A/N: Hello! Don't mind me, I'm just trying to get in the swing of writing for these two again! So to practice, I rewrote/expanded Fight Smart just to see if I could do it better the second time around, and I think I did. I may rewrite more of my one-shots too, I'll have to go through and re read them all again lol.

Also, the second chapter to A Wolf's Call should be up one day this week, I'm shooting for either late tomorrow night or sometime Wednesday.

WARNING: mild descriptions of blood.

Disclaimer: I do not own Ice Age or any of its content. Keeva is mine.

True Strength

Keeva didn't usually go picking fights she knew she couldn't win. Despite the occasional flare of impulsivity, she was a sensible mammal with a good deal of self-preservation. Keeva didn't usually let others' opinions of her sway her into doing something obscenely foolish. She didn't usually storm away in the aftermath of a fight with someone she held dear, but Buck's words had seared straight through her, further battering her ego and shaming her heart.

You're not strong enough, Keeva!

In the stillness that followed the outburst, the fire extinguished in Buck's eye. Keeva's expression morphed from angry defense to something not so easily read, a cold and calculated sort of blankness, but even a fool could've seen the pain veiled in her eyes. Buck immediately tried to make amends, and usually Keeva would have let him. Usually, she'd stay, but not today.

Keeva knew that Buck had not meant to hurt her with his words, that they had come from a well-meant place of concern and a desire to protect, but Keeva wouldn't let herself read them beyond face value.

If Buck thought her weak, she was just going to have to prove to him that she wasn't…by hunting down the beast that diminished the weasel's view of her in his eyes.

Keeva had become an exceptional hunter under Diego's careful instruction, and while there was some adaptation and improvisation required to make it in the underground world of Dinotopia, Keeva felt no less capable here than above ground. Her successful track of the beast only furthering her assurance as she hunkered low in the foliage, blue eyes intent on the pack of raptors circled around the shallow pool.

Their alpha was easily spotted. Her skin, an odd shade of grey, shimmered blue in the dapples of sunlight that filtered through the leaves. Keeva felt a deep seed of hatred take root in her heart for that raptor, her wounded pride making her just reckless enough…

DoD

It had been a while since Keeva had seen this much red, but in the aftermath of the battle it was everywhere. Painted across the grass, sprayed against the trees, oozing and sticky in her fur. She was honestly afraid to consider how much of it was hers. She didn't think she was dying though, at least, she hoped she wasn't.

Blue hadn't died either, the raptor alpha had eventually been able to work herself out of Keeva's teeth and limp away (not without inflicting equal damage to the wolf, of course). So, she laid alone on the jungle floor, contemplative as she washed her wounds.

Despite her sated rage, this had been a bad idea, she knew. Her heart still felt shamed and guilt weighed heavy on her mind. She was worrying Buck senseless the longer she stayed out here, and she'd likely worry him more when she finally saw him again. No way she'd walk away from this without a limp, and her side was still leaking red. Moreover, she'd basically proven the weasel's point. She'd come out here to kill Blue, and she failed.

He was right, she wasn't strong enough.

"Keeva?"

The she-wolf tried not to wince as she pulled her attention away from her mangled leg and up into the branches just as Buck came swinging down.

"Buck-"

"Are ye alright, lass?" He fretted, cutting her off. "What happened to ye?" He reached her then, reaching out and anxiously pawing at her face, eye sweeping over her form in search of any severe injuries.

"Buck, I'm fine." She tried to keep her voice even, but knew that he was fixing to be extremely cross with her anyway, so she just let the words tumble off of her tongue. "It was just Blue, she-"

"Blue?" Buck cut her off again. "Ya mean she tracked ye down?"

"No, Buck." Keeva felt heavy and nauseous, and was vaguely aware that she was shaking. She wasn't sure if it was blood loss or trepidation for the inevitable. "I tracked her down."

"Ya what?" His hands fell away from her face and she can see the spark reigniting in his eye. Yeah, the shaking definitely wasn't from the blood loss. "Keeva she could'a killed ya!"

"Or I could've killed her." Keeva snapped feeling her own ire rising at his continued lack of faith in her ability. "I'm not as weak as you think I am, you know."

"I never called ya weak, lass."

"Yes, you did!" Keeva barked, appalled at his trying to deny it. "That's the whole reason I tracked her down!" She wanted to rise with her indignation, to pace and to snarl, but her body wouldn't allow it just yet. "I had to prove to you that I was strong enough." She paused, panting with the effort to hold her head up and speak. She'd started crying too, she realized. What joy.

"Keeva," Buck's voice was soft, and she felt his hand at her face again as he gently stroked tears away. "You don' have to prove anythin' to me."

"But I do," she hiccupped. "You're my mate, we're supposed to be equals." She blinked more tears away. "I have to be strong enough to hunt alone, to defend pups, to defend you, if I'm not then…" she swallowed thickly, it was absolutely killing her to pour this out. "Then you might…you might think me unworthy and-and-"

Her sentence died as she felt him wrap his arms around her, nuzzling his face deep into the fur of her neck. She shuddered, too numbed with shock to offer any affection of her own.

"I would never ever leave you Keeva," his voice was strong despite his face being buried in her neck. "I love you."

"I love you too," her response was automatic, but sincere.

"You are strong, Keeva" he leaned back enough to smile at her, warm and crooked. "You are strong, Keeva, you don' have to hunt down dinos to prove that to me."

"But you said-"

"I know what I said, and it's true, ya aren't strong enough to fight Blue." Buck gestured to her with one hand. "This is proof enough of that. She's a dinosaur, Keeva, a dangerous one with a pack. Ya need to understand that it's not all about strength down here. Its survival, outwitting your opponent and living to see tomorrow."

"Fight smarter not harder, huh?" Keeva huffed in tired amusement as she let her head fall to the ground. "Wish I had known that before all this."

"Ya would if ya wouldn't have stormed off like ya did." Buck grinned and ran his fingers through the longer fur on her head. "Now c'mon, let's get ya home and get ya cleaned up."

"M'kay." Keeva begrudgingly pulled herself up, wincing, hissing, and groaning. Honestly, this had to be one of the worst decisions of her life. "Don't look at me like that," she snapped at Buck's smirking face. "She looks way worse."

"Of course she does," Buck rolled his eye with a smile, resting the flat of his blade against his shoulder, and led his mate home.