Deciding to speed things up, the two split up and searched the colony as best they could. It wasn't too big a place but there were plenty of creatures that they would be looking for a while. Anyone they asked about Terry's sister seemed to either not recall seeing her or brushed it off thinking they were tourists. Most of them were having too much fun to even properly pay attention. In short there was no-one that had seen that scarred aardvark. It was starting to look rather grim until a glyptodon actually recognized the description.
"Yeah, I remember her!" The green shelled creature clarified. "Ran into her yesterday. Cheerful girl too."
Terry couldn't help himself but sigh in relief. It had been the first bit of good news he had heard the whole of this week. "Oh thank goodness! You have no idea how good it is to hear that! Do you know where she went or where she might be staying?" The brown ant eater asked hopefully.
The glyptodon gave himself a second to recall the events of yesterday. After a while, to Terrys dismay he shook her head.
"Sorry, no clue. All I remember her saying is how she'd be staying here for a few more days before moving on. Other than that you're on your own."
"Great... well, thanks anyway."
The shelled creature nodded in sympathy and continued about his day, leaving Terry on his own. At least it was now confirmed that she was here. Somewhere. Only took three hours just to receive that scrap of information. Deciding to take a moments respite, the aardvark headed on over to the nearest pool and started to drink from it through his elongated snout. The water was cold and refreshing, allowing whatever stress had built up over the days to melt faster than an iceberg in the desert. His head felt clearer almost right away.
"Well I hope you're having better luck than I am."
Terry nearly choked. An unpleasant experience when drinking though your nose and look up to see none other than Fluff standing by his side before sitting down next to him.
"I take it you found nothing out?"
"Nope." The diatryma grumbled. His face looked agitated as he stared at his own reflection through the water. "Same response from everyone I've asked. 'No haven't seen her' or 'got no clue mate, I've got more important things to do like sit down on my big butt all day and do heck all!" Fluff mocked. "Bunch of nitwits the lot of them. I'd ask you how you've done but I'm pretty sure its the same as me."
Despite the circumstances, Terry managed to give a small smile. "Actually..." He began, catching his friends attention. The large birds eyes widened.
"What you found her?!" He rushed out.
"Not yet but I did get told that she was here yesterday, and is probably still here somewhere. That's a start."
The diatrymas expression relaxed. "Oh. Well... better than nothing I guess." He consoled his friend. "On the bright side we are on the edge of the valley so she can't exactly have travelled any further right?"
"I guess."
Fluff took the chance to take some water himself, scooping up what he could with his beak before swallowing it. "Don't worry mate, she'll pop up sooner or later. Remember that one time we found her out in the middle of that hostile zone and she had made herself a hammock fifty feet up in the trees?"
Terry laughed as he recalled the memory. "Boy do I. I remember you nearly getting eaten by that amphibious beasty. That was funny."
Fluff rolled his eyes but kept his smile. "Yeah, close shave that was. Almost took a couple feathers with him too had you not noticed it swimming alongside me."
"Hey I did tell you not to walk so close to the river, but did you listen? Oh no of course you didn't. You never do."
"Well you do like to nag about the silliest things, like how the world is round."
"Well it is! Think about it, if it was flat like your feather brain suggests then wouldn't we see the land stretch out indefinitely?"
"We wouldn't know mate, thanks to this big white barrier of ice surrounding us." The diatryma pointed to the ice wall close to them. "Kind of hard to see what's on the other side."
"Hmpf! Well I still say it's round."
"Yeah keep dreaming on it all you want Terry, it'll never catch on I guarantee that." Fluff chuckled as Terry pouted. "So what's our next move? Wander round the park until we bump into her?"
"Unless you have a better idea?"
"Not really."
"Right then. In that case we'll finish up here and sweep through this place until we find her. Leave no stone unturned."
"And when we find her?"
"Scold her for leaving for so long and convince her to head back with us."
"How very simple. What if she doesn't listen?"
"We'll melt that bridge when we cross it." Terry looked to his right noticing a large group gathering in front of the lakes middle. "Say, what do you reckon is going on over there?"
Fluff took a look and shrugged. "Don't know, don't care."
"Might as well take a look. Who knows, we may find her in that crowd if we're lucky."
"I think you and I both know that we're not."
"Eh. Never know until you try."
Without waiting around to hear the diatryma argue back, Terry started to move on over to the crowd before Fluff reluctantly followed. The last thing he needed was to lose the aardvark. Upon getting closer they noticed that everyone, including the mammoth and saber from before were looking up listening to a shifty looking vulture perched on top a dead tree, looking down with a foul nasty grin. Something told the two that he wasn't exactly giving out warm fuzzy hugs. Once they were close enough they heard what the scavenging avian had to say.
"...Bowl's gonna fill up. Ain't no way out." He spoke with greasy words. "Unless you can make it to the end of the valley. There's a boat. It can save you."
"The heck is this weirdo on about?" Fluff asked Terry. A larger short trunked mammal overhearing the bird quickly filled them in.
"Didn't you hear? The ice is melting!" He answered in a slightly raised voice. "It's going to fill the valley and we're goin to drown!"
Fluff and Terry looked at each other, then back to the third wheel speaker.
"Ain't cha over worrying a tad mate? Ice had been melting back that way for months." Fluff pointed back they way he and Terry had come from. "Been no flooding for us."
Terry said nothing before once again listening to the vulture to hear what other nonsense he was sprouting.
"There is some good news though." The black feathered animal mentioned as the hopes of everyone around him lighted up, only to be quickly crushed at his twisted sense of humor. "The more of you that die, the better I eat. I didn't say it was good news for you." With those final delightful words he flew off leaving his captive audience mumbling worried words amongst themselves.
"Right ray of sunshine wasn't he?" Fluff spoke, not believing his words.
"You don't suppose he's right do you? About the entire valley flooding?"
"Oh please! Do you know how much water you'd need to fill up the entire valley? Tons! Most of the ice here is already gone and our toes are as dry as bones! Where would it come from, rain? It would take months for that! So how else would this huge, gigantic spot of land flood so quickly?"
As though on cue, the sound of something cracking could be heard from high above catching the attention of everyone. They all looked up in time to see a huge slab of ice break off from the top of the barrier and crashing down into the water, taking down several of the carefully crafted ice slides and very nearly crushing some of the more frozen members of the group who thankfully were pushed or carried out of the crash zone in time by the braver herd members. With the catastrophe over as quickly as it started, everyone inspected the more than noticeable hole that remained above, spotting small bodies of water beginning to drip down suggesting that the water on the other side was about to overflow and break the barrier. Even Fluff who had doubted the vultures words went wide eyed before clearing his throat.
"Ah. That would do it I reckon..." He awed. The mammoth then spoke up before anyone could begin panicking.
"Alright, you heard the scary vulture. Let's move out."
Immediately the group did exactly that. Moving and heading in the opposite direction of the crumbling barrier. Fluff shook his head.
"So much for sweeping across the park for your sister."
Terry didn't wait and instead moved towards Manny as fast as his legs could carry him. "Whoa whoa hold up a second!" He called out, catching the large mammals attention.
"These guys again?" He spoke out loud to himself seeing the two coming up to him but kept his temper hidden. "Look you two, I get that you need help looking for your lost friend but you need to worry about yourselves right now as well. Chances are she's already heading to the boat like the rest of us so it would be a good idea to go with them to safety."
"Yeah, probably but the thing is, well... there's a good several hundred animals moving south right now! Shuffling back and forth and side to side of one another. It'll be hard to spot her!"
"Yeah and that's assuming we keep running from the front of the herd to the back of it over and over again, which we can't." Fluff added in.
Manny and the sabertooth glanced at each other uncertainly and an uncomfortable silence took hold. The sabertooth decided to break the news to them.
"Listen fellas, I get that you need help but-"
"Ah forget it!" Fluff interrupted already seeing where this talk was going and gently tapped Terry to get his attention. "Come on mate, let's ask someone else! These two ain't gonna be any help at all."
Not bothering to wait for a response from either party the diatryma turned round and began to follow the traffic. Terry merely offered the two an apologetic grin and rushed to catch up before his friend got too far.
"Wait!" Came a new third voice.
The pair halted upon hearing it and turned to see a sloth. The same one that they had seen buried in the ground not so long ago. Had he been listening in on the conversation?
"Can we help you?" Fluff eyed the smaller being with his glaring gaze, of which the sloth didn't seem affected by at all or perhaps he hadn't even noticed.
"You're looking for your sister?" He asked stepping out from under and in front of his own friends.
"We are yes! Have you seen her?" Terry jumped the gun stepping forth with the hopes of good news at last.
"About this high, trunk this size and a big bushy tail?" He asked as he used charades to clarify the details in a very animated way.
"Yes! That's her!" The aardvark smiled until Fluff lowered his neck until his head was right above his friend's own.
"Yeah, her and every aardvark in the world." The diatryma pointed out before turning his attention back to the sloth. "What about a pink scar? A few inches across the cheek?" Fluff questioned drawing an imaginary line down the left side of his face with a footed claw. The sloth paused for a moment.
"Uh... No. Nothing like that as far as I remember." He admitted sheepishly.
"Figures." Fluff muttered under his breath about ready to follow the herd again.
"Oh but we can help find her!" The mammal exclaimed. The mammoth and saber also gazed at the sloth with confused expressions.
"We?" The cat repeated but was ignored as the sloth continued.
"That's what a herd does! They look out for each other, right?"
"They aren't even from round here Sid!" Manny added.
"All the more reason to help out! We have to set a good example to everyone that we're a loving friendly community! And what better way to show it during the very high chances that we're all going to die in just a few days time?"
No-one had an answer.
"Well uh... if you're sure you don't mind." Terry stepped forth again. "Then we certainly appreciate the help!" He smiled as Sid the sloth was close enough to shake hands to strike the deal, or rather claw and trunk. The aardvark didn't dare comment on the unusual odor coming from the friendly creature even with his eyes beginning to water. Fluff on the other hand, while more relaxed round the sloth remained judgmental of his friends.
"Then it's settled!" Sid gleamed. "We'll help!"
"Great." The saber dully noted. "What could be more fun than helping two strangers play hide and seek?" The comment was mostly rhetorical but Fluff couldn't help but respond back heatedly.
"You're free to back out whenever you want to kitty cat."
An unwise choice of words that earned a growl from the dangerous animal. "Care to repeat that feather brain?"
"Why? Your hearing not up to scratch?" The diatryma challenged refusing to step down. Luckily the mammoth stepped in before things could escalate any further.
"Okay that's enough! From both of you!" He scolded the hostile beasts who backed off, their glares unbroken. "And thanks to Sid, I suppose it's the least we can do. We do have to look out for each other in this herd. Even those new here." He looked to the newcomers. "But we need to get to that boat or all the searching in the world won't help us so let's put our trust issues aside and start moving!"
With those words the tusked giant did exactly that as the rest slowly but surely followed. The bird and cat still suspicious of one another as well as the aardvark and sloth happily chatting away ensured that this was going to be a very interesting journey.
Had they stayed a few moments longer they may have noticed the block of ice in the water behind them slowly turning and revealing two very unusual, very dangerous looking monsters that watched them from behind the thin layer of melting ice.