The Land Before Time: The Passage to the Future

by AllegroGiocoso

One thing is certain, nothing ever stays the same. For Littlefoot, this had never been truer, for the thing he had been dreading most had come to pass. But this in turn leads the whole Great Valley into chaos, and suddenly Littlefoot and his friends find everything they know and love has been thrust upon their shoulders. A sequel to my prior fanfic The Time of Great Growing.

47. Chapter 45 - A Busy Night

Hello everyone! Welcome to another chapter. Special thanks to Zee Docking and Ryan6783 for helping me with the writing, and RadiantLife2 for the reviews.

A couple species clarifications for the newer characters since I can't put these in the narrative - For the friendly sharpteeth, Lola is an Allosaurus, Trace is a Ceratosaurus, and Star is a Saltasaurus. For the villains, Goregie is a Gorgosaurus, Canthor is an Acrocanthosaurus, and Hatzem is a Hatzegopteryx, a dinosaur-eating sharptooth flyer. Hoping to get a DeviantArt picture up with Star, Lola and Trace at some point.

We've got a lot of perspectives and things to cover in this chapter to finally round out the first day at the crater, so I'm just gonna keep any more intro notes short and sweet. Please feel free to fav/follow/review/PM, and as always, LBT and its universe belongs to Universal.

Chapter 45 – A Busy Night

"So, my dear guzzler, what does our ever-so-lovely flyer friend want?" Leigh asked in a pleasant sneer as the two walked further away from the Great Valley and through more desolate land.

"What do you think?" Gus snorted. "For you and Goregie to talk."

Leigh went pale, no longer smiling. "You …You deceived me," he hissed coldly, trying to conceal his own apprehension. "You didn't say I would have to set my eyes upon that barbaric monstrosity again!"

"I never said she wouldn't be there, only that Hatzem's holding the meeting," Gus shot back. "Face it, like it or not, you two have gotta start working together."

"No! I won't! I will never collaborate with that creature. And you … You lured me here under false pretenses!" Leigh simpered angrily. "I might as well turn back and …"

"Then I'll just tell Hatzem to give Goregie the go-ahead to attack the Valley again. And since you claim that your being in power protects the Valley from sharpteeth, everyone will then know you're a fraud," Gus snorted. "What do you think will happen then?"

"First, I am not a fraud," Leigh said coldly. "You know perfectly well I have been divinely chosen to lead. Second, you are deliberately manipulating me, you know that?"

"Like you're one to talk about manipulating," Gus sneered. "Besides, how else am I gonna get you to cooperate?"

Leigh pouted angrily the rest of the way there, but nonetheless agreed to continue following the spikebacked longneck.

The two soon arrived at a tall smoking mountain. Nauseous gases were billowing out of its peak, as was plenty of ash, giving the sky a slightly reddish tint. Leigh gazed upon his surroundings with disgust.

"It is simply scorching here," he complained loudly, brushing some soot off his skin. "Typical to associate with such filth at such a revolting meeting place."

"I thought you like your water hot?" Gus mocked.

"Yes, but in case you haven't noticed, my lovely pool is also humid, not like this ghastly place. What have I done to deserve to come here? The air is parched, besmirched with evil spirits that if it weren't for the circles' protection would cause my gloriously purified scales to fall right off! No wonder the savage heathen finds this place fitting, considering how befouled she is on the inside," Leigh tutted sanctimoniously. "I shall need a full and proper cleansing after this."

"She can probably hear everything you're saying, you know that?" Gus sneered.

"Hmph, let her," Leigh pouted. "Such a revolting brute's opinions are hardly relevant regarding a very important creature like myself."

"Well, hello to you too, Hiss Head," sneered an icy voice.

Leigh and Gus looked out to see that a sharptooth flyer and two ground sharpteeth were approaching. The flyer positioned himself neatly between the pairs of ground-dwellers, preventing them from getting too near one another. As Goregie and Canthor smirked at Leigh, Leigh balled his fists, glaring at the sharpteeth in disgust.

"Oh dear, what is the world coming to? To hear the fine, delicate flattooth tongue being spoken by such a savage creature?" Leigh tutted. "Regardless, be forewarned that I shall not fall to your dark machinations. My aims are noble and righteous, to bring the world back to the way the circles intended."

Goregie raised her eyebrows. "You wanna talk in sharptooth instead?"

Leigh seethed. "I may know your filthy tongue, but I shall refrain from uttering a word of it!"

"Just as I thought," Goregie smirked. "And it's not that I like speaking in your tongue. Well, except when talking to my victims. Which you'll be soon enough."

"More blasphemy from a sharptooth heathen," Leigh tutted snootily.

"I see we've all made it," Hatzem smirked wryly as he eyed Leigh and Goregie snarling at each other. "And that you two are as friendly as ever."

Leigh and Goregie continued to leer at each other venomously, barely holding back their mutual desire to tear each other apart.

"Remember, no hurting each other, or I won't give you any more pointers," Hatzem said warningly. "Is that understood?"

Still glaring at each other hatefully, the two of them nodded.

"And that goes for your followers too," Hatzem warned, first turning to Goregie. "The enemy of your enemy is your friend …"

"Oh, not that crap!" Goregie roared.

"And it's in your interest to be at peace with him at this point. That means no hunting his herds. Otherwise, they will be weakened, making it easier for our real enemies to regain their stronghold. Instead, feast off whatever other herds wander into the area. That will allow his herds to thrive without competition and give them the opportunity to expand their territory. Do whatever you like after they're gone, but for now, it will behoove you to leave them alone. Understand?"

"I know, I know, enough already," Goregie growled in disgust.

Then turning to Leigh, Hatzem added, "As for you, do not go looking for her pack. Since they will be leaving you alone, you can focus your energies on fortifying the Valley and conquering the surrounding territories. Maintain order around you and you will maintain power."

"I don't need to hear from you about maintaining power, and you have no power over me," Leigh sniffed disdainfully.

"No, but I know what's best for you," Hatzem sneered. "And I can assure you that if you attack her pack, you will face dramatic and severe consequences."

"Yeah, don't think I won't seize the chance for revenge if you slip up," Goregie licked her lips.

"Humph! Fine then. I will leave them alone. For now," Leigh responded condescendingly.

"Good," Hatzem said calmly. "Right then. Let's go over how we got into this mess of a situation."

Goregie growled indignantly. "Oh no, wingbrain. I'm not sticking around to be lectured."

"Well you're gonna have to, if you want my information," Hatzem smirked. "For you must know how you've succeeded and how you've failed."

Goregie huffed but reluctantly stayed put.

"So," Hatzem began. "The initial phase of the plan went perfectly. None of us made a move before those longnecks finally croaked, and let that blubbery old thicknose take over. The migrating herd of longnecks' numbers had been vastly reduced, while we conjured a gigantic fire to force all of the segregated herds into the Valley as planned. In the long interim," he nodded toward Leigh and Gus. "You two had both successfully cultivated relationships with gullible flatteeth and maintained your covers, allowing you to settle into the Valley without suspicion."

"Any prey item could do that," Goregie mocked. "Even …"

"Sharpteeth … They have no sense of subtlety," Leigh interrupted dismissively, and before giving Goregie the chance to rebut, Leigh continued, "But let's not forget about your own little failure, my dear flyer friend."

Goregie's face changed from fury on being interrupted to a naughty smirk. "Yeah, the prey's actually got a point," she chortled. "How did dropping flaming logs and fire vines and digging tar trenches work out?"

Hatzem flushed momentarily before regaining his composure. "Okay, so I underestimated my opposition," he said coldly. "But I wisely knew that in this instance, it was best to retreat. It's best that our enemies don't know about me, and by now they would've long forgotten about my attack on them. That is why I went back to my homeland, spending a good while dining on scrumptious island wanderers, and left you to your own devices. But my failure only underscores my point. No matter how much we want them dead, none of us can beat them alone. We're gonna have to turn their strategy of working together against them if we want to actually beat them."

"Hey, I overthrew the decadent order in the Valley with my own righteous brilliance," Leigh snorted. "The segregated herds didn't just decide to start talking to each other, they needed some coaxing for that. So I did that very carefully, all without being seen by the blasphemously named Circle of Fossils, who were so busy tarnishing one another they didn't suspect a thing. I even sacrificed my own purity to partake in a ghastly and corrupted charade with that vamp of a threehorn so no one would realize my true allegiance, and it was only after our alliance was formed and our enemies were divided that I made my move. At which point, the Valley naturally clamored for my … I mean the circles' keen insight and wisdom."

Gus snorted loudly. "Yeah, you're a good actor. Too good, you even delude yourself. But you didn't do it alone. I've been playing my act for cold times, hanging around those two numskulls and pretending to be their friend. That set me up to kill Earl and allow me to play the grieving friend without any suspicion. Those morons in there probably still think that angry boxhead did it."

"And of course, you had to beg me for one of my teeth to kill that threehorn with, since you couldn't get your weak hands dirty," Goregie sneered. "And don't forget, if my pack had not gone in and massacred a bunch of flatteeth you gave the okay to target, you would never have been able to get the chaos you needed to seize power in the first place."

"Very true, all of you," Hatzem smirked. "Whether you meant to or not, your combined actions led to both a successful coup of the Great Valley and the driving of our enemies into the arms of death. Which, were it not for sheer incompetence, would have been the end of it."

There was an icy pause, before Hatzem continued, "Imagine my surprise when Guzzler told me that despite your impressive early successes, you somehow managed to bungle everything since. I wanted to get my facts straight before getting you together so I could understand all that was going on. And at last, I have successfully done so. Leaving me curious as to many explanations."

Hatzem rounded on Goregie. "So after the longneck, threehorn, swimmer, flyer and spiketail were successfully driven out into the open, I understand that your pack tried to attack them. Yet despite the most favorable conditions, things still went awry. Care to explain yourself?"

Goregie could only snarl and seethe, balling her clawed hands in fury as Leigh quietly snickered, eyeing Goregie's humiliation with relish. Canthor quickly stepped in. "Urrrrgh, irrrt warrrsn't Gorrregie's faurrrt," he said awkwardly. "Werrre tirrred arrrnd wourrrnded frrrom attarrrcking Varrrey, arrrnd werrrr norrrt knowrrr theyrrr carrrn fighrrrt."

"Oh, it very well was your fault," Hatzem said coldly as Leigh began to let out sadistic cackles. "You underestimated them, just like I did. But rather than learn from my mistake, you simply ignored it, only sending in a small number of your forces. I mean, these are our biggest enemies who were at their most vulnerable, yet you fail to seize the opportunity and give them everything you've got? I thought your pack's strategy was all about seizing the right moments?"

"Like Canthor said, we just got done beating up the Valley, doing all his work for him," Goregie growled as Leigh continued to gloat. "We were exhausted slaughtering all those flatteeth and dragging their sorry bodies all the way home. We hadn't even started feasting on our kills yet. If we tried going for a full attack, I would've lost a ton of biters in the process!"

"And you probably should've, rather than let our enemies escape," Hatzem tutted.

"You know nothing about what it takes to raise up a sharptooth pack built to take on anything," Goregie snarled.

"Failure number two," Hatzem said blithely, ignoring Goregie's point. "There was the matter of those wounded youngsters. Who, having already beaten up one another, should've been easy prey for even a weakened sharptooth pack."

"Weerrrr arrrrmost harrrd therrrm," Canthor tried explaining, but Hatzem cut him off.

"Almost doesn't cut it. What happened instead was that our enemies saved them from you. Earning their loyalty as devoted herdmates and friends," Hatzem sneered. "But that wasn't your only wasted opportunity. From my knowledge, apparently our enemies had some hesitancy in taking them in, leaving most of them out in the open for most of the night, still bruised and bloodied. It would've been the perfect time for you to attack without their protection. But your inaction resulted in twenty lost opportunities."

Goregie said nothing as she growled. "Too busy licking your wounds, I see," Hatzem said matter-of-factly as Leigh laughed tauntingly.

"May I add," Leigh said, his eyes sparkling, "That she didn't only fail there. My subjects have reported to me that those corrupted newcomers were all able-bodied. Needless to say, they must have been infused with the powers of darkness to achieve this kind of disgusting regeneration. So not only did our lovely predator fail to kill them then, but she gave them time to become fully strengthened and corrupted. How lovely it would've been if she could've only done her job. At the very least, she could have kindly informed Gus-Gus here."

"Which brings me to my third point," Hatzem said coolly. "Rather than suck it up, admit you failed, and warn your natural allies, you thought it best to go back to your pack and sulk?"

"That's it, I'm not taking any more crap from you!" Goregie roared, lunging forward to take a snap at Hatzem's wing, who artfully dodged as Leigh howled with laughter. Then Goregie whirled around to face Leigh. "And if you think I'm gonna help you again, forget it! You're dead as soon as they're gone."

"You might not have needed his help if your pack put in the effort and massacred the herd before it could fully develop," Hatzem said mockingly. "But your cockiness cost us big time, leading to a situation far too big for you alone to take."

Leigh sniggered loudly as Goregie clenched her clawed hands. "So you mean to tell me that all my misfortunes have been caused by her incompetence?" Leigh marveled mockingly. "My my, it really speaks volumes as to just how unstoppable her sharptooth pack really is. Perhaps the female should step down and let a male take her place. Of course, seeing how intelligent her lieutenant is, even that might be of any use."

Hatzem then turned his attention to the still laughing hollowhorn with a dry smirk. "Of course, while Guzzler here has done an admirable job under the circumstances, you're hardly in a position to talk."

The effect of this was immediate. Goregie's rage immediately turned to hungry excitement, while Leigh's green skin, previously flushed with triumph, went pale. "You really dare to criticize the circles' messenger under their watchful gaze?" he asked faintly, trying to sound politely intimidating but coming out as an indignant whine.

"Look above you, idiot," Goregie snickered. "I can't see the circles through this ash."

"It may have been her job to kill the brats from the outside," Hatzem continued, ignoring them. "But it was your job to ensure that the Great Valley remained under your complete control."

"And it is!" Leigh pointed out defiantly. "I still righteously rule over the wonderful leafeater paradise, and not a word of dissent shall ring from my purified auspices!"

"Yes … But let's not forget how badly you were outplayed," Hatzem smirked. "Where do we begin? Ah yes, the matter of the sharptooth and the halftooth."

"We truly were very close to disposing of them," Leigh muttered. "And we would've been successful if those brutes had just defeated their foes on the outside like they were supposed to. Otherwise, they wouldn't have had help from the outside."

"Don't you dare put it on me," Goregie growled. "They were in your Valley, right? You could've had just killed them off the moment you took power! That's what I would've done! It would've broken the other brats' spirits and ended the whole thing there!"

"May I remind you that my power comes from others' faith in me and in the circles," Leigh explained condescendingly. "With so much opposition that you were unable to kill, my hold on the Valley was very tenuous at first. I had to consolidate my power, steadily weeding out all of my opposition so that everyone would either embrace or accept my rule. If I demanded to kill them without the façade of a trial, I would come across as a mad tyrant rather than a wise messenger. Not that I'd expect you, a mere savage egglayer, would ever know the difference," he said condescendingly. "Nevertheless, I did my utmost to expedite the process, cutting down the sentencing times and ensuring that a panel of righteous judges would be present to dispose of the heretics. Besides, unlike you and your simple-minded sharpteeth, I had to focus much of my power on enforcing herd purity and convincing the masses that I am their friend. I let Gus-Gus here handle the petty trial work."

"Hey, you were the one who went along with the stupid trial, not me," Gus pointed out. "I'd have gone for a knockout blow too. It would've been fun to see that sharptooth writhing on the ground. But you got played by that longneck into using Bonehead."

"Which bought me goodwill among the populace, helping solidify my stronghold for leafeater purity. I'd say that makes it more than worth it, right?" Leigh asked pleasantly. "Especially now that Bonehead is no longer able to interfere."

"You may have arranged your rise to power to near perfection," Hatzem told him. "And your plan to execute them without compromising your power may have worked … Had it not been for, despite all of your border patrols and entrance guards, how ridiculously porous your Great Valley was. You were thoroughly outplayed at every turn."

"Really? I don't believe so," Leigh smiled, trying to mask his annoyance.

"Let's see here," Hatzem tutted as Goregie grinned ravenously. "Well, for starters, the masses of hatchlings that have vanished, only to emerge in our enemies' company."

"Alas, my mere words and the teaching of decent values cannot save every child from corruption," Leigh said sadly. "Their souls have become blighted. But rest assured …"

"Will you ever shut up?" Goregie snapped. "Let him talk."

"The downing of your flyers," continued Hatzem, as if there was no interruption. "The escape of both the little threehorn's kid gang and the grey runner's older gang. The revolt in that jail of yours, allowing the fast runner to sneak out. The swimmer's and flyer's siblings both escaping. The banding together of their elder allies, culminating in their own escape. Your exile of the longneck herd and your underestimation of their survival skills. Among so many others. Your incompetence has allowed a veritable army of dissidents to sneak beyond your borders and join the budding rebellion outside your walls … And in turn allowed for the sharptooth to escape," Hatzem sneered.

"Life is not always fair for the righteous," Leigh sighed. "But if you were so smart, you could have just told me when you found out and spared me of all this trouble."

"Like I told you, I had to retreat," Hatzem replied dismissively. "You would've known that if you were listening rather than boasting."

Goregie heartily laughed, before Hatzem cut her off with a cold glare. "I would've expected that given all the success you two rockheads had at first, you would be able to finish the job. Instead, you two are arguably worse off than when you started. Something I find woefully inadequate."

"Hey, I'm the sharptooth alpha here, remember?" Goregie snapped.

"And I answer only to the circles, not you," Leigh coolly purred.

"Maybe so," Hatzem smirked. "But it's obvious that I have more sense than either of you two lowly ground-dwellers, and if you want to come out on top, you better listen to me."

There was a long, cold silence before Hatzem sneered, "The point I am trying to make is despite how much you've tried, you've still failed and failed dearly. Our enemies have now banded together into a massive herd and are far away from here at present."

"Well, where are they?" Goregie asked bluntly.

"They were headed south to some sort of crater," Hatzem explained. "Unfortunately, circumstances precluded me from actually following them all the way there or else I would've been detected. But left unchecked, there can be no doubt that they will grow all the more formidable, and that they will not forget about the place they call home. You therefore must set aside your pride and combine your efforts to ensure their downfall."

Leigh tutted. "Am I hearing you incorrectly, or are you seriously asking me and the rest of us purified leafeaters to fight alongside her motley crew of savages?"

Upon not getting an answer, he shook his head in disgust. "I cannot fathom your wanting me to entertain such a ridiculous notion. It would never do for a myriad of reasons. For one, how could we obtain a righteous vision if we have to compromise our superior morals with beings that the circles created from darkness? And even if I went along with it, how can I convince the others? I can hardly say that the circles would want them to fight alongside sharpteeth when I know they are against such nonsense. We purified beings have compromised enough by having to work across our different kinds. I am hardly able to ask my subjects to tarnish their souls further, especially since they are only now starting to free themselves from a world so befouled with putrid, depraved integration."

"Ugh, get off your big rock," Gus snapped irritably. "Hatzem's right, you've gotta team up or you're gonna lose your precious Valley."

"When longnecks fly," Leigh sneered confidently. "You forgot, my dear Guzzler, that the circles are on my side. Working with sharpteeth would only provoke their righteous anger and make me no better than any of them."

"Suits me just fine," Goregie snorted. "My pack can handle all those sapsuckers and that bleeding-heart white-eye. Having to work with this hollowheaded loser would just mess everything up. In case you haven't noticed, my pack just got done slaughtering a whole longneck herd. We're invincible and can take down any herd we want, and that's not about to change now."

"Then how do you explain your sharpbeaks?" Hatzem smirked.

Goregie huffed. "You know what? I think you're bluffing. You have no idea what happened to my sharpbeaks. They're probably still out on duty, and you just made up that story to get me over here."

Hatzem sighed mockingly. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I know exactly what happened to them. They've been eaten."

"You … You're lying!" Goregie growled in disbelief.

But Leigh began to chortle loudly. "Oh, what a shame! But may I ask, what exactly happened to those foul feathered beings? Did perhaps the so-called friendly sharptooth slaughter them with his wretched bite? Maybe if she wasn't so little herself, she wouldn't have had to used such ineffectual minions?"

"I'm not little!" Goregie seethed as Leigh snickered.

"You probably wish you were as big as your friend Chomper's kind," Leigh mocked. "Pity the only part of you that big is your mouth."

"Why you overgrown, grass-guzzling …" Goregie began to hiss, but Hatzem cut her off.

"No, the sharptooth actually didn't have anything to do with it," Hatzem said calmly. "I witnessed the whole thing from afar. They've got a blind belly dragger with them now, who apparently traveled with a sharpbeak once and can sniff their kind out. The little biters recognized your smell on them, so the herd's flyers attacked them before they could report back to you. Your sharpbeaks put up a good fight, but our enemies worked together to apprehend and behead each of them one by one. When they were disposed of, they fed your sharpbeaks' carcasses to the belly dragger as a reward and to ensure that their bodies would never be found."

"That's just a bunch of crap!" Goregie roared as Leigh cackled in triumph. "Belly draggers can't speak flattooth!"

"Just like sharpteeth cannot speak flattooth, right?" Hatzem smirked.

"And you didn't do anything to stop them?" Goregie glared.

"How could I without revealing myself and depriving you of this valuable information?" Hatzem asked loftily.

"Why you …" Goregie growled.

But Leigh continued to laugh maliciously. "Well, well, well! Your so-called invincible pack got trounced by a mere group of impure misfits. I wish I could feel sorry for them … But I can't. You heathens so richly deserve this."

"Those … Brats … Are more than dead …" Goregie seethed, furiously shaking her little arm as Canthor desperately held it back to stop her from charging.

"But there is no need to fear," Leigh said in a falsely pleasant tone. "Well while the savage sends her would-be spies to their deaths, I have concocted a much better plan. I have successfully manipulated a worthless eggstealer into spying for me with my art of persuasion. You know how much they love halfteeth, and I am sure they will take pity on a weak, pathetic being like him. I trust that unlike her goons, my spy will not be killed so easily."

"No," Hatzem said fairly. "But I highly doubt your plan is going to work as you intended."

"What do you mean?" Leigh asked as Goregie sneered hungrily.

Hatzem shook his head in amusement. "You're hardly known for being a friend of halfteeth. Guzzler told me just how much of a demagogue you are in your speeches. If he finds out your true beliefs about his kind, he might easily lose whatever trust he has in you. A danger made even worse when you consider that a fellow halftooth is one of the herd's leaders, and the herd has numerous halftooth members, who may be able to speak to him on a level you cannot. Besides, if this character could crumple under your pressure, I highly doubt they would have the resolve to handle being a capable double agent. Let's not forget, of course, that you had dear old Tuck doing something very similar, and we all know how that turned out."

Leigh could only pout in silence as Goregie guffawed.

"Right then, go find him and tell him not to speak to anyone or to believe a word he might say," Leigh hmphed.

"Like he would trust a sharptooth flyer?" Hatzem raised his eyebrows.

"I'll send another flyer then," Leigh huffed in annoyance. "I need to do that anyway to find their location."

"You've gotta be very careful about doing that," Hatzem warned sagely. "Especially since they now have a sharptooth pack set up that can detect intruders."

Goregie snorted. "What sharptooth pack? The only sharpteeth they've got are that sheltered blue oaf, his feeble parents, those three tiny kids, and now this blind belly dragger. It's frankly insulting to dignify that hodgepodge as a pack."

Hatzem shook his head. "You have no idea as to the latest developments yet, do you?"

"What developments?" Goregie growled impatiently.

Hatzem smiled pitifully. "Not long after they started their travels, the white-eye made a deal with a young horned sharptooth. Soon afterward, the horned sharptooth started to follow them from behind."

"So?" Goregie barked. "He was probably just hunting the hatchlings."

"Let me be plainer," Hatzem continued. "The white-eye had just given this horned sharptooth a meaty carcass. So why would he want to hunt after he just ate, especially a herd like this, all by himself? Just one of the herd's longnecks could easily kill a sharptooth his size. Naturally, I had to be very careful tailing the others once he started following them, didn't want his sniffer to catch wind of me. But then the white-eye found another young sharptooth, a browridge. She started following the herd directly, causing the horned sharptooth to start following her instead. No way I could get anywhere close to the herd with two sharpteeth following that could sniff me out and report me to the white-eye, so that's why I retreated here."

"So what you're saying," Leigh smirked naughtily as he soaked in Goregie's rage, "Is that the monstrosity has started to recruit more of his treacherous kind to help him in defying the laws of nature. Correct?"

"It appears that way," Hatzem nodded.

Goregie froze, her eyes locked upon Hatzem. "He … wouldn't dare. That stupid leafeater lover can't do that. He can't have a real sharptooth pack. Not when I'm around," she seethed, before turning to her lieutenant. "Canthor, listen up. Kill the pack before it starts. Send a loyal biter in to infiltrate them and bring those two sharpteeth over to my side."

Hatzem snorted. "If only it were that easy."

"What do you mean?" Goregie snarled.

"I may have forgotten to tell you, but the two newcomers are both white-eyes," Hatzem sneered. "Your pack as you so constantly remind me have their eyes darken at a very young age. Meaning they wouldn't make very convincing double agents. And I should also inform you that the browridge does have a big mouth. Which means if she has any doubts, she will go straight to her alpha. Not to mention that considering they are both still white-eyes at their age despite showing decent tracking ability to be able to tail them, it's fair to assume that neither of them are enthusiastic hunters. Face it, but your pack of trained killers are not well-equipped for this kind of sabotage. I would advise not sending any of your killers on a suicide mission."

Goregie swore loudly as Leigh cackled in delight. "Oh, your invincible sharptooth pack faces certain failure once again. And you know what that means. It's obvious that fate has meant it so that a purified group of leafeaters can triumph over a mixed-diet muddle."

"Will you shut up?" Goregie hissed back.

"It's obvious you two can't get anything done by yourselves, right Hatzem?" Gus snorted.

Hatzem nodded. "Right. Which is why we all must work together if we hope to defeat them."

Leigh snorted. "Well sorry for you, but I do not think so. My herds will solve this through many operations, each among their own unique kinds, and finally bring a glorious solution to this ghastly vexation."

"Oh, please," Goregie chortled. "And you know what, wingbrain? I think you're full of hot air. You say my ideas won't work … But you're underestimating my pack at your own peril. You're gonna look so stupid when I prove you wrong. Oh yeah," she smirked, grinning at Canthor naughtily. "And thanks for giving me ammo, Hiss Head."

Bewilderedly, Leigh stared. "I'm giving you nothing, other than your pack borrowed time to live," Leigh shot back as Goregie and Canthor snickered. "Mark my words however, my righteous leafeaters are the ones who will achieve victory over the impure filth. Please do hurt them by all means if you wish. Make things easier for us if you will. But we will not compromise ourselves by working with those who are beneath us. Now I must return to my luscious water."

"That's the smartest thing you've said all day," Goregie sneered. "And go ahead, try coming at my pack when this is all done. We'd like to see you try. You might as well drown yourself in that stupid water too. We sharpteeth will have this all taken care of before you dawdlers can even get the word out. We don't need to work with you potbellied plodders to take down a bunch of overgrown tykes and diet-confused freaks. Come Canthor, we're going."

And Goregie and Canthor stormed off one way, while Leigh went the other, leaving Gus and Hatzem alone together.

"That went well," Hatzem sighed, shaking his head with amusement.

"Ugh, those two are unbearable!" Gus growled in disbelief. "After all their failures, they're still not able to see sense!"

"They will in time," Hatzem sighed. "But the talk has achieved its purpose. They are now more motivated than ever to take our enemies down to prove me wrong."

"Oh, yeah," Gus chuckled. "Didn't think about it like that. But you still expect them to fail, right?"

Slowly, Hatzem nodded. "Now they're motivated, they're gonna throw everything they've got at them. If they somehow succeed, I can just fly far away to remove myself from their gloating. But if things go as I imagine, they will continue to rack up failure after failure by themselves. These failures will enrage the both of them further, and with continued prodding from the two of us, they will eventually realize they cannot do it on their own. You keep working on him, I'll keep working on her. And once they've had enough of losing, they will finally set aside their pride and come together."

Gus nodded. "I've got a plan for working on him. Since he's trying to expand his territory, he's having herds settle in places without much green food. What he won't know is I'm gonna knock down a bunch of trees myself, and keep them stashed somewhere safe. Then when he comes whining to me, begging for more tree stars, I'm gonna tell him, work together or no tree stars for you."

Hatzem nodded. "Leverage, I like it. Maybe I can flatter her with fresh kills to get her to listen."

"Just don't get your wing bitten off," Gus snorted darkly.

"Like you have it any better dealing with him," Hatzem sneered, and the two bade each other farewell as they went their separate ways.

---

Coughing through sand clouds, the young boxhead continued to feel her heart race. So much for sharpteeth only hunting in twos and threes. There had to have been some kind of sharptooth army back there, able to use their sheer numbers to overwhelm the herd. It had been lucky that she felt something wasn't quite right, pumping her with adrenaline before the order was even given. Perhaps being one of the few young ones had something to do with it too, maybe she just wasn't appealing to the sharpteeth as the bigger longnecks of her herd. That went completely against normal sharptooth hunting patterns, in which the young and vulnerable were slaughtered. Then again, this was hardly a normal pack of sharpteeth …

She had run until her legs gave out, not daring to look behind her and half-expecting to be brutally brought down at any moment. Yet somehow, she still remained alive. Maybe she ran out of their smell range, or maybe the herd had beaten them back. Either way, the longer it went without being attacked, the more it set in that it might really be over. But she had to be cautious. It still might not be safe to return to the herd. She knew the only way to know for certain that the sharpteeth were gone was to hear the sound of her herd leader calling everyone back, or at the very least, for one of the grownups to go and collect her. Only no one was coming, not even any marauding sharpteeth. Just cold, empty silence enveloped her.

Then she heard it. The sounds of staggered breaths and heavy, plodding footsteps were passing by in the distance. She considered. That kind of footstep was too heavy-footed for even the biggest sharptooth to make, so it had to be another longneck, hopefully another member of the herd. She hesitated, but not having heard any sharpteeth for a while now, it seemed worthwhile to take the plunge.

Wearily rushing forward, she soon caught up with the other longneck, which ended up not being very hard to do since he was limping. She recognized him at once as her nestmate Marron, one of the few friends she had since childhood. Her heart flooding with relief, she called out, "Marron, wait up!"

Marron turned to face her. "Chicorie," he smiled, looking just as relieved. "You got out of there?"

Chicorie nodded. "I felt them coming, so I was readying myself to do something before our leader even gave the order to run. What happened?"

Marron hesitated, his face falling, before muttering, "A bloodbath."

"How bad?" Chicorie asked tentatively.

Marron swallowed. "Bad enough that you're the only one I know is alive. And …" he swallowed before saying, "Palmer's dead."

Chicorie gasped in horror. "You sure?"

Marron nodded. "We tried running for it as soon as we got the order. But we got stopped by some biters. They got my foot, but I managed to fight them off before the bigger sharpteeth could arrive. Palmer wasn't so lucky though," he heaved. "The bigger sharpteeth got to him before he could escape, and by the time I realized he was in trouble, it was too late. I … I'm sorry. I know it's what our leader ordered, but I feel maybe I shouldn't have run for it."

Chicorie felt her heart drop. "Don't feel bad," she tried saying kindly through her own grief. "I ran for it too, and I think our leader would be happy we're still alive. Still, I can't believe it … Poor Palmer … I thought we were growing too big for those things to attack us … But now he's gone too. Just like Lottie, Carram, and Teala. And probably Poinsette too. You think there's a chance she might've escaped?"

Marron shook his head. "If you haven't heard her and neither have I … It's probably just the two of us."

There was a long silence. "Those horrible, disgusting carnivores!" yelled Chicorie angrily. "I hope they all burn in the smoking mountains for all they've done to us! I can't wait till we can start showing them what it feels like to lose the ones we care about!"

"Don't shout, remember?" Marron pleaded. "We don't want to attract more of them. Especially now that it's just the two of us. Well maybe more like just you. My leg's gonna slow me down, so I'm probably gonna be taken down soon enough."

"Don't say that!" Chicorie insisted. "We've already lost the others … I can't lose you too!"

"Look, you wouldn't want me slowing you down," Marron said bluntly. "You're still unharmed, right? So you've got a chance to save yourself."

Chicorie shook her head. "Running away didn't work for our herd, right? It's possible we're goners no matter what we do. But if we have to go down, we can at least go down together. That way, neither of us will have to be the last one left."

Marron nodded. "I guess that makes sense," he sighed. "So you think we should just keep going on our migrating route until they catch us?"

"Yeah, I guess," Chicorie said, as the two of them began to set off.

Time passed, and though they were only able to go slowly due to Marron's limp, they were not met by any more sharpteeth. This gave them the slightest of hope, prompting Chicorie to make a hopeful suggestion.

"You know … If we somehow survive a little longer, maybe we can join another herd," Chicorie pointed out. "There's safety in numbers after all."

"Yeah, but who'd want us?" Marron asked. "I'm hurt, and we're only the size of spiketails but without their armor. It's not like we can take down twoclaws or browridges yet. And now that we lost our herd, we don't have any connections. Except our old herd, and they wouldn't want anything to do with us after we left them."

"It's not our fault though," Chicorie pointed out. "Our adoptive parents chose to leave because of that crazy halftooth, and we just chose to stay with our folks. They wouldn't be mad at us, right? But how will we find them? They could be migrating anywhere by now. And who knows, they might not recognize us. We've grown a lot since then. They might've even forgotten about us by now."

"Well, I'm pretty sure someone won't forget us," Marron replied.

"You mean … Him?" Chicorie asked bewilderedly.

"Yep," Marron smiled. "He was our first leader after all. The one who kept us safe before any grown-up did. And now that he'd be all grown up … He's probably even more amazing! Maybe he can help keep us safe again and even help us get revenge on all those rotten sharpteeth! Sooner or later, they'll learn we're not on the menu!"

"But …" Chicorie pointed out. "You remember what happened after our folks adopted us, right? All the abuse he hurled at us. The names, the insults, the times he tripped us, flogged us, or sent rocks flying at our heads? He became a flat-out bully! You really wanna go through all that again? And now that he'd be grown up, he'd have to be huge! Way bigger than the two of us put together! He could probably kill us just with his brute strength if he loses his temper again!"

"Well, who else have we got?" Marron asked doubtfully. "Besides, you know who his adoptive dad is now, right? The big guy who found all of us in that forest. And after he got adopted, he stopped bullying us so much. Not like he was friendly, but at least he left us alone. I think he must've been jealous."

Chicorie pondered. "Well, the big guy knows how to keep a herd in line. Maybe he'd finally learn something from having him as a dad. I have to admit, I always wondered why he took him in. I'm sure part of it was because he felt sorry for him. But I think he also saw something in him."

"What do you mean?" Marron asked.

"Well, just before the big guy took him in, he had found his own birth son, remember?"

"Oh yeah," Marron remembered. "I still can't believe his own kid actually turned him down."

"Yeah," Chicorie explained. "I think he was looking to raise someone to help him in leading the herd. He probably always saw something in him, ever since he first saw him taking care of us. But I think he felt conflicted, like adopting him would mean he was giving up hope on his birth son. Once his birth son wouldn't come with him though, I think that's when he felt ready to fully commit himself to raising him. Maybe he helped him not be so mean, except to sharpteeth. Think about all he can do now, with a fully grown body and his adoptive dad's teaching. He's probably knocking down sharpteeth left and right."

"So is that a yes then?" Marron asked hopefully.

"I guess so," sighed Chicorie. "Maybe he's finally improved that bad attitude. And if he hasn't, we don't have to take it and can just leave. Only thing is, where do you think they can be?"

"Maybe they stopped in that Great Valley place," Marron suggested. "That's where the big guy's birth son is."

"And if they haven't, we can just ask them if they know anything. The Valley can't be too far from here, anyway," Chicorie said. "It feels like the right climate. Only not so harsh."

But their thoughts were interrupted when they felt another presence through the sand clouds, and they could soon make out the silhouette of a longneck. Hoping that it might be another of their herd or even the one they were just talking about, they felt a wave of disappointment as they realized that the longneck was a whiptail, a couple cold times younger than themselves. To their surprise however, they soon realized that a young threehorn was grabbing onto his tail, yet he did not seem to mind. Like them, they saw that the whiptail looked slightly disappointed, as though he too was hoping to see someone else.

"Hello," the whiptail said tentatively. "Do you know where we are?"

Chicorie shook her head. "Nope. We're trying to find the Great Valley, wherever it is."

The threehorn, however, looked concerned. "Um … You don't wanna go there," she said shyly.

"Why?" asked Marron.

"We wanted to go there too," explained the whiptail. "But there's a bunch of scary flatteeth in there now who tried splitting us up."

"Um … You don't mind us being together, right?" the threehorn asked.

Marron shook his head. "Nope. Actually, we're looking for someone who's not our kind."

"Yeah, he's a really big kind of longneck," added Chicorie. "He was our first herd leader. He took us in when we were really little, when he was just a kid himself."

The whiptail looked hopeful. "Wow, maybe he's the same longneck I remember! He's the leader of his friends, probably like eight or nine cold times older than me, a bit lighter brown than you guys with deep brown eyes, and he's a flathead."

Marron shook his head. "No, our longneck's a dark green boxhead, the kind that eats from the really tall treetops," he explained. "He'd be about that age, but with greenish-blue eyes."

"It kinda sounds like his adoptive dad though," pointed out Chicorie, noticing the younger pair's disappointed looks. "Who had a birth son about that age who lived in the Great Valley. That's who we were going to see, actually."

"Yeah, we were hoping he could tell us where our old herd leader went," explained Marron. "Only there's no way he'd be in the Valley now."

"What do you mean?" asked the threehorn curiously.

"Well, if they tried splitting you two up, there's no way they'd allow him to stay," explained Chicorie. "He had friends of different kinds. Friends he'd leave his dad for if you'd believe it. They were the only ones who weren't longnecks on our migration."

Now the whiptail looked really excited. "What were they like?" he asked hopefully.

"We don't know, we never met them," explained Chicorie.

"Well did you see them? Do you remember what they looked like?" the whiptail asked breathlessly.

"Hmm …" Chicorie pondered. "I only saw them from far away. But there were two bigger ones, an orange threehorn and green spiketail about as big as the longneck. And there were two smaller ones, twofooters I think."

"Could it've been a brown flyer and green swimmer?" asked the whiptail.

Chicorie and Marron looked at each other. "Maybe?" Marron said uncertainly. "They were so far away when we saw them, but …"

He trailed off as he saw the two younger kids eye each other in amazement.

"What's the matter, um …" Marron began.

"I'm Leo, and she's Cristie," the whiptail said friendlily.

"Yeah, and you guys have seen the coolest kids ever," put in Cristie. "The ones we're looking for! Only they wouldn't be kids anymore!"

"Yeah!" Leo said. "They're a bunch of kids who got into all kinds of awesome stuff. I met them on my hatch day. Mom thought they were eggnappers when they turned up at our nest. But it just turned out they needed somewhere to stay the night. Anyway, they were singing this song right when me and my sibs hatched. I remember the moment I hatched, I was looking right at the swimmer. She seemed so friendly that I couldn't just help but run over to her and lick her face. Then I climbed the threehorn's frill …"

"You what?" Chicorie asked.

"I know, sounds crazy," laughed Leo. "But she was cool with it. I almost fell off too, could've really hurt myself. But she caught me as I was sliding down. Without even knowing it, she might've saved my life. When I got older, I still remembered them and started asking Mom questions. So Mom started asking around, and she came back with all these crazy stories. How they made it okay to hang out with different kinds, how they keep rescuing dinos and stop disasters, and the full story of the time I saw them when they helped a waterdweller get back to the big water."

"My folks heard stories about them too! Including one where they even taught a sharptooth how to be nice!" Cristie said cheerfully. "I'd love to actually meet a friendly sharptooth!"

Chicorie and Marron looked at each other in astonishment. The two younger kids seemed to live in a completely different world from them, cheerful, eager, and hopeful, even though they most likely lost their families themselves. They seemed hopelessly naïve, bordering on crazy, reverentially talking about the impossible things that these older kids supposedly did. Never mind the absurd concept of a friendly sharptooth. Yet at the same time, they seemed perfectly friendly and welcoming, and there was safety in numbers …

"You have any idea on where to go?" Marron asked.

Leo and Cristie looked at each other. "We met a flyer who told us to go south and look for a big herd," explained Leo.

"Hey, maybe they joined up with your friend," said Cristie. "Was where you saw them before to the south of here?"

Chicorie and Marron thought. "Yeah, I think," said Chicorie. "It was a big crater a long ways south. You don't think that'd be where they'd be, do you?"

"Well, why not give it a try?" Leo asked hopefully. "You can come with us. We'll be able to keep each other safe. And you can take your friend with you."

"What friend?" Chicorie asked.

Cristie looked blankly at them. "The one your age and your kind laying a little ways back. She's hurt, but I think she's still alive. You mean you didn't know she was there?"

Chicorie and Marron stared in disbelief. Through the sand clouds and because they were looking for movement, neither of them had really searched the ground for bodies. But upon hearing that Poinsette might still be alive gave them a fresh sense of hope.

"Come on, we'll take you there," Leo said brightly, and so Chicorie and Marron followed.

Upon arriving, they saw at once that it was Poinsette, who seemed completely unresponsive to their presence. Bite and claw marks were all over her, along with multiple bloody gashes that looked like erupting smoking mountains on the brown expanse of her body. But the sand clouds may have turned out to be a blessing in disguise, for they most likely prevented any scavengers from discovering her body first. The two bigger longnecks stood there as Leo and Cristie worked together to heave their old herdmate on their backs. They could feel Poinsette raspily breathing as well as her blood trickling down them. Bringing her bleeding body along on a long journey was certainly a hazard, but Chicorie and Marron couldn't leave another member of their little group, especially given that they had already lost Palmer today. Then slowly, the strange group set off south. Chicorie and Marron looked at each other. They were going on a strange journey, that was for sure. But helped along by the younger pair's vigor and enthusiasm and buoyed by discovering Poinsette, they at least now had a purpose and some kind of hope for the future, even if it was only a mere inkling.

---

As he led his party home, Chomper could hardly feel more excited. Not only did introducing Shorty to Lola go well, but the surprise additions of Star and Trace to the group and the ensuing water hunt made his newfound status as a pack leader start seeming real to him. Perhaps making him happiest of all, however, was the relief of getting the burden of explaining how to become a friendly sharptooth off his shoulders. He knew it would be difficult explaining the long journey required to suppress one's predatory instincts and continually have to prove oneself to mistrustful flatteeth, and he honestly wouldn't have blamed Lola or Trace if they wanted to forgo this difficult transition entirely after hearing what was involved and just go back to living as normal sharpteeth. To his delight however, his two pupils remained undeterred and seemed ready to do whatever it took to follow in his footsteps. With the talk out of the way, they were now in a place of mutual understanding, and he was ready to blaze a trail for his fledging pack to follow, finally putting into place his long-held ideal of giving fellow sharpteeth the chance to become part of the Great Valley community without recklessly endangering his flattooth friends.

Of course, he now knew that along with that idealism came real responsibility. As pack alpha, it was up to him to take care of Lola and Trace, make sure that they were happy and well-fed, teach them to fight off their prey drive, work on integrating them with the flatteeth and teach them their language, and perhaps most crucially of all, ensure that neither would betray him, an act which could burn this whole crazy idea down in one fell swoop. It truly was a task of walking on eggshells, but he knew he could really get them started off on the right foot. With Lola spending much of the journey back chatting with Star and the biters talking to each other atop Shorty's head, Chomper was free to talk with his newest recruit. Since officially joining, Chomper found that Trace had grown very attentive and diligent, making doubly sure to learn all the rules and expectations of the pack.

"So I just assume any flattooth in the crater's a friend, right?" Trace asked.

"Yeah," Chomper nodded. "Eventually you'll be able to recognize everyone's smells, but just go with that for now. I'm gonna be bringing you lots of friends who'll you get to know over time, but you're gonna be seeing a lot of the halfteeth first since they're gonna help you keep the crater safe."

"But they can't speak to me, right?" Trace asked.

"Not really, but since you've got a better sniffer, you're gonna need to warn them if you smell trouble coming. So be sure to get their attention and show them there's danger. Once they get that, they'll run into the crater, warn the flatteeth, and backup will come to help. We've got lots of longnecks, threehorns, spiketails and clubtails for that job."

Trace couldn't help but shudder a little as he nodded in understanding, before asking, "Ruby's a halftooth too, right? Does that mean I'm gonna be seeing her out there?"

Chomper nodded. "Yeah, she'll be taking her watch turns too. You'll recognize her at once, she's the only young runner who's pink, has blue eyes and a red crest."

"Pink, blue eyes, red crest," Trace recited.

"She's a herd leader too, so even though she's a little smaller than you, be sure to give her all the respect you'd give me," Chomper reminded him.

Trace nodded. "Don't worry, I'll make sure of that. Do she and the other runners like red food?"

Chomper considered. "They mostly eat green food, and don't like anything too bloody. But yeah, they like things like snapping shells and star swimmers sometimes. It helps give them energy." Looking at Trace seriously, Chomper asked, "You sure you'll always be able to handle yourself with runners? I mean, I know you didn't go for that one back there, but ..."

Trace nodded. "It's just the hatchlings that give me trouble. I'm not gonna have to see much of them, right?"

Chomper nodded. "I'll warn them to stay out of your way," he said kindly.

Trace nodded gratefully. "That's just what I like about you."

"Huh?" Chomper asked in surprise.

"You really want me to succeed," Trace explained admirably.

"Well yeah," Chomper chuckled. "I always wished to have some sharptooth friends, but I could never turn my back on my flattooth ones."

"Have you tried before Lola and I?" Trace asked curiously.

Chomper laughed. "I tried once when I was a kid. Let's just say I'm glad I never saw him again," he snickered.

They shared a snicker, after which to Chomper's surprise, Trace looked at him in admiration. "You see, that's where you're different from most pack alphas. You can humble yourself. You don't have a big ego or a craving for power. And you listen to us, consider our feelings, and try to do what's right."

"Well, I try," Chomper smiled.

"And that matters a lot more than you might think," Trace continued. "It makes me feel like I can actually respect and look up to you and spurs me to do better."

Overcome with the compliments, Chomper lowered his nose and affectionately nuzzled the smaller sharptooth. "Thanks Trace … It really means a lot."

"Don't mention it," Trace smiled as he nuzzled Chomper back. After which however, he couldn't help but wrinkle his nose in disgust. "No offense, but did you take a bath in the smelly water or something?"

"It's not me," Chomper replied, for he had also taken a whiff of something sickly sweet. For one frantic moment, he thought it was Leigh, fresh from taking one of his aromatic baths. But upon getting past the initial nauseating feeling, he realized he'd know that smell underneath from anywhere, and once he heard Lola and Star talking, he began to crack up laughing.

"I smell longneck," Lola said in disgust. "Longneck that reeks, bigtime."

"You're sure you're not smelling Shorty?" Star teased, eyeing the longbody carcasses draped upon his back. "He's carrying a lot of really smelly stuff."

"Your sniffer's broken, he smells really good!" Lola laughed. "This longneck smells bad. Like makes me want to throw up kind of bad. And there's another smell too. Like a spiketail, but a lot more pungent and earthy. As if they never had a bath."

Star tried taking a sniff. "I don't smell anybody. But I kinda smell something nice and sweet."

"Get out," Lola giggled in disgust.

Star giggled back. "Mom always said she and I had opposite tastes in smells."

"I think I smell her though," Lola giggled.

"Who?" Star asked curiously.

"Ruby," Lola explained, slightly embarrassed. "She's really cute."

"You're right," Chomper smirked. "It's my friends Littlefoot, Cera and Ruby. They don't usually smell like that, but Littlefoot and Cera have got tree sweet juice on them."

"They're mates, right?" Lola asked mischievously.

"Yeah," Chomper chuckled. "Why?"

"My parents soaked in mud baths when they were making out, it was fun spying on them," Lola giggled bluntly. "Figured flatteeth would do something similar."

"Hey, careful, hatchlings present," Trace chuckled, eyeing Deya, Nyko and Chuss atop Shorty's head.

"You think we're that innocent?" Deya giggled.

"We've heard it all before from all those cave-dwellers we lived with," Chuss chuckled.

"But they've sure got rotten taste. Typical weird flatteeth," Lola said, shaking her head.

"What do you mean, weird flatteeth?" Star teased back, pushing Lola to the ground as they started to wrestle, laughing.

"I think I know what's going on," Chomper laughed. "They want to give us a surprise visit. That's why they'd have masked their scents, so you'd have a better time controlling your instincts."

Suddenly, Lola looked fearful. "Oh no … Your friends? The herd leaders? Wanna meet me? I … I don't know if I'm ready. What if I lash out?"

"You won't, that's why they smell like that," Star reassured her. "Besides, I've got a plan for you to impress them."

"Really?" Lola asked. "What?"

"You're gonna say hello to them," Star said. "Wave your claw and say this." She paused before saying, "Hello."

Lola froze. "Garaararghrarorhaarar?" she said doubtfully.

"What was that?" Shorty asked, fighting to conceal his laughter.

"How bad was it?" Lola asked. "Tell me I didn't say anything bad!"

"Don't worry, you just grunted," Chomper soothed, trying to think the opposite way of teaching his flatteeth friends sharptooth. "Just make that first sound short and soft, like taking a breath, and be careful not to growl at the end. The middle sound's hard to make, but if you use a soft growl there, everyone will know what you mean."

"Why don't we go to our place and practice for a bit?" Star suggested, to which Lola gratefully nodded. "Is that okay Chomper?"

"Sure, go for it," Chomper said brightly.

"I've got another idea we can do too," Lola smirked, and the two of them bade farewell to the rest of the group and set off.

Trace, meanwhile looked contemplative. "Um … They wouldn't know about me, right?" he asked.

Chomper shook his head. "Nope! You're gonna be a surprise!"

Trace nodded, still looking thoughtful. "What's wrong?"

"Well, they're gonna have to know I was a hatchling hunter," he reasoned. "After all, you've gotta warn them to keep the hatchlings away from me."

Chomper nodded in understanding. "I'm sure they'll understand, I mean you're still really skinny. They'll understand you didn't have a real choice."

"Maybe," Trace said slowly. "But I still want to make a good impression on Littlefoot, Cera and Ruby before they find out. I want them to see me for who I am now and how I'll be in the future before they find out the bad stuff."

"I understand," Chomper said sympathetically. "You've got a plan for showing them you're on their side?"

Trace nodded. "Would you mind staying back at first?" he asked. "I want to make an entrance, and need Shorty and the biters' help."

The biters looked curiously as Trace began to lay out his plan.

Still covered with tree sweet juice, Littlefoot and Cera were indeed heading down the crater's hillside, getting ready to meet Lola. On the way down, they met Ruby, who had just started her watch duty on the crater's hillside. Her parents, who had just come out of the mud pool and were watching nearby, agreed to fill in for her as she went to join her friends.

"Once you see Lola, you'll recognize her right away," Ruby told them. "For a sharptooth, she's actually kind of cute. A bit like a girl Chomper."

"That's something to imagine," Littlefoot snickered.

"Yeah, but be careful," Ruby cautioned. "She's got a lot of predatory instinct. Kind of like how Chomper told me he chased you on that island before he saw you were you."

"She's not gonna like us smelling like this," Cera smirked.

"No," Ruby laughed. "But I think it's even less likely she'll attack now that I'm coming along, since, well, she kind of admires me," Ruby said embarrassedly.

"Well, she's not gonna flirt with me," Cera grinned, before eyeing Littlefoot teasingly. "Maybe she'd like you though, Littlefoot. I mean you've got big eyelashes like Ruby does."

"What are you saying?" Littlefoot said, doing his best to conceal his smirk as he subtly began to position his tail.

"What do you think?" Cera said mischievously. "You kinda look like a girl yourself."

"I guess that makes sense," Littlefoot smirked back. "After all, look at who I'm mated to. We're a perfect match."

"What are you saying …" Cera began, but Littlefoot seized the moment and shooting his long tail in the gap between her legs and tickling her belly vigorously.

"Hey, st … stop it!" Cera laughed as Littlefoot continued, relishing the rare chance to catch Cera off-guard. His good spirits lasted a little too long however, for the very next moment, Cera abruptly let her belly fall onto the ground, trapping Littlefoot's tail underneath.

"Hey, let go of my tail!" Littlefoot giggled, but there was no use trying to pull it out under Cera's impressive weight.

"Then don't go for such a low blow next time," Cera laughed.

"The sky's calling the water blue I see," Littlefoot snorted back.

"You two never change," Ruby smirked wryly as they all laughed.

Then however, the three of them heard the sound of quick massive footsteps, and turning, they saw that Shorty was hurrying over to them.

"Shorty, slow down, or you'll cause an earthshake!" Cera teased.

Littlefoot, however, saw that the expression on Shorty's face was one of alarm. "Sharptooth attack!" he huffed, the carrion haphazardly falling off his back as he raced forward.

"Where?" Littlefoot asked, craning his neck. "I don't see it!"

"Behind me!" Shorty shouted, veering off to the right to reveal a much smaller greenish form pursuing his tail.

"Where's Chomper?" Littlefoot asked.

"I dunno," Shorty replied.

"How can you not know? You were just with him," Cera barked.

"We got lost," Shorty said impatiently.

"I think Chomper would want us to negotiate," Littlefoot considered. "Try giving it one of those dead bodies."

"He doesn't want them, he wants me!" Shorty cried out.

Cera couldn't help but struggle not to laugh. "Just give him a good tail whap, that'll show him unless he has a death wish!"

"Yeah, but he's too fast," Shorty said wildly. "Besides, maybe it's not me he wants. Maybe he wants the biters!"

Littlefoot, Cera and Ruby looked up to see that sure enough, the three biters were riding his head. They then looked at each other seriously. While Shorty was way too big for the sharptooth to be a real threat, the biters were a different story entirely.

"Let me try saying that line Chomper taught us," Ruby said, trying her best to utter the phrase in sharptooth that Chomper taught them, but the sharptooth seemed to ignore her.

"Lead him to the red food," Littlefoot suggested.

Shorty tried, but the sharptooth ignored the fallen bodies.

"Maybe he wants live food," Shorty cried out. "Come on, help me here!"

Littlefoot shook his head. "All right Shorty, keep your head up to make sure the biters are out of reach, and we'll take care of him."

"Yeah, a good charge should give him the message," Cera said confidently.

But before Cera could get into position, they saw a little blue form jump off Shorty's head and adeptly hit the ground.

"Nyko, what are you doing?" Littlefoot asked in disbelief as he scurried over to face the sharptooth.

Nyko however, didn't respond and instead held his arms out arms growled something in sharptooth. The next thing they knew, the sharptooth came to an immediate stop.

"What the?" Cera blankly said.

But it only grew stranger from there. Nyko chirped, beckoning the sharptooth over, and at once, the sharptooth strode forward until stopping right in front of him, without showing any interest in an attack. Nyko then purred and made a couple clicks, and the sharptooth responded by lowering himself to take a knee, staying utterly still afterward. Then after a couple chirrups, the sharptooth began doing some leg stretches that looked almost like dancing.

Littlefoot, Cera and Ruby could only gape in disbelief. How could this sharptooth, who before was irrational enough to chase after a gigantic longneck, start to strangely back down and follow the orders of a little biter in a matter of moments? Their befuddled stares were only broken when Shorty started bellowing with laughter.

"What's so funny?" Cera snapped.

"You should see the looks on your faces," Shorty cackled.

"What's … Going on?" Littlefoot asked as Nyko walked back to Shorty, who lowered his head to let him climb back up, the two of them and the other two biters all snickering naughtily. The sharptooth, meanwhile, had remained in place as he stopped moving, except to extend out a surprisingly long arm for a sharptooth, holding it out expectantly.

"He wants a handshake, Ruby," Shorty laughed.

"What? But …" Ruby began, but then trailed off as she looked to see that beyond the sharptooth's ivory-colored horn was a surprisingly peaceable expression, complete with dazzlingly white eyes and lime-green irises.

"Wait a moment," she marveled, before looking up at the biters. "Is he with Chomper?"

"Yourr gorrt irrt," Nyko laughed.

The sharptooth grunted softly, drawing Ruby's attention back to his still outstretched arm. Hesitantly, Ruby began to approach. It went against her every instinct to get so close to a strange sharptooth, especially one that while small compared to Chomper, would still be easily able to overpower her or lean down and split her neck. Yet all the same, he had demonstrated remarkable control already, and seeming to sense her trepidation, he crouched low to the ground so she would have the height advantage. His mouth politely closed in a slight smile, Ruby cautiously approached, knowing that if Chomper could trust him, so could she. As she arrived without him flinching, she gently took his hand as he purred warmly. "Hello new friend, new friend hello," she said in amazement as the two exchanged a handshake.

Though she knew he didn't understand flattooth, he seemed to understand her tone as he nodded respectfully to her. "I'm glad you're our friend," Ruby said gently. "And we'll make sure to be good friends to you too, good friend."

Then she looked up to see Chomper skipping in, grinning broadly. "You did great, Ruby!"

"So did he," Ruby observed. "He's got really good restraint."

"I know, he was amazing," Chomper said happily, beaming at the smaller sharptooth, who smiled back, feeling Chomper's appreciation.

"So what's this all about?" Cera snorted. "You found another sharptooth and tried to scare us to with a stupid prank?"

Chomper shook his head. "No, he found us! Remember on the way here how I had to feed some sharpteeth so they'd leave the hatchlings alone? Well, Trace here was one of them. Only unlike the others, he kept following us, and now he wants to join us," he said brightly, flashing a toothy smile. "The prank was all his idea. He wanted to show you guys that even though he's not safe around flattooth hatchlings, he is around grownups."

"You didn't just take his word for it, did you?" Cera asked indignantly.

Chomper laughed. "Even I'm not that naïve," he snickered. "We saw a small flattooth running by, and he handled it really well. I asked him how did he do it, and he said it's because he's never hunted grownups and only hunted hatchlings."

"Yeah," Littlefoot said, trying to conceal his discomfort. As much as he tried not to, he couldn't help but think of all the times he was hunted by sharpteeth when he was a hatchling. And as he eyed Cera and Ruby, he knew they were thinking the same …

"I know it's hard taking in a hatchling hunter," Chomper admitted. "It's hard for me too, don't forget I've been chased by big sharpteeth too. But it's not like he had a real choice," Chomper said, nodding toward Trace's very lean form. "You see how scrawny he is. He would've just been getting by, and we can't help what we can eat. And he's not as lucky as me, he never knew that flatteeth can be friends," Chomper said imploringly.

Pausing uncomfortably, he said, "We can't help what we've done in our pasts. Otherwise, I would've never bitten your tail, Cera, or hunted you guys on that island. That prey drive is really strong in all us sharpteeth, and it's a real battle trying to control it. You remember what it was like trying to teach me, Ruby," he said as Ruby solemnly nodded. "But that's all gonna change. I'm Trace's and Lola's pack alpha now, and they joined knowing that they can't hurt another flattooth again. And both know they can't break their promise, or else I'll do what I know I'll have to," Chomper said, shuddering. "I really hate thinking about it. But I know what's at stake, and so do they. They joined me promising to change themselves for good and become our friends. I can tell they both really want to succeed, and how scared of failure they are. And I know they can do it, just like our deputies did! You saw yourselves how they went from being fighting rogues to loyal friends! I know it's gonna be a challenge, but I'm gonna keep on helping them grow until they become the friendly sharpteeth I know they want to be."

Littlefoot, Cera and Ruby nodded, glad to hear of Chomper's acknowledgment of this thorny issue, his determination to keep coaching his students, and his acceptance of the possibility of the worst-case scenario.

"So just like Lola, I'm gonna have Trace stay outside and help guard the crater. Maybe we can make him a den or something for him to sleep in, and make sure that the hatchlings don't get too close to him."

"Try telling that to Sis's crew," Cera snorted playfully. "That'll backfire bigtime."

"Yeah," Littlefoot chuckled. "We should get a boulder or something to block his sleeping spot off. That way the hatchlings can't go sneaking off to meet him there, and he can't hunt anyone in his sleep."

"Right, I'll go working on that," Cera said importantly, lifting up her frill proudly. "I'll make him a sleeping spot and get him a boulder, no problem."

"I'll get the other runners over so they can meet him. If they meet him, they can see him and he can learn their smells," Ruby suggested.

"And I better get the biters back home and put the food away," Shorty chuckled, before yawning. "Besides, I've gotta get some rest."

"I'll wait for Cera before to get done before telling Trace to come in," Ruby said.

"You think it will take me longer to make a cave than it will for you to get all the runners? I'll get done first in half the time!" Cera boasted.

"Don't count your hatchlings before they hatch," Ruby smirked, before she, Cera, Shorty, and the biters headed back into the crater. This left Littlefoot, Chomper, and Trace alone together.

Chomper then turned to Trace, who looked up at him curiously, not understanding the conversation that took place. "Are they Cera and Ruby?" Trace asked, eyeing their retreating forms.

Chomper nodded. "I filled everyone in on you and your story, and they're okay so long as you'll never hunt any hatchlings again."

"Right," Trace said, a small look of relief crossing his face, before his eyes fell upon the much bigger longneck. "Is that Littlefoot? He's not exactly little."

Chomper could hear the apprehension in the horned sharptooth's voice. "I know he's pretty big," Chomper said reassuringly, "But he'll never hurt you. I promise you'll be okay and that he'll be just as nice as Ruby was. I'll even tell him what you're gonna do so they'll be no misunderstanding. Okay?"

Trace, however, still looked hesitant. Chomper paused, turning to Littlefoot. "Trace is kinda scared of you," he explained sheepishly.

"Should I sit down?" Littlefoot asked, seeing how much he towered over the young horned sharptooth.

"Yeah, that'd be good," Chomper said, knowing it would make Littlefoot seem a lot less imposing.

So Chomper and Littlefoot sat down side by side, while Trace stood a ways back, looking apprehensively at them.

"Littlefoot may be really big," Chomper explained. "But his heart's even bigger. He's always been at my side and looking out for me, even before I met Ruby and my parents. We kinda met by accident, to be honest. If he didn't trip, he would've run off like the others when they saw I was a sharptooth. But he got past that and saw me for who I was, just a baby who needed someone to love. I'm not sure if anyone else would've seen that, especially if they went through what he did."

"What do you mean?" Trace asked.

Chomper sighed. "I told you Sharptooth killed his mom, right? Well, Sharptooth's the same kind of twoclaw as I am. And since flatteeth think that all sharpteeth are just heartless killers, he could've easily seen Sharptooth in me … And hated me for it. He could've gotten one of the grownups over to kill me. He might've even been able to do it himself, since he was a lot bigger than I was. But that's not who he is. In spite of all he'd been through, he embraced me with an open heart. He watched over me, taught me how to walk, and even tried feeding me green food … Which went about as well as you think it did."

"I can imagine," Trace said as they shared a laugh.

"But most importantly, he always had my back. When I bit Cera, not only did I lose her trust, but I lost Ducky's, Petrie's and Spike's as well. Littlefoot was the only one who never lost faith in me and could see me for me. He insisted that I stay in the Valley, even when the others all thought I should go. And even after my instinct made me hunt them on that island, Littlefoot continued to believe in me, even defending me from his friends when they made comments behind my back ... Which considering I hunted them, I kinda deserved." Smiling tearfully, Chomper explained, "It's really thanks to Littlefoot that I am who I am today."

Trace nodded slowly, as Chomper explained. "When I moved to the Valley cold times later, we remained as close as ever. Even though I patched things up with the others and we became great friends, Littlefoot was always special, going above and beyond to help me. He helped get me through so much, like the time I lost my first baby tooth and I thought all my teeth were falling out. He stood up for me against flatteeth way bigger than he was, even his old hero. Not only did he keep me safe, but he always told them what I was really like. He was totally willing to risk himself for me, and I always looked up to him. I remember one time …"

He trailed off, before continuing, "There was one time when Ruby went to visit her folks when I had a bad sleep story. All of these monster flatteeth were coming out of the shadows, trying to gobble me up, no matter times I said I'd never hurt them. I woke up, but since Ruby wasn't there like usual, I couldn't get back to sleep. So I made the long walk over to Littlefoot's nest. I was really scared the whole way, not knowing what the Valley would think if they saw a sharptooth wandering around at night. I half-expected another flattooth to sneak up on me, just like in my sleep story. When I arrived I remember being all jumpy, nudging him awake and telling him I couldn't get to sleep. But he just soothed me with that soft smile of his, let me curl up in his tail, and sang a lullaby that he was always there … And I fell right asleep."

Smiling, Chomper said, "Littlefoot and I love each other so much, and we can trust each other completely. He'd even be able to stick his tail in my mouth and not even flinch."

"You're kidding," Trace said in amazement, shaking his head.

"No really, we'll show you," Chomper said excitedly, before turning to Littlefoot and speaking in flattooth. Trace watched curiously as Littlefoot smoothly threaded his tail through Chomper's gaping mouth, not even getting poked by one of Chomper's sharp teeth as Chomper kept his head perfectly steady before just as neatly pulling it out.

"Could you do the neck too?" Trace asked in wonder.

"Yeah, I think so," Chomper laughed, and sure enough, Trace looked on incredulously as Littlefoot unhesitatingly brought his neck through Chomper's mouth and out again.

"Wow," Trace marveled. "I can't believe it. You two really are that close. You're almost like brothers … And not the kind that eat each other in their nests."

Chomper laughed. "With everything we've been through, yeah, we are like brothers! Which is why we've chosen to share blood ourselves."

Trace looked astonished as he faintly asked, "You mean … You did a blood oath?"

Chomper happily nodded. "Yep! We're so close we've literally got each other's blood in us. I like to think it helps keep both of us safe."

"Wow," Trace muttered, staring at Littlefoot with newfound respect. "I can't imagine a flattooth willingly giving their blood to a sharptooth. Or a flattooth who'd want sharptooth blood in their veins."

"I know," Chomper said. "But it's a reminder that we'll never be apart in spirit, no matter what might happen to either of us."

"I never thought I'd feel so much appreciation for a longneck," Trace admitted, shaking his head. "I'd like to show him that."

"Okay, I'll talk to him," Chomper said brightly.

"No wait!" Trace said awkwardly, but watched helplessly as Chomper and Littlefoot began speaking in flattooth. Moments later, Littlefoot lowered his neck to face him, smiling pleasantly.

"You can nuzzle him just like Ruby," Chomper told him. "Since you're my friend, you'll be his friend forever."

Nodding hesitantly and making sure to keep his jaw far away from Littlefoot's face, Trace proceeded in nuzzling Littlefoot's cheek.

"Wow, I'm not used to sharpteeth doing that," Littlefoot giggled as they all, even Trace, laughed.

Before long, Cera returned, looking very pleased with herself. "You're gonna love this cave I've made for you, or you're gonna be stuck eating tree stars. Got it?"

"Cera, he doesn't understand you," Chomper laughed.

"He gets the gist of it," Cera said amusedly as Trace politely bowed to her. "I've gotta say, if I had to be a sharptooth, being you wouldn't be so bad. At least you've got a cool horn on your nose. Right, follow me."

Cera swaggered forward, as Trace looked at Chomper uncertainly. "Is it just me or does she have a bit of an attitude?"

Chomper laughed. "You have no idea. But you'll be okay as long as you stay on her good side."

"Thanks for the warning," Trace said as he followed.

When he arrived, Trace was surprised to see that along with Ruby was a whole group of other runners crowded together, a large number of whom were her kind and some even resembled her a little. Remembering that he would be working with these runners to help guard the crater, Trace made sure to get a good whiff of each of them. While they seemed apprehensive of him and stood a good distance back, they nonetheless smiled and waved at him, a gesture which he responded in kind. He smelled a little star swimmer on their hands, and smelling more within his cave, he felt warmed by their kind gesture. Then seeing Cera expectantly looking at him by the entrance, he proceeded in going inside. While narrow and not overly spacious, it was just the right size for a little sharptooth like him to curl up in and doze, the wafting aromas of the star swimmers already making it feel like home.

"How is it?" Chomper asked as he went over to check on him.

"It's nice," Trace yawned. "I think I'm ready to go to sleep."

"Okay," Chomper said. "I'm gonna shut you in to keep you safe, and will be there for you tomorrow."

"Great, thanks Alpha Chomper," Trace said as he curled up and began to contemplate the whirlwind of events leading him to a brand-new way of life.

---

After Chomper used his head to roll the boulder to Trace's cave closed, Littlefoot turned to face him. "So we're gonna meet Lola now?"

"Oh yeah," Chomper said excitedly. "She's at her sleeping spot on the other side. Remember to be careful though. She's a lot bigger than Trace and has less control with grownups than he does, so you won't want to get too close. Don't worry, she'll understand, since she's afraid of messing up herself."

So together, Chomper led Littlefoot, Cera and Ruby around the crater and over to Lola's sleeping spot.

"What's she like compared to him?" Littlefoot asked curiously.

"Well, you saw how cautious and polite Trace was," Chomper explained. "Lola's not like that at all. I mean she's still really nice, but she's a much bigger talker and quicker to react. That probably explains some of her instinct issues. But she's also a lot more relaxed. Trace was a loner his whole life, so he's not really used to being around other dinosaurs. Lola's used to being part of a family though, so she'll probably warm up to you guys quicker."

"She's not gonna invite them over and have friends for dinner, right?" Cera asked teasingly.

Chomper shook his head, laughing. "Nah, they don't get along. They kicked her out of the nest, she doesn't like hunting like they do."

"You can see how differently they act without knowing a word they're saying," Ruby chuckled knowingly before sharing a thought. "I do wonder though Chomper. You sure Lola's not going to get lonely back there all by herself? I mean, I know she's got her instinct issues, but she'd be able to hear everyone else having fun while she's all by herself. Even Trace has us runners for company even if we can't talk to him."

"Ruby has a point there," Littlefoot wondered. "You think she'll be able to see your parents without accidentally hurting them? They're able to talk to her after all."

Chomper considered. "Yeah, I think so," he said in a slightly evasive voice.

"What?" Cera asked, rolling her eyes.

"Nothing," Chomper said innocently. In truth, with them getting so close to the subject, Chomper was fighting the urge to blab to them about Lola's longnecked friend. But he figured that like with Trace, Lola would want to make her own impression on them, and he wasn't going to spoil the biggest surprise she had to offer them.

As they began to come around to the crater's far side though, Chomper found this getting harder and harder to do. While he could smell Lola nearby, he couldn't see her, only able to make out the form of a familiar armored longneck in the distance. Then as he looked at Star's feet, he almost choked in an attempt to stifle his giggles. Littlefoot, Cera, and Ruby meanwhile, were just beginning to make out the longneck, not knowing who it was.

"What's Sheldon doing out here?" Cera asked, staring out in confusion at the longneck, standing unusually still.

"I don't think it's Sheldon," Littlefoot said uncertainly. "It's his kind, but this longneck has a tan belly … And I think she's a girl."

"Yeah, she is a girl," Ruby observed as they continued drawing closer. "But why is she standing there like that?"

"We better warn her about Lola," Littlefoot said, before calling out, "Hey, be careful! There's a sharp …"

But Littlefoot trailed off, for he began to realize that something was under the longneck's front feet. He thought it was just a great big rock at first. Then he realized it was a body, a sharptooth's body, in the same turquoise blue that Chomper had described …

"Littlefoot," Cera said in a blank, slightly accusatory tone. "Did your folks ever tell you about longnecks that eat red food?"

"Not that I can remember," Littlefoot chuckled as he eyed the longneck's head, suspiciously lowered by the sharptooth's neck. "And I think I'd remember that."

"Maybe we're seeing with our imaginations rather than seeing with our own eyes," Ruby reasoned. "Perhaps if we close our eyes and open them again, we will see what's really there to be seen."

So they tried that. But as they did, they heard a scream followed by a snarl. Opening their eyes at once, they saw that the sharptooth was beginning to writhe, while the longneck had a firm stance on her, her head still lowered to the sharptooth's neck.

"It's Lola!" Chomper exclaimed in mock terror. "She's in trouble!"

"Right, I'm on it," Cera growled, pawing the ground as she began to charge. Then abruptly, she came to a skidding halt. "Wait a minute, this is another prank. Well, I'm not gonna fall for it."

"Uh, we kind of already did," said Littlefoot, who had also charged forward and stopped a good several paces and was right behind Cera as he began to hear not only Chomper's laughing but that of the two pranksters as they both stood up.

"Bad luck, you two," Chomper grinned. "They're not falling for another trick."

"Aww darn," said Lola teasingly. "Can I greet them now?"

"Go ahead," Chomper said encouragingly. "Just don't get too close."

So Lola enthusiastically bounded toward them. Littlefoot and Cera looked at each other, speechless. Next to twoclaws, browridges were among the most notorious flattooth killers, and if they'd seen one barreling toward them like that before, they'd prepare to either ready their bodies or run for their lives. However, Lola abruptly stopped a spiketail's distance before reaching them, before gazing into each of them with her dark blue eyes. "Haarrrrarofurrrrernds," she said, painstakingly concentrating on each utterance as she nervously waved.

"Wow Lola, that was really good!" Chomper exclaimed brightly.

"Really? Great!" Lola said enthusiastically.

Littlefoot, Cera, and Ruby also looked impressed. "Did you teach her that?" Ruby asked.

Chomper shook his head, grinning. "Nope, she did."

Their eyes fell upon the longneck, who walked over to join them. "Hi, I'm Star," she said happily. "I'm Lola's new friend."

"I'm Littlefoot," Littlefoot said friendlily.

"I'm Ruby," Ruby waved.

"And I'm Cera, a threehorn of course," Cera greeted.

"I've never seen a threehorn before," said Star. "You guys don't live where I grew up. Mom must've wanted to stay far away from them. You really have long brow horns!"

"Thanks," Cera grinned. "And I'm glad I get the first threehorn you get to meet's a cool one like me, not one of those bossy hardheads."

"You sure about that?" Chomper teased.

"Quiet you," Cera playfully snapped as they all laughed.

"So if you're Lola's friend," Littlefoot asked hopefully, "Does that mean you can speak sharptooth? Me and my friends are trying to learn, but it's really hard."

"Yeah," Star nodded. "I kinda got lucky there. My birth mom was best friends with a sharptooth, but since she passed before I hatched, my sharptooth mom became Mom. So I was raised by a sharptooth, kind of like how Chomper was raised by you guys in the Valley."

Chuckling at their looks of amazement, Star added, "Lola found me by accident. I was hiding away to recover from an injury, but Lola bumped into me. And well, we just hit it off."

"And you're not even dripping with tree sweet juice," Cera observed.

Star laughed. "I don't need to since I can speak sharptooth. Since she can understand me, the thinking part of her brain can hold her instincts back. As long as she doesn't go hungry, I'll be fine."

"Wow, that's great," Ruby smiled. "Have you got a place to sleep? Because we have plenty of room in the crater if you don't."

"Actually," Star giggled, "Lo and I are gonna room together in my old sleeping spot," nodding to the nearby cave. "Mom told me she and my birth mom tried getting into the Valley together when they were young, but they were turned down since Mom was a sharptooth. So we're gonna be sleeping out here until she's safe enough to go in the crater. We can keep each other company, I can even give her some extra flattooth lessons. She can keep me safe with her sniffer, and I can keep her safe from herself with my tail. Growing up with a sharptooth mom makes you a very light sleeper, so if she sleepwalks, I'll know about it."

Littlefoot beamed. "Sounds great."

His thoughts, however, were punctuated by the sound of further roaring from the distance.

"Hey, you two! Can you do an old guy a favor?"

"Yeah? Like what?" Lola asked suspiciously back.

"Hold the big longneck and the threehorn down so I can split their necks? They rolled a big ball of ground sparkles at me and made me fall off a cliff! You can have the meat, I just wanna see 'em dead."

"Get lost creep, this is our turf, and don't think about coming back!" Lola roared before Chomper could even respond. "Or else my alpha and I will rip that fat, white-eyed head off your pudgy body!"

"Okay, okay, you don't have to get cranky about it," said the sharptooth as he hastily lumbered away.

"Good, and don't come back, ugly," Lola snorted menacingly as Littlefoot, Cera and Ruby stared at each other in amazement. For trying so hard not to come across as threatening around them, she sure came out ferociously when it came to dealing with an adversary.

Star then translated to them what Lola had said. At once, Littlefoot chuckled. "Well, what'd you know," Littlefoot chuckled. "I called him ugly too."

"So you did meet him?" Star asked Littlefoot.

"Yep," Littlefoot chuckled, before Star began to translate to Lola, who began to roar with hearty laughter. Lola then growled a little to Star who translated, "Lola wants to know what really happened. Because he made it sound like you guys started it."

"Yeah, right," Cera laughed. "We were just kids, not even as big as his mouth. He was trying to eat all of us, and after we knocked him out the first time, he tried hunting us again and fell off that cliff because he was chasing us."

Star translated back to Lola, who shook her head with amusement. "I knew he was full of crap," Lola snorted, grinning.

"That's the second old enemy of yours we've met today," Chomper laughed to Littlefoot and Cera. "There was a grey twoclaw that Shorty tripped who bothered us when we went hunting."

Lola hissed something, as Star asked, "We're wondering how many sharpteeth attacked you guys."

"A lot," Ruby shook her head exasperatedly. "And since we only had to hurt a few of them, a lot are still out there."

"Maybe they've learned not to go for defenseless hatchlings," Littlefoot smiled bemusedly.

"Well even if they don't, they'll learn it's stupid trying to get revenge on hatchlings who grew up on them," Cera smirked.

"Lola sounded just like you to that sharptooth, down to the roar," Littlefoot smirked at Cera.

"Hey …" Cera began, but Littlefoot snickered. "I meant it as a compliment." Then he turned to Star. "Tell her that she sounds just like Cera."

"Yeah, tell her I love how she showed them!" Cera added. "And that she's got as much attitude as me … Well, almost!"

Star did, upon which, Lola purred and grinned mischievously.

"You know Lola," Chomper asked jokingly, and slowly enough so that Star could translate his question to her in flattooth. "You know that responding like that can get other sharpteeth to hate your guts, right?"

Star translated to Lola, who began to purr knowingly at once. Chomper watched Littlefoot, Cera and Ruby's expressions as Star translated what Lola said to him. "I'm used to it. Since I don't like hunting, I tried to get food in other ways. Like robbing carcasses from other sharpteeth. My roar's big enough to scare others away, just like you saw me do back there. I even tricked my nestmates sometimes. When I was a kid, I snuck away from my family to a secret cave where I practiced talking big. I practiced on the tickly fuzzies, then once I scared them all out of the cave, I moved onto smaller sharpteeth. And when I got bigger, the sharpteeth I could scare got bigger too. Sure, I felt a little guilty for stealing, but it's better than killing, right?"

Chomper laughed. "Right! You always used the insults too?"

Lola smirked. "I like playing dirty. It's part of the fun. And I knew he'd be a white-eye too. Red-eyes are too proud to ask strangers to kill their old enemies, or get into that many accidents. I knew it would bring him down to size. Besides, now I know I've got new friends to back me up. Like you, amazing threehorn lady."

Littlefoot and Ruby giggled as Cera looked blankly at Lola. "Uh … what? Did she really call me Amazing Threehorn Lady?"

"Yeah," Star snickered, seeing the reaction. "Why?"

Cera sighed exasperatedly. "When I was little, I was called the Amazing Threehorn Girl. Now Anndi and Candy, they're two of our deputies, they keep calling me Amazing Threehorn Lady. And now she's doing it too, even though she doesn't understand a word of flattooth!"

As Star translated back, Lola grinned naughtily. "It just so obviously fits you."

"Oh … Thank you," Cera said, flattered. "It means a lot coming from someone who gets her food with sheer attitude."

Star then looked up at the night circle. "Well, I guess Lo and I are gonna settle in for the night. We'll see you tomorrow."

"All right, see you," Littlefoot said friendlily as he, Cera, Chomper and Ruby saw Lola and Star file into their cave, before Star used her tail to push the boulder shut, blocking the entrance. Once that was done, they immediately heard the two talking in sharptooth in excited tones.

"Well, whad'ya know," Cera said, looking at Chomper, impressed. "For someone so nice, you managed to find two sharpteeth that even I like."

"Being called Amazing Threehorn Lady doesn't hurt, right?" Littlefoot teased.

"Shut up," Cera snorted playfully.

"Well I think it went really well, don't you Chomper?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah," Chomper grinned. "Between Lola having eaten and you guys smelling terrible, she didn't even make a move at you."

"We can't smell that bad," Littlefoot chuckled.

"You have no idea how stinky that stuff is," Chomper shook his head. "How did you get the idea to use that, anyway?"

"It wasn't us," Littlefoot giggled. "Petrie did it."

"Yeah, he and the teens pranked us," Cera said bitterly, shaking her head. "He's all better too. But rather than tell us, he makes us find out the hard way."

"You two are all better too, right?" Chomper asked.

Littlefoot nodded. "Yeah, Cera and I did a little workout while you were gone."

"We're ready for a hard day of training tomorrow," Cera smirked delightedly.

"Cera's still Cera I see," Ruby sighed, shaking her head. "Taking it a little easy can't hurt."

"Oh yeah?" Cera smirked. "I'm tired of going slow. I'm ready to go at it harder than ever!"

"Hey Chomper," Littlefoot asked. "You think Ducky, Petrie and Spike can meet Lola and Trace tomorrow?"

Chomper considered. "I think so," he said slowly. "They're a lot lighter than you and Cera and would get more hurt by a bite, so I'm glad you two went first. But with how well Lola did today and how Trace doesn't have problems with grownups, I think it's probably safe. Besides, they should get to know their other herd leaders soon."

"Mia said something about helping with their instinct control too," Ruby added. "She still feels really guilty about framing you, and Cam and Len are willing to help out too."

"That'd be great," Chomper said happily. "Maybe I can get one of them to help make sure Ducky, Petrie and Spike are safe."

"What about me?" Littlefoot snickered.

"I know we're blood brothers now, but you can't have all the fun," Chomper snickered.

"And if you miss your workout, I'm gonna personally give you a good tail lashing," Cera threatened.

"You're sounding like Hiss Head and his muscleheads," Littlefoot countered playfully. "You sure you don't want to work out with them?"

"Hmph! Trust me, we're gonna have way more fun than they will," Cera snorted back.

"You know," Ruby said. "I've been thinking, now that we've got Star, Trace, and those two sharpteeth you guys made mad at us …"

"What do you mean, you guys made mad at us? You've been in on it just like the rest of us," Cera snorted.

"Yeah, but you guys knew them before you even knew me," Ruby smirked. "Which means I don't know them and they don't know me."

"You've got us there," Littlefoot chortled.

"Anyway," Ruby said, "I think we should call for a herd meeting tonight. Mainly to go over keeping the crater and everyone in it safe. Nobody has to show up unless they want to, but I think it's fair for everyone to know all that we know."

"Yeah," Littlefoot agreed. "That's probably a good idea. Plus, the elders know a lot about keeping the Valley safe. We can really use their help."

"Well that's gonna make Dad happy," Cera teased. "You know how he loved lecturing your grandpa about that stuff."

"Oh yeah," Littlefoot chuckled, and laughing, the four of them returned back to the crater.

---

Lounging in the near darkness, Bron was happy to be relaxing in the company of what was left of his old migrating herd. While enjoying the company of both of his sons, the new group of longnecks that merged with his, and all the new friends he met in the Great Valley, there was nothing quite like a little quiet time with his longtime herdmates. Only now, with only the seven other longneck elders, Etta, and Wild Arms remaining, the group now felt a lot more intimate as they could sit together in a small circle, soothed by the crater's confines and the happy bustle and chatter of their new herdmates young and old.

"I've never felt so good in ages," yawned Roland contentedly. "A good walk to get here, a tasty meal, and so much peace in the air. Makes these old bones feel young again."

"Yes, and we will feel even better after a good night's sleep," agreed Kelsey. "No more having to spend our nights half-awake, having to wonder if some stupid sharptooth will creep up on us."

"Sharptooth? Where?" Wild Arms asked frantically, looking around.

"Relax Wild Arms," Etta yawned. "'Cept for the nice ones, there ain't a sharptooth 'round for a country mile."

"You sure? "'Cause I just heard some roaring," Wild Arms retorted.

"Oh, it was probably just those kids," Etta laughed. "You know they can be a real riot."

"And if it one of those things does show up, they're gonna wish they've never been born," James laughed.

"Serves 'em right, after all they've done to us," Dorian smirked to vigorous agreement from the others.

"Though we sure gave plenty of them a hard time in our day," Decia laughed. "I still remember the time I stomped on one's tail! It was a hoot!"

"Maybe next time we go for the legs," chuckled Brent. "Or who knows, maybe we can rip some scrawny arms off."

Bron sat silently as he listened to the slightly vengeful humor from the other longnecks. Not that long ago, he would've thought nothing of it. It was just a healthy way for victims like themselves to express their frustration toward their aggressors without taking any dangerous action. And considering that their herd had been migrating for their whole long lives, they almost certainly would be among the most affected by sharptooth attacks in the entire herd. He himself had lost a ton of herdmates, many of whom were even closer to the others as family or close friends. When combined with all the earlier attacks and close calls the herd faced and all the scars each of them would have inevitably faced beforehand, it was well beyond his place to scold them for their comments. Doing so would only open old wounds and trivialize their tragedies, something he would never want when he innately understood such feelings himself.

Still, he knew that this kind of humor was entirely inappropriate in their new context, bordering on offensive. He knew Littlefoot would be aghast considering how close he was with Chomper, and how deeply hurt Chomper would feel about such comments, even if they weren't directed at him. It was a good thing that Chomper was still out and hopefully far away from their chatter. But then with a pang, he remembered that Papa and Mama Sharptooth were still in the crater, and that while they could not speak flattooth very well, their comprehension was much better, and their hearing was excellent …

Bron's thoughts were interrupted when he saw a massive green form hurriedly descend into the crater. Normally Bron would smile at the thought of seeing his adoptive son, but seeing Shorty now strangely made him feel even worse. The last he heard, Shorty was out helping Chomper learn how to use his tail better, following which Bron saw him following Chomper out, carrying red food on his back, most likely to have dinner with Chomper's new browridge friend. He wouldn't have imagined Shorty as one who'd make friends with the friendly sharptooth, for he had frequently expressed his disgust toward sharpteeth's diet and any mention of Chomper in the past was only in connection with Littlefoot's other friends. Yet considering how much time Shorty was spending with Chomper, it seemed the two were striking up a friendship themselves. What was more, Bron soon saw that Shorty was not only carrying uneaten carrion on his back, but that he also had a swagger in his step. Luckily, this gave him an excuse to interrupt the conversation.

"Looks like Shorty's back," Bron chuckled.

The others turned, their faces stunned as they saw the long carcasses draped over his back.

"Oh … right," said Hilda, the others' faces matching her awkwardness about the conversation.

"Well, I better be off to greet him," Bron said before setting off.

"You know, I don't think I told you guys the full story about how this herd came to be," Etta said conversationally. "When I heard them first talk about a rescue, I thought they were three rogues shy of a full herd."

Very thankful with how Etta deftly changed the subject, Bron continued to walk over to greet Shorty. He soon saw that Shorty went into the food storage cave, and he had just gotten there when Shorty returned from it, the three little biters riding his head.

"Oh, hi Dad," Shorty said as he lowered his neck to let the biters off.

"Busy night, huh?" Bron winked knowingly.

Shorty grinned. "You have no idea, Dad. I just went on the first-ever friendly sharptooth pack hunt! Is that cool or what?"

Bron didn't know how to respond, but Shorty just continued. "Chomper's friend Lola found a new friend herself. Her name's Star, she's a longneck like us, but she can speak sharptooth! Then when we were eating, Lola went and caught another sharptooth spying on us. Don't worry, he's on our side too. His name's Trace and he's pretty little and safe around grownups. So yeah, we all went hunting, and even saved a swimming longneck! But the best part was seeing the old gray guy who I tripped before. He wanted revenge, but Chomper and his friends roared at him back! You should've seen the look on his face! No sharptooth's gonna want to mess with us now. Between them and all of us together, we're like the strongest herd ever! And guess what?" Shorty said proudly. "I'm too big for them to attack, which means I have nothing to fear from their instincts!"

"Uh, great," Bron smiled, doing his best to sound enthusiastic but not quite able to keep up with everything. "That's really great. It sounds like you and Chomper have been really busy!"

"Oh yeah," Shorty smirked. "But all the same, that red food's really gross. I'm gonna need to take a bath in the watering hole, then I'm gonna have to eat some green food to get that awful smell out of my nose."

"Yeah, I can imagine," Bron chuckled as they pleasantly parted.

Bron's mind meanwhile, continued to spin, taking in all that Shorty had just said. It was really good to know about Star, for she could help bridge the gap between the embittered longnecks of his herd and the sharpteeth struggling to enter their flattooth world. But her word alone wouldn't be enough. Rather than hearing about sharpteeth or telling them not to insult them, the best way to get his old herd to change the way they thought about friendly sharpteeth was for them to get to know them themselves. But in order to do that, he had to lead by example and prove to them that the sharpteeth in their herd truly wanted to be their friends …

He swallowed, for what he was about to do went against all flattooth instincts. But he owed it to Littlefoot to give it a shot. He had been caught off-guard with the blood oath, failing to appreciate how close Littlefoot and Chomper truly were to each other. It was time for him to no longer make that mistake and start being proactive, doing what a good father really should.

A gentle prodding awakened the old sharptooth as he opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was that his mate was no longer by his side. Confused, he turned to see if she was standing by his side. He was surprised however, to find that instead, a great brown longneck was there instead. For a second, he thought it was Chomper's friend Littlefoot. Then he realized he was too old to be Littlefoot.

"Um … hi," Bron said, enunciating carefully so he could hear every syllable. "You're Chomper's father?"

Immediately, Bron looked ashamed, as if he shouldn't have asked such a stupid question. Papa Sharptooth responded with a simple nod, eyeing Bron steadily he did. Awkward as it was, the hard water had been cracked, making anything else that much easier. "Sirrrtrr," Papa Sharptooth said, doing his best to sound inviting but not sure if it came out right.

Bron obliged expressionlessly before the two sat in silence. Papa Sharptooth noticed that while he had no trouble looking at Bron, their eyes could not quite meet. Papa Sharptooth understood, for there was no getting around the fact that his hardened red eyes exposed him as a prolific flattooth killer. Luckily, Chomper taught him a word that not only meant just how he was feeling, but also came out well through a thick sharptooth dialect.

"Rreegrrrerrrtt," Papa Sharptooth said simply as Bron finally turned, trying to make out what he was saying through his expressions. "Ifeerreegrrrerrrt. Arrrrrays."

He did his best to lift his tiny arms toward his eyes. "Chomperrrtorrdfrratteerrrthfrrrends," Papa Sharptooth said slowly. "Inorrrurnderrstarrnd. Tirrrittrefootsarrve."

Bron pondered. "Chomper told you he had flattooth friends. But you didn't really understand until Littlefoot saved him?"

Slowly, Papa Sharptooth nodded. "Tooorrratenowrrr. Ourrrreyesarrrerredfrrrombirrrrghurrrrnts. Weerrrverrrrybrrruttarrr. Burrrrrtttweerrrrrnorrrhhurrntafterrr."

"It's too late for you and your mate. Your eyes had turned red from brutally hunting a lot of flatteeth when you were young. But since Littlefoot saved Chomper, you decided not to hunt flatteeth anymore?"

Again, Papa Sharptooth nodded. "ParrrrtorrrwhyrrrwerrrserrrrntChomperrraway. Heerrrinnorrrrcerrrntweeeerrrnorrrrt. Werrregrrrerrtarrrnweerrrnorrrseerhimdrearrntohurrrrntwarrrterrrfoorrrd."

"Could you say that again?" Bron asked. "I didn't quite get it."

Papa Sharptooth did as Bron thought through the complex thought. "Part of why you sent Chomper away was because he was innocent, and you were not. But you regretted your actions, so you decided not to see him again until you learned and could teach him how to hunt water food."

Papa Sharptooth nodded. He hesitated for a second, before plowing in. "IrrrassharrredSharpptoothmyrrrrkirrrnd."

"You're ashamed of being a sharptooth?" Bron asked.

Papa Sharptooth shook his head. "IrrassshamedtherrrSharrrptooththatkirrrreedmartemyrrrrkirrrnd. Irrrrnorrrtthhhinrrrikehhirrrrmmanyyymorrree."

Bron gulped, now understanding. "You're ashamed that the Sharptooth who killed my mate is your kind, and you're nothing like him anymore?"

Papa Sharptooth nodded firmly.

"Thank you," Bron said solemnly. "I mean, I know you're not, I can just see that from your actions. But to be fair, you wouldn't have known anything else, knowing only sharpteeth and thinking of all flatteeth as just prey," Bron reasoned. "Just as us flatteeth thought the opposite. I must admit that in the past, I thought all sharpteeth were cowards and murderers who were better dead than alive. But when I actually met Chomper … I realized that there are good sharpteeth in the world."

Papa Sharptooth nodded appreciatively before sighing. "IrrrrnorrrknowrrrIrrrcanfirrrtirrn."

"Well to tell you the truth, I didn't really know if I could fit in either," Bron chuckled. "I may not be a sharptooth, but like you, I didn't grow up with my son. Only I had a choice. When I found Littlefoot, I could have left my herd and followed him to the Great Valley. But since I was the herd's leader and even created it, I felt compelled to stay in charge of my herd. Still, there are times even now I doubt my choice. As great as his grandparents were, I wish I could have been there for him more growing up. And the choice I made has effects when it comes to the other grownups. Most of them have been living in the Great Valley ever since they found it, and some, like Cera's dad, Petrie's mom, and Ducky and Spike's mom, have become respected as the Circle of Elders."

Bron let out a regretful sigh before saying, "In a way, I even invaded the Great Valley just like you did. After Littlefoot's grandparents passed, I sensed Mr. Thicknose wouldn't be able to lead the Valley long-term, so I resolved to become leader myself, or else let Cera's father or Petrie's uncle come to power. Of course, in my arrogance, I failed to appreciate that leadership comes from not just experience and judgment, but also the trust and respect of everyone else, which I as an outsider to the Valley couldn't possibly have earned. Both of our invasions were of course out of love and the best of intentions. But at least your invasion was resolved by you finding Chomper and leaving, while mine helped lead to a coup by a histrionic hollowhead."

Even Papa Sharptooth had to chuckle, while Bron felt a lot lighter inside. It felt surprisingly good sharing his regrets with Papa Sharptooth, who could really understand what regret means …

"But no matter what we've done in our pasts, we can both try to follow our sons' example," Bron told Papa Sharptooth. "In this herd our kids made, there is a need for a new Circle of Elders. One not focused on trying to overrule or hold back our kids, but one that can assist them and serve as their loyal advisors. In our age, we can share our lived experiences and knowledge to help them lead, without having to battle over power amongst ourselves. And I imagine with our very different lives but our shared desire to help our children succeed, we can both really help as a part of this new Circle of Elders. And hopefully, neither of us will feel like outsiders again."

Papa Sharptooth smiled at Bron slightly. "Sourrrnddssgooorrddd. Thaarrrrnksforrrtarrrking."

"I should be thanking you, I'm the one who woke you up from your nap," Bron chuckled, and feeling a new sense of appreciation for the elder longneck, the elder sharptooth closed his eyes and returned to sleep.

---

After getting back from meeting Lola, Star, and Trace, Ruby went to resume her patrol duties, while Littlefoot and Cera went to eat with Ducky, Petrie and Spike and tell them all about what just happened. Chomper sorely wanted to join them, but as he had been constantly busy for a long time now, even he was getting tired, and he knew he needed to be alert for the upcoming herd meeting to be able to explain about his sharptooth pack. Knowing that, he curled his tail in and closed his eyes for a much-needed nap.

The next thing he knew, he felt a prodding on his back. Not sure as to how long he had been asleep, he was surprised to see that a great grey whiptail was standing over him. "Hey kid," he said in his brief, stoic way.

"Hi," Chomper smiled awkwardly. Even though he knew Doc had changed his mind about him once he helped save Dara, Chomper still couldn't help but feel a little intimidated alone in his presence. After all, this was the longneck who served as the inspiration for one of the most dreaded creatures of his sleep stories. "What's up?"

Doc just looked at him expressionlessly. "Come," he said simply. "You might wanna see this."

"Oh, um, all right," Chomper said uncertainly as he passed several elders happily chatting to one another. "What is it?"

Doc pondered. "Something I thought I'd never see," he said, struggling to conceal a dry smirk. "Can't tell you what. She'd want you to see for yourself."

This got Chomper even more curious as he tried looking around, knowing Doc wouldn't answer any more questions no matter how much he might pepper him. As they headed toward the outskirts, Chomper noticed that they had started to follow a trail of mud laid out. Sniffing the path, Chomper caught many familiar scents, but one stood out more than any other. Chomper turned to Doc, unable to help himself. "Is this about my mom?"

Doc smiled wryly. "Let's just say you're not the only sharptooth that opened my well-worn eyes." Then he nodded to a clump of trees. "Go through there. But take a deep breath first. You best remain calm."

"Right," Chomper said uncertainly. "Thanks Doc."

"Glad to help," Doc said before turning back.

Chomper paused, too excited to want to do anything but rush in and see just what his mother was doing. But remembering Doc's advice, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath before proceeding forward. His gait more relaxed but his heart still excited, he quickly made his way through the thicket, eagerly peering out to the other side.

What he saw made his jaw drop. There his mom was, standing in a low crouch as she looked at of all dinosaurs Cera's dad, who was pacing around her in a smug way. Very glad that Doc had warned him to remain calm, Chomper stood and watched just what was going on.

"Excellent, your legs are safe. Now keep your feet tucked in, but stretch your neck out," Topps smirked.

"Wharrrtforrrr?" asked Mama Sharptooth.

"You're no taller than me now," Topps reminded her. "Since you can't bend down, you're gonna have to use your own neck to go for the jugular."

"Burrrrtheyrrrdierrr," Mama Sharptooth pointed out.

"Yeah," Topps considered. "And if you're not quick enough, you could get stabbed before you could land a bite. A horn to your eye could easily blind you, and one to your throat could split your head off. But your bite force is strong enough you might be able to disarm them."

"Wharrrtyourrrrmearrrrn?" Mama Sharptooth asked.

Mr. Threehorn smirked devilishly, lowering his voice to a whisper so hoarse even Chomper had a hard time hearing. "Threehorns don't fear much. But something we do fear is the loss of our horns. Without them, we lose our greatest weaponry and are forced to become defensively oriented like thicknoses. An attack on our horns is an affront to our dignity, and if most sharpteeth tried, they would be slaughtered before getting anywhere. But even though you giant twoclaws may not be the biggest sharpteeth in the world, your bite force is known to be far and away the strongest. Strong enough to even be able to rip our horns off. It explains why my kind loathes yours so much, and why the fights between our kinds are the stuff of legends. For if there is one thing worse than death to us threehorns, it's dishonor and humiliation."

Mama Sharptooth nodded, with a slight smirk. "Threehorrrnsarrrwaystrrroubre. Starrrbtoorthigh, norrrrgerrrturrrp. Worrsetharrrrnurrrs."

"Thanks for the tip," Mr. Threehorn chortled. "For us fourfooters, it's easy to forget how vulnerable you sharpteeth are to thigh wounds. Especially you guys with your scrawny arms. I guess that makes us even, considering how I told you how to deal with my kind."

"Burrrtweerrrfrrriends, arrrndwerrrterrrnorrrborrdy," Mama Sharptooth smirked. "Weerrrfarrrmirry."

"Right, I guess you can say that," Topps chuckled.

"Yourrrrdarrrdnorrrapprrrove," Mama Sharptooth teased.

"True," Topps grinned smugly. "But my father taught me to stand tough, and if showing no fear to a sharptooth isn't standing tough, I don't know what is."

He paused impressively. "Now the amount of damage you land depends on where you place your bite. Tearing the tip off is something any big sharptooth could do if they don't get killed first. Do that and you'd dull the horn for a battle, but the horn will regrow with time. Attack the base of the horn though, and your foe won't be so lucky. Your kind's ability to crush bone could lead to ripping their horn off permanently if the bite is well-placed and firm enough. Which of course has its ups and downs. Removing a horn won't kill a threehorn, and they will never be able to horn you with that horn again. But never underestimate a threehorn's memories, and if you go through with it, understand that you might always have to be on your guard."

Mama Sharptooth nodded slowly as Topps snorted, his eyes twinkling. "Needless to say, all this is just between us. If any other sharptooth finds out about this, you will be in for a world of pain. You will be writhing as I wrestle you down to the ground, pulverizing your every scale as I land blow after blow upon ..."

"Mr. Threehorn, you can't!" Chomper finally said, unable to help himself as he rushed out, only for Topps to start guffawing with laughter. Mama Sharptooth was snickering too.

"It's all right, Chomper," Mama Sharptooth smirked. "That was for your benefit."

"You mean … You knew I was there, Mr. Threehorn?" Chomper asked.

Mr. Threehorn smirked. "Of course I did. No offense, but you're hardly an ambush hunter, and I've been watching out for those stalkers long before your egg was laid. And once I knew you were there, well, I couldn't help myself. Don't worry, she's safe with me … So long as she understands who's in charge here."

"You mean me and my friends?" Chomper said cheekily.

Topps snorted. "Well in this case, I am the teacher and she is the student," he said pompously. "Once I sensed her real bravery, I realized she was worthy of my teaching."

Mama Sharptooth couldn't help herself but snicker loudly. "Quiet, you." Topps snorted before turning back to Chomper. "I thought with her condition she could use some help on how to protect herself against bad threehorns. And who better to teach her?"

"Cera?" Chomper joked.

"You want me to give her a demonstration on how threehorns fight back?" Topps snorted, eyeing him naughtily. "Anyway, I think that's enough for today. I get best get back to my nest, Tria's expecting me."

"Okay," said Chomper, before remembering something he knew Topps would want to know about. "There's gonna be a herd meeting about security tonight."

Topps nodded approvingly. "Cera's told me. Pleased to see you guys are finally getting serious about preventing trouble rather than causing it."

And he lumbered away, still with a naughty smirk on his face.

Chomper bent down beside his mother, who had just laid belly-down in the grassy space.

"Mind if I join you?" Chomper chuckled.

"I'd love it," she beamed at him, her eyes flickering playfully.

So Chomper settled in to join her. "I never thought I'd see you alone with Cera's dad," Chomper laughed. "How did that happen?"

Mama Sharptooth grinned. "Let's just say I crashed Tria's party."

Chomper laughed. "No way … With Doc and Ducky's mom and Ruby's parents and everyone else?"

"Yep. Uninvited, unannounced. Don't worry, they were cool about it, but you should've seen the looks on their faces when they saw me ride Spike in," Mama Sharptooth smirked.

"Aww, why'd you have to do it when I was gone?" Chomper asked.

"That's when I always get into trouble. Don't need to give you any ideas," Mama Sharptooth replied as they both laughed.

"So why did you go there?" Chomper asked excitedly.

Mama Sharptooth considered. "Well … Your father and I have been apart from you for a long time. We knew that our being around would only make it harder for the Valley to accept you. But because you've proven to them that you can be trusted, they've been willing to give us a chance. We never hoped for anything else but acceptance of us being at the big water nearby. But they've been remarkably welcoming to us. They made sure to reach out to us when they planned to escape, and they allowed us to come here with you without complaint. They even accept us as part of the herd now, something I would've never believed possible."

Shaking her head, Mama Swimmer continued, "But I cannot really be part of your herd without doing my best to help. And I'm happy to say I've come a long way from being that predator who attacked the Valley. Not only have I learned to respect flatteeth, but being on that island so long without hunting them has quelled my prey drive. And you've taught me enough flattooth now so I can understand most of what they say and can even speak a little. I am now able to take the next step and start getting to know my fellow elders in the herd and earn my place as someone they can trust."

Chomper nodded, grinning. "I think you can do it Mom. When I was a kid, I never thought you'd be able to talk with the Valley's elders! And …" he hesitated, before pressing on. "Since we're both a herd and a pack now … Are you and Dad kind of thinking about being the sharptooth elders?"

Chomper's mom considered. "Yes. No offense to the others, but there's things only your father and I can bring to the herd. No one else knew about Goregie for instance, because we're the only ones who know a lot about the sharptooth world. Then of course, there's what we can bring to your pack. Of course, we know you're their leader. But you're still young, and haven't grown up in the outside world."

Chomper considered. "You're saying … You wanna be like … Well, my pack's mom?"

Mama Sharptooth nodded. "As much as they're trying to fit in with the flatteeth, they could use someone who'll make them feel a little more at home. Someone they can talk to in their language, who knows what it's like to struggle in the Mysterious Beyond, and just to give them a bit of motherly love. Deya, Nyko and Chuss lost their mom, and even though they handle it well, I can tell they still miss her. I may not be their mom … But I'd like to be the next best thing."

Chomper smiled, remembering his earlier conversation with them about that very subject. "I think they'd like that."

Mama Sharptooth nodded. "The same goes for Lola and your new friend," she smirked playfully. "They may be older than the biters, but they could certainly use the perspective of an older sharptooth. Or someone they could just talk freely with, who understands what growing up as a leafeater hunter is like."

"Wait …" Chomper said in surprise. "How did you know about Trace?"

"I'm your mother, I know everything," Mama Sharptooth snickered, before saying, "I can smell horned sharptooth all over you, and judging by its strength, you've been together a good while."

Chomper shook his head. "You never miss a beat, do you Mom?" he asked.

"Nope," Mama Sharptooth teased as they laughed together before drifting off to sleep.

---

With Rana overcoming her esteem issues stemming from her abandonment by her parents, Hyp was able to turn his attention to having fun with the little hatchlings scurrying at his feet. In the past, this behavior might have been called bullying, and earned the rebuke of the grownups, cementing his reputation as a ne'er-do-well. The key difference now, however, was that all these hatchlings wanted to be messed with. Hyp knew how cool it was for the kids to be playing at night, and he wanted to make sure he and his crew gave them an unforgettable experience.

While many hatchlings had chosen not to take part, those who did got the full fright treatment. Concealed in the deep dusk, his crew jumped out from behind trees, threw small rocks from their hiding spots, laid out booby traps, created little earthshakes, and when they were least expecting, stuck their tails out to give them a nice surprise. Mutt even let out a big fart that sounded like a sharptooth roar, causing the kids nearby to scurry out panicking.

None of them, however, could have fun with them in the way he could. Because he remained small even as an adult, he was able to go all-out without hurting the kids, and he made the most of it. He told the hatchlings to carry a stick in their mouth to show that they were open to a one-on-one ambush from him. Of course Tricia's gang immediately volunteered, but Hyp was pleased with how many others took him up on his offer. He looked around for kids with sticks in their mouths before sneaking up on one, jumping at them, and then getting into a wrestling match. With many of the bulky fourfooters and even some of the older swimmer and hollowhorn kids being very sturdy, the wrestling matches proved to be surprisingly intense as he won some and lost some. Little oneclaw Cricket made for his most unconventional opponent however. While far smaller than Hyp, he managed to artfully dodge Hyp's lunges. Eventually though, he finally caught him, and giggling, Cricket wandered off as Hyp went to look for his next target.

To his surprise, however, he saw that Tricia and her friends were wandering over to the edge of the crater. Hyp paused, but since nobody else seemed to be watching them, he figured that he might as well do it. The night held plenty of danger after all, and as much attitude as they had, those tykes were still hatchlings who could easily be eaten if off their guard.

He caught up with them just as they reached the ridge overlooking the southern wall, looking around expectantly.

"You don't think they could've gotten eaten, right?" Perrie asked.

"Nah, no way Chomper would let that happen to them," Oplax pointed out.

"They had their dinner here, all right," Garnet said as he shook his head. "Still reeks."

"And I saw Chomper come back," observed Pearl. "If Chomper's here, the biters would be as well."

"We'rre herre," came a voice.

Tricia's gang whirled around before the three biters skipped in, looking very excited.

"Hi guys!" said Tricia as Deya hugged her.

"What happened? We were looking everywhere for you," Cassia asked.

"Werrr," grinned Chuss. "Wee wernt hurnting. Chomperr fournd newr friends. Orne a rongneck that spearks sharptooth. The other a horned sharptooth."

"Wer met newr bard guyr too," laughed Nyko. "Burt irt okayr. Chomperr feerd him, he reave us arone now."

"Arnd werr herped a swirrming rongneck girve birth," Deya added excitedly.

"What's giving birth mean?" Perrie asked curiously.

"It means they don't have eggs, but come out of the mom, right?" Mono asked.

Chuss nodded. "Yeahr, arnd wer harppy tor herp. Wer gert barby ourt whire birg friends pursh."

"She must've been kinda scared of you guys," Oplax chuckled.

"Yeah, especially with Chomper, Lola and your new horned sharptooth friend," Destiny giggled.

"Funny enough a horned sharptooth how's we met Chomper in the first place," Mono chuckled. "He saved us from a mean one."

"He didn't say anything about losing a brother to a great big twoclaw, right?" Rachelle snickered.

"Nor, Trace arr arone before urs," Deya soothed. "Weer Trace arnd Rora famiry nowr."

"That's so sweet," Cassia smiled.

"I can't believe a longneck can speak sharptooth!" Destiny said excitedly. "How did she learn?"

"Star raised by orrne," Deya explained. "Irt rearry sreet!"

"Well, I wanna go meet them!" Mono said. "Can you imagine? Actually meeting new friendly sharpteeth?"

"Yeah!" Tricia exclaimed brightly. "It'll be so much fun, even if they can't talk to us!"

"Maybe we can help teach them flattooth!" said Rachelle.

"They've gotta be really awesome the way you talk about them!" Destiny cheered.

"We're gonna have so much fun here," said Cassia excitedly. "It's really gonna be like our own Great Valley."

"And we're gonna do stuff no hatchling has ever done before," Mono grinned. "Not even our idols!"

"Well, it's thanks to Sis and her friends that we'll have so much fun," laughed Sam.

"Don't count on it," came a jeering voice.

Hyp whipped his head around and uttered a groan. The whiptail bullies were back, looking ready to cause more trouble. He hesitated, wondering if he should come to Tricia's gang's defense or let the grownups know about his. Then he thought of a much better idea. With a mischievous smirk, he hurried away to set his plan into motion.

"We told our folks about you freaks," said one of the bullies. "They say you can't stay on their land."

"Really? I don't see your names on it," Destiny pointed out mockingly.

"Quiet, traitor," another bully said in disgust. "A whiptail like you should be with us. Not hanging around dirty halfteeth and sharpteeth."

"You leave us alone, you pests," Tricia snarled, sounding remarkably like her older sister when mad.

"Oh look, a threehorn's losing her temper again. Why am I not surprised?"

After the bullies chortled to themselves, another spoke up. "It's for your own good, you know. Our elders warned us about a monster around these parts."

"Yeah, one with a giant sailback," warned one. "Not your blood-tainted friend …"

"Hey, don't you dare insult Rana, understand?" Mono growled threateningly.

"But a sailbacked sharptooth. The kind that can even kill grown longnecks, never mind you freaks."

There was a tense silence at this revelation.

"Our grownups are waiting for this thing to wander into this crater, block off all the entrances, and burn the monster up," explained one of the kids. "But the thing won't come with you morons inside."

"Yeah, so clear out or our grownups will come and make you clear out. Understand?"

Tricia's gang paused with this new information.

"So you just want to murder it?" Perri asked incredulously.

"Wirthout irt evern arttacking your?" added Chuss.

"It will soon enough, just like you freaks will when you get hungry," snorted a bully.

"Yeah, well, they're never gonna do that," growled Tricia determinedly. "We're not going anywhere."

The bullies looked at each other.

"You think they'll get the message if we beat those weaklings up?" one smirked as another laughed.

"Hold it right there," growled a voice, and Tricia's gang beamed as they saw that Hyp had returned, with Mutt, Nod, Ann, Dispo, Rana, Weald and Ceph all in tow.

"You leave us alone," Hyp growled. "This is our place now. If you wanna share it, great. But if you think you can just bully us out of it, you've got another thought coming."

"We don't care what you've got to say, pipsqueak," jeered a bully.

"Watch it, I'm way bigger than you," Hyp snorted.

"But you won't be for long," a bully jeered. "Then we'll squish you and that sailbacked bad egg."

However as they tauntingly laughed at Rana, Rana glared at them defiantly. "You think your words can get to me," she smirked. "Well guess what? I'm proud to be of two heritages, it makes me all the cooler. While you are just a sorry bunch of bullies who take your problems on others instead of helping each other. No wonder so many of you become sharptooth food."

Hyp's gang roared with laughter, infuriating the little longnecks. "Take it back!" one of them shouted.

"Why should we?" Nod snorted mischievously.

Seething, the little longnecks began to charge up the hill. Unfortunately for them, Hyp and his gang were more than ready. As much as they wanted to throw rocks, they knew that a big fall downhill could easily kill these tiny brats and make matters much worse. So they chose instead to throw dirt into their eyes, blinding them in confusion. Seizing the moment, Hyp and his friends seized the little longnecks just short of the head and ran down the hill with them, before throwing them out onto the flat ground. Eventually, the bullies had enough of getting pounded, and retreated back home.

"Good riddance," Hyp snarled.

"Careful guys, maybe a sharptooth will get you," Dispo teased.

"You really think?" Mutt asked concernedly.

"Yeah, but it's of no concern for us," Ceph said.

"It was kinda fun dealing with those creeps," Weald laughed. "Maybe they'll be back."

"They probably will," said Tricia, and Hyp couldn't help but catch the serious note in her voice.

"What's wrong?" Hyp asked.

"Well, the bullies said something about a sailbacked sharptooth," Tricia said before repeating what the bullies said.

Hyp sighed. "Don't worry kids. That's something for us grownups to deal with. While you go listen to Saro and his stories, the rest of us grownups will be holding a herd meeting."

"Can we come to the meeting?" Rachelle smirked.

"Sure, but I'm warning you, you'll probably be bored to tears," Hyp snorted back.

"Yeah, good point," Rachelle snickered as they all made their way back inside.

---

"Spike! We have got to go for the herd meeting, we do!"

Reluctantly, Spike lifted his head up and followed Ducky away from the open patch of freshly stomped soil. Seeing how many tree sweets Petrie used to bathe Littlefoot and Cera in sharptooth repellent, Spike wanted to ensure a few tree sweets were stored underground so their seeds could begin to start blooming. After all, if they were going to keep working on trying to befriend sharpteeth, they needed plenty of supplies to keep their instincts at bay.

Still, he knew this herd meeting was important. Now that they had arrived, it was essential to fortify their new home against foes of both the sharp and flattoothed varieties. And this required a team approach to keep a home everyone safe with all hands and paws on deck. So while Saro kept the hatchlings entertained by regaling them with stories and legends, the many older dinosaurs gathered together in a flat, open space for a discussion. His other friends were seated right by the lake, saving space for him and Ducky to settle in. Within the crowd, he could make out that all the adults of his family were present, as were the families of his friends, the herd's deputies, most of the Valley's elders, among others. With Spike and Ducky's arrival, Littlefoot took the lead to get started.

"Okay guys," Littlefoot said. "I think we're ready to begin."

Then fast runner Opal raised her hand. "Um, sorry to ask, but with all of us runners down here, who's guarding the crater from the outside?"

"We've got a small team doing it," Littlefoot explained. "Veno's awake at night, so he's going around the base of the crater looking for dangers. Brara's doing an aerial lookout, while Monty, Len, Cam and Mia are performing stationary watch duties."

"I think they're perfectly capable handling themselves, they're all plenty tough," Cera smirked. "Of course if there is trouble, we're gonna drop everything to help."

"Besides, we need all the runners here to go work with everyone on emergency drills," Ruby explained.

"You mean like the sailback?" Mutt asked fearfully.

"What sailback?" Petrie asked.

Hyp sighed. "Those bully kids talked about some sailbacked sharptooth stalking these parts. Their herd wants us to clear out of the crater so they can trap the sharptooth here and burn it up."

Cera snorted. "And waste all this green food? Yeah right. Tell them to take a hike."

Hyp grinned at Cera. "Just what I wanted to hear."

Others, however, seem uneasy, both at the prospect of further antagonizing a local herd and the threat of a gigantic wandering sharptooth.

"We'll deal with their grownups if it comes to it," Littlefoot said reassuringly, before eyeing the elders, especially the longnecks. "If anyone wants to help us talk to them, we could use it. They might not take young ones like us seriously."

"Good thinking," Bron considered. "I'd be glad to help with the negotiations."

"But if that doesn't work, well, then my herd and I would be more than happy to send them a message," Topps smirked. "Whiptails are big, but don't forget how heavy we threehorns are. They'll get more than they bargained for if they try pushing us around."

"I think we all know that, Topps," chuckled Mama Swimmer.

"They might best listen to whiptails like Doc and myself," Dara pointed out.

"And I guess this is the kind of situation where being really big has its uses," Sue giggled playfully. "Isn't that right, Ross?"

Ross nodded. "Couldn't have put it better myself, little lady."

"And as for the sharptooth," Bron considered. "I think a good show of herd defense will be enough to deter him, if it comes to it. It's possible that our presence alone has scared him off. A fight between a single sharptooth against multiple big flatteeth can only have one outcome."

"And it's possible these rockheads were just saying crap to try to scare us," Topps snorted. "We've already had to move once, it's absurd to think about moving again to satisfy some bloated egos who've been nothing but rude to our kids."

Slowly, the hesitation within the crowd about staying put began to fade. The gang looked at each other happily. Now that they were no longer arguing with one another, the grownups were able to share their ideas and put all their experience to good use.

"So are we all good with staying here then?" Ducky asked hopefully.

There were numerous murmurs of agreement.

"Great," Ruby said brightly. "Now Cera and I've worked out a strategy to get everyone ready for an emergency."

"Right," Cera said. "So let's say some creeps decide to attack us. The first thing we've gotta do is make sure the hatchlings are out of harm's way and in those caves," she nodded over toward the newly made caves. "Not only are they defenseless, but we don't want them running around screaming their heads off getting in our way."

"I think we can handle that," said Keeter confidently, nodding toward his fellow herd deputies. "If each of us can keep track of five or six kids, we can have the crater safe in a hurry."

"Sounds good," she said, impressed with his quick thinking.

"Maybe we should sleep by the caves ourselves," suggested Tilden.

"Yeah, so in case the bad guys know where the hatchlings are hiding, we'll be there to meet them," Gara said confidently.

"Great," Cera said. "Between all you deputies, I think we've got the caves well covered. Remember though, if there's an attack, make sure to wake everyone up. Don't go thinking you can go into any battle alone, for you'd never know how much backup they've got."

"Don't worry, we'll remember," Jada said brightly.

"Good," Cera said. "Then you guys have got that settled."

Ruby then pointed to one of the many gaps in the rocky wall, where wide, relatively smooth paths sloped upward until they met the crater's rim. "These paths are the easiest ways for us to get in and out. But that means they're the easiest way for our enemies too. So we've got to guard these spots heavily."

She then turned to face the others. "We halfteeth have learned the hard way how steep these crater's walls are. So if we find out there's trouble outside, we decided the safest way to get back in and let everyone know is to use these paths. And to respond quickly, we need dinos to sleep at each of these entrances so they can come help in an emergency."

"We can't ask any one dinosaur to respond to a problem alone," Littlefoot said wisely. "So we think it's best if groups of dinos sleep near and help guard each entrance."

"You can sleep at whatever spot you want," Cera said. "But together we need to make sure there's balance. Every spot should have some big threehorns, longnecks, spiketails or clubtails who can guard it. And hollowhorns, you guys should be spread out too to sound the alarm. If there's a problem, make as much noise as you can so everyone in the crater wakes up."

"Yes Hyp?" Littlefoot asked, for Hyp raised his hand.

"Well, sometimes me and my crew like to hang out at night," he smirked. "Maybe we can take a spot guarding the walls sometimes."

"Just remember that you guys remember to get to bed sometimes, yep yep yep," Ducky teased playfully.

Hyp huffed. "Just because you're bigger than me now doesn't mean you can use my song against me!"

"Well, I think it sounds good," Littlefoot smiled. "The halfteeth can probably use some support outside. And if you want to hang out there, you can go right ahead."

"We're doing this because we want to, remember?" Hyp smirked.

Littlefoot laughed. "No arguments there, Hyp."

"So let's get started," Cera said determinedly.

With that, many of the grownups began to disperse themselves around the crater's edge to claim sleeping spots. Couples, herds, and friends usually remained closely together, but there was nonetheless a good diversity at each spot, with bulky fourfooters sleeping near each entrance and the many long-crested, tall-crested, and round-crested hollowhorn elders picking spots a little less close to the edge but in resonant locations so they could issue their calls. Meanwhile, the halfteeth went up the paths and practiced running downhill in case of an emergency.

Once everyone was settled in a sleeping spot, Petrie took over the next part of the meeting. "Okay guys. Me gonna tell runners there danger. They run in and call for help. Then you guys practice responding."

Petrie waited a little while as everyone got into place for the drill as he watched the runners wait for a possible instruction. Eventually, he decided to go greet Ruby's parents' friends Wiley and Sander. "You two get help!" he said.

Wiley and Sander nodded, running into the crater at once and calling for help. At once, some some of Bron's herd and some of Mama Spiketail's charged forward to man the pathway, while Derlie and Walker Hollowhorn stationed nearby let out warning calls.

"That good!" Petrie said brightly. "We keep on practicing!"

So they did, Petrie intermittently going to check on different runners to get them ready for a drill. While the sudden calls to action were often clumsy at first in the closed quarters of the pathways, with the longnecks' tails being tripping hazards and the spiketails' spikes and threehorns' horns providing nasty surprises to anyone who bumped into them, the bumping into each other began to decrease with practice. Satisfied after several rounds of this, Petrie said in relief, "Me think we do good job and can rest. Yes Uncle?" Petrie asked, for Pterano raised his hand.

"Well, I think we flyers can handle the task of any enemy who gets in outside of those pathways," he suggested. "We are not constrained by having to walk …"

"Cut the ego, you," Topps snorted.

"Look who's talking," Pterano snarked back. "Anyway, we flyers can get to enemies who take a more dangerous route in, and can bombard them with all kinds of nasty surprises."

"Sound good to me," Petrie said.

"Same thing if we have to escape," Littlefoot said. "Like that time we had that fire in the Valley, we use the escape routes closest to us. That way, if something like that happens here, we'll all be able to get out safely."

There was a pause, as the rest of the gang looked at Chomper, knowing he had a lot to talk about.

"Uh, right," Chomper said nervously. "I better fill you guys in on what's going on with my sharptooth pack. There are two bigger sharpteeth I'm in charge of, a blue browridge named Lola and a green onehorn named Trace. They're both trying really hard, but they can only speak sharptooth and, uh, have big instinct problems, Trace with hatchlings and Lola with everyone. So be careful around their caves on the outer walls, Trace's is on the north side and Lola's on the south. They're gonna be well-fed however and boarded off at night, so we've got a lot of precautions in place. And I'm never gonna betray you guys, so if one of them tries to attack flatteeth, I'm gonna do what I have to do to keep everyone safe."

Chomper continued, "There's also an armored longneck named Star who was raised by a sharptooth. She and Lola are friends and she's trying to help Lola adjust. She's gonna be sharing Lola's cave, so don't panic if you see them together. And I've also got them doing guarding duty for us. I've told them if they smell anything suspicious to roar at me for help. Sharptooth sniffers catch things coming from a long way away, so they might be the first to know if Leigh or Goregie is coming."

Taking a more serious sigh, Chomper said, "There's also sharpteeth out there that have gotten into run-ins with my friends. I met two of them tonight. Fortunately, I got rid of one by feeding him and Lola scared the other one off. But be on the lookout in case they come back."

Tria sighed, shaking her head. "I've always suspected sharpteeth have grudges. And between the whole lot of us here, I bet that you and your friends aren't the only ones they have grudges against."

"Well, if they come too close, we'll be able to chase those big bullies away by all standing together," Sue laughed. "I could probably even squish one if they got too close."

"Chomperrrr?" his mother asked. "Weerrrrshourrrdbeerrrrrourrrt, Ourrrrsniffferrsmerrrrbarrrrdguyrrrs."

"But you guys are hurt," Chomper pointed out. "And you've got your big cave. You sure?"

"Yeahrrr, burrrttarrrherrrrpneeerrrded," Papa Sharptooth said.

"Prrease?"Mama Sharptooth asked.

Chomper thought about it, but remembering his mother's desire to further fit in with their Great Valley family, he understood completely. And besides, having their sniffers available to help sniff out bad guys would greatly reduce the possibility of a spy or unwelcome intruder sneaking in.

"All right," Chomper beamed. "Mom, how about you point your sniffer to the west and Dad, you to the east? That way, with Lola and Trace at south and north, we've got sharptooth sniffers pointed in all directions."

As everyone snickered, Littlefoot said, "So yeah, I guess that's it. Thanks everyone for coming, and good night."

"We will be seeing you tomorrow, yep yep yep!" Ducky said cheerfully.

"Yeah, and we're gonna get started growing more awesome tomorrow. So be up for it!" Cera said determinedly.

With that, the crowd dispersed, and everyone began to head over toward their sleeping spots.

---

With the Night Circle now high in the sky and the crater's scape long concealed in darkness, after the herd meeting, nearly everyone was looking forward to getting a good night's sleep and waking up for a big day tomorrow. It didn't take long for most of the herd's grownups to quickly fall asleep after the busy day they had getting here and setting up camp. But Ducky somehow just couldn't fall asleep, no matter how she tossed and turned. She felt like she still had something she needed to do but couldn't quite place what. Then it all came to her.

Quickly standing back up, she accidentally woke up Petrie in the process. Rubbing his eyes, Petrie groggily asked, "Something wrong Ducky? It no look like morning yet."

"Oh no no no," Ducky chuckled. "It is just … Well, I would like to check in on the hatchlings. To see if any of them need me."

"You sure you no bother them?" Petrie asked. "They probably asleep."

"I will be very quiet," Ducky explained, lifting her heels up so that she'd only be walking on her tiptoes and not make any stomping noise. "But I would feel better knowing they are having a good night's sleep, I would."

"Well then, me go with you," Petrie suggested.

"You do not have to," Ducky said kindly. "You can keep sleeping if you want, I will not be too long."

"Me kind of sleepy, but me wanna see they're okay too," Petrie smiled.

"Well, I will be happy to have you come along, yep yep yep," Ducky grinned as she hugged him.

So quietly, Ducky and Petrie strolled toward the little caves. Saro's storytime had long since ended and most of the hatchlings had retreated to their little bungalow-like caves for the night. Not far away from the cave entrances were the few kids who had chosen to sleep with their parents, and even closer to the cave's entrances were the twenty-five herd deputies, sprawled out in their slumbers and ready to respond in case any opportunistic hunters arrived. Thinking of how far they had come, Ducky tiptoed by them and began to check in on the caves. As she got real close to the first cave however, she could hear happy chattering from inside it. She couldn't help but pause in front of the cave to listen in …

"So yeah, we climbed Saurus Rock and came to the rescue!" giggled Dinah. "The best part was, getting to the top wasn't hard at all!"

"Yeah, we learned when Auntie Cera told us to get lost!" Dana smirked.

"You think we can do things like that too?" asked clubtail Hawthorn.

"That would be really cool," grinned boxhead Savannah.

"Staying up this late is really cool too," snickered spikethumb Brook. "Our old herds would never allow it."

Ducky smiled in amusement. Knowing all five of them were twelve-cold-time-olds, it seemed as though the preteens had a cave to themselves, and in preteen fashion found it really cool to be able to start staying up late. It seemed as though Dinah and Dana were getting along well with their similarly-aged new herdmates. Wondering if all the hatchlings chose to sleep together by age, she found that the next cave was far more silent. She paused to listen, and could only hear the faint chatter of the first cave in the distance at first. Then however, she heard the sounds of a few snores.

"It sounds like a sleeping cave," Ducky giggled.

"You think it okay if me go in and see who there?" Petrie asked.

"Okay, peeping Petrie," Ducky teased, remembering Brara's old nickname for him.

"Haha, you very funny," Petrie said dryly before wandering inside. "You right," he said as he made his way out. "It look like they the other preteens. Maybe they got talking caves and quiet caves for each age. So everyone who want to talk and want to sleep can."

"That is really thoughtful of them," Ducky smiled in surprise.

"That probably mean next cave gonna be really loud," Petrie grinned naughtily.

Sure enough, the next cave was quite boisterous, containing slightly younger voices, among them, Destiny and Ruby's twin siblings. Knowing the three of them were all eleven-cold-time olds, it seemed their theory that they were splitting up by age panned out.

"Me surprised your brother friends not there with them," Petrie snickered.

"Me too," Ducky giggled. "But I think it is good they are not all in one cave. This way, they can spread out and help the others feel like they belong too, yep yep yep."

"Me just hope it no spread trouble around," Petrie teased.

"I think it is a little too late for that," Ducky replied.

Both laughing, they then passed a second quiet cave before reaching the ten-cold-time-old cave, where Tricia, Cassia, Mono, Rachelle and Oplax where all among the hatchlings playfully babbling.

"You guys wanna hear the story about how Sis helped saved me when I was a baby?" Tricia asked enthusiastically.

"Yes, please!" answered longneck Chester.

"It's so cool knowing they were doing cool things when they were our age!" said hollowhorn Bramble.

"Before then," Cassia giggled. "They were five when they started."

The nine-cold-time old cave had Perri, Sam, and the increasingly frisky biter triplets taking part in the chitchat.

"Hey I know," laughed Sam. "Why don't we sing Hyp's song, but make it better?"

"But we're not bullies!" chuckled Perri.

"Nor, burt we'rre birg insirde, rike Hyp tord urs," Deya pointed out.

"Oh I get it," Perri snickered before singing, "When you're big you don't let big bullies push you 'round."

"They put you down but you just stand your ground," Sam sang as Ducky and Petrie had to stifle giggles.

When they got to the eight-cold-time-old chatting cave though, it was all quiet. Petrie quickly checked inside. "Nobody there. They know to get sleep."

Petrie was right, for in the next cave, they could hear plenty of snoring. "Just wait, they are going to want to stay up too pretty soon, they will," Ducky snickered as they both laughed.

The seven and six cold-time-olds all appeared to be sleeping too, judging by the numerous sleep rumbles they could hear inside. When they got to the five-cold-time-olds' cave however, they found it to be unnervingly quiet inside. Ducky and Petrie looked at each other.

"You think they there?" Petrie asked nervously.

"We're here, Mr. Petrie," came a quiet voice.

Then before they knew what was happening, the bunch of five-cold-time-olds came shuffling out of their cave, looking at Ducky and Petrie uneasily. "What do you want us to do, herd leaders?" asked bigmouth Sharon.

"Nothing guys," Ducky said kindly. "We were just making sure you guys were having a good night's sleep ... Not like the naughty older kids staying up late," she giggled.

"Oh …" sighed little threehorn Hayley. "We were having a good night's sleep."

"Then why you all come out when we here?" Petrie pointed out. "If you asleep, you no know we here."

Fennel, one of three round-crest triplets, trembled. "You're big herd leaders. You shouldn't worry 'bout us."

"As long as you're happy, then we're happy too," said little boxhead Pike unconvincingly.

Ducky looked concernedly at the five-time-colds, the youngest out of all the kids who had chosen to defect from their old herds and leave their families behind.

"But we cannot be happy until we do our best to make sure you are happy too," Ducky told them firmly.

"We are, really," said Kodi, another one of the triplets.

Ducky sighed. "I know you guys are trying to pretend nothing is wrong to make me happy. But I think you are trying to keep it all inside, and I know all about the problems with that." Ducky shook her head. "One time when I was little, I was mad at Spike. It was not for really big stuff, just silly things. I did not even completely understand that I was mad. But I let it boil up in me for too long, so when I finally decided to start expressing my feelings, I was really, really mad. Too mad, to the point that I started being mean to Spike and hurting his feelings."

"But … We're not mad," pointed out Hayley's nestmate Blossom.

"No," sighed Ducky. "But you are holding your feelings back. Which is what I did too before I let it all out in a bad way. Letting things out in a bad way does not make you feel better. But letting it gurgle away inside does not either, oh no no no."

There was another awkward silence.

"So I was thinking, maybe we should let go of our bad feelings together," Ducky sighed.

"Yeah, me and Ducky help you guys feel better too," Petrie smiled.

The little five-cold-time olds looked at each other before beginning to speak up.

"Are you sure this really isn't a big sleep story?" whispered little longneck Sage. "M … my old family never loved me. I'm worried I'm gonna wake up and it'll all be over."

"That remind me of when me reach Great Valley," Petrie chuckled. "Me hardly believe it real sometimes. But it real, and things only get better here. You want proof it real? You can give me a big hug."

Sage obliged as Petrie gave her a big hug.

Threehorn sisters Blossom and Hayley went next. "My family made me fight, even though I didn't want to," Blossom sighed.

"And when I tried standing up for her, Mom ordered my siblings to beat me up too," Hayley whispered. "You guys will really allow us to be ourselves?"

Petrie said kindly. "Everyone here can be whoever they wanna be. So long as they no hurt anyone else here."

"We really are a herd that is open to everyone, we are," Ducky smiled. "And that is not going to change, nope nope nope."

Hayley and Blossom nodded thankfully, then the hollowhorn triplets spoke up.

"Kodi, Fennel and I came from a family full of … Well, crazies," whispered Myrtle.

"They're gonna be really angry when they find out we play with not just hollowhorns," shuddered Fennel.

"Are they gonna come at us for revenge?" asked Kodi.

"You kids are under our care now," Ducky assured them. "Which means we will protect you. That is part of why we have these caves here, so you kids can go somewhere to hide in case your old herd comes."

"But if they do try hurting you, they gonna have to get through all us," Petrie smirked. "Not good idea."

"Since when did you sound like Cera?" Ducky teased.

"Since Cera not here," Petrie playfully retorted, causing all the hatchlings to laugh a little.

"I kinda miss my old family," swimmer Cade confessed. "Not all of them, and not what they think. But some of them are really nice. You think they might change and not listen to what our old herd says?"

"Well, most of us old-timers were born into a world where nobody befriended anyone of another kind. Even Littlefoot did not think he could befriend me at first. But well, we are friends, yep yep yep!" Ducky said brightly. "If us and our parents could change, maybe they might change too."

"Yeah, you should hear what Cera like when she five," Petrie said, shaking his head. "She sound like big bigot."

"Petrie, you do not want to what happens if you go talking about Cera behind her back, oh no no no," Ducky giggled.

Little whiptail Faith went next. "I … I'm scared of those whiptails kidnapping me," she shuddered. "If I get kidnapped, will you try and rescue me?"

Petrie nodded. "Oh yes. Fortunately, we have friendly sharpteeth on our side. They can track your scent long ways. Then it's just a matter of sneaking you away from them."

"Why should I be sneaked away?" she asked.

"So we can get you out of there safe and sound, and nobody would have to get hurt," Ducky said brightly. "But we will let nothing happen to any of you, oh no no no."

"Hey, me got idea … Me be right back," Petrie said abruptly.

Ducky was just as curious as to Petrie's spontaneous move as any of the hatchlings, but she couldn't help but grin when she saw what Petrie had returned with.

"When me little, me had something called a snuggling stick," Petrie explained. "Me worry a lot when going to sleep when little. It not that long since me live in Mysterious Beyond back then, so me still had lots of bad memories. But snuggling with stick made me feel all cozy, and much easier to sleep. You can try if you want! And know that Petrie always there for you."

Most of the kids took a stick from Petrie gratefully, looking a lot better now that they have aired a lot of their concerns out. Then hollowhorn Olivia, one of Leigh's old herdmates, piped up with a question.

"Do you … Would you mind sleeping with us?" asked little hollowhorn Olivia. "We … We'd feel safer sleeping with you."

"Oh, okay." Ducky smiled.

So with that, Ducky and Petrie settled into the little five-cold-time old cave. It was a really tight fit for the two grownups, but they nonetheless quickly curled up together and let the little ones curl up around them. It was just a matter of time before Ducky and Petrie began to hear the pleasurable little sleep rumbles and realized their efforts had succeeded.

"It feel good helping them," Petrie smiled.

"Yep yep yep," said Ducky. "Night Petrie."

"Goodnight," Petrie chuckled as he gave Ducky a quick lick on the cheek, to which she giggled.

With that, they too fell asleep, as eager as anyone else to see what the next day would bring for them.