VI. Pride
Soto helplessly swayed from the edge of the cliff as Diego tightly gripped onto the dangling tiger's paws. Oscar continued accelerating in Manny's direction, who had his feet planted on the ground in front of Ellie; his body acted as a shield to protect her from anything. The impulse was quite unnecessary to Diego; Oscar did have the courage to attack in self-defense, but rarely did he ever act upon an attack without any previous order.
Prints began to lightly mark themselves on the ground closer and closer to the herd. Ellie's cries of pain changed into cries of fear as the tiger resided a few feet away from her mate.
"Manny! He won't lay a claw on you, trust me!" Diego's words struck a nerve inside of Oscar; Half Peak turned silent as his footsteps quickly halted.
"You disappear from us only to tell me how to run my life? I only follow Soto now, not you." Oscar snarled as he slowly advanced toward Manny. Diego pulled his ears back in reaction to hearing someone he considered family talk down to him. Oscar, like the rest of the former pack, was victim to a power-hungry leader, and even more so, they were all victims bound through the same way: they lost five members of their family. The resentment of hierarchy had a tight grasp over Oscar as he pushed nearer and nearer to the terrified herd.
Negotiation was an absolute last resort to Diego; the conflicts between him and Oscar were one-sided. Diego never held a grudge for the occasional bout between his brother, and forcing a battle within himself was not the most pleasant thought in Diego's mind.
No other options. Diego shut his eyes and prepared for the beginning of a mental battle.
"...because if he even lays a hair on you, Soto's last memories will be falling down a cliff to his death." While those words were extremely tolling on his mind, Diego somehow managed to keep his voice deep and rugged as he held his leverage from Soto's frequent kicking and struggling.
The words sent Oscar into a state of shock and panic. He remained motionless at the center of the action, distanced equally from his dangling leader to the terrified herd. Doing any sort of reaction to make himself feel better would only lead to a nightmare. Tension slowly released itself in the entire area. Despite his typically calm demeanor, a multitude of issues caused Diego to panic as well. As if Soto's constant shifting wasn't enough, he had to keep Oscar from a laboring Ellie. Even more so, family may no longer be in his future.
What now? Diego had never pondered life without some sort of family, although he did receive quite a bitter taste of true seclusion through the last two days. He could either return to the pack and live life knowing that he turned his back on them, or he'd return to the herd and never live his disappearance down. Regardless of his choice, he would have a fair amount of explaining to do, something that he wasn't fond of doing. The most problematic situation of them all raided Diego's mind, one that he took advantage of quite often. If he opted to go back with the herd - how would they feel about embracing him in their arms once more? Did he deserve it after childishly disappearing after one altercation? If he was going to prove himself worthy to the herd not only as a friend or guardian, but also as a member of the family, it would have to be now. Diego was ready to break the silence, but Soto took it upon himself to harm Diego in the only possible way that he could given the circumstances.
"Let me go. You never loved your family." Soto's dimly spoken words broke the silence grown from the uncomfortable predicament. He stared right into Soto's eyes as the harsh words slammed his emotions, with a still unbroken face. Ellie's cries escalated in volume as she progressed through her labor. Oscar had not moved a muscle from his position, nor had anyone else drastically shifted from where they were.
"You've...never..." Diego released one of Soto's arms as his voice grew.
"...treated me like family..." Diego replaced his claws back into Soto, now eight claws on one arm now instead of the previous four claws on two. He dug deeper into Soto's skin, inflicting much more pain and drawing blood a second time, the stinging wounds being amplified by heavy drafts from the ravine below. Soto looked away, facing downward, motionless, eyes closed - as if he had been scolded like an insolent cub; it was a shocking sight to see an alpha as confident and, despite the random bouts of lunacy, wise as Soto to drop his head. It was an extremely rare occasion, to see a leader submitting, as a beta. Combine that with Soto submitting to him, and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity sat under Diego's nose.
"Your misconstrued meaning of family nearly got us all killed!" A noteworthy mention by Diego, Soto's anger pushed him beyond the point of rationality, as venturing into a human encampment was normally a death trap to begin with.
"My meaning? What about that of a traitor? I didn't intend on half of our family being slain by a bunch of blood-thirsty humans! You opted to betray your - " A colossal roar filled the thin mountain air upon mention of betrayal, echoing for a mile; his claws went deeper through Soto's front arms, as if to satisfy a sadistic urge to torture his leader. Diego had heard the word betrayal more than enough in his own fragile mind and having it reiterated by someone he had complete control of just added an unsurpassable level of fury through his already unstable mind. A heavy shift in ambiance had occurred; the anger contained within Diego was immense, so great that it emanated out from his mind and body, out into his surroundings.
Every living mammal sitting on the peak was terrified for their life; aside from the occasional strained exhale from Ellie, it was dead silent - no breeze, no sound, just silence. Not one soul had witnessed Diego pass a breaking point. He was frustrated, with absolutely everything. The other sabers wouldn't accept his situation - he'd been seeking absolution for his past transgressions, but rather than fixing problems honorably, Diego was forced to fight. He tried to explain to his best friend that his thoughts of leaving were genuine, but rather than making a valiant effort for stopping him, he was essentially told to leave. Yet, he still found himself trying to make amends with both sides, knowing full well that they could both reject him.
Diego deeply exhaled to his reality, but stopped to realize that Ellie's screams had diminished. He couldn't move from where he was, but he was able to hear much higher pitched squealing. All of the images within his eyeshot shifted closer to each other, but slightly out of vision. However, the synchronized movement was information enough to Diego - half of the ordeal was over.
"Manny! Can Ellie move?" With the little mammoth being practically new born, Diego wanted to make their trip back as safe as possible. Issues in his life were no longer important, or at least, as important as the safety of a child from the family he once protected. His and Manny's problems were no longer a priority of his.
"Diego, she just had t-"
"...yes or no?!"An almost desperate tone came out from Diego's mouth. If he was going to finish what he started before the herd had gotten here, he'd want to finish it without them being there. It was bad enough that they got to view a side of him they had never seen before, a fiery taste of uncontrollable rage. To his surprise, he was able to contain himself well enough to not commit something he'd regret later.
"...I...can move. We can go back to the side trail and rest there." Ellie replied; she had indirectly and unintentionally placed her life in Diego's hands - far be it for her not to trust him.
"Go. I'll catch up with you all later..." Diego paused. Now was the moment of truth to find out where his future truly belonged.
"...unless...you don't want me to." He flattened his ears.
Redemption does not come with one single good deed.
Manny laughed at this notion and felt like he could lighten the mood. Diego's ears dropped even lower.
"Hey Diego. You are more than welcome to let my domestic life kick your adventurous self back into the family." Diego's ears slowly shifted upward, pointing directly to the skies, and a grin started to shape itself. Manny and the rest of the herd slowly veered out of site, and off of the mountain.
Happiness. A feeling so great that could change the heat of a moment within the blink of an eye. But the happiness was short lived. He was never one to care about confidentiality, but the last part of his plans were quite painful.
"Oscar, Soto has a paw laying out that I can't reach. If you want to see him alive, you'd best come over here and help out." Soto finally looked up at Diego, and stared him down, face to face. He momentarily smiled before tightening his eyes for a split second; an ounce of resentment still lingered within. Oscar reluctantly walked back toward Diego - helping Diego do anything was against his morals, but unfortunately, he'd have to go against one of his smaller morals to satisfy a greater one, his loyalty.
Oscar was about to grab Soto's other flailing paw, but his action was interrupted.
"Wait. Don't grab him just yet. Soto and I need to have a chat."
Oscar very badly wanted to pull Soto onto solid ground, but he was at the mercy of whatever Diego wanted to do. A snide comment, a malicious action, wouldn't pass - Soto would be dead, and Oscar wouldn't do too much better; he was forced to maintain a calm demeanor.
"Don't lie to me, Soto. Why did you take me in? And if you say one word, Oscar, you'll kill your leader. Not me."
"Because as small as you were compared to your...buddies..."
"You mean brothers." Oscar's face shifted toward Diego's, giving a heavy glare, his thoughts filled with malice. Diego was no longer a brother to him, not even a friend.
"...you're no longer family."
"...and you're no longer a worthy leader. Drop the insults and talk to me with at least an ounce of respect, you waste of fur." Diego had no need to hold back anymore. It felt good to hold a position of total leadership for once in his lifetime.
"Go on. As small as I was compared to my brothers..." Diego persistently inquired about his past, some of which he vaguely remembered for no particular reason at all.
"Being the runt that you were, I give you credit - you were a great fighter."
"I was a runt who brought more kills than you ever could. You never did it yourself, you left me to do your dirty work." Diego proceeded to rant above Soto's voice, something that not too long ago, he was unable to do.
"...and you did a gr-"
"And you sent a smaller family member, rather than leading your attack as a group. Sabers don't travel alone...no intelligent mammals travel alone. Will I ever get the truth from you?" Diego's ears pricked up as he comprehended Soto's true plans, and he began to snarl, front teeth slowly appearing.
"You wanted me gone from the get-go." The growl continued to intensify; Oscar peeled his ears down knowing that there was absolutely nothing he could do.
"I, unlike you - don't try to kill my family."
"You tried to kill me." Diego was going to continue, before he remembered something that was said in his dream two nights ago.
"A short lesson that you, a naive mammal, will never appreciate...never trust a saber."
"I have one more question before I let you go away from here." Diego's snarl slowly diminished. Soto, as a leader, was able to look at death with immense strength, even as a child. His strengths were certainly flawed though, as hanging off of a cliff caused him major distress, enough so that he breathed a sigh of relief after hearing the sentence. Diego retained the words said from his leader in a dream - and asked Soto one final thing before opting to leave.
"What did you really think of me when I was by your side?"
"You were a great soldier. And nothing more." Soto's voice grew deeper, as if trying to make a final point before being pulled up.
"And nothing more. Nothing more than an expendable strategist, and a predator, one who would guarantee you success." Diego raised his back legs, still gripping Soto, furious as ever, but holding a great composure.
"You were a failure with me by your side..." Soto's well-being was part of Diego's conscience no longer; he lifted his right paw off of Soto's still hanging paw.
"...and you're a failure without me." Oscar and Soto roared as Diego yanked his other paw out from his skin, and descended to the valley long below the mountain. A fully expected retaliative lunge from Oscar was directed to Diego, and all Diego needed to do, yet again, was a mere sidestep. Oscar skidded closer and closer, turning around just before reaching the cliff's edge, and sliding off, hanging off at the edge of the mountain. Diego rushed as quick as he could to Oscar's dangling body, using this opportunity to make amends.
"Oscar!" He threw his body to the floor, digging his sharp claws to the floor for stronger balance.
"Help me and I can pull you up." The fighting had lasting far too long. Oscar wasn't at all part of Diego's problems and now was the time to prove himself, he truly didn't want anybody to get hurt at Half Peak in their last encounter and Diego now had the opportunity to give his side of the story.
"So you can do to me what-" A head loomed closer to Oscar's as he began talking; an angry tiger who had the strength to subdue him was giving the option to live and for some reason, Oscar continued to reject any sort of sympathy.
"Is your life worth living at all to you? If not, let go and drop to your death for all I care. Tell me now and I'll help you commit to your action. Choose the correct one." Diego's voice turned cold; being talked down to time and time again was an old and tiresome game for him, and also one that he didn't wish to, or need to play any longer. He was guaranteed a place to stay once more with who he truly considered family, what would be the point to cause more mental anguish?
Oscar looked down below him; the distance of the fall was long enough for him to go through his life memories and back. His sharp vision was strong enough to see his leader's motionless body at the base of the ravine, and while he had loyalty toward his leader, death was not a part of his immediate plans. He looked back up toward Diego, who was still only a few inches from his head, and nodded in agreement. Oscar brought one paw up; in his mind, he was praying that Diego's strength was enough to bring his thin build. For the first time in his life, Oscar found trust in Diego. Even through all of the emotional hell he put his brother through, Diego still somehow found it within himself to keep Oscar alive.
"I've got ya - give me your other one now. Do it quick so I can hold on." Oscar was somewhat reluctant; while he did feel like Diego was genuinely trying to save him, there was a small voice telling him that giving Diego both paws was a death trap. But it was reality now, he couldn't deny a chance for his life to be saved at the slight risk of imminent death. He threw his other front paw to Diego, who grabbed it instantly. Diego paused for a moment, scaring Oscar for a brief moment. Thankfully, by the time he'd realized the fear, he was already off of the cliff edge and on solid ground.
"I'm going to make this quick." Oscar stared confused, still unsure as to Diego's motives for saving his life.
"I don't know where this resentment came from toward you and me, and I don't know why, but you need to move away from the past. Soto is dead, and whatever happened to Lenny and Zeke can stay live in your damn thoughts for all I care. You are now where you want to be, whether you believe it or not." Oscar had just witnessed his leader's death, and now had to hear about his somewhat unforgiving past as well.
"And what about you?"
"I'm going back with the mammoths and the rest of the party. If you choose to take the pack over, you're now the leader. You have what you've wanted. You can deny it all you want, but Soto's leadership was absolutely atrocious after we lost half of our family. A leader needs to be able to deal with hardship, and I'm looking at someone who seems to be coping quite well with a death of a close member." A wide-eyed stare took shape in Oscar's face; it was the first time in his life that he had received a compliment from Diego. By the time he had figured out what to say, he turned to see Diego, far off in the distance, heading south, away from the hellhole that caused his problems.
"That Diego...he's a good kid."