Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed the last chapter. Here is a more light-hearted one with Littlefoot. Enjoy!

Chapter 27 The Secret Misadventure

Littlefoot

It was hot the day after Littlefoot's grandfather told stories around the fire. Everyone had so much fun that night. More dinosaurs showed up than they expected. Most of the kids and their families, Britta and Pterano came with Petrie and his family, Ella and Lexie came with Hyp and his friends, Ruby's family came to socialize with everyone else…. It ended up being a peaceful get together. Everyone sat around and listened to Grandpa Longneck's story, and some were talked into telling some of their own.

The kids quickly discovered they like Hyp's cousin, Ella, and her sister, Lexie. They weren't bullies like Hyp and his friends. Hyp and his friends were actually nicer around them. Ruby and Ella talked about different songs they had picked up in the Mysterious Beyond. They quickly found that they both like the same song about a dinosaur that has survived past all her loved ones, and her final parting words to them.

Ruby asked Ella if she could sing it. The adolescent girl laughed, but pointed out that Lexie had a wonderful voice. It took some convincing, but Lexie finally agreed to sing it with Ruby as long as Pterano and Britta danced to it. It took time to persuade Britta to dance. But once Pterano and Petrie both knelt on one knee to ask her, she couldn't say no.

They loved watching Pterano and Britta gracefully dance around. They had seen the yellow-bellies dance, but they didn't dance in the same way. Pterano and Britta were so graceful with each step. At one point, Britta turned away from Pterano and still managed to avoid stepping on his feet as he held her hands. At the end of the song, he lifted her, spun her around once, and gently sat her down again. Everyone was amazed.

"Me no even know we can do that!" Petrie had said. It wasn't long after the song ended that Britta was called away to tend to a patient.

But perhaps the best part of the night was hearing Lexie and Ruby sing "The Parting Song" together. Ruby had a sweet voice, and Lexie's voice coincided with her to fill the air with melody. The night had been perfect. Everyone in the gang quickly agreed that they liked Lexie. She was so nice to them, and spent the rest of the time talking with them. Lexie even made Hyp smile.

Mostly everyone said they would be at the watering hole today, so the gang was there. They decided to play in the water, since it was so unbearably hot. Eventually, when they got tired of the game they were playing, they began looking for others they knew.

Ducky scanned the area and pointed. "Look, look look! There is Lexie and Ella! Let's go say hello."

They all looked across the watering hole. "Is Lexie sleeping or something?" Cera asked.

Ella didn't notice them until they were standing in front of the rock where her sister was lying under the shade of the trees. Ella held Lexie's head in her lap. When they got closed, they could hear Lexie grunting quietly with each breath.

Ella looked up at them. "Hey, guys."

Ruby gasped. "Oh, no. Is Lexie sick?"

Ella put a hand on Lexie's shoulder when she tensed. "Yeah. She doesn't feel good today."

"Is it like that all the time?" Littlefoot asked. "I bet it's…hard."

"Yeah," Ella said. "It comes and it goes. Today is just one of those days."

Littlefoot felt bad for Lexie. "Is Britta around? Maybe she can help her."

"I haven't seen her today, but she already gave Lexie something for when this happens. Sometimes Lexie just has to get through it on her own."

Lexie happened to open her eyes when Ducky was standing close to her face. It was as if the light even hurt her eyes. "Ducky…" she said quietly. "Hi."

It wasn't a few minutes that Lexie went back into a fitful sleep again. Littlefoot looked to Ella. "So…there's nothing?"

Ella shook her head. "That's why we came here. And what Britta's been looking for."

They all frowned at each other. Littlefoot and Cera exchanged glances. She surprised him with her next question, but it made him smile. When Cera asked about anyone, it meant she had a soft spot for them, even though she would never come out and say so.

"Is there…anything she needs, Ella?"

Ella looked her sister over and sighed. "No, I don't think so. I think this is the best place for her right now."

"Oh, okay. We will let her rest. We'll come back later," Littlefoot said.

Ella smiled. "See you guys. Hey, if you see Hyp tell him I said come here. Amy, too."

Cera and Petrie smirked at the idea of bossing Hyp around. "Okay…" Ducky replied.

The group spotted Hyp and his friends in the grove of trees near the watering hole. As they approached the grove, Littlefoot's mind wandered as he listened to his friends talk.

"Too bad there nothing for Lexie. If anybody find cure, Britta will," Petrie said.

"Do you think she knows about the Night Flowers?" Littlefoot asked the group. "They helped my grandpa."

Everyone stopped. Chomper and Ruby were the only ones who were clueless, as they were not present for that adventure. "Night flowers?" Ruby inquired.

Littlefoot nodded. "My grandpa got sick a long time ago. We went to the Land of Mists to get them. Us and Ali. And when we brought them back, he was better."

"Yeah, but Lexie's different," Cera stated shortly. She had no intention whatsoever of visiting that place ever again.

"But what if?" Littlefoot prompted.

"That is a long way. And even if you did bring back flowers, which I doubt, Lexie will be all better by then," Cera said quickly.

"What are you hatchlings talking about?" said a familiar, rough voice from behind.

They all startled, surprised to see that Hyp and his friends had left the grove and crossed paths with them.

"Hi Hyp," Littlefoot said nervously, not wanting to get on the hot-tempered bully's bad side. "Where are you headed?"

"What do you care?" Hyp retorted.

"Ella said to tell you to go see them," Cera stated, quickly losing her own temper.

"That's where I'm going," Hyp answered shortly. Littlefoot noticed a small orange flower in the palm of the older dinosaur's hand, but didn't say anything because he had a good idea what it was for. Unfortunately for Hyp, Ruby noticed it too.

"That's a pretty flower, Hyp! She'll love it. That, she will!"

Hyp snarled a little in embarrassment as a response. Mutt and Nod had apparently been making fun of it before, and chortled at the mention of it. Hyp gave up the tough guy act. "Yeah, well, a lot of good it does."

"Hey, Hyp!"

They all turned and looked as Amy approached them all with her baby sister trotting along behind her. The rivalry between Hyp and Amy was still evident. Littlefoot didn't understand it. Amy was always nice to him, but Hyp always seemed to be a different story.

"What?" Hyp sighed in exasperation.

"Are you gonna go help Ella, or not? I'm on guard duty." She looked down at her sister.

"I'm coming! Gah, she's so impatient." Hyp scuffed his heel on the ground.

Amy wasn't moved. "Look, I don't like seeing her sick any more than you do but Ella hasn't moved for hours. Know what? You watch Mae, then. I'll go."

"I'm goin'!"

The group watched as Hyp left and approached Ella, who seemed to tell him what she thought of having to wait on him before leaving him with Lexie.

"What are we watching for?" Nod asked randomly, causing several of them to laugh because they were wondering the exact same thing.

"I just wanna see what he does," Amy said.

"I think he put the flower beside her," Chomper stated.

They all watched with interest. Hyp checked on Lexie, but she didn't seem to be awake. He went to the opposite side of the boulder and sat down with two stones in his hands. He began sharpening one with the other, just to have something to do.

"Well that's no fun," Amy stated sullenly as she walked off.

Everyone dispersed, deciding it would be more beneficial to return to whatever they were doing before.

"Guys, Britta have a shortcut to the Mysterious Beyond," said Petrie suddenly.

Spike and Littlefoot exchanged confused glances.

"How would Britta's nest have a shortcut? It's up high," Chomper said.

"She have a narrow path in the back that lead to a hole in the Great Wall. Me find it the other day," Petrie assured them. "Uncle Pterano say it take half day journey away."

Cera raised an eyebrow. "Were you supposed to know about this 'shortcut?'"

Petrie hesitated. "….No. Britta no know I find it. Uncle Pterano say he no tell her as long as me stay away from the back of the cave."

"Why doesn't she just close the opening with rocks?" Littlefoot asked.

"That how she go and get healing plants Valley no have," Petrie said.

They thought about all the times they had seen Britta use a strange plant if someone was really sick or badly injured.

"Makes sense…" Cera said.

Littlefoot mentally made the journey over again in his mind. "If we use that opening and get down the Great Wall from the other side somehow… We could be back by tonight, guys."

"What if Britta is home?" Ducky asked anxiously. "She will be very mad if she sees us. Yep, yep, yep."

"Not as mad as my Dad…" Cera trailed.

"Yeah… But no one has seen Britta today, right? So where is she?" Littlefoot asked.

Petrie thought a moment.

"Not here," he stated.

"What about Pterano?"

"He somewhere around Valley. I saw him this morning," Petrie answered.

Littlefoot brightened. "So no one's there! We could just find a way up there and leave through the back. They won't even notice!"

"When have we heard that before?" Cera asked.

Littlefoot sort of smirked because, come to think of it, he probably had said that. "C'mon, guys. If it helps Lexie… And it's a journey we've already made before!"

"We've heard that too," Cera chimed in.

It took some convincing, but Littlefoot finally got them to at least look at the opening in Britta's nest. As promised, no one was home when they got there. Getting up to the nest was somewhat of a hassle but, unlike Petrie's nest, there was rocks jutting out of the cliff. Everyone was able to climb up using these wedges in the cliff. Spike had the worst struggle, but Cera finally made things easier by shoving him up to the ledge with her horn.

Everyone except Petrie gaped when they looked around. On top of being a very busy healer, Britta generally kept her place spotless. The nest was typical of a flyer, except the nest had an extra layer of grass, and the space. So much space. In the back were leaves filled with ground herbs she used in treatment, the flowers she used on threehorn lying on a stone in the corner, harvested mosses and berries drying to the side, and various assortments of plants organized by purpose.

"Wow," everyone said in unision.

Ducky reached out to touch a pretty flower. "What is this stuff-?"

Petrie took her arm. "No touch it! Britta say never touch anything we no know what it's for!"

"What could that flower do?" Cera asked skeptically.

"May be same flower that made your dad sleepy," Petrie retorted. Cera thought about it, not having much of a response.

Littlefoot got curious. "What's the worst thing something in here could do?"

Petrie thought a while. "Well… She say some rocky stuff on way up there can burn skin, if not mixed with something else. And that if we eat something in here, it be dangerous. Me no know how Britta know all this stuff."

He looked down at a pale spot on the stone floor and pointed at it. "And this where Uncle Pterano spill something. It do this to floor."

Ruby was intrigued. She didn't touch anything, but she looked around. "How long has she been doing this?"

"Since she my age," Petrie answered. "Me already ask."

"Could she teach me?" Ruby asked.

"Me sure, if you ask," Petrie replied.

Chomper sniffed around the cave. "Hey! I think I found the passage to the back! It's just enough for Spike to get through."

"Well, let's go. One of them might come back soon," Littlefoot replied.

They squeezed through the narrow passage. The bigger ones like Littlefoot, Cera, and Spike had to find ways to squeeze through some parts of the passage. They all sighed when they saw a light at the end of the tunnel. They had, essentially, gone straight through the Great Wall.

Littlefoot and Chomper were the first to squeeze themselves outside into the Mysterious Beyond. Chomper looked around and sniffed the air. "This lets out in the mountains where rocks slides happen a lot," Chomper said.

Littlefoot scanned the area. Not far from the mountains was the gooey place where Littlefoot and his friends had rescued Hyp, Mutt, and Nod. He could see the place from where he and his friends had found Chomper's egg a long time ago. He imagined someone like Britta could skip this entire area by flying. They however, would have to choose the most promising way.

By this time, all his friends had managed to get through the passage. Cera looked agitated. "Well, I'd hoped for an easier place to start."

Littlefoot made a quick decision before she could turn back. He looked to the mountains. "That way. If we go through the caves, we can get to the Land of Mists-"

"Well, here's step number one. How do we get down?" Cera retorted.

Littlefoot looked directly down for the first time. Nothing but rocky land below. But it was quite a drop, and nothing to swing on or jump onto. He craned his neck to see the slope of the hill, which was steep, but not too bad.

"Hmmm?" Cera demanded.

"We could slide?" Littlefoot volunteered.

Cera looked to see if she was seeing the same thing he was. "Are. You. Crazy?"

Ducky looked over the edge. "I do not want to slide down that. No, no, no."

Littlefoot tried to take one step down the ledge. He put his weight on that foot and tested the slope. Just when he thought it was safe, that foot slipped. He tumbled completely over the edge. As he tumbled he accidentally knocked Ducky, Cera, and Chomper over with them. Chomper grabbed on to his tail, and he bit into Cera's, who had screamed and tried to latch onto the ledge with her forepaws. By reflex, Spike tried to pull her up. He ended up being pulled over himself by their weight against his. From there, Ruby and Petrie tumbled after them next.

They all screamed as they tumbled and tumbled down the slope. It wasn't bad, but it was scary. Everyone groaned because, once they hit bottom, it was rough. They lay there a few minutes, trying to recover.

"Question two." Cera was officially mad. "How do you plan to get back up there?"

Littlefoot didn't answer. He rolled over onto his side, choosing to only take one step at a time, as usual.

They all jumped when a familiar voice called to them from the air. "What are you doing?!"

Everyone gritted their teeth. Britta, who had decided to end her run for supplies when the leaf she carried was full, circled above them from the air. Several of them groaned nervously as the healer managed a graceful landing in front of them and waited for a response.

They all looked at each other. Littlefoot tried to come up with something. "We…"

Britta interrupted. "Do you realize you could have been hurt? Not only from the fall. Children! This is the fast biter's favorite place to ambush! I saw some not far from this area not one minute ago. What were you thinking?!"

They really didn't know how to answer. None of the children had ever heard Britta yell before. Her yelling was a little different than their families. She kept a somewhat level tone, but was very inquisitive. They could tell she was disappointed. She looked up at the opening to her cave. "You came from my home?"

Littlefoot shook himself off. "We're sorry. It's just that Lexie was sick, and…well, we thought the Night Flowers might help."

Britta softened when she understood. "Oh children," she said in a softer tone that sounded more dismayed than angry. "The Night Flower treats many things. But it will not work for Lexie. We haven't found a cure for her yet…Only things to help her along. If there were something, I assure you I would have gotten it for her by now. And the Night Flower is in the Land of Mists, which happens to be very dangerous, by the way. You were planning on going? Without notice?"

Littlefoot bowed his head. "Yeah, we just wanted to help."

Britta sighed and looked at Petrie. "I didn't believe your mother or your uncle when they told me how you children had a tendency to suddenly go off on dangerous adventures. You've proved me wrong, children. But I hope you know I can't let you go any further."

She stopped when a loud sharptooth roar sounded in the distance. "Well, enough of this for now. It would be wise to return to the Valley by nightfall. Come."

Britta looked up to the passageway to her nest hopelessly. "We can't go back this way. So we will have to go the long way. I am sure your families will miss you by the time we get back."

Chomper looked up at Littlefoot nervously. He'd never had to face his parents after a journey before. "Are you going to tell them?"

"I haven't decided," she responded. "I should."

They found the quickest way to pass through the Great Wall. It was mostly a straight shot, but had a steep incline. Britta seemed to be tired of flying, and chose to stay on foot with the children, only flying up to keep an eye out for sharpteeth. They were silent some of the way, but slowly began to chatter when they realized that Britta really didn't seem as angry as they thought.

"Why are you so worried if you know we've survived so many times before?" Cera finally asked her.

Britta stopped a moment and sighed. "Children, so many dinosaurs that live out here die every single day. Imagine how often they survived so many other times before. Your families will always worry about you because they know that there isn't always a next time."

Suddenly, Littlefoot worried for Britta when he thought of this new concept. "Why don't you take someone with you on your runs for medicine?"

Britta looked at him and playfully patted his head. "Because I didn't want anyone finding out about the new shortcut to the Mysterious Beyond," she teased.

"Oh," he chuckled.

"Britta?" Ruby asked. "Can you teach me about healing? I would like to learn, that I would."

Britta smiled. "It would be delighted, Ruby. But it is a big commitment. You have to really like it. But the only way to know is to try. And it's better to start when you're young."

Ruby seemed thrilled by this. They kept traveling, teasing each other and playing traveling gamed as they went along. They had forgotten that, despite her role in the Great Valley, Britta was quite a lot of fun to be around. At one point, they decided to play leap frog.

Britta had to jump over Spike over, who was bigger than she was. She finally decided to glide over him and resume the position.

"Britta, that's cheating! Yep, yep, yep!" Ducky laughed.

"It is not cheating! Its problem solving!" she reasoned.

"Cheating," Petrie stated.

"Ah, fine. It seems Spike wins by standing there," Britta said. Spike laughed and took a bite out of a nearby bush.

By the time they reached the passed to the Great Valley, it was late afternoon, but not quite dusk. Britta yawned. "Oh, children! What a day! Well, it seems you got lucky. You can still make it home before dinner."

The children waited on her verdict, but she cleared her throat and whispered instead. "That is your cue to go home, children."

"So you're not going to tell our parents?" Cera asked.

Britta sighed. "No, but don't use my shortcut to sneak out anymore. Do you understand? If this happens again, I will not help you next time."

"That's fair enough," Littlefoot replied, relieved that he was spared trying to explain their misadventure to his grandparents.

"Fair enough what?!" growled a familiar, rough voice from behind them that made everyone, especially Cera and Britta, cringe. They all turned to see Mr. Threehorn glaring at them from behind.

"Uhh…" Littlefoot went blank.

"Daddy!" Cera started.

Mr. Threehorn took a few steps toward her and gave her a stern stare. Littlefoot knew that if they didn't do something, Cera would have no choice but to crack.

"Fair enough that they won't tell anyone about the opening in my cave," Britta said quickly. When she had his attention, she continued. "They helped me arrange my herbs today, and found the opening. I told them we don't want anyone to know. It was my fault they found it, Mr. Threehorn, I apologize."

Britta was playing on the hopes he didn't hear the entire conversation. It turned out he didn't, as his jaw dropped and he proceeded to lecture her. "Now, Britta, you ought to be more responsible than that. As Valley healer, we let you have that cave under the condition you didn't tell anyone. Now all the kids know. We should seal it…"

Britta narrowed her eyes. "Fine. Then you can go get the medicine. But, in the event of an emergency, I need it as soon as possible-"

"I didn't say we would actually seal the cave!" Mr. Threehorn retorted.

"Then are we finished?" Britta asked.

"Mmmhmm…" he nodded.

"Then I'll be off." She waved to them. "Thank you for helping me, children."

Littlefoot smiled. Mr. Threehorn and Cera left. It didn't seem she was in for a lecture. All the kids dispersed and went home, glad their misadventure was still a secret.