So... here's a funny situation: I had to split up the chapter into two due to extreme length xD Thus, I shall upload two chapters at once. They are quite related to each other so feel free to review them as one if you wish :)
Chapter 1: Rhett's scheme
Littlefoot woke up early at the first hint of light; too excited he was to go back to sleep, too strong his anticipation of the coming days with Ali. As soon as his grandparents rose from their sleep, he stormed off towards the place where her herd was residing.
This time, it took him much less time to find the fellow young adolescent longneck, who was just in the process of waking up when he arrived. Happily, he strolled over.
"Good morning!" Littlefoot called with enthusiasm, catching Ali's slightly dazed gaze.
"Hello Littlefoot," the girl greeted him while shaking off the sleepiness which still clung to her body. "You sure are an early-riser."
"Not really, haha," Littlefoot said in defence as their noses touched in a greeting gesture, both chuckling awkwardly as they were performing it. "It's just that I was excited about today so I woke up earlier than usual!" he explained with a mischievous grin.
"I see," Ali replied, clearly amused by her friend's statement - if she hadn't been so exhausted from the long journey, she might have very well ended up with similar symptoms.
*gurgle*
Littlefoot awkwardly looked down on himself as his stomach made itself known to everyone present. He'd even skipped breakfast in order to get to see his friends as soon as possible. As if on command, Ali's stomach chimed in on the belly grumbling as well, although hers wasn't roaring quite as profoundly. Their sheepish grins met halfway.
"Well, well, I think too little longnecks haven't had breakfast yet," Ali's mother said, amused, which prompted another chuckle from the two friends.
"We'll have some on the way, right Ali?" the boy proposed, high spirited, as he didn't want to waste any more precious time eating than absolutely necessary.
"Mhmm!" Ali hummed happily. "Can we go, mum?"
"Sure, just make sure to check back with me at noon," she replied kindly. "Old One said we'll go look for a more central area but I'll go pick you up here later to show you where we end up settling down."
"Need some suggestions?" Littlefoot offered but the grown-up politely declined.
"Oh no thanks, Littlefoot, we'll be fine."
"Okay!" Littlefoot gave the grown-up a smile
"Seeya later, mum!" Ali exclaimed before the wo young longnecks left the clearing.
A pair of eyes was following the two friends' every step with a frown.
"Didn't even ask me, that girl… what a downer…" The beige-coloured longneck spat on the ground in annoyance and disgust as his gaze lingered on the boy next to his Ali - Littlefoot, wasn't it? He didn't need to blur the facts; Rhett hated Littlefoot for more than one reason but the main drive to despise him lay in the fact that he was friends with the girl he admired and loved… and Ali was paying him no heed anymore now that she had another boy to replace him. Rhett didn't know what he was doing wrong but for some reason Ali, despite his thorough efforts at courtship, didn't seem interested in extending their friendship to a closer type of relationship which he yearned for so desperately… and yet she readily fell for that Littlefoot guy's cheap pick up lines and his puny build, his annoying, goofy face. Who'd want to be with someone like him anyway? Why didn't Ali see how handsome he truly was?
"If I can't win her that way, I'll have to show her that I'm the better guy around and remove the annoying threat to our love!"Rhett smirked. He'd have to make painfully sure that Ali'd like him. ONLY him. He had to make sure that this Littlefoot guy learned his place very soon. Naturally, sulking about the unfortunate situation didn't get the rock rolling, so to speak, so Rhett began working on a plan as he began to follow the duo in secret.
"I'll pretend to be nice for now but I'll make my move very soon… maybe even today…" A foul smirk worked itself up his facial muscles. Yes, he would put up with these weirdos Ali was friends with, them and their weirdo games, for a while for the sake of his agenda. An annoying necessity. Torn between his determination and annoyance, Rhett continued to follow quietly as his scheme took form…
"Want some berries?"
"Sure!"
Ali smiled as the boy offered her a grape of sweet-sour-tasting blueberries which he had plucked from a berry bush which they had just come to pass by. As the two longnecks wandered through the Great Valley, with the intention to reach the designated meeting place where his unsuspecting friends would be waiting for his arrival, he gave Ali somewhat of a culinary tour, a treestar here, a treesweet there. Ali really enjoyed it. The two young longnecks had been exchanging some news as they travelled through the heart of the valley, talking about their respective adventures, places Ali had been to none of which Littlefoot had ever heard about, Rhett having returned to his old self as soon as they'd left the Valley… However, slowly but surely they were approaching the designated meeting point in a secluded forest at the edge of the valley - but on the very opposite of the main entrance where they had come from. Now, with their bellies rather full and pleased, Littlefoot decided that it was time to introduce Ali to his plan regarding the surprise of her visit.
"We're almost there now, Ali," he announced eventually in a merry spirit. "The others should be unaware of your visit so let's give them a great surprise!"
"Yeah, count me in!" Ali laughed happily. "Can't wait to see them all again, see?"
"And I can't wait to see their faces when they see you!" Littlefoot rejoiced in the mere thought of it. How surprised he had been the other day when he learned about her arrival - and he hadn't even seen her in person when he got the news… His friends would be exposed to the full-fledged surprise! "Let's go!"
It only took them a minute until the forest came into view, the chit-chat of Ducky and Cera reaching their ears. Littlefoot began explaining the details with a subdued voice.
"Keep your head low from now on, hide behind those tall bushes. I'll signal you when it's okay to come out, okay?"
"Okay!" Ali confirmed with a firm, happy nod.
"I'll go greet them now, see you in a moment, Ali!"
"Sure!" Ali tweeted quietly with a happy smile; she could hardly contain her excitement about seeing, talking and playing with everyone again - although being all alone with Littlefoot also had its merits. Trembling with anticipation, the girl hunkered down behind a group of bushes and waited for Littlefoot's signal, listening in on the talk that was unfolding in the clearing in front of her where everyone was gathered.
"Oh, there he is!"
"Yeah, it him!"
"Eeeeeeeeee!"
"Finally!"
Littlefoot's arrival was already greatly anticipated as the not so little forms of Ducky and Petrie came into view, shorty followed by a dosing Spike who perked up upon his arrival and a bored Cera resting on her usual rock perch. Ducky and Petrie immediately came approaching him from the ground and the air, respectively, and Littlefoot greeted them happily. Spike got up from the spot in the grass where the light of the Bright Circle shone through the small leaks on the green foliage above them and licked the longneck across the face as he always did. Cera, meanwhile, remained on her rock, her expression hard to read though Littlefoot sensed a sharp look on him when he wasn't looking.
"Hi guys!" Littlefoot finally announced once he was done reacting to the jolly greeting, chuckling happily.
"Where the hell have you been…" the threehorn interrogated immediately, drawing out each word to put some emphasis on it.
"Yes, why are you so late today, huh?" Ducky asked in a more friendly and polite manner than the threehorn did. Littlefoot smiled at the swimmer. His gaze wandered from Petrie who had taken a perch on his (according to Cera) flat head to Cera and Spike who were eyeing him with resent and sleepy curiosity, respectively.
"I'm sorry for being late but, you see…" His smile grew broader by the second." On my way here I met someone - we had a lot to talk about…" Now even Cera's glare turned into an expression of mild, if subdued, curiosity. With a wink, Littlefoot gestured over to the bushes where Ali was hiding. Upon receiving the signal, there was movement in the vegetation, everyone gasping and even Spike now fully awake and paying attention. Then, the all too familiar face of Ali with her unmistakably blue eyes and her genuine, kind smile broke through the wall of green, soon followed by the long neck and the light-pink coloured body.
"No way…" Cera, surprisingly, was the first to get over the initial response to the sudden newcomer, closing her mouth which had been open agape. "Ali!"
"It is Ali, yes it is, yep yep yep!" Ducky cheered, hopping up and down in celebration once the initial shock had worn off which looked slightly funny considering her growing body.
"Me miss you bunches!" Petrie crowed, immediately switching his perch from one longneck to the other, prompting a giggle from the girl.
"Hello everyone, it's so nice to see you all again!" she called with a friendly, if a little shy, smile. "Sorry for the delay but we took some detours for breakfast."
Now Spike had reached the longneck too, a look of understanding regarding their late-being apparent in his expression. Happily, he gave Ali the same greeting he had given Littlefoot before, licking across Ali's face when the girl lowered her neck, knowing all too well, what the spiketail was about to do.
"It's nice to see you too, Spike," Ali said with another giggle which everyone joined in readily, even Cera whose mood was all bright again. "I see you are still as silent as I remember you."
Spike blushed slightly upon hearing those words, more laughter ringing through the air.
"How have you been, Ali?" Cera interrogated the girl happily. "It's so nice to see you again!"
"I've been okay, I guess," the female longneck replied casually and with some hesitation in her voice. "See, it's just herd life, nothing too exciting really…"
Littlefoot looked at Ali in concern. He could tell that Ali wasn't quite happy about herd life, however he decided not to dwell on it for the time being.
"Did you have some nice adventures, Ali? Huh, did you?" Ducky questioned curiously, looking at the longneck with big eyes.
"Yeah, you see some nice places?" Petrie added, leaning forward so much that he lost his footing and fell from her head.
"Haha!" Ali snickered. "Hmmmm, not really, no. We haven't seen any places nearly as nice as the Great Valley, although one time we got a little too close to a smoking mountain which wasn't smoking until we got there… needless to say, we had to run from heavy ash fall and smoke…"
"We had an encounter with one of those ourselves…" Cera mentioned casually as she thought back. Only at the end of the previous Cold Time, they'd had to rescue Littlefoot's dad from a raging river of flowing fiery rock and Cera was largely to be credited for the success of the rescue.
"Littlefoot already told me on the way, it must have been quite scary…" Ali replied, Cera looking slightly disappointed for a moment.
"It was, it was…" Ducky confirmed.
"Where are Chomper and Ruby by the way? Ali then inquired as she scanned all dinosaurs currently present. Although she hadn't had much of a chance to get to know them in private, she could tell that both of them were decent, even Chomper, a natural enemy of longnecks. "Aren't they with you anymore?"
"Oh, don't worry, they should join us sooner or later." Littlefoot reassured.
"You see, Ali, we are all growing a lot recently so we need more food, yes we do," Ducky explained matter-of-factly, Spike taking a bite out of the bush that Ali had emerged from as if to underline that statement. "Chomper's food is not growing though, oh no, oh no!" A giggle slipped from her beak.
"That little biter's appetite is rivalling Spike's by now, it's almost frightening…" Cera deadpanned.
"I do not need to worry though, do I?" the girl double-checked in slight concern.
"Nah, he still friendly sharptooth," Petrie assured.
"That's great, he and Ruby have been really kind last time!" Ali responded, relieved.
"Yeah." Littlefoot gave her a smile.
"Although if that Rhett guy is still around, I suppose I'd be okay if Chomper chased him around for a while just for a good laugh!" Cera said joking. "Speaking of that bloke, is he still with you, Ali?"
"Well... " the girl hesitated but before she got to speak her mind about the idiotic boy, the bushes she herself had emerged from moments ago suddenly shook violently.
"AH!" Petrie shrieked, fleeing into the nearest tree while Ducky hid underneath an anxious Spike. Littlefoot and Ali exchanged looks of befuddlement and Cera squinted her eyes.
"Show yourself!" she barked, flexing her horns, two of which were just breaking through her forehead. Abruptly, upon her demand, the bushes exploded and a long-necked figure jumped out of it, the group immediately relaxing as the identity of the newcomer became obvious.
"Yo, I'm Rhett!" the beige coloured longneck called as he posed in front of the group. "Remember me?"
"Speak of the bad treestar and it'll end up in your food… How could we possibly forget about you?" Cera deadpanned, clearly a little unamused about his arrival, especially considering that he'd likely eavesdropped on them and, thus, heard her earlier joke as well.
"Rhett, what are you doing here?" Ali deadpanned as well." I thought you didn't want to play with everyone?"
Truth be told, it wasn't the most welcoming greeting but Rhett didn't expect much of it anyway. Grinning, he lied.
"I was just teasing you the other day, Ali, I certainly don't mind hanging around with you guys." The boy's gaze lingered on Littlefoot in particular. "You don't mind, right?"
"Sure, tag along," Littlefoot replied with a slightly awkward smile. While he didn't have any issues with the boy, the way he's always strutted and swaggered around Ali as well as his strange attitude put him off a little. As far as he was concerned, it was nothing personal but Littlefoot just couldn't bring himself to like Rhett.
"Well, prepare to lose against me then, flathead!" Cera sighed before finding back to her usual self and attitude.
"The more the merrier, right Spike?" Ducky giggled, addressing her brother who seemed slightly unamused but nevertheless nodded when Ducky prompted him.
"I don't mind," Ali stated though like Littlefoot she didn't say it without resentments.
"What we play then?" Petrie wondered, pirouetting through the air.
"May I suggest a game?" Rhett immediately piped up, swagging into the loose circle which they formed. That insolent flyer had prompted him excellently; now was the time to carry out the finer details of his plan that he forged up on the way.
"Littleneck, just be patient, I'll make my move soon enough, ha!"
"I don't know about you guys but I could do with a game of Hide and Seek, what'cha think?" Truth be told, Rhett despised the game but it'd offer a pretty neat opportunity to isolate Littlefoot from the others… "I'll be it, okay?" he offered. Being "it" was always unpopular in that game so Rhett offered to take that role voluntarily. Besides… the thought prompted a smirk which he had to subdue quickly. "I'll make sure to find that idiot and give him a piece of my awesome mind!"
"Sure," Littlefoot spoke in behalf of everyone after performing a quick non-verbal survey, the suggestion meeting general approval from the group. "Should the limit be this forest here?" he asked. Searching within the whole valley was like betting on a snowy day during the warm season. The valley was simply too huge for such a game to be worthwhile for both parties…
"Sounds good," Ali approved, the others nodding or giving their approval verbally. The forest was only a couple hundred meters in most directions, large enough to hide well but small enough to give the seeker a legitimate chance.
"50 turns around that big ol' tree, and not a single turn less, got it?" Cera barked at Rhett who returned her scrutinizing stare with odd cheerfulness.
"You got my word, miss," Rhett promised.
"Everyone ready then?" Littlefoot inquired. Upon receiving positive responses from everyone, he yelled. "GO!"
Quickly, everyone scattered away. Unlike Rhett and Ali, they knew this forest quite well. Littlefoot already knew just the place to hide at. With a cheerful laugh, he began running into the general direction until he heard a panting cry behind him.
"Littlefoot, wait!" Ali called as she tried not to lose the boy who was going at a hell of a pace.
"Huh?" Littlefoot slowed his sprint considerably and soon came to a standstill, allowing the girl to reach him. "Want some advice on where to hide, Ali?" he hypothesized in a mildly teasing manner.
The girl caught up quickly, smiling at the purple-grey coloured boy once she'd caught her breath.
"No, not quite," she chuckled happily. After all, she had a great idea up her sleeve. "Littlefoot, let's hide together!"
"Hide together?" the boy wondered. "Wouldn't that just make it easier for Rhett?"
"M-maybe…" Ali admitted, thoughtful for a split-second. "So what, it'll be fun!" the girl encouraged him, however Littlefoot was torn. Principally, he strived to win this game, however Ali's offer was more than tempting as she tried to look as innocent and sweet as she could.
"Well, I dunno…" LIttlefoot sighed. The log that he wanted to hide in should offer enough room for two, however it'd be tempting to talk while hiding which would increase the odds of them giving away their location.
"See Littlefoot, we could talk some more, all alone, with no one bothering us?" Ali reasoned with a wink of her eye. Littlefoot's brain rattled.
"Well…"
"Please…" Ali made a cute, silly gesture but Littlefoot looked away, puzzling. Indignantly, Ali stepped closer and poked his head with her nose playfully. "What's keeping you, let's go!"
"Oh alrighty!" the boy eventually gave in snickering, starting to get on the move again.
"Thank yoooouuuu!" Ali tweeted in a silly manner.
"What was that feeling just now?" Littlefoot pondered as they walked at a fast pace towards the hideout. Just when Ali had poked him, a sudden feeling which he could hardly place had pierced his whole body like a wave and it hadn't been a bad feeling. Even now as the girl was jogging beside him with a happy smile, he could feel it reverberate within him. Since he couldn't figure out what it was, he decided to brush the encounter off as an odd random thing and moved on for now, although he certainly wouldn't forget this feeling. Surely, it felt oddly nice too…
As they passed by trees and more trees, Ali's expression changed into a stern one suddenly. Littlefoot could only guess what spoiled his friend's mood so suddenly, given that the occurrence gave him a slight belly-ache as well.
"Thinking about Rhett there too, aren't you?" he wondered upon seeing her expression waver like that.
"Mhm," the girl nodded. "There is a reason I didn't ask him to come, see…" Ali looked away in a mixture of sadness and shyness. Weren't it the exact feelings that Rhett was expressing towards her so bluntly which she felt deep within herself? Though Rhett wasn't the one those feelings were directed at but rather…
"Yeah, I can see why," Littlefoot frowned, not catching the meaning behind Ali's facial expression.
"See, Rhett hasn't changed at all… he's the same as back then…"
"That's too bad…" Littlefoot commented thoughtfully. "Well, he'll find us in no time if we keep talking like that." Without noticing, they had come to a standstill again, they had to claim their hideout swiftly now. Besides, dwelling on worries and concerns wasn't how he wanted to spend the limited time they had together until it was time for them to depart for another year. "Let's get going!"
Their spirit partly restored, they sprinted the remaining distance until the designated hideout came into view.
"This is such a drag!" Rhett complained as he completed the last few turns around the big tree, slightly dizzy from the monotonous movement. He'd forgotten just how annoying this game truly was, however it was necessary for his scheme to work that he played this game thoroughly. As soon as the slight dizziness fell off him, Rhett inspected the area.
"I have to make sure that I find Littlefoot first!" Otherwise, chances were others would tag along on his search and that would totally spill it! With that objective and thought in mind, the adolescent boy observed his surroundings with care. Luckily, it must have rained in the Valley quite recently, as he soon noticed…
"Everyone left footprints," he noted with a smirk and it didn't take him long to find the ones which belonged to Littlefoot, not a single doubt remaining.
"Found'cha, Littleneck!"
"...in here!"
Littlefoot and Ali had arrived at the designated hideout which Littlefoot had chosen. It was a semi-toppled tree which was hollow on the inside, leaning against a rock, thus its end looking diagonally up at roughly 20 degrees. Upon Littlefoot's request, the girl crawled in, just about small enough to fit in, inching further in for Littlefoot to squeeze his body through the tiny hole as well. In a few months, he'd probably be too big to fit into most logs that could be found around the Valley.
"Rhett is gonna have a hard time discovering us here for sure!" the boy said with a smile.
"Oh yes," Ali agreed. It really was a great hideout, she reckoned, for neither of them was visible from the ground below. Unless Rhett decided to climb the short tree trunk which hadn't toppled over to peek into the rotten log where they were residing now, he'd never catch them! Happily, Ali made herself comfortable, occasionally exchanging a quiet word with Littlefoot. Listening for any signs of Rhett, they waited.
Rhett followed the footprints for a few moments until the ground became less muddy, the trail he was pursuing gradually disappearing into nothing.
"Darn it!" he cursed angrily, stomping his foot in annoyance and anger. In hindsight, mingling with the hiders to pursue Littlefoot might have been the more promising option but he was stuck with this task now thanks to his idiocy so he had to make the best out of it.
"Focus, idiot, focus, he's too dumb not to leave any other hints…" The boy paused for some moments, eyeing the surrounding trees suspiciously. The path the boy had been going so far was rather straight so Rhett could only deduce that he'd already had a hideout in mind, approaching in a straight line. He had no evidence of course but he had to do something. A gamble was a gamble after all; either one wins or the other loses. Rhett was a winner type so he put faith into his actions and began to advance slowly in the same direction he'd been going thus far…
Waiting without a thing to do quickly began to bore Littlefoot, part of the reason why the game was being played and less frequently in recent times, their growing sizes being the other significant factor. Judging by Ali's restlessness, constantly shifting around in the narrow space they had, the girl felt similar resentments, he noted. As Littlefoot pondered about ways to entertain himself at least a little bit, he remembered the questions that had been on his mind while meeting Ali the other day. Maybe now was as good a time as any to voice them, given that there was nothing better to do but to listen to the lone forest breath.
"Say, Ali, can I ask you something?" he spoke up in a subdued voice, not quite a whisper but still quiet enough for his voice not to escape the interior of the log.
"Sure, what's on your mind, Littlefoot?" the girl asked in response. The log was too small to turn around in order to face Littlefoot directly as they talked which was a little awkward.
"Well, you see… about Rhett…" Littlefoot let out a sigh. "I know you're not quite happy about him interfering with our games but you're still together most of the time when you're migrating, right? Are you-are you still close?"
"C-close?" Ali had to stifle a violent chuckle. "No, no we aren't close at all!"
Littlefoot couldn't see the melancholic look on the female longneck's face which soon developed. Ali was still a little annoyed about Rhett's words the other day and she certainly didn't want him to play along with her friends. Ali could tell that boy was up to something - why else would he engage in a game he obviously hated? They all only got to see each other once a year at best and she'd be darned if Rhett ruined that precious time with his annoying way to draw the attention, good or bad, onto him.
"I didn't want to chase him away, I mean, that'd just be rude, wouldn't it? At least he deserves a chance to get along… but…"
"He doesn't want either of your friendship, quite the opposite I believe…" Ali said darkly. "See, he's said some mean stuff about you the other day, it still bothers me. He only wants to hang around me; see, Littlefoot, we are the only children in our age group so...naturally… we hang around each other a lot… but…"
"But Rhett is an idiot," Littlefoot concluded, seeing Ali nod in front of him.
"Yeah, he really is…" The melancholy only grew stronger as the conversation progressed. It truly was depressing- the only dinosaur her age was an idiot and her choice was basically to put up with the idiocy for the sake of having some company at least or to spend her days all alone in utter boredom, only her mother accompanying her but what fun was that? Neither were pleasant options and the thought dragged her down a lot.
"That sucks, I'm sorry about that," Littlefoot spoke softly ,pondering about how he could aid his friend. Surely, life in her herd sounded less than pleasant in the bigger picture.
"You know, I'm really tired of it, of my herd, of migrating, of Rhett… and…" she hesitated, wishing she could look Littlefoot in the eye as she said these words. "I wish I didn't have to be apart from you - from everyone, all this time…" Ali let out a profound sigh. "See, I wish I could live with you guys… here… in the Great Valley…"
"That'd be amazing!" Littlefoot blurted out, the funny feeling from earlier making a little comeback, before realizing that they were in the middle of a game where stealth was the key to victory. "I mean, I'd love to play with you every day, Ali," he explained, back to the subdued voice both had been using to converse thus far. Ali couldn't see his genuine smile - he had no idea why he was suddenly so cheerful, but Ali could certainly feel the meaning reverberating through his speech. She'd thought about it many times in recent weeks and now she felt ever so confident about these lingering desires. Just at that moment, Ali decided to bring it up to her mother later.
"Anyway, let's better be quiet now just in case I accidently alerted Rhett earlier…" Littlefoot proposed, slightly guilty. Ali chuckled, her mood improving again. This truly wasn't the time to be feeling down and worry. That time could come later after playing…
Rhett kept on walking through the forest for a few minutes, looking out for signs of torn vegetation and more footsteps. Every now and then, there were a few hints, trampled weeds and ferns giving him reason to believe that he was on the right track.
"...AMAZING!" Rhett suddenly perked up when he caught a whim of a distant voice, faint but unmistakingly Littlefoot's. A smirk ran up his features.
"Found'cha!"
Littlefoot and Ali remained crouched into the log, waiting quietly. The outside world seemed to be suspiciously quiet - was Rhett even looking for them or had he decided to ditch them? Surely, such an act of trolling would seem like something he'd do, Littlefoot reckoned, but just then he heard something that made his doubt fly away rapidly. Suddenly, a voice spoke up out of nowhere, and it seemed to be rather close to their position…
"I know you're here, Littlefoot…"
"Crap, he must have heard me!" Littlefoot cursed as Rhett's characteristic sneering voice rang through the air. Their bodies obviously couldn't be seen from the outside, however the best hideout was also the most obvious one. Surely, a skilled seeker would have that in mind…
"Let me look!" Ali hissed quietly, carefully crawling closer to the opening of the log. Judging by the sounds of rattling grass and leaves, someone was approaching their position; Rhett was approaching their position, probably well aware of his presence but not of his exact location. Soon, the boy stood directly below them.
"I know you are here," he declared with a sneering voice. "Just give up already!"
Littlefoot held his breath. Would Rhett realize that they were hiding in the log? Would he climb up the fallen tree trunk to peek inside? Or would he move on eventually? And what was Ali up to? She'd moved to the outer edge of the log, apparently amused about something. Rhett was standing directly below her, brooding hard. Had he missed something crucial during observation?
*creak*
Ali held her breath as the wood underneath her feet audibly reacted to her weight as she was shifting it. Had Rhett noticed? If she inched a little further, he would be able to see her from his current position if he looked up but then Ali could also see him and rejoice in the rare occasion to tease him.
Rhett whirled around but did not consider to look above. Amused, Ali inched forward just a little bit…
*crack*
Littlefoot had a sudden deja-vu when the old wood broke under Ali's weight. The girl fell to the ground with a panicked yelp which was met by a surprised scream of Rhett who leapt away fearfully. With a resounding thud, Ali crashed onto the floor right behind Rhett - thankfully it was covered in grass and fallen leaves which caught the worst of it. Rhett jolted away in panic until he heard Ali's hysterical laughter.
"You…" Rhett cursed. Hadn't he expected to meet Littlefoot here? Now his plan was ruined beyond help! "Found you, Ali…"
"Ali, are you okay?!" Littlefoot had climbed back out of the log, knowing that, with Ali being found out, his position was obvious too. The fall hadn't been too big but still he wanted to check if the girl was alright.
"Found you…" Rhett said sourly when he saw him. Upon seeing Ali cry with laughter, Littlefoot relaxed immediately. Someone laughing like that surely couldn't be hurt.
"Let's find the others!" Littlefoot prompted with a forced smile as he reached the fellow longneck, the fact that it was Rhett he was talking to having a bigger role than the disappointment about being found.
"Yea…" Rhett muttered through gritted teeth, his facial expression twitching as he watched Littlefoot helping Ali back to her feet. This hadn't gone according to plan at all. Rhett was already bothered greatly by having to put up with the silly game and now it wasn't even going in his favor. He'd love to agree to another round now - with this round ruined, he'd need a second chance. Ali would be the seeker in the next one…
"At least they can't hide together then!" A look of triumph flashed across his face just briefly. "If I can tail Littlefoot as part of the hider team, maybe it'll work after all… better get these two to help me find the others quick…" As annoying as asking for the help of his self-declared enemy was, now was not the time to keep one's pride. Finding that dumbass alone failed but by following him secretly and cornering him during the next game, he would still achieve his goal. Yes, he wouldn't give up so readily…
Half an hour later, Rhett, grudgingly accepting the assistance of the two fellow longnecks for his own sake, had discovered everyone and they all returned to the meeting place where Chomper and Ruby were already waiting for them.
"Hi guys!" Chomper waved as the group came into view, a smirk creeping up his features when Rhett momentarily appeared to be scared.
"Hello my friends, my friends hello!" Ruby tweeted, regarding Ali with a particularly kind smile.
"You already knew about them, huh?" Littlefoot analyzed as he caught up to them, their absolute lack of surprise upon seeing Ali and Rhett indicating strongly that they must have heard about the newcomers already.
"Eeyup!" Chomper confirmed. "Stumbled upon old Thicknose who told me not to be too obvious while they're here." A chuckle went through the ranks.
"What were you doing before we arrived?" Ruby wondered with youthlike curiosity despite being older than everyone and slowly shrinking in comparison to their rapidly growing bodies.
"We play Hide n' Seek, ehehehe," Petrie responded merrily - he had won the game, being the last to be found.
"Yep, yep, yep! And Ali is "it" this time!" Ducky added with a smile.
"And even Rhett is playing," Cera deadpanned, looking at Chomper with a smirk. "Too bad you missed the first round, Chomper, Rhett was seeking…"
"Y-yes, I-I'm playing!" Rhett declared more nervously than he meant to let on, avoiding Chomper's smirking glance resting on him.
"Everyone ready to start?" Ali asked with a kind smile. "Upon receiving everybody's "okay", the girl began circling the tree while everyone was running away…
Rhett immediately went after Littlefoot without the other longneck knowing, keeping about a stone's throw behind and acting quietly, staying low when not covered by vegetation. They were heading towards the part of the forest that bordered the great wall of the valley.
After a few minutes, Littlefoot entered a formation of rocks and slid through a narrow opening. Rhett smirked. Nobody had gone in their general direction as far as he could tell so he could talk relatively freely. Even in the worst case, it'd take Ali a few minutes to get by. Besides…
"That dumbass is cornered in there, he'll regret choosing such a hideout very soon…" Finally, his efforts would pay off. His spirits high and his mood great, the beige-coloured longneck closed the remaining distance, striding closer until he barged into the hideout at once…
This chapter has mostly been building up towards the second one where stuff is gonna happen as you might be able to tell by now. Rhett is trying to sabotage the games of the gang for his own, selfish reasons - or maybe because he is just a douche. xD Either way, he's up to no good and I sincerely hope that you'll hate him even more after you've read the 2nd chapter :P
PS: Responses to reviews at the end of chapter 2, just a heads up :)