Chapter 4: Both or none
Five long seasons had passed since the day of birth of Gloria and Mumble's generation.
The scarcity of fish became worse over the years, making that catch three fish in a day was all an achievement. This lack of food caused that the chick's growth was much slower than usual… and unfortunately, some families lost their chicks too.
However, thanks to the grace of the Great Guin (and the exceptional fishing skills of their parents) Gloria, Mumble, Seymour and many others penguin survived their childhood.
Mumble had earned some reputation among his fellow. He was simply the best singer of the generation and one of the wiser of all. His condition of descendant of the Ancient Elders had made him a very respected penguin between the council. But still, he was a very kind guy, with a natural love for the parties and a very caring nature. He secretly had improved his tapping skill, and also he taught some friends to dance too and asked them to call him Mumble Happy Feet. Soon all the colony was aware of this skill and also was calling him like that.
Although Noah didn't like the idea of Mumble practicing this strange act, Mumble had proven more than once that he was loyal to the tradition, so he didn't have anything against him. Actually, he thought that the kid, with a bit of discipline, could be a great leader.
However, Mumble wasn't an ordinary emperor penguin; he had several sequels of his accident as an egg. His fluffy grey baby's feathers didn't fell like everyone's feathers did, they stayed in his body. One time, he tried to pull some of them out, but the only thing he got was making himself bleed a little. So he left them, being fluffy was not a bother for him. Actually, his fluffy feather and his blue eyes made him very popular with the females. But still, he never gave much attention to any of them.
Why he should anyways? He already knew that no matter how much he wanted, he'd never going to find a song that matched with his. Getting closer to girls would only cause pain for him and for them.
He preferred to spend time with his friends, with one specially: Gloria. He didn't know why, but when he was with her, he felt happier.
Gloria's story was a little different from Mumble's one.
Despite of been encouraged by Mumble to stay in the group, she spend most of her school days in the back of the class. When she grew up, she became in a very beautiful penguin, she also improved a little her singing, but not very much. She still wasn't able to sing a single note properly.
After five seasons of efforts and sufferings, of scarcity and uncertainties, they would finally graduate of Penguin Elementary.
There were only a few hours before the celebration started. Mumble and his parents were in a cave, close to the main square, were the celebration was going to take place.
"We are so proud of you, Mumble" Memphis told to his son.
"Thanks pa" Mumble answered.
"I can't believe that my baby is going to graduate. The time passed so fast!" Norma Jean said, hugging her son.
"Ma, I'm not a baby anymore"
"I don't care if you graduate, married, have thousand of chicks or become an Elder or a Patriarch; you will always be my little baby" She said, in her usual caring and maternal voice.
"Soooo…" Memphis said, in his fatherly insinuative voice "Speaking of babies, do you have any girl in mind? After graduation, it will be a short countdown of just two month before the mating season began"
"Pa…" Mumble answered, sadly "You are perfectly aware of my condition. There is no reason for doing so, I'll not get any of them anyways."
"But you don't lose anything trying. Come on, son! Participate on it. Do it for us, ok? "
"Ok…" He sighed "I'll… for you"
"That's my boy" Memphis said, hitting Mumble's shoulders friendly with one of his flipper.
"And… how about Gloria? She seems VERY interested in you" Norma Jean insinuated.
"Mom! Gloria and I… ehm… we are only friends! That's all!" Mumble said nervously and blushing.
"Me and your father were also friend" She insinuated again.
"Drop it, honey. He can't be with her" Memphis commented. Mumble felt a strange feeling growing in his heart when he heard those words, something that he had never felt before, like if those words had insulted him.
"Why not?" He asked.
"Well son… you know why"
"Because she can't sing?" He asked again.
"Well… no… it's just…" He said nervously, but soon he realized that Mumble wasn't believing what he was saying "Mumble, accept it… she is kind of…"
"Kind of what!" Mumble asked upset, almost shouting.
"Don't lift the voice with me!"
"Don't change the subject! She is what!" He shouted to his father.
"She is a freak! Ok? A FREAK!" Memphis yelled in response
"MEMPHIS!" Norma Jean shouted "How can you say that?"
"Honey, it's true. She can't sing, she is always hiding from everyone, she never tried to approach to a male before like normal girls; what is more, she never tried to approach anyone!… actually, she has no friends except for Mumble, and…"
"And what!" Mumble was about to explode in rage, he couldn't believe that his own father was talking like that of his best friend!
"Why this sudden interest in her?" The anger in Mumble suddenly disappeared and was replaced with nervousness. Memphis' eyes widened noticing this "Do you… do you… like her?"
"I… I…" Mumble tried to respond "I don't… but she is my friend"
Unknown to everyone, Gloria was at the entrance of the cave, hidden behind a pillar of ice, hearing the conversation, with a hopeful smile. But this smile faded with the last words of Mumble.
Unlike Mumble, she had changed her feathers appropriately when she got the right age. In the exterior, she was like any other penguin: Black feathers on her back, tail and head; white feathers on her chest and underbelly zone and a beautiful necklace of bright golden feathers.
She decided that there was no reason to continue hiding, so she walked toward Mumble and his family to greet them.
"Hi Mumble! Hi Mr. and Mrs. H!" She greeted as if she just arrived there.
"Oh! Hi Gloria" Mumble responded happily.
"Be welcome, my girl" Norma Jean said.
Memphis, however, was not happy at all. He snorted rudely as soon as he saw Gloria and walked out of the cave.
"Did I say something wrong?" Gloria asked, worried.
"No! Of course not! He just is a bit sick because… he ate some bad fish. That's all!" Mumble lied.
"Oh!, ok. Maybe he should try to drink some squid ink. My mama told me that she used to use that when I was little"
"Yeah… I will tell him later"
Gloria lost herself in Mumble's gaze. Even when were they talking of something so common like squid ink, she couldn't help but staring at those eyes. Those deep blue eyes... they were hypnotizing. To Mumble, something very similar was happening to him.
And they just stood there, motionless, staring at each other, smiling… forgetting that Norma Jean was still there.
"Well kids, I'll leave you alone so you can talk" Norma Jean said giggling, after a minute of silence "I'll go to the square and see if I can find Memphis, ok?"
"Ok, mom" Mumble said.
Before she left, she approached to Mumble and simulate that she was giving him a hug, but what she was really doing was getting close to him to wisher something.
"Maybe your father will never accept it, but I will. Don't listen to what anyone say. Follow your heart, Mumble. It will never fail you" She whispered. After that, she simply walked out of the cave, without saying anything more.
Mumble remained silent, watching his mother walking away, until a certain penguin spoke.
"So, aren't you excited for the graduation?"
"Ehm… me?... yeah! Of course I am"
"I still can believe that Noah let me graduate too!" She said, jumping due the excitement "How did you convince him?"
"Well…"
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Kak deliu ya vas! Kak bayu ya vas!
Zzznat videl ya vaaas… yaaa nidooobrrrryy chaaaaaaas!
The oldest members of the council were reunited hearing Mumble's song, including Noah. They all clapped politely when he finished his song.
"A magnificent performance, young Mumble! There is no doubt that you could be an Elder in the future" Noah congratulated, approaching to him "I would be proud to have you as my disciple the next season"
"Thanks sir. But now I want you to do your part of the deal" Mumble responded. Noah's smile faded.
"Look Mumble, I know I promise you that if you could prove that you were descendant of the Ancients, I would do that; but is a decision that the council have to make" Another Elder approached to Mumble and Noah "So? What have you decided?" Noah asked to him.
"It's a tie, Noah" The other Elder replied "Half of us agreed, half of us disagreed. The final decision is yours" Noah narrowed his eyes; the other Elder giggled nervously and walked away along with the others members of the council.
"So?" Mumble asked.
"Are you sure about it?" Mumble nodded "Can we discuss it?"
"There is nothing to discuss, sir. Both or none, you decide… now"
"Ok…" Noah sighed "You win. I'll allow Gloria to graduate…"
"And?"
Noah sighed again, rolling his eyes "And I promise that I'll not banish her just because she can't sing. Happy?"
"Oh, yeah!" Mumble said, proudly.
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"… I have my methods" Mumble said.
"Still, was very nice of you. Thank you"
"Anything for my friends"
Why Gloria hated so much that word? Wasn't she supposed to feel happy when somebody told her that she is a friend? So why she didn't? Or was only when that word came from Mumble?
"Hey kids!" An old voice was heard from outside. Soon, an old emperor penguin came in sight "The ceremony is about to start, you better hurry"
"We are coming!" Mumble shouted. The old penguin walked away "Come on Gloria, lets finish with this!"
The graduation of a new generation is a huge and glorious event. After five year under the care of their parents and teachers, the young chicks would finally end being chicks. Although they wouldn't be considered adult until mating season. The word teenager is the closest to this period of months between the graduation and the ritual.
Every penguin school was there. They were like 750 penguins, reunited in the main square of the territory, in front of the Elders' altar. From there, some of their teacher directed to them a few words of congratulation. When the time to close the celebration came, Noah was supposed to say the final words.
Everyone expected him in excitement; he was a rude but quite charismatic leader. He was famous for his short but heart-touching speeches. When he finally climbed up to the altar, everyone remained in silent, waiting for his words.
"Thousand of generation ago…" He began in his usual wise and raspy voice"…our forefathers forsook our wings for flipper. You graduates, going to the sea for the first time, are to reap the benefits of their wise choice" His voice suddenly filled with concern, worrying a bit to his fellow penguin "These are lean and uncertain times. There is danger in every place. Guin seems to have been testing us" His voice came back to his secure tone "But by the power of the ancients penguin wisdoms; we, my brethren, will endure!"
"YEAH!" The crowd cheered, clapping their flippers.
"Stay faithfully to our traditions and true to our ways, and you will always be worthy of this, our brave penguin nation. EXCELSIOR!"
"YA! YA! YA!" The graduates cheered again, shaking their heads up and down.
After the speech, the teacher of the schools leaded the crowd of just graduated to the exit of the territory.
"Ok kids, listen up" Miss Viola said "Continue straight and you will reach the ocean in one or two hours"
"Have all the fun you want and feel free to visit the glacier if you want" Another teacher said.
"But you MUST come back tomorrow before the sun sets, because the adult have to go to the ocean to fish too" A third teacher concluded.
After these last tips, the teachers allowed the student to continue their first pilgrimage to the ocean. Seymour, for some reason, took the front of the crowd and became the leader of the congregation.
As the teacher had said, they reached the shore in about two hours. It wasn't a shore; actually it was a cliff of 10 meters tall! When they reached it, no one wanted to jump of it. Mumble walked to the front to see what was happening.
"Hey Seymour? We are going to swim or what?"
"Very funny, fuzzball. I'm not gonna jump from here!"
"Aaaaawww! Don't tell me that the big Seymour is scared of a bit high fall?" Mumble teased.
"If you're so brave, y' don't you try it?"
"Why should I? Weren't you our 'leader' and…?"
"Mumble look out!" A penguin girl shouted.
Gloria, who was walking toward Mumble, accidently slipped and rolled down. Mumble didn't have time to move, so he was hit. The impact caused him to fall off the cliff, with so many bad luck that he landed on a piece of ice, which was floating in the water, smashing it into pieces and sinking in the ocean.
"Mumble!" Gloria shouted, when she could stand up, but she had no respond.
All penguins hurried to lean out of the ice's edge to observe the water and see if their friend was ok. The water was calm and hadn't got any sign of… of nothing, actually, like if anything had happened.
"MUMBLE!" Gloria shouted again. Her eyes began to tear.
All of them filled with horror when they notice something near the crash-zone. Although faint, it could be distinguish a red stain near the remaining ice fragments.
"Oh, my Guin!" A penguin lady said "Is that… that blood?"
"Oh no… this cannot be!" Another penguin said.
"You!" Seymour angrily yelled to Gloria "You freak! What have you done to our Mumble?"
"It was an accident! I didn't mean to…" Gloria tried to defend herself "He is my best friend!" She started sobbing "I didn't want to hurt him"
"Hurt him? You just killed him! What kind of friend are you?"
"I… I…" Gloria was trying to speak, but her sadness and her tears didn't allow her to do so.
"He felt sorry for you, he approached to you so you wouldn't be alone… and you killed him" He said, scornfully "You are an ungrateful and an embarrassment for the nation"
Gloria couldn't stand it anymore. She burst into tears, while everyone was looking at her as she was the most despicable thing in earth.
But then a voice… a voice that they thought that they didn't going to hear anymore called them from the water.
"Hey guys!" Everyone hurried to lean out of the ice's edge again. Mumble was the one speaking. He was swimming happily in the ocean, without any apparent harm "What are you waiting for? Last one is a rotten egg!" He teased them.
The crowd of penguin slowly began to jump on the water. Not because Mumble had told them to, but as soon as they saw him there, happy in the water, the penguins on the ice felt the need to jump too.
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Minutes later, under the water:
"Mumble!" Gloria called to her friend "Are you ok?"
"Hi Gloria. Yes, don't worry. It just a scratch" He said, showing her his right flipper, which had a red line on it and several feathers dyed with blood "I will survive, but I think that this, in addition to my fluffiness, is going to slow me down in the water"
"Oh Mumble, It's my fault. I almost killed you! Please, forgive me! I didn't want to hurt you, I…"
"Hey, Gloria" Mumble cut "It's ok, I'm fine... and I don't have to forgive you. It was an accident, and accidents just happen, right?"
"I know Mumble, but I was so worried. If something happens to you, I…"
"You are so cute when you are worried" Mumble sighed. The compliment of Mumble took Gloria completely by surprise. She didn't expect that reaction from someone who she had just thrown off a cliff.
"Oh… ahm… really?" She said, nervously.
"Of course. In fact, no only when you are worried, but always"
In his mind, Mumble didn't know what he was doing. Why he was saying that things? He knew that he was destined to be alone. Even if Gloria had a Heartsong, they couldn't be together… So why he still felt the necessity to tell her these things? Was the Great Guin playing with his feelings… again?
Mumble had nothing to lose. If he was going to spend his life in solitude, at least he would be sincere with her best friend.
"Gloria…" He managed to clean his throat and very nervously, he started seeking for the right words in his mind "…all my life I wanted to tell you that… that you are… you are so…"
Just then, Gloria saw behind Mumble, a small school of fish approaching to them. She was enjoying of Mumble's attention more than any of us can even imagine, but she was very hungry too, and her natural instincts kind of betrayed her.
"Fish…" She said without wanting it..
"Yeah, you are so fish" Mumble said.
Gloria knew that she had just ruined her most romantic moment with Mumble so far; there wasn't anything more to do about it. She tried to say something, but once again, her instincts didn't allow her to think in another thing but food, so she decided to satisfies them to prevent another embarrassing moment.
"No. Look! Fish!" She shouted
Mumble turned around and saw the fish school too. Gloria darted toward them and Mumble followed her, along with others penguins whom also saw the fish.
After that, everything became a blur. Penguins and fish swimming everywhere, shouts, screams and laughs.
But in a few seconds, it was ended. The fish school was not very big at all. Gloria didn't catch any, so she began to look for Mumble to see if he had been more luckily than her, but she couldn't find him.
"Mumble! Where are you?" She shouted, but without response.
For some reason, she decided to look down and then, a few meters below, she could distinguish the silhouette of a creature sinking ... an apparently fluffy creature.
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So, chapter 4 is here.
I didn't want to make so many changes to the scenes, because they were great; but I also didn't want to write the same that is shown in the film.
I hope you like it and read you soon.
