Hi, guys. Here's another chapter! I had fun writing this one, especially with all the humor on the side. Enjoy!

The tree sweets were in bloom. Just beyond a tree slowly losing it's tree stars, just past a small hill, underneath a large tree with long, shaggy leaves, Amelia rested peacefully. Tristan sat beside her, occasionally flaring his nostrils when his ears picked up an unfamiliar sound, which more often than not turned out to be some kind of buzzer. He'd yet to get used to not always being on edge, or not constantly being on the lookout for danger.

In the warmth of the sunset, red and orange with clouds, Amelia lazily opened one eye. "Tristan?"

Tristan lowered his head down to her level. "Yes?"

"Have you seen the girls?"

"They're probably off somewhere with their friends," theorized Tristan. "Nothing to worry about."

Amelia let out a yawn. "Who said I was worried?"

"You're always worried."

"You're one to talk."

Tristan didn't have a clever response this time, and simply rested his head on hers. "Hush up."

Out in the open grass, Miriam and Mackenzie scavenged for food. Miriam did not have the same harassed look as her sister, and nonchalantly scanned her surroundings for some tree stars. Mackenzie was less at ease. She was hunched over slightly, her wide eyes staring as she raised and turned her head. Her nose moved constantly, and when a buzzer landed on it, she jumped backwards suddenly as she startled.

Miriam turned when she heard a loud thud against the grass. She looked to see her sister slowly rising to her feet, her eyes as wide as the bright circle.

"What's the matter with you? You've never been so jumpy."

Mackenzie walked closer to Miriam, looking behind her one last time. "I don't know. I just feel like something really bad is going to happen."

Miriam looked at her strangely. "Today?"

"No...not today. But at some point in time, something bad will happen."

"That's obvious. Things can't be all good all the time."

Mackenzie sighed. "You're right. It's probably nothing. Come on, let's go home."

As they headed home, they passed the tree sweet tree — a stumpy tree covered from head to toe in soggy green moss. On it's branches grew the sweet smelling tree sweets, as pink as the clouds were when the bright circle began to set.

The two dinosaurs exchanged glances, both of them knowing exactly what the other was thinking. They ran down the culvert, and to the tree. There was a faint breeze which pulled one of the tree sweets from it's leaves, allowing it to drift and gravitate towards the ground.

Just as Miriam took a step forward, a larger dinosaur put their foot forward, smashing the delicate tree sweet.

"A tree sweet?" Said the dinosaur. "You rainbow faces will have to wait until Nibbling Day to have some, just like everyone else." When Miriam hesitated, the dinosaur stared her down. "You heard me, didn't you?"

"The tree sweet fell from the tree, Mr. Threehorn," explained Mackenzie.

"Bah! I know how conniving your kind can be. You'd better get out of here before I make you get out."

Miriam had already turned away, and Mackenzie caught up with her by the culvert.

"I'm sick and tired of it," Mackenzie said. "It's always the same. 'These are my teeth, so these are my tree stars'. And we can't even say anything about it because they're older than us."

"Well," began Miriam, "it only seems fair that we wait until Nibbling Day…whenever that is."

"I know, but he didn't have to be so rude."

Miriam nodded. "Come on."

As they continued on towards home, Mackenzie paused to gaze out towards the horizon. The sky was so red, it almost looked like blood. The trees were bare of their leaves, the branches resembling sharp claws which tore through the skies. Mackenzie tensed, her jade eyes drifting towards a chasm in the earth, the exposed rock within the ground creating the shape of wide, red gashes.

"Mackenzie?"

Even when her sister's voice snapped her out of her trance, the picture was still vivid in Mackenzie's mind. She looked up at Miriam, her eyes still wide.

"What's the matter with you? If you don't say something that makes sense right now, I'm telling mom."

Mackenzie shook her head, blinking a few times. "I'm fine. I'm good, just stop worrying...or you might relapse." She pranced ahead of her sister, a pleased smirk on her face.

Miriam was now the one who was wide eyed. She frowned, running to catch up with Mackenzie. "Come here so I can beat you up!"

Mackenzie leaped forward. "You can barely keep up with me, how exactly do you plan to fight me?"

"I'm telling mom!"

"She'd laugh."

"Then I'll tell dad."

"He'd laugh too. Looks like you're the only one in the family without a sense of humor."

"I hope you fall in a ditch."

Mackenzie snorted. "At least if I fell in one, I'd be able to get out on my own."

Miriam narrowed her eyes and lunged for Mackenzie, who made a run for it. They ran across the valley, the bright circle illuminating their surroundings, turning everything a gleaming gold.

The two rainbow faces came to a screeching halt in front of their parents, who'd just emerged from their cave.

"Mom!" Miriam exclaimed, "Mackenzie made fun of me!"

Amelia looked amused, yet unimpressed. "What did she say?"

"I told her to stop worrying or she might relapse," explained Mackenzie.

The corners of Amelia's mouth curved into a smile as she made a futile attempt to stifle her laughter. She brought a hand to her mouth as her sea blue eyes twinkled with a childlike innocence. Then, she made eye contact with Tristan, who also seemed to be struggling to withhold his giggles.

"Mackenzie," he said through his chuckles, "Please don't say that, dear."

"You guys are laughing too!" Miriam cried out. "I hate all of you!" She angrily stormed off, disappearing behind a nearby bush.

While still laughing, Amelia lightly slapped Tristan on the shoulder. "You're no help. I'll go talk to her."

Amelia walked over the bush and planted herself right beside her daughter. She took a few deep breaths and composed herself.

"We're sorry for laughing, dear. We really are."

"No, you're not."

"Alright. Maybe not. But there's nothing wrong with making jokes."

"But how can you make a joke about this...?"

"Your father and I made jokes over many things, including death. We still sometimes joke about how our friend Diana would do this, or how she would hate Mr. Threehorn's guts. It's just how we cope." Amelia paused for a moment. "And I know your sister worries about you. Making jokes is just her way of dealing with things."

Miriam took it all in, finding that the theory actually did make sense. Apparently, her method of coping was simply different.

After Miriam had been consoled, the family went inside to retire for the night.

In the darkness and warmth of the cave, Amelia awoke suddenly, struggling and kicking. Something was attacking her, but she smelt no danger. After she'd cleared her head, she realized that it was Mackenzie who was clambering over her, clawing and grabbing at her mother.

"Mackenzie! Wake up, Mackenzie! Ow! It—It's me! Calm down, will you?"

Tristan was awoken by the ruckus, and opened his eyes to see his daughter climbing over his wife like a mountain. He held back his laughter and gently nudged Mackenzie awake. He held her down, and soon, she stirred.

"Mom? I had the worst sleep story — you were there. You got really, really sick. I was all alone—"

Amelia gently touched her snout to Mackenzie's. "Shh...it's alright. It was just a sleep story."

"But you were so ill! It felt so real!"

"But I'm not sick, am I? Apart from my sides being a bit sore and bruised from you climbing over me like a log, everything's alright, I promise. Can we go back to sleep now?"

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright, dear. Don't fret. Go to sleep now."

Mackenzie rested her head, scooting closer to her mother. When Amelia lowered hers, Tristan spoke in a hushed voice to her.

"Amelia."

"What?"

"It's a bit strange that Mackenzie had a sleep story about you falling ill…are you feeling alright?"

"I feel fine, Tristan. It was just a sleep story, and it doesn't mean anything."

"Are you sure?"

Amelia scrunched her nose. "What do you mean? Of course I'm sure. You know that I believe that sleep stories rarely ever become reality."

"I mean..."

"And even if I do get sick, there's nothing anyone can do."

"Well—"

"Tristan, why don't you stop trying to counter everything I say and actually agree with me for once?"

"Because that would be feeding into your pride."

"Says the one with an ego bigger than the bright circle."

"I don't have an ego."

"You saying that you don't have an ego creates the ego you think you don't have."

Tristan raised a brow in pure bewilderment. "...What?"

Amelia shook her head, wearing a ghost of a snide smile on her face. "Good night, Tristan."