Hi all! Yeah, yeah, I know. It's way too late to be doing a mother's day one-shot, but I couldn't resist this when it hit me.
Enjoy (or at least give it a chance. Please?)!
I don't own IceAge.
Raz was miserable. She hated today, and not only because it had rained earlier and she was still wet and cold. Not because Squint had been thrown overboard and she was forced to watch him while he recovered. Not because Gupta had broken two of her favorite throwing stars while they were playing darts. Not because Shira was angry at her for she-didn't-know-why. It was because of what the day was, not all the decidedly bad events that had happened. Mother's day.
Raz hated mother's day. She'd never been fond of mother's day. Never. She had no reason to celebrate, so why bother? And she always seemed to have bad luck on mother's day. And worst of all? It was her birthday too. So it was always a thousand times more miserable. She hated mother's day, and her birthday. So of course they had to be the same day. She'd always been bitter about those two days. Always.
Her first one was especially awful. When she was young and still lived in a mob, the others were very keen on picking on her. Maybe because the influential daughter of the alphas hated her, maybe because she looked so different. Probably both.
Anyway. That day, she'd been pranked and bullied more than usual. Shoved into the mud, nearly drowning from being pushed into the deep end of the watering hole, a couple hornet stings when Vanorra tried to steal from them and shoved her 'prize' of honeycomb into Raz's hands. Slipping on the frozen ice and an insane amount of slug and snail slime. Getting a little dried out sea urchin stuck in her foot. Typical day. And even worse?
She was all alone to face it all.
Her father was a mystery to everyone, it was rumored that he'd forced her mother into having her. Then, after he had what he wanted from her, a night alone, he split. No one even knew if she knew his name. She never spoke of her father, the short time she was around.
She'd always been clingy as a little girl, so her mother, in an attempt to encourage she make friends and become slightly more independent, left her with a babysitter all day and went to the mud spas with a friend, when she was just barely old enough to leave her mouth, nine months. They never came back. So Raz was left alone with no one to raise her. Some of the kinder jills in the mob looked after her, kept her from danger and whatnot, but it wasn't the same.
She didn't even remember her mother, or what she looked like, or what her voice sounded like, or anything, really. She'd been teased and told that her mother had abandoned her, left because she was such a freak, so different that she couldn't deal with having such an oddball. Daughter. she tried not to believe them, but after years, she had nothing else to accept. And it made her hate mother's day.
When she was five years old, she could take it no more. She ran away. Sure, it was dangerous, but at least she was free from her torturers. But not from the reason they teased her so.
She was forced to watch, wherever she went, happy mothers and children. She'd watch from afar as other children were cuddled by their loving mothers, being snuggled and coddled, hugged, kissed on the forehead. Sometimes she'd find them just sitting together and talking, or picking flowers together, or swimming. But it didn't matter what they were doing, they were together. And they were happy. And that made her resentful.
Why couldn't that be her and her mother? Where was her mother? Had she really abandoned her? Hadn't she loved her? She had to of… she had that one little memory, but that was it. It was a short one, only lasting about five seconds. She was somewhere dark and warm, everything around her blurry and unclear. Perhaps her vision wasn't fully developed. She wasn't sure, she didn't know when this memory was. There was a soft, faint whisper, just barely there, like the wind was trying to speak to her. 'My little Raz…' it would murmur in her ear. 'My little Razzie…' then it was promptly cut off. She remembered nothing else. She didn't even know if that voice was her mother, but who else could it be?
Raz sighed and put her head in her hands, denying to herself why she really hated this day. She was jealous. All she wanted was for her mother to love her, wherever she was. That was part of the reason she'd joined Gutt's crew when given the chance as a six year old, nothing but a scared little orphan that the captain apparently saw potential in. He promised adventures and sights unlike anything she'd ever see anywhere else. If they did so much travelling… maybe she'd have a chance at finding her mother.
But alas. After twenty years, she knew it was too good a thought to be true. They'd been everywhere, she was sure. There wasn't a place she hadn't seen at least once. She knew, if she was meant to find her mother, she would have by now.
Finally excepting this, she took a shuddering sigh and hugged her arms. She was confused for a moment as she felt a single warm, wet… thing slide down her cheek. She sniffled and wiped at it, astounded. She hadn't cried in twenty years. This was a new experience. Another replaced it. "Ah guess sheh realla didn' love me…"
Just once. She didn't ask for a lot. Just once. A hug maybe. Or maybe one those gentle kisses on the forehead she'd seen. Or maybe just 'I love you'. That was all she'd hoped for the past twenty six years. And it never happened. She couldn't recall ever being hugged before. With no friends, no mother, and as hugs had no place on a pirate ship (except maybe the bottom of the sea), she'd never had one. Not that she could ever remember. Sometimes she wondered, especially when mother's day rolled around, what it felt like to be hugged. It looked like it felt good. But she'd never know, and she knew it. And that sent another tear rolling down her cheek.
…
Raz couldn't take it anymore. She was just so cold, and in so much pain. She curled up, shaking, on the piece of ice. The cold bit at her, gnawing on every last square inch her body had to offer. It was dark, the moon missing from the sky, giving even less light. Of course. New moon. Just her luck.
She slowly sat up and glanced around. Nothing, but the sound of waves lapping at sides of the little floe. If she squinted, she could just make out the silhouettes of other pieces of ice floating around. Hmm, let's see… ice, more ice, a rock, some floating seaweed, a floating glowing orb-
Wait, what?
She turned back, trying not to wince at the use if her sore body. No doubt she was covered in gashes and bruises. Sure enough, there was a little glowing orb, slowly getting closer. It was about the size of a large melon, glowing and twinkling bright gold. She breathed in awe as it came stunningly close, so her nose was nearly touching it. Surprisingly, the bright glowing didn't hurt her eyes. "Wh- Wha…"
"Shh…" the voice was soft and sweet, each beat sounding so melodic it was almost a song. "Hush now, little one." She started, it was the voice from her memory! Exactly the same. But how…
"H-How… what…"
"Close your eyes now." It soothed. "Your sleepy. Lay your head down." She couldn't help but obey, almost in trance. "Go to sleep little one. I can see you are tired."
She yawned in agreement and put her head down on her arms, curling up on her side. "Who…"
"Shh… hush small one. Little joeys need their rest."
"But-"
"Shh… it's alright. I'm here now." Her eyes were too heavy to let her speak; this voice had put some kind of spell on her, each word like the softest lullaby, making her so incredibly tired. "Rest. And when you wake up, you'll be at peace." Her eyes blinked sleepily, falling closed, the last thing she saw being the golden orb, still hovering protectively above her. "Sweet dreams. My little Razzie…"
…
Raz awoke just where she'd fallen asleep, on the ice floe, though she noted with curiosity that it was a great deal more comfortable then she remembered. "Mm…" she yawned and stretched, looking around. Had the orb left. She rubbed her eyes, becoming aware of a presence behind her.
She turned slowly around… and promptly shrieked, startled. Eyes wide, she scrambled as far back as she could. "Wh- Who… what-"
There, floating an inch above the water, which was calmer than she'd ever seen, not so much as a ripple, was a kangaroo doe.
Her fur was the color of honey, her eyes bright and green, like emeralds. She had a kind smile on her smile. She was bathed in a glowing golden light, her whole form shimmering. "Raz."
She gasped; that voice! The memory, and the orb! They were all the same! "Who…"
"Don't be frightened." She soothed, drifting a tad closer. "I won't hurt you. I'm here to bring you there."
"Wh- Where?"
"Peace, of course."
"Huh?"
"Come with me." She held out a hand, nodding upwards. She looked too, and saw with amazement a glint of gold all the way up there. What… "I can only bring you if you willing come."
"But… I don' undah'stand."
Her smile was kind. "Maybe not now. But I will explain. Hurry now."
Raz decided she could trust her; she had to be friendly. After all, if she'd been there all those years ago, and that orb that had soothed her… she reached out and took the mystery doe's hand. She yelped in surprise as she suddenly glowed a lot brighter, the tendrils of light reaching out to her, enveloping her. The last she could see was the strangers smile, soothing and soft, keeping her from screaming, when the light blinded her.
…
Raz dared to open her eyes when the slight dizziness passed. She gasped in wonder. She was standing… on a cloud? What in the world?
"Raz." She turned. There was that woman again!
"Who- Who are you?"
She took a hop closer. "It's so sad tha ya don' rememba me Sheila. Bu'… ye were so young when we were sep'rated."
She gasped. "D- Do you mean… you're…"
Her smile was soft. "Aye Sheila." You could tell from her fragile, though overjoyed, voice that she was close to tears. "I'm yer mum." And with that, she closed the gap between them and wrapped her arms around her.
For a moment, Raz was stiff, stunned. Then she melted into the embrace, tenderly hugging back. So this was what a hug felt like. Wow, had she ever been missing out! It made her feel warm and loved, and it was comforting and perfect, and…
The mother felt the other jill held in her grasp begin to shake violently. Something warm and wet hit her shoulder. "There there Sheila…" she patted her back as she lay her head on her shoulder. "Iss' alrigh now, iss' alrigh. Yer safe."
"I- I know." She choked out. "Bu'… I've wai'ed mah whole life fer this. Iss' jus…"
"A bit overwhelming?"
"Yeh." That sounded about right.
"Ah well." She rubbed her back. "It's alrigh, I undah'stand." Two tears of her own escaped her green eyes, sliding down each cheek, but she made sure they did not disturb her daughter. She'd been watching her all this time, protecting her, and she'd seen the changes she'd made. She doubted she was likely to cry.
"It's alrigh. If ya need ta, cry. Ah won' judge ya. An i' ain't healthy ta keep things bottles up."
She sniffled and took a shaky breath, tears still flowing, head still on her mother's shoulder. The sobs came freely, and in a moment she was sobbing heavily in her grasp. She was just so relieved to have her, finally, and to have someone to ease all the pain she'd endured, physical and emotional both. All the taunting, bullying… the scars were wiped away with a single comforting "Shhh… it's alrigh, iss' ok. Mummy's here now."
After a while, she pulled away, and her mother took her face in her hands, wiping her tears away with her thumbs, holding out a leaf she had in her pouch. She'd had a feeling that there would be tears. "Here ya go swee'hart. Ya need a tissue?" she took it, embarrassed, still sniffling.
When she was done putting it to use, the other doe took her hands, holding one to her cheek, matching the other up with her palm. "I can' believe ya grown so big. Last I saw ya, yer fingers coul' barely fit round my thumb. Now look at ya." She admired her for a moment. "Ya've grown up beautiful an strong. Jus like Ah always knew ye would."
Raz smiled. "M- Mum?"
"Yes?"
"Ah… wh- what's yer, uh…" she'd never been told her mother's name, and all ever called her before they were separated was 'mummy'.
"Mah name? Lalli?" Raz liked the sound of that.
Suddenly, fear washed over her. "M- Mum? If ya've been watchin…" would she care that she had been a pirate all this time, plundering and pillaging and hurting she didn't-know-how-many people? "Are… are ya mad a' me?"
"A course not!" she reached up and brushed away the gathering tears. "In fact, I couldn't be more prouda you."
She looked up at her mother, who was about half a head taller. "Really?"
"Of course." She rested both hands on her cheeks. "I love ya more than anything."
Joy filled her. "Ya do?"
Lalli gently brought her daughters' head forward, making her forehead dip. She gently pressed her lips to her forehead, letting them linger there for a moment. "More than y'll eva know. I love you Raz."
They embraced again. "I love you too mummy."
Lalli smiled. "My little Razzie…"
Well? Please don't hate it! I just really wanted to do something for mother's day, and I just couldn't figure out a plot. Then, suddenly, this hit me while I was lying in bed this morning. I know it's incredibly late, but please, bare with me!
Review please!