Chapter Text
Diego stretched, muscles rippling beneath his tawny fur as he rose from his sun-drenched nap spot. The familiar sounds of the valley—Manny’s deep chuckle, Ellie’s gentle cooing to their newborn, Peaches, and Sid’s clumsy attempts to “help”—usually warmed him. Today, though, the restlessness of the hunt called. He slipped away unnoticed, the trio absorbed in their tiny, wobbly miracle.
His paws carried him swiftly over familiar trails, past the grazing grounds and into the thicker woods where the air grew cooler and the scent of potential prey hung rich. He moved with a focused grace, nose twitching, ears pivoting. The hunt was a meditation, a return to his core. Yet, the usual signs—the rustle of a bush, the distant call of a deer—were absent. The forest felt… quiet.
Before he realized it, the trees began to thin, and the salty tang of the sea replaced the earthy musk of the forest. Diego paused, blinking. He’d never ventured this far west. The coastline was a jagged, unfamiliar frontier. He was about to turn back, a faint irritation at his own distraction bubbling up, when a shape on the horizon froze him.
It was a moving speck, growing rapidly against the vast blue of the ocean. Not a bird, not a drifting log. It was angular, purposeful, and made of wood. Diego’s instincts screamed. He dropped low, melting into a thicket of coastal shrubs, his body still, eyes laser-locked.
From his hidden perch beneath the thicket, the sabertooth tiger watched, every muscle coiled tight. The wooden object kept coming closer and closer. And on it, humans.
A cold ripple, older than the glaciers, ran down his spine. Humans. They were always a bad sign. His mind, against his will, flashed to a tiny, laughing infant wrapped in a sling, to the long, perilous journey to return it to its herd. That had been a different time, a different Diego. He’d been harder then, all edges and suspicion. Manny and Sid had sanded those edges down, had shown him what a herd really meant.
He shook his massive head, the dark fur of his mane rustling. Focus.
The object scraped onto the sandy shore with a final, ominous crunch. Figures disembarked, taller and clad in different skins than the ones he remembered. They moved with purpose, pointing inland, toward the very valley where his herd had built their life. Where Manny and Ellie were raising little Peaches, where Sid was… well, being Sid, probably trying to parent some terrified forest creature.
This wasn’t a lone, lost child. This was a group. A threat.
From his cover, he watched them disembark—figures clad in unfamiliar hides, carrying long, slender objects that gleamed in the sun. Not clubs, not spears. Something new.
Need to warn the herd, he thought, muscles coiling to retreat. But as he shifted, his powerful haunch dislodged a shelf of loose shale. The clatter of rocks tumbling down the hillside was deafening in the quiet morning.
He froze. Too late.
A chorus of sharp cries erupted from the beach. He saw arms extending, pointing directly at his hiding spot. A group broke away, moving with a coordinated speed that chilled his blood. They closed in, those strange weapons leveled at him.
Before he could fully leap away, a sharp thwip cut the air. A sting, sudden and hot, bit into his flank. It was pathetic, really—like the jab of a giant insect. With a furious snarl, Diego snapped his head around, plucking the feathered stick from his side and tossing it aside. Insulting.
He erupted from the bushes, a blur of tawny fur, heading for the familiar woods that sheltered Manny, Ellie, Peaches and Sid. But as he ran, the forest began to tilt. The steady rhythm of his paws faltered. A thick, syrupy dizziness washed over him, turning the world into a swirling, green haze. His breath came in ragged gasps.
Poison. The sting was poisoned.
Somehow, his legs kept moving, driven by instinct alone. He burst into the small clearing where Manny was grazing, Ellie and Peaches beside him, while Sid attempted to balance a berry on his nose.
“Diego!” Ellie’s voice, laced with alarm, reached him through the fog.
He tried to growl a warning, but only a weak rasp emerged. His vision tunneled, darkening at the edges. The massive, woolly form of Manny turned toward him, eyes wide with concern. Sid’s playful expression vanished into shock.
Diego’s strength gave out. His legs buckled, and the forest floor rose to meet him. The last thing he saw was the four of them—his herd, his family—rushing toward him before the darkness swallowed everything whole.