Some notes: the "mammoth hunter" concept/idea is AP-Lobo/Doodally-Doodles', she let me use it for this fic. Her artwork for it has since been taken down, but just know that "the mammoth hunter" is © AP-Lobo/Doodally-Doodles of DeviantArt. She also created the artwork for one of the scenes in this fic, too, go her! If you want to see it, it's on my tumblr, lunarblue21. Thanks also to my beta for helping me touch up and tighten this piece!
This fic, by the way, is more a bonus chapter for my currently ongoing "Cruel Intentions" longfic since it takes place in between the mammoths' soccer game that Manny and Diego attend and in the space afterwards, THIS story happens (in btwn chapters 2 and 3, chapter 3 will explore the aftermath of this event) and then Manny goes before the Council as an advocate for Diego being allowed to remain with him, the herd, and protect the Bredelands. Will they succeed? Btw - about chapter 3 of "Cruel Intentions" expect it sometime this month!
And one time he didn't…
CI-verse.
This couldn't be a more perfect day, Manny thought as he watched the sun slant through the leaves of the forest. Diego loped at his side, matching his pace, their movements synochronised. Manny lifted his ears. Diego unconsciously mimicked his action to scope out the nearby sounds.
In the distance he heard laughter floating through the trees, and his mouth broadened in a smile. He knew from the voices that it was Ellie leading a game of tag with Peaches, her brothers the possums, and Sid the sloth. Sid was clearly lagging in the game. Manny could hear his loud complaints and appeals to slow down. But everyone was ignoring him, as usual.
Manny glanced at Diego, still smiling, and found that Diego was smiling back at him with that slow, almost shy, grin of his. He seemed to enjoy eavesdropping on the herd as well, as their walk took them further and further away from the meadow the other members were playing in.
This couldn't be a more perfect day, Manny mused. I've got my best buddy at my side. And after leaving the Bredelands for a while so that Ellie could have a measure of peace during her pregnancy with Peaches, we're back again, gradually re-establishing our herd back into the valley… He let out a sigh. Life here is pretty much perfect.
Peace coursed through Manny. The sun overhead cast shadows through the serrated leaves of the trees, dappling the pathway where the mammoth and the sabre strolled down.
Manny inhaled, listening to the pleasant sounds of bird call overhead, knowing that most of them were likely avian messengers spreading the news throughout the valley and its adjacent territories.
The idea bothered Manny, but he tried to ignore it. After all, he was ensuring that the herd – his herd – didn't mix often with the other animals of the valley, something that was beginning to cause gossip, but Manny knew that his notion was reasonable.
On top of that, he suspected that, out of all of the animals in the valley, it was his own kind that would distrust Diego the most. He wanted to keep his brother safe.
Diego broke the companionable silence.
"You know,I actually really enjoyed playing that football game with you and the other mammoths." He paused, his face broadening with a smile. "I was even able to meet up with an old friend."
"Oh, so that's what you were doing," Manny said, a playfully accusatory tone in his voice, "when you ran off and left me after the game was over and we'd won."
The tips of Diego's ears were red, but Manny pretended that he didn't notice. Diego's eyes shifted back and forth as his ears flattened against the back of his head. He looked embarrassed, though Manny couldn't fathom why he was.
"Uh, yeah, that," Diego replied, hesitation sharpening his tone.
"Well? So who's your old friend?" Manny went on.
"I don't really want to talk about it, Manny," came Diego's answer.
"Why?"
Diego pawed at the ground slowly, refusing to meet Manny's gaze.
"I never expected to see her again." Diego sighed.
"Oh," Manny muttered. He wondered who this "her" was.
In all the years that he'd known the tiger, Diego had always been reserved, telling little of his past life to either Sid or Manny. Diego preferred bluntness in regards to his past whenever he dared to speak of it.
Manny still remembered how Diego had made a bid to gain his sympathy on the trek that had transformed the mammoth, the sloth, and a sabre into a genuine herd by slipping sparse details about his past to Manny whilst they travelled the barren plateaus of ice. The details were clues about the traumas of his life that he'd kept secret.
Manny knew that Diego now regretted his manipulative actions, especially by using bits of his past, but Manny had forgiven him fully for that.
However, Diego hadn't mentioned anything about a lady in his life any of those times. The tiger seemed to have a complete lack of interest in any tigresses that they had come into contact with on their journeys, but Manny had never thought to ask why, deciding it was best to allow Diego his own preferences.
Manny almost stopped short, causing Diego to look back at him, concern plastered across his face. What if Diego's preferences were for that of Manny's own kind? Manny's jaw slackened in disbelief.
"Manny, you okay?" asked Diego.
"Uh, yeah, sure. I'm fine," Manny replied, still trying to comprehend the idea that Diego had possibly liked a mammoth girl… maybe even still did.
Manny wondered who this mammoth girl was, to have held his friend's fascination and love for so long. It couldn't possibly be anyone he knew – or might have known.
Diego rolled his eyes.
"If you say so, Buddy," he countered.
There was no way Manny could outright ask Diego who his sweetheart of yore was. Instead, he stretched his mouth open in a wide smile, trying to hide his consternation from his friend.
Diego's green eyes narrowed at him. Manny kept lumbering forward, keeping the expression on his face as cheerful as possible, hoping that Diego would find another distraction.
His hoped-for distraction came too soon.
There was the faint rustle of the leaves in the bushes, and then the flashes of sticks with sharp rocks on their ends visible above the undergrowth.
Voices wafted into the air, filling it with the scent of danger. Strange objects with five points on them – hands – gestured the way Manny and Diego had come from.
Manny inhaled, catching the scents of the fearsome beasts the humans had in tow with them. By his reckoning, he judged that they were cave lions and dire wolves. He caught the smell of rough fibres tethering them, guessing the humans had the animals bound at their sides.
"Manny!" came Diego's gruff whisper.
The sabre had spotted the danger first. Manny had watched with pride and a strange combination of excitement and fear as Diego's ears flattened against his head, and his hackles rose. He crouched low to the ground, his eyes narrowed.
Diego turned to Manny, his face troubled, which made Manny anxious. He'd never seen Diego look at him quite like that: his expression devoid of any emotion – except for fear.
The humans drew closer, their sticks flailing in the air. They grumbled in the typical voiceless manner that Manny had learnt to associate with humankind. One of the men caught sight of the massive mammoth and the huge sabre, but at the last moment he turned away, pointing in the other direction with a loud grunt.
"Manny!" Diego whispered again, this time more harshly.
Panic surged through Manny. Humans! Spears! His mind was all in a jumble.
He felt like he had stepped out of the present and into the past.
He watched with horror as the humans cast spear after spear into his mate and child. The weapons embedded into their soft flesh; the sight of the bright blood gushing out... his terrified trumpet that was more a scream...
"Manny!"
Manny forced himself to refocus. He looked at Diego, feeling like he was seeing the tiger for the very first time.
"Manny, they're heading in the direction of the herd!"
It took a moment for Diego's words to register in Manny's mind. He'd known the moment he'd seen the humans crashing through the underbrush, he just didn't want to voice his fear until Diego confirmed it.
Diego warned him not to panic, making him remember his actions during Peaches' birth. He and the herd weren't lost in Dino-land anymore, nor was Ellie pregnant, yet danger still echoed all around them. Trying not to lose his head, Manny came upon the only course of action available to him and Diego to protect their family.
Manny took a deep breath, lifting his trunk into the air as Diego watched him with an anxious expression. Manny let the air settle into his body, preparing himself for the bellow, knowing that he needed a full, loud blast.
His trumpet's thunder shook the birds from the trees. The pack of humans turned away from their path, their eyes lighting up with fiendish delight at the sight of the mammoth and the tiger.
The largest of the men nudged their mammoth hunter forward. The sight of the creature turned Manny's stomach. It was dark grey and covered with rough, scruffy hair. It resembled a combination between a dire wolf female and a smilodon male. Manny glanced aside at Diego, finding the same horror streaked across the sabre's face.
The humans, accompanied by their mammoth hunter and an assortment of tame cave lions and dire wolves, circled their prey. They surrounded the mammoth and the sabre.
Diego stood next to Manny's forelegs. Manny blinked, surprised and alarmed. Diego bared his teeth at the dire wolves, warning them to back off as he stepped in front of Manny.
"Diego, get behind me!" Manny ordered, fixing the humans and their beasts with a stony glare as he hurried to fall into step with the tiger.
His strides brought him alongside the sabre, the two massive creatures' shoulders aligning as both sought to act as the bulwark for the other.
"Not on your life!" Diego protested. "Manny-" But his words were cut off when the mammoth moved in front of him. His bulk pushed the sabre behind him, leaving Diego protected yet anxious.
"Diego, listen to me," Manny ordered. "We've got to think of a plan to defend ourselves."
He watched Diego's face brighten with a slight smirk.
"Then let me go before you," Diego said, knitting his brow in determination. "I can hold them off better than you can-"
"No," Manny said. "We need to work as a team to defeat them."
Manny was about to continue when the cries of the human hunters filled the air. It sounded like nothing more than a sort of keening wail since he couldn't understand their words, but in under a minute, he realised why the hunters were so excited. Their animals were loose.
The mammoth hunter met his gaze. Saliva dripped from its mouth as it inspected him, assessing where best to strike.
Growls sounded from all around Manny as he grimaced, wanting to back up to remove himself from the predators, but Diego was behind him.
The mammoth hunter glanced back at the lions, uttering a low growl like a command. The dire wolves advanced on Diego, forming a circle around him, pressing him away from Manny as Diego struggled not to show his fear.
The sabre crept backward, his eyes wide as he glanced at Manny anxiously. Spears appeared out of nowhere. Several landed deep into Manny's shoulder and back. The mammoth trumpeted in pain.
Manny set his jaw. He raised his tusks into the air, bellowing out a war cry against their foes. He thrust at them with his tusks, succeeding in driving a few of the lions away from him, but the mammoth hunter was undeterred.
One of the lionesses ducked every blow and threw herself onto his right foreleg, her mouth open and ready to bite. She tore her mouth away and left a huge gash. The wound spilled blood onto the ground. Manny paid no attention to it, but his eyes began to cloud from the pain anyway, slowing his movements.
And, in the midst of the melee, Manny lost sight of Diego. One second, he was at Manny's side, the next, and through his bloodshot eyes, Manny couldn't sense Diego beside him anymore as fear and bile mixed together in his throat...
Diego watched in horror as the lioness wounded his friend. The humans and their animals had separated the two and their tactic had worked, leaving Manny defenceless. He scowled, finding new strength to repel the pack of dire wolves that had surrounded him and pushed him away from the mammoth, threatening to overpower him but Diego resisted, fighting his way over to Manny.
I need to get to Manny, support him, stop the blood flow…
Just as the frantic thought crossed his mind, the mammoth hunter swiped its claws against Manny's chest and shoulder. The depth of its claws tore away the thick fur protecting the mammoth's flesh.
Manny blinked as the blow shuddered through his entire body, but somehow remained upright, swaying uncertainly.
He glanced down at his chest and felt the wounds with his trunk. He trumpeted in agony as the pain began to overwhelm him. He struggled against the pain racing through him, his mind focussed on one thing.
Diego…? Diego… where are… you? Are you… all right…
As if from a long distance away, he heard the humans' laughter as the lion pride and the mammoth hunter began circling him, low growls emanating from their mouths.
Rocks cascading down a mountain onto his helpless mate and son flashed into his mind, making him moan aloud, but the joyful screams of the humans – he couldn't tell whether it was the hunters surrounding him right now or ghosts of the past - drowned him out.
Every time he moved, even the slightest, to brandish his tusks at the predators surrounding him, his wounds opened more, bleeding heavily. He smelled blood and death and woozily wondered where it was coming from.
Manny's leg burned with pain to the point that he wasn't sure he could remain standing much longer. He nearly collapsed but caught himself. He scowled at the humans and their carnivore packs, wanting to punish them for hurting him and his family, and for killing Diego.
He shakily brandished his tusks at the lion pride and the mammoth hunter, warning them to back off, but by now he could barely see anything through the miasma of the red pain drenching him.
Unable to remain upright any longer, he collapsed onto the ground, lying awkwardly on his side, his mangled chest exposed to the elements and his enemies. Blood continued to soak into the forest floor. He struggled to keep his eyes open as darkness snaked into his mind, leaving him helpless.
"No!" Diego cried out, watching Manny succumb to his injuries. He kicked away the dire wolves snarling at him, feeling the bruises welting under his fur and all of their scratches and bites, but that didn't matter now. "Manny!"
His eyes widened as he saw the mammoth hunter lope up next to Manny's unprotected chest, raising its paw to execute the final blow. Diego's throat rumbled with a dangerous growl as he leapt in front of Manny, catching the mammoth hunter's claws on himself. They raked down his left shoulder viciously, long and hard and deep.
"So, you mean business, don't you?" Diego asked the mammoth hunter. He grimaced from the pain but refused to cry out. He turned to face his combatant. The mammoth hunter said nothing in response, only smirking at him. Satisfaction shone in its eyes as it glanced over at its owners, who clapped at it. "Well, you have no business killing my best friend!"
Ignoring the pain as best he could, Diego lashed out at the mammoth hunter, swiping his newly-sharpened claws–done with Sid's help–across its face.
The humans' strange hybrid yowled but refused to back down, glaring at Diego with blood dripping down its face. It growled. Within moments the lions, wolves, and humans flanked it.
Diego glowered at them through blurry eyes.
"You mess with a tiger's heart, you get the sabre," he muttered. "I'll make all of you pay for killing Manny."
He threw himself at them, aiming for the wolves first because he knew that tamed wolves weren't as fierce as the wolves he'd grown up with as a cub. He cut them with his claws and disembowelled a few of them.
A few dead carnivores like him was only fair payment for Manny's death. These human-trained whelps didn't deserve any of his mercy, he rationalised. Hell, they couldn't even speak his and Manny's language.
Once the human's wolves were out of the way, he attacked the lion pride. By now, weariness pounded every muscle in his body, but he refused to give up. He swiped his claws into the lionesses' chests. He felt relieved.
The humans began to retreat. Diego smirked. His ferocity had unnerved even the bravest of them. He continued his barrage until half of the lionesses and lions of the pride were dead. By then, there was only one man, presumably the humans' leader, and the mammoth hunter left standing.
Most of the other men had either run away in terror or were weeping over the bodies of some of the dead wolves and members of the tame lion pride. Diego found this surprising. It didn't seem in the nature of humans to do that, mourn over ones that they'd lost, especially over tamed animals.
There was a flash deep inside his mind – a baby's smile, a wave, a sign that he remembered the sabre sent to destroy him, with a little game called 'where's the baby' – Diego smiled in the midst of his fatigue. Pinky was example enough that humans weren't all what they seemed. But Diego had no time for philosophical reflections.
He narrowed his eyes, glaring at the mammoth hunter. His sides heaved as he panted. Sharp pain radiated through him as he forced himself to remain upright. He couldn't fail Manny now, not after everything Manny had done for him over the years.
Diego circled the mammoth hunter, his mouth taut in a grimace of anger threaded with pain. The hunter eyed him, licking its lips. Diego scowled, sensing what the mammoth hunter already thought.
It thinks that I'm easy prey.
A trickling of dread seeped through Diego, but he refused to listen to his growing fears. He rose up on his hind legs, extending his claws as he thrust at the mammoth hunter. However, the mammoth hunter was too quick and agile for him.
It slipped out of his grasp easily, just as its paws fastened around Diego's shoulders, its claws piercing and shredding his fur. Blood ran down Diego's chest, making him feel faint.
The mammoth hunter thrust him aside, propelling Diego against a large tree trunk. The breath knocked out of him, Diego collapsed beside the tree, blackness clouding his eyes.
Diego lost consciousness.
A flash of recognition rang throughout his memories. The bruises on his side and back from his crash against the tree and the throbbing in his head were akin to injuries he'd experienced years ago when he'd turned against Soto in order to save Manny.
Manny… Manny…
Diego raised his head, his eyes blearily focussing on the large brown mass a few yards away that remained ominously still. The mammoth hunter was advancing on it, its human padding along in its paw prints. Sheer delight shone in their expressions.
Diego somehow found the strength to climb back on his feet. Every bone in his body was aching and every slight movement caused his wounds to reopen, but he ignored the searing pain.
He leapt in front of the mammoth hunter just as the human released his pointy stick, its shaft embedding in between his shoulder blades as the mammoth hunter's claws ripped new gashes into his shoulder and neck, narrowly missing his face.
Diego gritted his teeth, standing defiantly in front of Manny as blood made lurid designs of flowers on the dark brown soil. Fatigue battered him as he stared down his foes.
The human, catching the dangerous glint in his green eyes, got the message. He backed away, making strange noises at the mammoth hunter as he did so, before fleeing back towards the other humans in his group and directing them to leave. The hunter band retreated into the forest. In their haste, they abandoned the sole survivor of their tamed beasts, the mammoth hunter, with Diego.
The sabre's fur stiffened as the mammoth hunter glared at him. Diego felt a ripple of true fear twist his gut when he realised that the mammoth hunter hadn't withdrawn, unlike its much wiser human, but stayed its course, intent on killing him.
Diego's eyes widened as the hunter crept up towards him, breathing heavily, saliva dripping from its jowls. Diego growled, anger underpinning every thrum of his snarl. He lashed out at the mammoth hunter.
The mammoth hunter's blows rained down on him, forcing him to the ground. He had never seen an animal with ferocity to this extent before. This hard realisation startled him with the terrifying idea that he might not survive this monster – and if he didn't survive, then neither would Manny.
Ellie's gonna kill me if I don't save Manny, Diego thought. I have to save Manny. I won't let this…thing kill me!
He turned over, thrusting the mammoth hunter away from him with his feet. The quick move surprised the mammoth hunter, who faltered in its onslaught briefly, its face hardening.
Diego sighed, glancing aside at Manny. There was no tremble of movement from the huge form, and his heart skipped a beat before he turned his head to face the mammoth hunter.
Summoning as much of his strength as he could, Diego threw himself at the mammoth hunter, his claws open and extended. He landed on its back, burying his fangs into the creature's neck, aiming for the jugular.
The mammoth hunter began to struggle, shaking its head back and forth in an effort to throw Diego off, but Diego kept his hold, cutting off the animal's respiration until it fell limp underneath him.
Diego stepped off the mammoth hunter, a look of distaste curling around his mouth. Not fully satisfied, he tore open a chunk of the hybrid animal's chest to ensure that it was truly dead. Blood cascaded from the wound.
At once, Diego was aware of the eerie silence permeating the forest. He turned to look at the mammoth, to take an actual, real look at his friend, his heart catching in his throat. The mammoth's leg, upper shoulder, and chest were covered in blood that continued to drip at regular intervals.
Diego limped over to Manny, feeling pain shudder through him with every step. Manny was still.
"Manny!" Diego cried out. No response.
Fear pierced his heart with the intensity of an icicle arrow, meant to weaken – or kill – instantly. Seeing Manny like this brought back memories of Manny nearly dying for him at the lava fields.
Diego had long seen Manny as invincible, with the godlike stare that he possessed and how he wielded his sheer majesty when interacting with other mammoths or other animals of the Bredelands.
And now his king was laid low. Diego had the awful feeling that he hadn't been strong enough for him.
Diego stumbled forward, blindly, almost instinctively knowing that he had to protect Manny before his wounds proved fatal.
Diego reached Manny and stared at him, the tiger's body trembling with hidden emotions. Diego placed one of his paws on Manny's shoulder, anxiety and sorrow threatening to overwhelm him as he sought for any signs that his friend was still breathing.
Finding next to none, depression struck Diego as wrapped his forelegs around the mammoth in a tight hug. He didn't even notice when his tears splashed onto Manny's fur, staining it as black as the festering blood of the mammoth's wounds.
"Manny, Manny, Manny, Manny," he murmured as he leaned next to his friend, positioning himself so that his less injured side worked as a stauncher against Manny's blood loss. "Manny, Manny, Manny, Manny," he pleaded. "Wake up, please. Stay with me, Manny, stay with me; I know you can do it."
His constant patter of words finally ignited a response. Manny opened his eyes heavily, seeking for the owner of the voice.
Diego rejoiced as he saw his friend stir, but kept up his calming tone to settle Manny down. Yet he knew his work was not quite over.
He heard his shallow and inconsistent breathing. Manny was struggling to keep his eyes open, and Diego hadn't seen his eyes look quite so tired before. It scared him.
After a moment, he slipped away from Manny. His breath was beginning to come in short, shallow spurts. He knew that he was minutes away from unconsciousness, but he had to send out a message first – to the herd.
Diego took a deep breath and glanced at Manny, determining where exactly he'd have to staunch his blood flow with his own body.
He expelled a massive roar from his lungs that echoed throughout the valley. The birds roosting in the trees scattered, and from the rapidity of their wings, he knew some of them were avian messengers.
Everything turned grey as Diego stumbled back over to Manny.
He lifted his ears, faintly hearing Ellie's familiar trumpet call answer his message. He began to lope towards Manny, but his exhaustion overcame him.
Diego inched painfully along the ground, crawling over to Manny, attempting to remain awake despite his injuries giving him hell. All he wanted to do was sleep – but he couldn't. Falling asleep in this moment might prove fatal to him and Manny.
Ignoring those dangerous thoughts, he snuggled up next to the mammoth, blocking any more blood loss as Manny's blood splattered his red-drenched coat, clasping his leg and chest in a tight embrace.
He urged Manny to stay awake, even as he threatened to succumb to his own fatigue and injuries.
Manny raised his head wearily, too lost in the mists of his pain to fully recognise who was speaking to him. Life floated in and out of a reddish-grey haze, but a gruff voice kept pinpointing him towards the light, away from death.
Through the miasma of his agony, he couldn't make out the tiger curled up next to him. Splotches of red adorned Diego's orange fur. He couldn't be sure if it was his blood or the tiger's.
"Diego, leave me here," Manny said in a hoarse whisper. He let out a small cough, blearily glancing around for the humans and their predators. They'd be back soon, he felt it; he had to keep Diego safe... "You've gotta … get away… before they come back…"
"Manny… they… won't come… back…" Diego murmured, with a slight shake of his head. From the sound of his voice, he sounded badly hurt as well.
Manny groaned as he struggled to figure out how wounded his friend was, but he couldn't make out anything except what he'd seen before: the red staining Diego's fur.
"I… got… all… of them… herd… is coming…."
Manny's eyes misted over as he struggled not to lose consciousness again, but the effort was too much.
He felt his own blood sticking to his fur, filling the air with the stench of beckoning death. He vaguely understood just how injured he was as his overwhelming fatigue consumed him again.
The light faded from his eyes as he felt something warm and massive and also sticky (with blood, he assumed) wrap around his wounded leg and cover itself over his chest with a faint growl.
Manny slumped forward, his head hanging low over the ground, completely deaf to the pleas of his injured friend for him to wake up. Diego's voice grew fainter every minute until it dribbled away into nothingness…
Ellie burst into the clearing, a small grey bird hovering near her shoulder. Her eyes widened as she saw the still forms lying in front of her. Sid peered around her legs, his large eyes disbelieving.
She had brought him along because she knew Sid might have something that would help them transport Manny and Diego back to the cave. She hoped her trust wouldn't prove wrong.
"Noa, send for Manny's friend William and the healer he is hosting at the Three Fjords," she panted.
"But Ellie, Regent Elder Titan has sent out an order that no healers are to give aid to carnivores like the sabres," Noa protested. "It's just not right… you don't even know if Jonathon will come with Will…"
"I don't care!" Ellie said. "My mate's life and our friend's life is in danger, tell him that it is urgent and that we need both of them. I know Will. He'll be able to persuade Jonathon. Now go!"
Noa nodded at her, and then took off, her wings beating rapidly. Ellie stared at Manny's bloodied form, only just then noticing how Diego clung to him, a human's spear still embedded in his back. The sabre's fur was matted with blood.
His many gashes dripped onto the soil. Manny's breathing had grown steadier, but with each moment, Diego's seemed shallower. Ellie felt her heart nearly stop.
What if we're just in time for Manny, but too late for Diego? The thought shook her to her core.
In short time, William burst into the area. A much older bull trailed behind him. A molehog accompanied the elderly bull, carrying a basket filled with spiderwebs, which the animals used as gauze and bandages throughout the Bredelands. Ellie breathed a sigh of relief, but it was short-lived.
"I can't do this!" the elderly bull was spluttering. He shook his tusks indignantly, the spiderweb gauze curled around them drifting in the wind he created. "It's against the Regent Elder's decree; haven't you heard it? I'm here only for Manfred, Clovis's son, and no one else."
"Jonathon," William said, his voice full of rebuke. "Forget that for now. Manny and his friend need our help." He turned to Ellie. "Have you thought of a way to get them back to your cave?"
"Sid's working on it," Ellie replied, her face a cool mask to hide her worry.
She indicated where the sloth sat weaving together several large uprooted bushes on the ground, making them into a large cushion. "One big enough to carry both Manny and Diego."
"I will only inspect Manfred's wounds but not that tiger's," Jonathon muttered. He didn't seem to have heard Ellie's plans. "If I tend to the tiger, the Regent Elder won't allow me to continue my practice."
"But you're a healer," Sid protested. "I thought healerth were thuppothed to help otherth, even thothe not of their kind."
"He's Manny's best friend," Ellie added, as Jonathon bent over the still form of her mate.
He pulled Diego away slightly with his trunk to better inspect Manny's wounds, but the sabre clung to Manny fiercely, refusing to slacken his hold even whilst unconscious.
Much to Jonathon's surprise, he found Manny's wounds already staunched. Some of the larger ones had begun to scab.
"Manny will be all right," he declared, glancing from Ellie to William. "It looks like the tiger got to him in time to save him. Now, if we hurry and return Manny to the cave, and leave the tiger here as the RE wishes, I can apply a poultice that can restore him to health… but I insist that we forget about the tiger."
"Why?" Ellie said, her eyes sparking. "He nearly died to save Manny!"
Jonathon's glance strayed as he furtively examined the wounds, still continuing to drip, on the tiger's shoulder and side. He knew what he was doing was wrong. However, Jonathon saw nothing amiss in just checking the sabre's injuries, as long as he was left behind.
"Assistant, to me," he said, ignoring Ellie's question.
The molehog scampered up to him with the basket. Jonathon removed a bundle of spiderweb, placing it onto Manny's chest. Manny winced from the application. He repeated the same process with Manny's shoulder and Manny moaned. He turned to face Ellie and William again.
"Because Manfred will live," he said, answering Ellie's "Why?" "That's why we should leave the tiger," to die, he thought but didn't say aloud, "It is honestly the best decision we could make, since Manny is transportable, if you've got the sled ready. But I don't think that the tiger will live. He's injured too badly, and I don't think we should move him."
"But-but we can't be too late for Diego," Ellie faltered, her expression shaken. "We can't leave him here, respected healer, he means so much to Manny and the rest of us, right, Sid?"
Sid nodded silently in agreement, his eyes brimming with unshed tears.
"I can't believe that you'd do this, Jonathon. If RE Titan tries something, I'll summon an informal council so that he won't hurt you-"
"As if that will work," Jonathon said drily, shooting William a glare. "You of all mammoths know how tight his hold on the valley is becoming, especially towards carnivores – er, I mean, sabres but every other carnivore as well – and their sympathisers. He won't miss a chance to dole out punishment if he knows that I've broken his decree."
"We're losing precious time here!" Ellie fumed, staring at Jonathon coldly. "You have a choice, healer. Either use the gifts Brede has given you to save my mate and his friend, or leave. Those are your options. I strongly suggest that you stay and help us, all of us."
"I have no guarantees that your friend will live!" Jonathon said, scowling. "And I suggest that if you must take him, don't bring him back to your cave in case the RE comes by because that'll mean trouble for all of us."
Ellie felt the edges of a smirk playing around her lips.
"So does that mean you'll be helping us?" She let a pregnant pause fall over the rescue team. "Both of them?"
Jonathon said nothing in reply. After a moment, he rolled his eyes before dipping his head in agreement.
Feeling relieved, Ellie glanced down at Diego. She blinked hard, unsure of what she was seeing. The tiger's eyes were open, though overbright, as he sought her gaze. She wondered how much of the argument between all three mammoths that he'd overheard.
"Hey... just leave me here..." Diego murmured, managing a small smile for her. "Manny's gonna be okay, right? … That's all that matters... to me.."
"Yeah, Manny's gonna be okay," Ellie soothed. "And you are too, Diego. We aren't leaving you."
"But... what if... it's for the best..." came Diego's question, but there wasn't time for Ellie to reply, because he'd lost consciousness again.
"How should we transport them?" William's voice in Ellie's ear pulled her away from her anxious contemplations.
Jonathon came up beside them, uttering a low chuckle.
"I've tried to disengage your friend... the tiger... Diego.. from Manfred," he said by way of greeting, but the sobriety in his eyes made Ellie worried, "but he won't budge."
"What is your advice, then, healer?" Ellie murmured.
Jonathon sighed.
"At this point, Will and I will hoist Manfred and the tiger onto the sled you've created, and then when we're nearer your cave, I'll do my best to slip the tiger's claws out of Manfred's fur so we can take him to a secluded alcove for recovery, away from Regent Elder Titan's prying eyes," he explained.
"Sounds like a good idea to me," Ellie said, through clenched teeth. "I'll pull them back. I'm strong enough to do it."
William and Jonathon exchanged glances with each other but didn't protest.
"I have to say something, though, Ellie," Jonathon rumbled, looking dejected. "With all of our efforts, I still cannot guarantee that your tiger friend will recover."
"Let's just get them back to our home grounds, okay? Then we can go over this more thoroughly," Ellie said, the edges around her mouth grim.
Sid glanced at her as she strove to keep her expression calm, but underneath her veneer she was rattled.
She watched, silently, as William and Jonathon placed their trunks under Manny's legs, lifting him and Diego into the sled. Manny uttered a moan during the process, whilst Diego was dangerously still.
Ellie gazed at them, tears sparkling in her eyes. She felt Sid fit the harness of the sled onto her back, making sure it was secure before he clicked at her to go.
She lumbered forward, William and Jonathon flanking her precious cargo's side as Jonathon's assistant trailed at the back.
Please let them live, Brede, she thought, praying to someone she felt she barely knew, having never grown up hearing the stories of the creator goddess. Please let them live.
At last, the rescue team reached the herd's home grounds. Ellie sent Sid in front of them to play with Peaches and inform her brothers about the situation. Ellie turned around, letting the harness fall off of her, her gaze landing on the healer.
Jonathon stared at Diego attentively, his gaze sweeping the whole of the tiger's battered form with clinical appraisal.
"Hmm. The tiger's in a right state," Jonathon muttered. "If he's lucky, he'll be able to walk again, and run, but with what condition his shoulder's in… from that shaft..."
"He was able to do it the first time, when he saved my mate from the tiger pack," Ellie said tightly.
"And that was nothing short of a miracle, wasn't it?" Jonathon shot back. "Your friend is injured badly, and at this point I'm not sure if he will even survive. Manfred will recover well, despite his injuries, because of the tiger's efforts, but I don't know if the same can be said for him."
Ellie visibly deflated. She glanced aside at Diego.
The sabre still clung to Manny, his fur splotched with bright red and dark brown as the blood dried, his head burrowed into Manny's chest above the huge gash. Manny's trunk draped over the tiger protectively, almost as though he knew Diego needed his comfort.
"What a sight," Jonathon commented. "If you hadn't gotten to them at the moment you did, they'd be together in death, still holding each other."
Ellie didn't want to entertain the idea. She knew it was fitting, given how close Manny and Diego were, but it hurt her heart too much. She could be confident that Manny would survive but Diego's life still hung in the balance. It didn't seem fair.
"Thank you for your help, healer Jonathon, and for giving aid to Diego even though the Regent Elder has forbidden it. We'll take it from here."
"Brede be with you, Ellie," Jonathon said, his eyes warm. "I will solicit the goddess about the welfare of your friend."
Ellie's eyes watered.
"Thank you," she whispered, her voice husky with emotion.
Ellie stood by Manny's side as Jonathon and his assistants performed several surgeries to extricate the arrows from his back. Afterwards, with William and Jonathon's help, Ellie moved Manny into the coolness of the cave. The next few days that followed were quiet.
She and Sid watched as Jonathon showed her and Sid how to make a poultice to press against Manny's chest and leg wound. Despite the trauma of the recent days, she kept her family calm in the midst of the crisis.
Later, Ellie accompanied Sid as he went to a group of mini-sloths trained in the art of weaving who gave them the cloth made from a combination of spiderweb gauze and silkworms, the latter of which they'd gotten from avians flying in from the far eastern regions outside of the Bredelands. They traded them berries for it.
Jonathon approved of the cloth. He commended Ellie about its use for bandages and staunches for their injured.
Jonathon also carefully extricated the shaft from Diego's shoulder blades with the help of a few of his smaller mammal assistants, making use of their sharp claws to gently remove it.
When the arrow was removed - the shaft having broken off before help reached the tiger - the gaping nature of Diego's wound frightened him, especially since he could tell it was weakening the tiger internally and externally. He ordered a fire built, using a hot iron to cauterise the wound. The surgery complete, Jonathon helped transfer the tiger to an alcove concealed deep in the forest yet close enough for he and Ellie to visit without raising suspicion.
Ellie made preparations for Diego. Jonathon had found an alcove, like he'd promised. It wasn't far away from the cave. He often stole away to check on him in the few brief hours that he could, whilst Ellie made a habit of seeing him daily.
To her relief, his breathing had returned to normal not long after the surgery but the severity of his wounds still worried her. He looked so vulnerable, lying there in the greyness of the alcove.
The threads of spiderweb gauze and poultice swathed him – to heal him – but Ellie only saw how weak he looked. She didn't want to admit it, even to herself, but it scared her.
It felt wrong to see Diego like this; he was so strong and stoic that for a long time she'd seen him as almost invincible. Ellie blinked back tears. She stroked the ridges of Diego's mane - he didn't stir - before returning to the cave to see to Manny.
Ellie returned to the cave to find a surprise visitor waiting for her. He was already inside the cave when she entered, chatting with Sid and her brothers and admiring Peaches.
She blinked, not sure what to say, when the huge black bull introduced himself.
"Good day, Ellie," he said, extending his trunk to her.
Ellie took it blindly, feeling completely out of place; shook it, and then stiffened, glaring at the Imperial mammoth. She fumed in silence.
"I am Titan, the current Regent Elder of the Bredelands," the huge bull continued. "You might remember me from that football game a while back. I saw you chatting with my mate."
Ellie bristled, remembering Titan's uncouth behaviour towards Diego. He'd instigated the crowd against him for no reason other than Diego's closeness with her mate and child.
"Yes, I do," she said, her voice taut. She thought it best not to mention what happened that day.
"I just came by to see how Manfred's doing," Titan went on, his tone genial. "He seems on the road to recovery, but I hear that the other who was with him isn't faring so well. I hope it dies."
"You have no right to say something like that," Ellie whispered, shooting him a glare.
Titan's response was accompanied by a low, ominous chuckle,
"Oh, my dear, I have every right. I'm the Regent Elder of all the Bredelands. All must answer to me."
"How nice," Ellie said between clenched teeth, wondering to herself when he was going to leave.
"Anyway, since the tiger is clearly unable to survive, my perusal of this herd is over," Titan added.
"Perusal for what?" Ellie muttered, memorising the Regent Elder's words for future reference. She decided that once Manny recovered, her mate needed to hear of these dangers looming over Diego immediately.
"It's an inspection to make sure that no herds are harbouring any potential enemy in their herds, like sabres," RE Titan said.
"Diego's not an enemy – to anyone," Ellie protested, uncertain about what RE Titan was implying. "Especially not to this herd. I know he hunts, but Manny told me that he's spoken to the Chancellor about it and got permission." She paused, taking a breath after her long string of words. She added, "he's Manny's best friend."
"Even more so than the sloth?" the Regent Elder queried, shooting Sid a passing glance. Sid scowled at the Elder but didn't say anything.
"… Yes," Ellie said, raising her eyebrows at the Regent Elder. She didn't understand why he was so condescending to her mate's friends, especially Diego.
"By the sheer virtue of species it is – and don't deign to call it by its name – and since it can't escape it, yes." Titan continued, not noticing Ellie's confirmation. "And the fact that it got permission to hunt from my father disturbs me…"
"Stop calling him 'it!'" Ellie exploded. "Manny told him that it would be all right to do that, and the Chancellor made some allowances for him because of his merit." She tried to calm herself. "Thank you for your kind visit, Regent Elder..."
"Oh, and do be sure to inform Manny that now that he's returned, he's eligible for eldership of the Three Fjords again. Or the Regent Eldership when the elections come round again," Titan went on as he advanced towards the mouth of the cave.
"I will," Ellie said, managing the tremors of a smile.
"And now I'm off. Good day to you, Ellie."
Ellie shook her head, glad she was finally rid of him. After a hushed conference with Sid, she crept back in the direction of Diego's alcove.
Her heart dropped to her toes when she got there.
Diego was gone.
Manny opened his eyes. He blinked, unsure of his surroundings. As his vision began to clear he realised that he was lying in their cave in the dim light of late midday.
He stirred, feeling the constraints of a cloth binding with a poultice of herbs encompassing his chest, from his upper shoulder down to his right leg. Like a bolt of lightning, the events of that horrible day with Diego flooded into his brain.
The rustle of movement beside him made him turn his head in the direction the sounds were going from. Bleary-eyed, he tried to make out the figures emerging indistinctly out of the gloom.
He saw Ellie, with Peaches standing behind her, their daughter's small face sombre. Sid and the possum brothers peered out from behind Ellie's legs, concerned expressions on their faces. Diego wasn't there in the group. Manny wondered if he was seeing wrong as he mentally counted all the faces again. Diego wasn't there.
No.
An icy feeling of fear settled onto his chest as anxiety gripped his heart. He attempted to get on his feet. But one sharp glance from Ellie made him rethink it, as pain coursed through the poulticed wounds on his shoulder and lower body.
He turned to look at Ellie, his eyes wide.
"Ellie." He said. "Ellie, where's Diego?"
Tears stained his eyelashes as he tried to blink them away, noticing how breathy his voice sounded from his fear.
Ellie said nothing in reply, but he saw that her green eyes had lost their lustre. She seemed subdued.
"Ellie, where's Diego?" Manny repeated. "Is he all right?"
There was a long pause, and it was so quiet that Manny felt sure the others in the cave could hear his heart pounding.
"Where's Diego?" Manny heard his own voice pleading. "Where's my friend? Is he all right?"
He can't be dead – he can't – I saved him, didn't I? He can't be – Manny didn't allow himself to think that dreadful word again.
"Can somebody please tell me where he is?" Manny was growing desperate. Silence answered his every question. His heart caught in his throat as he contemplated the impossible.
Just when he was about to give up hope, he noticed a flicker of movement at the mouth of the cave. A figure silhouetted in the light fading west as gold and purple splashed their colours against the sky stood at the cave's mouth. He glanced aside at Ellie. He found her eyes widening in surprised relief.
The figure came sharper into view as it emerged out of the dying light, a distinct limp visible with every step. Manny watched the figure raise its head.
He noticed the cloth bandages covering the tiger's shoulders and leg, healing the evidences of massive wounds. Diego's green eyes lit up when he found Manny looking at him.
Manny's heart gave a strange little thump as Diego began to limp towards him. His eyes widened as he remembered another time when Diego returned to him in a similar way, emerging out of the snow with a limp – but alive. Miraculously alive.
The tiger came forward, his steps marred as he hobbled towards him. Manny could see the pain it caused him. Diego shambled over to him in a sort of halting lope, holding his gaze the entire time.
"Manny," Diego breathed.
Manny couldn't even find the strength to say Diego's name as he stared at his friend (the friend he'd feared dead and lost to him, for a second time) relief washing over him in waves.
The next moment Manny found Diego's forelegs encircling his chest gently, the tiger's head buried into his shoulder. Manny realised that Diego's hug derived from relief. He placed his trunk around Diego's shoulder, aware of the bandages, drawing him close to him in a tight embrace.
"You have got to stop doing that," Manny murmured to Diego. "You scared me so much."
Diego's reply came with a chuckle as he continued to burrow himself more comfortably into Manny's hug.
"I promise you, it's not gonna happen again."
Over his own happy, almost incoherent babble, Manny heard Ellie murmur to Diego, "You had me so worried. I'm so glad you're all right."
The tiger lifted his head, sending her a wink. Ellie chuckled as she looked at him, her eyes tired and overjoyed at the same time.
Manny's trunk trailed over Diego's form, finding once again the familiar scars amongst the other injuries, remembering the fateful day he'd nearly lost his friend when Diego took the blow meant for him.
He pulled the tiger closer as Diego clung to him, his claws sheathed as they sunk deeper into an embrace that neither of them wanted to leave.
I won't let something like this happen ever again, Manny thought. I almost lost you – again. My heart can't take losing you, so I promise it won't happen. Ever.
FIN
Please leave a comment if this made you feel things! ;) Review?