Category: Land before Time
Rating: T
Couples: none
Warnings: Blood, Character Death (Same level as first Movie)
Chapter: 15
Copyright: © characters and places by United Pictures; © Plot and OC by me
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White Star snarled at the Fast Biters. They had recovered from their shock, and the feast behind her was making them bold enough to actually attempt to kill her. One or even three would not have been a problem, but half a dozen were a bit much. Luckily they were still hesitant, meaning only one or two actually dared attack her while most simply tried to get around her.
She needed to keep the blood to a minimum though; the Longneck wouldn't be happy if she traumatized the watching young ones. That her parents had already covered, snapping at Red Claw as if he was their next dinner. Not that he wouldn't be once he was death, but at the moment he was still very much alive.
She roared at one of the Fast Biters trying to get to the young Longnecks. The adult Longneck slapped him away, directly in front of her feet. Did he aim for that? She wasn't sure, but she wouldn't question an opportunity when it presented itself. His death was swift and bloodless. One down, seven more to go.
They hissed threateningly, the sound running up and down her spine. She roared again, making a step forward. They immediately dispersed, keeping out of range of her jaws. Cowards…
"Get to the herd." She told Chomper. "I need to know you safe."
He was standing behind her, so close that there was no way anything would try to snap him up. He looked up, his red eyes still filled with an innocence hers no longer could match. He nodded, turning and sprinting off while his sister remained behind.
"Leave this Valley." White Star stated. "If you do I have no reason to hunt you. Thud is dead, Red Claw will not survive either. Those we want death, will be."
"I doubt you'd let us go." A dark-green Fast Biter stated. "Besides, we were promised a fair hunting-ground. We claim this Valley."
"I think you do not understand." White Star answered. "I and my kin claim this ground. We will kill Red Claw, and take his territory for our own. Including the Valley. And we will kill anyone foolish enough to try and stay."
"Yeah, so leave!" Chomper called from where he was standing under the adult Longneck.
The pale-green Sharptooth did not react to her brother's call, merely shooting forward. Tey jumped aside, but her head hit one against the tail, throwing the Fast Biter of balance. She righted herself, looking at the others.
"I killed two of your pack, are you truly willing to die with them?" She asked, her red eyes gleaming. "I am fully prepared to eradicate all of you if you stay."
Sometimes it is better to stand your ground and sometimes the only thing you can do is to run as fast as your legs can carry you. Now was one of those latter moments.
The remaining Fast Biters ran, Sharptooth in hot pursuit. The dark-green Fast Biter had been right: she had no intention of letting them leave the Valley, only to get them out of sight of the children. There were only so many ways she could kill them without them ending as mangled corpses.
Her parents meanwhile had no choice but to turn their target into a mangled mess: Red Claw was too dangerous to stay close to for long, so they had to bite and retreat, hoping that blood-loss would weaken him.
Grandma Longneck was panting. She was not used to such long drawn-out battles, the fact that her mate was the fighter of the family aside. Still she did not use any opportunities to get to the herd, knowing full well that her tail was at times the only thing keeping him from attacking in return. She snarled as he tried to grab a hold of her neck. This time she did not need to bother with slapping at him.
"Dear." She breathed as her husband's tail came to her aid. He stepped up beside her, his eyes full of questions.
"Love." He answered her, briefly reaching out to touch her before Red Claw demanded their full attention. The Sharptooth snarled, backing away a bit when he was answered with thundering roars. Tyra and Rec did not show any discomfort with the increasing amount of adult Leaf-eaters around them, only seeing an opportunity to finish this once and for all. The Leaf-eaters meanwhile realized that same opportunity and were willing to ignore them for the time being.
He no longer had the strength to run and even if he would have had it, he would not have made it out of the Valley, not with the opponents he was facing now. The female Longneck was now being flanked by two others, the two Sharpteeth were flanking him and several Threehorns were blocking his escape into the forest, leaving him no way out.
The only thing he could do was ensure that he did not go down alone. That left him with a lack of available targets, since all he could reach were well-defended. The scar on his face rippled as he frowned, slowly turning. The light-green female was closer to him than her mate, but he would still need a distraction. He growled. Attacking the Valley had seemed like such a good idea, but it was back-firing spectacularly because of the two Sharpteeth who had apparently decided they'd rather be friends with their dinner than actually eat it. It was ridiculous, but it did not change that he was about to go down and go down hard.
They did not attack, they did not need to. Sooner or later he'd collapse, and once down he wouldn't get back up. His narrowed eyes looked from one dinosaur to the next, seeking a weak link he could exploit before he had no strength left.