Chapter Five:
We Are One
They spoke on their walk, planning a future, wondering what a sharptooth/fastrunner hybrid might look like. Would it be tall like Chomper or small like Ruby. They pondered the skin color, eye color, then Chomper asked at one point.
"What if she's different like I am?" It was with worry; fearful their young might be rejected as he'd been.
"Whomever this child will be, we will love it as we love the one, we hold. Our child will never know such discrimination."
"Can we really promise that?"
"So long as we stay on the island sheltered from the rest. Till their older, we'll stay here for their safety."
Chomper gave a nod. "Yeah, you always did have good ideas Ruby."
Ruby stopped and gasped. "Chomper?"
"Yeah."
"The egg, it moved!"
"Oh, we gotta get back to the nest!"
Chomper jumped and changed into a fastrunner, Ruby and he moved speedily back to the nest. There, Ruby set the egg in the nest, gazing down with wide, excited eyes.
"It's about to hatch, hatch it will be soon enough."
Ruby and Chomper peered at it, holding their breath, seeing the shell crack. Small noises were heard as the baby within struggled to free itself. Ruby intervened and helped peel the shell off, finding the small, finned baby sharptooth. When the shell was removed, Ruby dried the embryos off, discovering the gender of the baby.
"It's a girl, a little girl she is." Ruby turned so Chomper could get a better look, seeing the purple baby curled up in Ruby's hold.
For a moment all he could do was stare, eyes wide as he was unmoved. "She's lovely," Chomper said, feeling tears run down his face. "And she's, our daughter."
"Her name, do you like Fang?"
"I love it, our little Fang, the heir to the Alpha." For a moment, he lowered his gaze. "Stephany must've thought she'd win, was planning ahead for when she took over as Alpha, ensuring her bloodline be passed on…"
Ruby only smiled and passed Fang to Chomper, who felt her wiggle in his hold. It was the greatest moment of his life, seeing the small girl gaze up at him with wide innocent eyes.
"Hello, I'm your father."
Fang made cooing noises, nuzzling into him. Then her small finger wrapped around one of his hands, making him chuckle at the strange feeling. Ruby stood by, taking Fang from Chomper and rocking her, the baby knowing her parents by scent, by sound, and by their love. Rodney, Trudy, Screech and Thud joined the pair, welcoming the newest member into the pack. In the center, Chomper lifted Fang high for all to see, celebrating the new life.
For the first few days, Chomper and Ruby stayed close to the nest, wanting to spend time with their daughter. Fang was quick on her feet and manage to walk on her own by her second day, hobbling from Ruby to Chomper, then back again. One followed her close, not wanting her to fall or become unbalanced. When she managed to do it herself, the couple shared a proud smile.
"Look at her go, Chomper, watch her walk on her own."
"She's clever, just like her mother."
"Which one?" Ruby asked with a hint of sadness.
"Her only one." Chomper responded quickly, giving Ruby a warm smile.
Ruby felt her eyes grow moist, giving a sniffle before she watched Fang. "Yes, we're her parents, her only parents."
Ruby's parents brought food to Ruby while Chomper left to fish and check in on Screech and Thud, wanting to know if other sharpteeth tried to cross the land path. The pair were waiting by the visible stretch of earth, looking out across the Big Water.
"Hey guys, how's it going?"
"How's it going, really? Where have you been?" Screech snipped.
"Now, now, he's been busy with his young."
"That's no excuse, he's the Alpha, Alpha's don't get time off."
"Is someone coming to the Mysterious Island?" Chomper looked around and sniffed the air.
"No, but there have been tracks along the beach. They know you're here. Lucky for you, the land path was submerged when they came by."
"Well, I'll deal with whoever comes when they come."
"Yeah right, you're no fighter. You'll turn tail and run when a real fight comes your way."
"Screech!"
"It's true, ain't it?"
"Don't listen to him Boss, we'll keep patrolling. Besides, what Screech left out was, they were tracks only passing by. Still, one can't be too cautious."
"And I'll do what I can if the time comes."
Letting out a groan, he walked, hobbling, his leg bothering him more that day. Even in his smaller fastrunner body it hurt. He stayed a fastrunner since his body was light compared to his sharptooth form. Though, he did change into a predator sometimes.
Funny how they say times moves faster the older you get, Ruby didn't believe it when she was younger, but boy, did she get it since she was older. Within a month, Fang wanted to leave the confines of her little play area, ambling about to catch a passing buzzer. She wanted to explore beyond the brush and trees, which worried Chomper, who lifted and placed her back in the nest.
"Now, now, Fang, stay close to the nest."
"Don't worry, Boss, she's fine." Screech waved off.
"Not if she falls into the Big Water. Not to mention the swimming sharptooth." Chomper set her down, seeing her chew on his tail. Her teeth hadn't fully sharped, so it didn't bother him, in fact, it kind of tickled him.
Ruby walked over and plucked Fang off. "Now sweetie, you bite your food, not your father."
"Yeah, that's Mrs. Boss's job, heh, heh."
Thud slapped Screech. "Thud, where are your manners?"
"Lost 'em about several season cycles ago."
"She's lovely." Rondey said. "Purple, with bright red eyes."
"You two should be so proud." Trudy added.
"We are." Ruby said.
Ruby saw Fang grow and knew her appetite would grow as it had with Chomper. The bugs, and fish were enough for the time being, but Ruby wondered when Fang's predatory instinct would kick in. Ruby wasn't scared of her own child, how could she be upset with Fang for something she couldn't control, it was her birthright. Though was Fang emotionally intelligent enough to overcome such desire? At one point, and after some deep soul searching on her part, Ruby encouraged Chomper have a heart to heart with Fang. That it would be time for him to explain her predatory nature and what would follow the older she got. True, Fang was new to the world, but she needed to understand her place in the great circle of life, that someday she'd inherit an especially important title.
It was just the time the bright circle rose, Ruby waking Fang, who yawned and stretched. Planting a kiss on her head, Fang wiped the sleep from her eyes. "Good morning, Fang, Fang, good morning."
"Morning, mommy."
"Today is a special day, a special day it is."
"Why?"
"Because you and your father are going out for a nice long walk."
Chomper smiled and stood in his sharptooth form. "That's right."
"Oh, boy, I can't wait."
The father and daughter walked off, Ruby sighing and watching with a tender gaze, knowing her daughter wouldn't be the same once she returned to the nest. No, Fang would be delt the harsh reality of their world, how she handled it concerned Ruby.
The bright circle's light heated the steamy jungle, Chomper taking her to the Big Water, fishing in a shallow part. Once she plucked a fish out, she returned to sit and eat by him. His gaze went across the Big Water, to the border line of the Mysterious Beyond.
"See out there, Fang?"
Chewing, Fang followed his gaze. "Yes."
"Everything in the Mysterious Beyond is our domain, our grounds."
"Our?" Fang asked.
"Yes, you see, before me there was Red Claw, and before him, was a fellow named Sharptooth. Each of them, were the Alpha over all sharpteeth, and an Alpha's time rises and fall like the bright circle. One day, the bright circle will set on my time and will rise with you as the new Alpha."
"Wow, me Alpha." Fang replied with a hint of joy. "And I'm, going to rule over all the sharpteeth?"
"Yes, but there's more."
"There's more?"
"Yes."
They left the Big Water, walking through the jungle, spotting a few bugs, nipping, and eating a few that buzzed by. They sat on a rock by a flowing waterfall, seeing some fish about, minding their own business and unaware danger lurked just above the surface. This was where Chomper wanted to teach Fang of restraint, to understand the fish too were living beings.
"Dad, why aren't we nabbing the fish?"
"Are you still hungry?"
"No."
"Then we will not kill them, we will let them live to reproduce and keep the streams plentiful."
"Oh."
As they sat, Fang didn't try to strike or kill the fish, simply watching them. Chomper had to smile at this, thinking perhaps the darkness in Stephany had not passed on. From what Nancy and Johnathan told him, serial killers, a term he never heard of, often displayed violence at a youthful age. He simply patted her head before he went on, recalling what his father had told him one day. Chomper and his father never agreed completely, but Chance did explain the Great Circle of life to him.
"Fang, as Alpha, we must respect all forms of life, from the smallest bug to the largest leafeater and sharptooth."
"But dad, we eat the bugs. And what of these large leaf-eaters?"
It was then Chomper changed into a lang-neck, towering high over Fang, who gasped, never seeing a leafeater before. She'd only ever heard of them through Chomper and Ruby's stories of their youth. Changing to a three-horn, Chomper went through the species of his friends, settling on a fastrunner last, for she'd recognize that as him.
"There are more leaf-eaters out there."
"What about mommy, does that mean she's not a sharptooth?"
"Your mother is a half-tooth, a fastrunner. And the creatures Uncle Screech and Uncle Thud eat, are leaf-eaters."
"But your friends were leaf-eaters, did you ever try to eat them?"
"Well, I bit the three-horn Cera, only because I thought we were playing. The point is, there is a balance in the world, a great circle that we're all a part of. The leaf-eaters eat the plants, the sharpteeth eat the leafeaters, and when the sharpteeth die, we return to the earth, thus, the cycle of life begins anew."
"But we don't eat the plant eaters the way Uncle Screech and Uncle Thud do, why?"
"I chose not to. Though someday, when your old enough to hunt for yourself, the choice will be yours and yours alone."
"Would you be disappointed if I ate a leaf-eater?"
Chomper hugged her close. "You are my daughter, and no matter who your turn out to be I will always love you."
"If mommy is a half-tooth and you are a sharptooth, how did you have me?"
That was the question that was the hardest to answer, not because he could explain it, but because he'd have to mention Stephany. With a deep sigh, he pulled Fang close, feeling her nuzzle into him.
"Well, we were lucky enough to be given you, for your mother and I couldn't produce young of our own. You are a finned back sharptooth, but it doesn't matter whether you came from our egg or from another, you are our daughter, and we your parents. We are one."
"I don't understand father. How can we be the same if we're different?"
"We're both sharpteeth it's in our blood, therefore we are one in the same, a part of each other."
Chomper:
"As you go through life you'll see,
There is so much that we, don't understand,
And the only thing we know,
Is things don't always go the way we plan,
But you'll see every day, that we're never turn away,
When it seems all your dreams come undone,
We will stand by your side filled with hope and filled with pride,
We are more than we are, we are one,"
Fang:
"If there's so much, I must be,
Can I still just me,
The way I am,
Can I trust in my own heart,
Or am I just one part of some big plan?"
Chomper:
"Even those who are gone are with us as we go on,
Your journey has only begun,
Tears of pain tears of joy,
One thing nothing can destroy,
Is our pride deep inside we are one,
We are one you and I, we are like the earth and sky,
One family under the sun,
All the wisdom to lead all the courage that you need,
You will find when you see,
We are one."
They stood and watched the waved crash against the shoreline, the bright circle setting slowly. Fang was young, but like Ruby, she was smart and began to understand the world around her, especially after her and Chomper's heart-to-heart. It sank in, that she would one day be Alpha, rule over all sharpteeth, destined for greatness. Though the idea of ruling, being a leader, seemed a bit daunting for the youngling. And if Ruby and Chomper weren't her true parents, then where did her bloodline come from.
"Father, who actually laid me, if it wasn't mommy?" Fang asked at last.
"Your birth mother's name was Stephany."
"Was she nice?"
"Not exactly. But that could be a story for another day- "
"I want to know now, please, daddy?"
Taking a deep breath, Chomper nodded. "Very well. Your birth mother, Stephany, was lost when it came to following the rules of the Great Circle of Life." Chomper answered honestly, thinking she deserved to know the truth. Lying would serve no purpose but only create heard feelings down the path. "There was a darkness in Stephany, one in which she could not outrun or escape. I like to think deep down, there was some light, good within her, buried under anger, resentment, and heartache. In some ways, you were the light in the dark, the good that came from Stephany."
Fang took in his words carefully, surprised by the news, only ever knowing Ruby to be her mother. Ruby, who was kind, gentle, loving, and full of knowledge. Though it seemed her birth mother was vastly different from anything she knew or could understand. Then it struck her, her heritage was not the origin she thought it was.
"What if you're wrong father, and that there is a darkness in me too?" Fang asked with worry.
Chomper gave her a sympathetic look, only pulling her close. "It doesn't matter where you come from, it matters where you go from here. Only you have the power to be better than those who came before you." Chomper felt her nuzzle him. "Know I love you, you are my daughter, no matter what. Never forget that."
"I won't father, ever." She nuzzled into him. "I love you."
"I love you too, more than you could ever know."
Fang said nothing else and only thought about what lay ahead, for the days of simplicity were behind her, for she was the heir to a hierarchy and wouldn't be able to live the normal life of a regular sharptooth. From that day, Chomper did what he could to explain the responsibilities that came with such a title, duties she'd need to learn and remember. Ruby supported Fang and offered set knowledge about the world. Ruby taught Fang about plants, the ones that healed, how to make them into paste, broth, and so forth. Indeed, Fang would be the best of both, the strength and skills of a sharptooth, but the wisdom of her half-tooth mother.
