So here it is chapter 4. YAY! I'm very happy with how this story is coming along. As I said in the last chapter you now get to meet this mysterious mammoth. You also get to know a bit about Jewel's past and why she is so terrified of Troy. This chapter has slight violence which only looks back to last chapter. Okay enough of me talking, back to the story. :P
Roshan knew exactly who this bull mammoth was and was just as furious as Manny was to see him. "Troy! I thought I made it clear before to stop chasing after Jewel or do I need to give you another reminder!" Roshan said with pure rage as he held up his spear. Troy only chuckled at Roshan's threat. "Please like I would listen to a weak human like you." Troy said as he stepped forward only to be stopped by the sound of Manny's growling. "If you won't listen to him then you better listen to me. Stay away from Jewel or else." Manny threatened giving him a death glare which seemed to make the young bull mammoth take a few steps back but not threatening enough to make him back down completely.
Just as Troy was about to advance another bull mammoth emerged from the forest. This bull mammoth had pure black fur and brown eyes similar to Manny's and was about the same height as Jewel if not taller. Troy recognized the bull mammoth and figured if he made it seem like he was on Troy's side that the older bull mammoth would see him as a threat too and get rid of him. Troy decided to put his plan into action. "Ah Ryan, there you are. Care to join the party?" Troy smirked as the black bull mammoth stopped close to Troy. Manny was now growling at the new bull mammoth who just appeared fearing this was a friend of Troy's and was going to fight alongside him. Troy could see his plan was working and smirked as Manny continued to growl at Ryan knowing soon Ryan would be no more. Jewel's eye shot open upon hearing Ryan's name and forced herself to stand up. Meanwhile Ryan saw Roshan and knew Jewel wasn't far away.
As if on cue Ryan saw Jewel struggling to get up. After a few failed attempts she was finally able to stand up with the help of Manny who took his eyes of the two young bull mammoths to help her stand let her lean on him for support. Ryan had a horrified look on his face when he saw the gashes on her face, chest, and leg. He would have teared up if it wasn't for a sudden burst of rage boiling inside of him. Troy was chuckling to himself when suddenly he was on his side in the lake. Everyone including Troy looked surprised by the sudden action except for Ryan who was growling at Troy. Ryan had used his tucks to knock over Troy who as twice the size of him. Ryan glared at Troy for a moment then turned his attention on Jewel who was fighting the tears in her eyes. Ryan's rage subsided as he walked over to Jewel, who somehow managed to run halfway to Ryan before breaking down in tears. As soon as she reached him she buried her face in his fur and began to shake as she continued to cry as Ryan wrapped his trunk around her neck to try to comfort her.
Everyone was surprised by this except for Roshan who walked over to the young couple. "I was beginning to wonder if we were ever going to see you again buddy." Roshan said as he laid his hand on Ryan's shoulder. Ryan gave his human friend a soft smile. "I thought so too until I picked up on Troy's scent and knew that he would be following Jewel's so I just followed him and here I am." Ryan said as he saw Jewel had calmed down and took a few steps back. Just as everything seemed peaceful they remembered Troy was still there after hearing his groans and seeing him get up. Manny was about to charge at him when he felt a trunk hold him back by his tusk. He was expecting to see Ellie but was surprised to see it was Jewel.
She had somehow managed to walk over to his left side and without him knowing. She looked up at him with her sea-like eyes and seeing the look she was giving him made Manny calm down. Jewel always knew just how to calm her stepdad down. "Forget about it. Let's just go back to the campsite, please." Jewel begged as she gently nudged him with her head. Seeing this Ryan came over to her other side so he was in between her and Troy and rested his trunk on her shoulder which earned a smile and a small glance from Jewel. Knowing Jewel was right Manny wrapped his truck around her right tusk to help keep her up. Ryan did the same with her left tusk and together they helped Jewel walk to where the rest of the herd was and then together they made their way back towards camp. Troy growled at the herd as he watched them disappear. Jewel glanced back at him before seeing him walk off in the direction he came from. None of the other members of the herd saw her looking at him. It wasn't until she almost fell on her face that turned her attention back on what she was doing as they started their short journey back to camp, well short for everyone else. For Jewel it felt like a 1oo mile walk.
Diego, Sid, and the possum brothers were leading the way followed by Roshan and Ellie, who kept looking back to make sure Jewel was alright as Manny and Ryan were in either sides of her supporting her as she walked. Ryan noticed that Jewel was having difficulty getting around. "Are you ok? Do you need to take a break?" Ryan asked as they continued to the campsite. "No I'm fine. Let's just get back to the campsite." Jewel said trying not to worry Ryan or her stepdad. After a few minutes they made it back to the camp and Ellie took Jewel by her trunk and lead her over to the cave entrance and pulled out a container that was more than half way full of water. Crash and Eddie stayed by Manny wanting to hear what Ryan was going to say and t see how Manny would react.
Roshan had followed them and handed Ellie a piece of cloth he had for her to use to clean Jewels wounds. While Ellie and Roshan were taking care of Jewel, Manny turned towards Ryan who stayed behind with Manny knowing he would have a lot of questions being thrown at him. As if on cue Manny starts bombarding Ryan with questions. "How do you know Jewel? Who is this Troy guy? Why is he chasing her?" Manny asked his face turning blue due to lack of oxygen. "Manny relax. Give the kid a chance to explain." Diego piped up much to Ryan's relief.
Ryan took a deep breath since he had five pairs of eyes on him before beginning his tale. "It all started almost a year ago. I belonged to the same herd as Troy. We were heading for your yearly grazing grounds when we spotted another mammoth herd. I was part of Troy's gang at the time and we were ordered by the leader of the herd to check out this unknown herd. Well we got close to the herd and the first thing we noticed was a young pure white shemmoth standing in the middle of the herd being guarded by the rest of the herd and more importantly a large red brown bull mammoth who was the closest to her and looked like the leader. It was like she was a rare gem that needed protecting. Anyway we took count of how many were in the herd and reported back to our leader. After Troy told her about seeing a young pure white shemmoth our leader seemed to be as intrigued about her as Troy was." Ryan said as Manny had a look of rage mixed with concern on his face. Before Ryan continued Manny chimed in. "Your leader, was she a large silver white shemmoth?" Manny asked. "Yeah she was. But how…?" Ryan started to say but stopped as Manny started to pace a bit muttering to himself. The young bull mammoth, sloth, saber, and two possum brothers all looked at each other with worried looks.
Finally after pacing and muttering to himself for a bit Manny finally returned his attention back towards the group. "I had hoped Elizabeth would have left Jewel alone but it looks like she is still as determined as ever." Manny said and he looked over at Jewel who was laughing at something Ellie had said. Ryan and the others looked at Manny knowing he knew more than he was leading on.
CLIFFHANGER! I'm ending the chapter here since the next chapter is going to be longer and this one is long enough. So that was a bit of Jewel and Ryan's background for you. Yes Ryan and Jewel are a couple just like Manny and Ellie are. You'll find out how this happened in the next chapter. And yes I add another mysterious mammoth though this one is more important to know. She is, in a way, the villain in this story. Until the next Chapter Fluttercordfan77 signing off. ( I just had to) ;P
