A CI-verse one-shot, explaining how the herd of Manny, Diego, and Sid became a legend throughout the Ice Age Bredelands (as they should've been canonically in the sequels!). Will dovetail with L22's "Legendary Heroes" when Shelley and Axel explain to Manny and Diego and Sid, too, how the tale of their rescue of Roshan and his forming them into a herd has become a tale swapped between every species within the Bredelands and they heard it themselves, together, before actually meeting the heroes.

Rather dialogue-heavy. Hudson is also © thelonemongrel

This one-shot will be one such example of how the rescue of a baby in the Original turned the herd into legendary heroes within their own lifetimes and the impact that their tale had and how it spread throughout the entire known megafauna world at the time as told from the pov of my CI OC, Theo, to her son, Damien, who will figure prominently in the next CI books…

Thanks to my beta for tightening this fic for me, I so appreciated it! Also, there is a little shoutout to Journey's song Worlds Apart in this fic, hidden in the text, just cos I could. ;)

Oh, and one more thing but #justiceforRoshan. Blue Sky should've never let Lori Forte talk them out of their plans to make him return in IA2 because the series going forward needed the human presence to remain a crucial, heavier part of the IA series instead of letting the sequels' heavy comedic tones diminish characters like Manny and Diego since they needed stronger, dramatic undertones to their stories, which instead was lost for them as early as Meltdown. Anyway, I am forever #justiceforRoshan!

Apologies for the Roshan defence squad rambling and please enjoy the fic, about, how, ultimately, we are all "stories in the end" to quote Doctor Who. :)


"Tell me a story, please, Mama." Her son's voice carried a pitch of a whine in it.

Theodora, Madam Elder of the Bredelands, sighed. Her mate was away on Regent Elder business so she and her son, Damien, were alone. In all honesty, Theo preferred not having her mate, Elder Titan, around, though she kept those feelings buried deep.

Theo lifted her head to the night sky, looking past the trees sheltering the herd of Imperial mammoths she led. The sky was a meadow of stars ahead, glowing in flowers of red and white and yellow in the firmament.

The profile of a sabre-tooth tiger with striking green eyes materialised in her mind's eye from the sky full of stars and Theo blinked back tears. She chuckled under her breath. Diego wasn't dead - though she had long believed he was - so her emotions made no sense.

She had missed him for years with an ache so deep it hollowed out her insides. But then Noa arrived one day, many years ago, before her son was born in the Bredeland South, with amazing news and a miraculous story - rapidly becoming a legend - about how her friend, Manfred, the woolly mammoth, had somehow formed a herd with a ground sloth and a sabre-tooth tiger.

The weird herd had formed because Manfred had rescued a human child, whom he nicknamed "Pinky," and the tiger had joined under ulterior motives because he'd wanted to kidnap the baby for his cruel alpha to eat alive. According to Noa, a sloth was a part of this amazing, ridiculous story too, but he didn't seem to do much in it.

Theo had found Noa's news baffling and overwhelming, especially how the little bird implied that Manfred and his herd were returning to the mammothian centres of the Bredelands soon. Manfred had found a new mate, called Ellie, and they had a little daughter they had named Peaches.

A sad smile flitted into Theo's eyes as images of Manny's Catherine and their little son, Benny, flew into her mind.

She had known and loved them, and whilst it hurt her heart, she'd understood why Manny had gone north into the frozen wastelands instead of joining the mammoth migrations heading south.

The humans had killed the two right in front of him. Manny had tried to save them, fighting with his utmost strength, but failed. Unable to live with his grief and guilt, he didn't follow the crowds south. His broken heart led him north and would've brought him to his grave if not for the child he had saved.

Noa had confirmed something Theo's heart had suspected as soon as avian messengers began spreading the message of the tiger belonging to Manny's herd. Eventually, her suspicions were proved correct when Noa shared the name of Manny's tiger. Diego.

Your reputation precedes you, Diego. Theo thought, her eyes brightening with joy. I just hope this legend you've found yourself in doesn't endanger you in the long run, dearest.

"Tell me a story, Mama," Damien whined again. "I wanna hear a good story before I go to sleep!"

"Okay, kiddo," Theo said, reaching out to tickle Damien's belly with her trunk. His delighted giggles warmed her. "How'd you like to hear what's becoming a legend about an old friend of mine? Two of them, actually…"

"Yay!" Damien cheered, wrapping his trunk around hers. "I wanna hear this legend, Mama."

When Manny and Diego return to the Bredelands, they'll be living legends, Theo contemplated, allowing herself another brief chuckle. Manfred and Diego were both quiet and reserved, the kind of guys who kept to themselves, and she wasn't sure how they'd react - Manny especially, since Diego would have a hard road amongst her own mammoths - to returning home as heroes.

And not just any kind of hero. Legendary heroes, the type of heroes spoken about in song and story, immortals in their own times and all throughout history. Theo comforted herself with the realisation that no two Bredelands creatures were more deserving of legendary status than the Woolly bull Manfred and the sabre-tooth tiger Diego.

She hoped her son would grow up emulating the two as role models. It'd only be fair since she had bound a secret into her little calf's name. Damien was an unusual name for any mammoth, especially because it was so close to the name Damon.

Damon was a word so close to "demon" that mammoths didn't prefer using it in their nomenclature because tigers were the demons who hunted them down and killed them. Why would any prey animal want to be associated with such deviltry?

The secret wreathed into her son's name was how several of the letters - d, i, and e - were woven into his name as an homage to Theo's lover in her youth, the tiger Diego. Not even her mate, Elder Titan, knew the secret meaning behind why she had so specifically called their son Damien.

Every time she looked at her son or whispered his name, memories of Diego surfaced, and Theo was at once both comforted and overcome with yearning.

She wondered if, one day, she'd find Diego enshrined in the heavens as a star or constellation. The tiger had told her once, long ago, about the legend of Baldric and Ramiro.

Baldric was a lieutenant, leader of the dire wolves, and good friend to Ramiro, alpha of the Mountains of Eira tribe. Their friendship had ended in tragedy. Julius, the reviled Chief Elder of the mammoths, had slain Ramiro, and in retribution, his sabres turned on Baldric and his wolves exiled him from the pack. Baldric died because of his broken heart, and Brede, impressed by the loyalty and friendship between wolf and sabre, placed them as constellations amongst the stars.

Would she find herself amongst those same stars with Diego someday? Could she even dare to hope for the possibility of such an ending?

"Mama!" Damien's shrill voice ripped her out of her melancholy. "Tell me the story, I wanna hear it!"

Theo bit the inside of her cheek before launching into the tale.

"Listen, little son, to me, and I will tell you a story quickly going down in our oral history as one of the great legends."

Damien breathed in and held her gaze. His tiny body quivered with excitement.

"Once there was a herd. And not just any herd - this herd was the weirdest herd anyone had ever seen.

"In this herd was a mammoth with pain concealed deep in his past who still extended his trunk to any he ever saw in need; a tiger, conflicted, struggling with his fear and selfishness; and a sloth, slovenly and self-absorbed, but with a streak of brilliance.

"Now, normally, a trio of such diverse species - two herbivores and a carnivore - would never come together on their own. There had to be an external reason for the three of them finding each other and remaining together."

Damien hung on his mother's every word,

"What was it?" he whispered.

Theo stroked her son's head,

"A human baby - the peace child spoken of by Brede," came her response.

"But humans are dangerous!" Damien protested. "Mama, they hunt us down and kill us! How could a human baby bring a mammoth, a sloth, and a tiger together into a herd?"

"And also make them brothers to each other?" Theo answered Damien with another question. "That's why this story is a legend, honey. Some things in this story seem implausible, but they are true."

I have larger-than-life friends … and Diego grew up to become part of a legend. All the same, a tiny bit of jealousy niggled at her. She envied Manfred. He was the mammoth bull the avian soothsayer Morrigan had spoken of to her when foretelling Diego's future. Manfred had saved Diego, switching places with him voluntarily at the lava rivers underneath Half-Peak, and won Diego's undying loyalty, admiration, and love.

But she was getting ahead of herself, thinking over the past and mourning her lost connection to her tiger when her son simply wanted to hear a story…

"Anyway, yes, it was a human baby who brought them together. It was the mammoth, Manfred - later known in the story as Manny - who drew the babe from the water after his mother had jumped in to save him from the tiger. The human mother died, but not before ensuring the safety of her child, giving her little light to the bull.

Manny reached out his trunk, without hesitating, and saved the small human from the waters."

"Why did Manny do that?" Damien's expression was puzzled. "Babies grow up to be hunters and kill us. He would've been better off letting the baby fall back into the river!"

"Damien!" Theo said, her face creased in a scowl. "You sound like your father and I won't allow it. That baby is integral to this story, and without the baby - whom Manny ended up nicknaming 'Pinky' - there is no story. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Mama," Damien said in a small voice. He didn't look like he believed her, though, which she attributed to his father's influence. RE Titan hated tigers, other carnivores, and humans, in that order. Theo's work was cut out for her since her son had already succumbed to his father's errant philosophies.

After a moment, Damien perked up and questions flitted in his eyes.

"Didn't one of your friends almost die in this story?" he said. "Wasn't it the tiger who almost died - for your friend Manny and the baby, too?"

The delighted tones in his inquiry rattled Theo but she refused to let it show.

"He did," she answered, her words quick and abrupt. "But we haven't reached that part in the story yet. Quiet down and listen as I go back to the beginning of this story, before Manny rescued the human child.

"As I was saying, the mammoth Manfred had been travelling alone against the migration tide. The rest of the mammoth herds had long left through the Glacier Pass exit to the South and so now all that was left were the smaller mammals in their herds on the route - the tapirs, glyptodonts, and sloths of varying sizes, among others."

"Manfred walked against the teeming flow of the crowd because he had lost his family to human hunters three weeks before the migrations started. Grieving, heartsick, lonely, and filled with despair over his failure to protect his cow and calf, he instead headed north into the cold and ice … to die."

"But he's alive…" Damien broke in, confused. "What made him change his mind about going North?"

"It was a baby and a sloth," Theo said. "He bumped into the sloth first and freed him from the onslaught of two rhinos he'd angered. The sloth cozied up to him and refused to leave."

"What was the sloth's name?" Damien said, with a yawn.

"His name is Sidney, but most called him 'Sid,'" Theo went on. "Not long after, Manfred and the sloth - Manny unable to rid himself of the creature - found themselves next to a river. Manfred saw the sight first - a woman barely clinging to life on a log.

"The woman made her way to the shoreline, and with the last ebbs of her strength, pushed the bundle containing her baby towards Manfred -"

"Wait, how'd the woman and her baby end up in the water?" Damien said. "I bet it has to do with the tiger in Manny's herd, doesn't it?"

Theo's eyes hardened at her son,

"It does, Damien, and I would ask that you not judge him so harshly. As to why the woman was in the river with her baby, tigers had led a dawn attack on the humans' settlement. The tiger in Manny's herd - Diego - was tasked by his sadistic alpha to capture the baby and bring him to Soto.

"Soto's plan of revenge was this: to eat the baby alive, and in doing so to pass judgement on the babe's father for wiping out half of his pack."

Damien gasped, his tiny body shuddering with fear. A glimmer of sympathy for the legend's baby flickered in his expression.

"Now do you understand why Manny saved the baby at the river?" Theo asked. "If Manny hadn't had compassion on the poor, small thing, the baby would've met a far worse fate in Soto's claws. And when Diego tried to steal the baby back from him and Sid, Manny, though suspicious, allowed him to lead them to Glacier Pass - even though Manny already knew the way - which was another way Manny showed grace towards possible enemies."

"I guess saving Pinky makes sense now," Damien said. "but I still think Manny was silly for doing it. And for letting Diego join them. Doesn't he know anything about tigers?"

"The story being passed around never explains why Manny chose to allow Diego to lead them to Glacier Pass. But maybe it's as simple as that he noticed Diego was a lone tiger, travelling without a pack, and Diego seemed to agree that getting Pinky to safety was important."

Theo sighed. When it came to the next part of the legend, she hated telling it or discussing it within earshot of other mammoth cows or smaller mammals like the sloths, or Noa, the avian messenger most connected to her and Diego. This part of the legend didn't sound like the Diego she knew or remembered, and it revived Morrigan's haunting prophecies about the tiger.

In the years following the battle where RE Clovis lost his life but went down in the mammothian oral history in a blaze of glory, Theo lost touch with Diego. His last words to her had been how he didn't love her, that he hated her…

He must have been solidly under Soto's thumb. To survive in the conditions of Soto's pack, he had become consumed by selfishness in order to stay alive. After all, in Soto's pack, it was every sabre for themselves. Such pack behaviour was abnormal, but Soto was an abnormal, vicious alpha, and Theo's heart broke for Diego, knowing he had lost himself in striving to live up to Soto's draconian ideals.

"The next part involving Diego, my friend, is hard to tell," Theo said. She searched her son's face, wishing she could find traces of Diego in his features. Damien was Titan's full-blooded son and despite her and Diego enjoying each other when they were teens, such a union would never be able to produce children. "Not long after Diego accepted Manfred's invitation to lead them to Glacier Pass, Soto sent other tigers from his pack after Diego. Diego, desperate to prove and protect himself, told the two tigers interrogating him that he was leading Manfred and the baby to Half Peak, to Soto, instead of Glacier Pass like he'd told Manfred's herd…."

Damien's eyes grew wide with disbelief,

"He wouldn't! Not after Manny was so kind to him!"

"He would, unfortunately," Theo admitted. "He regretted it immediately, but all the same he was trapped in an impossible situation, and conflicted from the moment he became a part of Manny's group to return Pinky. After all, Diego's initial mission was simply to retrieve Pinky and deliver him to Soto for Soto to get his revenge.

"Diego never expected to find himself travelling with a mammoth - a creature his species was fond of hunting - or a sloth, regarded as 'junk food' by tigers. Manny's invitation to let him lead the way to Glacier Pass was ultimately the spanner in the works for his scheming and deception…

"But, my son, just believe me. I knew Diego long ago, and the Diego I remember would have had qualms.

"I also believe that, despite himself, Diego grew quite attached to his targets - Manny and the child, especially - from the moment he entered their ranks. He was at a loss about what to do. Adding Manny in with his delivery of the baby was a brash, impulsive declaration from a cornered tiger with death threats hanging over his head from his alpha and the knowledge Diego knew he couldn't survive alone without a pack."

"Manny let him lead them to Glacier Pass because he knew he would have struggled to survive on his own!" Damien said. His eyes shone with admiration for Manfred. How she wished his own father was worth her son looking up to…

You know I still love you, Diego. Theo had lost count of how many sleepless nights she'd had after the battle where RE Clovis sacrificed himself for Manfred and lost his life to Cortez.

Diego's father, the renowned alpha Cortez, had also lost his life on the same battlefield. Theo knew this because she was present at the field, and she had witnessed Diego crying into his father's still form. Soto later succeeded Cortez as alpha, despite Diego being Cortez's heir…

Theo blinked back tears, trying to compose herself to return to the flow of telling the herd's legend to Damien. Though we touched … that last night … and went our separate ways, I still love you.

The memory of Diego's breath making her neck warm the last night she saw him … and … and his lies about never loving her were too much. Desperate to flee the aching memories and the pain lingering on them, Theo returned to the legend.

"Yes, Manny let him lead them to Glacier Pass simply because he cared … cared even for a tiger, whom he and Sid had no good reason to trust.

"Their journey continued, with the baby reaching all of them in his own special way. Diego attempted playing Peekaboo with him once early on in the trip. Pinky didn't like it at first and Manny stopped Diego from playing it further, but it's thought that Diego continued trying to play Peekaboo with the child, which was a boon in the end.

"Manny was protective of the child because of his grief-filled past, a fact he hadn't divulged to his travelling companions. The sloth, Sid, enjoyed playing with the baby and teasing Manny during the trip with snowballs. Ironically, Sid did not help with holding the baby much," Theo chuckled. "No, that was Manny mostly, wanting to keep his little Pinky safe and rarely trusting the sloth with holding him, or the tiger. Legend says Sid didn't really mind because all he wanted was companionship and Pinky brought him into a circle of growing friendships. Friendships that would eventually turn a family of friends into a brotherhood."

Theo paused for breath after her long string of words, the hints of a genuine smile playing at the edges of her mouth. Damien noticed her change in behaviour and sat up, intrigued.

"What's goin' on with you, Mama?" he said.

"It's just, my favourite parts of the legend are around the corner for me to tell you about," Theo answered. "When the heroic selflessness of two of our heroes comes into play."

"Ooh, what'd they do? Was the tiger heroically selfless too?"

"He became so, eventually, and because of his friendship with Manfred." I always knew he had the potential for goodness. Others just saw him as a tiger … but he was my friend. My special friend…

"So what you're saying, Mama, is Manny changed him from someone selfish and scheming to someone selfless and genuine?"

"Yes, he did," Theo smiled at her son. "But it wasn't just Manny, dear. Little Pinky contributed to changing Diego's heart as well."

"How'd Manny and Pinky do it?" Damien said.

"Pinky showed no fear of Diego, and neither did Manny. After the group went on a wild ride through an ice cave, the tiger, the sloth, and the baby learned Manny's heartbreaking secret."

"What secret?"

"The cave paintings they stumbled upon after the ice slide enchanted Pinky revealed Manny's mate and son were killed by human hunters…" Theo trailed off as memories of Kate and Benny appeared in her mind's eye. How she missed them. "Manny had taken to calling Pinky 'Junior' occasionally, a nickname he had used for his own son before his death. When the small human placed his hand on the painting of Benny, Manny's trunk collided with his hand. Diego had immediately understood the meaning behind the cave paintings and hushed up Sid - who is never as empathetic as tellers of the legend claim he is - who kept prattling on about Manny settling down with a family."

"Sid is so rude," remarked Damien.

"Diego, having been witness to both Manfred's sorrow and also the forgiveness shown towards the child, began to feel his heart strangely warmed. He left the cave last, tears still in his eyes, no longer certain about his intentions for Pinky and Manfred. And then, Manny would do something for him that would turn his world upside down even more."

Damien gasped,

"What'd Manny do?"

"He showed him mercy. Such a potent blend of unexpected mercy and kindness that Diego was thrown off guard. I believe Manny would still have ventured out onto that ice ledge to pull Diego back from the brink of the river of lava, at great peril to himself, even if he already knew of Diego's plot. Yeah, son, Manny's a good guy."

"Diego started feeling bad, didn't he?"

"Yes… the babe had gotten under Diego's skin, too. Especially once the sight of Half Peak, the husk of a former volcano and the source for the lava rivers, loomed on the horizon. Diego informed Manny that Half Peak was three miles away. With the cold bearing down on them, Manny worried for Pinky's safety, so they rested in a nearby cave for the night."

"Is Sid gonna do anything interesting? He's been kinda … there for most of this legend, Mama."

"He will, he will! In fact, in the cave they found to keep Pinky warm, Sid stumbled upon a mysterious stone left by the humans. He rubbed it against the wall and sparks flew to the ground and hit a bundle of sticks nearby, creating fire."

"I know that part of the legend! Sid went down in history as the sloth who figured out how to make fire!"

Clovis always did see greatness in Sid the sloth. I guess he was right. And sure, Sid found fire accidentally, but accident or not, he's made his mark alongside his brothers Manny and Diego, in his own special way, Theo thought, smiling at Damien.

"And now, where was I…" Theo said. "Ah, yes… Manny's herd was relaxing in the cave, enjoying Sid's fire, when the baby had stood up and was trying to walk. Seeing Pinky try to walk even made Diego smile … and then something amazing happened."

"What happened, Mama?" Damien gasped.

"Pinky took his first full, stumbling steps … towards Diego, of all animals in the herd. Diego was the one most surprised by this, of course, even though, by this point, he'd also grown attached to the baby. He just had no idea his bond with Pinky was a mutual one."

Damien smiled.

"Pinky managed to walk over to him as Diego and Manny held each other's gazes meaningfully before the baby landed on Diego's paws. Touched and a little embarrassed, Diego coaxed the baby back towards Manny. Sid commented to Diego about how he - and Diego as well - had never had a friend who'd risk his life for him. Diego admitted Sid was right. There was no way he could go through with his plot involving Manfred and the child now but he had no idea how to reverse it…"

Damien's face crumpled in a frown,

"What'll he do, Mama?"

"I thought you didn't like my friend the tiger," Theo chided, giving him a thoughtful look. "What made you change your mind?"

"Well… it's just that his story is so interesting," Damien said, his expression serious, "and now I want the best for him, like Manny does and you do. So tell me, Mama, what'll Diego do now?"

"Can you guess?"

Damien's answer was a small shrug. Theo shook her head at him with a fond smile.

"The herd reached the bottom of Half Peak, and Diego fell back, catching sight of the tigers stationed amongst the crags and overhangs of the ancient volcano. Manny called to him, noticing Diego wasn't keeping pace with the rest of the herd, and Diego couldn't take it any longer.

"He ran forward to meet them, ordering them to get down. Once they did, Diego confessed to an ambush at Half Peak and his plot against Manfred and the child. He apologised, meaning every word, and told the mammoth and the sloth he could help them. He was their only chance, he said."

"Manfred, though initially indignant - he had shoved Diego up against the cave wall in an act of betrayed anger - reflected on Diego's sincerity and let him go. Manfred and Diego put their heads together - with some help from Sid - and hatched up a plan to infiltrate the pack. The plan hinged on everyone in the herd slipping through the cracks Diego would set up and getting away while Soto or the rest of the pack were none the wiser."

"Did their plan work?"

Theo sighed. This part of the legend was always hard for her to tell. She knew Diego emerged all right, but she hated the thought of him getting hurt - and at Soto's paws. Soto, who had long hated his brother, who had probably been scheming for some time to put his half-brother in a position where he could kill him without any suspicion landing on Soto himself.

"Not exactly… the infiltration went as planned, up until Soto discovered the baby was hidden away and disguised as a snow-babe. Realising Diego had deceived him, Soto was enraged and struck out after Diego. He found him and Manny together, about to leave Half Peak and grab Sid and Pinky on their way out.

"But Soto turned a corner and surprised Manny and Diego. They were trapped, since the other tigers of Soto's pack, Oscar and Lenny, had come after Manny had struck them unconscious. Manny, nervous and suspicious, expected Diego to join Soto and the others, but Diego instead placed himself in between Manfred and his alpha, blocking Soto's way and enraging Soto further by ordering Soto to leave Manny alone."

Damien's eyes grew wide with astonishment and Theo chuckled, enjoying herself. Her Diego was always full of surprises, after all. Theo's voice caught in her throat as she resumed the tale again,

"Diego knew placing himself on Manny's side wouldn't win him any favours with Soto, and, like he expected, Soto growled that he'd take Diego down first and then go after Manny. Soto struck first and Diego responded, trying to keep him away from Manfred. Diego knew the moment he defied Soto, he was in a battle he couldn't win, but he still hoped he might be able to buy Manfred some time to escape.

"Manny, however, didn't leave through the bottom of Half Peak. Instead, he moved towards Diego and Soto's battle, only to be cut off by Oscar and Lenny and pulled away from his friend. Manny watched, helpless, as Soto threw Diego off him and slammed Diego against a boulder in the snow, knocking Diego unconscious.

"Soto, satisfied that he had finally taken care of Diego as he'd always wanted to, advanced upon Manfred, a fiendish smile on his face. Manny realised death was staring him in the face but he was not afraid… Instead, he glanced aside at Diego, worried for his friend, and found that the tiger's eyes were open. He'd regained consciousness. The tiger's green eyes were full of panic, and, before either Manfred or Soto could react, Diego, with the last ounces of strength he had, leaped in between the mammoth and his alpha, taking the fatal blow Soto meant for Manny…

"Diego collapsed to the snow and lay still. Manny forgot about the present danger he was in and stared down at him in shocked disbelief. Soto had raised his paw to strike Diego dead when Sid and Pinky rounded the corner. Pinky's cries upon seeing Diego injured distracted Soto, giving Manny an opening to fling him away from Diego's limp form and ensure Pinky and Sid's protection.

"Manny flung Soto against one of the walls of Half Peak where icicles hung above. The icicles crashed from their overhang … and into Soto's heart. Frightened and leaderless, the remainder of Soto's pack fled when Manny rumbled at them, his eyes shining with tears…

"Diego moaned and Manny, Pinky and Sid made their way over to him. Diego knew he didn't have long for this world and so he … Damien, honey, are you crying?"

"No," Damien sniffled, doing a poor job of concealing his tears. "I don't want Diego to die, though, Mama. It won't be fair if he dies."

Theo pulled her son close to her in a quick, comforting hug,

"Diego is okay… he still bears the scars from Soto's attack though. Some say he is alive today because Brede intervened for him then. Don't worry, honey, the legend doesn't end like that."

"I'd like to meet him someday," Damien said, wiping away a few stray tears. "Do you think he'd like that, Mama?"

"Yes, I think he would," Theo said, a wistful lilt in her tone. "Do you want to hear if Manny's herd manages to return Pinky to his daddy, Damien?"

"Only if Diego is there," Damien said, a stubborn expression on his face.

"He'll be there," Theo said, kissing her son on the forehead. "Anyway, Diego knew he wasn't long for this world and so he told Manny and Sid to leave him at Half Peak to ensure Pinky made it back to his hunter father before the humans crossed over to their settlement on the other side of Glacier Pass.

"So with a heavy heart, Manfred, carrying Pinky in his trunk, guided Sid and the baby away from Half Peak. The bull and the sloth arrived at Glacier Pass just in time, since Pinky's father was on the verge of giving up hope and had placed his son's necklace upon the snow at the Pass in a farewell.

"The ground trembled underneath the man's shoes. When he turned around, he found himself face to face with a mammoth. With Manfred. Sid peeked out from behind Manny nervously as the man wondered what kind of danger he was in, not noticing the grief in Manny's eyes."

"Manny grabbed his spear and tossed it away, and when he did, the humans' wolves were alerted to their master's peril. The rest of the humans rushed over as the chief stood in front of Manny, rooted to the ground in fear. Manny reached up with his trunk onto his back, revealing the chief's little son.

"The chief smiled in relief and joy upon seeing his little lost child and stopped the impending assault from his band before turning back to Manfred. Manny set Pinky onto the snow with his trunk and then he and Sid watched with pride and happy tears as the baby walked - on his own - over to his father."

"Manny and Sid, now that their mission was complete, began heading south to resume the migration, but Pinky cried out so his father let him go say his goodbyes. Manny made a promise to the child and hugged him tight. When the chief took his baby back, he bestowed on Manfred a gift - Pinky's necklace. Both fathers shared a meaningful look as Manny caressed the necklace on his trunk."

"But what about Diego?" Damien pressed.

Theo nodded,

"As Pinky's father headed with him back towards the human settlement, Pinky kept his gaze fixed on his saviours … and then, after a few moments, began playing the game Diego had taught him. Sid, not understanding, played along with the child, whilst Manny turned away, grief-stricken … and his gaze landed on Diego. The tiger was limping towards him … alive.

"Diego played peek-a-boo with the baby one final time, his own special goodbye to the child he'd sacrificed so much for. He alerted Sid and Sid, overjoyed, threw himself onto the tiger in glee. Manny offered Diego a ride on his back, which Diego appreciated, even though he turned him down to preserve his 'dignity.'"

"And that's how Manny's became the leader of a herd made up of a mammoth, a tiger, and a sloth all because of the baby they saved. Now, their story and that of Pinky are passed around with great frequency within the Bredelands. Everyone knows this story, though they put their own spin on it. The sloths build up Sid, whilst the tigers and other carnivores see Diego as enemy and traitor to their own.

"And so, the long-promised peace finally arrived - because a human child had brought together a mammoth, a tiger, and a sloth into one harmonious, weird little herd. Brede's prophecy came true through the friendship of Manny, Diego, and Sid.

"A light of true peace had been born. It would take some time for it to spread throughout the rest of mammals of the Bredelands, but it was a start."

Damien yawned. "That's a great story, Mama," he said sleepily. "I'm glad Diego survived."

Within a few minutes, Damien was asleep and snoring next to her, leaving Theo alone with the night sky and her own thoughts. An image of a new friend of hers, the dire wolf Pearce, rose into her mind. Her friendship with Peace was how she knew Diego's involvement in the legend had been corrupted amongst his own sabres and other carnivores. How, in the story they told, Diego had killed Soto, even though it was Manny who had done it. To save his friend.

Soto had taken after his father, Cortez, in prestige and might amongst the sabine and other carnivore tribes, so it was easy to understand why Diego had become a scapegoat for his own kind.

Pearce had also told Theo amazing news. That Hudson, her friend, was alive. He wore an eyepatch now, according to Pearce, and hadn't made any effort to return to the Bredelands nor tell Diego he'd survived.

Probably because he has another prophecy from Brede, Theo groused. Ignoring her frustration with Hudson, Theo turned to happier ideas. Damien wanted to meet Diego.

Now all she had to do was figure out how to make that happen. With any luck, she might get to see Diego soon since Noa had given her incredible news: Manny was bringing his herd back into the mammothian corners of the Bredelands.


Under a rocky overhang jutting out above a valley below, a young man bent over his work, knapping away against a small stone to form an arrowhead. His father, Runar, the chief of the small human settlement, had given him the task.

A flock of birds scattered into the air, and Roshan looked up from his work, captivated. He had never spoken to his father about the vivid dreams he had: the ones where he saw two tigers, or sometimes one, wreathed in flames.

Those dreams had haunted him since he was little. He was almost man-grown now, but still they persisted. He couldn't escape the feeling that the smaller of the tigers in his dreams - because sometimes he would see the tigers fighting, the smaller having seemingly turned on his alpha to protect … someone? - faintly reminded him of a tiger he'd known when he was a baby.

A miracle baby, he scoffed. Runar had never stopped talking about his son's return by a mammoth and a sloth after his mother's loss because of a tiger attack. But Roshan was sure that a tiger had been a part of his return too. A tiger had taught him a fun game called "Where's the Baby" and Roshan had so absorbed the game that he had used it to wave farewell to the tiger, who almost hadn't made it to his send-off for reasons Roshan buried. People consider me such a miracle because of those animals saving me as a baby, that now Papa has made me his intercessor to other tribes. Roshan enjoyed it, but still he was haunted by memories faint and scarce. The tiger … in my dreams… who is he?

"Roshan!" Runar's hail tore the young man away from his scattered thoughts. Runar sat down beside his son. He inspected the arrowhead, attaching it securely around a thick yew pole as Roshan stared at him, lost in his own thoughts.

"This is excellent work, son," Runar said. He handed the finished spear to Roshan. "With this spear, I want you to hunt down the tiger who caused your mother's death when you were a babe."

What? Roshan's astonishment must have shown on his face because Runar chuckled.

"It's time, Roshan," Papa urged. "Time to bring that tiger to justice for your mother."

But … I don't think he was all bad? Why do I feel this way? How do I know?

Roshan rested the spear on top of his legs, his gaze shadowed. He didn't want to become a hunter …. partly because of the memory of the gentle mammoth who'd saved him and the faint recollection of the tiger the mammoth also saved. He didn't want to kill magnificent creatures like mammoths or tigers ever again … but he had no choice.

Outside of his diplomacy assignments, Roshan hadn't come into his own role in Runar's tribe yet. He knew it bothered his father, who intended for him to one day succeed him as chief.

Roshan couldn't find the words to answer his father. He nodded, gripping his new spear so tightly his knuckles turned white and the sapling in his hands split in two.


Fin

Review?

This ending scene with Roshan is one of my hooks for my upcoming longfic after Lacrimosa, simply titled Cruel Intentions. Is it a good hook? Are you enticed and beguiled to wanna find out more? Then please leave me a little note in the review box with your reaction, I'd love to see any feedback from you, my readers! :)

Because this gnarly conflict between humans and herd is only the tip of the iceberg (heh) in my CI series! ;)