Chapter 8
Seeing Red
This just couldn't get any better.
As luck would have it, Skip had found refuge under a sweet bubble bush, rapidly plucking and popping the treats into his mouth as he watched the dinosaurs below the steep incline. He had seen countless ill-fated battles between Red Claw and hapless leafeaters. His teeth made no distinguishment between the weak and the mighty, but this? Somehow, he knew this would be different.
Skip looked up at Petrie, who was circling as he watched the conflict unfold.
"Hey, you wan' a sweet bubble?" asked the tickly fuzzy, winding up to toss a berry at Petrie.
"Huh?" asked the distracted flyer. "No thanks. I'm good."
Returning his full attention to the fight, Petrie watched as Pterano streaked ahead of the charging leafeaters, determined to face Red Claw first. At the very last second, he threw his wings forward with a sharp clap, propelling himself up and out of the sharptooth's range. Red Claw saw it coming, lunging at the evasive flyer. Pterano was too fast, but just as Red Claws' jaws scarcely fell short of his legs, he lashed out at the sharptooth's face with his talons.
Petrie almost dropped from the air as he gawked. So that was how Pterano had fought Red Claw for so long!
"D-did you see that?!" Petrie geeked out.
An amazed Skip slowly nodded. He had seen that, many times actually. At the right time of year, one could look to the heavens and see flyers darting amid the clouds in jaw-dropping courtship rituals. Males would clash like sky fire in bouts of extraordinary agility, pecks and taloned strikes punctuated by wing claps to disorient their rivals. After defeating their competitors and winning the respect of a female, the two would dance through the skies. Diving and darting at each other, they always pulled back at the last moment as a testament of their will to never bring harm in their lifelong union. Flyers would sharpen their agility for months before engaging in these death-defying feats, but Pterano? He had taken it to a whole new level.
A forlorn sigh escaped Skip's lungs. How much action had he missed, cooped up in The Great Valley?
Scarcely had Red Claw suffered the sting of Pterano's claws before Cera crashed into him. He slid back, whirled away from her horns and counter attacked with his mighty tail. Before his swing could reach her, Littlefoot intercepted him and their tails clashed in a splitting impact. Though lacking the strength to halt Red Claw's attack, the longneck redirected the blow so that it merely whooshed above Cera's head. The sharptooth off-balanced Littlefoot with a jerk of the tail before rushing for his neck. Chomper had the same idea, pouncing Red Claw and diverting him away from the longneck.
Skip blinked in pleasant surprise before grinning. He didn't need the 'good ol' days' roughing it alone in The Mysterious Beyond. All he needed was to hang around these guys.
Red Claw's face contorted in fury at the feeling of Chomper's jaws on his throat. The insolent whelp! He swung Chomper between himself and Littlefoot. The longneck aborted an attack for fear of hurting his friend. Weak! All of them! Red Claw kicked back a charging Cera and staggered Littlefoot with his tail before throwing himself to the ground on top of Chomper.
He purred. Surely he had crushed the pup, but a good bite would be sure to seal the deal.
Pterano swooped out of the blue. Red Claw sprang to his feet to snap at the elusive flyer, failing to notice Chomper's leg pulling back the moment he did. The youngster's kick sent Red Claw stumbling.
Chomper rolled to his feet, snarling promises that there was more where that came from.
Looking the youngster up and down, Red Claw dismissed the threat with a snort. Rippling muscles taut with aggression, Chomper would have made a formidable rival in the years to come, Red Claw thought. Too bad he wouldn't make it to adulthood.
Red Claw charged, teeth brandished. Chomper did the same, though his teeth were the least of Red Claw's worries. Not a second before collision, Chomper whirled into the air. Red Claw's mind hit a speed bump. What was this? He got his answer when the youngster's foot spun into his skull. Chomper tottered on the landing before forcing his opponent back with kick after kick. Strategic split seconds found him steadying these seemingly impossible movements with tail taps to the ground. Red Claw had never seen a sharptooth move like that, but it made sense in light of the powerful legs with which his kind was gifted. Fascinating. He would remember this.
Catching Chomper's ankle in his jaws, Red Claw flung aside the youngster before going in for the finisher.
Pterano's form broke The Bright Circle's light as he made a beeline for Red Claw's face. The sharptooth spun to face him, only for the flyer to make way for the blinding sunlight as he pulled back just short of pouncing range. Then another dark shape blocked The Bright Circle as it sped towards Red Claw - Littlefoot's tail. The longneck's strike landed with a crack, followed by the dull impact of Cera's horns ramming back the sharptooth. His claws tore the soil, but he never fell. The threehorn jumped back when he snapped at her.
"Ugh," Cera whined. "When's this brute gonna just drop already?"
Littlefoot glanced at the cliff's edge. "Great idea, Cera."
She raised an eyebrow. "Wha-? I didn't-"
Littlefoot gestured the sheer drop with his eyes.
"Ohhhh," Cera went in realisation before grinning smugly. "Yes. A brilliant idea, if I do say so myself."
Littlefoot rolled his eyes with a chuckle. What would he do without the sassy threehorn?
"We'll have to be careful about it, of course," Littlefoot warned.
"Well, obviously," Cera replied.
The two barreled towards Red Claw.
...
Meanwhile, just as Littlefoot predicted, Screech and Thud had bypassed the frontline in an attempt to reach Ducky and Spike. Ruby and her father were doing their best to keep back the fast biters, but without the element of surprise, the odds had shifted.
Ruby fell when Thud's foot found her temple.
Cerulean rushed to her aid. A pounce from behind and Screech brought him down. Thud abandoned Ruby and the two fast biters combined their efforts to make sure Cerulean would never get up again.
"FATHER! NOOO!" Ruby shrieked as she struggled to a stand. "NO, FATHERRR!"
The fast biters cried out with glee. Once they'd finished her dad, she would be easy prey!
Everyone forgot about the sleepy-eyed Spike who quietly, purposefully, lumbered up to the fast biters. His almost lazy movements didn't even register, until.
*WHACK!*
"WooHOO! GO, Spike! Yes, yes, YES!"Ducky squealed as her brother's tail sent Screech and Thud flying.
The fast biters tumbled to a stop, barely beginning to shake off the hit before Littlefoot asked a question. The answer would have no effect on the outcome whatsoever.
"Hey, Screech. Mind if I borrow Thud real quick?"
His tail snatched up the startled predator, who happened to have landed conveniently close to the longneck. Not again!
Littlefoot hurled the fast biter into Red Claw's head. Needless to say, Thud lived up to his name. Red Claw was in no mood to be stoned with his own subordinate, forcing the shaken fast biter to scramble as his own alpha tried to stomp him.
"HA HAA! Throw the OTHER one!" Cera urged.
Screech scampered away from the giants. Okaaay. Best to focus on the weaker prey.
He ducked and Spike's tail swung overhead.
"Get 'im, Spike!" Ducky cheered.
Cerulean was back on his feet, joined by his daughter as they advanced towards the fast biter glaring all the while.
Screech made up his mind. Chances were whatever was left of Red Claw would be in no condition to punish him for disloyalty. This simply wasn't worth it!
The fast biter bolted down the path with a moderate limp, followed by a wobbly Thud.
Cerulean glowered after them. "I have half a mind to go after those two, for all the trouble they caused."
"For all the trouble they caused, I have half a mind to go after them too," Ruby agreed.
He gave her a crafty smirk. "But do you know what happens when two halves of a mind come together?"
Ruby returned the smirk. "The halves come together to make a full mind!"
Last Screech checked, Thud was in even worse shape than he was. It came as a surprise when the latter outran him. What could spook Thud like that? He looked back to see Ruby and her father racing towards them. With a squawk of outrage broken by fear, Screech rushed to catch up with his hunting partner. This was wrong on every level! They were supposed to do the chasing! It was an affront to nature!
...
Cera ducked Red Claw's jaws before slamming them back into the air with her horns, right into Littlefoot's tail and Chomper's foot converging from both sides.
"How's that for 'discombobulating'? WOO!" Cera hooted.
The language gap aside, Red Claw scarcely heard the jibe as her voice turned to mud in his muddled mind. This was the first time they'd come close to knocking him out. He felt himself begin to fall before a tail firmly wrapped around his muzzle; juvenile jaws seized him by the scruff and three horns met his haunches. Yanking and shoving, the youngsters heaved his body across the dirt.
Red Claw writhed to no avail. One rule he had followed to great effect since his childhood was to never let himself get knocked down. Not only had he fallen, but he had fallen to meat scarcely beyond childhood themselves, and they knew how to keep a sharptooth off his feet. They'd practiced, that much was certain. He craned his neck to see their destination: the edge of the cliff. Their plan was obvious. His eyes widened, muscles slackened.
He was afraid.
Littlefoot's resolve faltered at the sight of the frightened sharptooth.
"Hold on!" he urged.
Stopping, Cera and Chomper blinked quizzically.
Littlefoot sighed. "I don't know if we should do this."
"Whhhyyyy?" Cera asked slowly and cynically.
"Look at him!" Littlefoot urged. "He's scared and helpless, he's at his wit's end! Maybe now he'll be willing to make peace with us."
Cera couldn't frown harder if she tried. "Do you have ANY idea how hard it was to GET him into this position?! Of COURSE you do! You were THERE! Who CARES if he's 'scared and helpless'? I'm sure Sharptooth felt the same way when we did more or less the same thing to him!"
Littlefoot sighed. "Just ... give me a moment to talk to him, okay?"
"You already TRIED that!"
"Please," implored the longneck.
Cera snorted. "Fine, whatever. You have two holding breaths."
Littlefoot cleared his throat before rumbling Red Claw an invitation to friendship. The fight was over. They could finish him if they wanted, but Littlefoot expressed that he had no desire to do so. Perhaps they could all go home that day after all.
Red Claw narrowed his eyes before answering in a deep growl muffled by the longneck's makeshift muzzle of a tail. So, he had two options: accept their friendship or be thrown off a cliff. Was that how they made friends? He sneered. They were just as tyrannical as he was!
Littlefoot growled back. Who did Red Claw think he was fooling, snapped the longneck? They were defending themselves from an overgrown bully who made it his mission to hurt them for no good reason!
Much to Littlefoot's shock, Red Claw's eyes grew misty with bitter reminiscence. He tried and failed to blink away the moisture before quietly throbbing his response. He had a good reason. He had a very good reason.
Littlefoot's eyes softened as he caught a glimpse of a broken soul within the monster. After a moment's hesitation, he told Red Claw that he'd lost his mother. Sharptooth took her, and he saw it with his own eyes. He watched the final breath of life ebb from her lungs. There was a part of him that always hurt, physically hurt, when he thought back to that moment. For a time, he was angry yet numb, and he wanted Sharptooth to pay ... but that was his story, not Red Claw's. He couldn't pretend to know exactly what Red Claw had gone through but maybe, just maybe, they'd both been there. Maybe they could help each other get better. Red Claw didn't have to face it alone anymore.
The sharptooth stared at him long and hard before diverting his eyes to the sky in deep thought. Finally, Red Claw gurgled an answer: ... Maybe ...
Chomper's jaw hung. Was this actually happening?
After another pause, Red Claw shooed them with his tail. He needed a few days to cool off after a battle like this, but perhaps the next time they visited The Mysterious Beyond ... he would be willing to talk.
Littlefoot and Chomper exchanged flabbergasted glances.
"Okay, what's going on?" asked Cera.
"Red Claw told us he'll let us leave," Littlefoot translated.
"You're saying that like he had a choice!" Cera huffed.
"That's not all," added the longneck. "He's open to the possibility of being friends."
Cera gave him an odd look. "Okaaay ..."
Pterano frowned. "As an accomplished liar myself, I would suggest that you disregard his word entirely."
"Same," agreed Cera.
"But would we be able to live with ourselves, knowing that he might have been telling the truth?" Littlefoot asked. "This could change everything! He could defend The Mysterious Beyond instead of menacing it! He could even learn to eat crawlers and fish, just like Chomper!"
Chomper looked uncomfortable. "Ummm ... It's harder to find those in The Mysterious Beyond."
"Then maybe, when the time is right, he could join us in The Great Valley!" Littlefoot argued.
Cera gave a big, fat "NO!"
Her voice echoed across the cliffs, hammering home the finality of the statement. However, as silence fell on the group, the 'what if' Littlefoot had proposed corroded their opinions.
"If he kills us, I'll headbutt you to Beyond the Mysterious Beyond," Cera threatened.
Littlefoot almost chuckled at the fundamental absurdity of that statement.
"Okay, we'll let him go and quickly back off on three," Littlefoot instructed.
Chomper and Cera nodded.
Littlefoot began the countdown. "One ... two ... three!"
They released the sharptooth, rapidly withdrawing to a hopefully safe distance. Red Claw hurried to his feet and shook himself off, casting wary glances to the youngsters who surrounded him.
"It's okay," Littlefoot assured before reiterating himself in sharptooth. They had decided to let him leave in peace, he stated. They would not go back on their word.
Red Claw snorted sceptically, but seemed to accept Littlefoot's reassurance nonetheless. He began to leave, straying a little too far into Littlefoot's personal space as he did so.
Of course they would not go back on their word, Red Claw agreed in a deep, quiet croon. He would expect nothing less from such naive, young fools.
Littlefoot's fight or flight instincts flared to the red zone. It was already too late. The sharptooth rammed his massive skull into the longneck's head. Ears ringing, Littlefoot's world seemed to tilt as he went crashing to the ground.
Cera and Chomper charged. A savage tail to the head and Chomper collapsed into Cera, out cold. The monster rushed in, jaws spread to finish Chomper. Without a second to weaponise The Bright Circle's light, Pterano rushed to stop the tyrant.
Red Claw saw him coming and almost purred. Perfect.
Scarcely even turning to acknowledge the flyer, he swatted Pterano over the cliff's edge with his tail. Finally! He'd struck down The Daybreaker!
"UNCLE!" Petrie squawked as he dove after Pterano.
Cera had barely managed to yank her head from under Chomper before she felt massive jaws on her tail. With devastating strength, Red Claw hurled her into the incline at the path's edge. The impact shook loose soil and boulders that buried the threehorn.
It all happened so fast.
A panicked Littlefoot scrambled to get up, until Red Claw planted a heavy foot on his side.
Spike moved in and swung his tail. Red Claw caught it in his jaws and tossed him away. Ducky threw herself into the tyrant, shoving and hitting, even attempting to scratch with her nubby nails. Annoying as it was, he decided to leave her be. She was neither big, strong, nor skilled enough to make him budge.
The sharptooth leaned in close, relishing the scent of the longneck's fear pheromones.
Littlefoot stuttered. But ... but ...
But what, spat Red Claw? Did the longneck honestly think that sharing a mawkish story about his mother would bring them any closer to being friends? Longnecks were red food! It was their destiny to be devoured, and Red Claw deeply hoped that his father had savoured the leafeater's mother as much as he would savour her offspring!
The revelation hit Littlefoot's mind like ice. Sharptooth ... was Red Claw's dad?
Red Claw grunted in annoyance. It would seem he had overwhelmed the longneck's feeble little brain, and not in a fun way. Very well. Perhaps this would kick start the leafeater's mind. Red Claw growled that he could shove them off the cliff as they did with his father, but he had something much more wonderful in mind. He would break them so that running and fighting became impossible. Then he would drag the helpless leafeaters to his cave and gradually nibble them over the next few days. They would be alive enough to watch and feel it happen. His only regret was that the longneck's mother wasn't there to join the feast.
The ice in Littlefoot's mind melted as his heart set on fire.
Red Claw grunted, pleased at the sight of Littlefoot's livid face. Next would come some big, bratty scream of outrage and futile thrashing, no doubt. Leafeaters were so predictable. However, Littlefoot's response was somewhat more ... methodical.
The longneck's tail shot up and hooked Red Claw's head. Then came the scream, accompanied by a sharp yank as he launched a ferocious headbutt to the monster's neck. Pain split through Littlefoot's skull. Ordinarily, that meant he'd gotten the technique wrong. He hadn't. It was simply a matter of force: more force than he'd used in his entire life. If it hurt him, Red Claw had to be swimming in agony.
The sharptooth had no intention of backing down, but pain was a persuasive negotiator, and he hadn't felt pain like this in a long time.
Another crippling headbutt from Littlefoot and Red Claw winced off of the longneck with eyes squeezed shut.
Littlefoot raged to his feet, fuming. Never had gnashed flat teeth looked so menacing. Advanced Imagination went to work and he quickly spotted a sizeable fault line along a small section of the cliff's edge.
Despite the neck trauma, Red Claw managed to throb in satisfaction. The longneck had offered friendship, and nearly died for it. Now he hated Red Claw, and it bought him a few extra moments of battle! So much for kindness! So much for love! They weren't that different after all!
Littlefoot wasn't listening anymore. He was done talking.
With a spine-chilling battle cry born from years of learning to sound like a sharptooth, the longneck thundered into Red Claw like a hurricane.
I hope that wasn't a tad too intense for a K+ story. What do you think?
Strangely enough, I've written for villains before, but writing from Red Claw's perspective might be the first time it has actually disturbed me a bit.
You might recognise Littlefoot's attempt to reach Red Claw as being influenced by Batman's attempt to reach Joker.
By the way, a 'holding breath' equates to half a minute, so Cera gave Littlefoot one minute to talk to Red Claw. (You can bet she was counting down).
Thanks for reading!