Chap 4 and about time too!
Manny woke up early next morning, very early. He had hardly slept as he was eager to set off on his first 'normal' family trip to see the neighbouring herd of mammoths before they moved on following their migration paths across the continent. He could hear their rumbling songs and games last night building his enthusiasm more for both Ellie and Peaches to learn of the rich and cultured species that they belonged to. As a calf he had grown up in a large herd, and although he did not miss the company of mammoths (family excluded of course) He did miss the story telling, the evening tales of great mammoths of the past and the histories of names and places. He swore never to tell a bed time story again after the loss of his first family, but things change, and now he realised he was really bad at telling them. His first child had sat patiently listening out of love for him, but other kids since had told him the painful truth, he sucked. He sucked badly. Crash and Eddie tried often to inject a bit of life into these tales, but possums and weasels did not feature in tales of great mammoth histories, so historic battles of words took place around the camp fires at night as opinions clashed and tempers frayed. Lately things had become a bit more heated as Snowball wanted the villainous predators to have bigger parts with more words. Diego agreed the predator always had one objective in these tales and became a very predictable two dimensional character, whose doom was inevitable from the start, he either got stamped on by a mammoth, or blown up by a super possum if Eddie was quick enough to get an ending in before Manny could shut him up.
Still these unique tales did have the desired effect of entertaining the kids, both young and old during the long cold nights. But Manny wanted his family to know something of their great past and maybe a touch of normality wouldn't be a bad thing either. Manny lay still, listening to Ellie sleeping peacefully beside him and watching the first of the sun's rays light up the sky in tones of pink purple and finally red. "Red sky of morning, heed the great mammoths warning!" he recited to himself, not that he believed any of the old stories or myths but it was an ominous sight all the same. Trouble to come he mused, Ellie will be pleased!
But what else could possibly happen? They had had everything and then some thrown at them! Just then one lone possum tiptoed into camp, without noticing anyone was awake he headed to his tree. This was bad news, they were always together, worse was Manny could not tell the difference between the twins to know which one they had and which one was missing. Maybe Ellie would miss the fact that they only had one possum, maybe...
"And what time do you call this?" Ellie's voice snapped out from beside him, he jumped involuntarily nothing gets past a mum, nothing.
Crash stopped mid sneak, before he could answer he shuddered to the point of near fake death fear as Ellie continued "You guy's should have been back hours ago, anything could have happened, and where is Eddie?"
"You can't expect us home on time anymore, we are grown up, well Eddie's growing up, but seeing as we are the same age then I get all the perks adulthood entails, including partying all night if need be!"
"Since when?"
"Since you grew up and left us behind! (and as an afterthought) and started to snap like mum!"
"I do not sound like mum!" Ellie gasped, their mum had been ruthless with rules such as washing and bed time and snacking! Ellie sure was glad that now she was a mammoth, she could eat mammoth sized portions and not feel guilty. Sure their mum only had rules because she cared and wanted the best for them, and they had been quite the wild bunch of hellions deserving of most of the retort for their impetuous behaviour, but she had not grown up, had she? Surely she hadn't changed! No she reasoned with herself it was just because there had not been enough adventure going on lately to... She became very aware that her snapping at Crash had woken the entire herd who were now staring at her; she felt ever so slightly self conscious. "It is not unreasonable to worry when some of the younger herd members are out all night long, and might I add still out, now where is your brother?" As soon as he said it she regretted it that was just like mum!
By now Crash had retreated just out of trunks reach, he was not about to risk being put over Ellie's knee "Our brother is..." Crash spotted Eddie Finally stumble into view, "Behind you." Eddie waltzed in as if drunk on his love of life, blissfully unaware to the atmosphere of the camp. He tried to pull crash into a dance but failed as Crash stood ridged, arms folded, foot drumming the ground and frown deeply furrowed. "And where have you been all night? I must have turned every rock, sweated blood, and even despaired looking for you!"
Ellie redoubled her efforts turning to face Eddie "What time do, uh... And just where...What he said!" She finished lamely, she was not like mum, she could never in a million years be that good at this she comforted herself.
All eyes turned to Eddie. "Why, with Emma my new girl friend." Eddie smiled from ear to ear.
"What??" (everyone)
Crash's jaw dropped! Eddie was there in an instant to catch him before he fell face first into the dirt. "Don't worry bro," He said reassuringly,"she has a sister." He wriggled his eye brows to imply some implications as he felt Crash recover and compose himself.
"Oh! Well that's ok then." Crash relaxed, able to breathe again. Whatever Eddie was going through they would always go through it together, that's what twins do! "So what's she like?"
"Eddie anything could have happened, you should have left a note, or called in sooner and what's her name anyway, and how did you meet, and who spoke first?" Ellie never could be angry with her brothers for long.
"We can talk on the way." This was it Manny thought, they could get moving without any more glitches and make their destination with time to spare!
"On the way where?" Sid pulled himself awake; they had stayed out on the snow slopes far too long last night and ached today for it.
Manny sighed impatiently as he explained. "There is a herd I would like to meet beyond the next valley, and I would like to meet them before they move on i.e. this year, so if we all move closer then it just might happen."
"Wait," Sid struggled to think what was being said over Manny's deep rumbling growl of frustration."So, are we going to meet your folks?"
"No you are meeting no one, you can come some of the way, and then wait out of the way until I can be sure they will tolerate smelly sloths, which they won't."
"We embarrass you! I would introduce you to my family." Sid's eyes narrowed at the injustice of it all, sure they would probably hate him but still they should not be denied the opportunity to know for sure that they hated him.
"The same family that dumped you Sid? And dumped you for the same reason I would like you to stay out of the way until I've met them first?"
"Well" Sid struggled for an argument, his eyebrows twitched as he grasped at possible retorts.
"Walk and talk Sid." they fell into an orderly line with Manny leading at a fast pace in hope that Sid might fall behind, but Sid's legs could waddle surprisingly fast when necessary.
"Wasn't I the leader of this herd don't I get a say about..."
"No Sid, you were leader and we have sat still for weeks, now I am leader and we are moving again. You can resume leadership again when we get closer to that herd and you can sit out of sight for as long as you like."And so they argued...
Next in line were Diego and Ellie who looked at each other "Anything could happen on the way!" Ellie giggled with all the enthusiasm of a child at Christmas.
"And it usually does." Diego replied, so long as it didn't involve cliffs and water he was up for anything.
Behind followed Peaches and Snowball who non-verbally argued by the means of face pulling all the way.
A few miles later
"Boy I'm beat and hungry why don't we stop for lunch?" Sid exclaimed as he fell back onto his seat for added emphasis.
"We are still in sight of where we started from!" Manny replied "Look, there is mountain of discarded nut shells you littered the place with when you found that huge stash in the hollow tree."
Sid looked back. He could kind of make out the peak of his litter pile. "Some of us didn't get to eat breakfast today you know!"
"Oklisten we, as in me and Ellie and Peaches, will meet you (Manny waves his trunk over the less rational/plausible grouping of Sid Diego and Snowball) over the far side of the valley. In fact if we aim for that distinctive rock, the one that looks kind of like a whale." They all squint to the far side of the valley floor. The rock did indeed look like an angry whale; Sid gulped involuntarily at the distance. Manny continued regardless"Now I recon I could reach that in a day so let's say we will meet you there in two."
Diego looked around and assessed the situation, Snowballs short legs Sid's lazy butt, the fresh caribou tracks that headed away to the left of Manny's chosen path, an opportunity not to be missed! "OK, two days."
Manny pondered that would give him all today to get there and all tomorrow to meet, "sounds good." He said rather unconvincingly. He was feeling irrationally uncomfortable about this all of a sudden. This was not what a herd does and although he tried to tell himself he did not care his feet had become rooted to the spot, sure Sid was slow and annoying but...and no one seemed to understand the importance of this trip to him. He was both angry at Sid for wanting to eat and at himself for suggesting they split, but it was a good idea. Yet he could not move from the spot.
Diego recognized Manny's hesitation for what it was. Doing right by your family and doing right by your unconventional herd was causing conflict here. "Manny I've got a few things I need to do that's going to be out of the way for you, so you go ahead its ok."
A look of relief crossed Manny's brow, he was not leaving them because he was angry, but because they had different objectives, this was ok, this he could live with. "I will uh, see you guy's tomorrow night then?"
"Sure." (Diego)
"See ya!" Sid waved as he led his half of the herd off, not quite in the same direction that they came from but near enough to cause Diego to grit his teeth in annoyance as he followed.
Manny watched them go for some moments before finding his resolve and continuing on his march, Peaches reached for his tail with her trunk and Ellie (with sleeping possums on her back) followed a little behind glancing back every now and again...
"Sid. Sid. SID, can we start turning in the right direction now?"
"I don't think I can go hunting again so soon guys, I can only take soo much boredom, or stalking or whatever you want to call it."
"Sleep that's all you have to do, sleep and wait. It's all you do anyway, what's the big deal? You got anything better to do, coz so long as your kid gets fed at the end I'm open to suggestions."
"I'll have to work on it, but ok for now we will do it your way for the last time."
"It's only the second time Sid we've got a long way to go before he's grown." They turned slightly in direction, not quite enough for Diego but enough to keep from returning from where they had started.
"This time can I help?" Said Snowball a little tired of following quietly behind.
"No."
Diego always answered him as sharply as possible. Although Snowball could respect the 'big boss' attitude, he was now at that age when more input was necessary for an answer, so his "Why?" was inevitable.
Diego heaved a sighed that Snowball had't learnt not to ask questions of his leader, then tutted to himself because he was never going to be that ridged, narrow sighted leader Soto was. He then tutted again since when did he think himself the leader of a pack consisting of a cub and a sloth? This was a circumstantial rabble nothing more, just a rabble he would not chose to be without.
"Yeah why not?" Sid echoed, "S'not as if he can do any worse that you did."
"Sure he could. He could get himself trampled for a start." Oops too sharp a criticism, he was going to have to lighten up here, but how "Convince me you can at least stalk oh I don't know who's got nothing else to do and is in life a natural target? Sid! Practice on Sid for the next 100 hours and when you're ready you can help hunt." There it would never happen, yet he had compromised, been exceedingly reasonable by cat standards. So why did he feel rather like Manny, maybe they were too alike in avoidance tactics, well with Sid as a common enemy that was bound to happen.
Snowball narrowed his eyes in focus, just nail this and he is on to the big game! All right! He smiled wickedly to himself 'chase and pounce' big time!
Diego smiled to himself he will never accomplish that the kid is so slow! And Sid smiled finally they were a working inseparable unit, Manny had left for now but this half of the herd would never leave him, he was their leader. As they walked the texture of the ground changed subtlety under foot. Diego noticed the lack of structure under his paws and a faint foreign scent, more so when Sid's waddling foot fall caused the ground beneath them to wobble, shake and finally give way, the three fell suddenly into darkness.
Landing naturally on his feet Diego was the first to asses there new situation. The smell of man was now undeniable. They had not fallen far, maybe twenty feet or so into a pit. The lose fern and branch covering above them now fell away where they had fallen through revealing sharpened upward pointed sticks lining the bottom of the pit, luckily no one was hurt, but if they had been the size of a mammoth say... Diego gulped, a tooth lined pit! Very deadly. He studied the smooth sides for a way out but no grip or hold could be seen. Next he tried jumping at the corners but being a big cat he was too heavy for his claws to pull him up enough to jump out. After a few attempts at the walls he devised a new plan. Sid climb me and Snowball climb Sid, maybe we can get close enough for Snowball to climb out. Sid looked away. He knew Snowball was too weak to pull himself out but said nothing, you had to hope so climbed up onto Diego's back then shoulders and finally head, reaching up to the claw marks Diego had left in the walls looking for a grip to get out with but finding nothing. "Come on Snow" he beckoned. Snow climbed clumsily up using his claws at every step causing both to wince. When he finally reached Sid's clawed hands the light of freedom seemed just as far as he clawed uselessly at the smooth sides.
Snowball felt hope fail as he placed his paw unexpectedly on a soft furry trunk and jumped with surprise. Looking up his eyes met with Ellie's as she gripped his paw and pulled him (gently this time) out into the light and set him down beside her. Sid looked up as Snowball became weightless above him and floated off, the thought "He can fly!" just flickered passed as Ellie's trunk reached back down to find him also and pull him up to freedom. Diego had to jump to reach her but he finally made it out and cursed under his breath that after just five minutes away from the mammoths and he had already fallen off a stupid cliff of sorts. Well at least unlike the others this one was kind of concealed, he let himself off with a mere rap, anyone could have fallen into that, anyone. He was not the original 'Wylie Coyote', just unlucky is all. "Thanks Ellie, how did you know?"
"Oh, all this worry about missing a bit of adventure had to pay off eventually! I looked back and saw you disappear, I was kinda hopping you had fallen a little further than that, like miles but, well all's well that ends well! Now if you will excuse me I had better catch up with Manny!"
"Wow what was that?" said Sid as they continued on watching the ground now as much as their surroundings.
"A man trap." Diego answered, there was a lot more to this man beast than met the eye. They looked so weak, yet they were so successful in both catching prey and killing off their adversary i.e. big cats. He needed to know more about them, especially if he did not want to fall prey to them like his original pack.
Manny marched near nonstop all day, quietly Pondering what he was doing, It just didn't feel right without his herd, it's only till tomorrow night he told himself. They stopped at the meet spot to sleep. "Well big day tomorrow." He said to try lighten the mood as they settled under the overhang that formed the rock whale's nose. With no Sid, so no fire they sat silently in the dark, very aware that the rock whale was frowning down at them. They listened to the night time noises of the flat treeless plains around them, sound seemed to travel very well here. A strange deep bellowing far off, a scuffling nearby and of course the useral cricket chirp and owl hoot, With no fire (night light) all seemed very close and frightening. Suddenly a load piercing scream made them jump. Eyes twitched to fellow herd members, what makes that evil noise? Sort of an unworldly banshees cry of pain and tortured suffering.
"I sure hope that's its call and not its victim being eaten." Joked Manny.
"Shh Peaches!" Ellie reminded him, she didn't need to know that things were being eaten out there, if she was honest it was more because she didn't need to know there were things being eaten out there, that cry had sent a shiver of fear that ran straight to her core.
"Dinos remember? She has seen scarier and bigger than whatever that is." Manny replied.
"I'm not scared." Peaches said bravely. (about time I had her say something)
"That's great hon. coz there is nothing to be scared of I'm sure." Said Ellie in a less convincing voice than her daughter. "Why don't you check it out?" She looked to Manny.
"Now? I can't see a thing!" The piercing shriek sounded again closer this time, Manny readied himself to fend off whatever it was that was coming.
Eddie however remembered someone "Emma?" he called out into the darkness.
"Eddie is that you?" came a girls voice from the darkness.
"Wow she sounds nice." Manny whispered to Ellie.
"Shhh. Be nice!" She whispered back.
"No way! After all that grief they gave me when we met, this is pay back time!"
"Manny you are going to have to be big about this, she is his first girl friend so you can't tease him about her yet!"
Manny grumbled.
"Maybe later ok?" Ellie compromised.
"Emma over here, how'd you find us?" Another possum joined the two already in sight, Manny grumbled some more.
"Like I said my sisters an excellent tracker."
"Where is she?" Crash asked tentatively from behind Eddie, possibly so as not to seem too forward.
"Looking for food. You must be Crash, I've heard lot's about you, and this must be your sister?"
"Yeah my big sister, her kid peaches, my brother Crash and my brother in law Manny." Eddie pointed each herd member out in turn.
"I am not your brother in law!" Manny grimaced at the thought of being any way related to a possum, especially that possum.
"You will have to excuse him, he has anger issues." Eddie whispered quite loudly.
"Well it's nice to meet you all." Said Emma sweetly.
"And it's lovely to meet you too." Said Ellie, boy do I sound like mum she thought!
"Well we'll be off now, so see ya in the morning guys."Eddie waved to the mammoths and leptoff, Emma gavea shy wave and followed. Crash stood alone shuffling his feet.
"Hey are you coming?" Came Eddie's voice from the darkness.
Crash smiled from ear to ear "You bet!" and raced after them.
Ellie bit her tongue at the urge to call after them not to be back too late."Well she seems nice." She said instead.
"She seems like any other possum and we already have two too many. It won't be long before we are outnumbered by them." Manny replied wryly.
"You have a lot of trouble expressing love sometimes, if I didn't know you better I would think you meant those words. Luckily I know you better." Ellie teased.
Manny mumbled a bit. Three was a very small number (when you were referring to mammals other than possums, and sloths) and that was what they were currently reduced to. Sure these were his favourite herd members, and sure he knew that being different species they were bound to go their separate ways eventually but this seemed so soon. He returned his thoughts to tomorrow's encounter. Ellie and Peaches snuggled a little closer away from the night time sounds.
"How about we talk about tomorrow, tell Peaches what other mammoths are like?" Ellie smiled reassuringly to Manny, that would get his mind off his missing herd.
Manny smiled grateful for the distraction and began to describe to Peaches all about mammoth culture without any distractions from the non mammoths in the herd. Peaches listened patiently as did Ellie, but both were soon asleep as Manny's voice droned on about stuff that didn't involve giant possums exploding stuff. Manny sighed, well tomorrow they would see and understand why this was so important to him, but for now he too settled to sleep.
Together the three possums raced through the night time landscape of powder snow and long spring grass until they reached some foliage in which to search for their favourite foods. Food for these guys consisted of insects, eggs, fruits and seeds among other things. These were found in abundance among this rarely visited oasis of trees in the middle of the open valley floor.
After a while they satisfied their appetites and sat to talk, Eddie turned to Crash, "So Emma," he began.
"Yes Eddie." Crash replied fluttering his eye lids as best he could.
"AHHHHH." Eddie looked his brother up and down, of course it was Crash, what was he thinking? He turned to the only other possum, but heaved a groan of annoyance instead of his question as he found she was giggling at his mistake. "Well I did say you looked like him."
"I bet that's why you like her so much?" Crash commented unashamedly.
Eddie shot his brother a cold look.
"So what do you guys do for fun?" Emma interrupted the heated atmosphere that was building.
"Well," answered Crash instantly "first we find an arsenal of possible weapons and tools to aid us in tomorrow's pranks, and then we play 'buck master of the dino'......... wit swords........." Eddie wrestled Crashes mouth tightly shut.
"We ah, protect our herd from night time predation with swords and traps and stuff, you know responsible grown up, dangerous stuff."
"Ooo, very impressive." Emma replied with only a mild touch of sarcasm. "So not much time for fun then?"
"We manage to get a little play time in now and again; you know no work and no fun makes......Um..."
Emma waited patiently for the conclusion Eddie was struggling to reach "Makes what?"
Crash struggled free from Eddies grip "Makes you dumb that's what. We just muck about all night every night we both know that!"
"No we don't we are not kids anymore!"
We were the day before yesterday, before you got boring!"
"I'm sorry Emma my brother has moments of madness from being such a baby an all, just ignore him, I always do."
Emma eyed them both; she was going to have fun with these two. Just then out of the darkness Fleet trotted over to meet them.
Crash's eyes went wide as he saw the wolf and before he could stop himself his body became ridged and he collapsed into a dead pose, a useless defence in this situation as climbing the trees surrounding them would have been a better option but sometime you just could not control your instincts. Emma (who had not learnt this classic possum defence method) laughed hysterically at Crash seeming to faint with fear.
Embarrassed Eddie kicked his brother on the rump "Dude this is Emma's sister! Now get up already!" Eddie tried to bite down the frustration in his voice, he was beginning to sound and feel a bit like Manny, but he could not stop the little voice of doubt in the back of his mind whispering (is Crash the reason why you have never really grown up in all these years?) He pulled Crash to his feet, dusted him off like he was half his size and told him quite firmly "you are to stay with Fleet she is your play date while myself and Emma enjoy a real date see you later brother." And with that Eddie took Emma gently but firmly by the arm and led her away.
Crash and fleet stared after them both with jaws agape. For Fleet this was her usual expression with tongue lolling, but for Crash realisation was dawning that he was being dumped for this lookie likie with curve appeal. Something heavy (It could have been that last beetle) plummeted inside him leaving his chest feeling insanely hollow.
After a few minutes he turned to address his fellow abandoned companion. He stared first at her huge feet, a bit of rabbit fur was stuck to her long black claws, he shivered. Next he took in her long fast legs and made a mental note that he was doomed. Then her lithe tall shoulders reaching high above his head, her very pointy ears, and her long muzzle showing row upon row of cruel pointy teeth. His eyes finally settled on her long pink tongue which seemed to be pulsating as she breathed, a long string of slobber hung from the end, it bounced hypnotically with each breath, yet never let go. Frozen by fear or rejection or maybe both, Crash stared at that tongue for a long time feeling endlessly numb. Feeling a little bored Fleet turned her head to address her new friend, the string of slobber hit Crash between the eyes waking him from his stupor in time to cringe with fear as the teeth moved closer to his head ready to snap him up, or so he thought.
"Hi I'm Fleet." Said the wolf in a very polite way. She wondered why her new friend was cowering, then noticed she had accidentally slobbered him. She self-consciously stepped back drawing her tongue back into her mouth so not to drool again, she ashamedly looked away.
With the teeth put away Crash found he could regain the power to breathe easy again "Crash." He replied wiping his face with his arm only to find that there was enough of this stuff to fill a small puddle. He laughed absentmindedly as it gooed the fur on both his face and arms stringing them together with transparent cords. "Urgh, cool gunk. Did you make it yourself?"
Fleet smiled at this, causing her tongue to loll out again, she was relieved not to have offended Crash.
The teeth did not seem quite so threatening this time, but caution still nagged "Are you going to eat me?"
"Not yet." She smiled teeth ran all the way as far as the eye could see down the abyss that was her throat. "Do you like to go fast?"
"What do you mean?" despite the fact that he had no chance of getting away he found himself edging back as she lowered her shoulder to him.
"Jump on I'll show you my favourite game, we go fast, then faster."
"Ok."Crash slowly climbed on disbelieving his body was doing this. He could feel the steady chugging of her lungs from where he sat filling him with a strange enthusiasm. Looking ahead his sight was directed by her pointy ears to a point on the distant horizon.
"Hold tight," She commanded," Now we go fast!" And they seemed to accelerate from 0 to 20 in no time flat clearing the ground beneath them effortlessly! Horizons came and went in a blink, antelope raced beside them clearing them a path, water splashed beneath rushing up in plumes behind them, Crashes tongue fell out his mouth to flag behind his face as they raced on through the night...........
Mean while Eddie and Emma walked under a star filled sky hand in hand oblivious to their siblings.
"So tell me Emma how is it that you came to be calling a wolf sister?" Eddie asked in his best grown up, edging on weird eccentric English voice.
"Well," She paused for effect while she wondered whether or not to reply in a posh tone herself, and decided oh why not? "I was snatched from my real mother by a wolf who rather than eat me gave me to her only cub to practice the fine art of hunting on. Well she left her cub to it as it were, and I thought I was as good as dead when I discovered that this cub was lonely. Left alone all day while the pack hunted and now to practice her skills I found that she was struggling to kill the only thing that would keep her company, so we agreed to be sisters and never to part."
"Did the other wolves accept you as one of the pack?"
"Well of course they did!" Emma snapped, quickly she recovered herself and continued politely "So tell me Eddie how is it that your sister happens to be a mammoth?"
Eddie had been quite shocked at Emma's response to his question, was shocked further by her u-turn in temper and baffled as to how to respond to it all!He came to the simple yet satisfying conclusion that girls are weired and carried on like nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. "Ellie was lost in the snow one cold night, we never found out how she came to be alone but my mother took her in and did her best to raise her. We could have done a better job in hind sight by telling her she was a mammoth, would have saved years of funny but unnecessary confusion. But you just can't make up some of those precious moments of innocent misunderstanding, and it all worked out in the end."
"So she was a baby when you were a baby?"
"Yes, we three grew up together."
"And how many years does it take for a mammoth to mature, eight or nine is it?"
"Yeah about that,so."
"Only when I met you yesterday you were sad about having to grow up. So doesn't that make you a bit slow?"
"No, everyone knows that girls mature way faster than boys."
"But possums take two years, so that's like many years too many, Hell some would have had a mid life crisis or two in that time! Why didn't you just give up? Or get bored trying?"
"Because untill now I never started. Well maybe this is me grown up, maybe you don't really change and become all boring and responsible, maybe you are who you are and that will never change!. I just need to accept that this is who I really am!"
"Well said you can move on now and have fun again playing, what was it? Buck and something with swords?"
"Buck king of dino land, hey you can play if you like! you fight huge monsters with swords and, and....I should really apologise to my brother, I've been a right jerk."
"He's off with Fleet; she was really looking forward to her first date."
"Ha, like puppy love!"
"Well something like that probably won't see him again for a while."
"What shall we do in the mean time I only have fun with him?"
"We will think of some games I'm sure." (bit sinister)