Reply To: The Land Before Time XVII: The Threehorn Gathering
CHAPTER ONE: THE RETURN OF TRYUS
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Cera ran along with Littlefoot. Both of them had something in common, as much as she thought that Threehorns and Longnecks were still pretty different. They both had lost their mothers. She had actually seen the attack on Littlefoot’s mother. She hadn’t been there when his mother had died. She hadn’t been there when her own mother had died. She assumed that her mother and most of her siblings had been killed by those pesky Sharpteeth. It had been her and her dad for a while, with occasionally her sister Olivia visiting with her kids Dana and Dinah. Dana and Dinah had been a royal pain in the tush, but, now as they were getting older, they were more tolerable.
Cera had been most reluctant to allow Tria to marry her father. However, in the end she had given in. Cera now had a cute half-sister named Tricia who seemed to sometimes get all the attention of her dad and stepmother. Still, Cera loved Tricia. Tricia had learned quite a few words. Cera had been teaching her to smash rocks with her head. Tricia liked to do this, though sometimes she hurt herself.
Cera had never seen her grandfather Tryus since she was little. She knew that her grandmother had died during the Leaf Famine. She knew there was some kind of trouble between her dad and her grandfather. She didn’t know what though, and Topps absolutely refused to talk about it. He apparently hadn’t told Tria either, or else Tria had agreed to keep it a secret, for naturally she had asked Tria if she had known.
Cera acted all brave and tough. However, she could be afraid. It had happened from trauma in her life. First of all, her Grandmother’s death had been hard. Worse still, had been Sharptooth’s attack on Littlefoot’s mother right in front of them. And then, of course, she had heard from her dad that her mother, Cerata, had died along with most of her siblings. Indeed, she was the only one of her hatch group left.
She had acted all tough as a coping mechanism for all she had been through. She was afraid to shown a sign of weakness. She had to keep up her facade and always not walk away from a fight. It was the only way. Her dad, and even grandpa Tryus, had told her that you always have to be tough and not back down from a fight. You always have to keep brave. She assumed it was the proper thing to do for being a Threehorn, yet Tria and Tricia didn’t seem to be that way. Some Threehorns were bull-headed too, though none, except Grandpa Tryus, like her dad. She knew that something had to have bothered him in his childhood, but she didn’t know what it was. And it seemed that her dad was as likely to say Longnecks were better than Threehorns as to tell her or the others in his family about it. She knew that Tria had to have known, but her dad must have gotten Tria to keep silent too.
She had no idea still how Tria had even known her father. And, as her dad was all hush hush on his past, she wasn’t likely to find out. It really saddened her.
“Look Cera! Farwalkers coming!” said Petrie. Indeed it was true. A group of Threehorns were coming. Threehorns often didn’t come to the Great Valley. They tended to be more pro-herd separation and hence found the Combined Herd of the Great Valley to be wrong.
“Look Cera, there’s some of your own kind.” said Littlefoot. Cera went to go look with the others.
She gasped as she saw one of them. “Who is it?” Ducky asked.
“It’s my Grandpa Tryus!” she said.
Tryus was wrinkly, but still around. He was as tough as ever. And he didn’t look happy. He approached Cera and the others.
“Is that my granddaughter Cera? And playing with Longnecks, Spiketails, Swimmers, and Flyers too! Disgraceful! I can’t believe it!” he said in disgust. The others gasped as he said this. Cera turned bright red with embarrassment. Her dad may have been a bit on the prejudiced side. Her grandfather was far worse.
“Threehorns don’t play with Longnecks, Spiketails, Swimminers, or Flyers! Get away from her!” snapped Tryus at Littlefoot.
“Mr. Threehorn used to be like that, but now he’s gotten better.” Littlefoot said.
“Used to? We’ll see about that!” snapped Tryus.
“Stop it Grandpa, you’re embarrassing me!” grumbled Cera.
“You should be embarrassed for playing with Flatheads and Big Mouths!” snapped Tryus. Cera shook her head. This really irked Tryus.
“I’ll have to talk to that son of mine! This is totally unacceptable! TOPPS! TOPPS!” he called out. Topps came forward. Cera saw something strange in him. Something she had never seen in her father before. He was afraid!
Topps was hesitant. “Get over here Topsy!” said Topps’s father.
“Dad, don’t call me that. I let Tria call me that but it was my childhood name.” said Topps, turning bright red.
“I don’t care! I’ll call you more than that. How dare you let your daughter play with other kinds!” said Tryus, fuming.
