The water had withdrawn entirely, the ground safe. At least for the animals that were still alive. There were some scattered corpses that had Akira feeling a little sick when wondering the state of her herd and pack. The cub clambered beside her, staying close as they approached the boat. Mammals piled off it, some looking solemn, some merely content and some outright embracing the ground and showering it in kisses and with praises. Akira cracked a smile at the latter. Her eyes scanned the crowds of mammals but she couldn't pick out any Northern Sabres. She saw a few of the Southern kind like Diego but none that matched her nor the cub.
"Nine lives indeed," The Nigrae that had rescued her approached. "And the rest are to stay. I don't plan on getting in any more near-death experiences any time soon." He chuckled, glancing at the cub beside her. "None of the Sabres on board were missing a cub." Akira winced at this, the cub looking up at them with wide eyes. "My m-mummy and daddy said everything would be okay before they left." Both felines suddenly narrowed their eyes. "Left? Left where?" The cub shuffled uneasily, "T-they said goodnight and that everything would be okay when I woke up. Mummy was crying but she promised." Akira's mouth fell open in disbelief realized what had happened. The baby sabre's parents had abandoned him.
"Your parents aren't coming back, cub." The sabress snarled at the Nigrae's harsh words but immediately averted her attention to the cub who began to cry. She pulled him close, "What's your name, sweetheart?" Akira asked, nudging the cub with her nuzzle reassuringly. "Perdito," He sniffled. "Akira," She offered softly and the cub gave a watery smile before looking at the onyx feline expectantly with big blue eyes. "Solus," The Nigrae offered gruffly. The sabress glared but their attention was quickly averted as there were small tremors in the ground. Perdito scrambled between her legs, underneath as his small form trembled. Akira was too shocked to calm the cub and reassure him. Over the horizon emerged a herd of mammoths.
So Manny and Ellie weren't the last ones, she thought to herself with a smile before it fell. Manny and Ellie. Crash, Eddie, Sid and Diego. She had to find them. If there was anything left to find. She shuddered at the thought as she hastily picked up Perdito by his scruff, the cub yelping the surprise. Solus raised an eyebrow at her frantic movements. Akira didn't pay him much mind, looking around as she made her way closer to the cluster of animals awed by the mammoths. She was starting to lose hope, thinking the worse when she found a familiar looking sloth alongside a familiar sabre with two mammoths and two possums. She set Perdito down and went to approach them when she paused, looking over her shoulder to see Solus walking away. "Solus!" The Nigrae halted, glancing at her. "Thank you,"
He nodded and she could've sworn she saw the stoic feline crack a small smile before he turned and bounded off. She approached Sid and Diego, frowning as the mammoths and possums were nowhere to be seen. The mammoth herd was moving and she frowned deeper when she spotted Ellie and her brothers among them. Approaching Diego and Sid from behind, she sat beside the sloth, Perdito plopping down beside her. "You okay, Sid?" She questioned, grinning at the sniffling sloth. She snickered as the sloth screeched, jumping in surprise. He whirled around before his face broke out into a wide grin. "Akira!" She managed to keep them both upright as he lunged at her. "Did you miss me, Sid?" She inquired cheekily.
The sloth was sobbing into her shoulder and she looked down, genuinely a little worried now. "Sid?" The sloth reared back, tear-streaked face obscured with a glad grin. "Really bad sense of deja vu, that's all." He said and Diego chuckled behind him, coming to stand beside the sloth. "How did you survive the fall?" Akira tilted her head, tempted to mention Solus but refrained. "Nine lives, baby." The sabre grinned at that, "So you, uh, sticking around?" Akira shrugged, "Got myself attached, didn't I?" She gestured her head to Sid who grinned impossibly wider. "Better be or else we'd have taken you with us by force." The Sabres and the sloth looked back with a grin to see Manny and Ellie walking toward them. "Hey, Tiger." The mammoth grinned.
Akira smiled. Sarcastic Manny was good but Happy Manny was refreshing. "Akira!" She laughed as the possums threw themselves at her. "Handfuls you two are but, I missed you." She nuzzled the possums, looking up with a smile as she felt a soft trunk caress her head. Ellie smiled back down at her. "I never thanked you for what you did for my brothers. Thank you so much." Akira's smile softened, "You don't have to thank me, Ellie." "But I'm going to." The sabress and shemmoth smiled at each other. "So who's your friend?" Eddie questioned and the herd's attention shifted to the cub hiding underneath the sabress. Pedito whimpered at the eyes on him. "It's okay, hun." She assured. "He was abandoned by his parents. I can't-well, I don't want to leave him as they did." Ellie smiled, reaching out her trunk, "Of course. Hey little guy."
Pedito looked up at Akira with uncertainty but as a silent question to which she smiled, nodding softly. He warily padded forward to trunk distance of Ellie. The shemmoth rubbed his head gently, both females smiling as Pedito purred in content. "Cute little guy he is." And with that, they started their journey outside of the glacier walls. Pedito walked with Ellie for a bit before he fell in step with Sid who told him of a surprisingly detailed story of how he, Manny and Diego saved a human baby. She glanced Diego who was matching her pace, "He's joking right?" The sabre grinned, shaking his head, "It was quite the adventure." Akira shook her head, blinking in mild surprise. Her herd was unusual, of course before the females and possums joined they had to have been on some memorable adventure. Akira smiled absently at that; her herd.
Latin to English Translation:
Nigrae - Nigrum Pantherae - Black Panther
Perdito - Perdita - Lost
Solus - Alone