A/N: Okay, like I promised, here's a couple sketches from my new story, the sequel to The Odd One Out;
Ice Age: Trouble In Paradise
Which will be coming out soon. The story bits are in order, they are all from Chapter 1, but I'm not putting the entire chapter on here. You'll have to wait 'till the story comes, sorry.
A small rabbit was eating a carrot right by a clump of berry bushes. Suddenly, the tree branches nearby began to rustle. The naturally timid bunny looked behind him and started to shiver. Something was going to make breakfast out of him! But in this sort of clump, there was nowhere to run. As the bushes in front of him parted, he dropped the carrot and flinched. When nothing happened, he looked up. And laughed.
Well, no one could blame him. It was not often that you saw a saber-tooth tiger with messy fur that had a branch with a small nest carrying around forty-some berries tucked behind one ear, and berry juice smeared over her mouth. Adrian narrowed her eyes at him.
"What, you never saw a saber looking for food before? Scram, buster, before you ruin my good mood." She swiped at him, and the rabbit, still laughing, hopped past her into the woods.
"Little furballs, never liked them." she grumbled to herself, looking through the bushes. "Hmm, blueberries?...no I've got seven of those...cranberries?...not this early in the morning." she mumbled to herself. "Ah! Oh, ho, ho...jackpot! The strawberry motherlode, come to momma-huh?" She reached out her claws to grab as many strawberries as she could, but as she lifted her arm, the branch from her ear toppled to the ground, scattering the nest and sending the other berries rolling away into the woods.
"Wait, no! Come back, darn you!" she yelled, trying to grab what she could. And missed.
Picking up the branch, and placing the nest angrily in it, she muttered "Well, back to square one."
Looking up at the starry sky, she saw the Great Saber constellation. The stars that made up its eyes were twinkling. She looked away, determined. If she didn't try, she'd never know.
"Hey, can I ask you something?"
"You just did." he joked, swallowing the last of his dinner.
"I'm serious, Diego. It's important." she cut off. Once she cut the casuality, it was easy for her to get her point across.
"All right, sure." He stopped scratching his claws against the den wall and looked at her. "What's the matter?"
"Well," she hesitated, not knowing exactly how to phrase it. "We've been married a while, right?"
"Uh, yeah."
"And you love me, right?"
"What kind of question is that? Of course." He smiled, and kissed her forehead. "So, go on, what is it?" he queried, stretching his arms and yawning.
"Well, I know this isn't the best time to ask, but...I really would like a cub or two sometime in the future. As in the near future." she finished.
"What?" He tried to stand up in shock, but his head bumped against the roof. "Ow! What do you mean, 'the near future'?"
"I'm not trying to pressure you or anything, I'm just saying. You're not mad, are you?" she hissed, looking around and hoping the rest of the herd hadn't woken up.
He sighed, still rubbing his head. "No. But that's a big thing to ask, we've only been together three months."
"Ellie got pregnant with Peaches the same month she married Manny." she debated.
He laughed. "Yeah, but honey, news flash, we're not mammoths" She wasn't taking this as lightly as he was.
"Don't you want a family?" she questioned, her voice dropping with sadness. She'd thought he'd love the idea of having kids.
"We've got the herd. That's all we need for right now."
"But, Diego, just think about it...you and me, walking along the path to the river, with a little fuzzy tyke named Diego Jr. riding on your back and pulling at your ears. Or an Adrian Jr., either way. Why wouldn't anyone want children?" she mused.
"It's not like I don't want them, it's just-not right now." He yawned again, and held her paw. "Right now, you're all the family I need. Now go to sleep, please."
He closed his eyes, and she snuggled up against him, feeling lost. Why wouldn't anyone want to have kids? she repeated in her mind. I know I do.
A/N: So, what did you think? Tell me in a review, and stay tuned for the next story!