Hush, Little Penguin

B Is For Brave

Coming home was a huge relief for Peso, and strangely, kind of weird.

"So, how did it go?" Kwazii asked nonchalantly, leaning against a box in the Launch Bay.

"Fine." Kwazii frowned. "Everything alright?"

"Mmhmm." Peso waddled out of the Launch Bay, and went up to his room. Tweak  glanced over at Kwazii's look of confusion. "Don't worry about him. After all he's been through, being with family probably stresses him out."

Peso put his roller bag down by the door, and flopped onto his bed. He and Pinto didn't talk too much. Pinto hadn't been feeling to well. Peso had sat on the edge of his bed, and told him stories about being an Octonaut, making sure to include the latest story; the Caves of Sac Actun. It seemed to make the poor kid feel at least a little better.

But still. His cousins had been exhausting. And sometimes, being with his mom was so confusing.

Barnacles entered the room, smiling brightly. "How's my boy?" Peso managed a small smile.

"What's wrong?" Barnacles lifted Peso up, and cuddled him close. Peso shrugged, and mumbled against his chest. Barnacles could tell peso wasn't ready to talk about it.

"Get some rest, peso. We have a mission tomorrow, and you need to be in tip-top shape." Peso smiled, allowing himself to be dressed in soft pajamas, and tucked in. Maybe sleeping on it would help...

The next day, Barnacles and Peso ventured into a sea cave. The bear left a guide rope at the beginning of the cave, and led Peso in. "This is a cave that's never been explored due to frequent cave ins blocking the path. Now, it's finally cleared up, and there might be some creatures here who need our help." Peso flapped his flippers a little faster, having some trouble keeping up with the captain's long strides. His diaper crinkled every time he moved his legs, making it even harder.

It didn't take long to get knee deep in the cave. Peso knew how easy it was to go into a cave. But getting out was harder.

He absentmindedly flippered the guide rope, glad to have some source of comfort. Exploring could be relaxing, once you stopped worrying about what could go wrong. peso remembered what the captain had told him that day in the caves of Sac Actun; keep calm, and don't panic. Peso wanted to keep calm and be brave, just like the captain. The captain was everything Peso wanted to be. He hoped to be just like him someday...

A noise pulled Peso out of his wistful thoughts. Barnacles was moving a boulder away from an entrance to another part of the cave. Peso's eyes widened. it was like a secret tunnel...like they were spies...

Barnacles smiled, finally getting rid of the boulder, and took in the new tunnel, placing a guide rope by the entrance. Peso swam up next to him, and paused. It was really dark in that cave. Who KNEW what could be in there...

"Peso? Are you okay?" Peso shook himself out of his trance. "I'm fine captain." He assured the bear. he had been brave in the Caves of Sac Actun. He could be brave now.

Barnacles looked like he didn't quite believe it, but he let it go anyway, leading peso into the cave. Peso stayed close, clinging to the captain's pant leg. It was very dark here, but if the captain wasn't afraid, than Peso wouldn't be either.

They traveled through the caves for a while, pausing to get a closer look at one thing or another. Barnacles checked his bag every now and then to make sure they didn't drop anything, and Peso kept glancing over his shoulder. 'Keep calm, and don't panic.' He recited in his head, over and over like a mantra. 'Keep calm, and don't panic. Keep calm, and don't panic.'