The Prehistoric Herd: An Ice Age Tale

Chapter Seven

             "You calling me a liar?"~Diego            

                                                                                     20 010 Years Ago
                                                                                  The Ice Age

The sound of rushing water and the brightness of the sun surrounding the animals began to disappear as the four species stared at each with mixture expressions. Clouds in the sky moved to block the sun, letting the once baby blue color fade into a navy.

The saber was positioned on the ledge and in the shadows, ready to pounce if someone decided to grab the human child hanging from his jaws. 

He silently stared at the trio, his emerald eyes scanning each one and making sure none had the intention of moving from their place. He glanced at the big mammoth in front of him before his eyes drifted over to (Y/N)'s. His eye widened with shock upon seeing another human, which caused him to become momentarily distracted.

Seeing an opportunity, Manny leaped forward, thrusting his trunk towards the distracted tiger and grabbing the baby from his sharp fangs.

He brought the child towards his furry face and took a step back as the saber reacted quickly, letting out a roar as he tried to claw at the mammoth with his orange paw, attempting to scare him.

Manny let out a roar in return, passing the baby to (Y/N) who had run beside him for cover.

The saber let out another roar of his own, but seeing as it still did not faze the mammoth, he retreated quickly. He leaned back and cleared his throat before meekly pointing at the child in (Y/N)'s arms, cowering against her scarf.

"Um, that pink thing is mine."

Sid, who had been making his way down the water fall, turned to face the saber and bravely replied, "Um, no, actually, that pink thing belongs to us."

Unfortunately, he couldn't grip an edge in time, and clumsily fell down the landscape, bumping his head a few times on various rocks before landing face first on the ground.

The tiger raised a brow, "Us? You three are an odd family."

Manny took a step forward, "There is no us. Only an us." He pointed his trunk at himself and (Y/N), who was still cowering beside him for protection.

The tiger still remained confused, "I see, you're not happy with one, so you adopt another."

(Y/N) came forward and looked between the tiger and her friend, confusion swirling in her (E/C) eyes, "Pardon?"

Sid walked around Manny and moved towards (Y/N), carefully taking the baby out of her arms.

He started walking backward, shielding the baby from the hungry animal, "Look, sorry to interrupt your snack, but we got to go."

The saber began to step down from the ledge, an impatient look on his face as he stepped into the light. "The baby, please. I'm returning him to his herd."

Sid rolled his eyes, proceeding to walk away. "Oh yeah. Nice try, Bucktooth."

The saber's emerald eyes began to glow as he jumped onto a ledge beside Sid, leaning down so they were face to face, the orange fur on his neck sticking up. "You calling me a liar."

Sid leaned his head back, scared of the tiger, "I didn't say that." He said sheepishly.

The saber leaned closer, narrowing his eyes further, "You were thinking it."

Sid glanced beside him, his eyes looking towards (Y/N) for help. He leaned to his left using his hand to shield his face as he whispered to his friends, "I don't like this cat. He reads minds."

The saber straightened himself up before introducing himself to the group, "Name's Diego, friends."

Manny suspiciously looked at Diego before reluctantly giving him and his friend's name, "Manfred, and that's (Y/N). And we're not your friends."

Diego stared at the two firmly, "Fine Manfred and (Y/N)." He swiftly looked at the girl beside the mammoth before returning his gaze on Manny again. "If you're looking for the humans, it's a waste of time. They left this morning."

Manny glanced at (Y/N) with an 'I-Told-You-So' face, smirking as she rolled her eyes and looked away, focusing her eyes on the pink colored forest behind them.

His expression turned stern as he looked back at Diego, "Thanks for the advice, now beat it."

(Y/N) turned back to watch the exchange, anxious to see what would happen.

Manny turned towards (Y/N) and Sid beside him, speaking in a low voice, "Alright, I'll help you bring it to it's herd. " He directed his next statement at Sid, "But promise me you'll leave us alone after that."

The three began walking the opposite way, looking for a different way up the large waterfall.

"Manny! Either you help both of us, or you don't come at all."

"Yeah, what's your problem?"

"You are my problem."

Thud

(Y/N), who was walking on Manny's right, gave him a gentle smack on his back. 

The mammoth looked down at the little girl, rolling his eye and mouthed, 'He asked.' but (Y/N) just shook her head, giving him a look.

Sid continued his hypotheses, clueless to the private conversation happening between his new friends. "Well, I think you stressed, and that's why you eat so much. I mean, It's hard to get fat on a vegan diet."

Manny broke eye contact with (Y/N) catching the playful warning look she sent him before she faced forward again, shaking her head with a faint smile on her lips, silently laughing at the mammoth's attitude.

Manny switched his gaze on Sid.

"I'm not fat. It's all the fur. It makes me look poufy."

"All right."

"That's not a bad thing."

(Y/N) turned to looked at Manny with a small smile tinting her (S/C) skin, knowing he got insecure about his size. Manny looked down at the girl, confused, "I thought you were mad at me?"

"But, you agreed to help none-the-less. So, I forgive you."

The mammoth gave a girl a little smile, using his trunk to pat her head, amused on how fast her emotions could change but grateful for her act of compassion.

"Yeah. Listen, you have fat hair, but when you're ready to talk, we're here."

"Sid."

"Sorry."

The three animals were so focused on their conversation that they didn't see the baby mocking the saber, sticking his tongue over Sid's shoulder.

Diego angrily stared at the human child, his purely white fangs bared with anger before he took a deep breath and backed away, turning back around to where he originally came from.

".............We'll see who gets there first.............."