The giant bird bumps up against you and you find yourself swallowed in its downy feathers. Warmth starts spreading through your frigid fingers. You snuggle in as you realize the panguan views you as a friend. Or, at the very least, a helpless creature in need of, well, help.
The bird starts waddling away. You relax into the gentle motion and find yourself drifting off to sleep only to be woken by a gruff, human voice.
"What's that you've got there, Jeffrey?"
You want to hide in your warm nest of feathers but curiosity gets the better of you. You peek through a black shield of plumage to find a wrinkled, bearded face scowling at you.
"You...you're tiny!" you squawk.
"Look who's talking," the old man grumbles.
You wriggle away from Jeffrey and step into a warm cave.
"You can go, Jeffrey," the man says, waving a dismissive hand at the bird. "Take a fish from the bucket on your way out."
Jeffrey honked and took his leave.
"The panguan...Jeffrey...listens to you?" you gasp in surprise.
The old man frowns. "Panguan? Did the cold addle your brain? That was a penguin."
"But, he was all black!" you exclaim, skeptical. "I thought he was a mythical--"
"You thought wrong!" the man interrupted. "Jeffrey is a mostly ordinary penguin."
"Mostly?" You dare to question.
The old man's eyes flash with pride. "Jeffrey is a rare black penguin. One in a zillion, they would say."
You open your mouth but he already knows what you're going to say.
"When I arrived here I befriended Jeffrey and started a breeding program to obtain all black penguins."
You're about to ask more questions when your stomach growls, startling both you and the old man.
"Guess it's about time for some grub," he says and starts walking toward the bucket of fish.
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