Category: Land before Time
Rating: T
Couples in Series: Littlefoot/Ali, Cera/OC, Ducky/OC, Petri/OC, Spike/OC
Couples in this installment: Petri/OC
Warnings: AU
Chapter: 2
Copyright: © characters and places by United Pictures; © Plot and OC by me
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'Fly the entire day' had been the worst understatement his mother had ever used, Petrie decided. They only touched down long after the Bright Circle had set and he felt like his wings could fall off at any moment. The only ones who did not readily agree with him were his mother and uncle, having flown such distances many times over in their lives.
"I'm sure it'll all be worth it." Pterano assured him.
"Yeah, tell my wings that." Petrie sighed, trying to find a comfortable position that required as little wing-movement as possible. His uncle merely chuckled, patting his head in comfort.
They were roused early next morning, their wings stiffer than a Threehorn's frill.
"Considering you're most likely not flying today, that's not so bad." Saphira assured them, smiling slightly at her disheveled hatchlings – woe if she actually called them that, though. Pterano was standing a bit behind her, watching as she talked to her young.
"Which is why I'll perform with your uncle." Petrie's mother finished her speech.
"Can we skip the waiting-part though?" Pterano asked. "I really do not want to 'wait' for you, sister."
His nieces and nephews laughed at that, but his sister did not. "You at the very least will have to demonstrate what 'waiting' is. The boys will get no chance to peek at their elders, because they will have lost their place on the field by then."
Pterano groaned, but obediently moved a bit to the side. "You owe me for all this, Saph."
"We covered that already." She frowned a bit. "A branch of treesweets."
"A big one." Pterano muttered under his breath. "The first to laugh is the last to find a girl." He threatened the youngsters. They wisely kept their beaks shut.
After one last groan Pterano leaned forward, supporting his body with both his feet and hands and tilted his head upward. He took a deep breath and started snapping his jaws in quick succession. The sound echoed over the empty land, setting of reactions in any who listened. Despite the blood-relationship, the flyers were reacting to the message in the snapping: I am a healthy, strong male looking for a mate.
Soon the older flyer fell silent again, rising back into a more comfortable position. "And that is 'waiting'." He stated, brushing off his hands. "You do it either until nightfall or until a girl has taken interest in you."
"So what do we do when we have to wait until nightfall?" One of Petrie's brothers asked.
"Try again next year." Pterano stated. "Unlike the other herds, flyers only court for one day. If you fail to find someone this year, you either try next year or not. It is all up to you in the end."
"Now comes the complicated part." Saphira said. "Where you actually court."
"Does it require flying?" Petrie asked. "I don't think I could manage that today."
"It requires quite a bit of flying." Pterano crushed his hopes. "But none of you have to fly today: your mother and I will do that."
"Thank goodness." One of Pterano's nieces sighed. "I don't think I'd be able to do that today."
Her mother chuckled. "You'll have to get used to these distances, dear. At any rate you will only watch and rest today. Ready, brother?"
"As long as only they are watching." Pterano stated, moving into the 'waiting'-position again. "Ladies start, after all."
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"Whoa…" Petrie gasped as he flew behind his uncle.
"These are the Courting-grounds of the flyers!" Pterano called back to the youngsters. "Tomorrow this is where you will find your mate."
They started to descend, gliding down in a wide spiral to a wide beach with sparkling white sand. It was empty, but in the surrounding hills and forests other flyers were already nesting, waiting for the day that the men would claim a piece of sand and 'wait' for a female.
"Rest well today, boys." Saphira told her sons once they had touched down in the hills. "You will need all your energy tomorrow."
"The same goes for you." Pterano told his nieces. "You do not need to 'wait', but you will need to be able to do the entire routine."
Petrie sat a bit to the side, drawing in the sand with his wing-tip.
"Is everything alright?" Pterano sat down beside him, being able to look the younger flyer square in the eyes by now.
"Me worried." Petrie whispered. His uncle's eyes narrowed when he noticed that he had reverted back to his childhood's way of speaking.
"What is it then?" Pterano coaxed. "You know you can tell me."
"Mama ever tell you about Day of Flyers?" Petrie looked away. "Me nearly mess up. What if me do again?"
"In the end you managed didn't you?" The older flyer asked. "Just as you did then, you can do again now. Besides, even if you by some miracle mess up, there are plenty of chances to try again. And there is no shame in being single your entire life. Look at me."
"You lots of trouble." Petrie pointed out.
Pterano made a face. "Yeah, but that was because of my pride, not my singleness. You are a marvelous flyer, Petrie, I am certain you have been told that more than once. And in the end, that is what this courting is all about: females judge a man by how he flies first and only later on what kind of man he is. On both counts you really should not have a problem."