Ice Age: The Misfit Herd

A Nightly Visit

After the baby had finished his dinner, the four of us had continued on to Glacier Pass, the place we were heading to take the baby home according to Diego. After walking for a good long hour, night had soon fallen and we all decided to settle down. Manny took up a spot near a rock while I sat opposite of him but a good distance away from both him and Diego, who was already fast asleep on my left. 

Sid had decided to find 'a meal befitting a conquering hero ' as he said. The moment after he said that, he got smacked in the head by a branch. I giggled, shaking my head.

"What ho? A foe?" Sid looked at the tree as he got up, "Come you want a piece of me?" He then let out a cry as he punched the stump. He pulled his claw out to reveal a single acorn which he was about to eat when a saber-tooth squirrel, shot out of nowhere and stole it from Sid's mouth. Just before he left, he cursed at the sloth in squirrel language. 

Manny, who had just realized the sloth, said, "Oh triumphant returns?"

"What? Oh yeah" Sid said as he climbed on top of a rock. 

"Didn't find anything interesting Sid?" I asked.

He looked at me and shook his head, "Nah. I'll be fine for tonight."

I looked over at Diego to see he was still asleep. It amazed me how he was able to sleep through all of this... though something told me he wasn't... I shook my head, clearing away the thoughts before I lied my head onto my paws and closed my eyes. 

A few seconds later, I heard, "How about a kiss for your big buddy Sid?"

"Shh!" The mammoth shushed him, "He's asleep" 

"I was talking to you." The sloth then stated, sounding quite offended. "...fine I'll tuck myself in. Alright, good night" It wasn't a quiet process, however. Sid kept making a ton of noises as he did so.

"Will you stop it!?!" Manny whispered-yelled with annoyance and frustration in his tone.

"Geez, sorry just trying to relax" The sloth whispered as all noise finally ceased. I let out a mental sigh of relief. Finally... peace and quiet. 

3rd POV

Shortly after Jade, Manny and Sid had all fallen asleep, Diego's eyes snapped opened to reveal glowing green eyes. He stood up from where he was and headed over to the baby, careful not to wake up the sleeping saber or the sleeping mammoth. He lifted his paw and reached out towards the child but a noise made him stop. 

His heart began to pound as he looked in Sid's direction to see it was the sloth who made the noise by moving slightly on his make-shift bed. Diego's eyes then drifted to Jade, who's ears had twitched slightly. Knowing it was safe, he then reached out towards the baby once again. However, another noise, this time the sound of a rustle, had stopped him. The saber looked over at the bushes as they moved slightly. 

Diego looked back at Manny, who had pulled the baby closer, which lost the saber his chance to take the baby and run. The male then walked over to the bushes and got into a pouncing position. He waited a moment to see the bushes move once more. With that, the saber took no hesitation in pouncing, and once he did, was about to strike the stalker when he suddenly stopped, his paw mid-air. 

"What the --?"

"Go ahead, slice me!" The male saber that was pinned beneath him encouraged, "it'll be the last thing you'll ever do." 

"I'm workin' here, you waste of fur" Diego seethed, 

"Frustrated, Diego?" The said saber turned his head to look at another male saber that came up from another pair of bushes. "Tracking helpless infants to difficult for you?" He asked in a taunting tone.

"What are you two doin' here?" Diego asked them as he hopped off the male saber he pinned.

"Soto's getting tired of waiting" The second saber stated,

"Yeah, yeah!" The first nodded his head, "He said 'Come back with the baby or don't come back at all! ' " He chortled not a moment later. Diego stared at him with a blank look, 

"Well I have a message for Soto, " He said, "Tell him... I'm bringing the baby but tell him I'm bringing...." He walked over to the edge where there was a perfect view of the group he was traveling with, "A mammoth" Shocked expressions crossed the faces of his two pack members,

"A mammoth?!" The first saber exclaimed, 

"Mammoths never travel alone!" The second one stated, 

"Well, this one does," Diego said as the three predators looked at Manny, "and I'm leading him to Half Peak." 

The second saber then looked at Jade, his eyes narrowing, "When exactly did a female saber join the adventure?" He asked suspiciously,

"She won't be a problem." Diego assured him, "She tagged along, thanks to the sloth... she won't stick for long." The saber looked at his fellow pack member with uncertainty,

"Look at all that meat!" The saber on Diego's left panted, his eyes filled with hunger. "Let's get him" He goes to pounce, but Diego gets in front of him,

"Not yet!" He exclaimed, "We'll need the whole pack to bring this mammoth down. Get everyone ready...." He ordered, looking back at the mammoth. However, his two pack members did not leave. 

"Now!" He growled, and the two ran off after a moment. Diego watched them go before heading back down to the group. Just before Diego went back to sleep, he looked at each of the three sleeping animals... his eyes lingering on the female lying a few feet away.

Her ears twitched even more and an expression of discomfort laid across her face. It looked like she was seeing something that was bothering her... as if she was having a nightmare. The female turned her head to face the other side and her twitching ears calmed down a bit. 

The male saber looked at her with curiosity before shaking his head and lying it on his paws, closing his eyes and falling back to sleep.