Chapter VII: An Unlikely Ally
Grandma Longneck screamed in agony. The sharptooth had bitten down on her tail hard. Grandpa had whipped it, forcing it to let go, but the predator's teeth had found their way through the spinal cord. Her tail tip spasmed as the neurons went through their death throes. Further up and that agony would have lasted only briefly. The old longneck forced herself to walk over to where Petrie's mom was. She forced herself to lie down. The flyer was still trying to revive Ducky's mom and Mr. Threehorn, and was quite unprepared to handle a shaking longneck tail tip as big as herself.
"A sharptooth, you say," said Clubtail. "They need the services of old Clubtail, do they? Well, I suppose I have an obligation to the Valley. I don't like anyone coming by my special path, Miss Threehorn, so if you don't mind..." and he wrapped a blade of grass around her eyes. "Now, I'll help you get up on my back." He did so.
I have to ride on him?! thought Cera. He has a really bumpy back, and he's slow, and why doesn't he want me to know about his path? It sounds suspicious. She tried to take the blindfold off, but Clubtail spotted her. "Really, Miss Threehorn, if you want to get lost in the grass, you're welcome to it. I don't really like passengers, and if you try that again I'll take you in that direction and leave you there, sharptooth or not."
Why that...He's definitely the one who helped the sharptooth get in. He doesn't sound worried at all.
Littlefoot looked back at Ozzy coming toward him. He looked to the left and saw the trees so thick there was no space for him. He looked to the right and saw the same thing. He knew he had to charge Strut, but wasn't sure he could manage to knock him down. But he charged anyway.
At the last possible moment, though, his courage failed him and he stopped just inches away from Strut. He was extremely surprised to hear Strut saying, "Keep going, kid. Just run right past me."
Not sure whether or not to believe the struthiomimus, Littlefoot asked, "Why are you helping me?"
"Because Ozzy's mean. Besides, eggs are yucky. I'm sorry I wanted to throw you off the Great Whatchamacallit."
Littlefoot saw Ozzy closing in on him and ran past Strut, still on his course to Hyp's nest.
The sharptooth wondered why these flat-teeth didn't just run. As Grandpa attacked him, lashing out with his tail, he dodged like a sickleclaw, all the while moving closer, before going for the neck and missing by inches. But he followed up with a heavy kick to the side. "Not this again," muttered Grandpa, knocked down flat. The sharptooth roared and prepared to deliver a death blow.
Petrie at his nest woke from his faint, surrounded by his siblings. "Where Mama?" he asked.
"She went to fight the sharptooth," replied one of his brothers.
"Sh-sh-sharptooth? Mama in trouble! Me go help!" Petrie flew off.
Ducky and Spike and their siblings were also at their nest.
"Spike, I am worried about Mama, I am."
"Me too," said her shy, orange sister.
"Look!" said another young swimmer. "I see Petrie!"
"Petrie!" called Ducky, and Petrie flew down.
"How Mama?" asked Petrie worriedly.
"I do not know. She has not come back here yet, no, no, no."
"Me mean my Mama."
"I do not know either, I do not."
"Me go find out. Me tell you when me get back," said Petrie, then rose back up into the air.
"What are you doing here?" asked Hyp's dad roughly.
"Egg stealers in the woods," panted Littlefoot.
"Hi, hatchling," said Hyp. "Wanna play tag?"
"Hyp! Don't go in the woods!"
"Why not, Dad?"
"Egg stealers," replied Littlefoot. "They...he is probably still following me."
"Egg-stealers? Woooaaah!" yelled Hyp, dodging behind a convenient boulder.
"What do you mean he, instead of they?"
"Long story. By the way, there's a sharptooth at Mr. Threehorn's nest..."
Oh well. At least I'm not riding on Elsie, thought Cera. I wish he would let me take this stupid grass blade off so I could see. She was already dizzy from Clubtail's side-to-side motion, and fell off with a cry of "Oof!" followed by a scream and then silence.
"What's the matter, Miss Threehorn?" asked Clubtail. There was no answer. Clubtail looked down and found Cera unconscious with two telltale punctures in her leg. She had been bitten by a scaly worm, or snake as the farwalkers say. She was still breathing, though.
In the forest, Ozzy cried, "Strut! Why did you let that plant popper escape?"
"I've had enough of you, Ozzy! I'm going to join the vegetarians."
"Just try it!" shouted Ozzy, raising his branch. Strut shot out a claw, grabbing the branch, and they grappled for it, rolling over and over and getting knocked into various trees. Finally Ozzy kicked Strut in the stomach. Strut fell down. Ozzy stepped onto his tail and raised his branch, aiming for the head.
Grandma saw her mate down and, thinking as clearly as she could through her terrible pain, pushed a tree down with her hind legs (she was still lying on her side.) It fell between Grandpa and the sharptooth, sweeping the latter off its feet. The two rose at almost the same instant, and Grandpa struck the sharptooth a resounding whack. It backed off...and started toward Ducky's mom and the others.
"Oh, dear," muttered Petrie's mom. "Female flyers aren't cut out for this."