Post by Chomper on Apr 10, 2015 1:22:16 GMT 8
Littlefoot came across Sharptooth eggs. He knew what they would grow into when they got older: Leaf Eater killers. He'd already made that mistake with Chomper, not believing he could kill a Leaf Eater. But he'd been wrong. He had a thought cross his mind: crush them!
Meanwhile, in the Land of Mists, Chomper was alone. Dil, Ichy, Andromeda, Guido, and Guido's girlfriend were all together. He knew that they all were worried about him. The Combined Pack wasn't the only group worried about him. He was also very worried about himself.
The dying form of the Old One went across his mind. It haunted him, what he'd done. Silver Claw said You knew boy that it was only a matter of time. That this day would come. Now accept what the Circle of Life has set before you! "But, I don't want that. I want something else." said Chomper out loud to himself. You must hunt. You were born that way. You can't change it. said Silver Claw. "I can always change what I hunt. I'm in control of my life. Nobody else." said Chomper out loud.
His stomach growled. He'd eaten very poorly while being on the run. His appetite had gone up with all of the stress being put upon him. Being on the run and being married sure drained one's appetite. Plus, he now led a pack, albeit a small one. He now had leadership responsibilities.
He saw a duckbill nearby. He didn't see Chomper. An idea crossed Chomper's head. He grimaced at the thought of what his mind was telling him. What did the creature do to me? Chomper thought. You need to eat. You are not committing evil if you do this. said Silver Claw.
Meanwhile, Littlefoot stared at the Sharptooth eggs. The urge to crush them was strong. They would be his enemies someday. He'd already gotten himself banished for sticking up for Sharpteeth. No Ali. No hope for his herd. The only thing he seemed to have that seemed to give him hope was that he could catch the mysterious Terror of the Mysterious Beyond and set things right.
Sharpteeth had to hunt. They had to take lives. He, as a Leaf Eater, didn't. Yet, he'd already done so, out of necessity, of course. Leaf Eaters killed Sharpteeth all the time. They had families to protect after all. Would crushing these eggs be murder or a justified act to protect Leaf Eaters?
Meanwhile, Chomper's mouth began to water as he stared at the Flattooth. He knew that he had liked the taste of Flattooth meat. His mother and father had hunted Flatteeth many times. It couldn't be wrong if he did it too, could it? In this mist, he could easily win.
He'd already killed a Flatttooth before after all, albeit by mistake. This time it would be deliberate, but still, it would be of necessity, wouldn't it?
He moved silently toward the duckbill, his hunger starting to control his mind. He really hoped he could get this over with without being noticed. He didn't think he could go through with it if the duckbill started to beg for his life. He paused. I can't be doing this. Why am I doing this? he thought. Remember what the Longneck that you once thought was your friend said. said Silver Claw smugly.
"Fine, go be a Sharptooth then! It's what you're best at!" The voice came through his head. The Flattooth that he thought was his best friend in the whole world and who hadn't understood that he hadn't meant to kill the Old One, that, if he could have had his way, he'd have died in her place, just as he'd have, if he could have, died in Arianna's place. It seemed that Littlefoot would no longer be his friend. He couldn't count on him wanting to remain friends after this. Even Ruby had turned on him. He'd had to leave the Valley of Sharpteeth too.
What if Littlefoot was right. What if this was what he was meant to do? What would he prove by continuing to resist it? He decided to follow Littlefoot's advice. It looked like it would be the end of Chomper and he'd be Silver Claw forever.
The duckbill saw him as he got near. "Sharptooth!" he yelled. The creature ran. Chomper hotly pursued. Eventually, Chomper was able to corner him. Chomper felt elated. He could soon have a meal, a filling meal.
The duckbill turned around and stared at Chomper. Chomper could see the fear in his eyes. Chomper licked his lips, imagining what the duckbill might taste like. Chomper was at a threshold in his life. If he crossed it, he could never take it back and very likely could never go back at all.
The duckbill moved backward, fear in his eyes. Chomper gazed at him. His red eyes stared at the Flattooth, or was it the animal? That was how Dil and Ichy had gotten over it. But could he call those he always viewed as his equals, his friends, animals, merely to justify eating them?
The duckbill tried to climb a tree. He wasn't a good climber but, facing what seemed certain death if he stayed on the ground, he went up. Silver Claw was controlling Chomper now. SNAP! Chomper bit right underneath him. The duckbill gasped in alarm. He climbed higher. Chomper struck the tree above the duckbill. A branch fell, taking the duckbill to the ground. The branch pinned the duckbill down. Chomper moved over him. Very good, boy. You've caught your dinner. said Silver Claw approvingly to him.
With quick maneuvering, he seized the duckbill. He lifted him into the air. The duckbill began to scream. "NO! Please! I don't want to die!" he cried. And I want to be healthy enough to be with my wife and others. We can't both have what we want, now can we? I've given so much for many cold times. When is it going to be my turn to get what I want? Chomper thought.
The duckbill looked up into his red eyes. He saw sorrow, but he also saw hunger. The duckbill wondered if this was the face of death itself. He had a beautiful wife and two children. What would they say when he didn't come home? Did this Sharptooth care or did he just care about getting meals? He wasn't afraid of what would come after death, but he knew his poor family would be so devastated by his end. He looked at Chomper with strong hatred.
"YOU EVIL CREATURE! YOU AND YOUR KIND ARE A BLIGHT UPON THE EARTH! YOU HAVE NO VALUE EXCEPT TO PICK US OFF!" shouted the duckbill angrily at him. No value? I've been kind to many. However, these teeth of mine weren't made to eat leaves like yours can. Do you think that, if I could eat leaves, I'd be doing this? Chomper thought angrily.
Chomper's stomach growled. He moved the duckbill against a wall and held him there. The duckbill squirmed, fighting to get away. However, Chomper was very strong. With a strong push, he knocked the wind right out of the duckbill.
Chomper had taken lives before, many times. It was, after all, the curse one had of being born only able to eat meat. However, he felt pity for the poor duckbill before him. The creature had green eyes and had a kind face. It wasn't like he was a wicked creature whom the world would be better without.
Littlefoot, meanwhile, stared at the cute speckles on the eggs. "It's hard to believe that something so cute could grow to be so deadly." he said aloud. He knew that they could kill someone's mother. Or someone's great-great aunt. He moved forward, feeling that maybe he should do this. That he had to. That it was part of the Circle of Life. On the other hand, if he did this, he could never take it back.
Perhaps this is part of the Circle of Life. Flatteeth die. I live. Chomper thought. "Oh my poor wife! How will she take this? My poor children, what will they do without their father?" said the duckbill, starting to cry. Chomper felt a pang of sorrow. He recalled Ruby and how she had cowered before him, expecting him to take away her future: her future family. He recalled Littlefoot, who had had to grow up without his mother. Poor Petrie, who had lost his father to Sharpteeth. And now, he thought of poor Ali, who had lost her great-great aunt to none other than himself. He had always believed that doing something like this, at least on purpose, was wrong, at least for him. He had come to accept that it was fine for other Sharpteeth to do it, yet, he had never included himself among that group.
Yet, now it wasn't so clear cut anymore. If he was hungry all the time now, what kind of husband could he be to his beloved Andromeda? What kind of leader would he be to the Combined Pack? Also, as he thought of his own future, he wondered what kind of father would he be. Future generations of Sharpteeth would be affected by what he did right now at this moment.
He imagined a young purple son talking to Andromeda. "I want to be with Daddy!" he said, pulling on Andromeda. "Daddy is ill." said Andromeda to her son. "Why?" asked his imaginary son. "Because, he won't hunt Flatteeth. He's always hungry. I'm sorry your father is ill so often." said Andromeda. His imaginary son wept. His wife came to him and looked at him, sorrowfully. "Chomper, I hate to see you like this. Why can't you hunt Flatteeth? Do it for your boy!" she said. She too was crying.
Chomper's mind returned to the present. Could he do that to a future child: put his own selfish desire to not hunt Flatteeth ahead of what he needed to be as a father? After all, his family should be his top priority, in spite of what that might mean for Flatteeth. He turned to stare at the duckbill. He needed to do some serious thinking. If he acted to kill, it would be permanent: the creature would be dead and could not come back.
If he acted, a duckbill family would be devastated. If he didn't, on the other hand, a Sharptooth family, his to be exact, would be having the father and husband, him, not around as much as was his duty. It seemed that nature had placed a sickening choice before him where neither route would avoid pain. What choice would he make?
Littlefoot, meanwhile, had his foot raised, ready to crush the eggs. He halted. It didn't seem right. They hadn't attacked him yet after all. He moved away. Killing them like this wasn't him.
He turned and gasped. "Mother?" he said, staring at the shadow he saw on the canyon wall. It moved closer. It looked like his mother. But she was dead. "Who's there?" he said. It wasn't his mother. It was somebody else. Somebody he never thought he'd see again: Ali! His heart leapt. There was hope for his herd yet!
"Ali!" he said. "Oh Littlefoot!" she said. She ran to him and the two kissed. They put their necks around each other in an embrace. "We are here too. We are. We are." said Ducky. The others had come. He felt so glad. "I've got to get the Terror of the Mysterious Beyond by dawn on my Star Day. Or else the world is doomed." he said. They gasped.
Meanwhile, Chomper stood there, his claws raised. One swipe, and it would be over. The Flattooth had shut his eyes. Chomper knew that it wasn't murder to kill to eat. "I hope you won't hate me if I do this. After all, I do need food too." said Chomper.
The duckbill gasped. "You can talk?!" he said incredulously. "Yes, I learned Leaf Eater." said Chomper. The duckbill said "I cannot imagine what it must be like to have to kill to eat. I have mixed feelings on this." said the duckbill. "So do I." said Chomper. "As for hating you if you do this, I doubt I'll be doing much of anything if you do it." said the duckbill. Chomper chuckled. The duckbill had a sense of humor. "If this was just me, I'd forgive you easily. But, oh, my poor family." said the duckbill, tears dripping from his eyes.
Now was the moment. He moved forward, poised to kill. The duckbill cowered.
Tears dripped from Chomper's eyes. "Why did I have to be born a Sharptooth? Why?" he wailed. Do it! Silver Claw said angrily. I can't. he thought. You are a Sharptooth. This is what you were born to do. Now do it! said Silver Claw. I decide what path I take. thought Chomper. In time it won't hurt you anymore. Best to start now. said Silver Claw.
He couldn't do it. Not now. He still hoped to be friends with Flatteeth. There had to be something else he could hunt. Something, deep within him, told him there was.
"Go home to your family. I'm going to spare you. I cannot do this to your family. I'll find something else to eat." said Chomper. He freed the duckbill, who, obviously expecting to die, was shocked that he was given another chance at life. The duckbill moved away past him. Chomper heard him mutter "Thank you." as he moved away. At last, he had been thanked! At last, the Leaf Eaters appreciated what he had done for them. But now, was it still too late? He didn't know.
As he headed back to the others and saw them, he saw it: Egg Stealers, Domeheads, evil Flyers, and Bothteeth were coming after them. "Kill them!" yelled a Domehead. It looked like he might be getting a meal after all. That is, if they survived.
Meanwhile, in the Land of Mists, Chomper was alone. Dil, Ichy, Andromeda, Guido, and Guido's girlfriend were all together. He knew that they all were worried about him. The Combined Pack wasn't the only group worried about him. He was also very worried about himself.
The dying form of the Old One went across his mind. It haunted him, what he'd done. Silver Claw said You knew boy that it was only a matter of time. That this day would come. Now accept what the Circle of Life has set before you! "But, I don't want that. I want something else." said Chomper out loud to himself. You must hunt. You were born that way. You can't change it. said Silver Claw. "I can always change what I hunt. I'm in control of my life. Nobody else." said Chomper out loud.
His stomach growled. He'd eaten very poorly while being on the run. His appetite had gone up with all of the stress being put upon him. Being on the run and being married sure drained one's appetite. Plus, he now led a pack, albeit a small one. He now had leadership responsibilities.
He saw a duckbill nearby. He didn't see Chomper. An idea crossed Chomper's head. He grimaced at the thought of what his mind was telling him. What did the creature do to me? Chomper thought. You need to eat. You are not committing evil if you do this. said Silver Claw.
Meanwhile, Littlefoot stared at the Sharptooth eggs. The urge to crush them was strong. They would be his enemies someday. He'd already gotten himself banished for sticking up for Sharpteeth. No Ali. No hope for his herd. The only thing he seemed to have that seemed to give him hope was that he could catch the mysterious Terror of the Mysterious Beyond and set things right.
Sharpteeth had to hunt. They had to take lives. He, as a Leaf Eater, didn't. Yet, he'd already done so, out of necessity, of course. Leaf Eaters killed Sharpteeth all the time. They had families to protect after all. Would crushing these eggs be murder or a justified act to protect Leaf Eaters?
Meanwhile, Chomper's mouth began to water as he stared at the Flattooth. He knew that he had liked the taste of Flattooth meat. His mother and father had hunted Flatteeth many times. It couldn't be wrong if he did it too, could it? In this mist, he could easily win.
He'd already killed a Flatttooth before after all, albeit by mistake. This time it would be deliberate, but still, it would be of necessity, wouldn't it?
He moved silently toward the duckbill, his hunger starting to control his mind. He really hoped he could get this over with without being noticed. He didn't think he could go through with it if the duckbill started to beg for his life. He paused. I can't be doing this. Why am I doing this? he thought. Remember what the Longneck that you once thought was your friend said. said Silver Claw smugly.
"Fine, go be a Sharptooth then! It's what you're best at!" The voice came through his head. The Flattooth that he thought was his best friend in the whole world and who hadn't understood that he hadn't meant to kill the Old One, that, if he could have had his way, he'd have died in her place, just as he'd have, if he could have, died in Arianna's place. It seemed that Littlefoot would no longer be his friend. He couldn't count on him wanting to remain friends after this. Even Ruby had turned on him. He'd had to leave the Valley of Sharpteeth too.
What if Littlefoot was right. What if this was what he was meant to do? What would he prove by continuing to resist it? He decided to follow Littlefoot's advice. It looked like it would be the end of Chomper and he'd be Silver Claw forever.
The duckbill saw him as he got near. "Sharptooth!" he yelled. The creature ran. Chomper hotly pursued. Eventually, Chomper was able to corner him. Chomper felt elated. He could soon have a meal, a filling meal.
The duckbill turned around and stared at Chomper. Chomper could see the fear in his eyes. Chomper licked his lips, imagining what the duckbill might taste like. Chomper was at a threshold in his life. If he crossed it, he could never take it back and very likely could never go back at all.
The duckbill moved backward, fear in his eyes. Chomper gazed at him. His red eyes stared at the Flattooth, or was it the animal? That was how Dil and Ichy had gotten over it. But could he call those he always viewed as his equals, his friends, animals, merely to justify eating them?
The duckbill tried to climb a tree. He wasn't a good climber but, facing what seemed certain death if he stayed on the ground, he went up. Silver Claw was controlling Chomper now. SNAP! Chomper bit right underneath him. The duckbill gasped in alarm. He climbed higher. Chomper struck the tree above the duckbill. A branch fell, taking the duckbill to the ground. The branch pinned the duckbill down. Chomper moved over him. Very good, boy. You've caught your dinner. said Silver Claw approvingly to him.
With quick maneuvering, he seized the duckbill. He lifted him into the air. The duckbill began to scream. "NO! Please! I don't want to die!" he cried. And I want to be healthy enough to be with my wife and others. We can't both have what we want, now can we? I've given so much for many cold times. When is it going to be my turn to get what I want? Chomper thought.
The duckbill looked up into his red eyes. He saw sorrow, but he also saw hunger. The duckbill wondered if this was the face of death itself. He had a beautiful wife and two children. What would they say when he didn't come home? Did this Sharptooth care or did he just care about getting meals? He wasn't afraid of what would come after death, but he knew his poor family would be so devastated by his end. He looked at Chomper with strong hatred.
"YOU EVIL CREATURE! YOU AND YOUR KIND ARE A BLIGHT UPON THE EARTH! YOU HAVE NO VALUE EXCEPT TO PICK US OFF!" shouted the duckbill angrily at him. No value? I've been kind to many. However, these teeth of mine weren't made to eat leaves like yours can. Do you think that, if I could eat leaves, I'd be doing this? Chomper thought angrily.
Chomper's stomach growled. He moved the duckbill against a wall and held him there. The duckbill squirmed, fighting to get away. However, Chomper was very strong. With a strong push, he knocked the wind right out of the duckbill.
Chomper had taken lives before, many times. It was, after all, the curse one had of being born only able to eat meat. However, he felt pity for the poor duckbill before him. The creature had green eyes and had a kind face. It wasn't like he was a wicked creature whom the world would be better without.
Littlefoot, meanwhile, stared at the cute speckles on the eggs. "It's hard to believe that something so cute could grow to be so deadly." he said aloud. He knew that they could kill someone's mother. Or someone's great-great aunt. He moved forward, feeling that maybe he should do this. That he had to. That it was part of the Circle of Life. On the other hand, if he did this, he could never take it back.
Perhaps this is part of the Circle of Life. Flatteeth die. I live. Chomper thought. "Oh my poor wife! How will she take this? My poor children, what will they do without their father?" said the duckbill, starting to cry. Chomper felt a pang of sorrow. He recalled Ruby and how she had cowered before him, expecting him to take away her future: her future family. He recalled Littlefoot, who had had to grow up without his mother. Poor Petrie, who had lost his father to Sharpteeth. And now, he thought of poor Ali, who had lost her great-great aunt to none other than himself. He had always believed that doing something like this, at least on purpose, was wrong, at least for him. He had come to accept that it was fine for other Sharpteeth to do it, yet, he had never included himself among that group.
Yet, now it wasn't so clear cut anymore. If he was hungry all the time now, what kind of husband could he be to his beloved Andromeda? What kind of leader would he be to the Combined Pack? Also, as he thought of his own future, he wondered what kind of father would he be. Future generations of Sharpteeth would be affected by what he did right now at this moment.
He imagined a young purple son talking to Andromeda. "I want to be with Daddy!" he said, pulling on Andromeda. "Daddy is ill." said Andromeda to her son. "Why?" asked his imaginary son. "Because, he won't hunt Flatteeth. He's always hungry. I'm sorry your father is ill so often." said Andromeda. His imaginary son wept. His wife came to him and looked at him, sorrowfully. "Chomper, I hate to see you like this. Why can't you hunt Flatteeth? Do it for your boy!" she said. She too was crying.
Chomper's mind returned to the present. Could he do that to a future child: put his own selfish desire to not hunt Flatteeth ahead of what he needed to be as a father? After all, his family should be his top priority, in spite of what that might mean for Flatteeth. He turned to stare at the duckbill. He needed to do some serious thinking. If he acted to kill, it would be permanent: the creature would be dead and could not come back.
If he acted, a duckbill family would be devastated. If he didn't, on the other hand, a Sharptooth family, his to be exact, would be having the father and husband, him, not around as much as was his duty. It seemed that nature had placed a sickening choice before him where neither route would avoid pain. What choice would he make?
Littlefoot, meanwhile, had his foot raised, ready to crush the eggs. He halted. It didn't seem right. They hadn't attacked him yet after all. He moved away. Killing them like this wasn't him.
He turned and gasped. "Mother?" he said, staring at the shadow he saw on the canyon wall. It moved closer. It looked like his mother. But she was dead. "Who's there?" he said. It wasn't his mother. It was somebody else. Somebody he never thought he'd see again: Ali! His heart leapt. There was hope for his herd yet!
"Ali!" he said. "Oh Littlefoot!" she said. She ran to him and the two kissed. They put their necks around each other in an embrace. "We are here too. We are. We are." said Ducky. The others had come. He felt so glad. "I've got to get the Terror of the Mysterious Beyond by dawn on my Star Day. Or else the world is doomed." he said. They gasped.
Meanwhile, Chomper stood there, his claws raised. One swipe, and it would be over. The Flattooth had shut his eyes. Chomper knew that it wasn't murder to kill to eat. "I hope you won't hate me if I do this. After all, I do need food too." said Chomper.
The duckbill gasped. "You can talk?!" he said incredulously. "Yes, I learned Leaf Eater." said Chomper. The duckbill said "I cannot imagine what it must be like to have to kill to eat. I have mixed feelings on this." said the duckbill. "So do I." said Chomper. "As for hating you if you do this, I doubt I'll be doing much of anything if you do it." said the duckbill. Chomper chuckled. The duckbill had a sense of humor. "If this was just me, I'd forgive you easily. But, oh, my poor family." said the duckbill, tears dripping from his eyes.
Now was the moment. He moved forward, poised to kill. The duckbill cowered.
Tears dripped from Chomper's eyes. "Why did I have to be born a Sharptooth? Why?" he wailed. Do it! Silver Claw said angrily. I can't. he thought. You are a Sharptooth. This is what you were born to do. Now do it! said Silver Claw. I decide what path I take. thought Chomper. In time it won't hurt you anymore. Best to start now. said Silver Claw.
He couldn't do it. Not now. He still hoped to be friends with Flatteeth. There had to be something else he could hunt. Something, deep within him, told him there was.
"Go home to your family. I'm going to spare you. I cannot do this to your family. I'll find something else to eat." said Chomper. He freed the duckbill, who, obviously expecting to die, was shocked that he was given another chance at life. The duckbill moved away past him. Chomper heard him mutter "Thank you." as he moved away. At last, he had been thanked! At last, the Leaf Eaters appreciated what he had done for them. But now, was it still too late? He didn't know.
As he headed back to the others and saw them, he saw it: Egg Stealers, Domeheads, evil Flyers, and Bothteeth were coming after them. "Kill them!" yelled a Domehead. It looked like he might be getting a meal after all. That is, if they survived.