Involuntary Contractions and Love
Around the middle of one day, the herd Ali is a part of came back to the Great Valley once again. Littlefoot was so excited. His six best friends in the valley were elsewhere, either with their families, or just with each other like Chomper and Ruby were. He came up to her herd and there she was, sitting comfortably by her mother. She smiled when she saw him and asked him to come over. He walked up to her and welcomed her back very warmly.
"I miss you when leave here," Littlefoot told her.
"I really miss you too," she said back.
"Where's Rhett?" he wondered aloud.
"Old One said that our herd is just so big now that it would be more comfortable in places like this if we were in two smaller groups instead of one big one. So she separated us and Rhett was picked to be with the other group on the opposite side of the Great Valley," Ali explained.
"Old One always seem to be very wise," he commented, but mainly because she allowed him to have time alone with Ali now. At that point, Littlefoot heard a low noise come from her.
"Hey, are you hungry?" he asked her.
"Yeah, a little bit," she admitted. "We've been walking all morning."
"No problem at all," he responded. "You could come with me to the Hidden Canyon if you'd like."
"What's that?" she asked him.
"Oh, that's right. You weren't with us then. It's this hidden part of the valley just full of tree sweets. You're going to love it," Littlefoot told her.
Littlefoot didn't even need to explain all this to Ali. She loved being with Littlefoot anywhere, and when it came to eating, she especially enjoyed sweet things.
"I would love to come," she answered him with a smile. Then she turned to her mother who was right there and had heard everything, "May I please go with him, mother?"
She looked at her daughter. "Ali, last time you two went off together, it was back into the Land of Mists without us to protect you. You could have been seriously hurt," she told her.
"I know, mother, and I'm very sorry about that. This time though, I promise to stay in the valley," Ali told her mother sincerely.
"Well, alright then. Just yell if there's a problem and I'll come right away," she told Ali. Then she turned to Littlefoot, "And I trust you'll look after my daughter?"
"Yes, of course I will," he responded confidently.
"Good. Then off you go. Have fun!" she told them. "Oh, and Ali, this is just a little snack, okay? Don't eat too many of those or you'll get sick.
"Don't worry mother," Ali reassured her. "I won't eat too much there."
Then they began the short walk to the Hidden Canyon. The two walked side by side, although Littlefoot was guiding her there. Then Ali began to lean her head against his. Littlefoot felt very warm, but happy at the same time. When they arrived, Ali's pretty eyes opened wide. She had never seen so many tree sweets in one place before. Littlefoot noticed that and gave her a nudge.
"Don't be shy," he told her. "You must be starving, so jump right in."
Ali was too polite to eat ravenously, so she found a good looking tree sweet and took her time with it using small bites. Littlefoot saw that Ali was uncomfortable giving in fully to her hunger, so he thought of a way to help her to relax, at least around him.
He walked a short distance away and found a large tree sweet on the ground. Picking it up in his mouth, he carried it with him as he sat beside her. He plopped it on the ground and then fiercely attacked it. He barely chewed and simply gulped down bites, getting juice all over his face.
"Littlefoot, what are you doing?" Ali asked him as she began laughing really hard.
"Oh, sometimes when I'm really hungry I can get a little messy. Good thing there aren't any grown-ups around to see me like this," he said with a sticky grin.
Ali smiled at him warmly. Now she understood exactly why he did that. "You're so sweet," she said.
"Are you talking to your food or me?" Littlefoot joked, and they both laughed together.
"Well, it is just us here, so you're right," she finally told him. "I shouldn't hold back when I'm this hungry."
"There you go!" Littlefoot encouraged. And with that, she stood up and gulped down bites of the tree sweet she had been working on, just as fast as Littlefoot had been. When she finished, she sat down comfortably and wiped off her mouth with the side of her foot. She still wanted to look her best at all times.
"Aren't these just the best tree sweets?" Littlefoot asked her.
"Oh yes, they sure hic!" she said, and then quickly covered her mouth. "Oops, excuse me."
Littlefoot lightly chuckled. "There's nothing to excuse," he told her. "You didn't do anything wrong."
"Thanks, but it's just polite to say that when you hic!" she tried to explain, and then turned very red.
"Hey, don't be embarrassed. A lot of dinosaurs get hiccups when they eat fast," he said comfortingly.
Ali was about to thank Littlefoot for bringing her here, but before she could, "Hicca!" She frowned. "Do you know how to make them stop?" she asked, then hiccupped again.
Littlefoot looked doubtful. "Mr. Thicknose said that you can't cure hiccups. You just have to wait for them to go away."
Ali let out a long sigh. "Hiccup!" Then she said, although mostly to herself, "I hope they don't la-hicca too long."
"Well, Mr. Thicknose knew someone that hiccupped all day long," then realizing how that wasn't the best thing to say right now, he then quickly added, "But he only saw that happen one time in his whole life."
Ali smiled at Littlefoot's way of making her feel better. "I'm still glad I'm hic-ere with you." She got up, came right beside Littlefoot, and then sat down again, now leaning against him. "Hiccup!" And they just sat there together for a while as her hiccupping continued, but they didn't last too much longer.
"Finally, I can talk clearly again!" Ali said, now relieved.
"There was nothing to worry about Ali," Littlefoot assured her. "I understood everything you tried to say the whole time."
Ali gave him a small kiss on the cheek and Littlefoot blushed. "But I wonder..." Ali began. "You gulped down your food just like I did! Why didn't you get the hiccups too?"
"Hey, I'm just tough, that's all," he said, trying to look bigger. "I need to be, or else how can I be there to protect you?" Now it was Ali's turn to blush.
Then Littlefoot tried to be funny. He stood up and began using his Lone Dinosaur voice. "Never fear Ali. The really tough dinosaur is here to protect y-hic!"
"Huh? What did you say at the end?" Ali asked, not understanding his last part.
"Oh, sorry Ali. I think I just had something in my throat," he explained. But when he opened his mouth again, "Hic!"
"You're right. And it seems that 'thing' was a hiccup," Ali said as she laughed. Now Littlefoot was just as embarrassed as Ali had been, but he still laughed right along with her, with a few "hics" here and there.
"As for what you were saying about you being there for me..." Ali began.
"Yes, what is it A-hic-li?" Littlefoot asked her.
"I have a better idea. Why not you and I just be there for each other?" she suggested.
Littlefoot found that to be a much better idea, and he gently nuzzled his head against hers, and she did back. "Hiccup!" That noise came out very loudly this time.
"But you know, you sure don't have really tough sounding hiccups," Ali joked as she smiled at him.
"Hey!" he exclaimed with a smile. "Well, do you want to just stick around here and catch up for a bit? I'd love to hear about where your herd travels. We haven't been out here for very long anyway." Ali just stared at him in silence.
"Oh, if you'd like to get back to your mother sooner, we could always chat later if you want," he said, worried that he'd said something wrong.
Ali laughed for a few seconds. "It wasn't that at all. I'd also love to talk with you. It's just that, your hiccups are gone too."
Littlefoot paused, checking that himself now. "Hey, you're right. They are gone! He grinned, "And yours lasted longer by the way."
"But yours were louder," she replied with a similar expression. Littlefoot chuckled and Ali giggled simultaneously.
"So what would you like to talk about, Ali?" he asked her politely.
"Whatever you want is fine with me," she replied, returning the etiquette. Wanting to talk about something she likes, but realizing this exchange could very easily continue, Littlefoot decided to simply try to start on his own.
"So what types of things have you seen while migrating?" he began.
"Oh, all sorts of them!" she answered, getting a little excited while recalling many things. She told him about things like water that jumps out of the ground, stones that glittered like sky colors, and many other things, all of which Littlefoot had seen as well.
Not wanting to belittle her excitement of explaining these things, he did not mention already knowing about them. Instead, as she continued to talk, he would say things like, "Wow," and "Really?" to show his interest. Since he already had seen all of the things Ali was talking about, it wasn't them that kept his interest though- it was her. When Ali finally ran out of things she recalled seeing, Littlefoot had something else he wanted to talk about.
"You know, Ali," he began, "There are a lot of interesting things around here to see too. The Great Valley always seems to have new things just waiting to be discovered." He paused, trying to find just the right words to finish saying what was on his mind. "You must get really tired every day, having to walk around so much…" He trailed off, believing the point that he was trying to make was clear. He was right.
Ali smiled and came up closer to him until they were face to face. "You're very sweet, Littlefoot. I'd love to stay here in the Great Valley with you, but, I can't. Last time I was here, you told me about finally meeting your dad. You cared about him, but knew that your grandparents needed you, so you left with them. It's the same for my mother. She needs me, and that is why I have to leave with her. But as I said long ago and still hope will happen, maybe we'll all live together some day."
"I understand what you're saying, but whenever you leave, I don't know, I just get all worried that I may not see you again. Some day, yeah, it would be great if we could all hic!" He quickly covered his mouth in embarrassment.
Ali giggled and replied, "Don't worry, Littlefoot. It seems that hiccups are just like me. They can go away for a while, but you can always count on them to come back."
Thank you for reading. The Land Before Time and all affiliated characters belong to Universal Cartoon Studios.