Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters in Ice Age. They all belong to Twentieth Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios, not to me. I also do not own the Lion King characters, for they are owned by Disney. All lines in bold are either from any of the Ice Age movies, any of the Lion King movies, either Brother Bear movie, or from a song that will be specified at the beginning of the applying chapter.

Chapter 6

Diego's P.O.V.

I wake up early this morning and come face to face with a pair of emerald eyes.

"Hi, Daddy!" Junior excitedly says.

"Hi, Junior. Go back to sleep now," I return.

Wait a minute! Junior just opened his eyes and said his first words. I softly nudge Shira.

"What's wrong, Diego?" she murmurs.

"Look who opened his eyes," I tell her while pointing at our eight-day-old son, who is sliding across the floor on his stomach.

"Oh my gosh! Junior, that's fantastic!" Shira excitedly cheers.

"Thanks, Mommy!" Diego Jr. laughs.

"We did a good job naming him. He even has my green eyes," I reveal.

Junior continues sliding across the floor.

"Diego Jr., come back," Shira giggles.

I jump up and grab my son by his scruff, even though he hasn't gone far. I place him beside his siblings, and he ends up flopping between my front paws. I laugh at my oldest cub as he bats a tiny paw at my nose. Junior playfully swats my nose, and I gently nuzzle his head.

"You're so strong, Junior. I think you might be stronger than Daddy," Shira jokes.

Very soon, the other cubs begin to open their eyes. Snowflake opens her eyes next, and I find myself staring into her two sparkling sapphire eyes.

"You have your mother's beautiful blue eyes, Snowflake," I beam as she curls up to my chest.

"I love you, Daddy!" Snowflake cheers as she licks my nose.

"I love you too," I respond.

Shadow's eyes are now open, and I see a mischievous twinkle in his forest green eyes. He begins to pull on Junior's ear, and before I know it, my sons are wrestling for the first time. Of course, neither of them can stand yet, so they just squirm over each other while playfully tugging on one another's ear. Maya opens her eyes next, and she looks over at me, her baby blue eyes sparkling out of curiosity. Will opens his eyes, and I realize that they are hazel, like my father's. My son looks like my father in every way possible. Lily is the sixth cub to open her eyes, and I am happy to see that they are sapphire like Shira's. Lily truly is an exact copy of my beloved mate. Bolt's eyes quickly open, and he looks directly at me with his piercing blue eyes.

"Bolt, come here," I call to my son.

He squirms over, and I let out the breath I didn't realize I was holding.

"Yes, Daddy?" he asks.

"I just wanted to hug you, that's all," I reply while I wrap a paw around my son.

"Fortunately, he is not deaf. White wolves with blue eyes are often deaf, and usually this sentences the pup to death. My son, thankfully, is not deaf, and I know he will grow up happy.

Rose, by now, has her eyes open, and she also has hazel eyes. Two of my cubs have inherited their eye color from their deceased grandfather. Blizzard shows Shira his emerald green eyes, the one trait he has from me. Cierra's eyes are also a deep green, and they greatly contrast from her red pelt. Hunter playfully attacks my paw, and his blue eyes light up when I praise him.

"Nice job, Hunter. If you keep it up, you might be better at hunting than I am," I congratulate my second-oldest son.

"You mean it?" Hunter excitedly asks.

"There's no doubt in my mind. Now, try attacking it again," I tell him.

"Okay, Daddy!" he yells before tumbling over my paw.

"Are you okay, kiddo?" I ask in concern.

"That was fun!" Hunter laughs.

"He's just like his father," Shira giggles as he tries his attack again.

"Is that a bad thing?" I tease.

"Certainly not," Shira grins.

Icicle is the last cub to open her eyes, and I realize that she is the only one of my biological daughters that has green eyes. I regretfully decide that I must go hunting now. After Hunter is done attacking my paw, I wait until Snowflake has moved away from my chest before I stand up.

"Daddy, where are you going?" Bolt and Snowflake question in unison.

"I have to go hunting, cubs. I'll be back shortly. I promise," I explain.

"Can I come?" Junior excitedly asks.

"No, son, you're not big enough to come yet. You can come when you're a bit older," I promise.

"Okay. I'll guard the cave while you're gone!" Junior cheers.

"There's a good boy. Keep your mother and siblings safe while I'm gone," I tell him.

"I will! Don't worry about a thing," Junior says.

"I don't need to worry. My big, strong son will take care of things while I'm gone," I smile.

I nuzzle each of the cubs and kiss Shira before leaving the cave. After jumping down the rocks, I head into the woods to look for some prey.

Upon reaching my hunting grounds, I catch a familiar, but unwanted, scent. Kovu's scent is throughout the clearing, and I start to wonder why he has been in my territory to begin with. I quickly find an injured yak, and I begin to stalk closer, using the snowy grass as cover. When I am within inches of my prey, I jump up and clamp its jaw shut in an effort to smother it. I taste the thick, hot blood of the yak as my sabers stab into its hairy neck. The yak sinks to its knees, and I swiftly deliver the death blow to my prey. Unlike other predators, I do not enjoy tormenting my prey before I kill it. My real father taught me to be merciful and grateful to my prey. My step-father couldn't care less whether prey was tortured or not. He always disapproved of me and called me weak. One day he even went as far as to try and drown me in the frozen river. I will never be like my step-father. He is cruel, heartless, and the world's biggest jerk. After he married my mother, he became Alpha, which was supposed to go to me since I was my father's oldest cub. When my half-brothers were born my step-father made them first in line for becoming Alpha. My brother and I were mad, but Brooke, my sister, didn't mind as much. I wonder if she's changed.

Author's Note: I am sooooooooooooo sorry for taking this long to update! I have had a lot of schoolwork to do, every night and on the weekends. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll try to update as soon as I can. As always, thank you for your support, views, and comments!