Chapter 16: Thoughts, stories and a canyon
The close encounter with death at the claws of fastbiters was a sure reminder of the dangers that lurked everywhere in the cursed world that the dinosaurs lived in. Littlefoot and his grandparents were prompted to leave the little oasis as soon as possible that morning. Choosing the deserts over a place that had food and water seemed utterly foolish to an outside spectator, however the suspected presence of two juvenile fastbiters that they didn't manage to kill left them with hardly an option. Littlefoot could be attacked at any given time; it was too great a risk. Moreover, neither of them knew how much time they had left to reach that faraway place they were headed to. They couldn't linger any longer than required and neither was there any way of telling whether the areas they were about to enter would be any less dangerous - or providing snacks for the group of longnecks challenging the Mysterious Beyond after escaping it so long ago...
Their journey soon led them into a rather mountainous area. Lots of canyons and steep cliffs stood indifferently as the towering forms of the two elderly longnecks attempted to find a way that would lead them safely through the region.
The walls of massive, occasionally cracked and splintered rock to their right side were towering above them to the point of making even Littlefoot's Grandpa look puny in comparison. Yet, they couldn't fully shield them from the Bright Circle which was towering even higher above them in its noon position, spreading its heat across the land. As the small group trudged along a narrow path, barely broad enough to support his grandparents, Littlefoot was working his mind.
"Gee, adventuring sure is completely different without my friends…"
Even though the group was finally moving into an area that had plenty of interesting sights and things to explore (Littlefoot would have loved to explore a cavern they had passed earlier), there were a lot of things he just couldn't do with his grandparents around. There was only so much excitement to draw from the unique shapes of the mountains and the thrilling drops into abyssal depths. Likewise, thoughts about how such wondrous and mysterious landscapes originally came to be could only keep his mind occupied for so long. After passing through the area for a couple hours, there was hardly any thrill to be gained anymore. As a result, boredom quickly took over again as the early afternoon heat dampened his mood considerably.
"Gee, I wonder what my friends are doing right now?"
"Urgh, this is so boring…"
Cera was lazing around on a warm, flat rock somewhere in the Great Valley. The group had tried to play Swimmer and Splasher earlier but, with their most vital member missing, the game just wouldn't be fun. As a matter of fact, hardly anything was truly fun anymore.
Burdened by her lack of entertainment, her eyes were vaguely following Ducky, who was floating on her back in the adjacent pond, but the swimmer didn't really seem to get much enjoyment out of this either despite loving such water activities. Meanwhile, Spike and Petrie could be seen taking a nap in the shadow of a large tree behind her. If the threehorn hadn't already overslept in the morning, she'd probably feel inclined to join them as well out of sheer boredom but she wasn't tired at all. Somewhere deep down, an urge to do something was bubbling but Cera was forced into idleness. The state of idleness practically unknown to her species, boredom slowly began to transition into a state of irritation which eventually began to border the feeling of anger and frustration. Finally, Cera allowed herself to voice those thoughts she'd been trying to suppress for so long.
"Gee, I wonder what kind of amazing stuff this stupid flathead is up to just about now! I bet he's having the time of his life while we're stuck here with nothing to do…"
Littlefoot halted in his movement for a moment to crane his long neck around, looking back all the way that they came from.
"They're probably playing lots of fun games while I'm just walking around all day with nothing to do…"
His friends were firmly on his mind as he continued to follow his grandfather and grandmother. Would they be playing fun games just about now? Littlefoot knew that he had the bragging rights due to being the one adventuring, however the thought of them happily playing Swimmer and Splasher in one of the Valley's many cool ponds left a stale taste in his mouth.
Littlefoot knew very well that adventures weren't all fun and glory. Hadn't the recent attack furthermore proven that they were pretty dangerous on top of that? Having to walk long distances, such as he was doing right now, arguably made up the biggest part of adventuring, quite ironically so. It didn't make him feel adventurous at all! Aching feet, no regular meals or drinks and dangers lurking everywhere were just as much part of it as discoveries and exploration. But, usually, those efforts were rewarded in the end.
Hadn't they discovered the Great Valley only through their perseverance and teamwork? Hadn't they rescued Ducky's younger sibling from the eggstealers and made friends with Chomper? Hadn't they found where the water was trapped and destroyed the blockade? Would his grandfather even walk in front of him if he hadn't taken a trip to the Land of Mists? Weren't there many more examples of him and his friends going on adventures to achieve something great while having a bunch of fun along the way? However, one thing was a lot different right now.
He was travelling with his grandparents, not his friends.
"At least it's always been a little fun when we went on adventures together but… it's an entirely different story with my grandparents…"
While adventures with his friends were usually lively and fun, the journey with his grandparents was dominated by monotony, boredom and lots of seriousness. Littlefoot couldn't blame it on them after the attack which he had just barely survived without a scratch but, nonetheless, the overall atmosphere was a stern one. His grandparents didn't talk much; they were constantly worried about him, quite tangibly so. There was no fun to be had which bothered Littlefoot greatly. He hated to do nothing; it made him feel awful. When his mind was idle, it would always try to find things to occupy itself with - and those were often thoughts and worries that he'd usually bury underneath all the good stuff.
But he wasn't capable of burying them right now because there was no good stuff to speak of.
"Maybe I shouldn't have gone on this journey? Maybe we should have just stayed at the Great Valley after all?"
Considering his current situation, the thought wasn't all that unappealing to him. The Great Valley was a much greater place than this labyrinth of rock and his friends were waiting there. His longing for home was indeed real - maybe one could even say that Littlefoot was a little homesick.
However, this wasn't the only feeling of longing inside his heart. When he cast a look ahead, an unexplainable feeling somewhere deep down made itself known.
"But I still want to know where we're going and what'll happen once we get there! I can feel that I have to be there! Oh, this is confusing!"
Deciding to make his irritation be heard, he jogged up to his grandparents to initiate a casual chat.
"Grandma? Grandpa?"
"Yes, Littlefoot?" They answered in unison as if they had already expected him to break the awkward silence. Their necks were bending a little so they could see him while still keeping the path ahead of them firmly in their sight. Littlefoot felt a little better when he realized that his interruption was judged warmly by his grandparents.
"I just can't make up my mind; I want to go on this adventure and find out what the sleepstories are telling us but I feel terrible right now. I kinda… just wanna be back in the Great Valley and have fun with my friends. Walking all day with nothing to do is so…"
"Boring?" his grandmother prompted with an understanding smile.
"Yeah…" Littlefoot admitted grouchily, kicking a pebble as he walked. "I do understand the need to not take any risks but… the adventures I've had with my friends were a lot more fun…"
"And you got very lucky to have survived them all, Littlefoot," his grandfather remarked with a rather stern look which made Littlefoot cower a little. Maybe he shouldn't have brought that up? However, then their expressions relaxed considerably, even transitioning into smiles of sorts.
"Nevertheless, I will never forget that one of your little adventures cured my sickness, allowing me to continue seeing you grow up and have fun, Littlefoot. For that, I am still very grateful."
The two grown-ups halted in their slow trot for a moment to nuzzle their grandchild for a brief moment.
"Gee, thanks," Littlefoot giggled, immediately feeling a little better. "It's true, we got lucky a lot of times. And, I suppose, we used our wits too."
"And you never once had our permission."
Littlefoot's alarmed look at his grandma brought about a small chuckle in the old longneck. For a brief moment, Littlefoot had expected a reprimand but none came, his relief taking the form of an audible 'whew'.
"Anyway, Littlefoot, if you're bored, how about you tell us about one of those adventures while we walk?" Grandma prompted as the group started moving again. "Considering how many times you kids have snuck away, you've probably seen canyons and cliffs like this before, haven't you?"
"That's not a bad idea!" Littlefoot thought as he rummaged in his brain. Indeed, he had once had a very spooky adventure in a similar place. If he remembered correctly…
"Grandpa, do you remember that time when the Great Valley was struck by bad luck?" Littlefoot wondered as he jogged ahead of his grandmother to walk between his two grandparents (the narrow path still didn't allow more than one longneck to walk it at the same time)
"Oh, I certainly do, Littlefoot," Grandpa replied with a smile. "And I thought I knew all about that little adventure already."
"Ah, you probably do but it happened in a similar place, remember? I felt responsible for the bad luck and attempted to retrieve a tooth from a sharptooth down there."
"I never quite understood how that Sharptooth ended up there in the first place, mind filling us in, Littlefoot?" Grandpa requested curiously.
"Uhh…" The nervous feeling that abruptly began creeping up his spine momentarily delayed his response. "We kinda… ran into it on our way back from Saurus Rock after retrieving the threehorn twins who ran away to see it first-hand. We tried to run away of course. When we spotted a hollow log, we tried to hide inside but the sharptooth realized that we were in there."
"Oh my," his grandmother exhaled in worry.
"Yeah, I was scared to the bones too," Littlefoot continued his report in a lively voice. "The sharptooth didn't know how to reach us in there, so I guess, it got really angry. We were suddenly tossed into the air and, when we crashed, the log was conveniently stuck between the two sides of the canyon, allowing us to cross it. We had a bit of a head start but things got rough when Spike got a little stuck. We barely managed to pull him out in time and ran for it as the sharptooth stepped onto the log too. Needless to say… it broke."
"Ah, sharpteeth have never been particularly bright, at least that goes for the big ones," Grandpa sighed in slight amusement as he listened to his grandson's story. "So that is how it ended up down there, I see."
"Yeah, I thought it was dead after such a drop but it wasn't. I couldn't have removed any of its teeth by myself anyway so maybe it was a good thing that it woke up and got buried by you and Doc?"
"Well, I can't say that a sharptooth that is alive is a good thing but, strangely enough, as soon as we replaced the destroyed tooth on Saurus Rock with a real one, the Valley was once again blessed by fortune. Curious, isn't it?"
"And none of this would have ever happened if you hadn't told the children this particular bedtime story, Grandpa," Grandma said in a very strict tone which made Grandpa blush a little.
"W-well, I guess that's true…" he admitted abashedly.
At this, the group of three broke into a rare fit of laughter that lasted for some moments before Littlefoot came up with another idea.
"Grandpa, why don't you tell a story? You've been far and wide, haven't you? You must have seen many of these places too?"
"Oh yes, I have, Littlefoot." Grandpa's expression suddenly darkened. "There is a story that I will never forget even though I wasn't there when it happened. You see…" Grandpa was about to narrate the tale when Grandma's begrudged reprimand stopped him dead in his tracks.
"Grandpa Longneck, it seems your qualities as a storyteller are steadily declining," the female criticized, sending a strict glare towards her mate. "You were about to start that horrible tale about Pterano again, weren't you?"
"Ah, yes, I was," Grandpa admitted sheepishly like a little child.
"Seriously, you're slowly becoming senile, Grandpa!"
"Ah, maybe I am but you're still one cold time older than I am, dear," Grandpa countered. Littlefoot hardly registered the rest of the playful banter that evolved between his grandparents as he was laughing hard in response to the rare hilarity his two caretakers were expressing. The short moment of respite from the monotony of travelling was a rather short-lived one, however, boredom and idleness returning way too soon for his liking. Again, he had nothing to do but to follow his grandparents in bland stupor. For lack of anything better to do, he spent some time remembering the tale that Grandpa had planned to tell him again before Grandma intervened.
"Come to think of it, I kinda understand how Pterano must have felt when he got banished from the Great Valley…"
Pterano had once led parts of the mixed herd his grandparents and the families of his friends had all been a part of while trying to find the Great Valley. During an ambush in a canyon-like area, Pterano abandoned the herd and fled the scene. None of the dinosaurs from that herd had ever been seen again and Pterano was banished from the Great Valley as a result.
During an incident a while ago, he snuck back in when rumors of a strange phenomenon - a stone that fell from the sky without burning, were rocking the Valley. Littlefoot still remembered the adventure he and his friends had back then very well and his friend Ducky certainly owed her life to the flyer which led to a time-limit in his banishment.
Naturally, Littlefoot wasn't banished from his home quite unlike Pterano but the influence of the sleepstories had still drawn him away from it against his will. He wanted to be there right now but the bewitching influence of his sleepstories with promises of great adventures and discoveries had still lured him and his family away from it. Wasn't it kind of… similar?
As Littlefoot continued to walk, his thoughts fell on Doc. Doc, whose appearance and behavior had overlapped perfectly with the description of the Lone Dinosaur in one of his grandfather's stories, had been a very odd longneck. Solitary and shy but also cool and helpful, his mysterious aura had led Littlefoot to admire him during his stay at the Great Valley which just happened to be during the time of the story he had told his grandfather earlier.
"I wonder how Doc deals with this all day…" the boy thought, jerking back for a second as a pebble disconnected from the path under his feet, crumbling and crashing into the depths of the cliffs to his left. "I kinda wish I'd asked him about it back then…"
Keeping his eyes on the track for a while and walking much further from the edge, Littlefoot's thoughts eventually began spiraling around yet another acquaintance of his.
"Hey, Ali is part of a migratory herd so she must be travelling far and wide herself…" As Littlefoot dug deeper in his memories, he began to notice a few things about the longneck he had made friends with long ago.
"Gee, it's been so long since we met, probably more than two cold times at this point… Come to think of it, we know so little about each other. I've only ever seen her mother but did she have other family in that herd? A father, siblings, grandparents? Did she have any friends she'd usually play with? I don't think… no, I don't think I've ever seen any other children with that herd she was in. Their leader was strange too… Maybe she is often lonely, wherever she is right now. Geez, I kinda wanna see her again. This journey would be a lot livelier if she were here too…"
Just then, the group was turning around a corner. The landscape didn't change much but a group of rock pillars suddenly gave the boy a deja-vu.
"I've seen something like this before, right after…" Littlefoot's mood dropped a little as a rather unpleasant aspect of his past caught up with him. "Back when I was mourning Mother, I also came past a place that looked like this…"
Littlefoot could hardly remember life before the big earthshake. Over time, he had gradually replaced all these memories of dark times, hunger and hopelessness with much happier memories he had made in the Great Valley. Even his journey with his friends to find the Great Valley seemed strangely distant now and details were slipping from his mind as he tried to remember them.
"I can hardly remember how I managed to fight boredom back when I was little but, either way, it'd be a lot livelier too if mother was still with us…"
Noticing his gradual drop in mood, Littlefoot soon tried to think of something else but nothing really came to his mind and so he continued to be bored for a while until the late afternoon when the heat of the day was at its peak.
"It's so hot… What would I give to splash around in the water with my friends right now…" he quietly complained as he trotted after his grandparents whose constant vigilance and sense of navigation wasn't declining in the slightest.
"Ah, that's understandable, Littlefoot," his grandfather admitted as he let out a sigh.
"We, too, would rather take a relaxing afternoon nap just about now, Littlefoot," his grandmother explained calmly, halting for a second to nuzzle the boy. "However, we have to keep walking for now."
"It would truly be a shame if we ended up coming too late, right?" Grandpa prompted with a smile, however it seemed a little forced as his bones weren't used to travelling anymore. Littlefoot could tell at a glance.
"That's true, I guess," the boy admitted sourly. Despite everything, there was no point in their quest if they arrived too late though the expected motivation boost didn't quite arrive.
"Remember that we can carry you for some time if your feet need some rest," his grandmother reminded him kindly, however Littlefoot shrugged her off.
"We're not travelling awfully fast; I can keep up. It's fine, Grandma." To reassure the old female, Littlefoot gave her a smile even if it was a half-hearted one for he didn't really feel happy right now.
Just how long would he have to endure this? A few days? A week? Maybe whole seasons would pass? Could he travel like this for such a long time without seeing his friends?
"When will we finally get there?" he eventually requested despite having a very good inkling about the answer he was going to receive.
"We don't know, Littlefoot. We still have a lot to walk," his grandmother explained matter-of-factly. "That's all we can say at the moment. I'm sorry."
"Well, I guess I just have to learn how to be more patient…"
Littlefoot could tell himself that they were still far from their destination but some part of him had hoped that this strange gut feeling was all but a fraud. He didn't like it at all but Littlefoot knew that acting whiny and childish wouldn't help him at all. As much as he disliked the current situation, he'd have to put up with it for now, hoping that they'd be able to walk far day after day and reach that far-away place as soon as possible.
"Hey, can't we walk a little faster? I wanna go there as soon as possible!"
His grandparents chuckled at his sudden motivation.
"We might be able to travel a little faster once we're on safer grounds again, Littlefoot," his grandmother answered apologetically. "We've got to be wary of weaknesses in the rock that might not be able to carry us, you see?"
"Also, generally speaking, there is no gain in hurrying since we're quite old," Grandpa added with a sigh. "We could certainly go faster but Grandma and I would have to take many breaks to rest our old bones. I think it is easier if we walk at a slow but steady pace that you can easily keep up with too, Littlefoot."
"Guess I'll have to put up with that too," Littlefoot sighed heartily as he continued to trudge along the narrow path. As evening neared, they finally found their way into open territory again though it also turned out to be a desert.
On that day, Littlefoot realized how blessed and fortunate his life in the Great Valley truly was, for the life of migration such as he was practising it at the moment didn't appeal to him.
Not at all.
In case you can't tell, this is the adaption of those few seconds shown in the movie when Littlefoot and his grandparents are shown walking through a canyon-like area. Littlefoot continues to feel boredom as he struggles to get used to this much different life.
From here on, there'll be a bit of a pattern change in the way chapters are uploaded. I'm abandoning a frequent back and fro from the different perspectives in favor of an order that makes sense from a chronological poinnt of view. As a result, this is the last we'll see from Littlefoot in a while. The focus will be on Shorty/Bron and Ali/Ali's mother for quite a few chapters as things are about to get rough for them.
Before I get to the reviews, I'd like to say something really quick that's unrelated to the story but more of a personal statement. Recently, I've become estranged with the LBT community I used to be part of and, as a result, LBT as a fandom is dead for me now. All that remains is the nostalgia I still feel towards the series and my stories. I've thought about how to deal with this and came to the conclusion that my stories won't be affected by this development. As long as there's at least a single person out there reading and enjoying this story (and my other stories too), I have a reason to continue working on these. Seeing this story, above all, come to its conclusion would be a dream come true so your continued support means a lot :)
[April 20th, 2021] Chapter updated.
Guest chapter 16 . Aug 17
"The beginning of this chapter acts as an excellent contrast to chapter 14. Whereas the confrontation between Bron and Old One demonstrated his charisma and their differences in leadership, this shows that Bron's herd isn't utopian. The argument between Bron and Will left me wanting to understand why Will is so fervent in his belief that attempting to save the life another longneck, including a child, isn't worth a theoretical risk to the herd. Is this based on a previous lapse in Bron's judgement, or something in Will's past that we don't know about?
This also reinforced the paradoxical nature of Shorty's character. He's capable of empathizing with others, and his desire to save longnecks he doesn't know is borne out of a yearning for companionship, yet the only thing that's keeping him from what he wants is the bad reputation he's cultivated himself. It will be interesting to see how this duality between the light and dark aspects of his personality progresses and we learn more about him.
As for Ali's section, I felt so bad for the physical and emotional pain she's going through. You really know how to pull at my heartstrings, both with scenes involving my favorite character as well as your handling of poignant subjects in general. I'm glad that Ali acknowledged it was a mistake to run away from her mother and into a potentially deadly situation, and I hope she learns from the experience, yet at the same time I can't blame her for feeling the way she did and not just out of favoritism. To restate what I said in an earlier conversation with you, Ali should be able to make mistakes as long as her actions don't violate what we know about her character. I've adored and sympathized with her since I first watched 4, but no character should be flawless. Her running away into the desert was irrational, but I can understand where she's coming from. She was desperate to escape an oppressive life she hated when she knew there were better ways to live than the danger, boredom and near isolation that'd been imposed on her. She had friends, love, and freedom in the Great Valley, it makes sense that she'd want that back. There's also the fact that she's still a preteen, so it's understandable that even though she tried to prepare for her journey she underestimated what it'd be like; due both to her emotional state at the time and lack of experience. Thank you for not treating her like she's stupid because of this mistake. Instead, based on Fiona's realization that what Ali said during their fight had merit, hopefully it will facilitate character growth in both mother and daughter.
P.S. it's nice to finally have a concrete size for the characters in this story, with Ali being at her mother's knee, it's something the films should have done and will make visualizing the characters so much more consistent.
As always, I look forward to your next chapter."
Much like the differences between Bron and Old One are derived from their contrasting views on herd leadership, it is very similar between Will and Bron, albeit in a productive manner as both styles kind of complement each other even if they occasionally clash as well.
About Shorty, you could go as far as to say, he feels more empathy than seems in-character for him, however this is rooted in his selfish desire to have a (girl-)friend :P He already screwed up with almost everyone in the herd. Meeting an outsider who isn't biased is just what he is hoping for. As the title suggests, his dark nature is bound to come to light sooner or later.
I'm really glad that my characterization of Ali is to your liking! :)