One Journey's End
Orchid grinned expectantly as he listened to the relieved but fearful chattering of the three fast runners slowly approaching him and his sister. He had been puzzled by his older sister's quick departure to search for her friend as he would have wanted to greet her long-lost sibling as soon as possible after her miraculous survival in the horrifying fight against the two sharpteeth. He and Arial exchanged eager glances as they looked at Ruby, Greentail and Yarel slowly walk towards the small glade covered by a thick layer of the white ground sparkles whose falling was slowly coming to a halt. Yet the dancing shadows cast by the white skies hid any trace of the young children from anyone who didn't know their exact location.
The girl looked at her sister in worry, also realizing that something terrible had had to happen to her lately. It seemed like none of her family had had an easy time lately but at least she could give Ruby a merry homecoming, reminding her of the endless, better days back when they had all lived together in the safe embrace of the Hanging Rock, long before the arrival of Red Claw or the dictate of Dein and Terri concerning Chomper. Yes, this would be a happy surprise for her after whatever tragedy she had faced in the past weeks…
A heavy burden was slowly building on her heart as Ruby looked at the slippery wastes before her. She was eternally grateful that she and Yarel had made it through the close encounter with the two predators but on the other hand, today's momentous reunion was slowly shredding her mental truce with herself to pieces. Now that she had completed her long journey to warn her family of the terrible danger, did she have the courage to rebuild her life from the scratch? Did she have a place with her family after she had hurt them this badly?
Yet, she wanted to believe the answer to that question could be found right next to herself. For the first time in a few days, Yarel seemed at least somewhat relaxed as the hope for at least some help concerning her sister was within sight. Despite her sickening condition, the only family she had left had gone through it all with her, never losing the sight of which was truly important. The fastrunner knew she didn't deserve the love the thinclaws had shown towards each other but it gave her slight courage that things wouldn't end up as badly as she had feared in her darkest moments. Her moment of pondering was suddenly interrupted as Yarel started to clear his throat but just before he was opening his mouth, a sudden shock swept across the pink fast runner as she was suddenly tackled into the ground sparkles by two smaller dinosaurs. At first her mind began to register it as another attack of a sharpteeth but as two very familiar voices rang in her ears, her face turned into a smile immediately.
"Welcome home, Ruby! It's great to have back with us!" Orchid and Arial cried as they giggled at the sides of their sister whose initial shock wore immediately. The duo's faces radiated as they greeted Ruby which heartened their sibling without end. The thinclaws looked at the three in clear surprise but they realized this was a matter between the fast runners. Ruby gasped a few times before she rose to a sitting position, looking yes wide at her siblings as she answered to them with slight stutter.
"Arial! Orchid! Wh… where did you come from? I thought you were waiting with mommy and daddy, wait with them I thought you did!" She said, not really knowing how to best answer to them. Yet, the two had never been ones to follow their parents' instructions so in the end, this was something she should have expected, the fast runner figured. Orchid walked closer to her, his demeanor mirroring the emotion of the moment. His expression strayed at the border of affection and happiness but somehow he managed to include both of them in this answer.
"We wanted to see you now, Ruby! We never got the chance to greet you before you left again and we wanted to make sure you couldn't escape us this time! We're just happy to see you after all these Cold Times!" The boy said, glancing happily at his younger sister who walked to his side. And deep inside, Ruby understood her siblings completely and after taking a moment to gather her thoughts before finally giving an answer that gave justice to the duo's reaction to her return. She slowly rose back to her legs, rubbing a slight layer of the ground sparkles from her feathers. She then bowed towards the two children and before either of them had a chance to react, closed them both into a tight embrace.
"So am I, Orchid and Arial, so am I. I haven't seen you for too long." She said, the three siblings' embrace continuing on for several seconds as Ruby recalled at their many games together. After a while, the three let go of each other and Ruby asked the two with an unreadable expression.
"How have things gone for you? Have I missed something I shouldn't have missed?" Ruby asked carefully, looking at the innocent faces of her younger siblings. She savored this small nostalgic moment before she'd have to relay her news for her parents. She looked in expectation as Orchid immediately answered.
"There sure is! Last Cold Time, I met the mythical red colored fast biter that can only be seen during the peak of the frigid days! I was so lucky!" The boy said boastfully, more than happy to use his earlier adventure in the freezing cliffs surrounding the Hanging Rock as a source of pride for himself. He had asked his parents and occasional strangers about his mysterious savior many times but he had learned nothing more of him than the vague whispers of the spirit of the Cold Time itself. Ruby looked at him in interest when Arial hit her brother playfully, taking a mock angry look at the other fast runner.
"You sure weren't as you nearly froze to death! Your story of this fast biter was simply a tale you made up in your mind in the night while you waited for rescue!" The girl said, somewhat disappointed at Orchid trying to spread his tale forward as the truth as it was far too incredible for her to believe. Her brother returned the hit just as gently as he rebuked his sister's jealous remark.
"I did not! I was freezing, that is true, but the fast biter led to me to safety! That is the truth!" He said, remembering that day as a combination of one of his most horrifying failures and one of the most incredible wonders in his life. He understood his sister's hesitance to believe him but her next remark hardly helped the two siblings find a common ground.
"Is not!"
"Is too!"
"Is not!"
"Is too!"
Ruby looked at the sky, shaking her head slightly at the duo's so very familiar and childish antics with great nostalgia. She, too, had heard of the red fast biter but she had always shaken him off as a mere story. But all that mattered was that the two had been spared from similar tragedies to hers and that they were largely unchanged by the hardships of the last months. However, she also knew that she'd have to put a stop to the duo's fight and go meet her parents for their sake and as a gesture of gratitude for the two thinclaws who were slowly beginning to shiver under the merciless beating of the cold wind. Ruby quickly moved forward with a slightly stern look but was careful not to ruin the mood of the reunion.
"Stop that, Orchid and Arial! I'm sure both of you have many more tales to tell me but for now, we should go meet mommy and daddy. Is that okay for you?" She asked in a friendlier look, doing her best to show appreciation for both of them. The children calmed down almost immediately and neither of them seemed to object to the older omnivore's proposition. They both nodded soon to Ruby's words, realizing that that meeting had to commence sooner than later. Ruby's heart swelled to look at her siblings' faces once more but the coming talk spoiled this moment's preciousness. She had to let out the terrifying pressure of guilt before it swallowed her mind whole. She then turned around and called to the two thinclaws who seemed more than eager to continue the journey.
"Come on! It isn't a long way back anymore!" She said before beginning to head towards the spot she had left her parents at. She was happy at the presence of her friends and siblings but none of them knew the depth of her personal disasters. And before they'd reach the bottom of her sickening failures, she would never feel truly at ease around any of them.
A slight frown appeared on the male's face as he dragged the massive carcass a bit further, the movement only enabled by the slippery, icy ground. Detras would have dearly wanted to question his daughter immediately but he trusted Ruby enough to allow her to get the friend she had spoken of. An atmosphere of uncertainty and doubt flew over him and his mate as they wondered deeply at what had happened. For a long while, however, silence reigned as the two wanted to surprise their daughter with the miraculous source of food Detras and Arial had found before the fight against Dein and Terri. Yet, even if on the outside everything seemed like everything was well, the duo's uncertainty of the future reigned supreme.
After their initial meeting, it was clear that something terrible had happened to Ruby and Chomper and it was more than probable the predators' attack was their daughter's doing. Detras wanted to believe it wasn't so but he dreaded to hear the full truth of Ruby's last days in the Valley. He had always wanted to trust in his daughter but he couldn't help an outraged expression rising to his face or his mind darkening at what was coming. Even if she did her best to hide her own fears, it was clear a similar sentiment was making its way into his mate's thoughts as well.
"She should be able to find us here again, dear. Let's hope she'll be coming back soon." She said, panting slightly from dragging the threehorn's remains to at least a bit closer to their long-lost daughter. Detras glanced at the corpse with a slight melancholy as he had hoped such a find could satisfy his family for at least a few days but Ruby's new friends would most likely force him on another hunt far sooner than he had wished for. Yet, none of that mattered now. All that did was to find out what had happened and how to best safeguard his family's future.
"She should be here at any time. I just wish she isn't the cause for all this. She should have learned far better by now." He said, knowing most leaf eaters would have find his reasoning cold, cruel even, but survival under the countless threats of the world demanded everyone, especially the fast runners, to avoid doing serious mistakes. He could only dread at what was coming and even if he hated the fact himself, he didn't know if he could stand the truth of his daughter's probable failures. Pearl looked at her mate with a slight worry before turning to look at the clearing wastes around her. The female was even more hesitant her mate to acknowledge her own doubts but deep down, she also feared at what she would hear soon.
"We just have to listen to what she has to say before we can think about such things. Even if she has done something brash, all of our children have always proven to think about our common good before themselves. You know it as well as I do." She said, prompting a sudden unsure look from Detras. He suddenly looked around himself before remembering something that momentarily shocked him deeply.
"Speaking of our children, where're Orchid and Arial? I haven't seen them since…" He said, looking at the hill he had commanded them to push down the decisive ball of ground sparkles on the predators. Now they were nowhere to be seen which worried him somewhat. He had completely forgot them in the midst of his conflicting emotions about his eldest child's unexpected return. However, that mystery was solved far quicker than he had expected. A distant childish banter immediately reached his ears and the omnivore turned his gaze to his right, somewhat relieved to see that his younger children had merely followed Ruby and not gotten to any unnecessary danger. However, Detras felt himself grow nervous as he dreaded what his daughter would tell him. He looked in appreciation as his mate chuckled slightly before turning her gaze at the male.
"It seems we don't need to worry about them even half as much as we do, dear. They have always been more resourceful than we give them credit for." She said with a smile that nonetheless failed to hide what lurked behind her friendly façade. She, too, knew what was at stake and she'd make sure Ruby wouldn't get away without answering for her past deeds, no matter hard how hard it would be for the kind-hearted fast runner.
"What happened to you, Greentail? Why are you walking like that?" Arial asked curiously, looking at the green dinosaur's forced movement and clearly bothered expression. She and her brother were highly curious fast runners and Ruby's mysterious friends raised their interest immediately. They could see the tension in Ruby's face but that didn't prevent them from getting to know the thinclaws who were coming to their home for at least a short time. Greentail herself was far from surprised at the younger half tooth's question but she didn't mind it too badly as the duo's appearance had clearly cheered up the otherwise dark mood over the three other omnivores. Willing to present herself as normal as she could, Greentail gathered herself to speak slowly and as clearly as she could.
"Let's just say it was an accident. I hurt my foot badly the first time we met those damned sharpteeth but it prevented me from partaking in the fight today. But it's getting better by the day." Greentail lied as she wasn't willing to go over all her struggles to the younger girl. She'd most likely learn of it in due time but for now, the answer she gave was as good as any. However, the injured thinclaw wasn't getting any reprieve before she was bombarded with another question.
"Where did you two meet Ruby? Where were you living before then?" Arial asked in interest, not knowing the toll her cheerfulness and interest were taking on Greentail. However, the latter decided to answer on her question once more but her condition forced her to give shorter answers than she would have liked.
"At a forest west from here a few days ago. I and Yarel had stayed there for a long time since… since one very bad day." Greentail sighed in clear annoyance. In truth, she remembered nothing about what she was talking about and without Yarel and Ruby's help, she would never have been able to sate the younger dinosaur's curiosity. Yet, Arial was already trying to present another question to the other female.
"Oh… what hap…" She started before she heard a stern voice before her. Ruby suddenly turned around and faced her sister, willing to give Greentail at least a slightly easier time.
"Arial, you may ask those questions later but for now, let's take it easy! Greentail is as tired of the journey as we are. Let her be for now!" The fast runner said, earning a slight smirk from Greentail. The maimed omnivore hadn't minded Arial's company but she had truly tried the limits of her ability to hide her terrible injury. Arial looked disappointed and somewhat puzzled by Ruby's words but before she had any chance to answer to them, another call from a nearby hill interrupted the small group's banter immediately.
"We're here, Ruby! We've got a surprise for all of you!" The pink fast runner turned to look at the source of the voice and she was surprised to see her parents at another point than the one she had left them in. However, their words brought her slight hopes that the coming meeting wouldn't necessarily be as tense as she had expected. She quickly turned to her siblings and friends and spoke to them in expectation.
"You heard them, heard them you did! Let's see what's waiting for us!"
All of the young omnivores' eyes grew wide as they saw the massive form of the dead threehorn lie at the ground. Even if they had fought to keep that feeling at bay, it was clear that the three friends were ravenous after the long, difficult days of constant danger and hardship. Ruby had never expected her parents to present her and the others with such a treat but she was more than happy to have been proven wrong. Only Arial looked disappointed to find that this "surprise" had been the same piece of rotting meat she had already complained to her father about. However, she decided against bringing up her distaste at old meat again and simply stayed silent for now. Pearl smiled slightly as she spoke to the younger omnivores in a warm voice.
"I thought you might be hungry after your journey here, young ones. You two are also welcome to join us for helping Ruby return to us." She said, prompting thankful smiles from Yarel and Greentail. It wasn't often that strangers were invited to join another half tooth family's meal and both of them realized the meaning of Ruby's parents' gesture. Yarel answered to her with a careful smile while still retaining some carefulness in this situation.
"Thanks, Ms. Fast Runner. We certainly…" He said somewhat awkwardly but the female cut her short immediately.
"My name's Pearl and my mate is Detras. I'm happy to meet you, Yarel." She said, also noticing that the other thinclaw's situation was rather worrying but she decided against bringing that up just yet. Willing to further break the animosity between the omnivores, she quickly buried her snout into the threehorn's ribcage, more than thankful for finding a dinosaur of this size in these cold wastes. The others joined the meal immediately but it was clear that one question hung over the eating omnivores, one that would have to be left out sooner rather than later. And it was Detras who at last turned his gaze at Ruby and took a demanding look. His voice was soft but it was clear that he demanded a clear and definitive answer.
"Ruby, I know these things might be hard for you to tell but I and your mother would like to know what happened to you in the Valley. And most of all what happened to Chomper." He said, looking at his daughter's blood-soaked face fall immediately. He knew that whatever had happened weighed on her immensely but the threat Dein and Terri possessed to his family was still a very real issue and he'd have to get to the bottom of this in order to decide with his mate the best way to move forward. Ruby looked at her father for a few seconds and swallowed deeply as she prepared to give her answer. She looked absolutely miserable when she opened her mouth again.
"Daddy… Mommy… May I start from the beginning?" She asked carefully but to her slight relief, Pearl answered to her almost instantly.
"Of course, Ruby. Do as you see best." She said, doing her best to reassure her daughter in this terrible moment. She was only partly successful as Ruby's mood fell immediately as her mind returned to the last days of the now long-gone happy days of the last Warm Time. A faraway formed in her eyes as she began to recite the most horrible months of her life.
"Well, it all started on the night of the Late Warm Time's day, just after I and Chomper had returned from the Valley's celebration…" She cringed in deep regret as she recalled her chase for the egg stealers and she lived again the excitement of their recapture of the invaders' catch… as well as the following disaster which still bothered her nearly every night in her sleep stories. However, the last time she had been forced to dwell in her guilt this deeply was when she had recited the true course of actions to her dear, now-departed friends. The mere memory of how much she had lost on that one, single night nearly forced her to her knees but with great effort, she managed to continue her tale.
The income of her daughter's desperate words battered Pearl's mind as she tried to put herself to Ruby's place during Volant's interrogation and the following hours. The only thing that forced her to divide her attention from Ruby's words was the deep breathing of her mate and Detras' scratching of the corner of his eye. Even if Pearl regretted deeply the fact that all of the duo's attempts to unite the Valley against Red Claw lied in ruins but apparently it weighed even more on her mate. However, it was the next part of Ruby's tale that touched her even more than the first one had. Ruby looked at her parents pleadingly as she told where she had continued after her exile from the Great Valley.
"It wasn't long before we decided we should seek you out and ask how we should proceed. At that point, all I wanted was to get Chomper safely home for the sake of our family but… well, you'll hear of it soon. Anyway, we headed for the Hanging Rock immediately but we were relentlessly chased by a sailback sharptooth who I met again later. Or rather our friends were. All the while I tried to think on how to best move forward but I could come up with nothing else than to seek you out. But you weren't at home, at home you weren't." Ruby crossed her hands and let her head droop to the ground, fighting back her sobs. Only now did she realize the amount of tragedy that could have been avoided if her parents had been there to guide her forward. To think that her return to the Valley and what came after would never have happened in that case... Detras looked at her in slight hesitation, his thoughts still swirling at the moment when Ruby had ruined the spiketail's egg but he decided to give his answer. However, his voice was even colder than he intended, startling both his daughter and mate.
"We would have liked to tell you about our departure but we simply didn't have the time because it was a question of mere days before Red Claw would have attacked our home and we never got a chance to send a flyer to the Valley. I'm so sorry about that, Ruby. But if you hadn't tried to play the hero back then, all would still be well and our departure would have meant little." He said, trying his best to let Ruby finish her story before making any judgements but he was already getting annoyed by Ruby's inexcusable actions. Pearl cast her mate an angered look and spoke to him quickly.
"She only tried to do what she thought was best, as should we all, Detras! We cannot judge her for that!" She said while putting her hands on her hips. She also regretted Ruby's choice but she would never use this situation to attack her own daughter. Detras snorted slightly at that comment, always more eager to mind his own business in the wide and dangerous world than his mate. Yet, he let out that argument be and the duo returned their gazes at the younger omnivore. However, a third pair of ears listened to her story just as eagerly as her parents.
Yarel decided against interrupting his friend's tale but he was more than happy to hear about her past. The girl's constantly fearful and saddened behavior as well as her mysterious relationship with Dein and Terri had puzzled him greatly. She had never told about what had happened, aside from Chomper's death, which was something Yarel had never really approved off but at least she had told him about that. And thus far, he had a terrible feeling he wouldn't like what was to come. Anyway, he resolved to only listen as Ruby opened her mouth again, startled by her father's words.
"Anyway, we soon found our friends who were looking for us. All they wanted was for us to return to the Valley even if Petrie's mom had told us to go away. I tried to tell them that wasn't possible but… Littlefoot was a better speaker than I'll ever be. He was certain the others could speak us back in after we'd helped the Valley so many times during our stay. And… the best thing of all was that he was almost right." A longing smile crept to Ruby's face as the feeling of their journey back into the Valley resurfaced in her mind. If only she could return to the past and do it all again… A single tear formed in the corner of her eyes as she thought about another evening breeze at her Thinking Place after a long, happy day playing and adventuring with her friends. The hope of returning to her lost paradise seemed again so very real and seeing that hope collapse again in her mind's eye hurt once again terribly. Those flowing memories seemed to stretch on for hours even if Ruby knew herself they were only a few fleeting seconds in real life. As she prepared for the next part of her story, she looked at the white sky, thinking about all the sacrifices of her friends and their parents, crying inside about the futility of it all.
"We made it into the Valley that same evening and against all expectations, Petrie's mommy decided to help us against the rest of the Valley! It's hard to believe it even now but each and every one of my friends, even Cera, made their folks believe us even after what we'd done. That meeting was long and difficult for all of us but in the end, most of the Valley's residents voted in favor of us staying and forgiving us from my mistake. For a few seconds, I hoped all was well, that no one would have to suffer anymore because of me. But that wasn't to be." Ruby said as the image of the charging clubtail once again appearing in her eyes. That terrible moment would never leave her mind as long as she lived but not because of the threat to herself… rather because of what it did to Chomper.
"The clubtail couldn't stand the sight of me getting released from that situation. She… she started to charge, more than happy to face the charge of murder in the Valley if it meant the end of her child's killer: me. I was frozen in place and she would have got me… if it weren't for Chomper. He… he jumped forward and bit the mourning mother's whole throat open." Ruby turned to look at a distant mountain, her shame preventing her from facing neither her parents nor her friends. That whole moment had been one never-ending cycle of tragedy but she had long since accepted her gratitude to the blue sharptooth, no matter how distasteful his action had been. Her moment of reflection was soon interrupted, however, by a voice which quickly stole all her attention.
"You froze in place? Do you know how different things could have been if you had escaped her yourself?" Pearl asked carefully but she did not bother to hide her disappointment at Ruby. She had spent so much time trying to make Ruby always think about survival before all else and she had apparently casted those teachings away far too readily. Ruby looked at her mother, her head almost drooping to the ground as she answered.
"Yes, mommy. More times than I remember but…" She began but her answer was quickly cut short by her father's far more angered voice. Detras took a few steps forward and to Ruby's horror and disappointment, there seemed to be very little compassion in his eyes.
"For goodness' sake, Ruby, you are a fast runner, not some dumb spiketail who's ready to offer an easy meal to any sharptooth by not knowing how to act! This would have been a valuable if long overdue lesson to you if it hadn't already cost us the Valley's trust forever!" He cried, making the thinclaws move a bit further from the fast runners. Both of them were astonished by Ruby's past but it was clear things would escalate further in this conversation which was something they both knew there was little they could add to it. Ruby looked at her father with a pleading look and she spread her arms in growing fear as she answered.
"I know but I was already preparing to celebrate our victory with my friends! I never could have thought she'd attack me because if I had, then I would have been ready for her attack! It's all my fault but that short moment made me forget all you've taught me. I was just so happy I could stay with my friends a bit longer. I'm so sorry daddy." She said while crossing her arms and shifting her weight from one leg to another awkwardly. What else was there to say? All the apologies and regret would do nothing to regain the Valley's lost trust nor would it revive the dream of a united front against Red Claw but those words were all the poor fast runner had left anymore. Whether her parents would accept them was something that was out of her realm of decision, however. For a slight moment, Detras felt a flicker of true compassion for his daughter's situation back then but her one mistake had already cost him and his family so much for him to completely accept her position. The older omnivore looked down at his daughter as he spoke, willing to hear her tale to the end before making any final, potentially premature decisions.
"As am I, Ruby. I do not blame you for savoring that moment and I cannot judge you because it wasn't me who had to face the wrath of the Valley alone. But I'm saddened that Chomper's true nature revealed itself that way. We always knew you couldn't stay in the Valley forever and that was why I had hoped you wouldn't get too close to Chomper's old friends. They are leafeaters, Ruby, and even if your future in the Valley wouldn't have necessarily been as short as it was to Chomper, you wouldn't have been able to spend the rest of your life there. Do you understand what I mean?" He asked, forgetting his brewing anger momentarily. Ruby certainly wouldn't escape her mistakes without any consequences but this was a lesson to Orchid and Arial as well.
It took a few seconds for Ruby to register what her father meant and when she finally understood her point, her expression turned, for the first time, to that of clear chagrin. Even after all this, his father suggested she had been wrong to get to know her beloved friends as well as she had? The girl knew what his point was but this certainly wasn't the right time to raise it up. Yes, fast runners very rarely had any meaningful contacts with the leaf eaters and it was true she would have to had bid Chomper and the others the final farewell soon enough, she would never regret getting friends with them. She raised her voice and this time, she seemed to almost confront her father.
"I do, daddy, but that has nothing to do with that meeting! Each and every one of my friends was just as good a dinosaur as any of the fast runners I've ever met and even if we would have had to live apart in the future, I know we would have always savored our times together, our times together we would have savored! It was only after that meeting after the others' true love for me and Chomper showed itself. Their parents… they saved us from the others when we escaped from the Valley and Littlefoot and the others offered me to get Chomper home after that. We did our best to find his parents but it was then that… it happened." At this point, Ruby's momentarily regained confidence faltered completely. The memory of the sand cloud and the mysterious fast biters and the whole following chaos was far too much for her to bear at this already horrifying moment. She collapsed to her knees and panted for a few moments. She tried to gather her courage to speak of that final event but a first, she thought she wouldn't be able to do it. It was only when she felt two hands closing around her arms that she woke up from her despair.
"It's alright, Ruby. Please get up." She heard a silent voice call to her and she turned to see Arial on her left side, her expression a mask of concern and apology. This small show of concern warmed the older omnivore greatly but Orchid's words did even more to raise her from the shadow of her life's darkest day.
"It's all over now. That's all that's important." Even if neither of the two weren't too familiar at how things went in the Valley, they hated to see their older sister like this. Due to their young age, neither of them could begin to understand the depth of Ruby's pain but their innocent and genuine concern gave Ruby enough courage to regain her hold of herself. Slowly, she regained her footing and looked at her siblings, her expression radiating with thankfulness.
"Thanks, you two. It's only just that… the next part will be the worst of it all. You'll understand when you'll hear it." More so than with the earlier sequences of her tale, Ruby seemed to completely withdraw into her mental shell, the words coming like a steady river of thoughts straight from her mind. Even if she hadn't realized it herself, this was one moment that had swirled in her mind over and over again. However, she had attempted to pull it away from her conscious thoughts but none of that helped voice that terrible day to someone who had never been there themselves. The young fast runner began to speak slowly and in comparison to the rest of her tale, the descriptions were far more vivid even if Ruby didn't realize it herself.
Pearl looked at her daughter's heartfelt tale with a clear look of compassion. She could see that every word took a heavy toll on Ruby and the images of the raging sky and utter despair crept their way into the older female's thoughts as well. She could easily tell how that tragic event had looked like but even then, no words were enough to tell the feeling of the massacre. Each and every one of the omnivores listened silently to Ruby's tale, her parents with an unreadable expression due to their attempts to come up with an opinion of their daughter's actions. Orchid and Arial took a few steps away from their sister, clearly fearful of her story while Yarel looked at Ruby, not realizing how similar their pasts actually were. Her words returned his mind into his own day of terror, when he was nearly crushed to death by the spiketails. As she neared the end, Ruby's mental shell slowly started to break apart and her gaze started to wander around the wide plains filled with the cover of the white ground sparkles. Her voice turned nearly into a whisper as she finished her tale on a note that mirrored the mood of those terrible days completely.
"…and that was the last time I ever saw him. There was nothing I could do to stop him from helping Cera. Later, his mommy and daddy told me they had found him lying nearby later." Ruby said, tears dropping to the ground from her cheeks. She had many times thought whether she could have said Chomper but she knew those were only guilty thoughts. She had done all she could… which had achieved nothing but death and sorrow to everyone around her. Now everyone knew what she knew: all remained was to see whether they'd accept her actions or not. She took a deep breath as she heard her father's voice answer her tale.
"Nothing you could do? Ruby, did we not tell you how important it was to keep him safe? He was your charge, your duty to us, your family! He was all that kept our alliance with Dein and Terri and the Valley together! And you left him to die!?" Detras said as he grabbed a stone near himself and threw it away with a terrible force. He had trusted Ruby with this most important of tasks and she had failed miserably and possibly doomed them all! Now the reason for the predators' actions was completely understandable and no parent, especially a sharptooth, would ever forget such a loss. Pearl looked at her mate and rebuked to him quickly.
"Calm down, dear! She needs your help, not anger!" Pearl said angrily before turning her gaze at Ruby. Her expression softened little as she realized her mate's points were more than valid. She would have liked to simply bow down and nuzzle Ruby as she often had when she was little but she simply couldn't let this terrible news be rewarded.
"Ruby, we told you to never let him out of your sight! Even in the case of a sharptooth attack, we always told you to do your before saving yourself! Simply running away in a threatening situation shouldn't have been an option to you." She said while putting her hands to her hips, attempting to balance her response between that of a gentle lesson and a stern punishment. She looked at Ruby's watery eyes and waited her answer when another voice cut into the conversation.
"Not to even talk about you should have done your all just to stay in the Valley, safe from danger! We decided against punishing you for searching us out the Hanging Rock but do you remember what we told you back then? To stay away from each and any deeds that could put you and Chomper in danger! I see you didn't listen to a word of it." The last sentence hurt Ruby deeply as she thought about the note her family had last gone their own ways. Of course she should have listened to that warning but… her friends' influence was always enough to forget the caution she had been taught her whole life. Had she truly strayed that badly from the fast runner her parents had wanted her to be? Shaking her head, Ruby couldn't even say anymore. The only thing she knew was that she wouldn't trade any of her adventures with her friends away.
"I did, daddy, but it just… happened. I never meant it to go like…" She began but almost immediately she was interrupted by another outburst from Detras. The male hated himself for attacking his daughter like this but he simply couldn't accept her pitiful explanations. She had known exactly what she was supposed to do but apparently she had been far from ready to be trusted with an important task like this.
"But you did, didn't you, Ruby? You knew how much the leafeaters fear and even hate us, you know the extent of Red Claws's threat and still you acted like all was well and safe in the world? But I guess it was our fault for thinking you could be trusted…" He said while shaking his head. It was at this point that Pearl decided he was going too far and answer to him immediately.
"That's enough, Detras! You're helping nobody with your words!" She said, earning a quick rebuke from the other fast runner. Detras immediately turned to look at his mate and answered in an equally annoyed voice.
"Neither would any easier words which would make it seem like she did the right thing! Don't you realize it, my love? Red Claw will overrun ever larger areas of the Mysterious Beyond and without Dein and Terri's help, we can only try to hide and run from our end but in the end, either Red Claw or Chomper's parents will find us!" He cried, only then realizing how badly he was scaring Orchid and Arial. Yet, it was exactly for their sake that he was speaking as he was growing ever more fearful about whether they'd ever reach adulthood. How could the omnivores hope to fight off the sharpteeth the next time they'd meet? The male's mind was a complete flux of fear and regret which wasn't at least eased by his mate's answer.
"We will hold them at bay like our wisdoms have told us! We can run from them if we need to but right now, I'm not going to listen to you speaking to our daughter like this! Stop it or leave us be!" She said, for the first time seeming to calm down slightly. It was true that he and her mate had been in similar situations before but back then, he didn't have young ones to tend to. However, he soon realized that he was not helping anyone in this dark hour, he calmed down slightly before giving his answer to Ruby and Pearl.
"We'll talk about this later, Pearl, alone. I'll meet you at the Rise later." He said before he suddenly turned around and headed away from the gathered group. Ruby looked at her father with a sorrowful look and one last time, tried to cry after him.
"Don't go, daddy! I…" Ruby cried before being interrupted by her mother. She didn't know whether Detras had even heard her but her mother's expression commanded her to be silent immediately.
"Let him go, Ruby. Things are tough enough already and things are already hard enough for us here. I can't blame your father for saying what he did, though." Pearl crossed her arms and looked at Ruby with a look that bothered the younger female heavily. She had always known her tale would hardly sit well with her parents but deep down, she had hoped they could forgive her for her mistakes. Ruby spread her arms in growing desperation as she answered to her mother.
"I… I always did what I thought was right… even if the things I did were not the things that you told me to do. For many Cold Times everything went as I had hoped so I thought that… that I was doing what I had to do." She said, slowly realizing how badly she had actually forgotten her task. At this point, she expected another outburst from her mother, another remainder of her own stupidity… but what greeted her ears was a softer tone that nonetheless brokered no disagreements.
"I know, dear. But thinking forward is the most important wisdom our kind has. We have to look far into the future and try to find the path forward which seems to be the one with the least risks. The world harbors many traps for a lonely fast runner and we have to always prepare for whatever is coming our way as best as we can. If you had thought about what would have happened to you and us if Chomper had died on your adventures together, or what would happen if you were suspected to be the one responsible for the loss of the clubtail's egg, things would be far better, would they not? I'm sorry you didn't learn this lesson before it was all too late for all of us." Pearl finished cryptically, slowly turning Ruby's face to look at her with her hand. The older omnivore's voice wasn't that of anger but that of a resignation which worried Ruby just as badly. Her mother's face seemed to be devoid of any emotion but deep down, it was clear she was just as fearful as her mate. Ruby gulped, eager to simply sink into the ground but despite that, she tried to answer to her best ability.
"Yes, mommy. So am I but… it's too late now. There's so much I'd do differently if I got a second chance but… there's nothing I can do about it anymore. But… I think we may have another ally against Chomper's parents and Red Claw." She said, feeling this was the right time to bring her meeting with Stealth up. It wasn't much but at least it would widen her family's potions of survival at least a little. Pearl frowned slightly but decided not to show her interest just yet.
"And who's that? Not many dinosaurs are able to stand against Dein and Terri, as you very well know." She said, crossing her arms in expectation. For the first time since the beginning of the conversation, Ruby felt like she could attempt to salvage at least some of the trust she had lost.
"It wasn't soon after the fast biter attack that I met a lonely sailbacked sharptooth who nearly got me before I even saw him! I helped him on a hunt and in return, offered us his help against all who would threaten our family. He could certainly be of great help when Chomper's mom and dad return!" Ruby spoke in a voice which cheer surprised even the girl herself. Pearl crossed her arms, not exactly amused by the mention of a sailback. Of all the sharpteeth, they were often the sneakiest and most violent ones and very rarely interacted with other kinds. However, at least Ruby had survived that encounter so she didn't see any major harm if she let her daughter continue her tale.
"And what was his name?" She asked simply, knowing she would most likely recognize this mysterious predator's name from the many tales she had heard in her life. Ruby hesitated for a short while after seeing her mother's apparent skepticism about her words.
"His… his name was Stealth. He told me to contact him again when I knew of an approaching danger." Ruby said, worried about what she'd learn about the sharptooth from her mother. Pearl scratched her forehead slightly, knowing that name was familiar from somewhere. But where had she heard of that dinosaur… oh yes! Immediately, Pearl glanced at her daughter again and answered immediately after she had recalled where she had heard that name.
"Stealth? I haven't heard of him in many Cold Times and even then from only Dein and Terri. They mentioned him to be an arrogant brat who had managed to slip away from them after his parents tried and failed to attack their territory for some desperate reason. That happened many Cold Times ago so I'm surprised he survived this long." Pearl said, not exactly willing to put too much faith on a lonely, young sharptooth as the protector of her family. However, Ruby wasn't about to let the issue be skipped this readily. Stealth's promise was the only good piece of news she had for her family and she wanted them to at least seriously consider this option.
"He seemed to hate Chomper's mom and dad for some reason but he never mentioned to me why. He was far younger than they, it is true, but for some reason I think we can trust him in this!" Ruby said, attempting to get to her mother at least some degree. However, a new voice joined the conversation at this point.
"All of us know we can never trust a sharptooth! All they want is to use us for their own ends and after that, to have us for an easy meal!" Yarel stepped forward, looking rather worried by his friend's words. It was one of the things he had found to be true during his life: a thinclaw could trust only him- or herself and others like them. Pearl glanced at the boy briefly before sighing slightly.
"There's more to it than that, Yarel, was it? While it's true that few sharpteeth see us as friends, we could make lasting alliances with them if we can trust in each other's true goals enough. Like we once did with Dein and Terri. We just have to weigh carefully whether it's worth it to take that leap forward." Pearl looked at Ruby briefly as she spoke, making the younger female look ever more pitiful. Yarel, snorted at Pearl's answer, not at all confident about her wo0rds but decided against trying to claim he knew more than Ruby's mother.
Yarel's joining of the conversation, reminded Ruby of another thing that she had nearly forgotten in the midst of the desperate argument. However, the boy seemed increasingly keen to get his own issue forward and Ruby knew he and especially Greentail deserved that much. Carefully, she turned her gaze upwards and spoke to Pearl.
"Mommy… I hope you'll speak to daddy about Stealth but there's another thing I have to ask you, ask you I have to. Last time we met Chomper's parents, Greentail, Yarel's sister, had a terrible hit to her head, as you can see." Ruby took a brief pause and in clear relief, Greentail took a few steps forward. She could vaguely see Pearl turning to look at her but whatever expression she had was a complete mystery to the maimed thinclaw. She continued briefly from where Ruby had continued, this time talking as she normally would, not willing to hide anything from the only dinosaur who could help or at least say something about her future.
"It… it's true, Pearl. We would all be very grateful if you could use your knowledge to tell me if I have any chance to return to… what I once were." She said silently, her own voice bringing her intense shame. Pearl frowned at first as she tried to understand Greentail's words. They were extremely unclear and her limping and empty gaze in her eyes told her immediately that the news she'd have to share would hardly be something the younger omnivores would want to hear. With forced steps, she approached Greentail while answering her request.
"I can certainly take a look but I warn all of you immediately that there's nothing I can do to help days after the hit. All I can try to do is to look if you'll ever have a chance to recover from this." She said, not revealing her first impressions about Greentail. Yarel moved to his sister's side as a sign of support, and spoke in her stead. Every last muscle of his face was completely tense which only told about the depth of his worry for his sister.
"Please, do what you can, Ms. Fas… Pearl. We understand you might tell us something… bad." He gulped, earning a fearful look from Greentail. Pearl moved further towards the girl and spoke to her as softly as she could in this situation.
"Very well. Stay still while I look at your wound and answer to my every answer as honestly as you can. Do you understand?" She asked, earning a quick nod from Greentail. Pearl stopped just before her and after a brief exchanged nod from the green thinclaw, she slowly moved to look at her head. It took minimal effort for her to find the spot where the stone had penetrated her skull and the sight of that spot made even the older female cringe big time. Even now, the wound seemed to suppurate with some thick goo and it had barely even started the process of actual healing. It seemed to spread all the way from her forehead to the back of her head even if it was clear that the worst hit had come to the front of her head. The hit had torn many feathers around it away, leaving a bald, bloody trail in its wake. With an already bothered voice, Pearl asked the girl.
"How long did it take for you to wake up after you received this, Greentail?" She asked, fearing about what she'd hear. Greentail seemed thoughtful for a second, her mind still struggling to recall details even from the tales Yarel and Ruby had told her. After a moment, she asked with a clearly haunted look.
"Well, all of that happened at a night four days ago… and I woke up just as it was getting dark again. Or so Ruby and Yarel told me." She said, looking at Yarel as if to confirm she remembered right. Pearl gulped as she heard those words. She had been unconscious for nearly a day? That was a terribly long time after a head injury and not many woke up after it anyway. She followed her first question with another, willing to find out about Greentail's mental abilities.
"What do you remember from your earlier life? How much of it did you forget?" Pearl asked the most basic questions but none of the answers she received raised any hopes in her. Forgetting a Cold Time prior to the accident and her many handicaps worried her greatly but Yarel and Greentail's pleading looks made her try her very best at finding some signs of eventual recovery. After a long while of questioning, Pearl sat down on a rock, as if she were fatigued by merely asking those questions. Ruby quickly ran towards her and asked the older fast runner in clear worry.
"Is everything alright, mommy or is something wrong?" She asked, earning a quick relieving glance from Pearl even if it was clear her announcement wouldn't be what they had hoped for.
"I'm fine, Ruby, but… I don't think you are." She said, looking at Greentail, clearly apologizing to the young girl. The latter frowned in fear but gathered herself quickly and asked, her tone carrying a clear sense of dread.
"I know it but… please tell me everything you know. Please." She asked, her expression turning into a more confident one as she spoke. Over and over again, she had lived her death in her own mind and even if it would be hard to hear those thoughts become a reality would be far more difficult, she was already past the times when she hoped for a toned down, untruthful version of what would happen. Pearl looked at her for a few seconds and then sighed, preparing to give her verdict.
"Greentail… the mere size of your wound made me think about the worst as I've seen other dinosaurs fall with far less injuries. You are extremely lucky to even be with us anymore. However, I cannot say the same about what comes next. If you speak the truth, you have managed to regain your ability to speak and move quickly but after that, your pace of healing has dropped really fast. You still have some hope of being able to run properly one day but that day is far in the future, if it is ever going to come." Pearl took a brief pause, hating what she had to say. Greentail looked already more than beaten but the older female knew the three other omnivores wanted the truth and nothing less. After her pause, she began to speak again.
"My own parents told me that hits to the head are some of the most horrifying injuries one can get and there's nothing most dinosaurs can do to help with them. Greentail, I'm sorry you had to go through all what you did as no one would deserve what happened to you. I'm truly sorry about all this. Your ability to recover some of your lost abilities is a cause of some hope but… it would be better if you accepted that you'll never be the same dinosaur you once were. Unless there happens a true miracle, you will always limp badly and your eyes are not going to recover completely. Your memories might return slowly and your mind's eye to your surroundings might regain some of its sharpness but that's all you can really hope for. I'm sorry but there's nothing more I can do." Pearl said with an apologizing voice. It was clear that even after all the mental drama of the day, the older female still meant every word of compassion to Greentail.
The thinclaw, however, felt a sudden void fill her mind. This was the piece of advice she had come so far to hear? Even if her partial blindness and other handicaps had already become a part of the dinosaur she was now, sudden, deeper understanding suddenly made itself known to her. So this truly was it. She'd never be able to be of use to anyone again and even with her brother's help, it was unlikely she'd ever survive to adulthood. With forced movements, she turned to again look at Pearl and with a tortured voice, answered to the dinosaur who so long had been her only, elusive hope who had in the end been able to do nothing for her.
"Is there nothing I can do? Can I do anything that would help me regain at least something of what I lost?" She asked, her voice completely mirroring her mental state. Pearl looked at her with clear regret but she merely shook her head.
"There isn't. The damage is in your head and not even the most legendary of dinosaurs have ever been able to answer the secrets of how to mend injuries in there. Time is the only thing that can help you, I'm afraid." She said morbidly, a complete silence falling upon the small group of omnivores. Despite the lingering divide between Ruby and her family, for a moment the white sky seemed to entwine every one of the dinosaurs into its relieving embrace. A freezing breeze slowly crept through the plains, the coldness quickly penetrating the fast runners' and thinclaws' plumage almost immediately.
Yarel shuddered as the breath of wind surrounded him but he gave it no heed. His worst fears about his sister had been confirmed which was more than enough for him to forget everything else around himself. Greentail seemed slightly less broken than he had expected but Yarel couldn't help a few tears of sorrow from falling down his cheeks. It had been he who had persuaded the duo to join Ruby's quest, it was his fault that all of this had happened! And worst of all, Greentail seemed to remember nothing of that conversation which forced him to carry that guilt alone. On that somber moment, he would have wanted nothing more than to change parts with his poor sister, to for the first time in his life to carry the consequences of his own mistakes. But even then, he knew none of those thoughts would help any. He looked at a distant gust of ground sparkles in the distance as he answered.
"Thank you for your help anyway, Pearl. This was all we could ask of you." He said, not finding any further words to say at this horrible moment. Pearl took a brief, joyless smile as she answered to the boy.
"Of course as you helped Ruby to return to us. Even if it was in circumstances we would have wanted to avoid." She looked again at Ruby before turning around. She then glanced at her children and the thinclaws and continued to speak.
"Ruby, it will take a lot of work for all of us to clean up the mess you created for us. To begin with, there is one thing we'll need your help with soon enough but we all will have to rest before that. As for you, Yarel and Greentail, you are welcome to come with us for a short while as thanks for your help. Let's go home." She said before turning to look into the calm wastes, preparing for the remaining trek to the fast runners' new refuge.
Ruby looked at her siblings swallow the last pieces of meat from the threehorn's skeletal remains, taking a careful sigh of relief. While it was clear her mother and especially not her father were going to see her the same way again for a long time, at least they hadn't turned her away into the fledgling Cold Time. Yet, deep down, bitterness flowed in her mind of her parents' reaction to her deeds as especially Detras had seemed to dismiss her friends' fate completely. Even then, her mother's words about the upcoming task were intriguing ones and maybe, just maybe, it'd offer her the first step on her way to redemption in her family's eyes. With a swift gesture, she waved her friends to follow her into the slowly darkening afternoon of the Mysterious Beyond.
After many weeks of fear and regret, Ruby has finally managed to get the word of her deeds to her family. However, even if this terrible part of her life is coming to a close, her parents don't seem to be taking their daughter's actions well and it's likely that more drama is on the way between the halfteeth… I'm sorry for the slight delay in publishing this chapter but most of it was due to a trip. Even then, I hope you liked this installment and as always, see you next time!
The Rhombus: It's indeed correct that Petrie and Pterano will have a lot of things to consider when moving forward but the real question is whether they'll get a chance to make their own decisions. Events are moving forward at an alarming rate with the flyers and many of them are outside from our heroes' realm of influence. I'm sorry to hear that the structure of the chapter was unclear but I understand what you mean. I hope to do better in that regard in the future but thanks for pointing it out again.