Miles To Go Before I Sleep

Adopted

Adopted

...

He was supposed to be sulking. Winter was over and it was quite clear he wasn't welcome in autumn; the barren landscape of the Antarctic was the perfect place to go. But it was a bit hard to be mope-y when you were surrounded by birds.

Jack sighed as he looked up at the colony of Emperor Penguins that had gathered around him, chattering to themselves as they waddled about. Like all animals, they could easily see him, but, honestly, weren't wild creatures supposed to avoid humans?

Jack turned to the left as something nudged his arm. A large penguin of beautiful colouring wacked him with its wing repeatedly, making exasperated noises as if in impatience.

"What?" Jack raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, I don't speak penguin."

At the penguin's impatience, another, slightly smaller penguin made its way over, joining in.

"What is wrong with you guys? What do you want?"

Clearly getting frustrated, the larger penguin began obtrusively poking him in the face with its beak. Jack jumped, leaning away. The penguin gave some sort of huff, which Jack was sure was the penguin equivalent of a sigh, and proceeded to regurgitate the pre-digested remains of some dead fish onto the compact ice.

Jack's mouth opened in horror, but, seeing the glint in the smaller penguin's eye, he quickly clamped it shut. "O…kay… you wanted to feed me?" he glanced sidelong at the disgusting pile of mush then back up at the penguin. "That's very generous of you, but I'm okay, thanks. I'm not sure if you noticed, but I'm not one of your chicks."

The penguins seemed to accept that, making no move to defend the offering as a flock of five chicks hurried over, looking very much like they would topple with their wings waving about and uneven gait. With surprisingly little conflict, they shared the meal and, even more surprising, proceeded to clamber onto the unsuspecting winter spirit.

"Uh… guys, I'm not your mom, you should probably… or, you could just make yourselves comfortable…" he couldn't help but sigh as he looked down at the small, fluffy, adorable babies as they fought for the dominant position in his lap. He was pretty sure one had even managed to climb up into his hood.

Jack smiled as they looked up at him and chirped.

"You're not getting any food for me. No way am I pre-digesting seafood, thank you very much."

Ever so slowly, the penguins moved closer together, until finally Jack found himself sitting in the middle of the colony. More chicks had been pushed to the centre, forming a fluffy white blanket on all sides. If it weren't for the fact that they were sitting in the South Pole, he may well have overheated.

There was a sudden cacophony of noise – a mixture of anger and alarm – as the formation broke; many penguins trying to hurry away from the shoreline while others desperately dove out of the water. Jack himself was jostled, a few penguins tugging on his hoodie, trying to get him to flee with them.

The winter spirit pulled away, allowing the wind to blow him to the front line. A large spotted seal – a leopard seal, he identified – was diving out of the water, snapping its sharp teeth at the heels and tail feathers of the terrified birds.

Without even thinking, Jack aimed his staff at the water around the seal, letting loose a blast of power. The water instantly froze, trapping the seal chest-deep in the ice. Jack gave a cry of triumph, breaking into laughter as the penguins joined in.

Satisfied that the ice would hold long enough to escape, he rejoined the colony, heading further inland.

There was a steep slope ahead; the penguins would never be able to walk down it without falling – especially the younger ones.

"Maybe we can go around," Jack suggested, pointing further along the ledge to where the snow banks were flatter.

The penguins seemed to laugh at him, keeping up their steady pace.

"Alright, humour me."

And humour him they did. In a charging fleet, the penguins threw themselves down, landing on their bellies and sliding across the ice like living toboggans. Even the chicks showed no fear in the face of such a height, chirping merrily alongside their parents.

Jack stumbled forwards as something pushed at the back of his knees.

"Whoa," he wobbled, looking over his shoulder at the penguin nudging him closer to the edge. "Wait, I'm not sure I–"

His protests were cut off as his bare feet slipped over the ice. He landed hard on his back, flying down the ice head-first, the penguins remaining on the cliff happily jumping down after him. After a minute or so of absolute terror, the penguins on either side of him began instructive quacking – not that he could understand a word of it. Maybe they were laughing at him again. A slap from a wing was all it took to push him over onto his stomach and his cries of fear quickly turned to laughter.

Observing his new friends, Jack pressed his arms flat against his body, making himself more aerodynamic as they sped across the frozen terrain. It was fun, but perhaps slightly less painful on an actual toboggan. Looking ahead, Jack's eyes widened in horror as the end of the ice slide suddenly appeared, giving out into open water.

The chicks and some of the adult penguins manoeuvred themselves, easily slowing their momentum and picking themselves up before reaching the drop off, while others opted for hurtling themselves off the edge like some sick thrill ride.

The penguins beside him showed no hints of stopping. And all at once the ground was gone and Jack was hurtling down under the force of gravity. He breathed a huge sigh of relief as the wind swept under him, catching him in the air before he broke the surface.

MiM, these guys are insane! He slumped gratefully on the solid ice, spreading out his arms as he sprawled across the ground. A contented smile wormed its way onto his face as he felt the bodies of several penguins huddling up close to him.

Winter could take its time – he was quite content exactly where he was