Chapter 2: Not All Who Wander Are Lost. But I Sure As Heck Am.

With a friendly tap and peck, Fanqi and Pengyou left the new father to go join the expedition huddle forming. As they talked about the route they needed to talk, Fanqi looked over their heads to the gray peaks in the distance. They were where the legends said the Primordial petrel lurked. The progenitor of all petrel. The flighted one that attacked the chicks who wander far from the group or don't listen to their parents. Iwas the third greatest enemy of the colony only behind leopard seals and the cold.

Fanqi refocused on the discussion before they all headed out.

They all walked in a nearly single-file line toward the ocean. Fanqi let Pengou waddle in front of him and helped the near-starved one along a few times. Sometimes when sliding on their bellies, he just needed a little push. As the march continued on, Fanqi couldn't help but admire the scenery. The mountains loomed in the distance, far across the frozen interior. But they were not headed in that direction.

Once they got to the ice sheets, things became a little easier. They still had nearly three days of travel ahead of them, but it was mostly flat. As spring progressed into summer, it would start to melt, and the distance they would need to travel to get to open water would shrink; this would make the trip much more manageable for mated pairs. Fanqi didn't plan on coming back to the colony until the trip was much shorter. He instead planned on feasting on fish until he was full of energy. 

He was going to make sure he got through the molting season with a massive head start and get nice and large for the next mating season. As they scooted across the ice, sometimes they would find an open hole. Each time the leaders of the expedition would group together and discuss if they needed to risk it. 

The holes were where the seals would breathe. Sometimes there was no one nearby, and sometimes, trying for it was near certain death. Each time they decided to press on.

Eventually, they made it to the sea. Off to the side, they saw an encampment of the tall ones. A few of the colonies wandered over to see if they would be evaluated for tags. Most just scoffed at the fools. Everyone knew that only on the way back were the tags given. The tall ones wanted to evaluate their hunting ability before they would bestow such gifts. They only would give power to those who would benefit from it the most. So not only to fatten themselves up for their young but to attain the mystical power for themselves did the untagged ones hunt.

The tagged had already dived in, not bothering to look at their untagged brethren aside from a few chuckles. Not wanting to be left behind warred with the desire to examine the tall ones; even the starving Pengyou didn't dive in right away. Eventually, hunger won out, and each one of them dove into the water. 

Their awkward waddling shapes turned into torpedoes as they cut through the water. Each one diving after the fish and gulping them down one after another. For twenty minutes, they darted deep. They went long past the point where the lack of light forced their eyes to switch over to their other mode. 

The banded ones were able to stay underwater for a bit longer, but eventually, Fanqi had to surface. A quick minute of breathing and he was back under. 

After several days of gorging, some members started their way back. Their mates would have already been alone without food with their young for over ten days; it was now their turn to go hunting. Fanqi did not go with them. He was not alone, as many hunters were slower or more hungry. Some just had no need to go back yet. 

But as time went on, even Pengyou had gone. New colony members had come, so he was not alone during the nights, and still, he fed. Each day it was taking him less and less time to get full. At first, he thought it was because he was becoming a better hunter. And he was, in some sense. He started counting his kills, and he was getting more on each dive. But because of this, he realized that he also needed less and less food to get full.

One morning, Fanqi woke up, and the thought of eating another fish made him want to vomit. The need to feed a young one was strong, and the extra food wasn't getting digested the same way as it should. So instead of diving into the water again, he decided to make his way back to the colony. Looking around, he tried to find someone who might want to come with him. Finally, he noticed that everyone around him was female. How had that happened?

It must have just been their turn. Alright, that was fine. He didn't really know any of them very well, but surely someone would be going back. But after everyone was awake, he was alone. All the others had dove into the water, leaving him to waddle back on his own. Looking around, he noticed a few of the tall ones watching. Curious, he waddled over to them. In all the feeding glory, he had totally forgotten to even consider the tall ones.

"Look at this chunky one." One of the tall ones made some noises with its beak that Fanqi couldn't understand. 

"Do I get a tag?" he asked hopefully. It might have been a bit impertinent to ask this so forwardly, but Fanqi was well past any shame. He was so gluttonously full that speaking was a huge effort.

"Curious little one aren't you. It's too bad we ran out of tags. I would have loved to track you, it's not often I see one so good at hunting. You probably weigh at least forty kilos!"

They made more noises but didn't scoop Fanqi up like they had to give them tags. He hung his head and let out a sad squawk. It was going to be a long trip home. He had thought he had done well enough hunting to earn a tag, even a red one. He so wanted to learn of the mysterious power of the tagged ones.

Waddling sadly away, Fanqi started retracing his steps back to the colony. Maybe there would be a chick who needed watching. Sad as it was, not everyone made it while hunting, all chicks needed a pair to take turns to survive. It was hard to wish to find an orphan, but the parental instinct was strong. The elders said that was what made their colony survive. 

As he waddled, he watched the mountains. Was there really a fantastic beast there? The Primodial petrel? One time last year, one of the females had been sent to go fight it. It was a punishment for a dispute that ended with the death of a young chick. It was to no one's surprise that she had never returned.

Despite the danger, the mountains always inspired awe in Fanqi. They were so high that he couldn't even reach above them when he raised his flipper as high as they could go. And they were so far away. The way the dark patches looked in the mix of white was also so different; it reminded him of the pebbles in the ice, but so much larger. 

His journey continued, and the peaks got larger. Wait, that wasn't right. They shouldn't be getting larger; looking around, Fanqi didn't recognize any part of his surroundings. Frantically he ran as fast as his little flippers would carry him. In some cases, he saw where he had come from, but it was hard to make out his dragging trail in the bright snow and ice. 

After hours of him finding himself turned around and facing the mountains again, he eventually gave up finding the track again. He simply started walking parallel to the mountains and just hoped that he would find his colony soon; he did have lots of food stored away. Maybe he would make his way back to the sea?

Days dragged on as he continued his wanderings to no avail. No matter what he tried to do, the mountains kept getting closer. Then out of nowhere, a monster appeared.

In the distance, Fanqi could hear its roar, and it steadily got closer. Completely forgetting about getting to the colony or the water, Fanqi just ran. He did not have a yellow band, and these cursed little legs could only take him so far. Several times he slipped and had to scramble back up to his flippers. Sometimes when there was a slop, he slid down it, just hoping there was no predator or deep craves at the bottom of it. 

No matter how hard he pushed or how many risks he took, it was not enough. Eventually, Fanqi collapsed with the monster not too far behind, utterly worn out. Prepared to die, He played dead. Instead of some scavenger getting to him, a tall one picked him up with a grunt. 

"You look a little lost, my chunky friend. I don't think I have ever felt one as heavy as you, my guy."

The tall one grunted as he lifted me up and made weird calls with his beakless face. Was it time? Fanqi couldn't help but hope that they had wanted to give him a tag so bad that they tracked him down. Perhaps they would also bring him back to the colony or the feasting grounds. 

But no, the tall one carried it to the monster it had come in. Fanqi started squirming, and they appeased the monsters by feeding his people to it! He was not about to be sacrificed. A gaping maw opened in the side of the beast, and the tall one carried him inside. Fanqi struggled for all he was worth, but it was no use. When the maw slammed shut, trapping them inside, he slumped in defeat and retreated into his mind.

He had hoped for a green tag. All of them did, honestly; it was the most prestigious one, only given to the clever penguins; yellow and red were respected too. If the human had decided not to feed him to its beast, then maybe they would still give him a tag?

Daydreams of all the potential mates ran through his head as the monster started to move again. With a green tag, he was sure to find a mate, even if his pebble wasn't the shiniest. He would be warm the whole winter in the center of the huddle. And he would learn how to wield the power the tags give. He would get even faster and stronger and eat more fish. Not one of his eggs would fail to hatch. He would defend the colony from all attacks. Maybe he would even chase a sea lion away… No, that was too much, even in a dream.