Author's notes: I'm sorry if this took a while, and I hope you enjoy it. I'm in the process of the next chapter now, and I'm just having a little trouble thinking about what else I can add for ideas. I only have one currently.

Chapter 7:
When They Return

Ali's herd remain in their defensive posture, guarding the weak and the young from the jaws of their enemy. What they do not understand is the fact that no attempts of an attack have even been made. They have been like this for a short while, too scared to move for fear of losing someone close to them. Ali's mother is among them, keeping those in danger behind her as she tries to figure out the motives of their ambushers. What she sees is the same fear in their eyes. Her new leader did the smart thing and had everyone who was capable stomp their feet like thunder to keep the Sharpteeth back, and now they are too frightened to approach, just in case it happens again.

"What is going on?" one of her herd members asks.

"Why do they not attack us?" another one questions in surprise.

"Are they planning to strike when we lower our guard?" a third wonders.

I do not know. She answers in her mind, checking back to the children and the weak she is protecting with her herd. She glances ahead again, watching the cowardly meat eaters. Did Ali get to the Valley? Are they on their way? Is she safe? Can we walk in this mud, or will we get stuck? What can we do? The Sharpteeth aren't leaving. But I can see it in their eyes. They are frightened, too. Like us, they don't know if the mud surrounding them is safe to walk through. And all of our earlier stomping has made them fearful of us because it would just happen to them again. They don't like a lot of noise in one place. It makes them think there are more of us. It makes them panic. And a panicking Sharptooth is a lot more dangerous.

"Aleia!" her leader calls her way as he glances towards her. "How are they?

"They're okay," Aleia replies. "Still a little shaken up, but they're overcoming that slowly."

"That's good news. Now, what do we do about them?"

"They're frightened, Askar. Just like us. I can see it in their eyes."

"I assume that is because they never intended to be trapped here with us. They planned to take one of ours and be gone again."

"Yes. They have to survive, just like us. And they don't often give up. When Sharpteeth work together, they're much more efficient at taking down even a full-grown Longneck."

"Look! Over there! We're saved!" another member calls as the herd from the Great Valley suddenly appears from within the rising mist. The earlier rain was intense but topped off with the increasing heat out here, no wonder the visibility would still be poor. No wonder the Sharpteeth thought there were more Longnecks. They could not see through their surroundings.

"Everyone," Aleia says, turning her head to those behind her. You can all relax now. Our rescuers are here."

"What is going on here?" The Threehorn questions gruffly. A voice Aleia has never heard before. Where was he when they first visited?

"We were just taking our annual migration route," Askar answers. "But then these Sharpteeth show up, and sliding mud surrounds us on all sides. Now we're trapped here with them."

"If it were me, I'd walk right through this mud. And then you wouldn't need saving." The remark sounds cold.

"Mr. Threehorn, they are to be our guests. Show them some respect," Grandpa Longneck assures in the same kind voice with the hint of sternness that Aleia remembers from her last visit.

"Bah! Let's just get this over with."

"Is Aleia here?!"

That confused her. How would he know her name? When her herd last visited, he contracted an illness and was not at all able to make conversation, let alone learn her name. Or is she forgetting their second visit? But she always thought it was her fault, or the fault of one of her herd that caused it, but none of her group ever seemed ill. Not even Old One, and she was the oldest. Considering that the Great Valley residents rarely leave, or even if he felt ill before they arrived, it could have been anything. With no one else answering, she knew it was her he was addressing.

"Yes! I'm here!" she calls.

Grandpa Longneck looks towards her. "Your daughter, Ali, has made it safely to the Valley unharmed."

"That is astounding news. Now I don't have to worry about her."

"So why are they not attacking?" Mr Threehorn questions, glaring hatefully at the three Sharpteeth. "Is it true? Are all your kind simple cowards?!" He is even more surprised when not a single one answers back. "What? Not a single remark back?"

"They are frightened just like us," Askar states, recalling what Aleia had noticed. "They, too, want to escape but can't."

"Even though they can just step through the mud. How deep do you think this is?" He kicks his forefoot against the mud to show them what he refers to.

"Mr Threehorn, shame on you!" Grandma Longneck chides, glaring with distaste his way. "If this mud is how you claim, then why do you not walk through it?"

"I…" He grunts. "Sorry."

"We shall dig this mud out for you," Grandpa Longneck offers.

"What? But," Mr Threehorn complains.

"Thank you, kind strangers," Askar acknowledges.

Aleia watches them all work together to clear away the mud quickly. The moment a way through is visible, the three Sharpteeth go the first chance they get. One of them glares back at Mr. Threehorn, roaring in what could only be described as foul tongue.

"Oh yeah!" Mr Threehorn yells back, lowering his head before growling like an animal at them. "Says the one who is fleeing like a frightened hatchling!" He scrapes his back foot across the dusty ground, acting like he is about to charge. "Now, off with you! And don't come back!" He chases after them, growling amidst a threatening roar, which is soon followed by heavy stomps as they hurry away in fright.

"What's the matter with him?"

"Pay him no mind," Petrie's mother answers as she lands atop Askar's back. "He's just being a typical Threehorn. He still has a pent-up rage towards all Sharpteeth."

"Remind me never to get on his bad side."

"We shall escort you to the Valley," Grandpa Longneck offers as Mr Threehorn returns. "But the weather we had has flooded our home."

"Goodness. I hope we don't crowd the place."

"You don't know the…" Mr Threehorn begins, but he is nudged on his side by Grandma Longneck glaring at him before replying with a groan of contrition.

"There is little we can currently offer you, but there is still enough food to go around. And until the water recedes, we will have to make do. It will not look the same as you remember."

"Then we shall eat only what we need to survive," Askar assures them before they all follow their rescuers in an orderly fashion toward the Great Valley.

Ali is distancing herself from everything as she looks out over the ridge where she came from with all her friends only a short while ago. Many questions and wonders are burning inside her brain, but out of all of them, only a few stand out from the bustle inside. Are they safe? Did the grown-ups get to them in time? Have they made it to the Great Valley? In moments, darker thoughts take over. Her worst fears. Did the Sharpteeth trapped with them eat them all? Am I all alone now? Those last two questions she wishes never came to fruition. But it is why she is worried. She does not know the result of the events unfolding without her being there to see it. Her own herd. Her own family. But going back out there to see for herself without telling her friends is not right. Even telling them, knowing they will go with her, and then going out there would not be right either. But what can she do? Going back will take too long. They may not have that amount of time.

It is not long before she hears a pair of footsteps from behind her, and the sound continues to her left until it stops. But who could it be? It cannot be Ducky or Petrie. They are too small to cause any noise with their feet. And all her other friends that came with her were still by the watering hole when she walked off. Feeling no malice from the presence, her only assumption would be the one she cannot put a race name to yet. But why would he go out of his way to be near her? Who is watching the Fast Biters in his stead? What even is he? He stated he was a Dracorex, but the ones she had seen looked nothing like him. The closest race to them was a Dome Head, but where was the dome on their heads? She did not understand.

But as she turns her head to face him, he looks at her with a studying guise. Perhaps he wonders why she is alone and not with her friends. Or maybe it was because she was lying in her thinking position amidst the thoughts crashing about in her head. When she does not get a reply, she sighs and looks out over the ridge once more. Or did he expect her to speak to him first?

Ali was never very good around other races. When she first came to the valley, she could only be near other Longnecks. Seeing any other dinosaur who was not a Longneck made her so anxious she would run away. All she ever knew was Longnecks. But then she met Littlefoot's friends. At first, she fled, but she slowly got used to them. Then, after she saved Cera she became friends with her. Her anxiety simply dissipated after that until she met a Sharptooth for the first time. The one her friends called Chomper.

But Dreadtooth is another story entirely. He is something she has never seen before. Can he forgive her, that she is not used to him yet?

"Sorry for intruding, Ali…" she hears Dreadtooth begin, "...but I noticed you weren't with the others. Is everything alright?"

He started the conversation so she could not leave him in the dark. "Sorry if I worried you, Dreadtooth." She turns her head to face him. "I just get like this when I go into thought."

"I'm not worried. I just wondered why you left, is all." He seems to avert his gaze from her, and Ali notices him looking out over the ridge like she is. "I don't think the others know you have gone, though. They could be worried."

"Don't worry about them. They'd know where to find me if they ever needed to." Ali directs her gaze back to where the adults were before they left. "I'm just worried about my herd and my family."

"What happened?" Dreadtooth asks his tone now one of concern for her.

"A Sharptooth ambush, and then sliding mud surrounding us on all sides, including the Sharpteeth." Ali did not falter with her calm demeanour. She knows her herd can handle themselves just fine. It was just a sudden incident. But three Sharpteeth are troublesome, even with a large and experienced herd like hers. "It seems they are getting more desperate, hunting in packs of three or more."

"Goodness. I didn't expect an attack like that so close to the valley. I hope nothing bad has happened."

"That's why I'm worried. I don't know if they're safe yet." Ali pauses. "My mother got me out of there so I could find some help because she was protecting the youngsters and elderly with the herd."

"Then, no wonder you got ambushed. You had two types of easy targets for them to pick out."

"Yeah. But we're used to it, being Farwalkers and all. I tried to get help after I got to the valley, but everyone was ignoring me. It wasn't until my friends found me that they got me to the grown-ups so I could tell them of my herd's plea, and then they headed off. After that, we came here over the ridges between the highlands.

"I've only now been contemplating returning to where we came from, just to see if my herd is safe and sound." She looks back to Dreadtooth, and he averts his gaze again despite trying to look her in the eye.

"I see. But I wouldn't recommend going back there this way." He motions to her the ridges. "I mean. That's not how my friends and I got here."

"Is there another way to this place?" Ali asks with interest as she rises to her feet.

"Yeah. It's much safer, too. You just might get lost if you don't learn the route."

"I see. That could mean a large group of trees," Ali assumes.

"Indeed it is." He pauses. "If you wanted, I could take you and your friends back to where the grown-ups last saw you."

"Would you? That would be so nice. Thank you." She then realises the three Fast Biters. "But what about your three Fast Biter friends?"

"Don't worry about them. Gentleclaws will be responsible for them in my stead."

"But wouldn't the big one be more viable?"

"Swiftscale?" he scoffs. "I wish. He can't even be responsible for himself half the time. He may not look it due to his size, but he is the youngest. And well. He and Deathmaw often argue and fight, so I can't really leave those two alone."

"Maybe he likes her," Ali assumes once more.

"I doubt it."

"Why's that? Usually, if a girl and boy argue, it means they like each other."

"I wish it were that simple. But those two never see eye to eye. Besides, Deathmaw prefers Gentleclaws to Swiftscale. Gentleclaws did help Deathmaw out of a troublesome past after all."

"That was nice of her," Ali replies, with an inclined, hopeful feeling about Gentleclaws. Maybe she could actually trust her despite her being a Fast Biter. "Anyway. I shouldn't keep you. If you wish to return to your grown-ups, I can lead you back."

"I'm certain they would want to," Ali states. "I will ask them." She starts to head off as Dreadtooth speaks.

"I'll meet you at the entrance to the trees." He then heads off as Ali walks to her friends.

The Fast Biters at the other end of the watering hole are simply lounging about as though they had their fill. Swiftscale, of course, is still in that inconceivable position atop the rock. Deathmaw and Gentleclaws are asleep together, and Ali wonders if they ever have sleep stories. But she does not see Dreadtooth, so perhaps he is already waiting for them. She assumes he has already informed the Fast Biters that he will take her and her friends back to the grown-ups. She glances at Littlefoot and the others eating plant food before heading to them to give the news. Cera is the first to notice her as she chews on a fern.

"Hey, Ali. Everything alright?"

"Yes, thank you, Cera." Ali smiles.

"No problem." She goes back to eating.

"Did Dreadtooth tell you?"

"Did he tell us what, Ali? All I heard was Sharptooth speak, and then the Fast Biters just went to sleep without complaint."

"I see. He must have told them, then."

"Told them what, Ali?"

"That he is taking us back to our grown-ups."

Ducky is at Ali's feet in seconds, along with Petrie on the wing. "Really? He is?"

"Do we have to? I mean. It nice here." Petrie states. "Me no have brothers and sisters telling me what to do here."

"And what about our parents?" Ali asks him with a stern glance. "We weren't even supposed to leave the meeting point in the first place, yet we still did. Besides, I'm worried about my herd and my mother. I don't know if they are safe. And we can always return, you know, once we learn the route back."

"Me, sorry. Me forgot we weren't supposed to have left from there."

"It's alright. Perhaps we all needed it." Ali glances at her friends. "So, I guess if we're all ready, Dreadtooth can lead us back."

"Sure," Littlefoot agrees. "They might be back already, wondering where we are."

"Sure. Daddy'll yell at the top of his lungs if we don't."

"And maybe that'd be enough to scare the unwanted visitors away," Littlefoot jests, knowing his friends would all laugh.

"You never know. Maybe."

"We will go with you, Ali," Ducky assures.

"Me guess me could go, too," Petrie states on his own accord. "Me no wanna make mama worried about me."

"Then I guess that settles it if Spike agrees." Ali looks at Spike and sees him nod in accord. "Okay. Then let's meet up with Dreadtooth." With Ali leading the way, her friends follow her all the way to where Dreadtooth said he would meet them. At the trees connecting to the current island of sorts. She glances at the Fast Biters, noting the one called Gentleclaws waving her and her friends goodbye. Once everyone reaches Dreadtooth, he leads them into the trees and back towards their parents.

The adults arrive with Ali's herd to find no children waiting for them where they were left. Mr. Threehorn is the first to panic when he does not see his daughter. He almost roars until Grandpa Longneck intervenes, not wanting the others to worry.

"Mr. Threehorn. There is no need for that. The children are fine."

"That is not the point. I told them not to head off like they have." He huffs through his snout and stomps his foot in the dirt. "I will be having words with my daughter. I am not happy that she disobeyed me."

"Did you consider that they'd remain put, waiting for us to return?" Grandpa asks.

"Yes. I did," he replies gruffly.

"Perhaps they just wanted to do something to pass the time. We did take a while to get to Ali's herd and back after all," Grandma Longneck assures, not wanting to worry as Mr. Threehorn can hear in her voice.

"Perhaps they went back to the nests and are waiting for us there," Ducky's mum states. "Only. Our watering holes are all flooded, so I have no idea."

"If anything, she will remain with Spike, who will remain with Littlefoot," Mama Flyer reassures her. "Maybe all of them would go to the place they tend to meet. That hasn't flooded. I believe only the lowest points have." She readies her wings to fly. "I will go see, then let you all know." She flaps her wings and heads off while Mr. Threehorn lowers his head sadly.

"Hmmph!" That means the place I hid in when Ali's herd first visited would also be underwater. How could this day get any worse? Not only is there less space, but I have to hang around a bunch of Longnecks and deal with unwanted guests in our waters, and my daughter is nowhere to be found with her friends. Mr. Threehorn mentally complains to himself and then, without hesitation, simply walks off to find Tria and Trisha. At least he knows where he last left them.

"Er… Mr. Threehorn?" Grandpa Longneck calls his way, but he does not answer back.