Hey, guys. I know I'm updating really quickly, but I'm just trying to post what I already have finished, which is a lot. Anyway, here's another chapter that focuses on the rainbow faces (actually, a few of the next chapters will focus on them). Enjoy!

Amelia was never one to pay much attention to her injuries, being that they were mostly scrapes and bruises. But this was different. The multiple angry claw marks still caused her pain, even while sleeping. She'd gone to the watering hole to relieve herself, but it was no use.

Carefully, she brushed her snout against her gashes, wincing at the acute stinging sensation they brought on.

Normally, she would be with her daughter, who was recovering from a bout of her illness, but Amelia was more concerned about herself at this point. But it would seem that this was just another injury which she would have to miserably wait out. Defeated, she ambled towards the shade near her home, where Tristan was resting.

Tristan looked up, squinting at her before smiling. "Do you feel any better?"

Amelia took a seat next to him, chuckling cynically. "I'm afraid not. It's fine, though. I can walk, at least."

Tristan gave a worried glance as he watched her rest her head on his shoulder. "Are you sure?"

Amelia made herself comfortable, closing her eyes. "Yes," she murmured. "Don't worry. How's Miriam?"

"Sleeping," replied Tristan. "No teenager's ever up early."

Amelia let out a chuckle and opened her eyes, revealing those blue oceans.

"I remember when they'd be up before us. Don't you?"

Amelia nodded, still smiling. "Yes, I remember. But I also remember those sleepless nights before I laid the eggs and then waiting for them to hatch. Do you remember that?"

"Yes." Tristan gave a reciprocal nod. "I can't believe how hard that was…on you, of course."

Amelia nodded in agreement. There was not a single part of raising a family that had been easy for either of them.

... "You want to leave?"

"Yes," answered Tristan. "But hear me out first."

Amelia was highly skeptical. "Why would you want to leave? This is our herd, our friends are here. My parents are here."

"Yeah, and mine aren't," retorted Tristan. "But would you just listen?"

Amelia folded her arms. "Go ahead, I'm listening."

"Okay." Tristan sighed inwardly. "First of all, you know that sharpteeth can easily find our territory. You know that, don't you?"

Amelia nodded quietly.

Tristan brought his hands to his chest. "If we're going to have children, I want them to be raised somewhere safe. I want you to be safe."

Amelia hated to admit it, but Tristan definitely knew her soft spots and where to strike them.

"I know, I know. I just…I've lived here all my life, and I don't want to leave…"

"I understand." Tristan clasped her shoulders, his eyes pleading with her. "But this could be our first mark of independence. Leaving the herd, leading our own life. Starting a family. And it would just be us. Together."

Together. Amelia took great pleasure in hearing those words escape Tristan's mouth, especially when it was in regards to the two of them. "…Alright. I'll go with you."

In that moment, it felt like a great weight was lifted off of Tristan's shoulders, but a new one was added on. Amelia would be his mate. He would have to take care of her, provide for her, and their children. But knowing her, Tristan had an inkling that Amelia wouldn't permit him to endure all this alone.

"Wait," interfered Amelia. "My parents. What will they say?"

"They consent," answered Tristan.

"What?" Amelia asked incredulously. "You spoke to them? And they didn't tell me? You didn't tell me?"

"They wanted to surprise you," clarified Tristan with a gentle shrug of his shoulders. "Now, I'm going to go see our leader. Would you like to come with me?"

"No thank you," declined Amelia. "You can tell him, but I don't think he'll like the idea at all."

Tristan didn't quite blame her for not wanting to tag along. Their leader wasn't the most talkative, and mostly kept to himself. He also had a bothersome habit of jumping to conclusions.

So, Tristan went off. He marched over to the cave, where two rainbow faces were standing watch.

"Tristan?" One of them inquired, his bright basil green eyes burning like fire. He had a strong accent. "It is Tristan, isn't it?"

Tristan gave an affirmative and lone nod of his head. "It is. Hello, Bruno. How's Aurora?"

Bruno was a tall and sturdily built dinosaur who grew up learning how to fight. His head was held high with authority, and his body was covered in gashes from past battles. Despite his harsh demeanor, he always gave someone his full attention when they spoke to him.

"She's fine," answered Bruno. "Thank you. What are you doing here?"

"I want to see our leader."

"Bruno?" Interjected another rainbow face, plowing into a pile of green food. His dark grey eyes were unfeeling, and his voice cold and harsh. "What's going on? What does he want?"

"He wants to see the leader," explained Bruno.

"What for? Send him away."

Bruno gave a slight nod, his stoic frown never parting from his face. "I'll take care of it, Hazel."

He shifted his stony gaze to Tristan.

Tristan stood his ground. "Look, Bruno, this is important. When have I ever asked to see our leader before?"

The other had a point. "Alright," Bruno said begrudgingly. "Wait here."

He skittered off into the cave, and spoke loudly enough for Tristan to gather the conversation.

"Excuse me, sir, Tristan wants to see you."

"Tristan?"

"Tara and Timothy's son. Is it alright if I bring him in?"

"Ah, I see. Yes, go ahead."

Bruno sauntered back outside. "Come on then," he said before muttering something quietly under his breath. "I'm going to get my tail chewed off for this."

The leader, whose name remained ambiguous to everyone, was an old dinosaur who'd seen more than his fair share of the world. He remained confined to his cave, unless it was absolutely necessary that he go outside. Wrinkles formed on his skin, but one could tell that he used to be quite handsome.

"Now, Timothy," he began, taking a moment to pause as he scarfed down some tree stars. "It is Timothy, correct?"

"No, sir." Tristan didn't think his name was that hard to remember. Perhaps it was a sign that he should have been putting more effort into conversing with the others.

"It's Tristan," he corrected. "Timothy was my father's name."

"Ah," said the leader, suddenly recalling the rainbow face's name. "Tristan. I knew your mother and father well. You have Tara's eyes."

Tristan thought his mother had beautiful eyes, but he wasn't sure if the older rainbow face thought the same. Still, he did not wish to show any disrespect. "Thank you."

"Now, how can I help you?"

"Well, uh, don't take this the wrong way, sir—"

"I'll interpret it however I wish. Now, out with it."

Tristan flinched slightly. "Of course, sir. Erm, well…I've chosen my mate—"

"That's wonderful. You didn't need to come here to blab about it, though."

Tristan wished he'd stop interrupting. Had it not been for his status, Tristan would have snapped at him already. "That's not it, sir."

"It's not?"

"No. You see, I discussed it with my mate, and we both want to leave the herd."

"Now, why would you want to do that?" His voice was notably icier.

"It's not how it looks! We have enjoyed living here all our lives, but we want to be independent. This place is too..."

"Too what?"

"Exposed, sir. We want to raise children, start a family. Ambushes happen easily here, and I want to be sure that my family is safe."

"Where would you go? And what about food? We have more than enough green food to sustain us here."

"Somewhere with more cover, sir. And green food isn't a problem."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Hm. And who is your mate, exactly?"

"Amelia, sir."

"Amelia…whose daughter is she?"

"Alice and Arthur's."

"Arthur is her father, you say? Have he and Alice agreed to this?"

"They consent."

"And your parents?"

Tristan's face fell. He understood that the other was old and that his memory failed him. He couldn't hold this against him.

"My parents are dead, sir."

"Oh. Yes, that...that's right. My apologies."

"Don't worry about it."

"Anyway…since the parents consent, I can't stop you from leaving. But once you leave, your home will become fair game. Anyone can occupy it once you're gone. Do you understand?"

"I understand, sir."

"Very well. It was nice of you to come, Timothy."

"Tristan," he corrected once more. "My name is Tristan, sir." He sighed and turned towards the exit.

"Anyway, thank you for listening. Enjoy your day."

"You do the same."

As Tristan left, he could hear the leader complaining to Bruno. He thought nothing of it, and rushed back home.

...

The bright circle was high in the sky, it's bright light extending towards the land. It was now midday. Tristan was out grazing with his friends, using his long glass to pull grass from it's roots.

Michael looked up at Tristan, the leaves falling from his agape mouth. "You're leaving?"

"And Amelia too," added Tristan.

This grabbed Molly's attention. "What? When was this decided?"

"Today," answered Amelia. "My parents agreed to it, and so did the leader."

"Why would you want to leave?" Michael cried. "Look, whatever it was that I did, I'm sorry."

"You didn't do anything," began Tristan. "...Actually, that's a lie. But we're not leaving because of you."

"Then why are you leaving?"

Tristan looked around. "This place isn't safe. Amelia and I want to start a family, and there's a good chance of an ambush around here. We want to be somewhere more sheltered."

"There's plenty of caves," argued Molly.

"That's not what I meant," said Tristan, shaking his head. "We want to be more towards the mountains. It's not as easy for sharpteeth to attack us."

Amelia stepped up, using her tail to lift Molly's chin. "Listen. I know you're going to miss us, we're going to miss you too. But I think...this is what's best. Tristan and I want to be independent and safe."

Molly looked down. "I suppose..."

"Besides," resumed Amelia, "we can always come back for a visit and bring our children with us. And maybe by then, you'll have children of your own. Wouldn't that be exciting?"

Molly was being talked to somewhat like a child, but she was behaving like one. She saw how often Tristan and Amelia bickered, and wanted to be there to support her friends in the unfortunate event that things didn't work out. But she had to believe that they would. After a moment's hesitation, she smiled and nodded. Then, the two embraced.

Michael then slapped Tristan on the back with his tail. "I'll miss you, man. There's no one else who's put up with me for so long. Except Molly."

"I'll miss you too," said Tristan, smiling at Michael. And for once, he wasn't mocking him.

Andy and Diana woke up just in time to say goodbye and embrace their friends. Then, with the bright circle watching over them, Amelia and Tristan embarked on their journey.

...

They managed to find a suitable place to call home, and began building their nest there. At first, life was good. It was just the two of them, at last. Just like they had always wanted. But when Amelia laid her eggs, she was more defensive and more of a handful.

She had laid two round white eggs with gray speckles. She carefully got them situated into the nest, gently nudging the eggs to position them correctly and grabbing bedding from their nest to add comfort.

"Amelia," Tristan said with a slight chuckle as he sat down and nuzzled her. "I don't think they can get any more comfortable."

She let out a sigh. "Oh Tristan, they are beautiful, aren't they?"

Tristan tilted his head. He didn't think of them as fascinating in any respect; they were just eggs.

"...Sure."

Amelia gave him a glare which prompted him to quickly change his answer.

"Of course, they're going to be more beautiful when they hatch. It's what's on the inside that's important." He nuzzled her once again to keep her happy. "And I think you're even more beautiful for doing this in the first place."

Amelia gave a laugh, her eyes closing as she reciprocated his gesture.

Tristan gave her one more brief nuzzle before peering outside. "It's dark. You should sleep."

"What about the eggs?"

"They'll be fine." Tristan rested his head on top of hers. "I'll keep watch. Sleep."

Tristan did keep watch as he promised, at least for a while. As it would turn out, even he couldn't stay awake all night.

He awoke to Amelia sitting across from the nest, her eyes fully focused on the eggs nestled in the leaves and grass.

"Amelia?" Tristan lifted his head. "What are you doing?"

"Keeping watch," she replied icily. "Since you fell asleep."

Tristan sighed under his breath. She'd barely laid those eggs a day ago. "Well, I'm here now," he said, standing up. "Go to sleep. I'll watch them."

"Yeah," jabbed Amelia. "That's exactly what you said last night."

"I stayed up for long as I could," argued Tristan, his frustration evident in his voice. "I was trying my best not to fall asleep, but I did anyway."

"So what makes you so sure you can watch them now?"

"I'm their father, and I'm your husband. I have both of your best interests at heart, so move."

Amelia scowled at him. "If you..."

"I won't fall asleep," he assured her. "I'm well rested and can look after them, so you should be the one sleeping right now."

"Alright. Can you get me some green food?"

"What?"

"I'm hungry. Can you try and find us some breakfast?"

Tristan knew he was not yet at his wit's end, but he was certainly approaching it. "Fine," he snapped. "You stay here."

He pranced away, and ran to a nearby tree, stripping it of it's long and slender leaves. He held the leaves in his mouth, and came loping back. When he returned, Amelia's head hung low, and she was fast asleep.

Tristan dropped the leaves into a pile, and chuckled. He sat next to her, allowing her to lean on him as he watched over his family.

As the weeks passed, Amelia grew more and more protective of the eggs, and more difficult to tolerate.

On a cool midsummer night, the two expecting parents were slumbering peacefully when Tristan was awoken by Amelia.

"Tristan," she whispered. "Tristan."

Tristan groggily opened one eye. "Why are you whispering? They can't hear you."

Amelia disregarded his statement. "Listen. Can you catch me some buzzers?"

Tristan closed his eye. "Can't it wait until morning? And we have plenty of green food here."

"I know, but it's been so long since I've had buzzers."

"It's late, Amelia. If you want them so badly, you'll have to get them yourself. Don't worry, I'll be here with the eggs."

"I can't leave you here alone with the eggs."

"You did before."

"Yeah, but I was right next to you. That doesn't count."

Tristan opened both of his eyes and turned a slight amount. "So, you don't trust me?"

"Well...no."

"You want me to be their father, but you don't trust me. I see how that works."

"Tristan, no. You're taking this the wrong way. I just feel better when they're with me. Can you please get me some buzzers?"

"Ugh." Tristan rolled onto his feet and headed outside. "These kids best be worth it," he griped.

He scavenged for buzzers, picking up their scent and following it. However, his nose instead led him to a lone swarming leaf gobbler munching on a leaf. Tristan hated them, but they did taste good. He prepared himself, poised to attack. Then, when the insect was most distracted, Tristan lunged forward and grabbed it with his mouth, digging his teeth into it's skin until the leaf gobbler was no longer moving. He flashed a pleased smile, and began the trek back home.

On his way home, he somehow managed to trip and fall into a thorn bush. He let out a muffled cry of pain and quickly used his tail to scrape the thorns off of his thigh.

When he finally arrived, Amelia was waiting for him. He dropped the meal in front of her.

"Here. I hope you like it."

Amelia gasped softly, a smile slowly forming on her face as she gratefully dug in. As she munched on a piece of it's leg, she looked up at Tristan, her eyes widening when she noticed a cut on his thigh.

"Tristan?"

He sighed. "Goodness, woman, what do you want?"

Amelia frowned. "I want you to tell me how you got hurt."

Tristan blinked, and his eyes drifted to where the thorns had left the mark.

"Oh. I fell in a thorn bush. It's just a cut."

Amelia was astonished. He'd gotten hurt, and still, he managed to make it back with what she'd asked for.

"Oh, darling." She placed her head under his chin. "I'm sorry. You're so wonderful. I know I've been a handful lately, but it's just because I'm worried."

Tristan sunk in gratefully, closing his eyes. "I know that. You're their mother. And you're going to make a wonderful one."

Amelia sighed contentedly. "You'll be a great father too. I know you will."

"Hopefully," he said with a chuckle.

With the misunderstandings between them cleared up, they went back to sleep. Tristan rolled over slightly onto his back, letting out a yawn.

"Tristan! Be careful!"

"What?"

"You'll squish them."

Tristan glanced over at the nest. He was ten feet away from the eggs, maybe more.

"No, I won't. You're overreacting."

"Tristan. Move over."

Tristan was in no mood to argue, and begrudgingly obliged. "Happy, darling?"

Amelia smiled, closing her eyes. "Yes, dear."

...

After what felt like ages, the day that they had both been eagerly awaiting finally arrived. Amelia awoke to the sound of rustling in the nest. She opened one eye, and noticed a crack forming in one of the eggs.

"Tristan!" She yelled, her eyes wide and gleaming with anticipation. "Tristan, come and look!"

Tristan rushed inside, worried that something was wrong, judging from how his wife was yelling at the top of her lungs.

"What? What happened? Are you alright?"

"The eggs are hatching!"

Tristan dropped everything, and sped over. He leaned in close, watching as a leg burst out of the shell, and then another. The arms were next, followed by the head. The remainder of the egg shell fell off, revealing a tiny rainbow face with innocent jade green eyes.

"It's a girl!" Amelia exclaimed.

"How do you know?" Tristan asked incredulously.

"I'm her mother, I just know. Now, hold her."

"No, I don't want to hurt her."

"Tristan, you won't hurt her."

"You can't be sure of that."

The newborn rainbow face waddled over, her legs unsteady. She tripped over her own feet, falling forward. Tristan acted upon his instincts, using his snout to catch her.

"See?" Amelia nuzzled her hatchling, her eyes fixated on Tristan. "You're doing just fine. She likes you."

Just then, the next egg began to hatch. This hatchling took it's sweet time, and seemed almost reluctant to hatch. Amelia used her snout to help things along, watching as the hatchling fell over and quickly propped herself up. It was also a girl, with sleepy emerald green eyes they gave off the impression of a constant state of laziness.

"She's beautiful," said Tristan, absolutely smitten with his newborn daughters. He nuzzled her and then looked to his other daughter before nuzzling her as well. "They both are."

Amelia began to sob at the sight of her children. "I never thought I could love something so much..."

"That's what I thought when I first met you," said Tristan. He leaned over and allowed her tears to fall and leave wet spots on his snout. "What do you want to name them?"

"That's a bit creepy Tristan," joked Amelia, who did appreciate his words. She gestured to the more energetic hatchling. "She'll be Mackenzie," she paused and gestured to the other baby dinosaur, "and this will be Miriam."

"You chose names for them?"

"Yes. Is something wrong?"

"No, I just thought we would be doing that together."

"Fine. Do you like Miriam and Mackenzie as names?"

Tristan averted his gaze. "...Yes, I do."

Miriam and Mackenzie were now playing together like children usually did, with Mackenzie nudging Miriam in the side, and Miriam giggling. There was a loud clap of thunder, causing both hatchlings to squeal before running to hide and cower behind their mother's leg.

Amelia nuzzled her daughters. "Shh. You're okay." She closed her eyes. "You're okay."

...

"Mom! Mom!"

"Mom, wake up!"

Tristan slept beside his wife, a sly grin on his peaceful face. "Your daughters are awake, darling."

Amelia groaned underneath her breath. "I hate you. You did this to me. And they're your daughters too."

"They may be, but they're calling for you."

He had a completely valid point, she had to admit that. She rose to her feet, looking down at Miriam and Mackenzie.

"Alright, I'm up. What is it?"

Mackenzie hopped up and down. "Come look!"

Amelia followed her children outside, where the entire landscape was covered in a thick blanket of snow. Tristan followed her moments after.

"They brought me out here...to look at snow."

Tristan chuckled. "Well, at least we've got our green food stored away. Come on, let's go follow them."

The snow crunched underneath their feet as they watched Miriam prance around an icicle hanging from the branch of a tree. She licked the sleek, icy surface, only to get her tongue stuck to it. She tried to pull her tongue off, but it wouldn't budge.

Amelia shook her head, a knowing smile on her face. She looked to Tristan. "Go help her."

Tristan went to go help his daughter, while Amelia went to search for Mackenzie. She found her very quickly, sliding down the snow covered hill, heading straight towards her. There was a loud crash as snow landed everywhere; on Amelia and Mackenzie, and even on Tristan and Miriam.

Amelia shook the snow off of her, glaring at her daughters.

"That's enough playing in the snow for you two. Now, come inside."

Miriam and Mackenzie protested against their mother's orders, but Tristan ushered them forward.

"Listen to your mother."

The two juvenile rainbow faces followed their mother and father inside with reluctance and thought they might win the argument, but Tristan was firm.

The cold time dragged on, and the snow was soon brutal and harsh, and no longer fun to play in. However, in the course of due time, the cold times were soon over. The snow melted away, and plants slowly sprouted in the warmth.

Tristan and Amelia took their children to the lake, which was no longer frozen over. They stopped to take a drink and went on their way. Miriam spotted a tree sweet growing on a pad drifting in the water, and opened her mouth to take a bite.

Tristan grunted disapprovingly, communicating that she wasn't allowed to eat the plant. Miriam whimpered and sadly followed her parents and sister.

Behind her, a herd of longnecks were approaching the lake. Miriam didn't get to see other dinosaurs very often, mostly since her parents always managed to catch her before she was given the chance. She darted across the water, returning to her family.

"Mommy, look!"

Amelia smiled and nodded her head. "I see them, love. Those are longnecks."

"Longnecks?"

"Yes. They use their long necks to reach the tallest trees."

"Can we reach those trees?"

Amelia chuckled softly. "No, I don't expect that we can. We usually take green food from smaller trees and from the ground."

"Your mother's very smart," added Tristan.

"Yes, well. I suppose. Now, come on."

Miriam took one last look at the longneck herd before running off, trailing close behind her mother.

Miriam and Mackenzie continued to be quite the handful as they grew. Mackenzie retained her rambunctious spunk, and Miriam never stopped trying to sneak away in an attempt to explore more of the world surrounding her.

The teenage age years were when the real test of Amelia and Tristan's relationship began. With the girls getting older and making their own decisions, Amelia and Tristan found that their beliefs clashed and butted heads.

"They're only kids, Tristan."

"I don't care if they're only kids," he spat. "They've got to stop wandering off! The next thing you know, they get attacked by a sharptooth, and I'll tell them 'I told you so'. And while knowing I was right is a nice feeling, I don't want to have that feeling at their expense!"

He massaged his forehead, a sigh of exasperation slipping from his mouth. "You're their mother, they listen to you. Tell them to stop breaking the rules and to start listening to us!"

"It doesn't matter how many rules you implement, they're still going to break every single one of them."

"Not if I have anything to do with it."

Amelia rolled her eyes. "I'd love to see how that turns out."

Tristan whipped his head around, pressing his snout against hers. "Are you questioning my ability as a father?"

Amelia felt that such a reaction was supposed to intimidate her, but she only found it amusing, and chuckled.

"Tristan! You are overreacting. They're not going to rely on you forever."

Tristan suddenly stopped yelling, his voice quieting down to a meek whisper. "I know..."

"Oh, love..." Amelia rubbed the area underneath his chin with her snout. "You know that I'll always need you. Even when the girls have gone and made families of their own, I'll still rely on you. Because I know I can."

Tristan closed his eyes, a ghost of a smile lingering as he rested his head on her shoulder.

As short tempered as Tristan was, he couldn't help but admire his wife's sanity. Often times when he would yell or go on a full blown rant, Amelia managed to keep a calm and level head, talking to him in the soothing manner that he loved.

"I know, darling," he said, finally having calmed down. "I suppose I can put up with their disobedience a little while longer without going mad."

Amelia laughed at his remark. "Oh, don't worry. They'll be worth it. When they're all grown up, you'll see."

"I hope so. I didn't exactly cover myself in glory just now. I was a blubbering mess."

"Aren't you always?"

Tristan's first reflex was to react in anger, but Amelia's laugh was so contagious that he couldn't help but laugh along as well.

...Reminiscing about their journey as parents was a more effective way to kill time than either of them expected. It was now afternoon, almost time for lunch.

"So, Tristan," began Amelia, "were the kids worth it?"

Tristan looked to his wife and smirked. "I guess. But somehow, I remember them being cuter and less annoying."

Amelia offered a gentle laugh, nuzzling him. "Oh, I know. But I think we've done an excellent job so far, don't you?"

Tristan reciprocated her gesture of affection. "Of course. Being a parent is a reward in itself. And I'm glad I get to do it with you."