First of all, thank you to BR for your review on L21! And to the two guests who left your comments, thank you /s so much for lying about Brede and misinterpreting my story that I have poured so much of my heart and soul into! Brede is not an "animal Jesus" She is inspired by the Greek/Roman/Norse mythologies and is meant to be the Guiding Spirit/Goddess of the Ice Age Bredelands She lends her name to. Also, for it being "cringe" to have "Christianity" in Ice Age, tell that to Blue Sky then, because even IA3 references Christmas with the Alvin and the Chipmunks shoutout and let's not forget the inane Easter and Christmas specials... that make no sense since technically Christ or Christmas cannot exist in PREHISTORY but Fox and Blue Sky made those specials anyway...

Oh, and if anymore rude, missing-the-point anons come onto Lacrimosa and leave "reviews" that aren't reacting to the fic or pointing out what they enjoyed/liked about it, I will delete said "reviews" with impunity. You do not scare me.

This chapter includes a shoutout to Shingeki no Kyojin, or SNK, with the Tiego moment and is a shoutout to the S4 pt 2 ending song called Akuma no Ko. I slipped it in there because I felt like the quote fits Diego and Theo's star-crossed lovers tale so well. Manny's nightmare scene is also based off a very old IA1 idea where Wedge said they were planning to open with Manny having a bad dream, re-experiencing the deaths of his mate and son again, before they settled on the cave painting sequence. The title for this chapter comes from the Lucas Grabeel song "You Know I Will" a song I've used for two Manny and Diego-based fics already. ;)

I also have a special treat for my readers! There is a bonus CI-verse one-shot, called "Peace Child" meant as a complementary fic to this chapter, I hope you'll enjoy it! :)

Hudson is © to thelonemongrel.

Diego glanced around the circle of faces around the campfire. Sympathetic murmurs rose up from the group. It was a blow to his innate sabre pride, seeing this motley crew of a herd share in his sorrows. A hidden smile reached Diego's eyes.

And yet, it made him feel not quite so alone…

"Oh, you poor thing," Ellie said, extending her trunk towards him and laying it on top of his paw. Diego appreciated Ellie's compassion, but he ducked his head away, embarrassed. "To lose your father and your mother-"

"And Theo," Diego interrupted. "All on the same day."

The herd fell quiet at Diego's mention of Theo. The crackling of the fire as it devoured the twigs and branches fueling it echoed in the silence. Finally, Ellie broke it,

"Diego, honey, in the last part of your story… you're nothing like the tiger Manny and Sid told us about when it comes to your legend about you three and the baby… what's the reason for that?"

Diego sighed.

"I learned two lessons in this life, in Soto and his mother's pack, before Manny taught me a new way of living," Diego said, regret and shame battling in his green eyes. "One, look out only for yourself because it's every tiger for themselves. And two, don't get attached to anyone because the pack doesn't care who lives or dies."

"Life in a pack is difficult," Axel agreed, as sympathetic tears filled Ellie and Shelley's eyes.

Poor kid, Diego thought, ruminating on Axel's revelation of how the 'pound of flesh' had cost his parents their own pack and their lives to protect their cub. Well, he has me - and Manny - now, so he won't be lacking for father figures.

"Yeth, my Axel doeth," Shelley said, stroking his mane tenderly. "I'm glad we found you three, the legendary heroes… I've long wanted to meet Mr Manny and the Fire King of my kind," she said, batting her eyes at Sid as he blushed.

"Shelley, we went this way on purpose trying to bump into them," Axel said in a loud stage whisper. "Us finding Sid at Manny's playground wasn't an accident. Everything else with him was, though."

Diego noticed his name didn't come up in Shelley's rendition of her and Axel's scheme to meet the herd. He didn't mind it. Manny was his alpha, the one of Diego's chosen herd and it made perfect sense Shelley would want to seek him and Sid out because of her strong admiration for them. He had a hunch, anyway, that Axel had tagged along because of his curiosity about his role as the tiger in the legend and for that Diego couldn't be happier.

Diego exchanged a significant glance with Manny. The mammoth was eavesdropping on their new friends as well as the tiger with a goofy smile on his face.

"You came all the way to the Bredelands in search of us?" Manny asked Shelley. "Honest to Brede, Shelley, I'm flattered. I didn't know our tale had reached so far and so many."

"Yeth, it hath, Mr Manny," Shelley said. Manny's face darkened with annoyance at Shelley's cloying words but he let it pass without comment. Diego chuckled inwardly, appreciating Manny's growth with Shelley. Hours earlier, he would've snapped at her about it.

Shelley is a massive fan of the mammoths. She looks up to them, so her attention isn't entirely unexpected. Manny deserves fans because of our legend with the kid anyway. If not for Manny and the kid, Sid and I would've died and never become part of the herd…

Axel interrupted Diego's grateful musings,

"What happened to Theo, Diego? And you said you lost her the same day Cortez was murdered and your mother was exiled?"

A shadow fell over Diego's face at Axel's mention of Theo and he avoided looking at the cub. His last memories with Theo were filled with lies and regret… another loss, on top of the losses he'd already endured when Soto and the Scarlett had commandeered Cortez's pack. He had done what he did because he wanted the best for her, but now, in hindsight, self-doubt plagued him.

Diego cleared his throat,

"I didn't lose her the exact day... after all that had happened, Theo snuck away to find me after a month or so of us not seeing each other once the Battle was over. She wanted to offer me comfort and find out if I had any news about Hudson's whereabouts. I didn't have a good answer for her…"

Half Peak

Sabre territory

Nothing is the same anymore. Diego shook his head against the thought and inhaled. He coughed when he inhaled wisps of ashes. Ashes lingered in the sky and air ever since Vetta Inferno's explosion, and it had plunged the Bredelands into a smoky and greyish-yellow haze. Vegetation was already suffering, and the sabre packs on the prowl found it easy to ambush herbivores that had grown thin since their food supply had evaporated overnight. Soto and his mother's packs, consolidated from Cortez's, were thriving.

Soto had even taken as his mate the tigress Belinda. His mother had set the union up for him within a month or so of their victory over Cortez and RE Clovis.

Diego now held the position of Soto's second-in-command, as enviable a role as being heir to the alphacy, and it didn't escape his notice how others - notably Soto's close friend Oscar - resented him for getting it.

Diego had plans to meet with Theo, away from the still smouldering carcass of Half Peak in one of the mammothian Bredelands' meadows, an area where the air didn't hang thick with ashes and despair, where one could breathe.

We can't do this anymore. It puts her in too much danger.

XXXXXXXX

Diego sat back on his haunches under a large aspen in the meadow beneath the full moon and waited for Theo.

Our last night together. I'm sorry, Theo…

He could never define why, but the mammothian corners of the Bredelands offered him a serenity he hadn't been able to capture within the sabine territories.

Diego looked around, feasting his eyes on the tremulous beauty of the Bredelands valleys, knowing it was the last time he'd lay eyes on them - and Theo. If he ever saw them again, he couldn't guess when. His resolve hadn't changed. From his point of view, this was the best he could offer Theo. It would break her heart, but it would ultimately keep her safe.

"Diego!"

The cub managed a tiny smile as Theo swept towards him. She grabbed him with her trunk and drew him close to her, her forelegs encircling his body in a fierce bear hug. Diego relaxed in her embrace, relishing everything about her presence - her scent, her warmth, her love.

Finally, he pulled away from her, sadness filling his green eyes,

"My mama's been banished, Theo, and one of her and my closest friends in the pack, my uncle Brutus, was killed by Soto. Soto also sent my mama into exile under Stepmother's command."

"Stepmother?" Theo raised a curious eyebrow at Diego.

Diego hung his head and tears trembled in his voice. "The Scarlett. She's my stepmother now… she said she is my only mother because of Mama's exile."

"Oh, Diego," Theo said, her tone soothing and empathetic. "Your mama sounded like a wonderful tigress, I wish I had gotten a chance to meet her. You must miss her … and Hudson … an awful lot. I'm so sorry."

"I have no news about Hudson, if that's what you're here for, Theo," Diego said, unable to keep the growl out of his voice. "Hudson disappeared into thin air and that's all I know."

"Diego, I'm here for you," Theo said. Hurt appeared in her expression before she quickly brushed it away. "I came here for you, and I do want to know about Hudson if you have any information, but I'm here for you. Let me be here for you."

But you can't be. We can't do this anymore. I won't let her get herself in danger because of me.

Aloud, Diego said,

"Theo, this is the last time we'll be able to see each other… after this, I want you to forget you ever knew me."

Theo looked as though Diego had struck her, and he felt like he had, as tears began to pool in her eyes. Steeling himself, Diego went on, savageness undercutting his exclamation,

"I don't love you, Theo. I never did or have. And our friendship wasn't real, either."

I'm lying and I hate to break your heart, mi amor, but this is me wanting the best for you … and the best for you … it isn't me.

Theodora's large hazel eyes were wide, and he could see that she was still reeling from the impact of the lies he'd fed her only moments ago. Much to his surprise, she did not cry though tears shone in her eyes. Instead she raised her head. But when she spoke, her voice was quiet.

"Will I see you again?"

Diego had turned away, in preparation to leave, but her words stopped him. He forced himself to look at her, hating himself, since he knew he was the cause of the pain glimmering in her eyes and the way her shoulders slumped in grief.

He took a deep breath and then ducked his head. The question seemed almost too big to answer. Yes would be too small, and no would tear them apart forever. Forever…. Diego shivered.

"I-I don't know."

His voice was small, and he wasn't sure if she'd even heard him, but then he saw that her eyes were bright, glimmering with hope because of his unspoken promise.

Diego turned away, melting into the bushes, trying to ignore the sounds of Theo's soft sobs as they broke through the crystal moonlit silence.

XXXXXXXXX

Diego retreated to a small cave on the fringes of the meadow and collapsed on the cold hard ground. His father was gone, murdered by his new stepmother. His mother, also gone, and unlike the Scarlett, probably unable to survive.

The cruel mercy of his brother was the only reason he was alive and still a part of Soto and his mother's pack… and why he lied to Theo. Theo, now torn from him by his own desire to keep her safe…

Diego buried his head in his paws and let the hot tears fall, his sorrow echoing off the walls of his refuge.

Theo, abandoned by Diego, glared up at the silver-white moon balefully as she struggled not to cry and give into her emotions.

Footsteps sounded nearby and a black silhouette appeared behind her. Traces of suspicion lingered in his brown eyes and annoyance creased his brow. He extended his trunk to her and entwined it with his own. Samarkand's unexpected gentleness nettled her.

His presence was the last thing she wanted, reeling, as she was from the impact of Diego's words - his lies, because he could have only been lying, she told herself, wishing she could call Diego back to her side. Instead, she was trapped with Samarkand and she hated it.

"Come away with me, my betrothed," Samarkand said, nuzzling against her. Theo fastened her eyes on the horizon, hoping for the sight of Diego's tawny orange fur, and found nothing. Not even a waft of her tiger's scent lingered on the wind. Which was probably for the best, because she could imagine Samarkand's rage if he knew about her trysts with a tiger.

And now, the cruel world of the Ice Age had torn her and Diego apart because of the innate conflicts between their species. Diego was a child of evil, according to mammothian beliefs and laws, and it had never escaped Theo's notice, how, even as a young calf, the majority of bulls and cows popularly believed that the only good tiger was a dead tiger.

Theo blinked back tears, hoping the moonlight wouldn't betray her, wresting her trunk away from Samarkand's.

This world is cruel but I still love you… will always love you, Diego.

She knew her thoughts would never reach him. He had told her to forget him, but she wouldn't - she couldn't.

And, in that moment, Theo made a promise to herself to always love Diego.

"Diego, tch, you poor thing," Sid's comment cut through the snap and crackle of the fire. "alwaylth losing Theo." He prattled on, "Remindth me of my one that got away. Her name wath Thylvia. She wath a babe."

Manny rolled his eyes,

"Sid, we thought you hated Sylvia."

Sid crossed his arms, scowling at Manny,

"It wath a complicated relationthhip. She wath, to me, like Buck and hith ugly pineapple." He turned aside to Shelley, who wore a disgruntled expression on her face. "Don't worry, doll, that'th all in the past now." For his efforts, Shelley slapped him on his cheek as the rest of the herd reacted with amusement.

"Diego." Ellie's gentle voice brought an end to the rigmarole between the two sloths. "My heart breaks for you, honey. I can't imagine how lonely you were, and I know, we've said it already, but I believe Theo never stopped loving you. I hope you take comfort in that."

"I do…" Diego trailed off. "Look, guys, it's okay. I got my herd. I don't need anything else, not even a lost love, to make me happy." He exchanged a mischievous, conspiratorial look with Manny.

"We're setting up Peaches with Damien," the bull and the tiger announced as one, looking pleased with themselves. "If Peaches gets with Damien, in a way, it'll be like me and Theo actually ending up together," Diego added, a wistful expression in his eyes.

"Well, let'th hope that workth out then. Good luck!" Sid said.

"Why wasn't I consulted about this?" Ellie said, though the happy expression in her eyes betrayed her. "Damien sounds like a lovely future mate for our baby."

"We were going to tell you but we kept forgetting," Diego replied to Ellie, giving her a roguish wink.

"Hey, Axel, Shelley," Manny said, addressing the two odd travellers. His question ended the chatter surrounding his and Diego's plans for Peaches' future. "How exactly did you end up hearing about us, about the legend that grew up around us. Our little story hasn't travelled that far, has it?"

"Also, you only wanted to know about our lives growing up," Diego added, "and not the legend about our journey with the kid and how Pinky made us a herd, so you had to have known the full story before meeting us, especially since Shelley's a big fan of Manny, and mammoths in general -"

"Well, I never wanted to become famous," Manny grumbled, shooting Diego a frown. "Nor asked for our legend to spread far and wide."

"Hey, don't look at me, this herd is mostly your doing," Diego teased the mammoth bull. "Yours and Pinky's."

"For your information, Diego, I helped too!" Sid butted in.

"Still didn't make the herd, little buddy," was Diego's retort, "because you wouldn't be here without Manny either."

"Fiiine, I concede!" Sid sputtered, mumbling under his breath vague things about his place in the herd and how much input he had in creating it. The others in the herd ignored him.

"Say, did you know that amongst tigers, rumour has it Diego killed Soto?" Axel asked. Manny's head swivelled to look at him with interest. "Shelley and I heard that on our travels together."

"I killed Soto," Manny said, his face a thundercloud of controlled anger. "I did it to save Diego and the kid. I would do it again if I had to. Diego's just an easy scapegoat for other tigers. It wasn't his fault and he shouldn't be blamed for it by his own kind." His tone indicated that such rumours weren't unknown to him as Diego quietly agreed, "We know."

"And on our travelth together ith how we heard the legend," Shelley said, her face broadening in a fond smile as she gazed from Sid to Diego to Manny. "Everyone knowth, Mr Manny, everyone. Even the humanth!"

"Yes," Axel said, backing his travelling companion up. "There's a popular theory that's gone around that the humans themselves painted your legend on their cave walls. Some say that the son of man himself, the child you saved, painted the story on the walls himself with his own hands when he was small, soon after he'd been delivered to his father."

"Is this true?" Diego whispered.

"Yes," Axel answered. "And the baby didn't forget you, Diego. You're on the wall with Manny and Sid. Shelley and I have seen the legend, painted on the cave walls, in the cave you went through that leads to Glacier Pass and the Half-Peak."

"In fact, the cave wall that showlth the baby remembering you - all three of you - ith what got me and Axel here curiouth about your thlory," Shelley said, "and thlo we put our headth together to find out if anyone elthe could tell it to uth."

"Well, then who did tell you?" Sid said, his claws clasped together in suspense.

Axel met Diego's gaze, a tiny sabine half-smile lifting the corners of his mouth.

"We heard it from a mammoth cow named Theo. Shelley listened in on her storytelling one day and then retold the legend to me later."

"Theo?!" the rest of the herd exclaimed in unison. Diego's face held a strange expression of hope and disbelief warring in his eyes.

"You've got to be kidding," Diego said with a hoarse chuckle. "You heard the legend - our legend - from Theo?"

"Not kidding," Shelley said, grinning.

"Why'd it take you so long to tell me you got it from her?" Diego couldn't hide the disappointment in his voice.

"We didn't know who she was to you until just recently," Axel admitted. "To us, she was a friendly she-mammoth. Shelley wasn't aware, when she overheard your legend, that Theo was Madam Elder at the time. Shelley told me later Theo's a well-known storyteller to the children around these parts."

"Ah, just like Manny," Diego said, stealing a proud glance at the bull.

"Rumour has it that Madam Elder has her own fair share of secrets and so, naturally, she's the one to seek out if you want to hear a good story, because she has plenty," Axel said, with a wink.

"Sid, I have a question for you," Manny said, as all heads turned to look at the sloth. "Why'd your family abandon you, so often? Did you at least have your dad in your corner?"

Sid's lip trembled,

"No. In my late teenth, we got attacked by tigerth one day. I fell behind my brotherth and my dad went back for me… and the tigerth got him. My brotherth and Uncle Funguth blamed me for it and ath the yearth went by, found wayth to leave me behind every time migration rolled around…"

"Oh, Sid," Ellie said, wrapping her trunk around him comfortingly as Shelley hugged him. Diego and Axel wore twin looks of embarrassment and remained silent.

"We're so sorry to hear that, Sid," Manny said, speaking for both himself and Diego. He nudged at the sloth with his trunk, "but you got us, your herd, out of it, so you're not alone anymore. We're here for you, buddy."

"Thankth, you guyth," Sid said, wiping away the stray tears he couldn't conceal.

Axel cleared his throat,

"I have a question about your legend. It's more of a question for Manny and Diego, though, because the legend is so deceptively simple. Shelley and I have long wondered what happened to the two of you before the snowball in your lives rolled you all into each other."

"Well, kid, for us two, it comes down to -"

"Humans," Manny said, finishing Diego's sentence. The mammoth's single word trembled with emotion and held undertones of an ominous rumble.

"Yeah," Diego agreed, touching Manny's foreleg soothingly. "Want me to go first, buddy? If I'm correct, we're now ten years further along in the story and we should both be around twenty-five years old." Diego paused, as though knowing his next words would cause Manny pain, "and you've been mated to Kate for some time now…. and two years before, when you were twenty-three, you had Benny."

"Kate wanted to call him Manfred Junior," Manny broke in, tears in his voice. "I liked the idea of him being Manfred Junior as well, but together Kate and I chose Ben. Though we both still called him 'Junior' now and then, like I'd later do with Pinky."

Diego's expression showed his remorse as he strove to comfort Manny,

"It's okay, Buddy. Let it out," he murmured.

"I need some time," Manny said urgently to Diego. "You explain to them what went down with the humans when you were in Soto's pack, D."

Diego turned to face the others, watching him and Manny with concern flitting in their eyes, his paw still resting on Manny's foreleg.

"Okay," Diego said. "Mine and Manny's stories are at another time jump, now we're both in our early twenties. Living for years under Soto's leadership had turned me into a selfish, remorseless assassin. Our hunting grounds were now taken over by humans, led by Pinky's dad. The humans had made two settlements: one above the falls, and a favourite haunt of Soto and the Scarlett's pack, and the one on the other side of Glacier Pass. Belinda and Soto had had a litter of three cubs. They called the oldest Hernando, and he was Soto's heir."

A small smile flitted on Diego's face. "I loved Hernando, the little tyke," he admitted. "Soto hated my closeness with him, naturally… and then, one day, the humans attacked. Soto's pack had dwindled to only ten or so Sabres, since many left him and the Scarlett after Cortez's death. Of the few that remained, few were spared…"

Eight years since I last saw Theo. Diego thought. He looked down at the human settlement below. Eerie triangles, covered with tanned hides, pierced upwards into the blue sky.

Diego had learnt from the tamed beasts, the wolves leashed to the humans, that such structures were known in the humans' tongue as tents and could easily be disassembled should the need to migrate arise. Diego, his mind filled with memories of Hudson, had sardonically asked the wolves if they could communicate with humans. In response, they laughed at him and wouldn't explain if they could.

Diego had been lurking nearby when the chief and his mate brought forth a new child, their firstborn son, amongst their people. Frustrated and uninterested, Diego had reported the development to Soto and his stepmother, who were the opposite of thrilled.

"We should go and squash him and the other humans as soon as possible," Soto snarled, every fur on his body bristling with anger. "Every day we just let those putrid humans live endangers the tribe. Him having a son puts my own son, my heir, in danger."

"It's just a baby," Diego said, intent on being contrary. It was one of the few ways he could get under Soto's hide nowadays. "A human baby, but it means us sabres no harm. The little guy is actually kinda cute. I can see why the humans made such a fuss over him."

"You're going soft," Soto said, a hiss in his words. "I want no softness amongst my sabres, Diego. Get it together."

"Fine," Diego said, baring his teeth at Soto. For his insolence, the Scarlett cuffed him across his cheek. The welts on his face stung but he kept silent, ducking his head in respect though his eyes flashed with silent anger.

XXXXXXX

Soto tasked Diego to stalk the human settlement and surveil the human chief with his mate and new child. Soto meant this surveillance duty as punishment, but Diego didn't mind. Not that he'd ever admit it to his stepmother or Soto, but he enjoyed watching the humans live their lives. To Diego, it was like the days of his cubhood when the mammoths' beauty entranced him. Humans were, for some reason or another, oddly similar, from Diego's perspective, to the mammoths.

For the life of him, he could not understand why.

He also could not understand how, for some unfathomable reason, he felt a connection to the chief's son.

In spite of Soto and his hatred towards the hunters, and in spite of his own mixed emotions on humans altogether.

XXXXXXXXX

Out of nowhere and with blinding fury, the day Soto had worked so hard to prevent came. The humans, led by the chief of the settlement above the Brede Falls - attacked. By Diego's reckoning, the baby was by now one and half years old. He had seen the child attempting to walk more than once during his surveillance, and Diego had smirked to himself when the little human kept stumbling. It's not my fault this is amusing, Diego rationalised to himself.

The hunter band made a mockery of Soto and his pack. Like sabres themselves, the humans ambushed. Men leapt out from behind bushes and boulders and trees, their dozens of spears sticking into the backs and hearts and sides of tigers and tigresses alike.

Fur and blood flew above the keening of the chief and his hunters. The wolves were unleashed and they set to work ripping and gnawing at the forelegs of any downed tiger they fell upon.

When it was all over, Soto urged the remainder of his pack - exactly half - to safety. Belinda, Soto's mate, had fallen to the humans, and Diego had glanced back as Soto nudged him away, as the human began slicing Belinda's hide off of her. Next to Belinda lay the small form of Hernando, killed alongside his mother.

Soto showed no remorse over his mate's death but turned to rage when Oscar - not Diego - informed him Hernando was among the dead.

No one wanted to tell Soto the news about his stepmother. The Scarlett and Shira had been caught up in the fervour of the battle, clawing and battling ferociously, and both were among the missing once the dust settled and Soto forced the pack into a retreat.

Oscar, well aware of Soto's trust in his half-brother, coerced Diego into being the one to inform Soto of his loss.

"Your mother is, as far as we know, dead," Diego said to Soto when he met him in the alpha's den. Diego thought of his own mama, and wished he had any idea of her whereabouts.

Soto jumped at his throat, his eyes glittering with rage, and for a split second, fear coursed through every inch of Diego's body. He shrank back, having long learnt to be leery when Soto was in one of his tempers.

"This is your fault," Soto said, in a dangerously low voice. "You got all cosy, being near those humans, and you have cost me my heir and my mother."

You were the one who told me to surveil them, Diego thought but didn't voice aloud, knowing Soto would claw him, or worse. Instead, he asked a tactical question,

"What do you think we should do about the humans, my alpha?"

Soto's face lit up with a terrifyingly vicious smile.

"An eye for an eye, Diego, don't you think?"

Diego nodded,

"You know best, my alpha."

Inside, his heart sank. Soto was invoking sabine martial law - on the humans!

There's no way this can end well, Diego thought, resigned. Let's just get it over with.

"This makes Soto sending you after Pinky, out of the tigers currently in the pack, even worse in hindsight," said Ellie.

"Well, part of me is glad he did, because otherwise I wouldn't have gotten you all - this herd - out of it," Diego said, giving her a genuine smile.

"I wish you could've done it without getting those scars out of it, though," Manny said, despondency leadening his voice but warmth for the tiger shone in his eyes. "Honestly, Diego, you doing that for me, it nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Yeah, Manny still hath nightmareth about it thomethimeth," Sid said as an aside to Shelley. "I've theen them, they're not fun. He never hath nightmareth about me, though."

"That's because you don't put yourself in danger as often as Diego does for others, you little knucklehead," Manny said, rubbing Sid's head with a noogie. "But don't get me wrong, we worry about you - because you're our little bro."

"You guyth are the bethth," Sid said, his tone appreciative.

"Well, we've heard what happened with Diego and the humans' impact on him before your legend began… we'd like to hear your part of the story now, Mr Manny sir," Axel said, his eyes apologetic, "if it's not too hard for you."

Manny heaved a sigh.

"I think I can manage. Thanks for askin', though, kid."

The mammoth cast his mind back to the cave painting that he, Diego, and Sid had encountered during the journey to reunite Pinky with his father. His nightmare - haunting his every waking moment, and making his life grey until Pinky burst into it with his soft light - brought to life in agonising detail on the cave wall. Even now, his bones hurt to remember… remember another day like the one that had claimed his father… because that day with his Kate and Benny was idyllic, almost perfect, until -

Silence hung oppressively over the herd until Manny broke it,

"My life… before Pinky, it was a nightmare… a constant, living, nightmare…."

Benny, or alternately, "Junior" gambolled in the short grasses. Manny smiled. He'd brought Kate and Benny to a meadow that was filled with short grasses and bordered by two large cliffs.

It was one of the little mammoth family's favourite spots. Manny drew Benny's head close to him in a trunk hug, catching glimpses of his son's grin. Benny ran off to continue playing as Manny wrapped his trunk into Kate's and leaned into her cheek.

Everything about this day was perfect.

Manny's head snapped as Benny, his face alive with fear, hurried back towards him and Kate as unearthly cries pierced the serenity Manny had found.

Humans!

And not just any humans - a whole hunting band, shrieking cries of the hunt and carrying their deadly weapons, spears.

Manny didn't stop to think. He urged Kate and Benny to escape as he stood to face the hunters. He reared back, warning them to stay away from his family as the human men formed a ring around him. Their spears thudded into his fur and he smelled his own blood.

Above the chaos, Kate's trumpet sounded, and he pivoted to find its source. The hunters surrounding him didn't let him pass as his gaze landed on his little family.

Kate's trunk, clasped around Benny, their backs to the cliff's wall. The humans had cut off their retreat - just like tigers did at the hunt - and his mate and child were helpless. Glancing upward, Manny's heart lurched. Female humans, bearing rocks, stood at the cliff's apex.

His trumpet of horror was the last sound echoing off the cliffs as blackness took him.

Couldn't save them…couldn't save them…

The refrain was constant and soul-destroying. Images of Kate and Benny, their beloved faces split open by jagged rocks, their blood streaming down in lurid red waterfalls….

Manfred had no escape.

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"Are you sure you're not coming with us?" Theo asked, her eyes sympathetic. Samarkand loomed behind her, but through his veil of misery, Manny barely noticed him.

William had become the Elder of Three Fjords herd, the herd of his father's, upon his depression following the slayings of Kate and Benny, only three weeks ago. Winter was settling in and the mammoth herds had amassed as one to clear the way to the Bredelands South for the smaller mammals travelling in their wake. It was one method of deterring any predators on the migration route, the mammoths departing earlier than everyone else to ensure the safety of those following behind.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Manny said. "I have nothing to live for, Theo. Get out of my way."

Normally he wouldn't have treated such an old friend so brusquely, but Theo saw the bags under his eyes from sleepless nights and the grief casting a pall over his face and moved aside.

Manny lumbered forward, into the night, feeling desperate and broken, knowing he would sooner or later run counter to the rest of the smaller megafauna heading south. He was beyond caring. All he wanted was the north.

One way or another, he could find a way of rejoining his family herd amongst the ice and the bitter cold.

The frigid air of the black night froze the tears trailing down his cheeks.

The Age of Ice, as prophesied by Morrigan, was coming. The seer had claimed it would be, in a way, an end of the world.

But, for Manny, the world had ended the day the humans stole the lives of his beloved mate and child.

Fin

We draw ever nearer to the conclusion of Lacrimosa and the beginning of CI bk 1! Please don't be shy and leave me a little note, I adore comments! What did you like best about this chapter? What'd you think of Manny's nightmare, and "seeing" the Inciting Incidents of IA1 (off-screen for us in the movie) finally? Next chapter will delve into some "story gaps" of IA1, with some povs of Nadia and Soto (laying out his cruel intentions for Diego, setting up Diego as Diego sets up the herd) and showing how exactly Diego is "recalled to life" in IA1... but how was he?

Follow this story if you are curious to know! ;)