Chapter XI: The Search for Hatred

"Grandpa, grandpa!" Littlefoot shouted, running over to his nesting area. When he didn't find him, he turned his head from side to side and spotted him grazing near the Thundering Falls. Hurrying as fast as he could go, he passed some berry bushes being devoured by baby flyers until he screeched to a halt at his grandparent's feet. He nearly bumped into him. Grandpa longneck looked down and saw Littlefoot's serious expression.

Gulping down the food in his mouth, he asked, "What is it, Littlefoot?" His concern was clearly evident, but seeing his grandson unharmed, it wasn't to a very high degree.

"Do you know about a sickness that makes dinosaurs see things differently, act really, uh, weird, and feel cold when it's actually warm inside?" He had a pleading look in his eye and dire tone in his voice, so it was pretty obvious that he knew someone that matched such a description. Still, being old and wise, he made sure.

"I take it you that know someone going through this?" he asked him gently.

"Yes!" Littlefoot exclaimed so quickly that his voice squeaked a little.

"Good," his grandpa replied.

Littlefoot did a double take, shaking his head in disbelief. "Huh?" He wasn't sure he'd heard correctly. "How is being sick- good?"

"Whoever it is just has fire face."

"Fire face," he repeated blankly. His eyes squinted for a moment, but then they widened in recollection. Star's face was pretty red. Still, that didn't seem enough justification to refer it to fire. Wanting the whole story, he inquired further. "Why is it called that, grandpa?"

"When dinosaurs have something go wrong with their body, fire face may result. Their faces not only get very red, but they feel hot too." Littlefoot nodded to show his attention. "The thing is, it shows that a dinosaur is starting to get better because fire face always comes up a bit before someone starts improving, not getting worse. Your friend will get better in time, but as you mentioned, there will be some odd sensations, so you will want to keep an eye on the dinosaur in the meantime. If the fire face gets too intense, he or she won't be thinking very clearly, and his or her behavior may get a little- out of control." After the explanation, he stood by in case his grandson had any more to say.

Littlefoot was clearly relieved, and he let out a sigh as if a great burden had been lifted off of him. "Thank you, grandpa." With that, he scurried back to Star before his grandpa could even give a "You're welcome."

He smiled after him, proud at how thoughtful and caring he was, and went back to eating greens from under the water.

Littlefoot wasted no time in getting back to the others. This time, however, he was surer on his feet and didn't slip. Asp was the first one to hear and turned, Syn and Star doing the same afterwards.

"Yay! Woo hoo! Littlefoot is BACK!" Star exclaimed as her face lit up. She stood up and moved towards him, trying to jump on him as he approached, but her body suddenly felt weak, so she fell on her belly. "Ouchy…"

Littlefoot rushed to help her up, assisted by Asp and Syn.

"Take it easy," Littlefoot told her. "You have fire face, a sickness. You're going to feel funny for a while, but you'll get better in no time. Just try and relax." Star obeyed by falling on him. He landed on his stomach with his legs outstretched as Star just lied on top of him, uttering sounds of comfort and rubbing her chin on his back. Littlefoot felt awkward, but he was too concerned for her wellbeing to get up.

Asp stepped back and motioned for Syn to do the same. He put a hand to a side of his mouth to block out some of the sound and whispered in her ear.

"I wonder how long it will be before he picks one."

Syn turned to him in surprise. He had been whispering off and on about the subject, but this was the first time he'd mentioned this angle. She saw it too. Littlefoot definitely had feelings for not only Star but Ali too. Still, this couldn't last forever. He was just a small patch of soil, only having enough nutrients to make one flower blossom. If two tried to grow there, the fertility would be used up, and neither plant would grow strong and tall. This was where the yellowbellies agreed. Where they were at odds, however, was who they were rooting for.

Syn liked Star better. For one thing, she knew her way more, and what she did understand, she appreciated. Star was funny, energetic, loving, and didn't hide her feelings. Perhaps she didn't always handle them in the best fashion, but one rarely had to guess how she was feeling. She was very apologetic when she'd hurt her, and Syn really admired her sympathy. Able to get over negative feelings of someone was also a big plus. Furthermore, she obviously had feelings for Littlefoot.

Asp preferred Ali mainly because he didn't prefer Star. His grudge had softened, but a dying tree can stand for a long time. He enjoyed Ali's subtlety. She seemed to have a crush but didn't take a literal approach, instead being a friend first and seeing if more might come of it as nature would have it. Being straightforward was rarely Asp's style of choice. He felt that romance should come about quite a while after two dinosaurs have met. The sort of "love at first sight" that Star seemed to portray confused him, as he didn't believe in it, feeling that love is like any living thing; it starts out as nothing and then appears and matures over time. On the other hand, as a result of no direct words from Ali, he could only assume she had a crush, but her looks and tone were pretty obvious to him.

They knew how awkward the trio of longnecks would feel if their love lives were being discussed in great detail behind their backs, so they kept their comments to private whispers. They'd chatted at great length the previous night, and their stalemate didn't weaken. Asp hoped that Ali would show up soon to end the scenario that seemed to be pushing him more towards Star. Well, he certainly didn't need a star to wish on.

"Hey, guys, what's going on?" a voice called in the distance. Ali was approaching with a casual smile on her face, curious and looking forward to what the day held, but as she was close enough to see everyone clearly, she paused at the sight of the stack. Asp stared at her while pretending not to- until Syn poked him.

"You again!" Star exclaimed in a shaky voice, wobbly getting to her feet. Littlefoot stood quickly and had to steady her side to keep her from falling once more. Syn shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She wasn't very strong, and the air suddenly felt a little heavy for some reason.

"Uh, yes, it's me," Ali replied slowly, unsure what was going on. Were they talking about her or something? she wondered. However, a glance at Littlefoot's confused expression gave away that he had no more of an idea of what she was talking about than she did.

"Littlefoot is- Littlefoot is mi-ine! So you- had better- get los-" Star, however, was interrupted by a coughing fit. It lasted quite a few seconds, and the last few hacks brought up phlegm that splattered on the grass. The other four stepped back in silent courtesy while Ali still looked perplexed. Littlefoot took well notice of this.

Turning to her, he began, "Ali, Star has-"

"A serious problem with you!" Star finished for Littlefoot. This time, he shot his glance at Star. She hadn't finished his sentence quite as he would have…

"So much for being friends," Asp thought to himself with a sigh and rolling of his eyes. "Hopefully, she'll make a fool of herself, making him lean more towards Ali." He plopped onto his belly and put his elbows on the cool grass, resting his head on his hands. Not quite satisfied with the setup yet, he put a small piece of grass halfway into his mouth to chew on and lifted his back legs up into the air and moved them back and forth in a slow rhythm. Syn sighed at his extreme display of casualness and sat down beside him with her legs folded. She watched this event unfold were great concern and nibbled on her index finger without realizing it.

"W- what did I do?" Ali replied, a bit taken back by the sudden change of orientation. After everything they'd just went through, she didn't want to lose her new friend. She took a deep breath and exhaled through her mouth to brace herself. She was going to accept her criticism, apologize, and set things right. Looking at Star expectantly, she remained silent.

"You, little girl, are in my waaay." Star sounded especially weird the way she dragged out her last word, and the shift in tone sounded completely random, as if it had no meaning whatsoever. And she wasn't done. "Littlefoot, yes, Littlefoot," she continued, her tone sounding as if she was elated, "belongs to me- ME! Now then, now then! I- will not- have youuu- gettin' in my way, 'kay?" Then she shivered as if hit by a blast of chilling wind. She staggered a bit, and before anyone could react, Star quickly turned and kissed Littlefoot- on the lips. His eyes shot open, and for a brief moment, he instinctively pressed back. However, when his mind wrapped itself around everything that was happening, he jerked back and spit onto the ground.

Doing his best to remain composed and understanding, he said, "Star, you should lie back down! You're not well. Just- lie back down, please."

Ali was speechless for a moment. Asp noticed this with great interest, pausing the motion in his legs temporarily. Syn glanced at him and shook her head. Finally, the longneck found her voice and asked in a concerned tone, "What's- what's wrong with her?"

"It's fire face," Littlefoot replied. Ali's look revealed that she'd never heard of it, so he added, "She's only acting this way because she's sick." Ali's mixed expression since Star's kiss finally picked a single emotion to display- sympathy. This really ticked Star off.

"I'm perfectly, perfectly, PERFECTLY fine!" she exclaimed, the "fine" shooting out of her mouth like a rock being thrown. "The only sickness around here is me being sick of YOU," she finished, looking at Ali. "Now get your ugly rear- into a place that isn't here!"

Ali understood that Star wasn't well, but her comments were still painful. Just what was the illness doing? Making her honest, meaning she'd never really made peace with her? Was it bringing back old feelings that don't exist anymore? Maybe amplifying them in the process? She never found out, but it didn't matter. Words are words, and they can pierce deeper than any meat-eater tooth. It didn't help either that Ali was still a little tired from having just woken up. The morning moodiness that she had always managed to conceal mixed with the verbal assault to create a flood of anger. What she did next surprised even her. She had never done anything like it before and had always been too collected for her actions to come anywhere close. Now, though, she was acting on pure instinct.

"You want Littlefoot so badly, huh?" she began softly, not even recognizing herself. She walked over to an unsuspecting Littlefoot- and kissed him on the lips as well. Breaking away, looking at Star, she replied curtly, "Well I'm sorry."

"Rrr, you!" Star shouted before tackling her. She was still unsteady, but the adrenaline rush gave her enough strength for a successful leap. The two girls rolled around in the dirt, Ali on bottom, then Star, then Ali again. They didn't do much else than tumble though Star did snap at her with her teeth. Poor Littlefoot spit again, vibrated his lips together, and then tried breaking up the fight. They continued struggling with each other, creating quite a dust storm, as Littlefoot tried pushing Star off during one of the moments she was on top. However, the position shifts were happening too rapidly now for him to get a good opening.

"Please fill me in on what I miss," Asp requested with a yawn as he got to his feet and began dusting himself off. He spit out the piece of grass with minimal air.

"Where are you going?" Syn asked. Her tone was high from the tension this was causing her.

"I'm going to get some berries. I prefer dinner and a show," he replied, walking towards some bushes off in the distance. He didn't get far, however. Syn was on her feet and had him yanked back down to the ground before you could say "very aggravated yellowbelly." He went down with an "Oomph!" One look from her and he remained silent and still for some time.

Littlefoot kept following the girls as they tussled about, trying to find an opening to help without success. Star kept biting at Ali as she continued dodging her teeth. Eventually, Syn had had enough of doing nothing and stood up.

She tugged on Asp's arm and said, "Come on." He looked at her questioningly, but she only repeated herself and with more emphasis. He dared not wait any longer to comply. Walking towards the longnecks with her hands a little shaky and a look of determination, Asp finally got the idea: It was time to end this silly feud.

The yellowbellies each grabbed a tail, Asp getting Ali's and Syn Star's, and together they gently pulled back until they were separate again. However, Star wasn't done yet and was stronger than Syn, so Littlefoot diverted his energy to holding Star back as well. Ali stood there, huffing, crying, and standing still as Star kept jerking forward like a lunatic. It wasn't long, however, before Star turned back and bit Syn's hand, causing her to yelp and fall back on her rear. She charged at Ali, but Asp had seen the whole thing, and he- was- pissed.

He stepped in the way of the longneck, and though she tried to swerve around him, he extended his arm to his side and caught her by the throat. He did not even turn to face her. There they stood, Star on his right being grasped by Asp as he stared with great concern at Syn. When he saw her stand up, thus meaning she was at least okay, his head slowly turned to face Star's who was gasping for breath. Littlefoot stepped towards them, afraid Asp would kill her, but Syn poked his shoulder, causing him to turn to her.

"Please," she told him. "Don't worry. Asp would never harm anyone. Just let him work, if that's okay with you," she mumbled shyly. Littlefoot looked back at the two before standing down. He agreed that Star needed to be subdued for now.

In a frightening tone, Asp spoke slowly. "Apologize to Syn." When she struggled in response, he merely tightened her grip, causing her eyes to widen even more and lungs to work harder to get air. When it was clear that she was too cut off to speak, he said, still in an ominous tone, "I am going to let go. You have two seconds to apologize, or I promise that your throat won't get a second chance. Think very carefully then either nod or shake your head." Asp stood there a few more seconds as Star started turning purple. "Well? Are you settled enough to apologize?" Star was about to pass out, but she managed to nod her head slightly.

As Asp let go, she turned to Syn, tears filling her eyes as she choked more instead of spoke. Two seconds had long been gone, but Asp was patient. Finally, Star said, "I'm- I'm…" Syn looked into her eyes and saw the rest of her sentence in them. She didn't have to say anymore. So she didn't. She turned and ran off to be alone, horrified at losing it like that. Littlefoot wasn't going to stand back any longer and went after her. Ali just sat down, trying to settle her mind after the ordeal.

"Syn, if I ever get fire face, please stay far, far away," Asp begged her. Syn didn't have a reply to that. Instead, she exhaled slightly and looked in the direction of the two longnecks, hoping.

"Star, wait up!" Littlefoot called to her. She was moving slowly enough with her weak legs, but he waited a few too many seconds before going after her, so she had a pretty decent head start. They were running through open land and were passing many grownups grazing. Some looked up, some didn't, but no one took any interest. This was perceived as kids just being kids.

"No!" Star called back. "I don't want to hurt anyone anymore." She kept going and even sped up a little, having gotten used to her new sense of imbalance somewhat. However, Littlefoot pushed himself harder too.

"It's not your fault!" he called ahead. "I know you're just sick. We all do. So please, just, stop running."

Star did stop, but it wasn't on purpose. Her legs finally gave away, having been pushed too hard without strength, and she tumbled to the ground. She was fortunate enough to land on a patch of flowers and grass, and while the plants didn't fare so well, they cushioned her fall. Littlefoot saw she was unharmed, so kept going towards her but slowed his pace to help catch his breath. When he finally reached her, he looked down at her face with a troubled expression. Star frowned and turned away, but her face was suddenly filled with the tip of his tail. She glanced back at him, and he said, "Take it." Star exhaled slowly and closed her eyes. Suddenly, she took hold of his tail but gentle enough not to cause pain- well, much of it. Littlefoot winced only slightly then pulled her back to her feet. There was an awkward silence for nearly a minute before he spoke.

"Let's- go back to the others," he suggested. "Does that sound good to you?"

"Do I have to finish my apology to Syn?" she asked quietly. Having not actually hurt Ali, she didn't see a reason to say sorry to her.

"I think you already did." Littlefoot looked off into the distance as a strong breeze suddenly picked up, swaying the branches all around them. "Some things you say without words. Now come on, the others are waiting for us." With that, he turned back to Star with a sympathetic smile as he stood there in all the bright circle's light.

Star loved the way he looked and sounded just then. Most of all, though, she loved him. She nodded in agreement and slowly walked beside him, leaning against him for support.

The two longnecks walked in silence, but many feelings were shared by them anyway. Almost back, Littlefoot stumbled on a rock, but it was Star's strength that kept him from faltering. He opening his mouth slightly and glanced in her direction as if he wanted to say something but instead turned back and kept focusing ahead. When they finally returned, there were only two faces to greet them.

"W- where's Ali?" Star asked, looking this way and that. She wanted to make sure she wasn't still sore at her or anything.

"Her mother came by. Their herd is leaving. Well, left, I should say," Asp explained.

"Which way did they go!" Star asked him quickly.

"Whoa there. You think I'm just going to tell you so you can attack her again?" Asp responded. "I think I'll pass." All the while, he and Syn were crouched down over a puddle, and he was washing the bite mark on her hand. He was scrubbing with a sturdy leaf, and there were tiny tints of red in the water now. Star's teeth had broken the skin slightly, and he knew that unwashed wounds can make dinosaurs very sick. She bit her lip at the damage she'd done but again focused on her task.

"I'm fine now. You guys really knocked some sense into me, and though my head still feels a little hazy, I won't attack her again. Just please, where is she?" Her eyes were pleading. Asp didn't look very convinced, but he gave her a reply.

"They went that way," he replied, pointing. Syn suddenly looked deep in thought as Star began running in that direction, leaving the three of them staring after her.

"Wait…" Syn said slowly. "Asp, is that- is that really which direction they went?"

"Nope," Asp replied, resting his hands behind his head.

"What the- Asp!" Syn exclaimed. "Why did you lie to Star?"

"It's not that I was lying to Star. I was protecting Ali. It all depends on how you look at it though, I guess," he concluded.

"You- you- ugh…" Littlefoot uttered in frustration. "We had a talk, and she really is better now! I'm sure she just wanted to make sure there were no hard feelings, but now she may miss her chance, thanks to you." He moaned.

"Well excuse me for trying to be protective," he replied somewhat curtly, finishing up Syn's hand and standing back up.

"In any case, she is still sick, so she might get hurt wandering around by herself." That being said, he took off after Star yet again.

Asp looked down with a frown, but Syn patted him on the shoulder comfortingly. The yellowbellies joined Littlefoot in chasing down their ill friend.

"Star!" Littlefoot called out, glancing around the valley. They looked through several groups of trees, at watering holes, and around bushes, and they even shouted into some caves. No response.

Asp and Syn joined in calling Star's name, hoping three voices together would be heard farther than one, but after no luck, Asp finally said, "Let's split up. There's no point in being together with something like this."

"Alright," Littlefoot replied, and the three ran in different directions, each somewhat going in the general direction Asp had pointed earlier.

Littlefoot continued straight ahead, Syn was moving towards the great wall, and Asp headed for a high hill to get a better look of the area. He scrambled up quickly and looked around. At first, though he squinted hard, he did not see her. He moved his head about with a hand over his forehead to block out the bright circle. He exhaled sharply through his nose, wondering where that girl could be. When he was just about to get off the mound, he took one last look- and saw nothing. As he came down and passed some trees, looking to his side instead of in front of him, he bumped into someone. Someone familiar.

Star was there, talking. That in of itself was nothing unusual- but what she was talking to rather was. Asp stared at her standing beside him as she continued to converse.

"So, where's Ali? Shouldn't she be here with you guys?" she asked, looking around. However, the trees decided not to answer her.

"Star, sick or not, I'm sorry, but you're just weird," Asp told her, shaking his head.

"Yeah? How so?" she asked him, finally taking her eyes off of the trees and turning to him.

Asp exhaled through his teeth. "Do you realize what you're talking to?"

"The grownups of Ali's herd, silly. Can't you see them standing right here?" she questioned, turning back to the tree then him.

Asp put his thumb and index finger on his forehead as he looked down. He then proceeded to climb up a small distance of one of the trees, plucked a leaf off one of its branches, jumped down, and then ate it.

"Ahhh!" Star screamed in horror, backing away. "How can you eat longneck flesh!" she shrieked.

"Okay, that didn't resolve the situation like I thought it would…" Asp said to himself. "I will be blunt, Star. Those aren't the longnecks of Ali's herd. Those are not the longnecks of any herd. You, my dear, are quite talking to a clump of trees."

"Pfft. Do you think I'm stupid?"

"Really want me to answer that?"

"Huh?"

Asp snorted. "What I think, no, what I know, is that you are very sick! You're not always seeing things as they really are. Just- trust me, and I'll help you find Ali's herd, okay?"

Star did trust him and began following then looked back at the trees and called, "Well, bye, guys! Off to see Ali's herd!"

Asp placed the palm of his hand on his forehead as he led Star to where Ali's herd had really gone. Littlefoot spied them moving and joined up with them quickly.

"I hope we get there in time!" Littlefoot said. "They move pretty fast."

"I'm sure we'll make it," Asp replied. "Things usually turn out for the best."

Asp spotted Syn nearby, cupped his hands around his mouth, and called to her, and she too joined up with them. Finally, they reached the exit of the Great Valley that Ali's herd was heading to. Cera was there, sitting on the ground just inside of the opening, looking off into the distance.

"Cera!" Littlefoot called to her as they caught up. "Did you see Ali's herd come through here?"

"A bit ago, yeah; their marching woke me up. At the rate they were moving, they're long gone by now. Why, did you want to see Ali again too?" the threehorn asked.

"Well, I did," Star said sadly, hanging her head. "I just wanted to see if she hated me..."

Littlefoot gave Asp an angry expression, and the yellowbelly looked away. He knew this was all his fault, but he nonetheless felt that taking the precautionary approach was the best thing to do. As a result, he felt a mix of guilt and maturity. It felt so strange that he kept shifting uncomfortably. The longneck's gaze only served to make him feel worse. But at that moment, Asp had an epiphany.

"I say," he began, looking at all his friend's faces, "that we leave the Great Valley to find Ali so Star can see her again."

"That's a great idea!" Star exclaimed, kissing him on the cheek.

"Yeah, yeah," he replied in a monotone voice, rubbing his face.

"W- wait," Syn cut in. "Shouldn't we ask your folks first?"

"Nah," Cera answered. "They'd never let us go. When we want to go on an adventure, we just- you know, go. Are you sure you want to do this though? Going into the Mysterious Beyond just to check on something that might be nothing seems a little extreme to me. Why would you think that, anyway?" she wanted to know. Littlefoot quickly explained what had happened, but Cera didn't see it as a big deal at all. Like Star had thought earlier, Ali hadn't been "injured," so what's for her to be mad about? While Star simply overlooked the need to apologize for a wound that can't be seen, especially one caused by a sickness, Cera thought nothing of it at all.

"I must do it!" Star insisted. "I must, I must, I must!"

"Alright then," Littlefoot declared. "Let's do this."

The five of them took one last look in their families' direction before leaving the safety of their home. They walked diligently under the heat of the bright circle, traversing over fairly hard ground but a bit comforted by the wind. It was lukewarm, but it was still cooler than the temperature. There was no water in sight, but they didn't care very much. Stopping for a drink would only put more distance between them and the herd. There was somewhat of a silence in the air, only lacking completion from the noise of a few insects, but Asp broke it even further. He was going to utterly annihilate the dreary mood if it was the last thing he did.

"This walk is so exciting!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms into the air in a stretch. The others just stared at him. "Seeing the sights, hearing the cute little bugs, enjoying the breeze, getting exercise- a dinosaur couldn't ask for a more enjoyable way of spending a day."

"I don't know, Asp," Cera replied. "I don't enjoy this at all, actually."

"Heh," Asp replied, turning to the threehorn. "I tried, at least."

She looked at him with confusion, but his face revealed that he'd never explain. Suddenly, Littlefoot came to a halt and turned slightly, and Cera, still wondering what Asp meant, bumped into his flank.

"Problem?" Asp asked him, gazing in the same direction he was facing.

"Well, you know how we've been following their footprints this whole time?" the longneck began.

"Yeah?" Asp replied slowly.

"Well, look," he told them, lifting his front foot and pointing on the ground in the distance.

Cera, Star, Asp, and Syn looked ahead and squinted until they saw the ground that was too hard to be crushed by weight- even that of full-grown longnecks.

"Ooh, I wish Petrie was here!" Cera suddenly exclaimed in frustration. "He could just fly up and see where they are. Now we're going to get lost as usual if we keep looking."

"We can't give up!" Star shouted. Then she felt weakness in her ankles and had to be supported by Littlefoot who had been walking beside her.

Littlefoot looked ahead of them then down to the flushed Stardipper leaning on him. He nibbled on his lower lip before saying what needed to be said. "We shouldn't have come in the first place," he finally admitted, knowing it was going to be hard for Star to hear. "Not with you sick like this. And now that we have no sure way to follow them, I just can't see any reason to risk your safety."

Star stomped her foot. "I am not, I repeat, I am going to stop until I see Ali!" Then she coughed a few times, getting spit on the side of his neck which he politely ignored.

"Yeah, I second that. Without a flyer, I can see no chance of success," Asp chimed in sadly.

"Then allow me to help, if I may, that is," a polite voice called from above. Everyone looked up suddenly to see a familiar face. Well, it was familiar to two of them anyway.

"Guido!" Littlefoot and Cera exclaimed in unison.

Chapter End

"Does trouble follow us wherever we go or something? Living in the Great Valley isn't as peaceful as I thought it would be… Still, I guess things are at least exciting. Allow me to give you reader folks a little preview of what's to come next time on Familiar Love. Don't want a preview? Hm, what to do…? Deal with it, 'cause you're getting one! Bonds are tested, but worst of all, something bad happens to Syn! That's all for the preview. Want more? How should I respond…? No! Asp has spoken!"