Hi, everyone. I know that my last update was in August, and I apologize for the long wait. I hope I haven't lost you guys! I've gotten a lot of writing (specifically for this story) done, and I hope that I can get the next few chapters posted soon...hopefully. Anyway, this chapter focuses on Amelia and Tristan's, and Molly's journey to the valley. I hope you guys enjoy it and have a great week!

The bright circle, high in the sky, was shining brightly on the already dry land, making it even more dry. There was no green food in sight, and the once grassy land had turned to dirt. The water was no longer refreshing. It was warm and somewhat lumpy, muddled with filth.

When the night circle rose however, it seemed to cool down slightly. A small group of rainbow faces had slept the entire day, in spite of how uncomfortably hot it was, choosing to travel at night.

Amelia awoke to the sound of chirping, and a gentle breeze caressing her face. Her eyes slowly fluttered open, glimmering in the cool but dim light. She glanced over to see Tristan still sleeping peacefully, and nudged him in the side. "Tristan," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Wake up. We need to get moving."

"Too early," Tristan mumbled drowsily.

Amelia usually did not put up with his laziness, but due to the extreme heat, she had an especially low tolerance. She stood up, and kicked him in the side. "We've been sleeping all day, now get up."

Tristan let out a groan, shifting his eyes over to his daughters, who were slumbering peacefully beside him. "Miriam, Mackenzie." He gently nudged them awake, rising to his feet. "It's night. We have to continue walking."

With great difficulty, Miriam and Mackenzie managed to rise as well. They were in no way used to this, as they more routinely awoke in the morning rather than the night. They, along with Gabriel and Adam, were rather lethargic due to the change. Soon enough however, the group of rainbow faces was on the move once again.

Molly, Amelia, and Tristan remained at the front. They led the way, constantly sniffing the air for anything of any significance, whether it was danger or food. Miriam trudged close behind everyone else, struggling to keep up. Her legs were weak, and she tired quickly.

Adam turned around, his icy blue eyes, with a hint of gray, widening a tad. He came to a halt, choosing to wait until Miriam caught up. As soon as she had, he resumed walking, although he made sure not to pass her. "Are you tired?"

"I'm afraid so," Miriam replied, nearly breathless. "I get tired easily. It's normal for me."

Adam looked at her, slightly concerned. "Shouldn't you tell your parents?"

Miriam offered a polite shake of her head. "I don't need to bother them. Besides, there's not much they can do. We have no choice but to walk, and I'm sure I can handle this much at least."

Adam was highly skeptical, but he couldn't deny that no one knew Miriam's body better than Miriam herself. The most he could do was offer his support. "Alright, if you insist…" he momentarily averted his gaze. "But if it gets really bad, you can just lean on me. Okay?"

Miriam smiled gratefully, glad that she had such a reliable friend.

Meanwhile, the immense heat was making Mackenzie increasingly snappish. "This is stupid and unnecessary," she grumbled to Gabriel. "It makes no sense to only travel at night."

"There's a reason for this," interfered Tristan, glancing at Mackenzie from the corner of his eye. "It's cooler at night, which makes it easier to travel. That's why we've been sleeping during the day."

Mackenzie scoffed. "I'd much rather have a sharptooth just kill me right now."

Her words earned a concerned glare from everyone, especially Amelia and Tristan.

"Mackenzie!" Amelia was scolding her, but there was worry in her voice. "Please, don't say such a thing."

Gabriel wanted to express his concern for Mackenzie's self destructive tendencies, as he was genuinely worried about her, but had not quite yet recovered from recent events. "It's alright," he said flatly, feeling numb and detached. "I feel the same."

Mackenzie looked at the other rainbow face, her expression softening. She hadn't been looking for sympathy or kind words. She had simply been hoping for someone to understand what she was going through, and to reassure her that she wasn't alone. She gave Gabriel a crooked smile which appeared rather awkward, but in an endearing sort of way.

As the night dragged on, Miriam urged herself to continue moving forward without any grievances. "The bright circle will rise again soon," she constantly reminded herself. Unsurprisingly, the pain eventually became too much. She sat down on the ground, finally heeding her body's request to take a breather.

"Miriam?" Adam managed to keep the alarm out of his voice for Miriam's sake, as he was well aware that she wouldn't want a large fuss to be made over her condition. But somehow, Amelia and Tristan managed to sense that something was amiss.

Tristan sauntered over, a firm expression of stern worry on his face. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," insisted Miriam, massaging her aching limbs. Everyone had stopped to pay attention to her, which was the exact opposite of what she wanted. "My legs were hurting a bit, that's all."

Tristan lowered his head, examining her closely. In the pale illumination of the night circle, her face seemed flushed, with a hint of a sickly pallor. "You should have told me," he scolded. "Perhaps we should stop for the night."

"What?" Miriam looked up, her eyes pleading for her father to reconsider. "No, we don't need to! I said it was nothing!"

"It isn't nothing if it hurts so bad that you have to sit down," retorted Tristan, who looked to Amelia for help in coaxing their daughter.

Amelia had been standing next to Tristan moments before taking a step forward. "It's fine dear," she assured in her gentle and loving way. "Listen to me. We all care about you and your wellbeing, and if it's too much for you, we'll take a break."

"Certainly," agreed Molly. "Michael often told me that having others to help you through your pain is better than dealing with it alone. We don't mind having to stop. Besides, I'm sure we'd all like to sleep when it's cool for once. Don't you?"

Miriam felt as if she had been put on the spot. Everyone was bombarding her with questions, and it quickly became overwhelming. She eventually gave in due to the pressure.

They didn't bother returning to their original spot, and simply fell asleep where they had been standing. Miriam ambled over to Mackenzie, throwing herself onto the ground. "I hate this," she muttered.

Mackenzie didn't respond, but opened one eye and gave a slight smile before falling asleep.

The breeze passed through the cool nighttime air, sending small shivers coursing throughout Tristan's body. He turned, taking up more room than necessary, and leaving Amelia little room to turn around. Amelia was a light sleeper, which did not clash well with Tristan being near impossible to rouse.

"Tristan," she whispered, gently nudging him in the side. "Move over. I hardly have any room."

Tristan refused to budge, and as if that wasn't enough, he began talking in his sleep.

"Okay, you need to go to sleep now, Amelia."

Amelia looked at him strangely, before realizing that he was asleep. "I am, sweetie," she replied as sweetly as she could. "I'm trying."

"It's time to sleep, okay?" His voice was somewhat angrier.

"…Yes, I'm going to sleep. I've been trying to sleep."

"No more talking, it's time to go to sleep."

"Alright…"

Tristan began snoring lightly, and turned the other way, finally giving Amelia some well deserved space. As she tried to fall back asleep, something roaming about in the dark caught her eye. In the break of dawn, she could see two sharpteeth poised to stalk their prey. As the two predators sniffed the air, they caught wind of the rainbow faces. They softly grunted to each other, nodding.

Amelia lightly nudged Tristan in the shoulder. "Tristan, wake up."

"Leave me alone," he groaned.

"Tristan! Get up."

"What do you want.."

Running out of time and patience, Amelia kicked her mate in the thigh. "Wake up, there's sharpteeth nearby."

"What? Where?" Tristan instantly came out of his slumber, frantically searching the barren landscape.

Amelia shushed him, bringing a finger over her mouth. "Could you be any louder? Look in front of you."

Tristan looked forward, his eyes widening. Sure enough, there were two sharpteeth wandering around the open desert.

"I'll go wake everyone up," said Amelia, slowly rising to her feet to avoid drawing attention towards herself. "Just stay low, and don't make any sudden movements." She tiptoed across the sand, gently nudging Molly awake.

"Molly. There's sharpteeth nearby. We have to go."

"Mm…what?"

"Sharpteeth. They're close. Wake up Gabriel and Adam and quietly follow Tristan."

"Sharpteeth?" Molly repeated, the remnants of her unconsciousness having faded away, allowing her to awaken.

"Yes. Now hurry."

Amelia went over to her daughters to rouse them as well. "Mackenzie, Miriam. Get up."

Mackenzie let out a loud groan. "Mom, it's early.."

"Shhh!" Amelia looked up to see the two sharpteeth charging towards her, adrenaline quickly taking over. She roughly nudged Miriam and Mackenzie to their feet, trying to get them as far away as possible. As they slowly came to, Amelia continued to push them away. "Go! Go!"

The sharpteeth sounded their warning roars, creating clouds of dust behind them as they ran.

Miriam and Mackenzie were now fully awake, and followed the others in an attempt to flee. Tristan came loping back for his mate. "Amelia, come on."

"Run," she commanded as the sharpteeth surrounded her. "I'll hold them off for a bit and then I'll join you."

Tristan stared at her helplessly, reluctant to leave her to fend for herself.

Amelia gave him a reassuring smile, although her own eyes were filled with uncertainty. "I'll be fine. Just go."

Tristan hesitantly ran off, leaving Amelia to deal with the predators. He could hear the roars and the tearing of flesh, and he instantly regretted his choice to obey his wife.

As the rainbow faces ran for their lives, Mackenzie asked what everyone was thinking. "Where's mom?"

"Saving our tails," Tristan replied. "We have to get as far away as we can."

The two sharpteeth, as Amelia found out, were not fully grown. They were young, and not big enough to pose as much of a threat as the adults. Still, their claws and teeth could deliver a nasty blow.

Amelia blew off their advances by ramming herself into them, but it wasn't something she could keep up for long, especially with two of them. Eventually, she began to tire. The sharpteeth clawed her, leaving deep, red gashes.

As a warm sensation surrounded her, Amelia thought for sure this was how her life would end. But she remembered, she had a mate, and children, who just couldn't do without her. She pushed all her weight onto the sharpteeth, knocking them over with one powerful blow. While they were stunned and still recovering, the female rainbow face took the opportunity to flee.

As she limped to try and catch up with her family, she called out. "Tristan! Tristan!"

Her cries reached Tristan, who turned to see a dinosaur ambling slowly towards him. He rushed to her side, followed by his daughters.

"Amelia!" He eyed her closely, allowing her to lean on him. He took notice of the gashes on her thigh, three claw marks in two different spots. The skin around the wounds was becoming red and puffy. "Amelia...you're hurt."

"I noticed," she replied with her usual spunk.

"Here, just lean on me, okay?" Tristan felt that he managed to hide his concern quite effectively, but when it came to his family, his worry was always evident in his voice and the way he acted, and by his reprimands. "…There was no need for you to do something so stupid, though."

"Mom!" Miriam and Mackenzie came loping over to their parents, with Molly and her kids watching from nearby.

Miriam was the first to speak up. "Mom, are you okay?"

"What are you doing here? I was trying to give you guys the chance to run away!" Amusingly enough, Amelia was now the one with minimal patience.

"Take it easy," encouraged Tristan. "We were all just worried."

Molly then approached her friend, surprisingly calm. "Still putting yourself in danger for Tristan? You haven't changed a bit."

"Molly," growled Tristan, gritting his teeth. "Now is not the time."

Amelia chuckled, looking up at Tristan. "She's right, though. I've always gotta come in and save you. You're not all that tough."

Tristan looked as if Amelia had just broken his heart. "I am!" He looked to his daughters for confirmation. "Girls, I'm tough, aren't I?"

"You look tough," mumbled Mackenzie, earning a snicker from Gabriel.

"If it helps you sleep at night," began Miriam, who wanted to join in on the fun, "sure, dad."

"It's alright, dear." Amelia nuzzled the crook of his neck. "You're tough enough for me."

Tristan smiled, the first genuine smile he allowed himself since the horrid events that drove them to move in the first place.

Not too far away, a flyer was gazing at the remnants of her old home. The tremors of the earth, sky water, and various other forces, had reduced it to a pathetic wasteland where only death was welcome. The lame flyer was crouched down in front of a large, decaying carcass of some larger dinosaur, her hands folded close to her chest. She was a pale yellow, with a slender body and eyes the color of dry tree stars, under which she had dark circles due to a lack of sleep, brought on by horrific and recurrent sleep stories.

"Oh, Randy…I'm so sorry." Her voice was meek and gentle, almost as if she were whispering. "I should've been a better sister. I should have done something…" A single tear rolled down her cheek, falling onto the dirt, evaporating almost instantly.

Above her was a group of flyers, watching her every move. She knew she wasn't alone, and promptly took off. The leader of the predatory flyers let out a screech, swooping downwards. The rest of the flyers briefly followed suit, engaging in a high speed chase. When she heard the screech behind her, she found herself being pursued by flyers much bigger than her. She quickly picked up speed.

The flyers did the same, following her as she made sharp turns around the jagged edges of the cliffs, and as she zoomed right through a herd of grazing longnecks. The chase went all the way to the open desert, where the small female flyer spotted an opportunity. A group of rainbow faces was wandering across the barren land, and a large rainbow face with a thigh wound would help buy her time. She swooped under the injured dinosaur, able to make sharper turns than those pursuing her. However, the rainbow face ended up helping her more than expected.

When the sharptooth flyers came into view, the rainbow face whacked the one closest to her away with her tail, sending it flying into the others. A collision took place, and the group was dazed for a moment. They recovered fast, but at her size, the rainbow face was simply too big to be threatened by them. Defeated, they took to the sky and fled.

Tristan looked towards the sky, watching until the flyers were out of sight. "Good riddance," he griped. "Don't they have anything better to do?"

Amelia glanced behind her, making sure they were gone for good. Then, she scoffed. "Amateurs."

Just then, the flyer came out of hiding. She kept her hands close to her chest, looking down and refusing to make eye contact. "Thank you for saving me…a little while more and I would have been dead meat."

Amelia offered a kind smile, turning to face the flyer. "It's nothing, really. Trust me, all you need to do to get rid of flyers like those is hide behind a really big dinosaur."

The flyer smiled her most convincing smile, although it vanished when she noticed the claw marks on the other's thigh. "Oh my…what happened?"

"Hm?" Amelia briefly glimpsed at her wound. "Oh, I was fending off some sharpteeth. They think they're so tough."

"You need to clean that. It could get infected."

"We would," intervened Tristan. "But there's no water anywhere near us."

"There's some water out towards the west. I can show you, if you'd like."

"Water?" Repeated Amelia. "We could all use some water. For sure."

So, the flyer led them towards the designated area. There wasn't too much water, but it was fresh. There was some shade, which gave everyone a moment to cool down.

"Here, sit down," the flyer urged Amelia.

Amelia did as told, and watched as the flyer grabbed some leaves from the trees and soaked them in water. Then, she pressed the leaves against the wounds. Amelia winced, but soon relaxed.

"So, what's your name?"

"Kyra," the flyer responded, smiling sweetly. "And what's yours…?"

"Amelia. Standing right next to me is my husband Tristan, and the two girls over there are my daughters, Mackenzie and Miriam. And that's Molly and her boys, Adam and Gabriel."

"I don't think I'll be able to remember that," remarked Kyra. "But it's nice to meet all of you."

"…You seem to know a lot about healing," Tristan commented after a brief silence.

"Oh," said Kyra. "I do know a lot…but it's not something I want to take up. I like to sing."

Tristan nodded, watching as Kyra finished cleaning the wound. "Uh, I'm sorry if this seems a bit sudden, but…would you like to travel with us? We could use someone like you."

"That depends. Are you going to the Great Valley as well?"

Amelia and Tristan both nodded.

"Then I'd love to accompany you," said Kyra, accepting the offer. "I could use the protection."

Amelia turned around to look at the young ones, who were sipping as much water as they could. "Kids, what do you think? Is it okay if Kyra comes with us? And Molly, what about you?"

They were all fairly indifferent, although no one directly opposed the idea. So, it was settled. Kyra would join them on their journey and give whatever knowledge she had to offer, and the rainbow faces would offer their protection.

"We'll rest here," announced Tristan. "We'll start moving again when the night circle is high in the sky." He then looked at Amelia, giving her a knowing smile.

Amelia took a moment to reciprocate, but eventually did so. Despite how they bickered, they always came to depend on each other, and that was what was important. Their dependence on each other. And in time, they would come to depend on Kyra as well.