Ugh, this totally wasn't meant to go on a one week hiatus
~~~~~
Chapter 2: Valley in turmoilTopps was still pale when he arrived at the longneck's nest. He sent a mute note of gratitude to whatever forces were watching over him when the two oldest dinosaurs of the valley where at home. Time was dire, he couldn't afford to go searching for them.
"Topps..." Grandpa simply stated, a rather surprised look on his face. "How did things g..."
"Longneck..." Topps merely whispered this but it was enough to silence the longneck, his legs giving in.
"Mr. Threehorn, you look as if you've just seen a sharptooth," Grandma Longneck spoke in surprise as she mustered the usually power-laden threehorn with light concern.
"Worse, much worse..." Topps whispered. "Threehorns... traditionalists through and through... they are coming to our valley...and... they have... conditions...... Rock Circle.......... now." That was all he could muster to say before he fainted for real.
"What... was that?" Grandma inquired, perplexed. However, her mate was beginning to grasp on the severity of the situation. He'd never seen Mr. Threehorn in such a weak state, not even during the countless times Cera went missing.
"Dear, there was a threehorn at the northern entrance this morning. A flyer had relayed a message that he requested to meet a leading member of our circle. So I went... and that threehorn looked exactly like Topps and asked straightforward about his whereabouts. He had a sort of authority that gave me the chills so I did as he requested. I informed Topps about this." The old longneck sighed. "Judging by his reaction, he knew that folk and he... he wasn't pleased..."
"Don't you tell anyone that I just fainted..." Weakly, the old threehorn heaved himself back onto his feet. "What are we standing around for, we must gather the whole valley. Everyone needs to be aware of their conditions, no exceptions!!!"
The two longnecks gave each other a meaningful glance before they nodded.
"I'm afraid there is no other choice but to proceed as you suggest," Grandpa sighed, heaving his massive old body up. "Though I am a little surprised that you're not trying to rally a mob to fight them instead..."
"Longneck, this is the herd I was raised in," Topps explained gruffly, though he did not mention how he came to leave it. "I know their strength. They're ruthless and the valley wouldn't be the same, regardless of the outcome. Believe me," he almost begged. "Fighting or resisting is futile..."
-
A few hours later, the biggest meeting since the departure of Chomper and Ruby was being held, the whole valley including the oldest and the youngest squeezing themselves into the Rock Circle somehow to listen to what Topps had to say. Many wore doubtful expressions and everyone was muttering among themselves.
"Do you know what this is about, Cera?" Littlefoot wondered as their group waited for the meeting to start - Topps was still engaged in a discussion with the leading members of the Circle. They had been tasked to keep an eye on some children for the duration of the meeting, much to their annoyance.
"Not a clue..." the orange threehorn admitted. "But I've never seen my dad this scared before so it's gotta be something..."
"Well, my grandparents seem to be very agitated too," Littlefoot observed, wrinkling his face in thought.
"Me sure he gonna tell us soon..." Petrie shuddered from his perch on Littlefoot's head, keeping a sharp eye on the children, including Tricia and Ducky's younger siblings.
"SILENCE!!!"
"When you speak of the devil..." Ducky whispered quietly. Luckily, there was no need to keep the kids in line as the sheer authority in Mr. Threehorn's voice was plenty enough to keep a herd in line.
"My friends, dark times are coming for our valley.” The threehorn looked a decade older than he was and the lack of spirit in his voice was quite apparent. “A huge threat is lurking outside our walls! And I'm not talking about Sharpteeth; I'm not talking about locusts or the plague either..."
"Quite dramatic, is he?" Cera mumbled, addressing her little sister. "Just what happened after we left the nest?!"
"I dunno," Tricia shrugged.
"Friends, you know how much pride I wear being a threehorn of strength and duty but the truth is... I'm a tame hatchling compared to what a real threehorn out there in the Beyond, living by our strict standards, would be like. I abandoned most of these long ago in order to grant my daughters," his view brushed across the crowd," and my mate," he nodded towards Tria standing beside him as part of the Circle," a peaceful life here in the Great Valley. However... that peace is going to be disturbed!"
Unrest spread through the crowd and many began to wonder what meaning this unusual speech would hold. Topps suddenly slumped, allowing himself to show weakness, something he would normally avoid but some part of his pride just died that fateful day.
"Friends... this morning a demon from my past showed up in the Valley. I was determined to chase him away before he could disturb our peace but... I was outnumbered, I couldn't do anything. Normally, as most of you know, I would organize a party to get rid of the threat at once! But... this is a threat best to back off from until it's over..."
"Is... this still good ol' Topsy?" Petrie wondered, receiving a sharp glance from Cera.
"Something awful is about to happen, I can feel it..." Littlefoot muttered, the look on the Circle's members faces speaking a thousand words.
"Dad's making a fool of himself up there so it must be worse than losing his pride as a..." But Cera stopped dead in her tracks as her father revealed the nature of the threat.
"This evening, a herd of highly traditionalist threehorns will enter this valley with or without our consent!" Topps waited with a grim expression on his face for the herd to calm down again before he began to explain.
"Many of you probably don't know how dangerous they are... they are a bunch of aggressive lunatics who look down on anyone who's different or weaker than them. Only the strongest survive in these herds and they fight vigorously to ensure their strength. I was raised in this herd and... I was deemed too weak and expelled! There is no way to argue with them and the slightest aggression might lead to bloodshed! They're ruthless and selfish!"
To say the Great Valley residents were upset was an understatement. Unlike most of the times, Topps would have had an easy way rallying a party this time if only he'd suggested that.
"That's just crazy!" Cera thundered, stomping her foot. "We can't just let this bunch of freaks into the valley!"
"Yeah but... you heard your dad..." Littlefoot reminded her in quiet fear. "We'd stand no chance in a fight..."
"Oh, do you believe him?!" Cera shouted angrily, disgust radiating off her. "Ever since Tria came around he's become a softie..."
"I thought you were happy about that..." Littlefoot replied meekly.
"Of course I was! But does he have no pride?!"
"He's trying to protect us all, y'know?" Cera was about to retort when the dark grey threehorn yelled into the Rock Circle to gain their attention.
"Friends, I'm not any less upset and enraged as you but we have no choice but to grant them entry. They are migrating so they won't stay forever, however I, in the name of the whole Circle, will order you to stay away from them and refrain from interacting, bothering or resisting them! If your own safety and the wellbeing of your families is in your interest, you'd better do as we say! That is all, good luck!" And with that, Topps stomped out of view, leaving a very perplexed valley behind. That was when Grandpa Longneck took the word although it took him some time to gain the audience’s attention.
“Friends, we must stick together more than ever before if we want to keep our beautiful valley as it is. As Mr. Threehorn was saying, please keep away from that herd and act submissive if they make any demands or the like. Standing up to them in any way might cause bloodshed.”
“It’s the least we want so please follow these instructions,” Grandma almost begged. “Lest we lose friends and family…”
“It is however likely that they will not interact with us unless we prompt them to take action by bothering them in some ways,” Grandpa finished his explanation, a glint of hope radiating off him. “Let us hope that our valley and our community survives this incident unscathed…”
“My mate is going to greet them in the evening as they will not accept any non-threehorn at all,” Tria explained, taking over from the longnecks. “He is going to try telling them where they can build their nests without bothering anyone as this is the best approach to avoid incidents in the first place. We don’t know whether they will take the offer though so if, by chance, they demand you to leave your home, absolutely do not resist!”
“Those who would like to ask questions, now is your chance!” Petrie’s mother exclaimed loudly over the uprising anger within the Great Valley residents. “Everyone else is dismissed. We will hold daily meetings each morning from now on to keep you informed. Us flyers will keep an eye on them, obviously…”
In the following turmoil, Littlefoot and his friends managed to sneak away, leaving the remaining children under the care of Mrs Maia - everyone but Tricia that was because Tria had ordered them to stay together until further notice, so they could discuss these new circumstances without restrictions. Which included language restrictions as well.
“What a bunch of scumbags!” Cera raged as they were on their way back to their favourite hangout, startling Spike as he took a little snack on the move.
“Cera…” Littlefoot tried to soothe her temper but the threehorn wouldn’t hear any of it.
“What are they thinking!? This is OUR valley! Not bloody theirs!”
“Me know Cera but me rather not be fighting whole herd of hornfaces…” Petrie spoke in a frightful manner.
“But they can’t just take it as they please?!” Cera was so angry that she wouldn't even notice the flyer's slight insult.
“You heard your dad, Cera…” Littlefoot sighed, lacking the spirit to argue against an enraged threehorn. “They aren’t here to stay.”
“Yeah, but there was NO word on how long they’d stay!” Cera shouted aggressively, kicking a rock. “Some herds stay a few days, others stay for whole seasons!”
“I thought you might be happy to meet some threehorns like you, Cera?” Ducky mentioned casually, only to be screamed at.
“Pah! Don’t you remember what kind of idiot I’ve been to you before we reached the valley? That’s how we are raised! And if what dad said is half true, these threehorns will be much worse!!!”
“So… that mean you scared of them?” Petrie teased. Suddenly, the group stopped moving at once in fear of what was to come. Teasing Cera was one thing but teasing an angry Cera was just dangerous. However, not even Littlefoot who knew her best could believe his eyes when Cera suddenly lost all her vigor.
“Yeah, so what? At least they will only look down on you if anything…”
“That be if we not piss them off…” Petrie shuddered.
“Right… but we are threehorns. What if they want to interact with us? I… certainly don’t want to…”
“I understand, Cera, yes I do,” Ducky spoke quietly, trying to reassure her friend. “I am also very scared, it is only normal to be afraid of the unknown, yes it is…”
“I’m actually glad to hear that, you know?” Littlefoot told her straightforward. “At least that means they probably won’t rub off on you and you’ll still be the Cera we all call our friend.”
“Gee… thanks,” Cera didn’t quite return the longneck’s smile but, nevertheless, felt a little better. That was when Tricia, who had kept quiet so far, decided to raise a point everyone else had overlooked so far.
“Cera, what did dad say again? Was he really raised in that herd? I thought… the herd he was in with your mommy fell during the Great Earthshake. Isn’t that what he’d always tell us?”
Cera thought about this for a moment. True, the herd she was born into took such severe losses during the earthshake that the remaining members disbanded to find and join other herds that’d still have the necessary strength to keep going. Which meant…
“Tricia… don’t you find it weird? My dad has never really told me anything about his childhood…”
“He hasn’t told me much either… only some stuff about his dad who’d teach him lots of stuff…” Tricia replied which suddenly gave Cera something completely different to be upset about.
“That old fool… don’t you tell me he grew up in such a herd?!”
“He did,” Ducky spoke up, raising her hand.
“What!?” Cera roared, making the swimmer back away and Spike look up from grazing.
“Did you not listen to him?” Tricia teased, sticking out her tongue.
“I was raised in this herd and... I was deemed too weak and expelled!” Cera sent a death stare at Littlefoot who had recited Topps’ words flawlessly. “That’s what he said, Cera.”
“Wait a second…” Tricia suddenly got very excited. “Does this mean there might be distant relatives of ours in this herd?”
“Tricia, did you not see how dad reacted? He looked so full of hate!” Cera pointed out immediately. “Whoever these distant relatives may be, I won’t like them!”
“Hmm, I guess so…” Tricia pondered, though not entirely convinced.
The group continued their trek, however the conversation and the events of the day had surely spoiled their moods, not just the threehorn’s. Even Ducky couldn’t bring herself to smile as the fretful image of a rampaging herd of threehorns was constantly floating around in her head - and the others weren’t off much better. Littlefoot was really worried about Cera and Petrie, perching on his back, was feeling fretful too.
“On second thought, maybe we should just go home for today,” Littlefoot eventually announced since he honestly couldn’t imagine this day having a joyful outcome. “What do you think?”
“Me no mind, me have enough of this day as is!” Petrie replied, sounding a little exhausted.
“Yep yep yep, I think that is a good idea,” Ducky piped up though without her usual cheerfulness which she hadn’t lost even during her teen years. Spike seemed to be indifferent.
“Well, I think either thing is no good,” Cera grunted. “Hanging around or going home that is.”
“I would like to ask mum and dad some things,” Tricia mentioned which also caused Cera to make up her mind.
“Rrrrrriiiight…” A look of resolution on her face she marched away without telling her goodbyes.
“He’d better explain himself once I get home!”“Well, bye!” Tricia exclaimed hastily before darting after her sister.
“Let us go home too, Spiky,” Ducky sighed.
“Bye Ducky!” Petrie called, taking off himself.
“See you guys tomorrow!” Littlefoot replied before heading towards his nest with gloomy thoughts.
“...hopefully…”~~~~~
I think I'll just leave this here... too warm here to think straight
(but let me not forget the reviews... the reviews!
)
Now this is certainly a promising (and concerning) beginning. 
So from what we can determine thus far Topps' long-lost brother has returned, one who abides by the old ways, and he does not appear willing to let Topps' protests stop him and his herd from entry. I must admit that I was getting some "Old Threehorns" vibes, but things certainly are different from what I can see. For one Rockhorn is a bit more direct with his intentions and for another it seems that Topps had a much more checkered past than we have been led to believe thus far. Though it is quite surprising to see Topps being placed on the weaker side in this interaction. If the full truth is exposed to the valley then I wonder how Cera and Tricia will take it as they no doubt see their father as a symbol of tradition and strength. This might turn out to be a situation where Topps will need to take strength from his daughter for once.
In any case I look forward to seeing where this is going! 
And I am impressed with your motivation and drive to keep writing despite the hardship that has befallen you. I wish you a speedy recovery from your injuries.
(PS. Your first chapter appears to be suffering from a formatting issue.)
Ah yeah, I just noticed that the other day.... happens when you upload from phone
It's fixed now.
I'm glad to see I managed to take a different path than what Old Threehorns did with this story. It was more of a spontaneous idea to add some spice to the story, having Topps brother show up and reveal a dark past. Sometimes simply starting to write a random scene for the prologue leads to great ideas concerning the story as a whole
As for Cera and Tricia, I'm not 100% sure how they'd react but I've attempted to portrait that in this chapter. It's just the beginning of the drama as you can surely tell...
Anyway, thank you for the review
Well, the two being related is a certain surprise and overall, Rockhorn's antics were quite well-established. The other grownups most likely want to allow the threehorns in and if that happens, I get the feeling they won't spare Topps from the tales how he's too weak because he hasn't completed the Test. We'll see how things will move on but I thought I'd mention that political isn't a too LBT-like word. Other than that, this story is off to a interesting start! (But you should remove the underlining).
Thanks for the review
Yeah, Topps has a lot coming in this story... this chapter is only the beginning
