Ƭħє ŞąЬяє'ƨ Şħąmє

Chapter Three: Trouble

Diego wasn't asleep, but nor was he fully awake. He was caught somewhere between the dream world and reality, swimming in a delirium of pain and sickening emotions. He thought he could dimly hear voices, but in the shifting state of being half-asleep, he couldn't be sure.

"Hey! Everyone, be quiet!"

"Who is that?"

"Isn't that…?"

"Raze? It couldn't be! He's dead! We saw him die!"

"It's Raze! It has to be!"

"Silver, I'm telling you, it can't be!"

What…? Those voices belong to sabres! And the first one, a female, everyone else was quiet after she told them to be – so she's the pack leader! How could…?

Diego warily opened his eyes, blinking in shock as he saw six sabres cautiously standing about a meter or so back from him. All of them were looking directly at him, all of them looking as stunned as he felt. One of them, a female with a curious greyish coat, took a step forward, narrowing her silver eyes. "Raze?"

Temper frayed by pain, Diego snapped "My name is Diego."

"I told you," a young tiger at the back of the pack said, slightly contemptuous. "It's not Raze."

"Well, duh, we just established that!" the silver-eyed tiger snapped back. Another female with haunted-looking emerald eyes and scars raked across her body walked towards Diego, studying him critically. He guessed she was the pack leader. "Why are you here?"

"I … my pack died, and I wound up here. I hurt my paw." Diego half-lied, leaving out a lot of details. Two twin sabres sniffed him cautiously, then looked back at the pack leader and shrugged. Another silent signal of some sort seemed to pass between them, and one of the twins said softly "Raze was our original pack leader. We got lost somewhere, and we think he was killed. Akira took over then."

Diego nodded once, suddenly understanding the pain which was hidden beneath the surface of the pack – invisible, but you could still feel it if you probed enough. They were all troubled by it – for a good reason. To lose a pack leader, even a bad one, was an awful experience. Once a sabre pack had a leader, they'd (usually) follow them into hell and back. If they were a good leader, they'd bring you back out alive. If they were a bad one, you'd end up on your own. Or, in Diego's case, killing them. He felt sick with self-hate again, overwhelmed by running into another sabre pack just as he'd left his herd. He already felt more at ease with them then he ever had with the herd, and to be perfectly honest, he half-wanted to join them. Diego said slowly "I'm sorry for snapping before, and for your loss. Where were you lost?"

The twins exchanged glances. "You probably won't believe us," one of them said shiftily, and the other nodded. Diego let out a loose laugh, thinking of everything he'd seen.

"Try me."

"There's like an underworld, out there. Dinosaurs live there." One of the twins said, eyes silently daring Diego to laugh again. He didn't. In a totally serious tone, he said "I believe you. I've been there."

"Well, that's where we were," a harsher, younger, voice broke in. The youngest tiger in the pack stalked over. "We were pinned, and Raze stayed behind to make sure we could get out safely. Then a rock fall broke him off from us, and we never saw him again. We only got out yesterday."

Diego nodded, and said softly "Yeah, I know what it's like."

One of the twins said "I'm Lars. This is Damian, Ray, and that there is Shi. Next to him is Silver, and beside her is Akira. Akira's our pack leader."

"I guessed."

Damian wondered "Do you have a pack?"

"Not anymore," Diego said shortly. "They died." He didn't establish the difference between a pack and a herd, instead glancing towards Akira. "What are they talking about?"

"Probably whether or not to ask you to stay," Ray guessed. "If you've already told Akira that you lost your pack, then she's going to want you to stay."

Diego laughed bitterly. "I'd like to, if I could…" he didn't finish the sentence, but he mentally thought: If I could take back everything that I've done to wind up at this point. Just steer Soto away from Manny, hang with that pack, or maybe even just carry out the plan to attack Manny anyway. It seems so stupid, what I've done now, looking back at it with the perspective of a true sabre. You lose that kind of mentality, that kind of instinct, when you're hanging around with a herd. I've saved their lives, they've saved mine, but it seems so … insignificant… when you compare it to being part of a pack. I swear, if you leave a pack, you may as well leave half of yourself behind.

He was shaken out of his thoughts by Akira walking over to him, and asking "How's your paw?"

"Sprained, badly."

"Can you hunt?"

"I don't know. Not at the moment. It hurts." Diego hated sounding weak, but it was true. Akira nodded in understanding.

"It's okay… Listen, we were wondering if you were interested in joining us, temporarily or not. It's a predator's world out there, and without a pack, you'd be easy meat. So, do you want to?"

Diego nodded once, but cautiously asked "What are you hunting at the moment?"

"There's a herd to the east, and they've got a kind of home. It's made up of three mammoths, two possums and a sloth."

Diego's jaw hit the ground. Akira looked surprised at his reaction."What?"

He realized his mistake instantly and said "Three… mammoths?"

Akira bought it, and shrugged mildly. "Two adults, one child. Strange for a herd, but you never know… Do you want to join us for the kill, or are you going to leave, or…?"

Diego was caught on the spot. With the entire pack staring at him, there was only one response he could give. "Please."

Akira gave him a pleased smile, and Diego hastily executed the equivalent of a sabre's bow. "Thanks, Akira."