Ch.7: Bigtail Returns

"Finally" thought Bigtail, as the dawn lit up the entrance way to the Great Valley " I'm here."

The black longneck let out a sigh of relief, pleased that he had finally made it to this place, looking just like that other longneck described. Bigtail's mind flashed back to that moment even now.

(FlashBack)

"Where is she?" thought Bigtail, as he trailed through the rocky landscape "She can't have disappeared."

"Something wrong friend?" asked another longneck, attracting Bigtail's attention.

Bigtail looked over the stranger standing in front of him; a medium-sized, grey longneck with ragged red scar going nearly all the way down his neck.

"Who are you?" asked Bigtail.

"Name's Doc" responded the longneck " What seems to be the trouble?"

"I've lost someone" said Bigtail "my daughter. I've been searching for about a day now, and I don't know where she went,"

"Can you describe her to me?" asked Doc.

After Bigtail finished explaining what Megumi looked like, Doc's face grew thoughtful as he recounted the events he had seen in the last few hours of his wanders.

"You know" said Doc finally " I did spot a nomadic herd walking towards the Great Valley sometime yesterday. Maybe your daughter is with them."

"Thank you" said Bigtail " which way do I go?"

"That day" said Doc, pointing East with his tail " if you hurry maybe you can catch up with the herd."

"Thank you," said Bigtail, and started walking in that direction.

"By the way, what's your name?" asked Doc, making the black longneck pause.

"Bigtail," responded Bigtail, and he continued on his way.

"Bigtail hmm?" thought Doc curiously "Think my father once knew someone by that name. Could he be…?"

With questions flowing in his mind, the lone dinosaur walked on.

(End FlashBack)

"Well" thought Bigtail, finally snapping out of his memories of the past " it's time to find if she's here,"

And with those hopes in mind, Bigtail entered the Great Valley.

"Here you go Petrie's mom," said Guido, laying out a pile of berries before the blue flyer he had been sent to pick early that morning.

"Thank you Guido," said the mother, and started chowing down.

Ever since Petrie's mom had become ill, her children and Guido had tasked themselves with taking care of her needs, rotating shifts so neither one would get to tired.

This morning, it was Guido's turn to fetch breakfast for Petrie's mom. He grinned at seeing her eat joyfully, his thoughts turning over to his friends as she ate.

"At least she's getting better" thought Guido, jumping out of the nest to let his wings catch the air " If I hurry, maybe I can still make it in time for our playdate with Megumi."

The wind carrying him on, Guido steered his way towards the tall grass, where the friends agreed to meet. The joy of flying filled his soul, and for a moment he closed his eyes, resting with breeze.

Suddenly, Guido's flying fantasy was interrupted when he bumped into something pitch black and large. Staring up with stunned eyes, Guido was surprised to see it was another longneck, but not one from the nomadic herd or any Great valley member he'd seen.

"What are you?" asked the longneck, staring down at him.

"Um…Hi" said Guido, nervously backing away " I'm Guido."

"Bigtail" said the longneck, and thought to himself "I've never seen his kind before."

"Nice to meet ya Bigtail" said Guido, nerves fading a little " Well, I better go off to meet my friends. It's Megumi's turn to…,"

"Megumi?!" Bigtail suddenly interrupted, shocking Guido " You know my daughter?"

"You're Megumi's dad?" asked Guido stunned.

"Well?" said Bigtail, still looking for an answer to previous statement. Guido just slowly nodded his head.

"Take me to her," said Bigtail.

Not really seeing much choice, Guido hopped up on a rock, spread out his wings, and took flight again, leading Bigtail behind him.

"Hope the gang is ready for a surprise" Guido thought to himself " 'cause this could spell trouble for Megumi."

Trouble was coming alright, but for Grandpa Longneck, that trouble mean apologizing to the young one he was cruel to at the watering hole yesterday. When Littlefoot explained that he and his friends had another playdate with Megumi today, and it might be great time for Grandpa to apologize, Grandpa took Littlefoot at his word, and followed his grandson over to the tall grass.

Minutes later, the two longnecks arrived, hearing the giggles of Petrie, Cera, Spike, Ducky, and Megumi as they approached. Megumi was laying down on her back, being tickled to death as Petrie rubbed her scales, but all her laughter died in a flash when she saw Grandpa, and she stood back up, looking at her feet.

Grandpa felt his tongue pause when he stared at Megumi, unsure of how to start. This little one still reminded him to much of Bigtail, and all the resentment in the past, could he really bond with her?

"Megumi" Grandpa began, averting his gaze "I wanted to say 'sorry' for how I treated you yesterday. My anger blinded me, causing me to say cruel things. Will you forgive me?"

Megumi looked at Grandpa for a minute, awkward silence grabbing the air as she thought on whether to accept his apology. Were his words really sincere? Did he mean what he said?

His eyes suggested that he was, but before Megumi could even speak, Guido's voice rang out to interrupt the mood.

"Hey guys!" shouted out the green-feathered dinosaur, making everyone turn.

Megumi and the others immediately turned around to say 'Hi', but both Grandpa and Megumi gasped when they recognized the figure walking behind Guido. The figure himself looked stunned as well, meeting Grandpa's eyes with a glare.

"You!" Bigtail hissed.

"Bigtail!" Grandpa growled.

The good mood from before had suddenly died.