Chapter 2 - Dark Clouds
"Where are they?"
Spike ran on unusually fast legs as he tried to find Littlefoot and Cera before the storm would make any tracking attempt a futile one. He knew that he would need them in order to get Ducky to go home before the storm would get her into trouble. Spike knew Ducky wasn't stupid but what he did know was that the recent events had made her act extremely unreasonable. It was because she wouldn't go home with him at the end of the previous day, returning only in the middle of the night, that he was showing such a level of concern in the first place.
If Ducky got caught in the storm...
Spike had experienced first hand how chilling the icy winds could be when he and his friends got caught by a strong one in the middle of the Cold Time in the previous year during an expedition into the outskirts of the Valley. In the end, due to being caught in a dead end without any cavern to hide, the winds too strong to journey on, the visibility non-existent, their only option was to huddle close together for warmth.
And due to my big size, I got the worst of it...
Spike sighed. If he wouldn't find his friends in this huge forest their scent lead him to, he'd have to check on his sister on his own... At least he knew her exact position if the previous day was any indication...
Oh Petrie...
Occasionally, the girl would lift her head ever so slightly to peek over to the mountains she last saw Petrie flying over. Dark clouds were gathering there, sending gust after gust of wind blowing into her face mercilessly, getting colder by the minute. Ducky expected to see Petrie being blown over the mountains back to her any minute but all that came blowing over to her were more and more snowflakes. At this point, the dark clouds had organized themselves into a pitch-black wall of doom, spawning lightning here and there, approaching fast.
Sigh.
As much as she preferred to stay where she was, Ducky's burdened mind finally came to the realization that there was no point in staying where she was lest she'd get herself killed in the storm. She still had hope Petrie would return one day after all so she could not succumb to her despair. Not yet anyway.
"This one's gonna be a bad storm..."
As they made for their homes at a quick pace, the wind getting a real nuisance, Littlefoot bent his neck back to validate Cera's statement. A black curtain of clouds met his eye quickly advancing, the icy wind hurting his eyes, forcing him to turn away from it almost instantly.
"We're lucky the wind is not coming from the other direction," he exclaimed against the increasing noise of wind rushing past his ears and the creaking of the trees. Walking home against the wind would have been even more of a struggle than it already was.
"Yeah, but we're not lucky to have this storm strike us so early!" the threehorn retorted in annoyance as she picked up speed. "It's approaching faster than I thought, we have to hurry!"
"Agreed!" the longneck replied, redoubling his efforts to break through the underbrush. Though he could advance much faster this way, his increased speed also reduced his attention and his sense for his surroundings... Littlefoot didn't see the obstacle coming until it stood right in front of him.
*crash*
With a resounding thud, flesh met flesh as the two dinosaurs met in their respective sprints, Cera barely managing to jump over the resulting chaos.
"Urgh, what the hell did I just..." Littlefoot mumbled drowsily until a very familiar, although slightly annoyed, grunt met his ears.
"Spike! What are you doing here?"
The Spiketail freed himself from the longneck's extremities as he rose back to his feed, regaining his breath from his previous sprint that had found its end so suddenly. Despite the pain of the collision, Spike couldn't help but show his trademark grin. After all, this situation was kind of hilarious.
"Great, so can be go home now before we'll get snowed in?" Cera urged, gesturing to the sky with her frilled head.
Right…
"Hey Spike, where's Ducky by the way?" Littlefoot wondered as he rose back to his feet as well, dusting himself off. "The storm coming is gonna be a bad one and she'd better be home by the time it arrives."
"Which should be anytime now!" Cera pointed out sarcastically. "Come on!"
Ducky, we need to get her…
"uuuuurrghh…" Just as his two friends began to walk towards the shelter of their respective nests, Spike suddenly uttered an urgent grunt. They had to understand…
"You know it'd be easier if you just spoke, Spike?" Cera rolled her eyes, unable to understand the spiketails unintelligible grunting.
"Something wrong with Ducky, Spike?" Littlefoot attempted to guess though his understanding of the spiketail was by far inferior to Ducky's.
"Uh-huh!" Spike nodded frantically, jumping from his hind legs to his front legs to further indicate the urgency of the situation. His gaze went up to the mountain walls, over where the storm was approaching quick.
"So… you think Ducky's somewhere over there?!" Littlefoot interrogated further, a suspicion rising within his mind quickly.
Again, Spike nodded hectically.
"Okay, you know where she is? Or might be?" Now the longneck began to show the first signs of hurry as well, not only because of the snowfall really getting started. If Ducky went after Petrie…
Spike quickly considered before he affirmed.
"Lead the way then!" Littlefoot ordered, following Spike without hesitation. I have a bad feeling about this…
"Wait, what?!"
The swimmer girl may have made up her mind about leaving for home at last, however actually doing so was trickier than she anticipated. After hours of resting at the same spot in the same position, exposed to the cold, her junctions were extremely stiff and wouldn't move on command. Many parts of her body had gotten numb, devoid of any sensual detection up to the point where she wouldn't even feel the cold anymore. But now she needed to shake out of that.
Come on, I must not stay here, oh no no no!
The dark wall was approaching fast, snowfall beginning to obscure her vision as it quickly grew in intensity. Thunder rolled across the landscape, scaring the swimmer a little as the option of being stuck out there became a real option.
Come on legs, move...
Only when the dark wall of doom was directly above her, the wind increasing by another few magnitudes, Ducky's extremities began regaining their ability of coordinated movement, replacing the numbness just enough to get into a kneeling position...
...only to be toppled over by the storm, landing with her face flat in the thin layer of snow that was growing quickly now.
Hurts... so much...
Only as the swimmer tried to move, crucial pain erupting everywhere in her body, from the tips of her toes to her spine and shoulders, she began to realize just how much of a mistake she had made...
Oh noes, Ducky...
Hypothermia is a real bitch and I happened to have a lesson about the effects of freezing around the time this chapter was written so I implemented that. Seemed just right considering that snow storm is about to turn the valley upside down. Poor Ducky was so heart-broken, that she didn't realize how badly she was suffering from the cold until her movements cause her limb limps to be supplied with blood and nutrients again... which is a painful, painful process (just some lvl 1 frozen fingertips are enough of an experience to be aware of its consequences ^^)
For the time being, Petrie's story is going to take a break but he'll have more screentime very soon, yep yep yep :)
Guest chapter 2 . Jun 28
"It took longer to read this than originally intended, but better late than never I suppose.
I think the ship of Petrie and Ducky is intriguing. While it is not my OTP like Littlefoot and Ali, thank you for acknowledging that by the way, there's certainly an emotional connection between them since the beginning that offers a lot in terms of story potential Typically whenever I read a fanfic featuring their relationship, the prominent species barrier is either ignored or they give up and date their own kind. This approach of acknowledging it yet not giving up on their feelings seems far more in line with how the characters have been presented throughout the series. Applicable to both Petrie/Ducky and Littlefoot/Ali. After all as Diana Ross once said "if we hold on together I know our dreams will never die"
Furthermore you depict heartbreak in a way that seems far more genuine than anything the TV series presented. I appreciate your decision to age the characters as well. It opens up the opportunity for more mature storylines and is something that should happen in canon. Judging by the somber atmosphere of these chapters, understanding of relationships, and aptitude for writing the characters as teens without sacrificing their characterization I definitely approached the right author for that project.
As always, I look forward to seeing more of your work evil swimmer."
Thank you very much for your review :)
As I already mentioned to you in private, I'm glad that you like my approach of these two's unlikely relationship. Their species aside, they seem to be made for each other but, as they age, their differences grow and the instincts of their kinds are complicating things which ultimately results in Petrie taking his leave. Though, as you pointed out, things aren't completely hopeless, yep yep yep :)
I seem to have a thing for writing stories that include heartbreak in some way, huh? Well, to be fair, it is one very powerful emotion which, if used right, can result in really amazing stories which evoke feelings in reader and author alike.
As always, I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this chapter and my future work as well, yep yep yep! :)