Author's note: I have to admit I 'borrowed' a small idea from Brekclub85's story, Sharptooth Valley, and used it in this story, so give him some of the credit. xP (The implementation of it is near the end of this chapter.)
P.S: Don't skip to the end of the chapter, Brek. Read it first. xP
Note: I am so sorry for not uploading for such a long time. I am uploading this chapter after a long time with no updates. Unfortunately, if I realize that my readers have abandoned the stories, this will be my last story. If you wish to save my ideas, please comment/review. All comments are welcome. And so, with no further delays, let's continue the story...
Part 3- Discovery
Not long later...
Ruby entered the cave, still holding the pile of leaves for Pterano.
"Hello my friend, my friend hello!", she called to him.
"Welcome back, Ruby!", he answered with a smile as she put down the leaves before him.
"Thank you so much for you hospitality.", he said and started eating, one leaf at a time, and continued: "I don't know how am I ever going to pay you the favor back.".
"Oh don't worry about that!", she quickly said.
"Hmm... I was thinking... Do you like stories?", he asked her after a while.
"Oh, of course we do! We love stories!", she said with excitement. Grandpa Longneck didn't tell them a story for quite a time now.
"Then it's decided, once Chomper comes back, I'll tell you both an exciting story!", he said with a big smile.
"I haven't got an audience for quite a long time you know...", he added, but mostly to himself.
Meanwhile, nearby the cave...
"Thanks for all the help, everyone!", Chomper said happily and took the pile of berries they collected from nearby the Thundering Falls, walking back to the cave.
"But, we wanna come too!", Petrie quickly said and joined up with him.
Before Chomper could say anything, his friends' parents called their kids to their nest, to their disappointment.
"Sometimes I wish my parents weren't here, just like yours, Chomper. I do, I do.", Ducky said and sighed, joining the others as they went back and said "Goodbye!" to Chomper.
"Don't worry! Maybe you can see Ruby tomorrow!", he called and went back to the cave, dragging the pile of berries, which were on a big leaf, behind him.
"I'm here! And I have something for you, Ruby!", he announced as he entered the cave, showing the berries.
"Wow, thanks!", she thanked him and gave a little hug.
"Wanna try some, Pterano?", she offered just to him as she knew Chomper almost never eats berries.
"Well, I never tried, but I'll give it a try!", he said and took a few, chewing them slowly.
Soon later...
Ruby finished her berries, along with Pterano, who concluded that the berries were "Really good!".
"Chomper, Pterano is going to tell us a story!", Ruby remembered right after she finished, and it's good that she did, since Pterano completely forgot about it.
"Really? Cool!", Chomper called happily and looked eagerly on Pterano, who cleared his throat and looked on the two kids.
"The story I will tell you today is 'The Story of the Stone of Cold Fire'. This is when I met your friends for the first and last time until now.", he began, but was stopped by Chomper and Ruby asked him: "Cold fire? How can a fire be cold?".
"Don't worry, you'll realize when I'll get to it.", he said briefly and continued.
"It all started when I arrived for the first time at the Great Valley with my two companions...", he began the story.
And so, Pterano told the story (Author's note: Watch "The Land Before Time VII" for the full story. xP) and the two kids listened with impression and gasped every time something dangerous or exciting occurred, for example, the kidnapping of Ducky.
Later that night...
Pterano finished his story with the words: "And so, I was banished from the Great Valley for 5 cold times. That's why I didn't want anyone to know that I'm here. My punishment might get increased if they do.".
Ruby and Chomper didn't completely hear what he said by now. More than half of the night-time had already passed.
"Good night, Pterano! Thanks for the story!", Ruby and Chomper mumbled and fell asleep, forgetting that it wasn't their cave.
"Good night, kids.", he said and fell asleep beside them, smiling.
The next morning...
"So, why are we not bringing Cera with us?", Ducky asked Littlefoot as they, along with Spike and Petrie were walking to Ruby and Chomper's cave.
"I don't know... I feel like they're hiding something, and I want to know what!", he answered quietly.
As they got to Ruby and Chomper's cave they called them, but there was no answer.
"Chomper! Ruby!", they tried calling again, but still with no answer, except for loud sleep rumbling heard from not too far.
"Do you hear that?", Littlefoot asked them, and they all nodded in response.
"Yeah! That sleep rumble even stronger than Spike's!", Petrie said and looked at Spike, who frowned at him, making Petrie quickly apologize with a smile.
As they got to the cave they all opened their eyes and mouths in amazement- Chomper and Ruby were sleeping together with the source of the sleep rumbling- no other then...
"Uncle Pterano!", Petrie called cheerfully and flew as fast as he could to hug his uncle, who immediately woke up. Chomper and Ruby were still fast asleep, unaware that their secret was discovered.
"P-Petrie!", he mumbled in surprise. "B-But how did you find me?", he asked them, shocked.
"Your sleep rumbling be stronger than the Smoking mountain!", Petrie laughed.
"Oh, Petrie's uncle! I'm very glad to see you again! I am, I am!", Ducky said happily (She really liked him ever since he saved her from falling from the smoking mountain.).
Chomper and Ruby, who finally noticing the fuss, slowly opened their eyes, and since their heads were in front of the cave's entrance, all they could see was Littlefoot, with a rather angry expression on his face.
The two immediately shot up with open eyes, mumbling "Umm... We can explain!".
Littlefoot barely even noticed they woke up, as he turned back and went out of the cave.
Chomper and Ruby quickly ran out and stood in front of him.
"Please, don't tell anyone about it!", they quickly begged.
"I can't believe you hid him!", he said angrily and kept walking.
"But he's injured! You can't make him leave like that!", they said angrily, standing in front of him again.
"He's hurt? Are you sure?", he suddenly changed his serious tone.
"Yeah. He was hit by a storm flash and fell from the sky, we saw it!", Chomper insisted.
"I don't know. I can't trust him, not after the last time.".
"Well, it's only until he feels better!", Ruby explained.
"Well, I...", he started saying but met their eyes. "Okay, okay.", he agreed, rolling his eyes.
Cera almost smashed Littlefoot as she came running, saying: "Hey Littlefoot! Let's go to... Umm... The Thundering Falls!", she quickly improvised.
Littlefoot wasn't impressed and said "I already know about Pterano.".
Cera looked like someone dropped a rock on her head, and she quickly looked on Chomper and Ruby, who nodded.
"Are you going to tell on him?", she asked him.
"No, but he has to leave when he's better.", he told her.
"Well... That's what I said too!", she said protectively (Which was also the truth.).
"Hey everyone! Pterano be telling us the story of 'the ugly sharptooth'!", Petrie called happily from inside the cave.
"Alright!", Ruby and Chomper called at the same time and rushed to the cave.
Cera and Littlefoot looked at each other, a bit confused, and followed them, where they could see everyone sitting around Pterano.
"So, are you a story teller?", Littlefoot asked him curiously.
"I'm not as good as some of the older longnecks, such as your grandparents, Littlefoot, but I've seen and heard quite a few things on the mysterious beyond, and I thought they'd make good stories. Now, come sit, and I will begin.".
Littlefoot and Cera joined the rest of the gang, and sat down as Pterano started telling the story.
"Now, the story I'm going to tell you happened about a hundred bright circles ago. It all started when I was flying around in the mysterious beyond, looking for green food. I was so weak at the time I couldn't fly for long periods, and had to rest now and then. And while I was resting, I was attacked by the ugliest sharptooth you've ever seen!".
Hearing that the kids started laughing madly. Chomper wasn't offended at all with the sharptooth insults. In fact, he was the one who laughed the most.
After half a day...
"And so, I lured him to a waterhole, where he saw himself, and from the shock he ran away, never to be seen again!", Pterano finished his story.
By now, all the kids were rolling with laughter. Grandpa Longneck's stories were more mysterious than funny.
Littlefoot, although didn't believe Pterano's story for a moment, couldn't help but realizing Pterano was as good as his Grandpa in story telling.
"Alright kids, off you go. You better get something to eat!", he dismissed them.
"Alright! Thanks for the story!", they called and left, but decided to bring him something to eat as well.
Pterano laid on the wall of the cave, relaxed. He massaged his wing that was stiff from the branches and tree stars. "This is the good life!", he said happily. "I can't believe they believed that my wing is injured!", he called, but thought: "Though I do wish I didn't have to do that... The life in the Mysterious Beyond is just too hard for me to go on...".
Some time later...
"Pterano! Pterano!" calls were heard after what Pterano was convinced was a second.
"Back already, children?", he asked them.
"Oh yeah! We wanna hear another story!", Petrie explained. "Right, guys?", he asked them, and they nodded, even Littlefoot (who was the greatest story lover of them all.).
"Alright.", he said and started eating the tree stars the gang got for him.
"This story is the story of the greatest battle I ever had!", he began dramatically.
"Wow!", they all said at once, including Spike, somewhat.
"Not only I had to fight the biggest and meanest sharptooth I've ever seen, but I also had to battle two fast-biters as well!", he said and paused for a moment, to increase the tension, and in that time the kids couldn't believe they knew the sharptooth: "Red Claw!", they called in unison, surprising Pterano.
"Red Claw? Who's that?", he asked them.
"Did the sharptooth have a big scar from his claw to his eye?", Littlefoot quickly asked, which made Pterano almost faint.
"W-Well, just wait and hear the story!", he said and quickly continued.
"So there I was, hungry and tired, facing 3 meat eaters, ready to have me in their stomach.", he said and the kids gasped.
"But then, I remembered that I promised myself to see my beloved family again!", he continued, looking at Petrie, who stared at Pterano with the greatest admiration.
"So I gathered the last of my powers and flew up, dodging the claws and the jaws. I flew up, and then down, and then right and left, confusing them completely!", he began telling the battle in details.
That night, outside the cave...
"Littlefoot!", his grandparents called desperately, so did the other parents to their kids.
The parents met up on a certain spot, not far from the cave the children and Pterano were in.
"Any luck?", Grandpa Longneck asked the other parents, who nodded in response.
"Well, it's not use looking now. We shall continue in the morning. Maybe they'll be back by then.", Grandpa concluded and turned away, but was stopped by Mr. Threehorn: "I can't believe you're saying that! Our little kids are out there alone in the night! They could be in danger right now!".
Surprisingly, Tria was the one to respond: "Topsy, our children are no longer hatchlings. They should be able to care for themselves for the night.", she said and rubbed his head with hers, which seemed to soften him up.
"Very well", he mumbled and turned back to his nest, as the others did.
Meanwhile, in the cave...
No one could hear the grown-ups' calls from outside as they were too captivated in Pterano's story, which was drawing to an end: "Eventually, when they seemed so tired and angry at me, as if the last thing they would do is to eat me, I dove down and slashed the sharptooth from the eye to the claw, giving him a huge scar, to teach him that no sharptooth can mess with me! And thus, he ran away!", Pterano finished with inflated chest.
All of the kids cheered, though Littlefoot and Cera didn't believe it for a moment.
Littlefoot looked at Cera's expression and whispered: "You don't believe him either, huh?".
She turned to him with a smile, saying: "Nope! But you have to admit he's a good story-teller!".
"But...", Pterano began again dramatically, and the kids held their breath once more.
"He swore he'll have his revenge on me!", he finished.
"How could you tell what he said? You don't know sharpteeth!", Cera asked him angrily.
"Oh really? But I am speaking Sharpteeth now, aren't I, Chomper?", he asked, the last part, in sharpteeth, was directed to Chomper.
Everyone's jaws dropped, and Chomper just said: "Wow.".
"How... Did you do that?", Littlefoot asked him, shocked as much as the others.
"After being so long in the mysterious beyond, I decided I wanted to learn what sharpteeth were saying. So I listened to their conversations, and finally learned their language.", he explained.
"Well, enough with that, time for you to return to your nests!", Pterano called.
"But you're so cool! Can't we stay here just one more night?", Chomper pleaded.
"Well... Alright.", he agreed, and everyone cheered and settled for sleep, forgetting that their parents are probably looking for them (And they did.).
"This is probably the weirdest day in my life...", Littlefoot thought and fell asleep.
Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Again, if you wish to save the stories please comment/review ASAP. Thank you again for reading! =)