Hey people of the Internet. Sorry I haven't posted for two weeks. The first was because I was just lazy and last week was because it was spring break and I was cleaning and at the beach. Anyway, this is the sequel to my Saber sister story so read that if you haven't.
Disclaimer: I don't wanna do paperwork so I can't lie and say they are mine.
Word count: 2051
Two sabers crept through the brush around the valley. They moved silently and swiftly to the top of the "bowl" and stood side by side. The brother and sister looked out onto the area and surveyed the animals. Ever since they had come to this place with the mammoth and sloth that they called their herd, this had become a habit for them.
The sun rising behind them spread light into the awakening valley as the sabers watched. Although they were predators, they tended to be more sensitive because of their herbivore friends. When they first entered the valley they had decided to only hunt in the east and south. The north was Ice and the west was more of the valley so it seemed like the best option. Often, they had to travel far for food but neither minded it very much.
If food was ever a problem, Tora was quite fond of fishing and it was enough to satisfy them. Diego hates the water and Tora didn't love it but she had been taught by her mother to take necessary means to survive. Today was such a day for the sabers had finished eating the fish, which they had caught before sunrise, and were now relaxing. After most of the valley was awake, the sabers made their way down the hill.
Tora felt the human necklace shift against her fur as she slipped down the hill and she smiled. Memories of the humans passed through her head but she shook them off before her mind could drift to her former packmates. They reached the cave where the herd was taking shelter and were surprised to see Sid gone.
It was a spacious cave with moss growing on the sides of the wall. Manny slept in the largest part of the cave and Sid nearby on a patch of grass. Tora and Diego slept at the opening where moss grew freely on the ground. Normally, both Manny and Sid would still be in the cave when they returned but only Manny sat before them.
"Where's Sid?" Tora questioned as they entered.
Manny sighed. "He's got it in his head that he's going to run a camp for kids."
Diego rolled his eyes at the idea of the sloth doing so. Although Sid liked to believe he was good with kids, none of the children respected him and so the job was pointless.
"Let's go and get him before anything happens." Tora sighed and led the males out of the cave.
As they approached the area of the water slides, they heard the kids laughing. Sid was buried up to his face in the sand and the kids were in a circle around him.
"Hey, whoa. Who said you kids could torture the sloth?" Manny asked as they reached the sloth.
"Manny, don't squash their creativity."
Diego said humorously.
Tora rammed her shoulder into Diego and made him stumble. "Diego, don't encourage them to mess with Sid."
"Hey, Manny, Diego, my bad mammals-jammals. Wanna give a sloth a hand?"Sid asked and Manny pulled him out of the hole.
"Look, I opened my camp. "Campo del Sid". It means Camp of Sid." Sid exclaimed proudly.
"Congratulations. You're now an idiot in two languages." Tora snorted as Sid hurried to 'protect' the childrens 'innocence'.
"Not in front of the k-i-d-z. These little guys love me. Right, Billy?" Sid asked, turning to a turtle like kid with a green head and shell.
"Don't make me eat you." The kid warned, causing Tora to chuckle.
"They kid. That's why they're called kids." Sid laughed nervously.
"I told you, Sid. You're not qualified to run a camp." Manny sighed at the incompetent sloth.
"What do qualifications have to do with childcare?" Sid asked innocently. "Besides, these kids look up to me. I'm a role model to them."
Sid hadn't seen the kids tying a vine around his legs so when they hit him, he fell quiet unexpectedly to the ground at the larger mammals feet.
"I can see that." Diego smirked as he looked down on the sloth.
"You guys never think I can do anything, but I'm an equal member of this herd. I made this herd, so you need to start treating me with some respect." The sloth snapped as he hopped away, the vine still trailing from his feet.
"Come on, Sid." Manny called.
"Sid, we were just kidding!" Diego sighed and Tora nodded.
"Sid, we didn't mean anything!"
"Hey, let's play pin-the-tail-on-the-mammoth." A beaver kid hoisted a stick over his shoulder, earning a chorus of "Yeah!" From the other kids
"Sid!" The remaining herd members yelled after him.
Thankfully, Manny was able to convince the kids to settle down for a story. Tora and Diego lay beside him on a rock, keeping their keen eyes on the kids to make sure they didn't cause trouble.
"And so, in the end, the little burro reached his mommy. And they lived happily ever after." Manny concluded happily.
"Good job." Diego compliments and Tora nodded, trying to stifle a yawn. The sun had made her so tired that it surprised her when another kid piped up.
"Question. Why does the burro go home? Why doesn't he stay with the rabbits?" The beaver questioned curiously.
"Because... because he wanted to be with his family." Manny justified.
"He should go with the girl burro. That's a better love story." A bird girl suggested, hopping onto the mammoths tusks.
Manny rolled his eyes and picked the bird up gently and set her down. "OK, well, when you tell your burro story, that's what he'll do."
"Burro is a demeaning name. Technically, it's called a wild ass." A deer commented.
"Fine. The wild ass boy came home to his wild ass mother." Manny snapped, eliciting laughs from the gathered kids. "See, that's why I called it a burro."
Diego chuckled a little but stopped when both Manny and Tora glared at him. "Way to be mature." Tora muttered
"Could the burro have a grazing problem? Then he'd be more relatable." A small rhino asked.
"Boring!" "It's not believable." The kids laughed.
"Do burros eat their young?" Another asked.
"It's not a good ending."
"Sometimes I throw up."
"They lived happily ever after. You can't get more satisfying than that?" Manny asked in exasperation. "One big, happy family. That's the way it's supposed to be."
"Where's your big, happy family?" The bird child asked innocently.
Manny remained silent and both sabers tensed. They exchanged glances and Diego narrowed his eyes.
"Then the hungry tiger ate the pesky little kids." Diego snapped, leaping to his paws and roaring.
Tora leapt up as well and let out a snarl, although not as convincing as her brother's. The kids screamed and scattered from the mammals, leaving a silence.
"You OK, buddy?" Diego questions while Tora sympathetically asked, "Manny?"
"Sure. Why not?" Manny sighed, walking away.
"I thought…" "I mean….." Both sabers trailed off when Manny snapped.
"Story time's over. The end."
"Run for your lives!" Two pig like animals screamed as they ran by.
"Where's everybody going?" Diego called.
"The world's coming to an end." One exclaimed, skidding to a halt.
"What are you talking about?" Manny asked in confusion.
"Fast Tony - he says the world's gonna flood!" The kid screamed.
The sabers led Manny to where Fast Tony was attempting to sell a reed.
"Through its design and sturdy construction, you'll have plenty of air for eons to come. Of course, results may vary."
"Why are you scaring everybody with this doomsday stuff?" Manny snapped, grabbing the animal by his tail.
"I'm trying to make a living here, pal." Fast Tony whispered before slipping out of the mammoths grip.
"It's my weather forecast. The five-day outlook calls for intense flooding followed by the end of the world. And a slight chance of patchy sunshine later in the week." Gasps rang from the crowd at these statements.
"Come on, don't listen to him. Fast Tony would sell his own mother for a grape." Manny attempted to calm the crowd.
"Are you making an offer? I mean, no, I would not." Tony quickly ammended.
"Haven't you heard? The ice is melting." A pig creature informed him.
"You see this ground, it's covered in ice. A thousand years ago, it was covered in ice. A thousand years from now, it will still be ice." Manny snapped and Tora nodded along with him, although she wasn't completely sure.
"Say, buddy, not to cast aspersions on your survival instincts or nothing, but haven't mammoths pretty much gone extinct?" And anteater laughed.
"What are you talking about?" Manny asked in confusion and Tora growled softly at the smaller mammal.
"About you being the last of your kind."
"Your breath smells like ants." Manny snapped.
The anteater smelled his breath before shaking his head. "Be that as it may, when's the last time you saw another mammoth?"
"Don't pay any attention to him." Diego tried to reassure the mammoth.
"Mammoths can't go extinct. They're the biggest things on Earth." Manny justified.
"What about the dinosaurs?" A bird lady question.
"The dinosaurs got cocky and made enemies." Tora snorted at the mammoths statement but otherwise remained silent.
"Look. Some idiot's going down the Eviscerator." A giraffe called, interrupting the conversation.
"Please tell me that's not our idiot." Manny pleased.
As Tora looked up she realized it was indeed Sid. "He's going to get himself killed!" She gasped as the mammals made their way towards the base cliff.
"OK, I'm gonna jump on the count of three!" Sid called. One, two…"
"Sid, don't move a muscle. We're coming up." Manny called up.
"Jump! Jump! Jump!" The mammals below called.
"Jump! Jump! Jump!" Diego called before Tora hit him with her paw, without claws of course. "Sorry."
The sabers raced up the cliff with Manny behind them. As they reached the top, they were relieved the sloth was still there.
"Two and three one-thousandths, two and four one-thousandths…" Sid stalled.
"Sid, what are you doing? Get down from there!" Manny yelled.
"No. I'm gonna be the first to jump off the Eviscerator and then you guys are gonna have to show me some respect!" Sid called, remaining on the edge.
"The only respect you'll get is respect for the dead!" Tora snapped.
"Come on, guys, he's not that stupid." Diego blinked when Sid turned around and prepared to jump. "But I've been wrong before!" Diego hissed.
"Geronimo!" Sid called, leaping forward.
Tora held her breath as Manny reached out and caught him, throwing him behind him and sending them both sliding into the sabers.
"Hey, watch it!" Diego snapped while Tora simply gasped as they were pushed out onto the open ice.
"I can't breathe. I think I just coughed up my spleen." Sid gasped as he pulled himself out from under Manny.
Diego helped Tora up carefully and they both stood still, catching their breath. The ice creaked underneath them and cracked. The sabers leapt frontward, ice breaking with every step. Diego leapt forward as the ice broke from under him and landed on top of Manny. Tora was not so lucky, having her backpaws slip from under her, she was half dunked in the water. She pulled herself onto solid ice as Manny winced.
"Diego, retract the claws, please." He gasped.
"Right. Sorry." Diego apologized as he slipped off of Manny and his eyes widened when he saw Toras soaked back legs and stomach.
"If I didn't know you better, Diego, I'd think you were afraid of the water." Sid teased causing Diego to wrap a paw around his neck. "OK, OK. Good thing I know you better." Sid gasped.
"Guys. Fast Tony was right. Everything is melting. It's all gonna flood. Come on, we gotta warn them!" Manny gasped.
As they made their way down the hill, the sabers fell behind.
"Are you alright?" Diego asked, catching the small shivers that ran threw her.
"Ya I'm," she paused to shake out her fur, avoiding her brother. "Fine. You're the one scared of water."
Diego chuckled with embarrassment. "Don't say anything. I have my reputation to protect."
Tora rolled her eyes and smiled. "Please, you're my brother. I have seen it before." She laughed, causing him to growl lightly.
Yes I added a little scene here. Next week will pick up with the scenes as scripted.
Review to comfort Diego!