Disclaimer: I don't own Happy Feet or any of it's characters. Look at link in profile for the leopard seal clip in the movie if you feel you have no idea what I'm talking about.

Part 1

Chapter 5

Mumble doesn't know what to do next. He followed the track and came upon another seal's remains. But that's not what worried him. Egg shells scattered the ground.

Maybe the egg hatched and the seal still has the chick. Maybe the little one's okay. Or maybe the predator ate the chick.

He hoped the last one was wrong.

He then found some more cause for hope. There, next to the drag mark, is the footprints of a baby penguin. His chick was still alive and following the thief! Excited, he followed the trail.

...

It wasn't icy anymore. Instead, it was rocky. Rojas stopped at the water's edge and released Whisper, who he carried for most of the journey. She looked around. On the right was a colony of chinstap penguins. On the left was a harem of elephant seals. In the sky and the rocky slope behind them was a flock of skuas.

Only skuas were creatures that Whisper has seen before, and Rojas says that those want to kill her. The penguins were nothing that she's ever seen before, yet they look surprisingly similar to her. The elephant seals looked like Rojas in general body form, but they were HUGE! Much better than Rojas himself.

It frightened her. She pressed herself hard against Rojas. He looked at her, then at the other seals. He turned his gaze back on her with a grin.

"Don't worry Sausage. Those are harmless most of the time. They'll only bother you if you bother them." he explained.

He turned to the water, wanting to feed. He looked at Whisper.

"Stay here. Keep out of trouble and stay away from everyone else here. Yell if you need help. And if you decide to explore, don't venture too far from this spot." he instructed.

Whisper nodded and sat down. He smiled and nudged her with his snout. She hugged his muzzle.

"Bye bye." she said. She let him go and he moved towards the water.

"I'll be back soon." he told her. He dived into the water and Whisper, for the first time in her life, was on her own.

She took some time to preen herself. Afterwards, she stood up and played with a pebble. She picked it up and threw it as hard as she can. She then ran to retrieve it.

She laughed as she repeated the game. Once bored, she decided to explore a nearby tide pool. But she realized that she had company.

Skuas. 5 of them. She dropped what she was doing and stared at them. Rojas always told her to hold her ground when faced with predators. He said that most attacks are triggered by running.

"Hey dere." one said in a New Jersey accent."Whacha doin' here all alone?"

"None of your business." she answered. The skuas laughed.

"A bit feisty, eh?" another exclaimed.

"Go away and leave me alone."

...

Rojas held onto his prey. His jaws were clamped on a chinstap penguin. It tried to escape in vain, calling for help. He surfaced and flung his food against the water.

Dazed, the penguin froze. Rojas retrieved it, seizing its wing. The penguin snapped out of its shock.

"Please let me go. I have a chick and it'll die without me." it begged.

"Isn't that too bad. Well, I'm sure the skuas will put a slow end to its misery." Rojas responded. Again he flung it against the water and again he swam after it. The exhausted bird made no effort to escape.

"If you can't let me go, then at least give me a quick death." it tried to compromise. Rojas smiled.

"That I can do." he accepted.

He took the penguin's head and flung it again, snapping it's neck and killing it instantly. He took hold of it's foot and shook the corpse violently. He did so until the bird's skin and feathers peeling off, leaving the skinned carcass for Rojas to eat.

As he fed, he scanned the shore, looking for Whisper. He found her playing with a pebble. He smiled as he ate, watching her game.

Once he had his fill, he began to hunt for Whisper's food. He ambushed a school of fish, snapping up as much as he can. The fish was more than he can keep in. He'll throw them back up soon. But that's the point.

Rojas finished his attacks and surfaced. He found Whisper near a tidepool, surrounded by skuas. He growled and hurried to the shore. Once on land, he headed straight for them.

...

"Stay away! I don't like you!" Whisper warned. She tried her best to be brave, but she was very scared on the inside. These birds were far bigger than her and outnumbered her.

If they attacked, she's a goner.

The skuas always laughed at her threats. They knew she couldn't do anything to them. One of the birds pinnned Whisper to the ground and she finally felt scared enough to call for Rojas.

"Help!" she screamed. The skuas laughed. But it was short lived.

Rojas grabbed a skua by the head from behind. The seabird flapped its wings but it was too late to take flight. It was caught.

The angry leopard seal bit down, crushing the bird's skull. It went limp and Rojas dropped the dead body. He stared at the birds, baring his razor sharp teeth.

"Get away from her or else." he warned. The birds left Whisper alone and faced Rojas.

"What are you goin' to do about it?" one said. Rojas nudged the dead skua. The others hesitated. "Point taken."

"You'd leave if you valued your life."

The birds, though reluctant to abandon the chick, slowly flew off. Whisper stood and leaned on Rojas.

"Thank you!" she said. Rojas nudged her.

"Are you okay?" he asked in concern.

"Yes. Just scared." she explained. He smiled and nuzzled her for reassurance. He opened his mouth and, feeling better, Whisper prompt him to regurgitate some fish. Once done, he again nudge her.

"Come. We're going home." he said.

Preview:

Whisper asked why Rojas is caring for her and not her real parents. Rojas needs to think of an answer and fast.