Chapter 6: Cera's Busy Night

With Littlefoot out to see Ali and with Ducky and Spike going back home, Cera was left alone on top of the hill. She sighed sadly, wishing that she could have some company. However, she knew that she couldn't go home yet since her father and her stepmother Tria were spending a romantic evening together and she knew that they wouldn't want to be interrupted.

The wind began to blow violently, causing tree stars to fall off of the trees. Cera tried falling asleep, but her mind continued to race. She felt a steady stream of unhappy emotions course through her. Cera knew she was frustrated with Littlefoot for going off to see Ali before she finished talking, but she didn't think that was what was bothering her now. "Well, if I'm upset, I might as well take a walk…maybe that'll make me feel better," she thought.

Cera got off her rock and began to walk just as the night chirpers began to chirp on the plants. She walked slowly down the hill, trying to figure out why she was so upset. But then, she heard a familiar voice that made her stop in her tracks.

"My time is coming to a close. I'm growing old, sweetheart...and I want to make sure that Littlefoot will be all right." Cera turned to look and saw that Littlefoot's grandmother was talking to Littlefoot's grandfather restlessly. Cera felt a strange urge to listen in on their conversation, and she quickly hunkered down in some nearby bushes, where she could be in perfect earshot.

Grandpa Longneck nodded and added, "I'd only give myself a few weeks to live…but I too want to make sure that Littlefoot has settled down. When it's time for me to go to the place above the bright circle, I would like to leave knowing that Littlefoot has a loving wife."

Cera instantly felt a tinge of discomfort. While she understood that Littlefoot's grandparents wanted the best for him, she also couldn't help feeling that it sounded like they were trying to take control of his life. As the latter thought occurred to Cera, she began to feel a bubbling goo sensation forming in her stomach. She felt her mouth silently growling as she continued to listen to every word that Littlefoot's grandparents said.

"I don't know who we should marry him to though," Grandpa Longneck told Grandma Longneck. "I've always thought that he would have fallen in love with Ali by now, but he's…growing up a little slower than I thought he would. Ali seems interested in him though, this is the third time they've been together tonight. Maybe they're finally beginning to date."

Grandma Longneck added, "We can always hope… but I don't know. I talked with Ali's mother and she's not comfortable with Ali being with a longneck like him. I mean, she knows Littlefoot's a nice longneck, and she knows he'd be a loving husband to Ali, but she's very concerned that his love of adventuring would put Ali in danger. Assuming Ali's mother won't change her mind, we may have to betroth him to someone else. Maybe Cam or Mia would do. They're just Littlefoot's age, they don't have any parents that would try to stop a possible marriage, and I could tell they would both love to be Littlefoot's wife."

"Have you seen those two though?" Grandpa Longneck sighed exasperatedly, shaking his head. "Littlefoot is annoyed with them already, and I can't say I blame him. They're not being at all subtle about this."

"Well, at least they like him," Grandma Longneck told Grandpa Longneck.

"Like him? Of course they like him! But I know Littlefoot won't be happy with either of them if they don't stop acting like this," Grandpa Longneck sighed.

Grandma Longneck nodded in agreement, and then she sighed, "I guess you're right…they're not perfect, but they might be our only choices…can you think of someone else if Ali won't work out?"

"No," Grandpa Longneck sighed. "You're right…we might just be stuck choosing between them if we can't find anyone else."

Grandma Longneck sighed, and she looked at Grandpa Longneck sadly. "I just wish that we'd be able to quickly find a girl for him. Then he can go and happily join the rest of our kind. After all, once we go, he'd be the only longneck living in the Great Valley, and we can't let that happen. Who would be able to support him and show him how to do things adult longnecks should learn?"

"What about his friends here?" Grandpa Longneck asked worriedly. "Littlefoot will miss them very much."

"I don't know if the valley can accommodate a full-sized herd of longnecks," Grandma Longneck told Grandpa Longneck sadly. "And besides, most herds won't like being in an interspecies environment. It will be hard for Littlefoot to leave his friends…but he can always make new friends in his new herd."

"You're right…I guess Littlefoot will just have to say goodbye to them then," Grandpa Longneck sighed.

Cera had heard enough. The bubbling goo sensation in her stomach intensified to the point where she was seething with rage. Crawling out of her bushes, Cera aimlessly walked off as she thought about everything Littlefoot's grandparents had said. Littlefoot was going to have to leave the Great Valley, she would never be able to see him again, and he might be forced into an arranged marriage with someone that he didn't even like! These thoughts made the bubbling goo in Cera's stomach churn with rage. "Aaaarrgh!" Cera shouted furiously, and with great intensity, she rammed into a boulder with her horns. She continued to wander, fuming every second while her heart beat rapidly. Nobody noticed her because nearly everyone was asleep. But then, Cera heard an argument nearby. She turned and saw that Mia and Cam were jostling by a tall pile of rocks. Intrigued, Cera walked closer to them, and once again, she hid behind some bushes to listen in.

"He's mine!" Cam shouted, glaring at Mia.

"No Cam, he's mine!" Mia shouted back. "I'm the prettier one. I get him!"

The two longnecks were staring at each other determinedly. "Look, I want him. He's known as a hero, and I want to share some of that glory," Mia shouted.

"Well, I want him! He's cute and handsome and he has those nice eyes!" Cam shouted back.

Hearing this shallow argument made Cera's blood boil, and she could not control her anger any longer. Barreling out of the bushes, Cera hurled herself in between the two longnecks, glaring at each of them in turn, causing them to recoil with shock. With fury, Cera screamed at the top of her lungs, "How dare you act like Littlefoot is just a prize for you two to argue over! He has feelings too, and you don't care at all, you flatheads!"

Cam and Mia looked at each other, and smirked. "Ooh! I think somebody's jealous!" Cam giggled excitedly.

"Oh, this is pathetic, a pointy-face is in love with a longneck!" Mia sneered, and the two longnecks began to laugh maniacally.

"I'm NOT in love with him!" Cera shouted, stomping her foot. "But Littlefoot is my friend and it makes me sick that he might have to marry one of you two because of an arranged marriage!"

"I hope you'll have fun at the wedding," Cam smirked.

"We'll see if you lose a horn from watching the kiss!" Mia laughed and tauntingly added, "See you later, pointy-face!"

And with that, Cam and Mia took off, laughing their heads off, leaving Cera behind, seething and growling at their shadows. It took Cera a while to get her breath back. Once she finally did, Cera didn't even bother trying to fall asleep even though it was late at night. Instead, she rammed into some nearby boulders, with angry thoughts still rolling rapidly through her head. "How could Littlefoot be forced to leave the Great Valley and never see us again in order to marry one of those two stupid, selfish flatheads?" she thought. Cera screamed with fury again, and then she rammed into a boulder with even more vigor than usual, causing it to shatter in hundreds of shards.

Cera continued to ram into any boulders she could find for a few more hours, and she probably would have kept on going had it not been for a tap she felt on her back leg. She turned and saw that Spike was tapping on her, and he was staring at her with very wide eyes.

"Aarrghh…what is it, Spike?" Cera yelled.

Spike looked very worried, and he instantly beckoned for Cera to follow. She followed, not sure where he would lead her to. "Probably just more treestars," Cera thought to herself. Little did she know, however, that Spike was thinking of something completely unrelated to food.