Ice Age: The Next Generation

Kittens and Pups and Weasels! Oh My!

Authors note: So at the end of Collision Course, I left with Shira and Diego have three kittens and Sassy being pregnant. In Ice Age: Christmas, Sassy is a couple days from delivery, so I'm setting this right after Ice Age: Christmas. If you haven't read those first I recommend doing so. Also the picture above is Sassy and Denali! In all the chapters I'll be including pictures of the wolf pups in real life. I'll announce who each character is at the beginning. And all the pictures will be the pups when they are grown.

Disclaimer: All Ice Age rights belong to Blue Sky and the other characters in this book, such as the kittens and all the wolves and a few others are my OCs.

       "Daddy, is Aunt Sassy going to be ok?" Rose asked her father, Diego. The entire herd was waiting on pins and needles for word about Sassy. Shira was currently inside the cave, trying to help the wolf through the birthing process while her mate, Denali, paced back and forth, worry etched across his features. Rose, Rocky and Chase, the three kittens that Shira had given birth to over 2 months ago were huddled around their father. Diego nuzzled his daughter in comfort.
       "Your Aunt is as tough as they come. She'll be just fine." But even as the saber said this, he tried to keep the worry out of his voice. Sassy had been his best friend ever since the herd began with them, Manny and Sid.
        "I'm sure she's handling it better than I did." Ellie commented and Diego winced. Watching Ellie go through labor to deliver Peaches had not been pretty. He fervently hoped it was going better for Sassy. Shira came out of the cave and everyone leapt to their feet, Denali at the forefront, nearly pouncing on Shira for information. The sabress smiled at the male.
       "Sassy is just fine Denali, and there are a couple of little pups that want to meet you." Denali's face lit up and he hurried inside. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as Shira came over to nuzzle her mate.
       "How many?" Diego asked.
       "Five, all healthy and perfect." Everyone awwed and Sid wiped a tear from his eye while holding onto Brooke's paw. Back in the cave, Denali stared down in wonder at the five little figures suckling blindly from their mother. They were his, his pups. He looked at Sassy and saw tears running down her cheeks. He whined and pressed his forehead to hers, silently asking what was wrong.
        "I was so scared they wouldn't make it...," Sassy barely whispered, her eyes clenched shut. Denali licked her ears in comfort, knowing she was remembering when she'd had a miscarriage of her first litter, when a monster of a wolf named Lone Star had taken advantage of her. But it didn't last long. The tears slowed and joy filled Sassy's eyes at seeing her pups. She licked them all clean and then gazed up at Denali, who was still staring down at them in wonder. "Three girls and two boys. It's naming time." Denali chuckled and laid down in front of Sassy, their bodies forming a protective circle around the pups.
       "Well we both really liked Rorik and Haken. Are those still alright with you?" Sassy smiled and nodded. All the names, especially Rorik, she loved.
       "And then Freya, Laila and Ylva for the girls?" Denali chuckled again.
       "Wanting to name one of our girls Ylva is a very interesting irony, Saskia." Sassy smirked.
       "So it means female wolf. Big deal it's a beautiful name." Denali knew there was no point in arguing with her so he merely smiled and licked her forehead.
      "They're all perfect." Sassy murmured her agreement, a blissful smile on her maw.
        "I wanna see!!"
        "Me first!!!"
        "Hey I'm the oldest!!"
        "All three of you get back here now!!" Diego hollered and chased his cubs into the cave. Shira quickly followed but the kittens made it there first, jumping on Denali's back and looking down at the wolf pups.
        "They're so tiny!"
         "So are you pipsqueak."
         "Am not!" Rose said indignantly and batted at her older brother's nose.
         "Hey, Hey now! Your aunt needs her rest, what did you three think you were up to?" Shira scolded, glaring down at her kittens. Their ears went back and they mumbled their apologies to Sassy.
        "We just wanted to see our new playmates." Chase said. Sassy chuckled and licked his tiny nose.
        "It's alright, you can look at them. But they're very fragile right now, their eyes aren't even open. In about 2 weeks they'll be big enough and strong enough to play with you three." The kittens faces lit up at the news.
        "But until then, we keep our batty little paws away from the puppies." Diego ordered, taking both Rocky and Chase in his mouth and lifting them off of Denali. Shira did the same to Rose and the kittens voiced their displeasure all the way out the cave. Sassy and Denali laughed and then Sassy laid her head down, exhaustion over taking her. Denali licked her head and rested his on top of her, silently vowing to keep her and the pups safe.

     A couple weeks later, Buck was telling the kittens and puppies his fantastic tales from down in the dinosaur world. The young ones eyes were wide and the adults looked on in amusement. Buck had told his story at least three other times, but each time it seemed to get more wild and more dangerous.
       "So let that be a lesson to you kids, neva get in between a hungry triceratops and a patch o' fresh cantaloupe." Haken shivered a little and Freya snorted, rolling her eyes at her brother.
       "They're just a bunch of fantasy stories. There's no way Uncle Buck did all these things, right mom?" Sassy smirked as the weasel winked at her, hefting his knife on his shoulder.
       "Hmm I don't know Freya. Your Uncle is a pretty wild and unpredictable weasel. I'd be willing to bet he's telling the truth." Manny and Ellie snickered begins their trunks and Rocky joined Freya.
        "How would you know Aunt Sassy? Like you've ever seen this Rudy or any dinosaur at all." At that, Sid, Crash and Eddie started laughing so hard they fell to the ground. Diego and Sassy exchanged a look and Sassy leaned toward her nephew.
         "Some day Rocky, I'm going to tell you a tale that will make Buck's seem like bedtime stories." The entire herd broke into laughter at the confused and slightly nervous expression on the kitten's face. The herd then disbanded for the night, each going into their own cave or tree. Sassy and Denali herded their babies into their cave as Diego and Shira did the same with theirs. The adult wolves curled up together, their pups in between them for warmth. Denali was asleep within minutes, his soft snores melding with the puppies snores and whimpers.
      Sassy lay awake for a while, simply watching her family. The pups were growing rapidly and had their personalities down pat. Freya was like Sassy, hard headed, snappish and had a temper like a volcano. Laila and Ylva were inseparable and were a lot like their father, more level headed and slower to anger, but scary when they got their dander up. Haken was a family boy and loved spending his time with the herd. And Rorik...Rorik was Sassy in male form, and was going to be one powerful wolf when he was grown. Sassy smiled. Rorik and Freya were going to be trouble, in more ways than one. All her pups had blue eyes for the time but she knew it wouldn't be long before the ice blue was replaced by burning amber, just like their parents.
       Sassy sighed contentedly and rested her head next to Denali's, who immediately crooned into her warmth. She licked his cheek softly and then closed her eyes, nestling into her family's warmth and the protection of her husband. She no longer worried at night...she was no longer alone.

Authors note: Hi everyone! So I hope you all enjoyed this first chapter, I also hope you all like the names of the puppies...they are all Norse and Scandinavian names. I'm paying homage to my heritage considering I'm mostly Icelandic and my relatives were Vikings! Anyway, please share your ideas and opinions with me and happy reading!!