Okay, much longer chapter because the place I wanted to cut it off at only left the chapter with 1, 024 words. The humans are finally coming into play. The human parts were very difficult as only Cache and Jasper can understand them and huamsn don't naturally communicate through body language as non-human animals do.
"What happened to you two?" Manny asked incredulously. Ellie's eyes widened in concern as she turned to see what Manny was referring to. Jasper was limping slightly and leaning against Diego's broad shoulder every few steps for support. Cass, who held her pup tightly in her jaws, had heard it all and continued forward without pause.
Jasper smiled sheepishly. "We had a little disagreement."
"You were fighting?" Ellie's voice raised an octave and Diego winced at her apparent concern.
"Like Jasper said we just had a little disagreement. At least now I'm sure there's no ambush for us up ahead." Manny's eyes widened slightly before narrowing in suspicion. Diego was brushing this off as nothing, though Manny, Ellie and even Sid and the possums could see the tension in his shoulders as his tawny fur brushed against Jasper's ebony pelt. They wisely decided that it would be better if they didn't ask.
Ellie looked at her brothers who were sitting silently on her tusks. "What's wrong guys?" Crash and Eddie looked around at her like they had just been awakened from a dream and blinked a few times.
"Huh?" asked Crash.
"I said 'What's wrong guys?'"
"It's just…" Crash trailed off.
"We've never seen humans before and--"
"From what we've heard…"
"We're trying to be quiet so they don't find us."
"We're also a little scared, Ellie." Crash hugged Ellie's trunk tightly and was soon joined by Eddie. Ellie smiled and patted them both on the head with her trunk.
"Don't you worry your pretty little heads, Diego and Jasper know what they're doing and we'll get out of this just like we have every time before this." Ellie smiled warmly down at them and they returned the gesture. She hid her worry from her brothers as she gazed back at said mammals. She caught Sid's eye as she turned away and gave him a reassuring smile.
Suddenly, a haunting howl arose from the distance. It rose in pitch until it became nearly ear-splitting then dropped low and carried on until it reached its abrupt end. Fear evident in their eyes, Jasper and Cass both felt a biting chill run down their spines.
"It's a hunting call." Cass whispered as if she believed that if she spoke too loud wolves would rush from the undergrowth with teeth bared and hackles raised.
"They've found our scent." Jasper added and pressed his uninjured shoulder against Cass in an attempt to comfort her and her shaking pup. "Let me carry him." He whispered to her and licked her face softly. She reluctantly picked the little brown bundle up from where she had set him down between her front legs and put him down again in front of Jasper. He smiled sadly at her and gently grasped lil' Diego in his jaws.
"We have to run!" Diego said to Manny and Ellie who hesitated. "We can't risk a fight!" He insisted and the two mammoths moved forward at a quick trot. Jasper and Cass took off at a characteristically lupine, ground-eating lope that a wolf could keep up for days if he was in good condition--unfortunately, Jasper was not. He stumbled a few times, but always regained his balance and his iron-fisted hold on lil' Diego. Unfortunately for Diego sabers are not long distance runners; he kept falling behind as he tried to pace himself.
They all heard the excited barks and cries from the pursuing wolves and their humans. The snow churned up by the retreating herd turned to powder as it flew through the air. "They're closing in!" Diego called. Jasper's eyes widened and his firm grip on his charge tightened by the smallest degree. He made a snap decision and gritted his back teeth as he made a sharp left and turned back towards Manny. Jasper saw the surprised looks he was receiving as he leapt high into the air, but his eyes were only for Manny. His paws thudded hard against the mammoth's hide. Quick as death, he deposited lil' Diego in Sid's arms, leapt from Manny's back and raced back, past Diego and the others with a grim expression.
"Go ahead! We don't have time to argue!" Jasper ordered. Diego nudged Manny forward with his shoulder when he saw the mammoth hesitate.
What is he doing? Cass wondered. Please be okay.
What's he trying to do now? Diego questioned. If you get hurt…I don't know what I'll do. "I'll kill him, that's what!" Diego mumbled to himself, though he didn't believe the words himself. He cast a worried glance over his shoulder, but Jasper was long gone by now. Diego could scarcely see his friend's paw prints in between his own wider, deeper ones.
If I don't make it back…I'm sorry Cass. I really am. I never meant to put you or your pup in danger.
His senses told him that his former 'pack' was dead ahead. He could hear their ragged breathing and the lead dog's baying call to attack. His ears perked uncertainly; something about that bark made him think of old times and vanished friends. Jasper shook his head to clear it of that particular thought; he couldn't let those thoughts cloud his judgment.
"What is Jasper up to?" Ellie asked.
"He's going to try and divert the tribe's attention away from us so we can have enough time to get away." Cass answered sadly as she trotted beside the she-mmoth. She glanced up to see that Ellie had turned her face away to focus on the ground in front of her. Cass sighed and looked up and to her left to see Sid silently cradling her son in his arms. Lil' Diego was sound asleep and Cass let a small' relieved smile find its way to her muzzle.
"Who are you?" growled a small grey wolf with a v-shaped scar in his left ear. Jasper stepped forward and let a vicious snarl rip its way up his throat and echo around the large clearing. His lips were pulled back into a horrible snarl and his shining white fangs were as white as the snow that they stood on and contrasted deeply with Jasper's black as night coat. The grey wolf took a small step backwards and another, larger wolf with russet fur and golden eyes. The realization struck Jasper like a rhino's horn and the snarl was replaced by a baffled expression. All of the other wolf's hostility dropped like a rock and an equally astounded expression took hold.
"Cache!?"
"Jasper!?"
"How are you alive?"
"How are you alive?"
"You were dead when they dragged you away that night!"
"I was told that you ran off and were killed by a pack of sabers!"
"I--wait, what?"
"I said--"
"I know what you said! Explain it though!" The other wolves in the clearing mumbled uncertainly among themselves and stared curiously at the two wolves at their center.
The whoosh! of a spear sailing through the air silenced the mutterings, but only when the spear landed solidly in the snow between the two wolves at the clearing's center did all sounds cease. Jasper stared at the ominous piece of wood in shock. Cache's face was one of fear for his old friend.
Two humans stepped from the trees. Only the older of the two held his spear at the ready. At the sight of the eldest human, Jasper's icy eyes widened until the whites of his eyes reflected the rising rays of the sun. It's--It's my boy! His boy made a signal that Jasper recognized even after all this time. Cache's eyes hardened; Jasper's heart jumped into his throat.
"Link…Drake…Dash…Hunt… Marsh…Eve…back down." The russet wolf's voice was as solid as a glacier and just as cold. The wolves looked uncertain whether to listen to their master or their leader. The decision was made quickly; all six wolves dropped their heads, spread their forelegs, bared their teeth, and snarled. Though mystified, Cache hardened his resolve and turned his back to Jasper and faced his former pack. Jasper ignored the relief that flooded him and dropped into a defensive stance. Jasper's eyes followed his boy's every move and begged him to remember the wolf pup he had raised.
Jasper saw the sudden flash of recognition in those eyes and watched as his boy lowered his spear. He made a signal to the wolves, telling them to cease, then stepped forward into the circle created by the pack's bodies. Cache took a few steps back, but Jasper stood steady as his boy approached.
Chapter 13
Diego paused mid-step and listened to the sound of a familiar wolf's howl. Cass had also stopped and was now listening with a smile on her face.
"What's he saying?" Diego asked softly.
"Who is that?" Ellie asked.
"Is that Jasper?" came Sid's question.
"He says he's found his boy and that he and a good friend are coming to meet us." She looked to her left and saw Manny's suspicious expression. "He also says not to worry, Manny…He's bringing Pinkie too." Diego, Sid, and Manny's faces all lit up with excitement and disbelief.
"Pinkie?" asked Sid.
"How does he know it's him?" Manny's tone held more disbelief than excitement; quite the opposite of the floppy green thing that rode atop his head.
"He can understand most, if not all, of their language." Diego began quietly.
Cass finished, "His boy told him."
The silence was killing the twins. "So….we just wait here for them?" Crash asked what was on all of their minds. Cass couldn't find words; Diego just shrugged.
A sudden rustling in the stiff undergrowth behind them called everyone's attention. Jasper and a slightly smaller, unfamiliar russet wolf stepped from the undergrowth. Jasper flicked his tail, signaling the other wolf to stay back as he padded forward to greet his friends. Cass rushed forward and buried her muzzle in the thick fur on his neck. Sid handed lil' Diego to Manny who lowered him to the ground to go greet his surrogate father. The chocolate-furred wolf pup rushed Jasper and nearly tackled the larger wolf with oversized paws and a ceaseless licking tongue.
Cache sat back and watched the surprising display of affection. "Are they yours?" asked the russet wolf with a tip of his head towards Cass and lil' Diego. Jasper looked up with confusion written across his face. "Your mate? Your pup?" Cache clarified for him. Jasper blinked a few times and looked back at the both of them then turned back to Cache with a soft smile.
"I--I think they are."
"Jasper, who is this?" Ellie asked warily.
"Oh," He jumped as if suddenly remembering the other wolf's presence, "guys this…is Cache."
Maybe Crash was a psychic. "No way!"
Eddie, ever the one to state the obvious. "Dude, you said he died!"
"How can he be sitting right there!?" Crash chimed.
Jasper opened his mouth to answer then closed it again; Cache hadn't told him that story. "The humans took me to their healer. Turns out they still wanted me after all that." Cache's stance and voice showed amusement, but his eyes told a different story. Jasper stared hard at the other wolf for what seemed an eternity before turning to Manny, Ellie, and the others.
"You ready to meet Pinkie?"
Jasper and Cache had left nearly a half an hour ago to retrieve his boy and Pinkie. The nervous energy running through Manny caused him to fidget restlessly and snap at almost everyone; he no more believed that the black wolf had found the human boy they had dubbed 'Pinkie' than he believed that Diego would all of a sudden become a vegetarian. Ellie seemed nervous as well, while Sid was only anxious to see the boy they had rescued from certain death again and the twins were anything but nervous. Diego sat silently with his back to all of them.
Manny tensed when Diego gracefully leaped to his feet. Seconds afterwards, Jasper and Cache stepped from the underbrush for the second time that day only this time two human men stepped out behind them. Neither held spears or any weapons, but Manny still pushed Ellie behind him protectively. The eyes of everyone in the herd save Diego and Manny widened—Sid's in recognition and disbelief, Ellie and the twin's in wariness and awe. Diego was equally stunned, but kept his emotions hidden, while Manny's face was one of suspicion, apprehension, and a hint of unmistakable loving recognition—the boy they had cared for all that time ago, was now grown and standing before him again. The bull mammoth couldn't help the small flash of pride he felt at the sight of the young man; dressed in deer skins from head to toe, long thick hair hanging in his eyes and a painted-on saber's paw print adorning the cloth above his heart. Wonder what Diego will think of that? Manny thought absently.
The boy's small dark eyes were alight with something akin to amazed recognition. He grew up listening to the story of his early childhood, but never actually believed those farfetched stories of a small child being returned to his father by a mammoth and a sloth. He had always had dreams of those animals, but had written it off as childish fantasies due to the crazed imaginations of his elders. Though, one element of those dreams kept him from completely dismissing the idea: the saber. His father and the others had never mentioned a saber being in the group, yet every time he had one of those dreams the saber would be there.
Diego tensed as the boy's eyes rested upon him. The boy locked eyes with the saber and both knew instantly that they had surely met before. The boy smiled and Diego only stared in shock. Sid was…right? How is that even possible? Diego thought back to when Sid had suggested that because the herd had raised the boy that he wouldn't hunt them all that time ago. He blinked a few times and turned his head to see the others' reactions. Sid was staring with open awe and elation while Manny's face was written with disbelief and a slight hint of his usual over-protectiveness and Ellie only gazed in amazement and slight awe; if the twins opened their jaws any farther they would hit the ground. Diego smirked slightly and turned his attention to his right where Jasper sat beside Cache—both of which seemed quite pleased with themselves—with Cass and lil' Diego on his other side. Cass kept her son between her front paws and her determined and slightly fearful glare never left the humans.
They all jumped when the eldest human spoke while glancing in Cache's direction. The russet wolf stood, ears perked to listen, trotted quickly towards the man and sat before him obediently. The man said a few more things before Cache turned back to the herd and Jasper's family.
"He says to tell you thank you. He doesn't know what he would have done if that saber had gotten Roshan too."—only Jasper and Sid noticed Diego's guilt-ridden wince at those words—"He also wishes that you will allow Roshan to stay with you for a night or two to become…reacquainted with his saviors." Manny's brow furrowed and Diego frowned; no matter that they had basically saved the child's life, he was a human hunter now and would not hesitate to take them all in their sleep. The two also knew that they would never hear the end of it from Sid if they were to deny this opportunity.
Diego shot Jasper a glance that said "We're not going to be sleeping tonight" and stepped forward with a quick, steadying glance to Manny. He stared hard at the large russet wolf that sat loyally at the feet of his masters before moving his eyes up to meet those of the boy he helped rescue all that time ago. The boy released a small gasp and took the tiniest step backwards; the pungent scent of fear filled his nostrils and his instincts told him the human would be easy prey, but he stopped his thoughts before they went too far.
"Tell them we said it's alright as long as all weapons stay with his father." Diego stated; his voice leaving no room for discussion. He was not about to let his herd be taken down by a scrawny human boy and his elderly father. Cache turned to play another game of charades with the communication-deficient humans.
After a few moments, Cache turned back to them. "The father wants to stay as well. He can see that you don't want to lose Jasper for the night and he wants to spend time with him." When Diego made no reply Cache continued. "He agrees to the no weapons rule. Jasper and I will go with him to bury the spears." The saber visibly relaxed yet the tension still stayed in his thick shoulders as he nodded his approval.
The father saw this and raised his spear slowly, indicating that he was going to bury the weapon, and turned with Jasper and Cache on his heels. Diego watched them go with something akin to distraught in his emerald orbs. Jasper seems so happy with that human. What if… He was pulled abruptly from his thoughts by a nervous cough from the boy, who still stood beneath the tree, looking anxious and slightly fearful. As he should be. There are three mammals here that could kill him with ease…one of which would enjoy the kill. Diego shook his head free of those thoughts and turned, hoping that the boy would know to follow.
Diego could hear the soft footfalls of the boy's boots against the powdery snow as he trailed behind the predator. Manny and the others turned with him. Manny kept one eye on the boy and one eye on Ellie the entire time. Sid dropped back to walk to the side of the boy. Roshan smiled nervously and waved to Sid who returned the gesture enthusiastically. Roshan seemed to relax slightly.
Don't worry about those wolves Cache mentioned, they're only very small characters. You may see them again, but the biggest part they'll have is in...oops, can't tell you that! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and remember to leave a truthful review!
-Phantom
