A/N: Basically it's still the same story I have had before since, well take a look at the publication date. I'm just revamping it to both line up with the end of Ice Age II: The Meltdown (so just due to that I guess it holds slight spoilers for the new movie) and incorporating (though not heavily) all of my made-ups (there still aren't many) into this one story. So the story will probably still even expand out a bit more beyond even the ending it had originally, so there's even more to look forward to for those of you who liked this story!
So now I give you the updated Chapters 1&2 to get us started!
Chapter 1
The harsh, stormy winds of another gale suspiciously similar to the ones the Ice Age of before had produced ripped across the barren wasteland. All places the sharp winds touched were barren either due to the fact that the spot was desolate of creatures, it's former occupants having migrated farther south from the icy winds, or what creatures had remained were now buried under the snow. Now the stormy winds were moving farther on, seeming to peruse those fleeing it.
One lone figure stood, watching as the winds approached. He turned and ran back towards the camp. Mata burst through into one of the tents. "We must move" he said. "This isn't just a winter storm, I fear the freeze of before may be coming". The man he had spoken to, who was the leader of the tribe, stood up and nodded. He followed Mata outside and looked where the man pointed. "Men" he said to the others who had come out of their tents "Pack up. We will be moving farther south" he said. "Roshan!" he called to a boy off playing "Come here!".
As the boy ran towards them, Mata touched the arm of his friend. "The storm will only follow us the more we headed south" he said. The man nodded "I realize that, but all we can do is avoid it and move away from it as it comes, hopefully it will die down soon and quite following us. You remember how a while back everything even began to melt and the ice sheets that were there even in the spring went away. I don't think after that this storm will stick". By now Roshan had reached where the two men were standing. "Yes Dad?" he said. "We will be moving farther south soon" his father said "You should get ready". "Ok" the boy said, he ran off towards his tent.
Roshan entered the tent and there he found an older boy somewhere around 14 already milling about and packing stuff up. He smiled at the older boy, "Hey Tipa, we're moving" he informed him. The older boy, Tipa, smiled, "Yeah I heard" he answered, then turned his attention to packing up some of his stuff he had in the tent. Roshan also packed up what little he had. It mainly consisted of little wooden animals one of the tribesmen had carved for him to practice hitting. Roshan was 9 years old now, meaning soon he could actually go on a hunt to watch the elders hunt and learn how it was done. As he packed and thought of this, Roshan glanced over at Tipa.
Back somewhere around when he had been just born, both Roshan's mother, Nadia, and another member of the tribe, Mata, had stumbled upon the small, orphaned boy of about 5 stumbling about, seriously wounded from what appeared to have been a run in with a mammoth. Where as there hadn't been any official adopting of the boy, Nadia had seen to it to watch out for the boy and treated him just as if he were her own son. The boy had even taken it upon himself since the first day of his regaining consciousness after his rescue to look after and entertain Roshan so much it was as if he had adopted the baby as his own little brother himself.
It hadn't been but over a year after that that both of the boy's, as well as the chief of the tribe, Runar, lost Nadia to a saber attack. All three of them had from then on been pressing on as best they could. Nadia herself would probably have seen to it that the boy didn't go unnamed for too long had she survived long enough, but she hadn't and the only name the boy had received for the longest time was when Mata began nicknaming the boy as the tribe's "little messenger" since he seemed to always be the one rushing back to the tribe with news and proclimations.
The nickname had stuck and the poor boy was given little more of a name for a period of time, though their chief just always referred to him by calling him "son", and if this title of his was an inadvertent attempt of his own to take the boy in as his wife and son had done, Runar didn't let on. It had been Roshan himself who had come up with the name Tipa. It had happened when the younger boy was only 4 years old and "Tipa" was 9. Roshan's father had told him many stories about his mother and somehow the news had slipped in one of these stories that, had they ever had another boy, Runar and Nadia had planned to name him Tipa.
In his innocent, child-like logic and due to his strong attachment to this older boy who was nice to him and let him tag along with him, never viewing him as a pest, Roshan had suggested that since he wasn't likely to get a younger brother with his mother gone, why not give the name to their "little messenger" who needed a name and was like his older brother. and thus, Tipa had received his name.
Roshan shook his head as he came out of these thoughts and reflections on Tipa. More like came out of them when another slight question hit him. For as long as he, and the rest of the tribe, had known him, Tipa had shied away from any suggestions on the tribe teaching him to hunt or taking him out with them. Even now, at 14, the boy still showed no interest in helping the men out and Roshan wondered why, to him the day he got to help the men in the hunt was what he looked forward to the most.
The 9 year old boy decided to finally ask his older brother about it. "Hey, uh Tipa?" he asked. Tipa paused in his packing and turned back to him, "Yeah?". Roshan swallowed, "Why...why don't you ever want to help the men with the hunt?". Tipa looked taken aback by the question and then glanced down. There was silence for the longest time and Roshan was afraid he might have done somthing wrong by asking.
Tipa eventually answered him though, "I...Roshan I'm not against hunting per see" he said, "It's just...I mean I understand it's necessary and that's fine...it's just...I can't" he whispered. Roshan stepped forward and placed a hand on the older boy's shoulder, "I'm sorry, forget I asked" he said. Tipa shook his head, "No it's fine, you didn't do anything wrong" he answered, "It's just...I guess I was traumatized to early on to hunt, that's all" he said as he sent a reassuring smile Roshan's way.
Roshan looked curious as to what Tipa meant by this, yet suddenly his father, Runar, walked in. "Ready?" he asked. After a slight nod from Tipa to let him know he was fine, Roshan turned his full attention his father's way, "Ready" the boy replied as he shouldered his pack. When the three of them emerged from the tent Runar quickly packed it up and they set off with the rest of the tribe. As the headed out, Tipa whispered over to Roshan, "I'll tell you the story later on, when we have more time". Roshan nodded, a smile coming across his face at the prospect of this story from Tipa.
Even though the storm hadn't caught up with them, trekking over the snow that was already on the ground was tricky. The men handled it fairly well, but Roshan slipped and fell a few times. His father couldn't help but smile as he watched his son flounder along (although Tipa was right there besides the boy to try and help him not fall). He looked so much like a toddler taking his first steps. His first steps! Runar sighed, he hadn't been there for that. He did remember the first steps he saw his son take, but even then he could tell those were the child's second steps, not his first.
He remembered watching as the little toddler pushed himself up and walked across the camp, towards him. The others were ecstatic, saying how good the boy was doing, and on his first time too. But his father knew, the child wasn't skillful naturally, he was skillful because he had already had a feel of what walking was like. "So, were any around for your first steps, Roshan?" he thought "Was there anyone there to cheer you on and praise you as I would have done? or was that milestone in your life unnoticed?". Roshan noticed his father staring at him. He smiled. "it's a little rough going" he said, trying to sound grown-up, unfortunately right as he said this he slipped and fell face down in the snow. The others tried not to laugh as Runar walked over and picked him up. "You'll get the hang of it" he said wiping snow from Roshan's face.
As they continued on suddenly Mata noticed a mammoth herd traveling a ways off. He raised his bow and prepared to strike. "Mata!" both Roshan and Tipa yelled "No". They both ran up to the man "You know what Dad says" Roshan said sternly. Mata sighed "Oh right" he said sarcastically "We don't kill them out of respect for their kindness". The others laughed. Roshan narrowed his eyes at Mata. "Dad says I owe my life to one of their species" he replied "and so we respect all mammoths, and never kill any". Mata snickered "Surely you don't believe that old story" he said. "Old Story!" Runar said as he walked up. You were there when the mammoth that saved Roshan brought him to me as a baby were you not?". Mata looked at his friend "I was there when we found a mammoth with the child" he replied "But that doesn't mean he was saved by it, for all we know that mammoth kidnapped Roshan".
Tipa shook his head at this, "No..." he said to himself, "He looked so familiar...He wouldn't have done that, he saved Roshan, I know he did".
"No No" Roshan's father replied to Mata "I told you, Roshan was lost when the sabers attacked our camp. The mammoth brought him back to us". Mata sighed "Believe what you want" he said, "but why would any of the creatures out there care to save one of our children when we are the ones that kill their kind. I mean really, would you save a cub that belonged to the sabers that killed your wife!". Ruanr looked shocked at this and Roshan turned away, not wanting to remember how he had heard his mother died. His father said they found her in a river, drowned after the sabers drove her off a cliff.
Runar considered the question then sighed "I don't know" he said. Then he turned to the others "Let's continue on before the storm catches up!" he said. As they walked on Roshan held his father's hand. "Do you think the mammoth that saved me is out there?" he asked, looking at the herd. His father smiled "I doubt it" he said "I didn't see the mammoth with a herd, he seemed to be a loner". Roshan nodded and Tipa smiled a sad smile, his thoughts a thousand miles away on a subject none of the tribe could guess.
The wind howled on as the humans continued their journey South.
