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There's so much Private still wants to see. At the same time, the idea of leaving the zoo yet again... It's scary. He didn't have ties here before, at least, no ties that wouldn't be leading the way out. But now he has all these dear, dear friends, and... Besides that...
Well, he's just one little penguin in a big world.
Of course, he's fine now. Perfectly fine, he bounced back from the capture like a champ. Everyone seemed to point that out, from Classified to Skipper. And being captured and almost mutated had been worth it, really, because now he truly is a valued member of the team.
He wouldn't trade that for anything, and that's the honest truth.
Still... Maybe he isn't exactly fine. Maybe he still dreams, at times, of the water swirling around him and that gut-wrenching feeling that everything was now out of control. Maybe he's a little jumpier, a little more cautious, than he used to be.
But oh, how he hopes the others haven't noticed, because his brothers would be so ashamed if they knew. He's certain they would be.
So Private takes a deep breath and leaps out of the habitat after his brothers, and he does realize something then.
It's getting a little easier each time.