"Are we there yet?" Marie asked, walking beside Klonoa "We musta been walkin' for hours!"
"We've only been walkin' for half an hour!" Popka corrected.
"Who asked ya?" Marie said sticking her tongue out at him. Popka grunted to himself and tried to shrug it off, but that didn't last long.
"I'm hungry!" Marie complained to Klonoa.
"You're always hungry!" klonoa told her "Just suck it up for now."
"Okay" she said "Are we there yet?"
"I can't take her anymore!" Popka yelled, glaring at her "You better shad up, or you'll regret it."
"Yeah right!' she said, snickering mischievely to herself.
"That's it!" Popka yelled, lunging at her with his claws. She simply took a step to the side, causing him to go crashing into the ground. He mumbled to himself annoyed, then asked Klonoa "Are we there yet? Marie's gettin' on my nerves."
"It's up ahead... across that river... it's wider than last time..." klonoa paused.
"Yippee!" Marie shouted in glee "I get ta swim!"
"Oh no..." Klonoa paused.
"Oh, I forgot, you can't swim" she said "Too bad for you... hey, maybe a double jump can help you cross!"
Klonoa rubbed his chin and thought, "All I have to do is nab a moo and-"
"No!" Marie said " I know what you're thinking! You can't hurt the moos!"
"Is she crazy?" Popka whispered to Klonoa.
"I heard that!" Marie said "To let ya know, I'm a moo protector!"
"Well... there's one other way..." Klonoa said, looking to Popka.
"Don't look at me like that!" he scowled "I still have a head ache from last time!"
"Pwease?" Marie begged, wide-eyed, trembling her lip in a puppy-dog pout. He tried looking away from her face, but one quick glance at the intense cuteness caused him to change his mind. Giving in, he said "Fine, I'll do it, but I won't like it!"
"Thanks!" Marie gleefully said as Klonoa and Popka readied themselves. Marie didn't know what Popka was capable of, but she assumed he wasn't completely useless. Klonoa backed away from the river, signaling Popka that he was ready. He dashed towards the river, leaping up in the air. Flapping his ears, he managed to prevent himself from falling for a matter of seconds while Popka flew underneath. Before Klonoa could fall into the swift currents, Popka flew underneath him, bashing his head underneath his feet, causing Klonoa to fly up into the air, landing safely on the other side. Marie gazed on at the odd sight; Popka spinning around, still in mid air, eyes spiraling for a short while. His state of dizziness soon ended, and she snapped back into reality.
"Now it's my turn!" she announced, zooming towards the river. She took a leap and dived in, completely submerging herself in water. The two looked on, closely keeping eye on the trail of bubbles that quickly traveled across the river. They assumed she caused the bubble, the water wasn't clear enough to see her.
"So, unlike you she can swim..." Popka observed, looking up.
"Yup" Klonoa simply replied "I lost the trail of bubbles... do you see it anywhere?"
"Nope" he said, keeping his eyes fixed upon the river "She's bound ta come up..."
"What are you two staring at?" someone asked from behind them. Klonoa quickly turned around, but relaxed seeing it was Marie.
"How'd ya get behind us?" Popka asked.
"Wow, ya must have not been payin' close attention" she assumed, wringing the water out of her jester hat. Popka's nose twitched as he sniffed the air.
"You know, you smell a little different..." he suspiciously said.
"Musta been the water." she simply said "Caused my scent ta change."
"Nevermind!" Klonoa interupted "We've wasted enough time!"
"Right!" the other two said in unison, following Klonoa. The three set off towards the temple in the distance, Popka glancing back from time-to-time.
"Something doesn't feel right..." he muttered to himself.