Hey, guys! So, I was actually able to finish this chapter shortly after I finished the last one, since it is pretty short. It's also just mainly rainbow face lore, which is why it's not vital or essential to read, so feel free to skip over it if you feel the need to. :) The next chapter will have a lot more going on, and things are gonna get real, so keep an eye out for that. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and have a great week! And as always, please review!
Also, the longnecks in the very beginning of this chapter are Argentinosaurus, which were about 100 feet long, just to get an idea of how 'exceptionally large' they are.
Darth Cody - That is correct. And as for her appearance, I definitely based it more on the design of the Spinosaurus from Jurassic Park 3, since that's the impression of Spinosaurus that I've had for my entire life since I first watched the movies as a little kid. Thanks for the question! :)
Under the light cover of the silvery morning mist, the Great Valley was beginning to awaken. A small family of exceptionally large longnecks ambled across the grass, bellowing as they utilized their colossal bodies to push the trees down to where the younglings could reach the leaves of the conifers. Walking right past them was an old spiketail, going down to the watering hole for a morning drink.
The spiketail's heavy weight rumbled with each step he took, slowly moving each pair of feet after the other. For such a heavily built creature, he wasn't the most agile. Luckily, his size, and the lethal spikes at the end of his tail would be his saving grace were he ever attacked.
After some time, he reached the watering hole, where some had already preceded the old dinosaur. Across from him was a family of rainbow faces, one of whom had her head underneath the water.
Amelia had occupied herself with munching on some of the vegetation that grew near the bottom of the shallow watering hole. After holding her breath for an extended period of time, she could bear it no longer and decided to make do with what she had. She pulled her head out of the water, a clump of moist plants dangling from her beak, much like vines. Water dripping from her scales, she sucked the plants into her mouth, producing a loud slurping sound.
"Mom," complained Mackenzie, stomping her foot, "Can you please hurry up? We want to help get everything ready for the bright circle celebration."
"Don't rush me while I'm having breakfast." She looked to her daughter. "And the celebration doesn't even start until later, since I promised to tell some of the little ones a tale about the rainbow prince. So, you needn't worry about getting everything ready."
How did her mother always manage to be one step ahead of her? No matter how good of an argument was formulated in her head, her mother had twice as many punches to throw.
"Okay, but I don't want to stay by the watering hole all day."
"Don't worry, we won't. I have other places to be, anyway."
Just as Amelia appeared to be ready to leave, Mr. and Mrs. Longneck came trudging slowly towards the watering hole, their only grandson in tow. Both Mackenzie and Miriam glanced at each other, and knew right then that they would be here quite some time.
"Good morning, you two," Kenneth greeted politely, lowering his neck as he usually did, both as a way to show respect and to ensure that both sides could hear each other properly. "What are you up to on this fine day?"
"Amelia wanted to go down to the watering hole for a drink," Tristan proceeded to explain. "Said her mouth felt a bit dry."
Kenneth offered a light chuckle, as well as a good natured smile. "That's very common on days like today. But it's only going to get hotter, you know."
"Yes, we know," Amelia replied in a tired voice. Not because of the conversation itself, but mostly because she found herself with much less energy nowadays. "Of course, we've had worse days than these. At least, here, we have food."
"Yes, we're very lucky," Linda added on, "While we do have some rough patches here and there, food is probably the least of our worries here in valley."
"Definitely," Amelia concurred with a nod of her head.
At the feet of the older rainbow faces, Littlefoot was speaking to Miriam and Mackenzie.
"Hey, guys," he whispered, "The others are waiting for us. You want to come?"
"We're not allowed," Miriam answered in a soft voice. "Until we can prove ourselves to be responsible enough, we're not allowed to leave our parents' sight."
"Oh. So you guys got in trouble?"
"Mhm. What about you? What did your grandparents say?"
"They were just worried, and told me to be more mindful. They didn't seem very mad, to be honest. Um...did you guys tell your mom and dad about...?"
"No. They wouldn't hear anything we had to say."
"Wow." Littlefoot was genuinely taken by surprise. To him, Amelia and Tristan always seemed so laid back. He never expected them to set such boundaries. "So...you can't hang out with us?"
"Well," intervened Mackenzie, tapping her chin, "My mom is telling a story in a little bit. If all of us go, we won't have to be apart, right?"
Littlefoot stared at his paws for a moment before suddenly perking up, as if he'd made some spectacular discovery. "That's right! Mackenzie, you're a genius!"
"Uh...thank you?" Mackenzie scratched the back of her head, smiling a bit sheepishly. "It was just a suggestion…"
"I'm going to go tell the others. Catch you later!" He scurried off towards his grandparents, his red eyes gleaming. "Grandma, Grandpa, I'm going to go back to my friends."
"Alright, little one," said Linda, "Just be careful."
Littlefoot ran off without any further hesitation. He then called out to his grandparents, his form appearing to shrink as he grew more distant. "I will! Bye!"
As soon as he was out of sight completely, Amelia looked back at her sulking daughters, and offered a kind smile. She felt sympathetic, and hated to keep them from their friends. But she knew as well that they needed some sort of boundaries, or they would never grow into well adjusted adults.
"Anyway," continued Kenneth, "Shall we get going? We'll need enough time to get ready for the celebration, and we certainly don't want to take away from your story."
"Yes, of course." Amelia began to walk alongside her husband, stopping to call for her children. "Miriam, Mackenzie, come along now. You don't want to fall behind."
The pair of young dinosaurs sighed, and begrudgingly walked behind their parents.
Linda and Kenneth waited for Miriam and Mackenzie to catch up before joining the family of rainbow faces, their necks held high as they conversed amongst each other.
"I must say, I am excited," Kenneth remarked.
"I am too, dear," Linda said in agreement. "The rainbow faces seem to have so many extraordinary stories."
As Tristan and Amelia walked across the valley, they passed a group of duckbills grazing on the thin thread-like leaves of a tree, chewing down the vegetation with their flat teeth. Tristan spent a good moment watching them, taking in their plump and healthy figures. He looked back at Amelia, who looked slightly emaciated, her legs somewhat thinner and more rigid. Even her stomach was less plump than Tristan remembered.
He debated whether or not to confront her about this change. The most likely result would be that she would chalk it up to nothing worth losing sleep over, and they would get into some argument which always had the same end result. He'd be wasting his breath trying to reason with her. In the end, Tristan chose to keep quiet.
Amelia seemed content, for the most part. She didn't seem bothered at all, or perhaps, she simply wasn't showing her pain. She had a bad habit of internalizing certain things for no good reason other than she hated to worry others, hated to be patronized and fussed over like a hatchling incapable of accomplishing even the most basic of tasks. Clearly, Miriam took after her mother in more ways than one.
The fear weighed heavily on Tristan's mind, regardless. He wished that Amelia would be more open to accepting help, rather than trying to right all the wrongs herself, or worse, blatantly ignoring them. He breathed a sigh, one that came out sounding more troubled and tired than he intended.
Amelia glanced at him, her sea blue eyes intrigued, but concerned. "Something the matter, dear?"
"No," Tristan said quickly, lying to her. "Just a bit tired, I suppose."
Amelia was no fool, and knew when she was being lied to, especially by her own husband. Rather than pressing the subject further, she shot him a look which told him they would speak about this at a later time.
Due to the immense heat, the story would be recited in the shade, where no one had to endure any forced exposure to the searing light of the bright circle. The location was under a large conifer tree, where many of the younglings were already waiting.
Sophie and Tricia had engaged in a game of catch, using the shell of a snail. The two hatchlings giggled as they tossed the shell back and forth with the tip of their snouts.
"That's enough fun for you, young lady." Cera picked Tricia up by the flap on her neck, setting her beside a little clubtail. Sophie forgot all about the shell, her large turquoise eyes shimmering as she waddled over, plopping herself right next to Tricia. It had become apparent that the two had developed a close friendship, and were almost inseparable.
Off to the side, a quartet of tiny flyers were clambering up the sail on Eva's back, as if it were a cliff. Eva endured it in silence, glaring a hole through Chomper's head as he laughed at her misery.
One of them began to nibble on the skin of her sail, and it took all of Eva's willpower to not fling them off. Still, it wasn't all bad. At the very least, she wasn't being shunned.
"I feel bad for Eva, Spike," Ducky said to her brother, who contentedly munched on some grass, "I do, I do."
Even Gabriel and Adam were there, with their mother, who had decided she was tired of moping and feeling miserable. She'd moped around long enough, and knew that Michael would have wanted her to thrive and live happily, even if it was without him.
"I'm really glad you're here, mom," said Gabriel, leaning against Molly's shoulder.
"I'm glad I decided to come," replied Molly, briefly nuzzling both of her sons. "I've missed out on so much of this beautiful valley."
Amelia and Tristan finally came into view, and sat down in front of the group. The elderly longnecks stood near their grandson, while Miriam and Mackenzie took a seat beside their friends. The children chattered amongst themselves, until Cera took it upon herself to silence them.
"Everyone, quiet!"
Silence fell, and Amelia cleared her throat. "Thank you. As I'm sure you all know, we are gathered here today so I can tell you a story. Now, this story in particular, focuses on a character known as the rainbow prince."
"Long, long ago," she began, "When dinosaurs first came into existence, when our world was very, very different, the first ever rainbow face herd walked the land. This herd was led by a handsome young rainbow face who was called Rainbow, but he liked to call himself the Rainbow Prince. No one knew where he came from. It was as if he showed up one day, and the herd of rainbow faces were so swayed by his grace and eloquence that they accepted him as their leader."
"Well, that's just stupid," muttered Cera.
"The Rainbow Prince had a loyal sidekick — Jericho. The two were the best of friends, and never went anywhere without each other. When Rainbow fought against the first sharpteeth, Jericho fought alongside him. Together, under the warm light of the bright circle, they lived their lives. However..."
Littlefoot lowered his neck. "I knew there was a catch."
"The Rainbow Prince was not perfect,"Amelia continued. "He was arrogant and boastful, and thought that he was better than anyone and anything else. He even believed he could best the oceans, or the dry seasons. Jericho often told him 'Rainbow, you mustn't think that way, or else, the will of the land will overpower yours.' But the prince would laugh at his friend, and pay no heed to his advice. Then, the dry season arrived. The Rainbow Prince has neglected to gather food, and now, the once fertile land that they walked upon was a barren wasteland. Jericho came to him one day. 'Sire, you must come quickly!' The prince followed his sidekick, to where a young rainbow face was dying painfully. Her mate was angry, furious. Had they collected food beforehand, his mate wouldn't be starving to death."
"So, what happen?" Petrie asked curiously, begging to know.
"I'll get to that," said Amelia. "The female rainbow face soon died, unable to fight her illness any longer. In his grief, her mate rebelled against the prince, but became an object of ridicule. However, more rainbow faces began to die. Deprived of any nourishment, the size of the herd began to decrease. The Rainbow Prince was frantic. 'Jericho, what shall I do?' Jericho thought for a moment before answering. 'Perhaps, you could talk to the dark rainbow face. She might be able to help you.' This was not something the prince wanted to do. The dark rainbow face was indeed one of their kind, but her appearance meant death and darkness. She might kill him on the spot. Regardless, she was the one responsible for taking rainbow faces to the land beyond. If anyone could help his plight, it was her. At last, the prince decided to go, and Jericho went with him. They began their journey, and many days and nights passed until they had left the familiarity of their home behind, and they could see nothing that they had seen before."
She paused to catch her breath. "At long last, they came to a dark land covered with pointy rocks, showered in endless rain. They had reached the domain of the dark rainbow face. As they went further, the darkness seemed to lift slightly. The sky turned a light grey, and he could see deceased members of his herd prancing around happily. Then, a cloud of dark mist formed in front of them, forming the shape of a rainbow face. 'Rainbow Prince, why have you come here?' The prince looked up. 'My lady, I have come to give you my life, in exchange for the lives of my people.' The dark rainbow laughed and sneered. 'My dear prince, you are not the first to ask such a thing of me. But it will not be so. Life must go on, and even you are powerless to stop it.' She paused. 'Ah, how rude of me. You are my guest. Let's play a game. Have you ever heard of the rainbow stone game?' Suddenly, three stones turned down appeared in front of her. She lifted the one in the middle, revealing a beautiful rainbow pattern glimmering along the pearly interior of the stone. 'Now, I will rearrange these stones. You must guess which one is the rainbow stone. If you lose, you will have to give me something in return.' The prince nodded. 'And if I win?' The dark rainbow face smiled."
"Then, she turned away. 'If you win, I will let you go free.' She had made her rules explicitly clear. It was a game that the prince had played many, many times. But when it was time to guess, he guessed wrong."
The children all gasped at once. "No!" Ducky exclaimed, having grown rather attached to the character, dying to know what fate had in store for him.
"The dark rainbow face stood over the pathetic form of the Rainbow Prince. 'You have lost. Now, you owe me something that is precious to you in return.' Then, Jericho stepped forward. 'You may have me.' The dark rainbow face didn't normally accept such noble sacrifices, but she knew this would be a valuable lesson for the prince. 'Very well.' The prince tried to protest. 'Wait, What are you doing? Jericho! No! Please, don't do it! I need you!' Jericho smiled at his friend, the rainbow face whom he'd loyally stuck by for many years. 'You don't need me. You want me with you, and I want the same. I'm sorry it has to end this way, but you have given me the best years of my life, and this is the most I can do in return.' 'JERICHO! DON'T!' The prince's anguished voice echoed through the lair. Jericho embraced the prince one last time. 'I will be waiting for you, my dear friend.' The mist of the dark rainbow face's body engulfed Jericho in dark, black smoke, and when all was said and done, he was gone, leaving only the prince, who cried out in pain."
This development had been very tragic, yet somewhat expected. However, the way Amelia described the prince's grief at the loss of the one closest to him was so raw and powerful, it invoked several emotions amongst the crowd.
"As the prince grieved, the dark rainbow face was unbothered. 'I hope you now understand the price of your actions. Many members of your herd lost those precious to them, and now, you have lost what is precious to you.' The prince knelt down before her, sobbing. 'I understand, my lady. I understand now...I'm very sorry.' The dark rainbow face then turned away. 'Go home, Rainbow Prince, for your people have been saved. Actually, they were saved long ago.'"
With that, Amelia ended, looking back at the group, some of which had tears in their eyes, including Cera.
"So, what happened to the prince?" Littlefoot inquired.
"He went home, but this time, without Jericho. But Jericho's sacrifice was not in vain, for the prince learned a valuable lesson — no matter how strong you are, you will never be a match for the forces of nature. Respect all forms of nature, and you'll be much better off. That is what we rainbow faces live by."