CHAPTER 7: MIDNIGHT MEETING
As nighttime slowly but surely drove away the light of the sun and cast the Great Valley into darkness,all was worrisome to say the least in the humble abode that was the dinosaurs' valley. The damage the smoking mountain caused just from the earthquake alone was on a level not thought possible,only being comparable to the Great Earthquake that separated almost everyone when they were on their way to the valley and took the life of Littlefoot's mother. There was also the matter of the smoking mountain itself,while true it was far away in The Mysterious Beyond,it could still be spotted from the valley and the last thing they needed was any kind of reason to have to leave their home.
The elders were having a meeting near Thundering Falls and were discussing the state of their valley,unaware that the children were eavesdropping on them with the exception of Chomper and Ruby. The full moon slowly creeped out from behind a pair of clouds and shined bright light down on the elders as they discussed the matter at hand.
"You all better believe that we have nothing short of a crisis on our paws." declared Topps in an angry tone before driving the others' attention to the destruction around them "Our valley lies in a near state of ruin and the smoking mountain out there could bring down the black snow and bring an end to our home! If that time has any sign of coming then we must leave the Great Valley once more!"
The children gasped in shock and worry at the thought of possibly having to leave the valley a second time only for Grandpa Longneck to respectfully disagree "Now now Mr Threehorn,there's no need to jump to conclusions so quickly. Our valley has survived and endured many hardships in the past,and while it may be best to consider what could happen in the future,we mustn't act too rashly now." before growing a sly smirk on his face and turning around to the rock the children hid behind "Besides maybe we should hear what our children have to say."
The elders softly gasped to themselves as they watched their children reveal themselves with nervous grins on their faces before Topps grumpily lamented "Is there ever a time where y'all are not sneaking around?" only for Petrie's mother to play devil's advocate "Well at the very least we should let them know about our current situation. If we don't they make get themselves in trouble again."
"Grandpa are we gonna have to leave the Great Valley?" wondered Littlefoot with a hint of worry in his voice to which Grandpa Longneck to sharply reassured the young longneck "Oh of course not Littlefoot. We're just trying to take proper precautions after the earthshake and the burning mountain." only for Topps to scoff in response "I don't know why you're skipping around the truth so much longneck. The signs are clear,the smoking mountain could send the flying rocks here and who knows what else any time now and the earthshake left our valley all in ruins. We've all survived in the outside world long before coming here,and we did it when the valley was wiped clean of everything! I say we leave as soon as we can!"
"Well hold on for a moment would you? If we must leave then why not wait till we absolutely have to?" interjected Mr Clubtail with a sharp scowl directed towards Topps only for the grownups to all bicker amongst themselves before the latter could even fight back. The children all tried to get a word out as well but it was quickly clear that no decision or middle ground was going to be made as the children all but gave up while they slumped away from the crowd,with Littlefoot's grandparents noticing and sharing a concerned look with each other.