Akira, despite appreciating the kindness of the herd, Sid especially, maintained some distance from the others. Favouring the head of the herd, the sabress was farther ahead, walking by her lonesome after Sid had grown tired five minutes into joining her, falling back with an air of dramatics. Akira was growing hungry, recalling that just under an hour ago, she'd been searching for a meal when she stumbled upon Sid and his friends. Throwing a backward glance to the herd behind her, she trotted off in another direction and wandered far before she came across an injured stag resting by a small watering hole.
Akira stifled a petulant huff. Her silver coat was not made for hunting in these warmer environments but she could improvise. Anyhow, it wasn't as if the stag stood a chance as long as she kept the upper hand. Just as the sabress was readying herself to the pounce, the silence of the hunt was broken by the shattering of a stick under a heavy paw. As predicted, the noise alerted the stag and suddenly searching, Akira was easily spotted and had no choice but to watch her meal break into a terrified sprint away from her.
With an annoyed growl, Akira turned to face the offender and glared. The culprit sat there, feigning innocence and nonchalance as he examined his paw without a care for the meal he'd chased away. "Do you mind?" She growled, frustrated she'd have to wander even farther for her dinner. There was no use pursuing that deer—not when it now knew it was possibly being hunted. Its guard was up and would likely remain so. "No, not at all," Diego said, setting his paw down. A broken stick lay on the ground near it.
"Last time I checked, that stag wasn't a part of your herd. He was easy pickings and not exactly off-limits," She stated, face pinched into a scowl. "I watched his mom give birth to him. You're not gonna eat that kid." Akira's jaw fell open in disbelief. "Seriously?" The sabress huffed loudly, "What the hell do you eat around here then?"
Diego shrugged before he stood. "Follow me, kitty," Akira huffed as he brushed past her. She stood, turning to follow him before his words registered. "What did you just call me?"
Diego crouched in the tall grass, Akira next to him with her ears folded back in annoyance but compliant as her stomach ached, hunger pawing at her insides. They had been there for what seemed like hours but was only minutes, the pair waiting for their meal to pass by. Akira was contemplating eating Diego instead, regardless of his size. He was significantly bigger than her, therefore stronger and whilst overpowering him wouldn't be easy, it wasn't impossible. The thought had to be ditched however for when and if his herd found out, they wouldn't be pleased.
Just when Akira had gotten tired of waiting, seconds away from rolling onto her back with a loud howl of exasperation, she heard it. A low growl of a wounded animal before she smelt the coppery scent in the air. Dinner, and an easy meal if the scent of blood and rotting flesh was anything to go by. At last, a large cave bear limped into the clearing. Akira suppressed a hiss of shock at the mangled leg it dragged behind it. Something vicious had done damage to such a fierce creature. . . but what?
Akira knew every animal within the next hundred miles all around and nothing like that could've done that much damage and leave the poor bear alive to feel it. No other sabre packs hunted nearby—no wolves either. For pack animals, if the bear had managed to be injured as he had, the ones capable would have finished the job. A herbivore, no matter how big, couldn't do damage like that and so she chalked it up to poor luck for the unfortunate cave bear.
Akira's claws peered out as she flexed her front paws but other than that, she did not move, motionless in the grass. The large mammal came to a stop in the meadow, laying on his side and glancing at his wounded leg before releasing a pained groan. He knew his fate. There was no surviving with an injury like that. Certainly not with the coming flood.
Diego glanced at her and Akira followed the slight gesture of his head before the sabre was moving stealthily through the tall grass. She followed him, keeping low with minimal movement and sound. They moved to the bear's blindspot as, even though it was wounded, the beast was nevertheless incredibly deadly with three working paws. Almost in sync, Akira and Diego pounced.
The bear snarled at the sudden arrival of the predators, fur standing on end as his gaze flicked between the pair of sabres. The felines circled the larger mammal as he shuffled tensely, struggling to keep both of them in his line of sight. When Akira was just on the outskirts of his vision, she lunged. The bear swatted her with a large, front paw, turning just in time to combat Diego's attack. The cave bear focused on Diego, believing the sabress to be out for the count. A fatal mistake.
As the bear had Diego pinned beneath him, he went to bite into the sabre's throat when the mammal felt a weight on his back, long fangs plunging into his throat. The blow was killing, ending the beast's misery. The bear collapsed atop Diego as Akira messily ripped her fangs out, blood gushing from the gaping wound and staining her chest and muzzle.
The southern sabre crawled from beneath the crushing weight, watching as the sabress glanced momentarily at him before hopping down to the bear's stomach, digging in. Diego was a little surprised that she had saved his life—though that would've been quite the story to tell Manny and Sid—and somewhat curious because there hadn't been a moment of hesitation. Had there been, he would've had a deep gash in his flank where the beast had been about to plunge his claws into his flesh.
He moved adjacent to Akira, his eyes watching her for a prolonged while before he delved into their successful meal. The sabress finished before him roughly half an hour later, taking a leg bone that had been stripped clean before going off to the side, gnawing on it in an attempt to clean her teeth and get rid of the food in between them.
Feeling Diego's gaze on her as she cleaned her coat, she glanced up at him to see him using a claw to pick at the meat in between his teeth. She huffed, slightly amused. "So, how did you meet your herd?" She questioned, curious, as she broke the near hour-long silence that had fallen between them. The sabre shrugged. "Long story."
Hearing a caw above them, the sabres averted their gaze skywards to see vultures gathering, drawn by the smell of the dead. She looked at Diego who still had his gaze trained on them, his eyes glazed over. Her head tilted as the feline shivered, seemingly recalling an unpleasant memory before he gestured for her to follow, bounding off in a hurry.
When they rejoined the herd, the forest floor had faded into sun-hot rocky terrain. No one acknowledged their absence, reaching their own conclusions.
"So, what about your pack?" Akira glanced to her left at the southern sabre, sighing softly as she recalled just why she had been out exploring by herself. It was a question bound to surface in conversation sooner or later. "I don't know." She answered truthfully and a look of confusion crossed Diego's face. "We lived in the mountains—had for decades. There was an avalanche and some sabres made it to the caves on time but me and a couple of others didn't. I got separated from everyone and by the time I made it back up, our home was empty and some of the caves had caved in."
"Were you close with them?" Akira nodded. "We were a huge pack so it was always hard to get around to everybody but about as close as a sabre can be with family. My parents ran things so I spent the most time with my brothers, Lucas and Jace—Sid actually reminded me of Jace when I first met him." Diego's eyebrows raised high on his face, hazel eyes disbelieving. "Sid? Like a sabre? No offence. . ."
Akira grinned. "Yeah, but I wouldn't be surprised if Sid was the runt of his original family—Jace was the runt of mine. Everybody had their doubts about him and no one believed he'd ever make it past the first couple of months but he proved everybody wrong. Everything someone said he couldn't do, he did and he might've been my little brother but I looked up to him for that."
Diego tilted his head thoughtfully before he gave an imperceptible nod. "Actually, that does sound like Sid. Good or bad, anything he puts his mind to, he can do—even if it might get him killed two times over."
The sabress smiled slightly. "Well, that's the fun of it. Not that I'm the reckless type but no risk, no reward."
The southern sabre grimaced as he spared her a glance. "Please, don't ever mention that to Sid. He won't make the trip with that in his head."
Akira chuckled softly under her breath, finding herself relaxing around Diego just a bit. Though the sabre had certainly seemed like he'd be a pain early on, in their short exchange, he was growing on her. And so was someone else. "Kira! How you doin', tiger?" Sid stumbled into step beside her, teal eyes gleaming as he smiled toothily, his buck teeth sweetening the sight he was.
"About as good as I can be. I thought you were tired?" No sooner than she uttered the latter had the sloth began to fall back, heaving dramatic breaths as he made a show of jogging to keep up with her.
"Well, I had a little nap but. . ." Akira had mastered watching for manipulation because she was her parents' only daughter, their bright little star and often, there were things her brothers would want that relied on her. And as keen as the eye she had for it was, she was a master at it as well. She knew exactly what Sid was doing but feeling a bit of sympathy for the sloth, she decided to indulge him.
"Aw, Sid, you do look pretty tired still. Do you need a ride?" Predictably, the sloth perked up at the offer, nearly tripping over his own feet in his excitement before he gathered himself, slouching with half-lidded eyes. He partially faked a yawn. "Oh, Akira, I couldn't. . ."
Her eyes glinted, her smile warm. "I insist." She held back a chuckle as the sloth wasted no time scrambling onto her back, securing himself comfortably before he snuggled into her thick coat with a happy sigh. Fondly, she shook her head at him as she resumed her pace, sparing a dubious Diego a glance.
As Manny broke through the trees, Ellie, Crash and Eddie were nowhere to be seen. Akira glanced at the sabre beside her who shrugged, about as clueless on their whereabouts as she was. Sid was sound asleep on her back, snoring away as if there wasn't a dam about to break in a few days' time. As the quartet moved through the plains, scurrying caught Akira's attention. She glanced behind her and halted in place as she watched Ellie try her hardest to be as inconspicuous as she could manage behind a thin, dead tree.
Akira cast Manny a questioning look, Diego and Manny following her gaze as a result. "Ohh, we'll never make it at this pace," The mammoth muttered, "Ellie, it's okay! You can lose the camouflage! You're safe!"
Ellie glanced at them and sighed in relief though she only came out into the open when her brothers gave her the go-ahead. It seemed calm enough until Eddie suddenly shrieked hawk. Akira watched with wide, disbelieving eyes as the mammoth ran around in panic before falling onto her back, the ground trembling with her descent. "What are you doing?" Manny questioned incredulously, voicing the thoughts of the more rational part of the group.
"Playing dead!" Ellie said, her tongue lolling out of her mouth.
"Manny, why don't you do that?" Akira glanced up at her back where Sid had stirred, catching the earlier moments with sleepy eyes.
"Because I'm a mammoth!" Manny snapped though it lacked the proper bite.
"But you do it for treats, right?" The sabress rolled her eyes at the sloth, partially fond for the helpless creature and partially disbelieving that one could be as daft as Sid. Following their little situation with Ellie and the possums, Sid made an out-of-place comment on her sanity. Akira agreed but also did not. Being related to possums was a bit odd but Akira was sure if she grew up with Sid, for example, she'd be as lazy and dim-witted as he was.
Nearly an hour later, the rocky plains vanished beneath their paws and soon, an entire frozen lake was between them and their next meal. The sabress halted at the beginning of the ice as the mammoths and possums walked ahead, unbothered. Sid, abandoning Akira for the time being, skated along the ice, absolutely showing off as he whizzed by. The sabress continued on, a bit uncertain whilst Diego lingered further behind, even more anxious. Akira was a bit confident in the weight the ice could hold—it held two mammoths—but still, she had a foreboding feeling.
Sabres and sloth moved along the frozen lake, a little ways behind the pair of mammoths and possums. Sid raced ahead, flitting in between the two groups with ease. It was one of the only times he was ever in front of the group and faster than them and the sloth let it be known as he glided around. Akira glanced back at the rocky plains longingly before looking ahead of her. She could see the beginning of the forest but it was far in the distance, providing little reassurance.
"There are whole continents moving faster than you two, let's go!" Manny called over his shoulder, somewhat impatiently. Akira looked back once more before quickening her pace. That foreboding feeling had grown worse. The possums skated by her and Diego and she grimaced, a little uneasy despite logically knowing that the ice shattering under their ministrations was virtually impossible.
Diego was less convinced, however, by the presence of logic. "Hey! Knock it off!" The southern sabre growled at the brothers. Crash came to a stop using Ellie's hoof, catching Eddie by the tail as he zipped past before the two stumbled as the mammoth continued on, unaware. "Oh cry me a river, blubber tooth tiger. Have some fun!"
Akira heard a faint scraping noise and glanced down for that had been the direction it had emitted first. When it sounded again, a noise similar at least, it was as Eddie skated past her, his tongue sticking out. "Can't you see the ice is thin enough without you two wearing it down?" The sabress wordlessly glanced back at Diego. She knew the exact source of his uneasiness. Akira could see it clear as day in his tense posture and restless eyes. It was present in other sabres and for a time, even in herself. A fear of water. She had been there once but her father had forced her to learn, telling her she needed to be prepared for anything the world decided to throw at her. Just because she knew, however, didn't necessarily mean she was content with the idea of water—in fact, she still hated it.
"Oh, Diego. The ice may be thin, but it's strong enough to hold, a ten-ton mammoth and a nine-ton possum." Sid commented as he drifted past. Akira stopped again at the scraping, this time certainly coming from underneath her, a low growl building in her throat. "What is it?" She looked up at the mammoths and sabre who had turned to face her, Sid skidding to a stop. "Something's below us."
No sooner had the words left her mouth had the ice smashed with a violet blur rising from the now open water, separating the sabres and sloth from the mammoths and possums. Now, between them and their next meal was a hungry, persistent sea creature and an open lake.