"That come from Sinking Sands!" Petrie shouted from the air, his damp wings unable to keep up with the fast claw-hands.
"Forget about those two. We have to see who's in trouble." Remy didn't hesitate, turning her trajectory to the visible bubbling pits of thick mud.
There was no movement across the expanse of sand and steppingstones. The screams continued, but Remy couldn't pinpoint where the children were. The thundering footsteps of Littlefoot, Cera, and Spike reached Remy as she walked the length of the Sinking Sands.
"What the heck are kids doing out here? They know they shouldn't be crossing the Sinking Sands," Remy muttered, still unable to find the children.
"There!" Ducky pointed to the middle of the pit, past the second stepping stone. "They must have been trying to cross."
Three younglings struggled in the thick sand. Two smaller curve-neck children had their arms wrapped around a salmon-colored ridge-head long-neck's back and neck. One of the curve-necks was barely visible, her already sandy-colored body almost hidden within the thick wet muck. The other curve-neck was a familiar terracotta red. The young curve-neck struggled to keep her head above the quicksand as her forefeet scraped the stone they had slipped off of.
Littlefoot pushed through his friends and lunged into the thick muck. It rose up to his belly, but he didn't seem to notice as he waded closer and closer to the three struggling children. He leaned his head close to them, jaw just touching the wet muck, but he didn't want to grab them with his teeth in fear of hurting them.
"Remy!" Littlefoot stretched his long tail across the sandpit.
The girl clambered onto his tail and ran across his back and neck until she was near his head. Legs wrapped around his neck, she carefully reached for the three younglings trapped in the sands. Luckily, the upper half of their bodies were easy enough to grab. Once they were in her arms and she had climbed back onto Littlefoot's back, the long-neck lifted his head from the sands.
Carefully, he trudged through the muck, mindful of his trembling passengers. Once on firm land again, he crouched, allowing Remy off his back. The girl placed the three children on the ground, looking them over for any other injuries. The three shakily clung to each other, avoiding the girl's eyes.
"What do you think you were doing, trying to cross the sinking sands without an adult?" Littlefoot asked, scraping the thick muck from his legs with his forepaw.
"We just wanted to get to the Sheltering Grass." The salmon-colored ridge-head long-neck shied away from Littlefoot.
"Yeah!" The terracotta curve-neck puffed out his chest, his bravery suddenly back now that his life was no longer in danger. "We wanted to play sharp-tooth attack in the Sheltering Grass. The only way to get across was through the Sinking Sands. We weren't about to tell our folks what we wanted to do."
"And why's that?" Remy asked, hands firmly planted on her hips and an eyebrow raised. "There's a reason you kids aren't supposed to cross without an adult. You almost died just now."
"My dad would never let me cross the Sinking Sands. Ever." He crossed his arms over his chest and turned away.
"He also wouldn't let us play with a long-neck." The sandy-colored curve-necked added.
The salmon-colored long-neck whimpered. "Please don't tell our parents. I don't want Graci and Ross to get in trouble because they were playing with me. We just wanted to have some fun."
"We were bored of all the other games we've played," The female curve-neck, Graci, jumped in. "Mrs. Maia shouted at us for rolling rocks near her nest. We didn't know what else to play until Altitha suggested we play sharp-tooth attack. Ross and I knew the best place to play sharp-tooth attack was in the Sheltering Grass. Then we all argued about who should be the sharp-tooth."
"That's because I'm always the sharp-tooth." Ross cut in. "I thought it was time for one of you females to be the sharp-tooth."
"Yeah, but you didn't have to try and show off by jumping across the Sinking Sands when we didn't want to be the sharp-tooth. If it wasn't for you, then we wouldn't have almost died. What would have happened if Littlefoot and Remy didn't save us? I didn't even want to go to the Sheltering Grass in the first place because of the Sinking Sands. Dad told us never to go there without him, but you just had to go." The sandy female crossed her arms over her chest and turned away from her brother.
"I would have been just fine without your help. I could have gotten back up on that stepping stone, but you and Altitha had to rescue me. It's your fault that we had to be rescued by someone else." Ross stomped up to his sister, shoving his snout in front of hers.
"Yeah, right." Graci continued, looking in the other direction. "If Altitha and I didn't do anything, you'd be the only one covered in muck, but since you're my brother, I figured we had to save you."
"Please, stop fighting." The small long-neck stepped between her friends. "Let's forget about it and find somewhere else to play before our parents find out."
The earth shook with the footsteps of a heavy dinosaur. The brown and tan figure of an adult ridge-head long-neck entered the clearing, panic in her dark brown eyes.
"I heard screaming," she gasped, looking between Littlefoot and his friends before her gaze fell onto Remy, then the sand-covered children. Branchback gasped, leaning down to nuzzle the salmon-colored long-neck. "I thought I recognized that scream. What happened?"
"Well…" Altitha glanced to the two curve-necks and then to Remy and Littlefoot.
"They decided to cross the Sinking Sands without an adult," Remy answered for her.
"Altitha!" Branchback gasped. "What would have happened if you drowned? What would your mother have done? Oh, my sister will not be happy to hear this." Branchback wiped muck off the youngling's hide until only a few streaks of dark grains remained on her light red skin. The adult then scooped the youngling up with her snout and walked back into the trees, still lightly scolding Altitha.
The two curve-neck siblings looked up at Remy and Littlefoot, hopeful that the two wouldn't say anything, but they were too late. Their father was approaching from the meadow, eyes locked on their muddied forms. "What happened! Why are you two muddy?"
But he already knew the answer.
Ross avoided his father's gaze. "We wanted to play in the Sheltering Grass…"
Teosa glared the two down before his gaze turned to Remy and Littlefoot. "What are you doing here?"
"We saved them from the sands."
Teosa's eyes narrowed. "Thank you. Now let me take care of my children." Before Littlefoot or Remy could say anything, he scooped up his children, his voice harsh as he walked away.
"Well, that was an adventure," Remy muttered.
"I guess I can show everyone the other surprise now," Littlefoot offered.
With an awkward mutter of agreement, the group set off back into the forest, claw-hands forgotten as their excitement rose with what Littlefoot had in store.