Hush, Little Penguin

Baby's First Zoo Trip

Paani gazed in at the little one, smiling to himself. He loved babies. And he was rather flattered, dare he say, honored, that they had asked him to help babysit.

Barnacles fiddled with the buttons on his coat, and glanced over his shoulder. Paani was leaning over the bars of Peso's crib, tickling his belly. Peso laughed, as always, and didn't try to hard to resist or flee. He had hoped Paani would come along this time. Ever since Peso's outing to them, they had come closer, like a family. And since Paani didn't have a family, Barnacles had hoped he would join them in their little outing. 

Hey, sometimes, even Octonauts need a day off to spend time together.

And Paani lived all alone, accompanied only by his work, wrapped up in his job and exploring nature. Now, this was fine, but he was their friend now. He was the only Octo-Agent that they didn't have prior acquaintance with and yet he was the one who had started that program. He had helped them in so many ways, only he didn't know it. Barnacles didn't want him to feel outcasted or excluded anymore. He wanted him to be involved.

He wanted Paani to feel the love that he seemed to bee living without.

And while Barnacles didn't know Paani's full story, he did know he needed help.

Six years since he's seen a doctor properly, Barnacles mused to himself, innerly grumbling with the strangeness of it all, No means of contacting any loved ones, refuses to go into a public place...how long did he say it had been since he'd been part of society? Nine years?

Barnacles shook his head, sighing. Why did there have to be so many people in the world living like this? Why did there have to be so many reasons for that?

But tut. It could all wait. Barnacles was hoping that a little socializing would bring Paani out of his shell and make him feel more like a friend. It was no secret Paani didn't feel entirely comfortable around them, like he didn't properly belong. Like he was just a shadow. With no need to be there.

And he really liked Paani. He was a great guy. He was just a little...socially underdeveloped.

And he was twenty two. Seeing as it had been nine years, it meant he'd left home at age thirteen. That was more than enough cause for concern.

Besides. They all had people they considered family. They wanted to help Paani. He needed it, and they wouldn't call themselves his friends if they didn't try to give it.

It was a crisp fall day, sunny and warm with a cooling breeze in the air. Perfect for a fun little trip. And seeing as Paani hadn't experienced any sort of societal wonder for almost a decade, it felt rather compelling and exciting to bring him along. They really felt he could use a break. One couldn't wrap their lives around their work, of course. There were so many wonderful things Paani could enjoy in life.

Like the zoo.

Humans had moved off, giving animals the space they needed to thrive and evolve. However, everyone evolves in different ways. So there were still a number of creatures who had stayed relatively the same. Hence the Octonaut's job. And a lot of those creatures were brought into places to be healed and studied, therefore creating zoos so today's animal kingdom could observe their existing ancestors to see how they lived in today's world.

And Peso had never been. It was too cold for such a thing in Antarctica. It would be great. Just a little family outing with their baby. And Peso had never seen real land animals before, in their natural prime. Only pictures in the books he liked to read.

Barnacles, busting with excitement about having two innocents along, turned to Paani with a smile. "Is that the best jacket you've got, Paani? It might get chilly on and off today."