Octonauts - A New Generation
During dinner, Squirt mostly just spoke to his uncle Inkling. Every now and then, Shellington and Periwinkle would join in on their conversation, but otherwise they kept to themselves.
After dinner, the junior Octo-agents join the Octonauts with their nightly-before-bed-hangout. Squirt enjoys listening to the adultsâ stories. Soon enough, itâs the kidsâ turn. Ursa and Orson take turns telling the crew about the first time they had swam in the open waters and how everything went terribly wrong. Koshi reads out the mystery book she recently wrote about the previous adventure she and her sister were on. Pinto excitedly tells the crew about how Peso saved the chin strapped penguins during the ring of fire incident. After some motivation from his uncle, Periwinkle shows everyone what he learned at cub scouts. Tweak and the captain try to get Stella to say something, but she insists on Squirt going first. Squirt hesitates. Noticing this, Inkling walks over to Squirt using his tentacles and whispers something into the young octopusâ ear.
âTell them about that school project that you usually always bring upâ, Inkling suggests.
âGood ideaâ, Squirt answers.
Inkling goes to find a seat while Squirt clears his throat.
âEveryone knows about school projects. Sometimes you do them alone and sometimes you do them as a group. This particular school project was a group projectâ, Squirt starts his story with a brief introduction.
âWell in that case, we all have a slight idea of how this story can endâ, Koshi informs. Giggles fill the room.
âIndeed. For the sake of their privacy, I wonât mention their real names. Instead, I will call them Sodium and Zinc. Sodium was that one kid who always acts salty towards everyone for no reason whatsoever. Zinc on the other handâŠwellâŠhe had quite the interestingâŠpersonalities. One day he was the class clown, the next he was the school bully, and then out of nowhere he was the teachers pet or the quiet kidâ, the excitement slowly started to rise inside of Squirt as he continues on with his story, âFrom the second the teacher put the three of us in a group, I knew that it would be a long couple of weeks. The first week goes by, I had already done my research and even did the research for the others. During the second week I start preparing the presentation. The third week comes, I had already printed out the script and was handing it out to Sodium and Zinc, when Sodium decides to start a roasting battle. With Sodium as our classmate, a roasting battle being announced out of nowhere was uncommon. In fact, for those who watch, itâs the highlight of the day. Sodium goes on and on about how I think that Iâm so much more smarter than him and how I think that he is incapable of doing anything! I try to explain to him that I just want us to get a good grade, but then Zinc goes from being the quiet kid to playing the victim, further encouraging Sodium. This goes on for a good ten minutes before a teacher finally steps in.â
âOof, that must have been an awful experienceâ, Ursa says.
âOh, Iâm not done yetâ, Squirt replies, âSomehow, Sodium manages to convince the teacher that Iâm not letting him or Zinc do any work, so I was left with no other choice but to basically throw away all of my hard work and start again with these twoâŠinteresting boys with only one and a half weeks left until itâs due. That half week sure was fun. Whenever I tried to set up a meeting with the others, Sodium would come up with an excuse. Zinc would always say that the two of us can meet up without Sodium, but then never showed up. The weekend comes and the work still hasnât been done yet. We had two tests that fourth week, and I for one was determined to pass them. Instead, Sodium and Zinc look at our week with the two important tests and decide that that would be a great time to somehow start and finish the whole project! I almost fainted when I heard them say that. I told them to do their part and that I would just take whatever part is left and use what I had made at first, you know, before they complained about my hard work and efforts. The school week ends and I enjoy my much needed break during the weekend. Sunday comes, itâs the day before the project is due. Sodium sends me a message asking me what he has to do.â
âYow! These teammates of yours sure donât know how to be a team playerâ, Kwazii remarks.
âIndeed they donât. I almost had a heart attack when I read that message. I asked Zinc what topic he chose, picked the easiest of the two that were left over and then send the script about that topic to Sodium. Monday comes and itâs our teamâs turn to present. Zinc presents first, but⊠I donât know where he got his information from, but it was the most random words thrown together that I had ever heard. I was absolutely petrified. After two minutes, he stops and looks at me, signaling that itâs my turn. I pull myself together and try to add more detailed explanations to my topic, to make up for the missing time for Zinc. After all, there was a certain length that the presentation had to be. Next came Sodium. As I had thought, he forgot his, or should I say my, notes at home. He immediately put the blame on me, but fortunately for me, I had brough a spare. The original notes that I had sent to him were written in full sentences, so that he would know exactly what to say and could go over it properly, so that he doesnât read off of the paper the whole time. It turns out, unsurprisingly, that he hadnât read them at all! He stumbled over every term and couldnât explain them any further. Our project was a mess, a disaster.â
âDid you get a bad grade because of them?â, Stella asks.
âYeahâ, Squirt says in defeat.
âWHAT!?â, Ursa yells.
âYouâre joking, right?â, Orson asks, refusing to believe what he just heard.
A smirk creeps onto Squirts face.
âThe principal knew better. He came and saved the day. I showed him the project that I had originally made on my own, and I got an A+â, Squirt announces.
The room fills up with applause and cheers.
âYou kept us all on the edge with that story of yours matey!â, Kwazii says flabbergasted.
âWell, that was the intentionâ, Squirt admits.
âAlright, your turn Stellaâ, Tweak says.
âWhat? But itâs getting really late! Other than that, how could I possibly top Squirtâs amazing story telling?â, Stella tries to find any and every excuse that she can.
âDonât get your ears in a twist. Iâm sure that youâll do great!â, Tweak continues motivating Stella.
âI donât have any cool or exciting stories to tellâ, Stella continues her attempt to avoid her fate.
âIâm sure that you doâ, Tweak answers.
âBut⊠Well, maybe youâre right. Perhaps Iâm just to tired to think of a good story right nowâ, Stella slowly adds.
âAlright. Why donât you kids head off to bed? Stella can tell us her story tomorrow evening. You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow, so go get some restâ, the captain announces.
âAye, aye captainâ, Pinto salutes before walking out of the room, followed by all of the other kids.
[Squirtâs school story is heavily inspired by JaidenAnimationsâ video about her school project.]
âItâs such a shame that we didnât get to hear Stellaâs storyâ, Squirt whispers. The kids had gotten themselves ready for bed and then separated to go into their rooms.
âYeah. I bet she has some amazing stories!â, Pinto starts with a whisper, but gets louder the more excited he gets.
âWeâll have the chance to hear her story tomorrow, so please shut up and let me sleepâ, Orson hisses.
âAlright, calm down, jeezâ, Pinto whispers annoyed.
Silence fills the room as the boys slowly drift off to sleep.
âTodayâs lesson is going to be awsome!â, Pinto yells while running around the room.
âKeep it down. Itâs too early to be yelling loudlyâ, Squirt says.
âWhatâs so exciting about todayâs lesson?â, Orson asks as he sits up in his bed.
âKwazii will be our teacher today!â Pinto yells as he jumps on his bed.
âI though that Peso would be your favorite teacherâ, Periwinkle states.
âWell⊠I donât pick favorites. Peso and Kwazii are equally awsome!â, Pinto answers.
âIf Kwazzi is our teacher today, does that mean that weâll be going outside of the Octopod?â, Squirt asks curiously.
âMost definitely!â, Pinto seems to be getting more and more excited.
Exciting chatter fills the room. Captain Barnacles enters to tell the boys to get ready. Squirt puts on his bandanna and his glasses, Periwinkle quickly gets dressed, and Pinto and Orson put on their cold suits. The boys run together to the dining room for breakfast, where they find the girls waiting for them.
âGood morning girlsâ, Pinto greets the others as he walks in.
âGood morningâ, the girls answer in unison.
âHey Stella, have you thought about what youâll be talking about tonight?â, Pinto excitedly asks.
âUhmâŠnot yetâ, Stella tries to avoid eye contact.
âAlright. You still have plenty of time to think about a good storyâ, Pinto says.
âIf you canât think of an exciting moment to tell us about, then maybeâŠyou could read one of your stories to us?â, Koshi suggests.
âUhh⊠Iâll think about itâ, Stella nervously answers.
âGreat!â, Pinto shouts.
The Octonauts enter the room.
âGood morning junior Octo-agents. Did you sleep well?â, the captain asks.
âGood morning captain!â, Pinto replies.
âWe slept wellâ, Koshi says on behalf of the girls.
âSo did weâ, Orson says on behalf of the boys.
âAre ya ready for a day filled with adventure!?â, Kwazii yells.
âAye, aye, Kwazzi!â, Pinto yells back.
âBut first, you need to have some breakfastâ, Tunip chirps as he enters the room, followed by some other Vegimals, whose names Squirt canât remember.
The Octonauts and junior Octo-agents exchange some small talk while enjoying the breakfast that the Vegimals have made. After theyâre done, the junior Octo-agents go freshen up and get ready for the day.
âBehold the wonder that is the amazon rainforest!â, Kwazii announces. The junior Octo-agents look out the windows of the Octo-ray and watch the rainforest beneath them.
âThere is no better place to go than here for your first missionâ, Kwazii says while turning to face the kids, âWell, at least there is no better place that the captain will allow me to take you.â
Dashi laughs. âBoth Ranger Marsh and Pearl are in the area, so theyâll be able to lend you a paw if anything gets out of handâ, Dashi explains.
âI donât know what you lot are so worried about. Iâve totally got this under controlâ, Kwazii says, offended by the lack of trust that his teammates have in him.
âAnd if we were to let you do this mission in the open waters, you will most likely start acting like a pirate and treating the junior Octo-agents like your crewâ, Dashi adds.
âThatâs not true!â, Kwazii yells in offense.
âIsnât that what you and your Granddad did with the Vegimals?â, Dashi questions.
âW-Well⊠That was different!â, Kwazii tries to defend himself, despite now realizing his teammatesâ point.
âIf you say soâ, Dashi says sarcastically, âThereâs no place for the Octo-ray to land, so Iâll drop you guys off by Ranger Marshâs station. Sounds good?â
âAye, aye, matey!â, Kwazii yells with a new rush of energy.
âThis is going to be amazing!â, Pinto yells with the same level of enthusiasm.
âWeâre going to jump out of this aircraft?â, Stella asks with a flat tone.
âNot exactly. If we do have to jump while being higher up in the sky, weâll use parachutes of courseâ, Periwinkle explains.
âI seeâ, Stella answers.
âI can hover above the river in front of Ranger Marshâs station to drop you off, so prepare yourself to take a diveâ, Dashi announces.
âIcantwait, Icantwait, Icantwait,Icantwait!â, Pinto runs around the cockpit more hyperactive than ever.
âCalm down little fella. Save all of that energy for laterâ, Kwazii calmly remarks with a laugh.
âAye, aye, Kwaziiâ, Pinto responds with a salute.
âThis is your first time being part of one of these missions, right? Must be excitingâ, Squirt says in an attempt to make some small talk with Stella.
âThis is indeed my first time. All Iâve ever known were those icy glaciers and the cold snowâ, Stella answers while looking out of the window.
âThen this must be a completely new scenery for youâ, Squirt carries on.
âIndeed it is. Itâs the complete opposite of what I am used to seeingâ, Stella continues to stare out of the window, facinated by the view.
âThe captain already gave you your cold suit, right?â, Pinto asks.
âYeah, Iâm wearing it right nowâ, Stella replies.
âWhatâs a cold suit?â, Squirt asks, âIâve never heard of that before.â
âItâs a suit that we wear to keep us from having a heatstrokeâ, Stella explains.
âYou can wear it like normal clothes- â, Ursa elaborates.
âLike uncle Barnacles and Stella!â, Orson quickly interrupts.
âOr you can get one that looks like your fur or- â, Ursa continues, before getting interrupted once again.
âLike the two of us, Pinto and Peso!â, Orson says.
âCorrect, although I would appreciate it if you could stop interrupting meâ, Ursa calmly says while staring her brother down.
âRight, sorry sisâ, Orson quickly apologizes.
âI always wondered how you and the others survive going to warm placesâ, Koshi says, âAlthough I really wanted to solve that mystery on my own without any help.â
âMy badâ, Ursa says without a hint of actually meaning the words sheâs saying.
âWe have arrived at our destination. I hope that you werenât too busy chatting and grabbed an oxygen tankâ, Dashi announces, with a slight hint of annoyance.
âSorry sisâ, Koshi apologizes before quickly grabbing an oxygen tank before racing towards where her and her crew will be jumping out from. The others hastily join her, arriving by her side moments before the giant door opens.
âReady to jump?â, Kwazii asks, wagging his tail with excitement.
âAye, aye, Kwazii!â, the crew answers in sinc.
âAre you sure that this is safe?â, Stella asks while keeping a strong grip on a rope thatâs keeping some crates nearby in place.
âOf course, little mateyâ, Kwazii calmly says in a comforting tone, âYa just gotta make sure that you land properly, otherwise ya might hurt ya self.â
âShouldnât we have had a lesson on how to do that? There isnât much water where I come from, you know? I can swim, but I canât diveâ, Stella tries to remain calm, but is clearly starting to panic.
âSure you can. You dived into the water before entering the Octopod, remember?â, Pinto softly adds.
âThat was different. ...My uncle was there to help meâ, Stellaâs voice breaks as she becomes distressed.
âYour uncle might not be here right now, but youâve got usâ, Periwinkle shyly says.
âDonât worry matey, weâll be here for you every step of the wayâ, Kwazii says as he walks towards the scared fox.
âYou can hold me paw if that makes ya feel betterâ, Kwazii adds as he offers her his paw.
After some hesitation, Stella reaches her shaking paw towards his, steadily approaching the open door as she does so. Everyone puts on their air tank and waits for the next orders from Kwazii.
âAlright, on the count of threeâ, Kwazii announces, âOneâŠtwoâŠTHREE! YOWWW!!!â
The crew all scream in either utter terror or pure excitement as they all fall down, bracing themselves for the dive. All of the birds in the area fly away in horror as the crew inches closer and closer to the watery surface of the river.
âEnter plunging positions!â, Kwazii yells over the loud roar of the wind, âJust copy us Stella!â
Seconds later, a loud splash fills the air as the crew dives into the water. Squirt, who is the only one without an air tank, is the first to resurface, followed by everyone else.
"How are ya feeling matey?", Kwazii asks.
"Slightly terrifiedâŠ", Stella slowly answers.
"That was amazing! I've always wanted to jump off of a high place!", Pinto yells while waving his flippers wildly.
"What? Why would you want to do that?", Orson asks.
"What else is on your bucketlist?", Ursa wonders.
"What's a bucketlist?", Periwinkle asks.
"Argh, we don't have time for this! Let's just swim to the river bank and meet up with Ranger Marsh", Kwazii quickly loses his patience. The junior Octo-agents respect Kwazii's wish and make their way to the riverbank.
"Come on lilâ maties, let's go check if he's home", Kwazii marches over to a cabin lying right in front of the river, not to far away from where they had dived. The crew follow the lieutenant in a straight line to the cabin. Just as they arrive on the front port and Kwazii gets ready to knock, Ranger Marsh swings by on a vine and lands on the rail of the front port.
"Good morning everyone", Ranger Marsh says. He laughs to himself as he says: "I knew that I heard some foren sounds."
"Sorry if our screaming alarmed anyone", Kwazii apologizes.
"Nah, don't worry 'bout it. The critters 'round here have gotten used to itâ, Ranger Marsh reassures.
The junior Octo-agents share their confusion about this statement. Kwazii chuckles nervously before quickly changing the topic.
âWhy donât we go inside first?â, Ranger Marsh suggests, giving Kwazii a reassuring look. Kwazii dramatically exhales and nods. The crew follow Ranger Marsh into his cabin.
The inside of the cabin is bigger than it looks from the outside. The whole place is neat, even though the open windows should have allowed leaves from the nearby trees to glide inside. They enter into a small room with some sketches of animals and to-do lists hanging on the wall, before entering the hall way. On the wall to their left hang many pictures. Theyâre in order from presumably Tweak as a baby, to Tweak as an adult in the gup-K. Ranger Marsh leads the crew to the second door to the right. As they enter the kitchen, Ranger Marsh offers them some hot cocoa while he talks to Kwazii.
Filled with excitement, Pinto finds it awfully hard to stay still, let alone drink his hot cocoa. Squirt smiles at his level of excitement and enthusiasm. After taking another sip of his drink, Squirt takes a moment to take in his surroundings. The kitchen is quite small, as expected since Ranger Marsh lives on his own. Judging by the amount of doors, and therefore rooms, that Squirt saw before, itâs safe to say that it used to be just Tweak and Ranger Marsh, and perhaps Tweakâs mother. The amount of cups with the octopus symbol on them, show that the Octonauts have been visiting the lime green rabbit from time to time. Other than that, everything in the room looks kind of old fashioned, other than a few gadgets, such as an Octo-tablet, the hot cocoa machine presumably made by Tweak and an Octo-mobile camera. This shows that Ranger Marsh is kind of stuck in the old days and has only recently been introduced to technology through Tweak. If that were the case, then how long has Tweak been away from home for Ranger Marsh to only presumably recently have been introduced to technology?
Squirt quickly and briefly shakes his head in order to stop himself from overthinking and over analyzing.
âAre you okay?â, Periwinkle asks.
âAh, uhm, yeahâ, Squirt stumbles over his words, âI was just overthinking something.â
âOh, okayâ, Periwinkle answers.
The kids start exchanging small talk once more. Squirt tries to join in, but canât help himself from getting distracted by his thoughts that seemed to be getting louder and louder. Where is her mother? Why has she been away from home for so long? Why are they lime green?
Before Squirt could sink any further into the flood of questions that he had come up with himself, someone calls his name. Squirt looks up, only now realizing that he had been staring into his cup during that whole time. He casually takes a sip of his hot cocoa in an effort to make the whole him-staring-into-his-cup thing seem somewhat more normal.
âAre you sure that youâre okay?â, this time Koshiâs the one asking. The kids, now joined by Kwazii and Ranger Marsh, give him a concerned look. All of them, except for Stella. Her facial expression remains neutral, but in her eye shines a bright and deep understanding.
âLost in your thoughts again?â, she says after realizing that he had been staring at her. She gives a small smile.
âYeah, a littleâ, Squirt replies, to which Stella chocks on her drink from laughter. All eyes now turn to Stella.
âS-Sorry about th-thatâ, Stella stutters. She takes a few breaths before continuing: âWhy donât you just share your thoughts with us to calm them down. It usually always works for me.â She shrugs.
âOh, uhhhâŠâ, Squirt can feel his cheeks heat up with embarrassment.
âAlright, then weâll think of something else. One thing's for sure, you canât go on a mission with loud thoughtsâ, Stella covers her mouth as she starts giggling. The others, who had all been trying to hold it in, burst into laughter. Squirtâs cheeks start burning more as he gets overwhelmed with embarrassment, but eventually, he joins the group in laughter. Squirt finds himself breathing easily again, the realization that he had struggled to breath because of his thoughts slowly sinking in.
âThank youâ, Squirt quietly says, understanding what sheâs planning.
âAnytime. Weâre a crew, arenât we?â, Stella answers while a sly smile.
Squirt returns a smile of his own.
âReady to get going maties?â, Kwazii asks.
âAye, aye, Kwaziiâ, the kids reply.
The crew had been going around the tropical rainforest for about an hour and a half now. Each of the kids were trying to find their roles as they explored the forest, rescuing and protecting any creature in need. Koshi had already claimed the role of the detective on day one. Her sharp eyes spotted most of the creatures in need of help. After realizing Stellaâs sharp ears and incredible knowledge that the pup had tried to hide, Koshi claimed her as her assistant. Periwinkle naturally took the role of the marine biologist, trying his best to do as he thinks his uncle and mother would do. Pinto had already made up his mind about being the teams pirate and medic, as well as their captain. Ursa strongly disagreed with him, saying that she would be a way better captain. After some arguing, Squirt suggested that the team should decide together who the captain should be after watching everyone in action. The penguin and polar bear thankfully agreed to his idea, both now determined to convince the team that theyâre the better captain. Neither Orson nor Squirt knew what roles they should have. Stella reminded them they theyâll be in need of pilots and mechanics when they get older. Orsonâs face lit up at this reminder. He is now determined to learn as much as he can from Tweak. As Ursa supported her brother, Squirt noticed Stellaâs sight shift to the side as she bit her lip. He grinned, knowing full well what she was thinking.
Now the crew are taking a break somewhere in an opening of the forest. They all drink some of their water as they start chatting about how exciting it is to finally be on their first mission. Well, at least itâs some of their first mission. Pinto excitingly tells the group about the other missions that heâs been on. Koshi chooses to wait until the evening to tell the others about her other missions, grinning as she watched the groups faces contort with suspense and slight frustration. Squirt smiles as he listens to the small talk, before noticing Stella silently gazing at her shoes. Pinto had tried talking to her, he always tries talking to her. Unfortunately, more often than not, she doesnât want to have a conversation. Squirt takes a deep breath as he makes his way towards her. At this point, the only way to get her to talk may be to confront her about whateverâs on her mind head on. Squirt can only hope that his assumption is correct.
âNot ready to share Tweak, are you?â, Squirt tries to play it off cool. Stella's head shoots up as she stares him straight into his eyes. Her one eye scans the octopus, perhaps for a sign of whether she can trust him or not.
âItâs okay, I understand. I donât like sharing the people I love the most eitherâ, Squirt tries to push further.
âI donât think you understandâ, Stella finally answers, still eyeing the octopus.
âThen explainâ, Squirt prompts. Stella falls silent once again, trying to think of how to answer while returning her gaze to her shoes.
âI justâŠâ, she tries. She plays with the laces of her shoes, before taking a deep breath and continuing, âIâm not used to any of this. You all have a relative to make you feel more at home. I donât have anyone. I donât⊠Iâm not the master of communication. Iâm only now starting to warm up to Tweak. Sheâs the only one that I can talk to. Dividing her time would mean that I canât always talk to her whenâŠwell, when I need to.â Stella had pulled her legs close to her chest, resting her head on her knees as she spoke. Squirt listens attentively to what she has to say, nodding every now and then, even though sheâs not looking at him.
âI might not quite understand what youâre going through, but maybe you should try to warm up to others. If not us, then maybe another one of the adultsâ, Squirt tries to comfort her. He puts a tentacle around her shoulder. Stella slowly lifts her head from her knees and looks at Squirt. Her sorrowful expression physically hurt him.
âI try my best, but I just canât. Itâs hard to talk to peopleâ, she quickly places her head on her knees once again as tears start to form in her eye.
âYouâre talking to me right now, arenât you?â, Squirt asks.
âWell, yeah, but thatâs becauseâŠâ, Stella pauses for a moment, not willing to say the next part.
âBecause what?â, Squirt tries to push her to finish her sentence.
She sighs, âBecause Iâm desperate.â
âIf thatâs so, then why did you push Pinto away?â, Squirt asks, slightly confused but also honored.
âThatâs just what Iâm good at doing. All I ever do is push people awayâ, Stella raises her voice a bit, but not enough to draw attention to herself from the others.
âYou didnât push me awayâ, Squirt hesitates to answer, sensing the anger radiating from the pup.
ââŠHe tries too hard. HisâŠhis positivity and enthusiasmâŠâ, Stella lifts her head and stares at the ground in front of her. She shakes her head violently before finally making eye contact with Squirt.
âForget I ever said anything. Iâll try my best to take your advice and talk to othersâ, Stella smiles. Her smile looks forced. Thereâs something she isnât telling him, that much is obvious. But Squirt has already pushed his luck a lot of times today. Heâs happy with the result he got. He smiles back at Stella.
All of the kids fall to the floor with exhaustion. The crew had been attacked by a green anaconda. Kwazii ordered the kids to run away and find shelter while he distracts the anaconda. He ordered Pinto to call for help as soon as they were far enough from danger.
Remembering the order given to him, Pinto sounds the Octo-alert on his Octo-watch, while still being out of breath.
âJunior Octo-agent Pinto, report pleaseâ, the captainâs voice hums from the watch.
âCaptainâ, Pinto starts while trying to steady his breath, âWe were attacked byâŠa green anacondaâŠKwazii distracted itâŠin the middle of nowhereâŠâ
Gasps are heard from the watch.
âDashiâ, captain Barnacleâs voice boomed.
âAlready on it captain. Tracking down all Octo-watch signals near their areaâ, Dashiâs voice replies.
After a while: âPearl is near the kids location and Paani is near Kwaziiâs. Contacting them now.â
The screen split into four.
âHello captainâ, Pearl and Paani answer in unison.
âWhatâs wrong?â, Pearl asks, worry taking over her voice as she notices the captainâs serious expression.
Captain Barnacles briefly gives the two Octo-agents an explanation about the current situation. Both quickly give a nod after receiving their orders, before springing into action.
The kids wait were they are. Not having anything better to do, Pinto starts getting impatient.
âWhen will she be here?â, he whines.
âBe patientâ, Periwinkle replies, a bit of venom in his voice. Pinto shoots him an annoyed glance. Stella takes off her shoes and stands up with a sigh.
âI can climb up that tree and see if I can find her nearby if that helps cool you downâ, she offers.
âYou can climb?â, Koshi asks curiously.
âIf you have claws, you can climbâ, Stella answers matter-of-factly while flexing her claws, âBesides, climbing up a tree canât be any harder then climbing up an icy mountain.â And with that, Stella leaps into the tree, quickly making her way up.
âSee anything?â, Ursa yells.
âYou probably shouldnât be yellingâ, Orson whispers while nervously looking around them. With a thud, Stella lands on all fours right next to the polar bear cub, causing him to scream.
âSorry for startling youâ, Stella says while quickly putting her hair into place, covering her left eye once again. âSheâs closeâ, she lets go of the breath that she had been holding while she was fidgeting around with her hair.
âAproximentaly how much longer will it take her to arrive?â, Periwinkle asks.
Stella thinks for a while. âJudging by the speed at which sheâs heading here on one of the Terra gupsâŠaproximentaly 48 more seconds.â
Pintoâs eyes widen as he looks around him in every direction.
âFrom that directionâ, Stella points somewhere in the forest before going back to putting on her shoes.
Squirt keeps his gaze in that direction as he counts down the seconds in his head, remembering to add the seconds that went by ever since Stella told them her prediction. Pearl arrives 35 seconds later, making Stellaâs approximation wrong by only 4 seconds. Squirt shivers at how accurate her prediction is.
âMOM!â, Periwinkle runs towards the older sea otter as she takes her helmet off.
âPeriwinkle!â, the two of them fall into a warm embrace. Squirt smiles at the sight.
âAre you all alright?â, Pearl asks, the concern of a worried mother filling her voice.
âWeâre fineâ, Ursa replies.
âJust a little shockedâ, Orson adds.
âWill Kwazii be okay?â, Pinto asks.
âIâm sure Paani will find him soonâ, Pearl answers. âCome on, letâs get you back to Ranger Marshâs cabin. We can wait for Kwazii there.â
It took an hour after their arrival for Kwazii and Paani to show up. The kids excitedly greet the ginger cat as he limps into the cabin. Ranger Marsh quickly takes out his first aid kit after seeing the state of the cat. The macaque is also in a bad state, but not nearly as bad as Kwazii.
âWhat happened out there?â, Pearl asks from behind them. After the first twentie minutes had gone by, she went back out to help the two men. She herself had a few scratches, but otherwise she was fine.
âYou know me, always running into troubleâ, Kwazii limps over to a chair.
âYou know me, always going with the flowâ, Paani chooses to follow Kwaziiâs way of going around the question.
Pearl shoots them both an angry glare.
âYou had us all worried sick!â, she proclaimed.
âSorryâ, Kwazii whispers, ears flopping down.
âWhy donât we save the yellâng for later?â, Ranger Marsh suggests with a hint of sarcasm, while he takes out the disinfectant.
Pearl joins them in the kitchen, letting herself sink into a chair. She lifts her head, facing the ceiling with her eyes closed. Periwinkle hesitantly makes his way over to her, giving her a hug once in front of her. The rest of the kids silently remain seated in the open area of the kitchen, all watching how Ranger Marsh bandages both Kwazii and Paaniâs wounds. After finishing up with them, he turns his attention to Pearl.
âDonât worry about me, Iâm fineâ, Pearl quickly says after noticing Ranger March approaching her.
âAre ya sure? Not even some disinfectant?â, Ranger Marsh asks cautiously.
âYeahâ, Pearl answers, a drop of nervousness in her voice.
âAlrightâ, Ranger Marsh says with his thick accent. He eyes Pearl a little longer before packing everything back inside of the first aid kit.
âCare to explain what happened out there?â, Ranger Marsh asks with the stern voice filled with the worry of a father. The three adults almost look like kids getting told off by their father as they all deflate into their chairs. Squirt puts a tentacle to his mouth in an effort to not start laughing. Pearl shots the men an accusing look, silently demanding to hear what they had been up to until she showed up. Kwazii stands up, wincing in pain as he remembers the state of his right leg. He quickly forgets about the pain, getting ready to tell his side of the story. His eye sparkles with a sense of adventure and his tail excitedly whips the moist air in the cabin.
âThere I was, distracting the green anaconda as the kids ran to safety. While we were exploring the thick and moist rainforest, we had accidentally gotten too close to her nest. I ordered the kids to run to safety and call for help as I lead the snake in the other direction. It was a brave and honorable sacrifice if I do say so myself. ButâŠI might or might not have gotten myself in a bigger messâ, Kwaziiâs excitement slowly fades away. He drops his gaze to the ground.
âI found him getting chased by a group of howler monkeys. They were not too happy about us being in their territoryâ, Paani jumps in to finish the story.
âI found the boys up in the trees trying to get the howler monkeys off of their tails. I followed them from the ground and we eventually figured out a way to get them down safelyâ, Pearl finishes the story.
âSafely?â, Ranger Marsh asks sarcastically, the harsh fatherly love deep in his voice.
âAs safely as possibleâ, Pearl seems to be resisting the urge to roll her eyes.
She seems to be in a bad mood. I wonder why. Could it be because she got in trouble for Kwaziiâs mistake?, Squirtâs thoughts start spiraling back into his head.
âWell, at least ya made it back in one pieceâ, Ranger Marsh sighs.
âSit down Kwazii. Let me get you all something to eatâ, the lime green rabbit offers. Kwazii immediately obeys and waits with the others for Ranger Marsh to return with some food.
Kwazii had called Dashi to let her know that theyâre ready to be picked up. Paani had insisted on joining them in order to help Kwazii. The ginger cat had protested against it, but Paani stayed as stubborn as a mule.
Now theyâre in the Octo-ray on their way back to the Octopod.
[I wrote this right after an English lesson. Can you tell? Funnily enough, this suits Squirtâs character.]
