Hey, I'm back! This one focuses on our favorite two seals! And we've got a surprise new character entering the scene! Hope you like it!
I don't own Ice Age.
Enjoy!
Raelynn was in a bad mood. And that was saying something for the usually cheery, happy-go-lucky seal. She'd been up almost all night, Jolynn wouldn't let her get more than fifteen minutes of sleep at a time. She'd been cranky and crying off and on all night; the young child had a fever that wouldn't let her sleep either. So of course she had to keep everyone else awake to keep her company.
Jolynn was but three months old, a gentle coco brown with a cream underbelly, bluest of blue eyes, and a little black nose at the end of her small snout. She was cute, and she knew it. Her family, extended and biological, all adored her. And she knew it.
She was currently out in the water with her mother. Rae knew the little girl should be resting, considering she was a bit under the weather, but she just wouldn't. She'd been trying to put her down for a nap all morning, but little Jo would have none of it. Rae could tell the little pup was sleepy; eyes half closed and yawning constantly, but she fought it. And that made her crabby beyond belief.
The pair were floating out in a calm blue sea, the child lying on her mother's chest, waves lapping at her sides and making her giggle. She wasn't quite old enough to swim on her yet, but she loved water and knew how to hold her breath, so Rae took her out swimming quite frequently. The little tot loved to skim the bottom and look at the colorful coral and pretty shells.
As the two were floating contentedly, watching the clouds, they failed to notice a certain shape gliding under the water to meet them. "Hi Rae!"
The female screamed, startled, and whirled around, sending little Jo splashing into the water, squealing. Rae shrieked and grabbed at her. "My baby!" thankfully the child had held her breath, but was still gasping and coughing when her mother yanked her above the surface. "My poor baby! Are you ok?!" she looked her over frantically. "Anything broken? I don't see blood…" Rae wasn't exactly the brightest, and the lack of sleep didn't help her over-protective, flustered sudden fit. As did the protective mother instincts.
Once sure her daughter was ok, she turned to Flynn angrily, clutching the pup to her chest, a glare in her usually calm blue eyes. "Don't do that!" she scolded. He shrunk back slightly. He hadn't meant to upset her, or accidentally put Jo in danger. Momentary danger, but still. "Jo-Jo could've been hurt!"
"S-Sorry Rae." He apologized quietly. "I didn't mean to."
She took a deep breath. Yelling at him didn't accomplish anything- in fact, she was pretty sure yelling made everything worse. It made her throat hurt after awhile, increased her bad mood, upset her mate, and, above all, upset the baby. Yes, they were mates. She didn't need a big wedding celebration to be happy. She was just glad they were together. The moment she excepted it was made official.
Little Jo was whimpering, watching her parents with big teary eyes. "Aw… c'mon sweetie, don't cry." Rae cooed, hugging her close. "Mummy's sorry."
"Daddy too." Flynn added cheerily, reaching out to poke the little girl on her belly. She squealed, giggling, splashing water at him. He gently splashed back. However, Jo ducked, the little splash hitting Rae right in the face. For a moment she was stiff.
"Your gonna pay for that." And she splashed him back. The trio engaged in a play fight, splashing above water, sometimes chasing each other around under water. Jo giggled and squealed with joy the entire time.
After half an hour, both adults were panting, laughing, lying on their backs. Jo lay on her father's stomach, bouncing up and down slightly. He smiled softly and patted her head. "Good girl." She giggled and grabbed his flipper, holding it to her cheek happily. For a moment she sat there, humming happily and rubbing against it, before letting out a wide yawn. Her head reeled back and her tongue curled, giving her parents a good view of her gums and throat. She wouldn't get her teeth for quite a while now; when she was ready to stop nursing and begin becoming accustomed to solid food.
The pup rubbed her eyes and yawned again, before reaching her small little flippers out to her mother, babbling slightly, indicating she wanted to be picked up. Rae obliged and took her daughter into her embrace, cradling her against her chest, sitting up so she was bobbing in the water. She smiled softly and gave a light chuckle. "C'mon m'little sleepy head. You really need a nap." Ducking slowly underwater, she let her eyes adjust before heading for shore, Flynn at her side, her child clutched protectively to her chest. No sense letting sharks or dolphins get any ideas.
If there was anything that looked appetizing to a hungry sea predator, it was a pup that it's mother didn't have a good grip on. While it seemed sad, she had seen it happen, little babies stolen right from their mother's grip. Though, that was far up north, in the artic where she was born, where food was always scarce and everyone was desperate for food. She wasn't sure if the same thing would occur here in the south, but she wasn't taking chances. Just because they were one of the largest creatures in the sea didn't mean their young weren't vulnerable if not kept under watchful eye.
No one would ever guess from just their friendly personalities and tendency to eat fruits for snacks, but the sea mammal couple were carnivores. Their kind naturally dined on shrimp, squid, fish, and just about any other fleshy creature they could find in the sea that wasn't big enough to eat them. Their kind could actually be quite aggressive, easily kill any foe their size. Rae glanced around, her sharp eyes observing no movement other than the little saltwater minnows and small fish, most of which made a tasty, quick snack as they were gliding along. She was getting a little hungry, it was nearing lunch time.
The couple pulled themselves out of the water and onto the soft sand, flopping down to dry and sun themselves for a bit. After no longer dripping (there was nothing Rae hated more than water splashed and slopped all over her cave. She didn't care if she was a seal- it drove her nuts!), they headed home. Their home was right along the shoreline, a nice cave carved into solid rock from years of the ocean pounding against it, wearing it away.
It was only after they arrived that Rae realized little Jo-Jo had fallen asleep. She smiled and gave a small sigh of relief; finally. She felt her forehead as she lay her down in her cradle, an oval bassinet nestled in the farthest most part of the cave, lined with grasses and leaves for comfort, tucking a cotton blanket over her. She found gladly that her fever seemed to have gone down; no wonder she'd fallen asleep finally. With no overly high body temperature making her restless after a whole night and half the day of no sleep, no wonder she'd crashed. Rae sighed in relief again.
"So, do ya wanna go get lunch now Rae-Rae?" Flynn asked.
"Oooooh no." she said, flopping down on their bed of silky seaweed and cotton pillows. "I'm takin a nap. You gonna join me?"
"Hmm… ok!" he flopped down beside her. The peaceful air made them all sleepy in no time, the happy couple cuddling happy together, their pup resting safely nearby, sucking lazily on her flipper, everything was good.
And just like that, the seal family fell asleep.
So… did you like it. I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist! I've been designing little Jolynn for a while, and I couldn't wait to introduce her character! Whaddaya think? Is she too much? Do you like her? Anyone?
Please review!
Oh, and while I'm still going, go do yourselves a favor and read KaylaDestroyer's latest piece of genius, 'Within'. It's awesome! You are missing out on so much if you haven't, I can't stress how much you should go and do it.