Chapter 2: Caves and Berries.

They both jumped, turned, and spotted something toddling happily from the tunnel opposite them; A little biped smaller that Louis, shaped a lot like the humans drawn on the walls.

Only smaller and more chubby-looking.

It raised its little paws and giggled.

Louis jumped back and yelped, burying himself under the earth. "HUMAN!"

Peaches stared wide-eyed at the tiny creature. It was a human, wasn't it? Then why was it so...?

The human was waddling around in circles, babbling nonsense. She rose a brow. Wait a second!

"Is that a baby?" she asked aloud. Louis popped his head out of the ground.

"What?"

"It's a baby!"

"Y-you think?"

"Aga!"

The baby was now toddling over to the molehog, reached out for him happily.

"Um, no,no, You don't do that!"

"Aw...he likes you! That is so cute!" Peaches cooed jokingly as the baby wrapped his small arms around the molehog, squeezing the breath out of him.

"Ye-yeah...can't...breathe..."

Peaches reached her trunk over to the two and gently pulled the baby away from her friend. She did it nervously, hoping not to hurt him (if it was a him)

The baby didn't seemed bothered though. In fact, as soon as her trunk wrapped around him he clasped it tightly, cuddling it happily.

"H-hey, c'mon, let go now..." Peaches shook him gently, but he did not release his hold.

"He likes to cling, doesn't he. How am I gonna get him to let go without him grabbing me again?"

"Er...I think we should concentrate on how he got here." A sudden thought came to Peaches "What if his herd's not to far behind? they won't be cute and cuddly like him if they see a mammoth holding him..."

"Maybe we should just...I dunno, nudge him back the other way? He can toddle back to his herd and we'll leave?"

Peaches considered it. It seemed plausible that the baby's herd wasn't too far behind, and he couldn't have gone so far by himself, but could they just leave him to go back himself? What if he got hurt?

Whoa. I'm beginning to sound like Dad...

Then, an idea came to her.

"Maybe we could walk along with him and send him off when we see an opening!"

Louis looked doubtfully down the tunnel. "Um...are you sure?"

"Yeah I'm sure! And besides, I've got you to protect me like last time!" She knew that would get him. Louis straightened up a little.

"Yeah...I guess I did. Alright, let's go then."

"Okay. C'mon Shorty." She held up the baby a little higher so he could see her properly "We're going to get you home!"

The baby tilted his head a cooed. Obviously he had no idea what she was saying, but her enthusiastic tone reminded him of his mother when they were about to do something fun- Like traveling or going to play with the doggies in the camp.

The mammoth, baby and molehog continued down the cave. Peaches looked around.

Well this doesn't seem so bad. We'll just let Shorty here walk back out the other side of the cave- there should be one near, he couldn't have walked all this way- and we'll go home. Wonder what Dad'll say...

"Peaches!"

She snapped out of her thought when Louis called her from somewhere ahead.

"What is it?"

"Um, you may want to take a look at this..."

Peaches stepped forward, looking up- and froze.

"Oh, that's just perfect!"

Roshan was awakened by his wife, who was shaking him roughly. He mumbled sleepily.

"Roshan! Roshan wake up!"

The distressed tone in her voice made him snap out of his tired state. "What's wrong?"

"The Baby! he's gone!"

Roshan froze, her words echoing in his mind. "Wha...what?" He turned his head over to the small bundle of cloth that served as his son's bed, only to find the infant was missing.

The parents wasted no time in scrambling out of the tent. It was still early- no one would've seen him if he'd wandered off.

Roshan awakened his tribe as his wife called frantically for their son. Soon everyone was searched for a trace of the baby- to no avail.

Nida was near hysterics. Roshan held her tight as one of them men retried the baby's blanket and held it out for one of the hounds to detect it's sent.

"We'll find him, Nida. I promise. We'll find him..."

Manny was getting nervous now. It had been almost an hour since Peaches left and they'd heard nothing. Ellie, noticing her husband's worried expression, curled her trunk around his.

"Don't worry, Manny. She's probably just exploring. She'll be fine."

"I know, Ellie- but I just don't know what's in there. Maybe I should go and check..."

"Hey Manny, what's going on?!"

Sid the sloth came striding over, holding a huge amount of berries in his arms, all of which where red.

Manny, momentarily distracted from his worries, said "Whoa, wait a minute, Sid!"

Sid was just about to eat one of the berries when Manny interrupted him.

"Those aren't the ones Diego said would paralyse you, are they?"

"Whaaat? no way, I know my berries, Manny. Besides, Crash and Eddie helped me pick 'um!"

Manny frowned. "Really? I don't think you should trust anything-"

GULP.

THUNK.

"...They give you." Manny sighed. Crash and Eddie's moronic cackling could be heard from the trees above. Sid was laying on the ground, paralysed, resembling a very squishy jelly-fish.

"Crash, Eddie, Did you do that on purpose?" Ellie called up to her possum brothers.

"Us? trick Sid into eating paralysing berries? no way!" This statement was followed by another round of hysterical laughter.

As Ellie angrily told her brothers off, Manny turned his gaze back to the path Peaches left on, his worries returning.

Second chapter's up because I love putting second chapters up.