Chapter 7: Not supposed to be?

"Feeling better, Ducky?" Littlefoot asked as soon as the swimmer had calmed down. Her crying had been quite long and intense so the longneck was really glad that his friend was doing better at last.

"I do not know, no I do not..." Ducky sighed, wiping the remaining tears out of her face though her eyes remained very watery almost as if the smallest jab would get her going again.

This was far from being over and both knew it. Even as Spike gave his sister a content lick and nuzzle, her mood improved little.

"Okay, could we talk about things now, Ducky?" the longneck soon spoke quietly, uttering his request with unusual politeness as he didn't want to spark another repulsive reaction from his friend. "Remember, we are just here to help. There is no need to fight."

"Littlefoot... I am very glad that you care about me so much but... what can you do about this?" Ducky spoke just as politely. "I do not think that you or Spiky could help resolve this..."

"Never said I can, Ducky," he responded honestly. "I'd just wish things would go back to normal and you'd return to being the bright and cheerful friend who saved me from my despair back then... However, you are complicating things..."

"How so, Littlefoot?" Sadness lingered in her voice but Littlefoot could tell she was listening to him this time, her tearful eyes meeting his filled with regret. "I do want to be happy but... All I am asking for is that he returns... I miss him so so much, I do I do..." Closing her yes and looking to the ground depressedly, fresh tears started falling.

"And there is nothing wrong with that," Littlefoot said a little down-heartedly, his gaze wandering into the distant mountains as his very own emotions threatened to overwhelm him. "We all miss him a lot, you've got to believe me. Even Cera," he added, nuzzling his friend for a short moment. "I understand your grief about his departure - you were closer to him than any of us was, and I am far from happy about how things turned out to be, however you also need to understand something." The longneck sighed. "Love is something wonderful and seeing you two so devoted to each other was always so delightful. Let me tell you a quote my grandparents would sometimes use when things aren't easy and decisions hard."

"Okay..." Ducky didn't like the direction her friend was taking this conversation but she nonetheless didn't feel disrespected or misunderstood unlike when Cera was yelling at her. Therefore, she decided to listen to her friend for now.

"There sometimes is a difference in what seems right and what actually is right. What seems to be right to the heart might not necessarily be the best decision," the longneck recitated, mirrowing his grandfather's mystical voice whenever he was speaking wisdom to his abilities.

"Littlefoot, I do not understand..." Ducky sighed, shaking her head in confusion. "How does it relate to Petrie and me?"

"It means," he explained, giving Ducky a pained expression. "It means that, sometimes, your desires can blind you in the face of danger. It means... that what might seem like a good decision isn't a good decision in the long run."

"There is no danger to be afraid of in the Valley!" the swimmer retorted as soon as he had finished his explanation. "This is not true, no no no!"

Littlefoot took a step back as Ducky stomped her foot on the ground, clenching and shaking her fists. Due to being much bigger in comparison than she used to be, the swimmer could actually act believably dangerous in these days. Spike gave his sister a mild push as he groaned, reminding her to stay civil and not project her anger onto her friends.

"Didn't you almost freeze to death because you were blinded by your heart's desires, Ducky?" Littlefoot pointed out, his voice harsh but not angry. His friend needn't be yelled at but he did need to get the point across...

"T-that was something else!" Ducky defended herself but her spirits sank as Spike non-verbally articulated that he also agreed with the longneck.

"Admit it, Ducky," he spoke with a more tender, understanding voice. "You didn't care about the cold because you were too caught up grieving over Petrie. It was only a few days ago that my grandpa applied this quote of his on your situation when I told him how worried I was about you. I believe in his wisdom and I think it very well applies to your relationship."

"Well, maybe you are right after all..." As if his words had pressed a switch, the girl's bravado turned into the very lack of, sinking to the ground weakly where she kneed down, closing her teary eyes in sadness and defeat. A small sob breaking through, she decided to address another aspect of Littlefoot's grandfather's words.

"Then... how is it not good in the long run? Why is everyone trying so hard to tell me otherwise, I do not get it, no no no..."

Littlefoot noted with a slight smile that they were finally getting go the point he was trying to make.

"Let me give you another example from my personal experience, Ducky."

"Go ahead." Ducky was apprehensive but she again decided to give her friend a chance. Although it sounded colder than how she meant to say it, the concerning glance from the longneck making her feel slightly guilty for her rudeness, she knew she could trust Littlefoot to not take it personal just as she tried to constantly remind herself that his words were only just another sign that he cared.

"Well," Littlefoot began, being slightly awkward in the face of the details he was about to share. "I may not have had a relationship with a longneck girl - or any girl for that matter, like you've had these past several months, Ducky, but - maybe you guessed already that I was going to talk about her but.. thing is, Ali and I could be a couple too if we wanted to. Already back then I sort of liked her a lot..." As Littlefoot trailed off, Ducky couldn't help but soften her stance a little bit. Drying the last tears after they had ceased to dribble down her cheeks, she commented.

"Well, Ali sure is very nice and pretty, for a longneck anyway, I suppose..."

"That she is," Littlefoot agreed with a faraway gaze. "Well, already last season I noticed my feelings about her change in a subtle way and Ali was acting different as well. I think neither of us ever ceased to crush on the other but when we actually met each year during her herd's annual visit, we were just too shy and awkward to take things beyond a friendly nuzzle." Littlefoot could see that the swimmer was getting slightly impatient as he didn't quite get to the point yet. Clearing his throat, he continued. "Well, either way we actually did have a rather close moment one night when she visited last year. We spent it guessing shapes in the sky. At some point we were just cuddling up to each other to keep warm and that was when... we talked about how we both like each other so much but being apart most of the time. It was a long talk, Ducky, and we eventually decided to keep things as they were."

"Why?" Ducky inquired immediately. "You like each other so much, yes you do!"

"And we do so regardless of the distance between us, Ducky. It is just not convenient though having a distant love interest," the longneck explained with a hint of regret. What would he give to be around Ali all the time...

"I do not agree, oh no no no!" the swimmer retorted as was to be expected. "If you truly loved Ali like I love Petrie, you would want to be boy- and girl friend regardless of how far you are apart!" The swimmer gesticulated wildly, back on her feet in agitation.

"Ducky, this is not what I meant..." Littlefoot sighed as he shook his head repetitively. "Look..."

"Then explain it better!" she demanded, anger returning to the heart-broken girl. "It does drive me so mad, yes it does..."

Littlefoot was somewhat relieved when the regret in the swimmer's last words shone through her rude behavior. He would have to try better to make her see his point though.

"I think... maybe you are misunderstanding a thing... I never said you should quit bonds with Petrie." Maybe, the sauropod thought, this new line of thinking might convince his friend. "I also didn't tell Ali to not like me anymore. No, we just agreed on staying friends unless one of us leaves their current home. If one of us were to find a mate, that'd be fine. We'd still be friends and it'd still be somewhat special. I believe that is what you two should also be aiming for..."

"Uh-huh, uh-huh," Spike piped up for the first time in a while, his inability to speak properly forcing him to be the silent observer here. All he wanted was Ducky to get better and become herself again and he knew he could set his bets on the longneck to resolve things as he always did - well, usually.

"B-but... Littlefoot?"

"Huh?" The boy bent down his neck on the swimmer's eye-level.

"Y-you cannot j-just tell me to stop loving Petrie! M-maybe you can fool your heart but I cannot..."

"Not asking you to stop liking him, Ducky," Littlefoot said gently as Ducky once more slipped close to crying. "It's not easy to compare me and Ali with you guys. At least we're from the same kind so it wouldn't be an issue if she came to the valley to stay for good..." He gave Ducky an apologizing expression as he went on. "Ever thought what consequences it would have if you one day became mates? Not being able to have any eggs... frowned upon by most other folks... also you live in two completely different ways too. You guys are water-bound; Petrie is taking towards the skies. Don't you think... it might be the lesser wrong to keep a close relationship but not become the loving mates you're envisioning to be? Don't you think... that maybe you are not supposed to be?"

The hadrosaur took a long while to respond, turning away and leaning against Spike for support, asking her brother for his opinion in a low whisper. Littlefoot waited patiently. A rushed decision usually wasn't a good one and neither was a rushed answer likely to be true. It were times like these when he wished his mother was still with him so he could ask her for advice. His grandparents were wise but his mother's wisdom had been of a completely different kind yet holding just as much truth. Still, he'd try his very best with what he got to help Ducky.

"Do you really think that would make me more happy?" A very honest question as Spike deduced when his sister quietly addressed him. Not much time had passed at all when he nodded. Ducky was hurting too much and it needed to stop in his view.

"I... I do not know, Littlefoot," Ducky eventually spoke up again as she turned back to the longneck. "Could we leave it at that for today? I need to sleep a few nights over it I think, I do, I do."

"Fair enough, Ducky," Littlefoot spoke with an approving nod though some suspicion remained. "Just talk to me when you're ready or when you need it."

"I will, I will..." the swimmer sighed, dropping back onto the hard ground as all strength suddenly left her, only to leave her with a strange, empty feeling of defeat.

"Well, alright then. Shall we head back?" Littlefoot could sense bad weather to come and Spike's uneasy glimpses at the sky only reassured him that his intuition wasn't playing tricks on him.

"I will go after you soon, go ahead," the swimmer spoke in a tired voice.

"As long as you keep an eye on the sky for bad weather..."

"I think I learned my lesson, yep yep yep," the swimmer sighed as her tail tip twitched.

"Alright then, let's go home Spiky!"

Spike sent one last reassuring glance back at his sister who nodded affirmatively in return. His mind still troubled, he slowly followed Littlefoot back into the valley.

Petrie quickly managed to adapt to life at the mountains - quite to his surprise he had to admit. Within a few days, he had been able to gather a lot of important information. Spending a lot of time airborne, watching other flyers and observing their habits, listening in on a lot of conversations, Petrie had learned about where to find the best food, where social activities and games were being performed (needless to say he avoided them) and where some nice nesting areas were located. It was because of this information and because of the hostility of most other males around their peak, that the brown flyer was able to find a much better place to call a place to sleep. It was a 30 minutes flight away but Petrie didn't mind. The caverns that he had found high up in a nearby mountain range were empty and small, placed on a sort of overhanging cliff which highly reminded him of his old home in the Valley.

Oh me miss home.

The place was a bit lonely but anything was better than the constant scrutiny of the other males and the noise that was quite strong even at night as courtship apparently didn't know any time restraints. Petrie hadn't expected to fit in well - he never had been good at it to begin with, so he didn't mind it much. The homesickness was still affecting him at times though he had mostly been able to get over the worst during his terribly long flight already.

Slowly but surely he was also building a sort of daily routine of things to do. Admittedly, he did most of them to pass time and avoid boredom - and, moreover, it usually saved him from having unhealthy thoughts too, but especially the long flights he took every day were helping to build more strength which was a nice side effect. Nevertheless, he'd still take part in a game of Hide and Seek with his friends much rather than this but Petrie had made this decision well aware of its consequences most of which weren't very pleasant compared to life in the Valley.

The young flyer was very relieved to not have bumped into the bully from his first day again although he could not stop thinking about Aphteron's sister. It wasn't so much the girl but the way she seemed to be treated that he couldn't quite ban from his thoughts. Having a tendency to be on the receiving end of jerks as well (and knowing how cruel siblings could be first hand), Petrie couldn't help but pity her.

His days were pretty lonely and uneventful until one day about two weeks after his arrival at the Flyer Peaks when he made a very interesting observation…

THIS STORY IS OFFICIALLY REVIVING!

Welp, it's been on hiatus for ages and I still have a lot of material which I didn't upload yet. I've got at least another chapter ready to post so expect to see it in a few days, going to upload a fair bit of stuff this week lol.

Anyway, I really really like how the scene in Ducky's storyline turned out. I even think it could be quite a key scene since Ducky's decision will largely influence the future of the story. Have I decided yet? Most certainly! But Ducky still has quite a way to go to gain wisdom and make up her mind (and I still have to write most of it too)

I just included the little bit of Petrie's because it fit in lol. Just a small transition scene to decorate and blur the timeskip a little. You'll see where it leads in the next chapter!

The Rhombus chapter 7 . Sep 15, 2018

"Poor Ducky still is dealing with the aftermath of Petrie's departure, though her friends are not going to let her wallow in sorry alone despite her protests to the contrary. Petrie, meanwhile, now seems to be confronted with the realities of his situation. He is a relatively young adult flyer who is undersized for his age, which will make a successful courtship difficult in his first season. Though it seems that his relative lack of physicality may have staved off a direct physical confrontation here, as his unwanted male visitor did not consider him worth the effort. I can't help but wonder if during his attempt to mainly observe the proceedings and learn if he might learn much about not only his species, but himself. In any event, I do look forward to seeing how things develop from here."

Interesting thought. I don't know if he would have had to fight the bully but perhaps he wouldn't have become subject of bullying but instead be threatened of such a fight if he interfered with his plans. I do not plan for this story to drag on longer than it has to so I'm not quite sure yet how much more interaction there would be. Just stay tuned, I guess

As for Ducky, yep, poor her. Being such an emotional dinosaur also means having tighter bonds to others and feeling much more pain when such bonds are broken. Such is the fate of the kindhearted. I hope that I will find the right ratio of understanding and stubbornness for her in the scenes to come...

Well, thank you for your review.

Oh, and as for his observation part, I will not go into detail there as it would drag the story too much though I am going to mention the things he learned.

Guest chapter 7 . Sep 19, 2018

"It took a while but I finally have a chance to read this after dealing with life.

The duality exhibited here between Ducky and Petrie is intriguing. After what I can prosume has been weeks she's depressed to the point of risking her own life and lashing out at her friends, while he's at the breeding grounds trying to find a potential mate. The contrast makes me think that their relationship was either one sided, with Petrie seeing Ducky as more of a close friend, or it was mutual and they're at different stages of grief. I hope you elaborate on this psychology as the story progresses, it maybe a way for Ducky's friends to help her through this. For example Littlefoot and Cera's brief discussion of Ali from the beginning. Littlefoot clearly still loves her, yet recognizes that he won't gain anything by pining for her when she's not in the valley. Perhaps explaining this to Ducky will put things into perspective. Speaking of which, once again you've shown excellent character development for Littlefoot. When Ducky retaliated against his attempts to help her, he emulated his grandpa and remained calm while also being stern within reason.

As for the introduction of Aphteron, I think he will prove to be a good foil for Petrie, while I agree Petrie's size may initially be perceived as a detriment, it also has its advantages. As you illustrated here it allowed him to avoid a physical confrontation, but I believe it can be developed further than this. With him winning over a potential mate using charm and personality rather than physical strength. Perhaps Pterano could help with this if he's introduced, considering his boundless charisma."

Yeah, Ducky has been down ever since Petrie's departure. Petrie's not exactly looking for a mate there but his instincts still led him away from the valley. Their love is mutual, don't worry but Petrie has the greater foresight here while Ducky is too blinded by her feelings to see the issue that their relationship entails (which have been explained in this chapter and will be explained in more detail in a future one I've already written). Different stages of grief hmm... yeah I guess so, didn't think of it that way yet.

About Littlefoot and Ali, well, I indeed had Littlefoot explain this to Ducky using his relationship with Ali as a reference in this chapter I've just uploaded above xD

Thanks, I'm glad that you consider my character development well done, it's always good to know :)

Yeah, Aphteron is definitely gonna be the bad guy of Petrie's story. The next chapter should reinforce that statement. You will see how Petrie is going to handle his foe, it's one of the things I already decided upon!

Bringing Pterano into the picture though, well, who knows? I'm not telling :D

So, I really hope that you like this new installment and I promise that this story is going to receive more or less regular updates again starting today. :)