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Chapter 34: The Sheer Cliffs

"Throughout our years analyzing the valley culture, we have been amazed by the wisdom contained in the sayings of the flyers. Their idioms often combine a wry intelligence with a sharptooth's morbid sense of humor. A good example of this is what Volant has informed us was her grandmother's favorite saying: 'A high-risk opportunity is like a cliff - if you catch the wind, then you can soar, but if you fail.. At least you only fail once.' Sadly, Volant informs us that her grandmother died years ago in a cliff mishap. Fate rest her soul."

~ Commander Logos, An overview on Flyer culture

The Great Valley:

"Okay, I don't think we should get any closer, Brasko. We need to wait on the tinysauruses to listen in."

Cloud spoke in a soft whisper as he continued to pretend to discuss some relevant matter with his brother. This was not difficult as most land-walkers would interpret the flyer dialect as an incomprehensible sequence of squawks and rumbles. Though the exasperation he was expressing to Brasko was very real.

Cloud turned his attention back towards the scene below them. A nervous domehead was pacing back and forth as if waiting for something important. It was most certainly something that warranted investigation considering what they now knew about the domehead conspiracy.

"What for?" Brasko asked, "This guy isn't even paying attention. I bet we could get right above him and still not be noticed."

Cloud groaned before putting his head into his wing. "Brother, you do remember why we are here, right? We let the little ones listen in and we get them out if they need to leave in a hurry."

"What, you just want to sit around and hope the little guys do their job properly?" Brasko asked, "Let's hope these little dummies can actually remember what they hear."

Cloud paid his brother's snide comment no heed as he examined the ground below. The domehead continued to pace, with little more than a few trees and bushes keeping him company. But against the uninteresting verdant plants he could see the slightest hint of something easing through the terrain. Something that the domehead was totally oblivious to.

Cloud smiled. Alright, now it is up to you, little fellow.

"Where is he? Urgh!"

The tinysaurus scampered deeper into the bush as the domehead kicked it in frustration. She barely resisted the urge to bolt as the domehead turned around to continue his pacing. All the while the domehead mouthed off indecipherable musings under his breath.

Maybe this wasn't the best idea, Speedy thought, What if he finds me? Are those berries really worth being squashed? Her thought was further reinforced when she heard a light rumbling slowly getting closer. I guess the other big-walker is here now. Or big-walkers.

"There you are!" Numo exclaimed with a suddenness that made Speedy jump, "We need to talk."

Speedy peeked through the bush to see a grey threehorn approach, as if with deliberate slowness. However, the speed at which the threehorn grew in her vision confirmed that the large triceratops was indeed rushing his arrival.

What's got him in a rush? Speedy wondered.

"Well, I am here. If you know of a way to get out of Topps's meetings, then do let me know, Numo." The threehorn drooled before coming to a stop.

So the threehorn was talking with Topps? Gotta remember that, Speedy thought, straining to hear every word.

The domehead sighed. "A lot of good his planning meetings are going to do if our comrades get their way. I wanted the valley out of this mess with sharpteeth and hidden runners and trade, but I did not agree to murder."

The threehorn tilted his head in surprise. "Murder? You mean the Stout Snout?"

Numo nodded. "That's the one. I have strong reason to believe that Basher and Nyphon are behind this, and if they are then this was done with neither of us being made aware."

Basher and Nyphon killed a Stout Snout? I don't know who any of these people are, but I'm sure the flyers will want to know.

The threehorn stared down the domehead as if he had just said something incomprehensible. "Seriously? Do you honestly think that they…" He paused for a moment, as if thinking better of it. "To what end? And how do you know this, Numo? This is a serious charge."

The domehead paused. "I don't know why! Maybe the Stout Snout listened in and heard too much. Maybe they want to stoke the valley's fears some more to make sure things stick. You do realize that this incident has basically killed the alliance, right?"

Castor nodded. "It is the only good thing to come out of this sad situation."

Numo nodded. "That might be what they were planning on."

Ok... I'm not sure this all makes sense, but that's not why they're giving me berries, Speedy thought, This stuff must be really important. Gotta remember it.

Castor took a deep breath. "Well, let's say that you are right. Why would they not fill us in on this situation? Isn't the risk that one of us might figure it out a big one?"

Numo nodded. "That is true, and that is why I think there are two possibilities: either this happened suddenly, or they did not want us to know."

Castor frowned. "What are you suggesting?"

Numo took a deep breath. "Look, we all know Wrok has a lot of helpers, and that my pack leader is the only one who knows all of them in the valley. What if he is not only completing our cause..."

Castor nodded. "...which is mostly done. I do not see the valley warming up to the alliance now."

Numo continued, "...but what if he is also taking care of people who might talk."

Okay... this got a lot more dangerous, Speedy thought nervously, They better give me twice as many berries for this.

Silence fell for several moments as the domehead and threehorn stared one another down. It was as if no one dared to violate the silence, lest something more ominous be put in its place.

"Numo… I don't think that Nepha would order something like this. This entire thing is too outrageous for anyone to believe without proof. Perhaps Nephon and Basher simply did this on their own because the Stout Snout overheard something? You know how Basher can't keep his mouth shut."

Numo shook his head. "I hope that you are right, but something is seriously amiss here. We both know that Nepha has gone too far lately. I just wanted you to know because I think we both need to be on the alert."

Castor lowered his horns briefly and rubbed his front foot against the grass. "A threehorn is always ready. But I will keep this in mind, Numo. If there is something amiss, then we are the only ones who can deal with this."

Numo frowned. "In which case we might be dead if we do and dead if we don't."

The domehead then looked around carefully, as if he suspected they were being overhead.

Yikes! Speedy froze, not even daring to breathe. Please don't find me. Please don't find me.

"We both should go now. If they see us talking in private they will suspect something," Numo finally said in a faraway voice.

"Aye." Castor affirmed before turning around and proceeding to walk away. "Take care, Numo."

"You as well." Numo affirmed. Then, just like that, he too left the clearing.

Speedy didn't relax until she could no longer hear the big-walkers' rumbling footsteps. What did they say? Something about not wanting to be seen? I guess it wasn't that important. They're gone now. Time for me to disappear, too. She hurried back to where the flyers were waiting.

Her forward progress was suddenly stopped by a massive flyer.

"Finally! What did those two say?"

"Brasko, give her a…"

"Oh, hush! Let's get this out of the way!" The flyer turned his focus back to the surprised tinysaurus. "Well…?"

"Well, the domehead's name is Numo, the threehorn is Castor. Castor was just with Topps, apparently. He was complaining about being stuck in a meeting," Speedy explained.

Cloud pushed his way in front of his brother. "We know. Castor is Topps' nephew. What lie was this domehead telling him?"

"There weren't any lies. They discussed two other domeheads, at least I think they were domeheads, killing some Stout Snout. Their names were Nephon and, um, Basher."

The two flyers shared a concerned look before Brasko turned back to the tinysaurus with a much more guarded expression than before. "Go on…"

"They were basically saying that the Stout Snout's death helped the whole breaking the alliance thing they're both trying to do," Speedy continued, "but they're also worried about. Numo didn't like the killing at all, and they're both suspicious of some guy named Nepha, who is apparently working for Wrok. That's the bad guy you mentioned, right?"

Both flyers nodded blankly.

"Well, apparently he's the only one that knows everyone that's working for Wrok, and they're worried that he might be making sure there are no possible loose beaks."

"Eliminating witnesses?"

Both of the flyers winced as Pterano landed with a thud behind the tinysaurus. For the tinysaurus, however, his sudden arrival demanded a quick retreat.

Speedy dashed forward in surprise, running headlong into Brosco. The flyer barely noticed the collision as the tinysaurus bounced off of his abdomen and came to rest in front of the newcomer.

"That's what I said," Speedy said, turning to look at Pterano, "It sounded like they thought the other guy was doing that. I don't know if anyone is doing that, but those two at least seemed to think that." I'm starting to get confused. Good thing they don't expect me to understand why they say what they say.

Pterano nodded slowly, but then, in an expression that made the tinysaurus want to hide in any nearby hole, the flyer grinned. "Then that gives us an opening."

"It does?" Cloud quired.

"It does." Then, raising a wing, Pterano gestured in the direction of the meeting circle, "I do think that the time of spying is over…"

"About freaking time," Brasko interjected.

"...and the time for action in here. Cloud, Brasko, go tell your mother what has happened here. I will have a little chat with Mr. Threehorn."

"Hmph! I should have known they weren't going to actually pay me," Speedy muttered to herself as the flyers took off and disappeared.

But that was when the creepy looking flyer's voice echoed from above her. "Look out below!"

Speedy barely had time to look up before her field of vision was filled with berries.

"Ow," she groaned, digging herself out of the mountain of berries she'd just been covered by. Okay, so maybe this wasn't all that bad. If they pay me even half this much each time I'll do whatever they want.

Hanging Rock:

"Hey, guys! Check this out!"

Normally such an enthusiastic exclamation would have made Ungu jump at the chance to see whatever the speaker was looking at. However… This was Pounce. As a result Ungu did a careful inspection of the scene before her, making sure Pounce was not looking into something's mouth or anything like that, before deciding to let her curiosity get the better of her.

Okay. Nothing seems dangerous at the moment, Ungu thought as she moved closer. The cave they were exploring was honestly amazing. There were plenty of odd objects and rocks to look at and tunnels they hadn't even dared to explore. This cave has everything. Even light. I wonder why there's so many holes way up in the walls. One spot looks a bit too much like a snow tunnel that collapsed, though. I think I'll avoid that spot.

It was then that she was greeted by the sight of Pounce's orange snout nudging at something that was embedded in a shallow crater. Biter and a young flyer that Ungu identified, after a pause, as Lift, stood back a short distance with their heads tilted. It was as if they were watching their friend's antics with morbid curiosity.

"What is it?" Ungu wondered aloud, moving to get a better look. She was soon greeted by white bones and a distinct skull that appeared to be looking at nothing in particular. It's not that big... It looks like it died there... Wait, I know what it is. It's a tiny biter. How'd it get here?

Pounce gestured at something in front of them. "I think it was killed by that dead belly slider over there?"

Ungu stared at the belly slider, noticing how its vine-like body was almost hidden among the rocks. Something seemed weird about it, though. That's funny. It almost looks... She saw a forked flash of red. ... alive. "I'm not so sure it's dead, Pounce," she said, taking a nervous step back. I still don't have a clue how to know if it has a poison bite or not. Is it even possible to know that?

Pounce looked over at it. "Are you sure?"

It was at this point that Biter grabbed a small rock and tossed it at the coiled belly slider...

The belly slider suddenly came back to life, snapping angrily in Biter's direction.

It was at exactly that moment that Pounce ran out of the cave, screaming.

The retreating Pounce could not see Biter and Ungu share a look.

"So those three are already on an adventure without us?" Tricia did her best to not make her accusation sound like a pout as she allowed her eyes to scour the bluffs in front of them. At this point the awkwardness of talking to a sharptooth and being surrounded by fastbiters had faded into the background. Though, if Flip's uneasy perching on her back was any sign, this unease was still present in her flyer friend.

"We have gone on cave adventures before!" Sauria spoke with a gushing, excited glee, "Remember the last time we did that, guys?"

"I remember that I nearly got eaten by a bellydragger," Malka deadpanned as the small swimmer followed close behind them.

"Maybe I should go check on them..." Gyors said, looking towards the cave concernedly.

"Eh… it should be alright. There are no bellydraggers up the bluffs," Ambush nonchalantly responded.

Well, no crap, Ambush! Belly draggers aren't known to live on dry bluffs, Tricia internally mocked as she looked at the various cliff openings that presented themselves. It was then, though, that the sound of someone clearing his voice made her cringe. Oh, no...

"That is very true. Bellydraggers are semi-aquatic and are not known to reside in dry hibernacula. The major concerns for our three friends would be belly sliders and the risk of a cave collapsing in on them." Datum added helpfully.

Axiom sighed and put a hand to her face as if to save Tricia the trouble. "For the love of the ancestors, brother!"

"What!" Gyors started to head for the cave but was cut off by Sana.

Tricia watched in mute fascination as Sana halted Gyors with his proactive action. A green fastbiter, which she only identified as Portum a few moments later, seemed to replicate her brother's action in leaping forward to rescue her sister from unseen dangers. Though, as soon as she saw Sana blocking Gyors, she too retreated back with a sigh. Looks like rank is a sharptooth thing as well.

"Uh, oh," Portum said, suddenly spotting Pounce running from the cave in a panic.

Tricia quickly sprang into action, charging at the cave opening. Sharpteeth or not, these were her friends. "We're coming!"

Gyors and Sana rushed forward at the same time. Their siblings followed, ready to help.

It was then that they saw it. Two fastbiter shaped shadows emerging from the cave's darkened interior. Their slow forward progress appeared to mock the collective panic and speed of the pack. But that was when Tricia noticed the vine-like shadow that appeared to extend between them, as if connecting both of their mouths together.

Tricia stopped, causing a few fastbiter to collide into her backside. "Seriously?"

Pounce finally came to a rest, still struggling to catch his breath, when he finally caught Tricia's deadpanned exclamation. "Huh?"

Tricia, meanwhile, merely gave Gyors an annoyed expression. "Should we leaf-munchers go play while you meat-munchers have dinner?"

Just as the colors of their scales and feathers caught the light of the Bright Circle, Ungu and Biter dropped the belly slider to the ground. With Biter having a prideful expression while Ungu looked distinctively embarrassed.

"Did you have fun?" Sana asked, looking Ungu over concernedly. Beside him Gyors focused his one eye on Biter.

Tricia smirked. If the answer is 'no', then you might have to live up to the name fastbiter, Biter. For her own part she focused her own glare on Datum, lest he decide to share his knowledge in this inappropriate time.

"Yeah," Ungu said, still looking a bit embarrassed, "We caught a belly slider."

"Pounce provided a distraction!" Biter reported happily.

Tricia turned her attention to Pounce's rather unamused form. "Glad I could help." Though Pounce then proceeded to act calm, as if he were in on the attempt. I don't think anyone is falling for it, Pounce.

"Try to keep where we can see you, Ungu," Sana said after a moment, glancing momentarily at Biter, "Alright?"

Ungu nodded in acquiescence.

Tricia sighed. For the love of… this is more drama than in a swimmer herd! "Was the belly dragger one of the ones that can make you sick?"

For once Axiom's intervention was welcome. "This one is harmless, provided that one is not a ground fuzzy or a tiny biter."

Biter nodded, seeing an opening. "I got the head, and I just needed someone to help me drag it out." He then put a clawed foot on the snake and firmly gripped the head with his teeth, quickly ripping its head off. "There should be enough for everyone!"

Malka's retch matched Tricia's thoughts exactly. "We'll pass."

Nibble, however, proceeded to rip up the snake into equally-sized segments. After a few moments of ripping, he turned towards the leaf-eaters. "There are some sweet bubbles by the stream we gathered."

"Great!" Malka breathed as she and Sauria made a quick retreat to the stream. Before she joined them for the quick meal, however, Tricia took a glance at Gyors, who was being offered a section of the snake by Biter himself.

Biter, I don't know if you are really brave, or really stupid.

Volant watched as Biter and Gyors awkwardly ate their sections of the snake next to one another and Ungu did the same next to Sana. Nibble, meanwhile, ate his snake portion next to Pounce. The both of them occasionally looked over to make sure that peace reigned between their packmate and Gyors. But the awkwardness of this scene could not even hope to match the awkward truth that she had just been told.

"So it has come to this. Topps's own nephew." She sighed heavily.

Cloud swallowed. "Yes. It also appears that Nepha is eliminating witnesses."

"But we don't know that for sure," Brasko noted, "It is just what those two think."

"Even so we can use that to our advantage," Volant noted before looking at her sons knowingly. "I take it that this is something that your uncle has already considered?"

Cloud and Brasko shared a look. "You know Uncle Pterano..."

Volant snorted. "Alright, tell him I will be back in the valley shortly. Ura wanted me to make sure that the children sneaked out of the valley safely."

Brasko tilted his head. "She didn't want you to stop them?"

Volant rolled her eyes. "Did that ever stop your brother or his friends? Sometimes it is best to let them think that they have gotten away with it. Better the adventure we can monitor than the adventure we don't know about."

Both of her elder children seemed to consider this a moment before Brasko took off in the direction of the valley. Cloud only stayed behind for a brief moment before likewise making the journey, leaving Volant to her thoughts.

Oblivious to the flyers, the fastbiter children split up into groups to talk as they ate. "I hope we didn't disturb the others too much," Ungu said, gesturing at their snack.

Biter waited until his section of the snake was safely in his gizzard before he spoke. "I think they will be alright. Belly sliders are one of those things that even leaf-eaters don't like."

"And I don't think anything disturbes the rainbow-beaks," Tormid muttered, "Datum talked my ears off last time about hunting strategies."

Dive snorted at this as he pecked at a piece of snake, "Either he was curious or he was doing it to get a rise out of Malka. He may be weird, but he still has some humor."

Swipe sighed. "And I think Datum and Axiom want to shake things up with the riddle game this time."

"Are you serious?" Pounce moaned, "So he wasn't joking about teams of three?"

"Do you think they'll remember our names this time?" Lula asked, sounding like she was still annoyed about last time.

"Hopefully, Lucy," Pounce said with a tail-smirk. When this earned him a growl his tail-smirk grew noticeably more pronounced.

"Alright, Puffy, you're on my team," Fitu said, somehow managing to sound amused and look annoyed for his sister's sake at the same time. For his part, Pounce seemed to take this in good humor and walked to his side.

Biter looked at the other male hesitantly, before glancing at Ungu. "Ungu, Gyors? Would you like to be on a team with me?"

Ungu gave Gyors a pleading look, earning herself a slight nod. "I'd like that."

Gyors soon noticed that the other fastbiters had formed their own teams. "Alright. Let's win this thing."

Volant watched with some relief as the children moved into the line of sight of the rest of the pack. She knew one of the sharptooth flyers would be able to watch them until the kids returned "undetected" back to the valley. This meant that her task was finally complete.

Well, one of them.

The flyer sighed to herself. "Now if only there was some way to show the treachery for the entire valley to see. Even with Castor's words… it would be a very close thing. A very close thing."

Reluctantly she flew off in the direction of the valley. In her wake could be heard the playful banter of the children echoing against Hanging Rock's desolate bluffs.

Back in the Valley:

The tinysaurus kept himself carefully hidden in a clump of bushes, hoping that he'd have a chance to follow someone soon. Sitting around waiting was surprisingly exhausting. He stood up when he heard the low rumble of big-walker footsteps.

He was quickly disappointed to see a fully grown longneck in the distance. Or, more specifically, the legs of a longneck. Between the foliage nearby and the distance involved the only sign of the massive being was that what looked like trees in the distance were moving around.

I thought this was going to be more interesting, Suspir thought, I've been here all day, and that longneck was the first thing I've seen today that wasn't a swimmer.

He peeked over the bush again, allowing himself to take in the full scene around him.

The small clearing around him could almost be considered a path, as there were no trees to be seen in the narrow gorge that served as a stream in the Rainy Season. Were he here a few Night Circle cycles from now then he certainly wouldn't see anything but swimmers… swimming fish. But for now his eyes were greeted by sparse grasses, the occasional bush, and, edges of this dry stream, the trees which eluded the clearing. There was no doubt with the domeheads to the south that this would be the easiest path for his mark to reunite with his herd.

Or at least that is what Suspir told himself. I really don't want to climb out of here again!

Deciding to change things up a bit, Suspir turned around. Seeing nothing he shrugged and turned back the other way. Wait... That wasn't there earlier.

In the distance he could just barely see something grey appear in the dried stream bed. Though the details were scarce… at least it clearly wasn't a swimmer.

What is that? It's definitely not a longneck. As the shape got closer, Suspir noticed quite a few more details, ruling out most of the valley's inhabitants. Finally! It's a domehead. He was certain he would finally stop being bored.

The domehead continued to approach in a slow, lumbering walk. His armored head appeared bent with concentration, or perhaps aggression? Suspir could not be sure. However, it was obvious that it was heading in his direction.

And that was when he saw a blue blur moving swiftly behind the newcomer. It soon resolved into a second domehead. Two? I wonder what they're doing?

"Ah, Numo! There you are! You missed the meeting today!"

The grey domehead's eyes went wide before quickly returning to their previous nonchalance. "Oh? I had heard about a meeting afterwards… but no one told me about it."

The blue domehead tilted his head, as if confused. "Oh, darn! I think that might have been my fault… I was on gathering duty today, and I had assumed someone had already told you."

I can barely hear them. If they start whispering I won't hear anything at all, Suspir thought, I've got to get closer. He quietly left his hiding spot, carefully moving from rock to small bush to rock. Had he been any larger this wouldn't have worked, but being the size of a longneck's foot did have its advantages.

"Oh? Well, it is alright. Do you care to fill me in on what I missed?"

"Why, certainly! For this delicate matter we all need to be aware of what is going on."

Oh, sure. The blue guy starts talking louder when I get closer. Hey, what is that? Suspir turned his attention away from the domeheads to try to catch another glimpse of the movement he had barely spotted in the trees near the streambed. Maybe it was nothing...

"Sure."

"Well, with the whole business with You Know Who, we had to change our strategy a bit…"

Wait, more domeheads? What's going on? Suspir wondered as the treeline above the ridge began to fill with the silhouettes of domed heads.

"Oh? I thought that we were taking a 'wait and see' approach."

Suspir glanced back towards the blue domehead as he tried to keep track of everything at once. Huh? The odd sign the domehead made with his hand confused him, as did his leaning in to speak closer to Numo.

"That was the plan… but plans change, you know. Wrok has not proven to be reliable, and we all agreed that reliability is what we need right now."

Suspir had no time to react as domeheads jumped from the treeline above the dried stream bed, both on the side opposite to him and, much to his surprise, above him as well. Before Numo could even process what was happening he was surrounded by seven other domeheads.

Numo sputtered, "What is this?"

He was answered with a head butt to his neck.

What! Suspir did his best to blend in with a rock, holding absolutely still and staring in horror as the other domeheads began to assault the stricken domehead with fists, feet, and heads. The result was both immediate and horrifying as Numo's screams were aborted before they ever began, being replaced with pained gasps.

Then, with a finality that almost seemed planned, the original domehead took several steps back, scraped the ground with his feet, and proceeded to leap at the prone victim.

The last thing that Suspir was aware of before he fainted was the sickening sound of something splattering, like an overripe fruit bursting against the ground… and his face and much of his surroundings being completely covered with blood.

Where are you, Suspir? Speedy wondered, moving hurriedly from one possible hiding spot to the next, You better be following Numo.

After more than a little effort she finally came across the indentation in the ground which constituted one of the valley's temporary streams. The place where Suspir was supposed to be if the bushes circled by rocks failed to contain their desired quarry.

"Darn it!" Speedy yelled as she fell more than climbed down the riverbed. You better be down here, Suspir.

After checking and failing to find the missing tinysaurus at any of the more obvious hiding spots, Speedy followed the riverbed, hoping that Suspir had gone that way. Please have gone this way and not the other direction. At least there's more hiding spots this way.

"This is a horrible place. It's a good place to hide, but there's no good way out of here. It's disturbing," Speedy grumbled as she continued down the riverbed, "Is this even a good spot to watch for others? It's..."

Her commentary immediately died in her throat as an unmistakable hue up ahead purged all thoughts from her head. Crimson. Crimson red. Blood. To a tinysaurus this demanded one response and one response only.

Run!

Speedy turned and tried to run up the side of the riverbed and almost instantly landed on her back. Ow. What was I thinking? she thought, realizing that she was overreacting. She stood back up and hesitantly stared at the distant sight of blood-drenched grass. This wasn't a filled stream where a bellydragger could be hiding, and the valley was generally safe. But this led to a rather obvious question.

What happened here?

She carefully moved forward.

As she edged forward she could see that the blood was clearly covering a wide area of the stream bed in one particular place where it turned into a curve. The perfect place for an ambush.

Then she saw it… a domed head. Or, rather what remained of it.

She paused for a moment to catch her bearings, but then she moved forward while trying to not look at the disturbing sight. Please be okay, Suspir.

She swallowed hard as she carried on. Despite her horror at the scene she could not help but look at the blood-drenched scenery. Whatever had done this had acted with unspeakable brutality. Everything was covered with fine splatter… the bushes…. the grass… the rocks. Including a rather odd shaped rock that almost looked like…

"Suspir!" Speedy rushed forward, focused entirely on her friend. Please be okay. Please be okay.

She rushed over to her friend, ignoring the crimson liquid that covered Suspir's features. Instead she continued to run as fast as she could until she was at his side.

"Suspir!"

"Ow. Why did I...?" Suspir groaned. He suddenly jumped to his feet. "The domeheads! They... they..."

Speedy took a relieved breath as she leaned in to steady her friend. This also mercifully cut off his direct view of what he had just witnessed.

"Let's get out of here," she said authoritatively, "I've seen enough and…" She grimaced as she stared at the domehead's remains one last time. "I think we have enough for the flyers."

"What do you mean by that?"

She took a deep breath. "Now they will know that Numo was right."

Wrok's pack:

"Don't hold them that way! Do you want to get impaled if you trip and fall?"

As if to confirm the other hidden runner's concerns his comrade nearly tripped over an uneven patch of ground before wisely letting go of his cargo. Within seconds several crude spears, each no longer than a hidden runner, came tumbling to the ground.

His counterpart did not speak as he carefully picked up the sharpened sticks, but rather he merely aimed their sharpened ends to the side and held the flat part of the shaft to his chest. Then, with a glare, he shoved the sticks into his counterpart's possession.

"Deputy?"

"What is it now?" the deputy asked.

The other hidden runner rubbed his crest nervously. "The flyer says that the three two-footers have been seen near the bluffs. Shouldn't we attack before the fastbiters join them?"

"Why are you asking me? And just how badly do you want to die?"

The other hidden runner seemed pensive at this answer. "Leader Wrok is with the scouts, sir! So he doesn't know about the two-footers being alone. What if we miss our chance, sir?"

"Chance to do what, exactly? Without working with the other packs there's a good chance we'll do little more than annoy them. Or they'll just go the other way, which means they'll still be out there and very angry." The deputy sighed. "We go when we're told and not a moment before."

The other hidden runner seemed deflated at this, but walked away nonetheless. Once again joining his comrades in getting the sharpened sticks together for the expected battles to come.

Penol walked through the organized chaos, noticing some of the preparations almost immediately. She was not very impressed. What a mess. They've got piles of spears everywhere. I can't tell who's on watch duty and who's just looking for something. I can't even tell how many people are even here with everyone moving around. Ignis would be furious at this even if she accidentally made me head guard again.

"Mrs. Penol!"

The deputy quickly gave a slight bow of respect before getting closer. "Ma'am, it is not safe here. The enemy could be here at any moment. You should be with the departure group while we work on slowing the enemy."

"Where I should be is making sure you and your pack can do your job and make it home," Penol replied, "I'll leave when you do." I don't want anyone to die, but I can't just not do anything.

Penol watched as the deputy went through several facial expressions that she had never seen in a hidden runner before. His eyes narrowed as if in anger while his beak opened as if surprised, all the while his right hand shook as if frightened. Though whether any of these emotions were due to her quip or her status she could not discern.

The deputy then sighed before averting his eyes briefly, as if considering his next response. "Ma'am, I realize that I am not directly in your mate's pack, but I am in charge of my leader's pack until he returns from Wrok's excursion. I am supposed to take Wrok's orders while Karlfon is away, but no one else's."

Penol took a few steps away and examined one of the piles of spears before taking a glance around at the hidden runners around her. Trying to keep her thoughts to herself, she moved to another spear pile.

The deputy looked around uneasily as the female seemed determined to inspect all of his pack's preparations. All the while his scouts and fighters began to take curious glances in her direction as they continued to make their preparations.

Penol looked down at a pile of vines as she passed. She picked one up, testing it. Looking a bit closer at it, she actually gave the slightest sign of alarm. They're planning on using this stuff? I almost broke this one just tugging on it.

As if to confirm her suspicions she pulled on the vine as hard as she could, causing it to tear.

Snickers now erupted from the audience of fighters and scouts as the deputy glared back at them to do their jobs. Nonetheless, when he reared back to look at the female, it was now with a much more annoyed look.

"Ma'am, I must insist!"

Penol deliberately snapped the vine. "Insist on what?"

The snickers were now shared by gasps as the deputy turned around again in indignation. As soon as he glanced in their direction they were fast back at work, however.

It took all of Penol's willpower not to flinch when she noticed the sudden change in the group. Where did that come from? Am I trying to make him angry?

The deputy turned back to the Penol again. "Ma'am, I am trying to get my fighters in condition to fight, and I cannot do that if…"

"You're dead because your vines are brittle?" Penol asked, holding up the broken vine, and ignoring the panicked voice in her own head.

The male then grew deathly silent at this. Behind him all of the conversation went completely silent. Somewhat self-consciously the hidden runners who had been putting on vines began to pull at their makeshift armor in concern.

I guess he actually does care, Penol thought when the deputy looked crestfallen and leaned in closer.

"Penol, I know the vines are not the best… but it is what we have." He then pointed at his chest. "If I am going to lead them out there, then they need to be confident… even if we do not feel it, you understand. Now, please, if you have some idea then let me know. Otherwise, please let me do my job."

"How many do you have that don't need to be doing something at the moment?" Penol asked, "I think I can find you some better vines."

The deputy looked around him as several rose at the unspoken question. "Eight, ma'am."

"Have them follow me," Penol said before turning to go, "Like I said, I'm here to make sure you all make it home."

The deputy wasted no time in waving the others to follow her as they wordlessly began to follow. Soon the sound of muted footsteps echoed behind heras they trekked through the deep forest which served as the outskirts of the territory of Wrok's pack. The silent trek gave her time to finally process the confrontation that had just ended.

Well, that was unexpected. I don't know what came over me. When I was first assistant I would've run off and hid the first time someone looked at me like I shouldn't be there. I guess all the worrying is getting to me. Now where are those stupid trees? They should be right around... here!

The footsteps came to a stop as she ended her forward progress. Then, with a curious glance that wordlessly asked for permission, one of the eight hidden runners stepped forward and gave her a glance.

"These trees have a lot of good vines growing on them," Penol said, gesturing at one of the trees in question, "Grab as many as you can."

There was only a brief hesitation before the hidden runners sprung forward. Then with an efficiency that rivalled what she remembered from her old pack, they began to use teamwork to carefully cut the choicest vines. True, such vines could only do so much, but even protection from a glancing blow was some level of protection.

I wish I could do more, Penol thought, I wish there wasn't going to be any fighting at all. No matter what happens a lot of people are going to die, and there's nothing I can do about it. All I've done is hopefully keep a few people alive. It's not like anyone's going to listen to me if I suggest not fighting.

"Were you a fighter in your old pack, ma'am?"

Of all of the things Penol was prepared for, suddenly being addressed by the deputy she had just berated was not one of them.

"Fighter? I'm not sure I would've been allowed to fight even if I asked to," Penol said as she turned to face the male. Not that I would've. Ignis would probably have me watching her kids or something if I hadn't left. Who's watching them now? It better not be Dravos.

The other hidden runner tilted his head. "Odd. For someone who knows much about vines and spears, I had assumed Wrok had found himself a fighting girl." He then looked concerned. "Sorry, ma'am, I did not mean that as an insult."

"None taken. I was an assistant, in case you were wondering. My job was almost literally to check on anything and everything. I don't know how to not check on things anymore," Penol replied, "Otherwise I start worrying about whatever it was I didn't check but could've."

The deputy nodded at this. "So you were just doing your job earlier."

"It's all I know how to do."

"Is this enough, sir?" a hidden runner suddenly cried out, to reveal that three of their number had been completely covered in vines as if to be personal carriers for the makeshift armor.

"That should be good, Azar!" the deputy noted, "Go ahead and bring the vines to the others, and I will escort Penol back to the scouting line."

"If you're needed here, I know the way by myself," Penol said politely.

The deputy shook his head as he gestured for her to follow him.

What am I getting myself into? Penol wondered, I'm actually helping Wrok win. I might end up getting more people killed because of that. How am I supposed to fix that? She kept looking around as she followed the deputy, trying not to let her thoughts run her into a tree.

The deputy continued to walk beside her with the same mask of authority as before, though his shoulders sagged with a slight amount of ease. "They don't know what they are getting into, the poor lads. But it is the outsider way. They must learn through action."

"Outsiders? You mean from the north lands?" Penol asked.

The other hidden runner smirked slightly, which was a sudden change from the austere look a moment before. "Aye. Surely, you didn't think a southern pack would only have a dozen fighters?" He then took on a serious expression again as they continued to walk forward. "This excursion is to be my test of leadership… If I lose, then I am sure Drangur and Vontil will fight for that honor. But for Karlfon this is to be his last walk." He turned towards her again. "Please do not inform Wrok of this, I know he is not fond of some of our ways."

"Test of leadership? They're seeing if you can lead by being in a fight? And what do you mean by 'last walk'?" Penol asked, utterly confused. I haven't even heard of half of this.

The male smiled slightly once more, but it was not unnoticed by Penol that the smile did not meet his eyes.

"I was ordered here by my brother, Mrs. Penol. I am sure that he does not plan on my return." He then paused a moment in his speech and turned back to her with a slight glance, "Can you guess why?"

"This is more than a little dangerous?" Penol suggested. Or he might not like you, but that might be a bit impolite to suggest the first time.

Penol nearly jumped when the other hidden runner snorted in amusement. "Aye, that it is! But, formalities aside… and I sense that you are new to those anyway." He looked at her with a smirk. "Why do you think he really sent me into this dangerous place?"

"You're competition," Penol said, shifting uneasily at the idea of ruthlessness directed at family members.

The deputy nodded and turned away as they continued walking through the jungle's thick vegetation. "That I am. That I am." He sighed then. "Both of our packs, I believe, have the proverb 'trust him like a brother', but we mean different things when saying the same thing. You all have your council appoint the next leader for Fate… we take Fate into our own hands. It is our way." He said the last sentence like a solemn prayer.

"And the last walk, I guess, means that the leader you mentioned isn't meant to come back?" Penol asked, latching onto the last thing the deputy had said.

He nodded solemnly. "It's an honor to go out fighting or sneaking but a disgrace to grow so old to be a burden. Karlfon is no disgrace."

"May he die well, then," Penol said politely.

This earned a polite nod from the other hidden runner who then erased the sadness from his features. It was as if that matter was resolved.

I'm not sure I entirely agree with the outlook, but at least I know what he's talking about. "So is everyone here trying to be in danger?"

The other hidden runner snorted. "My apologies, high hatched. But you astonish me with your insight, but then surprise me with your… inexperience. But, yes. Just like your chosen people, we will be in danger soon enough. The only question is if we will taste victory or if our adversaries will taste us."

"I'm hoping you can avoid the latter regardless," Penol said sincerely. Now how do I make that happen for everyone? Or at least as many as I can.

"It is going to be a hard slog. According to your chosen's flyer, the tail-chasers have that healer pack with them, and they have those three two-footers, and a bunch of young biters with spears. The best that we can do here is delay and let the rest get to a more defensible place." He gestured at the mostly open land all around them. "This is too open for hiding, and the Sheer Cliff Bluffs only gives so much cover. So we delay them there… and let the rest of you fight on in the swamps." He frowned. "Then it will be up to you all."

"So we just need to slow them down..." Penol said largely to herself.

The deputy continued, "...and perhaps kill some of the healers. The sharpteeth will mainly be focused on my father's last stand, so that might give us an opportunity. Mender appears to be protected by Fate, but the same may not be true for her comrades."

Penol's eyes went wide. Mender… that was a name she had known for a long time.

Four years ago:

"Mender is here! Bring out your sick and injured!"

Who? Penol wondered, And why would you want to move sick people around?

The young hidden runner peeked over a bush in order to catch a look at the growing crowd. Sure enough, various pack members with the coughing sickness began to move from their scrapes in order to congregate by the guard who made the announcement. In the distance she could also see a few other hidden runners, whom she could only assume were scouts, who had a gait to their walk which indicated some kind of injury. As her eyes shifted to the cavern of the Great Leader, however, her eyes went wide.

What? They let a fastbiter into the middle of the pack? Penol thought in confusion. When she noticed one of the guards nod politely at the fastbiter this was joined by irritation. They're nice to the fastbiter but acknowledging my existence is beneath them. I guess I shouldn't really be surprised. What's so special about this fastbiter, anyway?

Penol soon got part of her answer as the fastbiter bent down and started looking at a hidden runner's leg very carefully. Neither her expression nor the reaction of the hidden runner made any sense to Penol. What is she doing?

Penol continued to watch, transfixed, as the hidden runner allowed his leg to be put into a variety of positions by the predator. Based upon the reactions of some of the others, she was not the only one who found this disturbing. The mysterious fastbiter continued to do this until the hidden runner let out a hiss of pain, and then she stopped. Then, she appeared to say something to a hidden runner who was present, as the hidden runner hesitantly nodded and gathered a few odd leaves from a pile, as if asking for confirmation. A quick nod from Mender was all this other hidden runner needed before she handed the leaves to the injured hidden runner.

"This will help with the pain."

"Is it bad?"

"It's a bad sprain, but it will get better. Just tell your boss to let you rest the leg until the pain gets bearable."

The hidden runner bowed in gratitude, hiding a grimace as he strained the leg again. "T-thank you, Mender!"

She knows how to make a sprain better? What else could she help with? Penol thought, absently scratching at the unseen mites biting under her feathers. How do I get rid of these stupid things? They're driving me crazy.

"Ah, under-skin biters! These are always a pain this time of year."

And the rest of the year as well, Penol silently agreed, It would be nice if I could do something about this.

"Go ahead and wait a moment while I deal with the injuries. Under-skin biters are best handled with fireweed, and I will treat everyone with those at the end."

Penol quietly moved to the back of the line, hoping she might get a chance for Mender to help her as well. Unsurprisingly, her presence attracted more than a few glares from those that paid her any attention. She did not notice Mender's concerned look when it briefly came her way.

Time went surprisingly swiftly for Penol as Mender and what she could only assume was an apprentice of hers went about healing the various illnesses and problems that came their way. Though the typical issue was solved with some sap or some leaves, the entire process fascinated the young hidden runner. How did this fastbiter learn all of this, and why was she bothering helping out her kind for whatever reason? She could only assume it had something to do with the alliance stuff the adults were talking about in hushed tones, but to her it was just a weird subversion of the natural order of things.

She scratched her feathers again. Though a subversion to that order would be nice if she could get rid of these darn bitey things!

"Whoa! You have a pretty bad case of the under-skin biters, don't you?"

Penol looked up and cringed in embarrassment when she realized Mender was talking to her. "Ma'am?" Why is she talking to me? There's a pretty large line in front of me, and they all outrank me anyway.

The hidden runner who had been at Mender's side whispered something into her ear, which made the fastbiter frown slightly. "Go ahead, dear. "

Penol reluctantly moved forward, casting a concerned glance at the hidden runners she was bypassing. Is the trouble I'm going to get in really worth this? Before she realized it she was face to face with the larger predator. Calm down. Calm down. Remember, she wants to help you, not eat you, she reminded herself despite her instincts screaming for her to run from the large predator.

But Mender did not appear to notice. "Alright, this is a pretty bad case of the under-skin biters. How do you feel right now?"

Penol cringed and started scratching heavily at her side. "Sorry," she said when she finally stopped.

"I am not surprised." Mender noted as she glanced up at the remaining line, "The occasional dusting helps keep them away, or at least it helped my old packmates. I guess the others don't allow you to dust yourself?"

"I'm not really allowed over there," Penol admitted quietly.

"Not allowed by Ignis? Or not allowed by the bullies?" Mender noted in a cold tone, that made some of the hidden runners gasp. One did not use the Great Leader's name without first referring to her title.

Penol couldn't help but cringe. Even she knew not to speak like that. "Not the Great Leader. The others... they just don't want me around."

Mender nodded sadly. "Well, there is another way. It isn't pleasant, but you can get rid of these biters after they arrive." She muttered to herself as she gathered a few nondescript leaves, "Feathers seem like more trouble than they are worth."

The fastbiter then provided one of the leaves and began to touch it to Penol's shoulder. "This will burn a bit. This is the place where they are biting now, right?"

Penol nodded. One spot, anyway.

"Alright, just tough this out for a few moments, okay? It burns a lot, but it burns the biters a lot more," Mender's helper hidden runner soothed.

"Cynnil's right. This will just take a moment," Mender confirmed.

Penol held back a scream as the burning on her shoulder increased until she felt she could no longer stand it. When she pulled away just to make it stop she suddenly realized she couldn't feel the biting she expected to be there.

It was only after she pulled back that Penol noticed that Mender had held the offending plant matter between a more inert leaf, never directly touching it. "Those are fire weeds. Terrible to run into but good in this case. I take it that you have seen them around?"

"Yes. There's a lot of them around here," Penol replied.

Mender tail-smiled. "Then you know how to fix this problem. I would recommend only doing one body part at a time; you don't want to overdo it."

Penol nodded and turned to leave, believing Mender's words to be a dismissal.

"Little one?"

Penol turned around, confused. "Ma'am?"

"I will talk to the Great Leader about the dusting issue. I am sure that you are not the only one with this problem, but you were the only one brave enough to come forward. You take care of yourself, alright?"

Penol had no idea that it was on this day that the Great Leader became aware of a certain brave young hidden runner. A young hidden runner who happened to be her cousin. A cousin who perhaps had great potential if only she were given the opportunity...

Penol took a deep breath as the memory faded. I have to find a way to help her. But what can I do? They are obsessed with battle, and there is nothing stopping them. Her eyes lit up. Or is there? "Are there any pitfalls between here and the enemy?"

The deputy nodded as if barely paying attention as his pack members appeared in the distance. "We also need to avoid the herd of spiketails on the way there. We don't want to be caught between a stampede and a bunch of sharpteeth."

"Definitely not," Penol agreed. But if you sent the stampede into those sharpteeth... This might actually work. But how do I convince Wrok to go along with it?

"Leader Wrok!"

Whoa. Where'd he come from? Penol thought, barely catching a glimpse of a young hidden runner turning and dashing off to tell Wrok of their approach. She was unsurprised to see Wrok, but his companion was another matter. The hidden runner walking alongside Wrok seemed far too old to Penol to be part of an assignment such as this. Oh, wait. That must be Karifon. Hopefully he won't have any objections to possibly not dying today.

Wrok nodded at the hidden runner. "At ease! You will all have a chance to fight soon. The bluffs look promising for a delaying action."

The elderly hidden runner contorted his beak into a crooked smile. "You can only delay the inevitable for so long. But the fight will be glorious. See to it that the battle after ours does our struggle justice."

Wrok smiled. "Of course! We only need you to hold them for a short time. Four of the packs are already moving towards the jungle. We will not let these fiends assault our sacred lands."

"Never!"

Penol couldn't help but cringe in surprise at the shouts from the assembled hidden runners. This could be harder than I thought, maybe even impossible.

Wrok appeared to enjoy the chant for several moments until his eyes caught a familiar sight beside the deputy. "Penol? You should be with the others where it is safe! We will have to make a quick retreat from here."

"Safe?" Penol started but was soon cut off. If I wanted to be safe I would've stayed as Ignis's first assistant.

"She proved very helpful to our preparations, Leader Wrok. Our fighters' new vines are a testament to that," the deputy interjected.

"Oh, is that so, my son?" Karifon asked in a teasing manner, "Well, then up with your vines then, Varon; don't let her efforts be in vain! Her fight is the one to come; yours is now."

Deputy Varon tilted his head in respect, though a hint of embarrassment appeared in his eyes. "Yes, of course, father. We have a fight to win!"

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" the other pack members began to chant as if the deputy's words were now golden again.

Wrok smiled at this display and patted the elderly hidden runner on the shoulder before walking towards Penol. It was then, however, that the elder briefly stopped him. "Hang on to that one, Wrok. A female fighter turns as many heads as they slap."

Going by that , I've turned one and slapped none. I'm not sure if I should be embarrassed by that now, Penol thought.

Wrok walked up to his chosen with a curious look on his features. Slightly widened eyes, a smirk-like tilt to his beak, and an almost predatory movement to his legs. When he did come up to her he looked around briefly to make sure that they had some privacy before looking at her with a bemused glance. "I have been gone for the better part of a day, and you have convinced a bunch of outsiders that you are a fighter? And you have improved their vines?" He then let out the slightest hint of a snort. "I know that you are capable of it, dear, but you didn't kill someone, did you?"

"Trying to prevent that, actually," Penol said, "I think I've got an idea about how slow the others down, hopefully without getting everyone killed."

Wrok paused at this. "Besides, Karifon, you mean?"

Oh, so he does know about that, Penol thought. "Hopefully it might keep him alive, too, at least for awhile. We're just trying to slow the fastbiters down, right? What if we chased the spiketail herd towards them? It would cause them a lot of trouble without risking everyone."

Wrok froze and studied the female carefully, as if sizing her up once more. Then, after a tilt of the head he let out a sigh. "Slowing them is one objective. Killing one or more of the two-footers would be better. That is the task that Karifon insisted upon."

"How would that help? That would just give them a reason to fight when they don't really have one right now," Penol said.

Wrok did not say anything right away but instead took a deep breath and put a hand on her shoulder before gesturing slightly at the elderly pack leader in the distance. A pack leader who was discussing strategy with his fellow volunteers. A pack leader who did not at all fear what was about to come.

"What do you see, Penol?"

"A bunch of people talking?" What do you mean?

"No, I mean… What does that tell you? You have a brilliant mind; you already have thought up a strategy that defied us this entire morning. So use that here. What do their reactions tell you?"

"They want to fight, and one of them I know wants to die fighting," Penol said, "I'm actually not sure if he should be leading this at all, regardless. Will he actually care if any of them come back?" Penol froze for a second. Oops. I let my mouth get away from me again.

Wrok nodded. "All they need is a few kills for their names to be made. Outsiders fight and hide, just like us, and evidence of the deed is enough for honor. A dead two-footer would be known rather far and wide, wouldn't it? And if one son fights and lives, and another cowers at the pack, which one do you think will be put on their scrape?"

"The one that fought," Penol replied reluctantly.

He nodded. "It is their way. Perhaps it is Fate's way as well. The need for such a battle came to them just when we needed some additional help… it gives us a better chance."

"I guess there's no stopping that fight, I guess," Penol said, "But what if we did both?"

Wrok tilted his head. "I am listening."

"Chasing the spiketails would likely cause injuries, either to themselves or to the fastbiters. That would keep their healers busy, which would be more of a hindrance than attacking them head-on, and if any of the two-footers are injured, that would give them even more to worry about. With the healers busy, they can't really move towards us, which gives us more time to prepare," Penol explained. I feel like I'm lying, but if it convinces Wrok...

Wrok stayed silent for several moments and appeared to look at something in the distance that only he could see, as if studying the plan.

"Alright, you get back to the others and prepare to evacuate when I get back."

Penol reluctantly nodded in acquiescence. I failed. Sorry, Mender.

"...and I will inform Karifon that my female fighter informs me that there is more than one way to take others out with you. Spiketails, for example."

Sheer Cliffs Bluffs:

Wind.

It was not an uncommon companion for a flyer. No, in fact one could say that it was the most common sound that any resident of the sky would hear. A sound for which their bodies and ears were well attuned, both to ignore at times, and to hear the hidden threats that sometimes echoed behind the veil of rampaging air. But there was something about the winds as they slammed into a bluff that gave them a unique feel. It was a rare case where the ground asserted its dominance over the air, standing firm. For flyers it was a rare reminder of their mortality. One day they would land or crash… and never take off again. One day the ground would win.

Get mind out of the mud pit, Spotter. Enough people will die today without me imagining more.

The flyer's eyes stared out from the bluff's edge and fixed themselves on the flat lands which were visible all around him. From the bluff tops, which rose several longneck-lengths into the sky, Petrie was not really above the clouds, but he did have a stable vantage point for miles around. For this was the Sheer Cliff Bluffs. A long pile of rocks that looked like a shattered mountain, deposited among the plains.

To the south Petrie could see the assembled pack of fastbiters. He could not see individual members of the pack, per se, from this distance, but their accumulated numbers made them as visible as a wildfire against the verdant ground. It was the furthest thing from an ambush. His friends were clearly informing the enemy that they had arrived.

Petrie then moved his head briefly to the north… and was not unsurprised when he saw nothing out of the ordinary against the tall grass. Looks like Grimace has the young ones under control.

This then brought his attention to what was clearly in front of them.

Spiketails stretched for a great distance, being conspicuous against the green background despite their coloration. They would be an obvious obstacle to any general charge against the unseen hidden runners. Or they would be if Littlefoot's massive group was the one charging in first.

Petrie was not surprised when he heard his mate land beside him.

"Do you think that they will take the bait?" she asked, staring at the same herd.

"I think so." He carefully forced himself to use the proper pronoun. "If they do, then Seeker's group can retreat and Grimace and Verant can do their thing."

"Kill hidden runners who thought they were being clever," Soar finished.

Petrie nodded. "Now that Spotter see this, I think you were right, dear. The best way to get hidden runners to do what you want is to give them obvious scheme."

Soar allowed herself a slight narrowing of the eyes. A sign of contentment. Neither flyer said much for several moments.

"How many do you think we will lose?" Soar finally asked.

Petrie sighed. "If everyone act like deputies? Not many. If everyone act like the tail-chasers..." he allowed himself to trail off.

Soar nodded. "I just hope the healers are ready."

Chapter 34 to be continued next week...

Sorry to tease you all with a cliffhanger. :p But we felt that the resulting chapter was a bit too huge to be posted as a single post. As a result, the conclusion of this 25,000 word chapter and the Battle for the Sheer Cliff Bluffs will be posted next week.

Thanks for the reviews, everyone! :)

bryan mccloud: Nahoda is a bit out of the loop when it comes to sharptooth family trees. :p This is probably a good thing because otherwise he would be even more awkward around everyone. After all, he is still getting used to the idea that his mate's sister is a sharptooth. :p

gordhanx: Thank you for the detailed review as always. :) In this chapter some of the threads from the previous chapter were continued on, as they will have ramifications in the near-future. Though I do wonder if some of the characters realize the full magnitude of the decisions that they have made. If not, then they will be in for a reality check going forward. Just as White Eye has had a harsh meetup with reality in this chapter. I look forward to your thoughts on this installment. :)

Anagnos: Thank you very much for the review. :) In many ways the last chapter was both an exercise in contrasts and also an attempt to show where everyone is right now in terms of their perspectives. Even though the play of the children had to collide with the harsh realities of their kinds, it pales in comparison to the harsh realities that the battle pack is now being faced with. That being said, however, Littlefoot and Mender are each doing their best to fulfill the common good as they see it. Though in such times what is the right action can be hard to determine. This struggle to remain good while at the same time doing horrible things to fulfill the common good is one that will continue to manifest as this story continues on.

Keijo6: Thank you for the insightful review. In many ways the previous chapter had, as one of its major objectives, the showcasing of how some characters have never changed inside, even if they have changed a lot on the outside. Seeker is a prime example of this. He still is the emphatic and caring dinosaur that we knew in the films, but his life is utterly different and thus he must also act different. Though in another universe he may have become a leader of longnecks and lead through consensus, as a fastbiter he must lead through inspiration, dedication, and strength. In many ways Mender has seen the side of Seeker that was a throwback to his Littlefoot days, but now he is seeing the other side. Though her doubts are somewhat soothed by the end it was still a harsh dose of reality to her. In many ways the eggs represent hope for what may come in the future, but they also represent a reminder of what they all are fighting for. By the time all is said and done they might need that reminder more than ever.