Part IIIA: The Great Feast:

The snows were finally gone, and with their departure came the receding hard water cover on the Abyss Lake. Fish in their hundreds arose from their two month long slumber and meandered about in the frigid waters to gather their bearings and work out an entire season of sleep from their flesh. For some of them, there would be no second chances.

Wingtails in their hundreds flocked to the skies embracing the warmth of the spring with cries of laughter and joy. This was the best time of the year for them when the food returned and a winter of near starvation was finally over. As a community they were extremely thankful for the blessing that the great circle had given them, and they celebrated to prove it. This was the Wingtail Christmas, or otherwise known as the Fish Trade. These fliers were very intelligent creatures, and for five days and five nights an impressive array of events and competitions textured the honored celebration. Everything from Ring Fighting, to Flying Races, to fish eating competitions, and even certain special performances that the entire forest looked forward to were part of the festival. For instance, once a season the oldest living relative of Benzon would return from his travels and show off the masterful creations he had spent the year working on. Even this many seasons after the disappearance of the Grand Creator, his family was still making art not just of glass but also works of a completely different nature – magic. Not real magic of course, but a mixture of sleight of hand and trickery that astonished and amazed whenever Aizon did his shows. Indeed such was the atmosphere of the event that even some other fliers attended as well, though they were in the minority. Nevertheless the entire forest was abuzz with preparation and anticipation.

Even Sky couldn't help but get caught up in the festivities. On this particular day the trees by the water were so crowded with other wingtails that he couldn't find a place to land. Luckily his friend Edwin knew he would be late and saved him a spot right by the lake. The green wingtail was tapping his foot impatiently as Sky glided in for a landing without a care in the world.

"You should really think about being more punctual Sky… you won't believe how many hatchlings I've had to fend off to keep this place for you!" Edwin exclaimed with a tad of mock disgust.

"They weren't all your siblings were they?" questioned Sky with a grin.

Edwin had so many brothers and sisters that he preferred not to even talk about them. Being so intelligent had helped the green wingtail escape their shadow, but because he was somewhat smaller then them he tended to get picked on a little bit. It was how Sky and him became friends… Sky was so cool that everyone liked him and so long as Edwin was his friend he would be admired too, or at least not bothered. Sometimes having well known friends had its disadvantages though, especially when said friend makes you do all the work.

"Maybe some of them," replied Edwin with a bit of embarrassment, and he thought to change the subject, "so… have you decided what you're going to contribute to the festival this year?"

"Umm," answered Sky with uncertainty, "well I suppose I have something."

Edwin decided to press him.

"You're not planning to enter the fish eating contest again? Remember what happened the last time you did that."

Every wingtail had to participate in the Fish Festival in one way or another – it was tradition. Sky frequently procrastinated, and last year he entered the fish eating contest at the last minute only to lose all of them after the 6th one. It was pretty embarrassing, and Sky had to endure weeks of taunts after he hurled all over himself. Logically, he would be better prepared for it this year.

"No Edwin… I believe I will be doing a bit of, shall we say, magic," replied Sky confidently as he demonstrated his abilities with a wide and extravagant swoop of his wing.

'Hmm, I'll believe it when I see it," chided Edwin as he crossed his arms.

"What… You don't think I can do it? Hah just watch me!" retorted Sky.

Across the small glen in a different tree Star and Glide were in a private conversation.

"Can't I come with you today Glide… I want to fish on my own this time," whined Star.

"The hunt has no place for females," responded Glide coldly, "I'll get you something to eat… wait here until I come back understand?"

Star sighed.

"Alright…"

Glide gripped her chin affectionately.

"Remember… if anyone tries to hurt you call for me and I'll be right here."

Star brushed his hand off and looked away.

"Hey, I'm just looking out for you sis… with all these ravenous males around I wouldn't want one to try and take a bite of you," added Glide.

"I know," submitted Star depressedly, "have a good hunt."

"Stay safe."

Glide and Star touched noses briefly, before the black wingtail took off towards the lake to join the rest of the group.

…

"Poor girl," commented Edwin, "that brother of hers has the vines wrapped so tight around her neck she can barely breathe."

Suddenly Sky had an idea.

"What do you say I go over there and cheer her up a bit," the blue wingtail said with a hint of lust.

"Oh I wouldn't do that Sky… her brother is last years fight champion you know."

Sky snorted.

"Bah, the only reason Glide won is because Eybron didn't fight this year. He would stuff his face in any day."

"Still… I don't think this is a good idea," warned Edwin, but it was too late.

Sky swooped down off the branch and skimmed the surface of the water, gripping a lily flower in his feet as he flew over. A moment later he hovered and settled calmly on the branch behind Star. She didn't even look at him, as she was busy watching Glide disappear over the horizon.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" piped up Sky, remarking on the sunset.

Star turned to face him, and for the first time the two locked eyes.

"I suppose," replied Star nervously as she shied away.

Seeing that this wasn't working, Sky decided to try a different tactic.

"What's that?" the blue wingtail asked with urgency.

"Huh?" said Star as she looked around frantically to find out what he had seen.

"Behind your ear," added Sky with a grin.

Star looked confused as she brushed both sides of her head and found nothing.

"Here, let me get that for you."

Using the sleight of hand his father had been teaching him, Sky palmed the lily flower to his hand and made it appear as though it had popped out from thin air.

"But… how did?" Star stammered in confusion, "what did you…"

"It's for you," smiled Sky as he placed the moist flower in her hand, and closed her fingers around it.

Star was lost for words.

"I… its lovely thank you," she said as she sniffed the flower.

"That may be… but it's nothing compared to you."

Their eyes met again, and this time Star did not turn away. She smiled at him, and he smiled back. The moment was so precious that as they locked hands Sky didn't hear Edwin's warnings.

"Sky!" Edwin shouted, "Look out!"

There was a terrible screech as Glide dove in and knocked them both apart. In a fit of rage the black wingtail descended on Sky and slammed him into the tree trunk.

"Finally… after all this time I finally get to kill you."

Glide wrapped his hands tightly around Sky's neck. He couldn't breathe.

"No, Sky!" shouted Star, "you have to stay alive… stay alive for our baby!"

…

With a rush of shock the real Sky opened his eyes, gasping for breath. It all seemed so real, so traumatic that it took him a few seconds to realize that it was only a sleep story and he was still alive and well.

The great circle was just beginning to rise, and as the orange volcanic sun emerged from the dark depths of the horizon to greet the gang, Sky panted as the alternate dimension of his subconscious finally began to retreat. Rubbing his eyes, the blue wingtail saw that the gang was still sleeping. Ali was snoring and Petrie emitted the odd twitch as he lay on Littlefoot's warm back.

Sky couldn't help but feel a bit guilty for bringing them all along with him. Their parents were sure to be missing them by now, and may even be searching. It would be fruitless however as by now they were so far gone that even he did not know where they were. The blue wingtail knew vaguely that there was another green valley up here on the side of the Black Mountain but he couldn't remember the name – or anything about it.

Apart from this, Star's last words in his dream echoed in his head.

"Stay alive for our baby,"

Sky had never even thought about that night he and Star mated amounting to anything, but as stunning as it was in a month or so Star would be bearing young. His young. A knot formed in his stomach as the realization hit him… he certainly wasn't ready to be a father. With so much going wrong in the world for him, the last thing he wanted was to bring a child into the world. Fate was a cruel beast, but if there was one thing he knew more then anything else it was that he loved Star more then words could possibly describe. She was his world, and someday he would return to her and they would be happy… someday.

Part IIIB: The Great Feast

The spiketail had had a lot of fight in him, but in the end Prince Tyrus was able to overpower and end its life without too much trouble. He loved being so large and powerful, where no creature could stand up to him and live. Up until recently he had thought he was invincible, but that villainous flyer proved he was still inferior to the land itself and now he had the scars to prove it.

There was not a single cloud in the sky over the Cratered Glen today, and despite its near complete lack of vegetation the air was crisp and clean. Light brown dirt with the occasional pot of sand filled the gaps between the craters which were nearly twice as long as the sharptooth was high. Sometimes they contained water, but it was rare as the beating sun quickly dried them up.

The spiketail he had just killed was wandering alone without purpose or direction and hence was the perfect victim to sate Tyrus' hunger. It had taken a few minutes of brutal fighting, but of course he prevailed without too much effort. In his mind this was how things should be… hunting and killing prey one on one as nature intended. His father Tyron did things differently however and apparently valued trickery over outright power. One day, when he Tyrus became king, he would end this foolishness and go back to feeding the right way… the honourable way.

The sharptooth prince gorged himself on the fresh carcass for a while, until a familiar scent came to his nostrils on the wind. Sniffing loudly, he raised his head to see his uncle Tharon trudging through the wastes followed by his little entourage of fast-biters. They all looked tired, vicious, and above all hungry. Tyrus revelled in the glances they were shooting his fresh kill. Licking the blood off his lips, he couldn't resist the urge to taunt them.

"Had a good hunt did we Tharon?"

"Watch your tone with me whelp, don't think I can't put you down right here," growled Tharon, his hunger giving him an all too familiar edge.

"So this is how you want to live… baring your teeth to leaf-eaters while the rest of us feed ourselves? You're a disgrace to our kind," responded Tyrus with venom.

Tharon roared, causing the ground to shake.

"I am loyal to my brother and my family… were it not for this I would tear out your throat and feed you to the pack!" the massive sharptooth boomed.

"Well then, I'd like to see who the 'pack' truly follows," Tyrus responded, and he stepped off his kill slowly.

The fast-biters who were present immediately descended on the corpse, tearing it to shreds while the two relatives exchanged hard words.

"The old way is dead Tyrus," commented Tharon who calmed down a bit now that the pack was at least content, he had been worried they would turn on him, "we all feed each other now and if you cannot except this then you will never be our king."

Tyrus responded to the threat with one of his own.

"Mark my words, one day this unnatural sherade of you and my father is going to end… and when it does and you are lying on the ground begging for my mercy, I'm going to rip out your throat."

"Not if I get to you first," Tharon snarled.

Having fed themselves the fast-biters contented themselves to short rest, and they turned to watch the impending fight with glee. After all the work they had done over the past few days, it was nice to have dinner and a show.

Strangely, Redgar and his pack were not amongst them.

Dawn was already rising in the Feral Forest as the light wind wound it's way through the various trees stirring up the leaves and showering the morning dew in all directions. In the northern part of the forest there was a hill on which all the venerable wingtails made their roost. It was part of their tradition that the oldest of wingtails would live in the tallest of trees not only to symbolize their age and role in society but also to make it easier for their younger attendants to know where to deliver their daily catch.

Knowledge was possibly the most valuable thing that the Wingtails possessed, apart from each other, and it was this pillar that they believed brought them above the other 'lesser' creatures. While it could be excused as mere arrogance, the above average intelligence of the wingtails had manifested itself many times over and had led to other dinosaurs referring to them as 'creators' for their ability to manipulate nature around them.

Star had an escape plan in mind as she sat in Eybron's tree pretending to be asleep. The white-grey wingtail hadn't tried to mate with her yet, but he had planned many separate 'dates' to take her with him on over the next few days - and she didn't intend to go on any of them. With her lover missing and her brother being kept in a sorry state somewhere she didn't know about, there was no way she was bowing to the perpetrator of these vile acts. The only way out now was to find Sky, and run away with him after she told the elders what was going on.

In a smooth soundless motion the scarlet wingtail stepped along the branch, making for the entrance hole into the thick canopy of the tree. Eybron was asleep across from her, the sounds of his breathing filling the cavernous space. As the morning light shined across her face, Star stretched her wings to get ready for flight.

"Going somewhere?" came Eybron's voice behind her.

Star gasped in surprise, and rapidly turned around to face him.

"I happen to be a very light sleeper," the white wingtail said with a vicious smile.

"I have a class to teach this morning… and if I'm not there then they will come looking for me," Star replied with authority.

"And who is 'they'?" snarled Eybron.

"The concerned parents of the ones I teach," Star said calmly as she brushed back her frill feathers, "I've never been late before."

Two of Eybron's nearby guards had arisen and were watching from the trees. If there was a way to escape now it would have to be through her usual duties. Star's class actually didn't start until the great circle was highest in the sky, but her wannabe lover didn't know that.

Eybron stood in thought for a moment.

"Alright," he said after a while, "go prepare our hatchlings for their future. It will give you plenty of practise for when we have our own."

Star bit back a retort, and pushed through the wingtail guards who were blocking her way with indignity.

"But remember what happens to your poor sickly brother if you tell anyone of our little courtship," stated Eybron.

"Glide better be okay or you'll be sorry for what you did to him," shot Star in anger.

"Oh I am sorry, but now you know what happens to lairs and traitors… just like your little love interest Sky. I think I would like to meet him… we would get along fabulously."

"Over my dead body," thought Star as she shot him a glare and departed.

Eybron watched her leave, and turned to his two guards present. One brown, and the other green.

"Percell, Edwin… I want you to keep an eye on her for me. If she attempts to run away or talks… you know what to do."

The two wingtails nodded, and set off after their charge. The green one looked notably uneasy, and lagged behind a bit as they rounded the trees.