Kowalski lay low on the snow covered ground of Antarctica. His eyes darted across the ground, searching. There! Kowalski darted forward, picking the rock up in his beak and shot back to his nest, placing the rock in place. Kowalski looked around at the millions of other nests, guarding his closely. His wasn't the smallest... but it wasn't the biggest either. Kowalski stood up strait when he saw someone coming towards him. He swallowed, feeling his own heart beat.

"Hi Kowalski." A female penguin said, quietly.

"Ah, ehem," Kowalski swallowed. "H- Hello, Karakter." He mumbled nervously. Karakter, a lovely name, especially for her...

"Oh," She chuckled nervously. "Um, it's Kara, please. Karakter sounds too much like... well like character for one..." She said, with a small grin, rubbing the back of her head. Kowalski smiled, his eyes meeting her vibrant green ones.

"Oh, my apologies, it's just... it's actually beautiful name, very beautiful... and... very fitting. It's Danish, right?" He asked. She looked at him.

"I'm not really sure." Kowalski shuffled his feet a bit.

"Well, ahem, if I'm correct, 'karakter' is the Danish word for... nature, which is also fitting, because your eyes, they're a very nice green color, the only time I've ever actually seen that color was when my father had come back home from his travels, and he brought me a leaf from a Chinese Chesnutt tree, which produce a very vibrant green color, which was apparently produced by chlorophyll, a chemical agent plants use to make their food, which- ah... never mind. I- It was the same color as your eyes, though..." He mumbled, looking up at her, his head downcast. She smiled.

"Actually, I find that kind of thing fascinating. To imagine the way things work, why things are the way they are. Science is a great subject." She said, grinning. Kowalski swallowed, and smiled weakly.

"Oh? No one seems to be interested in science these days, around here at least. It could be so useful to us all, I mean, for example, my- ahem, my nest, I've estimated the size of two eggs, and calculated the exact diameter the nest itself should be to provide optimal room, while at the same time keeping them as warm as possible, and... erm... I'm, rambling again, aren't I?" He said. Kara smiled and walked over to the nest, looking at it. After a moment, she turned to Kowalski.

"I... I think it's a wonderful nest. It's perfect." Kowalski swallowed, feeling his heart beat in his chest, a steady thumping rhythm.

Kowalski looked up at the others, who were staring at him. "You... had a girlfriend?" Marlene asked.

"Well," Kowalski mumbled, "It's more like wife after that point..." He said, doodling on his paper, taking much longer than normal, obviously putting much more work into it.

"Sorry," Marlene said, "continue..." Kowalski nodded, and looked back down at his paper.

"We took turns of course, taking care of the eggs. It's harsh out there... sitting so still like that in the freezing wind. I went ahead and took her turn, every time she'd let me. Insisting I wasn't hungry, or that I wasn't cold. I was freezing and starving of course, but all I could think of, was that it was much better I than her." He said, his pencil dragging smoothly across the paper.

"Then it was that time... The females always go out to sea first. Ten days alone, sitting on those two eggs. You really miss them while they're gone..." Kowalski looked at the picture for a moment, then continued drawing.

"Of course, finally, came the day for the eggs to hatch..."

Kowalski stared at the eggs, smiling as he heard the pecking from inside, then, a little crack appeared across one egg. Then another crack across the other. Pretty soon two grey puffballs were looking up at him, their heads soot black. They looked up at him, small eyes wide and curious. Kowalski felt himself swell with pride and joy, to the point he was nearly sure he'd burst.

It was rare for chicks to hatch at the same time. Normally it's close, but not usually exact. Kowalski chuckled when the two waddle up to him, snuggling close, trying to get out of the cold. He leaned down close to them, blocking the wind. A girl and a boy. He had one girl and one boy. Kowalski was almost sure he'd swelled to a point that was impossible for penguins.

Pride, something he hadn't felt in a long time.

He looked over to the girl, who shivered. Something nagged at the back of his mind. Something he tried with every ounce of capability he had to get rid of. Statistics. The food had recently been... depleting. The probability that both of his chicks would survive... Kowalski wrapped the two chicks in a hug, tiny heads burying themselves in his tightly packed feathers to keep warm. He closed his eyes.

What ever it took. He'd do it.