New chapter! Yay!

I don't own Ice Age.

Enjoy!

After the long night, Raz slept deep and long. Opal awoke long before her, at dawn as she was used to, finding her friend out cold, warn under her thick fur blankets. She looked down at her own blanket for a moment, running one small paw over the smooth silk. She never thought she'd ever be able to touch the fine substance made from the odd worms outside; it was really as light and wonderful as the workers that wove it said! The lovely fabric was reserved for Zalim and Zalim alone, well, and Raz, now that she was here. In the past three days Opal's life had improved dramatically. She was already gaining a healthier figure, she had a warm place to sleep at night; and with Raz gone yesterday, she had no work to do. Zalim spent all of the previous day, save for that late night encounter with his to-be wife, resting, and hadn't given her any chores to do. So Opal was left so mourn and miss her in peace. But now that she was back…

Her dreams had been sweet and pleasant, the feeling of a gentle hand stroking her ears, tucking her in, a distant voice singing a sweet lullaby. She'd never wanted to wake up. But… at the same time, she was glad she did. She was glad to see Raz still there. She'd kept her promise; even if it was only in her dream.

Speaking of Raz… she ought to do something nice for her! To say thank you! But… what could she do? Hm… she snapped her fingers. "Perfect!"

…

Raz awoke to a pleasant smell. "Mm…?" slowly the she-pirate stirred, her golden eyes fluttering open, still groggy. It took her a split second to remember where she was. In her room in Zalim's palace. It all hit her again; the kidnapping, Opal, the sprites, her self-proclaimed fiancé, Lela… but what was that smell? It was vaguely familiar- she'd smelled it before. She knew she had. But where…

"Good morning." She looked down. Opal stood there on her bedside table, beside a crystal tray, and, on it, was a big breakfast, hot and steamy. Behind that, a vase of big yellow daffodils, freshly picked.

The food consisted of multiple fruits baked and spiced to perfection, a glass of orange juice, and… oh, what was it called? The really good dish where, when boiled correctly, certain oats and seeds caramelized and became thick, almost like stew, but sweet and warm. Gupta made it for her on every birthday for a special breakfast. He was such a good big brother, and was actually quite handy when it came to different foods…

"Oh Opal, whas all this?" she asked, sitting up in bed.

"I- I brought you breakfast." She stuttered shyly, nervously fumbling with her hands.

"Wha for?" she asked, reaching over and taking the platter with one hand, Opal in the other. "Whas th' special occasion? Wha, did Lord Blackhear' move up our weddin day?"

Opal giggled. "Nope! At least, I don't think he has… Justa say thank you." She hugged her arm. "You're so nice. And Zalim didn't kill me like he said! You got him to change! He changed his mind! He never changes his mind! He- he- you've saved me twice now!" she kept gushing on like that, rambling on about her.

Raz chuckled when she finally stopped, panting. "Slow down, breathe- iss' good fer ya! Here" she pushed her bowl of oatmeal to her. "'Ave s'me breakfast."

Opal shyly nibbled off the gold spoon, as it was much too big for her tiny mouth. It didn't take long to fill her up. After she was done, Raz finally got up, stretching, a warm memory sweeping briefly over her mind. The last time she'd been treated to breakfast in bed was a few years ago, when she was fifteen and had caught a nasty sickness. While they knew it was nothing life-threatening, the entire crew coddled her and fussed over her and insisted she was in bed. Raz was very glad she had such a strong immune systems, it was a rare thing when she got sick- if she were one of the more vulnerable people, that seemed to always be sick… well, she'd never leave her bed. The boys wouldn't let her. She didn't mind their love and care and insistence to keep her safe, but… well, sometimes their smothering got a little old. Just because she was the baby of the family- whether she liked it or not, she always had been and always would be their baby sister- the boys insisted keeping close watch over her.

"Mm…" she stretched her arms above her head and leaned back, ignoring the popping of her back. It wasn't that the bed was uncomfortable; she just liked to make sure all her joints and whatnot were loose and ready for quick movement if and when it was needed. The last she needed was to twist something wrong or suddenly cramp up on the battlefield. If that ever happened… it would be the last thing she ever did, predictably. "So, Opal, whas ar' agenda fer the day?"

"Pardon?"

"Ah mean, what're our plans? We go' aneh'thin ta do round 'ere, or can we go 'xplore?"

"I- I suppose we could."

"Good."

…

After brushing out her fur free of tangles in front of her large polished disk of silver, and pulling her ears back in a leather strap, just because, and grabbing a couple of snacks, the pair forged off.

The forest was warm and a bit dark, the sun filtering down through the treetops, dancing around them. Opal hung out on Raz's shoulder; there was no way she'd be able to keep up with her speed. The kangaroo didn't make any conversation, mentally mapping out the area as she went along. She'd had that drilled into her since her first venture on land and she got momentarily lost (she still had nightmares about being cold, wet, and alone that night…), take in every detail. Memorize everything with the blink of an eye. Keep track of your exact path, pay attention to your surroundings; the grasses, the trees, the moss and wildflowers, so she'd never get lost again.

But, in a way, she was lost right now… she was far from home, in a strange place she didn't know…

Raz shook her head and forged ahead. She wouldn't let herself start thinking about her family, who she missed more and more with every passing moment, lest she start blubbering.

"Hm…" sticking a finger in her mouth, she held it up to the sky, finding the wind direction. A cool breeze from the north "Rain latah." She announced. "Maybe a lil' frost."

"Then perhaps we should return." Opal fidgeted nervously. "Wouldn't want to be caught in a storm."

"Oh, we're fine." she insisted. "Two hours ta spare- were fine! Now…" she veered left at a tree and continued to the west. "Whadday s'pose is down by th' wes' beach?"

She'd seen it from her bedroom window; she could see everything up there. She knew the east beach was where different ships were sent out, though to where she didn't know. Along the north side were the gem mines. The south, she'd heard, was all warm, humid swamps, mountains, and waterfalls. Maybe for a warmer day, when there wasn't rain on the way. But the west… well, she'd heard nothing of the west. And so she was going to find out.

Thunder rumbled in the distance, and Opal whimpered. She'd never been fond of storms. "Raz, we should go back." She urged. "Please. I- I don't want to get caught in the rain."

"W'll be fine." she muttered, not focusing. She noticed the trees gradually thinning out; they must be getting close.

All at once the foliage disappeared and revealed them on a craggy beach. The sky above them was stormy and gray, lightning flashing every so often. The ground was gritty, hard gray pebbles, sharp rocks sticking up all around as potential hazards to anyone that was clumsy and had a tendency to trip.

Opal whimpered and crouched low on Raz's shoulder, her friends' hands coming up to wrap around her securely. "I don't like this place…" the wind picked up, and Raz caught a peculiar smell. She couldn't quite describe it; it was tangy and strong, and made her sinuses burn and her eyes water. As she rapidly blinked, she looked around. What in the world… she'd never experienced a scent like that. But… but now it was just… gone?

She turned slowly in a circle, the wind still blowing; something that should have made the smell easy to find. But no- it was gone! How…

Before she could ponder any further, however, a glint off in the distance caught her attention. Naturally drawn by the shiny object thirty yards off, she headed for it. What she found half buried to the sand, nearly sunk all the way into the pebbly dunes, made her gasp in complete and utter shock.

And there you have it! Like it, hate it? Somewhere in between? Please review! It was only KaylaDestroyer that reviewed last time- I'm grateful for it, but the more constructive criticism and whatnot, the better.

Anyone that had read my prologue for Haunted Rage, should I continue? I've gotten four reviews, and they all say it's pretty good… but I never got any specific opinion on if I should or not?

P.S. Anyone that can guess what the mystery object is gets extra points!