Chapter 42: Meanwhile in the evening...
While walking towards the exit, they didn't utter a single word. The thought of Cera passing on was simply horrible for the little ones, even though Cera hadn't acted particularly nice. Finally, after they had stepped out of the cave, Littlefoot spoke up.
"Well, here we are..."
Ducky, Petrie and Spike stared at the Longneck, causing an embarrassing moment.
"Right... we gotta separate into two groups. Who shall go with whom?"
"Can I go with you, Littlefoot?" Ducky asked without her usual enthusiasm.
"Yes, of course!" Littlefoot replied. "Then you two build the other team?" he questioned, addressing Petrie and Spike.
"Petrie no mind it," Petrie stated.
Spike grunted, which Littlefoot interpreted as similar to Petrie's statement.
"Eat your fill on the way; it might be the last feast in a long while..." Littlefoot suggested.
"Which way will we go, Littlefoot?" Ducky asked.
"The one that leads us back to the Big Water." Littlefoot answered. "That's unless Petrie and Spike wanna take that way..."
"You fine with going along this way, Spike?" Petrie asked the Spiketail, pointing at the way leading away from the Big Water.
Spike didn't reply but walked into the direction Petrie pointed at.
"I believe he says yes, oh yes, yes, yes," Ducky said, smiling a bit.
"Fine! Seeya later!" Littlefoot called.
"See you later." Ducky said, waving goodbye.
"Bye!" Petrie squawked.
They separated into two directions.
Pterano walked a fair distance until he finally encountered something other than just rock. He literally bumped into it, a wall of black rock that blocked Pterano's way.
"Huh?!" Pterano wondered; he didn't quite expect to bump into anything at all. "Alright, no light at all so I couldn't have seen that one coming..." He tried to orientate himself but it was too dark to even recognise the walls. "Considering how dark it is in here, there won't be anything behind that wall but more rock," he talked to himself. A river of fire had blocked an exit leading towards the oasis so he was right, Pterano concluded.
Uttering a sigh, the Flyer turned back to try the other option...
After nobody had any more stories to tell, Littlefoot's Grandparents wandered away from the herd a bit to have a break from all the jabbering.
"I doubt we will ever see our grandson again..." Grandpa sighed, looking upset.
"Don't say such a thing, Grandpa!" Grandma Longneck insisted. "If we want to continue and to keep going the way the Great Circle of Life dictates us, we mustn't allow our emotions to control our perceptions."
"Yeah, you are right but look what is left of our once so big family..." Grandpa responded, deeply depressed.
"I agree; if we aren't able to find Littlefoot or Bron for that matter, we'll be the only ones remaining." Grandma explained.
"Being by far the oldest..." Grandpa muttered.
"Well, at least we still have each other." Grandma reasoned.
"I know, I know..." Grandpa admitted. The two Longnecks sought each others' bodies for comfort. Grandma shed a few tears; Grandpa felt like doing so but just couldn't. Instead, he thought about life.
"Think about Mr. Threehorn's situation; he has lost everything..." Grandma stated. "His wife, his home and his offspring."
"Yeah, I agree. Shall we talk to him?" Grandpa questioned.
"I don't think he'll appreciate it at the moment," Grandma guessed.
"Yeah, it is none of our business after all, technically..." Grandpa replied.
"Let's watch the Great Circle disappearing, it's usually a great sight as you should know." Grandma poked her mate, attempting to smile.
"I agree, you know I like the sight, don't you?" Grandpa poked his mate back.
Together, they walked to a different place where the scenery would be more spectacular.