Welcome to chapter 6! Time for something you're waiting for. I was planning to do it last chapter, but oh well. Let's go, though!

CHAPTER 6 – Proposals

(P to Sebastien) Diana didn't know it, but I had a plan when I suggested going outside in the evening. All of us guys did. Over the last week, we had been thinking of how to propose to our respective girlfriends. Not being in the wild, our choices were very limited.

Fish was unacceptable as a gift from us. We needed something that would last. We couldn't afford rings, plus the fact that we were Otters. The keepers would be bound to notice them. But two days earlier, we had finally decided to get them pearls. They could be easily hidden in the habitat, yet were still beautiful.

I had snuck out last night after closing and hunted along the shore for oysters. I had to swim out a little, but I got all five that we needed. They were stored below the habitat, where no one ever went. They were going to remain there until we headed back up to the roof before sunset.

That was our plan, to present the pearls at the peak of sunset. And now that everyone was able to stay up for an hour without going feral, I would be able to convince Diana to let us all separate into different spots on the roof, yet close by.

(P to Diana in the evening) The keepers came by early again to feed us and close the aquarium from anyone trying to get in. We were confused, but spotted a little square box in the male keeper's pocket.

We all instantly knew there was a ring inside. It was so sweet! The male keeper was going to ask the woman keeper if she wanted to marry him. Us girls really hoped that our boyfriends could do the same for us. Everyone knew we could get hold of the general so he could marry us if that day came. Hopefully that day would come soon.

After dinner, we just hung around in the habitats, with the boys showing off for us. It felt wonderful, to know that our boyfriends loved us. It had only all coalesced in the last year and we were grateful for it happening.

As it approached sunset, we decided to head up. We girls went first, with the boys following close behind. When we emerged on the roof, the sky was turning into a brilliant flash of colors. Sunset wasn't far off. Sebastien had picked a good time for us all to be here, as everyone hadn't seen sunrise or sunset yet.

What surprised me though, was his idea to let everyone go their own way on the roof. He trusted that everyone wouldn't go feral. I knew he was right, so I agreed with him. We all found spots near the ventilation system so everyone could step inside to cool off just in case they felt their instincts taking over.

Everyone was scattered across the rooftop, but within walking distance of each other. We would only be able to hear each other if we shouted, but what would be the odds of what anyway? They were probably extremely low.

So in one area, it was just Sebastien and I. I couldn't put my paw on it, but something seemed different. Sebastien seemed more anxious and nervous than usual. I wondered why, but gave up on asking. He was probably just wondering if our friends would go feral or not.

Still, I loved being at his side. He made me feel whole. I was sure he felt the same way about me. If I had known when we were children that we would fall in love someday, it would have been wonderful to know. Even though we had lost our parents to pure evil, we still had each other.

As the sun set, I felt our love grow. And Sebastien had begun speaking to me about why he loved me. It made my heart soar. I was gently resting my head on his shoulder, listening to his words. They were absolutely magical.

I kissed Sebastien every time he said something, it was so wonderful. Suddenly, after we shared a kiss, Sebastien looked at me directly in the eyes. I saw pure love in them. And then, he got down one knee, from our standing position.

A single knee. I nearly gasped when I realized what Sebastien was doing. He was proposing! He wanted us to become husband and wife! "Diana," he said simply to me. "Will you marry me?" Sebastien asked me, opening the box he had.

I gasped in love at the sight. In the box was a beautiful white pearl. I was overwhelmed with emotion. "Yes! I will marry you!" I shouted to Sebastien, before kissing and embracing him. I was his fiancé! We were due to become husband and wife. We truly were going to grow old together and hopefully raise a family of our own. It was perfect.

Suddenly, I heard other shouts of surprise and love. I panicked for a moment before Sebastien put his paw gently on my face. I knew instantly what was going on. He and the other guys had all proposed at the same time. They had surely planned this. "I love you," I said happily to him, kissing him.

We sat back down and watched the rest of the sunset for the next half hour. It was the end of a day, but a new dawn in all our lives. I couldn't wait to see what the future would bring. As soon as we got back downstairs, we would contact and the general and ask him to come and wed us all.

When the sun finished setting, Sebastien and I decided it was time to round up everyone. We actually all met at the original place where we had come out from. All us girls eagerly showed each other our pearls. None was bigger than the other, which would result in no resentment from us. We all kissed the men we loved, so happy they had finally proposed to us.

We all headed back to the habitat, loving life. It was perfect. We all kissed our respective fiancés again once we landed on the floor. "How? How did you come up with this glorious idea?" I asked the guys. "Easy. Sebastien's the only one who can leave without the possibility of going feral, so he got the pearls," Alexander said.

"But how did you come up with the idea?" Hannah asked her fiancé. "We all just talked about it for the last several nights while you were all asleep," David said. "When did you get the lovely pearls?" Isabella asked her fiancé. "Sebastien got them just two nights ago," John said. "What a wonderful plan," Charlotte said, making us fiancées kiss each our fiancés.

"You need to contact your old leader as soon as we have no risk of being found," Olivia said to Sebastien and I. "We'll do that tonight, after we make sure the keepers aren't coming back for the night," Sebastien said. "I saw a little ring box in the male keeper's pocket. I don't think they'll be coming back until tomorrow," I said, making us chuckle. We all knew what would happen if he was successful.

"What do you want to do until later?" Charles asked us. "To be with you," Olivia said happily to him. Once again, kisses were shared. We then wait a few hours and our suspicions were correct. The keepers weren't coming back to check on us. We once again used the air ducts and navigated them until we found the computer below.

We all covered our ears at the horrid sound of it booting and connecting to the Internet. * If it ever advanced, it needed to lose the sounds. They were probably really annoying to humans, but to us it was painful. Our ears were more sensitive than theirs.

We eventually got through the firewalls and out to the email. Sebastien and I had made ours just before we had left the base up north in San Francisco, so we wouldn't have any risk of the keepers finding our emails.

We all made one and would have included an image if we could. But it would have been too large for the email. Instead, we announced to the General and told him the good news about Sebastien proposing to me. We also mentioned everyone else and asked him if he could wed them too.

We asked him to reply at his earliest convenience, since he was probably enjoying being back home too. After that, we logged out and shut down the computer and headed to the habitat. We all hung out again before heading to bed. I dozed off with my arms around Sebastien and his around me.

Yay, a proposal! And not just one, but several! Did you all like the chapter? I hope you'll leave a review. I have just one note today.

* If you used the Internet during the dial-up era, you know what I'm talking about. if not, then you should look up the sounds on YouTube. Lower your volume though, as it is as bad as I wrote.