Chapter 11

Chomper's Choice

Skip sighed at the sight of the canyon that served as an entrance to The Great Valley. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but it's great to get back home to my boring, cosy little burrow."

Chomper halted, fiddling with his claws. "Um ... guys? I'm not going home."

The surprise of Spike's talkativeness was nothing compared to the abject shock induced by those words.

Littlefoot brightened a touch as his mind offered a palatable possibility. "... Oh, that's right. You wanted to join Ruby when she visited her parents ... right ...?"

Chomper shook his head.

The atmosphere grew thick as bubbling goop.

"... Um ... it's the food, right?" suggested Ducky. "It's getting harder to find enough as you get bigger, but we'll help you! We will!"

"It's ... that, but it's not just that," Chomper sighed, visibly shaken by what he was about to share. "There's ... another Chomper. He scares me."

The leafeaters exchanged glances.

With a deep breath, the sharptooth continued.. "He's the Chomper who bit someone when I was a baby; the Chomper who almost bit one of you guys maybe ten times this year: every time Cera snaps at me without warning; almost every time someone touches me when I don't expect it, or makes a sudden sound or a sudden movement. The moment he feels threatened, he wants to bite. He's the Chomper who thinks of eating whenever he sees a nest full of hatchlings, just 'cause they're vulnerable; who thinks of eating whenever he hears his friends' voices, or gets close enough to smell them. He's always there. He's always figuring out the best ways to hurt them. He always wants to pounce every time they turn their backs. He grew up with me. He used to be little, but now he's so big, I don't know what to do, and he's still growing! One day, I'm scared he'll be bigger than me!"

Tears filled Chomper's eyes as his gaze dropped to his feet.

"It's like ... it's like fighting Red Claw every. Single. Day."

Littlefoot's heart didn't 'sink'. It flat out crashed to the ground.

Frankly, Skip would have preferred to be anywhere but there at that stage. He didn't feel familiar enough with the youngsters to be qualified as a part of such a personal moment. However, he couldn't leave either, or ask if they would prefer that he excused himself. That would probably be insensitive.

"So ... then what?" asked Ducky.

Chomper furrowed his brow in determination. "I am not gonna be like Red Claw. I am not gonna let the other Chomper win! I just need ... someone to teach me how to be stronger than that Chomper."

"Well, you're in luck. You have us," Cera asserted. "We'll figure this out together! We always do."

"You guys ...? You guys are my family!" Chomper declared. "But I think I need another sharptooth on this one."

Cera raised an eyebrow. "Really? Okay. Um, just one question: Where in the world are you gonna FIND one?"

She was being explosive, but in light of the situation, Cera felt entitled for some brashness.

"How 'bout your parents?" she went on. "Oh, that's right: Your parents would LOVE it if the 'other Chomper' had some friends for dinner!"

"Cera. You can stop now," Chomper half growled, glowering at her.

She glared back. "You know? I honestly don't care whether or not you feel like biting me! Red Claw bit me! Bring it ON! Besides, I've headbutted pretty much all of you on the odd occasion, but who cares? We hurt each other, but we make up and ALWAYS figure things out in the end, because we're FAMILY! You're practically my BROTHER, and I l-"

The sentence froze in her throat. Cera's face contorted as she quavered like a violent earthshake, teeth grit, tears reaching the brim of her eyes. Holding his gaze was the fight of her life. Red Claw was nothing. She'd locked horns with the greatest foe she'd ever known: a foe that decreed she had to look strong; had to yell some sense into his skull. She could never, ever, let him hear the words at the precipice of her tongue, because she was a threehorn! But ... this was Chomper ... her friend ... her brother ... Threehorn pride wasn't worth a nibbler's droppings next to him.

She felt herself melting to a mushy mess, heard her own broken voice.

"Ch- Chomper, I ..." she choked. "I ... love you."

All jaws slackened. The sharptooth's heart broke. There wasn't a dry eye among them.

"I-" Chomper swallowed. "I ... love you too." His eyes wandered their faces. "Friends ... brothers ... sisters, I love you all. That's why I have to leave ... b-but don't worry. I'll be back. I've met a flyer who visited a place where sharpteeth and leafeaters get along. At least, that's what it looked like from a distance. He saw fast biters living alongside leafeaters of many kinds, talking and everything, but he didn't want to get too close. Maybe they can teach me."

"What 'place'?" Littlefoot asked almost numbly.

Chomper hesitated. "It's called, um ... Hidden Valley."

Those words hit everyone like a jolt.

"You mean the valley The Great Earthshake pulled into the ground?" asked Ducky.

"The valley leafeaters either get to or disappear trying even before that?"added Cera.

"The valley they say's haunted by hidden runners?" Skip chipped in.

Littlefoot thought for a moment. "Well, it's not like hidden runners are dangerous. We saw one once, after all ... unless we made a mistake. That runner could blend in with green food, although you could still see him, and he wasn't a threat like the ones from the legends. Maybe that wasn't a 'hidden runner' after all. Maybe the real hidden runners are something much worse."

Chomper shrugged. "Well, I'm a bigbiter sharptooth who's growing to be way bigger than most. It doesn't get much 'worse' than that."

With a sigh, Littlefoot leaned towards the sharptooth, his head at an angle.

Chomper winced back, recognising the gesture. He'd explained it to Littlefoot. Translated from the sharptooth tongue, it signified deepest trust, deepest love, deepest friendship, deepest brotherhood. With so many meanings, he simply called it 'The Deepest', and it was shared between sharpteeth with the strongest bonds imaginable. In that position, a sharptooth's neck was vulnerable, representing absolute confidence that the other sharptooth would not take advantage of that. It was almost sacred, so entrenched in sharptooth identity that most of them believed it never needed to be explained. If another sharptooth was truly worthy of The Deepest, they would know what it meant and return it by instinct. But ... was Chomper really worthy, he wondered? After all he'd said, did Littlefoot actually trust him in such a vulnerable position?

Yes ... Apparently, he did.

The sharptooth pressed his temple against the longneck's, holding the position for one long, heartfelt moment.

"We will always be your friends," Littlefoot assured.

"Best friends. I'll be back," Chomper repeated as he finally ended The Deepest.

"We should go with you," stated Littlefoot.

Chomper shook his head. "It's a long trip, longer than you've ever travelled. Besides, I think I'll be there for a while, but at least there are four rivers on the way to guide me. I'll be able to keep up my strength with fish instead of ... other things ..."

Ducky frowned as a thought hit her. "Wait a minute ... what about Ruby?"

"'What about Ruby' is exactly what I'm thinking about," came a familiar voice.

Chomper nearly jumped out of his scales before turning. "Um ... h-heey, Ruby!"

"You know you're taking me with you, right?" asked a rather miffed Ruby. "'Cause 'with you' is the only right place for me to be."

Chomper made to argue.

She cut him off. "Okay then. What happens if your parents find out you left and I didn't leave with you? What happens will be anything but okay, then!"

The young sharptooth flinched. "Good point."

A twinge of sadness wrinkled Ruby's face before she gave the others a bittersweet smile. Living up to the name of her species, the fast runner practically raced to each of them, dispensing quick, snug hugs.

Cera almost rolled her eyes as Ruby latched onto her. Great. More hugs.

Looking over her friends one last time, Ruby sighed as the nostalgia hit like a tsunami. "It has been fun, hasn't it been?"

"It has, it has," Ducky agreed with a sniffle.

As sharptooth and fast runner turned to leave, Ruby gave the final farewell.

"Goodbye, my friends. My friends, goodbye." she waved.

A profusion of goodbyes followed, petering out nearly as quickly as it began. The gang watched until Chomper and Ruby's tails disappeared around a corner, taking a moment to shake off the emotional fatigue.

Cera mumbled something about crying herself to sleep. The way Littlefoot glanced at her, she realised it had reached his ears.

"Listen ol' buddy, ol' pal," she threatened. "I don't know what you think you heard, but you'd better not breathe a word about it to anyone."

"Breathe a word about what?" asked Littlefoot.

Cera gave a dull smile. "Good boy."

With heavy steps, they returned to the valley that marked the beginning and end of their journeys countless times.

This time, they returned a gang of five.

Thank you for taking the time to read this story. Stay tuned for more.