CHAPTER 5

I'M NOT A POSSUM, I'M A SABER

When night fell, everyone was starting to prepare for the night. Brooke was gathering wood to make a fire while Ellie and Shira were starting to become comfortable. Manny was doing the same as he watched Diego and his possum brothers run around the campsite. He smiled, remembering the time when he and his older brother used to play like that when they were kids.

Manny went over to Brooke. "Diego's doesn't seem like a bad guy."

"I happily agree with you, Manny dear," Brooke said, "He's not half bad. Plus, I think he may have the hots for Shira."

"Well, I don't have the hots for him," Shira said.

"There's nothing wrong with him, Shira. Sure he's confused and crazy, but he's a really sweet guy."

"So?"

"What's holding you back from caring about him?"

"The family I once had."

"That was your childhood family, Shira darling. The family that you grew up with. This is a different family I'm talking about. You can start your own family. A family that you can start on your own. All you need is Diego's help."

"No, Brooke. I'm not doing it." Shira sighed. "I'll let you in on a little secret. Everybody that I love, I lose them. It's just been that way. I don't even know the reason myself. I can't start my own family. It's just too risky."

"Okay, but just think about it this way. If you let this chance go to waste, you're just letting your whole species go down the drain, and that's just selfish." Shira shook her head and walked away. Ellie walked up to Brooke who smiled. "I think I'm getting through to her."

"I'm starting to worry about her," Ellie said.

"So am I," Brooke said, "I'm sure she knows that she can talk to us about anything. We are like sisters, after all."

Diego chased after his brothers. "Wait, I got you."

"Slowpoke," Crash said.

Diego got himself stuck under a log as he tried to grab Crash. He tried getting himself out, but to no avail. Shira chuckled as she went over to the male saber. "Need help?"

"No, I'm good," Diego said, "I'm just catching my breath."

"You're stuck."

"I am not."

"Okay, let's go." Shira started to walk away.

Diego sighed. "I can't. I'm stuck."

Shira giggled, looking over at Ellie. "Hey, Ellie, do you mind helping Diego out here."

Ellie walked over and removed the log off of on top of Diego. "There you go, sweetie."

"I could've gotten myself unstuck, you know," Diego said.

"I know, but I'm always happy to help." Ellie walked away to prepare for the night.

Diego walked up to Shira. "How is it that she's so strong?"

"Well, mammoths have a certain ability," Shira said, "While they're strong enough to lift things, sabers are fierce and we hunt. You know, I think you might be able to do the same thing."

"I'm not a saber, remember?"

Shira sighed. "Diego, look. Inside, you think you're a possum, but you're truly a saber. You look like a saber and I'm pretty sure you can act like a saber if you at least try." She looked to see that Diego had walked away from her. This worried her as she went up to the male saber. "Diego?"

Diego looked around the place, seeing a large tree no longer covered in snow. "I know this place." He suddenly saw the tree in his mind, only it was covered in snow and a blizzard hit. He gasped. He thought it was only a vision, but it was really a memory.

Inside Diego's mind, he saw a small orange saber cub traveling on his own without his mother. He was scared and frightened as the storm started to become strong. He shivered with fear and from the cold as he tried calling for help. "Help! Help me!" He started crying when nobody heard his plea for help. "Somebody help me, please." He looked in front of him to see a large tree covered in snow and saw a part of it not covered. He walked over to it and sat down, resting his head on his paws. He sighed. "I guess I'll just have to spend the night here." He closed his eyes as he did his best to try and go to sleep. He was tired from a long day.

Out of nowhere, a female possum was hanging upside down the tree, staring at the little saber. "Hello, dear."

Diego opened his eyes to see the female possum staring at him. He sat up. "Hello."

"Are you lost?"

"Well, I don't have anywhere else to go. I don't have a mother anymore."

"You poor dear. What's your name, sweetie?"

"Diego. What's yours?"

"My name is Beatrice. What happened to your mother, dear?"

"I don't wanna talk about it. I hope you don't mind, but I really need to get some sleep. I get cranky if I don't get my nap."

"Well, why don't you come home with us? I wouldn't want you sleeping out here in this storm."

"Thank you, but why did you say us? I don't see anyone else with you."

Beatrice giggled. "Come on out, Crash and Eddie." Suddenly, two little possums appeared next to their mother. "These are my boys. Crash and Eddie."

"Hi!" the baby twin possums exclaimed.

Diego chuckled. "Hi there."

"Come with us, dear. We'll give you a home," Beatrice said.

Diego smiled, knowing that somebody was willing to take him into their home and make him a part of their family. He stood up and followed them to their home, which would soon be his new home.

Diego opened his eyes, not being able to see the memory anymore. He looked at Shira, who was beginning to worry about him. He walked up to her, seeing one of her pawprints on the ground. He place a pawprint of his own next to hers, seeing indeed that they were both the same. He looked at the female saber and smiled. He knew she was right.

"I'm not a possum," Diego said, "I'm a saber. Just like you."

Shira nodded. "Just like me."

The two sabers started walking together as Diego said, "You know, deep down inside, I knew I was different. I was a little bit bigger in size than my brothers." Shira gave him a look which made him state the truth. "Okay, a lot bigger. Now I understand why none of the possum girls found me appealing. I wasn't anything like them."

"That's too bad because as far as sabers go, you're...you know..." Shira couldn't find the right words to say.

"What?"

"Handsome."

"Really?"

"Of course."

"What about me do you find handsome?"

"I don't know." Diego have her a serious look. She knew she had to say something. "Well, there's your...abs."

"What about them?"

"They're...big."

"Ah, you're just saying that."

"No, I'm serious. They're huge. Biggest darn abs I've ever seen."

Diego chuckled. "This is incredible. It's been a crazy day. This morning, I woke up a possum and now I'm a saber."

Shira chuckled. She knew that she finally showed Diego who he really was.

Back over at the campsite, Brooke was busy making a fire while Manny and Ellie were resting.

"Boy, Shira sure did take a big leap with Diego today," Manny said.

"Sure did," Ellie said.

"She stood on the shore of uncertainty and dove right in," Brooke said, "How brave she was! She finally faced her fear."

"What are you talking about? Shira doesn't have any fears."

"Come on, Ellie. Everybody has a fear. That's what separates us from rocks. Rocks have no fear and they sink. It may surprise you that I have also experienced fear myself."

"No," Manny said, "You?"

"Yes, as impossible as it may seem, the sloth has natural enemies that are connected to harming us."

"I wonder why?"

"Perhaps it's only jealousy. The point is that fear is natural."

"Brooke, fear is for prey," Ellie said, "Shira is not in that category."

"You may say that, but even predators have fear," Brooke said, "Shira is making her fear her predator and she is the prey. Whatever that fear is, she can stalk it by just talking to us about it."

"What happens if she keeps letting her fear take control of her?"

"Then she's sinking like a rock. I have a feeling that Shira has a secret fear and I won't rest until I find out what it is." Brooke was finally able to make a fire.

Ellie sighed. "Manny, do you think Brooke's right? Is Shira hiding a fear from us?"

"I don't know, but if she is, we'll help try to get her to talk about it. She knows that we're there for her." Manny looked to see that Ellie was still deep in thought, looking down about the whole thing. He placed his trunk on hers. "There's no reason to worry. We'll figure this out." For the first time ever, Ellie smiled at Manny. She even blushed a bit, but she did her best to hide it.

She couldn't hide it from Brooke, though. The female sloth knew that something great would happen for Ellie and Manny in the future.

HEY, GUYS. NEW CHAPTER FOR YOU GUYS HERE.

SORRY. DON'T HAVE TIME TO TALK. GOTTA RUN!

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