A Promise

The sky burned orange and red as the Bright Circle sank behind the mountains. Shadows lengthened as the land was covered in darkness. Littlefoot and Ali watched from a cliff as the rest of the herd settled down for the night. Ali sighed. "It was really nice to see you again." She nuzzled her head up against his neck.

"You too, Ali." Littlefoot returned her gesture. "But I can't stay too long. Doc already told me, we leave tomorrow."

"Why?"

"Sharptooth is following me. I already told you how he wants revenge against Doc and me. And Chomper…I have to find out the truth about him." Littlefoot said, glancing down at the canyon below. "I still don't understand why Chomper would choose to join Sharptooth. It doesn't make any sense to me. Are you sure you saw Chomper?"

"He called me by name. I haven't met any other sharptooth that can speak leaf-eater. It can't be anyone else." She said.

Littlefoot stared down into the growing darkness of the canyon below. A darkness also growing in his heart. He'd watched Chomper hatch, protected him as a baby and was protected in turn when Chomper grew older. They'd been together for so long, and now to learn that his friend had joined with the dinosaur who'd killed his mother and grandmother, as well as killed Cera's father and hunted him across the land for seven years now. It was enough to make Littlefoot snap.

He slammed his foot against the ground and screamed, "GrrAAAHH!" A chunk of rock dislodged from the cliff side and cascaded down to the canyon below.

Ali jumped and stepped away. A look of fear came over her face. "Littlefoot, you're scaring me."

He sighed. "I'm sorry. I just don't know how to handle this."

Doc watched from a distance away. The new leader of the herd came up to him. "Old friend, something is on your mind."

Doc nodded in agreement. "Hmm. Littlefoot is grown now. Not much more I can teach him. I can feel my body giving out on me. I'm not as strong as I used to be."

"Happens to the best of us." The herd leader said. "And considering your age, I'd say you're doing just fine."

"I can feel it in my bones. I'm not going to last much longer." Doc said.

"Do you feel weak or tired?"

Doc shook his head. "No, and that's the strange thing. On the whole, I feel fine." He looked over at the herd leader. "Did I ever tell you how Sharptooth and I became enemies?" The other longneck shook his head. "I told this story to Littlefoot already. You see, a long time ago…"

120 years ago…

A young longneck and big biter jumped and ran alongside each other, laughing the whole time. They came upon a small pond and the longneck dove in head first, spashing water all over the big biter.

The big biter jumped in the water after him. His tail swished back and forth, propelling him through the water. The longneck emerged from the water, slapping his tail against the surface and drenching the big biter again.

They laughed. It was a normal day, the two of them playing and having fun. However, their fun soon came to an end. The ground began to shake as the sound of approaching footsteps began to shake the air. A pair of longnecks approached. They looked down with disgust and anger at the big biter. "Doc," the female said, "get out of there. We've told you to stop playing with that monster."

"Mom," Doc said, "Sharptooth is my friend, not a monster."

"It's a cold blooded monster, son." The father said. "He's twisted your mind. I see we have to get rid of him for good."

"You will do no such thing!" A loud growling raspy voice shouted. Another set of thundering footsteps signaled the arrival of a pair of Big Biters. The predators towered over Doc and Sharptooth. The Longnecks and Big Biters glared off at each other for several minutes. At last, the mother Big Biter looked down at her hatchling. "Come along, Sharptooth, leave the flat heads to themselves."

Sharptooth looked back and forth from his parents to Doc. At last he climbed out of the pond and walked away with his family.

Doc turned to his parents. "Why do you chase him away all the time?"

"It's unnatural for you to play with a Big Biter. Nothing good can come from it. In the end, the two of you will only fight some day. Doc, we are doing this for your own good." His father said.

"But isn't having friends for my own good, too?"

"There are plenty of other Longnecks for you to be friends with, you don't need that 'thing' as your friend." His mother said.

Doc huffed and sank into the water until it was up to his head.

Late that night, Doc lay asleep with his head and tail turned inward around himself. His sleep was disturbed when he felt someone pushing against his head. Doc lazily opened his eyes and yawned, "Oh, who is it?" Once he could see clearly, he recognized the face of a young dark green Big Biter. "Sharptooth? What are you doing here?"

"I'm running away." Sharptooth whispered.

"You're what?"

"Running away. We can't be together if we stay here. Come away with me."

Doc hesitated. "I don't know. What will our parents do?"

"Don't worry about that. We're strong enough to take care of ourselves now. And I'm not leaving without you. You are my Gralnuk. The person I trust most in this world."

Doc nodded slowly. "Alright then. I'll go. Just promise me one thing."

"Yes?"

"Promise me, that even when you grow older and are forced to hunt for food, you never hunt or eat Longnecks." Doc said.

Sharptooth nodded furiously. "I promise. I swear I will never kill or hurt a Longneck."

Doc smiled and got up on his feet. "Then let's go."

Years later…

A young female Longneck ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She twisted her head to look back. The pack of Fast Biters still followed her, keeping pace with her every step. They snapped their jaws at her heels, leaving small nicks and cuts in her feet.

She winced with each step, but still continued to run. Finally, her feet gave out beneath her and she crashed to the ground. The Fast Biters where upon her in seconds. Their claws and teeth dug into her hide. She squirmed and screamed, but she knew it made no difference. She was going to die here.

Suddenly, a loud powerful roar shook the air and the Fast Biters all stopped. A large shadow fell over the Longneck and Fast Biters. They gazed in fear at the Big Biter. It growled and roared again, the Fast Biters fleeing in terror at this much more powerful predator.

The female Longneck trembled in terror. The Big Biter gazed down on her. "Are you alright?" He asked.

Her voice caught in her throat. Never had she heard, or even expected a Big Biter to speak the Leaf-Eater language. Another Longneck walked up beside the Big Biter. "It's okay, you don't have to be afraid. My name is Doc and this is Sharptooth."

She stuttered and formed words. "I'm Selena."

"Nice to meet you, Selena." Doc nodded. He helped her get back on her feet. She stumbled for a second, and Sharptooth caught her. She jumped back. "It's okay, you don't have to worry about him. He's sworn to never kill a Longneck."

"How comforting." She said.