Chapter Sixteen: Of Different Opinions

"Remy! Petrie! Are you okay!" Littlefoot panted, looking around the clearing. "What happened?"

Petrie still held the plant-encased egg while Remy cradled Mushroom. Blood still glistened from the cuts made by Oz's sharp talons. Mushroom whimpered in her arms, the superficial cuts Oz had given him the first real pain he had felt, and he was not even a day old yet.

"The claw-hands found us. They tried to eat the unhatched egg and Mushroom." Remy rubbed the newborn frill-head's boney snout. He trembled, soft whimpers sounding from him as he nosed his way deeper into her arms. "They ran away when they heard you charge into the clearing. I don't know where they are now."

"Petrie glad Mushroom help chase off claw-hands." The flyer placed the egg back into the makeshift nest. "He brave for only hatching last night." Petrie looked up at Remy, waiting for her to remove the grasses from the egg.

Remy flicked her wrist, and the glossy blue-green grasses fell away, revealing the egg. Its surface was untarnished, no cracks were sustained during the scuffle.

"What happened?" Ducky asked, worry in her blue eyes. "Is everyone okay?"

"Yeah." Remy looked at the cuts on her arm. "Just a few cuts and scrapes and very shaken." She patted Mushroom's back again, careful to avoid the scratches on his back. "This guy got the worst of it. He almost got eaten, but then...something strange happened."

"Something strange?" Littlefoot echoed as Remy placed the hatchling into the nest next to the egg.

Remy didn't respond, stroking the glowing blue lines on either side of Mushroom's body. Lips pressed in a thin line of thought, she kept stroking the glowing scales. A slight chill emanated from the markings, but the rest of his body was the perfect hatchling temperature. "You're an interesting fellow, aren't you, Mushroom?"

Littlefoot peered at the hatchling and glanced back up at Remy. He repeated Ducky's question. "What happened?"

Remy continued to stroke the glowing blue markings that adorned Mushroom's body. She kept her mouth shut for a long moment as she searched for the best words to use and the correct way to string them. "I think he's magical. I think the Shard affected him while he was growing in his egg. The glowing markings look just like the Shards, and…he did this thing when the grey-backed claw-hand grabbed him. I didn't see it, but the claw-hand had screamed, and his hand looked injured."

"Magic? I thought dinosaurs couldn't use magic?" Littlefoot sniffed Mushroom. The hatchling stared back at him, his quivering having significantly lessened. Sure, the hatchling looked rather odd with the glowing markings, but that didn't mean he could do the same thing that Remy could do with her Shard. Littlefoot looked up at Remy, russet eyes alight with wonder and worry. "Right? I've never heard about it. Not even in Grandpa's stories."

"I don't know, Littlefoot. I just learned about your realm less than a few months ago. I don't know anything about the Shard either other than what I've already experienced. We'll have to ask someone else about magical dinosaurs or how the Shard affects stuff. And, right now, no one in the Valley has that type of knowledge. Not even Ebrima or Mr. Thicknose know much of anything about Shards. Maybe Suri's mom or dad would—"

Remy was cut off by the rustle of the bushes. Everyone held their breath, waiting for someone like Cera's father or Ducky's mother to appear.

"What's going on here?" Cera's bright orange head appeared through the foliage. Her gaze narrowed, sweeping over everyone who had gathered until her gaze stopped on the beige hatchling. Her eyes hardened, and she pushed her way through the bushes. "It's still here? I thought it would have been gone by now."

"Why are you so against having Mushroom here?" Remy asked, stroking Mushroom's back, her gaze almost as stern as Cera's. "He's just a baby. He might be a little odd-looking, but he can't harm anything."

Cera snorted. "It's ugly to look at." Laying on the ground, she sent Mushroom another sharp look, but the hatchling did not cower. "Weren't you going to bring him to someone?"

"We were, but the claw-hands attacked us. We chased them off without too much of an incident." Remy rubbed her injured arm.

The three-horn grunted and closed her eyes. "Jeez. I snuck away from my dad just to hang out with you fools. Maybe I should have stayed at my nest after all."

Before anyone could make a comment, Mushroom climbed out of the nest and hobbled to Cera. He snuggled into her forearm, almost like an overly affectionate feline. She was the most similar to him, and he found comfort in it. For all he knew, she was his mother. He didn't understand why she didn't like him. Well, the hatchling didn't understand anything much at all other than he had been in danger, and then he wasn't. The large beasts around him were there to protect him. Nonetheless, Cera looked a lot like him, and he wanted her attention. Rubbing his hornless snout on her leg, he paused and looked up at her, pale blue eyes full of sweet innocence.

Cera glared back, but Mushroom just continued rubbing his snout and frill on her leg. He flopped beside her forearm and squawked loudly.

Cera sighed. "I guess it's kind of cute." She watched Mushroom from the corner of her eye as he snuggled against her warm leg. His eyes were bright and full of play, waiting for a moment to leap. "Kind of reminds me of my niece and nephew when they hatched. Too bad I never saw them again."

"Why?" Littlefoot asked.

"Dad didn't like my oldest sister, Yarrow's, mate. I didn't like him either. But Dad didn't need to chase them out of the herd. I don't even know if any of them are alive, let alone Dana and Dinah. They weren't more than a few days old when Dad threw a fit and chased them all away. Thornscale, the leader of the herd, couldn't do anything about it either since Yarrow knew her family didn't want her and her children anymore."

Cera watched as Mushroom crawled across her foot, her eyes glazing over with memories. "Dad's grandkids had just hatched, but he didn't even want to look at them. He thought they'd never hatch. He was so ashamed when their eggs broke open, and the babies were healthy and normal looking."

"Ashamed? Why would your dad be ashamed of his grandchildren? I never thought your Dad would chase off his own children. He's a hard-ass, but he always seems to mean well, even if it's never the best way." Littlefoot ducked his head when Cera's sharp green gaze met his.

"It's none of your concern, long-neck." She turned back to Mushroom, her gaze softening, though her voice remained bitter. "Dad just hates anyone, even if they are family, who go against tradition. "He'd never accept a hatchling like this."

"We can make your dad accept him. Yep, yep, yep," Ducky piped, crouched beside Cera so she could tickle Mushroom's sides. "We will make you part of the Great Valley just like everyone else. Everyone will love you as much as we do. Yes, they will."

Mushroom squeaked, rolling onto his side, back feet wiggling in the air. Laughter filled the air, and everyone pranced around. As they enjoyed themselves, the atmosphere lightened. The morning quickly waned into midday, and everyone was having a wonderful time. The smaller friends played with Mushroom while the others chatted. Spike arrived sometime while they were gathering food for their midday meal.

Everyone was having a great time. Mushroom and Cera were play fighting, though Ducky reminded the three-horn to not be too rough on the hatchling. Littlefoot and Remy chatted as they watched Cera finally bond with Mushroom. Spike simply enjoyed the leftover food while keeping guard so that none of the other Valley residents would find out about the hatchling and unhatched egg before they were ready. Petrie sat on the unhatched egg, watching the ongoings, but felt the need to keep a close eye on the orange and blue speckled egg.

Everything was terrific until Mushroom charged Cera's forefoot for the umpteenth time. The glowing markings on his flanks and frill glowed brighter, bright blue magic swirling in his wake. The moment his snout contacted Cera's bright orange scales, she wheeled back, gasping in surprise.

Holding her foot in the air, she stared at the hatchling frill-head in horror. "What was that? He got cold! What type of frill-head can do that?" Her fear and confusion churned, changing into the only emotion Cera knew well.

She climbed to her feet, her horns instinctively brandished at the confused hatchling.

Ducky rushed in front of her, spreading her arms wide in hopes of preventing the three-horn from doing anything reckless. "He is just a baby, Cera. He did not know what he was doing." She glanced behind her where Mushroom was slowly backing away, the fear and confusion growing in his pale blue eyes. "Did you, huh, huh?"

Mushroom just stared back.

"He's a freak that we should have gotten rid of in the beginning," Cera snapped, stomping her foot a bit too close to Ducky's toes. "We should have just crushed the egg the moment we saw those glowing blue specks on its shell." She turned her sharp glare on Remy. "But the thin-skin insisted that we wait until it hatched. Now, we have a freak in the Valley who doesn't have any parents. It's going to die anyway because no one's going to claim an ugly frill-head like that."

"Cera!" A chorus of voices rose, the rest of the Gang gawking at her.

"What? It's all true. Just look at it." She lowered her head so that her nose-horn was level with Mushroom. "Get lost, ugly. You don't belong here. Nobody wants you. You're just some freak that everyone will abandon, just like your parents. Without those stupid blue, glowing marks, you'd still be the ugliest frill-head in the Valley. Just run away."

"Cera!" Ducky gasped, staring at her in disbelief. "How can you say that to a hatchling?"

Even though the hatchling did not understand Cera's words, he felt the heavy tension in the air and the tone in her voice. It sent a fearful shiver down his back, and the glowing markings on his sides flared brighter. Slowly, he slunk into the grasses. Far enough away, he burst into a full sprint, following the much larger frill-heads words to run as far away as possible."

"Mushroom!" Ducky cried, but she couldn't chase after him. Cera had stepped in her way, her horns nearly gouging out Ducky's eye.

"Let him run away. Maybe he'll drown in quicksand. We won't have to worry about him, and we won't have to tell the adults anything. We'll never get in trouble if he disappears."

"Cera! He is just a baby! How could you say that?" Littlefoot shoved his weight between his two friends, glaring down at the three-horn. "Why are you so heartless? Don't you care about that innocent life? He's a frill-head like you. I thought you'd accept him."

"When it's a waste of space, I don't care about it. All of us lived outside the Great Valley most of our lives. We know how hard life was in the dying lands. Something like that would have never survived for long. Have you ever seen a dinosaur that looked like it? No. No one's going to want a hatchling like him." Through the sharpness of her eyes, there was a deep sorrow of understanding in their depths.

While the argument between Cera and Littlefoot escalated, Remy pulled Ducky aside. "I'm going to find Mushroom. Please help Petrie look after the other egg. I don't want Cera to crush it."

Ducky nervously nodded. Stepping away from Littlefoot and Cera, she crouched over the egg where Petrie had been watching in horror as the scene unfolded. Remy nodded to Spike, who nodded back. He would stand guard in the grove if someone came running after hearing the verbal assaults between the long-neck and three-horn. With everything as best as it could be, Remy slipped out of the grove, following Mushroom's small footprints in the soft earth.