Chapter 2 ~ It Ain't Dancing...

"Erik!"

The chick turned, blue eyes filled with sadness.

"Yes?" he asked miserably. Bo waddled up to him and put a flipper on his back gently.

"What did you hear in your heart during class today?"

Erik sighed and slouched. The poor thing. His heart was broken. He had no song to sing. No song to call his heartsong. He couldn't believe that!

"Nothing." he said quietly. "Nothing at all."

"Well, at least you can sing!" Bo exclaimed.

Erik looked up, extremely confused. "What do you mean?"

"I mean you can sing and your dad can't. You have your mother's beautiful voice." Bo replied. Erik's eyes opened wide and a smile formed across his beak.

"Y-you think my voice is beautiful?"

"Of course. Don't you?"

"Well, not really, no..."

"It's amazing." Bo whispered. "But if you have no heartsong, what are you going to sing to attract a mate?"

Erik made a whimpering sound. "I don't know."

"Maybe..." Bo said. By the look on her face, Erik could tell she was having an epiphany.

"Maybe what?" Erik asked.

Bo smiled. Her golden eyes glinted.

"Maybe your heartsong is a heartdance." she explained. Taking Erik by the flipper, she waddled across the ice to Mumble's cave where he taught dancing.

"So, what we, uh, are learning is to dance to the beat of your heartsong." Mumble told his class. They all nodded and whispered amongst each other. They were all adolescent 'guins, all of their fluffy down feathers were gone.

"Dad?" Erik said quietly. Mumble heard him, though, and turned to look at his son.

"Erik? What are you doing here?"

Erik shuffled nervously on the snowy ground.

"Uncle Mumble." Bo started, her English accent extremely thick, making all the females in Mumble's class make 'aw!' noises as she waddled up to Erik's father. "Erik didn't hear his..."

Her voice trailed off as she realized that an entire class of probably untrustworthy nearly-graduates were listening. She glanced at the, that back at Mumble.

"Please come with me?" she asked and waddled away with Erik behind her. Mumble was a bit confused but followed them.

"Mason, you're in charge." Mumble said as he made his way behind the chicks. A loud, deep voice yelled

"YEAH!"

as the trio left. They stopped at the edge of the territory, where everything they said was out of earshot. Bo turned to Mumble and finished her sentence:

"...heartsong."

Mumble was confused for a second, then realized what Bo meant. He looked at Erik, who was near tears. He went to his son and put him onto his feet, flippers holding him in a soothing way.

"Erik? Is that true?"

Erik nodded, his blue eyes lined with tear drops. Bo waddled up to the two and started tapping her feet.

"Maybe you could help him find his heartsong with this...?" she said, gesturing to her feet. Mumble nodded and started to dance. Erik looked up at his father in a surprised way. Then a smile formed, followed by little giggles. He hopped off of Mumble's feet and started to dance in the same pattern that Bo and Mumble were. It stayed that way for a few minutes, laughter making its way out of each one's beak, the snow starting to uncover ice because of all the tapping. Suddenly, Erik stopped. He shook his head. Bo stopped, as did Mumble. They all came closer to the sad little chick whose face was covered with his flippers.

"What's wrong?" Mumble asked his son. The chick looked up for enough time to say:

"It isn't dancing."