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It was a dark and chilly night. The rain and wind was freezing and forced it's way into a man's soul if he wasn't careful. You would imagine that only a penguin could stand freezing temperatures. Yeah, Skipper thought so too. After five minutes outside he was shivering visibly and his beak was chattering. He tried to
pretend it was nothing and walk it off, but every time he moved it felt like walking with a layer of ice encasing you. Finally he stopped behind a brick wall that stood blocking most of the harsh wind and rain and slumped back against it. Something hard and cold hit him in the face. A flipper raised to see what had hit him when another pellet of ice clunked him on the head. The next thing he knew a mix of snow and sleet
was falling all around him. It was getting thicker until the habitat in front of him could barely be seen. He shivered and wrapped his flippers around him, charging out in it. He'd be lucky if he even made it to the HQ. He darted off, his feet slipping on the ice beneath him. He gave it no notice. That was a big mistake. As he rounded a corner his feet flew out from under him. With a thud he hit the hard ice on his shoulder. Pain shot through him from where he didn't know. He didn't try to move. All he could do was lay there
and hope his head stopped swimming. He was beginning to feel hypothermic and strangely sweating. He opened his eyes with a grimace and saw nothing but swirling white in a sea of black. The sleet stung his eyes and hurt his numb face. He closed his eyes again. Suddenly someone grabbed his flipper and he felt himself being half-dragged, half-carried away. He struggled and kicked to get away. Finally his flipper slipped from his assailiant's grasp. He tackled him and threw him to the ground, punching him in the jaw. The other penguin kicked him off and slammed him in the chest with his flipper. Skipper winced and jolted up at the penguin, sending a kick to his head that sent the opponent flying back. The penguin staggered back against the brick wall and adjusted his black cap over his eyes. He took off into the dark and raced away. Skipper darted after him, his pulse pounding through him and causing him to
ache. He knew a way to cut the penguin off. He darted through the sleet. Suddenly something hard slammed into him. It took him a few seconds before he realized he'd smacked into it. A brick wall. He noted as pain throbbed through his temples. He looked around, trying to see through the sleet. Suddenly someone tackled him from above and pinned him to the ground. Skipper kicked and turned over so he was atop his attacker. The two tumbled backwards suddenly through the doorway of the storage shed. A few punches were thrown before Skipper was thrown back against the lightswitch, turning on the lights. He attacked the penguin and pinned him down against the concrete. As he
raised a fist to strike a blow he did a double-take. The black cap had been pushed up, revealing a
pair of frightened blue eyes. The thin, slender beak wasn't at all that of a male penguin. Skipper
pulled off the cap the rest of the way. A side-bang of feathers fell free over the penguin's right eye. Along the back of her neck almost to her shoulders was ruffled greyish feathers. "..You're a girl.." Skipper remarked in shock, the cap dropping from his flipper. The she-penguin scoffed, "No kidding. Would you get off me?" Skipper's eyes grew wide and he quickly stepped off her. For some reason he felt compelled to-
"-What are you doing?" The she-penguin asked.
Skipper realized he was holding out a flipper to her. "I..was going to help you up miss..?"
The girl swung herself to her feet from the floor and replied, "Call me Sarah." Skipper was taken aback and found himself staring strangely at her hips. Sarah arched a brow and turned around, toying with the pricetag on a box nearby, "So, what's your name fly-boy?" Skipper seemed to snap out of some sort of trance, "Huh? Oh..uh..it's..uh.." he walked up to her, "Well
most people call me Skipper so.." He reached out a flipper to her, unexpectant of her to snap up her own and stop him, "Look, Skipper. I know you must think I'm a helpless, vunerable female that you can play with," Skipper blushed awkwardly, her flipper still clenching his. Sarah went on, "but if you lay a hand on me, I'll make you hurt." She tightened her flipper around Skipper's. Skipper winced, "Alright dollface. At ease." Sarah let go, "Good, now that we understand each other.." she made for the door, scooping up her cap and throwing it across her shoulder, "..I'll be going."
Skipper shook his head for focus. He darted foreward, "Wait..uh..miss. It's cold out. Why don't you bunk with us for tonight?" he suggested, stuttering as she turned and looked at him with deep brown eyes. "Why? Is this some sort of angle?" she asked skeptically. "Not at all miss Sarah. Just a friendly invitation." Skipper replied, smiling and hoping he wasn't blushing.
Sarah narrowed her eyes, "Y'want it straight, son of a gun?" Skipper looked down at his feet then back up at her. He found it hard to look into her eyes, "Sure, I guess."
"Alright, I never trust anybody unless I know what they're worth." She ran her flipper under his beak, "And I wouldn't trust you if you were the last man alive." She whispered, drawing him closer, then removing her flipper. Skipper collapsed to the floor unexpectedly behind her as she walked out the door. He stood up and called
after her through the wind, "What if I'm all you've got tonight?" Sarah stopped. She stood there for a few seconds. Then she turned around, "What do you mean?" she called. Skipper strode out to her and took her flippers, "Look dollface, you need a place to stay, and I refuse to let you spend the night in this heck of a storm." A smile spread across Sarah's beak, an almost warm and inviting one. "Much obliged hot-stuff.." Skipper linked flippers with hers, "..It's Skipper.." he corrected.
The two walked off through the slowly fading storm towards the HQ.