Chapter 4; Lone Fatalis
The force of the attack lingered around my now throbbing head. I was expecting fangs to sink somewhere into my fur, so my eyes closed tightly. But when no harm came forward, I was relieved to realise that my attacker was no longer in the pin. Opening my eyes, I steadily rose to my paws and looked around, trying to see my opponent. I wasn't ready to fight though, especially at night, it was too dark to see well. Against the darkness of the sky, my eyes barely carved out a figure standing a few metres off.
"Who are you?" I demanded, a growl rising from the pit of my throat. I stood stationary, fur pricked and tail held high in dominance.
"Very sorry for that, your scent tells me that you have been hanging around dodos. So many that it overpowered your main scent. I was guessing that a flock of those birds would be around here. Terribly sorry." The stranger apologized, stepping forward into the light. It was another wolf, joy. Male, by the tone of voice and appearance. He seemed nice enough, and trustworthy. His pelt was a dark grey, almost black in the light. His eyes were dark green, they were piercing, yet told of a gentle wolf if you looked deep enough. His paws were coated in coal black, the socks running up to the knee on each leg. The only paw not coal black was his right front paw, which was dark grey along with his pelt.
"Apology accepted," I nodded politely, a warm smile across my lips. "My name is Delusion. Yes, I have been hanging around dodos. You may have heard of a strange camp where they settle? Well, I was there. By the looks of it, you are hungry. Would you like a dodo carcass?"
The male's two fangs on the end of his muzzle were scarcely blood-stained, blotched with dry blood, it would clear soon. "Nice name. My full name is Lone Fatalis. But everyone just calls me Fatal." I hoped he could tag along, he looked like a nice wolf, roughly my age. Wait, how old was I as a wolf anyway?
Well… Apparently a single year for dogs is seven years, and I was 16. So that would make me a dispersal as a wolf. Sweet! Oh well, at least it was good to know I was older in this world.
"Oh, yes please, if you wouldn't mind. I never follow the migrating animals South, I always stay up North. So I don't get much food in that time." Fatal barked, wagging his tail slightly. I could tell we were going to be good friends. Definitely not mates. I wasn't going to stay in this world anyway, or would I…? Plus, I was never one to like boys in the first place. Sure I'd had a boyfriend or two over the years, but the relationships always turned out ruined eventually. Now I stuck to just having guy friends to hang out with, no actual boyfriends anymore.
"Very well, come this way. Would you like to travel with me and my friends? We're returning a human baby to his tribe, Sid wouldn't let Manny leave him. So, now we're stuck with Devil Child." I asked softly, knowing his reaction would be different once he saw what my friends actually were.
"This is your…?" Fatal stopped in his tracks, nervously eying the other three sleeping males, barely paying mind to Sid.
"Strangely enough, it is. We made friends just earlier today. They won't mind you. Sid is the sloth, he's annoying at times, but fun to annoy and you can do anything to him. He's a non-stop talker, but easy to make friends with." I smiled gently, motioning my head towards the sleeping sloth. We were at the bottom of the hill and had to whisper, Diego was a light sleeper and I'd hate to think what he might do to a strange wolf in the middle of the night.
"He sounds interesting," The male laughed silently, walking a little further ahead before stopping, nervously watching the figure of the tiger.
"I see you've seen the sinister one of the herd," I noted quietly, stalking up beside him. Now was the best time to whisper, even though we were still metres away. "Diego. I wouldn't mess with him, we've barely known each other for long but I know what he can and can't do. I doubt he'd harm one of my friends though. Just stay on his good side." I explained, then watched Fatal nod and give a glance to the mammoth.
"Manny, the big bundle of 'poofy' hair. Or so he states. Sid once said, 'Manny the Moody Mammoth', and moody for sure. He doesn't take too kindly to predators, heck, an hour after we met he threw me up a ledge only to land roughly in the dirt. Stay on his good side as well, and he'll be a good friend. The little brat in his trunk is Devil Child, D.C for short." I barked, then stalked off towards the dirt wall and uncovered one of the dodo carcasses. Laying it down on the ground so it was easy for both of us to reach it, I lay down and began to eat, before seeing Fatal's nervous figure. "Come on, I won't bite."
Obeying, the wolf walked over and lay down on the other side of the carcass and quietly dug into the meat. His mother must have been a smart cookie, giving him a name like that. I couldn't help but ask the question that had been bugging me. "You have a very unique name, would you mind telling me how you got it?"
"Well," He began, taking his blood-stained muzzle out of the bird's carcass, "Weeks before I was born, a lone smilodon ventured into my pack's territory--"
"A smilodon? You really know your way around animals, don't you?" I chuckled silently. That explained his name. A lone smilodon. 'Lone'. Smilodon Fatalis. 'Fatalis'.
"Heh… Yeah," He smiled, before continuing with the story. "I don't know why or how, but my mother knew that a smilodon's whole name was Smilodon Fatalis. The cat somehow befriended the pack and helped us hunt. We brought down some pretty big prey during the time he stayed with us. Eventually, he left. I was born a week before he departed, so my mother named me Lone Fatalis."
"Wow, that's an interesting way to get a name. It's nice and unique, with an excellent background on how to get it. Well, good night. When you decide to lay down, it'd be best for you to be a bit off to the side of the herd, so Manny and Diego won't get suspicious." I barked politely, before rising to my paws and walking to the right of the herd to lay down. It was far enough for Fatal to lay there as well. Yawning, I drifted off into a light sleep.
The sound of stomping feet woke me instantly. Well, Manny's awake.
"Where's the baby?" He demanded, glaring at Diego.
"You lost it?" The tiger replied, but before they could both yell 'SID!' I couldn't help but speak up.
"Ugh, guys, honestly. Is it enough to ask for you to shut the hell up?! You weren't awake in the middle of the night for about an hour!" I snapped, paw over my muzzle in attempt to get back to sleep.
"Stay out of this Delu--" Manny began, but stopped instantly when he saw the nervous figure beside me. Fatal was awake and scared to death. I didn't blame him, if I woke up to the sound of two animals that could kill me with one hit I'd be acting the same way.
"What? Haven't you seen a grey wolf before?" I snapped, instantly going into protective mode. I could argue with this giant, no problem.
"Why is he here?" Manny growled towards the male, Fatal was actually being rather brave when he just growled back, eyes narrowed threateningly.
"I met him in the middle of the night. His name is Lone Fatalis. But he prefers being called Fatal. Is that enough information, poofy hair?" I growled, jumping to my paws and stepping in front of the still laying down male in a fighting stance. Manny just continued to glare, for once not having an answer. "Anyway, back to Devil Child. Sid probably took him and skedaddled once he saw Fatal, or just decided to take him to impress some ladies. Honestly, when does he ever shut up about female sloths?" I raised a brow, surprised he hadn't figured it out already.
Muttering something under his breath, the mammoth turned and walked out of the hole, going to the nearby mud spas to find Sid.
"Problem resolved. Told you he wouldn't take kindly to you at first. In which in any case, lay a claw on this guy and you're getting a good ol' smack on the head with a spear. 'Kay Diego?" The two predators looked at me strangely, before Fatal rose to his paws and decided to speak.
"You have a spear?" He asked, surprised.
"I have my resources." I smirked. "Anyway, we better go see what trouble Sid's in. I have a feeling that something's chasing him."
Sure enough, around the corner came a screaming Sid. He almost ran into Diego before stopping and putting his hands together, pleading. "Oh, thank goodness. Thank goodness." He praised, before cupping his hands over his mouth. "Oh no, a tiger! Help! Help!" He cried.
"Where's the baby?" Diego snarled, ignoring the pleading sloth.
"He's okay, Manfred's pooping him out now hurry." He muttered hurriedly, before yelling again. "Oh, no! He's got me! Oh, help!"
Rolling his eyes, Diego turned and walked off. "Get away from me."
"Sid, -- I wouldn't do that." I barked, trying to hide my amusement as Sid ran over to Diego and kicked him in the rear, instantly triggering a growling reaction.
Just as two rhinos came running around the corner, Sid was in Diego's mouth, barely avoiding his long fangs.
"Oh, no. The tiger beat us to him." One of the rhinos complained, before the other one stepped forward.
"Wait a minute…" He sniffed the apparently dead sloth, before withdrawing with a disgusted look on his face. "Yeah, he's dead alright."
"Oh, carnivores have all the fun." They rambled before disappearing around a corner.
"I hate breaking their hearts like that, but you know how it is." Sid smirked, happy his plan worked. But when he tried to walk away he realised Diego's jaws not ready to let the sloth go. "Okay, Diego, you can put me down now." The sloth grabbed the tiger's jaws and tried to separate them, but failed miserably as Diego only growled in reply. "Manny. Manny! MANNY!" Sid yelled, squirming.
I just burst out laughing, I couldn't contain it. It was hilarious! "Remind me to be included in your plan next time." I laughed, Fatal soon joining. But we both stopped to hold it in as Manny passed by.
"Guys, I thought we were in a hurry. And Diego, spit that out, you don't know where it's been." He stated, walking on as light snow began to fall. Thinking of the thought, Diego instantly dropped the sloth. Where had it been?
"For a second there, I thought you were actually going to eat me!" Sid laughed, standing up and brushing himself off.
"I don't eat junk food." Ah, the famous quote. Diego smirked before walking off behind Manny.
"Boy, I thought you were… I thought you were… Were you?" The sloth asked nervously, but didn't get a reply.
Fatal and I chuckled before walking ahead of Sid and joining the two males at the front of the group. Journey time. WOO!
"Hey fella's, can we wait up a little? Hey fella's!" Sid called from quite a while behind us, when the early stage of Old Faithful appeared around the corner.
We all stopped and glanced at each other, all four of us knowing what to do. "Phew, thanks for waiting!" Sid thanked, before throwing himself onto the sloth-sized hole that water had gushed up from only moments before.
"3...2...1." We all counted, smirking in delight as the sloth sailed into the air as the water hit him, then landing head-first back into Old Faithful.
"Sure is faithful." Fatal barked as we turned away and continued walking.
The next scene was the poke-fight. It was hilarious watching it unfold, especially Manny starting to get really irritated.
Soon enough Sid decided it was time to hurl snowballs. Placing D.C on a nearby rock, the sloth bent down and rolled a small snowball, before throwing it at the back of Fatal's neck. He whirred around and fixed the sloth with a deadly glare. But, knowing Sid, he pointed to D.C. Growling, the wolf turned around and continued walking.
We soon passed by a circle of cylinder like rocks made into a circle. Sid, Fatal and I all gazed at it in awe while the other two paid no mind. "Modern architecture, it'll never last." Manny reported, not even stopping to look at it.
Frozen lake. Perfect. Yep, we made it there already. Diego and Manny went onto the frozen surface, slipping instantly. I rolled my eyes and walked along the snow at the edge of the lake, quickly making it to the other side. Great minds think alike, Fatal was there almost before me. "Yo guys." I said simply as I watched them slide around, then burst out laughing when Sid came in contact with the ice wall.
Not long after the ice-sliding adventure, we came across Scrat, who was looking for a place to bury his acorn. "You're lost, aren't you?" Manny asked Diego with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"No, I know exactly where we are."
"Ask him for directions."
"I don't need directions." Diego snapped.
"Fine, I'll ask him," The mammoth walked over to Scrat, "Hey, buddy, you seen any humans go by here?"
Ignoring the scene take place, I turned to Fatal and we engaged in a small conversation, brought out of our little talk when Diego trotted ahead, waiting for us to come. That went faster then expected.
Only a little while ahead, Sid decided it was time for snow balls again. He rolled one up after placing Devil Child on a rock, then hurled it at my head. Whipping around, I glared daggers at the yellow-furred sloth, Fatal stopped to see what I was doing, then we both smirked. Digging our muzzles into the snow, we walked forward and soon made two large snowballs.
Smirking, I yelled a "Fire!" and we both hit the snowballs with our head, making them clash with Sid as he fell back into the snow. "Ah, revenge. It's so sweet."
Chapter 5 shall be up later today, I have a knack for writing right now. o_e
Anyway, this story isn't going to end at the end of the movie, I assure you. It shall go farther then that and possibly have a sequel. =P
