A/N: Ok, ok, I've got some explaining to do. First, Diego had started walking away from the herd and was in the forest at this time. I don't know if I made that clear...
Second, this IS NOT THE CHAPTER in which Diego's flip-out is explained. That will be chapter 9. There was a slight mix-up in the chapters and so you will have to wait. However, Chapter 9 is already written and typed up, so all I have to do is put some finishing touches on it and it will be up soon! Thanks for your patience and thanks for the reviews!
I swallowed and considered turning back to the herd until I heard a panting voice say feebly, "Diego, wait up!"
I tensed. How did this intruder know my name? I opened my mouth to roar, then shut it again.
I knew that voice.
Sid ran up to me and said, "You can't just leave us!"
"What?"
"You can't just leave us! What will Peaches do without her Uncle Diego?"
I said quietly, "She'll learn to live without him, Sid."
"But what will Manny and Ellie do without you?"
"They have each other."
"What will she do without you?"
"What? Who?"
"What will Shira do without you?"
There was a moment of silence. "Sorry, Sid," I told him. "You guys will figure it out."
Sid stood there for a second longer.
"We're a herd! A family! Or…we're supposed to be…"
"They wouldn't take me back anyway," I said quietly. "Go on, Sid."
And he walked away, back to the family that was not mine, would never be mine.
The family I would never be part of was right behind me.
I could choose to go back right then and there. But I'd made my place clear.
I'd thrown everything the herd thought they knew about me into the fire and I deserved to stand back and watch it burn with the rest of them.
