Once again, while he doubted anyone could notice due to his coloration, Pangaea felt a surge of heat to his face that made him strongly suspect that he was blushing. “Oh, please!” he cried, “don’t say things like that! I can’t handle being worshipped! I told you, I’m too humble for that! BesidesóI think I told Guido this alreadyóthere’s a fine line between bravery and crazed disregard for your own safety. I believe I fall into the latter category. And I’ve hardly mastered heights; I flew into a tree while I was fleeing from Screech…and again yesterday.”
He looked down at his hands, wringing his entangled fingers to the extent that it was almost painful. “I mean, I’m really flattered and appreciative that you think so highly of me, but…try not to go overboard, okay, please? If anything, once you’ve had a chance to hang around me for a while, you’ll find that I fail to live up to your expectations.”
Still feeling embarrassed, Pangaea decided to return to the subject of the story.
“Oh, yeah, ëwe go to sleep’: that’s a real cliff-hanger,” he said sarcastically in a jocular manner. “Buuut…I do think it would be good to have you up-to-date on what’s happened here lately.” His eyes shifted conscientiously and he turned to Guido. “Is–is that okay with you, Guido? I know I’ve kinda been hogging the conversation here. I don’t mean to leave you out.”
“What? Oh, no, no, I don’t mind,” Guido said. “Just…can you tell me what a fan is? Does it have anything to do with an autograph?”
“Uhh…kinda. A–uh–a fan is like…It’s like, if you really like or are really interested in something or someone, then you’re a fan of that something or someone.”
“Ohh…I get it,” Guido said. “So Spike would be a big fan of tree stars.”
“Er…well, sorta,” Pangaea said. “It’s more like if you’re obsessed with something or you really admire someone, even if you wouldn’t normally have the chance to meet them or see it.” He sighed. “Sorry; I’m not doing so well at explaining it.”
“Oh, no, you’re doing fine; I understand,” Guido said. He flapped a hand. “Go on; you can tell me what an autograph is later.”
“Thank you, Guido,” Pangaea said with relief. He turned back to Sparky. “Anyway, so the next morning Guido and I wake up; he takes me to see the Thundering Falls and we get a drink. Then we hear Mr. Threehorn calling for everyone to come to the Rock Circle, and we go there to find everybodyóincluding the GOF membersógathered for a meeting. talk aboutó” Suddenly he realized something and slapped his forehead. “D’oh! I forgot to tell you; Screech, Thud, and Red Claw had attacked the valley that first night; you see, apparently Amy had met up with Red Claw and Pterano outside the valley, there was a fight, and they ended up accidentally making a new hole in the Great Wall. Plus, during the fight, Amy actually blinded Red Clawógouged his eyes out or somethingóand since then he’s been after her for revenge. He and the fast biters had snuck into the valley that night trying to capture her, and that’s what had everyone worried.”
“Anyway, to make a long story short, Mr. Threehorn blamed Amy for the sharpteeth attacking the valley, there was a big argument that got violent, and Mr. Threehorn and a couple of GOF members got mildly injured.” He sighed. “Now that was a nightmare. Afterwardsódemonstrating further disregard for self-preservationóI followed Mr. Threehorn and tried to get him to change his mind about the newcomers by showing him some compassion and helping him with his injury. Apparently leaves from a seedling treestar tree have healing and painkilling properties, and spiderwebs make good bandages. Who knew, huh? Well, the good news is, apparently I do okay bandaging his wound, and he doesn’t get mad at me for trying to help. I just hope he remembers some of what I told him.”
“Okay, now, meanwhile, a bunch of valley dinosaurs and GOF members were trying to fix the hole in the Great Wall, when Red Claw showed up again and tried to get in. Now, by the time I got there, it was all over, so I wasn’t clear on what had happened, but I guess they got part of the wall to collapse on top of Red Claw and partially fill the gap. He managed to get himself unburied, but after that he just ran off.”
“Now, let’s see…” he said after another pause. “It was raining at that time, so I went with Mr. Threehorn family, Ducky, and AnnaóCancerian Tiger; she can switch between a human and a swimmer form…I went with them to a cave for shelter…”
At that point, Pangaea made another facepalm. “Agh! I forgot again! Guido and I had split up when I went to talk to Mr. Threehorn, so I was worried that he was out in the rain, and went looking for him.” Suddenly he paused as he realized something else. “I’ve been switching between telling this story in past and present tense, haven’t I?” he said, feeling embarrassed because, ironically, on the GOF he had called Sparky out on periodically lapsing into present tense in the narratives of her stories.
