Always Wanted To Tell You

The sky above the frozen realm of Antarctica was a crisp, bright blue, illuminating the white ice and sparkling snow a light blue. Deep within this isolated realm, there lay a place, currently exploding with excited noises, which its inhabitants called "Emperor Land." Indeed, this was where a large, peaceful colony of penguins lived, their world usually tranquil as the many penguins went about their daily lives – but here today, everything was bustling with exciting activity, for mating season had fallen upon the penguins, and the young, just-matured penguins felt it most. The males fluffed their beautiful, slick feathers, puffed out their large, white chests, and walked confidently to the females their hearts so desired to love, and make an egg with. The females looked them over, some shy as the males sang sweetly to them, their grand voices echoing off of the tall ice mountains surrounding their home, and some played around with the boy – sometimes acting interested, sometimes not, even though they themselves loved the boy with all her heart, and would suddenly turn and sing back to the male – creating the binding ceremony that mated the penguin pair. For life.

The older penguins, most of them parents of those looking for their lifelong mates, watched with large smiles spreading across their beaks, many of the mothers' eyes filling with icy tears that darkened their sleek cheeks as they fell with happiness as their sons and daughters approached to show them their new mates. One such couple stood with their friends, Maurice and Michelle, their flippers touching, as if humans holding hands.

"Remember when we were like that, baby? All young and innocent and just looking for love?" The female of this pair, Norma Jean said to her mate, Memphis, smiling as tiny tears welled up in the corners of her soft, brown eyes. The male Emperor chuckled, nuzzling the top of his mate's head with the tip of his beak tenderly.

"How could I ever forget looking for the most beautiful Emperor in the entire colony, and finding her in my friend?" Memphis said, giving his wife a wide smile, his heart just melting at the tinkling laugh Norma Jean gave at his comment, and she nuzzled him back, giving his cheek a penguin-kiss.

"And now, our baby's all grown up and looking for his very own true love." Norma Jean cried, becoming almost happily hysterical at this thought. Memphis smiled even wider as he looked into the penguin colony, knowing his little one would soon be the happiest young man in the world.

"Yes. Yes, he is."

Further away in the lands, near the deep blue oceans that surrounded them, a lone, young male Emperor penguin stood on the edge of an ice cliff, looking to the distance vaguely. He often came here to think, for when you have about three hundred of your friends all chattering at once, it was a talent to even process the simplest thought. And here, it was quiet, and allowed him to free up his mind, and sometimes, just to dance to his heart's content, or until his toes tired.

This penguin, although he didn't think so, was very special. His god, the Great 'Guin, had blessed upon him a different talent, other than singing out his Heartsong, while he was still sleeping inside of his egg. This talent was tap-dancing. Tap-dancing his heart and soul to the rest of the world, but for the longest time, he had been viciously ridiculed and rejected by the others of his generation…all except for a single penguin that had kept his very heart in her flippers ever since he was born – his beautiful Gloria.

Mumble blinked his deep blue eyes and smiled at the thought of the most beautiful penguin on the planet – well, besides his mama. Gloria was slender and sleek, and her eyes were the softest brown, and her voice…her beautiful, soft voice would often just melt his heart.

Mumble closed his eyes and sighed to himself, the smile stretching across his beak into a wide grin. Just the thought of his beautiful Gloria made his own heart want to dance to her beautiful voice in song. He pictured her beautiful face, smiling at him as the fish came back to the oceans and everything was at peace once more…

He sighed once more, sadly this time, his chest heaving, then decreasing heavily, and his fluffy head bent downward to see his rippling reflection in the vast blue waters blow him. Even though he had already pledged his heart to Gloria, dancing out her song to her, the mating ritual was interrupted by Noah, the elderly leader of Emperor Land. He was then banished from his home, the old penguin believing his other talent was causing the loss of all the fish.

That was now a year ago, and as he thought about it, he realized that he was at the false prison, in which he saw the aliens, for a very, very long time. He had lost count of the days in there, and he didn't even want to try and fathom how long he was in there. It was like torture, to be gawked at, to be the only Emperor there…to never again see the faces of his mother, of his father, of his friends…of his Gloria…

But now that mating season was upon them, and as a tempestuous year passed, he knew that Gloria had realized that she had many different options in the other males of their generation. Mumble knew that he wasn't the most handsome – his head and shoulders were still covered with fluff – and he certainly was not the best singer. There were others, there always were. Even though he loved her with all his heart, and then some…he just wasn't good enough…

"Hey, what are you doing up here? I thought you'd be joining everyone." A familiar, wonderful voice said behind him. Mumble jumped, extremely startled, and whirled around, eyes wide. Standing behind him, alone, was Gloria. Her expression was a mixture of confusion and compassion. Mumble stared at her for a moment, his mind racing, before he found his slightly trembling voice, his stomach falling to rest somewhere beside his, surprisingly still, feet, his heart beating rather quickly.

"Oh…oh, Gloria. I was, uh…er, just…" the young male penguin tried to find some sort of alibi, when all he wanted to do was ask her to be his…or, him to be hers, whichever she'd prefer. He dare not, however. Another bout of rejection was something he wouldn't be able to handle well. He could just imagine Gloria smiling sympathetically and telling him that she had found someone else, that they could still be friends if he'd like. However, if she wanted to mate with someone else, he loved her enough to let her go.

His throat seeming to tighten as these thoughts rushed through his head; Mumble turned entirely around and took a few steps towards Gloria, who wore an amused smile. He gave her a friendly, shy smile, trying not to seem awkward.

"I know. It's chaos down there. Lovelace just wants peace and quiet, and even Ramon admitted it's a ruckus." She said. This caused laughter from both young penguins, knowing that hyperactive Ramon was never bothered by all the chattering, before Mumble looked away, awkwardly, trying to think of what to say next, something that wouldn't give him away, but wouldn't push her away, either.

"I…I was looking for you. I didn't see you down there. I thought you might be having fun with everyone." Gloria admitted, clearing her throat a bit, and bending over a little, looking into Mumble's downy face. He started, and spoke, his voice trembling.

"Oh…I…I just like coming up here." Mumble said, turning back to the water. Gloria walked towards him.

"I'm just wondering, but why?" She asked softly, soon standing beside him. Mumble's feathered body seemed to prickle as she stood next to him as he suppressed a shudder. It wasn't pleasant, but it wasn't bad, either.

"Well, when I come here, it helps me to think. And sometimes, dance, y'know, just by myself." He explained, giving a half-hearted shrug. Gloria nodded in understanding, looking out to the world beyond their own.

"I see what you mean. But everyone's having the time of their lives down there, and we're planning a big party afterwards. You should come down…" she said imploringly, standing beside him and giving him a sweet smile. Mumble had to clear his throat nervously to keep from blurting out his biggest wish to her. He looked back to the ocean, and nervously took a step sideways, inching closer to Gloria. She noticed this out of the corner of her eye, and smiled to herself. Pretending to hum quietly, and not notice, she waited until Mumble was only an inch or so away before she too took a step sideways. The two then were touching, and they both laughed.

"Cold, huh, Fuzzface?" Gloria teased gently.

"A little." Mumble admitted, although he was perfectly fine, and wasn't cold at all. But being this close to Gloria made his heart leap around in his chest.

"What I wouldn't have given to be here when I was…" Mumble said thoughtfully, almost to himself, before cutting himself off sharply. Gloria looked at him, and finished quietly for him.

"In that place?"

"Yeah. I…I was really lonely in there. I thought I was going to lose my mind in there. I know Noah kicked me out, but all I wanted to do was to go home." He sighed, bending his head and blinking, tears coming to his eyes at the thought of the terrible place. Gloria was quiet for a moment, before she spoke softly, almost in a whisper.

"I…I really did miss you, Mumble. I thought I'd never see you again. Ramon and Lovelace and the others told everyone what you had done, but no one believed them. But…but I did. I knew what you had done." She said, and then she looked at him, into his eyes. "I know what I said hurt you. I…"

"No. No, no." Mumble said, cutting her off gently. "I'm sorry. I really do love your singing, and have never thought it nana-tootsie, or frou-frou, or whatever else I called it that day. I only said that to drive you away, because…well, I did almost die out there. I never wanted you to get hurt. I thought I would swim myself to death." Mumble said, giving a small chuckle, attempting to get a laugh out of Gloria, but she remained silent. He coughed covertly, knowing they had just slipped into another awkward moment.

"I came to realize that, after you were gone." She admitted. "I knew that you would never say those things and mean them. But I was so stuck-up, I…" she trailed off, obviously at loss for how to continue. Mumble was silent for a moment; the only noises the calm splashing of the ocean on the icy banks, and the distant chatter of their clan members. Mumble gulped, wanting to stop himself before the question was asked, but by the time he closed his beak, his words were already heard.

"Why didn't you choose a mate?"

Time itself seemed to freeze with the iciness that surrounded the two. Gloria froze and tensed up beside him. Mumble immediately stepped away from her, regretting asking the question quite deeply.

"Gloria, I'm sorry…I really didn't, I…" Mumble stammered, trying to apologize quickly, but the female penguin only turned away from the waters and began to head back to the colony.

"I'm going to go down and see what's going on. I'll see you later, Mumble." There was a flat tone in her voice as she gracefully collapsed onto her belly and slid down the hill towards the clan. Mumble slightly shook his head, and then bent it, his beak touching his chest, feeling so stupid and contemptible…