Chapter Text
Millions of years ago, long before our time, the planet was thrust into the frigid, relentless grip of the Ice Age. Sprawling blankets of impenetrable glaciers were spread far and wide, smothering the environment in the throes of a gorgeous yet challenging world of ice and snow. It was uncommon to see any stretch of land that, at the very least, didn’t come within close proximity of such frosty terrain.
How well one could fare in such landscapes was its own tumultuous issue. Many animals were lucky enough to have everything they needed fall into their laps. Others were tough or skilled enough to make it completely on their own, tracking and hunting down resources that made for reliable survival. And then there were those who formed herds, packs, or some other unorthodox groups that drew upon the strengths of each member, as well as bonding them through thick and thin.
Such was the case for the female saber-toothed tiger sleeping underneath a long rock outcropping … somewhat.
The young adult in question, Shira, didn’t sport the typical brown, orange, or tan fur expected from most sabers. Instead, her fur was a rich shade of silver, decorated with dark grey stripes that added to her instantly striking beauty. Though she remained in stable, comfortable sleep, the compact muscles of her back and legs also spoke to the streamlined power this female possessed, power that made her a great asset to her pack.
Although that pack was currently struggling to be appreciative, given she was still asleep with her back facing them, well after they’d all been told to be up and about.
“Um … Maybe we should let her sleep a bit longer …”
This was suggested by Tomar, one of the three saber-toothed tigers hovering over Shira. He was a beige male who looked down on her nervously. On top of the meek demeanor that could clearly be heard through his voice, he was one of the pack’s smallest members, with the shortest tusks to boot.
He stood next to his complete physical opposite: Arez, an orange, stocky, tank-like male with tan rings and patches along his legs and paws. On top of his searing red eyes, his severed, jagged chunk of a missing left tusk gave him a grizzly, intimidating appearance that he often used to his advantage as the pack leader.
Arez growled as he responded unpleasantly. “We’ve already lost an hour of daylight. I say shove her until she wakes up.”
“Go ahead,” a third voice mused. “I’m sure that’ll go smoothly.”
The largest of the three awake tigers was an orange female, Terra. Her somewhat bulky build made her an outlier not just for her gender, but for the malnourished pack as a whole.
Tomar backed up, extremely wary about the prospect of ticking Shira off.
Arez scoffed at his bigger packmate. “Please. Like she’d be a match for me.”
At that moment, Shira chose to finally end her charade of slumber.
“Funny,” she said groggily. “I was thinking the same about you.”
Tomar gasped, making himself small and submissive, while Arez simply gave a light snarl. Terra remained still as Shira groggily rolled herself over, revealing her vivid, exotic, teal eyes that were blinking themselves awake as they looked up at her pack with tired annoyance.
“Ughhh … Can’t a girl get a little extra shut-eye?” she slurred. And a little less time with this creep, she thought regarding Arez.
“It’s past sunrise, Shira,” Terra said. Unlike the crudeness or nervousness of her fellow tigers, she took on a warmer, more levelheaded tone to coax the unfriendly saber up and about. She couldn’t say Shira ever made it easy to get along with her, but … they could try, right?
Thankfully, despite a protracted, throaty groan from Shira, she did ultimately oblige. Getting on all fours, the saber finally rose up to a proper stand. She shook her head, jostling the two makeshift earrings she’d adorned on her right ear – for no particular reason other than she thought they looked cool.
Shira stretched her broad forelegs out in front of her, and Tomar couldn’t help but sneak in a bit of an ogle at her back end that stuck up in the process. When Shira then brought her limber, slim hind legs out behind her for another stretch, the more subtle staring turned into full-on gawking. He thanked his lucky stars he was able to look away just as she turned her head in his direction.
He would unquestionably die of embarrassment if she knew-
“Like something you see, Tomar?”
Shira’s voice carried not an ounce of amusement. Surely her face matched her disapproval, but Tomar didn’t stick around to see it, scurrying out from underneath the rock outcropping. Terra rolled her eyes playfully, while Shira just shook her head, contemplating whether to sock him for that later.
She set it aside for the moment, though, finally stepping out into the open where the rest of her pack was waiting. She looked above her, seeing one of their members still resting atop the large rock, which itself sprouted from the snow-covered ground and extended out, covering a solid chunk of land in its protective shadow. During their expansive, far-reaching travels, such relatively pleasant accommodations were hard to find whenever they sought out a place to stay for the night, but they’d caught a lucky break here.
However, it took very little time for Shira to feel a loud, moaning growl in her stomach. From the pained looks of her packmates, their hunger was comparable as well. It was a feeling they’d all gotten used to by now, but that didn’t quell their increasingly lowering morale.
“Ahhh, there she is!”
One saber, an unhealthily slim, caramel-colored female with half-circle markings on her forehead, called out to Shira. She lay in front of her piece of the lower half of a dead squirrel rat they’d caught a few hours prior. Her heterochromatic eyes – one green, the other blue – shined comfortingly in the morning sun.
Having just finished up her portion of the meat, Aisha bounded over to Shira. “How’d you sleep?” she asked in a friendly manner.
“Mm, fine. Nothing special.” Shira only offered the tiniest glimpse of a half-smile, which vanished with her next words. “Could’ve used a bit more, but Mr. Bigshot wasn’t gonna have it.”
Aisha chuckled, despite Shira’s tone containing no humor, leaving an awkward silence between them.
It was a routine that both sabers had grown used to, unfortunately. Shira may have been a member of the pack, but that didn’t mean she was friendly with most of them. She never really took the time to bond with anyone or even directly interact that much, often going off on her own and staying out of most conversations. It was never personal for the female; she just never felt comfortable socially, nor did she find most of her pack’s unique quirks charming or interesting.
Most of the pack, in turn, chose to ignore her when they could, being put off by her antisocial and occasionally standoffish nature. But Shira was fine with that. She stayed with this pack out of necessity and utility, not friendship.
Aisha was disappointed that Shira didn’t have more to say, but she didn’t push it. “Oh,” she said. “Well … come over! We saved a piece for you!”
Though her mood was no less visibly pouty, Shira joined the thin tiger for breakfast, where two others had just finished their portions. One was a greyish white saber with green eyes, stripes wrapped around her middle, and a build that was once sturdy but now rather wiry. The other was a small male cub with dark orange fur, his tusks still in their early stages of growth. In front of them was the small foot of the dead creature. It was hardly a meal, but it was as good as anyone could hope for.
Especially since Shira wasn’t convinced they would’ve saved it for her had she woken up any later.
Terra came over to nuzzle Aisha, despite them clearly having already greeted each other today. The hardships of the pack simply couldn’t weigh down the love these two mates had for each other. Their union was a breath of fresh air for the struggling sabers.
“Go easy on her, love,” Terra said. “You know Shira’s not a morning person.”
“Or an any-time-of-day person,” Arez whispered to himself from behind.
As she ate her measly food, Shira savored what little flavor she could discern from the foot, chewing slowly until she was forced to swallow. At the same time, she noticed the whitish saber, Sonja, looking at her. The longing stare in her green eyes made it clear that she wasn’t just still hungry; she’d been ready to beg for an extra portion. She then looked down at her belly … the one and only enlarged part of her otherwise undernourished body.
Being reminded of Sonja’s position made Shira consider giving up the rest of her food to her. She was, after all, eating for two now. But Shira ultimately decided against it, leaving Sonja to look disappointed. The pang of guilt hurt Shira mildly … but not as much as the hunger pangs that she was desperate to quiet.
Watching Shira finish and swallow the last of her share sent a spike of agitation through Arez’s veins. It was bad enough the pregnant saber had been denied an extra helping. Having that helping go to Shira, whom he considered less worthy than most in the pack, just added insult to injury in his eyes.
In contrast, the boy was more than willing to chat with her.
“So, how’d ya sleep, Shira?”
Shira chuckled. Though she’d been asked that same question by Aisha moments ago, it was noticeably cuter coming from her adopted son. She ruffled the top of his head. “Already a chip off your parents’ block, ain’tcha, Benji?”
Benji held his head up pridefully, wanting to look as epic as a five-month-old could. “My sleep was great! My moms kept watch overnight, so I knew nothing was gonna come get us! Especially if you had anything to say about it!”
The pack had found Benji almost three months ago, after he’d been abandoned by his real parents and left to die in the snow. Aisha and Terra, having wanted a child to raise for a while, instantly stood firm in taking him in as their own. The subsequent family unit that had formed was enough to melt many a cold heart in the pack. And even Shira, the notoriously distant one in the group, couldn’t help but develop a soft spot for his pure, innocent presence.
“Heh, you know I’d show any troublemakers a thing or two,” Shira assured him. Benji smiled, always happy to get assurance from who he considered the coolest saber in the pack.
“Better be careful, Shira,” Terra said. “Soon you’ll have two little guys fawning over you.”
All eyes went back to Sonja, who knew her child would be due in just a few months.
For the first time that morning, Sonja properly spoke. “Hmm … Yes, they’re certainly putting up a fuss in there … or, at least, they’re trying to …”
She held a paw over her stomach, urgently hoping to feel the cub kicking with greater intensity than it had been lately. Her ears fell when all she got was a couple of light taps, indicating that while her child was still in there and growing, it wasn’t the healthiest it could be. Even Shira’s face softened with sadness at the poor mother-to-be.
It was just another reason why the pack needed to find a home with ample prey.
A search that Arez was determined to get moving again.
“Okay, everyone,” he called out, prompting every tiger to turn and listen to him. “Everyone’s had their fill. Now it’s time to hit the road. We’ve already lost an hour of daylight because some of us couldn’t wake up on their own.”
He eyed Shira with the subtlety of an avalanche, causing her to snort in derision.
“But our new home isn’t going to find itself,” Arez continued. “From what we can see on the horizon, we should be able to get out of this frozen wasteland by the end of the day. After that, there’s no telling how much prey we may find.”
The sabers all nodded in agreement. Their stomachs once again cried out, almost in unison, as if they themselves wanted to make their anticipation known. Benji went up to Terra, nuzzling her leg as Aisha pet him gently. Tomar started licking his chops, and Sonja touched her belly again to soothe her unborn cub.
This saber-toothed pack had once been in better conditions. Their previous territory was about as ideal a home as one could get in the Ice Age, with livable terrain largely unimpeded by excessive snow and plenty of prey living around them. The only reason some of the sabers hadn’t become skin and bones yet is because of how thoroughly nourished they’d been before. But just over a month ago, another pack, with whom they’d had a long-standing rivalry, finally made a move to claim the territory as their own. Several members were outright killed, including the father of Sonja’s child, and the pack was forced to leave.
Ever since, Arez had been leading their travels in search of a new home. Along the way, they were forced to feel the squeeze of the brutal elements as food suddenly became scarily scarce. Not a single pack member wasn’t going hungry. A few of them had already died from pure starvation, and if they didn’t find a proper food source soon, it was looking like more of them may be following.
Some tried to keep spirits high. But tensions between packmates that had existed beforehand were growing even worse as their suffering went on. But those with faith kept the morale going. As did Arez’s strength in never giving up, no matter how bleak things were getting. Enough of them trusted him to lead them to salvation and save not just themselves, but the generation to come after them.
Whatever the case, it was clear that nothing would be solved by just standing around. Thus, Arez made the call.
“So, enough chit-chat,” he stated. “Let’s move out!”