Disclaimer: I do not own The Land Before Time or any of its characters.
Chapter Five: Flashes of Color
When the longnecks decide to move on, Pterano takes a chance to ask if he can accompany them.
"Absolutely not," the longneck leader said with authority.
"Please? I can be a big help to your herd," Pterano begged. "As a flyer I have a larger field of view. Sharpteeth can be spotted sooner and different routes can be planned around obstacles. Also, don't forget I can check out potential canyons to rest in."
The leader thinks about it quickly as the other herd members squabble about it being a good idea to have eyes in the sky.
"Fine," she deeply sighed. "Be useful and you can stay. Start spouting that nonsense about a fallen star or even attempting to get in my way, and you're gone."
Pterano gulps as the longneck menacingly towers over him.
"Y-Yes, ma'am," Pterano stammered.
He tries to find a longneck to hang around with, but none will tolerate his presence. The only group that accepts Pterano are Littlefoot's relatives. Even they only allowed him to hang around on their backs and necks out of pity. Pterano looks in the sky to see others of his kind flying together. It only exacerbates his loneliness.
Ozzy and Strut contemplate on continuing to follow the longneck herd. Ozzy, noticing how the rainbow faces have access to stable resources, thinks up a plan.
"Aren't we losing the longneck herd?" Strut asked with worry.
"I have another idea. Follow me," Ozzy said.
Ozzy, with Strut close behind, walks up to a group of rainbofaces, having an in-depth conversation about the impact and its effects on the world. They quickly end the conversation as the two brothers approach.
"Yes? What do you two want?" a rainbowface asked, irritated the private conversation was interrupted.
"My brother and I would like to stay among your group," Ozzy replied. "Until we find our own kind...if that's okay."
The rainbow faces all perked up. They look to the one leading the conversation earlier on what to do.
"Can...you give us a moment," the rainbowface said.
The rainbow faces search out a private area to speak freely. Strut is concerned they'll be rejected from all of the intense whispering going on.
"Are you seriously considering it?"
"They might figure us out!"
"I highly doubt it. I mean...look at those two," the rainbowface said.
She points at Ozzy and Strut, who slightly flinch at the gesture.
"They're more concerned with survival," she said.
"She's got a point."
"What can they do for us?"
"Hmmm," the rainbowface murmured while thinking up a plan.
Once the whispering stops, the rainbowfaces come back with a decision.
"You can stay, but we expect you to help us with whatevers needed," the rainbowface said.
"Like what?" Strut blurted out.
"How fast can you run?" she asked.
Ozzy and Strut look at each other, wondering what that's supposed to mean.
"Never mind," the rainbowface said. "You two will transport messages to other rainbowfaces. Any questions?"
"No," Ozzy and Strut replied.
"Good, now go off and relax," she said. "You'll need to be rested for the first run."
The two brothers are waved away.
"Ugh. Why do we let these creatures into our home?"
"They're a good source of fertilizer," the rainbowface replied with a serious tone. "Also, it's your turn to distribute it to the plants."
"Our new residents will see the shovel."
"Then wait until they pass out," she casually remarked.
With incoherent mumbling, the rainbowface stomps off to find the tools.
The different herds start to loosely converge due to dwindling numbers. Most don't like the new reality and prejudices are at a high. Cera's father and his herd are the most vocal of the groups. They make sure everyone knows . The other herd leaders drop a harsh reminder of their situation.
"You're welcome to brave The Sharptooth alone," the longneck leader said.
"Don't forget about the unforgiving wastelands," the swimmer leader added.
"You wouldn't make it in such a small group," the spiketail leader said with pity.
The threehorn herd shut their mouths and grumbled to themselves about the dire situation. They may not be happy about relying on the other herds for protection, but even they realize the world is a much more dangerous place now. Pterano is the only flyer among the converging herds. He's constantly sent out to inspect the surroundings. Usually there's nothing of note to report. When sharpteeth are spotted, Pterano is the one to lure them away from the group. He pretends to be wounded to draw them in, only to fly away at the last second. He repeats this action enough times until they grow tired of the game. The big sharptooth wandering around doesn't fall for such games. It takes the concentrated effort of the herds to push him away. Still, some are lost to his attacks. The Giant Flyer didn't bother messing with the converging herds. She circled once or twice out of curiosity. Her passing shadow put many on edge, especially Pterano. The Giant Flyer preferred easy targets and moved on once her curiosity was satisfied.
On a particularly long trip, the herd leaders wonder if Pterano has finally run away. He's been a big help and losing their eyes in the sky would put them at a major disadvantage. Others wonder if The Giant Flyer or The Sharptooth finally caught him. Elsewhere, Pterano is diving his head under the surface of a clear river. He's found a shallow valley that has quickly regrown after the cataclysmic event. Most of the plants are ferns and other shrubbery, as the giant forests have yet to recover. It extends as far as the eye can see along the river and marshes. A narrow thread of green and blue among a sea of sand.
In the distance, a large creature lands in the marshes. It's The Giant Flyer. Pterano quickly ducks, hoping he wasn't spotted. With a quick splash, The Giant Flyer stabs at a giant catfish. She quickly swallows it whole and searches for another. A loud thunder-like crack is heard in the distance. Then another. It spooks The Giant Flyer into taking off. The shadow passes over Pterano as he lies in a fetal position on the ground. He slowly peeks over the ferns for the source of the sound. Two rainbow faces come into view as they wade into the marsh. They spot Pterano's crest peeking out of the ferns. He's recognized as the flyer with the clear crystal. The rainbow faces wave before moving on.
Late in the night, Pterano returns to the longneck herd. He leaves a wake of dust while sliding through the sand upon landing. His sudden arrival startles other herds in the area. They start to freak out thinking it's The Giant Flyer coming to take them under the cover of night. The longneck leader notices the visitor is Pterano.
"Quite down over there, threehorn, it's only the flyer," the longneck leader hissed.
"You mean he's still kicking?" the threehorn leader said in astonishment.
"Sorry for disappearing for so long," Pterano breathlessly said. "I had to dodge not only The Sharptooth but also The Giant Flyer."
"Did you find anything out there?" the longneck leader asked.
"Yes," Pterano said with excitement. "A green section along a river. It's full of life."
Those among the herds who were awake perked up. They whispered among themselves.
"Is it safe?" the threehorn leader asked.
"Safe?" Pterano asked.
"Yeah like not infested with sharpteeth," she replied.
"Oh, uh, well, there were little creatures running about," Pterano stammered. "The Giant Flyer showed up but-"
"Oh. Forget it, then," the threehorn leader said.
"Wait, she was scared off by the rainbowfaces," Pterano quickly said. "There was a loud crack, like thunder; she flew off as they came out of the ferns."
"Don't lie to us, flyer," she said angrily. "Only a longneck can make that sound."
She stands to show a demonstration of the sound. A long, graceful whip of her tail, and the air suddenly booms. Pterano cowers as the tail whips high above his head. The rest of the herd wakes up to the sonic boom.
"I'm not. I swear," Pterano replied in fear. "Nobody else was there."
"I say we go. The Giant Flyer hasn't caused us any trouble," Littlefoot's grandfather said. "If she shows up, we can handle her. If Pterano says a loud tail crack can scare her off, then what do we have to fear?"
"The Sharptooth is more of a concern, and yet we can still fight him off," Littlefoot's grandmother said.
"Fine. We leave at first light," the longneck leader loudly said. "Everyone else is welcome to follow."
The herds arrive at The Shallow Valley with the directions Pterano gives them. They're able to stay for many years. Littlefoot's parents grow into strong adults. Bron towers over the other three in no time. The sky becomes less dingy and more patches of blue sky show through. Rain is more frequent, which allows The Shallow Valley to thrive with life. Sharpteeth are occasionally spotted wandering through the marshlands. The stronger individuals are able to drive them off with ease. Even The Sharptooth backs off for a long time, preferring to prey on the stragglers out in the wastelands. The Giant Flyer also keeps her distance from the herds.
Survivors slowly trickle in as word spreads among the flyers. Everyone assumes the worst is past them and live real lives again. Some even lay eggs and raise a generation of new dinosaurs. Littlefoot's mother starts to expect a clutch of eggs of her own, as with many of the others. Cera's father eventually finds new love among the new arrivals and is also expecting. Petrie's mom is nesting nearby, as are Ducky's parents. There's still talk of The Great Valley in small circles. Some think they actually found it, while others think it's still out there or is, in fact, just a mythical place.
While the herds are living it up again in The Shallow Valley, Ozzy and Strut are out in the wastelands running errands for the rainbowfaces. Their faces have been painted to mimic the rainbowfaces' multicolored beaks. At a distance it's quite convincing and they pass as rainbowfaces. Up close, the colored mud texture is more obvious and ruins the illusion. Random items are delivered to remote rainbowfaces. Most objects are hidden in hollowed out rocks. Strut is the most confused on why they like rocks so much. Coded messages are also delivered between the hideouts. Silly phrases that Ozzy and Strut constantly ask about.
"Ozzy, what do you think the message "The mountain's thunderous echo rings the planet" means?" Strut asked in curiosity.
"I have no idea," Ozzy replied. "Last time I asked what "Shocked quartz at the horizon's rim" meant, they told me it was none of my concern."
"Just deliver the message exactly as recited," Strut said in a mocking manner while giggling.
They see a lone rock formation in the middle of nowhere. It's the midway point between a few sunken grottoes.
"Oh, good, it's almost time to stop for a break," Ozzy said.
"Finally some shade!" Strut exclaimed. "Ever since the great circle became visible again, it's been unbearably hot."
As the two brothers slow their run to a brisk walk, The Giant Flyer passes nearby. The flash of color on Ozzy and Strut's faces caught her attention. It triggers her hunting instincts as they bob their heads around, flashing the colors in the bright afternoon sun. As The Giant Flyer makes a sudden change in direction, she obscures the sun briefly. Ozzy turns his head around to see what's going on. He sees the silhouette of The Giant Flyer racing into their direction. He panics.
"Strut, run. RUN," Ozzy quickly said.
With a flash of white, The Giant Flyer passes overhead the two brothers as they dive behind the rock. She comes back around for a landing. Screaming at the top of their lungs, they dodge, being skewered by her spear-like beak. Ozzy and Strut use the rock formation as a shield until their assailant knocks it over with one powerful wing bash. The commotion is noticed in the distance by The Sharptooth following another trail. He decides to turn his attention to The Giant Flyer instead.
Knocked over and pinned down by a wing, Ozzy and Strut hold each other in the hot sand as they prepare to die. The ground begins to shake as The Sharptooth charges closer. From Ozzy and Strut's perspective, he comes flying out of nowhere, snapping down on The Giant Flyer's long neck. She barely has time to let out a screech before The Sharptooth slams her into the ground, breaking her neck and wings at the same time. He doesn't notice Ozzy and Strut lying in the sand as he chows down. Without even a whimper, Ozzy and Strut slowly crawl away. They keep their bodies and heads low to the ground as they quickly escape.
Perched upon a giant boulder, a rainbowface uses binoculars to scan the horizon. He's keeping an eye out for sharpteeth prowling the area. They had a few close encounters in the past. A small sand cloud is being kicked up in the distance and approaching fast.
"That's a strange sand cloud," the rainbowface scout mumbled.
On the ground, another rainbowface is digging a hole in the hard dirt.
"Oh, great," the digging rainbowface said. "Is there a sharptooth headed our way again?"
"Hmm. No," the rainbowface scout replied. "It's just those two goofy brothers."
"They're quite early," the digging rainbowface said in surprise. "Now where am I going to hide this shovel..."
The rainbowface on the large boulder hides his binoculars under a hollowed out stone. He slides down to greet Ozzy and Strut to keep them away from the excavation. The two brothers collapse on the ground in the shade of a rock pillar. The rainbowface picks up the rock the two brothers dropped. He waits until they catch their breath.
"What's the message this time?" he asked.
"The echo's thunderous planet rings the mountain," Ozzy breathlessly recited.
The rainbowface is quite confused at the coded message.
"No, no. Ozzy," Strut said while coughing up sand. "I think...I think it was "The mountain's thunderous echo rings the planet ``''.
"Yeah, that makes more sense," the rainbowface scout said, still puzzled. "So what were you running so fast for?"
"Oh, uh, we were attacked by that giant flyer," Ozzy stammered.
"Then that crazy sharptooth took her out. I hope he didn't follow us…," Strut fearfully said while looking behind him.
"She was probably attracted to the colors on your face," he said. "We rainbowfaces have... or had the same problem."
Ozzy and Strut aren't amused by that revelation. Dirty glares are shared as they slowly walk by to enter the canyon maze. The rainbowface who was digging out of sight hits a solid object. He pulls out a metallic cylinder by a thick, black cable. There's an arrow etched into the metal next to the letter N.
"Hey, you finally found it," the rainbowface scout exclaimed.
"Next time mark the spot," the rainbowface digger said in exhaustion. "I never want to do that much digging again."
In the background there are many holes dug out in a grid pattern. The irritated rainbow face rips out the cord of the device. Lazily, he throws dirt into the hole to cover the exposed section. He sneaks into a hidden entrance to the sunken grotto to avoid being seen by Ozzy and Strut. The other rainbow face returns to his post scanning the horizon. In the distance The Sharptooth continues following a scent trail.
After gobbling down a dinner of fruit, Ozzy and Strut chase each other around through the sunken grotto. They shove each other around trying to outdo the other in strength. With one strong shove, Strut rolls into a hidden cavern covered by giant fern fronds. Curiosity gets the best of the brothers. They wander around in restricted areas of the rainbow face's home. Nothing too unusual is seen that couldn't be interpreted as something natural. Strut pulls on some black vines to nibble on. He stops once the bitter taste becomes too overwhelming. Eventually they come across a cache of eggs at the end of a dead end tunnel. Their curiosity wins out.
"Are those rainbow face eggs?" Strut curiously asked.
Ozzy sniffs at each egg in the nests, reciting the potential contents of each.
"Hmm. Longneck, threehorn, spiketail, and...sharptooth?" Ozzy mumbled out.
"M-maybe we should leave," Strut quickly said. "The parents might come back."
"Parents? There are no parents around," Ozzy replied. "I think the rainbowfaces might be stealing eggs."
Ozzy inhales the scents more, trying to find evidence of their own kind. He doesn't find any. Instead, he starts to notice the eggs smell amazing and wonders what they taste like. As Ozzy drools over the eggs, a rainbow face comes through to check on the nests. She catches Ozzy and Strut sniffing around.
"What are you doing here!" the rainbowface screeched. "Get away from those eggs!"
"Are you stealing eggs?" Strut innocently asked.
"What? Of course not!" the rainbowface yelled. "These eggs were abandoned by migrating herds. We're caring for them."
She personally escorts the two brothers out of the secret area. As she disappears into another tunnel, Ozzy sneaks back into the cavern of abandoned eggs. Strut is surprised he's even trying to go back.
"Ozzy, we're going to get into trouble," Strut loudly said.
"Quiet down," Ozzy quickly whispered. "You're big mouth will for sure alert the rainbowfaces."
Strut does as he's told and follows his brother to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. At the egg cavern, Ozzy sniffs at them once more. He takes the time to decide which one is most ripe for the picking.
"Pick an egg, Strut," Ozzy said.
"Why?" Strut asked.
"So we can eat them, duh," Ozzy replied.
"Oh," Strut said, feeling stupid. "Is that such a good idea?"
Ozzy picks an egg and pushes it into Strut's face.
"Smell it, Strut. Really inhale that lovely scent," Ozzy said in a craze. "Something that smells this good must taste amazing."
Strut takes in a deep whiff. He becomes curious about the taste. Strut's train of thought is interrupted by his brother pushing an egg into his hands. Ozzy snatches another for himself. They tip-toe out of the egg cavern and sneak into their sleeping cave. A couple of rainbowfaces walk by as they are in the midst of feasting on the eggs. The rainbowfaces are horrified.
"What are you doing!" a rainbowface shouted.
"Those aren't for eating!" another rainbowface screeched in disgust.
Ozzy and Strut quickly lift their heads. Goo inside the shells stretch from their snouts. Before they know it, they're banished from the rainbowfaces' group for life. Kicked back out into the wastelands to, once again, fend for themselves.
With a taste for a new type of food, Ozzy and Strut risk their lives for more. Raiding sharpteeth nests only to be chased and almost eaten themselves. They run for their lives from flyers and other creatures they manage to anger. Eventually, through a string of failed nest raiding, Ozzy and Strut stumble upon The Shallow Valley. The remaining colors on their faces wash off in a heavy fog as they enter the valley.
"Ozzy. Why don't we go back to our old diet?" Strut pleaded. "Stealing eggs is too much work. I'd rather not be kicked out of another lush place."
"No, we're eggstealers now," Ozzy aggressively said. "There's no going back to our old ways, understand?"
Strut backs down as Ozzy stands tall over him. There's a crazy look in his eyes that Strut has never seen before. Strut is worried about angering his brother any further.
"Okay, Ozzy. Whatever you want…," Strut whimpered.
Ozzy perks his head up as the scent of newly laid eggs permeates the air. He decides it's time to prowl around their new home for some delicious eggs. They manage to sneak around and eat eggs without being caught. Feasting on many kinds from the different herds in The Shallow Valley. The eggshell evidence is buried in the ground to hide their trail. Strut even starts to like them more himself.
Through a big string of raiding successes, Ozzy becomes more daring and less careful in his pursuits. Enough to almost get them killed by angry parents. The Shallow Valley herds slowly notice the egg snatchers' movements. Many charge on sight. They avoid being gored and trampled more times than what is comfortable for Strut. Ozzy decides to drop the daring act after a particular close encounter with a clubtail. Others of their kind still haven't been spotted, and neither of them want to be the last one standing. Alone, without someone else there to console them.
Author Notes: Ozzy's egg obsession begins while dragging Strut into it. The Giant Flyer is forever gone. Oh, and The Shallow Valley is nowhere near as grand as the valley we all know. It's still a decent place to live in. It beats roaming around wastelands, waiting for the end in whatever form it may take.
Fun fact: Catfish have existed since the Late Cretaceous.