At the request of MBSAVfan1 about half an hour ago, I decided to post this at long last! I was working on a few new one-shots, but I thought, "Hey, I already have the first two chapters of Petite Soeur saved on my computer! Why don't I just post that?" So... yeah. This is set after some events explained in a one-shot called Dreams, but that doesn't really have to be read first.

Disclaimer: I don't own Ice Age.

Just a warning, I haven't written for the pirates in a while, so this might be a little rusty at first. Also, this was written over a year ago, I think, so sorry about any mistakes.

Chapter 1 – The First Night

A silver sabre cub padded around on the pirate ship, never straying far from her kangaroo companion.

"An' this is where Cap'n stores the bounty," Raz finished, her tour concluded. Shira's eyes grew wide at the great pile of fruit that loomed over her.

"Wow..." she breathed. "He collected all that?"

"Yep!" Raz nodded. "An' he said tha' we'll be able ta get tha' much one day if we let 'im train us!"

"This ship is amazing!" declared Shira, proud to be part of the crew.

"Alright everyone!" shouted the Captain, holding onto the mast again. "Time for bed!"

This was met with a chorus of complaints from all the children except for Shira, who didn't want to go to bed either but thought it was rude to complain when she'd only joined the crew mere hours ago. Captain Gutt refused to take no for an answer, and all the kids soon ended up in bed. Shira stood awkwardly, not sure where to go.

"Do ya wanna come sleep ova 'ere, Sheila?" asked Raz, patting the space next to her.

"Thanks Raz!" sighed Shira gratefully, hurrying over and lying down next to the kangaroo.

Raz smiled at Shira, and cuddled up against the sabre. Shira giggled and hugged Raz back. Even after just a couple of hours, they had become fast friends. Captain Gutt himself wasn't that old, probably about eighteen, while the oldest crew member was only five. Shira wasn't best pleased to discover she was the youngest on the ship, but nobody treated her any different.

"Goodnight everyone!" called Shira cheerily, waving with one paw to the startled crew.

"Ugh... night Sheila..." answered Raz uncertainly.

"Goodnight..." Squint tested the new word, and found he quite liked it.

"Goodnight!" repeated Gupta, enjoying how the phrase sounded. One by one, the rest of the crew repeated their newest word over and over, while the Captain simply observed. Unbelievable, he thought to himself as he watched the kids experiment with the new word. She's been here less than a day, and she's already influencing my crew! She has the making of a fine pirate, maybe even first mate...

In the end, Gutt allowed the kids an extra half hour, as they were all so excited with their new word that they couldn't possibly be expected to sleep. He watched with slight annoyance as they jumped and laughed and chattered happily, wanting them to go to sleep so they wouldn't be sleepy the next day during training. Shira padded up beside him, remaining unnoticed as she travelled so quietly.

"Captain Gutt, sir?" she whispered softly, so soft he only just heard her.

"Yes, Miss Shira?"

"I'm sorry that I made the others too excited," she said, lowering her head. "My mommy always used to say goodnight to me when I went to sleep, and I only said it out of habit."

"It's alright, Miss Shira; you didn't mean any harm," replied the Captain. "But if you want to be a good pirate-"

"I do, I do!" she interrupted.

"Glad to hear it. But as I was saying, if you want to be a good pirate you need to break this habit of apologising. A pirate never says sorry."

"Sor- I mean, yes Captain Gutt!" answered Shira faithfully, nodding firmly.

He patted her on the head and sent her back to the other kids. She was greeted by Raz, who ran up to her and hugged her tight.

"Where were ya, Sheila?" asked Raz. "Ah was worried 'bout ya!"

"I was only gone for a few minutes!" laughed Shira, but she stopped laughing quickly. "And Raz?"

"Yeah?"

"My name's Shira, not Sheila. Just to say."

"Oh don't worry, Raz calls every girl she's ever met Sheila!" said Squint firmly, appearing beside the sabre. Raz nodded.

"Ah was raised like tha'. Not mah fault," answered Raz casually, draping an arm around Shira's shoulders.

Silas flapped over and landed on Shira's head, making the sabre laugh. She batted at the bird with her paw – after retracting her claws, of course – and he pecked her ears lightly. Both ended up on the floor laughing, which made the rest of the kids laugh too. Even the Captain smirked a little, but he quickly hid it, as he needed his crew's respect. This tired all of them out, Shira the most, so they all went to bed without hesitation when they were asked. Gutt actually had to carry little Shira to her spot beside Raz, as she was utterly wiped-out from the day's events. Raz hugged her newest sibling kindly, pleased that she finally had a sister, as she already had five brothers and was enjoying the company of another female.

"Goodnight!" chorused the kids, settling down for the night.

After Gutt had gone to his sleeping area, the special Captain's Quarters below deck that none of the kids were allowed in, Silas flapped over to Shira and Raz.

"Goodnight, petite soeur," he whispered in Shira's ear, before flying back to his bed.

"What does 'petite soeur' mean?" Shira asked Raz.

"I' means lil' sista," she answered, patting Shira's head. "An' tha's wha' ya are now. Our lil' sista."

Shira smiled contently as she snuggled into her new sister's fur, enjoying the fact she had a proper family. Raz laughed and watched her sleep, a smile coming onto her face. She had a feeling life on the pirate ship was going to get a lot better now that Shira was around.

I know, short chapter, but to be honest, they're probably all going to be this short. And also OOC for... everyone... Don't judge me! The oldest on the crew currently is five! They're not going to be the no-nonsense warriors they were in the movie! ...Yet ;)

Anyway, thanks for reading, and please review :)