*AUTHOR'S NOTE (NEED TO READ TO KEEP TRACK OF THE STORY FROM THIS POINT ON)*
Hi everyone! Sorry it's been so long since I've updated and I know you may be anxious to read so I'm going to do my best to get right into the final chapter of "Stories of the Valley: Book I." But first, we have to talk before I get into the chapter. If you're anxious, you're free to read and scroll back up here to see what's going to happen with the story from this point on.
I've been working on this chapter for at least several months because… Britta is my favorite OC, and Pterano is my one of my favorite all time characters from the franchise. So I'm doing my best to do them justice while drawing Book I to a close.
First of all, this is my second longest running story…running over the course of four years. I want to thank everyone for the amazing patience, follows, favorites, and most of all reviews and PMs. I count this story as a pretty good success, and plan to keep it going but it's getting kind of long, so here's how it's going to work…
*LOOK FOR STORIES OF THE VALLEY: BOOK II* This WILL BE the final chapter in Book I besides a list of characters keeping track of who belongs to what family, who is still living, and who is deceased, and there are a lot of them. It gets confusing and you never know when a character that hasn't been around in a while might pop up, so be sure to give the list a glance over.
*ALSO ON BOOK II* I have teamed up with a friend, and their OCs will appear in Book II. I have not yet decided if I write two versions of Book II (one with both our OCs and the other with just mine). Honestly, it depends on how many reviews and how much feedback is given… So if you want to see something, don't hold back. Let me know. That's the only way I know how you're interacting with the story.
*ONE-SHOTS* Some of you have PMed me with great ideas for one-shots. And due to just trying to get this story and a few others done, I haven't gotten around to it. I plan to go back through my PMs, but if you still have an idea for me… PM me again. I'd love to hear from you!
*POINT OF VIEW IN BOOK II* As most of you have suggested, the gang will get a lot more time in this one. Only the adults I've set up here (Littlefoot's Grandparents, Topps… And a few random adults every now and again) will get much time. I don't want to give out spoilers, but most of Book II will center on our favorite characters, with the adults being heard from every now and again.
*CREDIT TO THE UNIVERSAL TEAM* So I'm sure most of you know… But Land Before Time XIV was released on Netflix almost as soon as it was available. (Who's seen it?!) It was very refreshing after some of the most recent films, and the Universal team deserves so much credit for putting together another film after so many years.
Kenneth Mars (Voice of Grandpa Longneck since Land Before Time II), you will be missed.
Okay, I think all the business is done. Thanks again for reading, enjoy, and follow me at least until Book II is posted because I would never leave things not tied up in a neat little bow, so to speak. The stories continue.
Until Book II,
Angerwriter84
PS-
In order to get the best humor out of this chapter for what Littlefoot and friends are doing. Picture this…
If video cameras existed at this time, and Littlefoot owned one at the beginning of the chapter… That's what he'd be doing. Picture a first person point of view found footage from Littlefoot's perspective in the first part of the chapter. Like he's video recording the whole thing.
Also, the entire chapter is different than the others. It's somewhat written from an omniscient point of view because relying on just one character for the whole chapter might be a narrowsighted this chapter, since everyone is together. You can see what any character is thinking here. Enjoy.
Some of you also asked about certain voice actors that I might have in mind for certain OCs. I mostly like to leave it up to the imagination of the reader. But I will post it on the list of characters statuses at the very end of Book I.
Right now I've definitely got… Melissa Disney for Lissie, and Naomi Watts for Britta. Okay, that's it. Enjoy and thank you. R & R!
Chapter 33 Our Wedding, Finally
The "Gang": Outside Britta's Nest
"Okay, Littlefoot. If you're going to be a memory teller tonight, you've got to be able to remember! Are you ready?" Ruby asked.
They were standing outside of Britta's nest. Mrs. Flyer sent them to see if she was still home, since no one had seen her yet. They'd called her several times, but everyone knew that wasn't going to work if she was still sleeping.
Hyp tossed a rock into the air and caught it again, ready to toss it at Britta's nest, hoping that it would wake her. At first, he and his buddies didn't want to help. But he seemed to be enjoying it now since he got to throw things.
They had already found and spoken to Pterano that morning. He answered their questions, but wasn't up to anything especially interesting. He seemed normal…for Pterano. He was only getting ready to start the day. He'd told them many interesting stories about the past, but they didn't have anything special for this morning…yet.
"Yeah, I'm watching," Littlefoot answered.
"Aaaannnddd…. Action!" Hyp tossed the stone with the last word. It flew above their heads in a blur and, as planned, flew into Britta's nest. But it was quickly followed by a loud crash, which definitely wasn't planned, followed by a tense second of silence.
"Scatter!" Hyp whispered.
Before anyone could move, a pink blur flew by them and tackled Hyp to the ground. At first, Britta whispered a few things they couldn't hear. One of her feet was planted on Hyp's chest and she held him by the scruff of his neck. When she realized it was a harmless approach to waking her, her expression softened. But she was far from impressed.
"Hyp! Why would you do that?!" she asked irritably. She decided to let him go to rub the sleep from her eyes.
Hyp smirked and dusted himself off. "Just trying to get these hatchlings an interesting story for your big stupid day."
Britta's expression looked as if she'd just remembered her wedding for the first time today. "Augh…" she sighed as she looked at the Bright Circle. "Let me guess. Tess wants me now."
"She says you are late. Yes, you are," Ducky explained.
"And you still gotta talk to my family!" Chomper reminded Britta of their earlier agreement.
"Did you talk to the Council members? Grandpa Longneck? Mr. Threehorn?"
Chomper froze at the mention of Mr. Threehorn. "Uhh… I talked to Grandpa Longneck."
Britta blinked. "Good enough. I'll go talk to them now. Petrie, can you tell your mom I said….ten more minutes?"
"Yeah," Petrie said. "But she not gonna be happy."
Britta stood up, ready to follow Chomper to his home, then remembered she was supposed to be answering questions. "Oh, sorry… Did you need something, children?"
Everyone except Britta looked to Littlefoot. Britta turned to him with a confused expression. Littlefoot already had some ideas about what to say. "Well, you gave all we need for today, but…"
"But what?"
"I need to know something about when you first met Pterano, and what made you like him, and….stuff…" Littlefoot asked shyly.
"You're asking me this now?" Britta asked. "Didn't Pterano tell you anything?"
"He told us a lot!" Littlefoot said.
"I thought we'd never get to leave…" Cera mumbled.
Britta was too preoccupied to catch Cera's sarcasm. "Oh, how sweet…" she smiled.
"Anyway… Grandpa said I'm supposed to get his story and your story and put them together, so…." Littlefoot prompted shyly.
Britta's blue eyes lifted to the sky. It was funny how adults' voices changed when they talked about love. "Oh… You know the funny thing is I don't really even know," she laughed. "It was so long ago. We grew up together. And it was like…second nature. I think we always knew we were supposed to be together."
Hyp stood up and motioned for his friends to follow. "Ugh, gross. C'mon guys. I'm supposed to go get Lexie for this thing."
"Yeah, but is there a time when you 'knew?' My mom talks about when she knew all the time!" Ruby exclaimed.
Chomper snorted when he thought of something. "My Dad said it took a million Cold Times for my Mommy to catch on."
Everyone laughed a little. Ducky giggled. "I wish we could understand your Dad, Chomper. He's funny."
"My grandparents talk about love at first sight…" Littlefoot volunteered.
"Tria and my Dad do, too…" Cera mentioned, rolling her eyes. "I think it's overrated."
"I think it's romantic!" Ruby countered.
Britta giggled a bit at the children's innocence. "Well, for us…I would say it was always there. Although I wouldn't call it love at first sight because…we were so young. But I think the moment I 'knew' that it was really meant to be was when…. He brought me a flower and asked me to a celebration. We weren't much older than you kids.
It was the first time kids our age were allowed to ask…other boys and girls to accompany them. But Pterano was highborn in the herd, and handsome…and….could've gone with anyone. And he asked me. It was the first of many of the happiest nights of my life, children. From then on, I think we did everything we were allowed to do together. It was always us, and our friends."
"Aww…" some of the more romantic children murmured.
"Well, that's a…pretty cool story, Britta," Littlefoot stated.
"Yeah. And when it come to Britta… Uncle Pterano is a good person," Petrie stated triumphantly, landing on his soon to be aunt's shoulder.
Britta lifted him into the air, causing him to laugh. "He better be a good person!"
Britta quickly sat Petrie back on the ground in his preferred spot. By Ducky. "Is there anything else you need to know?"
"Yes. Are you excited?!" Ducky asked, big blue eyes widening.
"For it to be over? Yes!" Britta stated bluntly, but playfully enough to make them all smile. "Alright, now I have to go invite sharpteeth to my wedding before Petrie's mother yells at me."
Britta turned away, then paused, and laughed nervously. "Ha. Listen to me… I'm inviting sharpteeth to my wedding…"
Cera decided to follow her comment. "I agree that's an…unusual statement."
Britta spun on her heels. "Chomper, come with me!"
"Coming!" he called.
…
The Sharptooth Family: Their Territory
Saban sat there as he and Risa tried to comprehend the purpose of a "wedding." He was just about to finally get outside the valley walls to hunt when he heard Chomper calling them from the other end of their "territory." He and Risa found him near the creek with the same pink flyer Risa spared before. And, through Chomper, she invited them to her wedding tonight.
Except he and Risa really didn't know what that was. When Risa asked Chomper to explain, he really couldn't either. So the flyer explained that it was a gathering to celebrate the union of two mates, or husband and wife. It was probably the most ridiculous thing Saban ever heard.
Risa didn't have time to think about what she thought about it, because Saban already had an opinion. Saban snorted and twitched his tail in amusement.
"Why would you waste time celebrating mating?" Saban said.
"Saban!" Risa scolded. "Don't repeat that, Chomper."
"I'm just asking a question…" Saban insisted.
"It's okay, Mommy. Britta won't mind."
"Chomper-"
He repeated the question anyway. The flyer seemed a bit surprised, but was very patient with Saban. "Well, it's a reason to get together and it's just…tradition…in most of our herds. You don't celebrate it?" she asked.
Saban and Risa shook their heads. Saban responded to the flyer with a smirk. "Why? I mean, you love someone. You're getting a mate. Many happy Cold Times."
Risa snarled at her mate because he'd obviously forgotten that she was there or just entirely forgot who he was referring to. Saban smiled and pressed his nose to her cheek. "I'm sorry, swee-"
Risa snapped at him as a warning and focused back on Britta. The flyer turned to Chomper. "He basically just said why celebrate when you're getting a nagging mate, didn't he?"
Chomper thought it over. "Uhh… He said many happy Cold Times. I don't know why."
Saban smiled. His work here was done. "Yeah, that's what I said! She's getting good at understanding us."
He took off toward the hunting trail, but Risa stayed behind and waited for her mate to notice that she wasn't following. When he turned around, she turned back to an eager Chomper and the flyer. "Tell her we will come for a while, Chomper. If that's okay with everyone else."
Chomper leapt onto her nose and gave her a hug. "It's okay, Mom. I already asked!"
Saban shook his head. Now Risa was the good parent. "No, Risa! Hunting! We're going hunting."
She ignored him and nuzzled Chomper. Once the flyer got her answer, she and Chomper waved to them and went off somewhere else.
Risa was about to walk off into the part of their territory that was the designated "her side" when they were mad at each other. "Risa, we agreed we were going hunting!" he called after her.
"We are," she said calmly. "After the gathering tonight."
"I'm not going tonight. I'm going right now."
"Well, if you think you can get something and have it back here in time for the gathering… Just make sure you get enough for Chomper and me."
"I'm not bringing back jack. If you want something, you can both come with me."
"Fine. I'll take Chomper out myself tomorrow, and then you can fend for yourself while Chomper and I enjoy whatever we get. Or you can make it easier and wait until tonight, so we don't throw off our hunting pattern."
Saban snarled and jerked his head to the side. Now he was mad.
Risa smiled and pressed her nose to his cheek. "I guess this is just one of those Cold Times, dear."
Saban snarled and stormed off to his side, growling about hunting until midnight and "Cold Times."
Amused by his rampage, Risa smirked and watched him go. "Want to try saying that a little louder?" she roared after him.
All she heard in response was a loud snarl and more growling too low for her to hear. She smiled and walked the opposite way because her work here was done.
…
The Teenagers and The Gang (except Petrie and Chomper): The Watering Hole
Hyp and his friends were around the watering hole, hanging out and waiting for the celebration to start. All the adults were gathering things for the Tree Star Festival. Hyp and his friends stayed away because, if they got too close, someone was bound to drag them along to help.
Everything seemed to be going great. Lexie already said she would go with Hyp. Even Ella said she would go with Mutt "As friends." (She acted like she couldn't put enough emphasis on that.) Nod was too nervous to ask Amy, but it seemed like they would putting much all be sitting by each other anyway.
The girls were actually on the other side of the watering hole, laying out in the sun. There was no need for them to hide out anywhere because, for whatever reason, nobody ever seemed to think teenage girls ever needed to bother to help. At least… Hyp and his friends came to that conclusion, anyway.
The hatchlings were all in the watering hole, apparently taking a splash break from…whatever Littlefoot had them doing earlier. Hyp and friends kept an eye on them.
"Would you look at that? Nobody's making them drag Tree Stars around," Nod comments.
"Ehhh…" Hyp grunted, barely bothering to glance their way.
Mutt looked over at his friend. He was actually remembering something he'd been thinking about for a few days in a row. "Actually, Hyp… Are you and those guys…friends now?"
Hyp's head snapped up. "What? No! What do ya mean?"
When Mutt shrugged because he didn't know, Nod elaborated. "We've just all been kinda getting along."
His rep! Hyp had almost forgotten all about it. Apparently, it was slipping. All these good deeds lately had everyone thinking he was going soft. "Yeah, but just because I haven't had time to deal with 'em doesn't mean we're not friends! C'mon. I want to swim over there. We'll make 'em move."
Hyp and his friends left their hideout to in the shade and treaded over to where Littlefoot and his friend where playing. Littlefoot and a few of his friends saw them coming and stopped, watching them cautiously. Nowadays, there was no telling what these guys wanted anymore.
The others gave the groups of teens blank stares as the waded over to them. Cera raised an eyebrow as Littlefoot glanced over his shoulder. "What do they want?" she asked suspiciously.
"I don't know…" Littlefoot replied.
Hyp quickly made their intentions known by hustling the smaller children away from their spot. "Move it, hatchlings. This is our spot now!"
Ruby, being the closest to Hyp's age out of the whole group, protested to being bullied around in such a manner. "Why would we, when there's plenty of water to go around?"
Hyp stepped forward. "Yeah. But there is only one middle of the watering hole, and we want it. So you hatchlings are going to move."
Cera stood her ground. "We're not moving for you."
Hyp was running out of patience. He leaned down, almost nose to nose with Cera. "Oh, yeah?"
"Hyp!" Everyone, including Hyp, jumped at the unexpected interruption from behind them. Maybe if it had been Hyp's father, they would have been expecting it. But it was Lexie. Her voice was still as sweet as ever, but she'd used a sharper tone than they'd ever thought was possible for her.
She stood in the water, with Ella and Amy standing on land, watching what was going on. She took another step towards them. "Hyp, what are you doing?"
At first, Hyp was dumbfounded by her confrontation of him. He fumbled for words. "I… I…"
Lexie had already seen the whole thing. "Leave them alone," she pleaded.
Hyp was torn between pride and…wanting to please Lexie. But this was in front of everybody! He looked back at the hatchlings, so he didn't have to look Lexie in the face. "Beat it, Lexie. It's none of your business."
There was a brief moment of silent before he heard the sound of someone wading towards him. When he finally brought himself to look over his shoulder, she was right behind him. She shoved the flower he'd given her that morning into his chest. "Fine. And It's not. But maybe I don't want to go to the celebration with a bully."
Just as quickly as she'd come up behind him, she turned away from him and waded back to Ella and Amy, who helped her ashore and began to make their way back home. Hyp, forgetting all about holding up his rep, called after her.
"Lexie!"
Littlefoot bit his bottom lip as he watched Hyp watch Lexie go. He actually sounded sorry when he called for her to come back. Cera chortled under her breath so only he could hear. Littlefoot agreed that Hyp deserved it, and he knew Cera wouldn't agree with what he was about to do. But…
He ran up beside Hyp. "We'll get her back for you, Hyp. Right, guys?"
Cera's eyes popped open. "Huh?!"
The rest of his friends looked at him like they suddenly had other places to be and shook their heads in unison. "Umm umm…" they all said together.
Hyp just processed what Littlefoot said. "Hey! I don't need you to-"
"Do it for Lexie," Littlefoot said, both to Hyp and to his group of friends.
This at least got them all thinking. Eventually, they all agreed.
…
Pterano, Petrie, and Grandpa Longneck: Pterano's Hideout
Pterano picked a tree star from the ever shrinking pile he'd gathered for himself and popped it into his beak, once again glancing at the sun to get an estimate of the time. He'd been in his designated spot (a place where he knew he wouldn't run into Britta) all afternoon now. He startled when he heard the sound of heavy footsteps coming up beside him.
He relaxed when he realized it was only Grandpa Longneck. "Ah… Mr. Longneck. What can I do for you?"
"Well, Grandma went to check in on Britta. And since no one's heard from you all day, I thought I might do the same for you. Of course, it was hard to find you, but Britta finally pointed me in this direction," the older longneck informed him.
"Oh, I'm quite alright. Thank you… And this is my assigned spot for the afternoon, since Britta practically has the entire Valley reserved," Pterano joked.
Mr. Longneck chuckled a little. "Yes, I imagine it would be difficult not to run into Britta nowadays."
"'Tis, indeed. I'm wondering if I'll be a freer man married," Pterano joked.
The older longneck shrugged. "It depends on your partnership with Britta, which seems sincere to me… Which is…quite surprising, you know."
"Given my history here?" Pterano turned away and watched the sun set over the valley. "I just want to prove myself to Britta. I want to prove I can protect her, and…make her happy. No one wants me here, but Britta… It's like she's meant to be here."
"You'll find your place," Mr. Longneck stated. "So, do you have any idea what you want to say to Britta? Since you will be saying your own vows?"
"Yes. I've gone over it several times," Pterano answered confidently. "But have you checked with Britta…?"
"She was working on it," Mr. Longneck chuckled.
Just as Pterano was about to tell him he might want to check on that, Petrie swooped down and landed right beside him.
"Mama and Britta ask me to check on you," he said shortly.
Pterano and Mr. Longneck glanced at each other, caught off guard by the shortness in his tone.
"Is something…the matter, dear nephew?" Pterano probed.
"They been bossing me around all day! It worse than Cera!" his nephew wailed. "When we get to the fun part?"
Pterano couldn't help but smile as he patted his nephew on the shoulder. "There there, Petrie. You can stay with dear old Uncle Pterano until the wedding. How does that sound?"
"Me can't! I gotta go back to Mom!" Petrie wailed.
He paced around Pterano. "They want to know if you take a bath and ready?"
Pterano glanced at Mr. Longneck, feeling a little embarrassed. "Well, I've had two. And I'm eating treestars, waiting on them. How many baths have they had? Are they ready?"
"Nope," Petrie stated. He took the end of one of Pterano's wings in both hands and straightened it out.
Pterano watched him closely. "Are you done with that one?"
"Yeah."
He offered him the other wing. "Well, here. Do this one."
Petrie did the same for the other wing and put his hands on his hips with a proud smile as Mr. Longneck chuckled at them. "You ready! Oh, treestar."
Pterano's pile of treestars rustled as his nephews dove into them beak first and disappeared.
Mr. Longneck took his leave. "Well, it looks like you've got things covered. We will see you at dusk."
Pterano watched the pile of leaves rustle in amusement as Petrie searched for the perfect few treestars to take back with him. "Nope…No…Nope…."
…
Lexie and Ella's Cave: Lexie, Hyp, and the Gang
"It'll be fine, Hyp. Just do what we planned," Littlefoot encouraged him from behind. They were all standing in front of Lexie and Ella's cave, waiting for Hyp to call Lexie.
Hyp took a deep breath and exhaled as he bounced up and down on his toes a few times, twisting the flower he'd picked for Lexie on the way in his hand as he did so. This had to be the worst thing ever. He slowly turned around to face his friends and Littlefoot's group because going back sounded a lot easier right now.
Hyp winced and called out for Lexie. "L-Lexie?"
At the same time, Ella and Amy watched in slight amusement as Lexie ranted in her own sweet way and paced around the cave. Like any girl would, she gathered random treestars and fruit as she spoke.
Lexie tossed a few berries in her pile of treestars. "Bullying kids?! Who does he think he is? Why would anybody want to go to a celebration with somebody like that? I'll just go by myself… Does anybody want something to eat? I want something to eat. Ugh, boys are stupid… I don't feel good…"
Ella and Amy were trying not to look at each other so they wouldn't laugh.
"It's…fine to be upset when you don't like something Lexie," Amy finally answered.
Ella tried to lighten the mood a little, for Lexie's sake. "Yeah, you know. Like when guys get upset because they think girls are dumb."
Lexie stopped what she was doing with a confused look on her face. "What? Who said that? No, we're not!"
They were interrupted by the sound of Hyp calling Lexie outside. She pointed to the mouth of the cave. "Ella, please tell Hyp to go away."
Ella sighed. Hyp jumped when she poked her head out of the cave. She stopped when she saw the kids standing behind him.
"I wanted Lexie!" Hyp snapped.
"She doesn't want to see you," she replied. "Is this some kind of apology?"
Hyp felt his shoulders slump. "Just get her to come outside…"
Ella snickered as she turned away. "You are so weird…"
Hyp tried to hide the fact that he was blushing. "Quit laughin' at me. I'm serious!"
A few minutes later, Lexie emerged from the cave followed by Ella and Amy. She had the full intention of sending Hyp away herself, but stopped when she saw the kids. She shook her head in confusion, but Hyp started talking before she could say anything.
"Lexie, I brought everybody here because… Well… I was stupid." He turned to the kids before he could change his mind. "I'm sorry. I was a jerk. Mutt, Nod… I'm sorry… Ella, Amy. I'm sorry I talked to Lexie like that in front of you."
Hyp looked around, feeling as winded as if he'd been running for miles. "D-Did I miss anybody?"
"Y-Yeah, you missed Lexie," Amy pointed out.
Hyp winced at the snickers and giggles from behind him. He sighed and offered Lexie the flower. "I'm sorry, Lexie. I just came here to say that, and I understand if you don't want to go to the celebration anymore."
When Lexie took the flower, Hyp turned and began to walk away. It wasn't part of Littlefoot's little "plan," but this whole thing was so humiliating Hyp didn't see it working anyway. At least he got to tell Lexie he was sorry.
He jumped when Lexie called after him. "Hyp?"
When he gathered the courage to look back at her, he was relieved to find her smiling at him. "I'll go," she said.
"What, really?" Hyp turned around.
"Yay!" All the younger kids cheered as everyone gathered around in one big group.
A little later Amy said," I guess I'm glad you came because Lexie was about to make us eat like…the whole cave with her."
"Girls do that when they're sad?" Nod asked, just wanting the opportunity to talk to her.
"Or stressed," she added.
"We must be stressed a lot because we eat like that all the time," Mutt told Hyp.
"Then Spike must have a stressful life…" Cera muttered, observing that Spike had his tail to them and his head stuck in the bushes nearby.
"He has thirteen sisters," Ducky volunteered.
"That'll do it," Amy agreed.
…
The Villains: The Mysterious Beyond
Red Eye stopped at the edge of the woods on the far side of the Great Valley walls and sniffed at it. A wide smile turned the corners of his mouth as he flashed a toothy grin at his henchmen.
"Saban and Risa!" he said joyfully, as if they were there and he were greeting them. They'd definitely been hunting around here.
Red Eye raised his head when he heard a branch snap from somewhere opposite the woods. He nodded his head in the direction of the noise. Screech and Thud were instantly on the hunt for the prey. If they took it down, and he got something…. Well, double the dinner. Red Eye stepped a little deeper into the woods.
…
Ichy and Dil
Ichy fluttered in excitement when Dil splashed to the surface. "Did you get through, Dil? Huh?"
They were on the Mysterious Beyond's side of the Valley Wall. They'd finally found what looked to be an underwater weak spot in the wall, and had been trying to get through for days.
"Yeah," Dil panted. "I…finally…got through…"
"It's about time," Ichy stated coldly.
Dil growled, annoyed by his lack on consideration for her hard work underwater.
"So what's on the other side?" he asked impatiently.
"Nothing," she stated. "A cave."
"A cave that's gotta go somewhere," Ichy said, brightening."
…
Ozzy and Strut
The two egg stealers screamed and scrambled for their lives as a huge female sharptooth chased over the hills and through the valleys of the Mysterious Beyond. They had to make jump periodically because she was so close on their heels that, whenever she snapped at one of them, she would have close her jaws around them if they didn't make the leap. Of course, the hopper game wasn't helping them get ahead either.
If they had to guess, it actually seemed like she was having fun chasing them away from her egg. A few times, he growls sounded offended rather than defensive.
"Strut! You idiot!" Ozzy scolded.
"I didn't know she was there!" Strut panted, struggling to keep up.
"Nevermind, head for that cave!" Ozzy lead his brother through the entrance.
They stared out the entrance, only able to see the sharptooth's feet as she snorted and paced around outside for a few minutes. Strut noticed that the cave was quite large on the inside and gestured behind them.
"Strut… Maybe we should see where this leads?"
"Nonsense, brother. She will forget within the hour and we will be free to go." Ozzy watched as he feet disappeared.
For a while, there seemed to be all silence. "Ah, see? She's already gone. Sharpteeth are dumb- Ah!"
They both yelped in surprise as the sharptooth's tail flashed across the entrance in three swift motions, causing rocks to collapse in front of the cave entrance, completely blocking the light.
When the shaking stopped, Strut began to panic. "She just sealed us in here… She just sealed us in here!"
…
Rinkus and Sierra
Rinkus and Sierra had finally reached the outskirts of the Valley Wall, but hadn't quite made it inside yet. It had taken quite a bit of effort on Rinkus' part to convince Sierra that he was not just barging in there without a plan. Especially since he was fairly sure they were near the top of the watchlist for Valley intruders now.
Sierra at least agreed to rest up and learn the layout of the Valley first. When they were with Pterano, they had no need to stay long enough to do that. And if they planned on doing anything to Pterano himself or his nephew… They were going to need to leave.
Rinkus sat on top of the mountainous wall in between the crevices, hiding from any potential predators. He elbowed Sierra when he heard screaming in the distance.
"Hey, Sierra. Check it out. Egg stealers got themselves in trouble. Look."
Sierra and Rinkus smirked as they watched two egg stealers narrowly escape an angry mother sharptooth by darting in a cave. The mother angrily paced around on the outside for a moment before noticing that there were a few rocks loose above the cave entrance.
"She's goin' to steal 'em in," Sierra predicted.
She didn't hesitate to make his prediction come true. They tried to keep their "Ooohs!" quiet as she made the entrance collapsed within three strikes of her tail. The mother sharptooth triumphantly walked away with a clear bounce in her step.
Sierra snorted as Rinkus tried to put her step into a rhythm. "Ba-Du-Du-Dum. Ba-Du-Du-Dum. Du-Du-Du-Dum. Dun."
Sierra smirked. "If Tim had been a sharptooth…"
Rinkus nodded with a slight smile because he knew it was true. "Yeah."
…
Everyone: The Great Valley (The Celebration/The Wedding)
There was more of a turnout than anyone expected at for the wedding if Britta and Pterano itself. Pterano quickly took his place in front of Mr. Longneck and looked around in confusion for a moment before averting his eyes. He'd just assumed that most of them would show up after for the Tree Star Celebration.
Well, at least Britta was well-liked.
Littlefoot, Petrie, his siblings, and the rest of their friends were all sitting together in a group closer to the front. Petrie climbed on top of Littlefoot's back, determined to see everything. "Ooh, me about to have an aunt!"
He looked at Cera. "And it Britta! Me can't miss a thing."
Cera rolled her eyes. "Marrying Pterano…" she muttered under her breath, with a slight tone of disgust. "This is so weird…"
"I think it's sweet," Ruby stated.
Littlefoot shrugged. "As long as Pterano's good now, it's fine by me."
"Me too," Ducky agreed, also perched on Spike's back to get a better look. She looked over to Chomper. "Chomper, you've been quiet. Yes, you have."
Chomper turned to her and flashed a toothy grin. "Oh… Sorry guys. I'm watching my parents. I think my Dad's confused."
They all looked over their shoulders to where Chomper's parents were laying down to the left side, at the back. Chomper's father seemed to be talking in rapid sharptooth language to his mother, who seemed to be smiling and trying not to laugh. She buried her snout in the ground for a brief second and tried to used her tiny arm to cover his mouth.
"At least he's kinda funny…" Cera pointed out. "Look at my Dad."
They all looked behind them to the right, where Topps was frowning and rambling on to Tria. She finally rolled her eyes and pushed his cheek to shift his attention back to the front again.
"Well, at least you got to sit up here," Littlefoot offered. They all laughed and killed time as they waited for Britta.
…
"But Britta, don't you want someone to give you away?" Tess asked.
Britta was all ready to go. She and Tess were peeking out from behind a large boulder, a slight distance away from the crowd.
Britta gasped at the size of the crowd when she saw it. "Oh, wow."
She turned to answer Tess' question. "I did…. And I tried to think of someone, but I just…couldn't do it. I just always hoped it would be my Father. It just doesn't feel right having someone else take his place. I don't mind, Tess. Really. It's supposed to be a small wedding, anyway."
Tess glanced at the crowd. "Yeah… But it turned out kind of…big."
Her face brightened. "Britta, stay here. I have an idea."
Britta was left to watch her go before she had the chance to ask what the idea was. "Um, alright then… I'll be right here….?"
…
Tess looked for the best way to get to her children at the front without being noticed, but practically everyone turned their heads when they noticed her. They'd been hoping for Britta.
Tess blushed and scurried to the right side as she just went ahead and hurried up the center of the crowd since everyone was looking for her anyway.
"Excuse me…" she said every so often. "Sorry…. I'm just need my children…." She found them with their friend on the front row and smiled. "There they are…"
She turned to glance at Pterano when she felt eyes on her from that direction. Her brother gave her a confused look and made a gesture to tell her to get things moving, causing a slight murmur of laughter from the audience. Mr. Longneck was giving her a confused look, as well.
She gave Pterano a look. "Just a minute…" she scolded in a slightly more audible tone.
Tess motioned with her hands for her children to follow her. "I need my kids…"
She knew to search the ground for one of them, who she knew would be hiding because they were shy. She scooped up one child and spotted Petrie still clinging to Littlefoot, not wanting to miss a moment of the wedding.
She picked him up with her other wing. "All of them…. Thank you…. That's got it."
…
Britta soon found herself standing in front of her soon to be sister-in-law and nieces and nephews.
"Wow, Britta! You look pretty!" one of her nieces gasped.
"Thank you," Britta blushed. "But what are you doing here?"
Tess was still holding two of her children at the same time, one of them being Petrie.
"They want to give you away to their Uncle!" she announced proudly.
"What?" they all asked in unison.
"He'll love it," Tess answered the question for all of them, but was looking at Britta.
Britta thought about it. "He would, wouldn't he?"
Petrie was lost. "How we give Britta away? She not ours."
Tess cracked a smile. "Just walk, or fly, beside her as she goes down the aisle until she gets to Pterano. Then go back to where you were before. It's easy."
They all looked at each other.
"So we just say 'Here you go' and go back to our places?" one of the nephews asked.
Britta laughed a little. "Well, yeah…."
"Okay, let's go!" Petrie said, eager to get the wedding started.
"Take me away, children," Britta said.
…
Without further delay, Britta looked back over her shoulder at Tess one last time as she allowed Pterano's nieces and nephews to fly or walk around her as she stepped out from behind the boulder into everyone's view. But Tess had already gone somewhere where she could watch the wedding they'd been talking about since they were…well, kids.
Britta briefly allowed herself to take in all the faces that showed, and all the whispers as she passed them before she had to shut everything out to keep from getting nervous. All she wanted to focus on now was Pterano.
Meanwhile, Pterano felt a small proud smile of amazement turn the corners of his mouth as he watched Britta walked towards him with his nieces and nephews. He knew that she was keeping those wide, blue eyes on him to keep from getting distracted, but… She was just so beautiful. The flowers around her head…everything.
Pterano remained puzzled as to why his nieces and nephews were accompanying her right up until they were all right in front of him. It wasn't until Petrie broke the silence that he realized what they were trying to do for him and Britta.
"We giving Britta to you," he stated bluntly.
Pterano gasped in surprised when he realized what they'd done, quickly glancing at Britta for confirmation. "Oh," he murmured quietly.
"Here you go," one of his other nephews said cheerfully.
Pterano was moved by his nieces and nephews' gesture of kindness for them. Britta softened as Pterano took her hand, subtlety breaking down into tears. They began to laugh a little as Pterano quickly attempted to recovery and pull Britta up to stand beside him, and in front of Mr. Longneck.
Mr. Longneck opened his mouth to start a few times, but it took a few tries before Pterano and Britta could get their bearings from the incident earlier. The audience laughed as they watched Britta and Pterano try to keep a straight face at the fact that it was Pterano who cried first instead of her.
Grandpa Longneck finally leaned down with a smile. "Shall we begin?"
Pterano finally cleared his throat. "Yes," he said.
Grandpa Longneck smiled kindly. "Then let's begin…"
Ducky turned to Ruby and Cera as Grandpa Longneck addressed the crowd. "Britta looks really pretty. Yes, she does!" she said.
Cera rolled her eyes. "Britta's always pretty…for a flyer," Cera murmured. "She's just got a ring of flowers around her head."
"Yeah, but today's extra special! I hope I can look that pretty one day…" Ruby sighed.
Littlefoot, Spike, Petrie, and Chomper overheard the conversation and shared a brief glance before shrugging and shifting their attention back to the ceremony to avoid getting in on the conversation.
"….gathered here today to witness the union of Pterano and Britta, as husband and wife," Grandpa Longneck was saying. "Now I know the couple has graciously requested that we keep this ceremony short to save time for the feast, but… I think it's worth mentioning that Pterano and Britta grew up together, and have wanted this for a very long time. As with most herds in the Mysterious Beyond, tragedy separated their herds. I'm sure many of you have experienced this…"
There were a few mixed murmurs of agreement and indifference amongst the crowd. But Grandpa Longneck's introduction seemed to remind the people of the Valley of their past enough that it made the ceremony a little more than "just a healer marrying a former criminal," as some of them were calling it.
"Anyway, they've finally found each other again. Here, in the Valley. And tonight, we are here to watch their hopes become part of the Great Circle of Life. Pterano, you may now say your vows to Britta at this time."
Pterano took a deep breath and gently took Britta's hands in his own. When he looked into her eyes, he saw that she was still doing her best not to cry. He did his best to keep his voice steady.
"Britta, I've known you since we were hatchlings. We… grew up together. And I've loved you since…we were old enough to know what love was. I know that life didn't turn out the way we planned it t'all, but now I believe we have something more to be proud of. We found each other."
"Britta, the flyer, I love you. I have always loved you. I know I may not have turned out the honorable man that you once knew, but…I want to try to become that person again for you, Britta. I promise I'll protect you, cherish you in times of peril, care for you in times of sickness…. And I'll always love you, even if death does us part, my love."
Even from their seat, Cera couldn't deny that his speech to Britta was honest and touching. "Aw…" she mumbled to Ducky .
Britta was silent for a moment, then burst into tears. A few people chuckled as she quickly tried to recover. Pterano smiled and briefly took her in his wings and wiped her tears away. Britta was still sniffling when she stepped back.
Grandpa Longneck leaned down. "Shall we continue?"
Britta quickly nodded. "I just can't say anything that beautiful!" she wailed.
The audience laughed a little as Britta took a few deep breaths to get her bearings and turned to Pterano to give her vows.
"Pterano, I love every memory we share together, as kids and more recently as adults. And there's no one else I'd rather share more with because you've always been there for me. Maybe we've made mistakes, but as far as I am concerned, I'm marrying an honorable man today. And I'm so honored that, out of everyone else in our herd before, you loved me."
"And I love you, Pterano… I promise to comfort you, cherish you in times of darkness, care for you in times of sickness…. And if death does us part, you'll always be in my heart. I love you, Pterano."
Grandpa Longneck smiled and turned to the audience as Pterano nuzzled Britta. "The couple has made their intentions known. Citizens of the Great Valley, it is my pleasure to present Britta and Pterano to you, as husband and wife."
Britta tearfully took the crook of Pterano's wing and let him lead her through the part of the crowd as everyone cheered. As soon as they were a few steps in everyone grabbed the treestars, leaves, and various plants or flowers they'd found and began to shower the newly married couple with them.
Britta and Pterano, overwhelmed with flowers and treestars, quickly retreated the area as they laughed. Soon after, the Celebration of the Treestars began as Britta greeted her new nieces and nephews. The newly married couple continued to greet everyone and thank them for a while, before joining the celebration themselves.
Littlefoot soon entertained everyone with stories about the day, and did an amazing job telling the story of how Pterano was ready….and Britta was not. Britta covered her beak as everyone laughed, but smiled as Littlefoot told a few of everyone's favorite memories with them.
Afterwards, Britta hugged Littlefoot as Pterano thanked him for being the memory speaker for them. Grandpa Longneck smiled proudly at his grandson, remembering the first time he took on the role as memory speaker. Grandma Longneck gave him a playful nudge, and the two happily went off to mingle with the rest of the valley citizens.
Meanwhile, Saban and Risa remained in the same spot they'd been lying in the whole evening and watched from afar with confused expressions as they watched everyone else celebrate…tree stars now?
"So they just….interrupt everybody's daily routine to…say the obvious?" Saban finally asked.
Risa fished for an answer. "I thought the vows were…sweet."
"Yeah, their cute." Saban reached around to nip at an itch on his backside.
"Saban, stop it. People are looking."
"Where?"
Risa gestured to a spiketail and duckbill, who were staring them down. Saban narrowed his eyes at them and used his claws to scratch his side at the same time. They slowly walked away with weirded out expressions.
"I should have made you say those vows before we mated," Risa smiled.
Saban raised an eyebrow. "I had to beg you to mate! Name one thing he said that I didn't say!" When Risa gave him a look, he added, "In my own way."
Risa thought it over and snorted with a grin. "Actually, you did eventually say most of that."
"That's right!" Saban looked at the scene before him. A strange world of leaf eaters laughing, eating weird plants, doing these weird movements Chomper kept telling him was "dancing," and singing. "This is ridiculous. Wanna go hunting?"
Before Risa could answer, they heard Chomper call over them in plant eater language. "Mom! Dad!"
They saw him waving from afar with his friend, Ms. Flyer, and Ms. Swimmer. Both Saban and Risa grinned, but avoided flashing their teeth.
"Wanna come dance?" he asked, about all the noise.
Risa snorted as she pictured how that would turned out. Maybe three tiny leaf eaters accidentally getting squashed and them looking….ridiculous. Risa hastily shook her head. Above everything else, she really didn't want to do it.
"Oh… Wanna try some bugs?" Chomper asked.
Saban was actually offended. "I don't eat bugs!"
"You gotta do something!" Chomper encouraged, still trying to get them involved.
Saban and Risa exchanged glances. Saban tried to imitate some of the "dancing" he'd seen by lazily lifting his rear end, giving it a few rhythmic shakes, and then lying back down.
Risa shook her head with a smile. Chomper and his friends, especially Ms. Flyer and Ms. Swimmer, burst into laughter. Even Hyp and his friends and their dates, who were nearby, were watching. Amy whistled and Mutt whooped, as teenagers do.
Saban buried his nose in the ground, pretending to be bashful, until everyone lost interest and walked away. Risa gave him a knowing look.
"What was that for? You're not shy."
Saban shook his rear end again. "I might be shy about one or two things. You don't know!"
Risa laughed and licked his cheek. "Let's go hunting."
Saban leapt to his feet with no further objections and happily left the scene with his mate.
Chomper smiled as he watched his parents go. He knew it wouldn't last too long, but he was glad they tried. He turned to Littlefoot and gestured in their direction. "Hey, Littlefoot, I think I'm going to go with them. I don't want them to feel alone."
Littlefoot was sad that Chomper had to leave so soon, but managed a smile. "Well, at least they came! Okay, have a good night, buddy. See you tomorrow!"
Chomper waved to Littlefoot and hurried after his parents as Littlefoot turned his attention back to his friends.
Meanwhile, Hyp and Lexie were dancing close to Littlefoot and his friends when Lexie suddenly fell to her knees. Hyp panicked and wrapped his arms around her. "Lexie?!"
"I'm fine….I'm okay…" Lexie panted, barely able to speak.
"You don't…look okay." Hyp quickly helped her over to a large boulder before anyone noticed and sat her on it so she could rest without a lot of people embarrassing her.
Ella, who was dancing with Mutt and was finally beginning to crack his code of dumb, noticed what was happening and came over with Mutt.
Amy, who surprised by how courteous Nod was without Hyp and Mutt, noticed and followed her friends over.
"Is she okay?" Ella asked Hyp. "She wasn't feeling good earlier, but she still wanted to try to come."
"I didn't know…" Hyp was beginning to panic as Lexie began to gasp and lean against the boulder. "Is there anything we can do to help her?"
"I hate to do this…but…" Amy turned to Littlefoot and his friends, who were just beginning to notice. "Hey Petrie, is Britta still here?"
Petrie shook his head. "No, she just leave! Uncle Pterano take her someplace special for her week off."
Hyp took one more look at Lexie. "Well, do you guys know of anything else that can help her?"
"Our mom," Ella retorted.
"Not just that," Hyp responded irritably.
He walked up to Littlefoot. "You guys have been…out there….a lot. So you have to know or at least know how to find somethin' for Lexie, right?"
Littlefoot took one look at Lexie. He hated seeing her like that. Lexie was nice. "Well, we might could try. What were you thinking?"
…
Britta and Pterano: Britta's Pillar
"Pterano, I still don't understand why this 'special place' has to be over the Wall."
Britta flapped her wings harder and glided to catch up with Pterano. The night sky was as beautiful as it was when they'd gotten married, just a few hours before. Except it was quiet and peaceful out here. And late. Britta was quite exhausted.
And it had been a while since she'd been in the Mysterious Beyond at night. She wasn't sure about it. "How far are we going?"
"It's that pillar right there," Pterano called over his shoulder. "It's practically right next to the Wall, but… Darling, I had to show it to you. Just wait 'til you see it. I've named it 'Britta's Pillar.'"
Britta couldn't help but laugh. "'Britta's Pillar?' Are you sure it doesn't already have a name?"
"Well, I've looked several time to see if anyone else is using it and, alas, no one is there. But if they are using it when we aren't, they can call it whatever they like, love."
The pillar was just an enormous stack of large stones piled on top of one another, just a little shorter than the Valley Wall. Tall enough that any flyer passing through wouldn't bother to fly up there, unless they just wanted to explore. They pillar had a large, flat rock on top of all the other stones.
Britta and Pterano had to fly straight up for a few seconds due to lack of height judgement. But when they reached the top, Britta gasped at how beautiful the top really turned out to be. The large flat stone was covered with green grass and strange tall blades and white flowers. And the stars in the sky seems even close. But the most beautiful thing about that it was covered with tiny bugs that lit up was night. It could be said that the top of the pillar glowed with beauty at the certain time of night.
Britta laughed and let Pterano chase her in circles around the pillar, causing the blades of grass to blow around them and the lightning bugs surrounded them and scattered in all different directions. When they were winded, they landed. Britta paced around excitedly a moment, talking in the sights of the Mysterious beyond around them, and admiring the Valley Wall.
Pterano approached with his wings behind his back. "Do you like it, dear?"
Britta turned to hug him. "Yes," she whispered. "Thank you so much."
At last, Britta and Pterano were finally able to take a deep breath.
"We're married," Britta stated.
Pterano grinned. "We are. Finally."
….Aaaaaand that's the end for Book 1. Look out for Book 2. It should be posted on here pretty soon. Stories of the Valley: Book 2. Follow me, if you want to know when it's posted because I think it's the only way to keep from having to constantly check. But if you read as a Guest, keep checking! It should be posted soon.
Also, I know there are a lot of characters, I will be posting a list of what characters belong to what family. And who is still alive or deceased, or unknown.
I hope you liked this style, and thought Pterano and Britta's wedding chapter got it's justice. It was the hardest for me to write, for sure!
Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy it enough to keep reading. Book 2 should be fun. I have a friend that might be helping me with the next one, so it should be a ton of fun. And depending on how much feedback you give on that one and this one, I might do two versions. It all depends on you.
So please don't hesitate to PM me your thoughts, please review… And as always, thanks for your support by favoriting, following, and anything else. If you had an idea or question, and I didn't answer it or get to it, I might have been busy or in school. Please remind me. Now's a great time!
Until next time,
Angelwriter84