CHAPTER 14: "The Dogs of War"
Uncle Fungus sat on top of the fallen trunk while the family ate the breakfast they had gathered that morning. Rose's senses had been failing for as long as he could remember, and he always took it upon himself to be the lookout while everyone ate and relaxed. When it came to the family hierarchy, Uncle Fungus was at the bottom of the family tree order, and though he never got along with Rose's mate (and the possible reason why he was at the bottom) he figured he was posted there as lookout. Zak and Marshall had the highest branches, with Sid in between them, and then Bernie. How he was below his dim-witted nephew was beyond him. Rose's mate must have really disliked him compared to his middle son.
He still couldn't figure out how Sid managed to survive as long as he did. Sid was his mother's son, so his natural instincts were zero to none. Perhaps his story about traveling with other animals was true, but he wouldn't admit anything till he saw some real proof.
They decided to have breakfast without Sid, since he never really stated when in the day he would return to visit. He watched quietly as Rose chatted with Cindy over female sloth subjects, and Bernie made a little pig out of himself, stuffing mushrooms and fruit in his mouth eagerly. The older sloth turned his head and looked in another direction.
Ever since Uncle Fungus woke up he sensed something strange in the air, but the scent was too subtle for him to determine what it was exactly. For the most part he shrugged it off but as the morning wore on, the scent grew a little stronger. Uncle Fungus still couldn't figure out what it was from, but suddenly his instincts told him to find safety. And that was all the information he needed.
"Rose." he called to her as he slid off the fallen trunk. "Rose, let's go."
"Go? Where are we going?" she asked. Uncle Fungus urged her to her feet, and motioned Cindy to pick up Bernie. She seemed a little uneasy and he knew she most likely sensed what he sensed.
"Just come with me, Rose." he replied, not wanting to frighten her but he didn't want to be slow in things. He led her to a tree so she wouldn't walk straight into it, and then urged his sister into climbing up it. Without any protest, Rose did so and once she stood on a limb she looked down to see Bernie climbing after her.
"Did you sense something, Uncle Fungus?" Bernie asked. He stopped in mid-climb to see the area.
"Bernie, just climb!" he scolded his little nephew causing the little sloth to flinch, but he did what he was told. He motioned to Cindy to go up after him and glanced back. Uncle Fungus tried to remain calm but sense of urgency increased as his instincts shouted Go, now! RUN!
"Uncle Fungus! Climb!" Bernie shouted.
The older sloth didn't need to be told twice. When he had looked back he saw several figures moving swiftly through the petrified trees. The sloth crouched down and jumped with all his might, clinging onto the stone tree. Snarls were heard behind him, and Uncle Fungus dared not look down as he quickly climbed his way up the tree. He felt warm breath, and heard the snapping of teeth which encouraged him only to climb faster. He joined Rose on the branch she stood on, and was finally able to glance down at the danger.
Four wolves circled the tree. One leaped up, jaws snapping, and the sloths drew back even though they were out of reach. The wolves all snarled viciously, glaring at the family, as if they were silently cursing them; You were ours. There was a howl then, resonating from another wolf that was not among the four. The dogs stopped their barking and snarling to look back, even the sloths looked.
A large, red wolf walked into the clearing. His fur was scraggly and unkempt but he walked with pride and authority regardless of his appearance. The other wolves lowered their ears and heads as he stopped before them. Uncle Fungus felt a shiver run up his back as he caught a glimpse of his yellow, yellow eyes. He knew this was the most dangerous one of them all, the one that caused the unsettling feeling earlier.
The red wolf didn't spare the sloths a glance and trotted off, and without uttering a single word the other four followed him. The family of sloths watched them leave, not making a sound till they were all out of sight. Almost at the same time did they all release the breath they had been holding in.
"That was spooky!" Bernie cried as he clung onto Cindy. Cindy bent down to comfort the little sloth. Rose brushed a tuft of fur with her claws, a sign she was still nervous. Uncle Fungus only stared in the direction the wolves went.
"Oh no!" Cindy's neck shot up. The two adult sloths turned to look at her. "What about Sidney?"
Manny had wanted to move on the next morning, but there was a strange unsettling feeling in the air—an odd sort of excitement, or anxiety. He could feel it, and he watched carefully at the birds in the trees that chattered and chirped before flocks of them took flight. There was something dangerous nearby, but Manny couldn't tell where it was coming from. He wanted to move the herd away to some place safe, but Diego decided to check it out first. While he was gone, the mammoth held the fort and kept a vigil while Ellie, Sid, and the possums kept under the large tree.
"This is boring!" Eddie whined. "Why do we have to wait anyway?"
"Somethings up, that's why!" Sid glanced around suspiciously. "When Manny's Mammoth Senses tingle that means something bad is going to happen."
"Sid." Manny groaned with annoyance. Sid stood upright and placed his claws on his fat hips.
"Well its true!" he said defensively. The possum brothers huffed, bored. Ellie smiled to her brothers before leaving them, and walked up to Manny. Sid followed her and stood on one side of him, while Ellie stood on the other.
"What's wrong, big guy?" Ellie asked quietly so her brothers wouldn't hear.
"I'm not really sure," Manny sighed, "There's something wrong. A feeling I don't like. Diego sensed it too and that's why hes gone to see if he can find out what it is. Personally, I'd feel better if we had all left from the start."
"Mind if I go and check on my family, buddy?" Sid asked.
"No."
"Aww, cmon Manny!"
"I said no!"
Sid flinched and said nothing more. Ellie smiled to Sid sympathetically.
"Don't worry, Sid. I'm sure your family is safe, besides Manny is just worried for you, that's all!"
"Really?" Sid's eyes lit up and he stared at Manny. Before the mammoth could say or do anything, the sloth threw his entire form onto his trunk, clinging and sobbing on it. "I didn't know you cared so much!"
"Sid!" Manny jerked his head and plopped Sid back onto the ground. The mammoth huffed and spoke in a softer tone this time. "I'm sorry. You can check on them after Diego gets back."
"Yeah and we'll go with you! Momma always said there was safety in numbers, right guys?" Ellie looked back for her brothers' response but there was none. "Crash? Eddie?"
Ellie walked back towards the tree to look closer into the branches. Manny and Sid turned their heads, watching her as she used her trunk to push aside branches. Ellie dropped her trunk and glanced back at Manny. Her eyes were wide with worry and fear.
"They're gone."
The two possums scurried through the grass, stopping once in a while to poke their heads up for a view. They hardly ventured off without Ellie unless they had good cover to protect themselves against predators, and there were a lot of bushes and a few trees around. They kept the large tree the others stayed under in view, but the more they played the further they ran. And soon the tree was completely out of sight.
"I don't get why Manny is so uptight!" Crash said as he hopped through the grass. "My possum senses aren't tingling at all!"
The two brothers scuffled about, rolling, till they collapsed on their backs. Crash slapped Eddie on the head, causing him to yelp in surprise, but in the end they both laughed. A noise caused their ears to twitch and the two possums hushed. Sitting up, they looked around, and saw nothing. Eddie huffed and stood up crossing his arms.
"Hm, maybe our senses only go off when we see possum enemies."
"But what gets a mammoth scared? They're the biggest things on earth!"
"BOO!"
A third voice sent Crash and Eddie flying into the air, screaming at the top of their lungs. As soon as they came crashing down they feigned death by sticking their tongues out and going stiff in the limbs. The source of the third voice was none other than Ben. He moved in closer to inspect the "dead" possums.
"Hey!" Ben nosed the nearest possum. He titled his head to one side, unsure of what to make of the scene. "Hey, wake up!"
Crash slowly opened one eye and saw the cub. "BEN!" He slapped Eddie in the face to shake him out of his act as he hopped back to his feet. "Eddie get up! It's just Ben!"
Eddie opened his eyes and jumped to his feet. "Ben! We thought you were a predator!"
"But I am a predator." he stated.
"Yeah, right!" Eddie laughed. He walked up to Ben and grabbed him by his saber teeth and shook his head. "Not with teeth like these!"
"Hey, I think we could de-fang him!" Crash snickered. Ben shook Eddie off him and covered his mouth with a paw.
"I just grew these in!"
"Great! That makes things easier for us!" Eddie nodded.
"What are you doing out here anyway, Ben?" Crash asked.
"Me? Oh, well, I was just wandering around." he paused realizing he really didn't have to lie to these two. "I ran off while Adah went scouting."
"Awesome! Another fugitive on the run!" Eddie grinned, before continuing on dramatically. "Won't you join us?"
"Okay! What are we doing?" Ben asked. Crash and Eddie looked at each other, their smiles sly.
"TAG!"
Crash jumped on Ben's head and dove off, breaking into a scurry-run once hitting the ground. Eddie laughed and followed his brother, leaving Ben to process what just happened. He grinned and loped after them. Eddie and Crash looked back and shouted playfully and both went in two different directions as Ben pounced down, missing them both. He looked up to see Crash making faces, and on the other side Eddie did a hand stand and waved his hind end in the air. Ben randomly chased after Eddie, who screamed and ran off with the saber-cub right behind him.
"I'm coming, Eddie!" Crash laughed and ran after the two.
The trio continued their game until Ben ran out of fuel. He wasn't much of a runner as he loped half-heartedly after Eddie, nearing a small thicket of trees before finally coming to a halt. Ben stopped to catch his breath and soon the two brothers joined him and hopped on his back to rest their feet.
"As soon as I catch my breath, you two are in for it." Ben said.
"Whatever you say, oh mighty hunter!" Crash teased. His brother gave him a high-five and they both chuckled.
"Hey how about hide-in-seek this time?" Eddie suggested, then pointed to the thicket ahead of them. "This would make a great hiding spot."
"Good idea! I need to practice my stalking." Ben nodded.
Crash snickered. "Well, you better watch out, Ben! Cuz Eddie and I are the champs of hide-in-go-seek!"
"That's right, we were born to scurry and hide. We might even jump out and scare-"
"ARRROOO!"
"AHHHHHH!"
All three of them shouted as a wolf lunged out of the brush. It barely missed Ben by a hair and he skidded to a halt, stopping his momentum. The wolf turned back only to see the cub darting off with the two possums clinging desperately to his fur. Another snarl, and the wolf gave chase.
"Ben! Must. Go. FASTER!" Eddie tugged at his fur, urging him to keep up the pace.
The two possums gaped as they looked back. Another wolf appeared out of the thicket and joined behind the first wolf. The cub didn't dare to look back, but as he looked ahead he wasn't entirely sure where to go. Ben labored in his breathing and his muscled ached causing him to slow down. He was still out of breath from their game. Feeling of dread overcame him as he could hear two wolves closing in.
A blur of grey rushed past Ben, surprising him and causing him to trip over himself sending the two possums flying off his back and crashing into the dirt. Ben shook off and turned his head to look back. Adah roared as she came upon the wolves, swinging a paw at the one closest. Both wolves drew back, teeth bared, and then they lunged at her. The saber shoved into one, her teeth moving in to clasp around his throat. The other wolf saw an opening, and rushed in, fangs at the ready.
"Adah!" Before Ben could rise up to his feet, another blur, of orange this time, ran past him.
Diego's paw connected with the muzzle of the attacking wolf, knocking him away from Adah, and it yelped in pain. His companion barely dodged Adah and fell back beside his friend. Diego came between the other saber and the two wolves, roaring. In response, the canines growled, preparing to engage in another fight but then the ears of both wolves drooped. Diego could only smirk, knowing what it was.
"Get down, Adah!" he said, pushing her towards the ground with a paw, and ducking down alongside her. A pair of enormous tusks came over them and shoved into the two frightened wolves. They both yelped as they skidded across the dirt. They scrambled up and looked at Manny who bellowed a loud trumpet with his trunk. It sent them running off with their tails between their legs.
"Yeah, who's the biggest, baddest mammal? Manny is!" Sid cheered, sitting on the back of his friend. "He can scare away wild wolves just by blowing his nose!"
Manny moved to the side, moving his tusks out of the way so Diego and Adah could stand. Diego rose to his feet, feigning a cough and ignoring the close proximity he was with Adah, who also rose and tried to ignore the same fact. Behind them Ellie stood beside Ben, comforting him and both her brothers. Crash and Eddie sobbed and clung to her trunk, apologizing for running off the way they did.
Adah sighed in relief as she walked up to Ben. The cub nuzzled up to her and she returned the gesture. Ellie looked down to her and smiled and Adah found herself returning the smile. The tigress looked back to where Manny and Diego stood and nodded.
"Thank you." she said quietly. Manny nodded back and Diego simply smirked (because he's too cool to reply any other way).
"What happened?" Ben asked.
"You and the possums were lucky, kid." Diego said, "I ran into Adah on my way back, and she was looking for you."
"Yeah, and we were looking for you." Ellie's gaze was fixated on her brothers who shrugged sheepishly. Ben couldn't help but gulp once he noticed the subtle glare Adah was giving him. They knew they were going to get it much later.
"I guess we know now what the danger was." Manny added in somberly. He felt Sid tap him on the back of his head.
"It wouldn't be a bad time to ask if we could check on my family now, would it buddy?"
Manny allowed a gentle smile to creep up on him as he sighed. "No, Sid, that would be a good idea."
"Ahem." The mammoth paused when Sid poked him in the back of his head. Manny looked back at Sid who motioned to the two tigers with his head, giving his friend a hint. Manny sighed, he was just too nice.
"I think it would be a good idea if we all stuck close for now." Manfred spoke, glancing at Adah and Ben. They blinked and looked at each other as the mammoth continued to walk on.
Manny didn't say much, but the shemmoth and possums knew and lit up at Manny's gesture. Eddie and Crash hopped onto Ben's back while Ellie nudged Adah with her trunk in a friendly manner, urging her and Ben to follow as the herd went after Manny. Ben looked at Adah and smiled before running after them, as the female sat there for a moment, shocked and confused at what just happened. She saw Diego glancing back as they were leaving and her eyes darted to the ground, not wanting to make eye contact. Slowly, she stood up and followed behind the odd herd.
A/N: I suck at action XD I tried! You can't say I didn't try so NYAH! Actually you could, but then I'd be like "You're a fibber!"
So did everyone have a good Halloween:D X3 Can't believe its already November W00T! You know what that means! Ice Age: The Meltdown is just around the bend! The wait is going to be agonizingly slow because time hates us and loves to make us suffer XD I must hold onto my sanity somehow...AHH TOO LATE! OH CRUEL FATES WHY DOTH THOU TEASE ME?
Yes, in case you can't tell I'm hyper XD Good moods for all! All I can say is I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I was hoping to upload the next chapter on the movie's release date. I don't know, I just thought that would be nice. Everyone will be in a bigger Ice Age mood XD
Take care, and thanks so much for all the awesome reviews! MUCH LOVE AND HUGS!