Chapter Five Hundred and Forty Six - Emperor Penguin
"Gah——"
At this time, the emperor penguin chicks' chirping has unknowingly changed into the same quacking sound as the emperor penguin parents.
biu~~Puff.
Several sounds of water were heard, and those emperor penguin chicks who did not dare to go into the water were kicked down mercilessly by their parents.
They had just gone down to inspect this area of the sea, and it was very safe. No danger had been found for the time being, so when Ki Zai Zai entered the water, he did so without any mercy.
After they get into the water, they will learn to swim naturally.
When these emperor penguin chicks all went into the water, this small sea area, which was originally empty, was now filled with a lot of water. Swimming was a very novel experience for them. They had never been in it before.
Been active in the sea.
They settled the matter of moulting the day before approaching the seaside.
In the opinion of emperor penguin parents, they did all the moulting themselves at that time, so when their chicks reached this stage, they did not reach out to help, but just watched quietly from the side, or chatted with themselves
partner flirting.
When Sui Sui noticed something was wrong with the down on his body, he turned around and looked at Xu Qiaoqiao and Jun Qi with his wet eyes, mainly Qiaoqiao's mother, after all, this trick only worked on her.
"Chirp."
Suisui couldn't help but rub his belly. As soon as he rubbed it, he found that some of the down had been removed by himself. He looked at Qiaoqiao's mother with a somewhat aggrieved and confused look.
Why am I losing hair, grandma?
Xu Qiaoqiao looked at him like this. Those eyes and this expression made her look like a frustrated puppy. An emperor penguin didn't know why she would have such thoughts.
"Quack." It's okay, this is normal.
Xu Qiaoqiao comforted Suisui, bent down slightly, and rubbed his head.
Didn't you ask before why you look different from your parents? When the layer of gray down on your body fades away, revealing the black and white feathers underneath, you will know the reason.
Listening to Qiaoqiao's Auntie's comfort, Suisui tilted his head. Although he still didn't understand much, his heart and eyes were very calm now. Since Auntie Qiaoqiao said so, just listen carefully.
Thinking of this, Xu Qiaoqiao couldn't help but laugh when she looked at Suisui circling there. Jun Qi turned to look at her, and then followed her line of sight. She was looking at Suisui.
Sui Sui has a very novel feeling about swimming. The sea is different from the land. He can feel a sense of freedom. The sea water around him is very gentle and wraps his body.
The sky was blue and the sun was abundant. It was midsummer at this time, and the temperature was much higher than usual. The snowdrifts on the shore began to melt, and many of them could no longer hold their shape and collapsed, making a loud sound.
There were several booming sounds.
The frightened Emperor Penguin chicks struggled subconsciously. They tried their best to stay away from the place where the snowdrift collapsed. Gradually, they were getting further and further away from the shore. The Emperor Penguin at the front led everyone forward.
It turned out to be Suisui.
Seeing this scene, Xu Qiaoqiao's laughter gradually died down, and her eyes showed a little reluctance. She turned her head and buried her head in Jun Qi's chest, rubbing it lightly a few times, and her eyes became slightly moist.
These little cubs can fight, hunt, swim, and protect themselves, and it's time for them to leave.
Jun Qi also understands this truth, and the other emperor penguin couples also understand this truth. This extra month of time together is already very rare, and they don't dare to expect too much. The children will eventually grow up.
It might be less painful to leave before their memories are so deep.
It was just like them at that time. Although I still feel melancholy when I think about it now, I don't feel uncomfortable or painful. There is only a slight back.
"quack--"
When the time came, looking at the cubs swimming in the water, Jun Qi knew it was time for them to leave. This sea area was the place they often came to play before, and now it was given to the cubs.
After he yelled, Happy seemed to have received a signal, and his wife also yelled. The emperor penguins knew that the time was up and they could no longer stay.
Although I feel reluctant to leave, I still have to accept the separation after all.
This is the last thing emperor penguin parents teach their chicks.
The emperor penguins quickly lined up, with Happy leading the way, walking forward with one foot deep and one foot shallow. None of them looked back at their chicks.
Several seabirds seemed to fly over from the distant horizon. They were calling, and their voices sounded distant and long in the sky.
The emperor penguin chicks playing in the sea have no idea what is happening on the shore.
Jun Qi waited for Xu Qiaoqiao to calm down. He hugged his little girlfriend, lowered his head, pressed his face against her ear, and rubbed her affectionately for a few times without making a sound. At this time, his words were pale, and he
He is also not good at comforting people. Even if the other person is Qiao Qiao, he will not be able to learn this skill so quickly.
Qiao Qiao likes Sui Sui, and he can tell that this little guy loves to act like a baby, and he especially likes to act like a baby toward Xu Qiao Qiao. Plus, his appearance is in line with Qiao Qiao's preference for furry hair.
It's normal to be sad, and this is also their first child in this world.
The word first is very special in many cases.
Although they will also have babies in the future.
Xu Qiaoqiao naturally heard Jun Qi's cry, but she didn't want to move yet, so she nestled in Jun Qi's arms, blinked, and had no idea in her head.
Not sure how much time had passed, Jun Qi glanced at the cubs playing and playing in the water. They had already swam a large circle in this sea area and were probably about to start swimming back.
"Gaga." Qiao Qiao...
Jun Qi leaned into Xu Qiaoqiao's ear and called softly.
Three seconds later, Xu Qiaoqiao turned around in Jun Qi's arms and shouted muffledly, which was a response to his cry.
Jun Qi laughed and touched Qiao Qiao's head. The doting in his eyes was as if he was drowning. He rubbed his face against her black feathers and his voice was still so soft: Qiao Qiao, if we don't leave, these little bastards will be killed.
Once we get ashore, we won’t be able to leave by then.
Once you see the eyes of that little kid in Suisui, it's strange that you are willing to leave.
And that guy could also see that the adult emperor penguins were leaving, and Bao Qi would follow them all, which would not be good.
Hearing Jun Qi's words, Xu Qiaoqiao raised her head from Jun Qi's arms. She looked at the sea and found that it was exactly what Jun Qi said. The leading emperor penguin was her child, and he was leading those
Emperor penguins swim towards the shore.
"Gah..." It seems like eh.
Xu Qiaoqiao murmured. She patted Jun Qi's arm and turned her eyes. Their eyes met in the air.
"Gah." Let's go then.
It was really time to leave, and he didn't know how long it had been. Xu Qiaoqiao patted his head and stretched out his arms. Seeing this, Jun Qi immediately stretched out his arms.
It's like holding hands.
"Quack." It's really gone.
——Yeah, yeah, I’m really gone.
The sound of the wind gradually drowned out their cries.
A few minutes later, the cubs jumped onto the shore without any instructions, and after gliding on their bellies for a short distance on the ice, they turned around and found that the group of emperor penguins standing there had disappeared.
"Gah...?"
As more and more Emperor Penguin chicks came ashore, they looked blankly at the empty ice and stood there motionless, not knowing what to do.
Suisui was the last one to come ashore. Looking at the motionless Emperor Penguins, he had a bad feeling in his heart, so he hurriedly took a few steps forward and found that the Emperor Penguin parents were all gone.
Gone.
"..."
Are they gone?
Sui Sui closed his beak tightly and stood there at a loss, looking at the road ahead and the sky in front of him, not knowing what to think in his head.
He lowered his head and looked at his little wings and the remaining gray fluff on his belly. Then he raised his head and looked at everyone around him. The black feathers on his back were already obvious.
Everyone has really grown up a lot.
I already look the same as my parents.
It turns out that when they grow up, they will leave themselves.
Sui Sui holds his head high and looks at the azure sky, which is as blue as a wash. The bright sun shines on the earth and will never go out. It is really bright.
…
This is the first time that everyone has given birth to a baby, and it is also the first time that they have been away from them. There is a lot of reluctance in their hearts, but we have to eat what we have to eat.
In addition, they are accompanied by their partners, and the time has now entered January. It is estimated that in two or three months, when the polar night comes, they will be separated from their partners. One year has passed, and it is time to find a new one.
Partner.
If the old doesn't go, the new won't come.
Time passes slowly, until the end of the day passes and the end of the night arrives.
This land has ushered in a day without sunshine, and the surroundings have become pitch black. Only the companions around them can bring them warmth and comfort.
This was also the first large-scale breakup scene that Xu Qiaoqiao witnessed.
These emperor penguins seemed to have lost their memory. All the previous reluctances were instantly wiped away. After breaking up amicably with their current partners, they began to look for new partners.
Male Emperor Penguins still have no shortage of partners, and the fierce competition is still among the female Emperor Penguins. The female Emperor Penguins who failed in the previous courtship also cheered for themselves, hoping that this time, they would not
fail.
I hope that this time, I can successfully grab a male emperor penguin as a mate.
As a result, they raised their heads and held their chests high, and walked majestically towards the male Emperor Penguin they had chosen.
"quack--"
The cry of emperor penguins filled the space.
Xu Qiaoqiao: "..."
A bit magical.
She shrank slightly towards Jun Qi.
Jun Qi turned to look at her, without saying anything, he stretched out his arms and hugged the little fool into his arms, then buried his head in the thick feathers on her back, yawned, and planned to
Take a short nap.
Feeling that Jun Qi's breathing gradually became more even, Xu Qiaoqiao knew that he was sleeping. For a moment, her eyes softened, she raised her little wings and touched the soft feathers on Jun Qi's back.
Listening to the cries of the emperor penguins, the cries during estrus are always particularly high-pitched.
After these emperor penguins find a new partner, they will develop a relationship normally, and then they will conceive a baby between them. This process is quite laborious and requires the cooperation of both parties.
Then the life after that is a repeat of the life from the previous period.
Not much has changed, the cubs are still very cute, and their soft chirping sounds seem to melt the hearts of emperor penguin parents.
We also encountered dangers along the way, but luckily, everyone was still there.
…
Time changes with it. Here in Antarctica, no matter what season it is, it is a vast expanse of white, covered in silver, and strong winds that will not disappear, as if nothing will change.
But Xu Qiaoqiao knew that eight years had passed.
In summer, the temperature here will be slightly warmer than in winter, but it will still be below zero degrees Celsius. However, the ice will slowly melt and there will be changes between day and night. However, the duration of day and night here is shorter than
The normal stay time is much longer.
This year, when Xu Qiaoqiao and Jun Qi sent away their third cub, she and Jun Qi followed the team. They found a new place to live, although it was still a little worse than the previous gathering place.
But, they are already very old and don't need to worry about these things.
Soon, another year passed, and for this group of emperor penguins, they were considered nine years old. Among the emperor penguin group, they were also senior emperor penguins, and they were grandfathers.
Although the body is old, the beating heart is young.
In January, at this time, the sky in Antarctica is at extreme daylight, which is considered late summer.
Jun Qi and Xu Qiaoqiao took a group of emperor penguins to the beach. They were going to hunt and eat.
Compared with the previous ones, the ice here is a little lower in altitude, and some seawater has come up, but not much.
After the emperor penguins lined up in front of them entered the water one after another, Xu Qiaoqiao was fully prepared and jumped into the water. Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of something from the corner of his eye, which shone in the sunlight.
Is this a... bottle?
Xu Qiaoqiao walked over curiously, took a closer look, and found that this was not an ordinary bottle, it was a drift bottle.
Xu Qiaoqiao said "Yeah" in surprise, and suddenly became interested. She squatted down, slowly stretched out her wings, and picked up the drift bottle, her eyes full of excitement.
"Quack!" Junjunjunjun, look what I picked up!
After Xu Qiaoqiao saw Jun Qi's position, she ran over and raised the bottle to his eyes, as if she was offering some treasure.
Hey, this was her first time encountering drift bottles. She had only played with drift bottles in a certain Penguin software before.
This is the first time I've seen it in person.
This glass bottle is not big. There is a piece of rolled white paper inside. The edge of the white paper is slightly yellowed. It seems that it was like this before it was put in. The bottle cap is an ordinary beer bottle cap.
Jun Qi looked at the thing held by Xu Qiaoqiao and tilted his head in confusion: "Bottle?"
Xu Qiaoqiao's eyes were bright, and she nodded, then shook her head: "No, no, this is not an ordinary bottle, this is a drift bottle. Do you know the drift bottle?"
This is the first time Jun Qi has come across the term "drift bottle", and he really doesn't know it yet.
Seeing Jun Qi like this, Xu Qiaoqiao also knew that he didn't know what a drift bottle was, but it didn't matter. She could explain it to him. The concept was not difficult, and some things were very clear without having to explain them.