Book 2: Breaking the Ice Chapter 25
Down at Dinotopia, Buck and Jenna had finally reached Buck's home and were now resting, except for Buck. He was sharpening his knife near the fire he made to keep them warm. Jenna stared at him with sad eyes from her sleeping area then she got up and walked over to Buck.
She sat down next to him, causing Buck to jump and turn his head. "I thought you were asleep, lass." He said as he continued to sharpen his knife.
"I couldn't sleep." Jenna replied, staring at the blazing fire in front of them.
"Me neither. I couldn't stop thinking about the girls." He sighed.
Buck set his knife down beside him and stared at Jenna with sadness in his eye. Jenna nodded understandingly then whispered, "I know. Me, too. I miss them so much."
"I miss them, too." He agreed.
After a long silence, Jenna sighed, "I know that this subject is getting annoying, but I never stop thinking about my parents' deaths. They replay over and over in my sleep. Before my mother died, she taught me how to sing this song. I don't know if I can remember the words, but I'll give it a shot."
"Let me hear it, lass." Buck smiled a bit.
The light-brown she-weasel nodded then grabbed Buck's paw in hers and walked over to the entrance of the cave. Then, she broke into song.
Jenna: I found myself today,
Oh I found myself and ran away,
something pulled me back,
Voice of reason I forgot I had,
All I know is your not here to say,
What you always used to say,
But it's written in the sky tonight.
So I won't give up,
No I won't break down,
Sooner than it seems life turns around,
And I will be strong
Even if it all goes wrong,
When I'm standing in the dark I'll still believe,
Someone's watching over me
Buck sighed through his nose as he listened to her sing. Gosh, she has a very pretty singing voice. She's doing great. He thought, feeling goosebumps running up and down his body as Jenna continued to sing.
Seen that ray of light,
And it's shining on my destiny,
Shining all the time
And I won't be afraid
To follow everywhere it's taking me
All I know is yesterday is gone
And right now I belong
To this moment, to my dreams.
So I won't give up,
No I wont' break down,
Sooner than it seems life turns around,
And I will be strong
Even if it all goes wrong
When I'm standing in the dark I'll still believe
Someone's watching over me.
What does it mean?
It doesn't matter what people say
And it doesn't matter how long it takes
Believe in yourself and you'll fly, high,
And it only matters how true you are
Be true to yourself and follow your heart
Buck's eye started to glaze over in tears. This song sounded beautiful with Jenna singing it. He wondered where she had learned the song, but he decided not to speak and let the she-weasel sing the last portion of the song.
So I won't give up,
No I wont' break down,
Sooner than it seems life turns around,
And I will be strong
Even if it all goes wrong
When I'm standing in the dark I'll still believe...
That I won't give up,
no I wont' break down,
Sooner than it seems life turns around,
And I will be strong
Even when it all goes wrong
when I'm standing in the dark I'll still believe...
that someone's watching over
someone's watching over
someone's watching over me
yeah yeah oh-OH..
Someone's watching over me...
Jenna had tears in her eyes after she finished the song. This song reminded her of her parents. She remembered how they always told her that they would always love her and watch over her. Now that they were gone, she felt like an empty shell without them. She hoped that her parents are proud of who she is. She already knew that her parents were, but still. She was glad that her parents were watching over her.
If she could go back in time, she would've went back to the days where she was a little kit and her parents were standing right behind her, smiling. This thought made Jenna cry softly, letting the held back tears fall.
Buck saw her crying and sighed, "This song reminds you of somebody, doesn't it?"
"Yes, my parents. Sorry, I can't get them out of my head. I feel small without them." Jenna gasped out. Buck wrapped his right arm around her shoulders and his left paw held both of her paws, giving both of them a squeeze.
Jenna smiled softly at him before resting her head against his chest, her tears soaking Buck's fur. "You know that your parents are watching you from up there, lass. Even in death, they still love you." He said matter-of-factly.
"I know, but it's really hard to move on." The she-weasel muttered sadly, wiping the tears away with the back of her paw.
"Don't I know it?" He agreed, nuzzling Jenna's hair with his cheek. She sighed dreamily before nuzzling him back, just under his chin.
Suddenly, they heard rustling of shrubs from a distance. Jenna jumped and hid behind Buck in fear. The male weasel stared at the bushes for a good minute to see a weasel walking towards them. He could make out a male weasel figure with his hazel eyes glowing in the darkness.
Finally, his gasped to see Rosalina's father, Ben, walking towards them with a depressed look on his face. Of course, he and Jenna never saw this weasel before. Buck snapped out of his trance when his companion asked the male weasel nervously, "Who are you?"
"The name's Ben, Rosalina and Roxanne's father." This information made Jenna and Buck's eyes widen. So, this is their fatha'? Buck wondered before shaking his head.
"Wot are you doing here?" Buck asked the male with a hint of coldness in his tone. After a few seconds of silence, Ben answered, "I came down here because…..I have some news. It's Roxanne." Jenna gasped then asked softly, "What h-h-happened to her? Is she okay?"
Ben sighed, "Roxanne…she… almost stabbed herself with a sharp rock. Rosalina asked me if she could find her sister, and I let her. When I thought that she was gone for a long while, I decided to find her. That's when I found Rosalina and Roxanne sobbing on each other after I heard her scream Roxanne's name. That's when I found out that she was trying to commit suicide."
Tears rolled down everybody's cheeks. Controlling his shaky voice, Ben whimpered, "I a-also came d-down here to tell you that the twins are okay and they're up in the Ice Age, probably waiting for you. Rosalina's probably already told the herd, and let me tell you, there may be a lot of tear-stained faces, with Rosalina being the main one sobbing her heart out."
Buck felt broken. He had almost lost another loved one. The male jumped once he felt Jenna collapse into his arms and began to sob uncontrollably. Buck held Jenna tightly in his arms. He was trying his best to hold back more tears, but one managed to escape his eye and it rolled down his cheek.
"Let me get my knife and we -we'll be r-r-ready ta' go." Buck stammered sadly as he let go of Jenna to retrieve his knife that was lying on the ground near the fire. Finally, after Jenna put out the fire and Buck had his knife in his paw, they walked away from the cave and made their way to the Ice Age entrance, which would be a forty minute walk for them.
As they walked, Jenna gave the one-eyed weasel a sorrow-stricken look with tears in her eyes. Buck stared at her with the same expression and wrapped his free arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him. He watched as the she-weasel rested her head against his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his torso and started to cry.
Behind them, Ben tried not to cry by the sound of Jenna's sobs and soft heavy breathing. Why did Roxanne try to attempt this? If she were to do what she almost did to herself, she would have left the people who loved her. She would've thrown everything away. With that thought in his mind, he started crying softly, which caused Buck to crane his neck to look at him.
"You all right, lad?" He asked quietly.
"I just can't believe she tried to do that." Ben sniffed, averting his gaze to hide his tears. Buck's ears perked up as soon as he heard Jenna sob harder into his shoulder.
"I know. I can't believe she did either." He replied, pressing his ears against his head and pulling Jenna more closely to him.
Finally, Jenna stopped crying then asked Ben with worry in her tone, "Is Rosalina okay?"
"Miss, she nearly lost her sister. I doubt that she would be okay. Let's just hope that Rosalina doesn't kill herself." Ben sighed. Buck and Jenna nodded their heads slowly and continued to walk towards the entrance cave.
Jenna whispered to Buck, "I'm starting to have a feeling that Rosalina is probably going to die from grieving so much, just like my father."
"Oh, don't say that. It'll make me even more worried fo' her than I am right now." He groaned, placing a paw on the side of his aching head.
"Sorry. I just have these feelings, you know?" The she-weasel removed Buck's arm from her waist then stood in front of him.
She caressed his cheek before sending a gentle kiss to his lips. Buck returned the kiss and wrapped his free arm around her waist again, pulling her closer. "I miss the girls." Jenna whispered during the kiss.
"I miss them, too. I miss them so much." Buck whispered back.
"Uh, guys. This is no time for public display of affection, we need to get back up there and find Rosalina." Ben told them sternly, ruining their moment.
The couple pulled away slowly before walking side-by-side again. Buck whispered to Jenna, "I hope we get ta' see Rosy in one piece."
"Buck, I promise you. Rosalina and Roxanne will hopefully be just fine." Jenna sighed, rubbing her arm.
"I hope you're right." Buck said truthfully, wrapping an arm around Jenna then squeezing her shoulders affectionately, causing the she-weasel to smile softly.
Ben rolled his hazel eyes. They just won't stop acting lovey-dovey towards each other, will they? He snorted quietly at the thought and began to think about Rosalina. He wondered if she was all right. He even hoped that Roxanne didn't actually try to kill herself, but he knew that she did.
Suddenly, Ben had a flashback that took place of the day when he and Clarissa used to walk over to the exact same pile of sharp rocks. The female said to him in a serious tone, "Don't try to pick up a sharp rock. I heard that one time my friend did a stunt near this exact pile and got torn to shreds. He better be lucky that he survived that. If you ever see him, you'll see a lot of scars and scratches all over him."
"Don't worry. I won't. It's better to stay in one piece than getting killed in the "Pile of Death"." Ben replied.
Buck turned his head to see Ben daydreaming from behind him and Jenna. Snorting quietly, he shouted, "Ay, lad, quit slacking back there!" This caught Jenna's attention. She turned her head to see Ben jump then shake his head.
"Sorry, I was kind of in my state of mind." The male chuckled nervously, causing Jenna to chuckle quietly along with him and Buck to just shake his head in disapproval. Buck and Jenna turned their heads to watch for any signs of danger that might come in their direction.
"Buck, how much further until we get to the entrance cave?" Jenna asked her male companion as they continued to walk towards their destination. Buck thought for a minute until he answered, "In just about twenty minutes, I guess."
The she-weasel nodded before a yawn escaped her throat, causing Buck to chuckle a bit. "Ay, are you getting tired, lass?" He asked the tired she-weasel. Yawning, she replied, "No, not really."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm….sure." Jenna yawned before finally resting her head against Buck's shoulder.
He chuckled again then asked Ben, "Ay, lad, do you mind holdin' my knife. I think I need ta' carry a sleepin' beauty." The hazel-eyed male nodded. Buck gave him his knife for him to hold until Jenna woke back up. Ben watched as the one-eyed weasel lifted Jenna off the ground and held her bridal-style then continued walking with her in his arms.
Ben had another flashback after watching that. This time, it was about the days when he held Clarissa off the ground, like Buck did with Jenna earlier, when they were mates to when they were mates for life. He would have done that more often if he had not left Clarissa when she was pregnant with his girls. He still regretted that day he left her to take care of and deliver the girls on her own with a monster. A low growl escaped his throat at the thought.
Hearing this, Buck turned his head to see a ticked off Ben behind him. He is just going through emotions. He thought to himself. Shaking his head, he asked, "Lad, wot is going through your head? First time, you were just upset. Now, you're just ticked off. Wot are ya' thinking about?"
Ben froze for a second. Since when did he care? He thought coldly before he lied, "I'm not thinking about anything. I'm just upset and angry at myself for letting Roxanne run away so she could attempt to kill herself. I couldn't stop her, but thank goodness that Rosalina did." Falling for his lie, Buck pressed his ears against his head with a sad sigh escaping him.
"I know, lad, but these things happen. If Rosy can get through this without committing suicide, we can all get through this situation too." Buck reassured him. Ben smiled a bit before thanking him. Buck nodded in reply before keeping his eye back on the route they were taking to get to the entrance/exit cave.