Hello everyone! So ... at long last, my long-awaited story has appeared! :) In a somewhat different form than you all were expecting, but what the hey, everyone likes surprises! And I hope you all will like this surprise ... I hope. Another part of the surprise is that this story you see is the first part (ie prequel) of a series called Cruel Intentions, so stay tuned!
Since this is a fanfiction site, it goes without saying that all of these characters (barring a few) belong to a company known as Blue Sky, but I have some other things to say beyond that.
To Trev/thelonemongrel, thank you so much for guiding me along the way of maturing this story and bringing it into the magnificence it now is - he even suggested that this title that you see now be the final title for the story! -, I truly, truly appreciate it. :)
And also, there is a concept in this story - the setting known as the Bredelands - that is jointly owned by both of us, and Trev deserves part (or indeed, most of the credit) for helping develop it! I couldn't have done it without him, so whenever you see it in either of our stories, realise that it is ours and instead of taking from each other's ideas, we are using concepts that are indigenous to our stories, because it's ours, and that is final! :) If you would like to borrow it, PM either of us, both of our Bredelands are quite different but yet in essence they are the same and share many similarities!
:D And, although you know this already - the rest of you don't - but these two preliminary chapters are named in honour of Lost in Time: Origins. :-) You are all henceforth directed to go read his amazing story! ;)
The framing device of this story being told around the campfire is credited to FABCHICKXO for inventing it, and the name "Elder Titan" is © to goldenpoun, from her story Ice Age III My Version. Also, Manny's mother is named "Millie" as nod to Funkywatermelon for originating the name for Manny's first mate, but I called his mother that instead to shake things up a little. :P
Oooh, and the title comes from this piece by Immediate Music, have a listen: w w w . youtube watch? v= bHPYOcgde98 It's called "Lacrimosa (Choir)" and it's a really epic instrumental.
Now enjoy the story! :P And please review the first two chapters separately, I'd love your thoughts on them on their own, although they are two parts! And same goes for chapter three, review them all separately please! Thank you, DR+L
The sun was fading behind the mountains of the valley, leaving soft hues of mauve, blue and purple mingling into the smoky aura as the dusk pervaded into the deeps of the river basin. As the last slender thread of the sun's rays disappeared, the smoky wisps of clouds lingered in the sky momentarily before drifting off. Shadows of night sought rest amongst the darkening greyness in the hillocks and meadows of the river valley below, one light glimmering brightly out of the present darkness, shining like a beacon out of the cavern, flitting its glow defiantly against the ravages of the twilight.
Within the cavern, Sid the sloth added a log of kindling to the fire he had fostered gently; his face red from the heat; but even that could not hide the intelligence gleaming in his eyes that his stupidity-ridden exterior belied. He glanced up at the others settling in beside the fire, turning his eyes downward as Shelley, the lady sloth that they'd befriended that day, smiled at him.
Beside her lay (though some distance away) the chestnut-furred sabre cub - who he knew to be called Axel –laying his head atop his paws, imitating Diego, who lay on the other side of the fire. Manny sat beside the sabre, Ellie snuggled next to him, her trunk interlocked with his. Only their daughter Peaches was conspicuously absent.
Sid half-smiled as he glanced over at the new tiger in their midst, remembering that Peaches wasn't here with the herd that night because she had been sent to bed as grounding for her brashness towards the cub earlier. He sat down beside the flames just as Diego rose to his feet, loping past the others to the mouth of the cave.
I wonder what Diego'th doing.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Stopping short at the entrance, Diego raised his head to the stars as the tendril of a memory played havoc with his mind. He gazed up at the stars, noticing in them outlines of those he remembered with joy mingled with pain. Letting out a sigh, he glanced back into the cave, watching the cub Axel bat at Shelly playfully to tease her, causing the female to scoot away from him as if she was afraid. Melting back into the shadows, Diego swiveled his gaze around the perimeter of their camp rapidly, scanning for any intruders.
Footsteps sounded behind him, but the tiger was so absorbed in his guard duties that he didn't hear them until the last moment.
"Hey, buddy, what's up?" Manny's voice said. The tiger pivoted, every hair on his body standing straight up with surprise.
"Manny," Diego replied, avoiding his friend's intent stare, "don't scare me like that!"
"Sorry," Manny rumbled. "I was just wondering what you were thinking."
The tiger attempted to repress a sigh, but then gave in and let it out. He directed his gaze back over at the cub once more, his eyebrows creased in thought.
"Well?" the mammoth prompted.
"If Elder Titan finds out we took in another sabre, he'll tell the Council, revoke your nomination and have my hide," Diego confessed in a rush, hurrying over the words.
Manny scowled at the mention of the Regent Elder, and then glanced down at his friend. Once again, he was struck by how vulnerable the tiger was as he recalled their appearance before the mammoth council.
Once I become Regent Elder, I swear I'll change that.
Attempting to cheer Diego up, he punched him lightly on the shoulder, saying,
"Don't worry, Diego! Titan will never have to find out what we've done – and I know you want to take care of Axel ... and to be honest, I think the little guy needs you."
Diego's eyes were a glassy yellow, a sign that he was deep in thought. Finally, he spoke up.
"Yeah, he does. We should probably head back to the others now, Manny."
The two returned to the campfire, once again taking their places beside the warmth offered to them. Shelley, the tan-coloured she-sloth, glanced up at them from her work of plying some grasses into a workable item for carrying things in.
When Sid had asked her out of curiosity what it was, she replied that it was something she had seen the human females doing and that she wanted to try making one herself, something that greatly surprised the others. Now she glanced up at the mammoth and the sabre, sitting near to each other beside the fire's light, a question lingering in her eyes as her gaze traveled up and down Manny, admiration gleaming in her eyes.
"Manny, thir," she began humbly, "my … friend Axel and I here both have heard taleth of your herd'th exploitth, but we – well, I, anyway, am greatly curiouth about learning your pathtth before that. Can you tell uth?"
The mammoth bull smiled in response,
"Meaning mine and Diego's?"
When she nodded in response, Manny glanced over at the tiger to see his reaction.
Diego shrugged,
"Fine by me." He replied laconically. He nodded his head at his friend deferentially. "You can start, Manny."
"Thanks, Diego," Manny grinned at the tiger. "Anyway, my story begins with my herd's migration and entrance into this very valley..."
x-x-x-x-x-x-xx-x-x-
It was spring in the valley, and the snows had melted away, revealing a land of austere beauty hidden beneath the ice. The forests budded again as the deciduous trees such as oaks, maples, poplars gradually began the transformation from a skeleton to a fully fledged tree filled with leaves alongside the evergreen trees such as firs, cedars, and pines reached higher into the sky.
They flourished under the welcoming heat of the formerly reclusive sun, as wild flowers popped up in scores, carpeting the steppes with dots of bright light amidst the dark green of the grass fronds parting rich loamy earth and the gloriously blue sky.
Although the last vestiges of ice had vanished, there were several regions within the landscape of the dale that the snow and ice insisted on refusing to secede – and one such area was the massive river valley of the long, immense glacier that sliced its way down the mountains that opened the basin to all incoming and outgoing in the habit of migration, and all the creatures of that specific valley referred to it as "Brede Pass."
Everywhere in the valley, a peaceful serenity reigned – a peacefulness that was abruptly dispelled by the commotion stirred up by the entrance of a large mammoth herd into the vale.
Ah, the patriarch of the herd thought to himself, his gaze sweeping over the verdant, rolling grasses of the dell. What a beautiful place for us to settle in, perhaps.
He stopped short at a rise that lead into the valley, his mammoths halting behind him. Over his shoulder, he heard gasps of pleasure and excitement as the cows and other males in his herd eyed the lowland with keen fervour. He felt rather than saw his mate stroll up next to him, her light brown coat brushing against his own. Turning his head, he linked his trunk with hers protectively, casting a concerned glance downwards at her swollen belly as he exulted,
"Would you look at this place, Millie! I know we're here only to see the Regent Elder of all the dioceses be installed in place, but this place is so magnificent I think we should consider ahem, settling here."
"It certainly is lovely," Millie agreed, smiling at him as he guided her down deeper into the hollow, the others in their group trailing after slowly at first; but once they saw their leaders set foot in the glade, the cows and their calves went wild with excitement. "Though it isn't the usual place for a Regent's installation, since I've seen that happen at Seven Oaks, not here in the Three Fjords. I guess my godfather wanted a change of pace from the way things have been done!"
One calf broke loose of his dam, trumpeting happily as he darted away through the grasses, as his mother snorted, beginning to follow after him despite her distended abdomen. Clovis glanced up; noticing her distress and seeing that her mate was the rearguard, marshaling the stragglers into order as the pandemonium erupted as the mammoth herd emerged into the Bredelands had caused a definite response from those already in the valley. He cast a loving look at his mate, withdrawing his trunk from hers with regret as he whispered,
"Wait here, my darling, as I go wrangle up Heloise' young rapscallion – she needs the help with that one." He finished with a playful wink at Millie, who smiled at him and then drew back, unconsciously placing her trunk on her side as if it gave her pain.
Clovis lumbered in the direction of the unruly calf, scooping him up with his trunk as several beasts – a beaver, a tapir, and a sloth – peered out from the bushes. The sloth parted the tall, thin grasses that concealed them, murmuring to his friends in a tone filled with animation,
"Look, guyth, the mammothth are here; let'th go tell the otherth!"
Hearing the whisper, the mammoth swiveled his head around, Heloise' calf still dangling from his trunk, making the young one laugh out loud as the air flew past him as Clovis did so, eager to pinpoint the voice. A giggle sounded from behind the bushes, and the half-grown beaver and its friends emerged, gazing up shyly at Clovis. The sloth had his claws clasped behind his back diffidently, his eyes shining with admiration.
Having seen their fill of the leader – known to the tribe of mammoths as Elders – they darted off, eager to spread the word that more mammoths had appeared in their Bredelands locale. Clovis allowed himself a private grin as he marched over the milling crowd of his herd, noticing that his second-in-command Abelard, mate of Heloise, had moved to the forefront while he was gone.
Realising that his leader had returned with his son, Abelard left his duties of supervising the excited calves and cows waiting just inside the valley. The little ones stomped their feet on the ground, causing a loud rumble to echo throughout the forests.
Setting the calf down in front of his father, Clovis shared a smile with Abelard as the chocolate-furred bull caught up his child in his trunk. He then aligned himself beside Clovis to escort him back to where the herd was restlessly waiting, saying,
"Thank you, Clovis, my friend, for bringing back Richard for us. He is a trunkful, that's for sure."
"Yes, he is," Clovis agreed quietly, his eyes seeking out his mate amongst the other females in the herd, and then he glanced up, meeting her large, soft green eyes as time seemed to slow for them. In that moment, Clovis and Millie were the only two mammoths in the Valley.
Abelard let out a shout, sending the cows forward into the lush grassland of the basin, their calves tagging along at their sides as Clovis sauntered over to his mate. Reaching the tussock of grass she was resting on, her eyes sweeping through every contour, nuance, and aspect of the valley they had come to. Clovis chuckled appreciatively as he stepped up beside her, throwing a playful wink in her direction. Millie laughed in response, hitting him on his side with her trunk mischievously.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Millie glanced up at her mate, her gaze sweeping up and down his tight physique, admiring the rich reddish-brown colour of his fur, one of the things that had first attracted her to him in the first place, and then met his eyes, large and deep and brown. For several minutes they just gazed into each other's eyes again.
Wouldn't it be something if our baby had Clovis' eyes? she mused to herself as Clovis arranged himself beside her on their place on the tussock. He swiveled his head forward, making a cursory inspection of his mammoths that were by now dispersing further inwards into the meadow. Making one last final circuit around the perimeters, Millie saw him lift his head and turn to her, gently coming alongside so that their coats mingled. Millie let out a sigh as she enjoyed the sensations of his auburn fur against her own, relishing its softness.
x-x-x-x-x-
His scrutiny of his herd's safety complete, Clovis raised his head, seeking out the forest green eyes of his mate as she glanced around the Bredelands once more, letting out another sigh – this time one of utter contentment.
"Oh, Clovis," she mussitated, laying her head against his shoulders trustingly as the mammoth bull delighted in providing the strength that he lent her, "you are right. This is such a beautiful area... It might just be the perfect place for us to stay and raise our calf."
"It is indeed," Clovis concurred, taking her trunk in his own as he helped her down from the tussock, descending a hill that lead into the deeper recesses of the lowland that would supply the mammoth herds gathering there for the installation of the Regent Elder into his office enough food and water and sanctuary from predators for as long as they needed before the migration hearkened in their bones again.
"And, you must know, Millie, my darling that we are here for a most important reason. It isn't every day that a Regent Elder is elected to that supreme office. And who knows," he continued with a wink at her, "I might one day be nominated."
His mate chuckled, a glint of stubbornness in her eyes as she conceded,
"It is a great honour." She paused as if in thought, and then went on. "And one that shouldn't become a burden to any who take it up. An Eldership is a great responsibility, Clovis, dear."
"Are you thinking of being nominated yourself?" Clovis teased, fully aware that not only the males were elected to that high office, but the female mammoths of high repute could be honoured as well with such a nomination and potential ascension.
Millie let out a rich, throaty laugh at Clovis' remark.
"No, of course not," she replied, looping her trunk into Clovis. "I merely wanted to remind you that any Eldership is a great responsibility, darling."
"Hmm. Yes," Clovis admitted, using his trunk to bring her in closer to him as he nuzzled against her. "And with great power comes that... responsibility, I mean," he continued, winking at her again playfully. This caused his mate to lightheartedly whack him with her trunk before nestling in close to him.
Once again, he caught her trunk, intertwining them close together as he looked deeply into her forest-green eyes that sparkled only for him, nuzzling her affectionately as she reciprocated by rubbing her head alongside his, her eyes closed as she inhaled his scent. Enjoying his mate's indulgences, Clovis relaxed, his body slackening in exhaustion over the exertions of the day. Abruptly, his peace was broken as Millie let out a grunt of pain.
Clovis gazed into her eyes anxiously.
"Millie, what's wrong?"
"The calf!" Millie gasped, breathing heavily as contractions pounded her. "The calf ... Clovis, it's coming."
Supporting his mate with his own body, Clovis shepherded Millie through the milling horde of his mammoths, who had all congregated to the middle of the steppe in a confused sort of melee. Abelard noticed his Elder's mate in distress, bellowing for the cows to part ranks to allow Clovis and Millie access into the forest. Over his shoulder, Clovis shouted to Abelard,
"My thanks, brother!"
In response, his second-in-command dipped his head respectfully as a small gray bird darted overhead, trailing after the Elder and his mate, its eyes bright with interest.
Clovis led Millie into a canopy of thickly grown firs, where, to his relief, he noticed a small clearing. Millie sank to the leaf-carpeted ground with a moan, squeezing her eyes shut in anguish as birth pains lashed into her stomach.
Clovis stood protectively at her side, his trunk on hers during the more intense moments of labour as she pushed and groaned and cried out against the agony seething through her. His mate laboured all that day and into the fringes of twilight before giving birth just as the sun rose that morning, spreading fingers of light into the recesses of the wood, and one fell upon the dark brown calf lying amongst the leaves of the thicket.
The mammoth bull gazed down at the calf, inwardly trembling with joy as he watched the calf stumble to its feet, blearily opening its eyes as he directed his gaze in its direction.
Beside him, he indistinctly heard Millie murmur,"Clovis, it's a boy."
She rose to her feet, intertwining her trunk with her baby's as he leaned against her. "It's a boy, and oh, Clovis, he has your eyes."
The Elder allowed himself a private grin as he looked at his mate and child, noticing with pleasure that his Millie was right; the baby did indeed have his large chocolate eyes. Again Millie's voice sounded next to his ear,
"Clovis, he looks just like you." A smile was evident in her voice, and he raised his head from inspecting the calf to gaze deeply into his mate's face as he stepped closer to her, placing his trunk protectively over her head as Millie used her trunk to scoop the baby into a warm cushion to sleep in.
Clovis laid his head onto the nape of his mate's, his trunk gently teasing her light tan crest of hair as he replied,
"Let's hope he takes after his mother as much as me – I need your compassionate, caring nature to balance my brash, stubborn attitude and to keep me in check, my dear."
Millie chuckled,
"True... but he also could use a measure of fortitude and masculinity, and those are your attributes as well; and worthy ones. We'll just have to wait and see as he grows."
x-x-x-x-x-
Overhead, the small gray bird had overseen everything. Its dark eyes brightening, it spread its wings and flew off, knowing that Clovis would appreciate if all the other animals in the nearby area heard the news that his son had come, and how this news would thrill the community of the creatures living in the valley under the governance of the mammoths. The bird's eyes flashed as it smiled to itself, thinking,
After all, it isn't everyday a "hope of the herd" is born in one of the mammoth herds.
It continued its flight throughout the valley, calling out as it passed. All creatures, from sloths, glyptodonts, armadillos, and the Przewalski horse-herds looked up, listening intently to the news. Excited, all the many species found their vantage points, in trees or high hills, to watch the mammoth herd assemble.
"I have good tidings! Clovis son of Alfred's mate has had a son, another "hope for the herd"! You must all go see him!"
A mahogany brown Imperial mammoth raised his head in response to the call, his face beaming with appreciation at the message.
"My thanks, Sonia!" he exclaimed, raising his trunk into the air to trumpet the news to his herd. "We shall make our way to see him now."
Sonia grinned happily, knowing that she had just spoken to the newly installed Regent Elder of the mammoths, Augustine, and that it was a great honour. As she winged towards the farthest east corner of the Valley spreading the news, the animals who had received her message began to gravitate towards the thicket, heading that way in groups of twos and threes, the mammoths at the forefront.
Reaching the thicket, the larger ones craned their heads inside to catch a glimpse of the calf, a few even lifting their young ones past the firs so that they could see Millie's baby, while the smaller creatures crept under the large feet of the mammoths, standing diffidently at the edge of the thicket, their eyes wide with interest.
The small dark brown calf glanced around the array of faces before him – sloth, mammoth, bird, and horse – his eyes big with excitement and bewilderment as he crawled up next to his mother, trying to conceal himself from the inquisitive gazes of the other creatures as she chuckled appreciatively, enjoying the attention that the other species were bestowing on her son, since a "Hope of the Herd" was special.
One young beaver stepped forward, inspecting the baby from all angles. The beaver smiled as the little mammoth yawned, snuggling up against his mother. The kit looked up at Millie and Clovis, a question in its eyes.
"What 'cha gonna call 'im?"
Millie smiled expansively at the little one.
"Manfred," she replied simply, and a murmur of pleasure went around the circle gathered around the thicket.
"Manfred," repeated the kit with a grin, speaking for everyone. "I like it."
Hearing his name called sharply, the tiny beaver scurried off, his broad tail thumping the ground. Clovis and Millie glanced again into each other's eyes, smiling at one another as they found their trunks linking in an expression of love as they gazed down at diminutive snoozing Manfred.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
The fire crackled abruptly amidst the silence wrapped around the listeners as Manny finished his beginning of his tale, and then Ellie spoke up.
"Aw, Manny," she grinned. "You must have been so cute as a calf."
Shelley's dark eyes glinted in the fiery-red glow reflected by the flames as she murmured,
"It's tho wonderful how you had such wonderful parentth such as Clovith and Millie, thir."
The mammoth bull stared into the fire, glimpsing for a moment the shades of his past before he briskly averted his gaze, raising his head so he could oversee everyone.
"Well, if you athk me, your parentth were too lovey-dovey, Manny ol pal," Sid protested as he removed the tan-coloured she-sloth's hand from her work, causing her to look into his blue eyes.
Having caught her attention, Sid bent close to her so that their faces were almost touching but the moment was shattered by Diego's statement.
"Congratulations, Sid. You now earn points in the "lovey-dovey" department you just accused Manny's parents of."
Embarrassed, Sid withdrew to his side of the campfire, casting wistful glances at Shelly as she returned them shyly.
From his place beside the fire the sabre noticed out of the corner of his eye that the cub Axel had placed his head on top of his crossed forelegs, his face hidden from view. He glanced up, his gaze meeting Diego's.
"I never had parents like that," he mouthed before disappearing under his forelegs again, leaving Diego feeling slightly baffled.
Shelley smiled at him after making more eyes at Sid, which simultaneously caused the mammoth and the sabre to share a glance of genuine astonishment at Sid's good fortune at meeting up with this she-sloth.
Crash and Eddie, bored with sitting around doing nothing but listening to Manny tell his story, slid up behind the tuft of their sister's hair, grabbing their pea-shooters. Peering out of either side of Ellie's large forehead, they sighted their targets: Sid and Shelley. Crash winked at Eddie and they blew into their pea-shooters, at once causing Shelley to drop her work, Sid to accidentally step up beside the fire, singing his tail (again) and Axel to raise his head, a slight smile playing at the corners of his mouth as he watched the pandemonium erupt into the silent cave.
"Quiet!" Manny hissed, grabbing hold of the possums in his trunk. He gave Crash to Ellie to hold while he himself took Eddie. "Peaches is asleep, and I won't have you ruffians waking her up."
"Right," Shelley agreed, picking up her scattered grass threads. "And bethideth, it'th Diego'th turn to tell hith thory."
"Oh, all right," Diego conceded. "Here goes. But let me warn you, my story is intense and well, it might be hard for you herbivores to hear."
"Just tell it, Diego," Manny encouraged, smiling at him affectionately. "Don't worry; we won't let it bother us."
"Thanks, Manny," Diego replied. "Anyway, my story begins… with my father's raid on a nearby pack…"
x-x-x-x-x-
The amber-coloured sabre crept along the ground, glancing behind him to make sure his trusted group of lieutenants was treading along in his pawsteps. He stopped short, inhaling the pungent smells of a largely female-dominant pride only two miles away. A thrill scurried down his spine as he contemplated the judiciousness of this raid: there were only two ancient leaders of the pack, and of their offspring, barring two males, the majority was female.
"Which is just what we need at the moment," Cortez mussitated to himself as a thickly built elder drew up alongside him. Cortez' eyes narrowed with anger as he stared at the elder, who responded by shooting him a glare. The alpha snarled; Brutus had spoken against the raid originally, and yet it seemed he deemed it appropriate to be included despite that.
"Steady now," the elder whispered as he trailed the alpha into the long tan grasses, making Cortez roll his eyes briefly with disdain. They shrank back as they heard pawsteps coming closer, no doubt one of the brothers of the females in the pack on patrol.
Cortez' eyes gleamed with fiendish delight as he advanced carefully, every muscle tensed in preparation to pounce on the male on guard. He stepped closer, moving his paw around a stick lying nearby silently as Brutus took up his position at the rear, murmuring instructions to the others. The alpha turned his gaze forward, noting that the male sabre on watch had halted, his neck raised as if he was sniffing the air for signs of invaders.
Cortez smirked,
"Now!" he shouted, bursting out of his cover of the grasses, loping straight towards the guard. Raising his right paw into the air, he slashed it down the side of the sabre on watch, causing him to bite back his teeth against the pain as the rest of his pack streamed past him, letting out joyous roars as they joined their leader in disabling the barrier.
"We have come," Cortez announced in a loud roar to the pack, knowing full well that they were concealed in a small hollow nearby as he removed himself gracefully from the limp, sodden body of their guard. He let out a warning growl to his own pack as they hurried deeper into the depression, "and I'll have you remember that the prettiest of all the ladies belongs to me!"
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