-v-
Chapter 24: Conflict
"Need a lift?"
Verda shook in fear as the massive longneck suddenly appeared in front of the group and muttered something that was unintelligible to her. Despite the fact that she was situated between Pearl and Detras, she had never felt so alone. Her parents were gone; their situation unknown. Against the foreboding cliff stood numerous leaf-eater younglings and odd feather-covered sharpteeth, none of which she had any acquaintance with. All that she knew was that she was surrounded by massive leaf-eaters who appeared to want her parents dead. Now one of those very leaf-eaters had taken notice of them.
"Shorty?"
Verda looked up at the pink fastrunner which stood beside her. Is that the giant green thing's name? She didn't have much time to consider this possibility, however, before several of the small leaf-eaters promptly fell onto the longneck's head.
"Easy there! Down we go..."
The sight of the leaf-eater children being lowered to the ground was an odd one to say the least. In the distance, a confusing symphony of grunts, roars, and crashes could be heard, but here by the cliff the longneck was calmly assisting the children to the ground. That was when Verda felt a hand on her back.
"We have to remove ourselves from this cliff, Verda. Do not worry, this longneck will not harm you."
Verda blinked as the fastrunner spoke in an oddly formal form of sharptooth. The kind of speech that would be used when speaking to a very young sharptooth to avoid any confusion. However she had little time to consider why the male would speak in such a way before another longneck's face appeared in front of her.
"There is a sharptooth here!"
The longneck looked at her with an expression that conveyed surprise.
"Just help them down, Somni. I think that one of these might be my brother's..." The green longneck bellowed, though Verda could not understand any of it, "What? Are you afraid that the little green one will eat ya?" he mocked.
"Yeah! They're friendly!" Tricia tried to explain as she shook off the shock of landing on the longneck, "They helped us!"
"We can explain!" Swipe exclaimed from somewhere unseen.
Verda froze as the longneck finally turned back towards her as the leaf-eater and sharptooth children alike continued to explain the situation in the leaf-eater language. Finally, however, the longneck noticed the sharptooth's fearful appearance and softened his expression somewhat as he nodded towards the fastrunners. Much to her surprise, the next words out of his mouth were translated word for word by Detras.
"Don't worry, little one. Let's get you and your friends off of this cliff before it falls down."
Chomper had been prepared to do many things when he arrived at Hanging Rock. He had been prepared to chase off his parents if they threatened his pack or the transfer of the children. He had been prepared to help negotiate safe passage for the children. He had even been prepared to fight his parents if it had come to that.
Seeing his parents being pursued by threehorns was not something he had anticipated.
Roar!
The threehorns stopped in a firm line as the sight of the new arrival surprised them all. They all had Dein and Terri cornered, with the tails of the sharpteeth facing the ragged rocks of the cliff and their bodies facing an impenetrable wall of horns. Any attempt to flee would open them up to a parting attack from the threehorns. They were trapped.
Some distance away stood the uncertain form of a purple fastrunner. Orchid had mentally prepared himself for an unpleasant situation as soon as he heard about the Great Valley arriving at his home, but he had halfway expected it to result in the sharpteeth fleeing from a superior force. To see threehorns not letting their opponents flee, but rather trying to kill them, was a sight that surprised him.
How much have the valley dinosaurs changed?
"Hold the line!" Topps unmistakable voice croaked, "We got them cornered and this two-footer can't get us without facing our line!"
A growl escaped Chomper's throat. So Mr. Threehorn we meet again... what has gotten into you this time?
That was when a sudden flash of realization hit the sharptooth. There was only one situation that he could think of that would make his old allies turn to murder. It was a situation that had last occurred during the Battle for the Valley... and a situation that his pack had faced after they had changed.
His parents must have killed a valley resident.
"I can tolerate many things, Mr. Threehorn, but attacking my parents is not one of them!"
The gray threehorn froze at that pronouncement. The last time that he had seen the purple sharptooth was when he was but a child. Now a much larger killer stood in front of him.
Damn it... he protested internally as he kept his face devoid of emotion, We have already lost one member of the herd; I can't tolerate losing one of the valley's defenders too! The tension was enormous as Topps weighed his options over the next few seconds. As much as he would have claimed indifference to the purple sharptooth years ago, he couldn't lie to himself about Chomper now. This was the same sharptooth that had allowed his daughter and her friends to survive their horrific changes into predators. This was the same being that had protected the valley in its time of greatest need. And he had no doubt, despite his fearsome appearance, that the same empathetic being resided inside that sharptooth that existed in younger days.
But his choices were limited.
The growling form of the threehorn stood near him. Savine. The scarred threehorn had lost a mate and nearly lost a son in the terrible attack by Chomper's parents. No amount of reparations would bring her back or deprive him of his lust for vengeance. Topps knew full well that Savine would feel that obligation as an untouchable duty.
Worse yet, there was the herd to consider.
They would not tolerate Topps backing down at this point. Even if he had it in him to give such an order he knew that Savine would resist and attack alone, with many others possibly joining in at great cost. In this situation if he didn't take the hard action then more of his herdmates would fall, of that he had no doubt.
"Your parents have killed a member of the herd, Chomper." Topps communicated in a grave voice, "I have no choice."
The purple sharptooth did not flinch at his announcement, which confirmed to Topps that the predator must have assumed the truth of the situation. It was then that he heard a growl escape the sharptooth's mouth, which was reciprocated by the two parents.
Topps grimaced. He did not like where this was going.
"The killing was not in the valley. How is my family supposed to know they are off-limits?" Topps grimaced at the sharptooth's words, knowing full well that Chomper's parents probably wouldn't care either way, "Shall we ask every single leaf-eater that we meet if they are valley residents?"
"You bastard!" Savine growled, ignoring the standard order of rank, "My mate died out there!"
Chomper shrugged, an infuriating gesture to the assembled threehorns. It was at this point that Topps realized something. He is trying to make us angry... he did not notice the two sharpteeth edging backwards.
"Will killing my parents bring them back?" Chomper said this as he made an odd gesture with his claws, "Will being killed by us bring her back? There are three of us. Do you honestly expect to attack us and leave unscathed?"
Topps cocked his head so that his horns were facing the sharptooth. It was obvious that Chomper had decided to make this a fight.
"Chomper..." Topps warned, "There is no going back from this..."
Topps gritted his teeth in anguish as he saw the expression that the purple sharptooth then gave him. The eyes were firm and as red as blood itself, but the mouth almost seemed to soften somewhat.
"My pack is not part of this, Mr. Threehorn. This is just me... we all must do what we must do. I will not allow my sister to become an orphan." Topps closed his eyes briefly as the implications of that sank in. Topps reluctantly prepared himself to give the orders which would make his herd attack one of the valley's old residents. No sooner had Chomper separated his pack from his actions, however, he gave a loud roar to something in the distance and looked at the agitated deputy head on.
"If you want my parents, horns-for-brains, then you have to go through me."
Topps didn't even have to give the order.
"We have to help them!"
Littlefoot shook in fear for his friend as he deflected the charge of one threehorn, which resulted in a loud crash. Within moments there was an outright onslaught as threehorns began to almost collide into one another in an attempt to strike out at the purple sharptooth. Despite this, however, Chomper's previous roared statement still echoed in his mind.
"This is a diversion! Stay out of this!"
Littlefoot gritted his teeth. He hoped that his friend knew what he was doing.
"We all heard his order. We need to stay out of this..."
Cera nearly rammed into Littlefoot as she waved her arms frantically at her leader, "Are you serious!? My father will kill him!"
Ruby nodded as she walked beside Cera with an equally agitated expression, "We have to protect Path even if he doesn't want to be protected!" She was joined moments later by the nods and grunts from the others.
What about our children?" Littlefoot asked bluntly as another crash could be heard from the warring dinosaurs in the distance. Thus far it still seemed like a standoff of charges and deflections, "Are we to leave them on that damn cliff?!"
"I do not think that we need to worry about our children, oh no, no, no!"
Littlefoot was about to ask Ducky what had gotten into her but that was when he noticed the direction of her gaze. As he turned to follow her eyes he could see the tell-tale form of a giant green longneck alongside a familiar brown one. Each one with distinct fuzzy forms on their backs. Littlefoot blinked. It seemed that his children had been bailed out in much the same way that they had been in the distant past: through the welcoming back of a longneck.
"Well, if we attack the threehorns then we risk everything..." Littlefoot muttered as he considered the changed dynamic. The valley dinosaurs now held possession of what they valued most in life, "We have to be cautious."
Spike growled in annoyance, "I don't think that your own brother is going to stomp on our kids, Seeker!" The roars and crashes continued in the distance, "But those threehorns might gore our friend!"
Taunt jumped with agitation, "We have to do something!"
"What me do?!" Petrie's form suddenly landed with a thud, "Whatever me do, me must do it now!"
"We will do it together," Soar finished as she landed heavily upon the ground, her exhaustion obvious.
The brown fastbiter closed his eyes for a moment. Had this been any other circumstance then he would have protested such insubordination, but in this case he understood completely. They were just as desperate for a solution as him, but what form could that solution take? That was when he caught sight of something that made him freeze, Yes... that might just work...
"Ponder and Taunt, you're with me! Everyone else, make sure the kids stay safe!"
Bron did his best to ignore the roars and crashes in the distance as he examined the threehorn in front of him.
"Can you hear me, Castor?"
He stood there for several moments as the massive dinosaur failed to show any sign of life. But then, ever so slightly, he could begin to hear heavy breaths emanate from deep within Castor's chest. That was when he suddenly raised his head as if something had bitten him.
"The sharpteeth!"
Bron edged away immediately, "Easy there, Castor. You took a pretty big hit. The rest of the threehorns seem to be dealing with them." ...and I would be helping if it wasn't for the rest of the herd being left undefended.
The threehorn growled as he forced himself upright once more, standing uneasily with most of his weight on his front legs, "Then that is where I must be!"
Bron gritted his teeth as he resisted retorting the threehorn's idea. Despite the fact that his son and Somni had gone to rescue the children, and the rest of the herd was left without orders and on the verge of panic, Bron knew very well that Castor's single-mindedness could not be challenged with words and reason. Castor wanted blood to be paid for the loss of his herdmates.
It was a sentiment that Bron certainly understood.
"Bron? What should we do?"
Bron forced himself to look back towards what remained of the united herd. In front of him stood Ura who was showing the clear signs of being near panic. Not knowing whether to flee or to fight. It was the scourge that each leader of leaf-eaters had to recognize and learn how to fight. He knew that panic here could result in bloodshed regardless of what Chomper's parents did in the distance. For an undisciplined and splintered herd was a prime target for opportunistic predators.
"We need to regroup," Bron began sounding much more confident than he actually felt, "The strongest of the herd need to stay on the outside to protect the weaker ones."
There were murmurs from the assembled dinosaurs as they tried to obey his directives for the third time since the crisis began. Most notably the spiketails were slow to reconfigure their placement in the group. This reluctance was not lost on Bron.
"If the threehorns give us the sign then we will advance and help them, but not before. We do not want to get in their way," Bron spoke firmly, "Our children are by the cliff. They take priority." Please listen...
Bron's uneasiness did not abate as the murmuring in the crowd grew louder. Some voices could be heard demanding to advance to where the children were located, whereas others demanded to fight Chomper's parents. Still, others seemed to be partial to holding their defensive positions. The uneasy arrangement was soon shattered, however, by an all too familiar voice.
"The children are with two of our strongest. It is those sharpteeth that need our attention right now! Let's make sure they never get a chance to take what we hold dear from us!"
Bron sighed internally as the voices for acting against the sharpteeth grew stronger. Castor's call to arms had pushed the herd into a frenzy. A frenzy that he now knew that he couldn't control.
"Yeah! Let's kill the two-footers!"
"They can't stand against us!"
Bron tried one last time to desperately calm the angry mob.
"Everyone, we have got to stay calm! If we advance without discipline then we will be of no help!"
But no one seemed to hear him as the calls to action grew louder still. Bron knew that something would have to give. Sure enough, within a matter of moments, Castor sealed the herd's decision.
"Let's crush the murderers!"
As Bron tried to keep up with the swifter members of the herd he realized that it was out of his control now. The herd was out for blood and no amount of caution would control them in their panic-induced frenzy. He could only hope that their casualties would be minimal.
"Die, sharptooth!"
Chomper edged backwards as Savine's massive horns were aimed squarely at his body. He did not have much room to maneuver, but it didn't take much to do what he had in mind. As he prepared to move his body to strike the offender with his tail, however, he found that one of his companions had left his side.
"Savine, watch your right!"
The purple sharptooth froze out of surprise as his father lunged forward and went between Savine and Topps. Savine responded aggressively by rearing his head to his right, but Dein countered by slapping him with his tail. It was only by the barest of margins that he was able to avoid the counter attack by Topps. Within moments father and son were again side by side as the threehorns struggled to regroup.
"You could have warned me, Dad! I could've taken care of him!"
Chomper could not see his father's face, but he could hear the smile in his voice, "You could've been gorged as well! Never retreat in front of a horn-face!"
Chomper did not have much time to react as another threehorn attempted to advance forward, but he advanced too quickly for his comrades to maintain the line. In a swift movement Chomper turned around, carrying his massive tail straight into the horns of the over-zealous threehorn. Ignoring the burning pain from his now battered appendage, he could see his mother attack the threehorn from the side, causing him to roll into his advancing friends.
"Fall back, damn you! We have to move as a group!"
Chomper rolled his eyes as Topps struggled to maintain order over his fellow threehorns. Their relative youth and inexperience was evident when compared to the mature demeanor of Topps.
"We have to break through somehow!" Terri exclaimed as she retreated from the fallen threehorn. She could have finished him off, but his comrades were distracted in trying to save him. She knew full well that a distraction here would serve them better than a mere kill.
"Yes, dear! That is only what we have been working on since the horn-faces started attacking!" Dein exclaimed as he barely avoided being gored by another threehorn. A swift ramming of the threehorn's side by his son promptly caused him to retreat.
Chomper stepped forward as a group of four threehorns formed a protective line in front of their fallen comrade, struggling to assist him to his feet. It was a touching display that would have moved Chomper to help him in any other circumstance, but now the situation was quite different. He was no longer a friend of the valley.
Chomper's expression turned dark. That might work...
"What are you doing, son?" Terri asked as his fixation was obvious. He was now a full body length in front of his parents and a mere two body lengths away from the defensive line from the incapacitated threehorn. Behind him the rest of the line was regrouping and preparing for a continued assault.
"When I advance towards the threehorn, I want both of you to plow through Topps and get out of here."
An audible gasp from Terri was joined by an empathic response from Dein.
"You must have consumed too many funny berries for you to believe that we would do that, son! We either get out of here together, or we make our last stand here."
Terri advanced to Chomper's side as the threehorns began to move in a steady fashion forward. It seemed that they were not going to wait for their comrade to rise before striking a blow against the sharpteeth. This only made Chomper more certain of his plan.
"I have a plan, mother. But I can't do it unless both of you do as I say."
Silence reigned for several moments as the steady stomping of feet echoed across the ravine's walls. The threehorns were making their aggressive show of force prior to charging at their enemies. A mixture of intimidation tactic and morale booster for the somewhat battered threehorns. It was obvious that they were going for the kill in their next strike.
"Are you sure, son?"
Chomper nearly shuddered at the defeated tone in his father's voice. It was a sound that he had only heard on some of the most harrowing moments in his life, but yet it seemed that fate had decided to give him another moment to contemplate with dread. It was at this moment that Chomper's eyes fixed themselves upon a rather familiar purple form on the rocks above the threehorns.
Chomper grinned with determination.
"Both of you run when I give the signal."
"What is going on!?"
Shorty opened his mouth to answer Somni's question but promptly closed it when he realized that he did not have an answer. It seemed as if the entire herd had taken upon itself to charge at the sharpteeth in the distance.
Bron would not have allowed this, which means...
"Hey look, there is Daddy! But what is he doing?"
Shorty considered the small brown fastbiter's question as he stared into the distance. Though his eyes were not as acute as those of a predator's, he did have the advantage in terms of perspective. As a result it only took him a moment to see what the small predator was looking at.
They split up into two groups... Shorty could see five adult fastbiters rapidly advancing in his general direction, an understandable reaction considering the predicament their children were in, and three others were running along the side of the ravine, including a familiar looking fastbiter with brown feathers and a red crest. Brother...
"I think that he is trying to help Chomper," Shorty answered with a grave tone of voice, "And the rest of your parents are coming to get you."
Somni rapidly turned his head towards the towering green longneck, "We can't let him do that! You know what Chomper's parents did!"
Shorty narrowed his eyes, "Would you have me attack my own brother, Somni?"
The smaller longneck seemed taken aback by Shorty's bluntness as he made the connection in his mind. He had never seen the almost mythical leaf-eaters turned sharpteeth, with the exception of Petrie when he entered the valley.
"No..." Somni admitted as Shorty nodded, "But what are we going to do? The herd has gone nuts, the threehorns are trying to kill Chomper's parents, and..."
"Oh no! Run mommy! Run!"
To Shorty's horror the herd suddenly seemed to lurch towards the fastbiters which had been heading for their children. In their rage-dazed state of mind the herd did not seem to care which sharptooth that they attacked. The leaf-eaters that had been fixated on pursuing Chomper's parents now had a more immediate target.
Now the predators had become the prey.
"Children, stay here! We have to take care of this!"
Shorty did not wait to hear the responses from the children or the fastrunners as he ran headlong towards the unruly herd. It did not take long for the thunderous footsteps of Somni to join his in the pursuit. He was resolute in his determination that he would die before permitting anything to happen to his brother's friends.
He just hoped that it didn't come to that.
"What in the name of..."
Crash!
Cera barely had time to shift her body to the left as the threehorn's crest crashed into the ground, sending torrents of mud into the air like a waterspout. She barely had any time to adjust to the horror of her situation, however, before seeing a group of spiketails charge in her general direction.
"We have to get out of here!"
The pack adjusted their course as the spiketails continued to rush forward. They were now heading to the side of the ravine instead of heading towards the advancing herd.
Cera gritted her teeth at Breeze's exclamation, "And go where?! Our children are back there!"
Ducky nearly crashed into both of the fastbiters as she and her brother tried to flee from the rapidly advancing horde.
"They wouldn't, Stern Claw..." Ducky offered as she realized the implications of what Cera was suggesting. The Great Valley would not do that to its friends, oh no, no, no!
"Would they?" Cera growled out as she gestured for a lagging Leap to catch up with the rest of the group. They were trying to make a circle around the herd, avoiding their repeated charges. "They are attacking Path and now they are attacking us! We have to get to our children before anything happens to them!"
"Here comes Bron!" Leap yelled as he caught up with the others.
As if on cue the tell-tale form of Bron appeared at the periphery of the herd, appearing to yell at the assembled dinosaurs. However this seemed to have no effect as the spiketails and domeheads continued to follow the lead of Castor.
Sometimes I really hate my former kind, Cera thought irreverently, For once listen to the damn longneck!
"They are congregated in the center, maybe we can go around them?" Spike's uncertain voice rang out, "It doesn't look like the longnecks are on their side."
Cera grunted at Spike's proposal before shaking her head, "They want us to go to their side, that way we would be trapped. See how they are positioned, Spike?"
Spike's gaze shifted towards the assembled herd. Castor was in the front of the line, with domeheads and spiketails grouped on either side of him. Besides the angry mob in the center there was also two distinct outliers on either side of the group. A spiketail which was positioned to the side, as if they were preparing to charge towards the side of the ravine. The obvious sign of a pincer attack.
"Damn it!" Spike realized the truth of the situation, "Regroup then?"
"And what? Hope that the freaked out herd settles down before they trample our kids?" Cera retorted.
"The longnecks seem to still have their wits about them," Leap offered hopefully. He did not have long to contemplate that statement, however as a loud roar escaped from Castor's throat and the herd advanced in an uncontrolled manner. It was obvious that they had grown tired of waiting on the fastbiters to fall for their trap.
Cera narrowed her eyes. Panic made people do strange things, but that rationale did not absolve them in her mind. Her children were somewhere on the other end of that mob and she had no idea how to help them.
"Fall back..." Cera hesitantly gave the order, "Fall back and we will get the children when the herd is gone!"
It was with great regret that she gave a special order to her children that she hoped that she would never have to give. An order communicated by a single tapering roar.
Hide yourselves until we come back.
Unbeknownst to her, the fastbiters were not the only ones under threat.
"What you doing?! Pack not hurt you!"
Petrie did his best to dodge the sudden onslaught of flyers that came in his direction. Seemingly from nowhere a torrent of angry flyers dived down in his general vicinity and then retreated before he could react. It was a classic diversionary tactic and he knew it.
Damn you! We not threat to valley!
Grunting with exertion, Petrie pumped his wings in order to gain altitude. He knew full well that hovering would waste his energy and that he had to gain some momentum if he was going to break this aerial blockade of the pack. He was soaring into the blue sky with that very intention when a familiar call emanated into the sky.
Soar!
Petrie immediately allowed himself to roll and begin to dive, which caused several of his pursuers to barely dodge his accelerating form. That was when he saw a sight that enraged him to his core.
Soar was on the ground and not moving.
"Soar! Soar, can you hear me?!"
Ura could only look at the scene in horror. Not only had the herd decided to attack the sharpteeth in their irrational panic, but they had succeeded as well. The herd that was rapidly moving away from them seemed like an out of control behemoth. A ferocious thing of nature that attacked friend and foe alike. Now Soar lay on the dusty ground, a testament to the brutality of now terrified dinosaurs.
"Is she alright?" Ura moved closer to the fallen flyer as Volant inspected her injuries. It was only now that she noticed that two of Petrie's siblings were hovering over the scene and making snapping gestures with their beaks. An obvious show of aggression to any other flyers who may decide to attack the fallen sharptooth flyer.
At least there are still a few sane ones left, Ura lamented as she shook from the adrenaline in her system. It was in a swimmer's nature to seek water and flee in such a situation, but she forced herself to hold firm. She owed it to her child who was now being chased by the herd, and she owed it to Ducky's friends.
She just hoped it wasn't too little, too late for Soar.
"She's out."
Ura nearly collapsed at those horrific words. What was supposed to have been a hopeful reunion of lost children had now turned into a tragedy of immense proportions. How could they explain this to Petrie? How would the pack react?
"She's unconscious, but I think she will be alright."
Ura righted herself as Volant clarified her statement. Panic in a herd and you won't be deterred, panic alone and you will never go home. I have to keep control. I can't... she refrained from finishing the thought as she shuddered at what the others were doing in their rampage. All thought disappeared when panic took hold.
"Soar!"
Petrie's shrieking voice made Ura sprint away for several moments until her panic-addled mind finally processed who had made the statement. It was only then that she edged back to the flyers.
"...took a hit to the head, but I gave him worse. But the herd has gone mad, Petrie. You have to get your pack out of here!"
"Not without my mate and kids, me not!" Petrie erupted with rage as he pointed one of his wings at his mother, "Me know leaf-eaters be idiots when panicked, but this idiotic even for them! We help you and this how you repay us?!"
"Petrie..."
"Me should go and rip them to shreds for..."
"Petrie, not all of the herd have gone nuts! Look at your brothers and sisters for crying out loud! Would you make yourself the enemy of us all?"
Ura swallowed as she saw the pained expression of Petrie's face. It was an expression that she had seen many times before, most notably when the herd had lost so many on their journey to the Great Valley. It was the expression of pain.
"Me... me not do that... but me have to do something! They chase my friends!"
Ura looked out at the now distant herd. In the massive throng stood many of her friends and kin. Many fellow swimmers and others of different kinds as well. Dinosaurs she had swam with and celebrated with. However she could not deny that if something was not done soon then the herd might do something that it might very well regret.
Something far more serious than knocking a flyer unconscious.
"I think that I have an idea."
Ura almost wanted to bolt as the eyes of all of the assembled flyers fixed upon her. It was obvious that they did not expect to hear anything from her. They had expected her to be outright panicked.
She narrowed her eyes with determination. She had raised well over forty children, she was made of sterner stuff than that.
"If you attack try to distract them from the air then the flyers will try to stop you, but what if you sneak over there?"
She watched as the flyers in the herd began to dive at the retreating pack. Only a few kept vigil over the herd in case the sharptooth flyers returned.
"Not to be rude, Ura, but how do you plan on doing that?" Volant inquired.
Ura smiled, "Well you an everyone else is expecting a panicking swimmer. I say that we give it to them."
Volant and Petrie shared a glance for a moment before the elder flyer turned back in her direction to ask for clarification. But she never got the chance before the sound of trampling feet swiftly interrupted them.
"What... is... going... on?" Somni choked out as Shorty trotted to a stop beside him. It was obvious that the sprint had taken a lot out of the adult longnecks.
Petrie glared at no one in particular, "Short story? Threehorn act like idiot. Gets others to act like idiots. Then idiots attack pack."
Volant immediately took off into the air and glanced at the backs of the longnecks, "Where are the children?!"
Shorty answered, "We told them to stay put with the fastrunners by the rock wall. We had to stop the rest of the herd."
Volant audibly shreeched into the air, "Fine job you did there! How goes stopping the rest of the herd? Now not only have you not stopped them, but the herd is still chasing them!"
Somni shook his head as he tried to catch his breath, "It didn't look that far away back there."
Ura tried to ignore the agitated banter as she looked back to where the children were supposedly located. That was when she noticed something that made her blood run cold.
They were gone.
Fighting the panic growing in her belly she looked at the sides of the ravine in the hopes of finding the missing children. That was when she found a familiar pink form. Pearl was standing protectively beside a visibly confused Verda, but both of them were looking at something in the distance. Following their gaze she found what she was looking for.
Several fuzzy figures were running in the distance with two fastrunners keeping close pursuit. Behind them ran the missing leaf-eater children, obviously unbeknownst to Detras and Arial. They were all heading in the direction of their retreating parents... and the rampaging herd.
"No, children! Get back here! It isn't safe!" Shorty yelled as his nephew and his friends ran into the heart of danger, "What... what are they doing?"
Ura prepared herself for sprinting as she gestured for Petrie to go into her arms. She could explain her plan to him when they were in transit. The children didn't have time to waste.
"Did Ducky and her friends ever listen to us when we told them to stay put? Then why would their children?" Ura began to sprint as the others followed, "Come on! We have to help them!"
"Watch your claws, guys!"
Biter tried to keep himself steady as the young flyer held tight to his feathers. He almost fit in with his brown coloration except for the pointed beak sticking out.
"Are you sure about this, brother?!" Swipe's rose-colored form inquired, with another one of Petrie's children resting on her back.
"Of course he is!" Pounce responded, likewise carrying a flyer, "We can't wait for the leaf-eaters to trample our mommies and daddies!"
Biter briefly glanced at Swipe and Pounce's sprinting forms as they kept pace with him. He knew that somewhere behind him ran the rest of his friends, and somewhere behind them two agitated fastrunners. But he wasn't going to let anyone talk him out of this course of action.
We have to buy them some time!
"You all know the plan: we distract them and then we run off. We are fastbiters! And what did our mommies and daddies always say?"
"Fastbiters never die as long as they keep running!" His companions shouted as if in chorus.
Biter nodded as he could feel the determination rise in his belly. It was as if the chant itself made its own mantra reality. With his friends and their parents' training he was confident that they could do anything. What arose from the next was almost something out of pure instinct.
"What are we going to do?" He shouted.
"Run!" The rest exclaimed.
"And when are we going to stop?" He asked.
"Never!"
Biter grinned with determination. Regardless of what terrors the next few minutes brought he was confident that his pack would face them together. It was a sight that would have made his father proud if he wasn't dealing with a situation of his own.
"Damn flyers!"
Littlefoot dodged another attempted swiping by a flyer as he threatened it with his spear. Their constant assaults had made navigating the ravine a difficult proposition. Nonetheless, despite the fact that the valley dinosaurs were attacking him he did not want to potentially kill one of them. He knew that would be a point of no return.
But had they already crossed that line?
In horror he watched the line of threehorns advanced towards Chomper and his parents. He could not see any detail from his vantage point, but he could see that a distinct purple form was advancing to meet the threehorns head on.
Path...
Littlefoot briefly considered their options as Taunt and Ponder ran beside him. They could announce their presence and more than likely not even distract enough of them to change the course of the fight. They could attack one of them and not change the course of the fight, and be guilty of murdering some of the valley residents.
Littlefoot froze as the realization came to him. There was no way out of this that wouldn't result in bloodshed. He had to make a choice between neutrality and protecting his friend.
He gripped his spear as he nodded to his companions. He had made his choice.
He dodged another diving flyer as he looked at the advancing line of threehorns that lay just ahead of him. They appeared to be in a line that was seven threehorns in length, with Topps squarely in the center. Two other older threehorns appeared to grunt every time that Topps barked out an order.
Deputies... If we take out his deputies then the line will falter.
Littlefoot's heart was pounding. He knew that there was no going back from this decision. Once he made this choice then he would be an enemy of the valley. Despite the previous good deeds of the pack he knew that their name would be used as a curse by the short-sided majority. The reason for their original separation from the valley was being laid bare.
But we have no choice...
He could sense Taunt's presence a mere moment before he leaned in, "What are your orders, Seeker?"
Littlefoot looked at his mate briefly and noted her grave expression, cold eyes, and tightened grip on her spear. She had reached the same conclusions that he had moments prior.
"We kill the two deputies. Those are..."
"...the grunters." Taunt finished with a cold tone that almost sounded like it came from someone else. The gravity of the situation was not lost on him.
Littlefoot nodded, "Yes. We kill them in one go and then we run. Path will have to work with that."
Ruby gritted her teeth, "...and what of our children?"
Littlefoot glared at the backside of the deputy he planned on targeting, "I hope they listened to Stern Claw order and hid." With a final look at his two companions he gave a final nod. No further words needed to be spoken. Now was the time for action.
Without a word they sprinted towards the threehorns.
Chomper stared at the gray threehorn with an unreadable expression. Despite the ferocity of the two deputies, Topps held them at bay with a single growl. It was an impressive display.
Topps took a step forward as Dein and Terri once more took on an aggressive stance. Each of them bore the scars of the ensuing battle; with scratches and contusions from the numerous blows they had been dealt. Had it not been for Chomper's intervention then he had no doubt that the desired vengeance of his herd would have been obtained by now.
This thought brought his eyes back to the purple sharptooth. Gone was the small sharptooth with the innocent eyes and the boisterous attitude. In its place stood a formidable adversary, and one that still retained the courage Topps had remembered from years prior. This was still the same Chomper and he had no doubt that like he did in the past, Chomper would not step aside.
Nonetheless he had to make the offer again.
"Chomper. You have attacked my herdmates. You have injured several of them, including myself." Topps noted the blood dripping from his snout with some detachment. He couldn't be sure if it was from one of his injuries or from one of Chomper's. "Normally this would earn you death... and my herdmates certainly would prefer that..."
Growls emanated from the deputies as they stomped their feet in anger. Despite this Chomper looked impassive.
"But you are one of those who protected the valley. For that reason, and that reason alone, I will ask you once again: step aside. Step aside and I give you my vow you will be allowed to leave."
The sharptooth seemed to look far off in the distance for several moments before finally glancing at his mother and father and letting out several roars. The roars were so low pitched that they vibrated the ground, sending off pulsations through Topps's bones. It was as if he were talking to someone far away, even though his parents were right there.
With almost deliberate slowness Chomper took a step forward and again seemed to glance into the distance as if he were looking for a signal from the heavens to tell him the proper course of action. Then, with an almost inaudible growl which again vibrated the earth beneath his feet, he looked up at the threehorns.
"There is one thing that my father told me, Mr. Threehorn, that I think you threehorns could learn from."
Topps held back at his anger as the slight insult in Chomper's statement sank in. However, being fully aware that he might be forced to carry out his threat against Chomper, he allowed the sharptooth to speak his peace, "And what would that be?
"He always says that one shouldn't lose sight of what is truly important..." Chomper nodded his head as if he were signaling to someone, "...like family."
Topps closed his eyes and lowered his horns in preparation for the final assault. He now realized what Chomper had decided.
Caw! Caw!
Topps opened his eyes in a flash at the sudden alert call from the skies above. It was an odd call that sounded like a flyer's alert call, but it had an overly gravely tone. That sounded like it came from the top of one of the walls of the ravine, but that must mean...
Caw! Caw!
A second call suddenly emanated from somewhere behind the line of threehorns. This time there was no doubt in the threehorn's mind. This was an alert call. And the urgency could only mean one thing.
"It looks like the herd is under threat. So answer me this, Mr. Threehorn, are you going to sacrifice them for this vendetta?"
Topps glared at the sharptooth. He knew that the nature of the call meant it was urgent, but it went against everything in his nature to turn from a fight. However, he would not risk the herd for the sake of someone who could never come back.
"Let's finish this!" Savine roared as he stepped forward, "The herd can run towards us if..."
"No," Topps answered with a stern voice.
"But, sir..." Savine protested.
Topps sighed as he growled for the threehorns to prepare to move out, "Our children are back there somewhere, Savine, and they take priority. We can't bring you mate back, but we can make sure that your son survives. But only if we move out now!"
Caw! Caw!
And then there was a third call, which much like the rest was cut off abnormally. Almost as if the flyer was cut off in mid...
"Threehorns, regroup with the herd!"
Not sparing the sharptooth another look Topps forced his battered body to sprint in the direction of the herd. The land behind him swiftly becoming covered in a hazy cloud of dust. In his haste to protect the herd he could not see a purple fastrunner and three fastbiters come out of hiding. He also couldn't see a satisfied grin appear on Chomper's bloodied face.
"You know, son. I never would have thought of making fake alert calls to trick the threehorns." Dein admitted.
Chomper smiled, "Neither would have I if it wasn't for being forced to listen to Orchid's musings for an entire day."
Orchid finally slid down a traversable part of the wall as he landed on the ravine floor, "Hey, they came in handy, didn't they? It is a good way of getting territorial flyers off of your back when you are trying to catch fish!"
"Only because some of us are better at carrying a tune than you are!" Taunt retorted as he shook the remaining dirt off of himself, "I'm amazed that he fell for it."
Perhaps it was because of the absurdity of the situation, or perhaps it was because of the simple joy of being alive, but the assembled dinosaurs couldn't help but laugh at their situation. The fastbiters were exhausted, and the two-footers were injured, but they were still all here. One member of the pack was not so joyful, however.
"Path... we were this close to killing them," Littlefoot raised his spear for emphasis, its tip covered with orange sap, "If it wasn't for Orchid's call..."
The purple fastrunner considered the elder fastbiter contemplatively for several moments as the implications of Littlefoot's words sank in, "I... well... you could have made the calls too... I mean..." the fastrunner shook his head, suddenly flustered, "You ended up making the last two calls... if you knew how to do that then why didn't..."
Ruby stepped forward as she placed a clawed hand on Orchid's shoulder, "Yes, but if you hadn't done that then we would not have thought of doing that. We did not have much time to think." She looked at the retreating threehorns in the distance. Despite their rapid retreat she knew that they would be back soon once they realized the ruse, "Thank you for sparing us that, brother."
For the first time in several years brother and sister embraced. Despite the fate of Ruby being permanently changed by the stone it still seemed that their destinies had again intertwined. Both were grateful for the opportunity, but were each mindful that the crisis was not yet over. It was with that in mind that they eventually broke apart once more, leaving a silent group around them.
"So... I guess we need to get out of here, huh?" Chomper finally asked.
Littlefoot nodded as he looked towards the retreating threehorns. Their shuffling gait and noticeable slowness was a testament to the beating that they had obtained, but he knew full well that Chomper and his parents were equally beaten up from the battle. It was obvious that the threehorns would intersect with the rest of the herd at any time, and Chomper's family needed to be outside of visual range by that point. For everyone's sake.
"Yeah... I guess that we can take care of this here, but I do not think that Mr. Threehorn will want to see your beautiful face again." Littlefoot mocked.
Chomper made a mock bite in Littlefoot's direction before he groaned in pain from the soreness, "Yeah... he didn't exactly give me a very warm welcome."
"Um... Seeker?"
Littlefoot turned towards his mate who was looking back towards the herd with an odd expression. An expression that seemed an even mix of confusion and fear, "Yes, dear?"
"The others were supposed to get the kids, right?"
Littlefoot nodded as he ran up to her position, "Yes, you were there. That is what I ordered... what..."
That was when he saw it. The tell-tales figure of Cera and Ducky fleeing from a spiketail in the distance, with many other leaf-eaters in pursuit. It was as if the rest of the herd were attacking his pack, and not merely going after Chomper. And they had just tricked the already enraged threehorns into the melee, with the rest of the pack in the middle...
"Oh crap..."
Castor watched with satisfaction as the fastbiters retreated through the ravine. The sound of his fellow threehorns' thundering feet could be heard echoing in the distance, which could only mean that the dreaded murderers of one of the pack's own had fallen. The pack had been distracted long enough to finish what honor demanded of them.
However this left open the question of what to do with the fastbiters.
The threehorn watched the retreat of the feathered carnivores with a mixture of anger and uncertainty. He knew that the pack had to have harbored the vile sharptooth who had killed Savine's mate. How else could the herd have just happened to have stepped in on their children being threatened by the massive carnivores? How else could Chomper have so conveniently appeared to back up his mother and father in their murderous mission?
They obviously didn't plan on their being so many of us. They will pay for their mistake. They will pay for this treachery!
"Time for you to eat dust, fastbiter scum!" he roared with righteous anger, "You will pay for what you tried to do here!"
As the fastbiters continued to flee from the advancing herd he did not expect an answer. However, he was then greeted with another surprise on this day of many surprises.
"What did we try to do?!" A yellowish-orange fastbiter screamed, "Try to rescue our kids who were trying to rescue yours?! What in the fuck is wrong with you?!"
Castor could hear some of the footsteps slow in the line immediately behind him that could actually hear the words, which caused others to run into their slowing counterparts. In response he gave a loud roar, which made the herd advance again. Over the tumult of stomping feet and angry shouts almost nothing else could be heard. Nonetheless he responded to the insolent fastbiter.
"Spiketail dung, you worthless traitor! You expect us to believe that!" he could see the fastbiter shake her head as she shifted to the left along with the rest of her pack, keeping up the distance from Castor and the others, "You led us all here to be food! Well now you are going to pay!"
He barreled ahead despite his exhaustion and the lingering pain in his head. He could barely hear something screamed from a green fastbiter that was drowned out by the commotion behind him, but he no longer paid that any heed. These fastbiters could not talk their way out of their just punishment. He would see to it that their attempt against the herd cost them their lives.
He lowered his horns as one of the slower fastbiter went squarely in his line of sight. What the fastbiters had in speed he could more than make up for in stamina. He now knew who his first victim would be.
"Leave Finder alone horn-face!"
Castor nearly tripped over his own feet as the young sharptooth flyer suddenly flew into his face. A burning sensation immediately overtook his right eye as another flyer spat something red into his eyes.
"I hope you enjoy lunch as much as my brother did!"
Castor roared in rage as the stench of partially digested longneck filled his nostrils and blinded one entire side of his vision. Within moments the rest of the herd began to stop and collide into one another in confusion. That was when the massive threehorn felt something prick him in the foot.
Hiss!
Castor looked around him in confusion as he searched for the source of his discomfort. That was when he saw the small flyers land on several conspicuous fuzz-balls on the ground below.
"Uh... guys, I think we need to run!"
Castor could not understand a word that the small fastbiter child had said, but in his anger and humiliation he no longer cared. Despite the children's bravery, they would not save their parents. As far as Castor was concerned a dead fastbiter child was simply one less adult fastbiter to worry about later.
"Is that one of their kids?"
Castor glared at the swimmer who had muttered those words, "Trying to protect their murderous parents. Let's finish this! Are you going to let their attempted murder of us all go unpunished?!"
Roars of anger and frustration erupted from the spiketails and domeheads as they charged ahead with Castor. The herd simply had more targets in their righteous mission.
Castor did not notice most of the swimmers falling behind.
Orchid watched the sad scene from the edge of the ravine. Chomper, Littlefoot, Ruby, and Taunt sprinted into the ravine behind the threehorns they had moments before cleverly distracted. Meanwhile the threehorns ran into the ravine expecting to find the herd under threat, and the herd's actions would only confirm the suspicions of the threehorns. Caught in the middle were the rest of the pack, their children, and two notable forms.
Father... sis... no!
Orchid looked around desperately. I have to do something! But what? In those desperate few seconds he racked his brain for any information he had gleamed in his short life that could possibly be relevant. Anything that could buy his family and friends even a second of extra time. Anything that could save their lives.
Sharpteeth kill with tooth and claw, but fastrunners must observe and learn.
Orchid forced himself to take a deep breath as his mother's words of wisdom entered into his mind. He could not really help fight off the threat that loomed over his loved ones, but he could use his eyes, ears, and mind. That is what he could offer them right now.
The purple fastrunner looked again at the landscape in front of him. Two large rock walls rose from the ground like trees in the Land of Mists. In between them was merely a barren expanse no more than three longnecks in width. A width that could be easily blocked by a herd.
The perfect place for a trap.
He grimaced. He would not find any hope by looking at the foreboding terrain so he set his sights on the various dinosaurs in the expanse. The threehorns had obvious signs of exhaustion and injury as several in their front line were half-limping to where the herd was located. Had they not been injured then they would have already have reached the pack by now...
Then there was the herd itself. Castor was running ahead of several spiketails and domeheads who were half-running, half-stomping towards the sharpteeth and fastrunners that lay in front of them. Some flyers continued to dive at the retreating sharpteeth, which made their retreat rather erratic. However, that was not what caught his eye.
Some of them have stopped!
To his amazement he could see nearly all of the swimmers and most of the flyers stopped some distance away from the still advancing portion of the herd. The only exception was a massive green swimmer who seemed to be holding something in her hands. Bron unmistakable form could be seen shouting something to those who had stopped while Somni took position in front of them. Then, without missing a second, Shorty and Bron continued their sprint towards Castor and his group. It was obvious, however, that they would not arrive until it was too late.
That last thought echoed in Orchid's mind. He had no idea what any of this meant. The swimmer holding an object... the longneck staying to talk with the swimmers... but he did know one thing.
He had to buy them all some time.
Orchid watched as the three groups grew closer and closer. The fastbiters were able to keep ahead of the domeheads and spiketails, but the threehorns would be upon them soon. Somehow he had to distract them.
But how can I do that?!
Orchid paused for a moment as he felt his heart race in his chest. I... I have to do that... Ha! That's it!
The fastrunner lived up to his kind's name as he ran into the center of the ravine, where he could be easily seen. I hope that this works!
Topps continued to run towards the agitated herd. He could only imagine what may have upset the herd. Perhaps Chomper and his family had allies that had decided to attack them from the other side of the ravine? Perhaps the herd had simply heard something that made them think that an ambush was on the way?
That was when he saw it.
Several fastbiters were running at full speed away from the advancing herd. Though their sizes were different than when he had first seen them, he recognized them immediately. It was Seeker's pack.
"They must be behind the alert call! They must have attacked our herd!"
Topps nearly stumbled upon hearing his deputy's words, "Nonsense! My daughter and her friends would never do something like that!" he glared at the threehorn for several seconds as he did not decrease his speed in the slightest.
"Chomper said that we had to choose between his family and the herd... so he knew!" Another deputy asserted.
"It must have been the pack's plan all along!" Savine declared.
Topps growled in frustration, "You are all mad! She would not do such a thing!"
With those words he stared at the now quite visible fastbiters and fastrunners. The small children that lagged behind their parents were obviously scared out of their wits, as were the fastrunners. But it was the adults that caught his eye. The green bodies of Ducky and Spike... The gray form of Breeze... The diminutive figure of Leap... and his daughter...
Could my daughter actually be behind something like this?
He immediately raged at himself for even considering the possibility, but the rational part of his mind would not let up on its suspicions. It was very convenient for them to happen upon Chomper's parents threatening the children... it had been convenient for the pack to appear right when the alert call came...
"No!" Topps yelled despite himself, "I cannot accept that! We will block them and then take things from there!"
Savine immediately protested, "But, sir!"
"If they are behind this then they will be dealt with!" Topps snapped as he glanced again at his daughter. Though in his heart he doubted his own words. That was one order he could not bear to give.
Caw!
Topps remembered the alert call from earlier. Would that sound be the harbinger of further bloodshed? Even now the memory seemed to haunt him despite not even being a minute old...
Caw!
Topps blinked. That was no memory. He had heard the alert call again and it was coming from...
Caw!
Topps stopped and turned around as if something had bitten his tail. This caused the remainder of the threehorns to nearly trip over themselves in confusion as they too took on alert stances. That was when they saw it.
"It's a fastrunner! They must be trying to distract us!"
Topps tilted his head at the distant fastrunner. It responded by waving his arms rapidly as if he were intentionally trying to get their attention. It was at that moment that everything clicked in his mind. I am such an idiot...
"Which is what the original call was."
The other threehorns looked at Topps as if he had gone completely mad. The fact that he then began to laugh did not dissuade them from their hypothesis.
"Sir?"
"Did you ever think, Savine, that perhaps they were simply trying to buy Chomper some time?"
Savine nearly sputtered, "What?!"
Topps shook his head, "If your friend had picked a fight with another friend what would you do? Watch them kill one another, or separate them?" he turned again as he saw the fastbiters losing ground on the herd. It seemed that their stamina was fading fast, "We should put an end to this."
As soon as Topps said this he took a hesitant step forward as he prepared his aching body for another sprint. He would risk everything to protect his daughter and grandchildren from this growing mistake.
Unfortunately Savine did not share his sentiments.
"Indeed we shall!"
Topps went wide-eyed, "Savine, wait!"
But he was too late. The father who had lost so much at the claws of the sharpteeth they had left behind would show no mercy upon those who helped them escape. As he sprinted away with murderous intent Topps knew that he would not catch him in time.
"Advance! We have to stop him!"
But that wouldn't stop Topps from trying.
Ura could see some more of the flyers peel away from the chasing group. She knew that it would be now or never.
"Now, Petrie!"
With a swift movement she lifted her arms and Petrie propelled himself into the air. Seeing several flyers propel themselves from the cliffs in his direction, she knew that they would not be able to reach him in time.
She could only hope that she had given him enough cover to do what had to be done.
"Oh no!"
Arial tried to flee from the advancing threehorn, but she found that it was rapidly gaining ground on her. Fastrunners could outrun anything in the short-term, but if there was nowhere to hide...
"Leave her alone, one-eye!"
"Die you stupid flying shits!"
Arial could hear the footsteps get slightly further away as Petrie's children again tried to distract the threehorn. Though she knew what would come next.
"Hey, try to catch me, horn-face!"
Another shift in position could be heard as the threehorn tried to chase after Pounce's small form. However, the little biter still had enough speed to avoid being trampled. This distraction once again had slowed the threehorn, but to what end? We are trapped!
That was when the unexpected happened.
Cawwwww!
She looked around in confusion as an odd sound seemed to vibrate from everywhere and nowhere all at once. It was like the orders that sharpteeth could give but much more noticeable.
Cawwwww!
The footsteps finally stopped behind her as she tried to make up ground. She had no idea what was going on, but she was not going to let an opportunity like this go to waste.
"It's the swimmers!" Ducky roared in an almost celebratory manner from several feet away, "It is the stand down signal! They're telling everyone to stop what they are doing!"
Arial's smile widened. We might make it through this yet.
"What are all of you doing?! Don't mind the swimmers, they're getting away!"
Arial groaned as she heard the affirmative grunts from a few of the spiketails. Why won't this oaf give it up already? She didn't have much time to consider that however before she felt a flyer hit her in the side.
"Arial, no!"
Detras saw the flyer a mere moment before the collision, but by then it was too late. His daughter had been knocked from her feet.
With his legs bursting with energy it only took him a few moments to reach his stricken daughter. What he saw then made his blood run cold.
She was clutching her leg. There was no way she was going to escape from this.
"Daddy?"
Detras felt his throat close up as he looked into her daughter's eyes. In those depths he only saw fear and a desperation to live at all costs. However he knew that he couldn't offer her any protection. In any other circumstance such a sprain would be a recoverable injury, but not in the middle of a chase.
This had been her final run.
"Hey, Arial," he began, barely choking back emotion, "You did your best... the children..."
"Run, daddy."
Detras shook at his daughter's words. He couldn't leave her here.
"No," the tears finally came, "If my daughter had stopped running on this day then so shall I."
The footsteps of the threehorns and spiketails grew louder as Detras's window of escape was rapidly closing. But with his voice cracking, Arial knew that he wouldn't budge. He had make up his mind.
"Dad, what about mom?"
Detras smiled at that. Arial was being compassionate to the end. "She will live on... as will your brother. Their race goes on, but ours must come to an end," he looked directly into her eyes, "I just wished that it would have gone on a bit longer."
Arial finally snapped at him, "You can go, you know?!"
Detras shrugged despite his daughter's obvious distress, "You know me, dear. Stubborn. I do not intend to outlive my children," he listened as the footsteps got even closer. The harbingers to his upcoming demise, "This is what I get for not having us flee when we had a chance. This is what I get for caring too much about the territory..."
Arial touched her father's face, which caused him to go silent, "We decided together, Dad. I am not being punished for your mistake, it was our mistake. Now we will face it together."
Detras could feel the vibrations of the footsteps echoing in his bones as he realized that the point of no return had come and gone. Now they only had time for their goodbyes.
"Arial, I..."
Screech!
"Ah! My fucking eye!"
A torrent of mud erupted onto the fastrunners as the massive threehorn crashed his front legs into the ground, his head wagging wildly back and forth as he tried to clear his vision from the scratch that had been made just under his eye. The spiketails all stopped immediately as the mad flyer began to slash at their faces as well. That was when the excited exclamation of Pounce finally alerted the stunned father and daughter to whom they owed their lives.
"It's Spotter!"
"Go, daddy! Rip them up!" Dive exclaimed while being firmly planted onto Pounce's back. However, despite Dive's recommendation, his father immediately took off into the sky once his threat had been made. Between his actions and the stand down order, the herd's aggressive stance had been replaced with confusion and inaction.
Pounce watched the scene with more than a little concern, however. The fastrunners were far too close to the commotion and any sudden move by the threehorn could still spell their doom.
"Pounce?! What are you doing here?!"
The little fastbiter felt like his belly had sunk below the ground. Busted. He turned around to see his mother standing with several of the other adults. Each one looked equal parts confused and scared.
"Mom... I couldn't let my friends fall from the cliff!"
Cera rolled her eyes as she quickly gestured for Ambush, Pounce, and Sprint to hop onto her back. As much as she wanted to weave her children from using her as a means of transportation, in this case it was necessary. It was only when the children were firmly on her back that she again spoke.
"That is not what I'm talking about, children! I told you all to hide with the fastrunners until we came back!"
Cera could not see the reactions of her children as they struggled to stay attached to their mother as she searched for some path that would allow them to bypass the herd and the threehorns.
And now the fastrunners are hurt because of us... Biter lamented, but why has everyone stopped?
Biter reluctantly stayed close to Ducky, as she had her children hop onto her and Leap's backs. This gesture was repeated with Spike and Breeze's kids as well, until only Biter and Swipe were by themselves.
"Why did the threehorns stop?" Swipe inquired.
Biter shook his head, "Who knows? I am just glad that they aren't chasing our mommies and daddies anymore."
As if to punctuate the settling down of the entire situation, an exhausted Ura, Shorty, and Bron finally arrived at the location of Castor and the spiketails. With a highly aggressive gesture, Shorty slapped the ground in between the fastrunners and the others with his tail, sending a shower of mud in the direction of Castor and several of the spiketails. Then, his intentions being made clear, he stepped in front of Detras and Arial. There was no doubt from any of those present that they were firmly under Shorty's protection now.
"Hey, look! It's Sauria and Charger!"
Biter immediately turned his head at his sister's exclamation, "And there is Datum!"
Datum and his sister were running side by side as Bron protectively placed his tail in front of the leaf-eater children. Their attempt to help their sharptooth friends had ended in their safe apprehension. Though the nuzzling that Sauria received from Bron was not lost on Biter.
"Welcome back home, guys... it was nice getting to know you."
For several moments Biter and Swipe merely watched the unfolding scene with mixed emotions. They were happy for their friends, but mindful of what this reunion now meant. Just as their recent chase had indicated to everyone, they had to live apart. This was something that Biter might have protested days before, but now experience had made him wiser. Much like their observation of the reunions, their friendship would have to be from a distance. For everyone's sake.
Be safe and happy, Datum, he smiled as the rainbowfaces finally arrived on the scene and embraced their children. Though this tender moment was interrupted shortly thereafter when Chronos ran to Arial's side in order to assess her. But Biter had heard the tales about the rainbowfaces, and he knew that Arial was in very capable hands.
"Well, I don't think the threehorns are moving... perhaps we should talk to Bron and go from there?" Cera noted after more than a little hesitation. Thank goodness they have finally come to their senses!
"Sounds good," Breeze noted after a moment, "Bron never lost his nerve during this."
Cera was not accustomed to acting as temporary pack leader, and it felt odd to put more trust into the longnecks than in her former kind. Even though the line of threehorns were much closer to them at this point, she knew all too well how they might act around sharpteeth, "Stay close Swipe and Biter. We may have to run together."
Biter was about to acknowledge Cera's orders when a mighty roar suddenly erupted into the air. With terrified expressions the fastbiters turned towards the threehorn line only to see that one of their number had broken away and was charging straight at them.
It was Savine.
"Children run!"
Cera nudged Biter with her snout as he and his sister erupted towards the distant longnecks. Within moments the entire remnant of the pack was sprinting forward in shear panic as the thunderous footsteps of the massive beast sounded in their ears. Its only competition was the loud heartbeats from their rampaging hearts.
"He's gaining on us!" Biter cried as he desperately tried to keep up with the adults. However his smaller size and the over-burdened child-covered backs of the adults were slowing them down considerably. They no longer had the speed that they needed.
"Don't look back, Biter! Run!" Spike yelled as his own children tried to hang on desperately to their father's back. In these moments instinct took over and the children latched on as if their survival depended on it.
In this instance it did.
"Children, no!"
"Savine stop!"
"Flyers, advance!"
Biter barely registered the protests from the leaf-eaters in the distance. The fact that they had discovered Savine's rampage did not matter now. There was no way that any reinforcements would reach them in time. The sound of flapping wings and numerous calls to stand down were being drowned out by the pounding of his heart and the stomping of the advancing threehorn. That was when he saw something suddenly appear in his vision.
"Charger?!"
Both Biter and Swipe nearly stumbled when they saw the small threehorn charge in their direction. They almost had no time to react as he advanced towards them with all of the fury that a threehorn could muster.
"Get out of the way, you fools!"
Biter and Swipe both dived away from the threehorn as he barreled through where they had been without slowing down in the slightest. It was then that both fastbiter heard something that made their blood run cold.
"Pounce!"
Both fastbiters turned as the shriek of Cera could be heard over all else. Pounce had fallen from his mother's overburdened back as she tried to dodge Charger. Now he was prone on the ground. Completely defenseless. Biter and Swipe ran towards him without any hesitation.
"Children, run!" Ducky cried as the tragedy unfolded in front of her. Her lament was drowned out by the cried of Cera and her Pounce's distraught siblings as she continued running forward to save what remained of her children. She knew that if she stopped moving then the entire family would be lost.
But Biter and Swipe kept sprinting until they arrived at their friend's side. He was stunned, but still conscious.
"Wha..."
"You have to get up now, Pounce!" Biter cried, "We have to run now!"
"Up!" Swipe yelled as she shoved Pounce back to his feet.
But they were too late as the shadow of the threehorn suddenly fell upon them. His roar was only matched by the thunderous percussions of his stomping feet. Acting entirely on fear, all three fastbiter collapsed onto the ground. It was as if their senses had suddenly shut down under the sensory onslaught.
"You will not hurt them."
Silence reigned for a split second as the feet suddenly came to a stop in response to the small voice. It was only when the terrible sounds ceased that Biter regained his wits and looked up from the ground. He then realized who it was that had stopped the rampaging threehorn.
Charger?
"Son?" Savine's voice choked as if he couldn't believe his eyes, "Son, is that you?"
Despite obvious wetness in his one good eye, Charger repeated his statement, "You will not harm them."
It was only then that Savine seemed to register his son's words, "But son, they protected those who killed Elsa! Who killed your mother!"
Charger turned sideways in order to cover more of the fastbiters with his body. It was entirely a symbolic gesture, but it made his resoluteness very clear.
"They protected their friend, and they saved me. Is this how the valley treats its friends?"
Savine's reaction was immediate, "Friends? Friends?! Would friends plan to ambush their allies?!"
"They did no such thing!"
Biter turned his head in stunned silence as Sauria and Datum appeared and took places in front of the two fastbiter children.
"There was no ambush... we... well..." Sauria began.
"We saw our friends up on the rock wall, so we ran to help them," Datum clarified, "Our sharptooth friends..."
It was only as Datum opened his arms to his side that he noticed that the rest of the leaf-eater gang had appeared in front of them as well. Malka, Axiom, Flip, and the pink form of Tricia. Behind them stood Cera, Spike, Ducky, Breeze, and Leap. The leaf-eaters were making a stand for all of them.
"...our sharptooth friends went to help us once they saw what we were doing." Datum finished.
"The only ones who began attacking were all of you when you saw Chomper's parents." Sauria added.
It was only now that Biter noticed Charger looking up at his father with a softer expression. It was joined by a noticeably ashamed expression on his father's face.
"Those... monsters are still out there..."
Charger nodded, "There are many monsters out there father and I trust that the herd will deal with them if we ever see them again, but my friends..." he gestured with his horn at the assembled sharpteeth, "...are not monsters. But what would we be if we finished what we started here? What would that make us, Dad?"
The silence of Savine was countermanded by the gradually increasing volume of the approaching herd and threehorns, within moments the space between the fastbiters and the various leaf-eaters became quite cramped indeed. Everyone was staring at the stunned threehorn.
It was with a very slow movement that the threehorn looked up again at his son. An expression of contemplation was plastered on his face.
"That sounds exactly like what your mother would have said... she was always looking for the better in people," he smiled slightly at the memory, "I wonder what she would say about all of this."
Despite the solemnity of the moment Charger snorted slightly, "She would probably call us all a bunch of idiots."
In the moments that followed an ominous rumbling appeared to rise from the bowels of the Earth. The rumbling grew into a steady hum. Within moments, however, the laughter could not be held any longer and both threehorns laughed with the emotion that could only come with immense relief after terrible loss. His mate was dead, but his son was alive. He had made a terrible mistake, but he had not yet killed an innocent. His past had died, but he had a future yet to be written.
All that he had to do was embrace it.
With shaking frills and unsteady feet Savine lowered his head to nuzzle his child. It was in that moment that Biter realized that the terrible moment was over. The crisis had been averted. For that reason he did not act surprised when his parents suddenly appeared with utterly exhausted expressions and embraced him and his sister. He knew that everything would be alright.
Charger smiled, "It's good to see you again, Dad."
"It's good to have you back, son," Savine's voice cracked, "Let's get out of this horrible place."
All of the assembled dinosaurs watched in silence as the threehorn and his son walked slowly away from those who had very nearly been killed out of anger. As they walked through the herd, they parted ways in order to allow them to walk unimpeded. Like a sharptooth in an old pack song who had finished his role, they simply faded into the background.
The crisis was over.
Merry Christmas, everyone! I know it has been a while, but I have finally found the time to complete the latest chapter. I hope that you all enjoy the latest installment, and that you have a happy holiday season.
gordhanx: Yeah, the cast list is kind of a necessity in a story like this. That is what happens when everyone in the pack (except Chomper thus far) decides to have several children. d-; But at least this isn't a story about a swimmer family; if that was the case then the cast list might be hundreds of names long. I am glad that you enjoyed the emotionally-charged nature of the previous chapter, and I hope that I have lived up to that in this chapter. Though the emotional cost of this chapter will probably be felt for a long time to come. Even though peace has been restored, and everyone (except Chomper) have effectively been absolved as far as the valley is concerned, there will still be some major emotional baggage from this incident. It is a firm reminder of why the pack only communicated through flyers and maintained distance between itself and the valley. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this latest installment.
bryan mccloud: Yep, so Chomper decided to back up his parents after all. Though I doubt that any of Chomper's family are going to be invited to any valley festivities any time soon. d-; The rest of the pack refrained from any attacks except in self-defense. Chomper on the other hand...
Guest and Outdoorsman: The reason why the Seven Hunters is rated M is due to the actual wording of the fanfiction guidelines on this site. I do not want to risk anything happening to my story due to a minor rating issue. Generally speaking, anything that includes torture or outright depictions of gore should, under the guidelines of this site, have an M rating. Hence why I changed that story from T to M after chapter 14.
BlackRaptor1: Yep, a lack of communication and misjudgements have abounded in previous chapters, and they nearly led to absolute disaster here. I think that it is safe to assume that the pack and the valley alike are going to use this incident as a learning experience. It could have been a lot worse, but no one wants a repeat of this near-disaster.
EverFreeSparkle: Indeed. Clusterfuck is a perfect synopsis of what transpired in the previous chapter, and what came to fruition here. It was only through the selfless actions of Chomper and the children that utter catastrophe was avoided. It will be interesting to see how things develop in the next chapter. The reunion just got a whole lot more awkward.
JulianR94: Thank you again for the kind words and the helpful reviews. (: I have found your input to be very helpful as I have written this story, and I am still touched that you wanted to use my Seven Hunters fandom as a starting point for your excellent story. I hope that you enjoy the latest installment. I eagerly look forward to your thoughts on the developments in this chapter.
MoreDakka: I have been a bit more merciful on your arms in this chapter than in previous ones. (:
Once again I apologize for the long delay. I hope that the latest chapter was worth the wait, and I hope that all of you have a wonderful holiday. Until next time! ~Rhombus