Chapter 37: Flyer Tales
"That's crazy Chomper, this plan will never work" cried Cera in protest when Chomper told them of his plan of using some bait to lure the Swimming Sharptooth out of its lair. Littlefoot however was of a different opinion.
"That's actually a great idea Chomper" he said. To which Chomper grinned and pride fully pushed out his chest, much to Cera's annoyance.
"I think it could work" said Ruphus thoughtfully, a calculating expression on his face. "But the current is downstream so the Sharptooth won't even know of our bait unless it was on the other side of the Crescent Caves and there is also the issue of what bait we will use". The Gang seemed to consider those problems.
"We could use fish" suggested Ruby. All the others looked at her blankly "If we caught a fish, wounded it then held near the entrance of the caves then it should bring the Sharptooth out bring the Sharptooth out it should". Everyone nodded at Ruby's ingenious suggestion, well almost everyone.
"And how would we be able to hold the fish in the water near the caves without getting eaten by the Swimming Sharptooth?" asked Cera sceptically.
Everyone pondered the question. They all knew that Ducky's life was at stake here and that if they failed then it would potentially mean the death of their friend and none of them wanted that. They all raided their brains for an answer.
Spike suddenly pricked up and with an excited grunt walked off of the Crescent Caves and into the underbrush. Cera was not at all impressed by this development. "Spike!" she called "come back here!"
Spike stopped and turned to his companions and gestured in the direction that he was heading, he evidently wanted them to follow him.
"What Spike doing?" asked Petrie "Where he going?"
"We won't know if just stand around here" Ali said and proceeded to follow Spike, everyone else followed suit. Spike led them to a tall tree that was tangled in vines. He grabbed one in his mouth and pulled until it snapped. He laid it down in front of his friends who suddenly looked way more excited.
"Of course" said Littlefoot in an understanding voice "we can attach our bait to the vines."
"But how exactly are we going to attach a fish to a vine?" asked Cera.
But Spike had an answer to that he suddenly appeared next to the tree again, having wondered off when no one was looking. He was holding a curiously hooked shaped stick in his mouth which he placed beside the vine. Ruphus opened his mouth in delight when he saw what Spike had in mind. "That's a great idea Spike" he said in praise, giving his adoptive son a gentle nuzzle which caused Spike to chuckle happily.
"How is that a good idea" asked Cera in a confused voice, she evidently did not understand what Spike was getting at. She always had the biggest difficulty of any of her friends in interpreting Spike's cryptic actions.
"I'll show you" said Ruphus with smile. He bent down and picked up the vine and the stick and carefully tied a tight knot around the stick at the end of the vine and showed the finished product to the children. The hooked stick stuck out at the end of the vine which was tightly to the end of the stick making a basic fishing line.
"Oh" said Cera in understanding, then she smirked mischievously. "Now we'll get that Sharptooth once and for all, we just need a fish now" she said.
"Leave that to me Cera" boasted Ruby. "I can easily catch fish, catch fish easily I can".
Cera responded quickly to Ruby's boast. "Oh yeah? I'm sure I can catch a fish quicker than you" she said ignoring her reason, her pride just would not allow her to back down from a challenge.
"Bet ten tree stars you can't" said Ruby.
"You're on" replied Cera aggressively.
Littlefoot rolled his eyes at the antics of the two girls. They were both highly competitive with each other and they often challenged each other to different playful games. "But now is hardly the time for this" thought Littlefoot but he could not help but follow the girls to a calmer section of the river. He just had to see Ruby beat Cera, he knew that Ruby would easily win the bet and he wanted to see Cera's reaction as it would be awfully funny to finally have a laugh at the prideful Threehorn's expense.
"This'll be good" he whispered to Ali who sniggered in reply.
The group soon came to a calm, shallow expanse of water that was a very promising hunting ground for anyone looking for fish. Cera and Ruby wasted no time in dashing into the water and stat to frantically search the river for any fish. Cera watched Ruby closely, she knew that she would not be able to find a fish before her so she decided to tail her and snatch up her fish before she caught it.
Littlefoot, Ali, Chomper, Spike and Ruphus watched the competition from the bank with great excitement and interest while Petrie had a Flyer's eye view of the river. "You can do it Ruby!" shouted Chomper encouragingly which was repeated by the rest of her friends.
Cera glowered at her friends on the bank, she would show them that Threehorns are the best. She continued tailing Ruby, making sure to keep right behind her and out of sight. Ruby was to concentrated on her task to notice Cera behind her.
SPLASH!
Cera charged forward at the same time as Ruby when a medium sized fish jumped out of the water a few feet ahead. The two girls were neck and neck. Cera slammed into Ruby's side in an effort to trip her but instead took a hit to her right flank from Ruby as she retaliated with an equally strong push.
They were only a foot from the fish when they both decided to dive for it.
Cera grabbed the tail in her mouth while Ruby grabbed the head in her hands and the two started fighting over the fish in a fierce game of tug of war. The two girls strained to hold on to the slippery fish which was starting to bleed in the middle because of the two dinosaurs puling at it from opposite ends.
"Those tree stars are mine" hissed Cera with a mouthful of fish.
"Don't count your hatchlings before the hatch Cera" replied Ruby firmly.
The two pulled with all their might.
THUD!
"WHOA!" cried Cera and Ruby as the both fell headfirst into the river with a loud splash as a sudden weight collided with the side of the fish and forcing it out of the grip of the two combatants. Cera and Ruby emerged from the water coughing and spluttering in bewilderment with their friends laughing on the shore at the antics of the two dinosaurs. What had happened?
"Me think you own me ten tree stars" called a voice from above. Cera and Ruby looked up with amazement, there up in the air was Petrie and in his talons was the fish that they had been fighting over, it was he that stole the fish from them.
Cera was livid, she looked furious that Petrie had stolen her thunder and damaged her pride. Ruby was looked very embarrassed and a little annoyed at allowing Petrie to steal the fish from right under her nose. Cera cursed furiously as she waded back to the shore with Ruby. They were met with hysterical laughs from their friends. "Priceless" laughed Littlefoot "absolutely priceless" he cried, beating his foot on the ground.
"Humpth!" said Cera firmly as the laughter died down and she and Ruby collected Petrie's bounty of ten tree stars.
Even Ruphus was chuckling a little "well there's a lesson for you, to always keep on your toes as you never know what can happen" he said brightly.
"Let's just get going" hissed Cera angrily.
The group proceeded back to the Crescent Caves to try out their makeshift fishing line. The fish was already dead and bleeding from being pulled by Cera and Ruby so all they needed to do was to fit the stick into the fish's mouth, place it in the water and wait. But after many hours of waiting by the stream their only reward was frustration at accomplishing nothing.
"I suppose we can try again tomorrow" said Littlefoot glumly, which everyone agreed to before leaving the Crescent Caves. They were careful to leave the fish wrapped up in a few leaves near the water so they could use it tomorrow.
Echo stood still on the rock and looked into the water. There were two rocks that he had to successfully dive in between, leaving a small gap between them and no room for error. He had to make this dive perfectly if he wanted to escape injury. He felt for any breeze that might push him astray but felt none. He then shifted himself carefully on his rock so that he was lined up with the gap in the rocks.
Feeling everything was right he took a deep breath and bent his legs and jumped off the rock and plummeted into a steep dive. Echo felt his heart leap as the water came closer, he could hardly see where the rocks were now so he didn't know if he had missed his mark. There was no time to ponder these thoughts however as the water seemed to rise up to meet him. Echo closed his eyes and braced himself for the impact.
SPLASH!
Echo dived below the water and right through the gap between the rocks. He surfaced to hear the cheers of his siblings on the shore. "I did it!" he cried enthusiastically as he stepped onto the shore.
"Nice work Echo" called Merri from her prone position next to Sura's eggs. She was supervising the children's training today at home where she could also watch over the eggs and keep them safe. "I really think you got the hang of it now" commented Merri on Echo's diving ability.
"Thanks Aunt Merri" said Echo happily.
He walked over to her and the nest along with the rest of his siblings. They all seemed to be captivated by the eggs for a moment. Until one of them broke the silence. "I've never been a big brother before" said Bold who was hatched in the Great Valley in the second clutch.
"Well you won't have to wait forever" said Merri in good humour.
"I wonder when they will hatch" said Opal.
"I think that we can expect them after the cold time dears" said Merri "maybe before or after The Swimmer Trials". Merri seemed a bit tenser as she said that and all the children knew why.
Ducky would soon have to face the Trial of Destiny and if the eggs hatched before the Trial then they would probably have to cope with losing a sister but if they hatched before the Trials then the probably would never know their older sister, it was a bleak outlook either way unless Ducky could survive the Trial.
"I wish Ducky was here and mom too" said Ray sadly "I miss them".
Opal put a hand on his shoulder in support of her brother. "I'm sure they will come home soon" she said in an attempt to brighten her brother's spirits.
Echo spoke up again "or as Ducky would say: I will come home soon yep yep yep" he said in a failed imitation of Ducky's voice. Everyone laughed at Echo's show of humour, which was really what they needed at this time now. The sun was beginning to set in the distance, turning the green valley orange in the early hours of the evening.
"Do you think Ducky can do it Auntie?" asked Echo.
Merri bent her head to the children's level and said soft voice that was full of resolution. "Yes little ones, I'm sure she can" she said.
"Where are we going Littlefoot?" asked Ali as her friend let her through some dense vegetation in the orange glow of the coming noon.
"You will see" said Littlefoot, rather cryptically as he pushed through some tall grass and headed for a knot of trees nearby. With Ali at his tail.
"Shouldn't we go back home? Won't our folks get worried?" asked Ali in apparent unease.
"Don't worry Ali" replied Littlefoot confidently "I told them we would be sleeping over with Chomper and Ruby tonight".
"And are we?" asked Ali nervously. She had no idea what Littlefoot was up too.
"We-el" said Littlefoot slowly "not really" he confessed.
"You mean not at all" replied Ali simply. "It's not right to fib to your folks
Littlefoot" said Ali accusingly.
Littlefoot bowed his neck in shame. "I didn't mean any harm by it" said Littlefoot "I just wanted to show you something"
"Show me something?" asked Ali inquisitively "show me what?" she asked.
Littlefoot smiled at her "well, that would be telling wouldn't it" he said.
Ali gave Littlefoot a cheeky nip on his tail in response. Before they continued their apparent bush trek. They soon arrived at the twisted trees. The trees had a large amount of tangled roots and hollows beneath them. Littlefoot led Ali into one of them then walked along a well-known path to him and the rest of the Gang. Ali followed him all the way. Suddenly Littlefoot stopped and turned to Ali.
"We are nearly there" he said "but now I want you to close your eyes and hold onto my tail".
Ali stared at Littlefoot in surprise, what was he up to?
"Why?" she asked nervously.
Littlefoot smiled, a friendly, warm smile "It's a surprise" he said excitedly.
Ali hesitated for a moment. Littlefoot could be playing a trick on her but she quickly discarded that possibility as she knew that Littlefoot would never do that to her. She slowly nodded her head and opened her mouth and grabbed hold of Littlefoot's tail and closed her eyes.
Littlefoot led her along slowly, so as not to hurt Ali in any way. Ali however was feeling very vulnerable with her eyes closed, her steps were slow and cautious. Ali was sourly tempted to open her eyes as she followed Littlefoot blindly through some tall grass. At least that is what it felt like. She felt Littlefoot stop and she stopped too.
"You can open your eyes now" said Littlefoot.
Ali opened her eyes and gasped at what she saw.
Littlefoot and Ali were in a small clearing that was about one longnecks length and width. It was essentially a large hole in the ground. Surrounded on all sides by tall grass and the trees that they had navigated through earlier. The grass below their feet was filled with lots of sweet smelling flowers that made the air smell fresh and luscious. The base of the hole was gently, gradually sloping downward into a beautiful meadow. There was a large pond at the corner of the glade with a small waterfall dripping cool, fresh water into it from a waterway near the trees. The water's edge was sandy for a short distance until it reached the meadow. On the other side of the meadow, the glade had vertical walls on the left and right sides and at the far end. On the other side of the glade was a rocky overhang which led into a large cave. The evening sky gave the glade a very romantic contrast. Fireflies were starting to appear near the edges of the meadow. Ali had never seen such a beautiful little place. She was totally lost for words.
"Littlefoot I-"she could not say it. She just smiled and nuzzled him. Littlefoot returned Ali's nuzzle and lead her into the glade where they stopped on the meadow by the pond.
"What is this place?" asked Ali in amazement.
"It's me and my friend's special glade" said Littlefoot. "We found it several weeks before you came to the Valley. What do you think?"
"It's beautiful Littlefoot" said Ali. She sat down on the grass, Littlefoot joined her.
"Only me and my friends know of this place and now you do too" said Littlefoot.
Ali looked smugly at him "So this is where you wanted to spend the night?" she said.
"Yep, I thought you would like it"
"Thank you Littlefoot. You're my best friend" said Ali, giving Littlefoot a lick on the cheek, causing him to blush deeply. Ali laughed at him and he laughed too. The two friends stopped laughing and nuzzled each other contently.
Finally when the disengaged Ali spoke up "Littlefoot?" she asked.
"Yes Ali?"
"I asked my Mom if we could stay here and she said that we could stay until after the Cold Time" said Ali.
Littlefoot smiled "I'm glad that we can finally spend some proper time together" he said.
The two friends watched as the stars filled the night sky and the moon blazed across the landscape giving it an eerie quality that was not expressed in the light of the sun. Littlefoot and Ali brushed up against each other's bodies in order to keep warm.
"Everything feels almost perfect now" said Ali.
"Almost" said Littlefoot, a hint of sadness seeping its way into his voice.
They looked at each other with sombre expressions.
"I wish Ducky was here and okay and that there was no Trial of Destiny" said Littlefoot.
"I wish that too Littlefoot, I wish I knew if she was alright out there" said Ali. "Do you think they are okay?" she asked.
Littlefoot pondered for a moment. He did not know how Ducky's journey had gone so far or if they were safe but in his heart he felt sure that Ducky and her mother were both still alive. "I'm sure they are Ali, I'm sure they are" said Littlefoot.
A few moments later Littlefoot and Ali were both fast asleep with their necks and tails entwined and their bodies nestled beside each other, both sleeping in perfect harmony.
Littlefoot woke in the morning feeling very refreshed in the glade beside the sleeping body of Ali. In the early hours of morning, the sheltered glade that the two Longnecks had slept in was coming alive with noise from the various bugs and multi-coloured butterflies were already stirring.
"Ali" said littlefoot quietly, nudging Ali awake.
Ali opened her eyes and yawned, she smiled at Littlefoot and raised her neck and could not help but love spending time with her friend in this special place. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the morning air and let out a content sign. "Morning Littlefoot" she said, turning to him, to find Littlefoot holding a bunch of flowers by the stems in his mouth.
"Here you go Ali" he said through his mouthful of flowers.
Ali laughed at Littlefoot's display. "Thank you Littlefoot" she said and took half the flowers from Littlefoot, they both had a very pleasant breakfast and washed out there mouths with the fresh water from the pond before heading back to the nest.
The two were halfway home when there was a loud commotion at the waterhole. Curiosity drove the two longnecks to the scene. They saw a confusing tangle of adults including Grandma and Grandpa, Ruphus, Ariel, Topsy and Tria who were all watching a grey Flyer, hovering above them.
Littlefoot looked closely at the Flyer and noticed all the scars and burns on his body, he recognized this Flyer. He was one of the Pterano's two minions that helped kidnap Ducky.
"What do you want?" said Ariel coldly, having also recognised the Flyer as Sierra.
"I do not want anything" replied Sierra in the same cold voice that Ariel had addressed him in "I'm only passing through but I also have a message concerning the Valley's residents".
The gathered adults looked a little surprise but no less suspicious. They knew that this Flyer was not trust worthy.
"I only ask that you hear my message and then I will leave" said Sierra in an unusually reasonable voice for the heartless Flyer.
Topps addressed him in a very disgruntled voice. "Very well what message do you bring and who is it directed at?" he asked in an impatient voice.
"My message is for you" Sierra pointed at Ruphus
"Me?" asked Ruphus.
"It concerns your mate, whatshername"
"Sura!?" cried Ruphus in shock. "You've seen Sura and Ducky? Where are they? Are they all right? Did they find Cyrest?" Ruphus blurted out all the questions that entered his head but he also started to shiver, he begged that the news this Flyer carried was good news.
Sierra meanwhile was rolling his eyes in annoyance "He's as bad as his little brat of a daughter" he thought. But setting his feelings aside he prepared to deliver the bombshell. All voices were silent as the gathered crowd waited anxiously for Sierra's message.
"I have seen then by the Big Water. The kid is currently in the care of an old male Swimmer that I believe is Cyrest".
There was a collective sigh of relief among the grown-ups but not from Ruphus "what about Sura?" he asked, trying to keep the fear out of his voice.
Sierra faked a look of grief, so as to make his ploy more believable. "Sura is dead" he announced in a loud voice over the assembled dinosaurs.
The bomb exploded. Sierra's words descended on the group like a ton of rocks. Everyone had horrified looks on their face and a deathly silence came over the Valley.
"NO!" cried Ruphus falling to the ground in despair, tears flowing down his cheeks "she can't be" he said in a horrified voice.
"I saw it happen" said Sierra. Though all he said was false, he knew that Sura was still alive but he had seen the scars on her body and deduced that she had been wounded and just to cause the Valley trouble he told them this news.
"Her leg was lacerated, her belly punctured, her back badly mauled and her neck slashed open by Sharpteeth" said Sierra in an almost mournful voice. But he was secretly revelling in watching Ruphus break down in despair.
"Get out of here you foul mouthed bastard!" shrieked Ariel and proceeded to chase a cackling Sierra away but she was also crying.
The longnecks bowed their heads in sadness. Tria was being comforted by her mate. Topsy felt sympathetic to Ruphus after all he had also lost his first mate to Sharpteeth. He walked over to the weeping Ruphus.
Littlefoot and Ali had so far been unnoticed but the news that they heard made them gasp in horror. Littlefoot was simply horrified. Had Ducky gone through the same experience that he had after he lost his mother? "Poor Ducky" he said mournfully, bowing his head.
Ali attempted to comfort him but Littlefoot was too focused on the traumatic memories of his mother's death. He was sure that Ducky was now experiencing the same feelings that he felt after his mother died.
"Ruphus" said Topsy in a sympathetic voice "You don't think that foul Flyer was telling the truth do you? He could just be trying to stir up trouble".
"And what if he is telling the truth?" sobbed Ruphus "And Sura's…gone, my children are left without a mother" he said in pain.
"You can still honour her by looking after the rest of her children and making sure that they live good lives" said Topsy.
Ruphus looked down but nodded sadly. "I must go back home" he said quietly and without another word started walking slowly back to his nest. Sad eyes followed him as he went. Hardly anyone could believe what they had just heard from Sierra but they had no way of knowing whether he was telling the truth or making the whole façade up.
"You did WHAT!" yelled Sculra furiously to Sierra when he told her what he had said to the adults.
"You said to cause trouble" said Sierra simply.
"I did not mean that you going around telling everyone that Sura was dead, you have potentially put me in a position to stop the Trials!". Sculra sounded livid.
"Hey, she'll come back and when she does they'll know she was alive the whole time" retorted Sierra.
"You had better be right Sierra, you've put me in an awful dilemma" said Sculra as she walked back into her cave and away from the incompetent Flyer before her.
Sura was walking out to a nearby forest to have a meal while Cyrest looked after Ducky and Jane. Ducky was still recovering from her draining swim in the Big Water the day before and so they had agreed to give her the day off training.
Sura was getting to know the lay of the land around this area thanks to Cyrest. He told her where the Sharpteeth preferred to hunt and where the grazing was good and where all the streams were. Sura was very thankful that Cyrest shared that information with her as she did not want to be caught in another Sharptooth attack like she had before.
The tall Swimmer ate some of the tree stars off the trees on the outskirts of the forest. There was a stream behind her in case she needed a quick escape route. In the back of her mind Sura was wondering how her mate was getting on. Cyrset was a good friend but he was old enough to be her parent. She missed Ruphus. She missed having those lovely conversations with him over lunch. She missed his calm voice that always helped her to maintain her composure in times of hardship. She also missed her dear sister Merri. She would be up to her neck in work, with looking after the eggs and training the children.
Sura thought of her children. It was quite a change from having a family with sixteen children including one Spiketail and going away and living with only two children. There was no little Swimmers happily playing in the water here like there were at home. No, out here it was always about getting Ducky ready to face her Trial. Sura sighed sadly as she thought of all the hardship that Ducky had been faced with.
She shook her head and grabbed another branch which had some leaves near the trunk of the tree. She tried to pull it out, so that she could get to the leaves which were out of her reach at the present moment. So with one firm tug she pulled the broad branch from its socket.
"AHHHH!"
CRASH!
Sura was dazed as something fell on her head and knocked her to the ground in a heap. She struggled to right herself.
"What do you think you are doing, that was my perch" said an irritated voice that sounded very familiar.
"Sorry" said Sura. She righted herself and looked down and gawked at what she saw in front of her.
"Pterano?" she asked in amazement.
The large orange Flyer that had once led half of the mixed herd to their deaths on the way to The Great Valley and who had kidnapped Ducky during his last visit looked at her in surprise "You know me?" he asked.
"I'm Sura" she said but Pterano had never heard her name before and just stared at her with a blank expression. Sura scolded herself for forgetting that Pterano never knew her very well, so tried another approach "I'm Ducky's mother" she said.
She could tell that Pterano got her point as his eyes widened in astonishment.
"Your-?" he said in shock.
"Yes, you saved my daughter when she fell, even though you did put her in danger in the first place after you kidnapped her" said Sura.
Pterano could hardly believe this. He knew that there was no doubt who this was as she recalled how he saved Ducky from falling into a fire pit when Threehorn Peak erupted. But what was a Great Valley resident doing out here? "Is the rest of the herd here?" he asked, suddenly on guard in case Mr Threehorn should suddenly appear.
"No, just me and Ducky" said Sura.
Pterano visibly relaxed at Sura's statement. He looked at Sura. Yes he recognised her, but she looked very different then what he remembered and she had several scars over her body including one on her neck. "What are you doing here?" he asked.
"I'm here to train Ducky for the Trial of Destiny" said Sura sprightly.
Pterano gasped before giving her a sympathetic expression, he knew what the Trial of Destiny was. But he did not have time to think much about it when Sura addressed him again.
"Pterano" she said in a kind voice.
"Yes?" the Flyer replied.
"Can I ask a favour of you?" she asked.
Pterano looked nervous. "What kind of favour?" He asked wearily.
"Could you go to The Great Valley and tell my mate that Ducky and I are both alright and that we have found Cyrest and that she is starting to master her training?" said Sura.
"Not a good idea" said Pterano. "I still haven't served my sentence yet, how would I get into the Valley?"
"Tell them I sent you" said Sura simply.
"And what if they don't believe me?" asked Pterano in an apprehensive voice. He knew that Mr Threehorn would never believe anything he had to say.
"Tell my mate this" Sura told Pterano of how she and Ruphus first met. "He'll know that I sent you then" said Sura after she recounted the story to Pterano.
Pterano however was not sure about undertaking this task. "Why should I do this?" he asked her.
"You would be helping me and my daughter, which might persuade Grandpa Longneck to reduce your sentence and I'm sure that you'd want to see Ariel again and Petrie" said Sura in a reasonable voice. "I would greatly appreciate it" she finished.
Pterano seemed to consider Sura's proposal and after a few minutes he gave Sura his affirmative. "I'll be back soon with news from your mate, Sura" He called as he took to the Sky "Tell Ducky I said hello and good luck" he said before speeding off into the distance.
"Thank you Pterano!" called Sura as he left.
Sura smiled, she would soon have news again from Ruphus. How she hoped that he was alright. She turned and started the hike back to the cave where Ducky was sure to be waiting for her.