-v-

Chapter 13: A path traveled

Thus said Rhy'thnuk: "A good scouting mission can save you a lot of trouble. Do not send in the fleet until you are sure what they are entering."

Student: "I thought that we were discussing life choices, not naval tactics."

Thus said Rhy'thnuk: "In many cases the two subjects are not dissimilar."

The ruminations of Rhy'thnuk

From the Summation of Ancient Thought - Volume 86

The past:

Tracker had always been a bit slow to wake up when nothing dangerous was going on. The morning after the truce was no exception. She slowly blinked herself awake before slowly raising her head up, habitually checking for trouble. Okay, I'm the first one awake. Odd, Tracker thought. Dodger was usually already up and about, never content that the area was safe without personally verifying it for himself.

Violet shifted uneasily in her sleep as a murmured word single word continued escaped her mouth, "Healer...healer…" The act of Violet mumbling in her sleep was a rare one. Dodger, meanwhile, continued to snore in what sounded like a light growl.

Tracker carefully moved over to a friend and gently shook her awake. It doesn't sound like her sleep story is much fun.

"Won't cry…" came another phrase from Violet's otherwise unintelligible gibberish. It was followed by the fastbiter rolling over in her sleep, accidently plowing her head into Tracker's nose as the violet fastbiter continued to sleep.

"Violet, wake up," Tracker hissed, shaking her friend harder. How Dodger can be an extremely light sleeper and his sister be almost impossible to wake up is a mystery to me.

Violet awoke with a jerk as her eyes flew open. For a moment the yellow orbs seemed to wear an expression of nervousness, but then they quickly relaxed. "Oh, it was only a sleep story."

"What was?" Tracker asked, wondering what was bothering her friend.

Violet chuckled softly. "It was such a weird sleep story. First Haven and Dodger of all people got into a fight… then Seeker knocked him out… then Haven and him made up. Craziest of all Seeker wanted me to become a healer." Violet shook her head as she prepared to lay down again, her eyes still heavy. "What a silly sleep story."

"Er, Violet, that all actually happened. You were actually panicking about that last bit last night." And apparently still are.

Violet froze as if Tracker's words were strangling her. Instantly, her eyes went wide once more and her scent communicated extreme nervousness. "I… I… but I never tried to heal before! I can't even smell the plants from a distance!"

"You can still see. If you need help finding stuff, well, we've already worked together on that once." The latter part Tracker nearly whispered. No one else needs to know about that.

Violet closed her eyes as she tried to bring her breathing under control. She had kept herself composed until Littlefoot had gone back to his sleeping area last night, but alone with her packmates she allowed herself to express her insecurities. The idea of even having a healer was unknown to most packs, but now they all saw the importance of that position. The thought of her having that much responsibility terrified her.

"Everything alright?" she heard Dodger ask. Apparently their conversation had just woken him up.

Violet took a deep breath as her tail lowered itself out of shame. "Sorry, I did not mean to wake you."

"I'm actually surprised you're up," Dodger replied, "You usually sleep until someone makes you get up."

Tracker coughed awkwardly as Violet rose to her feet without saying a word for several moments. When she finally spoke it was with a nervous, yet determined voice.

"I have to do this… but I don't know if I can."

"And what do you need to do?" I really missed something important, Dodger thought in frustration, I'm getting into bad habits around here.

Violet looked at him with an awkward expression. "Seeker said that I should become a healer… but I don't know what that means. Haven and Ponder used plants on you to do stuff, but what if I learn wrong and get plants that do the wrong stuff?"

"You'll do fine," Dodger replied, "Just pay attention and ask questions if you're confused. Just like you did when we were first starting out, remember?" Granted, not all of those are good memories, and you can't remember much before that, but…

Violet reluctantly nodded her head. "Seeker said he thought that I was the best candidate for being a healer… but why? What did he see in me?"

I wish I knew more about healing. I don't know what Seeker sees in her, but I know what I see in her. "Have you ever done anything less than your best?" Dodger asked his sister, sort of dodging her question. No matter how many times he did this, Violet never seemed to actually notice or at least didn't bother to say anything about it.

"No.. I have always tried my best," Violet stated somewhat pitifully, "I just wish that wasn't usually not good enough."

"It's always been good enough, Violet. We're still alive. You made amazing progress with your sniffer in a very short time. If you keep trying your best you'll do fine. Better than me, anyway." My healing skills aren't exactly anything to brag about. What Dodger knew how to do was very effective and could mitigate injuries, but it was more preventative, such as knowing how to fall, or quick fixes, such as relocating his shoulder after a bad fall or a really bad fight. None of it was pleasant, and much of it was painful even when done correctly.

Violet remained silent for several moments before finally speaking aloud in an almost awe-like tone, "They can fix infections, Dodger, and kill with a single plant. That kind of power horrifies me." There, she had said it. More so than her usual fear of failure, there was also the fear of what these healing plants and the poisons could do. What if she got them mixed up one day?

"I'm not exactly thrilled by some of that stuff myself," Tracker said, "I don't think you're going to have to worry about poisons, though. I don't think they trust us enough for that." And I really can't imagine a time when we'd really need it, except maybe the Orange Death.

"Then why did you want us to find it, Dodger?" Violet asked with inquisitive eyes. It had been that entire mission that had led them to Leap's path in the first place what seemed like ages ago.

Dodger glared at his sister for a moment, angry that she'd spoken in a normal tone rather than whispering. "I wanted to make sure we could find the cure for it. I also wanted us to have a way to survive if we ran into another desperate situation again." He couldn't stop himself from glancing at his mate as he said that last sentence.

Violet bowed her head slightly in apology upon realizing her faux pax. She remained silent for several moments after that leaving herself alone with her thoughts.

"Oh, it looks like they are awake!"

"Ready, Violet?" Dodger asked as he gestured in Ruby's direction.

Violet took a deep breath as Ducky came into view as well. The green fastbiter remained slightly behind Ruby out of respect of Dodger's sleeping area. A respectful change from the antagonism of the prior day.

"I… I'm ready," Violet stated with more confidence than she actually felt.

"So what is the violet one learning today?" Thud asked with some curiosity as he consumed some carrion that he and Taunt had found early that morning. It was like old times in a way for father and son to compete to find food.

Taunt chewed his food with some difficulty as the bloated corpse had already begun to release noxious fumes. This was not enough to make the food toxic for a predator like him but more than enough to make the meal less than ideal.

"They are teaching her how to use healing plants, I believe," Taunt muttered between mouthfuls, "Their pack does not have a healer."

Thud nodded. "True, but in their defense, son, most packs do not. Predators don't focus on plants all that much. Well… they didn't until they heard about it in your pack's songs."

The two dinosaurs grew quiet as they watched the training from a distance. Littlefoot soon joined them but did not break the silence as he was watching with some interest as well, but did not want to add to Violet's nervousness. Meanwhile, in the distance, Ducky began her lesson.

"Okay, Violet, we are going to start with finding plants that stop biting buzzers. These plants look like this." She held up a single leaf and allowed Violet to give it a quick sniff. The sniff was cursory, as seeing the leaf would be far more important in her case. "Are you ready to track the plant down?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Violet replied, "I might need a bit of help, though." Unless it's nearby it will take a very long time otherwise. I don't track things. I trip over them.

Ducky nodded sympathetically. "Of course, with your sniffer this will be a bit more difficult without some help." With that she considered how much of a hint to give the novice healer. "This plant is found by streams."

Violet froze for a moment, remembering where she was in relation to the stream. Got it. She turned and hurried off towards the stream. She'd gotten pretty good at figuring out where she was over the years since she couldn't smell her way back home, but she'd never say she'd never get lost. Fortunately streams were relatively hard to miss.

Meanwhile, Thud, Taunt, and Littlefoot watched the retreating fastbiter with some interest as she headed off into the forest. Each was curious about how her first mission would go.

Okay, so where is it? Violet wondered once she arrived at the stream. Or, more accurately, got herself back on dry land after falling into the stream. Stupid drops.

Unbeknownst to her, Petrie watched from atop the trees. Keeping constant observation of her progress. For now he merely raised a single wing to indicate that everything was going alright for now. He did not consider her clumsiness a mission ender.

Around Violet stood a wide variety of ferns and other plants. A few flowers stood at the level of her ankles which complicated her ability to find the green stem and red bulbed plant that Ducky had indicated. Now it would be up to her sniffer to aid in the search.

Some of these look way too similar. I hope none of them are dangerous. Not being able to smell effectively very far, Violet moved slowly, using her sniffer to help guide her but relying on her eyes to rule out what obviously wasn't what she was trying to find.

Petrie waved one wing in a rhythmic fashion to the watchers some distance away. The message was clear, She on the right track.

Narrowing it down to a small area in front of her, Violet carefully checked each nearby plant. No. No. Not quite right. Definitely not right. No. No. Yes. Got it! Violet grabbed the plant but then released it. Should I take it? If I take it, they won't be able to use it. How long does it take these things to grow back? Violet groaned in frustration, Why is nothing ever simple?

It was at that point that she heard an unexpected voice from above, "Good thinking, Violet. If plant taken then plant can't be used."

Before she could even reply the flyer gave a quick call into the air, "You can go back to the others now. They know that you passed this test."

Violet nodded in acknowledgment and hurried back the way she had come. That went well, mostly. I can't believe Spotter saw that; there's no way he didn't see me fall into the stream. I hope he doesn't tell anyone.

"Oh, good! It sounds like she passed," Littlefoot muttered to himself as he heard Petrie's call, "Now they will get to the tedious part."

"Tedious part?" Thud asked.

Littlefoot nodded. "Putting the healing plants on correctly. If the sap of this plant goes into the eyes then it is quite painful."

Taunt nodded as a particular memory came to him. "As my mate was so fond of showing me…"

Thud rolled his eyes. "Whatever she did, son, I am sure that you deserved it."

Littlefoot coughed to break up the little exchange of taunts between family members. "Here she comes…."

I wonder what's next, Violet thought to herself, having slowed to a walk as she neared her friends and now teachers. What's Haven doing?

"Alright, Violet, what I am putting on myself is not something you would ever use. This stuff actually attracts blood-sucking buzzers," Ducky spoke nonchalantly as she put the goop onto her feathers, "So I hope that you learn how to use the plants you just identified very quickly."

You've got to be kidding me. Why would you ever do that? And what is that stuff? "I'm not sure I like this idea…" Violet said nervously.

As if on cue, the buzzers began to come from everywhere it seemed. Now Ducky was being inundated with the annoying things.

Ruby quickly handed Violet two of the bulbs. "Put these on her feathers, but avoid the eyes and mouth!" She tried to hide her discomfort with being hard on the new trainee, but she knew that it was necessary for this morning's lesson.

After all it was part of how the rainbowfaces trained them.

"I hope we've got enough," VIolet muttered before setting about her task. She started with Ducky's neck and hurriedly worked her way down. She intentionally left her friend's head untouched until she'd taken care of everywhere else.

Ducky kept her breathing under control as Violet actually did a fine job for a first attempt, but as the remaining areas were covered she noticed that her head was still left to be treated. This would be the challenging part.

"Okay, Haven. Hold still, please," Violet said, a bit conscious that she was the lowest-ranking one there if for no other reason than that Ducky could probably beat her just by tiring her out.

Dutifully, Ducky remained still as Violet's nervous scent radiated towards her snout. Though the fastbiter was so fixated on her job that the scent of nervousness did not have the bitter tinge of anxiety. This is an improvement. Yep, yep, yep!

By the time the only areas left were really close to Ducky's eyes Violet was really wishing Ruby would tell her to stop. Her progress at this point was frustratingly slow, but she really didn't want to cause her friend more pain or irritation than the buzzers were already causing.

"Okay, last one," Violet said. Once the plant was in place, she stepped back and pulled her arms against herself in an attempt to hide the nervous shaking that had been getting harder to control with each plant placed close to Ducky's eyes.

"Congratulations, Violet. You passed one of the most important tests that a healer needs to pass to become a healer," Ruby affirmed with some enthusiasm as she patted her on the shoulder.

"What's that?" Violet asked. She had no clue what they were trying to teach her except maybe to work quickly.

Ducky rose to her feet. "How to work even when you are scared out of your mind." As she said this she lightly touched one of Violet's trembling hands. "A healer must have steady hands and a clear mind even when they are scared. They have to be strong for the people who are hurt in their time of weakness."

Ruby nodded. "I can smell your fear over here, but your hands were steady as can be. That was the entire purpose of this test."

Violet just stood there, not quite sure what to say. She got the point, but she really didn't like how she'd been dropped into the situation without warning. The lack of prior practice had not helped her in keeping calm.

"It's okay to be upset," Ducky spoke softly, "but this is the only way to make sure you have what it takes without actually waiting for a serious injury to come to one of us. But now that we see that you can keep your cool under pressure, let's move on to something a bit more direct."

Ruby smiled before Violet could even ask the obvious question. "Which means no more tricks. Now we will show you how to treat some of the most common injuries."

Is it possible to use those on myself as well? Violet wondered, thinking back to her little stumble moments before. I wonder if Spotter said anything about that...

"Alright, let's start with how to treat a broken bone!" Ducky exclaimed with excitement as if that prospect were something perfectly normal for a healer to treat effectively.

"You can do that?" Violet asked, shocked. She vaguely remembered such an event in the pack's song, but it had more or less slipped her mind until now. "I nearly broke my leg once and kept telling Dodger just to leave me, but he refused. I didn't think I'd make it even if those spiketails didn't kill me right then. Prowler just left me there."

Ruby sighed. "Until the rainbowfaces showed us how it was done, we didn't think it could be treated either. We thought it was an injury that all you could do is… help the other person meet their ancestors quicker," she admitted regretfully, "But there is a way to treat it if the break is in the leg."

Ducky nodded. "You will need to find us a thick, strong stick, Violet. One that is about a half of a leg long and one sickle-claw wide. We will help you with cutting the vine you will need."

"Okay. I think I can do that," Violet replied. I don't need my sniffer to find a stick.

There was something odd about how Violet went about her searches; Thud noticed almost immediately as soon as she only took a cursory sniff of the first plant she was meant to find. This was only further confirmed when she seemed to be unaware of the emotions of those around her. She knew that Ruby and Ducky both were not fake-faces, so the idea of them hiding their emotions from Violet for the duration of the test seemed unlikely to him.

"It is nice to see her doing well. Though won't it be hard for her to find plants without her…"

"Shhh…" was Littlefoot's reply to Taunt as he whispered something into Taunt's ear. Within an instant Taunt bowed his head in apology and grew quiet. That was the only sign that Thud needed to put the pieces together.

Oh. Oh….

Thud now watched the healer-in-training with even more interest. A smell-blind fastbiter that managed to survive to adolescence. A most unusual occurrence.

Tracker watched Violet approach the carrion with an uncertain expression. The Bright Circle was now about to go down as her packmate had been training all day. She had verbally restrained Dodger from seeking her out on two occasions today as she knew his presence might make her even more nervous. But now it seemed that her training was finished for the day. But what that meant for Violet's mental state had yet to be seen.

"So, how did it go?" Tracker asked her friend once she was close. She was careful to keep her voice neutral, not indicating that she had any expectations one way or the other. If it had gone badly, Violet wouldn't react well, especially if she felt like she let a friend or family member down.

"I think that I need to use healing plants on my head after that… so much stuff…" Violet rambled as she rubbed her head and seemed to be looking at something in the distance as if she did not see Tracker in front of her, "A sharptooth shouldn't have to know that much about plants and sticks."

"So, what did you learn about plants and sticks?" Tracker asked. She knew from memorizing stories that it helped to say what she knew aloud and prove that she knew it.

Violet collapsed against the rotten corpse as she took a hungry bite from its flesh. It was several moments before she spoke again, "Well for one thing…" She then grabbed the exposed humerus from the rotten swimmer. "Did you know that a broken bone can heal itself if you put it in place with a stick and some vines?"

Despite remembering the "Song of the Seven Hunters" down to the last word, Tracker was still shocked at what Violet had said. "I thought those injuries were fatal. Especially if you break your leg." She could see an arm break being survivable. She was surprised she hadn't broken her own that time she dislocated it. But a leg break? That was impossible.

Violet looked at the bone with excitement at Tracker's question. "Wait! Give me a moment so I can find a stick and show you." She then sprinted off without letting Tracker get in another word.

Well, at least she's enthusiastic about this, Tracker thought with a smile. It was nice to see Violet excited over something for a change.

It only took a moment for Violet to arrive again with a stick under one arm and a vine wrapped around her body like some kind of intractable parasite.

"Alright, now we need to break Mr. Dinner's leg here." With a sudden flourish, Violet kicked the swimmer's half-eaten leg to break its tibia like a twig. Nonetheless, partially decomposed flesh remained over the broken bone.

Tracker couldn't help but flinch at the thought of what that would feel like. Ouch.

"Now that his leg is broken he should be dead, right?" Violet asked with all seriousness, "Um… I mean… if he wasn't already dead then his broken bone would mean he would be dead… Damn it, I think I was around Ponder too long. Her way of talking is contagious."

"Language, Violet," Tracker warned. It might not kill her now, but making sure she's in control of every word she says should keep her safer. Or at least that's how I was taught.

Violet covered her mouth in shock. "Did… Did I just say that?"

Tracker nodded. "I think you've been hanging around Taunt too much. Words can get you in trouble. Just look at Taunt." Not entirely fair, but he does get himself into trouble quite quickly.

Violet bowed her head apologetically. Her exuberance of her new skills being dampened by a reminder of her impulsivity and inexperience.

"Well… now his leg is broken, and if it is going to mend itself then it needs to be held in place," Violet began, "So we need this stick to keep the two broken parts in a straight line."

"And the vines keep the stick where it's supposed to be?" Tracker guessed.

Violet nodded, her excitement suddenly returning. "Yep! So we tie the vines like this…" She held the stick in place with her arm while she tied the vines to the best of her ability with her feet and her mouth. It took awhile, but within minutes the leg was secured in the manner in which she had been trained. A once fatal injury could now be treated.

"Wow. That's great, Violet." Tracker honestly couldn't find words to adequately describe just how important this was. This literally changes someone's life. Saves it, actually.

"I know," Violet affirmed, "There was a bunch of other stuff as well that the pack learned from other travelers… a seed that will make you vomit if you eat something bad… a root that makes pain… um… become less painful… and even a stem that makes people want to mate more. Though I don't really know why a healer would need to know that."

Subconsciously she was gesturing towards all of the areas where these plants were located, her mind visualizing the plants as she mentioned them. It was something that she was not aware of consciously, but Tracker could see the understanding in Violet's eyes. She was a fast learner.

"See," Tracker said, grinning, "You can remember this stuff."

Violet froze for a moment as she suddenly realized what she was doing with her hand gestures. Had she really memorized all of that?

"So what have you two been talking about?" Violet heard Dodger's voice from behind her.

Violet froze for a moment, her words suddenly failing her due to her surprise at Dodger's sudden appearance. Somewhat awkwardly, she gestured at the leg she had just 'treated' in the dead swimmer.

"Care to elaborate?" Dodger had heard the last bit of Tracker and Violet's conversation. He knew that she had learned quite a bit about healing plants, but he was a bit confused on how that had anything to do with food.

"Um… if a dinosaur has a broken leg… like in this food here," Violet gestured more closely at the leg, "Then you can use a stick and vines to keep the bone ends together. If the bone ends stay together then they can mend together. It takes about… two cycles of the Night Circle for a bone break in the leg," she finally finished as she remembered Ducky's words.

"Well, that's… Wow. That's amazing." Dodger was nearly stunned speechless.

Violet smiled at her brother's response. "It will be nice to finally be useful," she spoke to herself, not realizing that she was speaking aloud.

"And who told you that you weren't?" Dodger asked, frowning.

Violet froze for a moment. "No one… It's just that I have always been a burden. I couldn't even hunt." She frowned, though her eyes now burned with determination. "But now there is something that I can do if it ever comes to that."

"Violet, you've never been a burden. Ever. I wouldn't know what to do if I lost you." Dodger had nearly staggered at his sister calling herself a burden. Prowler, I am going to kill you if I ever see you again.

Violet was speechless and merely nodded her head politely at her brother's words of support. It was then that the samples of healing plants that she had tied to her right arm fell to the ground and rolled in front of Tracker.

"What's all this?" Tracker asked Violet.

Violet was immediately back into healer mode as she scanned her plants and rolled them back onto the vine and again tied them to her arm.

"This is red-stem; it helps to make a dinosaur um… pee more often if they have an infection down there…" she quickly moved on to less awkward plants, "This is white cap; it can help a dinosaur sleep, but it can also make them see things that aren't there… This is brown cone; it helps to treat stomach pain… this is green seed, it helps to prevent sickness from old meat…" she continued on for several moments as she went down the plants on her arm. After one day it seemed to her companions as if she had every plant in the territory memorized.

"Is there anything left for them to teach you tomorrow?" Tracker asked jokingly.

Violet answered somewhat seriously, "Oh, yes. They want me to learn about what all of the parts do tomorrow. The bam-bam... the brain… the green thing in the abdomen… the brown tongue-thing that you find inside of big dinosaurs… a lot of stuff. They said that they learned all this from the rainbowfaces when they were working on Taunt…" she hesitated, "er… from the male rainbowface, I mean. Ponder said he was more open to talking about such things than the female."

"I'm almost certain I don't want to know how those rainbowfaces learned this stuff," Dodger said. He couldn't imagine a way of learning about all that in a way that wasn't extremely grisly. I thought they weren't supposed to be dangerous, exploding rock they don't have anymore aside. This is… alarming.

Tracker shivered, "I guess it is a good thing that our hosts decided to let the rainbowfaces be allies. They sound scarier than most of our fellow sharpteeth."

Violet shrugged, "Haven and Ponder said that they were really nice. Weird, awkward, and kinda scary… but nice."

"I think I'll just take their word for it and not find out for myself," Dodger said. I could use the same description for Path and Taunt, and both can be plenty dangerous when they want to be.

Violet could not argue with Dodger's assessment as her fatigue finally caught up with her. A yawn escaped her mouth before she even had time to react. Though her mind was still going a mile a minute, it was obvious that her body had other ideas.

"I think I will try to sleep without the plant that makes you see stuff that isn't there," Violet noted with some humor, "Unless one of you think that would be a good idea."

Dodger just shook his head. "Goodnight, Violet."

Violet yawned again as she headed back towards her sleeping area. "Goodnight, Dodger and Tracker." She yawned again, before suddenly remembering another thing that she had meant to say earlier. "In order to see what the body parts do we will need to hunt something new… I hope you both are looking forward to another hunt tomorrow."

"Are supposed to be looking inside it while it's still alive?" Tracker asked, alarmed. That's not only cruel, it's dangerous. For a fastbiter, Tracker really didn't like causing others pain almost to a problematic degree.

Violet blinked. "No.. No, I don't think so…" The cruelty of that possibility caused her to freeze. "After we kill it but before we all dig in, Ponder is going to have us cut it open so that I can see the parts. Apparently some parts turn different colors when sickness is around… not just the brown thing that you always told us to look out for."

Dodger just nodded, relieved, while Tracker visibly relaxed. "Well, I'm glad that's cleared up," she said. She walked over to her and her mate's sleeping area and settled down to sleep. "Goodnight, Violet," she muttered almost too quietly to be heard.

"Goodnight, Violet," Dodger said before turning to join his mate.

"Goodnight, brother."

As she walked away she could feel an odd mix of excitement and uncertainty for what awaited her. Success was not a common experience for her, and she had little idea of how to process the moment. The only thing that she knew was that her training would continue tomorrow.

She smiled. She looked forward to it.

Back to the present:

And as my first training day ended,

My confidence felt somewhat mended!

Though new toils would come the 'morrow,

My mind no longer was fixated on sorrow

As the purple fastbiter finished her song with an excited wail, Nahoda was left considering his current situation in his mind.

First, he had barely any sleep since the purple menace had woken him up shortly after midnight...

Second, though he appreciated her motivation, perhaps beginning a lesson with an endless song about how she was trained by even more horrifying sharpteeth was not the best way to start off things… and third…

"Oh by the stars, she isn't going to let us go back to sleep, is she?"

The words were out of his mouth before he could regain control himself, but thankfully the rapturous sound of approving hoots overrode his voice.

Saved by the applause.

As he joined in the polite foot stomping and cheering he looked towards his two companions. His mate, beautiful as ever, appeared to be sleep-stomping as her head slumped and eyes drooped despite her best efforts. Only Orchid's demeanor appeared more wakeful, but that was only because his face was not in view. For all Nahoda knew his mate's brother might have been sleeping while standing. That was when he caught Mender's gaze.

She was beaming! She had no hint of fatigue at all, no hint of exhaustion. If it wasn't for the fact that the Bright Circle was only beginning to peek above the horizon one could be forgiven for thinking that it was midday by her demeanor. What in the heck is wrong with her!

"Good morning, Children! Up early today?"

Nahoda nearly tripped over his own feet at the sound of Detras's voice. As if the young day could get any worse, now the instigator of his torture appeared to be mocking them. It was only when he dropped a fish in front of him, and Pearl did the same in front of Arial and Orchid, that he realized the magnitude of what was about to happen. Was this the only food that they would get on this day? It was then that the elder fastrunner leaned in and whispered into his ear.

"A word of advice, Nahoda… a fast wit is best followed by fast feet."

Nahoda did not understand at first, but that was when his eyes locked onto Mender's. The slightest hint of a smirk was being made with her tail. She had heard his outburst. In the end he couldn't tell if Detras's words were made in kindness or amusement.

"Good luck out there!"

"You have to be faster, Nahoda! Sharpteeth don't take breaks!"

There was quite the audience on top of Hanging Rock as Mender put the trio through yet another mock hunt. Though it was not lost on anyone present that Nahoda was being caught more often than the others.

"Dear! You didn't tell Mender to pick on Arial's love, did you?"

Cynnil shifted her gaze towards the elder male as Buse snickered behind her. Detras, for his part, merely shrugged. "I didn't tell her to do that, if that is what you are asking."

"You probably didn't need to," Buse interrupted, which earned him a warning glance from his pack leader. Cynnil was not quite sure if their commentary was welcome in an argument between mates. Buse's outburst earned the hidden runners the attention of their hosts, however, as Pearl turned her attention to Cynnil.

"Let's just say that Mender… has some history with fastrunners," Cynnil offered carefully, "You make for a challenge."

"That is better, Orchid! But you can't hide very well when your tail is showing!"

Detras snorted as his son slowly climbed down from the crevice and proceeded to run off again as part of the 'hunt'. He was getting better, but Detras could tell that Mender was being easy on them for the moment.

"Well one thing that I will say for your packmate, Cynnil, is that I am glad she is on our side. Otherwise I fear that our children would not stand much of a chance."

Cynnil smiled. "She is just doing her part to make sure that her patient and her friend's family are safe, and if that means getting plenty of chances to chase…" She shrugged in a humorous way. "But your children are not doing poorly; they…"

"Gotcha!"

Everyone grew silent as Arial sighed below the massive rock formation. Even though Mender was careful to tackle her in such a manner as to prevent injury, the mere act was enough to make everyone pause. It was only when she rose and dusted herself off that everyone present allowed themselves to take a breath.

...are just inexperienced. Cynnil finished internally. Though the fact that Nahoda looked ready to run towards Mender was not lost on her. His protectiveness was obvious.

"Well he has the part that you can't teach. Now it is just the teachable part that he needs to learn," Detras noted.

Cynnil nodded as Pearl asked the obvious question. "I wonder how long that will take."

The young fastrunner tried to suck in air despite the pained protests from what seemed like every muscle in his body. His arms hurt... his legs hurt… even his tail hurt. But despite his best efforts it seemed that he was doomed to be the snack of a sharptooth one day. How could he protect his mate if he couldn't even defend himself?

The fact that he was failing in front of his mate's parents and that Mender was so damn chipper was not helping matters at all.

"All three of you are fast, but you lack stamina. Your old strategies don't work on fastbiters."

Nahoda could practically hear the whine in Orchid's voice as he protested, "Then how do we beat you? Aren't you supposed to be teaching us?"

Nahoda turned his attention back to the violet torturer that was his teacher on this day and noted the sudden glimmer in her eyes. It lasted only a moment, but that was long enough for Nahoda to realize that Orchid had asked the right question.

"Sometimes the best lessons are those that you teach yourself."

Nahoda blinked as Orchid fell over in exhaustion and Arial groaned. The day was only halfway over, and now it seemed like they had nothing but training to follow. Though in this brief moment of rest her words seemed to echo in his mind.

Sometimes the best lessons are those that you teach yourself.

"You all have a few moments to consider your plan, fastrunners. Then the chase begins again."

Despite his fatigue, Nahoda forced his body to stumble over to where his mate and Orchid were reclining in similar states of utter exhaustion. It was only when he allowed himself to sink to the ground again that anyone spoke.

"We suck."

Normally such an undignified and blunt outburst from Orchid would have resulted in laughter from everyone involved, but now Nahoda could only nod in agreement. They had indeed performed poorly today and their bodies had the aches and pains to prove it.

"We're not fast enough," Arial added as she nuzzled Nahoda, making a shiver run down his back. However, this also had the effect of making something click in his head.

"Maybe we are thinking about it wrong? What if we shouldn't focus on running?"

Silence fell over the trio for a few moments before Arial finally gave him a playful nip.

"Dear, sometimes you are stupid. We are fastrunners! Running is what we do. A slow fastrunner is a dead one."

Nahoda groaned. "So we're doomed then? Because we appear to be pretty damn slow compared to the purple monster over there."

"I still have good hearing!" Mender's voice called playfully as she drank from the stream nearby.

"I wouldn't want you to miss out!" Nahoda retorted as he laid his head down and groaned. Before recent events the mere act of talking to a fastbiter would have seemed like a suicidal undertaking, though now being a meal seemed like a more merciful outcome than their recent training.

It was then that Orchid's voice broke him from his downtrodden thoughts. "Wait… maybe Nahoda has a point."

Nahoda blinked. I do?

"He does?" Arial's voice echoed his own thoughts.

Orchid jumped up. "Remember Mender's song from this morning?"

Arial yawned. "She didn't give us much of a choice did she? I thought you slept through most of it?"

Orchid rolled his eyes as he continued his thought. "She had to face her own weaknesses and use her strengths to counter them. She couldn't smell, but she could remain calm under pressure. So, since we can't keep up with Mender what do we have that can counter her?"

The three were silent for a few moments as each slowly rose to their feet. There was an obvious purpose to their movements now. It was Nahoda that finally broke the silence.

"What's the plan, Orchid?"

The fastrunner smirked. "I think it is time that we use Mender's weakness against her."

Looks like they're getting better, Mender thought to herself, Is it possible to be frustrated and happy at the same time?

She had seen the fastrunners bound off into the distance earlier but had intentionally plugged her ears when they began to discuss their plan. The point of this exercise was not to win, but to test their resolve and skill. The skill had been lacking up until now, but now it seemed that the lessons of her song might have finally gotten through their feathered heads.

The fastrunners had run towards the more mysterious part of the Hanging Rock region as far as Mender was concerned. The ravine split into two, forming an odd V-pattern in the weathered rock. On both sides of the split ravine crevices cut through the rock forming what looked like vertical splits in the rock, many of which could be climbed. These would be the optimal places to hide as they offered a path to the bluffs above. But they also contained their own risks...

I'm not seeing many places they could hide, at least not in front of me, Mender thought, Not many cracks. If they have any sense they wouldn't have gone that way. She moved a bit further down that direction just to make sure she wasn't missing anything. I guess I should try the other way.

She ran in a brisk pace as she approached the other side of the ravine. This side had more crevices, so the thinking went, so they probably went in this direction. It wasn't until she approached the rocks, however, that she caught the most interesting clue.

Oh, come on, Nahoda. My sniffer isn't that bad, Mender thought, trying not to laugh, Couldn't you hold it?

Shaking her head at the scent of urine she peered into the crevice.

"She is falling for it!"

Orchid struggled not to drop his sister as she balanced on his back to look out the top of the crevice. If Mender was inspecting Nahoda's planned 'panicked pissing' at the other crevice then that meant they had led her off of their trail. Being careful not to attract attention to themselves, Orchid merely gave Nahoda an approving look.

I think we did it!

Well, they're not in there... Okay, Mender, think. Where could they be hiding? She started looking around for other possible hiding places. What about over there?

Not wanting to startle her targets, she approached the crevice as quietly as she could. I've got you now.

Mender hurriedly rushed into the crevice, confident that she was going to catch her query.

"She totally fell for it!"

Orchid nearly dropped Arial as she was caught by her mate and led to the ground. Within moments the fastrunners were celebrating as silently as they could manage as they joined their hands in victory. They had finally fooled the purple fastbiter.

"It was so simple… just give her a distraction and then let her follow it," Nahoda whispered, still amazed that it actually worked. Even if she didn't find anything in that crevice she was surely focused on that area now. They were home free.

"She gave us a hint in her song," Orchid noted as he attempted to stretch his aching legs in the small crevice. Being cramped in here with two others almost reminded him of the hiding spots that his family had used when predators came near.

Well, there is a predator nearby. Some part of his mind added.

That was when he was nearly pushed into the crevice wall as Arial moved to nuzzle her mate. Her words being a bit louder than she intended. "She is a good healer and friend, but by the stars is she worse than Daddy when it comes to lessons."

Nahoda chuckled. "Well consider her teacher. Your sister did quite a trick on her according to the song."

Orchid snorted. "I wonder what Sis would say about all of this?"

"Whatever she'd say, she'd probably say it twice."

Orchid nearly crashed into the wall as the predatory voice suddenly called out behind them. Within moments the three fastrunners had half-collided, half-fell into a ball of fastrunners at the feet of the fastbiter. They had been captured yet again.

His heart sank as he closed his eyes. They had failed after all.

"You have just learned a very important lesson that Prowler never learned: always have a backup plan. Can you think of anything else that you did wrong?"

Orchid could feel his sister groan as she tried to rise to her feet but gave up in mid-attempt. "We took our eyes off of the danger."

Mender nodded. "Exactly. You never take your eyes and ears off of a threat until it is dead. Otherwise you may be dead."

Nahoda grumbled. "We noticed."

The three fastrunners slowly rose to their feet in preparation for yet another chase. They thought that they would have a success at last but instead they had simply received a reminder of their lack of preparation for the dangers of the Mysterious Beyond. With grim faces they awaited Mender's new instructions.

"Congratulations, you passed."

Orchid nearly tripped over Nahoda and hit his head on the crevice wall in the process. But, after rubbing his head, he quickly did a double take at the fastbiter.

"We what?" Arial croaked out.

Mender smiled at their bewilderment. "If you had listened to my song then you would know why already…" she teased playfully as she stretched out her legs, "What was the main lesson that I had on my first day as a healer?"

Nahoda answered hesitantly, "You learned how to get healing… wait no… you learned how to handle stress?"

The fastbiter nodded. "Exactly. This was something that Haven and the others had learned from the rainbowfaces it seems… a test of character comes before a test of skill. Skill can be learned, character cannot."

"But how did we handle stress well?" Arial questioned, "We got caught."

Mender nodded. "Yes, you got caught. But before you did you worked together and tried something new to evade me. If you have that drive to survive, and that willingness to learn, then you can accomplish great things."

The three fastrunners looked at one another with a mixture of pride and relief as Mender walked out of the crevice and called towards her pack. Maybe the situation was not as dismal as they had feared.

"I think that this might not be so bad after all," Nahoda affirmed. That was when the voices of Mender and Cynnil could be heard from outside the crevice.

"Alright, they passed the first test! Let's get a full meal ready for them so that they are ready for tomorrow. I think it is time that they learned night tactics."

"Are you sure that they can go without sleep for much longer, Mender?"

"Well if they are ever attacked at night they will be sleepless as well. They can always sleep after the Bright Circle rises tomorrow."

Orchid did not need to look back to guess the expression that his sister was giving her mate at the moment.

"Nahoda?"

"Yes, Arial?"

"Sometimes you don't know when to shut up."

Seeker's territory:

The pink fastbiter kept her eye on the little fuzzballs as they continued their odd 'game'. From her vantage point it looked like they were trying to stab blunted sticks into odd-shaped pieces of wood, but she was not too sure. The only thing she was sure about was that the little ones were preoccupied with something, which meant something great indeed.

She had a few moments of peace and quiet.

Knowing that the moment would be gone at any moment she took a deep breath and confronted the subject that had been on her mind for days now: the situation with her sister.

A flyer was supposed to fly there and then fly here, but then the hidden runner crisis happened so that didn't happen! She grunted in frustration. But even so we should be hearing back…

"The relieving spot is an odd place to be thinking in. Did you get tired of your old Thinking Place?"

Ruby didn't even look back as her mate's words reached her ears. Instead she merely gestured at her children in the small furrow between Lookout Hill and the hills beyond. "I think where I can think. We do have children, you know?"

As if sensing her annoyance Littlefoot edged closer to her and stared out at the curious sight below them. It only took him a few moments to assess the situation.

"Rubbing sticks together? Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Ruby smirked as she looked at her mate's face. They spoke simultaneously.

"Rainbowfaces."

The two then watched the motions of the children more carefully. They couldn't really hear the banter from here except for the occasional protest as one hurt their hands trying to perform whatever task they had set themselves to accomplish.

"Seeker, I think the kids are up to rainbowface shit again…"

"We know, Taunt." Littlefoot's voice was more amused than anything at the moment. "What do you think Chronos decided to share with them?"

"You mean what did Chronos share with his children?" Cera prompted as she came on the scene as well, "It always seems to find its way over here."

"I just wish some news about my sister would find its way over here."

There was silence for a few moments as Ruby watched the little one with a wistful expression. They reminded her so much of her siblings when they were younger. Playing in the water… getting into trouble… Now she was in the role that her parents had been in. Part of her still didn't believe it, but that was what made her sister's injury so much harder to accept.

After all, her own children were not the only children she was protective about.

"Dear, I am sure that your brother and sister are fine. If they are with Mender then…"

"And Spotter was going to check on them on the way to Verant and Staza, so we just need to be patient." Ducky arrived on the scene, having noticed that her own children had joined in the odd 'game' that the rest of the younglings were engaged in. "I am sure if anything was wrong then he would have told us first. He would, he would."

Ruby turned back towards the others with an apologetic expression, more than a little ashamed of her standoffishness.

"Sorry, everyone. I guess I am just worried, you know? With everything that's been going on… it just reminds me of when Redclaw began scheming his schemes."

Littlefoot's face was grim as he nuzzled his mate. "If it gets that bad, dear, just remember we have allies everywhere. Wrok won't get that far. We forbid it."

"Hear! Hear!" Taunt affirmed as the others grunted in agreement. That was when the commotion of the fastbiter children below was suddenly drowned out by the flyer children below.

"Daddy!"

"Daddy's back!"

The fastbiters barely had time to react before Petrie's form descended upon them like a shooting star, landing only meters away from the predators.

Caw!

"Damn it, Spotter!"

Ruby resisted the urge to roll her eyes as the brown flyer gave a satisfied growl at the surprise from the rest of the pack. Once again he had caught them with their attention focused elsewhere. But it was not the reminder of their complacency that was first and foremost in Ruby's mind.

"Spotter? How is my family?"

Ruby watched the flyer's features for any hint of foreboding, but much to her relief only a kind smile radiated from his beak. Or, rather, as much of a smile as his kind was capable.

"Family is good! But that be long story. Spotter full of long stories today."

Ruby calmed immediately as she nodded and let the flyer tell the more pressing information as far as the pack was concerned, the situation with their allies and the hidden runners. As long as her family was doing well then the details could wait. Though when Petrie did get to that matter she nearly fell on her face.

"Oh, and Mender nearly accidently kill Arial's mate."

Ruby knocked her mate over as she barreled at the flyer, "She what? Her what?"

"Well not accidently, but Arial cleared things up. So now Nahoda, your siblings, and Mender are coming over here!" Petrie continued as if he had had plenty of time to make his story seem more reasonable in his mind. "Well after Mender gets done training them."

Ruby's mind was racing. My brother and sister come here? Well, it is safer here than the Mysterious Beyond, and they can't stay with Mom and Dad forever… but mate? Training? When did all of this happen?

Taunt's words were even more succinct. "What?"

Littlefoot rubbed his head crest for a moment and took a deep breath, trying to sort out the confusing tangle of threads that confronted his pack. Down below his children were playing a game only known to them, while in the Mysterious Beyond, somewhere, hidden runners plotted for uncertain ends. Now it seemed even the fastrunners had decided to join in the confusing chorus of harmonious discord. There were too many songs with unknown verses as far as he was concerned. It was then that he noticed his son's eyes lock onto his as Biter suddenly stopped playing his mysterious game.

"Perhaps you should start the story from the beginning, Spotter." Littlefoot grinned with determination as his son quickly tried to hide his handiwork. "As my mate says, every story begins with a beginning."

Author's Note:

Thanks for the reviews, everyone! As many of the reviews mentioned the same things I will go ahead and respond to general points that have been made in both the reviews and the PMs I have received. Not surprisingly the last chapter was probably the most controversial in style of those in the trilogy thus far, and I would like to elaborate on the choices that were made and what they indicate.

The overall objective with the 'interlude' chapter was to evoke the full extent of the culture shock involved with the hidden runner culture. I wanted the reader to feel like a visitor in an alien world, with cultural norms and traditions that seemed nearly incomprehensible. The lack of explanation is part of the intended process, though I can understand why many of you may not like the intended result. The interlude was meant to confuse and shock, using the 'Deliberate Values Dissonance' and 'perspective flip' tropes, and to foreshadow what will soon transpire in the main storyline. If the reader is left with a feeling of "What in the hell was that about?" then the interlude has done its job.

Beginning with this chapter the normal storyline has resumed once more (with 'present' and 'past' scenes) and the focus has shifted to the usual characters. Though we will soon see where the plot threads that have been introduced in the interlude will begin to intersect the rest of the story.

Even though the hidden runners are both leaf-eaters and sharpteeth in their diet (half-teeth) their unique culture has formed due to being isolated from both the prevailing cultures of the Mysterious Beyond. This chasm between the ways in which the different species think can have major implications for misunderstandings and potential miscalculations... but I will leave it there lest I spoil anything d-;

But once again, thank you all for the helpful feedback and criticism. The plot points that have been introduced in the last few chapters will soon begin to coalescence into the prevailing plot of the story. I look forward to your thoughts in the chapters ahead.

~Rhombus