Chapter Three: The Voice
The next morning, Chomper woke later than usual, finding Ruby was gone. Rising to his feet, he easily picked up her scent and went to the beach, seeing her wade into the shallow water. The bright circle's reflection rippled across the waves, giving Ruby a nice glow to her pink skin. For a few minutes, he simply admired her, thinking how lucky he was to have such a wonderful mate. Mate, hard to believe that too. Not that they could ever be official, given the size difference, it was the companionship that mattered most, not being alone in the world. His thoughts were interrupted when the voice sounded again, causing him to gasp and look to where it came from, across the Big Water.
"Ruby, Ruby!" He called, dashing into the water and making her jump in surprise. "D-did you hear that?"
"Hear what, what was I to hear?" Ruby glanced around, fearful there was a swimming sharptooth. "Is there danger? A thing in the water that isn't us?"
"That voice, there it is again." Chomper stood by her, hoping she heard it too.
She listened closely and after a few moments, spoke up. "Chomper, I don't hear anything." Shaking her head, she placed a hand on his knee to keep him from pacing around. "There's nothing out there, out there is nothing, no sound."
Frozen, Chomper went silent and took a few breaths. "Oh, must just be half asleep still. Sorry, for bothering you, Ruby." Lowering his head, Chomper felt foolish for getting worked up.
"Reminds me of when you panicked about losing your first tooth." To cheer him up, Ruby flushed and continued. "You were so adorable."
"And you were so patient with me." His eyes grew moist. "What if I'm losing my mind? What if I try to attack and eat you?"
"That won't happen, ever. If anything, I believe it's been a lot, a good deal on you. You almost died a few days back, that's pretty major. It's probably making you rethink everything, your past, present, and future. It'll get better, trust me."
"Thanks, Ruby, I'm grateful for that. There's just this curiosity, about who am I. I've got three talons, I'm shorter than the average sharptooth apparently. Why am I so different?"
"Chomper, some things aren't easy or able to be explained. But know, who you are is enough for me." Hugging him, she felt him embrace her back. "I'm here, I'm not going anywhere. I see you."
While he didn't understand what I See You meant, it soothed him. Holding her, he felt better, forgetting about the voice. All that mattered was they were together, safe, and would never be apart. Lost in the moment, his eyes opened when he heard the voice again. The question was, who was it and why were they calling to him?
"Let's go for a walk, a swim might help you feel better."
She playfully splashed and took off, Chomper laughing and going after her. It was funny, a fastrunner racing across the beach, a sharptooth pursuing her, all in a friendly manner. When Chomper caught up, he lifted her in his arms and spun her, hearing her laugh. Ruby couldn't get over how the tables turned, amazed by how tall Chomper was compared to her. She felt him dive deeper into the water, releasing her to swim. Under the surface, Ruby went to hold onto Chomper's neck, feeling him move. The light poured down to reveal a lovely coral reef, several fish swimming and minding their own business, moving around the pair. It was always lovely to take a swim, Chomper able to hold his breath longer, eating seafood rather than leaf-eaters.
Chomper moved upward, breaking through the surface for them to breathe. When Ruby gave a nod that she was good, Chomper sank back down, leaving farther out into the Big Water. He did it a good deal, curious how far it went, usually stopping and heading back to the Island. Most of the time, they didn't worry about danger, still, Chomper was ever watchful, wanting to keep Ruby safe from harm.
Along the bottom of the water, a bug-like being crept across the sand. There were so many wonderful sea creatures, ranging from strange to stranger. A squid with a long-pointed head moved by, paying the pair no attention. While the pair were busy a shadow zipped behind them, being a swimming sharptooth. It had a short neck, long body, and set of four fins, tail sweeping side by side.
Leaving Chomper's side, Ruby played with a shelled swimmer, watching its tentacles wrap around her fingers, making her smile. With how often they swam, Ruby found she could hold her breath longer and longer, going for some time without surfacing. Ruby was floating among the water, noticing the fish scatter and sensing something was off. Glancing around, she caught sight of the swimming sharptooth, moving back quickly. She waved to get Chomper's attention, wanting to alert him of the danger.
While Ruby was busy, Chomper had been chasing some fish to eat. When he saw her flailing her arms madly, he wondered what had her so worked up. Then, he froze, seeing the swimming sharptooth and moving for Ruby to climb on his back. Once she was there, he kicked his feet to reach the surface. The swimming sharptooth was quicker and caught up, trying to bite Chomper's legs or tail. Kicking furiously, Chomper's foot caught the creature's mouth, stunning it for a moment.
The water moved and Chomper came up, Ruby gasping for air. They stayed where they were safe, the swimming sharptooth circling them. Chomper glanced left to right, trying to see where the large creature was.
"What do we do?" Chomper asked between his heavy breathing.
"Try not to get eaten," Ruby replied between her own breath.
"That's always good advice."
Chomper was grabbed by the tail and dragged down from under her. Ruby found herself alone, gasping and trying to find where Chomper was. "Chomper, where are you?" Peering below, she saw he was taken farther from her. With a frown, she went after him, not wanting to lose him again. While small in comparison to the two predators, Ruby reached out to Chomper, whose eyes widened when he saw her coming after him, bubbles floating upward to brush by her.
When the swimming sharptooth saw her come for them, it released Chomper to go after Ruby, swimming over and passing Chomper. Ruby saw this and backtracked, scrambling to get away and avoid the sharp set of teeth that opened up before her. The wide jaw got large and larger, till she found herself almost inside the great mouth. When it was about to get her, it was drawn back, Chomper biting its left fin, pulling it away, and seeing Ruby swim back toward the beach. Bubbles surround the pair, Chomper digging his claws into the creature's body, biting it with his mighty jaw. The swimming sharptooth thrashed and knocked Chomper in the head, squirming to get loose. Still, Chomper fought on, ignoring the bump to the head, knowing Ruby's life was at stake.
Along the rippling of water, Ruby surfaced and saw the beach was close, glancing back to see the water splash up from where the pair fought. It was hard to say who was winning, but she hoped Chomper would be victorious. From the depth, Chomper was tossed from the water and sent airborne, sinking back while the swimming sharptooth leaped up and over, diving to attack.
"Chomper!" Shouted Ruby, ducking to see bubbles flow around the massive bodies, both moving quickly.
Chomper felt a few nips here and there, yet wasn't backing down. It came down to protecting Ruby, her very presence giving him strength and the will to fight. Roaring under the water, Chomper bit the short stubby neck, biting down and crushing the bones with one massive chomp. The thrashing stopped, blood flowing from the flesh wounds. The creature was dead and Chomper managed to drag it back to the beach, knowing he'd eat well. There, waiting for him was Ruby, who eyed up the carcass he carried in his mouth.
Going to him, she wasn't fazed by the large body he toted in his mouth. "Chomper, are you unharmed, safe, you are?"
Letting the body fall to his feet, Chomper gave a nod. "I'm good, plus I got a meal out of it. Are you okay?"
"I'm okay, thanks to you." She rushed forward and hugged him; glad they were both safe. "You fought so bravely."
"I'm sure if you were bigger, you'd have killed it faster than me."
Ruby flushed. "Oh Chomper, you're such a tease."
They spent the day strolling along, talking, and enjoying the seclusion the island provided them. When the bright circle touched the Big Water, he worried, for there'd be nothing to distract him from the haunting tune that called to him.
With a yawn, Ruby looked to their sleeping spot. "Well, shall we get some rest?"
"S-sure."
"Good, for I'm rather tired after such a busy day, a busy day we had." Her beak nuzzled his face, Ruby going to settle in, patting the earth for him to join her. "Join me, love."
Nodding, Chomper got comfortable beside her, watching and feeling her burrowing into him affectionately. Ruby curled up and slumbered peacefully in a matter of moments, letting out a small sigh of contentment. He did his best to stay still, not wanting to wake her, trying to block the voice out by plugging his ears, yet that yielded little result. Unable to take it, he got up to get a drink of water, thinking it'd help. Carefully, he scooted away from Ruby, making sure she wasn't disturbed, and continued with a steady breathing. With a small sigh, he rose to his full height and walked off. Going to a river with a flowing waterfall, he stepped under it to cool down and collect himself. The water soothingly beat against him, sweeping away the tenseness in his muscles, sore from the fight earlier that day. His body felt better, yet it didn't do any good for his mind, because the voice sang again. With a frown, Chomper knew there was no ignoring it.
Chomper:
(Ah, ah, ah)
"I can hear you, but I won't
Some look for trouble, while others don't,
There are many reasons I should go about my day,
And ignore your whispers, which I wish would go away,
You're not a voice, you're just a ringing in my ear,
And if I heard you, which I don't,
I'm spoken for I fear,
Everyone I ever loved is here on this land,
I'm sorry secret siren, but I'm blocking out your calls,
I've had my adventure, I don't need something new,
I'm afraid of what I'm risking if I follow you,
Into the Unknown,
Into the Unknown,
Into the Unknown,
(Ah, ah, ah)
What do you want?
'Cause, you've been keeping me awake,
Are you here to distract me, so I make a big mistake,
Or are you someone out there, who's a little bit like me,
Who knows deep down, I'm not where I'm meant to be,
Every day's a little header, as I feel my powers go,
Don't you know there's a part of me that longs to go,
Into the Unknown,
Into the Unknown,
Into the Unknown
Oh, oh, oh,
Are you out there, do you know me,
Can you feel me can you show me,
Oh, oh, oh, (Ah, ah, ah) oh, oh, oh,
Where are you going, don't leave me alone,
How do I, follow you,
Into the Unknown."
Chomper didn't know if he were in a sleep story, or if he were awake, for he heard the voice, and saw a wave of light form into a small circular shape, leading him through the jungle. Running after it, Chomper didn't know why it took him to the far side, to gaze into the Unknown as his mother called it. On the ledge he stood, hearing the voice go off, the light flying into the night sky. Then he saw it, something shiny, small, dash across the stars and land far into the Unknown.
"What was that?" Chomper whispered, realizing he wasn't alone when he picked up on a set of scents.
The idea someone dared invade his territory and might try to hurt Ruby made his protective instinct kick in. Turning, he went for where it came from, growling and baring his teeth. With a powerful lunge, he jumped and took down a set of fast-biter. Feet planted firmly; he bent over to gaze down at those under him. Pinned below him were none other than Screech and Thun.
He let out a surprised huh, arching a brow. "What are you two doing on my Island?" The pair were taken aback, yet Screech gazed up with an annoyed look while Thud was subdued.