


The next chapter will be about the other plots that are going on again. Hopefully not worth a 6 months wait again lol  

[DarkWolf91]

Yay! I was wondering when I'd get to read more of this

Great so far! I love how you're showing more of Bron's character through his reactions to the story, and the way you've translated the scenes from the film into text is simply brilliant! Just enough added description to make it unique Can't wait to read more!

Just one spelling correction-

Landing on yet another leaf ensured that she got back to the ground rather savely.

"Savely" should be "safely."

[rhombus]

Ah now this was a pleasant surprise!  Another chapter of Shorty's Dark Past.  

The continuation of the story here certainly is depicting some differences between Littlefoot's and Bron's conceptualizations of the situation.  Bron, as seen before, is quite a bit more reserved about Littlefoot's non-longneck friends.  Additionally, and of quite a bit of interest, is that Bron viewed Spike as a burden on the group, agreeing with Cera's past characterization of the situation in the process. From a utilitarian perspective this is undoubtedly true, however I suspect that Bron's main criticism here is not really about the utility of the decision.  After all, Bron took on longneck children even though they were a burden... why would he view granting Spike the same care as the wrong decision unless Bron had an inherent bias against non-longnecks...

This chapter had certain been very interesting.   I eagerly look forward to seeing how Bron reacts to the rest of the story.

[Ducky123]

Yay! I was wondering when I'd get to read more of this Dino_grins.gif

Ah now this was a pleasant surprise! Another chapter of Shorty's Dark Past. smile.gif

Yeah, sorry about the wait. I didn't have a lot of motivation to write something that I basically already know  : I'll dry [EDIT: LOL what a typo ]to prevent this from happening again...

Great so far! I love how you're showing more of Bron's character through his reactions to the story, and the way you've translated the scenes from the film into text is simply brilliant! Just enough added description to make it unique smile.gif Can't wait to read more!

Thank you, I've used flashbacks this time as opposed to telling the story directly. I think this is the better approach... Glad you liked these flashbacks, they were actually a lot fun to write once I got started  

Just one spelling correction-
QUOTE
Landing on yet another leaf ensured that she got back to the ground rather savely.


"Savely" should be "safely."

Whoops, thank you pointing out

The continuation of the story here certainly is depicting some differences between Littlefoot's and Bron's conceptualizations of the situation. Bron, as seen before, is quite a bit more reserved about Littlefoot's non-longneck friends. Additionally, and of quite a bit of interest, is that Bron viewed Spike as a burden on the group, agreeing with Cera's past characterization of the situation in the process. From a utilitarian perspective this is undoubtedly true, however I suspect that Bron's main criticism here is not really about the utility of the decision. After all, Bron took on longneck children even though they were a burden... why would he view granting Spike the same care as the wrong decision unless Bron had an inherent bias against non-longnecks...

Good analysis there Yes, I think Bron is just trying to hide the fact that he despises his friends   Well, you gave me some inspiration for a future scene with that paragraph so uhh thanks  

This chapter had certain been very interesting. in-yes.gif I eagerly look forward to seeing how Bron reacts to the rest of the story.

You will see...

[Ducky123]

Just remind me never to promise that the next chapter will be up soon. Something always gets in the way, I swear

Anyway, against earlier statements of mine, I've abandoned my plan to keep the story-telling limited to the more interesting parts. Even though this is almost a sub-story by now, I'll retell the whole first movie (or rather, most of it) but it'll have a few changes here and there so it'll still be unique + it'll make a little more sense here and there Besides, if I keep my current motivation to write (again, no promises ) that won't take very long either. Wrote two thirds of this just today

Anyway, enjoy the chapter. I certainly hope it was worth the waiting

~~~~~~

Chapter 46


Looking for food, water and a place to stay the night, Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Petrie and Spike followed the path of the Bright Circle day after day. While there were small ponds or streams here and there, food or shelter were nowhere to be seen.

Within a few day's time, Littlefoot had estalished himself as the leader of their group of five. Ducky had followed him ever since they met, believing that Littlefoot knew where to go since she didn't at all, Petrie was simply glad that he had somebody to protect him, Spike was just strolling along anyway since he didn't know it any other way and Cera, despite criticising the Longneck, accepted his decisions since she, too, didn't know where the Great Valley was, where she might see her family again if they made it.

In spite of the fact that they had formed this group purely out of the mutual need for protection and company and in spite of their differences in species, they had developed a loose friendship although Cera usually stayed for herself. After befriending Littlefoot right away, Ducky had also grown fond of the constantly nervous Flyer. Besides, she kind of felt responsible for Spike, who had grown in size significantly since his hatching. It was him who often carried her on their long journey and it was him who always stayed at her side at night. Petrie would sometimes get on Littlefoot's nerves but the Longneck slowly began to like Petrie too. He also liked Cera, who had been his first playmate ever, sort of. Cera didn't like anybody out of the group however but that didn't keep her from journeying with them and doing whatever was necessary to reach the Great Valley.

The lack of food, however, didn't help to improve things...

"Littlefoot, I am so hungry..." Ducky quietly complained from the back of Spike whom she constantly had to urge to keep going. "Do you think we will find some food soon, do you?"

"I hope so, Ducky, I hope so..." Littlefoot responded, sighing. When Ducky was beginning to lose her optimism, things really were bad. His stomach was growling dangerously and his strength was slowly decreasing but he urged himself on. If he didn't find food, who would?

"My tummy so empty it hurts!" Petrie voiced up sadly. Strengthlessly, he was resting on the Longneck's head carrying his treestar as usual.

"So you don't know where to find food?" Cera inquired, eyeing Littlefoot from the side.

"No..." Littlefoot admitted. There was no sense whatsoever in denying that. "I mean... how should I know? I've never been anywhere near this place."

"Then how do you think we are going to find the Great Valley if you can't even find something to eat?!" Cera ranted. "Besides, do you know exactly where to go?! You haven't been to that oh so great valley before, have you?!"

"Cera do not be mean..." Ducky sighed.

"That's right, I've never been there but I was told how I can find it, Cera. " Littlefoot took a deep breath, ignoring the increasing headache that always got worse when the Bright Circle was burning down onto them in the early afternoon. Arguing with the Threehorn wouldn't get them anywhere so he chose not to argue back.

"Guess nobody told you how to find food?!" Cera continued. "We'll be dead before we arrive at the Great Valley!"

"Why you not search for food?" Petrie remarked. "You only complaining but you no help!"

"Yup, if you think you can find food better than me, go ahead," Littlefoot spoke calmly. "If you can't, stop complaining and help me look for some. Complaining won't fill our bellies, that's a fact..."

"I do not think the food will look for us either, nope, nope, nope..." Ducky mentioned, shaking her head.

"Guess what I'm doing all day..." Cera grunted gruffly.

"Com...plaining?" Petrie wondered hesitantly.

"Looking for food!!!" Cera screamed – so loud that her words were echoing from the walls of the nearby rocks. "Why don't you fly up high and look for food instead of making silly comments!?"

Petrie shifted uncomfortably.

"Oww, could you argue a little quieter?" Ducky requested, massaging her head.

"If I had found some food, I sure as hell would've gone there already! Humpff!" Cera demonstratingly looked away from everyone and continued walking in pride.

"Well, at least we have water..." Littlefoot sighed.

"Yep, yep, yep..." Ducky agreed tiredly. It was a small consolation that they had found a narrow stream the other day, following it ever since although they weren't exactly following the path of the Bright Circle anymore. Littlefoot knew that water was very valueable. At least they didn't have to worry about going thirsty too. Moreover, it helped them cool off their feet during the hot afternoons and he seemed to recall his grandparents mentioning that food only grew where there was enough water. Thus, he concluded, it couldn't be too bad a decision to pursue the water on its way.

"Uhh Flathead?" Petrie, who still had some difficulty remembering the Longneck's name, piped up uncertainly.

Littlefoot sighed.

"Yes, Beakbrain?"

"Me not trying to say bad thing but... do you know where we going?" Petrie questioned awkwardly.

"Neither of us does, Petrie..." Littlefoot sighed. "We are still very young... too young to go on a journey without our families but..." Littlefoot was fighting the tears that were about to form in his eyes. "But we have no choice but to do that anyway... I'd rather fail trying than not trying at all."
A few days ago, he had thought the very other way, Littlefoot noted and he was goddamn glad Ducky saved him from his depression.

"But your mother told you where to go!" Ducky reminded him kindly.

"Yes, Ducky, but that still doesn't mean I know exactly where to go. It's more like a general direction we need to follow..."

"Oh lovely, we're lost!" Cera grunted dismissively.

"My mother said we have to follow the Bright Circle to where it touches the ground every day."

"Well, then we'd have to turn to the left!" Cera shouted.

"I think right now it's more important that we find food, Cera..." Littlefoot explained. "It's no use when we starve on the way..."

"Water means life my mummy always says, yes she does!" Ducky spoke wisely.

"Yes maybe..." Cera admitted. "But I still don't get how we should find the Great Valley by simply following the Bright Circle???"

"Well, there are landmarks on the way," Littlefoot answered patiently. "As soon as I spot one of them, I know we're on the right way."

"Well, what if we don't?" Cera inquired.

"Cera, that kind of talk isn't helping..." Littlefoot sighed. "We can't do more than trying to find it..."

"Look at it this way..." Ducky spoke up. "If we follow the way that Littlefoot's mother has told him, then we have a chance to find it, yes we do! But if we do not, we are simply walking anywhere..."

"Yes, me get what you say, Ducky," Petrie chimed in. "We go Littlefoot's way, if we not go his way we lost anyway."

"Exactly... if we simply go anywhere, we'll never find our families. If we try to find the Great Valley going my way, at least we have a chance! And if we don't find it, we can still try going another way..." Littlefoot explained to the group.

"Even if you cannot find the Great Valley, I will still stay with you, Littlefoot, yes I will!" Ducky affirmed with a smile. "And who knows.. maybe we find another place that has enough food and water where we can stay?"

Littlefoot nodded, giving Ducky an appreciative smile.

"That's the kind of talk we need now," he stated. "Let's just keep going. Sooner or later, the water will lead us to food I hope."

"Well, we don't have a choice..." Cera grunted, picking up speed and walking in front of the others who followed – tired but determined not to give up.


"There's one thing I should point out, son," Bron spoke up.

"Yes, dad?"

"You see, I think you were a better leader back then than Shorty is today..." A slight chuckle came from Bron.

"So you think I did the right thing there?" Littlefoot wondered.

"Of course you did, following the water is never a bad idea," Bron affirmed. "I wonder how you eventually found food... you did find something, didn't you?"

"I probably wouldn't be telling you the story right now if I didn't," Littlefoot chuckled. "We really did find food soon..."


A little later:

"Hey what's that sound?" Littlefoot wondered, looking at the others.

"Me no know..." Petrie shrugged.

"Oh, that must be a waterfall ahead of us, yes it must!" Ducky shouted excitedly.

"What that?" Petrie asked dumbly.

"It is when water flows down a very steep mountain and it is preeeeeeeeeeeeetty!" Ducky answered lyrically.

The group soon reached the waterfall and climbed down the steep mountain. Luckily, it mostly consisted of several stairs which they could simply jump down from. As soon as they had arrived at the bottom where the splashing water was almost forming a sort of fog, Littlefoot noticed that something had changed though he couldn't quite figure out what it was. It was a subconscient feeling he couldn't explain so he didn't let anybody know about his suspicions. After walking some more distance, the feeling became clearer and tangible. Then the smell reached his nostrils. It was faint and distant but his roaring stomach had probably sensibilised his nose a lot.

"Guys, I think I smell something!" Littlefoot suddenly announced. Bowing down to the surface of the water, he intensely sniffed the air to identify the smell further. Ducky also crawled down his neck. Together with Petrie, the Swimmer helped her friend sniffing, while Cera and Spike walked on.

"Kinda smells like... LIKE FOOD!" Littlefoot realised. He raised his neck, sniffing the air up high where the water didn't overlay with the other smells so much. Ducky and Petrie had fallen off Littlefoot's neck, taking an unvoluntarily bath in the stream. Petrie continued to sniff the air.

"Hmm... me smell... me smell, me smeeeeelll... hmm, Ducky." The Flyer looked at Ducky who was apparently amused by his answer.

"You smell me? Heheheheh!" Ducky chuckled.

"I smell water, I smell... GREEN FOOD!" Littlefoot finally announced excitedly.

That got everyone's attention. Ducky and Petrie quickly hopped out of the water, catching up with Cera and Spike walking ahead. Spike was so tired from the journey that he felt like falling asleep right on the spot – not even the possibility of finding something to eat soon could motivate him to keep going. Cera sniffed the air, very concentrated as if to double-check whether Littlefoot was right or just beginning to go nuts. She had to admit (with a slight sigh) that Littlefoot was still sane. She could smell the food as well. But where could it be?

"Green foooooooooooooood!!!" Cera abruptly yelled as she spotted a green spot behind a formation of rocks ahead of them.

Now even Spike was taking a sprint towards the rocks. The narrow river they had been following since the other day, apparently entered a small oasis where a bunch of trees with lots of green leaves grew.

"The Great Valley!" Littlefoot shouted in joy.

"I found it, I found it!" Cera constantly bragged as the group entered the almost cavern-like rock formation. Apparently, the stream had carved a hole through the rocks when it was carrying more water in previous days before the leaves began to die.

"Cera stop!" Littlefoot demanded, half because Cera got on his nerves and half because he feared that the noise would make the rocks fall from the ceiling.

Suddenly, as if on command, the ground starting shaking violently. Littlefoot had only once experienced this force when he lost his mother. He knew what was coming this time.

"Earthshake, we need to get out of here!" the Longneck shouted, knowing that while Cera's yelling didn't make the ceiling crash onto them, a violent earthshake could do that easily when considering that it could also move the land around and divide it. At this moment, Littlefoot began fearing for the lives of every member of the group, even for Cera who constantly got on his nerves.

As the shaking and rumbling increased, the group hurried towards the exit of the little cave structure they found themselves in. Only Spike appeared to be frozen on the spot in fear – apparently, he had never experienced an earthshake in his life yet.

"Spike, do not stop!" Ducky shouted at the Spiketail in order to get him moving but to no avail. Spike was petrified – pulling and pushing him to move didn't work. Ducky's mind was split, should she abandon the Spiketail and save herself or should she keep trying to rescue him, risking her own life? Suddenly, she saw a herd of Longnecks break through a wall in a stampede and ducked in order to avoid being trampled to death. The others, too, saw them coming and hid as best as they could.

Littlefoot was already beginning to relax, knowing that they were not facing yet another devastating earthshake that could easily take their lifes when he began to realise where the herd of Longnecks were heading. Once they had all stormed past them – all of them were able to avoid being trampled, Cera was the first to utter what everybody was secretly thinking.

"They're eating our food!"

Indeed, the five children could watch the food disappear into the mouths of the Longnecks.

"Look! Look what they're doing! They're so greedy! What about ME?! I'm still hungry!!!" Cera ranted.

Littlefoot had to admit her rant was justified for once. They were really eating up all the food he could see from up there.

"You hungry?!" Petrie retorted, annoyed about the Threehorn only talking about herself again. "I am empty from all the way to the top! Now we at Great Valley and still got no green food... we be hungry forevers!" Petrie started wailing on the ground, all his hope to find the Great Valley lying in ruins.

Littlefoot couldn't fault Petrie for his reaction, however he was wrong in one aspect.
"Oh Petrie, Cera's wrong, this isn't the Great Valley," Littlefoot explained to the Flyer, trying to comfort him.

"It is not a great anything, nope, nope, nope..." Ducky spoke sadly – even she wasn't able to hide her disappointment.

The Longnecks were apparently done with their feast, slowly moving on, away from the group of children. The once so green oasis now didn't look much different than all the dead forests they'd been wandering through. Littlefoot himself wasn't very enthusiastic but he knew he had to do something so he announced with a sigh.
"Well, we better go down and see if there's anything left..."


"So let me sum to it, you found food but a herd of Longnecks beat you to it?" Bron questioned, not able to suppress that he found this to be quite amusing despite the gravity of the situation his son had been in back then.

"Yeah, that sums it up," Littlefoot affirmed neutrally, neither upset nor amused about his dad's reaction.

"Then how did you get food?" Bron wondered.

"They left some food for us," Littlefoot answered. "I don't know if it's true but I think they left it for us on purpose... or why else would they leave exactly one tree unharmed? They must have noticed us..."

"Unlikely in times like these that dinosaurs cared about anything alse but their own survival," Bron spoke. "But like you said, it's the best logical explanation for this. Carry on."

"Sure. I was half fearing the others wouldn't even follow me down to the oasis but everybody came along..."

"What a sad sight..." Littlefoot thought as he and his compagnions stood in front of what used to be an oasis filled with green food.

"Littlefoot, I really do not want to doubt your decision but do you really think that there is something left for us?" Ducky approached him carefully.

"Well, we won't know until we've checked if there's something left, Ducky," Littlefoot sighed.

"Oh, I hope so, I hope so..."

"So me do..." Petrie agreed weakly.

They entered the little forest, heading for the central part of it that they couldn't have a look at from their current and previous perspective.

"So this is not the Great Valley, eh?" Cera teased sourly.

"No, it can't be," Littlefoot assured. "The Great Valley is said to have food in abundance, this place here had only enough food for a herd of Longnecks."

"Who leave nothing for us!" Petrie shouted in agitation.

"Yeah, my dad hates Longnecks more than any other kind and so do I. They eat all the food and they care only about themselves!" Cera complained.

"Littlefoot cares about us, Cera, yes he does!" Ducky shouted indignantly.

"Indeed I do! And if I may point out, you only care about yourself too!"

"Shut up, Flathead!" Cera hissed, walking ahead of the group like she always did after arguments.

"Anyway, this can't be the Great Valley. There are two landmarks we still haven't encountered." Littlefoot explained, ignoring Cera.

"What are they?" Ducky asked curiously.

"My mother told me we have to walk past a rock that looks like a Longneck and past the Mountains That Burn."

"Oh I hope we do not have to walk past them close, oh no, no, no..." Ducky exclaimed.

"Me no think about it, too scary," Petrie shuddered.


After they had almost reached the other side of the forest, their spirits lifted when they finally saw a tree that still had some leaves for them.

"Green food, we are saved-ed, yes we are!" Ducky exclaimed in joy.

"Yeah, but how we get food? Food is high up in tree?" Petrie mentioned.

"Petrie, do you think you could, ehh, fly up there and..." Littlefoot requested but Petrie vigorously shook his head.

"No!" he shouted.

Ducky knew that Petrie was afraid of heights which was why he couldn't fly. She tried to encourage the poor Flyer who was shaking in fear of being forced to fly up there to get the food.

"Petrie, do not feel sad," she spoke softly. "It is alright, many things do not fly. Rocks, trees, sticks... and Spike."

Petrie wasn't quite convinced though.

Littlefoot looked upwards towards all the food, drooling and licking his lips in anticipation. Surely, the food would be enough to fill all of their bellies for at least a day. But how could they reach it when Petrie couldn't? It was out of reach even for him who was the tallest of the group. However, if he added the heights of the others to his own height...

"If we work together, we'll be tall enough to reach it!" Littlefoot encouraged.

"Well, I won't believe that 'till I see it!" Cera teased. "I can get the food easily but you try first." She made a grimace, pleased of herself.

"It'll only work, if you help us, Cera," Littlefoot explained but Cera refused. They tried anyway. Petrie climbed onto Littlefoot's head. The Longneck started climbing the tree, lifting the Flyer,  whose teeth were rattling in a mixture of fear and anticipation, as high up as he could with his long neck so he could somehow reach the leaves and throw them to the ground. He used his hindlimps to stand on the ground while using his forelimps to hold on to the tree to gain extra height. He didn't know if that'd work beforehand but it seemed like he could stand like that for a while. Ducky now started climbing the back of Littlefoot until she arrived at his head as well, raising Petrie a little higher. The Flyer began feeling really uneasy due to the increasing height. The fact that standing on Ducky's back was much more unstable than standing on Littlefoot's head added to his growing fear. Moving up to her head, he lost his footing for a second and, thereupon, hung on to Ducky's head in extreme fear.

"Hey!" Littlefoot shouted.

Ducky rose Petrie again.

"Ducky, push Petrie towards the branches!" Littlefoot instructed. They had almost reached the food, even without the help of Cera. Now they only needed a little push to reach the food...

Spike approached the tree, then he began pushing Littlefoot, Petrie and Ducky upwards using his head.

"Alright, Spike, not too fast," he instructed the Spiketail.

However, against Littlefoot's instructions, he rose much too fast as he took on the same pose as Littlefoot, almost causing their little tower to fall apart.

"Hey, not too fast! Not too fast!!!" Littlefoot uttered sounds of displeasure, Ducky and Petrie were surprised by the sudden lift, screaming. However, they didn't fall, the tower stabilised again.
Petrie looked down to the ground, realising just how far up in the tree he was. It gave him the chills so he, again, clung onto Ducky with all his might which caught Ducky in surprise, causing her to scream.

Meanwhile, Cera sat underneath them, laughing her butt off, smacking her paw into the ground several times while mocking them.

"You four look so ridiculous!" she snickered, continuing to laugh at them.

Littlefoot didn't mind the Threehorn much. Instead, he tried to stretch his body high up towards the leaves again in order to allow Petrie to reach them. Indeed, the Flyer got hold of some of them and started ripping them down the tree with his eyes closed so they fell to the ground. Petrie soon couldn't reach any further leaves so he and Ducky started climbing into the tree to continue ripping the other leaves from the tree too.

They made quick progress but, unfortunately for them, Spike eventually couldn't withstand the smell of the fresh, green leaves anymore that were constantly raining down from above. His hunger was killing him so he started snapping at them and ended up disconnecting with Littlefoot, whose legs thrashed around, seeking something to cling to. He clung to the tree but soon slid down into the pile of food that had accumulated already. Petrie was still high up in the tree as well as Ducky who was the only reason he could master his fear of heights at this point. As long as the Swimmer was up there with him, he felt much less uncomfortable. However, now they couldn't get back down. They had removed most of the leaves from the tree.

"Ducky, Petrie, come down here, we've got green food!" Littlefoot called happily.

"We trapped up here!" Petrie retorted, fear overwhelmimg him.

"Jump and glide down!" Littlefoot adviced. "The leaves should catch you!"

"Me can't do that!" Petrie screamed in fear. However, Ducky knew how to encourage him.

"I will jump down, Petrie, and I will be alright, yep, yep, yep!" Suddenly, she gave him a peck on the cheek and jumped, the pile of food catching her much more softly than the leaves that caught her when Cera catapulted her through the air. Having arrived at the ground savely, she shouted.

"And if I can jump down and be alright, you will be even alright-er when you glide down, yes you will!"

Petrie had his doubts about this but what choice did he have? Swallowing hard, he spread his wings and jumped... and fell like a stone.

"Fly, Petrie, you got both wings!" Ducky cheered for him.

Rapidly, he tried to trash his wings around to stop his descent but it didn't work.

"Open your wings, Petrie!" Littlefoot yelled.

Petrie didn't know how that was supposed to work but he did so anyway, trusting his friend and it worked! His fall got instantly reduced to a soft descend (the others tried to keep him in the air by blowing air upwards to give him more updraft) and he almost didn't feel his body landing on the pile of green.

Ducky hugged Spike and Littlefoot warmly, then she looked at Petrie who was still recovering from his "flight".

"I flied?" he asked, filled with hope.

Ducky didn't want to discourage him but she also wanted to tell him the truth so she combined both masterfully.

"Well... you did not fly yet but..." she pulled Petrie into a loving hug. "You did much much much better than last time, yep, yep, yep!"

Petrie returned the hug, Ducky was always so kind towards him no matter how bad he was as a Flyer.

"Next time you'll do even better until you can fly like a Flyer, yep, yep, yep," Ducky whispered.

"Well, let's eat!" Littlefoot declared, taking a mouthful of food. Ducky and Petrie soon disengaged and started to eat (and Spike had long since started to eat anyway).

Cera, in the meantime, was watching them – her face displaying deep anger. Once Petrie had reached the food, she had stopped laughing and the more food he and Ducky threw to the ground, the angrier she got. She had predicted it wouldn't work so she would have had to get them food and be praised for that. But now she stood there like a fool! Secretly, she creeped away from the group. However, Littlefoot soon noticed that she wasn't taking part of their dinner and approached her.

"Come, Cera, we've got green food!" he invited her but Cera only snapped at him violently.

"I can get my OWN food!" Angrily, she started smacking her head against a nearby tree, trying to shake the leaves loose.

"What she doing there?" Petrie quietly wondered.
"That tree does not have any food, oh no, no, no," Ducky stated matter of factly. She couldn't suppress a slight chuckle.

Littlefoot had returned to the group in the meantime.

"Shouldn't we help her?" Ducky suggested.

"Well, she won't take our food..." Littlefoot sighed.

"Then make her believe she got it herself..." Ducky replied with a playful smile.

"That good idea, you very smart, Ducky," Petrie praised her.

Littlefoot instantly got Ducky's line of thinking. Grabbing a mouthful of food, he carefully sneaked towards Cera, always making sure that the tree she kept headbutting was blocking her view. Then he threw it down to her at just the right time. Cera was too fixated on the food to realise it had been Littlefoot.

"See, I can get my OWN green food!" she bragged as was to be expected.

"Why you help her, she only mean?" Petrie wondered when the Longneck was back at "their" pile of food.

"Well, she's easier to endure when she's bragging about how good she is at getting her own food than when she's constantly snapping at us," Littlefoot explained. "And besides, we all know who really got the food, don't we?"

The group chuckled in amusement.

"No matter what, we need to work together if we want to reach the Great Valley," Littlefoot elaborated. "Cera may be mean and annoying but she's very strong.... maybe that'll be handy at some point... anyway, we should find a place for the night, it's getting late."

After they all had stuffed their bellies with as much green food as would fit into them, tiredness rapidly lay upon them. At the edge of the forest, Littlefoot spotted a deep hole in the ground that would serve their purpose just perfectly. Previously, they had mostly slept in the open since there was nowhere to hide on their way. It had surprisingly got much darker than Littlefoot first thought. The Bright Circle had already disappeared behind the horizon.

"Let's sleep over there," the Longneck suggested.

"I sleep where I want!" Cera declared defiantly. "I don't need any of you and I'm not afraid of Sharptooth!"

"Sh-sharptooth..." Petrie's eyes filled with fear and Ducky quickly sought the protection of Spike, luring him to the sleeping spot Littlefoot had picked for them.

"I hope he doesn't eat any of you..." Cera teased with an almost evil grin.

"Don't worry, there's no Sharptooth," Littlefoot calmed the minds of the two smaller dinosaurs.

Cera picked her sleeping place a little distance away on a small rock that gave her a good overview over the area while Littlefoot, Ducky, Petrie and Spike climbed down into the little hole that'd hide them from any curious eyes. Littlefoot lay down on the ground tiredly, closing his eyes, hoping to find sleep before the memories of his mother would start haunting him again.

Ducky was so tired that she hardly kept her eyes open while crawling down into the hole. She found Littlefoot, nestling up with him.

Littlefoot smiled. They had never slept together before. Only Ducky had slept at Spike's side, everybody else had picked their own sleeping spots until now. But the experience that day had made the bond that sealed the group together much tighter than before.

Petrie quickly joined them as well, crawling across Littlefoot's face ineptly before resting on his head.
With a loud thud, Spike entered the pit as well, placing himself next to Littlefoot. Ducky's tail bent around Spike's snout and within moments they were all sound asleep... together.



"That day I learned how important teamwork can be," Littlefoot concluded, looking up at Bron, waiting for a reaction.

"That's true, son," Bron replied. "It's the reason, why dinosaurs form herds. Even though it takes multiple amounts of food to keep everybody fed, the mutual support and protection outweights that by far. Moreover, four eyes see more than two."

"Exactly," Littlefoot replied.

"I'm amazed how you were able to stand that Threehorn though, she makes me angry just hearing about her," Bron admitted. "Moreover, I'm amazed you're still friends nowadays."

"She changed a lot since then," Littlefoot explained. "I mean, she can still be an ass sometimes but she did learn the lesson of teamwork and, over time, grew a bit softer. You'll hear about that soon, dad."

"Right, let's continue, Littlefoot," Bron spoke, continuing to listen to his son's stories.

~~~~~~~~~~

Well, there you go

As you can see, I made a scene, that was originally meant to be kept rather short and it turned into a 5000 words chapter I really hope that you've still enjoyed the read and, especially, my interpretation of these few minutes of the first movie, analysed by Bron ^^ I've changed a few details and added some small scenes to improve the flow of action (which was due to scenes that were supposedly cut there) and fix a few minor logical issues that the movie had.
Now not to discourage you, the next chapter WILL be the last storytelling chapter, no matter how lenghty that'll turn out to be (I originally meant to make the rest of the storytelling one chapter but that one would have exceeded 10000 words by far Remember we still got the fight between Littlefoot and Cera (Bron's reaction will be interesting, as somebody already wrote in a previous review ), the discovery of the Great Valley, the rescue of the Gang and the killing of Sharptooth to cover and I believe that each scene will have some potential for Bron to react to )
Don't worry, the actual story you've grown to love will continue after that and I hope I won't leave you hanging too soon I'll certainly focus on this one until I've written at least one regular chapter before working on my other projects again (among other, a LBT short story is in progress )
As always, if you find mistakes, don't keep them but point them out and tell me what you think about the story and don't be afraid to say negative things if there are any to point out (if you do, please do it in a way though that is constructive and not bashing

[DarkWolf91]

Excellent! As always, I'm happy to read more of this tale. The elaborations on the first movie add a lot to the characters' feelings and growth, and I can't wait to read the next chapter

[The Lone Dragon]

Very well Done Ducky. You've really captured the personalities of the characters on this chapter and the retelling of their adventure is indeed very unique and a very good read. Bron's reactions are certainly interesting, I almost felt that he was getting to appreciate The Gang after they had worked together to get food, Littlefoot seems very anxious about Bron, worried perhaps that his father won't approve of his friends. Anyway it was a very engaging read and I can't wait to see the next chapter come up. Keep up the good work.  

[rhombus]

Very nice! The emotions and struggles of the characters has been captured quite well in your latest chapter, as was Littlefoot's understandably unique take on the whole ordeal.  I am most curious to see how the fight with Cera will go considering Bron's already not-so-favorable opinion of the threehorn described in the story.  I am also looking forward to how Bron views Littlefoot's sighting of his mother's spirit in the clouds.  I look forward to the next installment.  

As for revisions, there are only two passages that might use a small adjustment:

"So let me sum to it, you found food but a herd of Longnecks beat you to it?"

'So let me sum it up' would be the correct turn of phrase in English.

"Anyway, this can't be the Great Valley. There are two landmarks we still haven't encountered." Littlefoot explained, ignoring Cera.

'...we still haven't found.' might be a better choice of words, as 'encountered' seems a bit too complex of a word for young Littlefoot to use that often.

[Ducky123]

Excellent! As always, I'm happy to read more of this tale. The elaborations on the first movie add a lot to the characters' feelings and growth, and I can't wait to read the next chapter biggrin.gif

Thanks! I'll try to write the next one asap

  Very well Done Ducky. You've really captured the personalities of the characters on this chapter and the retelling of their adventure is indeed very unique and a very good read. Bron's reactions are certainly interesting, I almost felt that he was getting to appreciate The Gang after they had worked together to get food, Littlefoot seems very anxious about Bron, worried perhaps that his father won't approve of his friends. Anyway it was a very engaging read and I can't wait to see the next chapter come up. Keep up the good work. land_before_time8_disneyscreencaps_com_2484_by_rockingscorpion-d9nxkr0.png

Thanks, yeah Bron certainly did approve of the teamwork. Littlefoot has just begun trusting him but is that going to stay that way?

Very nice! The emotions and struggles of the characters has been captured quite well in your latest chapter, as was Littlefoot's understandably unique take on the whole ordeal. I am most curious to see how the fight with Cera will go considering Bron's already not-so-favorable opinion of the threehorn described in the story. I am also looking forward to how Bron views Littlefoot's sighting of his mother's spirit in the clouds. I look forward to the next installment. smile.gif

As for revisions, there are only two passages that might use a small adjustment:

QUOTE
"So let me sum to it, you found food but a herd of Longnecks beat you to it?"


'So let me sum it up' would be the correct turn of phrase in English.

QUOTE
"Anyway, this can't be the Great Valley. There are two landmarks we still haven't encountered." Littlefoot explained, ignoring Cera.


'...we still haven't found.' might be a better choice of words, as 'encountered' seems a bit too complex of a word for young Littlefoot to use that often.

Thanks! Yeah, I will certainly include that scene as well, will be fun to write for sure
Also thanks for the suggestions, I will change the sentences. The first one must have slipped through my proofreading