"Quiet!" The grey blackish threehorn named Topsy, also known as Mr. Threehorn yelled out.

"We've called you here to say, that there's a herd on the way." Grandpa longneck started.

"Who are they?"

"Are they dangerous?"

"Do you know them?"

"For how long will they be here?"

The uproar of questions and curious comments kept coming, almost in an endless flow.

"Everyone just calm down, they are not dangerous and we don't know them, but they are coming with peace, and they're only going to stay here for 2 days!" Grandpa longneck said calmly.

"We are going to treat them like any other herd, which comes to visit us." He continued

Tuning everything out of his head, Littlefoot's thoughts started running wild.

´A herd? I wonder if there are any kids the same age as me in that herd. Some longnecks? It doesn't really matter, but it would be nice for a change, you know? To have someone your own size.

Yeah, a new herd in the valley could be nice.

Wait… It's around that time of the year where my dad's herd comes for a visit, I wonder if Shorty have grown as much as me, or matured, what am I thinking of course he's not matured! It's Shorty he definitely couldn't have matured.

I really miss my dad. Sometimes I wish he stayed here in the Great Valley. It could be great me, grandma, grandpa, dad and Shorty, the whole family living here together. We're just missing one person… Mom.

I wish dad would find someone to keep him company. He has Shorty of course, and the herd. I just wish, that he had someone to love like grandma and grandpa. I know he's still sad about mom, but he could really use some womanly company.
He's lonely, even though he says he's fine. He's lonely I can see the sadness in his eyes. I didn't get to know mom very well, but I knew her well enough to know, that she wouldn't wish for dad to dwell in the past. She would want him to find a new mate.

Grandma and grandpa thinks the same too. I heard them say to dad the exact same thing, that mom wouldn't want him to live in the past. Dad just says that he doesn't have with the herd and all, but that's a lie, I think it's because he's scared of losing a mate again, it's understandable, but still… I think he should try again.

Her eyes wandered over the crowd, while her mate still spoke, until they landed on her grandson. The wise lady kept looking at him, while his facial expression, changed from curious, to amused, to sadness. She's wondering what he's thinking about.

She knows how hard the time of great growing can be, she herself had also been there, and even though she's not a boy, it was still hard to go through the great growing. All the boys, who only wanted her for one thing, her mom, who she always had a disagreement with, and her dad who always were way too overprotective. Her first real heartbreak, but hey… It all worked out in the end.

I can't really wrap my mind around the fact that he's not a little boy anymore, he's not an adult but… He doesn't need me and my mate as much as he used to anymore, now it's more us that need him to do things.

The time will soon come for him to look different on girls he will be more passionate about girls, but with that there will also come a talk that me and my mate haven't really discussed with him yet. We have to make sure that he doesn't become a young father too early. I hope that he doesn't take that talk too offending, because his mother did, she was mad at me and my mate for a week, for even thinking that she would be an early mother.

there's also the are-you-gonna-join-your-dad's-herd or are-you-gonna-stay-here talk, I don't know if I can handle him moving out of the great Valley. He's my boy, my dear sweet little Littlefoot, I just want him to be happy whether it's here or in Bron's herd.

The sun was set when grandpa longneck dismissed the meeting.

Everyone slowly walked away while whispering things to each other, he looked at Littlefoot shaking his head like he was in a reverie, he probably were if he knows Littlefoot well enough.

Turning his head to see his mate in a reverie to.

"Dear?" He said

Shaking herself out of the reverie, she slowly turned her head to look at her mate, who was chuckling at her.

"Sorry" She said with a little chuckle of her own, "Must have zoned out there for a bit".

"I could see. What were you thinking about?" Grandpa asked.

"A lot of things" She replied.

"Like?" He asked with a curious expression.

"Like, Littlefoot's future, and the talk we should have with him soon."

"Why don't we call him over here and head home then?" Grandpa said

"Littlefoot!" He heard his mate call after he had spoke. that sentence, seeing as it worked Littlefoot said goodnight to his friends and walked over to his grandparents.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"Oh no, we just thought you might want to walk with us home." his grandpa said.

"You're sure you can keep up with me grandpa? You said it yourself, you're getting old." Littlefoot replied, remembering what his grandpa told him earlier today.

"Oh, I'm sure I can keep up." he said, while giving Littlefoot a little nip with his tail.

With a slight shake of her head and roll of her eyes, grandma replied "Don't exercise yourself too much, or I'm going to bite your tail off."

"Yes, dear" grandpa replied.