Disclaimer: I don't own Ice Age movies or any of their characters.
Cretaceous knew exactly what he was doing. He knew his actions were confusing the fur balls, and even confusing him a little. But, if the group was going to leave, he wanted to do something first. No...He didn't merely WANT to do it...He NEEDED to do it. And if it means confronting his feathered enemies one more time...then that's the risk he was going to take.
"Scram!" he hissed at the fliers, who snapped their gaze at him. Although most had that annoyingly amused look, some seemed surprised that he was getting closer to them under his free will. He hissed again and the fliers didn't move like he wanted. Still, he continued his cumbersome advance.
"What is it doing?" Eddie asked as they watched this seemingly suicidal act. The others seemed speechless, obviously not understanding the situation either. What was Scaley thinking? They were supposed to be moving AWAY from the scary vultures, not moving towards them. Exactly what did it have in mind that was worth this?...Well, it must've been very important.
"We should help it with whatever it's doing! Come on!" Sid said as he moved to the reptile's aid as fast as he could. Diego shrugged and followed, then Ellie and the possums, and then (begrudgingly) Manny joined, grumbling under his breath about how everyone's slowly losing their minds.
The vultures saw them coming and took off to join the one in the tree, watching the situation as the mammals approached their meal. When the herd saw exactly what the apparent object of interest was, they slowed down to a complete stop.
"Oh..." Ellie muttered softly as her face saddened.
Cretaceous peeked over at the fur balls that helped him chase the vile creatures away and then turned to the remains of his best friend. He knew that this would be the very last time he will ever see his almost life-long pal...and he wanted to savor the moment for as long as possible. Silently, he pressed his nose to Maelstrom's and closed his eyes. He could feel watery stuff welling up behind his lids and he felt confused by it, but he wasn't going to let this strange moisture ruin everything.
Again, with no sound, he opened his eyes and shifted to the side before laying a paw on what was left of the other reptile's front flipper. Blinking as the water slid down his cheeks, he sighed shakily and placed his head on the ground. Glancing at Maelstrom's torn scales and bloodied body, he slowly turned a glare at the fliers who did this before closing his eyes again.
An unrecognizable shudder passed through his body and he tried unsuccessfully to choke back a strangely quiet sound, almost like a whimper. This was the first time his body was doing all of this, and he wasn't sure he liked it.
"Aw, it's crying." Ellie sympathized as the herd watched Scaley from a safe distance. They assumed that the creature was safe to come near right now, but they didn't want to take the chance. Instead, they were content to stay back out of biting distance and watch with sorrowful expressions.
So this was why Scaley wasn't in a hurry to leave. The herd knew that the reptiles stuck together but they had no idea how close the actual relationship was. They thought the creatures tolerated each other only as a matter of convenience and never more than that. Now they're starting to see their former enemies in a completely new light...
Slowly, Ellie stepped closer.
Cretaceous heard one of the fur balls advancing, but paid it no mind. Rather, his mind wondered to happier days before they accidently got frozen.
He remembered meeting the larger marine animal shortly after he hatched on the beach and ventured into the water for the first time. Back then, Maelstrom was a lot smaller than he was now and only ate clams off the sea bed and ammonites that floated weightlessly. It was Cretaceous that made the pliosaur realize the wonders outside the world of sea food and into being a true predator. They started with smaller youngsters and moved onto bigger prey as they got older. Because of this, Maelstrom always said how he's practically in debt to Cretaceous.
Smiling in his pleasant reverie, he sniffed and shook his head, stirring dirt and throwing the water stuff off his face. More came to replace it as he continued his thoughts.
That debt was paid just before their freezing accident. Cretaceous was exploring the caverns of a large ice-block, which was back then an unknown thing. Maelstrom, being the 'stay-back-and-assess-the-situation' type, warned him not to. Cretaceous, being the 'check-things-out-now-and-ask-questions-later' member of the duo, paid no mind. He just swam through one frozen corridor after another in a maze. Then things went wrong and he quickly got lost. He wasted no time calling for his friend, who came to his rescue. But they were then trapped inside and the story was obvious from there.
What Cretaceous would give to have his friend back...
He felt something furry touch the top of his head, and his sense of smell told him that it was the Smaller-Long-Nose. He made no response.
"It's okay, sweetie. Don't cry." Ellie tried to soothe the distressed creature, petting it gently. "Everything's gonna be alright, you'll see."
Scaley gave a shudder and stiffened before glancing at her. She saw its tear-filled eyes for just a second before it looked away and mustered a strained growl. Ellie paused before understanding what Scaley wanted her to do and backed off with her kindly expression. She knew how it felt to lose a loved one, after what happened to Cousin Wilton with that hawk. She knew that Scaley just wanted to be left alone at the moment.
Walking over to the others, the herd sat back and waited...
--
After a couple of hours, Manny decided that it was time to move on and trudged away quietly. The others looked at him, then at Scaley, then back at him. Sighing, they knew they didn't have a choice and slowly followed after the mammoth.
Cretaceous, still in his mourning phase, looked at the group leaving and sighed. He knew that it was time to go and that it was probably a good idea. He didn't want to push his luck with the fliers, which have been patient so far. Last thing he needed was for them to decide that he was as good to eat as Maelstrom.
Paying his deceased friend one last longing look, he forced himself to turn and pulled towards the herd one laborious tug after another. The fur balls seemed to have noticed him and paused, probably waiting until he caught up. Growling in slight frustration, he knew that he had a long and painful journey ahead of him. His body ached more at the very thought of it, but he wasn't going to give up easily.
He'll make it to the ocean...eventually.
He was surprised that Long-Nose wasn't saying anything to him in a reprimanding tone, as he was expecting the large creature to make some incomprehensible complaint, perhaps of how slow he was on land. But the group's obvious leader seemed to understand the situation and made no rush. Cretaceous felt his grudge go on temporary hold.
Looking up, he saw the Flier following him from above. It seems that whatever this creature does never surprises him. He knew that this flier was going to accompany him from a distance until an opportunity presents itself. Well, he wasn't going to give it any opportunity. Not while he was still breathing.
The herd waited patiently until Scaley paused a short few yards away, catching its breath. It growled at the vulture circling overhead before looking at them, its threat still emitting from its throat. Without further ado, it continued on its own, eventually moving past them slowly and showing no signs of stopping.
"Great." Manny muttered as he stared at the large bird landing next to their newest member, who hissed while it rested again. "Looks like Scaley comes at a price."
Sid smiled. "Don't worry, Manny. I'm sure the scary vulture will go away sooner or later."
"No, I mean with how long this is going to take. It's too slow." the mammoth said irritably as he continued.
As they soon got into the lead again with Scaley working hard to keep up, the other herd members knew that this indeed was going to take awhile. Until...
"Manny! Why don't you carry it?" Sid suggested. This, as expected, got an almost instant response.
"No way."
Again, starting an argument with Sid. Never a good idea. The other herd members paused to watch and Scaley hesitated nearby, probably wondering what's going on and what these two were talking about. Well, it was going to learn something soon about how Sid will always get his way.
"Why not?" the sloth continued.
"Why should I?" Manny countered.
"Because...as far as we know, you're the only one who strong enough to carry it. Remember?"
Manny did recall how Scaley got caught on his tusks and how he threw it away. But still...to carry this thing? Sid didn't give him much more time to think.
"And if you carry it, we'll be going a heck of a lot faster, don't you think?"
"He's gotta point." Diego butted in. Manny glared at the saber, then back at the annoying sloth grinning at him. Then, with a sigh, he again realized how useless it was to disagree with Sid and gave in. Looking at Scaley, he moaned and moved closer, hoping to get this done and over with before he changed his mind. Except one little problem...
Cretaceous felt his grudge return quickly and hissed loudly at the Long-Nose's approach...He has no idea what's going on, but he's having a feeling that he's not gonna like it...
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