Chapter 6. I just got started on it and finished it, I decided to post it today. Along with chapter 6 of "A Ragtag Bunch". Dang I'm on a roll today! Enjoy! And for those of you who noticed, Manny, Ellie, Sid and Granny weren't shown in the previous chapters, don't worry I'm including them in the story!

"I am so, so sorry!" the boy apologized for the third time. Flora looked at his guilty face. She knew that he didn't mean to bump into her.

"It's okay, you didn't mean it." Flora assured the saber. Not feeling so comfortable around him, she turned around and calmly, "I gotta go."

The boy looked surprised. "Wait, you're leaving already?"

"Yeah." Flora nodded. "It's almost past my curfew and I can't keep my parents waiting any longer, they'll freak. Sorry." she lied. Her curfew wasn't for another hour, but she was so enchanted by that saber's cute features and didn't want to babble like a complete idiot in front of him. Especially when she just met the guy.

When Flora was about to walk away, the boy ran up in front of her, blocking her way.

"Well can I at least get your name?"

"Flora." huffed Flora impatiently. "It's Flora."

"Flora? That's such a pretty name. I'm Sam."

"Okay Sam, one question. Why are you being so nice to me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well most of the kids think I'm a freak and the only time they talk to me is when they're bullying mean."

"Why do they think you're a freak?"

"You don't have to pretend that it's unnoticeable. It's very obvious."

"I'm not pretending. I really don't know what you're talking about."

Flora sighed. "My fangs."

"What about them?" asked Sam. He honestly didn't see anything wrong with Flora and thought she was making such a big deal out of nothing.

"I don't have any. I mean, I do but you can barely see them. They're just starting to grow in. It's abnormal, so that's why. My parents say it's nothing serious. I've been living with it my whole life."

Sam really felt pity for the girl who could be his new, potential friend. But at the same time, she does deal with the same problem as him.

"I'm really sorry to hear that." Sam sympathetically said to Flora. "You know, you could say I'm a bit of an outcast too."

"How?" asked Flora. He seemed perfect in more ways than one.

"Well it's my personality. I'm a bit of a scaredy-cat. I freak out over the smallest things."

"Like what?"

"Look out behind you!" Sam yelled out looking freaked out. Flora turned around and let out a small scream at the sight of what he warned her about, but sighed in relief she realized it's not what she thought.

"It's just an old misshapen tree." Flora assured Sam.

"Oh sorry." Sam felt like such an idiot now. He was really starting to bond with Flora and he was one inch away from giving her a heart attack. "See what did I tell you? I freak out over anything."

"It's okay." chuckled Flora. She remembered that place from when she was a cub. (those of you who read "An Ice Age Halloween", you're gonna catch a certain reference!) "I made that same mistake once."

"Really?" asked Sam.

"Yeah." Flora then told Sam about how when she and her brothers were cubs, they snuck off behind their parents' backs after hearing a rumor that a ghost lives in this area. She was then dared to go deep into the woods and got scared of that tree that she thought was the ghost.

"Wow." Sam looked very interested. "Then what happened?"

"I blacked out and woke up at home with the rest of my family."

"Wow. No offense to your brothers, but they sound like jerks."

"Not really. Cash was the one who made us. Plus we were just kids back then. They've changed a lot. Now they're like my best friends. Well, them and my cousin Peaches.

"You must have a big family. I'm curious to know more. If you don't mind telling me that is. I mean with your curfew and parents and all."

"They won't mind if I'm a little late. If you want to hear about my family, I'll tell you, but brace yourself, it's going to be nothing that you would ever expect."

"Surprises huh? I like the sound of it."

And so Flora told Sam about her unique family. They both felt that this was the start of a beautiful friendship.

...

"Flora!" Cash called out to his sister with Bobby and Sandy doing the same. "Flora, where are you?"

"Come on Flora, those guys were just a bunch of scavengers who prey on other peoples' misery! Who cares about what they think?"

Sandy kept sniffing. "I can't pick up her scent." she said.

"She always does that." sighed Cash. "Every time Flora doesn't feel like talking to anyone, she rolls in something that disguises her scent so that no one will find her."

"Yep. And to make it an even bigger challenge, she would roll in something new every time so that no one will pick up the same one." added in Bobby.

"So what do we do now?" asked Sandy. "We can't just leave Flora like that when she's so depressed.

Cash sighed. "We wait for her to come home. I know that it seems mean of us to just leave Flora, but she usually likes to self-soothe and we agreed with out parents that we leave her to it if she doesn't want to be bothered.

"Oh." sighed Sandy sadly. Poor Flora. She could really use some support. "I have to go home now. I'll catch you guys tomorrow."

"Okay, bye Sandy." Cash and Bobby bid their friend farewell, still worrying about their sister.

"Should we tell Dad about what happened?" asked Bobby. "Maybe he can talk to Flora about it."

"That depends on how she will feel about it." said Cash as the two of them headed for home.

Meanwhile back at home, everyone was getting annoyed by Sid and Granny. Mostly Sid when he was complaining about the fact that he was still single. Granny was still looking for her teeth until Ellie finally pacified the elder.

"I still don't get it Manny!" whined Sid. "Peaches is all grown up now, Diego and Shira's kids are teenagers, and Granny is still alive after all these years!"

"And what does that have to do with anything?" asked Manny confused.

"It means I'm getting old! I'll never have a girlfriend!"

"Sid, don't loose hope." Ellie assured Sid. "You still got your life ahead, you won't loose your looks for a while."

"If he had any looks that is!" cackled Granny still enjoying teasing her grandson. Sid looked to see Manny, Diego and Shira holding back laughs until Ellie shot them a scolding look.

Diego noticed Cash and Bobby coming home.

"Hey boys, how was your day?" asked Diego.

"Eh, we can't really complain." admitted Cash.

"Is Flora here?" asked Bobby.

"No I believe she's with Peaches." said Shira. "Boys, you seem upset. What's wrong."

Cash sighed. "Today wasn't really like we expected it to be."

The whole herd listened to Cash and Bobby recalling how the other teens completely harassed Flora until she ran off crying.

"I imagine that must have been so hard on Flora." sighed Manny.

"It is." agreed Cash.

"I just can't get the fact that she seemed so miserable about it."

Everyone heard a laugh that belonged to the she-saber that they were coincidentally talking about.

"Flora doesn't sound so miserable to me." said Ellie. They turned around to sigh that Flora was alright, happy and didn't have a single tear in her eye. And walking back with another saber.

"Who's that with Flora?" asked Cash. Bobby shrugged.

"Flora's with a boy?" Shira asked sounding the happiest out of everyone.

"Isn't that so sweet?" asked Ellie with the same, elated tone as Shira.

"Now, now you two, don't jump into conclusions." said Manny.

Diego slowly growled. He didn't care what the relationship between Flora and that boy was. He didn't like it at all.

"Really?" asked Flora through a burst of laughter.

"It's not funny!" wailed Sam playfully laughing to. "How would you feel if some old lady just jumped on you and said to you, "Giddy up unicorn, giddy up!"

"How can someone mistake you for a unicorn?"

"Having fun?" Diego asked in a hot, sarcastic tone aimed at Sam.

"Uh, hi Daddy. How are you?" greeted Flora nervously. She could tell that her father didn't like the fact that she brought her new friend home.

Diego didn't answer his daughter's question. Instead he walked up to Sam with an angry look on his face.

"Kid, what's your name?" Diego questioned the teenager harshly.

"Sam." replied Flora's new friend.

"Well Sam, you better keep away from my daughter, because next time I see you coming up to her, you're going to have to deal with me. Got it?"

Sam gulped nervously and sprinted off. "I gotta go Flora. I'll see you around."

"You won't be seeing her anywhere!" Diego spat to the fleeing saber.

"Well that takes care of that." Diego muttered to himself.

"Dad! What did you do that for?!" Flora couldn't believe this. The first actual friend she ever made and her father chased him away. "He was really starting to like me!"

"Well you won't have to worry about that. Especially not about the possible 'things' he was planning."

"What?! Dad, no! We just met!"

"Still. Better to be safe than sorry. It's getting late now Flora. Why don't you head to bed?"

Flora let a frustrated sigh out. Oh Dad. She thought to herself. All it took was just one boy who she was just getting to know to get her father to treat her like a child!

"Nice work Diego." Manny praised his friend. "Way to show that kid who's boss." Of course Manny was on his side when it came to stuff having to do with their kids and boys.

Ellie scoffedalong with Shira.

"Great, we got another Manny in the house." sighed Shira.

"Why don't you talk to Diego?" suggested Ellie. "I'm sure you would get him to see reason."

"I'm on it."

"Diego, I really think you overreacted today." Shira told her mate.

"What makes you say that?" asked Diego.

"The way you talked to that kid today. I don't get what the big deal it. All Flora was doing was talking to him. There's nothing wrong with that."

"That wasn't overreacting Shira, that was a reasonable restriction. No boy is going to lay a paw on my little girl for as long as I live."

"How do you even know he wanted to do that anyway?"

"I know how boys at this age get Shira. Believe me, I was one of them after my lone wolf stage."

"Diego, you're making this way to big of a deal."

"I'm not, I just did what I had to do to protect our daughter, end of conversation."

"But Diego-"

"Good night Shira."

Shira sighed and rolled her eyes. Maybe she should remind him?

Nah, I'll see if he'll remember himself. She decided before drifting off to sleep.

Uh-oh, Diego doesn't like the fact that Flora made a new friend. Will that stop Flora from seeing Sam though? And will Diego realize he's being way overprotective? Find out soon! And a special shout-out to whoever can guess who the old lady that thought Sam was a unicorn was! :D Please review!