One evening when sky cracked open, sending thunderstorm to beat mercilessly on already water-devastated lands, and Oscar was spending his time watching thunderbolts from his safe, dry den, a very drenched, angry-looking Diego appeared so suddenly and soundlessly in front of Oscar that he made Oscar jump from his prone position, hit his head on the low ceiling of the rocky hideout, and let out a stream of swear words, punctuated with coughs. Diego grinned watching that, though he generally looked like he'd never felt less like grinning about anything. His green eyes glowed in eerie light of lightning bolts.
"What the- ", Oscar begun furiously, only to be cut short: "Shut up and budge over."
"I take it you got caught by the storm", Oscar said observationally, rubbing the bump on his head angrily.
"No, not really. It's mid-evening on night of full moon, and that's the time for my monthly ritual of standing in the icy thunderstorm the whole night long. It's a great mental exercise. I recommend."
"Well, have a good time, then", Oscar retorted, stubbornly refusing to move an inch.
"Move, Oscar", snarled Diego, baring his teeth.
Reluctantly, Oscar made some place for Diego to cramp up with him in the small space of his den. The younger tiger was limping again, Oscar noticed, and his right side was drenched with mud, not only with rain, his face darker than the cloudy skies above.
They were uncomfortably close for Oscar's liking now, especially since Diego was soaking wet, icy cold and oozing water all over the now-cramped space. Diego didn't seem to be any happier with the arrangement than Oscar. For about half an hour, they kept quiet, both looking out at the downpour. Then, Diego shifted a bit, and his face frowned in pain for the briefest of moments. Oscar decided to take a chance: "Um, I suppose that the hunt didn't go exactly as planned?"
Diego shot him with a bloodthirsty look.
"Hey, no need to get a burr in your fur. Happens even to the best of us, let alone to the likes of you."
"Seeing as your…prolonged existence…depends pretty much on my good will, I'd shut up about now if I were you, lunger."
The advice was accented by low rumble coming from Diego's stomach. Not only he was angry, soaking wet, cold and in pain…he was also hungry. Not the best of times to rile him up further. But Oscar enjoyed too much seeing him miserable to miss the opportunity to rub it in a little bit deeper: "So, what was it? A bison? A deer? A horse? What happened, you slipped, or were you too slow, or you gave out your position, or got kicked in the-"
"Can you run?" Diego cut him off, piercing him with a glare that didn't bode well.
"Er…" Oops.
He could walk now, that much he knew, but he hadn't tried to run just yet. He still had trouble breathing, the pain from his broken ribs not quite gone yet. But he wasn't sure if it would be a good idea to give Diego a detailed report on his health. And he was pretty much certain that he had just crossed the line, that Diego was about to chase him out of the den and into the white world again to manage it by himself, the best he could.
"I'll take it as yes", Diego grunted, laying his head at his front paws to rest. "At dawn, we head out on the hunt. We'll see how well you handle a herd of bison with calves. My wise elder", he added viciously.
"What, in this weather? Have you completely lost whatever passes for mind between those ears of yours? Whoever hunts in this darn downpour?"
"I sure hope that's exactly what the bison will think."
"You do realize we can't follow any scents on this weather?"
"Neither can them."
"A herd of bison is stronger than one and a half tiger, Diego!"
"Are you officially admitting being only a half of a tiger, lunger?"
"I meant you, herbivore lover, bloody traitor of your kind, you disgrace and abomination- " Oscar hissed and spluttered, starting to see red, but Diego got into his face, very literally, and roared lowly in a voice that allowed no further dispute: "They may be stronger, but we'll be smarter. Now sleep. You'll need your strength and your courage, however lacking they might be, early in the morning."
"Courage", Oscar spat, "you dare talking about courage! And strength! Where were your courage and strength when your pack needed them- how a traitorous waste of flesh and bone dares to speak about courage-"
"I never wanted Soto dead!" Diego roared from the depth of his chest, jumping to his paws and nearly bumping his head at the ceiling as Oscar did earlier.
So, they finally came to that. "No, you just made sure that he meets his end by-"
"I said I never wanted him dead, I didn't want anybody dead there-"
"Why did you bloody betray us, darn it, why, Diego; you bloody grew up among us, we-"
"The mammoth saved my life!!!"
"What?"
"I said that the mammoth saved my life", repeated Diego, growling through firmly clenched teeth and shivering from whiskers to tail. "I bloody near fell into a volcano, and he pulled me back- he nearly got himself killed-"
"…oh…"
"Yeah, bloody oh!"
Oscar wanted to say something poisonous and insulting, but didn't, because a fit of cough overcame him, and it took him a fairly long amount of time to calm down enough to speak, eyes watering and chest wheezing: "…yer insane, I knew you were; why the heck would a mammoth save a saber's life…and risk his own skin…to that…"
"That's exactly what I asked him", Diego snarled, "He told me it's what you do in a herd…you look after each other…"
And he turned silent, grinding his teeth, eyes blazing; whether he was furious on Oscar, on himself, or on somebody and something invisible to Oscar's eyes, the older tiger couldn't tell.
"Damn you, Diego, that's what you do in a pack, too, as you bloody well know", Oscar whispered, breathing heavily and raspy.
"I know", Diego whispered back, still staring out in the storm; "the problem was, by the time we reached Half Peak, I was indebted to both the pack and the herd…"
"And you chose the herd!" snarled Oscar, showing all his teeth. "You chose a herd of prey animals you knew for a couple of days above the pack of your own kind that you spent your entire life in!"
"I didn't choose anybody! I chose only to keep everybody alive to the best of my power…"
"And you failed!"
"Yes!" roared Diego into Oscar's furious face, and for the first time, his voice gave out something other than fury and loathing, something that Oscar didn't hear in Diego's voice since his cub days; his eyes were glittering strangely, and Oscar wasn't one bit surprised when Diego looked away, jaws clenched firmly together. Perhaps it would have induced sympathy in somebody else, somebody who hadn't been hating Diego for so long, but not in Oscar.
"Well, that's what you're best at, right?" he hissed at Diego, wanting to strangle him, to slaughter him, to spill his blood, and hating himself for being too weak and too ill to do so. "You're one huge failure, always had been, from the day you were born…you were too much of a failure to be a member of a saber pack, and I bet my fangs you're too much of a failure to be a part of a herd of herbivores, too…where are your precious friends now? Do they know where you are? Do they ever see you hunting, or eating? Do you have to hide yourself from them so you don't disgust them when you eat? Even your own mother abandoned you when you were only a suckling whelp; obviously she knew what she was doing, what a bloody mistake Soto did when he took you in, we should have left you to freeze in that blizzard-"
A bout of violent cough stopped him, though he'd pretty much said all insulting things he could think of; he expected Diego to go for his throat the moment he mentioned his mother, as Oscar would have done, and as old Diego certainly would have done, which was why, back in old days, nobody in the pack dared to mention her to him…
Not this time. Diego remained seated at the entrance of the den, immobile as if he was carved out of stone, his back to Oscar. They were only inches away and Oscar could clearly see and hear the rapid rise and fall of his chest, see the end of every bristled hair, hear his rapid, strong heartbeat, which rang in Oscar's ears louder than the howling of wind and the showering noise of the downpour.
Oscar waited. And waited. Diego didn't move.
"Is that why you go through all this trouble to keep me alive?" Oscar asked quietly, coldly. "You think that's enough to be, like, redemption or something? That if you help me, you'll somehow make everything all right again?"
Diego let out a bitter sound that was half-way between a snarl and a chuckle. "Don't be ridiculous."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"That you're flattering yourself a bit too much if you think that your life and Soto's life equal. Soto was a great leader, a great fighter, a great teacher…you, you're just an envious shadow of him which spent a lifetime wanting to be a leader like him and never had the ability, or…Whatever happened to Zeke and Lenny, by the way?"
Diego finally turned to look at Oscar, his eyes narrowed, glowing and vicious. Oscar blinked, cursing Diego for twisting this particular dagger in his gut. It showed, he knew.
"So you didn't manage to keep them safe, did you?" Diego smiled coldly. "They trusted you, you were their leader, they were your responsibility, and you failed them. Didn't you? Is that what happens when you try to be the top cat?"
"Shut up, Diego, or I'll rip your tail out and stick it up-"
"So, no, Oscar; I'm not doing this because I think I'll 'make everything all right'. I know I won't. And if I did, I certainly wouldn't try to 'make it all right' for you. I don't owe you Soto's life. If any of Soto's children ever comes after me, looking for revenge, I'll answer to them. Not to you."
"Then why the-"
"Because it's a bloody right thing to do!" Diego roared, showing all his teeth; Oscar noticed that his claws had left angry marks on the rocky ground. "Because you being a waste of space ain't a reason good enough for me to leave you to rot in this hole! Because you never gave me a reason to let you die, even if I very often wish that I did, and because I felt it's a darn right thing to do!"
"Like betraying your pack felt like the right thing to do at the time?"
"Like helping out the guy who'd saved my life seemed like the right thing to do at the time!"
Silence followed that statement, long and heavy and colder than the sleety rain that kept on pouring. The showering sound filled the minutes that went by.
"Better be ready for the hunt in the morning", Diego finally muttered. "You'll get the herd running towards me, I'll ambush them. We'll set the details when we get there."
"And if I refuse?"
"Then I no longer help your worthless hide, you go hunting, or scavenging, or however you intend on surviving, you leave my territory, and never show your face anywhere nearby", growled Diego.
"Sounds like a bloody deal to me", hissed Oscar darkly, pulling back as far back as the rock behind him would allow him. Unfortunately, it only gave them about two inches of additional space. He laid his head on his paws and prepared himself for a long, sleepless night, keeping his eyes on Diego, who still sat staring into the storm. He sure as crap wasn't going to sleep while this crackpot was in the same den.
Next thing Oscar knew, it was night, the rain was still falling, though less heavy than earlier that evening, and Diego was sleeping, breathing evenly, curled up some nine inches away.
Oscar blinked.
Nine inches. Only nine inches away was the throat he'd swore he'd slit open if he ever gets the chance. Though he never really hoped much that he'd get that chance.
And the chance was here now.
It would be so easy, even in Oscar's weakened condition, to soundlessly lash out and sink his teeth into Diego's exposed throat. A strong, young bastard like Diego wouldn't die instantly; he'd trash around for a few more seconds, maybe minutes- long enough to take Oscar with him, but who cares? It wasn't like Oscar had a promising future waiting for him. Without a mate, without a pack, not exactly in his prime, Oscar wasn't hoping to live much longer, even if he recuperated completely, which was questionable enough in the first place. Now he had a chance to actually go down big style, bringing this hateful, traitorous, worthless prick down with him.
And maybe Oscar would even manage to escape Diego in time, maybe he'd even succeed to rid these lands of this bastard and survive. Maybe he was now strong enough to hunt a bit, maybe he could still pull it through, trace Lenny and Zeke, and bring them happy news about Diego's ultimate demise?
Whatever the outcome, it was worth a shot. And that hated throat was so close, almost offering itself. He could see pulsating under white, soft fur, where a carotid was close under the skin. Slow and steady, as it should be in sleep.
Oscar's heart was, on the contrary, hastily racing up.
It would be deserved. He betrayed us all. Soto is dead because of him.
Oscar's claws extracted themselves on their own accord. His heart was now high in his throat, or so it seemed to him. What was wrong with him? He'd hunted down countless animals, dug his teeth into countless throats. This was just another hunt, and it was going to be the sweetest kill of all. So what if it was one of his own kind? It was a traitor, and his life was now as worthless as that of any prey animal.
Oscar's heart raced, every muscle in his body strung for a leap. But he yet had to make that leap.
It would be deserved.
I know.
So what's stopping you? Chickened out?
Not really.
What is it, then?
Um…
What is it?
It's…well…that bloody moss, and...everything.
What?
I told you.
He didn't do it out of goodness of his heart! He did it because he's bloody insane! And he still remains a traitor!
I know.
Then stop hesitating! Give me one reason not to do it!
Maybe…
What?
Maybe it's the right thing to do.
The right thing to do? Maybe this madness of his is contagious, more likely!
Maybe.
Oh, no; you're not actually going to let him get away with…
For now, let's just put it that way...for now. Okay?
You'll never have a chance like this again, you idiot!
Oh, shut up.
…Oscar's claws retracted, slowly. His heart was still stampeding in his chest. Slowly, he placed his head back on his front paws.
At that moment, Diego's eyes snapped open, glowing green in the flash of a lightning. And Oscar knew that he'd just been caught staring, and his blood ran freezing cold.
Then, the bloody bastard smiled. He smiled.
And closed his eyes again. His breathing never quickened one bit.
Oscar's, on the contrary, went so raspy that he was certain that it could be heard a mile around. He'd be now deader than their last week dinner had he gone with his…plan.
So, hunt it was tomorrow.
**
I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die. I'm gonna…
Oscar didn't know what made his head spin more: the exertion from running- as short as it had been-the beating of heavy rain that was still pouring down on them, or the thundering of dozens of hooves on the muddy ground; hard, heavy hooves, which he had to dodge as they lashed out towards him, once or twice nearly cracking his skull open, and only his hunting experience, and not his less-than-superb current speed and agility, saved him from certain and swift death.
His lungs protested against the effort; his breath came in short, painful, wheezing gasps; his heart was certainly going to explode; he couldn't do this, he couldn't last any longer…and the bloody herd was still not stampeding towards Diego and his ambush; they've gone this far, got freezing cold in this gawd-awful storm, stalked the herd for two long, cold, wet, hungry hours, and they were going to stay hungry again, because Oscar wasn't able to…
Not on my shift, darn it, he thought, and, maneuvering among the lashing legs and brandishing horns, he charged deeper into the panicking herd, towards the cows, towards the calves.
It worked. Every bull and cow in the herd bolted, haphazardly regrouping themselves, trying to reinforce the protective circle around their young ones, simultaneously changing the general direction they moved in, trying to make the calves move as far from Oscar as possible.
Well, that's all, folks, Oscar thought as his legs finally gave out; the tiny dots that he saw swimming before him had nothing to do with rain that run into his eyes; he vaguely realized he'd been lifted from the ground- the world looked really funny, this high up; he'd never been stabbed on bull's horns before, he'll have to thank Diego for this experience if he lives long enough - and then he was sent flying through the air; he landed into the muddy ground softer than he'd expected, the mud breaking the fall, but his chest still felt it, and whatever little breath he'd still had was now knocked out of him, leaving him wheezing and gasping for breath, ending up in a violent bout of cough, watching with swimming eyes the herd that thundered past him and right into Diego's waiting jaws.
He saw Diego jumping out from his ambush in one magnificent leap- darn it, the whelp had grown into one fine hunter, Oscar had to give him that; what a pity he was a traitorous scum- he gripped one of the smaller bulls by the hump, and every muscle in his massive forearms and wide chest stood out; when had Oscar last been so young and healthy?- his roar mingled with a terrified yawl the bull let out- Diego was pulling the bull towards the ground, but the bull wasn't going to fall easily; he kicked and trashed, hauling Diego along; this was the first critical moment; if Diego's rear paws lose footage now, everything was in vain-
-but Diego didn't lose balance; the bull did, overpowered; he staggered and fell into mud, pinned by Diego's large, heavy front paws; the bull's head trashed about, trying to stab the hunter with the horns, and here came the second critical moment; Diego had to quickly immobilize the prey, and long enough to deliver a bite to the throat, or the bull was going to set free and-
-well, no such thing happened. With a well-practiced maneuver and considerable speed, Diego had the bull's entire front quarters pinned to the ground; the prey's hind legs kicked around, reminding Oscar of a cockroach whose head had just been stepped on, while its rear parts still wriggled up and down; the bull's hollow bleating was cut short when Diego put the famous saber teeth of his into action, opening his jaws wide enough for the bison's massive throat, and fiercely sinking his teeth into the flesh, severing the carotids and the windpipe in one slice of his serrated canines; he pulled them out as fast as he'd delivered the blow, jumping off the bison, who gave a valiant effort of trying to stand, but failed. With gurgling sound, he sank back again, life draining out of him in pulsing flow of light-red blood. Within seconds, he stopped moving, and his herd was already disappearing behind the stormy curtain of rain.
Oscar shook his head, trying to get the rain away from his eyes. Pride flowed over him, making him all giddy and warm inside like after the first time he'd been a part of a successful hunt, all those years ago. They did it, they did it- and he did it, too; he didn't fail; he didn't embarrass himself and his bloodline again; despite the cough and lack of exercise and broken ribs, against all odds, he did it!
…And why wasn't he dead by now, by the way? He'd thought that being stabbed on bison horns hurt much more than this…
"Do you have a death wish?" roared Diego, now standing above Oscar; his furious expression was completed with blood that was dripping from his saber teeth, his whole body still trembling with the thrill of the hunt. "I don't remember we said anything about that kind of stunt! You were supposed to chase them towards me without having yourself posing as a decorative element on that guy's horns!"
"Well, couldn't let you have all the fun, could I?" snapped Oscar back, still pretty much winded. "And I think he didn't stab me", he added, carefully checking out his chest and belly, finding only one deep scratch, "he just, er, flung me aside, I think."
"Well, don't give up hope; maybe the next time. Now get up, if you can, and let's eat, quickly, before a pack of cave lions invites themselves for breakfast!"
Hunting together, as Oscar experienced for the umpteenth time now, had an effect of somewhat reconciling the quarreling parties. Whether it was about the fact that the world seemed like a much better place with full stomach, or was it about the hunting experience and the thrill of it serving as a bonding force, or both- in any way, the bristled fur was much more easily smoothed after a successful hunt than in any other occasion.
The position of Oscar and Diego couldn't really be labeled as 'reconciled' at the moment, but it was less hostile than it had been since…well, since Soto's death, Oscar mused. If anything, he was now glad that he didn't try to kill Diego last night. First, because he'd certainly have managed only to get himself killed; second, because without Diego, he certainly wouldn't have eaten this well today; and third…well, the third…because of that cursed water-soaked moss, and…everything.
Not that he felt any less humiliated about the whole thing. Or that he despised Diego any less for his betrayal, or for the fact that Oscar was so pathetically dependent on him. But he had to admit to himself that Diego really, really didn't need all the trouble of keeping him alive. Yet he gave his best, apparently not driven by any kind of ulterior motif at all. And Oscar, in spite of himself and his long- lasting hatred of Diego, couldn't help but feeling a nagging, annoying, however small amount of… yuck… gratitude…to Diego for that. It wasn't good enough to make up to his betrayal, as Oscar had pointed out to Diego only the evening before, but now it seemed…somehow…a bit more important than it had then. Maybe because of what Diego had said, that he'd actually tried to keep everybody alive back then, on Half Peak; that he didn't want Soto to die. Had Oscar heard that any time earlier, he wouldn't believe Diego that as far as he could throw him, but now, after all these weeks…
"How long had it been?" he asked suddenly. Diego turned to look at him, a paw he'd been cleaning off blood suspended in mid-air.
"Since what?" tense, careful. Apprehensive.
"Since you found me…"
"Oh. That." Diego relaxed. "'Bout a month and a half."
"That long?" Oscar's ears pricked up in unfeigned surprise. "How long had I been, er…"
"Out of it?"
"Um, yeah…?"
"Ten days, a day more or less."
"Crap." Ten days of being force-fed to regurgitated food like a disobedient cub, having his excrements cleaned up by his sworn enemy, being seen shaking with fever and overheard talking who-knows-what kind of gibberish. Great. He squeezed his eyes shut, not exactly overjoyed with the mental image of himself that came to his mind.
"Sure it was." Diego's face screwed up, too; apparently the memory wasn't exactly the pleasant one for him, either. He shook himself to rid his fur of water, though to little use; it was still raining down on them, which obviously grated on Diego's nerves; he'd never been much of a water-lover. "How did you get all mashed up like that, anyway?"
Oscar was happy for the change of topic. He told his story in short terms, seeing Diego flinch almost imperceptibly while Oscar retailed being caught in the flood. No, never a water-lover, that one.
"And you? How did you make it in the flood?" he asked in the end.
"Um…we…well…long story."
"Your, er, herd…they all survived, right?"
Oscar tried his best to wipe off all malice and sarcasm from his voice. He was genuinely curious about Diego's…exotic lifestyle; he didn't think he'd hear anything like that any time again. And his full stomach and his unspoken pride about finally being able to contribute in a hunt made him very disinclined to bicker.
"Yeah. Not only we all survived, we got a few new installments."
Oscar's eyebrows traveled upwards. "Another mammoth and a rat?"
"Another mammoth and…er…two possums." Diego's words, growled out, went nearly unintelligible, but Oscar understood nonetheless.
Don't comment, don't comment, don't comment…and don't laugh, darn it…
Diego fixed Oscar with a caustic, poisonous-green glare, while Oscar gave his utmost best to make his grin pass for a grimace of pain. "Knock it off, oldtimer. I know you wanna laugh, so laugh. See if I care. Yeah, possums", he spat the last word like a sharp shred of a crushed bone.
"Aw, come on, Diego…I mean, you see it yourself, it's bloody ridiculous…"
"What I don't see is how it happens to be any of your darn business!" snarled Diego.
"It's not. My apologies", Oscar said smugly. "You know the best what exact use you have of them…and of it all…"
"I see you have too much wind to pass, Oscar, so why don't you work it out in helping me to drag the rest of the kill somewhere safe? I wouldn't try to take it to the usual place; it's too darn big and it will attract all the carnivores a mile around… I wouldn't fancy us being intercepted by a mountain lion or a bear… so we better hide it somewhere around here, and we'll have enough for us both for at least a couple of more days. And let's move from this cursed rain after that. If it lasts, we're bound for another flood."
That said and done, they headed back to Oscar's den as hurriedly as their full stomachs would allow. Feeling drastically more satisfied with himself than only a day before- and more like his usual smug self along with it- Oscar decided, when they were almost there, to try once again: "You still hadn't told me how you made it through the flood…"
Diego sighed. Obviously the good meal mellowed his temper, too, because instead of giving out an acid remark, he said: "Fine. You won't believe one word, but you asked for it."
**
"So…" the rain yet had to stop by the time Diego was done with his story; if it had, it would have showed that the sun was high in the sky."…so…"
Oscar didn't know what exactly to say to all that. It was an amusing story, for sure, and crazy enough to suit Diego…but still…he could even understand about the mammoth if he strained his brain really hard…but possums. And a sloth. Diego's poor ancestors must be turning in their graves in this very moment…
"Yeah. So. Told ya."
"No, no, it's…um…it's a good…um…a good story. So…um…speaking about your, er, friends…do they know about…about…"
"…about you resting your hide here? No. It would only upset them needlessly. Manny and Ellie are pretty much in seventh heaven, and I have no intention of having their nerves in a knot about the predator which ain't posing a threat…"
"…and you're a bit uncertain about how they would react to you if they knew you were nursing a snake in their little paradise…double agent again, eh?" Oscar added softly, before thinking it over twice.
"…at least, you haven't been posing one until now."
Oscar's face instantly lost his smug expression. Diego's eyes were suddenly inscrutable, distant, and looking through him, rather than at him.
"You're recuperating nicely", Diego continued, in a too-pleasant voice. He was speaking quietly, but each word was very clearly audible in the small space of the den. "Soon you'll be able to hunt alone, and then we'll part our ways. But before that moment comes, there are a few things you should be aware of."
He paused, probably for the dramatic effect, and it was a complete success, because he had Oscar's full and undivided attention. His attitude had so drastically changed from a more-or-less-content storyteller into a coldly observant potential assaulter that the fur on Oscar's nape went pricked, and his eyes fixedly followed Diego's slow movements.
"First of all, as soon as you're able, you're gonna leave my territory, as fast as you can, and you'll never show your face anywhere around, unless you have a darn good reason for that, and provided that I allow you to."
"If you think that I wanted to end up on your territory-"
"Second, you have noticed that, east of these rocky grounds we're now at, there's a valley. A big one. These rocks are on the very boundaries of it. Now, this is pretty much contained in what I've just told you, but…nothing is to be killed in that valley, as long as it stands marked as my territory. Hunt elsewhere. Do you understand?"
"You made yourself very clear", hissed Oscar.
"And there's the third thing", Diego continued in the same low, quiet, ominous voice, staring right into Oscar's eyes; "you will never, as long as you live, harm any member of my herd. Any of them. Neither will any member of your pack, if you get to have one, harm them while under your command, or if you have any way of preventing it. Understood, Oscar?"
Silence ensued, and in that silence, Oscar could hear the quickened pace of his own heart, knowing that the other cat could hear it, too. Diego's heart, by comparison, was beating in his usual even rhythm, though the beats seemed stronger, louder than normal.
"I can't promise you that, Diego", breathed Oscar at last. "They may be your friends, or you may think of them as such, but to me, they're only prey, same as that bull we killed today. If me or my packmates go hungry, I won't risk starvation for me or for them because of…of a promise given to…"
"Correction", Diego slowly rose to his paws. Oscar tried to slink back as inconspicuously as possible. "I killed that bull today. And he was a little bit heavier, stronger and in better shape than you are. I wasn't politely asking for your word, Oscar. Those animals are now my family. Be it as ridiculous as it is, but they're all I have now, and you have no idea what I'm capable of doing to protect them."
Diego was speaking so quietly now that Oscar had to strain his ears well to hear him, but every word was unmistakably spoken in dead seriousness and emphasized with deep growling sound from Diego's throat, as well as with cold glowing in his narrowed, green eyes. Oscar's breathing was now very loud, louder than the constant sound of showering rain outside.
"Don't make me do that, Diego", he growled, though he was starting to feel like crying now, weeping like hadn't done since he was a cub. He had never begged anybody for anything, darn it; he wasn't going to start now…
"Tell me, Oscar, you who are older and wiser than me, would you consider yourself owing me a life debt now?"
The older and supposedly wiser one gaped at this. That was something he'd asked himself during the past weeks for more times than he could count. At first, he was assuring himself that, since Diego had been guilty for Soto's death and betrayal to the pack, this was barely a beginning of penance on Diego's side; that it was Diego who had been indebted to Oscar, and still was, disregardful of the recent…events. As they both agreed on the matter last night, Diego couldn't 'make it all right' so easily.
But Diego did make a point last night, telling him that it wasn't up to Oscar to search vengeance for Soto. Oscar had been reasonably respectful to Soto, and fond of him to a certain extent, but they had never been particularly close. In fact, Oscar had the impression that Soto meant much more to Diego than to himself, and all things considered-remembering Diego's voice and face last night, when he howled how he didn't want Soto to die- Oscar was now ready to assume that Soto's death actually came as a heavier blow for Diego than for any of the others.
Well, it would make sense. The runt never knew his own parents, and Soto was definitely the closest thing to a father figure that the whelp had ever had. Which meant that he'd already been punished all right, that no avenger could ever inflict that much pain to Diego as the whelp had already inflicted to himself. And living with the knowledge that he had failed to protect all his loved ones…well, Oscar knew a thing or two about that. And, of course, there was the missing piece of the puzzle that Oscar found only last night; the piece about the mammoth having saved Diego's life. That explained a world of it.
In all, vengeance for Soto's death wasn't Oscar's place to meddle. Soto had children, as Diego had pointed out; grown sons and daughters that could trace Diego down, if they wanted to.
As for the betrayal of the pack…it all came down to Diego trying to save them all, and failing. And now Diego had saved Oscar from a certain and slow death; that being put on the scale against the betrayal…
"Yeah, I owe you a bloody life debt, curse on you", Oscar said, exhaling slowly and looking right into Diego's eyes.
"Very well. If that's so, then I put it upon your honor to remember that debt if there ever comes a time when a life of one of my friends is at your mercy. Spare that life, or help it being saved, and I will consider you relived of your debt to me."
Oscar stared at Diego to be sure that the younger cat wasn't joking.
"Let me see if I got it right", he whispered. "You are trading the life debt I owe to you for the life of one of them herbivores?"
"Something like that, yeah."
"And if there ever comes a time I happen to be in position to save your miserable skin, you won't consider me obliged to do it, if I swear to spare your leaf-loving buddies?"
"I think I just said something along those lines."
Oscar stared at Diego. For some time.
"You're more than a little touched in your head, kid, you know that?"
"Spare me the preaching part, oldtimer."
"Didn't I tell you to keep calling me 'lunger'?"
"Well, you're getting better every day, but not any younger. So this might be more appropriate now."
"Fine!" Oscar snarled. "As you wish. But you're the craziest son of a cat I've ever seen in my days, and probably the craziest I'll ever see! So, which one?"
Diego's ear turned to Oscar. "Which one what?"
"On which of your friends you want to place your life debt?" Oscar rolled his eyes. "You can't expect me to be able to save the whole darn herd if they all get into trouble! Which one would you pick to live if the others were to die?"
"Whichever of them is in the immediate danger! It's not really likely that the whole gang will…" he trailed off, frowning. "…but then again, considering the past experience…"
Oscar waited while Diego muttered something to himself, frowning. He caught the words 'dung-headed' and 'too darn proud', though he couldn't quite make out anything else.
At last, Diego looked back at Oscar again.
"The mammoths are going to have a baby", he said quietly. "Well, Ellie just recently got pregnant, so it's gonna wait a bit, but if everything goes all right, in about a year and a half, there'll be one more member in the herd."
"Delicious. I mean, touching. And…"
"…and if it comes to that…if the whole herd is in danger, and you can help only one of them, I want that baby to be the one you'll help."
"And then I'm rid of all bounds to you?"
"Free as a bird."
Oscar licked his lips. He was bone-tired, in pain, confused, and more than a little sad at the moment. Sad for their packmates, killed by humans, his life-long mate first of all; sad for his children, which went their ways and were now roaming who-knows-where, and he didn't know how many of them were dead by now, and how many were alive and doing well; sad for Soto, who met such a stupid, dishonorable death for such a great fighter; sad for Lenny and Zeke, alone and leaderless somewhere out there, if they survived the flood in the first place; sad for Diego, alone among his herbivores who, Oscar was certain, will never know what was their carnivorous friend about to give up for them and what he'd already given up; sad for himself, aging and alone, deprived of everything he knew and loved in such short time, and stripped of most of his dignity before this rival of his.
"All right", he sighed. "Blood oath?"
"Blood oath."
Oscar traced the back of his left paw with one sharp claw. Crimson drops ran down and dripped on the stony ground, among the cracks and into the dirt, which slowly imbibed it.
"Okay, here we go." He cleared his throat, preparing to recite the oath which sabers used in the most serious of times. "I swear on my honor, whatever I have left of it, and my life, however little of it might be left, that, if need arises and I'm still alive, I will protect your herd to the best of my abilities, never harming any of them…"
"Add something about the baby in particular."
"…I'm getting down to that, darn it; this is my oath! And I swear that, if all their lives are in peril, and I'm unable to help them all, I'll do whatever is in my power to help first and foremost the baby mammoth. On this I swear with my blood, for the earth to hear and remember. There. Happy?"
Diego sniggered, while Oscar was fuming and glaring dirtily at him. "Very good. Very poetical. Never thought I'd hear words so pretty coming from you. Didn't know you had it in you."
"Let's rather have some shuteye", Oscar groaned. "Maybe when I wake up, I'll find out this was all just a nightmare…"
"I tried that approach. Ain't gonna work."