Chapter 51: Not just one delightful surprise...
When Pterano returned to the mixed herd, everybody was just in the process of getting up. He waited until the crowd gathered and as soon as Grandpa was about to say something he piped up.
"Hey, I've been awake early so I searched for any signs that might lead us to the children. From up high, I haven't found anything of interest but when I returned to the ground to have a snack I found many plants that had bitemarks clearly made by the children..."
"So what does this tell us? Nothing!" the old Threehorn ranted. "We already know they've been there so what's the point?"
"Well, if we look where these bitemarks are, we can reconstruct the way the must have taken, right?" Pterano answered.
"That is a good discovery you made, Pterano," Grandpa said appreciatively. "Would you and your sister mind taking the task?"
"I'm all for it," Mama Flyer called.
"And how are we gonna reconstruct their way when we leave the green food, eh?" the Threehorn shouted.
"Uhm... we follow their tracks if there are any?" Pterano suggested.
"The ground is very hard, not sandy, so we won't find any here," Mr. Clubtail piped up.
"That is correct, even we Longnecks being the heaviest beings undoubtedly don't leave tracks on this ground," Grandpa stated.
"Let's go down to eat, we will need the food," Grandma proposed, everybody agreeing.
The two Flyers took off, taking their young ones along. The others made their way down the plateau.
Spike rubbed his eyes to make sure they were working properly. Did he really see Cera's chest... moving? Spike got a little closer to investigate.
"Her chest is... moving... Does this mean she is...ALIVE?!" Spike goggled at the orange Threehorn. "I can even hear her breathing. IT HAS WORKED!" Spike cried in euphoric joy. Excitedly, he walked over to his friends and shook them awake rudely.
"Oww, what is it, Spike!?" Littlefoot complained dreamily.
Petrie on the Longneck's head stretched his wings.
"Lookie!" Ducky exclaimed, pointing at Cera.
Spike uttered excited sounds, freaking out of joy.
"Huh, what with Cera? She dead, 'member?" Petrie squawked.
"SHE'S BREATHING! CERA'S ALIVE!" Littlefoot screamed upon realising that the Threehorn was breathing.
Ducky was suddenly inundated by feelings of all sorts and it didn't seem to be any different with the others. She climbed up Littlefoot's neck - the Longneck was just getting to his feet - and squeezed Petrie, crying and laughing at the same time.
Littlefoot and Spike walked to their friend, grinning madly.
"Me... no get air!" Petrie croaked, being squeezed by Ducky so tightly that breathing was impossible.
"You better release him Ducky," Littlefoot chuckled.
"Sorry Petrie," Ducky giggled, releasing the morderous embrace. "I am sooooooo happy, I am, I am!" She gave Petrie a wild kiss, leaving the Flyer bewildered, and jumped onto Spike's back. Climbing down of the Spiketail's back and hopping to his face, she received a high-spirited series of licks that tickled the Swimmer exceedingly.
"Stop it Spike, hehehehe!" she laughed lustily.
As soon as Spike obeyed, Ducky hugged the Spiketail in return for his kindly action.
Littlefoot bowed his head down to allow Petrie to glide down. Finally, it was his turn to receive a mighty hug from Ducky which he returned as kindly as he could.
"See Ducky, you mustn't lose hope, no matter how pointless the situation may be," Littlefoot said with a smile, still being overwhelmed by his feelings.
"I know, Littlefoot, yes I do. I will never lose hope again, oh no, no, no," Ducky replied happily.
Although Cera was clearly alive, there wasn't any evidence she'd ever wake up from her coma. Nonetheless, Littlefoot, Ducky, Petrie and Spike celebrated her "resurrection" merrily, jumping around in joy, laughing, smiling, calling and dancing around.
While all the dinosaurs that were restricted to staying on the ground were eating their full on the vegetation, the Flyers were investigating the bitemarks the kids had made. They were also looking for tracks but there weren't any as was to be expected. At some point, there weren't any more bitemarks so they returned to the rest of the herd, getting a snack as well.
"So, was the research of any use?" Grandma Longneck eventually asked Mama Flyer.
"Sadly not," the blue-ish Flyer replied. "There are plenty of bitemarks but no tracks at all. We don't know where they went."
"Well, don't be sad, dear," Grandma said calmly. "We'll run into each other sooner or later, of that I'm convinced."
"Yes, we must not lose hope and keep our destination in sight," Grandpa said wisely.
"You're right, where are we going now anyway?" Petrie's Mother questioned.
"I don't know, dear," Grandma replied.
"Gather!" the Threehorn barked.
"Here we go..." Grandpa sighed.