Author's Notes

During my Ice Age obsession, I wrote a few pieces - one unfinished, one finished but rusty in my mind, and one completely finished (this one), but the one you're about to read here is the one I felt better about submitting right away. It's a clear-cut idea, short but still sweet, and I like it. Before you continue on to the story, however, there's just a few things I'd like to get through first.

For those who might be confused, the setting for this is during the night after the whole fire scene, when the baby finally learns to walk on his own.

And, I actually looked up the origin (along with spelling) of the Eeny, Meeny, Miney Mo rhyme that children use often (and change quite often, I might add). What I happened upon turned out to be quite interesting. I won't go into great detail, but in a nutshell, the original "rhyme" was actually an exorcism to rid one of the "enemy of the spirit", and the words changed greatly into a rhyme for children through history. There's a bit more to it than that, but I encourage anyone who's interested to do some research on the subject (hint: Google!). I read up on this after the idea for this story came to mind, so I found it interesting when thinking of Diego's character...so just keep this in mind as you read.

One more thing - in this I mention the number of times Diego refers to Sid as "sloth". I just wrote what I remembered from the movie (and I watched it recently at the time that I wrote this), but that doesn't mean I'm perfect, so if you find that I'm incorrect, don't be afraid to let me know in your review. But, before you jump the gun, keep in mind that I was thinking of when Diego called Sid "sloth" directly in a demeaning manner, not just when he referred to him in "a sloth" or "the sloth" sort of way. Thanks for sticking through the notes; enjoy!

Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Mo

He felt the ground beneath him shift, earthbound pebbles crying out in alarm, as the usual warmth crept silently away. Pawing the crusty dirt aimlessly, panic eroded the comfort to which his heart had become accustomed.

Sid seized the deserter’s leg in desperation, stopping the sabre’s heart with the impulsive touch.

“Not so fast, tiger….” Sid murmured sleepily. Breathing more easily, the realization hit Diego that slumber still claimed the sloth. Wrenching his leg forward, Diego found that forcing his leg out of the sloth’s claws would prove futile; the inadequate creature’s grip held fast for his appearance.

Then it dawned on him that Sid’s repose had ceased.

“Let go,” Diego ordered, a quiet snarl escaping through his teeth to accentuate his command.

“Haven’t you ever heard of, ‘Eeny, meeny, miney, mo; catch a tiger by the toe’?” Sid said drowsily, just barely opening olive eyes so recently clamped shut to the nightmare that was slowly unfolding.

“And haven’t you heard of, ‘If he’s hollering, let him go’?” Diego said slightly more forcefully, pulling his leg once again in an attempt to loosen the sloth’s grasp.

“Go where…?” Sid muttered faintly; sleep obviously hadn’t left him completely, but the honest curiosity still remained in his voice.

“None of your business,” Diego whispered nastily. Sid flinched visibly in response to the harsh remark. “Just go back to sleep,” Diego softened his voice, his heart melting despite the cruel fate lying within his soul.

“I can’t,” Sid said ever so simply, widening his jowls to release a soft yawn, “I lost my sleeping buddy.”

It took Diego a minute before comprehension sunk into his sly mind.

“Just let me go, sloth,” Diego delivered the brutal line, slitting his eyes shut in anticipation of Sid’s expected cringe at the base name he had called him only once before during their journey. “Believe me, it will be for the better of all three of us,” Diego finalized. Within a matter of seconds, he unexpectedly felt the sloth’s clutch fall slack and his paw slide to the hard soil in submission.

“Fine,” Sid’s voice lowered, a twinge of hurt audible in his words. “But, just so you know…” he began anew, “I really thought you would’ve eaten me by now.” Diego’s face softened in astonishment, eyes darting to peripheral vision to salvage any amount of dignity left.

“Thanks for…proving me wrong….” Sid murmured, sleep dropping over him like a cold veil once more, leaving Diego in a stupor laden with guilt.

Stark green eyes searching the pitch black horizon for any sign of movement, the sabretooth allowed his heart the final say and dropped his haunches to the ground. Just for tonight, he could relent to the irresistible excuse for a mammal lying at his side and rekindle the dying fire crackling within his heart.

Until tomorrow, when dawn stole away his dreams.