Now, before I forget, which I did last chapter - grr! - I heard that some people didn't like the way certain characters were portrayed. If you believe that too, please, please tell me, and I'll try and change it in the future. Also, back to my villains thing, seriously a name and an animal and I'll build an OC for you. Seriously, ASAP please! :D
Oh, and before I forget this too, Taz belongs to scoobs5601 and she's from Inside A Red Notebook, which is EPIC! :D
Somehow, the herd managed to mostly wake up at the same time, except for Shira, Peaches, Buck and Taz, who had all been up at some point while the others were asleep. Diego had too, but since he was reunited with Shira he had often woken up wondering if she was okay, and this was no exception. He smiled down at her sleeping form, contemplating whether or not to go out and hunt her down a deer, but decided against it as he couldn't bear to leave her side.
"Diego, my Softie..." she murmured in her sleep, causing a smirk to form on his face, knowing that she wouldn't want him to hear that. Ah, Shira, he thought, playfully batting at her ears, The things you would say if you knew what you just told me!
Suddenly, her sapphire eyes shot open, allowing her to see his smirking face. "What's so funny?" she asked curiously, raising one eyebrow as he smiled even wider "What?"
He rolled his eyes. "Nothing, let's just say you talk in your sleep."
"Wha-" Shira suddenly remembered what she'd dreamt about, and turned bright red "I, I, uhm..."
"Don't worry, you didn't say anything bad," Diego grinned, before adding "Just trust Diego, your Softie."
Shira blushed even deeper, knowing what she had said during her dream. Sighing, she snuggled into his chest, licking his neck, practically dying of embarrassment. Diego ran his paw down her back in a comforting manner, nibbling contently on her ear, causing her to purr. The two tigers embraced each-other for a moment, until they realised they were being watched.
"Uhm... as cute as it is to vatch your little moment, I feel as if I shouldn't be vatching at all," came Gupta's voice.
"Dude!" snapped Shira "You shouldn't be watching!"
"Vell, vhat am I supposed to do? I'm stuck in this bed!" pointed out Gupta. Shira sighed, knowing he was right.
Suddenly, her eyes twinkled again. "Hey, I've got an idea!"
Gupta and Shira looked at each-other for a second, before both yelling out of the cave "GUYS!"
Raz, Silas, Boris and Flynn hurried in, wondering what was wrong, before seeing the way Diego and Shira were positioned and Gupta's awkward expression. Carefully, Raz lifted Gupta out of the bed and took him outside for a moment, while Silas, Boris and Flynn went out to find the badger something to eat for breakfast, while the two sabres returned to gently embracing each-other.
Rhianne and Herbert were both awake, but neither wanted to move for fear of waking Tasmin, who was still napping in the warmth of their fur. Meghan and Louis were also sitting there awkwardly too, as Peaches was fast asleep and they didn't want to wake her up either. Crash and Eddie, however, didn't think about the consequences of waking Buck, so they woke the weasel as soon as they realised he was still asleep.
"Gah, Rudy, Roger, wha-" Buck sat up, startled, before realising the possums had woken him "Sorry guys, just overslept a bit there."
"No kidding, Crash and Eddie had to wake you up," said Ellie with a smirk "And those guys once slept until late afternoon after a long day like yesterday!"
Crash muttered something, but Taz cut him off.
"Yes, Crash and Eddie woke him up, and then he managed to wake me up, thank you!" she mumbled, pushing her fringe out of her eyes only for it to flop forward again.
"Sorry Taz, I was just havin' an intense dream," apologised Buck wearily, quickly slipping his carving of Rudy underneath the leaves he used as a form of duvet before anyone could see it. She grumbled something that could've been "It's okay," or "I don't mind", before closing her eyes and leaning back against the ground, being careful not to lie on the wolf cubs because she knew they wanted to go for a run or something and she would be in their way.
As predicted, as soon as the wolf pups thought Taz was asleep, they carefully padded out of the cave, before running around in circles chasing each-other in the main clearing. Taz rolled her eyes at them, before dropping off to sleep again for real, as she was pretty tired and had hardly slept that night.
Now alone in the sabre cave, Squint sat up, rubbing his gritty eyes with his fists. He wondered where the others were, but was too tired and weary to find out. Suddenly, he noticed Mikayla's shadow in the entrance.
"Woah! Dude, you really gotta knock before you come in! Or at least wait until people are awake!" Squint waved his arms in the air as he spoke, for emphasis, but it just made him look kinda crazy.
Mikayla rolled her eyes. "Y'know, this is techincally my cave too!"
"Oh really?" asked Squint "How did you come to that conclusion!"
"This is the sabre cave, and I'm a sabre!" Mikayla pointed out "So therefore, this is technically my cave too, so I need not knock before entering."
Squint sighed to himself. "Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer..." he turned back to Mikayla "Okay so, you're saying that Shira would be alright with you being in here?"
"Not the exact words she'd use, but she wouldn't kill me for it," lied Mikayla, knowing Shira would probably wring her neck for being in the cave without permission.
"Yeah, right..." muttered Squint, giving up and flopping backwards into his bed. If Izzy were here right now she'd- Squint cut off his train of thought, annoyed. Eveer since he told Taz about his sister, he hadn't been able to get Izabella out of his mind. But, there was a silver lining. That was when he became so tempermental and slightly unstable, when he lost her, but telling Taz about it helped him get over things.
Several minutes later, Peaches, Meghan, Louis and Taz stuck their heads inside the cave.
"Hey guys, we're just off to meet some friends," Peaches informed them, mentally wondering why Mikayla was in her aunt and uncle's cave.
"Hi, why're you up already?" asked Squint curiously, sitting up again. Peaches rolled her eyes.
"Two words: 'Crash' and 'Eddie'," she scowled. Squint grinned.
"The possum twins?" Squint continued as Peaches nodded "Yeah, that sounds about right. Alright, see you later, Peach."
As the mammoth and her friends walked outside, she could hear Diego and Shira arguing.
"-but you don't control my life, Diego!" was the first thing she heard from Shira "And I'm hungry, I have to hunt!"
"I'll hunt for you!" Diego seemed to be trying to reason with her "Just stay here!"
"No!" moaned Shira "I'm injured, but I can still have a life! And I'm not even hurting anymore anyway!"
"Yes you are, you're lying!"
"No I'm not!" there was a short moment of silence, then "Ow! Diego!"
"See, I told you you're still in pain!" gloated Diego.
"Well yeah, the cuts are sore if an annoying male sabre pokes me!" snapped Shira in return. Peaches sighed as she met Louis's eyes. How come they're fighting? They never fought before..., thought Peaches, Wonder what they were fighting about?
Diego frowned; he hated arguing with Shira, but she needed to stay still, or her wounds wouldn't heal properly! Trouble was, she was far too stubborn to listen to his reasoning, so he had to raise his voice with her to get her to hear a word he had said. Currently, he had her pinned against the rock, which he didn't actually feel very bad about as the cool rock would soothe the pain in her back.
"Shira please, just listen to me!" he begged, struggling to hold her down "I need to keep you safe!"
"You can keep me safe without completely smothering me!" she complained, trying to push him off "This just isn't fair!"
"What's not fair is how bratty you're acting!" Diego grunted "You don't even realise that I'm doing this for your own good! Please co-operate with me!"
Shira didn't answer, she just growled at him and continued to try and get away, unsuccessfully of course. After a while, Diego did have to admit that Shira was hungry, as he could hear her stomach growling, but he knew he couldn't let go of her in case she bolted. Who was he kidding, he knew the second he got off her she was making a break for it.
"Shira, stop struggling!" he groaned, tightening his grip on her "I don't want to hurt you!"
"You already have!"
She did kinda have him there. "Okay, I don't want to hurt you more. Happy now?"
"No! Let go of me!" Shira tried to get away from him, but he wrestled her down again. Diego couldn't stand to see the pain in Shira's eyes, but he needed to keep her down and inside the cave for her to heal.
"Please, please, please stay still!" he gently licked her nose, but jumped back slightly when Shira tried to bite his tongue "Hey, easy, easy!"
"Diego, what is wrong with you? All I want to do is go hunting with you!"
"I know, but I want you to stay safe here in the cave where it's safe!" He couldn't believe what lengths he had to go to for her well-being "I'm only doing this because I love and care about you!"
"Yeah, yeah, you keep saying that, but if you love me so much then why are you squashing me into the cave floor?" she demanded. Diego, despite how much he hated to do so, held her down and pressed her firmly against the floor of the cave. The two glared and growled at each-other, Shira attempting to break free and Diego forcing her to stay where she was.
"Shira, you're my mate and I love you! Just calm down and listen to me!" Diego pleaded, but Shira didn't bother to pay attention. She was too focused on getting away from Diego to listen to what he had to say. They continued on like this for a while, but eventually Diego decided enough was enough. Ignoring his conscious, Diego gently sat down on top of her, reaching over to grab a vine.
"Hey, unfair!" she protested, trying to push him off "Get offa me!"
"Hold on, I'll get up in a second!" Diego rolled his eyes as he skinned the vine, hoping he wasn't weakening it "Now, don't move."
"I'll move if I want to!" muttered Shira darkly, being as difficult to hold as possible "Wait, what're you doing?"
Diego had finished preparing the vine, and was now wrapping it loosely around her neck. "Cool down, I'm not using it for what you think."
"Then, what are you using it for?" she asked, hoping he wasn't trying to strangle her "Tell me!"
"Okay, okay, sheesh! You'll find out soon!" Diego tied the vine, making sure it loose enough to not hurt her, but tight enough to restrain her. He stood up again, running over to the other end of the cave and tying the other end of the long vine around a blunt stalagmite very tightly. The vine was long enough to ensure that Shira could walk around the cave freely, but she couldn't go past the entrance.
Obviously, when she discovered this she wasn't best impressed. "Hey! What gives you the right to tie me up?"
"You're not tied up completely, just anchored to the rock," Diego attempted to explain "And I'm your mate, I need to protect you! I tried everything else, but you've left me no choice!"
Shira tested out the vine, wandering aimlessly in circles, before seeing how far she could go before the vine stopped her. As she padded up to the entrance of the cave, she noticed the vine becoming tighter around her neck. Diego panicked slightly.
"Woah, watch out! You'll hurt yourself!" he warned her, pulling her close to his chest and away from the mouth of the cave, causing the vine to go reasonably slack again. Although she was mad at him, she didn't pull away, she just sank deeper into his fur.
"Just for the record, I'm still angry with you," murmured Shira, but her point became lost when he licked her head and she purred. She tucked her head into his neck, allowing him to stroke her and check to make sure her wounds hadn't gotten any worse. They hadn't, so he continued to run his paw up and down her back contently, listening to her purr.
"Alright, I'll go hunt us something," he sighed, reluctantly releasing her. She walked to the mouth of the cave with him, but he stopped her before the vine got too tight, promising to bring her a juicy meal in reward for staying put. Bored, she slumped down on the rock, beside her seven cubs, who soon began to nurse. She petted them kindly, trying to ignore their needle-like teeth. She noticed Casper and Tina getting pushed away by the others, most likely accidentally, but Shira still didn't like it. She lifted both the small cubs, and slotted them in beside their siblings, where they seemed happy enough.
After half an hour, Shira was absolutely bored out of her mind. She wondered where Gupta was, then decided Raz and the others had probably taken him out for a walk to ease his mind. Suddenly, her sensitive ears picked something up.
"What the-" she muttered to herself, before seeing Crash and Eddie entering the cave, with a sleepy Buck following.
"Hey Shira!" the possums greeted her in unison, as Buck simply waved. How do they talk at the same time like that?, she wondered.
"Hi Crash, Eddie, Buck," she returned the greeting, smiling at Kendall's alertness at the sudden visitors.
"What's with the vine?" asked Buck curiously, indicating to her restraint. She rolled her eyes.
"Diego's overprotectiveness," she answered casually, as Lightning batted at the vine around his mother's neck. She managed to ignore it, until Lightning's sharp little claws dug into her neck. Wincing, she moved him away, unhooking his small claws.
Meanwhile, Crash and Eddie had climbed up onto the rock beside her. "Y'know, this actually kinda suits you," commented Crash, tugging at the vine.
Shira rolled her eyes. "No comment."
On the other side of the cave, Buck was inspecting the stalagmite that Shira's vine was tied around. "Hmm, this vine looks pretty tight, lass, doesn't it hurt?"
"Nah, not unless I go too far over there," Shira shrugged, gesturing to the entrance of the cave.
"Wait, so you can't leave this cave?" Eddie looked confused. Shira nodded.
"Yep, pretty much."
The two possums looked at each-other at the same time, and clearly they both had the same thought: This is the perfect time for a prank. A couple of seconds passed filled with silence, until Crash accidentally-on-purpose hit Shira with his tail. Not long after, Eddie did the same thing, but Shira pretended she didn't notice. Sensing that it was a prank, Buck wondered whether or not to point this out to Shira. He didn't want to be a spoilsport, but he felt sorry for the sabre, who he knew wouldn't be able to fight back.
After the possums had continually hit her with their tails for several minutes, Shira eventually snapped. "Okay, stop hitting me!"
"Make us, sabre!" they taunted, brandishing their tails like weapons. Shira growled, and was about to roar, when Buck jumped over and tried to calm her.
"Easy tiger, no good can come from mauling those two," he gently stroked her head, adding in a whisper "Besides, you'd probably get food poisoning anyway!"
Shira grinned slightly, starting to relax. Crash and Eddie began whispering to each-other. They knew that Shira would roar, and if anyone nearby heard her, they'd be in big trouble, so they needed a way to taunt her without her making any noise. Eventually, they came up with a solution. When Shira had calmed down completely, and was lying with her eyes closed and her head on her paws, they carefully placed several large leaves over her mouth, securing them with vines tied in complicated knots.
After three months on the ship, Shira's claws had begun kinda blunt, so she was unable to cut off the gag. Crash and Eddie then continued to tease the sabre, until she lost her temper and chased the possums. What Crash and Eddie hadn't thought of was what was going to happen when Shira reached the entrance. The vine stiffened, and she was jerked backwards, with a red mark on her neck from the vine.
Buck knelt beside her, rolling his eyes at the possums. "Alright, so this is a learning curve for you. Y'know, let's learn from this, okay?"
Crash and Eddie nodded, but froze when they heard a voice behind them.
"Hey guys, I'm back from my morning walk and-" Manny cut off when he saw Shira lying on the floor, a leaf gag in her mouth and a vine around her neck, attaching her to the stalagmite at the back of the cave. "What did you guys do to her?"
"Diego started it!"
Diego was just dragging a gazelle back home, when his old friend Manny appeared.
"Oh, hey buddy," Diego blushed, embarrassed about the gazelle "Sorry, I didn't expect to run into anyone..."
"No, no, I don't mind at the moment," Manny shrugged it off "It's just... did you tie Shira to a rock with a vine before you left?"
Diego became even more embarrassed. "Uhm... yeah, I did, but I had a good reason, honest!"
"It's okay, I'm not mad at you or anything!" Manny assured him "I'm sure you did have a good reason! But... well, y'see, Crash and Eddie..."
"What. Did. They. Do?" asked Diego, his eyes almost glowing with his fiery anger. Manny was slightly afraid of the sabre, but continued anyway.
"They, uhm..." he took a deep breath and told the truth "Taunted her then gagged her with leaves so she couldn't roar or shout for anyone."
As soon as Manny had finished his sentence, Diego was off like a shot, somehow still dragging the dead gazelle in his mouth. Manny hoped that he wasn't going to do anything stupid...
"CRASH! EDDIE!"
The two possums froze in terror, and the devillous smirk they recieved from Shira only made it worse. She'd been un-gagged by Manny, but she didn't feel any need to speak anymore, because she knew her loving mate was back. Only seconds later, Diego rushed into the cave, and he was both relieved to see Shira lying safely on the rock with their cubs, and horrified to see the red mark on her neck.
He dumped the dead gazelle in front of the two possums, scaring them, and was about to give them a piece of his mind, when he was stopped by a certain one-eyed weasel.
"Woah there tiger, no need to murder them!" Buck tried to calm the sabre "I'm sure they didn't mean to hurt her! And anyway, look at 'em, you've scared 'em senseless!"
Buck was right there, Crash and Eddie were scared out of their skins, metaphorically at least. Diego took a few deep breaths, picked up the gazelle in his mouth and carried it over to Shira, who snuggled into his chest. Manny had undone the vine too, but Shira hadn't left yet, which Diego was grateful for. He placed their meal in front of her, gesturing for her to eat her fill.
"Thank-you Diego," she said softly, nuzzling him before taking the first bite of the gazelle. He thanked her with a lick behind the ears, and kept one foreleg around her as he lectured the possums on gagging and provoking a sabre for no reason, afraid to let go in case she ran off. Once she had eaten until she was full, Diego ended his speech and ate his own fill, still cuddling Shira close.
Shira giggled. "Diego, you got gazelle all over me!" she complained, prodding him with one paw. He blushed slightly.
"He he, sorry..." he gently brushed a small bit of gazelle out of his mate's fur "Tell ya what, I'll clean you up as punishment."
Shira raised an eyebrow. "Oh, and that's punishment?"
"No, no, I was kidding!" Diego panicked, licking her cheek to relax her.
"I know Diego, so was I!" she laughed, licking the underside of his throat in return. Diego smiled at her, and carefully began to lick her clean. Crash and Eddie smirked on the sidelines, but were smart enough not to talk, and Buck led them out of the cave speedily anyway. The two sabres continued to lick each-other, all anger forgotten, not realising they were being watched by a certain orange sabretooth who goes by the name of Mikayla. She was hiding in the nearby bushes.
"Unbelievable," she muttered to herself "How can they still be together? How can they have such a big fight and then make up just like that?"
"Yes, unbelievable indeed," came an evil voice from behind her "What's even more unbelievable is how soft that Shira's gotten. Gagged by possums, ugh. I'm actually kind of glad she betrayed us, she would've been an embarrassment to me."
Mikayla turned to see none other than Captain Gutt himself. "Who're you? Shira's old captain?" she asked. He nodded, and she realised something "It wasn't bears that attacked her yesterday, was it?"
"Nope," replied Gutt, an devilish smik on his face "So, whaddaya say-" he held out his hand "Partners?"
"Woah there, dude, I just met you, why would I team up with you so soon?" demanded Mikayla.
"Because we both want the same thing; Shira's destruction," explained Gutt casually "You'll get Diego all to yourself, and that stupid silver sabre will be gone for good. So, what about it?"
Mikayla hesitated a moment, but grabbed Gutt's hand with her paw. "Partners."
Oh my gawsh! Mikayla's working with Gutt! Betcha didn't see that coming! How will this turn out? Will the herd discover her secret? Why was Diego so over-protective of Shira? Will Squint stop thinking about Izzy? Am I going to stop asking you guys questions that only I know the answer to? And a shout-out to MBSAVfan1, who actually did see the whole Mikayla-and-Gutt thing coming! :)
Oh, and I know Diego was kinda rough with Shira, sitting on her and tying her to a stalagmite and all, but it was for her own good, as he explained.
Thanks for reading and please review! :D