Hello again everyone! First of all, I hope everyone had happy holidays! Secondly, I want to apologize for how long it's taken me to update due to final exams (not to mention the holidays), and to thank all of you for being so patient (for you have a stronger will-power than I.) And lastly, but probably most importantly, I'd like to thank EVERYONE who commented, alerted and favorite my story, even when it took me so long to update. I appreciate it more than you can know! ^^

Anyway, school doesn't start up again for another 2 weeks, so I've got plenty of time to write, and hopefully, even after that, I'll still find some time to post a few chapters! So just keep checking in!

Lastly, I've recently read through the first chapters and corrected what I think is all of the typos, and touched up a few things. Nothing major, so don't worry about missing something. There! I'm done! On to the disclaimer!!!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters from any of the Ice Age movies. All characters from the Ice Age series are solely the property of copyright Bluesky Studios and Fox Entertainment. I only own the OC. Thank you!

Chapter 5

Diego, Manny, and Sid led the group through the trees while Crash and Eddie chatted endlessly with the female behind them. The two had casually jumped onto her back, and, as Diego watched for her reaction – Ellie would kill him if he let something happen to her brothers – he saw her pause only a moment before continuing along the path. Occasionally when glancing back, he would glimpse the edge of her mouth turned up in a small smile at something one of the brothers said. Apparently the fem – Nera, he corrected himself mentally, was in better spirits now that she'd eaten. Diego turned his head forward again just as Manny looked down at him on his left.

"So," he started, keeping his voice low so as not to be overheard. "we're protecting the cat who attacked us less than an hour ago?" he asked, raising a brow at the tiger.

"Thought you liked her?" Diego asked the mammoth, mimicking with his own brow.

"Doesn't mean I trust her." he replied.

"Yeah," Sid piped in from between them. "She is a tiger."

Diego glanced to his left, glaring down at him. "So am I." he growled menacingly. "Besides, bringing her was your idea." he reminded him harshly.

"That surprised me, too." Manny added, turning his gaze to the saber.

"Her pack is following her, and judging from her reaction, it's probably not gonna be a happy reunion. Whether she leaves or stays, they'll look for her here. If she stays, at least we can get some information about them, have time to prepare." he explained rationally.

"I don't know…" he said uneasily, his voice filled with obvious worry. "I don't trust her around Ellie and Peaches. What if she's still hungry?"

"I wouldn't worry about it, Manny." Diego assured him. "That meal should last her at least another night. Besides, she's exhausted; there's no way she'd have the energy even if she wanted to. But I'll be watching her anyway..." He glanced back again to see Eddie and Crash showing her tricks. When one of the brothers fell into the other, toppling them both to the ground, he saw Nera let out a small chuckle, feeling his own lips tugging of their own accord. Though he could see that her body was nearly drained, he couldn't help but feel oddly satisfied that her health had improved so quickly. His apprehension from earlier for her wellbeing lowered to a slight uneasiness, while not quite disappearing completely. Firmly shaking his head to remove the thoughts, he turned back to Manny.

"They seem to like her." he said, tilting his head to indicate the small group trailing behind them.

"I don't think they're the only ones." Sid said smugly, smirking at Diego.

"Huh?" Diego and Manny replied simultaneously, both mammals confused.

"Personally, I think it's about time." he rambled on.

"Time for what?" Manny demanded before Diego could. Sid's head swung around to stare up at the large mammoth.

"For Diego to settle down, of course!" he blurted, as if it were the most obvious thing.

"Sid, what are you babbling about?" Diego finally growled, frustrated. No one could keep up with the sloths constant scattered thoughts.

"You," he held up a left claw, "and Nera," he held up a right one," together." he finished, linking his hands together.

Diego merely stared ahead, eyes only slightly narrowed, not even bothering to glance at the sloth.

"Manny," he said calmly, "is it your turn or mine?"

"Well, it's mine," Manny said, his tone bored, "but I'll let you take this one."

"Thanks," he said, then a second later bringing his fisted paw to the back of Sid's head, sending the sloth flying forward into the bushes in front of them as they turned a curve in the path. Diego turned his head back to watch as Nera and the possums merely glanced at the bush, the brothers' chatter never stopping, and Nera's pace never slowing. Diego smirked, secretly pleased that she could catch on to the herd's normal behaviors so quickly, then frowned to himself as he turned forward again.

A few moments later, the sloth hurriedly caught up with the two again, taking his place between the mammoth and saber, plucking thorns from his face as he started up again.

"Look, you can't tell me it hasn't crossed your mind." he accused the saber.

"Sid, don't push it." Manny warned.

"What?" he asked obliviously. "All I'm saying is: you're a male tiger, she's a female tiger. It's simple mathematics, Diego." the sloth continued matter-of-factly.

Diego held tightly onto his patience, well used to his friends simple-mindedness.

"Unlike you, Sid, I don't go around creating fantasies about every female of my species I meet." he said.

"Yeah, but how many female sabers do you actually see?" Sid countered.

"Sid. Pushing it." Manny warned again.

"Just because she's a female saber doesn't mean I'm going to get involved with her Sid." the tiger said harshly, becoming truly agitated.

"It worked for Manny." he pointed out brightly, pointing his thumb up at the said mammoth.

"My turn." Manny declared suddenly, his trunk crashing down onto the sloth's head, making him stumble to the ground.

"Thanks," Diego said again, followed by a "My pleasure," from Manny, as Sid gradually lifted himself from the ground again, spitting out twigs.

As Nera watched the sloth – once again – catch up with the saber and mammoth, she wondered what they were talking about. She'd initially believed they were discussing what to do with her, until they'd started pummeling the sloth. Already getting an idea of the sloth's personality, as well as the other's behavior towards him, she simply observed and followed their example. And he's obviously used to it she thought to herself as she watched him pluck the last remaining thorns from his first fall. Her thoughts were confirmed by one of the possum's next words.

"That happens a lot, by the way." The one standing on her shoulders said. "You'll get used to it." the other said, laying casually along her back, throwing small berries into the air, then catching them in his mouth.

Nera surprisingly didn't mind the possums company. Her earlier uneasiness with the strangers had quickly dissolved moments after they'd started through the forest, the brothers soothing her uneasiness as they constantly chattered on endlessly, entertaining her with jumps and tricks. Giving them a lift was easily passable. They were certainly lighter than a baby mammoth.

However, she didn't want them to think that her company was permanent.

"Well," she spoke up, "I probably won't be here long enough." She'd stay to help them. What the saber had said was true: Marek and his pack would follow her trail here. As she'd traveled, she'd made certain never to linger in one place to long, never interacting with any creatures that weren't her next meal. However, it hadn't proved difficult, as there'd been very few stray creatures to avoid, which had made her hunting less profitable as of late. She'd hurried on, eager to find a new pack, hoping that would dissuade Marek.

"No rush," she heard Eddie telling her as she tuned back in to their conversation.

"You don't seem to find it strange having a predator around." she wondered aloud, brows knitted slightly.

"Why should we?" Crash replied from her back, his mouth full of berries, then swallowed them with a loud gulp. "We already have one."

"Yeah, I was gonna ask about that, too." Nera said as her gaze trailed again to the virile saber walking ahead of her. She couldn't deny her curiosity about him. "Why does he travel with you?" she asked the brothers.

"Diego was already with Manny and Sid when us and Ellie met them." Eddie answered. "Sid says he left his old pack."

Nera's ears perked at that, her eyes widening slightly in surprise. He left his pack? she thought silently, dazed. Like me…

"Why would he do that?" she asked, keeping her voice casual.

"Well," Crash exclaimed, jumping down from her back. "Diego's pack was going to hunt Manny, so Diego joined them to get him and Sid to trust him, so they could spring an attack!" he explained excitedly. Eddie leapt from her shoulders to land in front of his brother, both of them walking beside her as she watched them gesture wildly, acting out the story.

"But when the tigers were going to ambush them, Diego turned on them, and helped Manny and Sid fight them off!" Eddie then tackled Crash, both of them rolling over the ground as Nera sorted out what she'd just learned.

Not hard to picture him standing up against a pack of tigers, she thought, remembering his protectiveness of his herd. Still… she trailed off.

"Why would he willingly give up living with a pack of his own kind?" she pondered aloud. Both brothers popped up in front of her, looked at each other, then both asked.

"Why did you?"

She paused in her tracks, then let out a humorless chuckle, shaking her head slightly. "You've got a point there." She glanced ahead again towards the mammals, her gaze automatically sliding to the male saber who was arguing again – still? – with the sloth.

She'd have to tell them. There was no way to avoid it. She'd hoped to, but if they were going to risk themselves to help her, she would have to give them any information that might help them understand.

"But I'll save that for later." she said aloud for the possums to hear, as she turned back to them with a small smile. "And I'd rather only tell it once, and I'm sure the sa– Diego… will want to know." she nodded ahead of them, indicating the tiger.

She started walking again, then soon felt them leap back onto her shoulders. Soon the silence passed, and they started 'filling her in' about how they'd joined the others' group, along with their 'sister,' the female mammoth who'd retrieved the calf, explaining how she'd been raised with them as a possum. It was a little confusing, but Nera was sure she'd grasped the main details.

Finally, they emerged from the trees to an open encampment. Nera caught the scents of numerous animals, from beavers, to turtles, to gazelles. As it had been dark for some time, Nera assumed they were most likely all nesting.

The group silently walked through the area, then through a wide opening into a rock cave. Nera could make out a small fire at the far back of the cavern.

As they reached the campfire, Nera spotted Ellie cooing to the calf. Seeing the small bundle giggling happily, she felt the last bit of anxiousness vanish.

Manny stepped towards the two, stopping a few feet away, then crouched slightly, extending his trunk out for Peaches to walk towards him. When she did, he scooped her up, his massive trunk practically swallowing her tiny form, and held her to his face, the little bundle affectionately rubbing against his cheek.

Then Manny gently placed her back on the ground, then moved closer to Ellie, linking their trunks together. Nera watched as Peaches let out a short trumpet as the possums ran over to her.

"Oh!" Nera looked up towards the female mammoth, her eyes meeting Ellie's.

"Hi!" she exclaimed brightly. "We didn't get proper introductions before. I'm Ellie, and this is Peaches." she added, pointing down to the giggling calf.

"Hello," Nera replied, slightly taken aback by the warm greeting. Her and the possums were alike. Nera gave the mammoth a small smile, and Ellie's small grew.

"I know we didn't get to say it earlier, and I'm sure they didn't," she rolled her eyes towards the males, "but thank you so much for finding Peaches for us." she said, the gratitude clear in her voice, then she leaned down to ruffle the tuft of hair on Peaches. "She's already a handful." she added affectionately.

"What kid isn't?" Nera replied humorously, relaxing from the female's pleasant demeanor.

"Tell me about it!" she said, chuckling. "Where'd you find her? We met you pretty far out." she asked curiously. Nera could feel Diego's eyes on her, listening intently.

"Actually, I found her farther than that. She was past the trees, in the open. I found her huddled in the snow." she told her.

"She'd gotten that far out?" Manny asked, then turned to glare furiously at the sloth. "You said she'd only been gone for a few minutes!" Sid shrunk back, his paws up in surrender.

Nera continued on. "Yeah, I'd thought it was strange, but I'd just assumed–" she was cut off by a pressure against her front legs, and looked down to find Peaches wrapping her little trunk tightly around her arm, gurgling happily, eyes shining. Nera felt her heart melt for the little bundle.

"You're just tough, aren't you, little one?" She let her other paw gently stroke over her head, careful to keep her claws retracted. She glanced up to see Manny relaxing, as he turned to Ellie again.

"Has she eaten?" he asked.

"Yes, I was just waiting for you boys before putting her to bed." They both looked expectantly towards the calf at her feet, Peaches seeming to understand immediately, as she unhappily slumped to the cave floor. Nera couldn't help but grin at her reaction and leaned her head down beside the little mammoth's ear.

"Bedtime's a bust, huh?" she murmured understandingly. "But parents word is law." she added, then gently nudged the little calf forward until she made her way back to her mother, who was currently grinning towards them.

"Hey you're pretty good with kids." Sid stated, standing beside her as Ellie lifted Peaches from the floor.

Nera straightened back into a sitting position. "Well, it doesn't take a genius to babysit." she pointed out, sliding a smug pointed gaze towards the sloth. He coughed into his paw, then slowly staggered away again. Nera smirked as she turned her head, when her eyes connected Diego's, then quickly looked away.

As Ellie carried Peaches back to the fire, lowered them slowly to the ground, her trunk curled around the baby mammoth, who was already fast asleep. Nera watched silently as the others gathered around as well, each taking a place around the fire; Manny beside Ellie, Diego next to the mammoth, Sid beside him, and Crash and Eddie finishing the circle.

When the possums looked back to her, signaling for her to join them, the slowly walked forward, seating herself between the brothers and Sid.

"So, um…" she started, then drifted off.

"Sorry," Nera said quickly, realizing she'd never mentioned her name. "I'm Nera."

"Nera," Ellie echoed brightly. "So, what brings you here?" she asked conversationally. Nera tensed at the sudden mentioning of the subject.

"That's what we'd like to know." Diego said firmly, his green eyes piercing Nera's gray ones. Suddenly all attention was on her.

Well, she sighed acceptingly, might as well get on with it.

End Notes: Well, I hope everyone liked this one, despite the wait, and I already have ideas for the next one! Hehe! So we got a little more of Nera's story (not much I know) but next time it all comes out! Please keep reading. Feel free to review, as I'm going to start giving personal responses to them in my future end notes.

And also, on another note, I really don't appreciate people threatening me to write the next chapter. You know who you are, and the comments are still up. I work how I feel comfortable, and will continue to do so. I got back on track, thanks to ENCOURAGEING comments that I received (thank you for those who did) Now as I said before, I apologize for the wait, and will post the next one just as soon as I possibly can. Just set it to 'alert', and you'll know as soon as it's posted. Trust me, I want more chapters up as much as you do. THANK YOU for those who have been understanding and patient.

THANK YOU FOR READING EVERYONE!! (^.^)