Diego released the weasel without thinking, satisfied with his answer. Buck sighed, shot a perturbed glance back at the tiger, and sprang away like a cricket. Diego laughed as the poor, witless creature bounded away.
And then it occurred to him.
He still needed directions.
Buck leapt madly through the snow, flurries of white mess exploding on all sides of him, dusting his fur and leaving a trench of unearthed frozen ground behind his scurrying paws. his breath came out in ragged puffs, burning his tiny heaving lungs. Just when he thought his head would burst, he heard the heavy bounding gait of the saber.
With his last trembling breath, he let out a a small scream of panic and frustration before jumping into a snow drift, going as far and high as his exhausted legs would carry him.
Diego gained on the weasel, staying downwind and light-footed until he felt he was close enough to risk dropping a few cautionaries. He heard the weasel give a windless moan before leaping incredibly far and disappearing into a heaping of flakes. Like a bomb setting off about a magician, the weasel vanished, tumbling down some unseen path. Diego pounced after him, digging ferociously through the snow while still moving forward, desperate and determined not to lose Buck.
Peaches wiped a tear and meandered through pastel-lit trails weaving through thickets thick enough to keep out snow. Thoughtful. Pondering her given situation, she wondered if switching tactics would be a wiser course of action than simply discarding her original plan and attempting a new one. Matthias might be sympathetic. Perhaps she could win him over. Peaches laughed at the prospect, though it felt hollow. She didn't know why it was funny, only that under normal circumstances- what was normal to her, anyway?- she would have. An aching feeling of emptiness gnawed at her stomach.
She wandered far and long, drifting away from her last ties to home.
Manny glared. Sid stared. It was very quiet beneath the frosted chinaberry tree. Tension oozed from Sid's every pore, while anger seemed to emanate from the Mammoth's very being. Sid stared empathetically at his friend, trying to read the deep rooted pain and torment beneath the shell of rage. Somewhere deep inside of him, thought Sid, he's still mourning another lost child.
Sid thought of Peaches, of Ellie and their look-alike charming smiles, of how overjoyed he'd been just to see Manny show some sign of interest in his future mate. And his niece was beyond words beautiful. Not in looks, or her words, but something within herself that was all her own- a shining light of vibrance and youth that could light up or tear down his day in dazzling beams of flames. The sparkle in her playful eye was merely one of many exit routes that her soul chose to shine through. He saw Manny- really saw him for the first time in years- and grieved for the lost young mammoth. Grieved for Ellie, and the possums- annoying little brats that they were to him- but mostly he grieved for his friend. His best friend. Who had, on countless occasions, trodden on him physically and emotionally, and hadn't always repaired the damage right away, but was simply himself. Manny had (unwillingly, at first) offered him a source of companionship, something they'd both needed. Manny, who had come after him when he'd fallen into the underground Utopia of prehistoric creatures.
Sid sucked in a breath.
He'd never said thank you properly.
But now wasn't the time. The little needling pain struck him again.
He hoped Diego knew what he was doing when he left their lost friend.
It was an odd sight, indeed, when a smug Diego came trotting back with a screaming, frenzy of brown fur tucked neatly in between his jaws. Crude language drifted across the frost-covered field, accompanied by the low rumble of Diego's muffled laughter. Sid hung back, not sure if this was a good time to be around the madman that hung from his tiger-friend's jaws. Or Diego. The laugh was scaring him. It wasn't natural. Not the way he was laughing his new, unusual laugh.
Diego chuckled to the sloth out of the corner of his mouth as the thing thrashed about, screeching and clawing at air in a desperate attempt to find purchase to escape. "You won't believe it. You won't believe it."
Sid was pretty sure he could believe anything, at this point. Baby human befriends saber-tooth? Seen it. End of the world? Still standing! Imaginary world of dinosaurs and a weasel-y Steve Irwin? Been there, done that. Pirates, ice vessels, moving continents? Please.
"Hit me with your best shot, buddy."
Thanks for reviewing, guys!
Review again, please? I want to know how you guys are. How's life? Chapter too short? What would you suggest I add? What do you like about this story? Are the characters in character? Who's your potential love interest at this point in your daily journeys? Excited for any holiday festivities? How was Hanukkah? What do latkes taste like? What are you up to this Christmas? What's your favorite aspect of this story, or of any of my stories if you've read others. Please feel free to delve into details. PLEASE. PLEASE. I live off reviews like fish live off water. Like we need nutrient rich food to live, I need word rich reviews. Well, eve n just a one word review is fine by be. I just love you all.
