A/N: Sweet mother of dinos, I'm here! I live still, I haven't abandoned this dear gem of a story. Lord, so much has happened you guys! Like I've been unemployed, got a new job, had small mental breakdown, and am taking the semester off to find my center, since I have no idea what I want to do with my life anymore. Some of you may have noticed that I have been slowly, but steadily updating and posting stories, and I deeply apologize for taking so long to get back to Keeva and co, but I like to be at my best when I write for Ice Age.

Anyway, enough of my rambling, here's your new chapter (FINALLY!)

Disclaimer: I do not own Ice Age. Keeva and other OCs belong to me.

A Wolf's Call

Chapter Two

Keeva loped back into camp at Diego's side, slightly shrinking into him when she felt a multitude of eyes fall on them. Never mind that everyone in this valley was prey, Keeva had never been one to enjoy being the center of attention. Diego barely passed her a glance, very much used to her quirks by now, and focused his attention on finding their hulking friend.

"There you two are," Manny's voice spoke over the soft thunder of his feet as he approached. "How'd it go this morning?"

Keeva opened her mouth, ready to tell him how she had failed yet again, only for Diego to speak over her, perhaps foreseeing her intent to shoot herself down again.

"It was fine," the saber said. "She's making good progress." He gave her a pointed look. "Right Keeva?"

"Yeah," Keeva said, her voice thin. "Right." She tried for a smile to reinforce the lie, but it turned into more of a grimace.

"Well, uh, that's good." Manny said, tone awkward.

It was no secret that Manny (and Sid) was uncomfortable speaking about hunting. It could be simply because he was a prey animal, large size aside, he could still be hunted. Or it could be that it brought back painful memories of his past, not that she knew enough about that to judge. Point was, when speaking to plant eaters, keep matters of the hunt as vague as possible.

"Anyway," Manny said sensing that the subject needed to be changed. "I was just going to find Sid, if you wanted to tag along."

"Sure," Diego said, leaving both males to look at the wolf as she shrank back under their stares.

"Actually," she said, I'm pretty beat after this morning, I think I'll go rest for a while." With that said, the dark female scampered off as quickly as she could without looking like she was trying to avoid the two entirely (even though she kind of was).

She moved through the crowd of the valley, doing her best to ignore the way the others stared at her like death incarnate, and the way that mothers pulled their children closer in her passing. She bared her teeth, but not aggressively toward anyone, thoroughly frustrated with herself. She did not deserve to looked at in such a way, she had done nothing to earn it.

In the world of a hunter, the fear of your intended prey was as good as respect from your fellow hunters. Keeva was not a hunter, she had provided for no one, not even herself. She was a leech in the eyes of her kin and would never be anything more than that. Though try as she might, she could not make Diego see that, the stubborn saber set in his belief that a rank from a pack she no longer ran in could not define her. That was easy for him to say however, he was a lieutenant in his own pack, second only to his alpha. She doubted he'd ever tasted the life of low rank.

Her bitter thoughts were abruptly cut off by indistinct muttering followed by a heavy wumph! as a body hit the ground. Keeva turned her head to look over her shoulder to find Sid attempting to wrestle free of vines coiled tightly around his wrists and ankles.

"Do I even want to know?" She asked as she loped over to her fallen herd member.

"Oh, hey Keeva." Sid arched his back as he pulled at his wrist restraints with his teeth. "It was just the kids…you know how they can be."

Keeva only hummed. She was quick to discover Sid's love for all children, no matter the species, but he wasn't the most adapt caretaker in the world. She hated to think what may have happened to result in this though.

"Alright, hold on." Broody as she may be, she wasn't one to stand around watch her friends suffer. Leaning over, doing her best to breathe shallow, she took the vines between her teeth. They snapped free with a slight bite and pull. Circling around, she repeated the action to the vines at his ankles, this time holding her breath altogether.

"Gee thanks, Keeva." Sid pulled himself up to his feet, giving her head a pat in thanks, she tried her best not to liken it to the human touch she had found herself missing recently.

"No problem," she said, gently shaking his fingers loose of her. "Where's Dad and Uber tracker?" A quick sweep showed no sign of the remaining two herd members and it wasn't like Sid to stray far from protection.

"They're with the kids," Sid informed her in equal bitterness to her own. "Guess they think they can do everything better than I can. Guess they think I'm worthless or somehtin'."

"Hey now," Keeva cooed, unable to stand the presence of such a negative Sid. "You're not worthless, you are an equal and valued member of our herd."

"You really think so?" The sloth's eyes shone with such a childlike hope that Keeva felt herself grinning before she could think to stop it.

"I do," she beamed. "Don't let anyone knock you down, okay?"

"Okay."

"Now c'mon, let's go make those boneheads apologize for what they did to you."

They made their way back into the water park where Keeva once more felt eyes on her, but with Sid's easygoing presence beside her, she didn't feel the need to assert herself or cower. She just kept her eyes straight, intent on finding Diego and Manny.

"Hey Keeva?" Sid piped up suddenly.

"Hm?"

"You want to make them really sorry?" There was a mischievous edge to Sid's voice that never bode well for anyone and Keeva snapped her attention to him immediately.

"What do you mean?" Her own tone was wary, Sid wasn't the vengeful sort, so she did little to mask her worry.

Sid's only response was to smile and look up, and up, and up.

Gaze following his, Keeva's response was to swallow the bile rising in her throat and secretly love the adrenaline that started pulsing through her system.

"Oh yeah."

A/N: This is what happens when I leave for extended periods of time, I make Keeva an adrenaline junky. I have no regrets (dies laughing). I will see you in the next chapter friends, It will not take as long to write, I swear!

Until next time!