Chapter 22: Introductions

It was a Sailback Sharptooth, but that didn't matter, "You okay, Littlefoot?" Topps asked him. He nodded, but eyed the body, "That body is still warm. It was just killed. And whatever did it I'm pretty sure it is still around. Let's hurry before it notices we're here." Littlefoot said. Topps nodded, and they both sprinted out of there. Topps and Littlefoot were looking back at the mass murder and not where they were going.

In turn, Littlefoot looked ahead, and saw they were about to run into something, "Mr. Threehorn watch out!" he said, skidding to a stop. Topps looked ahead and also tried to stop, but he couldn't in time.

His horn pierced the object, but considering it started bleeding, Littlefoot realized it was a leg, and he started backing away. Then, a large tail came swinging toward him. He tried to jump and avoid it, but it caught his feet and flipped him over. A large hand grabbed Topps' neck and pulled him out. He choked for air, but he was lifted up, and all he saw were teeth. Bloody, slime-covered teeth.

Littlefoot knew who this Sharptooth was, "Not Nickie." he thought. She looked at Topps up and down and looked at his bloody horn.

Nickie snarled at him, before looking at her pierced leg. The expression on her face made it seem like she didn't seem to feel any pain from it. She licked her wound and it began to heal in front of their eyes. They were both shocked, but then Nickie looked at Littlefoot. He tried to back away, but Nickie blocked him with her tail. He began to panic, trying to climb up her tail. But then she threw her head to the sky and roared.

After a few minutes, he heard a voice, "Hey, hey, hey, Nickie. What'd you get?" they asked.

She moved her tail, and Littlefoot saw a human, but he knew which one this was. "Hey, there, little Longneck. What's your name?" he asked. Littlefoot remained silent. "Can't you talk?" Tyranto asked. He still kept silent. Then he saw Nickie holding Topps, "Nickie, put the Trike down, please." he ordered. She obeyed and gently set Topps on the ground.

"Are you Tyranto?" Littlefoot finally said. He seemed surprised, "You know who I am? I guess my reputation precedes me." he said. Littlefoot decided to see if Tyranto had anything to say, "Yes. I do. I've heard from my folks that you're using this abomination to control the minds of Sharpteeth." he said. Tyranto raised a brow, "No, that's nonsense. I am trying to make a place that is safe for all plant-eaters, like yourself." he began to explain.

When Nickie heard what Littlefoot called her, she snarled and looked down at him, "Nickie, I'm sure there's a lot of bad rumors about you and me. If you can't handle what others call you, then go take a little walk." He said. She growled softly and walked into the thicker foliage. They both watched as she left, "A bit moody, isn't she?" Littlefoot said.

"She can be, but she's just really sensitive about her appearance." Tyranto replied. "Did she always look like that?" he asked, trying to get more information about her. "No, but she gets upset when I try to ask her. Anyway, enough about Nickie. I want you to come with us. We've already got a lot of your kind in this place. You won't be lonely, you'll always have plenty of food, and you will never have to worry about any Sharpteeth trying to hunt you." he said.

Littlefoot had had enough of his lies, "Tyranto, just shut up with these lies." he said sternly. Tyranto was so surprised and let him speak, "I know what you're doing. I know that you have this…monstrosity that controls the minds of Sharpteeth to get them to do your will. I know you're planning to take over the land and you lie to Flatteeth, telling them you're making a safe place for us. But I know what you're really up to. I know you are only using Nickie and the Sharpteeth under her control to flaunt your power. You want all dinosaurs to follow your every command, otherwise, they die. You want them to be your slaves, and even your precious Nickie is a slave. She follows every order you give her without hesitation because she has no free will and she can't think for herself. No. Thank. You!" he said, turning and walking away while swatting him in the face with his tail.

Nickie happened to be hiding in the trees, and she snarled quietly. She was now just itching to eat Littlefoot, but she was ready in case Tyranto gave her the order. Tyranto sighed as Littlefoot was leaving, "Oh? Sorry, but that wasn't the correct answer. You will have to be disposed of. Nickie!" he said. Littlefoot had seen Nickie when he was walking away, so he was prepared to run.

When she lunged at him, he jumped out of the way, and she went right into a tree. "Mr. Threehorn, RUN!" he yelled, breaking into a full sprint towards Topps. He nodded and also sprinted. Nickie tried to get up, but some mud kept making her slip and fall. They got away, and Tyranto hit her with the blunt end of his spear, "I can't believe you, Nickie! You NEVER miss your target. I'm disappointed in you!" he said.

She gave a sad-sounding growl, and he sighed, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. I know you tried to. But he knows of my plan, but he's a sly one. We need to come up with a well-rounded plan to catch him." he said. She leaned down to him, and he hugged her snout. She purred softly at this, and they walked in the other direction.

Chomper woke up a few hours later and he stretched. He sighed as his bones popped and cracked. Then he looked at Chompless, and she looked back at him, "Morning again, Chompless." he said, rubbing her snout, making her purr softly.

"Hey, I have a question. Did you give Arez that idea to eat me?" he queried.

She shook her head, "No, I didn't. I was going to set up a scenario where he would have to protect you from another Sharptooth. I know it would've given you a lot of trust in him if he saved your life. Arez liked you from the start, but he wasn't sure if you trusted him much, so I figured my idea would speed up the process. But he got his own idea and decided to try and eat you and keep you safe. He really likes eating things. But that's just him." she said.

"I've got to admit, he had a very weird way of trying to get me to trust him. I really thought he wanted to snack on me." he said. She shook her head, "Oh, no. Not at all. Well, okay, he and I both admit that you are really tasty, but that is irrelevant to us because you're our friend. If he ever tried to hurt you, I would attack him without hesitation. He mainly likes you because of how you are courageous enough to want to be my friend. And I'm sure he'd probably feel the same for Littlef-" she said.

Chomper wondered why she stopped in the middle of her sentence, "Is something wrong?" he asked. She nodded very slightly, "Yeah. Even though Arez is probably going to like Littlefoot when he meets him, I don't know how Littlefoot will react. And I don't think Littlefoot will trust Arez if he tries to eat him." she said.

Chomper nodded with a look that said: "you think?"

"Well, then what? If Littlefoot manages to get Mr. Threehorn out here, I don't know how he or Littlefoot would react to Arez." he asked her. Chompless thought about how she could handle that, "I don't know. I mean, he's not going to be staying inside with us. Maybe we could hide him, perhaps?" she said. Chomper wavered his hand, "From Mr. Threehorn, or Littlefoot?" Chomper queried.

Chompless thought it'd be easier for the others to know about Arez so they could get to know him. And, if he was ever discovered, they all could protect him like they did Chompless, "Probably from Mr. Threehorn. It'll probably be easier for the others to know about Arez so they can defend him if he's ever discovered, which I hope he is not. He can't fight his instincts very well since he's been following them for years so he could survive, but he's willing to try to for your sake." she said.

At the moment, they both saw Arez coming back. But then they heard a scream, and they recognized it.

"That sounds like Littlefoot." Chomper said. Chompless knew it was him, "It is, but where is he?" she said, looking around.

Arez came over to them, and then Chomper and Chompless saw Littlefoot running towards them, and he ran right underneath Arez's belly, but he tripped on his foot, "Yie!" Littlefoot grunted, falling and skidding on his face.

Arez looked at him with no emotion, but that soon changed to hunger. He started approaching Littlefoot, who was dazed and hadn't regained his bearings, yet. Chompless's eyes widened and she stepped between the two.

"That's the Longneck! Don't hurt him!" she said. He stopped, "Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't know." he said. Then Chompless realized that it was Littlefoot, "Wait, he's here! Arez hide, quick!" she urged him. He nodded and climbed up the nearest tree and disappeared into the foliage. He stopped shortly after and watched from above. Then she turned to Chomper, who knew what she was going to say, "I won't say anything about Arez." he said quietly.

She nodded. Topps was behind Littlefoot and turned to see Chomper directly ahead of him, and he started trying to stop, "Chomper!" he yelled to him. Chomper saw him and dived out of the way. Topps barely missed him but smacked into a tree.

Once he backed away, he turned to face Chomper, who was just getting back to his feet, "Mr. Threehorn. You actually came." he said. "Yeah. I didn't want- I mean I couldn't say no because I care about you and Littlefoot's safety. Littlefoot got me to realize the truth. Now, uh…where is Chompless?" he said. He heard a soft growling

He jumped and turned to her, "You…" he growled. She raised her claws, still covered with Nodd's blood. He stopped and remembered what Littlefoot had told him. He knew what Chompless wanted him to do, "Do you have something you would like to say to me?" she asked. He hesitated. Admitting he was wrong about what happened was difficult. Chompless could and would wait all day until he admitted it, "I'll just wait for you." she said, keeping her claw raised.

Eventually, he did muster up the courage to say it, "I was wrong…"

That wasn't nearly enough to satisfy her, "About?" she asked, now crossing her arms. He hesitated again, "Nodd's death. It wasn't..." he struggled to say. She started tapping her tow claw, "It…wasn't…your…fault. You didn't kill him, he ran into your claws and killed himself." he said. She was waiting for one more thing, "And?"

"You really want to hear this, don't you?" he said. She hissed and cut his left front leg with her claw. He staggered at this, and lifted his injured foot, "I'm not in the mood for any stalling." she snarled. He knew now that she was very agitated with him, and he should just say what she wanted to hear, "Okay, okay! I'm sorry! I apologize for accusing you of killing him. Can you bring yourself to forgive me?" he said.

She growled at him but was happy that he said it, "Yes." she said, walking by him toward Littlefoot. As she was passing by his head, she whispered something to him, "Consider yourself lucky. One more wrong word out of you and it might've been your throat."

He didn't know how to respond to that statement, so he didn't say anything.

She walked over to Littlefoot, and helped him up, "You okay?" she asked. He looked at her and nodded, "I'm fine. I just tripped over something, that's all." he said. She glanced at the tree and looked right at Arez, who looked back at her. Chomper looked, too, and then he and Chompless exchanged glances. Then Chomper also went to Littlefoot, "You didn't run into any Sharpteeth while you were gone, did you?" he said.

Now Topps and Littlefoot both exchanged nervous glances, "Actually, we did. It was that Nickie we've been hearing about." he said. Chomper's eyes widened, "You did?" he asked. Littlefoot nodded, "Yeah. Mr. Threehorn ran into her leg, and she grabbed him and I think she was about to eat him. Then she looked right at me before she roared into the sky. And the human who she listens to did respond to her roar and he came to us. Uh…Tyranto? Something like that." he added. Chompless and Chomper gasped, 'You actually saw him?" he asked. Littlefoot nodded slowly, "I didn't just see him. I talked directly to him." he said.

Chomper was beyond curious now, "What did he say?"

"He said that he was taking Flatteeth and making sure no Sharpteeth could ever hurt them. He tried to make his idea sound good, but I didn't fall for it." Littlefoot answered. Chomper and Chompless were a bit shocked, "Wow. That's…aghh! I want to rip his throat out so badly!" Chompless said, now angry. Chomper started rubbing her neck, trying to calm her down, "Hey. Chompless, it's okay. It's okay. Just…calm down. We'll stop them eventually." he said soothingly.

She took a deep breath and began to calm down. She began to purr softly. "That's it." Chomper thought, continuing to rub. He felt her purring, and he could hear her breathing slowing down, "Good." he said quietly. She eventually calmed down, pushed her snout into his chest and she gently nuzzled him. He wrapped his arms around her neck as best he could and hugged her.

She purred a little more and they stayed like that for a little while. Everyone took notice of this. Once they stopped, they realized everyone was staring at them. Chompless got a slightly nervous expression, "What? You never saw me calm her down before? I'm the only one who can get really through to her when she's angry. So yes, I do hug her, and yes she does like to purr. So what are you staring at?" he said, slightly harsh.

None of the others responded to that and looked away from them to each other.

The whole time, Arez kept watching, and he liked Littlefoot as much as his sister did. But, unnoticed by him, was that the branch his feet were on was cracking. Everyone heard it as well and wondered, "What's that noise?" Littlefoot said. Then, Arez looked at the branch and gasped. He tried to move to another branch…

…but it broke and he fell...

...right onto Littlefoot.

"Ah-!" Littlefoot said before he was cut off. Chomper and Chompless gasped. Arez groaned, but then looked up and saw his sister and Chomper, along with the others staring at him, "Oh no." he thought. He didn't know what to do, but he heard Littlefoot's muffled yells underneath him.

He stood up and got off of him. Littlefoot gasped for air and looked at Arez, who looked right back at him. They just stared at each other for a little while, and nobody else said anything or moved a muscle. But Arez moved closer to Littlefoot and stroked his face, and smiled as non-threating as possible. Then Chompless moved over to them and decided to tell everyone.

"Everyone…this…is my brother, Arez." She said. They all were silent, but Mr. Threehorn took a step back, seeing Arez was a bit taller than him, "Don't be threatened by him. He is gentle and caring unless somebody provokes him or he's defending me." she added. Arez nodded to back her up. Eventually, Mr. Threehorn spoke, "Can…can he speak?"

"Of course he can. (To Arez) Arez, that's the one that accused me of killing the Clubtail. Kill him." she said, pointing to Topps. Chomper gasped and he mouthed "Chompless…no."

She just looked at Chomper and smiled. He shook his head, and she nodded before winking. He was confused but just kept silent.

Arez snarled at Topps and splayed his claws, but then he stopped and they both laughed, "Sorry, I just felt we had to do that to give you a good scare. Arez can speak, but not in this language, or even in Sharptooth. Only our native one. It sounds like this. Arez, say what you have to say and I'll translate it to them." she said.

None of them laughed, but they weren't angry. Not even Topps, mainly considering he was afraid of death because if they attacked him, nobody could save him.

When she spoke to him, all they heard was just some high-pitched screeches. And Arez spoke said what he needed to, and she translated. "He says that he is going to stay near the Valley, but he will stay outside of it, and we'll be visiting him, as the others did with me. He also promises that he will not hurt anybody from the Valley or are Far Walkers." she said.

Arez nodded again. "You sure he can control his impulses?" Topps asked. She sighed, "He's not attacking you right now, is he?" she said. "No…" Topps answered. "Then that means he can control himself. Even when I'm not around, he'll still fight his instincts. If he doesn't…he knows I'll make him learn." She said, giving him a look. He knew it all too well and nodded.

"Okay. Maybe he can stay with Noblefoot." Topps said. "You know…I didn't think of that. But that would be perfect. I'm sure Arez and Noble can get along." Chomper said. Chompless translated this to her brother, and he smiled.

Then they all heard footsteps coming closer, and both Mystery Teeth tensed up and snarled.

Then a Carnotaurus appeared and walked right up to them. Arez slowly stepped towards it, growling, Chompless did, but she saw the look in its eyes, and she put her hand in front of Arez, "Hold on just a second. I'm getting an odd feeling about that Horned Sharptooth." she said. He backed down and she approached it, "Hello, Chompless. Noblefoot sent me to make sure you and Chomper are okay." It said. She needed to test it, "What's the secret word?"

"Bleeding fate." It said. She immediately lowered her guard, "Well…uh…we were just about to head back home. And…" she said but then the Carno noticed Arez and gasped. She knew, "Who is…?" the Carno began to say. "That's…my brother, Arez." she answered. It was beyond surprised, and Arez shyly waved, "This…this is...let's get back to Noble. See what he thinks of this. Come on." It said, turning around and walking.

They all exchanged glances and followed it. They walked for a couple of hours.

But as they were getting close, they heard a gurgled growl close by.