CHAPTER SIXTEEN: SHARP BEAKS IN THE GREAT VALLEY
Luckily, nobody seemed to think much of the story of the talking Sharp Beak in the Great Valley. The kid had, apparently, told some fibs before. Ptero was relieved about this. He was about to ask Pterano about himself when they heard somebody coming.
Petrie's sibling Pip came flying in. "What matter Pip?" Petrie asked.
"Petrie, there are Sharp Beaks flying around again!" said Pip in alarm.
"Oh, those accursed things. Guess we'll have to call a meeting." said Mama Flyer.
Ptero trembled. "What's a matter?" asked Mama Flyer.
"I don't want them to find me." he said nervously.
"Don't worry dear, you'll be safe with us." said Pterano.
"They chased me two days ago. All day." said Ptero.
"Poor dear!" said Mama Flyer in alarm.
"Don't worry, we safe together." said Petrie.
Ptero came out nervously. However, he decided that he needed a disguise. So he went and put a red Tree Star and a regular Tree Star on as a sort of cape. He then went to the meeting.
"Why you wear weird disguise?" asked Petrie.
"To hide from the Sharp Beaks." replied Ptero.
They came and met. Ptero was still nervous. If Agatha's pack spotted him, they'd take him away, and he'd not get a Tree Star again. His stomach growled. He wanted to eat the Tree Stars that he was wearing, but he needed them.
He spotted some Crawlers, picked them up, and put them in his mouth and hungrily ate them. He went behind Cera. He still felt a bit hungry. Perhaps it was something his mother had put into him that made him do it, but...SNAP!
Cera turned around to glare. He had moved away many feet luckily. "What was that?!" she said angrily.
"Stinging Buzzers." said Ptero innocently.
Cera appeared to have fallen for his lie. Ptero felt relieved. That was too close.
He arrived at the meeting. "I think there is no huge cause for alarm." said Grandpa Longneck.
"But the kids! What if one of those things gets near them?" asked Mama Swimmer.
"Not to worry Saru, we will watch them. No kid will be unattended until the danger is passed." said Grandma Longneck.
The adults eventually agreed on this move. Ptero sighed. It meant that all the kids, including himself, would be watched closely until the Sharp Beaks left.
"I wish we could play, but the grownups are keeping such an eye on us, that it seems hard." grumbled Littlefoot.
Ptero wanted to play with the Flatteeth. He wanted to see what they were really like. If they were bad...then, he'd be alone and could deal with them.
Ptero snuck away from the others. He went into a tree. He let out a Sharp Beak growl.
"Sharp Beak!" yelled Mama Flyer. She and Pterano went toward the tree. Ptero, alarmed, moved away. He started to fall out of the tree, alarmed. He was falling, spinning. He stopped.
Mama Flyer had caught him. "Ptero, where is it?" asked Mama Flyer.
Ptero said nothing. The Flattooth had saved his life. "You saved me." he finally said.
"I wasn't going to let you become splattered on the ground." said Mama Flyer.
"Now, where is the Sharp Beak? Surely you saw it." said Pterano.
"That way." lied Ptero, pointing away to the the south. Pterano and Mama Flyer, followed by Mama and Papa Swimmer, went off after the fake Sharp Beak.
Grandpa and Grandma Longneck were still with them. Littlefoot was still bored. Ptero decided to have another go. He started to move away.
"Where are you going small one?" asked Grandpa Longneck.
"I...er...hafta wee wee." lied Ptero, hopping up and down. Grandpa Longneck nodded. Ptero went off into the bushes. Once deep enough in, he let out another Sharp Beak sound.
"Where is it?" asked Grandpa Longneck.
"That way." lied Ptero, pointing to the west. Grandpa Longneck left. Grandma Longneck wanted to follow.
"We'll be fine. We're not little after all." said Ptero.
"Well, I guess so. Just call if you need us." said Grandma Longneck. She too left.
"Wow, we can play now. Those pesky Sharp Beaks sure were handy." said Littlefoot. "I hope they're gone though."
"They are. They were fakes." smiled Ptero.
"Fakes?" said Cera.
Ptero let out a Sharp Beak sound. "Good, eh?" he said.
"That sounded like a real Sharp Beak. It did! It did!" said Ducky, giggling.
"You good faker." said Petrie.
"Come on, let's play!" said Littlefoot.
They played toss the seed. Ptero was glad that he could have fun in his life for the first time since he was a small boy. He found it ironic that he was having fun, not with Sharpteeth, but with the evil Flatteeth. But were they evil?
Ptero's team won. They all went to bed exhausted. The Sharp Beaks had left. Ptero feared they might come back. But they had left for now. Agatha must have gone elsewhere to look for him.
Ptero went to bed with the Leaf Eaters. Mama Flyer had saved him. He found that he couldn't hate her. She had saved him when he would have watched her die without batting an eyelash had he met her only a day or two earlier. He felt guilt for his hatred of Leaf Eaters. They couldn't all be bad. But there were bad ones out there. Maybe these just happened to be nice ones. He wasn't sure what to think anymore. He knew, though, that Mama Flyer seemed a far better mother than his own and wished that, Flattooth though she was, that she was his mother instead. He went to sleep, eager to play with his new friends again the next day.