The Continuing Saga

[Pterano]

Littlefoot silently made a mental note to ask Redback about his friends, and what happened to them at a later time.

"We're... sort of fast runners." the female said, as if searching for words. "I don't think our diets are entirely similar, however." she explained, in response to Ruby's question.

"Ahhh wanderers. So you're sort of like us." the male was telling Redback. "We travel, though we do have a home as well. In fact, part of why we're here is..."

"Ahem." the female cleared her throat, and shot him a sideways glance.

"Ah... right, of course. Well, anyway, we DO have a home." he finished.

"Heheh, I guess we'll never get much out of you two." Littlefoot said, rolling his eyes and shaking his head.

"Maybe in a little while... depending on how things go." the female stated, pointing down at him. "Well then... shall we?" she asked the male, who nodded.

"Right, well, it was good seeing all of you again. We'll see you around." the male said, giving the group a nod. "It was nice to meet the new faces." he glanced at Redback, Chomper, and Ruby before his companion began shooing him away. "You KNOW we'll have to tell them eventually." the male muttered as they began wandering away.

"Yes... but later. That'll only be if things start swinging the other way. So far that hasn't happened." the female spoke in an equally hushed tone, but that was the last Littlefoot got before they walked out of earshot.

He sighed, but in a happy manner. "Them and their mysteries. Heheh. Say, Redback." the longneck turned to the sharptooth now. "How many friends do you have in the Mysterious Beyond, and would they ever visit you here?" he asked.

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

"I have no idea... but why don't we ask her?" Pterano suggested, excitement rising in his voice. "Come on, Devon! Let's go find out why she keeps hanging around my sister's nest! We'll be back shortly, sis." He said, turning his head to look at her. "I assume you won't be coming." She DID have her family to attend to after all. He flapped his wings a bit harder, hoping to gain some speed and pursue this mysterious flyer to wherever it was she might be headed.

[trulyfantasticme]

"Right behind ya, Dad!" Devon replied, taking off after his father towards this mysterious female flyer.

[Mama's Girl]

Harper and Cera both watched Ridge as the Rainbow Faces walked off, wondering if the spiketail would rush after and try to interrogate them or anything. "I'll...just keep an eye out for anything on that" he answered their unasked questions.

Cera rolled her eyes while Harper smiled. "Whatever" the threehorn decided that she'd had enough of following rules and walked a bit closer to where Littlefoot, Spike and Ducky were as well as Chomer, Ruby and of course the newcomers Redback and Tero.

"I'm not suppose to get too close, but this distance will probably be ok still" she informed anyone who cared to listen.

Ridge gave a laugh as he walked over as well with Harper, sort of in tow with him since she felt a bit out of place with Petrie's friends while Petrie wasn't here. She gave her own slight smile of greeting as Ridge nodded to the others and even gave Spike a small wink of just still feeling like a mentor or something to the younger kid of his species, though he was completely supportive of Ducky's family being his family. Ducky gave a smile back to him.

Ridge’s gaze then trailed up to Redback, "Not sure I officially gave my greeting from some of the lesser known kids of this Valley" he grinned, "Hi there, I'm Ridge and this is Harper".

~~~~

"Of course not" Pterano's sister sighed. Even if Pterano said it was for the good cause of finding out what she wanted to know too, she caught that excitement in her brother's voice and knew he was just off on some exploration of sorts again. He always had flapped off on those while she was left with the practical and responsible things such as tending her nest. It suddenly made her wonder...what would have Pterano ended up like if things with Norton's story had gone different and he'd had both a mate and son to care for? Probably no different she figured.

[Allicloud]

Redback waved as the enigmatic Rainbowfaces made their departure. Then as Littlefoot asked him about having friends in the Beyond, he once again thought hard about an answer.

"Hmm... Well, sharpteeth don't really make friends out there. A gang of fast-biters would try to eat me if they were hungry enough! Like I said, I did have that group of friend that me and Tero were with; There were about 5 of us... But I doubt the others'll be coming about any time soon."

Before he could go into any detail, his attention was caught by the two other kids introducing themselves, the young spiketail and the flyer girl. "Well hi there. In case you dunno yet, Redback's the name. Mr. Perky back there is called Tero."

He nodded towards Tero, who was, as usual, standing on his own, talking to or acknowledging no-one.

[Pterano]

((Poor Pterano. ))

"Aww... well that's too bad." Littlefoot stated, giving off a sigh. He didn't ask why they couldn't be joining them anytime soon though, as Harper and Ridge picked that moment to walk up. Petrie had flown back with his mother, probably to spend more time with his uncle, and the longneck had to admit, as much as he wanted Petrie to hang out with them right now, it was best not to crowd Cera at the moment.

"Hey, Harper. Hey, Ridge." Littlefoot greeted the two of them. "What's new with you? Curious about the Rainbow Faces?" he asked, unable to suppress a smile as he had noticed Ridge watching the two departing gallimimuses.

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

Pterano heard Devon say he was right behind him, and the flyer increased his efforts, leaving his sister's nest behind for now as he struggled to keep up. "Wait! I just want to talk!" he called out, hoping she heard him. She didn't seem to acknowledge this at first, and he needed to keep flying in order to keep her in sight.

He looked behind him, but Devon seemed to be having little trouble keeping the pace, yet another sign of Pterano's age. Huffing a little, he started to follow the female as she banked and began heading downward, descending to the green of the valley floor. Finally! He had only been flying about ten minutes or so, but he was eager to get this settled.

She landed near the river, kicking up some loose blades of grass as she rested on her haunches, and Pterano landed nearby. "My, my, you're certainly the persistent one." she said, looking at him in profile. He smiled as he looked her over, finally having time to take in all of her detail. She was turquoise in coloration, with a much smaller crest that tapered off to a graceful point resting atop her head. Her voice sounded vaguely familiar to him, but he couldn't think of where he'd heard it before. It was only recently that he'd heard a voice like it... perhaps at the meeting? Or was it last night, sometime? Either way, it sounded familiar yet new all at once. It was far more pleasing than whatever he was thinking of. "Now that you've got me... what do you want?" she asked, acting rather blunt on the subject.

"Er... well... I suppose I..." He found it difficult to come out with the words, especially once she turned to face him head on. She decided to preempt him, and cut him off.

"Who's that?" she asked, nodding over in Devon's direction.

"Oh um... him?" Pterano asked. "He's my er... my um..." he stammered as he smiled, looking right at her as he battled to get the words out, but it seemed like at the moment, Devon would need to do the proper introductions.

[trulyfantasticme]

(Okay to add a little humor... )

Devon watched as Pterano did his best to come up with the right words to tell this female and he just couldn't resist. He walked up behind Pterano, placing both hands on his shoulders. "Looks like this old timer's in luv" he teased, chuckling.

 ()

[Mama's Girl]

"Oh, that does sound bad, it does, other sharpteeth being mean to you" Ducky said, frowning at the thought, "but now that you are here you can be safe from the mean kind just like we are!" she smiled as this thought hit her of how the Great Valley was still a haven for those trying to live better.

"What a thought" Cera sighed again as she, at that moment, came over with Ridge and Harper's own walking over. She was still in not much of a conversation mood and left it at this, though.

Ridge and Harper both nodded as Redback introduced himself and then, by way of clever nickname, Tero.

"Not much except the news the Valley already knows about anyway" Harper answered Littlefoot and also skipped around Cera's feelings too.

Ridge grinned a bit as Littlefoot seemed to catch on right away with why he'd come over, "Ok, yeah I was curious. They just...seem like whatever they're doing it's interested, you know" he tried to explain.

[vonboy]

Chomper just said this out to the whole group "Yeah, those rainbowfaces do seem kinda...weird. I can't really put my claw on it, but they just don't act like any other dinosaurs I've ever met before."

"Well, I think they are very interesting!" Ruby brought up. "And they seem like they know many things. Since they're farwalkers, they must have learned many things from their travels. You know, I'd like to have a talk with them sometime. Maybe I could learn a thing or two!"

Mr. Threehorn didn't feel like talking to anyone, so he just made his way to the watering hole for a drink of water and lunch.

[Pterano]

Pterano clenched his fists, and swatted Devon's arms off of his shoulders. "Devon!" he exclaimed, turning around to face him. "That's not... true!" he threw his arms up into the air to emphasize his point. He couldn't help but shoot his "son" a smile though, but still felt flustered all the same.

The female behind him was starting to smile however, and figured that maybe this old flyer could be useful in some way. She was here to learn, after all, and perhaps this old flyer could prove valuable in such a goal.

"A-anyway... this is Devon, my adopted son. I'm terribly sorry about that little outburst." he was turning back around to her, only to be caught head on in her gaze. He was frozen on the spot as she smiled at him, and began to speak.

"Oh that's quite alright Mr... I didn't quite get your name?"

Pterano's pulse pounded throughout his body, but he managed to conjure up his name. "Pterano." he said at last. "And you are?"

"I don't give my name out to handsome flyers who simply land nearby after chasing me down. Perhaps... if we get to know each other a bit better... I'll offer it." she said, giving him a smile.

"Did you come in with the farwalkers?" he asked.

"No..." she said, trailing off. "I did not."

"You seem to have taken a particular interest in my sister's nest." he persisted.

"Yes... well I'm interested in many things about this valley. Your sister's nest is a convenient vantage point." she half explained.

Pterano looked behind him, at Devon, and he nodded for his son to step back a bit. "Oh Devon, might I have a word with you for a moment? Forgive us Ms... well I suppose I'll learn your name in a bit. We'll be back in a moment." he said, motioning for Devon to follow after him for a few paces.

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

Littlefoot nodded at Ridge, and also turned to speak to Ruby. "Well I bet you'd learn a LOT from them Ruby. They... really do seem like they know quite a bit. They've been lots of places, and they gave us an idea on how to reach the top of Threehorn Peak much quicker than we would have come up with on our own." the longneck explained.

"As for what they're doing... who knows?" Littlefoot asked, raising his fore paws in a "shrug". "You're right about the valley being a haven, Ducky. There isn't much that can harm you here... ow!" he exclaimed, as he suddenly received a light slap on the back of his head.

A certain purple dino walked past, smirking. "Well heeeeeya there, hatchlings." it was of course, Hyp. He had been present at the meeting, but hadn't been paying much attention. Something about Petrie's uncle, and then something else about him being a terrible flyer, and so on and so forth. It was the new teen sharptooth that mostly interested him.

"So who's this?" he asked, standing in front of the spinosaurus and folding his arms.

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

Norton, who was still at the watering hole, glanced up as Mr. Threehorn wandered over. "Oh... good afternoon, sir." the carmine flyer greeted him, giving him a nod. "You must be another resident here. I'm one of the farwalkers. Flew in last night with the rest of the herd." he explained, sitting down on the rock that his aunt had been sitting on before.

[trulyfantasticme]

"Sure thing, Dad!" Devon fallowed his father, but before he did he sent the female flyer a wink that clearly said, "Oh, he's totally in love..." Although, he was quite thankful that Pterano didn't see.

He stopped next to his father. "Yeah, Dad?" he told him, all ears now. "What is it?"

[Allicloud]

Redback was surprised for a moment as the older dinosaur slapped Littlefoot. He sighed quietly; Even in a paradise like the Valley, you still get your bullies.

As the teenage dinosaur asked who he was, Redback grinned as he had to lower his head just to look him in the eye. Even the teenagers were shorter than he was, and Hyp couldn't be much younger than him!

"Redback's my name. Whose askin'?"

[Mama's Girl]

"Exactly what I was saying" Ridge agreed with Ruby and smiled to her. He let the topic drop though, as Littlefoot had a point and they weren't likely to find out anything more at the moment.

The spiketail gave out a small sigh as Hyp came over either just teasing or full out causing trouble again as even he'd had time to witness the older dinosaur did. Hyp was one of those citizens of the Valley that Ridge hadn't figured out yet, not fully anyway. Harper had heard more about Hyp than she'd seen and that actually worked against him. She stayed silent.

Ridge had to smile as Redback bent down to Hyp's level, though. He noticed a similar smile come to Cera's face, though she seemed to take more personal satisfaction in watching for any intimidation in Hyp's face.

[Pterano]

The female flyer only gave Devon a quizzical look at first, and then simply smiled in a knowing manner. It seemed that Devon's adoptive father found her attractive... yet another thing she could potentially use to her advantage.

Pterano of course completely missed his adopted son's wink, and cleared his throat once he had Devon a good enough distance away. "I wanted to ask your thoughts on her. I know that my sister was certainly concerned about a flyer perching just above her nest, but I just... there's something about her. As you've noticed, I've gotten a tad worked up over it, and well... I've only been this way once before... so I wanted to ask your opinion first before I rushed into anything. As a matter of fact, I want you around to just... make sure I'm not stepping out of line anymore. It's good that I finally have someone who can keep an eye on my actions, and this is one I'd like to know about first... from a more... neutral observer, shall we say." he said.

"I want your honest opinion too. What do you think of her? Does she seem well... how do I put this... worth getting to know better?" his eyes studied Devon, and searched him for answers.

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

"I'm sure we'll run into them again." Littlefoot said, in response to Ridge. "They have a habit of reappearing after all, and if they're staying here, I'm sure it won't be long before we bump into them again." he shifted his attention over to Hyp, who was initially surprised at this sharptooth's bravado... but then again, being a sharptooth, he'd better have bravado!

Hyp's face shifted only momentarily, before he went back to smirking. "Hyp's the one who's asking." he stated, and looked Redback right in the eyes. Inwardly, he was rather nervous, as he hadn't fully realized Redback's size until he was right up with him. "Hey Littlefoot, I think I like this guy. He ain't afraid of a challenge."

"Come on Hyp... it's not something worth challenging." the longneck sighed.

"Yeah, yeah, I didn't come here for that anyway. I just wanted to say 'hi' to the new guy. A SHARPTOOTH who eats GREEN FOOD?" he went on. "Now THAT'S something I want to see. You don't REALLY eat our kind of food... do you?" he asked disbelievingly. That much he had heard from the meeting, and he hadn't yet seen a sharptooth alive that could stomach it. His arms were still folded, and he gave the red sailback a smug look.

[trulyfantasticme]

Devon thought for a while, as it took all his energy not to tease his father about his feelings. Oh he definitely has the hots for her he thought silently to himself. "Hmm...I dunno, I think she's pretty attractive..." He paused, refusing to go any further. He's only seen him like this once before. And when he's like this, it is quite obvious that his father was going gaga for either red treestars, which can easily make you...umm...let's just say that once you eat them, you'll be acting wierd. Or he could be going gaga for a pair of big googoo eyes. ( Yes, I was watching Hercules) Being with his father all this time, he couldn't remember the old flyer eating any, so it must be the second option.

[Pterano]

"Yes, yes, and? And? Nothing else?" he pressed, telling that Devon was holding out on him. "Come on! You can... speak your mind. I'm all ears, after all, so what do you think? I mean... obviously she's attractive." he mumbled, so that she wouldn't hear him. "But I don't usually get this way... as I'm sure you know. So aside from that... what else?" he asked, struggling to keep his voice low in spite of the fact that he was getting worked up.

[trulyfantasticme]

Okay, you asked for it... Devon thought as he opened his beak to spill the beans. He decided to just cut to the chase. "You have the hots for her, doncha?"

[Allicloud]

Redback returned the smirk, making sure to show his teeth. These kinds of young ones were always fun to toy with.

"Hey, Tero!" He called out "Get me some greens, will ya? I'm feelin' peckish."

He glanced back to Tero, who was standing alone away from the group. The flyer simply glared back and rolled his eyes.

Redback chuckled, "Heh, fine, I'll get it meself."

Making a great show of size, he stretched up, his tail forming a tripod with his legs, and pulled down on a medium-sized branch, covered with leafy greens. The branch crackled and snapped under the strain, until it hung limply from the tree.

Redback stripped a small patch of leaves with his pointed tongue, and munched happily on them.

"That proof enough for ya, little guy?" He smiled down at Hyp.

[vonboy]

Chomper was quite shocked at the revelation that Redback could eat greenfood. Until then, he put little thought into what that sharptooth would be eating while in the Great Valley. "You...can actually eat greenfood? How!? I can't even stomach the stuff! I've tried it countless times!"

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


Mr. Threehorn looked back at the flyer, not sure what to say at first. "Oh. Well, welcome to the Valley, flyer. Pardon me if I don't say much. I just have a lot of things on my mind right now." he lowered his head for a long drink of water.

[Mama's Girl]

Well he'd be keeping an eye out for them if they did decide to show again, Ridge thought as Littlefoot assured him about the Rainbow Faces. He wondered at Hyp being perhaps to bold with the way he answered Redback, but by the end of Hyp's...not bragging but pushing it maybe, the spiketail just shook his head.

Redback's answer drew both his and Harper's attention, not to mention Cera and Ducky as well.

"Well now there's something you don't..." Cera began.

"See everyday, you don't" Ducky smiled, as Harper shook her head with a small smile of her own and finished the other two girls sentence.

"A sharptooth using his skills like that" she breathed. She instantly somehow felt a whole lot better about Redback with this sort of "proof".

[Pterano]

"Shhhh!" Pterano quickly shushed Devon, looking behind him. "I... wouldn't put it quite like that... but well... I suppose I do consider her... attractive, yes." Pterano said, eyeing his son now and placing his hands on his hips. "Now just... try not to tease me TOO much." the older flyer stated, and shook his head as he turned around, though was smiling of course. "And keep an eye on me too." he said, briefly looking over his shoulder.

"Deepest apologies about that!" he exclaimed, walking back over to her.

"Hmm, it's fine." she said simply. "So... I couldn't help but overhear some of that." she stated, and Pterano pursed his lips, knowing Devon probably would take delight in this. "So... you find me attractive... do you?" she asked, giving him a smile that was quite hard to read, but one that nevertheless warmed him inside.

"I... suppose I do." he said, looking away from her. "You mentioned you wanted to get to know this valley a little better... might you... perhaps like me to show you around?" he asked. He wasn't great on locations in the valley himself, but it would be a learning experience for all of them.

Her eyes seemed to light up at this, as this was exactly what she wanted, but she paused. "Hmmm... yes. Alright. But not like this. Tonight... later on. Right here." she said, this time giving him more of a genuine smile. "I'll see you after the su... the Bright Circle sinks." she said, seeming to catch herself, though Pterano was a bit too far gone to notice. "See you here tonight." she said quickly, and flapped her wings to take to the sky.

"Um... alright." he said, reawakening from the daze, and watching her fly off. "Hoo!" he said, shaking his head. "Wow... well um... Devon... shall we head off then? Back to my sister's?" he suggested.

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

Hyp was shocked, watching it all unfold. He then gnashed his teeth, and clenched a fist. "Who are you calling little?"

"Well Hyp..." Littlefoot was stifling a laugh. "It's... sort of true." he said, smiling in Redback's direction.

"Hey! Watch it! You're smaller than I am!" he exclaimed. "Urrrgh. He'll spit it out... any moment now... just watch... or he'll hurl. He can't take that... there isn't a sharptooth out there who can." he bragged, though he'd seen little of them personally to know. Come on... come on! But there was so far no sign of queasiness. "Alright... how?" he asked. "The little sharptooth is right. How'd you do it?" he asked, narrowing his eyes as if it were some trick.

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

Norton smiled, and picked up a pebble, running it over his claws and fingers. "Anything you want to talk about?" he asked Topsy, deciding to see if he could strike up conversation with a local that WASN'T his relative.