POLISHED DRAFT
Finished: 2020-06-24
Chapter Sixteen: A Flyer in a Tree
It was late into the afternoon the next day, the trio trekking through a sparse forest of fern-like trees. It seemed that the Shard's magic in the oasis had reached far enough to keep the forest barely clinging onto life. They were just glad that there was something to keep them shaded from the sun's rays, and, even though odd tasting, the trees' leaves were edible enough. Even Remy had tried one during the morning, and, so far, it had no ill effects on her.
"It's good that the wasteland hasn't completely killed everything off here yet." Remy mused, eyeing the towering cycads before trailing her eyes down to the twisted roots that sprawled across the dry, cracked earth. "But it seems like we won't be in this forest for much longer, by the looks of it."
"And there isn't much water, nope, nope, nope," Ducky muttered, kicking a stone across the hard earth.
"I just hope we find the rock that looks like a long-neck soon." Littlefoot kept his neck high, searching through the foliage to the distance of anything that looked remotely like a long-neck. "If we find that, we'll know we're going the right way and that it won't be long before we make it to the Great Valley."
"Oh, I hope we get out of this forest, I hope, I hope." Ducky wrung her hands, gazing up at the towering cycads, eyes catching a large dragonfly buzzing just out of reach. "I do not like this forest, I do not. It does not make me feel good, no, no, no."
"I agree," Remy was walking beside the hadrosaur, who stood a good two feet taller than her. "This forest doesn't feel right. Maybe it's because the Shard's weird magical powers are barely reaching into the forest, so it makes strange changes to it?"
"Or maybe it is something different from a Shard?" Ducky questioned, cringing when another dragonfly flew a bit too close for comfort.
"But the forest doesn't seem that bad. It's just kind of creepy feeling. It's not like anything is attacking us right now. But that is a thought. Is there something that is the opposite of a Shard? Maybe one that kills a luscious place or takes away magic? Can there be something opposite of my necklace?"
"I don't think so." Littlefoot nervously licked his lips, body tensing when the trees groaned and creaked. "My grandpa said that a fragment of a Stone of Cold Fire can make an oasis, but in return, it takes all the magic around it, killing everything."
"Wait." Remy paused, staring at the ground in thought. "If a Shard makes an oasis only to kill the land around it, is that what's happening in the Great Valley? Is it powered by a Shard, and everything around it is a wasteland because it's taking up so much magic to make such a wonderful place?"
"But why is everything dying now?" Ducky asked.
The teenager could only shrug. "I think Littlefoot knows the most about this magical Shard thing out of the three of us."
"Do you think my family will be at the Great Valley too?" Ducky had picked up a rock now, absentmindedly rolling it between her fingers. "They never mentioned it, but after the earthquake…"
"Possibly." It was Littlefoot who had answered. "My mother said it is where all the herds were going. Since the Mysterious Beyond is getting worse and worse, the Great Valley is the only place for most of us leaf-eaters to go. And it'll have the best green-food and freshest water to drink. And it'll even protect us from sharp-teeth too. I think that's a pretty good deal compared to some of the other places out there."
"Sharp-teeth." Ducky gasped, pressing the stone she had picked up to her chest, her blue eyes wide. "How would a place like the Great Valley keep sharp-teeth out? Especially when us big leaf-eaters can get inside?"
"Well…I'm not sure. Maybe it has something to do with the Stone of Cold Fire."
"I just hope my family is going to the Great Valley too. And I hope that they are all okay. I hope, I hope." It was then that her stomach growl, quickly followed by a lowered growl from Littlefoot's stomach.
"I guess we should eat something now before there isn't anything to eat." The long-neck smiled, already looking at which tree would be the best to eat from. He chose the closest tree, one a bit smaller than the rest, and latched onto a leaf. "Ugh, this tastes weird." Nonetheless, he tugged at the leaf, trying to pry it loose from the tree.
Something screeched.
"Um…Littlefoot…" Ducky raised a finger. "I think the tree is making noises. You should not be eating it, no, no, no."
"That's ridiculous," Littlefoot mumbled through a mouthful of leaves. "Trees don't make noises. It's fine." And with another tug, something large and brown came tumbling out of the tree and sliding down the frond. The creature's dark eyes locked with Littlefoot's gaze, only to be flung into the air when the long-neck screamed.
The brown creature smashed through a thin layer of dried earth and into a previously hidden pocket in the ground. Ducky and Remy ran over to where the animal had landed, peering into the darkness of the large hole. Remy knelt onto her knees while Ducky stooped on the other side of the hole.
"Are you okay?" Remy asked, just able to make out a long beak and a long crest. The word 'pterosaur' popped inside her head when she spied his leathery dark brown wings. "You didn't hurt anything, did you?"
The adolescent pterosaur didn't answer. They merely stared up at Remy with large, dark, fear-filled eyes.
"Don't be scared." Ducky chirped.
They flinched, gaze snapping to the green hadrosaur. Recognizing Ducky as a plant-eater, they lowered their raised wing, the other wing pressed against their side. The pterosaur glanced between Remy and Ducky, talon-adorned fingers clacking together.
"You didn't hurt anything, did you?" Remy repeated, noticing how they were holding their right wing close to their body. "I could maybe help you if you did." She offered her hand, but the pterosaur shied away.
"Me…me, okay." Their voice was high pitched, almost squeaky, but still held a masculine enough edge that they could be defined as male.
"Here, let me help you out of there." Remy pulled off a few more sheets of hardened mud to enlarge the hole. She then reached down, offering the frightened pterosaur her arm to perch on. "I promise you, I won't hurt you. I'm just a human whose helping other dinosaurs get to the Great Valley. Ducky here is one of them, and there's a long-neck named Littlefoot too."
Ducky waved enthusiastically at the other adolescent, a smile warming her features.
"Great Valley?" his eyes lit up. He glanced at Ducky again, who, in return, gestured for him to climb Remy's arm. Swallowing hard, the pterosaur carefully hopped onto the teenager's arm. His talons grasped her sun-tanned skin, almost drawing blood, while his good wing wrapped around her upper arm as best as he could. He was near twice the size of Remy's arm, but he was no heavier than a few heavy textbooks.
Once out of the hole, he looked up at Littlefoot, who had approached the gap in the earth. The long-neck smiled sheepishly down at him. "Sorry about flinging you in the air like that. You just surprised me. So, um…what's your name?"
As Remy placed him on the ground, the pterosaur fiddled with his claws, clearly flustered. "Me-me name Petrie." He turned to the tree Littlefoot had flung him from, a loud sigh escaping him as he cradled his left wing closer to his body.
"Why were you in that tree, Petrie, huh, huh?" Ducky leaned over him. "You are a flyer, not a faller."
"Me climb."
"You climbed?" Littlefoot leaned back, face screwed up in confusion. "But you're a flyer."
Petrie shifted in discomfort under the long-neck's gaze, pressing his left wing ever closer to his body. "Me-me wing hurt. Rocks fall on top of Petrie's wing. When dust clear, Petrie stuck and family nowhere to be seen."
"Here, let me take a look at your wing." Remy held out her hand.
Petrie hugged his wing to his body, staring accusingly at the human's open hand. The sun caused her gold bracelet to glint, and the crystal around her neck had already begun to glow. Petrie stepped back, fear returning in his dark gaze. "Why stone glowing?"
Remy smiled, trying to keep her expressions and body language as lax as possible. "It's called a Shard. It helps me wield magic. I'm not entirely sure how it all works, but I know I can heal your wing. It's healed a wound on Littlefoot's back, so it should help with your wing."
Petrie still didn't seem convinced. He just stared at Remy for a long moment. Ducky bumped him from behind. "It's okay." The swimmer gave him another warm smile. "She's a really nice human."
Finally, the pterosaur swallowed hard, and hesitantly approached Remy's still outstretched hand. He offered her his injured wing, wincing even when her fingers didn't even grace the dark brown skin.
The teenager slipped the necklace over her head and gently pressed it to Petrie's injured wing. "It'll get warm if it works."
Just as she said this, the glowing stone became bright, and an intense heat emanated from it. Petrie whimpered, almost pulling his wing back. Remy encouraged him with soothing words, rubbing her thumb over his delicate wing membrane. However, the crystal became blistering hot. The pterosaur cried out, jerking his wing back, and scuttling away from Remy. He glared at her, tears in his eyes. "What'd you do to Petrie?" His voice was shrill with fear.
"It's-it's never done that before," Remy stuttered, staring at the brightly glowing stone. Even she could feel the heat on her hand as it hung in midair. She gaped for words, feeling bad for injuring the flyer even more. "Does…does your wing feel any different?"
Petrie sniffled, holding his wing closer. "No! You burned it! Petrie's wing hurt worse!" Instinctually, he stretched his wings out to fly. They lifted him a few feet into the air until he whimpered, feet touching the ground again. He was about the cry out when he stared at his injured wing. "It doesn't hurt as bad…"
"It worked," Remy breathed. She ran a thumb over the cooling crystal, before slipping it back over her head. "Maybe…the worse the wound the hotter the Shard gets? Your wing must have been broken." She tried to give Petrie a reassuring smile, but the flyer just glared back at her.
"Petrie," the sharp scolding in Ducky's voice caused him to look up at the swimmer. "Remy has helped you. You should not be looking at her with that look, no, no, no. If it was not for her, you would not be able to fly."
"Me still can't fly." He crossed his wings over his chest, snapping his gaze away from any of the on-lookers.
"It's just bruised now." Remy tried to reason. "It'll be only a few more days, and then it shouldn't be as sore, and you can fly again. I watched it heal a bite Littlefoot had gotten from a predator who was with Sharptooth. But don't blame me, I don't know half about what this magical crystal can do. The only stuff I've learned was less than a day with Littlefoot's grandfather, and the rest was on my own." Her frustration grew as she spoke, but Ducky and Petrie could only gape at her.
Ducky slowly turned to Littlefoot. "You got bit by a sharp-tooth that was with the Walking Terror of the Mysterious Beyond and did not die?" She pressed her paws to her beak, eyes growing ever wider. "Oh, no, no, no. How did you…"
Littlefoot just scoffed the ground with his forefoot. "I don't know how I survived. I mean…my mother paid with her life keeping Sharptooth away from me. I guess I have Remy to thank for healing my wounds, and it was pure luck that Sharptooth fell into the ravine and that younger one didn't find us until…"
Remy now stood beside Littlefoot, a hand pressed to his side. "We don't have to worry about Sharptooth anymore. He fell into the chasm. There's no way he could have survived that fall."
"But, there's another sharp-tooth…" Petrie's shaky voice chimed. "Won't they look for us?"
"I don't know."
"Anyway," Remy interrupted the conversation, knowing the memories were hard on the sauropod. "We should eat our fill and maybe try and find some water before we keep moving. I don't know how much longer this forest will last."
As Remy, Littlefoot, and Ducky began walking away in search of the best tree, Petrie watched them. His beak opened, but then he shut it, wrapping his wings tighter around himself as he lowered his gaze to the ground.
"Wait!" Ducky stopped Remy and Littlefoot, turning around and walking up to the downtrodden flyer. "Would you like to join us on our journey to the Great Valley, Petrie? Maybe your family will be there too. And I would not want to leave a hurt flyer like you in a place like this."
"You really take Petrie?" His eyes lit up.
"Of course! We could not leave you behind. No, no, no." Ducky then scooped Petrie up, letting him perch on her shoulder as she marched back to the waiting Littlefoot and Remy. The pair smiled at their newest member even though Petrie shamefully avoided Remy's gaze. Nonetheless, they continued their hunt for food and water before they pushed onwards with their journey to the Great Valley.