Replies to the People
dragongirlj: Alright, now guess one more time! It's funny!
Gewlicious: It's okay, it sounds wierd anyways. But it does have a purpose. Yes, Marlene is related to Cube, though how I can't say. There will be hints in the story, though. And the party is for... well, you'll see right now.
A/N: If I had to choose voices for the characters, all the normal characters would stay the same. Cube would be voiced by Danny Cooksey, Lisa (Cube and Roz's Grandma) would be played by Betty White ( :D), Roz would probably be played by Grey DeLisle (Spelling?), and Thomas would be played by Ben Stein (which is why he doesn't talk much.). Roz and Cube's Uncle Charlie (Who is introduced in this chapter, but is never seen, at least not in this story) would be played by Christopher Walken. All of them (The characters, not the people) belong to me. And I'm so super serious. You need to review. Also, I noticed Marlene isn't in this chapter either. Wierd.
Chapter Four: What IS Family?
"Dinner was great, Lisa. Can I help clean up?" Private asked, chipper as ever. Lisa chuckled and nodded, and the overly enthusiastic Private picked up a cloth and started cleaning things up. Rico went with Roz and Thomas to check on the rest of the otters, and to make sure they knew the plan. That left Kowalski, Skipper, and Cube.
Cube really wanted to spend some time with Skipper, after seeing how close he and his sister had gotten so quickly. No one ever really bonded with Roz, since she was suspiciously quiet most of the time, and quietly suspicious the other part of the time. But Roz seemed downright chummy with Skipper, holding his flipper when they got to the table, demanding he sit next to her, and exchanging stories at dinner. It went on like this long after the fish and clams were gone, and when Roz was told she was on check-up duty, she whined like when she was little. She never complained about anything. It was that small thing that made Cube want to check out what was so special about Skipper.
Skipper was talking to Kowalski about some options for staying the night, which was the perfect time for Cube to interject. "Uh, hey, if you want, you all can bunk with me. I mean, I have some extra room, obviously." The taller penguin seemed to go for it, and a few minutes later, all four penguins were nestled on different sides of the room, Cube sleeping in the middle with his head turned toward Skipper so that they could talk. And now Cube knew exactly what Roz saw in this guy. It was pretty obvious after talking to him.
"So do you have any... other family? Besides Lisa and Thomas, I mean." Skipper asked. This wasn't a curious question, not when grouped with the other questions he had asked. All were about him and his family. But Cube didn't mind.
He loved talking, and family was one of the few non-scientific things he knew about. "Well, we have an Uncle Charlie, but he lives in the south, and we have some aunts somewhere, but we lost contact with them when they got transferred. It was terrible, because they were so close, and then they were separated. And Roz was really taken with them too." Skipper rolled his eyes. These kids were harder to crack than a frozen walnut. "We... Roz's and my dad--"
Skipper interjected. "Yeah, she told me.", sparring the boy's feelings and not making him talk about his father. Though, he didn't know... "What happened to him?" Cube gave Skipper an odd look.
"I thought she told you?" Skipper just shrugged and Cube lay on his side, thinking about it for a second. "Dad was something of a hero. Not just to us, and not just to mom, but to everyone." Skipper stored that in his memory. He would have to remember to ask where this elusive mother of theirs was. "Our oldest sister loved him the most though, I think." He chuckled a bit. "Dad was so totally split between her and Roz, but they loved each other too much to really fight for him, so they'd pretty much share, like the best friends they really were. But she's in some other zoo now. I don't know where. Anyway, one day, the zoo had the single worst earthquake any of us had ever seen. None of us would have made it if it weren't for dad. He shoved us all in a cave, and told us to stay back against the walls. He thought it would be safest for us there." His voice was starting to crack, but he kept going. "He tried his hardest to get everyone in, and there was only two otters left. Mom and Roz. Mom threw Roz in here in time, but then a big boulder fell, and we couldn't see what happened. A few hours later, it stopped, and the boulder was moved. And dad... got crushed. It was really bad. Roz wasn't allowed to see." Skipper never felt so much for the boy, for anybody really, as he did right then. He held the boy's paw with his flipper, and saw him smile in the semi-darkness. It was a tormented, strained smile, but a smile nonetheless. "Thanks."
Skipper patted his head, and scooted a little closer. "But... what happened to your mom?" Cube was about to tell him, another sad frown starting on his face. Unfortunately for the pair of them, they were interrupted (again) by Lisa, telling everyone it was lights out.
"You'll thank me in the morning when we have to wake up really early for Rozalin's birthday party." So that's what was going on. It was Roz's birthday. Skipper couldn't help but wonder how the young girl felt about celebrating a birthday without either of her parents, or sister, or aunts or even her uncle. He looked back to Cube, who had shrugged and folded his arms, falling asleep in seconds. The pups had it rough, but they were just as strong as any of Skipper's crew. Maybe even stronger. And he couldn't help but wonder how such a big family had been cut down. He knew the story, but something like that sounded almost like... a made-up story.
As sleep drew closer and closer, Skipper decided that he would try and help make Roz's birthday the best one she could ever have. It was like he couldn't help caring for the girl... and protecting her... and making her unconventionally happy... and... and as long as she was happy, nothing else... could really... be... wrong.
