The Life of Seals

Animal Jam Fan Fiction by PuppyGirl
Characters (Seals):

Rose Paw (Created by author). The leader and second eldest of the Peach Pod. Leaderly, smart, alert. Quick and good with a bow and arrow and will do anything to protect her pod.

Spike (Created by Lightstar). RosePaw's younger brother. Fun-loving, adventerous, sportsy and wild. Doesn't always see the point of things and gets into a lot of trouble.

Alfredo (Created by Universal Galaxies). A hip-hop loving explorer. Also amazingly good at spelling. Speaks in a cool accent, loves anything outrages and fun, and likes popcorn.

Silver Flowers (Created by Lilypop). A naive, bubbly seal who enjoys dancing, singing, and art. Cannot help smiling or laughing.

Kelp Nose (Created by Anakin). A solitary, grumpy seal who doesn't like too much company. Main comfort object is an old blanket, which he curls around himself often.

Gloss (Created by author). A diva, self-centored seal, eldest. If breaks a claw she might go into apoclyspe-mode.

Luckyeyes (Created by codywife1). An ocean seal, smart, wild, pretty loud and enjoys making music. (Uses a shell as his horn to play or sound the alert). Great swimmer, and has an eye for Rosepaw.

Angel (Created by BunnyBunnylol). A helpful and social seal, orphaned by tigers as a young pup and lives with Lucky (As his cousin) in the ocean. A great fighter as well.

Other characters:

Krumpz (Created by author). A short-tempered sea crab who is known for is dislike of humans and love of pinching.

Interrupting Crow (Created by Lunifer). Persistant crow who will not allow anyone to finish their sentence. Once you meet him, there's no getting rid of him.

Anakin (Created by Anakin). A cunning cat who lives a solitary life, having been around humans learned their ways of weaponry. Although seems menacing has a soft spot for helping, females, and catnip (and can't resist yarn).

Our Regular Life
"Seriously, Spike? It's super early in the morning and you decide to do this now?"

He grinned at me. "The early bird gets the worm, Rose."

I narrowed my eyes. "We're seals, krill brain, not birds. And what worm are YOU trying to get?"

But I knew the answer to the question already. He was trying to impress the other females. But what was irritating was that it was nearly sunrise and he decided to make sure everyone was awake to see it.

You see, Spike was the main heartthrob of our pod. Almost all the females swooned over him... All of them except me. Why you ask?

1. He's an annoying, too much fun having show-off, and

2. He's my brother.

My little brother to be exact; one seal year younger. I begged my parents as soon as I was born to have no more kids, and that being an only child was fine for me and two kids was too much anyway. But who listens to their kid, anyway? They had another one, and I'd been trying to get rid of him since.

The two of us lived in a six-seal pod, self proclaimed as the Peach Pod (since a orchard of peaches were in our territory as well). Basically, we were young seals...by that I mean we were all adolescents, so even though we were getting our color we still had that big, fluffy pelt that makes everyone think we are cute. Ugh.

We were more land-based than water-based, so we lived in a cave in the middle of a field in Jamaa, with a lake not too far by. Most of us had clothing anyway, which is considered unusual for harp seals. Well, is anyone actually usual?

Spike rubbed his paws together, stepped back a few steps, then darted forward. The other females stared in wonder, as he jumped in the air, did a somersault, and while upside-down in the hair gripped onto a tree's branch, and stood there in that position.

The females awed. The males rooted him on. I crossed my front legs.

While holding onto the branch upside down, he proceeded to raise one of his front legs, making it look like an impossible acrobatic stunt. Just enough focus and strength and pretty much anyone could do that.

Everyone except me cheered, and he swung himself off.

"Oh, isn't he just the most wonderful thing?" asked Silver, eyes fluttering.

"That was something!" said Gloss, smiling.

Kelp Nose looked up and grunted. "Still don't know why he woke us up for this."

Silver poked him. "Oh, don't be a stick in the mud, Kelp. This was a perfectly good reason."

I shook my head. I figured Kelp had the most sense out of the entire rookery.

"Yo peeps," said Alfredo. "Don't you folks think we should go do somethin'? I don't know, maybe explore township?"

"Yeah!" said Spike. "It's so boring here in our territory."

"I feel the urge to shop," said Gloss, "for something..."

"That would be fun," I said. I just wanted to get away from the territory in case Spike wanted to show off. "Let's go!"

Kelp grunted. "I guess I'm fine here, you folks go on ahead."

We turned to him. "Why don't you wanna come?" I asked.

"You never come with us," said Silver. "Don't you wanna have some fun today? See all the beautiful stores and such Jamaa has to offer?"

He looked up solemnly. "I'm better off with the surroundings here, thank you. Now go."

We exchanged a look. "Come on, Peach Pod, let's go!"

Well, Township was busy that morning. Animals hustled to and fro, going from store to store. A large group stood in the middle, yelling out special activites in their home and handing out invitations. We rarely go to those anyway; we don't enjoy mixing in with other animals.

"So, what are we going to do here?" asked Spike.

"I say we go into Club Geoz!" said Alfredo.

"Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" said Silver Flowers, giggling, and they started busting some moves.

"Ugh, don't have time for that," said Gloss, "I prefer we go to Jamaa Clothing. I need to get some new outfits."

"Boring! Why not go to the arcade?" asked Spike. "It's fun and I need some gems."

"Can we split up?" asked Silver.

I thought for a second. "I'd prefer if we stayed as a group, but that is fine. Spike, I'm coming with you. Alfredo and Silver, stick together. Gloss, you can care for yourself, but be careful."

"Yeah, you wouldn't want a tiger getting you," said Silver Flowers. We shuddered. Tigers are what land seals feared most. It wouldn't take much for them to nab an innocent seal and turn them into lunch.

"Don't worry, I won't let anything happen," said Gloss. "If anyone does I'll hit 'em with my handbag."

She swung it as a demonstration. I have to admit; that swing did look pretty powerful.

"Alright, go on ahead. Everyone meet here at this fountain around noon. Let's go Spike."

"Aw, sis, do you have to go with me?"

"You want a tiger attacking you?" I pulled up my hood and narrowed my eyes.

"Do you think this is for nothing?" My brother slid out his sword and held it in front of him. I rolled my eyes.

"Besides, I want to go to the arcade too."

He growled. "Fine."

So we walked off. But on the way, we passed the adoption center. I peeked inside, seeing rows of baby animals begging to be adopted, and parents-to-be awing, picking some up, filing adoption papers, walking out with new children or dropping some off. I thought back to the time Spike and I were in there, waiting to be adopted, when--

"Come on, sis!"

"I'm coming!"

We made our way into the arcade, and spent most our time in there.

Around noon or so, we met back at the fountain, hungry for lunch.

"Come on, I saw some fish in that river," said Silver Flowers, pointing at the long river to the right of us. Spike licked his lips. "Great, I'm starved." He scampered over and dunked his head in. But then, a shadow crept over him. My eyes widened once I saw it. "SPIKE, GET OUTTA THERE NOW!"

Silver shrieked, Alfredo gasped, Gloss looked like she was going to faint, but Spike lifted his head. "What?"

Then he looked up. Right at the tiger standing over him.

"Oh snap," he said, darting away.

"RUN!" I shouted, and the seals paid no heed to argue.

"Hey, you come back 'ere," I heard the tiger say with a growl. By the sound of his voice he wasn't far past.

"OUTTA THE WAY!" yelled my brother. Everyone in Township gasped and parted, giving us room to run. No one thought, "I dunno, let's HELP THEM?"

We ran down the long twisted paths, not heading towards our territory in fear of him knowing where we live. The tiger was not far behind.

"Aiyee!" cried Gloss. I turned around to see her tumbling to the ground, her foot caught in a root.

I ran back to her and helped her up, but the tiger was right in front of us. I snarled and swatted him, then we both ran off.

The tiger was too close to us. It's pretty hard for a seal to outrun one. Suddenly, I spotted a little blue dot in the distance. I grinned.

"EVERYONE, RUN TO THAT POND!"

We made a beeline for the pond, and right before the tiger could sink his teeth into Alfredo's tail we jumped in.

It was dark and freezing, but it didn't stop us from swimming straight to the bottom and waiting.

Tigers can wade and paddle, but not full fledge swim, like us seals can. We saw the giant feet of the beast kicking through the top of the water, screaming in pain (guess it was too cold for him). But he was still persistent in eating us.

"Come on," whispered Spike to me, "he's so intent on eating US? Can't he go home and eat a sandwhich or something?"

He kept wading when suddenly, he swooped down at us. Not like swimming but a direct drop.

We shrieked and scattered, as the tiger fell right next to us. He wasn't moving, his eyes were shut, and he didn't look like he was breathing.

A tiger who can't keep swimming? Oh, I'd seen everything.

"Should we help him?" asked Silver Flowers.

"Why should we?" said Gloss. "If we do he'll just eat us anyway."

"I agree," said Alfredo. "The only reason he's down here is because he tried to kill us."

"Yes, but we still should help him," I said. "Letting him die when we could help only proves we're no better than him."

The rest of the pod grumbled but agreed. Silver, Gloss, Alfredo, and Spike each grabbed a leg, while I grabbed the chin. We heaved and hoed, but the most we could get was him up a few inches, and we were underwater, where everything had less weight!

It was no use. The tiger fluttered his eyes open and muttered, "Thanks," then closed them for the final time.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEK! I'M HOLDING A DEAD BODY!" shrieked Gloss. That was Gloss for ya.

We looked at the tiger sadly, knowing we'd failed to save him.

"Come on, Peach Pod," I said. "Let's go home..."

We went home, having to carry Gloss cause she'd fainted. Kelp looked up. "Why you look like you failed to save someone's life?" he asked.

"Don't ask," snarled Alfredo.

Kelp raised an eyebrow. "Fine."

We just talked for the rest of the day. That night, we made our way back into the cave. I curled up next to my brother, resting my bow and arrow aside. I couldn't help but think of the tiger, unable to be helped...and I remembered that adoption center...the horrid memory clouding my mind along with the dead tiger lying at the bottom of the pond.

It would seem impossible to sleep for me, but about two hours later I finally fell asleep.

END OF CHAPTER 1

BETWEEN THE CHAPTERS
''The tigers circled that looming pond. ''

''"Is Chirpy out yet?" asked a tiger.''

''"Does it look like it, wise guy?" asked another.''

Suddenly, a quite small blue-and-white penguin jumped out, ruffling his feathers.

"Good news and bad news," he said. "Good news: I found Gumbo. Bad news: He's dead."

''"WHAT?" cried the other tigers. Gumbo's son, Small Claw, looked down sadly, a tear rolling down his cheek. Black Tail, the leader of the tigers, rested his paw on the young tiger's shoulder.''

''"How'd he die?" cried a female tiger, glancing worriedly at Small Claw.''

"Well," said a large, gruff tiger, "he said he was hunting seals."

"And seals can swim," said Chirpy.

''"So that must mean...the seals drowned him!" cried a tiger, who obviously wasn't that smart.''

''The tigers growled, and Small Claws narrowed his eyes. "A seal dare kill my father? Where are they?"'' ''"Well, I saw a group of seals walking from this direction a bit earlier," said a tigeress.  "Where were they headed?" asked Black Tail. "We simply cannot do with tiger murderers roaming the land."''

"You know...you know where the peach orchard is?" ''asked the tigeress. "They must be there."''

''The tigers looked to their leader. Black Tail, thought for a second, then nodded slowly. "Tomorrow, fresh in the morning, we call the troopers to attack."''

Chapter 2: The Escape
I jumped up. Swinging my head around and seeing nothing but my friends curled up asleep, I sighed a sigh of relief. It was just a dream.

Well I was too fearful to go back to sleep. I noticed my bow and quiver leaning against the cave wall, swung it over my shoulder, and walked out. The moon had set, and you could see some orange and pink whisps of the sunrise peeking from behind the trees.

I sat down looking at it, deep in thought.

And that's when I heard it.

A small, rumbling sound. Stones sitting by me starting shaking. The sound was getting louder and louder, and a cold chill went down my spine.

I was ready with my bow, swinging my head around to see a large group of tigers running towards us.

I jumped up, shouting, "EVERYONE UP! EVACUATE TERRITORY IMMEDIATELY! TIGERS ARE IN THE VICINITY!"

I heard panic shouts from the cave, and the five remaining seals of our pod darted out. But the tigers had formed a wall behind us.

"Well, well, well, lookie here, the murders of Gumbo," said a tiger.

"Gumbo? Who's Gumbo?" asked Silver, eyes widening.

"The tiger," said another one, "who was supposed to have killed you by now. Found him dead in a pond last night."

We all froze and exchanged looks.

"We didn't murder him," I said. "He drowned trying to attack us. We tried to help but he was too heavy the pull back up."

"Oh really? Too heavy underwater?" asked another one.

"Hey, YOU try heaving up a heavy item that just so happens to be underwater," said Gloss, flipping her fur.

The tigers growled. "Well, if it wasn't for you being there Gumbo would still be alive," said the first tiger, with black markings on him. "I'm pretty sure we can all agree on that."

The rest of the tigers agreed.

"Gumbo's death only falls on himself," I said plainly. "If he hadn't attempted to kill us, he would not have been in the pond, kicking madly and drowning."

"Enough talk already!" shouted a tiger. "Let's just eat them."

The tiger group cheered and ran right towards us.

"PEACH POD, RUN!"

All six of us darted off, with the swarm of tigers at our tails.

"They're getting away!" cried a tiger.

"Not on my watch," said the tiger with black markings, obviously the leader of the streak.

Seals sadly aren't very fast runners, but in the water you'll never dream of catching us. But sadly, we'd passed the lake already, and even so what good would it do us, waiting in the water, where a lot of better-swimming tigers could just attack?

A tiger ran ahead of us, made a U-Turn, and headed back in our direction.

We shrieked and scattered, watching the tiger stumble back.

Soon we were out of the field area, running down a long narrow dirt path.

I looked ahead to see Silver Flowers shriek and fall. I ran up to her and helped her up. Eyes widened, she screeched, "Look out!"

A tiger swatted Silver, sending her flying ahead of the pod, and simotaniously sinking his sharp teeth into my tail.

I screamed and swatted him, sinking my teeth into his snout, but the pain was intense. All of the sudden, I heard, "NO ONE MESSES WITH MY SISTER!"

"Spike, no!"

I looked up just in time to see Spike running to me, sword held high, and he stabbed the tiger in the neck.

The tiger roared in pain, and in the process I slid my tail out his mouth. My brother helped me up.

"That's little bro," I said.

"No problem, sis," he said, grinning. We ran up.

"GO ON AHEAD!" I screamed. "I GOT SOME!"

I slid out an arrow from my quiver, placing it in my bow.

The tigers froze. "LOOK OUT!"

No need. I pulled back the bowstring, aimed at a diagnol level, released, and watched the arrow fly downwards but far, and make its way into a tiger's chest.

He gasped and dropped.

I was quick with another one, sending arrows flying into necks, heads, chests, sides. Many of them dropped dead, but I'd never be able to hold them all off.

I turned around to see the pod waiting patiently not to far back.

"YOU KRILL BRAINS! WHAT PART OF GO ON AHEAD DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?" I shouted as a tiger sunk its teeth into my shoulder, only to have an arrow hurling at its skull.

"What pod in its right mind would leave their leader behind?" asked Alfredo.

"One with some sense in its noggin," I said, running towards them. "Now, come on!

We continued to run. Often times I would turn around and shoot at a tiger, but I knew I had to ration the amount of arrows I used. I'd already lost three, the others I'd been reusing.

We ran a great amount of distance, when we came nose-to-nose with a large, muddy slope. It went down pretty far, so far it made us sick to our stomachs.

The tigers were not far behind.

"There's only one thing to do," I said. "PEACH POD, GO!"

I jumped down the slope, feeling that stomach drop of freefalling as my belly slid down the muddy slope.

Plop plop plop plop plop! Apparently the other five followed my example.

"WHEEEEEEEEE THIS IS FUN!" cried Silver.

Gloss shrieked.

"Epic!" cried Spike.

"Not bad," said Alfredo.

"Humph," said Kelp, blanket curled around him.

I rolled over so I was sliding on my back, just to see the tigers look around in worry and utter shock and anger. No way were they going to slide down some steep muddly slope. They didn't have the instinct, guts, and flippers, like we had.

"Bye bye, kitties," I said, teasingly waving. I enjoyed their annoyed and frusterated looks on their faces. Too bad they weren't born seals.

I rolled back over, and we sped down the slope.

"OOF!"

Well the ending wasn't all that great. It pretty much abruptly stopped, but not at the ground, so we dropped for a bit and then slammed into that hard floor.

I spit dirt out my mouth and got up to my feet. Silver and Spike jumped for joy. "Hooray! We lost the suckers!"

I grinned, and we all did this sort of happy dance.

But then, Spike stopped. "Well, what now? The tigers will at some point find their way down here...but we have a lucky chance to make a getaway. But...where, and how?"

We froze and considered that as well. "I don't know, but wherever we're going, I'm sure we need to start walking."

The Peach Pod moaned, weary from that chase.

"Dear pod, if we stay any longer, chances are we'll get eaten. We're in survival mode now. Let's go."

We walked blindly for a good four minutes, in this dark and loomy forest.

"Golly," said Silver Flowers, "this place gives me the creeps."

Kelp grunted. "Not like any bloodsucking monsters, beady-eyed beasts, or crazy-driven creatures would attack anyway. What good would it do them?"

Silver whimpered. "Well...alright."

"Do not worry, Peach Pod," I said, knocking Kelp Nose upside his head. "I'm sure this forest is safe. We probably are the only ones in here. If not it might be a sqiurrel or two."

Well, two steps later, we heard a crack.

All six of us froze.

Then, another crack, and some bushes rustled.

"W-Was that a s-squirrel?" asked Gloss.

"I'm sure it was," I said, smiling nervously. "I mean, what else could it be?"

"Blood sucking vampires!" said Spike.

"Oh really? I did not know there were other types of vampires," said Kelp Nose.

Alfredo trembled. "T-There's nothing to be scared of, right?"

"Scared?" Spike flipped his paw and laughed. "You won't find me scared. Nu-uh never!"

Suddenly, I saw something black move past.

Silver Flowers cried, "What's that!"

She pointed to the side, where a pair of gleaming red eyes sat.

Spike screamed and jumped into Alfredo's arms.

Showing up with the eyes was a set of sharp, pearly white teeth. "Well, well," said a voice. "What do we have here?"

Something popped out. We all shrieked.

It was a cat. A cat! A black kitty with a white underside and a white top, perky ears, and a dastardly smile.

Everyone pretty much knew the same thing.

Cat=tiger family.

We all went into our automatic defense mode: I whipped out my bow and aimed it at him, Spike swept out his sword and held it in front, Gloss twirled her handbag (it was a wonder how she was able to keep up with it with all the running and sliding), and Alfredo, Silver, and Kelp growled.

The cat looked taken aback, then purred, "On the point, aren't you? Take the fight option rather than the flight, which in my opinion your way is better."

He walked towards me, putting his paw on my bow. "Hmm, nice taste you have, dear seal, although I personally prefer a more menacing piece."

He circled us. "Might I introduce myself? My name is Anakin. May I ask your names, and why a pod of seals is roaming randomly through a forest?"

The Peach Pod looked to me. Keeping my bow held high, I allowed them to introduce ourselves.

The cat smiled and flicked his tail, his red eyes staring into mine. "Do not need to fret. If I was going to kill you I would have by now."

I didn't like what I was getting from the cat, but I slowly lowered the bow.

"Now, you still have neglected to tell me why your pod of peachy seals are in this forest."

"We're escaping from tigers," I said. "They believe we murdered one of their kind and seek revenge, although the death was unintental, accidental, and only fell on him. Plus, we are the Peach Pod only because peaches grew in our territory."

Anakin nodded. "Sure. Anyway, I suspect you are completely lost, no intent way to go?"

"Yessir," said Spike.

He planted himself right in front of me, tail held high and swaying. "Well, I do know a safe way of getting out of this mess you put yourself in. If you have tigers going after you, since this part of Jamaa is filled with them, your best bet is to make your way to the ocean, cross it, and make a life on the other side."

"Great, just one issue," said Alfredo. "We have no idea where the ocean is."

The cat's ears perked up. "Seals not knowing where the ocean is? Goodness, I have seen everything!"

"Join the club," I muttered.

"Well," said Anakin, "I could take you to the bay...if you agree to trust me on all terms."

"Agre--"

I slammed my paw against Spike's mouth.

We didn't know the cat, and he was asking a little much out of the situation. Then again, he WOULD show us to the ocean--but it came at the price of us trusting him completely.

Well, if we turned down the offer, where would it leave us? Wandering mindlessly through the woods, not soon after would we be in the bellies of a tiger streak.

He did seem to know his way around...

I took a deep breath, and said, "Okay, cat, it's a deal."

"Um, Anakin?" asked Gloss.

"Yes, seal with the handbag?"

We were walking through the murky woods, the trees looming over us, looking like they were saying, "Hey, look at our next pile of prey walkin' by."

"I-Is there anything in these wounds that would feast on a pod of seals?"

"Well, you are peachy..." said the cat.

I slapped my forehead.

"...however, the most that will consume you are the mosquitoes, fire ants, oh and the Humph Root.:

"HUMPH ROOT?"

"You don't know? It's a type of root that feeds off animals. It will slowly curl around your leg, and once it's got you, it's got you. After your leg has been curled, it'll pull you into the ground, ball you up, break you down with acid, and use your nutrients to feed itself."

Our eyes popped out of its sockets. "H-How common are these roots?" I asked.

"Oh, quite common; you can't throw a rock without hitting them. Infact, one is happening to be eating your friend currently."

We whipped our heads around to see a root curling around Alfredo.

"Yo peeps, this ain't a good feelin' so HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!"

"ALFREDO!" shrieked Gloss.

"No worries, I got it," said Anakin. "Stand back."

We all moved out the way, Alfredo completely tangled in the root. Anakin whipped out something, a large, long, black object, and pressed a button multiple times.

BOOM!

Something flew out; it was too fast for me to even see it, and hit the root.

It froze in shock, only to have about a dozen more hit it. Finally, at the thirteenth "boom" I heard, it let go of Alfredo and wilted away.

Anakin tilted whatever it was upwards and blew the top.

"What is that?"

"Called a machine gun. Like a better revised an bow and arrow, more efficent than it as well."

I slowly pushed my old raggedy thing behind me.

"Dude, where do you even keep that?" asked Spike.

"I will never tell," said Anakin.

We exchanged a look. "Cool!"

"Watch out for any more roots. Best way to avoid them: stay in the middle of the path amongst the trees, and if you absolutely have to walk near a tree, watch your step."

We nodded. "Yessir!"

He grinned. "I'd prefer you call me Commander."

Kelp Nose and Spike salutded. "Affirmative, Commader Anakin!"

"Like the sound of that!"

At some point, we got hungry.

"You have any fish here?" asked Alfredo.

"Mmm, fish, that'd be great!" said Anakin, licking his lips. "But there are no fish here. There will be some in the ocean."

"So what do we eat?" asked Silver Flowers.

"I shall show you. Do you wish to learn to hunt?"

"Sure."

"If so, you must trust me."

Those two words: trust and me, made me freeze from the toes to the top of my head. I gulped. "Trust you how?"

He whipped out his machine gun and pointed at me. "The key of hunting is learning reaction skills. There is a pinecone in front of you. You must get it."

My eyes widen, and the other seals gasped. I knew it! I knew the cat was up to no good! Have me distracted by grabbing a pinecone only to have a bullet in my head!

I screamed and ducked. "NO! I WILL NEVER!"

He lowered the gun. "Rosepaw, did I NOT make it clear when I said you must agree to trust me?"

I gulped and trembled. "I'm not falling for a trick to get shot and eaten."

The cat's mouth twitched in confusion, and then he threw his head back and laughed.

"As if, dear seal. Now, I suggest you agree to trust me, or you will find yourself in the belly of the beast, literally."

He was ticking me off, badly. I stood up tall and nodded.

Well, this was it. I'd make my mark as a leaderly, proud, and brave seal, standing unharmed from a weaponry-skilled pussy cat. I'd get that pinecone if it was the last thing I did...which was probably more literal than I thought.

"Make sure you grab it, don't get shot before. Ready, set, go!"

BOOM POW PING!

No sir-ee! I was not to die today! I did a somersault, dodging whatever comes out the machine gun. Something flew past me, and I jumped to the side in the nick of time. The pinecone was beneath me now; all I needed to do was grab it--

POW!

"AYIEE!"

Bad time! I jumped forward right as something shot above me, tumbling until I reached a spot.

"Hurry up and grab that pinecone. I haven't all day," shouted Anakin.

I wanted to switch spots with him so badly and see how he liked it.

I rolled and rolled, dodging somethig that flew past my ear. At last, the pinecone was in arms reach, and I grabbed it right as something flew over my head.

"GOT IT!" I shouted.

Anakin lowered his gun. "Good job, although you could have done better."

In fury I threw that descipale, I-have-to-risk-my-life-for-it thing at his head, not missing the middle of his forehead.

He hissed. "You think that if you'd failed sooner you'd be dead? Why, you pea-brained seal, what do you think I used as ammonity?"

I tilted my head in confusion. "Pardon?"

He growled, aimed, and shot me, right in the chest.

I fell back, a billion thoughts going in my head during that split second:

Ouch that hurt oh no I'm dead oh no not now I really hope I go to Heaven and not the opposite of that I mean I think I've been good but you know I'm not sure I dont make that decision OH I AM SO SORRY wait if I am dead why does my chest hurt oh no its not hurting anymore I'm gone forever noooooo wait why am I seeing everything?

I blinked, and all the seals and a ticked-off Anakin were staring at me.

I looked down, only to see a purple stain on my chest.

''Goodness, I thought blood was red, not purple! Oh my I am out of the ordinary!''

But I ran my paw over the spot, and licked it.

Blueberry juice.

He'd been shooting blueberries at me.

Goodness I felt dumb.

"Heh, heh, heh," I said, getting to my feet.

Anakin rolled his eyes. "Next!"

Well the tests went on for a good amount of time, and all the other seals were excited yet shocked yet scared yet thinking Anakin was the coolest cat on earth.

Spike even purposely got hit just so he good be covered in juice. When he wasn't doing that, he was standing in the middle with his mouth open, the pinecone sitting at his feet, (Anakin purposely shot away from him).

I had to go onto the field and blackmail my brother into picking up the pinecone (apparently being yelled at, hit with rocks, begged, menipulated wasn't going to work on him).

Well, with enough reaction skills, Anakin realized we were tired and hunted three squirrels for us (obviously no more hunting lessons today!).

When we finished eating, Anakin continued to lead us.

"Be careful around this area," said Anakin. "It's Humph Root city. You wouldn't want to--"

Anakin slammed into a tree and felt unconcious.

"ANAKIN!" cried Silver.

"HE'S DEAD!" cried Gloss.

"He has terrible hand-eye cordination," said Kelp.

"Well, what do we do? We have no one to guide us through the roots!" cried Spike.

"This ain't cool, folks," said Alfredo.

"YA THINK?!"

I thought for a second. "Well, do not worry. Remember what Anakin said: to watch your step. Anyway--eek!"

I felt something curl around me, and squeeze me tight. So tight I couldn't breathe.

"SIS!" cried Spike. He ran to me, but then he screamed, as a root curled around his tail and lifted him upwards.

The remaining for cried out and hugged each other, only to have a long root curl around all four them.

"ANAKIN! HELP! WAKE UP WOULD YOU? THIS IS A TERRIBLE TIME FOR A NAP!"

"HE'S NOT NAPPING, YOU KRILL BRAIN! HE'S UNCONCIOUS!"

"Oh. THIS IS A TERRIBLE TIME TO BE UNCONCIOUS."

We could agree on that. "Do not worry, Peach Pod, if we are to keep ourselves from being killed then we must take action," I said.

"Being eaten by a tree," said Spike, shaking his head, "what a terrible fate."

I started to wiggle. If only I could reach my bow and arrow...maybe I could...

I got an idea. I wiggled as much as possible, finally creating enough space to slide out my bow and quiver. I aimed it for an unsuspecting root, and shot it.

The root jumped up, twisting every way, as if saying, "Who did that?"

Then it turned to me. I quickly hid my bow and gestured to my head towards the root holding me. "It was him, honest! How could I do that in this situation?"

The other root seemed angry and it shot towards us. Then it madly curled itself around the root holding me, and tugged it hard.

The root holding me was tough, but no match for that other root, and soon it was pulled enough for me to slide out.

It was a root wrestle. The other root starting jabbing at the first, and the first curled around the other, the entire ball shaking madly.

While the root wasn't looking I slid the arrow from out of it and replaced it. The root holding Spike shook him madly, and I cried, "Yo, root! See those roots fighting over there?"

The root holding my brother lifted up higher, as if he couldn't see them already.

"Yeah, them. They called your mother fat. It was rude and mean."

The root looked taken aback, and dropped Spike, charging at the other two.

"You okay?" I asked my brother.

Spike nodded and slid out his sword. "I'm fine."

With Spike and his sword out, we were able to run to the other four and cut that root, watching it wither helplessly.

The males picked up Anakin. I needed to know how many Humph Roots were over here.

"HEY, CALLING ALL ROOTS! CHECK OUT THIS WICKED FIGHT HAPPENING OVER HERE!" I shouted.

About a hundred roots lifted up and turned towards the three-root fight.

"AND DON'T EAT US! WE'RE HIGH IN CHOLESTRAL. WHICH MEANS WE WILL MAKE YOU FAT!" yelled Spike.

Obviously, my brother needed to learn more about nutrients.

Well that was enough. Some roots looked sick and others paid no attention; they were leaned in to see what was happening. I was sure in root language they were rooting someone on.

The six of us, carrying the black tomcat, scurried through the territory.

Once we were sure we'd lost them, we set Anakin down.

"He's not waking up," said Silver Flowers sadly.

Gloss broke down. "He really IS dead!"

Kelp Nose shook his head. "Anakin, a dog said you were bad at weaponry."

"A dog said WHAT?"

Anakin jumped up. "Where is he? I'll show him 'bad at weaponry'."

We laughed.

"So, what happened?" asked the cat.

"Well, we tricked the roots," I said. "Apparently they're more self aware than we realized."

Anakin nodded and stretched. "Well, I suppose you've gotten tired. I agree we shall set up camp."

"Wasn't he just out for a long time?" asked Alfredo.

The other seals conked out as soon as they hit the ground. I yawned and curled up, but I could not sleep.

What was with me and the sleeping?

I trotted over to Anakin, who curled up with his eyes wide open.

"So, Commander," I said.

He raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"How come you are so good with the weaponry?"

He grinned. "Ah, a fan I see.  Well, as a young kitten I was around humans, seeing them fight with the such technology. As any other kitten would, I was curious and interested, therefore, I found a large supply of weaponry, took as much as I pleased, and taught myself how to use them."

...why, some backstory. I was partially hoping that he was from some alien military base and they were studying the detials of our land and--

This was real life, not fantasy world.

"Nice to know. Anyway, I'm off to bed."

"Night," said Anakin, shutting his eyes.

"Night."

I laid there, thinking. I thought about the outrageous day we had. It was surprising what we did: at first we ran from the tigers, than met a cat named Anakin, then we had to walk a long path without stepping on Humph Roots, then we had to dodge attacks to focus on getting what was important, then we had to fight of in a deadly situation then--

I stopped.

We had to be careful of stepping on roots: alertness and stealth.

We had to dodge and receive: agility, determination, focus.

We had to fight off the roots: cunning, skill, wisdom, quick thinking, strength.

I noticed how it was strangely inconvient for Anakin to be knocked out right at the time we were attacking roots, and how easily he woke up. Then, I gasped.

"You must agree to trust me on all levels."

He wasn't just leading us to the ocean. He was giving us mini and important lessons on how to survive in the tough wilderness.

He was teaching us how to survive out here.

My jaw dropped, and I rolled over, thinking about what had happened. I went to sleep thinking maybe there was more to the cat than we ever realized.

END OF CHAPTER

CHAPTER 3: THE OCEAN
I cracked my eyes open, with the sunlight kissing my face. I yawned, grabbed my bow, to see Anakin sharpening a knife.

That's not always the best sight to see when you wake up.

He looked up at me, sharp red eyes fixing on mine. "Mornin'."

"Morning," I said. I turned my head to the rest of the pod, to see them yawning and waking up.

The cat stretched and purred. "Since you all have woken up, let us continue."

We ventured for quite a long time, avoiding Humph Roots and hiking for many hours.

Finally, we reached a steep slope.

We all looked up, gulping, but Anakin unsheathed his claws and starting walking up. "The look is a misnomer, it is actually quite an easy climb."

We exchanged a look and climbed up.

It WAS a surprisingly easy climb. In no time at all we had reached the top.

"Enjoy the view?" purred Anakin.

We gasped. Peeking from behind the trees of the forest, we could see white, sparkling sand. It stretched onward for some time, with a few palm trees reaching for the ground. The ocean crashed against the bay, with white bubbles spreading across the edges. A few seagulls flew past.

"Why, its beautiful!" cried Silver.

Anakin grinned. "Come. We have almost reached our destination."

Well we had a little more ground to cover before we could go down the other side of the slope to the beach. Oh, how I couldn't wait to have the warm sand between my toes, to have the ocean air blow against my fur, to have the lucious water around me as I swam freely...

"AYIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE."

A loud, shrieked, high pitched scream jostled me out of my daydream. I turned around to see the rest of my pod huddled up together, with huge eyes, and Anakin with his weapon pointed...in a direction.

I looked, to see a pair of gleaming eyes staring at us. Next, yellow fur, a slender body, a soft face, and spots.

No doubt what it was: A cheetah.

Cheetahs are deadly predators with an unfair advantage: super speed and agility. Once they decided they will attack you, chances are you're not going to get away safely.

The cheetah growled at us, and slowly walked out. Her eyes were fixed on us, but mostly on that weapon in Anakin's paws.

"Back away slowly," instructed Anakin. "Any sudden movements will make her want to attack."

We all backed away, but the cheetah got closer to Anakin. So close that she was face-to-face with him. I could see sweat pouring down his face as he slowly pulled back the trigger...

Not such luck. POW! The bullet flew out, but she jumped in the nick of time, growling.

"Okay, now, run," said Anakin. We didn't argue and darted. But like I said, you cannot outrun a cheetah. Before I knew it she was in front of us.

"Poor, petty seals," she said. "Having a cat with the ways of a human protect you. I wonder how you would survive without him."

"We'd survive just fine," said Kelp. "But thank you for your stupid consideration."

"Oh, would you? I heard from the tigers you killed one of them. Now personally, I'm not a big fan of the puny kittens, however I am not so happy with the likes of you either."

She hissed, and lunged forward.

More bullets flew out at her, and we whipped out our own weapons, attacking. But with her speed and agility, it was no use.

I heard a yelp, only to see Anakin's shoulder bleeding and the cheetah biting it.

"Anakin!" I cried. But then the cheetah swiped him and bit him, until he was completely weak.

He moaned in pain and the cheetah picked him up and threw him against a tree.

He was completely motionless.

"ANAKIN!" we screamed.

The cheetah had him in her jaws, but finally she ran over to us and swatted us, and we flew back for a while.

Right before I hit the hard ground, I saw the cheetah running off with Anakin.

Possibly forever.

I moaned. My head ached. EVERYTHING ached.

I slowly got up and swung my head around, checking our surroundings. It was dawn, of probably the next day, and I was on the edge of the beach, opposite of the water.

The rest of my pod was lying down in pain, probably knocked out cold like I was.

"Anakin?" I called, but there was no answer. I finally knew: Once again, we were completely alone.

I had tears pouring down my face. Why did this keep happening to us? What were we, the Unlucky Pod? The poor cat; I hoped of his survival, wishing by this time he would've escaped the cheetah's clutches and started a new life. Yet again, there was that longing thought of him hitting the tree...and that was the end...

I shook it off. The rest of our pod was waking up.

They looked as dumbfounded as I was.

"Where's Anakin?" asked Gloss.

I shook my head sadly. "The cheetah took him, and they are no where to be found."

The Peach Pod looked down sadly. Then, finally, Alfredo asked, "What now?"

I looked up and shrugged. "I do not know. Anakin DID say to go to the ocean."

Silver looked up and nodded. "But we are land seals. We know nothing about the ocean distance."

I shrugged. "Well, the best thing we can do is--"

"CAW!"

I paused. "Um, like I was saying, the best thing we can do is--"

"CAW!"

"The best thing we can do is Caw?" asked Silver.

"NO JUST ASK FOR DIRECTIONS. I mean, if we're--"

"CAW!"

"WHO'S DOING THAT?!"

I swung my head around, only to see an innocent-looking crow perched on a palm tree.

"The only problem with that is we don't know--" started Kelp.

"CAW!"

"WOULD YOU CAN IT, CROW?!" I shouted. "WE'RE HAVING A CONVERSATION--"

"CAW!"

"Talk about not letting you finish your--" started Spike.

"CAW!"

"YOU STINKIN' CROW!" yelled Kelp. "JUST KEEP YOUR--"

"CAW!"

Gloss put her face in her paws.

"LISTEN HERE CROW!" I called to him. "YOU NEED TO--"

"CAW!"

"IF YOU INTERRUPT ONE MORE--"

"CAWCAWCAWCAWCAWCAWCAWCAWCAWCAWCAWCAW!"

I growled, and he grinned mischeviously.

"This is what I hate about--" started Kelp.

"CAW!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"

Kelp proceeded to jump in the air and tackle the crow.

"YOU MANIAC YOU NEED TO--"

"Caw?"

"Come on, pod. Let's just go into the ocean and--"

"CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW."

"andgetoutofthecrowreachsowecantalkorsomeethingokay?" I finished.

"I have no idea what you said," said Spike, "but--"

"CAW!"

"LETS GET TO THE OCEAN!"

We all jumped into the ocean, and swam, knowing our adventure had just begun.

"Wow, this is SOME ocean," said Silver.

"Oh, how happy I am to speak again!" cried Alfredo. "Without some irritating crow interrupting."

"Yes, it is better. Now, I have no idea where we can go, but our best bet is to find a place to stay in the meantime."

The Peach Pod nodded, and we swam further.

Well, soon the ground underneath us dropped, and under it we could see an entire little village.

"It's beautiful!" cried Silver.

We awed in wonder. It WAS beautiful! It was like the underwater version of Township. It had giant clams sitting around, opening to actually reveal itself as an oyster (with the pearl inside), buildings carved from coral reefs, ocean animals swimming past, octopus merchants shouting to sell their goods, playgrounds carved from underwater stones and sands, underwater pets chasing each other and having fun, why it was a wonderful site!

"Come on, maybe we can ask someone there for help," I said, gesturing with my paw to the town. "Peach Pod, GO!"

We swam to the town when suddenly, I saw something shoot towards me, an flash of blue and yellow, but there was no time to move as it slammed against me.

"OOFF, HEY WATCH IT!"

"Sorry, miss!" I heard.

I rubbed my head and looked. It was a male seal, with blue and yellow markings, a top hat, and a shell with a strap swung over his back. He looked at me and gaped.

"Um...who are you?" I asked.

"M-My name's Luckyeyes. What's yours?"

I swam upwards and dusted myself off. "Rosepaw."

The seal grinned. "Don't think I've ever seen you around here. Are you new?"

My pod swam towards me. "Yeah, kinda. You see, we're lost. We're trying to escape--"

"LUCKY! How many times have I told you to STOP STRAYIN' OFF. We're supposed to keep together you know!"

Another seal, a female one, swam up to him and knocked him against his head. She was white with pink markings, a pink necklace, and a flower. She turned to us.

"Sorry about that. He doesn't always WATCH where he's GOING."

She flipped her fur. "My name's Angel. Lucky here's my cousin. Now, I haven't seen folks like you around here. Are you a pod?"

"Yes, we are. Called the Peach Pod," I said.

"Peach Pod? Your made of peaches?" asked Angel.

"No..." said Spike. "Our territory contained a peach orchard."

"Ah," said Angel. We introduced ourselves.

"Nice to meet you," said Angel, doing an underwater curtsey. "What brings you here to the Crystal Reef?"

"Well, miss and sir, we are lost," I said. "We were hoping we could get some guidence as to where to go."

They both tilted their heads. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, see," said Alfredo. "We lived peacefully in our territory until--"

"HEY! WATCHHIT!"

He swung his head around. "Huh? Who said that?"

"Me, Krillbrain, the one your leaning on!"

Alfredo jumped back from the sea sponge and we all looked, to see a red crab looking mighty angry.

"Every single day I'm squashed by big fatties like you, AND I'M SICK OF IT! WHAT'S A CRAB GOTTA DO TO STAY UNSQUISHED, EH?"

"Krumptz," whined Angel. She shook her head. "Don't mind him. He's just a grumpy old crab. Come, you poor things look famished! Good think I have some fish prepared at home. We can discuss your story over lunch."

"Come," said Lucky. "And you too, Krumptz. Don't give us any ideas on leaving you."

"Humph!" he said.

We followed the two seals into town.

"HEY, WATCH WHERE YOUR GOING!" shouted a octopus as we sped past. Some sea turtles bounced up and down trying to catch us zooming away.

We sped throughout the town, and if we weren't going so fast it would've been an awesome town.

Ah, as I said earlier: seals might be slowpokes on land but in the water you can't see us.

Lucky and Angel stopped abruptly.

"Here we are!" said Lucky.

"Humph!" said Kruptz, crossing his claws. I could see a short smile growing on Kelp's face.

We were in front of a short building made out of a coral reef; in other words, it was a coral reef with a door and windows.

They slowly opened the door to reveal a small home. It had a stove, fridge, counter, and sink (ironically) on the far end, with a table and chairs in the front of it. Closer to the door was a large rug, with a sponge-carved couch and an underwater small television. A few pictures hung up on the walls, and there was a room on the far end (probably the bedroom).

"Like it?" asked Angel.

"It's some home!" cried Silver.

The two seals smiled, but the crab kept his claws crossed. Angel bustled into the kitchen and in a split second prepared a platter-full of fish, and set the table. We all sat down and enjoyed a nice meal, as we told our story.

Angel gasped in horror and Luckyeyes gaped.

"Oh, that's horrible!"

"You poor seals!"

"We're fine," I said, "but I'm really concerned about Anakin."

Angel looked down sadly. "The poor thing, didn't mean any harm yet in the end is attacked. Wish I could've done something."

Lucky looked down as well. "Yeah, me too."

"So, you see, we have no place to go," said Spike.

"You could always stay here," said Angel.

"Yes, you could," said Luckyeyes. "You would enjoy the safety and the beauty of this town/home."

I shook my head. "Although we would love to accept the offer, our goal is to get as far away from our previous territory as we can."

The two seals exchanged a look. "Well, in that case, we COULD help you cross the ocean..." said Angel. "I mean, we DO know our way around..."

"That would be wonderful!" I said.

"On one condition," said Lucky.

"What?"

"You let us join your pod. It's pretty lonely here, just me and Angel, and the lump of coal here."

Krumptz grunted.

I thought for a second and nodded. "It's a deal."

The two seals grinned. "Okay. We will make off in the morning. We're pretty beat."

How time flies, I must say, although I calculated it only to be around three or four o' clock in the afternoon.

"Okay."

"Sorry, we don't have that much for sleep. Maybe we could--"

I raised my paw. "I'm sure our pod will be quite comfortable sleeping on this nice rug of yours you have, isn't that right, Peach Pod?"

The rest of the seals nodded.

Their mouths twitched. "We cannot do that!" cried Angel. "We can't let you pour souls sleep on the FLOOR, while we take a bed!"

"Do not worry," said Alfredo. "We're quite used to sleeping on the ground."

They exchanged a look, then said, "Alright, but as a part of your pod now, we are sleeping with you!"

We all went to bed, knowing tomorrow held a day of adventure.

END OF CHAPTER

CHAPTER FOUR: UNDERWATER ADVENTURE
As always I was the first to wake up. Well, so I thought. I cracked my eyes open and rolled over to see Angel dusting the furniture and Luckyeyes carrying a couple of bags.

"Good morning," I said, getting to my feet.

They turned to me and smiled. "Good morning!"

I yawned, stretched, and grabbed my bow. "Whatcha doing?"

Lucky looked up and gave a bittersweet smile. "We're sellin' the home."

My eyes widened and my bow dropped to the floor. "WHAT?"

"We're selling it!" said Angel. She began twirling. "Now that we shall accompany you as a part of the pod, there's no need for this home anymore! I mean it's fairly new so it's not senitmental or anything. Someone bought it this morning, for 500 sand dollars! Isn't it marvelous?"

I gave a half smile. "Aww, guys. But wouldn't you want to visit?"

Lucky shrugged. "Eh, what's the point? Ever since we lost our folks..."

His voice trailed off and he looked down. I saw Angel going pale and tears forming in her eyes.

"Oh..."

"This community has been swell, but what we've always wished for was a true pod of our own!" said Angel, piping up. "And I believe we've finally found it!"

I smiled. "That's wonderful to hear, and I think you just might have found it as well."

"Krill brains, keep it down. Some of us are trying to get some shut eye!" a voice snapped.

"Krumptz..."

The persnickety crab waddled out. "Anyway at what point are we supposed to leave anyway?"

"As soon as the rest of the pod wakes up...I guess," said Angel.

"No prob," I said. "Peach Pod, wake up. We gotta get moving."

As if on cue, all of them awoke.

"Are we ready?" asked Silver.

I looked over at the two new members and the crab. Angel put down her duster and took one good look at the place. Lucky stuffed the bags into his hat. Krumptz crossed his claws.

The three sighed and said, "We are ready."

I picked up my bow and swung it over my shoulder. "Let's go."

We swam out the door and turned the corner. I was surprised Lucky and Angel didn't even look back. A lot better than us, they were.

"Follow us," they said and we obeyed. We followed the same path we took to get into the community and darted out. Octopus merchants screeched as we sped by, all their goods flying in all directions in the water. The children gasped and stared at us. A few dolphins noticed us and waved, as some penguins called out, "SAFE SWIMS, YOU POD! BEWARE OF WHAT LIES AHEAD!"

Wasn't the most reassuring call...

Finally, the wall of buildings slowly disappeared, as we were out in the cool waters we were orginially in. In otherwards, in the middle of nowhere.

"To the other side?" asked Angel. "We shall lead