Hey guys! I know it's been forever. I worked on another project this summer because I got writer's block, then couldn't get away from a semester full of classes. But here we are! I hope you guys are still with me.

We finally get to see if Chomper's parents get to pass into the valley. This chapter is short and sweet because the next chapter is very long.

Enjoy and please R&R. Thanks for all the wonderful reviews and helpful suggestions all of you have offered. I hope to hear from you on these next few chapters.

Until next time!

Chapter 22 Terms

Saban

Saban felt his nose crinkle as soon as he spotted the puny little leaf-eaters he was expected to take orders from here on out. The very idea made him so sick he stopped in his tracks. And of course, it only took Risa five seconds to notice.

"Saban," she hissed.

They'd woken Chomper only moments ago. Saban couldn't look into his eyes right now. The kid was on the verge of tears from nerves.

"Daddy…." he started.

Risa walked over to them, nuzzled Chomper one last time, and gently picked Chomper up by the tail to set him on the ground. Ruby's father gestured for Chomper to walk ahead with him. When their son hesitated, Risa gave him a nudge.

"Go ahead, Chomper."

Risa hissed his way as soon as Chomper turned away. "What is wrong with you?"

Saban eyed his "opponents," instantly recognizing several of them. Most of them were the ones that had thrown them out of the valley before, when they were looking for their lost son.

"It. Will. Never. Work." He kept his teeth bared, eyes on the leaf eaters at all times.

Risa stared him down for a moment, red eyes burning into his. Without a single purr, she spun around and left him behind. She was going with or without him and she meant it. What's worse, he didn't understand why.

Saban took a breath and willed his feet into action. Left foot. Right foot. Left, right….

Suddenly, he found himself standing right in front of them. Those old longnecks, that clubtail, another old dinosaur that looked like some subspecies of threehorn, and the same threehorn that he and Risa had decided to flee from before. Something about the way the Threehorn held his head still suggested that he thought he was their conqueror. And Saban despised his look right away. Little did he know, they only ran because they had a more important matter to attend to. Chomper.

Other things were going on. Ruby's father was going through formalities, friendly introductions….all the stuff Saban could afford to miss. At any rate, he couldn't hear him over Risa's hissing.

"Saban, stop staring them down!"

Saban cocked his head in astonishment when he spotted a young, adolescent Runner standing slightly behind the old Longneck's leg. The adolescent was small, afraid, and curious. And…here with all these adults.

For the first time since the beginning of their journey, he felt a rush of air catch in his throat as he fought the laughter that threatened to explode in his stomach. He scrunched the sides of his mouth to keep his mouth from opening because if he opened his mouth, he would laugh. And expose all of his sharp teeth. It all ended up being a kind of quiet snort.

Risa snarled through clenched teeth. "Don't. You. Dare. Laugh. But thanks for smiling, dear."

Chomper's question called him back to reality. "Daddy… Did… you hear him?"

Saban snapped out of it. Someone had said something to him. He was guessing it was the old Longneck because he was smiling at him. Saban made his "huh?" noise to indicate he needed a repeat. If there was any plant-eater word a sharptooth could somewhat say, it was that.

"It's so nice to meet you. Both of you. We've heard so much about you from Chomper."

Saban felt his eyes pop open in surprise. Actually, he was expecting to get turned away. The leaf-eaters were actually serious about giving them a chance? And the old Longneck was….talking directly to him? Saban was a little curious about the old Longneck. He seemed so…sincere.

In the midst of all the surprise, his response ended up being something like, "Okay…."

The old Longneck didn't understand. He looked down at Chomper. "Uhrm… What?"

Chomper looked up at Saban, then at the longneck. "He said it's nice to meet you, too."

Saban didn't want his son "covering" for them. "I did no-"

He winced when he felt Risa give the tip of his tail a little warning swat with hers. Saban growled under his breath and waited for someone to speak. Suddenly, he was infuriated by the vast presence of all the dinosaurs. It was like they were preparing to fight, like they were going to test them. Saban would rather fight over territory than have to explain himself to anyone.

"You…say you want to live in the valley to be with Chomper. Is that correct?" the old longneck asked.

They hesitated a moment. Finally, Risa answered in the least-threatening way she was capable of. "Yes."

She nudged Chomper with her nose, and he repeated what she said in plant-eater language. The old longneck nodded and continued. "Well...Mr. and Mrs. Sharptooth, we understand you miss your boy. But…letting sharpteeth into the valley goes against everything the valley knows. Our council got together and, because Chomper followed the rules of the valley so long, decided to let you stay. With conditions, of course."

Saban was shocked. He hadn't expected them to allow them in. He'd been thinking, and sort of hoping, they'd turn them away. He didn't even really want to live in the valley, under the rules of plant-eaters, of all things. It went against any sharptooth's pride. When he looked over at Risa, a hint of a relieved smile turned up the corners of her mouth.

Saban eyed the longneck, speaking directly to him even though he couldn't understand. "What conditions?"

The old longneck answered as soon as Chomper translated. "Well, no hunting in the valley walls, of course. And until everyone gets used to things, you will have to stay in a certain part of the valley. But one of our council members worked out a way for you to have easy access to the Mysterious Beyond as you please. If you're interested…."

Risa and Saban shared a surprised look. "They've thought about our hunting needs?" Risa asked.

Saban turned back to the longneck. "Very interested," he confirmed.

The old longneck smiled and continued. "There are thick woods along the path to Threehorn Peak. If you know how to navigate it, you can go back and forth from the Mysterious Beyond. As of today, we'll be closing Two Boulder Pass…"

"What a surprise," Saban grumbled.

"But, if you take this offer, we ask that you be very careful. No other sharpteeth can see you come and go because the valley will be exposed. And we would ask you to sort of…guard that pass. Make sure no one follows you. You'll be living near it, so it shouldn't be any trouble. As for the valley residents, they won't bother you. They've been warned to respect your territory in the valley. But absolutely no one in the valley is to be harmed. Even far-walkers."

Saban narrowed his eyes. "Will we have water?"

The old longneck answered yes and pretty much left it up to them. Saban narrowed his eyes in thought and stared at the ground. Risa and Chomper both watched him, eyes full of hope.

"They're going to try to allow us to hunt, Saban. It's more than I expected," Risa said gently.

Chomper smiled up at him, eager to hear his answer. "Please, Daddy… I've missed you…."

This wasn't fair. They knew he couldn't think with them like that. Just as Saban was about to ask another question, the threehorn stomped his foot.

"HOLD IT!" he yelled, walking right up to them. He looked Saban directly in the eyes. "What are your real intentions?"

Saban could feel his eyes burning already. "Intentions?" he asked.

When Chomper didn't translate, he turned on his. "Tell him everything I say!" he snapped.

When Chomper translated, the threehorn narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Yes! I don't believe two sharpteeth like you will even abide by our rules. You could take your son and go. We let you in, and we risk exposing our valley. So, I ask you, what are your intentions?"

Risa spoke before Saban. Saban could feel his teeth gritting from fury. "You…think we have bad intentions?" she asked, offended.

"Yes. I'm sure you have other sharpteeth you know… So what are you planning to do? Spread the word? Your son has no idea what he just asked-"

Saban cut him off with a loud growl when approached Chomper. He stomped his foot down between them and crouched in front of the threehorn, tempted to pounce on him right then and there.

The old longneck got between them. "Please! Mr. Threehorn, you're not being fair. We've already agreed to let them live in the valley as long as they agree to the terms."

The threehorn stared Saban down, long and hard, then backed off. Saban could already tell this was going to be difficult. Just refraining from having this threehorn for dinner was a challenge.

The threehorn paced back and forth while they met everyone else. The other threehorn, Mr. Thicknose, Saban heard someone call him, was a little more on the bright side. He said if they allowed sharpteeth into the valley, they'd be the first ever. It would be another story to tell.

"You got that right…" Saban mumbled to Risa.

The clubtail and the female longneck remained silent, not appearing to have any particular preference. If they did, they didn't show it. Saban was surprised. The adolescent Runner turned out to be coming along in his father's place. His father was the one that thought of letting them guard Threehorn Peak in exchange for guarding the pass.

The threehorn couldn't take it anymore, and came back. "Let me tell you right now that the residents who shared my opinion were outnumbered in the vote. But I don't care who objects to this: If you two so much as step one foot out of line, we'll chase you out of the valley. Just like last time. You're to stay where we say, guard that pass with your lives, respect our rules… And don't so much as think about hunting in this valley. If anyone turns up missing, we're coming after…."

Saban cut him off with a loud, furious roar. Right in his face. He'd had enough of this threehorn. He wasn't going to tell them what to do, and he wasn't going to disrespect his family. Risa nudged his shoulder with her nose to tell him to remember what they were there for. Right now, he didn't care. He wanted this threehorn off their backs. Now.

Risa got between them and crouched in front of the threehorn. "Tell us more about where we will live," she said.

The threehorn looked shocked when Chomper translated. Honestly, Risa had looked a little threatening. She didn't care for him, either.

That didn't stop him, though. "You'll live at the edge of the valley. As far away from everyone else as possible. You won't bring your kills anywhere near the valley. You're to stay in that territory unless we say you can move…"

"Uh, Threehorn. My dad didn't say anything about that," the young adolescent pointed out. It was the first time he'd spoken.

Mr. Threehorn turned on him. "Then what does he say?"

The clubtail spoke up, too. "Those ain't in the terms."

The female longneck bent down to reason with the threehorn. "I know you're apprehensive, Threehorn. But I believe they just want to be with their son. And there's no sense in making this harder than it needs to be. Don't you agree?"

Ruby's father, usually very timid, intervened. "I'm sorry… But… I know they have good intentions. My family knows them. And... I don't think this is fair."

The threehorn huffed. Finally, he quieted down. "Mmmhmmm…." He grumbled submissively.

The old longneck got back to business. For some reason, Saban had the feeling they had passed one of those so called "tests."

"Now the question is… Do you agree to the terms?"

Risa was the first to answer after a long hesitation. She looked the longneck directly in the eye even though Chomper was translating. "Yes, we agree."

They all looked at Saban. Saban thought of declining and heading back to the Mysterious Beyond, but…his family would hate him for it. He scoffed and took a deep breath. Chomper and Risa were both watching him.

"Fine!" he snarled.

The female longneck smiled at Risa. "Welcome to the Great Valley."

Saban narrowed his eyes. At least Risa was making friends.

Shortly after they started walking, the valley came into sight. Saban couldn't even look at Risa and Chomper right now for being so angry inside. And apprehensive. He wasn't sure about this.

"Follow us. We'll show you where to go," the old longneck said.