"Ramous!" A voice called out that Ramous recognized and it halted his pounce. Tackle looked up only to find a large figure leap over his two friends and land between him and Ramous.
"Adah?" Tackle said surprised to see the blue saber. Adah stood strongly, staring down serious at Ramous. The rouge saber was shocked for a moment but his face relaxed into a smirk.
"Adah. It's been a long time old friend" Ramous told him and he looked up and saw Saya there alongside Vibe and Ferry.
"Saya. So you told on me? Typical" Ramous commented annoyed. Adah shook his head at him "This has to stop Ramous. You can't just keep hunting the Herd like this." Adah pleaded worriedly.
Ramous glared at him, his ears flat "I won't let the Herd defeat me that easily" Ramous told him annoyed and his eyes went down to Tackle. Ramous glared at him and growled.
"Especially Tackle." Ramous said angry and Tackle hissed at him. Tackle was no longer going to be scared of the saber.
Adah walked up closer so Tackle was under him behind on of his front paws as a way to protect him. "He's just a cub" Adah pointed out. The blue saber can tell Tackle was special but he also knew that Tackle was still a cub and can't protect himself.
"Cubs grow up. And this one I'm not letting him live another second" Ramous threatened as he growled, walking closed. Adah snarled at him and Ramous stepped back intimidated.
Tackle was surprised to see Ramous back off. "Back off Adah" Ramous threatened him angrily, growling, his mane standing up. "I don't want to fight you" Adah told him calmly and a bit desperate. Adah didn't want to fight his friend.
Ramous retracted his claws and Adah's face got serious "But I will if it means protecting Tackle" he said serious and glared at the younger saber. The two stared at eachother, everything silent. Tackle looked at the two but he was in a pounce stance ready for anything.
Vibe and Ferry watched anxiously while Saya looked worried, her ears down.
Finally, Ramous had his head down and sighed in defeat. His claws went back inside and he started to walk past them "This isn't over old friend" Ramous promised, lifting his head up to look at Adah before he ran off.
Adah looked down at Tackle with worry and the cub looked at him "He'll be back. Ramous doesn't give up easily" Adah warned him with concern. Tackle's ears fell knowing he would have to look out for Ramous. But the cub's ears went back up and he smiled confident.
"If my Herd and I can beat him twice, we can do it again. Bring it on" he said confident, making a pounce stance. Adah smiled at Tackle, the cub's confidence in himself and the Herd calmed him down. Adah was having hope on the cub.
Adah nuzzled Tackle like he was his own cub and he looked up at Saya. He smiled at her and motioned for them to go. Saya nodded and she jumped down and the two ran off.
Tackle noticed his tooth still lying on the ground. He walked up to it as his two friends jumped down and the cub held the tooth in his paw. Tackle smiled, feeling that part of himself that was lost, his bravery and confidence, was back and he was ready for anything.
Meanwhile, the Herd were running, hoping Tackle was ok. Sid was riding Manny and he spotted something purple in the path. His eyes widen when he realized who it was. "Granny?! Granny where have you been?!" Sid yelled out as they got closer to her.
"Uncle Sid! Granny!" Tackle's voice came up and they saw the cub, Vibe and Ferry coming back from the other side. "Tackle!" Diego said relieved to see him ok.
Granny saw the kids first and turned to them "Good thing you kids are here. I stubbed my toe on something hard. Look" Granny complained and motioned her walking stick to the ground. Something shiny was poking out in the snow. Vibe sniffed it and her ears perked at a scent familar to her.
"Hey! I think that's yout crystal Gran" Vibe pointed out as she started pawing it.
"HIIISSS!" A sudden hiss came out of nowhere and reached Vibe's ears that perked up alarmed. She jumped back when Aspik came slithering in front of them so fast, in between the Herd and the kids and Granny.
"Are you kidding me? We just got past Ramous and now we gotta get past Aspik" Vibe complained annoyed. Aspik glared at the kids. Vibe growled and Tackle snarled while Ferry hid behind his saber friend.
The Herd glared at her, the sabers snarling at the large snake, ready to leap in and protect their cub. "You come to my den and take one of my treasures. No one steals from me and gets away with it!" Aspik said furiously, her gemstones and green eyes glowing green.
Granny looked at the shimmering stone and scooped it out. Her eyes widen in surprise to find that Vibe was right that it was her crystal.
Aspik turned to the Herd, hissing and showing her fangs. The Herd stepped back a bit but then they found that they were blocked from behind with her large tail.
She glared at them and hissed. Tackle gashed to see the Herd in trouble and quickly jumped in "Aspik! I'll give you my tooth if you leave my Herd alone!" Tackle told her and the snake looked at him. The cub set the tooth on the ground and Aspik and the Herd stared at him surprised.
Granny looked at Tackle, amazed he was giving up the tooth he recklessly tried to get back. She looked back at her crystal, the one thing that made her young, and started to think about something.
"Wait just a minute!" Granny yelled out boldly and everyone looked at her. The old sloth walked up to Tackle's side, holding her crystal.
"I got somethint better than that tooth. You see this crystal? This little rock makes me young again" Grannh told her, holding out the crystal and the snake stared at it curious.
Sid facepalmed and groaned, worried what his granny might do. Aspik slithered closer to the old sloth, staring down at her "How do I know this isn't a trick?" She asked suscpious.
Granny held the crystal in her hand and clenched it. The crystal shimmered and she turned young again. Everyone stared at her in shock . "Whaaaa?" Sid said in disbelief that his grandma was right.
Aspik's eyed widen intrigued as Granny put her hand on her hip. "So what do you say? You let furball here keep his tooth. And you can have my crystal" Granny offered and Aspik's tail unblocked the path behind the Herd and took the crystal.
Once the stone left Granny's hand, she reverted back to her old self. Aspik stared at the stone and then back at Tackle "For now, this will work. We will see eachother soon" Aspik said and chuckled evilly before slithering off.
Tackle walked up to Granny surprised "I can't believe you did that Granny" Tackle said stunned. Granny looked at him and put her hand on his shoulder "You were gonna give up your tooth for the whole Herd. I know I might not look like it. But I would do the same thing" Granny explained smiling and Tackle smiled at her.
Everyone headed back home. Vibe and Ferry played tag with the possums. "Vibe" Vibe heard Talia calling her and she ran over to the wolf couple lying down. "Yeah?" Vibe asked nervously, thinking she might be in trouble.
Jake and Talia looked at eachother and smiled before looking back at Vibe "I'm glad you prove you can help us. You helped get Tackle to safety" Talia explained smiling and Vibe's tail wagged excited and she smiled. "Yes!One win for the painted hyena!" Vibe said happy, jumping up and down.
Meanwhile, the saber family were inside their den. Tackle sat in front of his parents as they glared at him.
"You took a huge risk Tackle. You risked the whole Herd all for a tooth" Shira scolded her cub as Tackle looked down. "I'm sorry" Tackle said, his ears down.
Diego let out a sigh "I got a bad feeling Ramous will be back" Diego said worried but he looked at his cub and the tooth in his paw. Diego smiled at his son and nudged his head up.
"But we all make mistakes. And that's ok" he said and looked at Shira who nodded in understanding. "And we'll be ready for anything right bud?" Diego asked his cub.
"Yeah! Ready for anything! I finally understand it's ok to be scared but you have to face your fear to be brave" Tackle said as he and his dad fist bump.
Tackle smiled at his parents and grabbed his tooth, walking deep in the den and setting it down. He smiled at his baby tooth, no longer feeling ashamed.
The saber family got out of the den and Tackle ran and joined the tag game with the others. Diego chuckled at his cub, glad to see he still had that playful side.
"So now what do we do?" Diego heard Manny ask him as he and Sid approached. "Ee didn't get Aspik on our side" Sid pointed out worry. "And Ramous won't give up" Manny added and the trio looked at the saber cub playing, letting out a cub growl.
Diego smiled at his son, feeling hopeful. "We've faced worse before. I think we can handle Ramous and his rouges. Plus, Tackle's got his bravery back. That's all that matters" Diego said pleased as the Herd watched the kids play...more adventures to come.
Ok! This book is done! Ep 2 coming soon!