In the land before time

[Pangaea]

(OOC: I am so, so sorry for taking so long with this. This is one of the few posts in which I will be controlling Rat_lady7’s dinosona, whom I will shortly take out of the RP.)

Seeing that the group around the former campfire was beginning to disperse, Pterano saw an opportunity to speak with Amy more privately.

“Amy, my dearóit is Amy, isn’t it?”

Amy gave a confirmatory nod.

“I have a confession to make,” Pterano continued. “Before you asked me if I could teach you to fly, I had been planning to leave the valley tomorrow.”

Amy’s eyes widened. “Why?” she asked, “They’re letting you stay now, aren’t they?”

“My presence is tolerated, but I still sense that I am not welcome here,” Pterano said with a sigh. “And with good reason. I still have not completed my sentenced period of exile. Truthfully, I only returned to the valley because I was caught up in the arrival of you and the other newcomers. No fault of yours, of course. I would be honored to teach you to fly, but after that I still intend to depart the Great Valley.”

Amy thought for a moment. “I have another idea,” she said, “What if we both left?”

“What?!” Pterano exclaimed. “Why would you want to leave the Great Valley?”

“Well, honestly…” Amy began shyly, “I don’t feel entirely comfortable here myself. You remember the Rock Circle meeting. I don’t think everyone here wants me around either. And I know Red Claw wants revenge on me. It might be better for the valley if I leave so he doesn’t keep trying to attack it. Besides, I could at least keep you company for a while while you’re in the Mysterious Beyond.”

Pterano stood silent for a few seconds. “Your courage is truly admirable,” he said. “And it has been so long since someone was so kind to me. If you feel that that is best, then that is what we shall do. I know of a cave at the edge of the Mysterious Beyond where we can shelter for the night before we leave tomorrow.”

“Are you going to say goodbye to Petrie?” Amy asked.

Pterano chuckled. “He’d never let me leave,” he said. “What about you? Are you going to tell anyone you’re leaving?”

“I guess I should,” Amy said, “though I don’t want to make a big deal about it either. Let me just go tell one person.”

[Cancerian Tiger]

Back at Ducky's home, everything seemed to be calm and peaceful as the family slept, with Anna and Ducky not being more than twenty feet away from the others.  Even though she looked like she was sleeping peacefully, Ducky's mind was a very different story.

"Help!" Ducky screamed as she found herself running through somewhere in the Great Valley.  Meanwhile, a human form was chasing her.

"Hey!  Stop right there ya lil' brat!" Anna's voice rang out.  Ducky kept running until she came across a dead end with no escape.  She looked back just in time to see Anna stop within ten feet of her.  Anna had the look of a sharptooth that had snapped, and in her hands was a large rock.  Much larger than Ducky.

"Now, that's a good lil' girl," Anna snickered in a disturbed manner.

"Why are you trying to hurt me, Anna?  I thought you were my friend, and friends do not hurt friends, no no no," Ducky whimpered.

"Oh, Ducky.  Ya know I'd never hurt a friend.  Nobody ever said anything 'bout havin' a friend for a snack, though!" Anna replied with a sick expression as she approached Ducky with the rock raised.

"No, please!  I promise I will do anything, but please do not eat me, oh no no no!" Ducky cried as she curled up like a trapped mouse and closed her eyes.  She flinched when she felt a hand gently rest itself on her back.

"Now, little one, ya know I could never put ya through pain," Anna said in a gentle voice.  Ducky looked up, thinking she was joking about her predatory behavior.

"You'd never hurt anybody, so to be fair...I'll make it as quick as possible!" Anna roared just before she brought the rock down hard on Ducky.  Ducky's mind went black as she heard the disgusting sound of her own body get crushed and the sound of Anna laughing in a psychotic manner filled her ears.

Ducky suddenly jerked awake and yelped in fear.  She looked around, and saw everybody was still asleep.  Ducky then glanced up at Anna and let out a gulp before she rested her head again.

"What's wrong, Ducky?" she heard Anna's voice ask out of concern.  Her friend sounded like her normal self, and when Ducky looked up to find Anna looking back at her, she could see her dreams had all been wrong.  Still, it was scary enough to make her tearful.

"Just a scary sleepstory, yep yep yep," Ducky whispered.

"What was it about?" Anna asked quietly.  Although she hesitated at first, Ducky managed to tell Anna about the nightmare.

"Aw, Ducky.  That sounds like a terrible nightmare.  None of it is true, though," Anna replied as she tried to sit up.  She then remembered she could not do so as a swimmer, so she morphed back into her human form and then sat up.  She then patted her lap, and Ducky took a seat on her lap as gestured.

"Now, listen to me, Ducky.  I would never cause any harm to a friend or family member, not even for predatory purposes.  I eat seafood but that's it.  Understand?" Anna asked compassionately.  Ducky nodded, and Anna smiled back.

"No worries, little one.  That dream will never, ever happen.  Ready to try and sleep again?" Anna asked.

"I do not feel like I can sleep, no no no," Ducky said.

"I know.  It's still quite early for me, even though I am pretty tired.  Hey, the sunset is startin' to happen.  Wanna come watch it with me?" Anna offered.  "It's a wonderful way to take your mind off that awful dream."

"Okay, that sounds good to me, yep yep yep," Ducky agreed.  Anna then looked around and saw a nearby tree that she could climb.

"Okay, I'm gonna climb this tree over here.  Hang on tight, Ducky," Anna instructed.  Ducky then wrapped her arms around Anna's neck before Anna made the climb up the tree.  A couple of minutes later, after finding a sturdy branch to sit on, the two friends could not help but watch the sunset in amazement.

[Pangaea]

Amy walked over to where Pangaea was. With most of the group having left, he paced around awkwardly, unsure of what to do. Guido was nearby, stripping the meat from the last remaining smoked fish.

“Um, Pangaea, can I talk to you for a moment?” Amy asked him.

“Uh, s–sure,” Pangaea replied, shy as always, though secretly thankful to have someone speaking to him. “What is it?”

Amy motioned for him to follow her follow her farther away from the now-extinguished campfire, so that she could speak to him without attracting too much attention.  “Pangaea,” she said, “I’ve decided to leave the valley.”

Pangaea seemed to seize up, his entire body jerking and then freezing, his eyes wide. Internally, he felt as if his heart had skipped a beat. This was his typical reaction to news that shocked him.

“Wai–wh–wha–what?!” he stammered exclamatorily.

Pangaea’s reaction made Amy a little anxious, but she continued. “Please,” she said, “I don’t want everyone making a fuss about it. Pterano’s going to teach me to fly, and he’s taking me to the Mysterious Beyond to do it. He was going to leave tomorrow anyway, and I’ve felt like it might be better for everyone else if I left, too. I think Red Claw has been attacking the valley because he wants revenge for me blinding him. If I’m not here anymore, maybe he’ll stop.”

“Yeah, but, uh…wo–won’t it be a lot more dangerous for you if Red Claw’s chasing you in the Mysterious Beyond?”

“Red Claw?” Pterano scoffed as he walked up to join the conversation. “I’m more than a match for that scarred brute! I know all the shortcuts and hiding places in the Mysterious Beyond. Avoiding him will be no problem!”

Noticing that Pangaea didn’t look fully convinced (perhaps the boastful manner in wich he had spoken had caused him to come off as a bit overconfident), Pterano added, “Don’t worry, I’ll keep her safe.”

Pangaea sighed. He really didn’t want his friend to leave, but he didn’t want to force her to change her mind. “Well,” he said, “I’ll miss youóI’m sure a lot of us here will miss youóbut I won’t try to stop you. Is it okay if I sorta come with you, though, just to see you off?”

“Sure,” Amy said. “Thanks, Pangaea.”

“Well, we best be going, then,” Pterano said. “The Bright Circle is just starting to leave the sky. Follow me.”

[Cancerian Tiger]

"It is nice up here, yep yep yep," Ducky finally spoke up as the two friends gazed at the sunset.

"It really is.  I'm definitely gonna have to writing to catch up on if I ever get back to my world," Anna replied.

"What is writing?" Ducky asked curiously.

"A form of language humans discovered long ago.  Many of us like to use it for storytelling, myself included.  It preserves our stories, so even when we're no longer around to tell the stories, others can learn about 'em through writing," Anna said.

"Are you a storyteller, like Grandpa Longneck?" Ducky asked.

"I'd like to think so.  Even though I'm young for a human, I've got a lot of stories to tell about things I've done and places I've been.  I also like to write stories that have never happened that involve y'all most of the time.  See, I've come up with many stories about y'all as humans livin' in the human world," Anna explained.

"Really?  That is neat, yep yep yep," Ducky chirped.

"Yeah, and many of 'em have scary things that happen," Anna added.

"That does not sound so nice, oh no no no," Ducky gasped.

"Well, my stories about y'all come from my dreams, most of which are nightmares.  They end good, though," Anna explained.

"That is good, yep yep yep.  What do you think I would look like as a human?" Ducky asked her friend.

"Well, you'd be smaller in size than me, even as a grown-up, but you'd also be a very pretty human.  I can tell 'cuz you're a very pretty dinosaur," Anna said.  This caused Ducky to giggle.

"Thank you," she giggled.

"Your personality would be the same, too, even as a grown-up.  Difference is, as a grown-up in my stories, you've grown a pair by that point and know how to stick up for yourself, yet still remain a sweetie nonetheless," Anna added.

"I think I like my human description, yep yep yep," Ducky giggled.

"Glad to hear it, and someday I'll have to draw your human look so you're able to see for yourself," Anna said.

"That would be nice, yep yep yep.  I wonder what everybody else would be like," Ducky said.

"Hey!  What are you two doing up there?!" a voice demanded.  The friends looked down, and saw Cera was looking up at them.  Anna gestured for her to be quiet before she pointed at Ducky's nest which was not too far away.  Cera seemed to understand, for she nodded and remained quiet as Anna got ready to climb down.

"Well, all I can say is with the others, not much changes about 'em either, including Cera's spirit.  Cera does manage to tame her temper and let her sweeter side show a lot more by the time she's a grown-up, though," Anna chuckled, causing Ducky to giggle.  "C'mon, Ducky.  Let's go see Cera."

"Okay," Ducky piped as she held onto Anna before the two descended down the tree to see what Cera wanted.

"What were you guys up to, anyway?" Cera demanded.

"We were watching the bright circle set for the night, yep yep yep," Ducky said.

"Wanna join us?" Anna offered.  Cera looked the tree up and down, and felt herself become nervous.  Anna happened to notice.

"Oh, I'm sorry.  I totally forgot about your fear of heights," Anna said sheepishly.

"Fear?  What fear?  I'm not afraid of anything!" Cera stated as she headed for the tree.  Anna and Ducky shrugged before they followed Cera over to the tree.

[Pangaea]

Pterano led Amy and Pangaea to the northern border of the Great Valley, where the land sloped upward to meet the Great Wall. The terrain reminded Pangaea of the path the spiketail herd took out of the valley in the eighth movie, or possibly the uphill section of Guido’s sleepwalking route in the twelfth. They eventually stopped at the base of a tall steep cliff face, whose craggy surface looked like it would provide good handholds for a climbing animal.

“Here we are. Once you climb this cliff, it will be only a short walk to the cave,” Pterano told Amy. “It’s very difficult for sharpteeth to reach, so we should be safe there until morning.”

“Okay,” Amy said, looking up at the cliff, “I think I can do that.”

“Where are you planning to go?” Pangaea asked Pterano.

“I know of some sheltered canyons where sharpteeth seldom go,” he replied. “Those should be ideal locations for Amy’s flying lessons. My plan after that is for us would follow the passage of the Bright Circle until we reach the place where the land meets the great water. There are many splashers there, and I thought she would enjoy the opportunity to learn to catch her own food.”

Amy smiled. “Yeah, I’d like that.” She turned to Pangaea. “Well, I guess this is goodbye.”

Pangaea nodded. “I s’pose so. Good luck out there, and be careful.”

“We will,” Amy said. “Bye, Pangaea. And thanks.”

“G’bye Amy, Pterano,” Pangaea returned. “And you’re welcome.”

--------------------------------------------------

“Chronicler…” Rebecca mused. “That’s an interesting name. And if there’s something you’d rather not share with me, that’s all right. I understand some of you newcomers are a little shy. Besides, I’ve already heard my share of interesting stories today,” she chuckled.

--------------------------------------------------

Screech and Thud stalked along the border of the Great Wall, searching for a path into the valley as Red Claw had instructed them.

“How long is this going to take, you think?” Thud asked.

“No clue,” Screech growled. “It could take us days to find one of those openings. But they’re out there. Those leafeaters have to get in and out of the valley somehow.”

“So why is it so hard for us to find the entrances?”

“Because we don’t know where they are!” Screech snapped. “Those leafeaters tell each other everything; if one of them finds a way into the valley, pretty soon all of them will have heard about it. Any sharptooth who finds an entrance isn’t going to bother telling anyone else. What sensible sharptooth would want to go into that valley, anyway? Anyone who tries it just gets chased out again by those leafeaters.”

“So then why are we looking for a way in?” Thud asked.

“Because Red Claw says so,” Screech said, rolling his eyes.

Thud snorted. “That’s a good enough reason.”

“Hold up!” Screech hissed, stopping suddenly. He sniffed the air. “There’s something ahead of us.” He started moving again, faster than before. Thud followed.

The fast biters soon came across two sets of footprints, apparently left by a pair of two-footed dinosaurs about their size, maybe slightly smaller.

“I think whatever left these was trying to get into the valley, too,” Screech said. “If we follow them, they might just lead us to our way in.”
 
“What, do you think they’re leafeaters?” Thud asked, “trying to get into the valley?”

“No…” Screech said as he sniffed the tracks, “not leafeaters…”

[Cancerian Tiger]

"Cera, are you sure this is a good idea?  It is not easy to climb trees if you walk on four legs, yep yep yep," Ducky pointed out to Cera.

"Of course it's a good idea, and I'm not gonna get up there by myself!  You guys will help, right?" Cera snorted.  Anna and Ducky looked at each other with worried expressions before they returned their attention to Cera.

"I'll try, but our weight difference could pose a problem...unless...hey, I've got it!  I'll briefly turn back into my swimmer form to help ya out, and then I'll return to my human form so Ducky and I could climb up easily," Anna suggusted.

"You could also set me up with Cera before you climb," Ducky added.

"Good thinkin', Ducky.  A'ight, here goes," Anna said before she morphed into her swimmer form.  She then stepped over to Cera and the tree.

"Okay, I'm gonna lift ya up now.  Lemme know if anything hurts at any time," Anna said before she scooped Cera up by her midsection and gently lifted her until she could safely reach the thick branch Anna and Ducky had been sitting on.

"That didn't hurt at all," Cera blurted once she was safely on the branch.

"Glad to hear it.  Okay, Ducky, it's your turn," Anna said before she lifted Ducky up to join Cera.

"Now it is your turn, yep yep yep," Ducky giggled.

"Indeed it is," Anna said as she morphed back into her human form.  "Okay, I'm comin' up."

"I wonder if this branch will hold us all, yep yep yep," Ducky noted.

"Oh, Ducky.  This branch held both of you, and I'm sure it will hold me, too," Cera snorted as Anna made her way up.  Suddenly, as Anna found her way to the branch, a sickening CRACK pierced the qiuet air.  Anna noticed as quickly as the others did.

"Aw, crap.  This ain't good," Anna gasped.  "Guys, come here quickly but carefully.  That branch is gonna break."  Cera was closer to Anna than Ducky, so she made her way over first.  However, before she could get off the branch entirely, the branch broke!  

"Aw, s***!" Anna yelped as Cera and Ducky fell a short distance before Cera managed to grab onto a branch with her jaws, and Ducky grabbed her tail.  Anna was relieved to see they weren't hurt, but they were still a good distance from the ground and could get hurt if they fell.

"Hang on, guys!" Anna barked as she quickly made her way down to them.  They were close enough that Anna could reach them from the trunk of the tree.

"Ducky!  Climb up Cera and grab my arm!" Anna instructed the little swimmer.  Ducky did as told, and Anna was able to get her out of harm's way.

"Okay, Cera.  I've gotcha now," Anna said more calmly as she wrspped her legs around the trunk of the tree, stretched out on her belly on the branch, and firmly took hold of the threehorn under her front legs.  "I've gotcha braced, so all ya need to do is pull yourself up."

"Okay," Cera grunted before she did as told.  It took a few moments, but Cera managed to pull herself up.  Anna then sat up and looked down.  Cera did the same thing.

"Thanks for helping us, but now how am I supposed to get down?" Cera wondered.  Anna thought for a moment.

"The same way ya got up.  Here, lemme climb down and become a swimmer again, and then I'll help y'all down," Anna said before she made the descent down the tree.  Once she was on the ground again, Anna turned into her swimmer form before she turned her attention to her friends.

"Okay, now jump one at a time and I'll catch ya," Anna called up.

"You go first this time, Ducky," Cera said in a nice manner.

"Thanks, Cera," Ducky replied before she jumped.  Anna caught the little swimmer and set her down.  

"Okay, Cera.  Now's your turn," Anna said.  Even though her fear of heights caused her to hesitate, Cera eventually made the jump.  Anna caught her with much more difficulty than she had with Ducky, but that was to be expected.

"Anybody hurt?" Anna asked.  Cera and Ducky shook their heads.

"Good.  Well, let's find somethin' to do that's safer," Anna chuckled.

[Pangaea]

Just outside the Great Valley, two egg stealers skulked through the rocky canyons of the Mysterious Beyond. Like Screech and Thud, they were searching for a way into the great Valley, but their sole agenda was filling their stomachs. They had been here once before, but had not had time to learn the valley’s complete geography, and as such were having difficulty locating an entrance. After several days of searching, the lack of food and increasing frustration at not finding a way in was wearing heavily on both of them.

“Why couldn’t we have just stayed in the Land of Mists?” Strut whined, “At least there weren’t any sharpteeth there!”

“There wasn’t ANYTHING there!” Ozzy shot back. “Nothing to eat but bellydragger and domehead eggs!”

“Plenty of green food, though,” Strut muttered quietly. Unfortunately, he wasn’t nearly quiet enough, and received a smack in the face from Ozzy’s tail.

“If I hear those two words one more time…” Ozzy growled, “I’ll use your head to make a new hole in the Great Wall! You got that, bark breath?”

“But I’m starving!” Strut complained. “We’ve been wandering around out here for days with nothing to eat!”

“Don’t you think I’m hungry, too?” Ozzy snapped. “I’m trying to find us a way into the valley so we can get our hands on some nice, juicy eggs, and all your griping isn’t making things any easier! Strut, are you listening?!”

Strut’s attention appeared to have suddenly been drawn elsewhere. His eyes seemed to be glazed over, and he was holding his snout high in the air, sniffing intently. “I smell green food,” he said distantly, his mouth beginning to water.

Ozzy clenched both of his three-fingered hands into fists and began to stomp towards Strut. “WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT THAT–” But he stopped mid-outburst as he realized something: if Strut could smell plants when the only concentrated source of vegetation for miles around was on the other side of a huge natural stone wall, then there must be an opening in that wall close by.

“Strut,” Ozzy said, his tone excited but no longer angry, “Do you think you can follow that scent?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, then, get to it!”

Sure enough, Strut’s nose soon led the pair directly to the source of the smell. It was only several minutes later that they spotted it: a narrow pass between two mountainous boulders, just wide enough to admit a longneck. The aroma of the Great Valley’s legendary vegetational wealth was wafting through it.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but good work, Strut,” Ozzy said. “Now, let’s go find ourselves some eggs!”

“Wait a minute,” Strut said, taking a step back. “What if those kids are still there?”

“What kids?” Ozzy asked.

“Those leafeater kids that almost got us killed last time we were here!”

“Oh, them,” Ozzy said, rolling his eyes. “With luck, they’ve forgotten all about us. What are the chances we’ll run into them again?”

“What about that sharptooth that was with them?”

“Those sharpteeth are long gone!” Ozzy yelled. “Now come on! You wanted food; this is where we’re going to get it! I’ll lead the way. Now go ahead!” He planted a foot on Strut’s rump and pushed hard, hurling his yelping brother through the pass. Ozzy quickly followed, licking his beaky chops in anticipation of an egg meal.

[The Chronicler]

"Good, because I hate having to explain things more than once," said Chronicler in response to Mrs. Flyer's comment.

"Maybe if you finish telling me the rest of those stories, then maybe I can tell those stories to everyone else so you won't have to tell everyone else those stories," suggested Ruby.

Chronicler sighed in frustration. "Fine, whatever." He then turned back to Mrs. Flyer. "Anyway, it's starting to get late, so I think I'll head beck to the cave for the night. See ya later." He then began heading back to the cave, remembering to pick up the bamboo pole he had left by the edge of the pond.

"Goodbye, Mrs. Flyer." Ruby waved goodbye then followed Chronicler.

[Pangaea]

“Goodbye Ruby, Chronicler,” Rebecca called after the two departing fast runners, returning Ruby’s wave.

She looked out at the setting sun. It’s getting late, she thought. I’d best round up the kids. With a flap of her wings, she took off from her perch and flew off to gather her children.

--------------------------------------------------

After saying goodbye to Amy and Pterano, Pangaea began heading back towards the volcanic vents where he had left Guido. Unfortunately, he wasn’t very good at retracing his steps, so he decided to walk along the high ground fringing the Great Wall until he could see the vents from afar.

The slopes were very rocky, with little vegetation besides a few sparse shrubs and bushes. Large boulders were scattered here and there, and Pangaea thought that some of them looked suitable for him to use as ramps or platforms to launch himself into a glide. He decided against that, however, not wanting to risk a crash landing on the rocky ground, especially since there didn’t seem to be much wind.

As Pangaea picked his way over the rocks, passing beneath one of the boulders overlooking the slope, he suddenly heard a commotion a close distance away. Startled, he froze, and a moment later, he heard voices:

“Ow! Oz, what did you do that for?!”

“Quiet, you leaf-lunching lummox! Now get up! The leafeaters will be going to sleep soon! You want to get something to eat, don’t you?”

Pangaea went rigid with alarm as he realized that he recognized those voices.

“Oh no…” he whispered to himself. “Don’t tell me it’s…” (As usual when he spoke to himself under his breath, he didn’t finish his own sentence.)

Cautiously and quietly he peered around the edge of the boulder, to see two familiar egg stealers a short way further up the slope.

Pangaea couldn’t help but feel a little panicked. He had always liked Ozzy and Strut as characters (largely due to Struthiomimus being one of his favorite dinosaurs); he had found their bumbling antics and slapstick-ridden squabbles amusing in the second LBT movie. Even though they were villains, the fact that they never managed to actually accomplish anything villainous meant that they had never seemed dangerous to him. Now, however, he was seeing them for real, and there was no telling whether this time they would actually hurt someone.

From the sound of their conversation, Ozzy and Strut were mainly here for eggs. Big surprise, Pangaea thought. Still, what if they ran into the gang? He wouldn’t put it past Ozzy to still be interested in revenge.

But what could he do about it? Pangaea was afraid that if he simply went to alert the valley dinosaurs, Ozzy and Strut might already be wreaking havoc. And though the egg stealers were not large dinosaurs, they were easily three times Pangaea’s size, and he had no chance of driving them off himself. However, he thought, Ozzy and Strut were very cowardly dinosaurs, and rather gullible, and weren’t the sharpest spikes on the spiketail either. He thought that perhaps he could bluff or intimidate them into leaving, or at least make them hesitate long enough for him to put the valley on alert.

Formulating a plan in his head, Pangaea prepared to come out of hiding and confront the egg stealers. Though it was hardly the most dire situation he could imagine, at the moment, he was the only thing standing between these two nest raiders and the Great Valley.

[LBTFan13]

Littlefoot heard his grandpa calling him. It was getting dark, which most likely meant his grandpa was calling him to come back to the nest to get ready to sleep. Part of Littlefoot wanted him to stay and learn so much more about these humans, but he himself was feeling quite tired. "Coming!" he called back. He turned to his friends. "I'll see you guys tomorrow." He stood up and hurried off to his grandpa. "Hi Grandpa. I was just with my friends and some of the humans."

Zaine noticed it was starting to get darker out. "I guess it's time we got ready to sleep."

Rob laughed. "That's about the only thing we do the same between us, and I could sure use some."

"Do you snore?" Zaine asked.

"Trust me," Rob replied, "if I do you will hear me." The two got up and looked at Rick and Longtail. "You guys are welcome to come with us if you want to," Rob offered.

"We're most likely just going to my nest," Zaine added. "It's not too far from here."

[Pangaea]

“What are you two doing here?!”

“Aaaahhh!” Strut yelped when he saw Pangaea emerge from his hiding place. “Sharptooth?”

Ozzy looked startled for a moment too, but then he rolled his eyes. “No, you bramble brain,” he said. “It’s just a…” He paused, and took a long, close look at Pangaea. “…I don’t know what it is, but it’s no danger to us. Come on.”

Ozzy began to take a step past Pangaea, but the red glider scurried to the side and stood in front of him.

“I really wouldn’t go down there if I were you,” Pangaea said, punctuating his statement with a quick wave of a raised finger.

“What?!” Ozzy said, incredulous that this small, strange-looking creature would try to stop them. “Who are you to tell us what to do? Get out of our way!”

“Look, bub,” Pangaea said, “not a lot of dinosaurs in this valley would likely be quick to show you compassion, so I’d suggest you listen to me. The valley recently received a bunch of new arrivals who would be REALLY ticked if you two went down there and started stealing eggs.”

“Ha! Those meadow mowers?! I can outwit them any day!”

“What about me?” Strut asked.

“You couldn’t outwit a rock on your own,” Ozzy grumbled.

Pangaea fought to maintain a straight face as he continued. “Not just leafeaters,” he said. “A few sharpteeth, too.”óStrut whimpered fearfully at thisó“And some other creatures you’ve probably never even seen before.”

“What, like you?” Ozzy scoffed. “What are you, anyway?”

“I’m a…” Pangaea hesitated. He thought that perhaps he shouldn’t tell them that he was a glider; if this meeting took a turn for the worse and he had to run from Ozzy and Strut, he might have a better chance of escaping if they didn’t know he could glide, and weren’t expecting him to utilize that ability. But he still felt like he had to answer their question.

“Well?!” Ozzy snarled, confirming his suspicions.

Pangaea tried to look like he was thinking something over. “Well…I could tell you what I am, but I think it would only confuse you.”

“Tell us, you red-leaf-covered runt!” Ozzy yelled.

“All right, if you insist,” Pangaea replied, crossing his arms in mock indignation. “I’m a Microraptor gui, a Lower Cretaceous arboreal paravian of the family Dromaeosauridae.”

The two egg stealers gawked at Pangaea with stares of utter bewilderment.

“W–w–whaaat?” Ozzy screeched, exasperated.

“Uh, I think he said that his name is Mike, and he hates our guts because our family is a boring pair of domeheads,” Strut concluded.

“What!?” Ozzy hollered. He took a step closer to Pangaea, waving a clenched fist. “What do you mean by calling our parents domeheads?”

“But Ozzy,” Strut said, “you told them yourself once that they wereó”

Ozzy silenced Strut with a kick to the ankle.

“Toldja you’d be confused,” Pangaea said nonchalantly.

[Pangaea]

Ozzy growled at Pangaea. “Well, whatever you are, why should we listen to you?”

“Because I know all about you two,” Pangaea said. He pointed at the orange-eyed egg stealer. “You’re Ozzy. You’re obsessed with eggs, and you’re always trying to get him to eat them.” He motioned towards Strut, who he now turned to. “And you’re Strut. You’re Ozzy’s brother, and you’re okay with eating plants, even though Ozzy doesn’t like it. He beats up on you all the time. As a friend of mine would say, that is not nice, nope nope nope!”

“The two of you came here before to take advantage of all the nesting dinosaurs. You managed to steal a swimmer egg, but a bunch of little leafeaters caused you to lose it. Those same leafeaters kept on crossing your path and interfering with your egg-thievery, and eventually the parents of a sharptooth hatchling they’d befriended chased you out of the valley.”

“H–h–how could you know all that?!” Ozzy sputtered in disbelief. Strut looked equally amazed.

“I told you, I know things,” Pangaea replied, trying to look smug. (It wasn’t difficult, either; both egg stealers were noticeably unnerved: exactly the reaction he had hoped for.) “And all those newcomers I told you about know the same things I do. And many of them are a lot more…imposing than I am. For your own sakes, I’d strongly suggest turning around and going right back the way you came.”

“We are NOT going back!” Ozzy snarled. “Not after all the trouble we took to get here! Do you know how long we spent in the Land of Mists, risking our necks every day to get eggs when we couldn’t even see whether the nests were guarded?!”

“No. How long?” Pangaea asked, secretly hoping to find out exactly how much time had passed in the LBT world since the time of the second movie.

Ozzy opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out. Ozzy realized that he himself didn’t have an exact answer. Turning around quickly to hide any hints of an embarrassed expression from the fluffy red creature, he whispered to Strut.

“How many cold times did we spend in the Land of Mists?”

“I dunno,” Strut replied. “I can only count to six.” He held up all six of his fingers.

“Well, was it more or less than six?”

“Uhh…I don’t remember.”

Ozzy rolled his eyes and turned back to Pangaea. “Well, it was a long time!” he shouted.

[Kor]

Grandpa Longneck nodded, "I hope you all got along.  and tomorrow you can see them again." He said bending his head down closer to Littlefoot's level during part of the conversation, "Though everyone does need their sleep.  Do you know if they have places to sleep already chosen?"

[The Great Valley Guardian]

Longtail smiled with a tired look on his face. "Sure. My uncle won't mind where I sleep, just so long as I don't leave the valley." he said as he turned to face Rick with a momentary look of confusion. "So, are you going to come with us or are you going to wander around the valley at night? And if you are, I would stay somewhere well in the open and not so crowded with trees."

Rick stretched as he replied, "No, I'll be staying with you guys. After all Longtail, you tend to fall off of everything you sleep on so at the very least, I'll be able to catch you once or twice when you do fall." He then laughed a bit as he could see the shocked look on Longtail's face after his comment.

~~~

Grandma Longneck smiled gently down at Littlefoot and nuzzled him as she whispered her own goodnight to her grandson. "Sleep well Littlefoot."

[Myrkin]

It was the time to return to home for every creature in the Valley, not excluding Chomper and Claw, who headed back to their cave.

[Cancerian Tiger]

Meanwhile, Anna's group had taken up stargazing, which was much safer than climbing trees.  Anna could not remember many of the constellations, so she only pointed out the ones that she recognized to her friends.  Anna was still in her human form and was stretched out on her back, as were Cera and Ducky.

"See that one with the four stars that look almost like a square?  It has a tail of stars with it," Anna asked, and her friends nodded.  "That one's called the Big Dipper."

"What's a dipper?" Cera asked.

"It's a tool humans designed so they could scoop up water and hot foods," Anna replied.

"That is interesting, yep yep yep," Ducky added.

"It really is.  Look over there, and you'll see a smaller version called the Little Dipper," Anna said.

"What are some other ones?" Ducky asked.

"See the one shaped like a diamond?" Anna asked before she drew the shape in the air for her friends to see, and Ducky and Cera nodded.  "That one's called Orion, named after a famous ancient hunter."

"What do you know about him?" Cera asked.

"He was a very strong hunter, and was huge for a human.  He took down even the largest predators in our world," Anna said before she looked over at Cera.  She could tell by Cera's expression that she was interested in hearing about a strong hunter.

"I wanna be like him when I grow up.  I want all sharpteeth to fear me and never come into our valley," Cera said proudly.

"Without a doubt, you'll be a very strong leader when you're older, Cera.  However, don't follow Orion's way.  I still have yet to say how he got killed," Anna said.

"If he defeated the largest predators, what could've possibly killed him?" Cera asked in a surprised manner.

"His pride, that's what.  He got too overconfident, and it was the sting of a very small and venomous animal called a scorpion that got him.  Remember his story whenever you're startin' to feel overconfident, Cera.  It's not worth your life," Anna added.  She could tell Cera was feeling humbled.  She then spoke up again to ensure her friend's feelings were not hurt.

"You're a nice girl, and remember what I said before.  It's perfectly okay to be nice," Anna added with a smile.  Cera nodded with a smile, and Anna felt relieved.  Just then, Ducky yawned.

"I am very tired, yep yep yep," she yawned.

"I am, too," Anna yawned.

"I guess I am, too," Cera agreed with a yawn before she rolled over and got up.  "Well, I should be heading home now."

"Wait, Cera," Anna said as she got up.  "It's not safe to be walkin' out there by yourself."

"I'm sure I can manage," Cera said.

"Remember what I said about overconfidence," Anna gently reminded the threehorn.

"Oh, alright, but will you please come with me?" Cera asked.

"Of course, and Ducky can come with so she'll be with me when I come back.  Oh, and just in case," Anna said before she morphed back into her swimmer form.  "At least I look more intimidating this way.  A'ight, let's head out then."  Ducky sat on Anna's shoulder as they escorted Cera home.

[Pangaea]

Pangaea shrugged. “Well, sorry to hear that, but you’re gonna get yourselves in serious trouble if you stay here.”

“Look, you little leaf-covered lump!” Ozzy said, “we came here for eggs, and we’re not leaving until we get some!”

“Couldn’t you just switch to fruit or something for a while? At least until you’re well-fed enough to go and find someplace else where you can steal eggs?”

Ozzy glared at Pangaea, stooping down and pushing his face right up to the red glider’s.

“I thought you said you knew all about us,” he snarled. “I only eató”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Pangaea said meekly. “Eggs, thrice a day at least. It was just a suggestion. Better than starving or being flattened by a bunch of angry leafeaters.”

“Uh, he’s got a point, Oz,” Strut said.

Ozzy whipped his head around to glare at his brother, then whacked him on the head with his tail.

Pangaea took the opportunity to speak again. Realizing that his efforts to deter the egg stealers were failing, he was getting desperate. “What if I brought you to the leafeaters? We could talk things over with them. Maybe they’d agree to something, like giving you eggs that wouldn’t hatch, or showing you where to find eggs from…some other creature that wouldn’t miss them as much…something that doesn’t care for its young.”

“Are you stupider than you look?!” he shouted. “Even if I wanted to talk to them, I take whatever eggs I want! You got that, leafeater?”

Now Pangaea was beginning to get irritated. He didn’t want to overtly insult the egg stealersóhe was afraid of receiving a violent response, and knew that he would be no match for themóbut he wondered if he could make them think that he could hurt them.

Putting on the angriest face he could, Pangaea bristled his feathers, causing them to stand on end, and rotated his wings forward, arching them out to his sides in an attempt to look as large and intimidating as possible.

“I’m not a leafeater, you know,” he said in a low, serious voice. “I’m actually a carnivore myself. I eat fruit so that the leafeaters will tolerate me, but make me angry and I can get nasty. Normally I’m a nice guy, but you’re really pushing it.”

Pangaea’s bluff actually seemed to be working on Strut, who took a step or two back with a nervous expression on his face (still rubbing his head from the blow Ozzy had dealt him), but Ozzy looked unimpressed. “What do you plan to do, tickle us to death?” he asked.

“Don’t underestimate me, bub,” Pangaea warned him. “Just the other day I fought off a sharptooth, you know.” He heard Strut gulp. “In fact, I’m actually a kind of sharptooth myself. I may be small, but my closest relatives are the fast biters.”

Ozzy and Strut stared at Pangaea with eyes like saucers……then they collapsed to the ground, howling with laughter.

Pangaea sighed in frustration. “I knew I shouldn’t have said that,” he muttered under his breath.

[LBTFan13]

Littlefoot nodded. "I think most of them are just going off with Cera and the others. I know Zaine took one with him to find Longtail, so I'm sure they are with them. I can't wait for tomorrow. There's so much more that I want to learn about them." Of course, he couldn't deny that he was tired. He yawned and knelt down in the nest. When Grandma nuzzled him, he smiled. "Goodnight Grandma. Goodnight Grandpa." He lowered his head and closed his eyes in an attempt to get some sleep.

Zaine laughed at Rick's comment. "I'm sorry Longtail, but he does have a point. You do have a habit of falling out of places." He turned around and gestured them to follow him. "My nest isn't far. I'm about ready to collapse."

"You and me both," Rob agreed. "I think I've had enough excitement for one day." As he followed Zaine, he thought to himself. "I wonder how everybody else is coping with this. It seems strange that we all were brought here, but at the same time I'm kind of happy we were. I really want to get to know Littlefoot and the others better. After all, I pretty much grew up watching them."

[Kor]

"goodnight Littlefoot." Grandpa Longneck whispered as he gently nuzzled Littlefoot then straightened up to look around a bit.

[Cancerian Tiger]

"We're almost there," Cera whispered as the trio headed through some woods.

"Man, it's dark out here," Anna whispered.  Just then, she stepped on a sharp stone, causing her to cry out.

"Ow!  Son of a...!"

"Shh!" Cera quickly interrupted her friend in a whisper.  "Be quiet!  We don't wanna startle my Daddy."

"Sorry," Anna yelped as she managed to walk off the pain.

"That would be very bad to startle Cera's dad, yep yep yep," Ducky whispered from where she sat on Ann's shoulder.

"Tell me 'bout it.  I did not come all the way out here just to get a horn in the rear," Anna whispered, causing Ducky to giggle.  Just then, Cera came to a stop and turned around.

"Well, we're here now.  They're all sleeping, so I'll be fine getting to my nest by myself.  Good night, you two," Cera said before she headed for her nest.

"Good night, Cera," Ducky whispered back.

"'Night, Cera.  See ya in the mornin'," Anna added in a whisper.  As they watched Cera, they could see Tricia had been awakened by her sister, but once Cera curled up with Tricia, the threehorn sisters quickly fell asleep.  Anna smiled before she turned around to head back to Ducky's nesting area.

"I'm glad Cera has Tricia," Anna said to Ducky.

"I am too, yep yep yep.  It is good to have siblings.  It is, it is," Ducky replied.

"It really is.  They can be annoying at times, but they're worth it," Anna replied.

"Oh, yes they are, even Spike.  His sleep noises and rolling on me in my sleep get on my nerves sometimes, yep yep yep.  I also have to make sure he does not eat my lunch.  I do, I do," Ducky said.

"Have ya ever talked with Spike about these things?" Anna asked.

"I do not want to hurt his feelings, oh no no no.  Besides, I am not sure if he would really understand me.  It is sometimes hard for me to accept that he cannot talk.  It is, it is," Ducky whispered in a sad manner.

"Can he understand your mother?" Anna asked.

"I guess," Ducky replied.

"Well, maybe she can talk to him 'bout the lunch thing.  His sleep noises, which we humans call snoring, can't be controlled, nor can his movements while he's sleepin'.  The lunch thing is inexcusable, though," Anna said.

"I just do not want to hurt his feelings, oh no no no," Ducky whispered.

"Ducky, you're a very nice kid and I admire your selflessness, but you've gotta look out for yourself, too.  Your well-being and needs are just as important as everybody else's," Anna said as the two approached Ducky's nesting area.

"I guess you are right, yep yep yep," Ducky agreed.

"So, you'll talk to your mother about the whole lunch thing?" Anna asked.

"Yes I will, but just in case I cannot do it, will you help me out?" Ducky asked as Anna plucked the little swimmer from her shoulder.

"Of course I will, little one," Anna replied before she set Ducky on the ground.  "Get some sleep now.  Good night, Ducky."

"Good night, Anna," Ducky yawned before she found her place among her siblings.  Anna smiled before she located her sleeping area and curled up.  Once again, it was not long before she felt Ducky join her.  Anna could not help but shake her head in amusement as she glanced by her right side and saw Ducky sleeping like a cat.

"I've gotcha so spoiled, but I don't mind," Anna whispered as she wrapped her tail around Ducky before she rested her head on the ground.  "Pleasant dreams, Ducky."