CHAPTER ELEVEN: THE BLABBING SWIMMER
Littlefoot awoke a bit before dawn. He heard them again. The Sharp Beaks were flying past. He went and hid. They went past. He came out. He went and drank water. He then went and prodded Ducky awake for he needed to ask his friends's input. There were too many Sharp Beaks around to just be coincidence. "What is it Littlefoot?" Ducky asked sleepily, yawning and stretching.
"Sharp Beaks." he replied.
"Here? In the Great Valley? That is not good! Oh no, no, no!" she said in alarm.
"Nope, they flew past. I've seen them sometimes, but never so many." he whispered, for everyone else in the Great Valley was still asleep. They went and got the others awake.
"Sharp Beaks again?" asked Cera, looking irritated at being woken up before the crack of dawn.
"I hearded some last night." replied Ducky. Spike nodded. "Spike too." Ducky added.
"Two nearly got me on the Great Wall last night before I went to bed." he said. The others gasped.
"Me and Pterano hear one last night." said Petrie.
"Well, they didn't bother me. Nothing to worry about." said Cera arrogantly, though it was clear, though she tried not to show it, that she didn't really believe what she was saying.
"Should we get a grown-up? I mean, what if they do come in here?" asked Littlefoot.
"They'd never come in here." laughed Cera, again trying to sound unafraid.
"One came last time. You remember him. He was from the Land of Mists." Littlefoot reminded them. Spike nodded.
"Well, what are the grown-ups gonna do, lecture them away?" asked Cera skeptically.
"At least they will see that they keep coming around. Then we can be sure that nobody will get hurt." replied Littlefoot.
"Sound like plan to me." said Petrie.
"How about my Aunt Leslie? She can help us. She can. She can." suggested Ducky.
"The one that sleep swim?" asked Petrie.
"Yep, yep, yep." said Ducky.
They went and woke up Ducky's aunt. "What is it kids?" she asked.
They explained about the Sharp Beaks. Ducky's aunt smiled. "Oh yes, I remember when I first saw a Sharp Beak." she said. She began a long tale about her encounter with a Sharp Beak. The kids listened interestedly. After a few sentences, however, Littlefoot interrupted.
"Uh, Leslie, that sounds interesting and all, but what about the ones going around now?" he asked.
"Now Littlefoot, let me finish my story first." Leslie chided, waving her hands in impatience.
"Sorry." Littlefoot apologized. He decided to wait for her to finish. However, as time wore on, she began to talk about other things, things less interesting.
"And my Mother used to say, don't go near water that moves too fast. You'll get swept away by the current. Mother has funny sayings like that. Why I can recall that she..." rambled Ducky's aunt.
The kids were starting to get bored by her long-windedness. "When we asked to talk to your aunt, we didn't realize that she wouldn't stop talking." grumbled Littlefoot quietly to Ducky.
"I forgetted to mention that. I did. I did." whispered Ducky back. They all groaned.
"Oh great, a Big Mouth that really lives up to the name!" Cera whined.
"What was that?" asked Leslie, who luckily hadn't heard Cera properly.
"I, er, said, 'That sounds like a very fun game.'" Cera lied quickly, sounding nervous.
"Yes, it was. However, my cousin cheated, rascal that he was. I tried to expose him, but….." Leslie continued to ramble, continuing to go down memory lane. The kids groaned, louder this time.
"…the plan backfired and Father got covered in mud. I was grounded for two whole days." Leslie continued a few seconds before and after they groaned.
Ducky's aunt, who didn't realize they were getting fed up with her, and instead thought they were replying to what she had said, remarked "Yes, I know, it did seem too harsh, but Father was very stern on issues like that. Why I can recall when my brother and I..."
"Me can't take it. Too much yack." whispered Petrie in irritation, wringing his hands in frustration. They tried walking away. However, much to their annoyance, Ducky's aunt followed them.
"And so we were grounded for a whole week and could only stay with the grownups. Most unjust if you ask me." Leslie continued rambling.
"How are we getting to get away? I'd rather be eaten by a Sharp Beak than keep listening to her." Cera grumbled softly.
"Of course my mate Phoebus is also strict, why I can recall that…" Leslie kept yapping.
"Me have plan. We have some talk to her while rest of us slip away. Then last one slip away. Knowing her, she keep talking and not know we gone." whispered Petrie.
"Great plan!" Cera replied softly. The others nodded.
"Oh that is wonderful. It is. It is." said Ducky to her aunt. Her aunt focused on her and Petrie was able to slip away.
"Really Ducky. I found it rather boring. However, if you really like it then I'll continue talking about all the effort it took to build my first nest." said her aunt.
"She finds it boring?!" Cera grumbled angrily softly.
"Yes, please do." said Littlefoot. She focused on him. While she did so, Cera was able to slip away.
"Well Littlefoot, I had to get all kinds of water plants. And they were hard to find ones too. And, as if that weren't enough, Sky Water was falling really hard at the time too. But my mate wanted me to do it anyway, he's a real pain at times I tell.. Anyway, I got the plants and headed back. I slipped in the mud and fell. All of my plants went blowing away. I had to go after them." continued Ducky's aunt.
"But you got that back, didn't you?" said Littlefoot. While she talked to Littlefoot, Spike was able to slip away.
She continued to yack. Soon, she was talking about the first time she went swimming in dark water. Littlefoot was so bored that he was worried he'd die of boredom and be reunited prematurely with his mother. Luckily, Ducky noticed this and distracted her aunt. "And, how did it go with your second cousins?" Ducky asked her aunt. Her aunt focused on her and Littlefoot was able to slip away.
Ducky continued to talk to her aunt. Her aunt kept yacking. "Yes, I agree. I do. I do." said Ducky, having no idea what her aunt had just said.
"I'm glad you do. I had thought it was a pretty hard decision and I'm glad that you agree with it." said her aunt, not noticing that Ducky was moving further and further away.
"You know best." said Ducky, moving out of sight.
"Thank you dear. Anyway, after that, we went to the Big Water and we..." continued her aunt, talking still and not realizing that she was now talking to herself.
Ducky caught up with the others. "Me have headache." said Petrie, holding his head.
"Well, she was a waste of time. The only good she'd do would be to talk them to death." said Cera in annoyance. The group laughed.
"Yeah, me rather encounter Sharp Beak than encounter her again today." said Petrie. They kept moving, in case Ducky's aunt was trying to follow them. Petrie would get his wish.