We Will Hold On Forever

by

DaveTheAnalyzer

Chapter 14: New Routines Part 2

Chomper and Cera gazed up at the hill, mouths open with dread.

"We're going to climb that?" Cera asked.

Verter smiled and waved ahead. After doing more rounds of jogging and stretching, he announced he was going to take them elsewhere for a new training session. They were so tired, so relieved to be back among the more lush parts of the valley, they didn't put much thought to where they were going beyond maybe to another of the fighting grounds before he steered them to a rightly direction and they came upon this land feature.

The hill was high. There were grooves straddling up and terminating at smoothed out parts, mini ledges, and small protrusions. It was steep, so steep that it might as well be a cliff. Up top, there was a hint of grass and beyond that Chomper could smell the freshness of a small collection of trees. To their right, a green-patched path slithered down to ground level, where land-based dinosaurs could have an easier access to the bounty up there but Chomper had a feeling they wouldn't be taking that route.

"This will be good for navigating rough terrain." Verter said. "We'll see how well you climb first before we get you pushing stuff up it."

"Pushing stuff?" Chomper squeaked. "I thought you said we weren't going to push any things up hills."

"I said I wasn't going to make you push boulders up hills." Verter said. "There might be a milder version of that practice but let's not concentrate on that now. Get climbing."

"Climb? Up there." Cera looked up anxiously. "Uh…"

Verter smiled slyly. "Are you saying you can't handle it?"

"Of course not! It's just, um – safety reasons. This is a rather high climb. If we fall, we would get hurt and that could get in the way of training."

There was silence. Cera couldn't help her anxiety over the risks. She had never liked heights, something in her instincts always revolting whenever she got near a high place. This was not helped when a pair of sprinters walked by and she heard one of them say, "Is that threehorn really thinking of making those kids climb a cliff?" Chomper glanced back after them but she stared ahead, trying to put the words out of her mind.

Verter acted as though there had been no passersby. "Good point. I picked this spot for that reason. See the tall grass around there? It can soften any fall. I'll be standing right here to catch you if worst comes to worst. Don't worry, there are a lot more paw-holds than it looks. I'm sure you'll be able to get to the top."

"Okay." Chomper looked up uncertainly. "I do like going high places. But I don't see how this is going to help since we won't be able to climb as much when we grow up."

"Yeah." Cera said. "You don't see threehorns doing climbing competitions."

Verter laughed. "If we could, we totally would. But while you're still children, improving how you climb will be advantageous. In your adventures, you might need to escape a threat or access new routes through climbing. This exercise will help you with that. At least it would help you deal with that fear so it won't get in the way in a crises situation."

"Well…" Cera titled her head, Verter's amusement at her joke easing her. "Oh, okay. Where do we begin climbing?"

Verter indicated to a spot and Cera and Chomper walked there, going through tall grass that was actually nice to the touch. Exchanging some uncertain glances, they looked for some handholds in the hill and began to climb.

Chomper would have liked to think it wasn't as hard as he thought but that wasn't the case. To start, he had to jump to reach the little crevice just about his head and scraped at the hill to get his toes into it. He dug his fingers into the rock, hauling himself so that he had both feet there. Then he looked up for the next handhold and strained his hand to it. Then the next handhold, and the next. He struggled to maintain even breathing as he ascended. It was challenging as suspected but he was able to do it. He now understood what his parents said once about hard tasks being more surmountable when actually working through them.

At least, that was what he thought until he didn't dig his claws in enough at one ledge. Chomper yelped as he slid back, toe claws parting from the rock before he landed in the grass. It was as soft as Verter said and with how thick it was together, he felt little more than a distant ache. He shook himself.

"It's alright, Chomper." Verter said. "Keep going. Don't let any mistakes discourage you."

"R-right." Chomper said.

He got back to the hill and resumed climbing, trying not to feel anything about seeing Cera far ahead. He could feel gravity pull on him. It was like he was challenging a force of nature and he felt that at any second, its weight would overcome him again. He tried not to hurry his pace to catch up with Cera. He looked around to ascertain his height, but that he hadn't held on hard enough and the motion caused him to swing his place, making him woah until his body steadied. Then he took a deep breath and continued up. That wasn't wise to do but at least he ascertained he got up ten feet. He heard a scream and, out of the top corner of his eye, he saw Cera miss a handhold and wobble before sliding down. She grabbed onto a paw-hold and adjusted her other legs to grip other spots, panting until she felt calm enough to continue. She gripped one protrusion or crack and then the other with her forelegs, grunts holding a nervous edge.

"You doing alright, Cera?" Chomper said.

"Managing," her voice cracked. Her forepaw slipped on a crack and she yelped before throwing her forepaw back in. Then more measuredly. "Managing. This is far from the highest we climbed, no big deal."

"Don't talk too much." Verter called. "Concentrate on climbing so you won't fall."

"Okay, okay."

For nearly a minute, they put their focus on ascending from one crack or ledge to the next. A cool wind blew by, making him feel a thousand feet up. A handhold collapsed under Chomper's claws and he yelled as he slid down until his foot caught a protrusion and he dug his claws into the earth. He panted before gazing around and finding some more handholds and starting up again.

This was more difficult than he thought. He had some climbing experience in the Mysterious Beyond and he and Cera did climb often on the gang's adventures but most of the time, they were more perpendicular cliffs or at least had a lot of ledges where they could stand and rest. They rarely climbed such vertical land features, at least not tall ones and not without at least one other person to help push them up. He wondered if his parents would approve of this kind of training. They were tough in teaching him how to hunt, both for the physical dangers and in learning to swallow his reluctance about it, but would they have him climbing hills? They didn't want to put him in too much danger but they would do anything to heighten his chance for survival. They would at least make sure it was safe. He could almost picture it now, his parents watching him ascend a cliff but heads hovering nearby, ready to catch him should he fall.

He shook the image from his mind. He was doing this kind of training so they wouldn't have to be ready to catch him all the time. He had to be more independent, so he wouldn't be a burden to anyone. Even as Chomper tried to concentrate on climbing one nook at a time, a part of his mind lingered on the motivations of another person.

"Cera," he said lowly, "why did you decide to do this training?"

"What?" Cera huffed. "Don't distract me. Didn't your precious Verter say not to talk?"

"Hey, we can talk quietly." Chomper said, annoyed. He glanced down and was relieved Verter appeared distracted by a few dinosaurs passing by. "As long as we concentrate, I'm sure we'll be fine. Besides, I'm curious."

Cera didn't say anything for a moment, the click of each climbing movement filling the silence. "I just want to do something." A crack echoed out as she got up to another paw-hold. "Just standing around being sad wasn't going to help."

"I get that." Chomper panted as he pulled himself up to a rather narrow ledge. "This does mean we don't have too think much about what happened."

"I'm not here to avoid my feelings." Cera said quickly. "I just – this give me something useful to do."

"Hey, you're plenty useful Cera. You do so much on our adventures, ramming rocks or pushing us onto higher places. Even when you're being snarky, you're a good friend in a pinch."

"…would you say that if you met me around the time my friends did?"

Chomper glanced at her. Cera ascended the hill with a down look. Verter had apparently finished with the passersby and stepped closer to the hill, head held as though to catch either of them should they fall.

"I'm not a nice person." Cera continued. "You know how prickly I was with you the first two times we met. Even now, I still like winding you up."

"Cera, you're not that bad." Chomper said, puzzled. "Sure, you can be annoying but that doesn't stop me from liking you."

"You don't get it. I was much worse when I met my friends. I was so prideful and boastful about my accomplishments, yet turned tail at the slightest danger. I got into loads of fights with Littlefoot and the others on the journey to the valley, and I didn't care at all about their feelings. More than once, I even almost-"

Cera's voice cracked. Verter's figure glanced back up briefly before his eyes settled on the piece of hill ahead of him.

"Oh." Chomper paused. "Me and Ruby kind of gathered something like that with what you guys said about your adventures. But you're much better now, Cera. You haven't been that way for a while."

"But I can still get that way. Remember when we tried to rescue Littlefoot's dad from the Fire Mountain?" Cera took a deep breath. "At least with this – maybe the training can help me work on my fear. And I can be there when it matt-"

Cera slipped on a loose rock. She yelled as she started skidding down the hill. Chomper watched, startled. Her distancing figure scraped her forefeet at the hill to get a grip on something, anything, falling quite far. A quarter of the way to the ground, she grabbed for a small ledge and stopped her descent. She hung there, reorienting herself, before her other feet padded out and she climbed back up again. Her ascent was slow and it took a while for her to be close enough to see her face but when he did, he saw her mood was low. She appeared a bit surprised to see Chomper still hanging there and a look of guilt came in as she closed the distance, having a hard time making eye contact.

"I'm really screwing things up." Cera muttered.

"Hey, don't be like that." Chomper said. "I'm struggling too. At least we're in this together."

"Knowing someone else is also suffering isn't exactly reassuring but…thanks."

They were three-quarters up the hill. Below, Chomper glimpsed Verter shifting position as he glanced up. Chomper was a bit happy Cera appreciated his thought but how she had been talking bothered him.

"If you're so interested in improving, why are you suspicious of Verter?" he asked. "With what you mentioned earlier…what could make you say that?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's just what our friends said yesterday is eating at me." Cera said. "I don't exactly believe it – but it's strange how much he pays attention to you. Don't you find it kind of creepy?"

"Maybe he's just amazed he's training a sharptooth." Chomper said. "He's used to other threehorns but training someone who's usually the enemy's pretty weird. I think that would make many people excited."

"Maybe," she said. "I don't know how to explain it either. It's just, for some reason, it bothers me…"

Silence. Verter bent his head to eat at some greens on a hill-mounted bush. Chomper gave her a considering look.

"Is this because you're jealous of the attention he gave me?" he asked.

"No," she said quickly. "I mean, it was annoying but this is completely different."

"So it's the weird thing? If we think everyone weird is suspicious, then we wouldn't have any friends." Chomper chuckled. "Hey, I wouldn't have any friends. Not everyone's perfect, but that doesn't mean anything bad. I do think it's better he's trying to make up and give us more equal training. Especially since you live here and, um," he coughed awkwardly, "it would be better if someone who'll stay here longer knows how to defend our friends."

"What? Oh…yeah." Cera tone became quiet. "I will get more training opportunities with my parents. I just hope this one delivers..."

Chomper glanced at Cera questioningly, but his hand nearly missed the next ledge, and he had to scramble to not slide down. He continued climbing but his mind lingered on Cera's doubts. He had a hard time believing them. Really, he found Verter's attention a bit flattering; it indicated the threehorn saw potential in him. Still, now that Chomper looked back on it, he did notice how beadily Verter had been watching him while instructing them. It was a bit weird but he probably just enjoyed the novelty of teaching a sharptooth. Besides, Cera always doubted things. He liked her but he had to admit she wasn't often right about things. Still, if even she admitted she found these doubts weird, what did that say about them? He shoved those thoughts aside and focused on the training, not wanting any distractions.

After minutes that stretched into forever, his claws dug into grass and he and Cera pulled themselves onto land, crawling from the ledge before collapsing, breaths heaving. In that instant, Chomper wanted to curl up and take a nap but his stomach growled, announcing it had been awhile since he ate. He glanced around uncertainly but Cera was already staring ahead.

"Food, at last."

She pushed herself up to get to the small tree collection in front of them and Chomper scrambled to follow. He learned from his cold times of foraging that where there were plants, there was usually grub. Cera was already chomping on a bush, struggling not to swallow a long leaf whole to sate her. Sniffing about, it didn't take him long to find some bugs near the dirt and hidden in trees, and he munched enthusiastically, grateful to feel like something other than exhausted rubber. A brightness was returning to Cera's eyes. The air was filled with the sound of gnashing teeth and rustled plants but no sooner were they recovering did Verter jog in.

"Good job, you two," he said. "There could be some improvements but we can work on that. Time to move along."

Cera and Chomper looked at them with a mouthful of greens and bug parts, surprised.

"Ohredy?" Cera said, muffled. She swallowed. "I mean, already? We just got here."

"We can't take breaks on a whim." Verter said. "They need to be regimented to compliment the training." Upon their crestfallen looks, he continued. "You do want to catch up with this killer right? This is the hard work that comes with progress."

"R-right." Chomper swallowed the last of his bugs.

Cera chewed up the last of the leaves she gathered, muttering. "My stomach was feeling full anyway."

They joined Verter in walking down the grass path to the ground, struggling to keep up with his hurried pace. He almost missed Verter muttering under his breath.

"…the nerve. If someone acts…rumors…"

"What was that?" Cera asked.

"Oh, nothing." Verter said, shaking himself. "I've been traveling alone a lot, so I've gotten into the habit of talking to myself."

Cera gave him a look but didn't appear surprised. Chomper checked the bright circle's position.

"Maybe we could rest with our friends when the day's over," he said.

"I'm afraid friend reunions will have to be skipped for today." Verter said.

Cera and Chomper nearly tripped over their feet, glancing at him in shock.

"What?" Cera said. "Why?"

"With a killer around, we need to train as much as we can." Verter was staring ahead. "It wouldn't be productive to take up the limited time we have with side activities, right?"

"Oh." Chomper slumped. "I – I guess that makes sense."

Cera grumbled under her breath, glaring at the ground. Chomper tried not to let this bring down his spirits. He and Cera spent nearly every day with their friends, there should be no harm in spending a few away from them, especially if it was to train to protect them, right? Trying to make this a positive thought, he followed Verter and Cera to whatever the next part of training was.

Laughter echoed in the river. The swimmer family was enjoying a nice afternoon playing a game of dodge-splash. The brothers and sisters were divided up into teams, throwing and kicking water at each other. Mama Swimmer hovered, acting as a referee and alternating between cheering for each team. At the moment, the left team looked a bit more winded, cringing from the onslaught of the right team, but from the giggles and whoops everyone was having fun regardless.

"Hey, is this a private game or can anyone join?"

The two teams looked over and cheers went up as Ducky and Spike walked in to the water.

"There you are!" Bill said. "We were wondering if you two would show up!"

"Finally pulled yourselves away from that spiketail?" Eda asked.

Ducky forced a smile. "You could say that. Anyway, let's play!"

There were cheers as Ducky walked over to the left team and Spike to the right team. Spike generated particular excitement, the right team chanting, "Spike! Spike! Spike! Spike!" as he made a show of stomping through the water, growling ominously. Ducky laughed as Spike's façade broke with a big smile when he reached the front and sent a big wave splashing onto the left team.

There were squeals and the splashes resumed with greater vigor. Ducky smiled mischievously and threw water at Spike, her brother gasping and ducking down to avoid it. But in the process, his teammates cried out in dismay as his body splashed water on them. It was dubious if Spike had dodged Ducky's splash at all.

But the right team recovered and retaliated with force. Ducky's team jumped and dashed as they attempted to avoid being splashed. Bill jerked and leapt around the flying liquid, having long become an expert at this game. Bitty screamed and hopped about, getting sent off her feet with one strong splash. Ducky managed to stay standing but she had been splashed over a dozen times in her vain attempts to dodge. She didn't care, laughing as she shook some of the water off her.

"Come on guys, we are supposed to splash back!" she told her team. "Let's give them what they gave us!"

She dodged a splash and kicked a wave to the nearest right team member, Eda, who paused in the midst of her own wave sending to roll out of the way. This rallied Ducky's teammates enough to really splash back and despite Spike's presence on the other team, the tide turned. Spike stopped kicking water in favor of crouching and jerking to dodge splashes aimed at him. Riv tried to keep up but his face got hit once, twice, three times and he fell back, sputtering as he covered his head. Eda lasted the longest, ducking expertly as she kicked and threw water but eventually she squealed and giggled like the rest of her teammates as they got overwhelmed. Shaking water out of her eyes, Eda called out.

"Alright, you win! Mercy, mercy!"

Chuckling, Mama Swimmer clapped her hands and the splashing calmed, everyone panting but smiling. Wiping water off herself, Eda looked around and smiled at Ducky and Spike.

"Wow, that was a fun game you two," she said.

"Yeah." Riv said. "You really went all out."

"Things are more fun when you two are around." Bitty agreed.

The other siblings chimed in with nods and compliments. Mama Swimmer smiled down warmly. Spike laughed, leaning into himself bashfully as the others gave him congratulatory pats. Looking around, Ducky raised herself proudly.

"Well, we have our friends to thank. We come up with a lot of ways to have fun together, we do, we do. It only makes sense to take what we learn with them to our family."

Bill nodded thoughtfully. "You sure like having fun with those friends. Since you're with them all day, it makes sense you need to find new ways to have fun."

"I do not know if it is time or anything like that," Ducky admitted. "We just have really good friends that can make anything fun. We had a good game of pointy seed bowling yesterday. Oh, I cannot wait to see what fun we will have when we meet with them today. Maybe we can jump over Patty's tail like Littlefoot said before."

Bill smiled. "Well, have a good time. Jumping over a longneck's tail…that'll be fun to hear about."

"You can also be part of that fun if you want."

The murmurs and splashing of adjusting feet quieted. Ducky became very aware of the eyes staring at her and Spike.

"Us?" Eda said. "Joining your friends?"

"Right." Ducky said. "I mean, Bill said it sounds like fun. Why not see if it really is."

She looked hopefully at her hatch-mates: Eda, Bill, Loch and Fussy. They often agreed on how to be silly, and had enthusiastically welcomed Spike into the family when they arrived to the valley. With the two sets of siblings since, they were often a united front in organizing the chaos family get-togethers can become. But they were having a hard time meeting her eye.

"That – that does sound interesting." Loch murmured.

Fussy nodded. "Yeah. It's…it's nice you asked us."

Silence. Mama Swimmer watched with concern.

"Ducky and Spike are always coming home with stories of their fun with their friends," she said encouragingly. "I wouldn't mind if any of you joined them."

But there were still averted gazes. Spike walked carefully around his siblings, looking around and baying before standing next to Ducky. She didn't like how supportive his presence was. She stared at her hatch-mates as they looked nervous, something in her twisting.

"It would be fun!" she said. "It would. Can you not at least try?"

"We're not saying it won't be fun." Fussy said quickly. "Just…"

"It is about my friends, right?"

No one said anything but they didn't really need to.

"Why?" Ducky looked around. "I know you are scared with what we get into but it does not happen all the time. I wish you would just try."

"Well, we…" Riv scratched his face. "Why are you bringing this up again? I thought you were okay with us being with different people."

"It is just-" Ducky put a finger to her lip. "I have fun with my friends. I also have fun with you guys. I thought if everyone were together, we would have double the fun."

Spike nodded, baying with emphasis. Ducky stared hopefully at her siblings but they looked only more anxious. Eda sighed and stepped up.

"Everyone has different kinds of fun, Ducky," she said. "Not all of it will fit everyone."

"I am confused." Ducky said. "I thought we all like having the same kinds of games – tag, swimmer and splasher, being really silly. My friends love those, so will you not have fun with each other?"

"Maybe." Bitty hesitated. "We are more different than you think. You guys going all over the place for your fun, it does not click with us."

"Oh, come on!" Ducky threw her hands up. "How do you know if you will not try?"

"Ducky has a point." Mama Swimmer said. "Her and Spike's friends might get into trouble occasionally but they're really sweet. It would be nice to try once."

"We haven't decided anything like that, Mama." Riv said. "Don't force us."

"Is now a great time to do that?" Osber asked. "There's a killer around."

"That would be too scary without Mama around." Shean said.

"I didn't say to try anything right away." Mama Swimmer said quickly. "Just-"

She fell silent as there were moans and head shakes, her resolve faltering at the sight of their anxiety. Ducky's stomach sank at the sight of Bitty fidgeting and shaking her head hard. She had been Ducky's favorite of the batch and that she and all the others of the second batch didn't want to try was hard for her.

"Maybe – maybe we can try after the killer is gone." Ducky said weakly. "Or, oh, have my friends stay with us until then. That would be easier."

"That is a good idea, Ducky." Mama Swimmer said. "I would be more than willing to watch over them."

"We can try that." Fussy said reluctantly. "But don't expect it to work out."

"Yeah, what if they attract danger to us?" Norkel said nervously.

"They will not!" Ducky said. "We are their friends, and we do not think we attract danger. Please, let's do it. I am tired of having to choose between being with my family and friends."

There was silence. Some of the brothers and sisters looked down guiltily or gave them sympathetic looks. Eda sighed.

"Ducky, we love you but sometimes you can't hang out with everyone," she said. "There are still brothers and sisters here I don't know well. Not because they are bad or anything, but because we're different."

"Yeah." Bill said. "That's life."

Ducky's brothers and sister's nodded. Even the latest batch, who were only born a few cold times ago, were bobbing their heads in agreement. Ducky's heart sank. That not even her youngest siblings were willing to agree with her made her feel really alone.

"It is not fair." Ducky said. She slumped down. "Me and Spike always thought it would be nice if you would join our friends."

"Is it something you both want?" Loch asked. "Because Spike looks rather surprised by that."

Ducky started and looked. Spike hastily shook his head and tried to look supportive but he had hid his slight surprise at her statement a bit too late. It might have occurred to him but he had been content with things as they were. He did look sad, but more for her than the sibling-friends situation and he looked rather guilty about that.

"Now please be nicer to Ducky and Spike." Mama Swimmer said. "I know this is all distressing but they just want to be with those they love."

"We're not trying to be not nice." Fussy said. "It's just," she turned to Ducky, "you understand, right Ducky? We find joy in other places, with other friends. Can you accept that? I know that is kind of sad, since that means we won't know everyone perfectly, but…"

That pronouncement caused the siblings to look down. As much as this caused tension, they loved being around each other. The thought they would always be distant with some caused great sadness. Ducky looked around in distress.

"Okay," she said. "Okay. I will try not bother you about it again. Please, go back to playing. Me and Spike will go somewhere else."

"Ducky…" Eda reached a hand out.

"It is okay!" Ducky said, a bit loudly. "Me and Spike just need to… be away. I need to think about this. I will see you guys later."

With that, Ducky sloshed out of the river, Spike following. After a pause, splashes hesitantly picked back up behind them. Mama Swimmer sloshed after them.

"I'm sorry, Ducky, Spike," she said. "I wish I could have helped more but there are some things you can't force on others, particularly when there are so many kids to marshal."

"Then why did you have so many of us in the first place?" Ducky flipped around, throwing her hands up. "With less kids, you would have been able to give us more attention."

"Ducky!" Mama Swimmer reeled back.

Ducky instantly regretted it. She lowered her head. "I am sorry Mama. I did not mean to get angry."

"Oh, Ducky." Mama Swimmer relaxed, nuzzling her and Spike. "I know these past few days have been stressful for you both. I'm sorry I couldn't attend to you more."

"It is okay." Ducky waved. "Go watch over our brothers and sisters. We will be fine."

Mama Swimmer hesitated, but at a call from one of the boys, she got up and went to attend to her other children, that unsure expression still present. Ducky and Spike feet patted through grass, making a beeline for a clearing where spiketail plates could be seen over the bushes. Pushing through, they saw Tega resting, a piece of long-grass hanging from her mouth but otherwise apparently asleep. Hesitating, Ducky and Spike approached.

"So, how did it go?"

The pair stopped. Tega spoke but her eyes remained closed. Ducky fidgeted.

"Um, not too well," she said. "Oh, it would have been nice if we could all be together."

"Hmm. Thought this would happen."

The tree crackled. Wincing, Tega opened her eyes and examined the pair calmly. They had been talking off and on about selfishness since Tega came around that day. Ducky and Spike got some points in their favor but Tega's arguments were harder to crack. Ducky's head had become swim-y. Her convictions about the goodness of people was still there but she found all of this so confusing. The latest interaction with her brothers and sisters didn't help matters.

"Selfishness exists even in your family." Tega continued. "With so many siblings, it's only natural their interests wouldn't align with yours, especially if there's a hint of danger."

"They were not mean about it." Ducky defended.

"You're insistent about not saying a bad word about them." Tega observed. "Rather greedy about making sure everyone is happy, aren't you?"

"Well, that is because it is not nice to make people sad. They tried to let me down gently."

"They let you down gently because the harsh method would get a scolding from Mama. If they were actually selfless, wouldn't they just come along? This test was rather illuminating, wasn't it?"

Ducky squirmed. "I – I do not want to think of this as a test. I really did want them to."

"People can have more than one purpose for their actions." Tega looked at Ducky with an understanding that was uncomfortable. "Having to get all of those brats to agree on anything is such an inconvenience. Wouldn't it be easier if they just…did what you say? Go along without question."

"What? Oh no, no, I do not want to force anyone to be what they are not, that is creepy."

"Come on, the thought must have occurred to you. Same for you, Spike. Wouldn't it be ever so nice to order your friends to go your way for once? More powerful people do that to others all the time. Heck, with the rumors flying about, a certain green dinosaur really likes to do it."

"Huh? Who?" Ducky asked.

"You need to listen more." Tega said. "Come on, don't tell me you're so noble you wouldn't do it?"

Ducky and Spike stared at her. To override others for who they were just to get what you want was too horrible to contemplate. They liked their friends and family as they were, they didn't want to rob them of their agency. After the argument though, Ducky thought as she rubbed her chest, she didn't like how a small part of her found it tempting…

With another crack from the tree, Tega's gaze gained a brief nervous edge as she spat out her piece of grass and grabbed another piece to chew.

"Well, enough of that," she commented. "Groups are just pains anyway. All this negotiating and giving and taking – even as an undisputed leader, you'd still have to take care of some of their needs. It would be better if everyone could just survive on their own."

"Oh, that is not true!" Ducky said, now feeling like she was on firmer ground. "It would be so sad if we had no one to be with. I like having friends and family to be around, I do, I do!"

"You did not sound like you liked being with a big family a few seconds ago." Tega said. "Do you and Spike enjoy having so many siblings?"

"Um." Ducky winced. "It is not like that most of the time. We mostly have fun."

Spike stepped forward, nodding defiantly. "Uh-huh."

"Hmm?" Tega sounded amused. "Even so, with so many brothers and sisters around, it must be annoying to get pushed aside in the shuffle."

"Uh…" Ducky shook her head. "It is not fun but…I do know it is good to have people around and I like having lots of family and friends with me."

"Pah." Tega looked away. "If you live alone, you wouldn't have to deal with that drama. You can just survive and entertain yourself at your own pace. You would only have to stick with others out of brief mutual interest. That is the ideal." She sighed. "Things would be so much simpler that way but instead everyone insists on sticking to their groups."

"But dinosaurs do not stick together just because they like to." Ducky said. "Surviving together is better. Not only because of the company, though that is enough." Spike smiled, and she patted his neck. "If you are not alone, then you can always have someone there to help you when you need it."

Tega shifted uncomfortably. "That – it is a challenge to survive alone but if you are quick and hardy, then it's possible."

"Even if you are, you still might get into trouble. You might not know enough or think fast enough, so having a friend to talk out a solution with is very helpful, it is, it is."

"I heard of that argument." Tega said shortly. "If you are smart enough, you do not need anyone. Other people get in the way."

"But what if you are trapped somewhere and cannot see a way out? What if you are scared and find out you do not know what to do? It would be very hard to rescue yourself, right?"

"Um, I…"

Tega suddenly wasn't so laidback and confident. She licked her lips and looked around nervously. Concerned, Ducky stepped forward.

"Tega?"

There was another crackle from the nearby tree. Tega surged to her feet, eyes darting about, breaths quick and shallow.

"Tega, what is wrong?" Ducky asked. "Tega, it is alright! That is just the tree making its funny sounds, you do not need to be scared!"

Spike walked over to Ducky, bays sharp but soothing. Tega continued to pant but she glanced around and took some gulps of air, attempting to school calm back into her voice.

"Right. Just the tree. There is no danger around."

"We told you that tree liked to make crackling sounds." Ducky said. "Why did you not listen?"

Before Tega could respond, there was a rustle from the bushes. Mama Swimmer peaked through.

"Everything alright back here?" she asked.

"Yes, Mama." Ducky turned, putting her hands behind her back. "Just a bit of a scare, but no big deal."

"Hmm." Mama Swimmer's eyes searched the clearing, Tega's indifferent expression already back in place. Sighing, she turned her head. "Well, it's almost time for you to meet your friends. Normally, I would escort you there, but your brothers and sisters didn't like being dragged across the valley last time, so as a compromise…I think Tega should do it."

"Wait, Tega?" Ducky said.

Spike's "eh?" echoed Ducky's tone, the pair turning to look at Tega in wonderment. Tega met Mama Swimmer's eyes, chewing her grass calmly

"Yes, I know." Mama Swimmer said. "I wouldn't ordinarily approve but with how cooperative she has been with looking after you, I feel comfortable enough to make the choice. Your conversations with my children don't exactly make me happy but at least you keep them occupied after what happened yesterday. Maybe you changed or those rumors have been exaggerated. At any rate, I would appreciate if you took up the task."

"What an honor." Tega droned. She shrugged. "It seems simple enough to drag a couple of spawn across the valley."

"I don't feel that comfortable." Mama Swimmer gazed sternly. "You have to be with them until you arrive to Patty's. If there are any dangers, I expect you to get them away as quickly as possible. I do not want them to get hurt under your watch."

"Yeah, yeah, I already heard it from that old longneck." Tega said. "Don't I look strong enough to carry a young bigmouth and spiketail away?"

"Just don't slack off." Mama Swimmer's eyes softened as she gazed at Ducky and Spike. "I'll see you before the bright circle comes down. Have fun with your friends."

"We will, Mama!" Ducky waved.

Spike gave a grateful call. Mama Swimmer waved before returning to her other children. Stretching her legs, Tega spat her piece of grass out.

"Well, let's not waste time. Let's go."

She began moving. Ducky and Spike scrambled to follow, moving out of the shade into the sunlight now leaning in a westerly direction. They walked away from the river and the trees that lined that area, only a few collections of vegetation around their path. They passed quite close to dinosaurs as they walked along, their stances alert as one whispered to his companion.

"…is suspicious, right?"

"Yeah. Maybe he'll use them for his kind's rivalries."

Ducky looked around but the speakers were already out of hearing range. Confused, she turned her mind to more immediate matters. She caught Spike's eye before their gaze drifted to their escort. Tega's expression of lazy indifference hadn't changed but there was something ever-so-slightly troubled in the tilt of her mouth that moved Ducky to reach out.

"Are you okay, Tega?" Ducky asked.

"Fine." Tega said, eyes still ahead

"Are you sure? I mean, you really jumped back there."

"Fine."

"But that scare was not ordinary, it was like you were really-"

"I'm fine!" Tega snapped. "Just stop. I only want to get this duty over with, okay!" More softly, she said. "I'm fine. Really."

Ducky reeled back, staring at Tega but the spiketail continued walking. Ducky opened her mouth but Spike nudged her and shook his head. Prodding her more wouldn't work and probably only further upset her. Ducky nodded, looking down. Maybe it was best to give her space. Whatever Tega's fears were about, Ducky felt sad she might have exasperated them and couldn't help her right now.

They were somewhat relieved when Patty and most of their friends at last came into view. Littlefoot, Petrie, and Ruby were sitting next to each other, Littlefoot straining to think as Ruby apparently bombarded him with questions.

"…you ask your grandparents?" Ruby was asking. "It sounds like they might have more things to know about how longnecks do things."

"I'll try but they're kind of busy." Littlefoot replied. "You know what they're trying to do with this killer."

Ruby nodded, a bit disappointed. Petrie looked between them, a bit lost but perked up when Ducky and Spike smiled and waved at them. They stuck with Tega as she stopped in front of Patty.

"Here." Tega said. "Your responsibility. Don't lose them or anything."

"Thanks." Patty frowned.

Tega turned and lumbered away, without so much as looking back. Ducky and Spike closed the distance with their friends, who watched the departing spiketail with surprise.

"What was that about?" Ruby asked.

"I do not know." Ducky said. "She is not much of a talking person but she has been acting strange ever since a tree scared her with its crackling sounds."

Ruby frowned but glanced to the side. "Littlefoot?"

Littlefoot was staring at where Tega left. "She was there."

"What?" Ducky said. "You mean near the tunnel? We all saw her."

"No, I mean, she was there when Hyp's mother was, um," Littlefoot averted his gaze, "discovered. She was among the dinosaurs grazing and relaxing nearby."

Ducky blinked and glanced at where she last saw Tega, the others doing the same.

"That is strange." Ruby murmured. "But bumping into the same person two days in a row in the valley isn't that strange right?"

"Maybe." Littlefoot frowned. "It's just weird to remember seeing someone so blasé get really scared about seeing a ghost…"

In the silence that followed, Patty raised her head and gave their surroundings another sweep, troubled. "Cera and Chomper aren't here yet. Should we start the game?"

"Huh?" Littlefoot shook his head. "Oh, right. From what I heard, Verter might be training them even more today." He tried to ignore how Patty's frown deepened. "It would be bad to leave them in the lurch but I don't want to delay this game so much the bright circle's out of the sky and we have to go home again."

"What game are you talking about?" Ducky asked.

"We thinking about doing hide and seek in the Secret Caverns." Petrie explained. "The hiders explore a place to hide and seekers explore to find the hiders. It fun."

Ducky clasped her hands. "Oh, that does sound like fun, it does, it does!"

Ruby chuckled. "We explored the Secret Caverns before but this would add an exciting element to that exploration. It would be kind of like an adventure."

Petrie nodded rapidly. "Me can't believe it but me like that."

"Me too." Littlefoot chuckled. "Oh, it feels like forever since we had one of those. Who knows what we might find in there? I can't wait. Let's go."

There were nods and cries of agreement, their excitement contagious. Spike was halfway through bobbing his head eagerly when a thought occurred to him. He frowned, and the more he turned something over in his mind, the deeper his frown became. At length, he sat on his haunches and turned his head away, uttering a negative "eh." The others turned to him, the celebratory mood faltering.

"What is it, Spike?" Littlefoot asked.

Spike glanced at Littlefoot, that long neck tilted with concern. He looked away, haunches digging into the earth.

"He's not going to move. Why won't you move Spike?" Ruby asked.

"Do – do you no want to go with us?" Petrie said, tone trembling. "What we do wrong?"

Spike winced. He cast a guilty glance but forced himself to look away again. Touching her lips as she looked at her brother, Ducky's eyes widened.

"Oh, Spike got turned off when we said adventure," she explained. "He does not like them anymore, oh no, no, no."

"Does not like them?" Littlefoot repeated. "What do you mean?"

"I mean he is getting tired of them. We always pull him away from the relaxing life to go explore places that are sometimes dangerous and need lots of running. He finds that scary, he does, he does."

"Really?" Ruby looked at Spike. "Now that I think about it, it makes sense."

Petrie nodded. "Me do see him annoyed in our adventures but me did not think too much about it…" He fidgeted guiltily.

"Me neither. We don't mean to get into trouble but it is what often happens when we go on an adventure." Littlefoot stepped closer. "I'm sorry, Spike. We must be really insufferable to drag you all over the place. But you don't need to worry. We're just going to play in the Secret Caverns and look at some shiny rocks. We won't be looking for any danger. I even picked the place because it would be safe from the killer. I swear, at the first sign of trouble, we'll run straight to Patty, who'll be guarding outside. After everything that happened the last few days, I just want us all to have fun."

Spike slowly raised his gaze. Littlefoot's face was contrite and understanding. After a moment, Spike smiled and gave him a big lick

"That's the spirit." Littlefoot laughed. "Be sure to stick to your goofball self while we hide and sneak around, okay?"

Spike nodded like a soldier to his general. Littlefoot shook his head and stepped ahead.

"Come on, let's get to having some fun," he continued.

"But what about Cera and Chomper?" Petrie asked. "How they find us if we not here?"

"Chomper could always use his sniffer to find us." Ruby said reluctantly. "I do not like leaving them behind but if we're to get to the Secret Caverns while there's still time…"

"That's the best we can do." Littlefoot sighed. "We'll show you the way, Patty."

"Thanks." Patty said. "That threehorn better give those two a break. Kids your age need a lot of rest."

"I know," he sighed again. He smiled. "But speaking of breaks, there's some good treestars near the cave entrance. You can stand by and eat there. It'll be a good break from me running you down."

Patty chuckled. "You haven't been running me down. But I'll accept the chance for a breather. I am a bit famished."

"A bit? I've barely seen you eat all day." He shook his head. "You're amazing, you know that? Well, this game should at least give you some time to fill your stomach."

"Speaking of time," Ruby cut in, "can I have some time to talk to Ducky, Spike, and Patty? I want to know some more about swimmers, spiketails, and longnecks."

"Um, alright." Ducky said, exchanging a bemused glance with Spike while Patty nodded.

Petrie flew over and put a hand on her shoulder. "No worry. She like this all day. She really want to hear how all kinds work."

"Oh." Ducky said. "Well, me and Spike have heard some strange things about how people talk about kinds?"

"What did you hear about?" Ruby asked, walking beside them.

Ducky started, putting her hands behind her. "Oh, nothing," she said, a bit guilty for speaking behind Ruby's back. "Just that someone will use someone else for their kind's rivalries and that another someone really liking bossing others around. It is not much."

Ruby touched her chin and even Petrie had a ponderous look on his face.

"You're the latest person beside our friends to mention hearing strange rumors." Ruby said. "No one has heard fully what these rumors are about, but they do worry people."

"They always seem to be about the same person, though." Petrie said. "Using someone for someone else…why that sound familiar?"

"But they are rumors." Ducky said "The valley has said things that are not true before. They cannot be true now, right?"

Patty called out. "Are you three moving?"

"Huh?" Ruby said. "Oh, we're moving, we're moving."

Hastily, the three caught up as Littlefoot led them onward, Patty casting a rumbling shadow over them. They laughed as Spike walked ahead in an exaggerated motion of his usual lopping walk, giving them a cheeky look that said, "Well, you asked for it." Ducky giggled into her palm but a glance around showed Ruby and Petrie looking thoughtful. Ducky hadn't expected what she overheard to cause them to have so much to think about. It was confusing, and slightly concerning. What was it about what she said that caused that flash of worry in their eyes?

Chomper curled on the cave floor. After Verter escorted him home, he had all but staggered his way in, collapsing onto his sleeping spot. He thought he would go to sleep right away but he stayed awake. After a full day of training, he was discovering it was possible to be too tired to fall asleep. He lay there, hoping the restless exhaustion in his bones would turn into the soothing tiredness that preceded blissful slumber…

Distantly, he heard the rumble of footsteps and Ruby's voice near the entrance.

"Thanks for the escort and information, Patty! Night, friends!"

There were a patter that got closer and became tentative as it stopped behind him.

"Are you awake, Chomper?" Ruby said softly. "I hope you're training went alright. I was wondering if we could talk and…"

She trailed off, tone hopeful. Chomper stirred, a pane of guilt in his gut.

"I – I can't," he mumbled. "I'm tired. Sorry, Ruby."

"No, it's fine." Ruby touched the top of his head. "Let's just get some rest."

She walked over and settled on her sleeping spot. She was only around the corner, but in the silence, Chomper could feel the distance between them. He had heard Ruby bid his friends goodnight but had been unable to meet them. Just as might be the case the next few days. He shifted, trying to get comfortable.

*This is worth it,* he thought. *This is worth it. Right?*

Next time…

The Next Fall Part 1

Note: I'll try to aim to post the next chapters for November or December. Classes have resumed, cutting two days out of my writing time, but I'll try to make them.