Thanks for sticking around and reading the story. Now we have extra bits. I took the time to interview the characters and here's what they had to say.

Me: So how was it working with Manny?

Sid: Working with Manny was great because I had never worked with a mammoth. I never even saw a mammoth until then. He was extremely large, and he was actually friendly, he was cool. We still keep in touch. We have play dates.

Me: Were you nervous working with the tigers?

Sid: Yeah, very. Cause you know, I'm a sloth and they're tigers. You never know when they look at you if they're thinking of food or what. They still scare me a little.

Me: You appointed yourself the baby's caretaker. How did that work out for you?

Sid: I had to, of course take care of the baby because I had all the responsibilities, cause it was my idea to save the kid. The baby wouldn't stop crying for hours. When you hear babies cry like that, it starts to get on your nerves.

Me: You weren't alone, though. Frida offered to help since she was also the baby's caretaker when she lived with the humans. Have you ever seen or met a saber as gentle as her?

Sid: Frida is the nicest saber you will ever come across in your entire life. Not only is she beautiful, but she knows how to keep us guys in order and keep us from fighting and killing each other. The way she helped take care of the baby, I know she'll be a great mother if she ever has kids herself. She's a great person.

Me: You mentioned Frida getting along with all of you. What about Diego?

Sid: Diego and I didn't get along for the longest time. I guess his mother didn't taught him how to play with other kids on the playground. I don't know what his problem is. I knew there was a good guy inside Diego through the whole time. Just took a while to get to it.

Me: How did you feel at the end of your journey?

Sid: It was one of the greatest moments of the whole trip because we were all friends now. I would give Diego noogies on his head like he gave me, and I kissed him. My father used to kiss me a lot, so I have no problem with it, except that Diego tasted kinda nasty.

Me: You lived with humans practically all your life. Was it scary going out on your own with other animals for the first time in your life.

Frida: Very. I was...a pet, like everyone says. I didn't know how to take care of myself in the wild. The humans did it all for me. Gave me food, gave me a place to sleep. I didn't know how to hunt or search for shelter. I had zero experience.

Me: Is that why you spent so much time with Diego?

Frida: Well, given our first encounter, I didn't trust Diego at all. I stuck around him to make sure he didn't try any funny business. But the more time I spent with him, the more I learned how to be a real saber.

Me: With the amount of time you spent with Diego, is it safe to say you trust him now?

Frida: I trust Diego entirely. He's my best friend. Well..okay maybe more, but don't tell anybody I said that. Diego hasn't come forward with his feelings, so I don't know how he looks at me.

Me: Did Sid annoy you as much as he did Diego?

Frida: Sid was annoying at times, but if you really look at him, you can see he's like me. Just a child at heart.

Me: How did you view Manny?

Frida: Manny is just so uptight. I understand he lost his family. I did too. But a big guy like him needs to learn to cut loose and have some fun every once in a while instead of moping and just wanting to be alone.

Me: How's your life different now that you're living in the wild instead of with humans.

Frida: Thanks to Diego, I'm a real saber. I can hunt, I can survive in the wilderness. I even have friends to lean on whenever I need it. Sure, I miss my human family but it looks like I've helped out enough. They don't need me anymore and I know they'll do just fine without me.

Me: How did you feel at the end of your journey?

Frida: It was really bittersweet. I was letting go of my human family and really starting my life. Of course seeing Diego really lifted my spirits cause I knew then I would never really be alone with him. Too bad Sid got to him first. Once he started kissing him, I knew I would have to wait because Diego really looked like he hated getting kissed, so I decided to give him time. Still waiting for the right moment.

Me: Did you really want to go through with the plan that you were ordered to do?

Diego: I had no choice. It was either do what I was told or die.

Me: Once you were away from the pack, what changed?

Diego: It was my first taste of freedom. My first time to do whatever I want and not suffer any consequences. The first time I didn't have to do anything and report to Soto. The first time I made real friends.

Me: When you first met Frida, obviously it wasn't love at first sight, was it?

Diego: Who said anything about love? Frida and I happen to be good friends, but yes. We got off on the wrong foot. She was not a normal saber living with those humans. No saber in their right mind would live with them and defend them. Frida's come a long way since then.

Me: Are you and Sid best friends now?

Diego: I wouldn't say best, but yes Sid and I are close friends. He's teaching me to be a little bit kinder while I'm teaching him not to bother me all the time.

Me: How close are you to Manny?

Diego: Manny and I are friends, just not that close. I don't think he fully forgave me for setting them up the way I did. Yeah, I gave one of my lives for him, but I still need to earn his full trust back. Manny and I have great respect for each other.

Me: How did you feel when you rejoined everyone at the end of the journey.

Diego: I was hurt, I was tired, but it felt really good to see everyone again. I had the best friends in the world and I was not going to lose them over a bad mistake I made.

Me: I understood you were bitter over the loss of your family, but don't you think you could've been a little nicer to everyone?

Manny: Nicer? I was in mourning. I didn't want anyone around me. Sid was the one to help bring me out of that. The baby too.

Me: Did Frida help any?

Manny: Frida was really naive and it's really hard to stay angry around someone like her.

Me: And Diego? How did you change around him?

Manny: Other than Frida, Diego's pretty much the only person I can count on to make things better. Sid tried but he always needs help in the end.

Me: How did you feel at the end of your journey?

Manny: It felt good. We gave the baby back, did our good deed. We had our own strange little herd that we would look out and protect no matter what.