I am not very found of the sequels, as they completely lose Don Bluth's touch. But the sequels, as frustrating as they are, had some good ideas. One idea threw me off because I didn't think the people in charge would be so stupid to even try it. When you introduce a character like Chomper, you're asking for trouble. Well actually, they would only be asking for trouble if they kept Don Bluth's scary but beautiful reality. But no, the characters will always be stuck as little kids forever never seeing the big picture. Thank God for fanfiction. I hope with this one I can redeem some of what could've been done with this interesting character.
In the Foreseeable Future
When I was fresh and new to this world, my mind was completely unaware of the agony that would befall me. Never had it crossed my mind what exactly I was spending my days with, thinking it was bliss. But as the hunt to quench my hunger was taking longer hours, and as the smell of friends was turning from exciting adventures to avid dread, I started to realize their mistake. It was innocent, and it was sweet, but an inevitable was coming.
I'm surrounded by violable friends.
Food.
When the thought first stuck me, I ignored it and kept walking the same path I have always been. With my friends, my family. The Great Valley to them is a paradise, covered in greenery of all shades and textures. One of the few places that hasn't been destroyed by the Earth shakes and has thankfully been untouched by the burning red water. Insects brimmed with life here. Surely there would always be enough to silence my cravings.
And they did, once.
Dragonflys used to hold redeeming flavors. Big beetles used to barely fit in my mouth. Large worms used to hold enough energy for me to last half a day. Used to. I can't suffice on insects, not anymore. I am growing... my body needs more I thought as I watched Petrie drive into the cool waters to pull a small wiggling fish from it's grasp only to lose it when it slapped him upside the head. As I turned to laugh with Littlefoot and Cera, I gasped. I was drooling. I swallowed quickly, hoping no one noticed.
I need meat.
I tried, I tried really hard. I wanted the flavor of those leaves to taste like what my friends kept describing. I wanted it to taste sweet, not bitter. I wanted it to taste fresh, not sour. I would chew and swallow all I could, only to be hacking up the mashed green not too long after. I would run in the streams, doing every insane move I could think of to catch the little silver darters and everything in between. They were made of flesh, surely I could thrive on that.
What my belly said was the opposite. I could keep this down, but only though aches and pains. My body couldn't take what my friends thrived on, but my body thrives on them. It was then I knew it was coming, I am going to snap and eat somebody.
I just don't know when.
No, I would never dare to pick any of my friends- as temping as they are becoming. I thank the great circle in the sky for a history of memories. But in my salivating mind, staving stomach, everything else: from strangers, elders and hatch-lings are starting to look like fair game. I'm starting to become more distant, not intentionally on purpose, but because it was taking me so long to fill my stomach. I refused to hang out with my friends unless I am sure they will be safe with my company. Obviously that can't happen, wonderful friends like them will come searching for you if there are any signs of distress.
"Chomper, you look a little thin."
"Me thinks you need little more eating."
"Yep yep yep."
I know I'm malnourished. I'm beginning to see my skeletal structure through my skin in my reflection in the water. I'm shaking when the weather or situation does not call for it. Lying out on my stomach in the meadows when there is no cloud in the sky, just me and the bright circle. Someone called for me and I tried my best not to move, so I wouldn't waste energy needlessly.
"You don't want to play?"
"Nah, I'm just a little tired. I'd love to watch though..."
Some of them seem to realize what is going on, their eyes a little sharper. Their muscles, nails and horns, stronger and firmer. Thanks to them, I was afraid, and that fear is keeping me in my place, for just a little longer. Though there is one pair of eyes that seemed to soften...
"Are you SURE you don't want to play? I thought this was your favorite game!"
Did she pity me?
Odder still, it's somehow harder to hang around those who seem to have no idea what is going on with me. Maybe it is because I know the blow to them will be the most hardest, because it was the last thought on their minds; how kind of them to think of me that way...
For my closest friend, I hold deeper regrets. Littlefoot and I have shared the same hopeless dream. One where everyone could live together in peace. With no fights, no qualms, no pain. I don't think the dream was ever stupid, just hypocritical. No- not hypocritical, just hopeful. Wishing that there was another way. That there doesn't have to be one set path. That maybe if we searched long enough and discovered the right something, I could alter the direction of that new path I'm walking on and walk again with my friends, my family. Without the fear that I may tear someone's skin with my sharp teeth...
Rip into firm flesh with disgusted glee...
Drink salty blood as if it were the purest water...
We have found and made a lot of weird miracles on our travels, saving others from almost last minute disasters, while hardly holding a scratch on our own hides. The bad guys always lost, and the good guys always came home. So I guess, looking at the foreseeable future, even if I do end up in the inevitable, I can be assured that no harm will come to my friends, my only family. With those memories and those loose hopes, I think I can last; just a little while longer.
I couldn't remember what they called lava, (if they had ever given it a name) so I just called it the burning red water. Please do correct me if you see a spelling error or if you think I used the wrong word for the LBT universe. Example: sun equals bright circle in the sky. Thank you!