A/N: Bron and Helen explain what happened to Shorty's parents. Chomper is introduced. The gang see why the Mysterious Beyond is off limits for them.
Disclaimer: I don't own The Land Before Time and its characters. Original characters are mine though.
CHAPTER 2
The land beyond the mountain peak is called the Mysterious Beyond. Sharpteeth have made this land their own. The land is filled with nothing but sharpteeth and is completely off limits for the children of the Great Valley. Inhabitants from the Great Valley never venture into the Mysterious Beyond. Only wanderers and far walkers pass through the Mysterious Beyond in search of the Great Valley.
A grownup female sharptooth was in her nest watching on as her lone egg started to move. She patiently waited. Then the egg started to crack.
The hatchling sat up, taking the top of the egg shell with it. He shook his head, making the shell fall off his head. He then stood up, and shook his little body.
The female softly purred and the hatchling made his way over to her. She picked him up and rubbed her nose against him.
Her mate had returned, bringing a carcass with him. He dropped the carcass when he saw his offspring and roared a bit. He too went to nuzzle the hatchling.
The hatchling roared too, then bit his father on his snout. The grownup male shook his head in surprise, blinking. He took a step back, as he pointed towards the carcass and started to eat. The female started to eat as well.
The hatchling followed after his parents and began to eat as well.
"What's his name?" The father sharptooth asked.
The mother smiled. "His name is Chomper."
The male nodded then continued to eat. The mother watched on as her hatchling ate. He already had a large appetite. And she knew that her son was special.
A couple cold times had passed and life was great all around. Bron and Helen were in perfect sync with one another in everything. Especially when it came to raising Shorty and Littlefoot. The boys got along great. Sure there was friendly bickering and sibling rivalry, but it never got out of hand. The elder longnecks loved having two grandsons. They certainly kept them on their toes.
Littlefoot was getting ready to leave to go find his friends. He looked around and saw Shorty lingering near their parents. He walked over to him.
"Hey Shorty, don't you want to play today with me and the whole gang?" He questioned.
Shorty shook his head. "I. I think I'm gonna stay home today."
Littlefoot looked at his parents with questioning eyes, then back to Shorty.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. I'll catch up with you later."
Littlefoot hesitated for a bit. Before finally sighing.
"Well okay, hope you feel better."
Littlefoot looked at his family one last time before taking off. Once Littlefoot was out of sight, Shorty looked up at his parents.
Helen bent down to nuzzle him a bit. Bron nuzzled him as well.
"Something on your mind Shorty?" Bron asked.
Shorty didn't know how to ask but he had been thinking about it for a while.
Yes he is a longneck, but his coloring didn't match those of his parents or Littlefoot. Not only that, but his head shape was different from theirs too.
He was curious about his biological parents and what happened.
"Mom, dad. I just." He stopped, unsure of what to say.
"It's okay Shorty. You can ask your father and I anything." Helen said gently.
This gave Shorty the confidence to proceed with what he wanted to ask.
"I just. Well, I know you're mom and dad. But can you tell me what happened to my parents?"
Helen and Bron exchanged looks. They knew the day would come when Shorty would inquire about his parents.
It was only natural for him to be curious and they figured he started noticing things about himself that was different from both them and Littlefoot.
They would tell him the truth as nothing would be gained from omitting things. Helen nodded at Bron. And that was the signal for him to explain what happened.
The parents lowered their bodies to the ground in a resting stance.
"Shorty a long time ago, I found you and other orphaned hatchlings." Bron started.
Shorty nodded at this. He remembered those hatchlings, especially how they followed him.
"Before I found you, I had come upon multiple longneck carcasses." Bron had a sad look in his eyes.
"Did you. Did you see my parents among them?" Shorty asked, now shaking a bit.
Bron nodded.
"I can't be sure. But I did see a lot of grownup longnecks of all sizes, shapes and colors there." Bron confirmed.
In his heart, Shorty knew that his parents were among the deceased longnecks Bron had seen.
"What happened to them?" Short asked.
"There was a fire. They died from smoke inhalation."
"What is smoke inhalation?"
"Shorty, smoke inhalation means breathing in smoke caused from fires, instead of breathing fresh air." Helen said with a sad look on her face.
"Because we longnecks are so large, we need to take in a lot of fresh air all the time. If we cannot take in fresh air or if we take in smoke, we cannot survive." Bron said.
"Yes, which is why you and Littlefoot must remember the escape paths your grandparents, father and I have shown you."
"So smoke inhalation killed my parents and the hatchling's parents too?" Shorty questioned.
"Yes. I didn't want you and the others to see the deceased longnecks, so I led you all away from there."
"What happened to all the parents after we left?"
The parents exchanged looks again. This was even tougher than telling him how is parents died.
"They were more than likely eaten by sharpteeth. You see some species of sharpteeth actively hunt their prey and some species are scavengers. Preferring to eat things that are already dead. Large gatherings such as all the deceased longnecks attract many scavengers. Which is why it was so important to get you and the other ones away from there." Bron finished with a sad look on his face.
Shorty was wide eyed and crying now. The parents nuzzled him. They felt him shaking as his body was wrecked with sobs. Helen pulled back some.
"Shorty, this is all part of the circle of life. And as beautiful as it can be, it can be devastating as well. Your father and I love you very much and we are so happy you're here with us and your brother."
"Your mother is right. We are so happy to have you."
Shorty nodded, pawing at his wet face.
"Can I just stay here with you two for today?" Shorty asked sniffling.
"Of course you can." Bron reassured him.
Shorty spent the rest of the day with his parents and grandparents. He was sad, but he did feel better at knowing the truth.
And truth be told, he was happy to be here with his family too.
The next day Littlefoot, Shorty and their friends were on a tall flat hill top just basking in the warm daylight. They all were laying on their backs just looking up into the clear sky.
"This is so much better than when it's cold." Littlefoot said while sighing.
"Yeah, I hate when it's cold." Cera agreed. The rest of them nodded their heads in agreement.
"So what are we going to play today?" Shorty asked.
Littlefoot thought for a moment. He rolled over and got to his feet. He just overlooked the Great Valley, noting the frozen water here and there finally melting.
"What about the pointy seed game?" He asked, then narrowed his eyes as he noticed two egg nappers stealing a couple eggs from its nest.
"Hey guys come here, those egg nappers just stole those eggs."
The gang all got up and saw the egg nappers scurrying off.
"We gotta tell the grownups. We do. We do." Ducky said, Spike nodded in agreement.
"There's no time Ducky, we have to go after them." Littlefoot stated then started to make his way down the hillside.
The gang looked at one another, then followed after Littlefoot.
Littlefoot, Shorty and the others continued to chase the egg nappers. They eventually followed the egg nappers through some caverns and into the Mysterious Beyond.
"We are in the Mysterious Beyond, we cannot be here. We cannot." Ducky said, looking around.
"I know, but we gotta save those eggs. It's someone's brother or sister." Littlefoot stated.
This made sense. And it was true. The gang all looked at one another.
"Come on, this way." Littlefoot led everyone making sure to keep low in the tall grass.
They all knew the Mysterious Beyond was filled with nothing but sharpteeth and they had never ventured here before ever. They had come across numerous skeletons with various degrees of decomposition. The place reeked of nothing but death.
Once certain they weren't being followed anymore, the egg nappers settled and looked around. They both started bashing the eggs against a rock.
The gang had snuck upon them.
They had witnessed both egg nappers throw their heads back and toss the under developed hatchlings in their mouths, chewing, then swallowing their meal.
Ducky and Petrie covered their eyes and the rest just looked away.
They were too late and couldn't do anything about what just happened.
Just as the kids started to turn away and head home, the ground started shaking. They looked at one another then they ran behind a small rock formation.
It wasn't an earth shake.
They peeped around and witnessed two grownup sharpteeth pounce on the egg nappers. They both bit down to deliver the killing blows to both of them. Blood gushed everywhere.
The gang just watched on with wide eyes. They knew that if they screamed or made any noise, the grownup sharpteeth would find them too. And make a meal out of them as well.
Littlefoot had led everyone away from there as quickly and quietly as he could.
Unbeknownst to them, they had a follower.
Chomper had always gone with his parents while they hunted. He always made sure to stay out of the way, then when the danger had passed, he'd join his parents and eat.
Chomper had witnessed his parents hunt but when he sniffed the air, he noticed others were there too. Curiosity took hold of him and before he began following the scent, his father had called out to him.
"Dinner time." He roared.
Chomper looked back at his parents, he was hungry but he wanted to see what else was there. He knew if he ate now, he'd lose whatever this was he was smelling.
"Be right back mommy and daddy."
"Chomper where are you going?' His mother asked.
"I smell something." Chomper stated.
The grownups sniffed the air. They caught the multiple scents too. They would stay put though because they knew that if they left a fresh kill unclaimed, others would try and steal it.
"Be careful son." The female stated, as she and her mate watched Chomper scurrying off.
The gang had just reached the caverns they had come through. Ducky had been sniffling.
"That was so awful. It was. It was."
The gang sighed a universal sigh. They were all sad and horrified at what they just seen.
"We should have told the grownups. Then maybe those hatchlings wouldn't have been eaten." Cera stated.
"Maybe, but they wouldn't have been able to hide and get away like we did." Littlefoot said.
"Littlefoot. Mom and dad would have hit those egg nappers with their tails though." Shorty pointed out.
"Then they would have been attacked by the grownup sharpteeth." Littlefoot countered.
Chomper had followed the scent to the caverns and was listening to the conversation. When he moved to get closer, he had tripped and made a small noise.
"What was that?" Cera asked looking around.
Littlefoot looked around too. "I don't know. Maybe it was the wind pushing some rocks or something."
The gang all looked around. Littlefoot spotted a small shadow against the side of the wall.
"Show yourself." He demanded.
Chomper had no reason to sneak anymore. The scents were these leaf eaters he had followed.
He left from his hiding spot and approached the gang. They all looked at him with wide questioning eyes.
Then turned to run away and started tripping over one another trying to get away.
Chomper had run after them. He had never seen kids his age.
Littlefoot had got caught up in some vines and when he tried to break free, he was flung back and landed on his back. The little sharptooth was now standing over him.
The little sharptooth waived.
"Hi, I'm Chomper."
Littlefoot blinked rapidly. Was he hearing things? He righted himself, standing up.
"You. You can talk?" He asked.
The sharptooth nodded.
"I can speak both leaf eater and sharptooth. What's your name?"
"I'm Littlefoot."
The gang had stopped running when they lost sight of Littlefoot. They turned back around and made their way back.
They did a double take when they came back and saw Littlefoot and the little sharptooth talking.
"Littlefoot, get away from him. Don't you know he's a sharptooth?" Cera demanded as she marched over to them.
"Cera, he can talk. I thought all sharpteeth do is roar." Littlefoot looked down at her as she stood next to him.
"And? He's still a sharptooth." She spat.
The rest of the gang walked up. And just stared at Chomper.
"I followed you all here because I smelled you and so did my mommy and daddy."
They gasped. Each looking at each other.
"I heard what you said about your parents coming here. And it's a good thing they didn't, because my mommy and daddy would have attacked them. They are busy with the egg nappers now." Chomper concluded.
Littlefoot looked at Shorty. "See, I told you."
Shorty rolled his eyes. "Little sharptooth, why did you follow us here?"
"I told you, because I could smell you. And I was curious. I've never seen kids my age before." Chomper looked thoughtful.
The gang all looked at each other then backed away in a huddle.
"We need to leave here now, our parents wouldn't like the fact that we are talking to a sharptooth." Cera started.
"Our parents won't know we did, unless we tell them." Littlefoot countered.
"The grownups are going to ask about the missing eggs though." Shorty warned.
"Those poor babies. We have to tell the grownups what we saw. We do. We do." Ducky clasped her hands together tearing up again.
"Okay, but for now, let's leave Chomper out of it though. Just in case." Littlefoot spoke up.
"Why?" Petrie asked.
"Because we're going to be in trouble for wandering into the Mysterious Beyond and telling them about Chomper is going to make things worse." Littlefoot concluded.
Then he looked back at Chomper. And made his way over to him.
"I'm sorry Chomper, but we have to leave now." Littlefoot said a bit defeated.
"I will see you again, won't I?" Chomper asked.
"I. I don't know Chomper." Littlefoot answered honestly.
Just then, loud roaring had pierced the air. Chomper looked around.
"That's my mommy and daddy telling me to come home now."
Chomper then hugged Littlefoot and took off.
Littlefoot was taken aback by this. He turned around and made his way back to his friends.
"I'm just going to pretend I didn't see that." Shorty sighed.
"Come on guys, let's just get out of here." Littlefoot then led everyone out of the caverns.
The rainbow faces had seen the entire exchange.
"So that's the little sharptooth. And how fascinating he can speak both sharptooth and leaf eater. Interesting." The male spoke.
"It is interesting indeed. Looks like their fates are now intertwined. This species never cease to amaze me." The female had a thoughtful look on her face.
"It's a shame though. That the children had to witness what they saw today."
"Unfortunately. It's the circle of life. Beautiful yet devastating. Come, let us catch up to the children." The female said.
The rainbow faces followed after the gang and back into the Great Valley.
The gang made it back to the Great Valley. Melancholy washing over them.
"Let's just tell our parents that we all have something to tell them. So we can be together when we tell them what happened today." Littlefoot announced.
The gang all nodded in understanding then took off.
Shorty and Littlefoot made it home.
Bron and Helen were in light conversation when they spotted their sons. Upon seeing their expressions, they knew something had happened. Helen had bent down to rub her head against Shorty and Bron bent down to rub his head against Littlefoot.
"Mom, dad. We have something to tell you, but we have to say it in front of the other grownups as well." Shorty started.
Helen and Bron exchanged looks. At this time the elder longnecks had approached.
"Yeah it's really bad." Littlefoot had looked as if he was going to cry.
Bron looked at both boys and took a deep breath.
"Okay. If the other grownups need to hear it too, then we will wait till they've all gathered. Come everyone, lets go to our meeting spot."
The family of longnecks had made their way to where the council normally gathered.
Soon after, the other grownups had showed up as well. Littlefoot saw his friends among them too. Then they all went to stand near each other.
Littlefoot looked at his father and mother and they nodded in encouragement for him to start.
"We were all atop that flat hilltop over there, just overlooking the Great Valley." Littlefoot started.
"We saw two egg nappers take two eggs from its nest and we decided to follow them." Cera continued.
"Cera, why didn't you tell any of us?" Mr. Three-horn demanded.
"We thought it would be faster if we chased them ourselves. If we went for help, they would have been long gone." Cera looked down at the ground as she answered her father.
"We chased the egg nappers into the Mysterious Beyond. We did. We did." Ducky continued.
The grownups collectively sighed, shaking their heads in disappointment.
"Ducky, Spike. The Mysterious Beyond is completely off limits for you and your friends." Mama Swimmer said.
Ducky and Spike looked at the ground.
Petrie looked up and saw his mother shaking her head while she crossed her wings. He looked at the ground as well.
"We saw the egg nappers break the eggs and watched on as they ate the still developing babies." Littlefoot looked at the ground. He was close to tears now.
A gasp, followed by loud bawling from one of the grownups had reached everyone's ears. The mother whose eggs were stolen had heard this and started crying loudly. Her mate tried to console her.
Bron looked on with sad eyes, then looked at the children again.
"Was there anything else you needed to tell us Littlefoot?"
"Yeah, we all saw two grownup sharpteeth kill the egg nappers as well. We left as quietly as we could then came back home."
Bron nodded. Helen just looked on with sad eyes.
After some time, the grownups began calling their children to come home with them.
Littlefoot and Shorty watched on as their friends left with their parents.
The mother whose eggs had been taken was still standing there with the longneck family. She walked over to Littlefoot.
"I thank you little one, for telling us what you all saw. I know it was hard what you witnessed today. But thank you for giving me and my family the truth." She sniffled, then walked away with her mate.
The family of longnecks made their way back to their nest.
The grownups just watched Littlefoot and Shorty. They seemed like they had more to say.
"Littlefoot, Shorty was there something else you need to tell us?" Helen asked softly.
Littlefoot and Shorty looked at one another.
"Mother it's my fault why we didn't go for help. I told everyone it would be better if we followed the egg nappers. I thought if we went for help it would have been too late."
"Littlefoot, it's not your fault. You did what you thought was right." Helen had a thoughtful look on her face.
"Even though we feel bad we didn't ask for help. We are glad we didn't ask. It was easy for us to hide and get away from the grownup sharpteeth. If you and dad had been there, we are certain they would have attacked you." Shorty finished.
Both Bron and Helen exchanged looks. They did have a point there, and things could have gotten ugly.
Real ugly.
Grandpa walked up with grandma not too far behind.
"We're all glad nothing happened to you and your friends. I'm sorry you witnessed such horrible things, but you see the circle of life can be both devastating and beautiful."
Grandma spoke up. "Are you two all right though? I know what you saw was very tough to have witnessed that."
Both Littlefoot and Shorty nodded.
Bron watched on. It looked like his sons wanted to cry.
"It's okay if you two cry. What you saw today is very hard. You don't have to hold it in."
Both Littlefoot and Shorty looked at one another, then looked at the grownups and burst into tears.
It was too much and it was too sad. They hadn't been able to save the babies. The four grownups nuzzled the two boys till they calmed down.
Eventually the two composed themselves enough to eat, then promptly went to sleep. Too much had happened today. And it weighed on them both.
Once the boys were asleep, Helen turned to Bron.
"What do you think about them venturing into the Mysterious Beyond like that?"
"They saw firsthand why the Mysterious Beyond is off limits for them." Bron said while looking at both of the sleeping boys.
"I wish that they didn't have to see that." Helen looked thoughtful.
"Helen, they're growing up. They would have seen it or something like it eventually."
"But to have seen it so young though."
"We both can agree on that there. I led Shorty and the others in a different direction away from their deceased parents. I didn't want them to see that. It was too cruel for them to have seen that."
Helen looked away. "Littlefoot didn't have a choice though. He saw what a sharptooth did to me."
Bron sighed, wishing that Helen and Littlefoot didn't have to go through that. But Still.
"I'm beyond grateful you both are still here."
Helen looked at her sleeping sons. "You think we should punish these two for venturing into the Mysterious Beyond though?"
"No, I think what they witnessed today was punishment enough. They're going to need all the normalcy they can get. To hopefully move on from what they saw." Bron concluded.
"Good luck in telling the other parents that. But I think you're right though. Today was punishment enough." Helen then looked at her parents.
"Mom, dad what do you think?"
The elders looked at one another. Then shook their heads.
"I'm sorry my dear, but you two will have to do what you think is best." Grandma said.
"Helen, Bron. This is what parenthood is. You'll have to agree with one another on what the best course of action here is. Even if we told you what we think, we want you two to come up with the best solution here. We'll support your decision either way." Grandpa finished.
Helen and Bron exchanged looks, they had understood that the elder longnecks were allowing them to parent both Littlefoot and Shorty their way.
Helen sighed. Bron went over to rub her head with his own.
"We'll figure it out Helen, we've got to."
The four grownups talked a bit more, then eventually went to settle down for the night.
She felt the sharptooth ripping and clawing into the juncture where her neck and back were connected. The burning searing pain of it all felt like she was being attacked all over her body. She couldn't scream and she couldn't move. She was paralyzed with fear.
She felt her body being ripped open all over. She heard the screaming and crying of Littlefoot and the three-horn child. Bloodied and broken laying on the ground, Helen watched on as the sharptooth made a quick meal out of them.
She heard the crying and screaming of the children as the sound of breaking bones filled her ears. The sharptooth swallowed.
All the crying, screaming and crunching was no more. The only sounds she heard was that of her own screaming. She was powerless to save them or herself.
The sharptooth turned its sights on her again and stalked towards her with a smile on his bloody face.
Helen wept her way out of sleep with a jolt. She got to her feet as fast as she could and started looking around wildly. She calmed down as she spotted Littlefoot sleeping near Shorty.
They were safe.
Bron woke up as he was slightly jolted. He looked up, seeing his wife standing at attention. He got to his feet as well.
"Helen, honey. It's okay. It's okay." Bron whispered.
"Oh Bron, I just. The sharptooth in my sleep story." She trailed off.
"Would you like to go to the watering hole for a bit?"
Helen nodded. The two left and headed towards the main watering hole.
The night circle and the stars illuminated the earth down below. Enough to where two grownup dinosaurs could make their way about.
After drinking some water, Helen sat back. She gazed up at the night circle in awe. She turned to her husband.
"It's beautiful, isn't it Bron."
Bron looked up at the night circle as well.
"Yes, beautiful. And mysterious."
They gazed up at the night circle a bit longer. Before Helen brought her attention back towards her husband.
"The sharptooth in my sleep stories become more and more ferocious." She started.
"Helen, you don't have." Bron started.
Helen continued anyway.
"He always tears into me as if I'm just a piece of meat nothing more. As if I'm not a wife or a mother. And every time, I'm powerless to do anything. I couldn't save Littlefoot or his friend and I couldn't save myself."
Helen was in tears now. Bron moved closer to rub his head against hers, trying to comfort her.
"I thought that since he's dead and years have passed that I'd finally be free of the sleep stories. But that's not the case. They happen just often enough to where I'm always reminded of what happened."
"I'm so sorry Helen, I never should have left you. I blame myself for what happened."
Helen turned her tear streaked face to her husband.
"Oh Bron, it's no ones fault. That sharptooth was just a bully."
"No Helen, that sharptooth was a coward, especially since going after children."
"I'm not sure I could fight a sharptooth now. I'd be so scared that I would freeze up." Helen admitted.
"I'll fight them for us and for our family. I was foolish for leaving in the first place. But never again." Bron said with finality.
He would never leave his wife ever again.
He couldn't take back the years lost, but he could make sure to never miss anything in the future. He looked at his wife who had composed herself.
"You ready to head back now?"
Helen nodded. Wanting nothing more to return home and making sure her children were okay. They took another sip of water then headed home. They went to lay down and promptly went back to sleep.
The next morning, Littlefoot and Shorty were awake and ready to go get their friends.
"Littlefoot, Shorty we aren't going to punish you two for venturing into the Mysterious Beyond. What you two saw was punishment enough. However, now you two see why the Mysterious Beyond is completely off limits for you two and your friends." Helen had said as she was looking at both her sons.
"Littlefoot, Shorty we understand you want to play with your friends but just know they might not be able to. Their parents might punish them. So for the time being, lets give your friends a few days. I'm sure you two can come up with things to do near here." Bron finished.
Littlefoot and Shorty had looked at one another. Then Littlefoot looked at his father.
"Dad, can you and mother take us to get our friends? Maybe the grownups will let them go if they see you and mother there too."
Bron sighed. "No son, not all parenting is the same. They might believe differently than your mother and I and we don't want things to escalate even more. So stay close to home for a few days and let your friends come here when things settle down."
"But dad, mom just said we aren't getting punished, yet we have to stay here? Isn't that a punishment though?" Shorty asked.
"That's correct Shorty. You two aren't in trouble. But your mother and I think its better if you two stay here just incase the other parents are upset. What if seeing you two play without consequence makes them more upset and they decide that they don't want their children playing with you both after all?"
Both boys looked at each other. That did make sense.
"Okay dad we understand." Littlefoot said for both himself and Shorty
Bron nodded, he then looked at Helen.
"Have fun you two, and for goodness sake, please stay out of trouble." Helen then bent down and nuzzled both boys before seeing them off.
The parents just watched Littlefoot and Shorty take off.
"Well that went okay." Helen sighed.
"Yeah, I guess you could say that. Hopefully what we said doesn't go in one ear and out the other." Bron sighed.
The elders just watched on. They were happy they didn't interfere, both Helen and Bron had to come to an agreement on how things should be.
They were pleased with the outcome.
Littlefoot and Shorty had run to the tall trees. They were kicking a rock around and chasing after it. Eventually they grew bored of this seeing as though it was just them two. Alone.
"I guess it's not as fun without everyone else" Shorty sighed.
"Yeah I guess so, but mom and dad are right though. I'm sure the others are in trouble and if they did see us playing that would make things awkward and they would probably think mom and dad aren't good parents. Then they all would argue."
"So what do you wanna do?" Shorty asked.
Littlefoot looked around. Then smiled.
"Lets go adventuring."
Shorty shook his head. "No way. Mom and dad said we need to stay close to home just in case."
Littlefoot sighed. Shorty was right. He knew that his friends would have gone with him adventuring and they all would have gotten in trouble even more.
Chomper was in his nest with his parents. They had just eaten and were nice and full.
"Mommy, daddy. How come there's no kids here for me to play with?"
The grownup sharpteeth shared glances then Chomper's mother spoke.
"Well dear, some sharpteeth species eat their young if they don't prove themselves worthy."
Chomper scrunched up his face. "Really?"
His father nodded.
"Do our species do that?"
The parents exchanged looks again.
"We can't speak for everyone, but your father and I don't believe in that. Having you was a miracle in itself. We couldn't imagine killing you."
Chomper sighed in relief.
"Besides you're our special boy. You speak both leaf eater and sharptooth. That's worthy enough." His father said, then licked him a bit.
Chomper giggled as his father was tickling him. His mother joined in and licked him too. This caused Chomper to laugh even harder now.
"Mommy, daddy. Okay. Okay. It tickles." Chomper got out, now rolling.
The grownup sharpteeth laughed a bit more before pulling back.
His parents doted on him every day and it showed. He loved his parents, but Chomper just wished he had someone to play with.
Then it came to him, he knew he could find that longneck he saw yesterday. Littlefoot.
Maybe Littlefoot could play with him. Chomper could tell that the other kids with him were afraid of him and Littlefoot was too. To some extent. But he and Littlefoot shared something.
They were both curious.
Chomper stood up.
"Mommy, daddy. I'll be right back. I wanna go see something."
The parents exchanged looks.
"Okay son, just don't go too far from here." His father spoke. His mother nodded.
The parents watched their only son scamper off.
Chomper had made it to the caverns he had followed the leaf eaters to. He sniffed around a bit, finally catching Littlefoot's scent from where he had landed when the vines flung him backwards. Chomper followed the scent.
Chomper kept following the scent till finally he cleared the caverns. He saw the great circle again then looked at his surroundings. He had never been here before and had never seen so much lush greenery. Trees and plants were plentiful and there was lots and lots of water here too.
Chomper heard the approach of a large dinosaur. He threw himself in the bushes. He didn't want to be seen just in case. He had no idea how they would react to him seeing as though he wasn't a leaf eater. He watched the grownup longneck pass him by before making his way towards the scent again.
Littlefoot and Shorty were on their backs looking up in the sky. They were playing guess the sky puffy.
"That one looks like a pointy seed." Shorty pointed to it. Littlefoot squinted his eyes. He eventually saw a pointy seed too.
"You're right. But that one over there looks like a flower." Shorty looked and saw a flower.
Littlefoot and Shorty stopped talking and looked at one another when they heard rustling from the nearby bushes. They got to their feet.
"Whose there?" Littlefoot asked.
Chomper had found both longnecks. He watched them for a bit from the bushes, his curiosity now through the roof. He never played guess the sky puffy before.
Chomper had cleared the bushes waiving. "Hi."
Shorty had squeaked, then jumped and hid behind Littlefoot. Littlefoot then looked back at Shorty then at Chomper.
"Hi Chomper. What are you doing here?" He asked as he was looking around.
"I came to find you." Chomper replied, he also looked around.
Littlefoot looked around again. "Chomper, you can't be here."
"Littlefoot, we could get in trouble if someone see's us and the sharptooth." Shorty whispered.
Littlefoot looked back, "I know, but he came all this way. Let's hear him out."
Chomper just looked at both longnecks with a crooked smile on his face. "What is this place?"
"Chomper, this is the Great Valley, our home." Littlefoot said proudly.
"It's nice. It's really nice." Chomper looked around.
"So what brings you here?"
"I don't have any kids my age where I live. So I thought I could find you and we could play." Chomper confessed.
Littlefoot looked back at Shorty who was staring wide eyed.
"Hear that Shorty? He just wants to play. And we wanted someone else to play with too. Remember?"
"Well yes, but does it have to be him?" Shorty asked.
"Our friends are grounded and he came all this way to find us."
"Fine, but we can't play out here. What if someone sees us? What if mom or dad sees us playing with him?"
Shorty did have a good point.
"Okay Chomper, we'll play with you, but we have to go back to the caverns and play there."
Chomper was confused now. "Why?"
"I'll explain when we get there and try not to be seen. Okay?"
The rainbow faces watched on from a nearby boulder.
"The little sharptooth is a curious one. That one." The male spoke.
"Littlefoot is too. They have that in common. It's very wise of both of them to keep hidden." The female spoke.
"Come, lets see what these three are up to."
"Sure." The female concluded.
They both looked around a bit before following after the three kids a safe distance away.
The trio got to the caverns without being seen. Chomper turned to Littlefoot and Shorty.
"How come we can't play out there?" Chomper questioned.
"Sharpteeth aren't allowed in the Great Valley. Shorty and I would be in major trouble if anyone saw us with you. And the other grownups might close off these caverns."
"But my mommy and daddy can't fit here. They are too big."
"Fast biter sharpteeth can though." Shorty pointed out.
"Also if anyone saw you, they might try to hurt you." Littlefoot said solemnly.
"I'm just a kid though." Chomper protested.
"Yes, but someday you're going to be a grownup sharptooth. Leaf eaters and sharpteeth don't get along. They fight a lot."
"Sharpteeth don't get along with other sharpteeth. And they fight too." Chomper countered.
Littlefoot sighed exasperatedly.
"Look Chomper, I don't know everything about the world. It's just the way things are."
Shorty looked around again. "You sure no one followed you here?"
Chomper scratched his head, "I didn't see or smell anyone near me. So its safe to say its just us three here."
"So what did you guys wanna play?" Littlefoot asked.
"We could play hide and seek. But Chomper can't be it since he will just use his nose to find us." Shorty chimed in.
"Fine Shorty, you're it. Chomper and I will go hide. And you have to find us."
Shorty rolled his eyes. Then lowered his body to the ground to cover his eyes with his front feet. He started counting. Chomper and Littlefoot took off.
Hours had went by and neither seemed to notice or care. They were having fun.
Shorty still had his reservations about Chomper, but he had to admit that the little sharptooth was okay. He wasn't as scary as grownup sharpteeth were.
Loud roaring had reverberated throughout the caverns. Chomper looked up then around.
"I gotta go, my mommy and daddy are calling for me."
Shorty and Littlefoot exchanged looks.
"Yeah its getting late, we have to go too." Shorty said.
"Can we play here tomorrow? Chomper asked.
The longneck children exchanged looks again.
"Um, maybe. We don't know yet." Shorty said.
Littlefoot knocked into Shorty. "Our friends are grounded. Did you forget?"
"Hey, what the? I didn't forget, but we can't play with him every day."
"Why not?" Littlefoot asked.
"Because he's a sharptooth." Shorty looked at Littlefoot with a puzzled look on his face. He was exasperated now.
The loud roaring continued.
"Bye Littlefoot, bye Shorty. Thanks for playing with me today. I had fun." Chomper then took off.
Littlefoot had given Shorty an angry glare.
"What's the matter with you Shorty? He's just a kid."
"You said it yourself. Someday he's gonna be a fully grownup sharptooth."
Littlefoot rolled his eyes. "Yes someday. But not now. He's obviously lonely. And risked everything even coming here to find us."
The two started to head home.
"We're risking a lot too, to even play with him, let alone being seen near him." Shorty reminded him.
"No one saw us and no one knows."
"Who knows how long that will last." Shorty retorted.
By the time Shorty and Littlefoot had gotten home, they were bickering.
Helen and Bron exchanged glances.
"Alright you two. Settle down now." Helen cooed her bickering boys.
Littlefoot looked up at his mother. "Mom, is it wrong to play with kids that are different than we are?"
"Of course not, dear. Your friends are all different species." Helen answered.
"Not to mention all the different species here in the Great Valley too." Bron said as well.
Littlefoot stuck out his tongue and Shorty glared.
"But what brought this on though?" Bron asked.
The boys exchanged looks. Then gave a nervous smile.
"No reason. Just wanted to confirm its okay." Littlefoot answered his father.
Bron looked at him with blank eyes like he didn't believe him. Helen wore the same expression.
Sensing they were about to get caught, Shorty came up with a distraction.
"Mom, dad, can you take us to the tall trees? We want to eat the tree stars there." Shorty asked with a wide smile on his face.
"Sure." Helen then turned towards her parents.
"Mom, dad, would you like to go with us to the tall trees?" Helen called out to her parents.
The elder longnecks shook their heads, giving all of them knowing smiles.
The four made their way to the tall trees and ate.
They went back to their home and just talked among each other settling down for the night.
Every day for about a week, Littlefoot and Shorty met Chomper at the caverns and played all day. They made sure that no one saw them on either side.
They even made 'hide the sharptooth' into a game at some point. Chomper loved this. He had fun keeping himself hidden.
Cera had gathered Ducky, Spike and Petrie and made their way to get Littlefoot and Shorty.
The grownup longnecks smiled at the kids.
"What can we do for you, kids?" Helen asked.
"Are Littlefoot and Shorty here?" Cera asked.
"No, but they shouldn't be far from here. I'm sure you'll find them." Bron then said with a smile.
"Oh thank you. Thank you lots." Ducky said. The others nodded their thanks too.
Bron and Helen smiled then watched them take off.
"Where do you think they are?" Ducky asked.
"Anywhere. I guess we should try." Cera began.
Littlefoot's laughter caught her attention. "Hey that's Littlefoot."
They all looked around. Spike zeroed in on the laughter, sniffed the air and began following it. The others looked at one another then followed Spike, running to catch up with him.
Littlefoot was on his back and Chomper had playfully pounced on him. They had been rolling around and laughing together.
Shorty had hung back, not wanting to be that close to the little sharptooth. The gang had entered the caverns and came to a screeching halt when they came upon the scene.
Cera was the first to come to."Littlefoot watch out!" She cried.
At the sound of his name being called, Littlefoot got up. His eyes landed on his friends. He perked up. Then made his way over to them.
"Hey guys!" He called out.
They all had been looking at him with wide eyes.
"Why are you playing with him?" Cera asked with an angry look on her face.
Littlefoot looked back at Chomper, who had gotten up and just stared at all of them.
"He's a kid like us. And we all play." Littlefoot answered.
"Yeah but we're not sharpteeth." Cera glared at Littlefoot.
"My mom said it's okay to play with other species. Look at us, were all different and we get along." Littlefoot glared back at Cera.
Sensing a fight, the rest of the gang got in between them. Chomper looked on, then sighed.
"That's okay Littlefoot. I'll just go home. I can see I'm not wanted here." Chomper then took off.
"Look what you did. You hurt his feelings." Littlefoot glared at Cera.
"He's a sharptooth. Sharpteeth don't have feelings." Cera returned the glare.
"They do too." Littlefoot countered.
"Do not!"
"Do too!"
Littlefoot and Cera rammed into each other. Each one trying to gain the upper hand. Spike grabbed Cera's tail and Shorty blocked Littlefoot.
"Well I'm going after him. He's my friend and you hurt his feelings." Littlefoot declared then took off after Chomper.
They all looked at each other. Not sure if they wanted to follow Littlefoot. After all, he was heading back in the Mysterious Beyond.
Chomper had made it out of the caverns trying to hold back his tears. He just wanted to play with kids his own age. He couldn't help that he is a sharptooth.
He was an only child and he was lonely.
He had been so excited to play with Littlefoot. And he looked forward to spending time with him. But all of that was going to change as he was sure he couldn't play with Littlefoot anymore since his friends didn't like him.
Sounds of fighting as well as roaring pierced the air. The smell of fresh blood was in the air as well.
Chomper caught this and went running towards where all the commotion was coming from. He came into a clearing and saw four sharpteeth attacking his parents who were already bloody and covered in multiple slashes and bite marks.
The ground had been stained red from all the blood. Chomper gasped, his eyes as wide as saucers.
"Mommy, daddy!" He cried as he ran towards his parents.
"Chomper stay back!" His father said sternly.
"Please, my son get away from here." His mother called out. Roaring.
"No, I won't leave you two." Chomper protested.
A sharptooth caught wind of Chomper, then snarled at him barring its teeth.
Chomper's parents made one last attempt to protect their son from the other sharpteeth. But they were too weak from all the blood loss. The other sharpteeth easily over powered them.
Littlefoot had heard the fighting and roaring. He knew he shouldn't, but something told him to continue on in that direction.
He came upon the sharpteeth thrashing upon two other sharpteeth who looked as if they lost consciousness.
He then spotted Chomper rooted on the spot crying now. Littlefoot ran over to him.
"Chomper, we gotta go. Now." Littlefoot said while trying to nudge Chomper.
"That's my mommy and daddy though." Chomper rubbed his already raw eyes.
"It's going to be us too if we don't get out of here." Littlefoot said while taking everything in.
Since Chomper hadn't made a move to leave, Littlefoot grabbed him by the tail and threw him on his back and started to run away.
Chomper's mother saw the little longneck throwing her son on his back before everything went black for her. At least she knew her son was safe now.
She then gave into the darkness. His father let out one last mighty roar before he too gave into the darkness as the other sharpteeth claimed their meal.
Chomper and Littlefoot had made it out of the Mysterious Beyond.
They hadn't said anything. Chomper still sniffled. They made it to the caverns to find them empty. Shorty and the others had all left.
Littlefoot didn't care that Chomper was a sharptooth. He was taking him home with him. There was no way Chomper could return to the Mysterious Beyond now.
Bron and Helen were laughing among themselves basking in each other's company. Shorty was with his grandparents at the thundering falls.
Littlefoot walked to his home. Luckily, he hadn't run into anyone on the way back. When he finally got home he saw his parents laughing.
"Mom, dad." He barely said above a whisper.
But the grownups heard it anyway. They turned their attention to their son.
"Well, who is this?" Helen asked.
She hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary, yet.
Bron immediately noticed that his son had a sharptooth on his back. He narrowed his eyes at this. Helen picked up on that, finally noticing the reason behind Bron's narrowed eyes.
"Littlefoot my dear, is that a sharptooth?" She asked calmly.
Littlefoot slowly nodded his head.
Chomper had gotten off of Littlefoot, but stood near him clinging to him.
The parents exchanged looks.
"Son, what happened?" Bron asked softly.
So Littlefoot had told his parents everything. And when he was finished both he and Chomper were full on crying now.
The parents exchanged looks again, sighing. Helen went to nuzzle both her son and the little sharptooth. Bron followed suit.
After a few more head rubs, Helen pulled back and focused on Chomper.
"Little one, what's your name?"
She then looked at Littlefoot. "Can he understand us?"
Littlefoot nodded.
Littlefoot turned to Chomper. "It's okay Chomper, my parents aren't going to hurt you."
Chomper rubbed his eyes, sniffling.
"My. My name is Chomper." He said shyly looking at the ground.
The grownup longnecks looked at one another. They had never seen a sharptooth speak leaf eater.
"My name is Helen."
"My name is Bron, little one."
Suddenly, Chomper looked up. "Miss Helen, Mr. Bron is it okay if I stay here with you?"
Helen and Bron both nodded without hesitation. After hearing what happened, there was no way they were going to turn the little sharptooth away.
It didn't matter that he was a sharptooth. He was a child who still needed love and protection and a home.
The parents just watched on as Littlefoot led Chomper to his sleep spot. Littlefoot had curled his tail protectively around Chomper and Chomper snuggled closer to him.
The two promptly went to sleep.
Bron turned to Helen making sure to keep his voice down.
"Helen, are we sure about this? He's a sharptooth."
"I know Bron, but what choice do we have?" Helen then stopped talking for a moment.
The rainbow faces had told her some time ago that Littlefoot would come with a surprise someday. Helen knew that this little sharptooth was the surprise.
She shuddered a bit by that. Bron's voice brought her back to the present.
"Are you okay with him being here with us though? I know how you feel about sharpteeth. That scar is a constant reminder for you."
"This is true, I'm more fearful of them more than ever. But he's just a child. We can't turn him back to the Mysterious Beyond now. He wouldn't survive."
"I know that Helen. But still. How will this go over with the rest of the Great Valley residents?"
"It doesn't matter, he has just as much right to be here as we do. Yes he's a sharptooth, but he's just a child. An orphaned one at that."
Bron sighed. "This is true. And I guess whatever hardships we may come across, we'll deal with together as a family."
Helen nodded. They continued on in light conversation till Shorty and the elder longnecks got back. They filled them in on everything.
"Mom, dad are we really going to have a sharptooth live with us?" Shorty asked looking up between his parents.
Both Helen and Bron nodded.
Eventually they all settled down for the night.
A/N: Read and review, please. Thanks!