Chapter 30: Aerial Dangers

While Littlefoot and Cera were fighting off the fast biters, Ruby was working determinedly in the forests, trying to set up traps for the eggstealers. She had found many vines hanging from the trees, and after grabbing them she tied them around the trees, creating vine traps in hopes of tripping the eggstealers and hindering their efforts. While Ruby had worked for hours, she had not heard a single sound in the forest. Wondering where the eggstealers were, Ruby tied another trap when she heard a small surprised gasp from behind her. Ruby hurried over to the voice and found that a small pink threehorn was slumped on the ground, with her back foot having just tripped over one of Ruby's vines.

"Ow! That hurt!" Tricia exclaimed.

"Oh, sorry Tricia!" Ruby gasped, and she hurried over to help prop her back up. "I'm just making traps for the eggstealers," Ruby explained.

"Well, they work!" Tricia happily exclaimed. Then she remembered why she was in the forest in the first place. "Hey Ruby," she asked. "Have you seen any blue healing flowers?"

"Hmm…" Ruby answered, before saying, "I think so. Look deep in the forest and you should find them. But watch out! My traps are everywhere, so make sure to crawl under them. And watch out for the eggstealers too. They'll come this way once they get the chance! Is anyone hurt?"

"Mommy and Grandma Longneck are out cold, and Daddy and Grandpa Longneck are awake but unable to fight," Tricia explained.

"Right," Ruby replied sadly. "Get as many flowers as you can carry. You're going to need a lot to heal all of them."

"I will Ruby, thanks!" Tricia exclaimed, and she scuttled off through the forest, determined to find the healing flowers. But just as Tricia vanished into the forest, Ruby heard some ominous panting sounds.

"How…how much longer, Ozzy!" an eggstealer yelled out.

"Not far now," Ozzy answered. "Now hurry up, you numskulls!"

Ruby then prepared to scurry off to find some rocks to hurl at the eggstealers. But before she could make a move, she heard a voice from above.

"Psst…Ruby!" the voice called out. Ruby turned, and before she knew it, she felt herself being hurled up into the air. Looking up, she saw that Mama Flyer was carrying her up beyond the tops of the trees and over the forest.

"Ms. Flyer!" Ruby exclaimed. "I'm glad to see you!"

Mama Flyer nodded before saying, "Great job with the traps, Ruby!" as they heard the unmistakable shrieks and thuds of eggstealers tripping on the vines.

"I guess they work," Ruby laughed to Mama Flyer. "Good thing you got me when you did, they sure are mad!"

Mama Flyer nodded. "I don't think you can go back down there, Ruby. Those eggstealers can corner you down there, and there's many of them and only one of you."

Ruby nodded in agreement, but she said, "That's okay. I've done all I could down there…but I can do something else. Ms. Flyer, would you mind carrying me over the forest?"

"Not at all," Mama Flyer smiled. Ruby then boarded Mama Flyer's back and told her, "Fly right to the top of the trees."

Mama Flyer nodded, then Ruby reached down and grabbed some large fruits from one of the trees above, and then upon hearing the sounds of eggstealers, she pelted the fruits down upon them. The eggstealers began to screech in pain and anger, as Ozzy screamed, "Show yourself!"

Ruby laughed softly before she grabbed more fruits and threw them down, while Mama Flyer began to pick up some fruits with her beak and drop them down herself.

But then, they heard a loud scream from below. Ruby's heart sunk. "That's Tricia!" she exclaimed. Mama Flyer nodded, and she said, "Hang on tight Ruby!" before she plunged down into the forest. Mama Flyer hurriedly flew past tree after tree, and her's and Ruby's hearts kept on beating as they were wondering what was happening below them. Then, they saw that an eggstealer had grabbed ahold of Tricia, who was biting his arm angrily while keeping her tail wrapped around the healing flowers that she had collected. "I found her! The pipsqueak who set up all these traps!" the eggstealer roared.

But Mama Flyer rocketed right into the eggstealer, causing him to topple facefirst onto the ground. Tricia was hurled up into the air, but Ruby stretched out to catch her, and then Ruby placed her in her lap.

"Thanks!" Tricia exclaimed, smiling, before she waved her tail and showed her flowers. "I found lots of flowers!"

"Great!" Ruby smiled. "Now all we need to do is to find a safe way for you to get back…"

But as Ruby said that, Mama Flyer gasped, "Oh no!"

Ruby and Tricia turned to gasp, and to their horror, they saw that two fanged flyers were hurrying over to them, snapping their jaws at them.

"We've got to get away!" Mama Flyer exclaimed. "These aren't normal flyers, they're sharptooth flyers!"

Ruby, however, shook her head, and said, "We've got to stop them!"

"How…" Mama Flyer began, but Ruby and Tricia whispered to each other and nodded, coming up with a plan. Tricia then began to dance in Ruby's lap and jeer at the sharptooth flyers, tauntingly saying, "Can't catch me! Can't catch me!"

The sharptooth flyers looked at each other and growled at Tricia. "What did you do that for?" Mama Flyer asked. "They're going to follow us!"

"That's the point," Tricia smirked, and Ruby smiled.

Mama Flyer looked nervously at Tricia and Ruby, but she kept on going. "Now…down to the trees," Ruby suggested.

Then, Mama Flyer understood. "Oh, I get it…you want to stop those flyers before they can hurt anybody, is that it?"

Ruby and Tricia nodded, as Tricia continued to provocatively taunt the sharptooth flyers. Ruby then reached below her and grabbed two very heavy large fruits from the treetops and held onto them tightly as the sharptooth flyers approached, roaring and snapping at Tricia.

Just as the sharptooth flyers caught up to them, Tricia blew a raspberry at them and smirked. Enraged, the sharptooth flyers tried to snap at Tricia. But before they could make another move, Ruby held one of the fruits behind her head which slammed one of the sharptooth flyers and with the force of the fruit, the sharptooth flyer fell down to the ground where it died.

Upon seeing the death of its comrade, the other sharptooth flyer shrieked in rage. Ruby threw her other fruit at the flyer, but the flyer dodged the fruit and it splattered to the ground. "Hurry! I need another one!" Ruby shouted, and Mama Flyer gasped as she swerved out of the way to dodge the flyer. But then, just as Ruby reached out to grab another fruit, the flyer raced over and successfully bit her arm. Ruby shrieked as she felt a surge of pain course through her arm, and at once, she dropped the fruit where it too splattered on the ground. The sharptooth flyer tried to bite Ruby again, but Mama Flyer slapped it in the face with her wing before hurtling off into the sky, with the sharptooth flyer close on her tail.

"Ruby!" Tricia exclaimed, breathing breathlessly. She then cried desperately, "Eat!" and she handed Ruby a healing flower. Ruby carefully bit off a petal, not wanting to take too much away from the grownups. Ruby's arm began to feel better and the bleeding began to slow, but just then, Tricia screamed as the sharptooth flyer managed to bite her frill.

Instantly, Ruby threw the flower back to Tricia, who bit off another couple petals and began to recover herself.

"This is really dangerous. You two are going to need some time to fully recover. I'm going to fly up into the air and try to dodge him," Mama Flyer told Ruby and Tricia. "Tell me when your arm gets better, Ruby, then you can manage to land another fruit on him."

"Right," Ruby and Tricia replied, and Mama Flyer rocketed up into the sky. The sharptooth flyer followed and growled at them, shuttling after them at breakneck speed. Mama Flyer swerved in every which way she could, but the sharptooth flyer was continuing to close in upon them, gnashing its teeth aggressively. Then suddenly, Ruby saw that they were flying right towards a tall, thick tree. Seizing a sudden idea, Ruby gasped, "Keep flying toward it!"

Mama Flyer gasped, "Ruby…have you lost your…"

"Turn!" Ruby interrupted. Mama Flyer swerved off to the left just in time, barely averting the crash. The sharptooth flyer however, didn't react in time, and he crashed into the tree, where he fatally fell to the ground.

Ruby, Tricia, and Mama Flyer cheered as they saw the flyer fall.

"We're safe!" Ruby exclaimed, and she hugged Tricia happily.

Just then, Ruby saw that some large leaves were hanging from the tree. She reached out and grabbed the leaf, and then told Tricia, "Tricia…wear one of those leaves!"

"Why?" Tricia asked.

"So no one will notice you," Ruby whispered. "If you drape the leaf over you, the fast biters and eggstealers won't be able to see you. Then you can sneak back to the grownups and you can give them their flowers."

"Right," Tricia added. Mama Flyer landed on the ground below, and Tricia got off, still holding her flowers tightly, while Ruby draped the leaf over her back. She now strongly resembled a grassy green mound and it was hard to make out the little pink threehorn underneath.

"See you later then!" Tricia exclaimed, and under her leaf, she scooted off to find the grownups. Just then, Ruby and Mama Flyer saw a sight above that caught their attention, and instantly hurried over to help out.