A/N: This drabble is for Blue, who mentioned in a review, that she wondered "what the other ducks say behind his back." I hope you enjoy it!
The swan couple in the opening are shameless imitation of the ones in E.B. White's The Trumpet of the Swan [cob = male swan, pen = female swan]
Disclaimer: I do not own Princess Tutu
IV. Gossip
"Whatever is the matter, my dear?" the swan asks his mate that evening after they put their chicks to bed.
"Didn't you notice that rude little drake cutting in while I was leading the hatchlings in the lake?" she replies her voice and her ruffling feathers showing her irritation.
"Oh, that fellow trying to court that strange little duck? The solitary one?"
"They're both strange if you ask me—before he appeared she would spend her days moping about the lake by herself and consorting with that human who used to come by all that time!"
"Good riddance to him," the cob agrees trying to placate the still cross pen. "I didn't much like the look of him. I always thought that boy was after our eggs."
"Never mind that," she snaps. "It's that drake I'm angry about—the nerve of him, interrupting my lesson!"
"A right mess he made of his footwork, trying to impress his lady friend" the swan chuckles. "Ah, young love," he sighs wistfully.
---
"Do you know who the new drake is?"
"That clumsy one?" a mallard drake swimming nearby interrupts. The females give him a collective, icy stare; his iridescent green head sinks a bit under the weight of their displeasure.
"Dark and mysterious," one corrects.
"I think he's taken," the duck beside her mourns.
"Tortured and dreamy," another adds.
"Perhaps he's a human prince under a spell," a third suggests. They all turn to stare at her before laughing quackingly.