Littlefoot shifted uneasily,it had been a week since he first met Nahla and he hadn't really seen his other friends during that time. He knew Nahla was not keen on meeting them but...really Nahla's wishes didn't control his life..and he could be friends with all with them..couldn't he? He stood up and paced back and forth,he really should go meet with the others for a bit,but what if Ahote got mad at him for ditching Nahla?
"Problem,young one?" a voice came from behind him,Ahote looked down on him.
"I..want to go see my other friends...but Nahla doesn't want to see them for some reason,so I can't hang out with Nahla and see them at the same time..." Littlefoot explained after recovering from his surprise at Ahote's sudden appearance.
"Go see your friends,you don't need to stay by Nahla's side every second of the day besides her mother isn't letting her out today anyway"
"Why?' Littlefoot asked concerned
"Tummy sickness,when will kids learn...Nahla had one tree sweet too many and now has an ache. But it seems thats how you kids seem to learn your lessons" Ahote snorted with amusement..kids these days..honestly..
"Will she okay?"
"Oh she'll be fine,it just her mother just wants to keep an eye on her" Ahote reassured "Go see to your other friends,then you need to start preparing your mission,the tribe has been contacted in advance and they wait you and Nahla's arrival and the return of your families"
Littlefoot nodded his head "I still haven't told my parents though..."
"You need to Littlefoot,you promised Nahla you would" Ahote said sharply tapping the younger on the head with his tail.
"I know..it just...I'm not sure how I'll explain it to them"
Ahote sighed "Just do what feels right,you need to tell them Littlefoot one way or another"
"I know...I will...tonight..." Littlefoot vowed,
"Good,now go have some fun" Ahote smiled nodding with his head towards the center of the valley,compared to Teetonka,Ahote was downright easygoing he knew kids needed to just have fun.
"Ok,Ahote" Littlefoot smiled and took off to look for his other friends glad Ahote would not get mad at him it. "Poor,Nahla..." he said quietly under his breath knowing she won't be feeling very well at all "Poor poor Nahla..."
Poor me
Nahla was laying on her side groaning,her idea of seeing how many treesweets she could eat in a set time turned out to be not such a good idea after all.
"I told you" Tara said for the thousandth time.
Nahla groaned at that "It seemed like a good idea at the time..."
Tara chuckled and nuzzled her sister "I am sure it was,but now you know better don't you?"
The pink girl opened one of her eyes to look at Tara "You know you don't need to keep rubbing it in" she frowned opening the other eye,she met her sister with a stare.
"Sorry" the older of the two sisters said quickly,she could see the annoyance in her sisters eyes. The eyes were another thing she and Nahla did NOT have in common,while Tara had the pale green,Nahla just had normal blue,it was hard to believe these two were related at all when it came to looks. But they were.
"It's fine" Nahla murmured "Just don't do it again,it really annoying cause you sound like some boring old grown up when you do that"
"Boring old grown ups,aye?'
Nahla jumped as her mother stood over her "Hi,mum..."
"What was that about boring old grownups?" Nani questioned looking her daughter square in the eyes.
"Oh nothing..." Nahla smiled innocently.
Nani shook her head with a small smile,what a child she had "Feeling any better?' she asked referring to Nahla's stomach "If not I can get you more of those flowers..."
Nahla shuddered at the thought of those flowers,they looked tasty but if you tried to eat them it tasted like you were eating tree bark covered in sea water,however they were highly effective in getting rid of stomach pains. Nahla gulped "I'm fine..I don't need any more of those flowers"
"Of course" Nani chuckled "Everyone seems to be magically better after eating the flowers just once"
"Yep,they are a real magical cure" Nahla smiled "Must be their taste that does it"
"Must be" Nani chuckled "As everyone doesn't need them again after having them once"
"Mum?" Nahla asked suddenly after the family went silent for a minute.
"Yes?' Nani asked softly.
"I think we need to go to the Mountains soon...Teetonka been telling me to be prepared to leave any time now" she sighed.
"Well when it's time to go...we'll go. I'm just wondering though...does Littlefoot's family know yet? Jenna hasn't really mentioned anything about it...and no doubt if both our families are in it she would want to talk about it"
"I don't think he has told them.." Nahla grumbled "If he doesn't tell them soon I'm going to slap him so hard he'll just fly all the way to the Mountains".
"Well that would be one day to do it" Nani chuckled "No I fail to see Teetonka approving of that method" she added causing Tara to laugh now.
"No..we have to go there the old fashion way" Nahla replied "Why can't longnecks fly?"
"Gravity?" Tara suggested
"I hate it when you use logic..." Nahla mumbled
Littlefoot was laying around while Cera argued with Pertie, over something that happened days ago,why Cera still hadn't let it go seemed to not only confuse Littlefoot,but all the others was trying to be the voice of reason but failing. Littlefoot would of stepped in but he was too lost in his thoughts,how should would he have to leave? And there was the fact he still hadn't told..
"Earth to Littlefoot"
Cera's voice made the longneck jump,he hadn't realized his friends were trying to speak to him "Huh?"
Cera frowned "Have you even been listening?"
"Of course..you and Petrie were arguing over..something"
"We stopped that,we been trying to ask you if you wanted to go play in the watering hole for the past five minutes"
"Oh right...sorry..sure I'll love to" Littlefoot said standing up.
Cera frowned 'It's like you don't even care about us,I bet you'll much rather be hanging with whats-her-name"
"Her name is Nahla,not whats-her name,silly Cera how could you get that confused? They sound nothing alike!" Ducky giggled.
"Oh brother..." Cera mumbled "Ok,sorry Nahla. Bet you'll rather hang with Nahla after all she is another longneck therefore she is more important".
"Thats not true,Cera" Littlefoot snapped back "I am friends with you guys too,you mean the same to me as Nahla I don't favour her over you's"
"Then how come you spend so much time around her?!" Cera's blood was up,she hated the thought she was second rate to a longneck,not that she was but the gang had learn Cera believes what Cera wants to believe.
"Because...she is my best friend..." wrong words
"BEST FRIEND?!" Cera yelled "SEE?! YOU ARE FAVOURING HER!"
"NO I'M NOT!" Littlefoot shouted before taking a deep breath "You are all my best friends it is just,Nahla IS another longneck..you guys aren't. My mother calls it natural herd instinct,every creature wants to be with it's other kind,it's how we keep safe by building a trusting bond with our own kind" he glanced at them "I know,theres no real danger in the valley but instinct is still instinct".
"Yeah yeah yeah.." Cera grumbled but starting to cool down..somewhat anyway "Why doesn't the perfect princess Nahla ever come and see us though? Ain't we good enough for her?"
"She..doesn't want to meet someone who is not a longneck.." Littlefoot said quietly "Not sure why..she ain't shy or anything..she is far from shy when you get to know her"
"Oh I get it-she is a snob. Anyone out of her social circle aka not a longneck isn't worth bothering with'
"That is not true,stop judging her when you don't even know her!" Littlefoot fond himself defending the longneck in question,he wasn't trying to cause a fight he just did not want rumours about Nahla to start..if only they got to know her.
"How can I know her when she won't even come meet me!" Cera shot back
Ducky,Petrie and Spike sat quietly,their eyes flicking from the longneck to the treehorn and back again as they spoke,none of them dared to speak up.
"Meet her then!" Littlefoot said without thinking "I'll bring her right here tomorrow to meet all of you,then you can see your judgement was wrong!"
"Fine then,bring her here. I look forward to meeting your 'best friend'"
Littlefoot snarled"Fine,we'll both be here this time tomorrow. Don't keep us waiting" he began to walk off to tell Nahla what he was planning,then he realized just WHAT he was planning "Oh..Nahla is going to kill me..." he whispered.
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"
Littlefoot was pinned down by a very angry Nahla "So..you don't like the idea?' he chuckled softly,man this girl lost her temper quick he knew she would be a bit angry at he made plans for her without asking but this was insane.
"DOES IT LOOK LIKE I LIKE IT?!" the girl screamed "How could you do that?!" when Littlefoot told her he made plans for something for her to do tomorrow she was not expecting what he told her.
"Nahla..calm down..." Littlefoot wheezed as Nahla pressed him harder "Or at least..get..off me so I can breath"
"I WILL NOT CALM DOWN!" Nahla screamed but let him up glared at him-how dare he do that to her?
Littlefoot instantly sucked in air "Oh my life flashed before my eyes..." he glanced over to the fuming female "Nahla,calm down" he repeated softly "It's not like I signed you up to be sacrificed to sharpteeth as part of some creepy anicent ritural" he joked.
Nahla just growled at him for that "Not funny" she snapped.
"All I want you to do is come meet my other friends" Littlefoot said patting her on the back with his tail in attempt to calm her before she really did kill him "Just for a few minutes,please Nahla...for me..."
The girl took a deep breath trying to regain control of her anger "Why do I want to be a swimmer,spike-tail,flyer and threehorn for? What on earth is the point in that?"
"To be friendly" her friend replied "Come on,Nahla you can't keep locking yourself away from the real world forever" Littlefoot sighed "And I don't want Cera to be right about you..about the horrible things she called you"
"What did she call me?!" Nahla's fury was starting to rise again.
Oops... Littlefoot gulped "Well..she said...umm..." he gulped again seeing Nahla's blue eyes alive with fury..why does he do this to himself? "She said you were a snob and anyone who is not a longneck you look down on..."
"THATS NOT TRUE! I do not look down on others that are not longnecks"
"Then show her,Nahla or she'll just spread rumours about you" Littlefoot said quietly...he just hoped Nahla wouldn't go yapping to Cera about what he told her she said about Nahla...or CERA would kill him.
Nahla glared at him "Fine I'll meet them,just to show that stupid threehorn not to make up facts about me-I'll show her"
"Oh yeah-you're not allowed to kill her" Littlefoot added with a chuckle.
"Fine" Nahla seemed to be disappointed but soon started laughing "Ok,Mr you win I'll go meet your friends but I'm not promising I'll like them"
'I'm not expecting you too,I just want you too try,thats all I ask Nahla is that you try"
"I promise..." Nahla smiled at him "But if any of them dare to mess with me I'll rip their heads off"
"Don't ever change,Nahla" Littlefoot laughed in response.
The next day Nahla was staring at Cera,an unamused look on her face.
"So..." Cera broke the silence "You're the famous Nahla..you were not what I was expecting to be honest"
"And just what were you expecting?" Nahla snapped causing Littlefoot to shove her in the side.
"Well,Littlefoot did say you were friendly...but in reality you are a sarcastic loudmouth" Cera said with a smirk
"WHY YOU!" Nahla shouted and got ready to charge,howver Littlefoot got in front of her.
"Nahla..calm down.." he whispered "By acting that way you're showing them you are NOT friendly,just act the way you do when you hang out with me"
Nahla took a deep breath "Fine" she grumbled and forced a smile on her face "Why,Cera do not judge me in such a manner. I am friendly but only to those friendly to me"
"Right..."Cera mumbled "Though I'm having trouble being friendly with you,first you did when you saw me was yell at me for calling you a snob"
"Well you did! Littlefoot said you did and he would NEVER lie to me"
"LITTLEFOOT! Why did you tell her that?! Now she won't stop throwing a hissy fit at me!"
"Oh I'm throwing the hissy fit?!"
"Shut up,flat head!"
"You shut up,one-horn!'
"BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP!" Littlefoot's voice shouted over both of them an angered look on his face "Both of you shut up" he repeated more quietly "You're both acting like selfish little girls-stop it you're both better then this"
"Well I'm better-not sure about her" Nahla commented nodding towards Cera
"Nahla be quiet" Littlefoot commented covering her mouth with his tail before turning to Cera "How about the both you calm down and try again? Start this whole thing over and pretend you never met before? A fresh start"
"No thanks..she'll still be the same no matter how many times we reset" Cera commented-this longneck was so annoying,who did she think she was?
"Forget this-I'M DONE" Nahla snapped pulling away "I have better things to do then agrue with the hot headed one-horn"
"Thats THREE-horn dim brain"
"Then how come you only have one horn?" Nahla sneered.
"Because the other two are still growing" the yellow threehorn defended herself "Did your mother drop you on the head so you can't figure out the most basic logic?"
"Still growing? Taking a while isn't it? ONE-HORN!"
Littlefoot sighed "Girls..." he muttered,why did girls have to be so difficult to figure out? Why did they have to argue? Girls were very strange creatures indeed,just Littlefoot's luck he was stuck in the middle of some girly fight. No matter which side he took he'll end up looking like the 'bad guy' to the other. He turned to face Nahla and Cera who were throwing insults back and forth "Least their fighting isn't physical" he commented to himself "That would end badly..." he began to walk away but stopped to talk to the girls behind him "I'm going for a walk,and when I come back I want you do have stopped fighting and being kind to each other" he stormed off.
After they knew Littlefoot was out of sight and earshot,Cera sat down next to Nahla "Why was that needed?"
"Payback for him making plans for me without my permission" Nahla commented.
"So stressing him out is how you did that?"
"Yep" Nahla chuckled,of course she didn't know Cera when Littlefoot made the plans but at her others forcing Nahla did end up meeting her later that night,turns out they had a lot in common,for one thing both were stubborn as hell. And as much as they refused to admit it,they were a pretty good match and they already thought the other as a best friend.
"At first I thought my Mother had gone insane when she said I was going to go meet with a longneck,my father agreed with me..but turns out you're pretty cool...for a flathead anyway"
Nahla chuckled again "Yeah,I really didn't want to meet you at first..nearly killed Littlefoot when he told me he was going to bring me to you today"
"Gee you're violent aren't you?"
"Somewhat" the longneck replied "But thats who I am,I am not one of those weak defenceless girls. I will stand up for myself"
"And thats how you survive,expecting others to protect gets you nowhere-thats what my father says"
"It's true tough,in this world you need to learn to protect yourself"
Cera glanced at the longneck,the one who she pretended to be a rival "You know,you're a good actor...I almost believed it myself..I was about to slap you"
"True,I got a little dramatic" Nahla admitted "But it was kinda amusing"
"Littlefoot will kill us for this later..." the threehorn commented
"No if we kill him first" Nahla joked "But seriously,thanks for agreeing to play along..I needed to get back at Littlefoot so badly"
"To him we hate each others guts"
"True...right now we have kinda a secret friendship.."
Cera thought for a moment "It will be kinda mean but we can keep pretending...see what Littlefoot tries to get us to like each other something tells me that flathead is relentless"
Nahla tilted her head and thought for a moment before smiling "You're on" she laughed,forgetting she actually had a mission and her time in the valley was limited..how would she explain to Cera the truth about her and Littlefoot? "Teetonka...help me" she said to herself so Cera won't hear "You're meant to guide my path so guide me..what do I do?'
"You okay?" Cera asked noticing Nahla suddenly seemed to me acting quite strangely.
"I'm fine..." Nahla replied quietly "I was just thinking about...family problems" she stood up "I'm gonna go do something,if Littlefoot comes back make something up like..I couldn't stand to see your face anymore"
"You sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine,I'm just going to go talk to my Mother for a bit..I'll meet up with you later"
"Sure thing" Cera was confused "My best friend is a longneck..how lovely"
Nahla chuckled at that "Bye" she didn't give Cera a chance to say anything back before taking off.
"Something is up with her..." Cera said in thought "But I guess it's just a longneck thing..they all seem to have a screw loose"
That night Littlefoot lay around the nesting area his family used,"I've got to tell them...".
Ahote turned up before asking why he hadn't told last night like he promised,Littlefoot's response was simple but truthful "I forgot".
"Littlefoot?" Jenna walked up to him "Ok,I know something is bothering you. Tell me what it is? Is it Nahla? Do you looove her?" Jenna teased chuckling,
"Love Nahla? Ewww no,I can't be in love with Nahla" Littlefoot said in disgust.
"And why not?" Jenna asked her son rising an eye brow.
"Because she is my best friend,it'll be too weird"
"Your father was MY best friend you know?"the large female settled herself down next to her son.
"Well thats really messed up then"
Jenna shook her head "You'll feel differently one day my son,and I'm kinda glad as it is. You're too young to worry about love anyway..so what is bothering you?"
Littlefoot looked to the ground "You might not believe me..."
"Try me"
The child looked up and took a deep breath "I got visited by our ancestors,we must return to the Mountains. We are one of the lost families of the ancient tribe" Littlefoot looked his mother in the eyes "And Nahla's family is the other"
Cera and Nahla friendship.
And yeah if I did fool you at first with the fighting-trololo