Chapter 33: Some thoughts Mama Flyer overlooked the area from the sky, scouting for entrances into the system of caves -whereby Pterano had failed the previous day. Other than him, she spotted the cave in fairly quickly so she glided down to have a better view. Eventually, she came down next to the cave in and peeped into the hole. She made out a little cavity from which two paths lead away. One of them was blocked and appeared to lead to the cave in that had created the hole at which edge she was standing in the first place. Then, she saw something red on the ground that was too similar to blood to have further doubts. "The kids were here!" she muttered in excitement and worry at the same time - after all, the blood was there with a reason... At least one of two 'bigger' children must have been hurt but it seemed to have escaped the cave in... Agitated and full of recharged energy, the Flyer made her way to the rest of the herd... The majority of the herd members were resting, aside from two Rainbowfaces who were exploring both directions along the Big Water. A few trees full of juicy, yummy treestars would be just what the exhausted dinosaurs urgently needed. However, many, and especially those whose children were in Lands Unknown, were plagued by restlessness that made it almost impossible to sit around doing nothing. The female Swimmer, in particular, was horribly worried about her little girl. She kept having conversations with everyone she met, letting them know how concerned she was, until nobody listened to her whines anymore. Therefore, she went to her little ones - with the exception of Ducky - and tried to console them, sobbing herself. The death of their father was a shocking experience for the little ones and they were missing their sister sorely, as did their mother. Pterano tried to make the best out of the situation so he gave his nieces and nephews a lesson in fishing. Nonetheless, the young ones weren't really focused on what was happening around them, hardly paying attention to Pterano's words so that Pterano quickly resigned and attempted to fish a hunger-ceasing meal for his family. His luck, however, was so low that his haul wasn't even ceasing the hardly exististant appetite of his nephews and nieces - he didn't eat anything himself. The old Threehorn couldn't make peace either. Insidely, his temper was still boiling with fury, grief and worry. He was mad at himself, at Pterano, at the Longneck, at the Sharpteeth, at the earthshake, at the fire... in a word, he was mad at everyone and everything. The mourning teared his heart apart; he wasn't sure whether or not he wanted to live without his love and daughters. Of course, there was a chance that Cera was still alive and kicking but his fate would have had to fool him immensely if he ever saw Cera again. After all, it had been trying to throw more and more stones in his way for weeks! He fought the battle between his pride, that wouldn't allow him to give his sorrow free rein, and his heart being broken. His concern about Cera and, though to a considerably smaller degree, the herd didn't leave him in peace. In any case, the Threehorn kept his eyes open, seeking for possible attackers and the Flyer... He didn't have to wait long... Grandma and Grandpa Longneck used the free time to worry about Bron's absence. "Dear, what has happened to Bron?" Grandma piped up. "He didn't arrive at the oasis..." "Might have been the best for him..." Grandpa muttered absentmindedly. "I wouldn't wish my worst enemy such a battle!" "Of course you wouldn't," Grandma affirmed. "Though he would have been a major support," she added with a sigh. "Yes, he is a skilled fighter," Grandpa said, agreeing with his mate. "Maybe we would have won the battle if we hadn't lost him... Maybe some of the dead would be still alive..." "That may be but it was his fault, without any doubt!" Grandma shouted. "We tried everything to convince him to stay after all..." "Now don't judge him worse than he deserves," Grandpa said softly. "I believe that you just let your frustration guide you... which is to be prevented, my dear." "I have every right to be frustrated!" she snapped, bethinking not much after. "I have lost my daughter yesterday, my grandson is missing and my son in law is who knows where; possibly dead. On top of that, our situation doesn't leave much to be desired. Doesn't that give me the right to be grumpy?" "Of course, dear," Grandpa soothed the love of his life. "We may have lost a lot, but we're still together!" "True..." Grandma admitted and rubbed her neck against her mate's. "We must not lose hope. Never!" Grandpa instructed. "I know, my love, I know..." "Hey, is it the Flyer approaching?" Grandpa suddenly called. It was Mama Flyer indeed. As soon as she had touched down she began to share the news...