Alright, this chapter's a big one!
FFN Link:
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13096361/9/Waves-Crashing-Upon-the-Sky
Chapter 9: Swift or Slow?"So, has Ferris been bothering you today?"
To a contemplative Ducky who was still musing pensively about the unfairness of the whole situation after she had ended up being tasked with joint patrol duty, Jovi's query appeared to have come out of complete nowhere.
Until Jovi spoke up, the two hadrosaurs had been frolicking their way along the riverside and admiring the scenery in silence. But now the question has shattered the ambience, causing Ducky to ponder over it as she strolled along the grassy plains. After much deliberation, Ducky decided that it was better to suppress her more aggressive thoughts about Ferris and opted to give Jovi a response that was significantly more neutral by focusing on some of the more pronounced positive aspects that Ferris had displayed.
"Well…" Ducky bit her lip, carefully rolling her words in her mouth as she chose them carefully. She didn't want to pour her soul out to someone who she wasn't quite as close to compared to her friends, but she also didn't want her response to come off as too disingenuous when she could see that Jovi meant well. "…I suppose that Ferris is an okay swimmer. He does look rather nice, and he tries to be nice to me too… he does, he does. Well, I can see that he is not a mean bully to others most of the time, so I guess that he is overall an alright swimmer…"
After an indecisive shrug, Ducky shook her head dejectedly, deciding that she'd had quite enough of stating the swimmer's positives. "Alright… the issue I have with Ferris is that he is very pushy. He does not want to take 'no' as an answer no matter what, oh, no, no, no." Inwardly apologizing to Cera, Ducky proceeded to make the comparison using the threehorn as a benchmark. "He kind of acts like Cera whenever she gets upset, he does, he does."
The rhythmic and distinct noise that was made from a singular pair of feet shuffling along the ground suddenly dissipated after Ducky had concisely put her answer across. Quickly discerning that Jovi had abruptly stopped walking alongside her after he heard her response, Ducky whirled back towards the swimmer, wondering if she had inadvertently been too blunt and unintentionally said something far too outrageous while expressing her summary of Ferris.
She quickly got her answer, though not quite in the manner that she had been expecting. When Ducky made eye contact with Jovi, she was wholly unprepared and completely caught off guard by the hardness in his yellow eyes. For a swimmer who had acted very much like Petrie in meekness and demeanor before now, such a stark shift in behavior was disconcerting.
"You know…" Jovi glanced at her shrewdly, "…I think you should stop lying to yourself, Ducky."
Ducky cocked her head at Jovi, idly shifting one foot behind the other at his accusation. She felt her skin bristling, feeling uncomfortable at the sudden harsh tone that his voice took. How had things gone abruptly from a casual friendly walk to such a serious conversation out of the blue? She didn't like the adverse swerve in direction their talk had taken… nope, nope, nope. "W-whatever do you mean by that?" she found herself stuttering a denial, "I am not lying to you… oh, no, no, no!"
Jovi let out a hearty laugh at Ducky's futile attempt of deflection. "Hahahah! That's rich! That might be the single worst attempt of a lie I've seen since… heh, never mind about that." Wiping his eyes as he seemingly lost his train of thought, Jovi quickly recovered and shot Ducky an all-too-knowing smile. "No offense, but even if your wavering tone in your reply wasn't a dead giveaway, I've already managed to glean a fair bit of your thoughts and impressions with regards to Ferris based on how you were acting around him earlier. You readily said yes to coming along with me when I gave you an out, didn't you?" he grinned, triumphantly tapping his temple with a finger.
"Well, uh, I…" Ducky trailed off, the normally talkative swimmer finding herself at a loss for words at Jovi's rebuttal.
"Come on, there's no need to be so reserved when talking about Ferris, especially not when your words clearly don't match up with your actions. Unlike me, you aren't part of our herd, so you have no reason to save his face by suppressing your real thoughts. You have complete freedom to sling mud at Ferris and tarnish his reputation all you want without any fear of repercussions. Isn't that just great?"
Jovi gently placed an arm on Ducky's shoulder. "Besides, I can see your actual thoughts in your eyes. When I walked over to the river right when the fast water race was about to start, I got a good look at you. And frankly, the disapproving posture you sported and the sense of utter frustration it conveyed…" he paused, gazing at Ducky cryptically, "…it really speaks volumes about your perception of Ferris. Namely, that it is not as optimistic of an outlook as you portray it to be."
Giving time for the weight of his words to sink in, Jovi gazed at Ducky gently, his eyes sanguine and mellow. "My point is, as someone who trekked across the Mysterious Beyond many times over until I landed a role as the herd navigator who others can count on and rely for directions, I've slowly managed to attain the rather nifty skill of being able to gauge others solely by their body language." He side-eyed the rushing river, sighing forlornly. "And many Cold Times of intuition now tell me that I made no mistake in deciphering your true feelings regarding Ferris… this is a very open-and-shut case in my eyes."
Ducky avoided eye contact, afraid that she would give something she didn't mean to away under Jovi's observant eye. Looking at her toes as she fidgeted while trying to formulate the best response to make a rebuttal against Jovi's candid claim, she eventually settled with a non-committal reply. "I do not like being mean to others. That is why I cannot brush Ferris away even though I do not feel the same way as him, oh, no, no, no!"
The issue was that she didn't know whether she
did feel the same. And judging from the skeptical expression that was on Jovi's face after he heard her poor attempt of an excuse, the other swimmer clearly thought the same way too.
A bedtime conversation she had with Spike under the stars the previous night sprang to mind. Like Ducky had confided to her brother then, she wasn't completely willing to push Ferris away despite his numerous flaws because a warm fuzzy part of her felt thrilled by hearing his earnest compliments. Even though his character was more nuanced and down-to-earth when she had caught a more frustrated version of him today, Ferris was undeniably still a suave swimmer when it came to showering her with praises.
However, where Ducky faltered was when it came down to objectively weighing the pros and cons to decide on whether Ferris was a good fit for her. Was a swimmer of his caliber someone who she wanted to be with for the rest of her life?
On one hand, he really wasn't all that bad. After dealing with dinosaurs who were clearly much more malevolent in nature and actually tried to do harm to her and her friends, Ferris was at best an annoyance when graded on that relative scale… sort of like Rhett when Ali's herd had come-ed back to the valley, yep, yep, yep. And if she were to be honest, Ferris wasn't that bad when it came down to his appearance either. Could she really invalidate all the blatantly obvious hints of affection that he openly displayed towards her? It would be a win-win situation for her if she recuperated his feelings, wouldn't it? Relationship-wise, she would be set for life.
But on the flip side, Ferris had his fair share of issues as well. The swimmer had been passively dismissive of her friends, contemptuously acting as though he was above them the day before. It wasn't a one-off, too… he had been condescending to Paddy just because he wasn't in his herd today as well—she would have to question Paddy about why he'd said otherwise later—which was exactly what had led to her clashing heads with Ferris in the first place.
Right then and there, Ducky resolved that she would not feel the same way about Ferris by quashing any passionate feelings she experienced towards him unless the pompous swimmer made some drastic changes to his attitude. Because if there was something which Ducky could not stand, this was it. Although she'd felt uncomfortable when Ferris had come onto her too strongly, this right here was the real breaking point for Ducky, the part that frustrated her the most about Ferris.
I do not like bullies who act like they are big and mighty because they think they are better-er than everyone else!She would not be associated with someone who insulted her friendships and treated others around him like dirt. It would not be a sustainable relationship in the long run. Nope, nope, nope! Shaking her head decidedly, Ducky made firm on her choice of maintaining her stand by looking Jovi firm in the eye.
But to her exasperation, Jovi gave a nonverbal reply by returning her stare in jest. She blinked her eyes and frowned at him. Either Jovi didn't get the memo from the fervor expression that was in her eyes, or he still didn't believe her if he did. Whatever the case, Ducky mentally prepared herself for a harsh interrogation.
Anticipating a response like that was why Jovi's next words threw her in for a loop. "Look, I know this is awkward to ask…" he averted his eyes, reverting to his meeker persona as he fiddled with his fingers before sucking in a deep breath. "…but how old are you, Ducky?"
Puzzled by the sudden switch of topics but thankful for the reprieve, Ducky snatched the opportunity to escape talking about Ferris and answered Jovi readily. "I am ten Cold Times old! I am, I am!" she nodded along with every word. "My tenth hatch day was earlier in the Warm Time, yep, yep, yep!"
"Am I to presume you hatched over ten Cold Times ago, Ducky?" Upon spotting the wry smile on Jovi's face at her response, it slowly dawned on her that she'd just made a grave error of judgement.
Sure enough, to add on to Ducky's compounding headache, Jovi deftly made use of her age in order to bolster his point. "It's the Time of Great Growing at play here. It starts to take effect around one's ninth or tenth star day, and it goes without saying that when it comes, it arrives as jarringly like a forceful galestorm, including the instincts and behavioral changes that comes together with it in one nasty package."
The connotation and implications of what Jovi was saying were clear as day even for Ducky. As a matter of fact, his curt and direct words caused the swimmer to harken back to a recent memory — a conversation that had involved her mother when she and her clutch mates had turned ten barely a Night Circle cycle ago.
"Ugh… I am so very tired. I am, I am…"
Letting a yawn loose while around others tended to have a catalytic effect in a group setting, as the instigator would usually start a chain effect of eliciting multiple subsequent yawns after they had concluded theirs.
Case in point — Ducky opening her beak to let out an exhausted yawn was almost immediately followed up by three separate yawns from her equally tired siblings.
"Oh no! I am sorry for yawning, guys," Ducky blurted an apology when she heard the weary yawns from her sides induced via a cause-and-effect loop that resulted in a collective batch of yawns reverberating across the entire sleeping area. After much of the fresh morning air has been filched into the beaks of the tired swimmers, Ducky groggily rubbed her tired eyes as she sat down on her haunches. "I am, I am…" she added, the stirring swimmer blinking her blue eyes to get herself ready for the day ahead.
…her big day. For today wasn't just any ordinary day for Ducky and her three closest siblings, nope, nope, nope! In fact, there was a good reason as to why she had wandered away from a snoozing Spike for once to mingle with her siblings.
It was the tenth anniversary of their hatching.
Ducky looked up at the stars, seeing a specific cluster of them twinkling brighter than usual upon the twilight backdrop. One's tenth star day was a day of legend, a momentous occasion that had been hyped up by… well, pretty much everyone. Her friends, her family, Mr. Thicknose, and even some relative strangers frolicking around the valley who knew Ducky well… literally everyone had made preparations to give their congratulations to her for this day.
Even Cera, who had been mildly upset to learn that Ducky was genuinely older than her by exact hatch day—which finally put that argument from one of their earlier adventures many Cold Times ago to rest—didn't put a damper on the mood with a chiding remark and instead wished her friend well before leaving for home the previous night. Besides the probable explanation of her mellowing out with age, it was likely that Cera had no reason to continue insisting on being the oldest ever since the gang had befriended Ruby, as the fast runner was very clearly older than the rest of them. Celebrating Ruby's
twelfth star day in the valley probably shut Cera up rather quickly.
"I am so very happy, yes indeed. As of today morning, I am ten Cold Times old! Yep, yep, yep!" Ducky felt a sense of pride swell within her as she repeated that fact to herself, the swimmer smiling from ear to ear while staring up at the dark sky. The Bright Circle hadn't risen yet, but that didn't stop her and her siblings from being ecstatic at the thought.
On average, swimmers didn't tend to have a high life expectancy, especially when they were not in a herd comprising of their own kind that would offer them protection through large numbers. Since her parents had lived in isolation from other swimmers until the Great Earthshake forced their hand, only half of her mother's original nest of eight ended up living to see the fabled paradise that was the Great Valley. Had Ducky not gotten curious over a crying Littlefoot while diving in shallow water and joined up with him after being separated from her family, it was likely that she might not have made it too.
As such, a swimmer hatchling surviving till they reached the age of ten usually called for a great celebration, as it meant that they were fortunate enough to successfully beat the odds, odds that were stacked against them due to the many perilous dangers that swimmers often faced when dealing with an environment extremely hostile to them when they were out of their aquatic element.
"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you four are up early today, should I?"
The four swimmers turned towards the tender voice, seeing their mother lumbering towards them with large strides.
"While it's true that the early flyer gets the freshest treestars, I'm not sure if there's a swimmer equivalent for that proverb." Shoal cooed at her eldest daughter with a knowing smile as she bent down and nuzzled Ducky, who recuperated with a playful giggle of her own. "Now, I know that you in particular are up early because you would want to spend the day with your friends. You were probably too restless to even catch a wink of sleep, weren't you, my not-so-little Ducky?"
Rewarded with an affirmative "yes, mama" from a smiling Ducky, a satisfied Shoal proceeded to focus her attention on the other three. "As for the rest of you, you usually sleep in," she observed astutely. "To be up as early as your elder sister… you lot are certainly excited about today, aren't you?"
Spring, the second to hatch right after Ducky, pumped her hand to the air as she echoed with vigor. "Definitely, Mom! I've been awaiting this star day, like, ever since the last one!"
"I can certainly feel the excitement coming off your body, Spring. Well, since today is a special day for all of you, I don't wish to take up too much of your time." Shoal peered at the Great Wall, near the section where she knew the first rays of the Bright Circle would normally break over the mountain range. "With any luck, I'll be done with my talk before the Bright Circle rises," she estimated.
Ducky cocked her head. "A talk? Does this mean that you are going to congratulate us? Huh, huh?" All four swimmers were now gazing inquisitively at her mother, who respectively had a stern and lecturing gaze trained on her kids.
"I suppose you can say that." Shoal bristled, before sitting down in front of her children. "Now, dears. You're all ten today—"
"Cool!" Ducky's brother had whistled jubilantly, cutting her mother off and earning disgruntled looks from his siblings. Nevertheless, he ignored the dirty looks he was getting and pressed forth with his statement. "Once the Bright Circle comes up we're officially big swimmers! Now we get to boss the younger ones around!"
Shoal's face fell slightly at the interruption, the swimmer shaking her head and wagging her finger disapprovingly at the only boy in the group. "Unlike how Mr. Threehorn makes it look, growing older isn't about attaining the authority to freely boss other dinosaurs around. We're swimmers, not threehorns—" she twisted her head around at the impish swimmer to accentuate the statement, "—which also means that being big doesn't give you a free pass to order your younger brothers and sisters around, Delta."
The swimmer visibly slouched after his negligent remark was shot to pieces by his mother. "Awwww… but that's no fun at all!" he whined playfully, placing his hands by his waist.
"Well, you'll soon find out that being a grown-up isn't quite as amazing as the flawless picture that you have painted in your heads. There are many more responsibilities that come with age," Shoal gently chided as she leaned back, wisdom emanating from her voice. "Surely you've noticed that I've started to teach you more advanced swimming techniques after every consecutive star day?"
"That
is true!" Spring sprang to her feet, facing her siblings with excitement written all over her face. "We're definitely better at swimming tactics when compared to the rest of our younger siblings who were hatched here in the valley!"
"As I was about to say before Delta interrupted me earlier on," Shoal cast a warning glance at the offending swimmer to prevent a repeat of such an occurrence, "please listen up and listen well. What I'm about to tell you is
very important."
Ducky and her siblings nodded along in sync, all equally eager to hear what their mother had to say. Though if she were to be frank, with her three surviving clutch mates sitting on the ground of their sleeping area and her mother now joining in, Ducky began to feel a little cramped. Nevertheless, she tucked her feet in and wiggled her toes about to stretch herself and prevent her muscles from aching when she got back up.
"Now, we swimmers are known for two notable things," Shoal began, "One is swimming, of course." The larger swimmer then scowled, the sides of her beak arching downwards to form the distinct curvature of a frown. "But the second thing that we're known for is a bit more subtle, and frankly, quite vulgar…"
Oxbow perked up at her mother's cliffhanger. "What is it, Mom?" she chirped expectantly, swishing her tail from side to side while waiting for the answer. Though the fifth to hatch, Oxbow was now the third-oldest still alive of the original Mysterious Beyond clutch of hatchlings. Compared to her two older sisters' more bubbly and brash personalities, she was significantly more reserved, and it even showed in her appearance, with Oxbow having a relatively scrawny body frame.
The corners of Shoal's beak curled upwards very slightly at Oxbow's query. "You know how you have so many brothers and sisters?" she gestured over to the younger siblings, all sleeping soundly, "You all were my first clutch, and I proceeded to have two more clutches of eggs after you. Do you see where I'm getting at, dears?" She paused to let it dawn on them, only continuing when she saw Spring's face lighting up in recognition.
"That's right," Shoal confirmed her daughter's instinctual hypothesis, "as crass as it is, we swimmers are also well known for kids… or to put it bluntly, having lots and lots of children. So much so, in fact, that Mr. Threehorn has ever yelled at me before in a valley meeting about this. He wanted me to tell the other swimmers to get their act together and slow down because he was scared that we would swarm the valley with young ones."
The vivid mental picture that her mom had painted of Cera's father aggressively confronting her with such an unorthodox topic caused Ducky to burst out in uncontrollable laughter, her siblings quickly joining in. As she struggled to regain her bearings, Ducky made a firm call to never let Cera know of this unless she was being explicitly prompted about it.
"His request was futile, in case you were wondering." Shoal smirked, holding a hand to her beak to suppress her chuckle while recalling the rebuttal that she'd fired back at Topps' stunned face. "When the swimmers' Time of Mating comes, there's nothing much that a mated pair can do besides, uh… well, what they're supposed to do." She cleared her throat uncomfortably. "Though personally if you ask me, he's just jealous that I managed to give you guys eight new brothers and sisters in the last season while he only managed to have Tricia. He probably feels like we swimmers will eventually outnumber them threehorns, that stubborn grouch."
Though most of her audience laughed at her teasing jab, Ducky instead took on a brooding expression towards her mother's wisecrack. "So will that actually happen?" she asked, "I do not think Cera will be very happy if I tell her that our kind will outnumber hers by eight-to-one, no, no, no."
Shoal stood up in response, wearily dragging her large tail along the ground. All of a sudden, Ducky was able to tell that despite all of her mother's quips and jokes, Shoal herself was nervous about this conversation. "As a grown-up swimmer, I can guarantee you firsthand that it will happen. A network of close familial bonds is what drives swimmers to join up and form herds of their own to begin with. We form more familial cliques compared to other species, say the longnecks, due to the size of our families growing by leaps and bounds from generation to generation."
"I mean, you four already have fifteen younger brothers and sisters," she gestured over to the sleeping forms of their siblings, "and if you were to join migrating swimmer herds in future, your younger siblings will one day be able to use their relationships with you to join as well and increase your sway and influence in the herd. If I have another clutch of eggs, you can rest assured that the rest of the herd will soon be singing your praises because the proportion of swimmers in their ranks who are related to and thus amiable with you will level out to be quite the significant amount. The opposite also holds true — every kid borne by a swimmer parent who grows to adulthood is like a matured investment for them, an egg in the nest who will provide a reasonable rate of return in terms of future support which guarantees their survival and continued membership in a herd when they grow old in exchange for all the nurturing that they have laboriously put into their child."
Spring and Oxbow rubbed their chins contemplatively at the exceptionally deep talk regarding lineage in swimmer herds. Ducky also had a discernible grimace on her visage, her beak flattening to a straight line. All this newfound knowledge that her mother was dispensing so relentlessly pelted her like a torrent of falling sky water. It was making her head hurt…
Delta, however, had a differing reaction compared to his older siblings. "Join up with farwalker herds?" he repeated after his mother, the swimmer making sure to display a pronounced reaction towards his mother's words by getting to his feet and dramatically clutching his head in an exaggerated way just so he would be able to clearly express his befuddlement with Shoal's example. "You say that like we'll ever leave the Great Valley now that we're here, Mom! I remember what the Mysterious Beyond was like, and I speak on behalf of Spring and Oxbow when I say that we're not nearly as reckless as Ducky and her friends!"
Shoal sighed at her son's antics, signaling for the rambunctious Delta to sit back down when she noted that a frowning Ducky was unhappy with his insinuation. "That's what you
think for now, Delta." She gently closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath. "But when your time comes to make a choice on whether to stay or not, the answer may not be as apparent as you assume."
Her eyelids flung open, black eyes flickering back and forth as she watched her children's expressions observantly. "The day where it'll be your turn to carry on the Circle of Life is slowly encroaching upon you. Now that you're big, we grown-ups will soon pass the mantle on to you…"
Oxbow was the first to react in a visible manner. "Wait! You mean…?"
"That's right," Shoal exhaled, squatting down and looking at each of her children in turn. "It is time that I tell you all about the Time of Great Growing."
A collective and marked reaction immediately ensued at her words, causing Shoal to use her hands to gesticulate at her gawking children with a pacifying 'stand down' manner to quell the fervid gasps and noises that they were emitting at the revelation lest they accidentally woke their siblings up with their uproar.
"Settle down, settle down." Shoal cradled Oxbow's chin with the palm of her hand. "I understand that this may not be groundbreaking news for all of you given that this is around the age where you start being curious about your futures and yourself, but it is still imperative that you be prepared for such changes. I don't want my children to walk out of my nest as helpless as a clueless yellowbelly in such matters. So long as you remain under my care, it is my responsibility as your mother to see that all of you are amply prepared."
There was intermittent silence as Shoal sized her children up one by one, her uncharacteristically robust gaze causing Ducky and Oxbow in particular to avert their eyes. Spring was nervously tapping her feet, and only Delta had an enthusiastic grin plastered on his face, in stark contrast to his three older sisters.
"Many changes will happen to you throughout the next few Cold Times." The swimmer reached up and gently stroked the curved crest on her head. "Some are on the physical side, like growing out the distinct crest that we grown-up swimmers have."
Ducky waved at her mother with one hand, palpating the back of her head with the other. "Oh, oh, oh! Is this why I have this rounded swell behind my head? I have always wondered why I had that growing back there, I did, I did."
"You're right! That bulge will soon grow into a beautiful crest, Ducky." Shoal then exhaled after her answer before raising the inflection of her voice for her next few statements. "But other changes are more emotional, and this is the crux of the matter, what I intend to bring to your fullest attention. It pays to focus your attention on the right things, children. Don't let yourself get sidetracked because you were shortsighted in vision. Remember this — though we swimmers can move in water however we please, the predictable swimmer who swims in a straight line will be the one who ends up as swimming sharptooth dinner."
Shoal clicked her tongue, her eyes hardening as she leaned forward. "As such, we have to focus on the big picture, as well as what it means for you. For boys like Delta, you might become more impulsive and assertive—"
"He already is, mom!" Spring glared at the offending swimmer, who succinctly stuck his tongue out in response to his sister's remark.
"Oh, yes!" Ducky concurred with a giggle. "Yes, yes, yes! Delta has always been that way, he has!"
Shoal shook her head in exasperation before picking up from where she'd left off. "And as for you girls, don't be surprised if you experience sudden mood swings or an intrinsic urge for companionship. Though I will say, one thing which males and females share in common throughout this tumultuous period is that both will start seeking out prospective mates-to-be. Mark my words — I won't be shocked in the slightest if one day I catch you kissing someone other than me on the beak."
"Ew,
yuck!" Spring covered her beak, aghast at the mental picture. "Gross, gross, gross! You'll never catch me kissing another swimmer on the beak! That's disgusting! It'll never happen, ever!"
Shoal could only chuckle at her daughter's flippant reaction. "Oh, Spring," she laughed, "That was what I thought as well when I was at your age and my own parents told me the exact same thing. And if that were true…"
The swimmer abruptly opened her arms wide, clutching all her squealing children in a wide hug as she concluded, "…then well, I wouldn't have had all you wonderful children, would I?"
Spring was the first one to reluctantly break away from the familial embrace. "…it's still gross!" she insisted, though her wide smile overshadowed her grouchy tone. "Come on, guys! You think that too, don't you?" she asked, feverishly looking to her left and right in a bid to rile up support from her siblings.
"Listen to me, Spring." Shoal's motherly instincts kicked in, extending her hand out to stroke a grouchy Spring on the crown of her head. "It is in our nature to propagate our family line as much as possible. It is why even when your father passed on four Cold Times ago I still went and seeked out a temporary mate for my latest clutch of kids in the last Cold Time. But still, I don't expect you to understand my reasoning right now. The emotional aspect of the Time of Great Growing is what changes one's perception on this matter greatly."
"When your time eventually comes, you can't control it. We will all go through this," Shoal promised with a serious voice. "All of us, without exception."
Having listened attentively throughout the entire conversation, Ducky nodded along to her mother's declaration, the swimmer feeling a sense of surrealness.
I have many wonderful friends, oh, yes, yes, yes, but Mama is making this sound way more bigger-er than friendship. Will I be able to meet someone like that one day? Huh, huh…?That thought process was broken when Ducky noticed her sister Oxbow hesitantly raising her hand up. "Even Spike?" she meekly asked.
"Yes… even Spike," Shoal confirmed, although she appeared annoyed after her answer. "But since he is five Cold Times younger than you and around the same age as the first batch of younger siblings I had in the valley, I think we will have to wait quite a while before I give him this talk." she admitted, scratching her chin. "Though come to think of it, I won't know what to say to him. I know next to nothing about spiketail mating traditions…"
"Mooommmmm!" Delta shrieked, squealing in a high pitch which was rather unbefitting of his stature. "Oh man, are you serious right now!? That mental picture was
horrifying!" He walked towards the cave wall and began rhythmically hitting his head against the rock. "Imagining Spike with… ugh, this is all your fault!" he shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at his humored mother. "I'm going to have bad sleep stories now, and on my hatch day too!"
For her part, a repulsed Ducky was rubbing her eyes vigorously to scrub away any impure, horrid thoughts of her brother before her mind ended up permanently tainted to the extent where she would be unable to maintain a straight face when looking Spike in the eye. "Oh, I agree! I do not want to even think about Spike like that. No, no, no!"
Their mother laughed heartily. "Okay, all jokes about Spike aside, just remember this, children. You are likely to find your significant other one day in the future, and when that day comes, I will support you in your endeavors."
"Moommm!" Spring drawled, holding out her voice almost as long as Delta had. "I told you, that day will
never come for me. In the words of Ducky — nope, nope, nope!" she chirped off her elder sister's signature triple affirmation.
Shoal cut off Ducky's giggle with a striking proclamation. "This much, I will guarantee you — the transition from young child into fledgling swimmer who is ready to make their mark on this pristine land will be a bumpy and turbulent period filled with many challenges. But please, don't worry. I will be with you through this all the way."
The dark-green swimmer hugged the eager group of teenagers-to-be, before whispering a soft vow into their ears.
"No matter what happens, you will always be my precious children…"
The pristine memory faded away for Ducky almost as quickly as it had started. What her mama had told her about the Time of Great Growing rang forebodingly in her head. Despite her mother's insistence that she would be with her daughter in such trying times, Ducky was still apprehensive about talking to her about Ferris.
Her silence didn't go unnoticed by the other swimmer astutely looking at her. "Are you worried?" Jovi asked, passively placing an arm to his forehead. "You looked rather deep in thought for a moment. Well, don't fret and just let it happen. The more you worry, the more stressed you'll become. I should know, considering that I've had to deal with it for a while now." He shook his head resolutely, likely expelling some unpleasant memories, if Ducky were to guess. "I hatched almost three Cold Times before you, and often I yearn for the days of my ignorant childhood…"
"You do not look thirteen! Not at all, nope, nope, nope!" was all a startled Ducky could say. She looked at Jovi from head to toe, observing that he was only about half a head taller than her. Had Jovi not admitted how old he was, she would have made an educated guess of his age… one that would have been hilariously inaccurate.
A self-conscious Jovi proceeded to pout, folding his arms at her comment. "Yeah, yeah," he grumbled, thrusting his hands skywards to vent his frustration. "The Time of Great Growing wasn't very kind to me. My growth was stunted compared to my peers, and far too often to count many of the other swimmers around my age would take one look at me, forget that I'm right smack in the middle of the Time of Great Growing because of my size and thus ignore me completely. Gah… so, so frustrating! I m-mean, even a nobody like me have needs too, y'know?"
Without any warning, yet again the topic of the conversation suddenly shifted to one which Ducky wasn't expecting, catching her completely off guard.
"I won't lie. You're a pretty cute swimmer, Ducky," Jovi complimented, curtsying at her with a hyperbolized bow. "No wonder Ferris has his sights on you," he commented with a whistle, "you're definitely a worthwhile catch to any swimmer worth their treestars now that you've reached your Time of Great Growing."
Ducky blushed at Jovi's cordial flattery. It wasn't as grandiose as Ferris singing her praises, but it was still a lot for her to take in. "You are welcome! You are, you are!" she beamed, bashfully holding her palms to her reddening cheeks. "It is just… I am not used to being the center of attention. Nope, nope, nope…"
Sensing Ducky's unease, Jovi stepped back to give her space. "Yeah, sorry." he apologized, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. "Apologies if I'm made you uncomfortable with what I just said… oh, and for being pushy with my interrogation earlier. You're a special swimmer, and I'm worried for you…"
Letting his words trail off, Jovi sharply jerked his head in frustration. "Gee, what is with me today? I'm not normally this talkative around the other swimmers. I prefer keeping to myself…"
Ducky was about to return the favor and help Jovi as thanks for him assisting her with her confused emotions about Ferris when a flash of blue hovering in the distance caught her eye. "That is Petrie brother!" she gasped, recognizing the flyer's distinct shade of dark blue. Since he shared the same wing color as Petrie's mother, she was able to see the family resemblance even though she didn't quite remember his name.
Her surprised remark caught the attention of the circling flyer, who quickly yelled to them. "Hey there! You two! You gotta help out, man!" he shouted in a frantic voice, pointing towards the river with one wing. "That poor fella over there is in a predicament that only fellow swimmers can solve! Save him, I beg you!"
Following his trailing wing, Ducky squinted her eyes down towards the river.
And then, she saw it.
Struggling futilely against the waves was the swimmer who she'd just met earlier in the day, Paddy. His distinctive dark-gray coat flashed by so quickly that Ducky almost mistook him for strands of water plants. Another roll of the waves and a bob of the swimmer's head later was enough to dispel that though, however, and without even waiting for an instruction, Ducky instinctively dived into the river.
The harsh force of the fast water breaking on her body didn't matter, nor did the sudden dip in temperature. The only thing that mattered was rescuing the stricken Paddy before he was lost to the waves.
Everything passed by in a blur for Ducky. She could vaguely recall brief glimpses of grabbing onto a clammy hand, forcefully kicking her feet to break up for air, and tenaciously dragging Paddy back to shore. Pure adrenaline fueled her muscles as she gripped onto the unconscious Paddy, and upon looking back on the whole experience after it was over in an attempt to review what she had done in the heat of the moment, Ducky found that the minute and irrelevant details were lost to her, her brain only managing to capture significant snapshots of what had gone down during those frenzied few moments.
Panting as she finally reached the riverbank, Ducky jumped out of the swift currents and with a forceful tug lugged an unconscious Paddy up onto the sanctuary that was dry land. In an attempt to resuscitate him, she raised a foot over Paddy's chest before forcefully stepping down on it with as much force as her small body could muster up.
Rewarded with a splutter as Paddy reflexively coughed and expelled out some water, Ducky began to smile in relief when she saw him beginning to stir with a pained groan. "Oh, thank goodness!" She clapped both her hands together, taking her foot off his chest. "You are awake! You are, you are!"
He visibly reacted to her voice, sharply tilting his head towards her. "D-Du… Ducky?" he slurred.
When Ducky noticed that the direction of his gaze was askew from where she was actually standing, her heart clenched with worry.
Paddy must have hit his head while he was being swept away by the fast water, yep, yep, yep…She leaned over his head, wagging a finger to reprimand Paddy in hopes of getting the hasty swimmer to lay back down and rest. Head injuries were not good. "You should not move so much! You almost drowned-ed."
Would have drowned if not for me, yep, yep, yep, her mind added rather unhelpfully, which was concisely summarized down to a typical, "you did, you did…" addendum for posterity. "I was so afraid for you. I was, I was!" she emphatically voiced her concerns, inwardly fighting to keep up the smile on her face. "If I did not come and save you, you would not be here right now, oh, no, no, no!"
Her skin bristled, multiple goosebumps breaking out as thoughts of the unthinkable encroached the recesses of her mind. The idea of death wasn't something which occupied her head often, but even Ducky had to admit that she previously undergone through her fair share of close shaves on many occasions prior. The brutal reminder of her own mortality—that the fragile life that leaf-eaters like her lived could be snatched away at any time—often came close to bringing the emotional swimmer to tears, the memory of half her siblings meeting their ends during the time where she'd lived in the Mysterious Beyond for her first five Cold Times of her life a chilling reminder that nobody's life was exempt from being tragically cut short by the cruel jaws of fate.
Noticing that tears were still nestled in Paddy's eyes, Ducky hurriedly wiped her misty eyes before his blurred vision cleared up and the other swimmer caught her in a compromised, emotional state.
"You… save… me?" Paddy asked, the pupils of his eyes still unfocused and disoriented, which only added to his overall disheveled appearance.
Ducky smirked. She didn't need to brood or suppress any negative thoughts for
this answer. "Yep, yep, yep!" she affirmed, "I did, I did!"
To her shock, a queasy Paddy pulled himself to his feet and began stumbling away. Too stunned by the fact that he actually made such a foolhardy attempt to stop him, she watched with a sense of dread when he suddenly lost his footing and lurched forward.
"Paddy!" She rushed over to his side. "What are you doing!? A-Are you okay? You should not be standing up! Nope, nope, nope!"
But annoyingly, Paddy ignored her, pushing her hand aside as he staggered his way over to Jovi. Flickering her eyes over to the swimmer in question, Ducky was surprised to see that Jovi was so stiff and motionless from shock that he could legitimately pass off as a miniature Saurus Rock.
"Oh, thank you! You save m…" Paddy appeared to sober up mid-sentence, brief panic seizing Paddy momentarily for some reason that eluded Ducky, "…my life!"
H-Hey! Ducky pouted at Paddy, who was vigorously shaking the hands of a paralyzed Jovi.
I just told-ed you that I was the one who saved you! You should be thanking me, you should, you should!However, Ducky found that she couldn't be frustrated by the lack of attribution with regards to rescuing Paddy from his watery fate for long, especially when it occurred to her that there was so much more that she wanted to scold him about.
You silly swimmer! You are so very stubborn, you are, you are! You are behaving just like Cera does when she is upset!…a thought which she quickly vocalized to the uncooperative swimmer as she quickly trapped Paddy in an inescapable hold by embracing him tightly using her two arms.
"You are so very reckless! You are, you are! I will not let you go until you promise to sit down and rest quietly, Paddy! I am telling you to rest but instead you are acting like Cera when Cera is not happy." She mentally issued an apology to Cera for using the threehorn as a scapegoat example for the second time that day before continuing to berate Paddy. "And Cera is a threehorn, so she does not tend to be happy very often, nope, nope, nope…"
Although he squeaked in surprise when caught in her vice grip, Paddy quickly managed to calm down enough to return the hug by placing his own arms by her back. While she had initially initiated the embrace to trap Paddy and prevent him from doing anything reckless, Ducky had to admit that she was quite disappointed when Petrie's brother interrupted them and they were forced to break apart.
She actually liked the warmth of his body. It wasn't often that she hugged someone around her size outside of her family due to vast differences in size between species. For instance, whenever she cuddled Spike, she often had to press her entire body against her brother's face or foot. As a result, the feeling that she got from this embrace was certainly… different, to say the least.
Midway through Paddy's conversation with Petrie's brother, Ducky felt her blood freeze when her wandering eyes managed to see a group of swimmers and flyers headed in their direction. Of course, what caught her attention the most was Ferris, who was marching towards them in a domineering manner.
Oh, well. To tell the truth, she had a feeling this would happen. There was no way that Ferris wouldn't catch wind of what was happening sooner or later.
As Ferris approached, Ducky slid her eye over to her left and noticed that Paddy looked ready to bolt. It wasn't even surreptitious — the intention was clearly written on the swimmer's face. If he wasn't so clearly dizzy, Ducky had a feeling that Paddy could give Ruby a decent showing when it came to running… he could, he could.
Maybe they should have held a running race instead of a river race? It seemed as though it would suit Paddy better. It would, it would!
When Paddy finally noticed her sneaking glances at him, his face paled significantly. His eyes were darting all about, further lending credence to the theory that he was terrified of Ferris.
Ducky snorted, quickly deciding that she would take Paddy's side in the ensuing brawl that was bound to happen.
But just like everyone else, even Ferris himself decided to be unpredictable for once and catch her off guard yet again in what was definitely becoming an annoyingly persistent trend on this highly unpredictable day.
"Anyway, you've got some explaining to do, mister! What the blazes was that!?"
Why is he looking that way? It does not make sense at all… why is Ferris asking him that question?
I do not understand what is going on, oh, no, no, no…
Petrie could feel his heart skip a beat as the anger embedded in Ferris' shout reverberated around the area.
Was this it? Were his efforts all for naught? Would he have to come clean even after he had nearly drowned to avoid the possibility of this exact scenario coming to fruition? Had everything that he'd done to divert attention away wound up being rendered null and void?
Despite the tense atmosphere permeating the air, Petrie couldn't help but to scowl. Surely the Bright Circle wouldn't be this unfair! There was no way that it could let a bad flyer like Vekal get away with his threat without comeuppance while an innocent party like him took the fall.
"That said, I doubt that you'll succeed. And I'm afraid that your failure means that I'll have the last laugh."Vekal's callous vow from earlier in the day before the flyer had taken off continued to resonate strongly within Petrie, the dire threat of leaving his hapless victim perpetually stuck as a swimmer now frighteningly close to becoming reality.
Though that deadly bet Petrie had ended up getting himself completely embroiled in this fiasco, and now as the center of attention he couldn't find a feasible way out. He looked at the circle of swimmers and flyers now surrounding him, now adamantly certain that his near-drowning at the hands of the fast water had definitely raised some eyebrows.
No, no, no… Petrie no can take it anymore! Me complete wreck! If Ferris question me now, me sure break down and tell him everything in front of siblings and Ducky, and then it all be over for Petrie! Me gonna stay stuck as swimmer forever!"You obstinate pain in the tail!"
Petrie was thrust out of his inner despair by another outburst from Ferris, the enraged swimmer lashing out by shaking a clenched fist in frustration. "Are you even listening to a single word I'm saying? Or are you plugging your ears and pretending that everything is all fine and dandy?"
"Ouch." Petrie heard Roll comment from the side, the flyer letting out a snort of approval. "Didn't know you use that sharp tongue on everyone. And here I thought I was special…"
You no helping, Roll! Petrie scowled.
You just make Petrie more nervous than before!Right as Petrie's frayed nerves hit their breaking point and the flyer-turned-swimmer found himself solely tempted to just bite down on the rotten treestar and take the plunge by acknowledging Ferris with a reply, the swimmer proceeded to hiss out a sentence which changed the entire context of his whole flare-up.
"Don't ignore me,
Jovi!"
J-Jovi? Petrie blinked in surprise, only noticing with that final word that Ferris had been focusing his vision off-center from his direction. With a clearer vision once he rubbed his eyes, he could now actually see that the skewed perspective had led Petrie to believe that Ferris was looking at him when he had instead been directing his gaze slightly behind Petrie, ranting towards the spot where Jovi had been standing all this time.
Ferris hadn't been talking down to him. He had been shouting at his own herd mate from the very start.
One good thing had come out of this diversion, however. Where there was previously nothing but blind panic fueled by uncertainty, Petrie's anxiety was slowly being replaced by a serene sensation of calm. Though he felt sorry for Jovi, he also knew that this was his golden opportunity. If Ferris was going to direct the brunt of his anger at Jovi, he just might be able to survive through the entire session if he played his hand right.
And from the looks of things, it appeared he need not worry about being targeted as Ferris seemed to be going in for the kill. Still getting no response from the catatonic swimmer, Ferris scooted over and glared at Jovi with a face that could barely disguise his contempt.
Jovi gulped, which Petrie was pretty sure was the first movement Jovi made since he had regained consciousness. "Fer… ris…" he stammered.
"You utter
coward!"
The way that Ferris had enunciated the word caused everyone around to flinch.
"Why in the name of the Bright Circle did you not help Paddy?! Look at me, Jovi!" Ferris ordered when he saw the navigator diverting his gaze, "You can't just close your eyes and ignore everything, pretending in your mind that by willing the problem away you'll be able to absolve yourself of any blame or wrongdoing."
"Bu-bu-but…" Jovi stuttered, struggling and failing to string together his stumbling mess of words into a coherent sentence.
"No 'buts'!" Ferris forcefully interjected, continuing to berate his subordinate. "You aren't squirming your way out of this! What possible excuse do you have for clamming up like that when Paddy could have drowned thanks to your lack of initiative! You could've jumped in to rescue him instead of just standing there and shouting futilely for help! Bah… what were you thinking!? He was right within your reach! Why didn't you do something…
literally anything!?"
"…I didn't even yell for help," Jovi finally managed to spit out, looking pitifully towards Yaw. "You must have been mistaken, Ferris. It was the flyer who was calling for help…"
Ferris grit his teeth, stomping his foot on the grass upon hearing Jovi's confession. Now suitably incensed at Jovi's perceived nonchalance… or rather, more of the fact that the shaken swimmer was trying to shrug off the near-drowning incident as though it was no big deal, Ferris proceeded to blow his gasket, letting loose a flurry of derogatory remarks.
"Blithering moron! What sort of excuse is that? That makes it even worse! Your inaction boggles my mind! I mean, you could have assisted by flanking Ducky and tag-teaming her to rescue that struggling swimmer! Come on, do you
really think being a bystander and doing nothing when someone's in danger is the right thing to do? Well, tell me, what if Ducky was caught in the fast water too, huh!? What would you have done then? Yell futilely for assistance that wouldn't come along with the flyer?"
Ferris jerked his head in the direction of the river, pointing at the rapids with a snarl. "Look… I'm simply being reasonable here. I was only just warned about the situation by that flyer, so I might not have been able to reach here in time, you know? You and Ducky were leagues closer to the flailing Paddy in comparison." He snapped his head back at Jovi, frustration abound on his face. "Just think of it this way — if Paddy did indeed drown because of your negligence, you would have had blood on your hands! Is that what you want, Jovi…
is it!?"
"It is not his fault, Ferris! Jovi was just scared-ed! He was, he was!"
Petrie was startled when he heard his friend's distinct voice jumping into Ferris' admonishment session, although he could see that unlike at the start of the race, this time around Ducky was willing to give Ferris more leeway as she could actually relate to the other swimmer's reasoning.
Ferris' face softened when he heard Ducky's plea, but still he remained adamant. "Spare me the senseless prattling," he shrugged nonchalantly, glowering at Ducky with icy eyes. "You can't possibly excuse Jovi's behavior, Ducky. Look at it in an objective manner. Surely you remember that he was the one who asked you to come along in the first place. If there was no one patrolling that river or he hadn't made that decision to start with, then our friend Paddy here would be lying at the bottom of the river as we speak!"
Though Ferris had worded it in a curt way, Petrie felt a chill running down his body. He had, after all, worked out earlier that Jovi's suggestion was what saved him when his plan to throw the race had backfired magnificently. He owed the fact that he was still alive and kicking to a hardworking Jovi scouting the river out ahead of schedule. His life had hung in the balance, hinging on what seemed like an insignificant decision. If Jovi hadn't been there and hadn't asked Ducky to come with him, then Ducky couldn't have possibly saved him in his hour of need…
"Hey! You there, flyer!" Ferris beckoned Yaw towards him with a 'come here' gesture using two digits of his hand. "Your sister told me that you were circling Paddy to signal for help, but if Ducky wasn't there, what would you have done?"
The crowd of dinosaurs observing the spectacle dispersed slightly as the focus was directed onto someone different for a change. Finding himself in the spotlight, Yaw stiffened, his jaw clenched tightly. One could hear him gnashing his teeth together.
"Well…" he started, "I would've rescued him, of course."
"Then why didn't you do just that?" Ferris deadpanned in a deliberating tone, one which made it clear that the swimmer didn't buy Yaw's explanation in the slightest. "Your sister and I argued for ages before I was brought here and yet in that time Ducky was the one who saved him. Why weren't you the one scooping him from the water if that's the case, might I enquire?"
"Okay… fine!" Yaw grimaced, his lie unfurling completely. "I… I probably wouldn't have been able to grab him with my talons. The waves are far too unpredictable! If I dove and missed, I would be the next victim!" The flyer constantly had a stressed-out demeanor, but at Ferris' armor-piercing question his posture slouched even further, the accumulated stress erupting as Yaw proceeded to gesticulate wildly with his wings. "These things are made for flying, not swimming!" he insisted.
"What was that, Yaw…?" A teasing voice chuckled, causing everyone in the vicinity to be taken aback by the sound of a sudden entrant. "Why, I never thought I'd see the day where my younger brother would actually show humility in front of others. You should give yourself a pat on the wing for that."
A stupefied Yaw snapped his head around at the russet-brown flyer who had snuck up from behind the crowd to take a shot at him. "P-P-Pitch!" he squawked, completely mortified.
The circle that had previously surrounded Petrie from front and back parted to reveal Ferris' sister and his own sister coming from the direction of the falls, where the river had originated from upstream. Even if Petrie hadn't immediately linked the entrant's amused voice to that of his eldest sibling, the phrase 'younger brother' being said to Yaw with a teasing lilt left no room for doubt due to the fact that Pitch was the only one who matched the relevant parameters, namely that of being the singular sibling who was older than Yaw.
As if having two nosy siblings poking their beaks in wasn't bad enough, now Petrie had three of them to deal with. To make matters worse, poised directly under the flying Pitch was Amaryl, who Petrie knew to be aggressive from what he'd seen of her. And sure enough, Amaryl wasted no time in quirking her head at the large crowd curiously and riling them up with a few choice words of her own.
"What's all this commotion about, Ferris? I was minding my own business at the starting point when this flyer here flew over and told me there was trouble downstream." She exhaled a tired sigh, her tail drooping in disappointment. "Frankly, I don't know what I was expecting — I should've known that someone of your caliber wouldn't even be able to manage a simple swimming race without it turning into a complete disaster, brother," she moped, folding her arms.
Lines were visible on Ferris' forehead as the agitated swimmer scrunched his expression up at his sister's interference. Unlike before where Petrie had seen Amaryl domineering over her older brother, this time Ferris took initiative and stormed towards her. "Will you give it a rest? Now is not the time!" he snapped, causing his startled sister to back away. "This isn't about my reputation or my leadership management abilities, Amaryl! I don't care about the 'oh, I suck at leadership' spiel that you constantly have against me. This isn't a game or a squabble over who's better… it ceased to be when someone's life was at stake!"
Amaryl looked at Ferris pensively. "T-That's not what I—"
"Paddy almost drowned today, and I want to find out why it happened!" Ferris raised his voice to a fever pitch to interject, a prominent sneer on his face as he proceeded to glare at his herd navigator scornfully. "Come to think of it, I don't just hope to know 'why'. I also want to know how it got to this point in the first place. Things should never have escalated to the point where a more passive herd member like Jovi ended up being put in a situation where he couldn't be bothered to save a swimmer who was in desperate need of help!"
Jovi was repeatedly blinking his eyes as forcefully as he could, the fervent manner that he was performing the action suggesting that he wanted to wipe clean every last image that he had just witnessed from his memory. The swimmer was swaying uneasily on his feet, the contours of his face scrunched up in a contemplative manner. It was rather blatant to even the most unobservant of onlookers that he was exceptionally shaken after being talked down by Ferris. Given how similar Jovi's passive demeanor was to his own, Petrie quickly surmised that his leader's reprimand had quite a profound impact on the other swimmer.
"Speaking of why it happened in the first place…"
Petrie gulped when he saw Amaryl stealthily cutting in the conversation while whirling onto him, the black swimmer finding himself shrinking back when all eyes were subsequently turned onto him as well.
Oh, what you want with Petrie? Go back to bothering your brother Ferris! Me like it when you do that!He could see that Amaryl had a frustrated expression on her face. If Petrie were to guess, the swimmer wasn't used to her brother actually countering her, so now she was seeking out another way to vent her sarcasm. His own siblings were the same way, often switching targets if he lashed out at them whenever things got far too rough.
"…there's something I don't get," Amaryl continued to speak, peering at Petrie with raised eyebrows. "After I gave the signal for the race to start, I saw you walking on the edges of the river by using the banks as support, and not swimming in the middle like you were supposed to. Why do that, I ponder…?"
Petrie clenched his beak, his heart pounding when he heard Amaryl's carefree statement. Of all the rotten luck…
"What?" Ferris was initially startled by the news, blinking his eyes in confusion. "I… didn't know that." The swimmer then calmly mulled the new information over, his facial features controlled and thus telegraphing nothing of note to any of the other parties in the conversation.
"…why weren't you swimming against the fast water, Paddy?" he finally asked Petrie in a subdued voice that significantly differed from his normal bombastic one. "If you're caught in the current, being fast is better than being slow. Walking is a surefire way to getting yourself washed away."
His eye slowly slid towards his sister. "And don't you try and turn me into the bad swimmer in all of this by twisting my words against me and saying that this whole thing stemmed from an unfortunate misunderstanding, Amaryl! I would think that I made my words clear and concise enough for a hatchling to understand."
"So answer me, Paddy. Please…" The swimmer clasped his palms together, looking at Petrie with pleading eyes that beseeched an answer. "I want to know why you almost drowned on my watch. It's my responsibility as future herd leader to take care of all my herd members, and as much as it pains me to say it, that includes a blowhard like you who tried to lie his way in as one."
Petrie looked around to make a preliminary inspection of the various tense emotions running across the other dinosaurs packed around the area, seeing a concerned Ducky leaning against a bush. Jovi still remained unmoving, his sister Roll appeared apathetic to the whole darn thing, and his other two siblings were leaning forward in interest.
He inhaled sharply, realizing that his decision was now a pivotal one. There really was no way around this. Amaryl dropping her witness proclamation and switching the conversation back on topic was like the Days of Rising Waters all over again — all Petrie could do was try to contain the damage and ensuing fallout that was sure to follow.
A huge consolation was that Ferris was significantly less agitated with Petrie as compared to his own herd mates. Maybe the swimmer was going easy on him since he'd just survived a harrowing near-death experience, or maybe Ferris really did feel sorry for Paddy. Regardless of the cause of his personality shift, Petrie would take this mellow Ferris over the confrontational braggart at the start of the race in a heartbeat.
Since Ferris was currently in quite a volatile state, ranging from being soft-spoken towards him to suddenly yelling at Amaryl and Jovi, Petrie decided to test the waters with a concessionary statement. He normally wouldn't have done this, but given that Amaryl had given him no choice and Ferris was now more receptive…
"I… no know how to swim… in fast water!" Petrie hurriedly added the last three words, though he wasn't quick enough to stop Ferris from reacting.
"Are you
crazy, Paddy!?" Ferris shouted at the coughing Petrie, his face fraught with anxiety. All traces of any prior smugness had evaporated away completely, replaced entirely with an even mix of anger and distress. As a matter of fact, Ferris' angered shout was so forceful that it snapped Jovi completely out of his reverie. "You reckless moron! If you haven't managed to grasp the concept of fast water swimming, why didn't you pull out or just flat out decline when I put forth my challenge to you!? You could have been gravely injured… o-or… or
worse!"
"M-I scared to tell you, Ferris! You so forceful! I never thought you ever say no!"
"So, you claim that you were simply being… modest," Ferris prodded.
Though Petrie internally acknowledged it as a lie by omission given that the real reason he stuck around in the race had nothing to do with being modest at all, or even Ferris threatening him for that matter, he pressed on regardless. "Why you act like you care now?" He deftly puffed his chest out, all traces of uneasiness vanishing in an instant. "You look like you want see Paddy drown when race start!" he accused, eyes flashing angrily.
Ferris looked positively appalled by Petrie's suggestion, the swimmer balking at the very idea. "Okay, I'll be a filthy liar if I said that I didn't want to obliterate and grind you beneath my heel so that I can put someone who has no idea of how to gauge their own ability like you in your rightful place… so, I won't deny that. However!" he suddenly raised his voice without any discernible preamble, causing Petrie's ears to ring from the forceful change in vocal tone. "Just because I don't like the fact that you lied to my face about being in my herd doesn't mean that I want to see you drown! Call me whatever you want, but I'm no cruel sharptooth! I would never wish such a brutal fate on anyone I meet, enemy or otherwise!"
"G-gah…" Ferris spluttered, his trembling hands visibly pale and clammy, "you could have just told me about this beforehand! I would have picked something else… anything else!"
"Then why didn't you pick something else from the very start?" Surprisingly, it wasn't Petrie or Ducky who had voiced that concern, but an inquisitive Pitch, who quickly managed to derive much of the context regarding what had happened from the snippets of heated words that were being thrown around since she made her entrance.
Ferris shrugged. "Well… because it's tradition." Seeing many boggled eyes at his vague response, the swimmer began to pace about, elaborating with a contemplative expression. If we just let anyone join our ranks on a whim, the herd would eventually become far too chaotic for us to effectively manage and control, especially if there are multiple rampant freeloaders who would leech off our scarce resources."
At this point, he broke into an enthusiastic grin. "That is when my Pops came up with an ingenious way to screen prospective swimmers to ensure that every one of them will be an asset to the herd — the Test of Joining!" Gesturing to the river, Ferris made a paddling motion with his arms to strengthen the impact of the story. "The test consists of a river race with an established member of the herd, and it is used to see if a prospective swimmer would be able to pull their weight or end up being a burden to the herd."
Concluding his elaboration on the Test of Joining led to a sharp shift in Ferris' expression, his green eyes rapidly losing their luster and gaining a heavy weight to them as he tilted his head towards Petrie. "While it might be an intimidation tactic to scare off any would-be hagglers trying to freely take advantage of the benefits of a herd without contributing anything back, it's not meant to be a deadly trial! We're not savages!"
A somber quiet descended upon the crowd at Ferris' final proclamation. Many of Petrie's siblings were making nonverbal remarks with each other through the use of their eyes, and the swimmers of Ferris' herd were also rather silent. Even Amaryl, who Petrie would have expected to fire a retort at her brother Ferris, was instead fiddling with a treestar on the ground, playing around with it in a way that made it seem like she was distracting herself from saying something she shouldn't.
"Do you want to know what I think?" Ducky muttered, breaking the silence as she glared at Ferris. "I do not think that Jovi or Paddy is to blame. I think that you are the one at fault, Ferris! You are, you are!" Not a single trace of warmth was discernible from her usually peppy blue eyes as she made the scathing denouncement. "Maybe Paddy cannot swim in fast water, but you were so scary and stubborn when you forced him into a fast water race that he could not say no to you, nope, nope, nope!"
The smile on Petrie's face fractured when he saw Ducky jumping to his defense. While he had to admit that he absolutely relished the downcast expression on Ferris' face as Ducky grilled into the swimmer without mercy, a part of him felt guilt-ridden that Ducky was making her assessment based on what she and everyone else thought she knew about the situation… which, unbeknownst to everyone but Petrie, was blatantly inaccurate.
While it was true that Ferris was assertive and had adamantly pushed for a race to be held between the two, it wasn't the actual root cause behind why he'd almost drowned beneath the chilly waves. Heck, even if the race had been held at a regular river and not fast water, Petrie was certain he would still be thrashing about helplessly the moment his foot left the embankment.
He could've fled the premises then—
should have fled the premises then—but what made him stay and agree to the competition was plain and simple. When Ferris had caught his blunder, he had panicked. With Ducky right beside him and possibly realizing something was up, Petrie felt as though he had no choice but to put on a show to quash any such thoughts.
The actual reason he felt as though he was left with no choice but to participate had nothing to do with Ferris. In reality, agreeing to Ferris' terms were a consequence of the bet he'd made with the treacherous Vekal, the merciless flyer who treated Petrie's unwanted transformation like it was some sort of game by forcing him to remain hidden in plain sight just to earn his body back.
You looking at Petrie right now when me be tortured like this, Vekal? You like see Petrie suffer? Petrie wondered, bitterly peering his head all around to attempt to catch a glimpse of the dirt-yellow flyer. The flyer—likely in cahoots with Vekal—who he had spotted perching on the Great Wall earlier was also nowhere to be seen, but the adolescent's warning was what had unknowingly sealed Petrie's fate.
"I have my ways of knowing. Spill the sweet bubbles and I will ensure that you stay this way forever…"Whether or not the threat had legitimacy didn't matter in the end. It could have been nothing but a mind game for all he knew, and yet that worrisome what-if was enough to give Petrie doubt whenever he thought of absconding. He hadn't seen a trace of Vekal since morning, and yet the flyer's pervasive influence still persistently lingered around like Spike's occasional stench.
All those factors combined to almost lead Petrie to a catastrophic end. And while Ferris was being hung out to dry as the scapegoat in the aftermath, Petrie wished in his heart that the flyer behind-the-scenes would also eventually pay for his actions.
"I don't think it's fair that you're singling me out here, Ducky."
Petrie perked up when he saw Ferris echoing his innermost thoughts, the swimmer now in a rather unhappy mood. "Fine, I was the one who called the race… I'll concede that much. But if Paddy was so uncomfortable with fast water swimming and also hesitant to admit it to me, then he should have sounded it off to either Amaryl or Bartley! They could have convinced me to downscale it. Bottom line is, I don't like the fact that you're solely blaming me for this, Ducky." He jerked his head in Petrie's direction, "Paddy knew the risks, and yet he risked life and limb to go through with it just so he could get a chance to join Pops' herd. Don't you think that's a reckless decision on his part?"
Ducky's eyes gleamed evilly, a cheeky smirk gracing her beak. "Oh, you should see my friends and I when we go out on adventures. Hee… some of those is what
I would call reckless, yep, yep, yep!" she chanted.
"Hah!" Yaw cackled, his sisters Pitch and Roll laughing too hard at Ducky's words to make any meaningful contribution to the conversation. "Now
that is truth if I've ever heard one! There's no need for you to be modest, Ducky… not when the seven of you consistently drove the whole valley crazy with your hijinks!"
Petrie tilted his head back and let out a genuine laugh at his brother's statement, before doubling back with a double-take when he caught something unnerving out of the corner of his eye.
Towards his front and right, around where Ferris' assistant Bartley was situated, were a pair of hardened teal eyes hidden behind the dense undergrowth that surrounded the banks of the river.
A paranoid Petrie suddenly found himself on the onset of hyperventilating. Just when things were looking up, the knowledge that he was being observed by an unknown party brought him crashing back down to earth.
Now, teal wasn't Vekal's eye color — the flyer had distinct golden eyes that gleamed malevolently under the Night Circle. Petrie would never forget that initial view of seeing the flyer impassively roosting on a tree branch under the moonlit rays. The calm tranquility exhibited by his golden irises and relaxed posture was an astounding sight, one which was seared into his memory.
But if it wasn't Vekal, who was that, then? Another one of his associates? Petrie knew that he'd seen those eyes somewhere before, but exactly where and when escaped him for the moment. Before he could take another step towards the bushes and investigate the matter further, Petrie found himself being pulled back by an upbeat Ducky.
"The reason I choose to blame you for what happened to Paddy is simple, Ferris. It is, it is!"
Ducky pulled an unsettled Petrie up to her chest and proceeded to wink at him mischievously, a gesture which completely confounded the former flyer. He tried to extrapolate what Ducky was driving at from her gestures and words, but all his mind could come up with was a blank.
Now firmly the center of attention by swimmers and flyers alike, Ducky looked a wary Ferris in the eye. "I would not be blaming you without proof, but I was with you back when you were yelling at Paddy before the race and I think that I have seen all the proof I need through your harsh words and actions. I have, I have! That is why I do not think that the only reason you called-ed the fast water race was because of your herd's Test of Joining tradition, nope, nope, nope."
Tightening her grip on Petrie, Ducky swished her tail from left to right in a steady rhythm. "I think the real reason you wanted to race with Paddy is because you were jealous of him! You were, you were!" She tilted her head down to Petrie, though keeping her stare focused on Ferris. "That is the reason you are targeting Paddy for not speaking up before the race — it is all so that you can shift the blame over to him!"
Ferris was completely at a loss of words, the swimmer opening his beak but unable to articulate a comeback to Ducky's accusation.
"You are blaming everyone but yourself, you are, you are! I have a friend named Cera, and because she is a threehorn she sometimes behaves this way as well," Ducky smiled, though it quickly turned into a frown. "But even though Cera does it, she does not go overboard, and I still do not like it whenever others act like this. Nope, nope, nope!"
Petrie glanced around when he heard a sound, turning his head back to see Amaryl snorting and holding back her laughter at being proved right in the conversation which he had overheard between the two siblings earlier in the day.
"The truth is that I did not know Paddy before today," Ducky continued on, "I had only just met Paddy for the first time when you came. But then you got super defensive and assumed the worst-est between us because of how close we seemed to be, and that is why I think you ordered Bartley to organize a race which nearly killed Paddy! You should not behave like that, Ferris! Being jealous of someone else is not a good feeling…" Her eyes solemnly fell down to the grass by her feet, the swimmer letting out a sniff as a tear started to form in her left eye. "I was once jealous at someone before, and I have hurt-ed others I care about because of it…"
Even with that limited context, Petrie knew immediately what his despondent friend was reminiscing about.
Ducky thinking about what happen two Cold Times ago… that when she got mad with Spike and Tippy!Ducky hurriedly wiped the streaking tear away with her free hand, maintaining her hold on Petrie with her right arm. "You can hurt others even if you do not intend to hurt them when you get jealous, and you have already hurt me because of what you did! You did, you did! I begged you to forgive Paddy but you chose not to listen to me! I hope you feel happy for that, Ferris, I hope!" she sarcastically uttered in a sardonic timbre, one which Petrie rarely heard as the sweet-natured Ducky only ever saved it for the very sporadic occasions where she was truly furious.
"In fact, if I had to choose between you and Paddy, I would pick
Paddy! Yep, yep, yep!" Ducky declared with fervent vigor, her head bobbing in a metronome with every assertion of her triple affirmation.
Petrie's head shot towards Ducky, his eyes widening to a comically large size. There was however, nothing comical at all in what he'd just heard.
D-Ducky say what about Petrie? Oh, what me got meself into now!?"And I will prove it to you, too!" Her blue eyes flashed with determination as she eyeballed the swimmer in her arms. "I will, I will!"
"Uh… uuwwaagghhh!"
Petrie had no time to react at all. A half uttered shriek was the only thing his beak could expel before he found himself being yanked in Ducky's direction.
After the sudden blur of movement, the next thing that Petrie was able to sense was something moist on the side of his face. Nervously shifting his eyes left, he almost fainted at what he saw.
Ducky was kissing him on the cheek in full view of the crowd, her blue eyes shining brightly with a mix of glee and playfulness.
Author's Note:Hey, remember the part where I said something about there being a pairing in this story in the prologue chapter? Thought it completely slipped my mind when I delved into a seemingly unrelated tangent for an entire year, didn't you?
In case it wasn't clear from the get-go that this story is going to be a slow burn, here ya' go — every single Ducky & Petrie fic that I've had the pleasure of reading has the swimmer and flyer hooking up and reaching a comfortable relationship within… well, less than one-third of the number of words that it took for me to even get them into a scenario which warrants an unintentional kiss. For reference, the nine chapters it took to escalate things to this point is longer than the entirety of the similarly structured
The Time of Great Growing by
AllegroGiocoso, and to be frank, I'm not sure how I feel about this. I don't think that something like this counts as an achievement…
As I said in the first chapter, I've always wanted to subvert the typical Ducky/Petrie
'me been in love with you from very start' romantic plot, so this is only going to be the beginning of all my planned divergents. Waves isn't going to focus heavily on fluffy romance — this fic's genre on FFN are labelled as Adventure and Drama, but Romance could be considered a third, tertiary genre. But not to fret, Ducky and Petrie fans, their unorthodox relationship together will still play a major role, even if the key idea in this story is still the species-swapping. There will still be fluff, and you might have already seen sprinkles of it interspersed throughout the tense recent chapters.
On other stuff, the confrontation between Ferris and Petrie probably didn't go as people had built it up in their heads. I know that I've set him up as a romantic rival to Petrie, but Ferris is primarily a herd leader-to-be and thus he behaves accordingly when things go south. Definitely not going to have him be one of those generic cookie-cutter stereotypical love hypotenuse hate sinks—hello Rhett, looks like you've been summoned from the dark recesses of my mind
—who one would typically see play the role of romantic rivals in these type of stories. I can promise you that much.
This chapter is more Ducky-centric, and her siblings also appear through flashback in it. Just like Petrie's siblings I intend on fleshing them out, especially since unlike Petrie's siblings they generally remain unexplored both in canon and fanfics (excepting
The Swimmer Trials, which I definitely owe a great deal of inspiration to for this choice). The names Delta, Spring, and Oxbow came from
Five Stages of Grief, and I opted for three siblings to focus on as that was how many were seen with Ducky and Spike at the end of the original film.
…
Anagnos: Yep, you caught it — the opening and closing scenes sandwiched a cluster of reactions from the ones who Petrie are closest to. While Pterano became a victim of his own medicine, the gang ends up frustrated by the lack of progress, and Petrie's siblings are squabbling, all are blissfully unaware that Petrie had nearly drowned while living out their daily lives. And as seen in this chapter, Ferris isn't 100% a one-dimensional smarmy swimmer either. I'll leave you to judge his character for yourself, but it's wise not to jump to conclusions at such early stages.
Rhombus: Petrie is rather altruistic when it comes to his friends, isn't he? Throughout a big portion of this arc I've steadily been highlighting things that Petrie is slowly discovering he had taken for granted in the past, and his friendship with the gang is certainly one, given that in this new form he has to start completely from scratch even with someone like Ducky. I did enjoy your analysis on Cirrus and Petrie's family choice, it would be interesting to see what others extrapolate out from inferred events.
Sovereign: I do enjoy writing the localized Petrie plot more as it is definitely the focus of the arc. Part of why I focused on the others last chapter though was because I felt like I haven't really done justice to Petrie's disappearance from an outsider's POV. It must be especially worrisome to the gang given the lack of any forewarning whatsoever compared to their usual planned escapades, and to his family as well, given that the rest of his friends are clueless. While Gryphon is an unusual pick, I selected the name due to its avian connotations, though I understand if it's not exactly the most common name.
…
And so Petrie finally caught a break! The seeds of romance between our protagonists have bloomed… or have they? Many treacherous obstacles lay ahead, and making it to first base might not be the most ideal thing in Petrie's current situation…
