A/N: Loose references to: Launchtime and Operation: Break-speare.


Some Time to Borrow

Silent toes barely touched the ground while a silky tail was swinging gently from side to side. Few more moves, few more quiet steps and he would reach his destiny.

The Penguins' HQ seconds before dawn didn't resemble the same place during daytime. Everyone was still asleep and only the clock waited for the right hour to announce the day with its busy morning. But until that the breathing inside the base was even.

The single window which mostly only shared the deep blue of the water, this time allowed to enter a couple of colourful lights which fought their way through the water and glass to finally fall on the clean floor and bounce up to the walls, dancing slowly to the music that played in the visitor's brain. His first thought was that the Sky Spirits illuminated the path for him.

By that time he remembered every trap but he couldn't help to stop for a moment to look at the birds in their bunks. Sweet dreams and blissful ignorance about his actions were painted on their beaks. The penguins and their fridge full of delicious, fresh food. How he was grateful for such neighbours. All Sky Spirits' doing.

Opening and closing of the fridge, after the lights, wisely and slow, without a single hush-hush, up, back to his habitat to consume the cake that was waiting for him all the time, he dreamt about it before, Ringtail could tell.

If he took a stop once again, he would notice the eye that observed him. That penguin didn't need an alarm to be awake. After all it was his saying that 'Penguins never sleep'. But rest and give some rest, especially to their neighbours. Besides, he could always go and borrow something too. Maybe some quiet time because music didn't play in his brain. For the time being he could enjoy the silence of the dawn. The penguin had waited long enough for that.