Hi, me again! Thanks to AJB, TimberPaw and KaylaDestroyer for reviewing. Also thanks to Chicken (a.k.a. my sister) for not prank reviewing me. Also thanks to my best friend, because you didn't prank review me either. So, this is the chapter where the spies meet the herd. And KaylaDestroyer, I had actually not thought about how Squint came to the pirates from North Island, but there's definitely a story in it. I've now thought of a plot and you can expect it to be up either tomorrow or the day after, if anybody's interested. It will be short though, one or two chapters long. Anyway, I haven't magically obtained the rights to Ice Age in the last five days. So no, I don't own it. And as always, enjoy!


The mammoth led the others through the misty jungle. ''So,'' he began, trying to make conversation,My name's Manny. I live a few miles away, I can take you to my home, where you can hopefully get help." Adsila smiled. "I'm Adsila. And this is Mia, Annabeth, James and Jackson."

"Nice to meet you. So, where are you guys from?"

"We're all from different places, really."

Manny nodded. "So are my family"

"Your family?"

He nodded. "We met up ages ago, when me and my two friends rescued a human baby." Something about that seemed vaguely familiar to Adsila, but she dismissed it, deciding it wasn't important. Maybe it had been in one of the stories the crew had told her as a kid. Yeah, that was probably it, she decided.

She looked up at the mammoth."So, where are we going?"

"To find my family."

"Okay, why?"

"My friend Sid knows the hyraxes well. They're really skilled healers. If anybody can sort out your friend, they can."

Annabeth glared at him. "They. Are. Not. My. Friends."

"Sure they aren't,'' Manny answered sarcastically. "You were travelling with them." Annabeth rolled her eyes. ''Well, I don't have a say in the matter. And we'd better be there soon, this really isn't comfortable.''

Manny sighed and turned back to Adsila. "So, I thought humans couldn't talk."

"They usually can't. But I was raised by animals my whole life. I grew up like this." Manny nodded, causing Annabeth to growl in pain. The mammoth hastily apologised.

"Sorry."

"You better be. When'll we be there?"

"We're here now.'' Manny gently laid the tigress down on the ground. Mia looked around. The mist was finally clearing. They were standing next to a river. Across the river was a cliff, with several large caves at ground level. You could cross the river by means of a natural bridge made of rock. It was large, big enough for a mammoth to use, easily. Mia figured it was where the mammoth and his 'family' lived.

"Wait here." Manny crossed the bridge with surprising speed for an animal of his size. "SID?'' He hollered into the cave on the far left. It was smallish, probably able to fit two animals at the most.

A yellowish-furred head popped out the entrance. "Manny,'' Mia heard it moan,''I was having a nap.''

"Well, nap time's over. I need you to get your friends. We have an injured saber-toothed tiger and we need them to help her.'' The sloth nodded and waddled out of the cave, along the bridge. He called out a ''Hello'' to Mia and gave Annabeth a nervous wave. The tigress responded with a surly growl.

Manny walked along the bridge back to the five. "He'll be back in a few minutes. So, tell me a bit about yourselves.'' Mia chewed a claw nervously. She had always been a horrible liar. Adsila was too, she knew from experience. On the ship, she had tried to steal Squint's knife, and then lied about not knowing where it was. It hadn't ended well.

James was the one who answered. "Well, we lost our homes in the Continental Drift. We met on an iceberg which we were stranded on. Then we spotted this island and decided to land here. We were trying to find ourselves a home to live in when Annabeth tripped. You know the rest.''

He was surprisingly convincing. Manny appeared to believe him, anyway. Suddenly, Sid stepped between them, followed by five or six little rodents.

The sloth began speaking gibberish and dancing, jumping about and making crazy signs with his hands. The biggest stepped forward. He was so old his fur was turning grey. He also had a staff clutched in his paw. It was made of smooth, dark wood and had a pretty amber stone on the top, stuck on with tree sap.

The rodent hobbled up to Annabeth, closely examining her leg. He started speaking in a bunch of squeaks and body movements. Sid nodded, turning to the tigress. "He says that you've sprained your ankle. You won't be able to walk for a week or so and you have to rest.''

"A week? I can't just stay still for that long!"

"You have to, or you won't get better,'' answered the sloth, translating from the hyrax again. Annabeth groaned, resting her head on her paws.

Sid grinned. "Hey, you guys could stay with us! Manny, can they stay? Please?" Manny looked at them. The two teens seem trustworthy, he thought. And the deer. And Annabeth couldn't hurt us if she wanted to, she can't even walk. The mammoth frowned at Jackson. He hadn't heard the mink say a word since they met. Could he even talk? Mink aren't dangerous anyway, he decided.

He turned back to the yellow sloth. "Okay. They can stay.''

''Yay! Hey, when can they meet the herd?"

"Well, they should be back soon.'' The herd were out getting some lunch. Manny had bumped into the spies while foraging for fruit. Sid had slept in, which was why he had been in the cave and not eating.

Manny heard some footsteps approaching through the forest. "Here they come now.''


So, what did you think? Also, do you like the new cover? I personally like it a lot more than the old one, but that's just me. R2R, people!