Chapter Four: Still Too Little

Remy walked through the Valley, enjoying the sights and sounds. However, unlike before she visited the retired professor, something was on her mind. Her hand ran through the flowering grasses, un-bloomed flowers peeling open.

"If my eyes look familiar, that must mean Ebrima's encountered someone with the same eyes as me, meaning, that person could be related to me. Or was he just talking about the 'spark in my eyes'?" Remy paused under a large tree, gazing up at a bright yellow fruit hanging on the lowest branch.

"Feel free to give me that fruit, tree?" Remy asked, pressing her hand to the tree. The crystal around her neck grew warm, and the branch slowly lowered. Once in reach, she plucked the fruit off without having to even reach above her head.

Rubbing any dirt that may have gotten on the fruit from insects or pterosaurs, Remy continued her journey to Littlefoot's home. The fruit was sweet and succulent, juice running down her chin as she bit into the soft flesh. Remy couldn't help but think that her ability may have made the fruit taste even better. Throughout the times she had visited the realm of dinosaurs, she had learned more and more about her Shard-granted ability. Still, there were times she wished she had a mentor of some sort to help her.

Ebrima had a Shard, just like her, but he never used its magic. He found no reason to use it, but he never explained why he kept the tiny orb in his studies at all times. The elderly man had discarded his rune-charm many years ago.

Remy thumbed the rune-engraved quartz of her gold bracelet, a reoccurring thought surfacing. "I wonder if Uncle Yar knows all about this stuff. He was the one that gave me my bow and arrow with all those runes carved onto it."

Her grandfather had told Remy that her mother knew about the magical dinosaur world and wasn't fond of it. Remy had yet to bring up the subject about the world to her mother, and she didn't know if she ever would. It seemed it was a sensitive topic to her mother, and she didn't need her mother to become worried. Nonetheless, Remy's mind drifted back to her uncle. Maybe he knew more about the realm.

"I'll have to write a letter to Uncle Yar sometime soon."

The girl discarded the pit of the fruit into the grass. The large, grey forms of Littlefoot's grandparents were visible as they lumbered out of the lake and to a cluster of towering trees. Littlefoot walked beside his grandfather, animatedly chatting about something. Remy hung back, enjoying the moment as the pair talked out of hearing range.

"Maybe Ebrima knew my grandmother." She mused, watching as Littlefoot swayed his body back and forth in whatever story he was telling. "Same eyes. Same spark. Maybe I'll have to ask him tomorrow."

"Good afternoon, Remy." A female's voice rumbled from above the girl.

A large ridge-head long-neck smiled down at Remy. The older adult was typical of her kind, sporting a warm brown back and lighter underside. Her dark brown eyes were filled with warmth as she pulled off a clump of thin, droopy leaves from the tree Remy stood under.

"Good afternoon, Branchback. I just arrived. How has your day been?"

Branchback chewed slowly as she looked out across the Great Valley, admiring the numerous types of dinosaurs living in the beautiful paradise. "Pleasant. Though, anything in the Great Valley is pleasant compared to the life I lived in the Mysterious Beyond. How have you been?"

"My life at home has been good, but it's great to be back in the Valley." She laughed, grabbing the blue crystal around her neck, stroking its smooth surface. "It's been nice to feel the Shard's magic again. I can't manipulate plants or any type of magic in my home realm." With a flick of her hand, Remy brought a branch closer to Branchback's face. The two smallest branches wiggled like fingers as if saying hello to the long-neck.

Branchback laughed. She nipped the branch, breaking off one of the fingers. With a crunch, she swallowed the small branch whole. "Delicious."

"Better than normal branches?" Remy asked, lowering the branch back to where it had previously been. "I think my magic affects the taste of plants."

Branchback hummed, savoring the taste that lingered on her tongue. "Yes. I'd say magic is a very, very special thing."

"Well, it was a nice chat, Branchback. I've got a friend to greet." Remy waved to the ridge-head and walked out from under the tree.

Tos and Fern were grazing on the trees, while Littlefoot was still chatting with them, the smaller tree that he had been eating from barely touched. Remy waved at the trio of long-necks, shouting Littlefoot's name.

The adolescent long-neck spun around. "Remy!" A smile bloomed across his features. "You finally came back."

"I did," the girl jogged up to him, Littlefoot already lowering himself to the ground to let her clamber onto his back. "Suri told me that you have something to show me."

"Yes! But I need to eat first. There's some fruit somewhere that you could eat if you're hungry." The long-neck then walked back to where his grandfather was feasting on a rather tall tree. The elder turned to the pair, a small branch in his mouth. He lowered his head some, giving a low rumble in greetings to his grandson and human friend.

"Good afternoon, Tos." Remy greeted, waving at the large sauropod. "How's everything in the Valley today?"

"Good afternoon to you too, Remy." Tos lowered his head to his grandson's back, dropping the branch he had been chewing. "Everything has been well in our wonderful paradise. Did Littlefoot tell you that Ducky's mother laid a clutch a few days ago?"

"He did not. That's great to hear. I'm sure Ducky and her parents are happy to have hatchlings on the way. We'll have to visit them today, won't we, Littlefoot?" She patted the brown sauropod's neck. "I'm sure they will enjoy seeing us."

"Would you like some leaves, Littlefoot?" Tos asked, long neck already rising to the topmost parts of the dark green canopy.

"Always," the adolescent laughed.

Littlefoot lowered himself to the ground first, letting Remy slipped off his shoulders so that she could search for more fruit while he ate leaves off a smaller tree. He glanced to his grandfather, who had tipped the larger tree over to tear at the far more tender leaves from the top of the tree. Littlefoot attempted the same move, trying to push the smaller tree, but it did not budge. He pushed it again but lost his footing, the tree snapping back at him.

The dull-brown adolescent stumbled onto his backside with a thud, a little stunned. He climbed back to his feet and shook himself out with a huff. His shoulder ached, a bruise already forming under his scales. He looked at his grandfather, who still had his tree bent over.

"I can't believe I still can't do that trick," Littlefoot muttered, glaring at the slightly bent tree in front of him. "I'm still too little," He smacked a rock at the young tree. It bounced back and rolled to a stop at his feet.

"You're still young, Littlefoot." His grandfather smiled down at him, finally easing his own tree back to its upright position. "You're nowhere near fully grown yet. You'll eventually learn all the small secrets and tricks us long-necks use. Each type of long-neck, from the whip-tails, spine-necks, stone-backs, and many others, has its own unique techniques for everything they do. Some individuals even have a mixture of methods."

Tos looked up at the bright blue sky, smiling to himself. "Oh, I remember a usually small blunt-head long-neck. She lived with a herd of fin-necks when she was just a hatchling until she left to journey on her own. The methods she used to get leaves and attack sharp-teeth were so unusual. When she joined the mixed herd of long-necks I was currently living with, she even courted her mate, another blunt-head, with a fin-neck dance."

The elder turned to his grandson. "It all matters how someone is raised and all the events that happen in their lifetime. Here in the Great Valley, Littlefoot, you might learn far different skills than you would if we were still traveling the Mysterious Beyond. Living in a place filled with all sorts of different dinosaurs makes a difference too. You can learn from them like Mr. Thicknose does."

Littlefoot smiled to himself, only for it to fall a moment later, "Still, I'm small for my age, aren't I?"

"Well…" Littlefoot's grandfather approached him with a loud sigh. Littlefoot's back reached just above the adult's shoulders, his head several feet below his own. "Yes…but you were always small, Littlefoot. And your mother cherished you. You were her only hatchling that survived her first and only surviving clutch."

"I know, Grandpa. I know. And I wish she was here with us too." Littlefoot scoffed the ground with a forepaw. "I guess I shouldn't complain, should I? I'm in this great place and living with you and Grandma, and I have great friends." He smiled at Remy, who had watched the entire ordeal as she stood under a small tree laden with strange dark purple fruit.

"You know, Littlefoot. You have grown a lot since you were a hatchling. Oh, I remember how upset you'd get when you thought you'd never grow." Tos chuckled, pulling off a clump of leaves from the tree. He dropped them at his grandson's feet, a spark of laughter in his dark brown eyes. "Well, I remember when you tried the tree tipping trick many years ago. The sapling had gotten the better of you and knocked you off your feet. It sent you rolling on top of a geyser."

Littlefoot cringed. "Yeah, then you had to rescue me, or I would have been steamed. Gosh, I don't know what would have happened if you didn't get me out of the way."

With the bitterness about his size still on his mind, Littlefoot tried to tip over a small tree so that he could eat the tender leaves that grew atop it. This time, he was successful and enjoyed his meal. As he ate, he watched the blue-grey form of his grandfather pick off the leaves from the furthest branches. Littlefoot smiled to himself, quietly puffing out his chest and reaching his neck out as far as it could. The adolescent looked a little silly with his mouth still stuffed full of leaves, and his body strained as far as it could go.

"Maybe your dad was a late bloomer too, but he became the tallest in his herd," Remy commented between her giggles.

Littlefoot perked. "You think so?" He turned to Tos, a grin splitting his light brown snout. "Hey Grandpa, someday I will be taller than you. Then, I'll be getting you the best leaves."

Tos simply chuckled.

"Say, Littlefoot?" Remy walked up to him, a half-eaten fruit in her hand. "Just curious, were you given your name because you were so small as a hatchling?" She glanced between her friend and his grandfather.

"Yeah. I was my mother's only surviving hatchling. An egg-eater almost took my egg."

"It was also your father's nickname," Tos rumbled as he chewed on a branch.

Remy hummed in thought. The conversation continued between the trio as they enjoyed their afternoon meals. Just as they were reaching their fill, a singsong voice greeted them.

"Littlefoot! Remy!" Ducky appeared from the trees, grinning at the pair. "I found you! Yep, yep, yep!" She ran over to them, scooping Remy into a hug. "I am happy to see you, Remy. And you too, Littlefoot. But I do not see Remy every day."

The swimmer released Remy from her embrace. "Would you like to see my mama's eggs before we go meet the others?"

"I'd love to!"

Author's Note: Branchback is another character that appeared in the intro of the 2nd movie