Diego yawned and rolled onto his back, his tummy facing the roof of the cave and his eyes closed.
It was early in the morning. He was allowed to be undignified.
"Lookie at the yawny tigey-wigey!" crooned a voice.
"Don't push your luck, Sid." warned another.
Diego felt something brush under his chin and he frowned. He was only just awake to wonder what it was and how to kill it.
There was a loud growl and Sid squeaked, staring at Diego's stomach.
"Did his stomach just growl?" asked Manny, tilting his colossal head to the side.
"I think so." blinked Sid, poking Diego's stomach, causing Diego's claws to twitch.
"... News flash; I think i've heard from somewhere 'let the sleeping dog lie.' In this case, a tiger." sighed Manny, shifting his ten ton weight inside the cave, pink rays of light peeking through the entrance, signaling the arrival of sunrise.
"What happens if you wake a dog?" asked Sid, blinking, not noticing his hand brush under Diego's chin, causing a soft, almost inaudible noise in Deigo's throat to sound, then disappear, Manny's large ears hearing it, but not Sid's.
"They rip out your organs through your ears to watch you wriggle."
Manny stared at Diego while Sid whimpered.
"I think that's anatomically impossible." Manny said simply to the tiger.
"Can't i try anyway?" Diego's eyes slowly opened as he rolled onto his side gracefully, his eyes still on Manny.
"It would be interesting..." grinned the mammoth.
Diego smirked, yawning, his dagger-like teeth glimmering.
"That's not funny!" pouted Sid.
"Say, Diego, am i correct in thinking that you purr?"
Diego froze in mid-yawn, his emerald eyes fixed on Manny.
Manny just rose his eyebrows innocently while Sid thought about it.
"... What gives you that idea?" Diego asked slowly, sitting up and raising a paw, rubbing his eyes with the back of it.
"... Nothing much... Sid, scratch the pretty kitty under the chin, please."
Diego twitched, lowering his paw and glaring murderously at Sid, the claws in his paws digging into the stone floor.
"What! I didn't do anything!" screamed Sid, stumbling back and tripping over some of the logs they didn't use for the fire last night.
"So, you do purr." grinned the mammoth.
Diego turned his emerald eyes onto Manny, his claws still out.
"Do you have any idea how hungry I am right now?" the tiger asked simply.
"Hungry enough to eat a whole mammoth?" Manny asked, smirking.
Diego nodded, his claws retracting back into his paws. "Don't tempt me."
Manny smirked while Sid grinned, clapping his hands together. "Aww, come on! I find it kinda sweet that you purr!" giggled the sloth.
Diego wondered vaguely why he was getting a migraine, since... well, he thought tigers didn't get them.
Mind occupied with thought of little white pebbles that would stop pain, eyes glazed, Diego was open to anything the sloth and mammoth were to unleash upon him, though Diego was taught a long time ago never to leave himself open, but the headache was starting to get to him.
Manny took his chance and outstretched his trunk, waving it in front of Diego's glazed eyes, and when Diego didn't react, he scratched the tiger under the chin lightly.
Sid's eyes bugged as he watched the tiger lazily close his eyes and lean into the light scratches he was receiving from the mammoth.
Sid was surprised his eyes didn't pop out of his skull and roll over the floor the moment a soft purring resonated from Diego's throat.
Manny grinned. Somehow, a purring, content tiger wasn't as scary as a growling, hungry one.
Diego struggled with himself for a moment, then snapped his eyes open.
"ARGH! Enough!" snapped the tiger, swiping Manny's trunk away and glaring with all his might at the grinning mammoth.
Manny heaved himself to his feet, walking out of the cave, still grinning, his 'poofy' fur quivering as he chuckled.
Sid walked beside Manny, surprised at the mammoth's bravery, but amused at the same time.
Diego stalked along in front, his tail ticking from side to side to emphasize his annoyance.
"Aww, come on, Diego. Lighten up! At least no one else saw you purr!" Manny said with a slight smirk, trying to help with the tiger's bad mood.
But, behind a few bushes, a few trees and under a wild berry shrub a wolf's eyes bugged.
"Oh my god! Tigers purr!"
One of the lizards who was climbing in the bush stared at the wolf. "What did you say!"
A few hours later, a small Dodo hopped up to Sid. "Did you hear! Someone got a tiger to purr!"
Two metres in front of Sid, the little black cloud that was hanging over Diego's head decided to get bigger, and start storming hail down into the poor tiger.
A well-aimed kick from Manny helped the Dodo to fly into a rather large tree.
((END. see? Dodos CAN fly!))