So guys. This was originally going to go up on Friday but my sister broke her arm in two places on Wednesday night/Thursday morning so I've been having to help her out. She's fine but we've been having to help her get used to everything. I'm going to start trying to update in the Friday-Sunday range. Sometimes multiple chapters and sometimes only 1, depending on motivation. Anyway guys, enjoy the first chapter of Dawn of the Dinosaurs: Tora edition

Word count: 1430

Tora crouched in the grass, a buck on the hill in front of her. Although she couldn't see him, she knew Diego had moved around the prey, ready to strike. A low growl, barely audible, alerted her that it was time to pounce. Both tigers leapt forward with roars, the deer escaping by turning and kicking dust in their faces.

The pursuit became a full out sprint as the deer desperately attempted to escape. As they ran, Tora realized that her brother fell behind before staggering to a stop. She skidded a few feet ahead of him and returned to his side desperately. He was breathing heavily, more so than he should have been. The deer returned, mocking and laughing.

"My hooves are burning baby! They are burning! I gotta tiptoe. Eat my dust dingo!" He called as Tora snarled and swiped at him, scaring him away.

She stared at her brother as he caught his breath. He was skinnier than most sabers should have been this time of year, heck they both were. They had to limit their hunting ground, limit what animals they ate and with very little ponds around, Tora even had trouble fishing. But what she was only now realizing was that Diego hadn't been eating as much when they did manage to catch something. She shook off her shock as her brother managed to right himself.

"Are you okay?" She asked worriedly.

"I'm fine." He panted, still slightly out of breath. "Don't worry about it."

The female glared at him as he attempted to walk away. "I'm going to worry about it. You haven't been eating as much. We are both having trouble hunting without a pack but you seem even worse off. What's wrong?"

Diego sighed and shook his head. "It's just hard not being with a pack sometimes. I'm fine, I just feel like I'm losing my edge." As he said this, he stumbled.

"Wait here." Tora ordered.

She returned after a few minutes with some small voles. It wasn't exactly a meal but she hoped it would at least get Diego up and moving.

By the time they reached one of the clearings closer to other mammals, Diego had either started to feel better or simply hidden how bad he felt and Tora strongly suspected the second reason. It wasn't that she blamed him. Winter had been hard on both of them, neither admiring to their herbivore friends what was wrong. They slept longer and grew skinnier. Hunger was nothing new to them but it seemed to take more of a tole on Diego without a pack. Tora felt it as well, the desire to have other sabers but she reminded herself that she had something better, a herd. And yet there was something that seemed to want her to leave, return to a pack where famine wouldn't be as bad because others could provide and help.

"Diego! Tora! There you are." Manny called. "You missed the big surprise!"

"Right. Right. I'll check it out later." Diego said

Tora nodded in agreement. "I'm sure it was great Manny." She forced a smile on as she followed her brother.

In the chaos of the deer chase and Tora's realization of her brother's condition, they both had forgotten about the park that Manny had created.

"Okay. See you." Manny obviously didn't see anything wrong, much to the sabers relief. Ellie, however, was a different story.

"You know, I think there's

something bothering Diego. Tora seems a little upset as well." Ellie mused

"No, I'm sure everything's fine." Ellie glared at Manny as he attempted to brush it off.

"You should talk to Diego."

"Guys don't talk to guys about guy problems. We just punch each other on the shoulders." Manny chuckled.

"That's stupid." Ellie snapped.

"To a girl. To a guy, that's like six months of therapy." Ellie glared at him and he sighed. "Okay, okay, I'm going."

Manny reached the top of the hill and shuffled his feet awkwardly. Tora saw him look specifically at Diego and decided against staying, moving past Manny carefully. As she stopped, Ellie opened her mouth, obviously to ask if she was alright but Tora quieted her with the shake of her head. She sat carefully in the shelter of a tree and watched her brother and Manny worriedly. She had a sneaking suspicion of what her brother was planning and she was hoping that Manny could talk him out of it. Diego seemed oblivious to the mammoth so Without warning, Manny punched his shoulder with his trunk. "Why'd you do that?" Diego gasped.

"I don't know." Manny mumbled and Diego shook his head.

"So, listen," Manny started awkwardly. "Ellie thinks there's something bothering you. I told her…"

"Actually," Diego cut him off. "I've been thinking that soon it might be time for me to head out." He glanced down the hill at Tora, who was cleaning her fur and could see her ribs were starting to show through her fur, and he knew his were as well. "Me and Tora." He added.

"Okay. So I'll just tell her that you're fine.

It was nothing." Manny said distractedly.

"Look, who are we kidding, Manny? I'm losing my edge. And Tora doesn't want to admit it but she's having trouble as well. Besides, I'm not really built for chaperoning play dates.."

"What are you talking about?" Manny asked in confusion.

"Having a family, that's huge, and I'm happy for you, and Tora's estatic that you and Ellie are happy, but that's your adventure, not ours."

"So you don't want to be around my kid?" Manny asked angrily.

"No, no, no. That's…" Diego tried to defend himself. "You're taking this the wrong way."

"No, go." Manny growled angrily. "Go find some adventure with your sister, Mr. Adventure Guy. Don't let my boring domestic life hit you in the butt on the way out." Tora growled softly at the mammoth, having heard the last part of the argument.

"Isn't Ellie supposed to be the one

with the hormonal imbalance?" Diego asked her with a joking tone as he padded down the hill to meet her.

"Manny, wait! No one has to leave." Sid cried.

"So?" Ellie asked hopefully.

"That's why guys don't talk to guys." Manny snapped.

"Why? What happened?"

"Diego and Tora are leaving." Manny stomped past his mate, who stared at the sabers in shock before following her husband.

"This should be the best time of our lives.

We're having a baby!" Sid cried, attempting to stall the sabers.

"No, Sid. They're having a baby." Tora corrected.

"Yeah, but we're a herd, a family." Sid whined.

Tora's ears pressed against her head in regret as her brother spoke up. "Look, things have changed. Manny has other priorities now. Face it, Sid. We had a great run, but now it's time to move on." He sighed.

"So it's just the three of us." Sid smiled.

Diego frowned and Tora spoke up, seeing her brother's discomfort. "No, Sid, it's not the three of us."

"Crash and Eddie are coming with us?" He asked innocently.

Tora shook her head as Diego started walking and she followed him.

"Just Crash? Just Eddie?"

Diego paused and looked back at him. "Bye, Sid." He called. Tora turned and hugged the sloth quickly before catching up with her brother.

She had hoped things would end differently but even she had to admit that this could be what they needed. They walked for the rest of the short day before settling into a small alcove of roots and fallen limbs. Tora lay her head on her brother gently as he drifted to sleep and stared at the sky through the tree branches.

It didn't happen often, but she started thinking about the pack. Not Sotos pack, but the one she grew up in. Where there was never a thought of living with other species, only sabers. Life was simpler, it was all most sabers knew. But as the necklace shifted against her skin, she smiled. The necklace had been the turning point. Had Diego been able to grab the baby, they would have returned to the pack victoriously and never met Manny and Sid. And now, the child was safe, the pack was gone and they were alone. The herd was several miles away, most likely going about their normal business.

Tora couldn't stop the pang of loneliness in her heart before she moved her head closer to Diegos. She reminded herself that she wasn't alone, she had her brother. That could be all she ever needed.