"That's not fair. Why couldn't I go with them and Peaches could?" When Ruby had known that the whole thing ends like this she would have remained in the place previously. She also had never promised the mammoth to be silent over this certain thing.
"First, because you're still my daughter and her parents are also there. Second, because.."
"Because I'm too small and too young. Yes I know. But how long do I have to hear it before you say that I'm an adult? Finally, I am old enough to have a boyfriend." The skunk mother was about to ask where she had catches that but Yolanda got involved because she saw that this conversation became too heated.
"Of course you will slowly grow but you still have to learn so much." But the male sloth melted away besides her.
"I think it's great how you deal with children." He told her a little dreamy and pulling on the leash which actually should hold the net in front of the cave. They had in fact locked the two saber-toothed tigers in a small cave as long as the entire ordeal wasn't clear yet. Although Shira said that it wasn't necessary and the two were harmless but Manny insisted on the safety precautions. Therefore the two tigers were a bit stuck inside but they tried to ignore the small animals in front of the cave as much as possible. For them, this was still better than to be yelled at by their leader.
The net was anyway on the ground and Sid tried everything to turn as if it had been his full intention to let it fall down.
"Idiot!" The old sloth said and pokes him with her cane in the side.
"I'm getting out of here because my beauty sleep does not make itself on its own." Without anyone of those present couldn't say anything, the old lady was gone.
"And now he's your boyfriend?" The little skunk wanted was curious when she saw the looks between the larger animals. The sloths looked almost the same time nervous in a different direction.
"You shouldn't ask something like that." Lorene speaks again after she calmed down a little previously.
"Furthermore, you're not old enough to have a boyfriend." Ruby then turned with a pouting face to her mother.
"But Peaches has also one." The little one complained loudly.
"You can't compare you to her because she's a mammoth. Or should we agree that as soon as you are large as her you can do everything you want?" The girl crossed snapped the paws in front of her body.
"Wait A Moment! Peaches has a boyfriend? Hopefully Manny hasn't noticed it yet." He didn't want to imagine what his buddy would do with this poor guy. Out of the blue the scene with the molehog came back to his mind. He wondered why he forgot it all the time. Maybe he shouldn't really interfere there.
"How do you actually know that she has a boyfriend?" He nevertheless wanted to know.
"That is because she told me of course but I... should keep it to myself." Then the little thing noticed what went wrong.
"You can't tell anyone that I said something." The male sloth looked thoughtfully up.
"All Right. But only if you tell who the boyfriend is." Ruby was about catch air for the answer but her mother holds her snout shut.
"That really is blackmail. She must not say anything more when she has promised to remain silent." Only then Lorene saw that the possums weren't around anymore.
"Hey where are Crash and Eddie?"
"Mummy they're up there. The day must have been stressful for them." Her daughter showed it with her paw.
"Well I think it's good that the two back there don't make any trouble even if someone has torn the net down." Sid gave her a certain do-you-have-to-mention-that-again-look. But Yolanda was getting used a little to the clumsiness of the other sloth.
"Otherwise Sid would have defended us. Then he is very brave." The meant animal held his breath to this again to look better.
"Yes I am."
"Really?" The skunk mother didn't really believe what the other uttered. Even the two saber-toothed tigers giggled when he started with the hero number.
"Please Mummy, let me also have a boyfriend." Began the young skunk again when she saw how bright sloth looked at the other.
"Peaches has one." Then she whispered further so that only her mother heard it.
"Yolanda has one and you, too."
"How do you know that I have a boyfriend?" Of course Lorene knows that her daughter wasn't stupid but she wanted exactly to hear it from her.
"Is Crash not your boyfriend?" The older animal glanced up to check if he was really asleep before she spoke.
"Let's say something like that."
"So Eddie could then be my boyfriend?" For a moment you could hear nothing at this place. The anger bubbled up in the mother and she drove her claws out. Of course she misunderstood it all. Yolanda held her friend back she couldn't wake the possum and maybe hurt it.
"I'll kill him!" She roared and the hanging rodents didn't miss that. Unfortunately, Eddie was the first who came annoyed down from the tree to complain about the noise but he doesn't think that it would be a mistake. Soon after his arrival on the ground, Lorene came free from the sloth and rushed at him.
"Mummy what are you doing?" The girl wanted to know a little scared. She couldn't understand the fuss.
"Ahhh! Could you please remove these pointy thingies from my face?!" Eddie didn't really know what the situation was and panicked. Sid and Yolanda make it somehow to separate her from the little striped guy. This took much air as he could once his throat was free.
"Are you crazy?"
"When do all of you are finally getting quiet? I really can't sleep." Yawning, Crash had also managed to come down from the tree and rubbed his eyes a little.
"Your girlfriend is really insane. She wanted to kill me." Told him his brother agitated.
"She can do that but please a little quieter." You could tell that the other wasn't really in the listening mode.
"Did you put that flea in her ear that she needs a boyfriend?" Lorene hissed as she still tried further to get free from the sloths.
"What makes you think that?"
"Because she has said that you can become her boyfriend. If you have touched her then.." However, the little skunk didn't really know what they meant and talked in between.
"Of course he did." Then was all you heard was shouted cries from Eddie who tried to escape from the killer machine.
"I swear I didn't do anything to her!" He roared desperately. As Lorene came over to Yolanda and the others, she got captured again.
"Why are you so angry, Mummy?" Slowly Ruby wanted to an explanation why her mother was so mad at her friend.
"Please Lorene. She has just misunderstood something." Actually, the bright sloth thought that the skunk mother already knew that her child was like that but now she snaps out of it.
"Yes. She just understands it all wrong. I guarantee that I'm not her boyfriend!" Eddie cried from a tested high branch down.
"What? But..but you said that you like me.." The skunk kid looked with sad eyes up.
"She's a little girl! Not cool, dude." Crash gave his opinion to it.
"First I'm not so small and secondly he is the same age as you." So she pushed the possum that was near to the side. The rodent on the tree sighed and jumped to back down because he already knew what Ruby would do and she doesn't should fall down somewhere now. But then he had an idea how he can finish the whole thing quickly.
"You still continue to hold her firmly right?" He asked the sloths to be on the safe side. They both nodded and he walked slowly to Ruby to talk with her. But of course he doesn't stepped too close to her.
"You necessarily wanted a certain digging friend as your boyfriend first or not?"
"Yes." The girl still pouted but she was grateful that he doesn't mention Louis by his name. But Eddie was nevertheless sure everyone knew who he was talking about. Well, all except Sid.
"And you like him but different than me?"
"Of Course. I like you more now." The possum noted that the plan backfires and so he checked his escape way again. On the other hand, he found it sweet what the little girl said but he would never admit it.
"I still don't understand what is so bad about it?" The possum took a deep breath because the next step isn't easy. Whether it's played or real Eddie doesn't necessarily want to make the girl cry but if there was no other way.
"You know he's trying to tell you that you can be friends." Yolanda tried to stand up for him.
"Yes, that's what I also meant. Just as we are friends." And then all the tension disappeared from Lorene because only now it came to her mind that her daughter had twisted something.
"Ruby, you can't tell others that I am your boyfriend. Especially not your mother." When Eddie has turned the little on the shoulder to him, he immediately let her go again as he saw the eyes of the older skunk.
"Is it a secret just like the one with Peaches?"
"No. That's not it. Indeed, there are different kinds of friends."
"Sid!" All shouted almost simultaneously and of course the little skunk had immediately to begin to question it.
"It's late enough. Now we go to bed." This Lorene grabbed her child and disappeared. The possums sighed relieved and ran back up the tree. One of them had trouble to fall asleep because it knew what probably comes to him tomorrow. However, Crash was quickly back away because he hasn't even noticed the half from down there correct. So the two sloths were now alone.
"You must be careful what you say around her." The bright animal said to the other who let his shoulders sink.
"I can't simply hold my mouth shut sometimes. But is the little skunk not getting old enough to talk about such things?" Now that Sid mentioned it the female sloth had to think about that. Then it occurred to her that she doesn't know how old Ruby was. Yolanda just held her still for a child because Lorene always treated her like that.
"Well, do you have enough?" The leader inquired from her opponent. This had to grin.
"If you think I would give up then no." Both sabers have been struggling for a while. What initially began as a rough playing was going more and more into a bloody serious thing. So the two rivals looked really bad now but also none of them wanted to begin to show weakness. The older animal hasn't expected so much endurance from the other. But her power doesn't last forever. The only advantage she possessed was the experience. If she can't land good hit in the near future then her body would give way. That just couldn't happen. So she tried it with illusions. So that it looked like she would hit one point but attacks then a very different place.
Shira doesn't easily get confused and so she saw through the plan quickly. But she also couldn't stand much longer and she gradually moved away from the attacks. She just thought that her opponent was quickly tired of struggling with her if she did nothing. This made the leader only angrier and she got a few scratches. At some places it burned a little because they also tossed around in the dirt. By the time she was also getting careless. She couldn't even tell how long this fight lasted.
Suddenly after a jump she found no real support with her forepaws and her opponent wanted to use this mistake immediately. Shira couldn't do much but to close her eyes. But nothing happened.
"Now is enough with this." Stated Manny and had grabbed the leader with his trunk. Diego showed him how to hold the big cats without getting injured by the claws. Shira smiled gratefully at the mammoth and took a lung full air.
"You have waited for us and then you would have missed that." The mammoth father said but the old tigress interfered.
"Let me immediately down you fat beast!"
"Hey that's all fur!" He complained but then Ellie came finally to them.
"Shira! Are you right?" This just nodded and then looked back at the leader.
"Where's Diego?"
"Find him but if you want him." That was all she got as response.
"He would be further up this way." Peaches explained who was standing more at the edge to look for someone else. Of course, she also thought of the male saber tooth but a bit small prickly just had priority now.
"And what shall I do with her?"
"She will disappear now!" Everyone turned to the voice.
"Diego." The silver gray tigress was so glad to see him again that she ignored everything else and ran to him.
"Are you ok?" She inquired a little worried because he smelled like dirt again just as a few days before.
"I'm sorry that I let you down." He licked over a scratch on her cheek before he snuggled a little up to her.
"What are you talking about?" She wanted to know but the mammoth father got in the way.
"Can't we just clarify that first here?" He was only one moment careless and the captive gave him a scratch with her claws before she jumped down.
"You think it's easy to go rid of but you have fooled yourself." Furious, she kept running up because the leader couldn't understand how the male saber tooth escaped.
"Dad, are you okay?"
"It's just a small cut under his eye. You have been lucky again." The mammoth mother nudged him in the side.
"What was that for?" Manfred annoyed wanted to know from his wife.
"Because you haven't been paying attention you almost lost your eye." She scolded him further.
"Mum, it's all gone well. But we shouldn't we go after her?" Threw Peaches in and looked then questioningly at the saber-toothed tigers.
"We could do this alone. You can.." But the young mammoth doesn't let Shira finish.
"No. Louis is certainly up there and I have to help him."
"He helped me to escape from a crevice in which they had locked me. But afterwards he was too tired to keep up. He makes a break down somewhere this way."
"Then I go to look after him. Of course, only if you don't need me anymore."
"Go. We could do the rest alone." Ellie said with a smile and when her daughter was gone she turned to Diego.
"Is he really ok?"
"Hello? I was just attacked here." The male mammoth complained because he wanted also a bit of attention.
Meanwhile, he began to move forward. Finally, the night was almost over and he eventually needed his sleep.
"Actually, it was your own fault but I pity you enough when we are home again." Ellie said to her husband and even winked at him. The two saber-toothed tiger got nothing from it in the back because they just concentrated on each other while running. At least that was the case with Diego. He had in fact large allegations that he let his partner alone. These scratches and wounds she had only her body because he was careless and got beaten down. At this point he still had a black gap and he also had a bit of a headache but the molehog had observed it so. This didn't really have a reason to lie to him nor would he dare to do that.
"I'm really ok." Shira insured him again and she knew that it wouldn't be the last time that night in which she had to say it. Yes some wounds burned a little but she will survive it. She stopped. He did immediately the same and looked at her questioningly. The silver gray tigress looked forward a short time to make sure that the mammoths were out of earshot before she turned to her male counterparts.
"First of all, let bring the whole thing with the other saber-toothed tigers behind us. Then we can go to the river together to wash us both a little. If you want you can then see yourself how bad these injuries are." She said with a certain smile. But she doesn't quite get the desired reaction from the other. Because Diego wasn't nervous as usual but only starred briefly at her. He may not know it or he did it on purpose but this look made her weak. Shira then couldn't read from his features what he was feeling.
"Agreed." He gave her a kiss on this promise before he went on. Then the tigress was actually a little embarrassed because her roommate doesn't know where all the scratches were on her body are. Nevertheless, she was a little glad that she had trouble with the leader. For now she followed him and stayed close to his side.
"Where are all your friends?" Manfred wanted to know as his group finally faced this evil tigress. She doesn't run off as he thought at first but simply walked up to the top of the mountain. But now she was standing there alone and he would get almost feel sorry for her if she hadn't been so nasty with his wife and daughter. Two of their gang were down in the valley and hopefully made no trouble. But there were five members or had he misheard something?
Diego asked himself the same question then the molehog had told the two tigers should guard this crevice. Maybe it was too much for them and they run away to do something else.
"I still wonder how you got out there but now it doesn't matter so much anymore." The leader still didn't look like as if she wanted to give up. The male saber tooth saw the gap opening from the outside now and was wondering how he got there without noticing it. The path was steep and rocky. Even as an experienced climber, it was surely difficult to carry his unconscious body there. He could later think about it. Nevertheless Diego considered what they should do with their enemy. Shira had done quite well in some places on the older tigress but she wanted it like that. It can't be that she really wanted to fight until the death.
"It's your last chance. Get lost." The male mammoth stated loud and clear. Ellie stayed in the background and still hoped that the tigress would just leave.
"It is over. Admit your defeat and just go!" Announced Diego again more forcefully. She stood completely alone there now. So why wasn't she running away or doesn't she know when someone is beaten and when it was time to give up? He doesn't want to kill her if there are others ways.
"No one is here to help you. Go somewhere else and start a new life." He tried it again and steps closer to his opposite. For a moment the old tigress seems thoughtful. Yes, he could imagine it was hard but to start a new life somewhere alone but she had proven that she doesn't want a place here. Finally she moved again and dropped her head. Recognizing her situation she walked silently past all.
"You're right. I should go but not without a gift." Shira doesn't trust her for a moment and so she expected the current attack. She quickly pushed Diego aside and got hit herself. The leader swore as she missed her target and the silver-gray tigress came with her over the cliff. The mammoths weren't just sitting around but they were too far away to help her friend or other falling saber. Manfred could only hold the male tiger so he doesn't jump behind them. This struggled against the grip but once the trunk let him go he still ran down the steep rocks.
"Diego!" Manny called out and turned then to his wife. She also looked just as shocked down the hill. But they couldn't see much because thick fog enveloped came around the mountain.
"Leave him." Ellie whispered sadly because she still couldn't quite believe what had just happened.
"We should also go to try to find her." So the mammoth mother turned around and went to the safe route to run down. Manfred followed her silently. He doesn't want to mention that it is impossible to survive a fall from that height. Even if he doesn't believe in miracles or something he wanted that the silver-haired tigress was alive. Not only because she belonged to the herd but also because his buddy shouldn't fall into the same depth as him in the past.
