Chapter 8: The Day of Mates
Fyn shook himself awake, looking at his surroundings. Was he dead? He had no idea, but something about the area around seemed familiar. Then, he suddenly realized what was happening. He wasn't dead! He was back home in his nest!
"I see you're finally awake, sleepyhead."
Fyn turned around to face his visitor. It was Littlefoot, with Taria by his side.
"Littlefoot, Taria, I'm so glad to see you!" he said. Then, another thought came to his mind.
"Shael, is she-?"
"She's fine," Taria said. "In fact, she was on her way to the Day of Mates last time we checked."
"The Day of Mates!" Fyn gasped, "I almost forgot!"
"Slow down," Taria said, "and take it easy. You don't need to exert yourself right now."
"But I have to get to the Day of Mates."
"I know, Littlefoot told me everything."
Fyn looked at the two. "Hey, speaking of which, why aren't you two there?"
"We were," Littlefoot said. Fyn looked at Littlefoot, then Taria, then back to Littlefoot, finally making the connection.
"Oh my goodness," he said, "congratulations!"
The two blushed.
"We'd pretty much already decided up on the Smoking Mountain," Taria said, "but we came down to the Valley to celebrate. We decided to wait here, for you to wake."
"Well, if I may say so, I've never seen a better couple."
"Thank you," Littlefoot said.
"And I've never seen a better one, either," Keva said, coming out of the trees.
"Mother, you're here, too?"
"Of course."
"But you and Dad should be at the Day of Mates! Mates who are already together are supposed to be there, too."
"Oh, I'll go. Your father will hold my place until I arrive. In the meantime, I have work to do."
"Work? Today?"
"Of course," Keva said, smiling. "Only the most important work of my life."
"What's that?"
"Getting you ready for Shael, of course."
Fyn looked up at the sky. The Bright Circle was starting its descent.
"We won't get there in time," he said.
"Oh, don't give me that excuse," Littlefoot said, "you can move quickly enough. I saw you hustle to save Shael from that rockslide."
"You're right," Fyn said, "I can do this." He turned to Keva.
"What's first?"
Keva grinned, almost fiendishly.
"Your favorite part: the bath."
Fyn looked down at himself. He was blackened all over with ash from the Smoking Mountain, not to mention the dust from the rockslide that covered him. He groaned. This was not going to be fun.
…
Keva led her son to a secluded pool, with a small waterfall running into it.
"Enter," she said, in a mock forceful tone. She was speaking as she would have spoken to him when he was a child, Fyn realized, amused. He stuck his foot into the water, checking its temperature. It was freezing.
"Do I have to do this?" he asked his mother.
"Come on, you hatchling," she said, shoving him in, "it's not that bad."
"That's because you're not in it!" Fyn said, shivering. Keva shook her head, chuckling.
"Go stand under that waterfall until you're clean. Then let me have a look at you."
Fyn did as he was told, enduring the freezing water.
"The things I do to impress someone..." he thought. When he felt he was finished, he presented himself to his mother. Keva looked him over with her mother's eyes.
"No," she said, "go back and take the time to wash thoroughly. You can't leave a task half-done; certainly not if you plan to have a mate."
Fyn sighed, moving back under the water again. He made sure he was completely clean before going back to his mother. This time, Keva approved, and let him out of the pool. Fyn shook himself dry; the water on his skin was even colder, now that the air was on it.
"What next?" he asked.
"The most important part," Keva answered, "follow me."
They moved deeper into the trees, until they came to a clearing, where Keva stopped.
"I don't understand," Fyn said.
"Fin-Necks have a specific way of getting a mate's attention," Keva explained, "we call it the Dance of Two."
"Dance of Two?" Fyn asked, "so it's a dance..."
"More than that," Keva said. "It's a test, a challenge that tests the prospective mates' trust of each other. Without trust on both sides, the Dance will fail."
"This doesn't sound like my specialty," Fyn said, "can't I just talk to her?"
"No, that's not our way. For you two to truly be mates, the Dance must be completed, and she must partake in it."
"Fine, then," Fyn said, "what are the steps to this dance?"
"Well, it's a bit complicated..."
Fyn looked up at the sky. The Bright Circle would start setting, soon.
"I guess I have to learn fast, then."
"Right, call out once, to attract her attention."
Fyn obeyed, calling in a strong, confident tone.
"Good, there's the easy part out of the way. Next, crack your tail twice, side-to-side."
Fyn cracked his tail, a bit too enthusiastically, as it turned out. The first swipe upset his balance, leading his tail right into a tree branch for swipe number two, severing the branch with a loud crack. Fyn looked at his mother, who was shaking her head and laughing.
"Son, we have some work to do."
…
Shael was standing amongst all of the other dinosaurs out in the Valley looking for mates. A few had already tried to get her interest, but she had turned them away. She didn't know why; all of them could have been perfectly acceptable males, but she felt that she couldn't choose them. She needed something more. She worked hard, trying to figure out the problem.
"You're too stubborn," she thought, but she knew it wasn't the case. Perhaps, she thought, the real answer was something less negative.
"Maybe I'm just looking for someone I can trust," she realized. She went back to wandering, lost in a sea of hopefuls. Just then, a lone Fin-Neck call echoed over the Valley. Shael froze; she recognized that call. She looked toward the source, trying to find it. The crowd parted. Standing alone, in the fading light of the Bright Circle, was Fyn. Slowly, he approached. The crowd waited for Shael's reaction. If she called back, Fyn would have to give up. If she said nothing, however, the Dance of Two would begin. Shael, nervous beyond nervousness, said nothing, ready to take a chance. Fyn stopped right in front of her.
"Thanks for the chance," he whispered.
Suddenly, his tail cracked right, then left, faster and with more force than Sky Fire itself. At the completion of his maneuver, Fyn ducked his head low, swaying it from side to side. Inside, he was more nervous than he'd ever been, but outside, he maintained his composure, circling Shael. When he came to her back, his back was turned to her. Suddenly, he lunged into the air, standing on his back legs and twisting around falling. This was it, the defining moment. His head whipped around, Fyn expecting to get a face full of Great Valley dirt, but instead, his and Shael's front feet met, planted squarely against each other. She had fully accepted the dance, rearing up to break his fall. They pushed off of each other, settling back onto all four feet. They began a complex series of movements, intertwining necks and tails, circling, bringing their sharp spines close to each other without actually touching, and finally ending with muzzle pressed to muzzle.
"Thank you for your trust," Shael whispered to Fyn. They parted slightly, signifying the end of the dance.
"Shael," Fyn said, "There's something I have to say."
"What? 'I love you?' That's a bit unoriginal, don't you think?"
Fyn shook his head. "I do love you, but we both know that, now. I was actually about to say that you're standing in bubbling goo."
Shael looked down. Sure enough, in the excitement, they'd crossed over towards a pit of bubbling goo. And she'd gone and stepped in it. She looked at her foot, covered in muck, and back to Fyn, then back to her foot, then Fyn again. Fyn shrugged. Suddenly, the two burst out laughing. Fyn helped Shael out of the goo, and they both walked back to the Valley, where Labon and Keva were waiting, along with the gang and Bron. Labon and Bron stepped forward.
"For a joining of two herds, there is a custom," Bron said.
"It is old, and Longnecks have always followed it," Labon spoke.
Bron continued. "Today, Fyn and Shael, you two have come together as mates. It is now time for the leaders of your respective herds, Labon and myself, to finalize the act."
"Fyn," Labon said, "do you promise that you will sacrifice all and love Shael selflessly, while upholding the honor of your herd?"
"I promise," Fyn said.
"Shael," said Bron, "do promise to accept Fyn's offer of mateship, and devote yourself to him as a mate, while upholding the honor of your herd?"
"I promise."
"Then the act is complete," both Longnecks said together.
"May your union in mateship represent the union of our two herds as they come together." Bron finished.
"And may the Bright Circle always guide your journey," Labon said, offering the customary Fin-Neck "good luck" phrase to the new mates.
They touched muzzles, and all of their friends cheered. When they were finished, they all came to congratulate them. Cera, in fact, had a handsome green Threehorn following her.
"I don't know who he thinks he is," she confided to Fyn, "but the trouble is, I think I like him."
Fyn laughed. "Then give him a chance. Maybe you'll like what you find!"
"Hm, you know something, Fyn? You might actually be right." Cera said her congratulations to Shael and turned around to go speak with the other Threehorn.
Shael smiled. "I'm so glad this worked out in the end, for everyone."
"Me too," Fyn said. "Now there's one more thing I wanted to do... Oh right, dinner. Care to join me?"
"As always," Shael said. Fyn nodded to his parents and they nodded back, smiling at each other. Bron did the same to Shael as the two walked away, towards the Great Wall.
…
Once again, Fyn and Shael found themselves on top of the ridge overlooking the Great Valley. This time, their meal had been peaceful, and they ate in silence, watching the Bright Circle set. Shael turned to her new mate.
"You know, Fyn, I'm actually glad this didn't work out easily."
"How so?"
"Well, I had the chance to really see who you were, beneath all of this," She touched her tail to the hide on Fyn's front shoulder, "and I like what I found."
"What did you find?"
"I found someone I could always count on, someone who believes in me and himself, and most importantly, a Longneck who's willing to put up with me."
Fyn smiled. "I'm glad you see it that way." They moved closer together, staring up at the sky. The Bright Circle dipped below the horizon, and with it, it's rays of color disappeared, too, showing the night sky in all of its splendor. As they watched, dinosaurs in the Valley below began to leave for their respective nests, some in pairs. The sight was stirring, and Fyn was happy that, despite the challenges this world could throw in the way, happiness and love could exist, unaffected. Shael leaned closer to him.
"I'm really glad I came here. It's like a part of my life that's been missing is now complete."
"Me too," Fyn said, watching the stars grow in brightness.
Shael looked him in the eyes.
"Fyn?"
"Yes?"
"How do you feel about families?"
Fyn thought about it. It was a very vague question. "Well, I don't know. I like my family, my sisters are great-"
"What about our family?"
"You mean like my parents?"
"No, Leaf Brain," she laughed, "we're the parents."
Fyn's eyes went wide. "Oh, that family."
Shael persisted, through laughter, "so what do you think?"
"Well," Fyn said softly, looking at her with a serious expression, I think it's something worth looking into."
The Night Circle shone down upon the two Longnecks, as did the stars. The breeze caressed the mountaintops, adding to the beauty of the scene. For once, all was completely silent. It was a moment when everything seemed to stand still, as nature payed its tribute to the new mates of the Valley. Everyone was at peace, and on this night, both Fyn and Shael both felt as if they could truly walk among the clouds. They were together, and always would be, and nothing in the entire world could change that.
