My Little Treasure

chapter fifteen: (part 3) scars of the past

(Barnacles's pov)
"If you're basically blind on your left side, then how do you always manage to see things before the rest of us do?" Kwazii questioned, "well..I don't see them but I can hear them" I responded, "that's right, when one of your senses is impaired the others heighten" Shellington exclaimed, "exactly Shellington, I rely a lot more on my hearing than I do my sight" I added, "mm, see if you can hear this captain" saber mewed, at first I wasn't sure what she was on about, then I could hear a low frequency ping playing from her computer "I don't hear a thing" kwazii remarked, "I do" I stated simply, "what do you hear captain?" Saber asked, "it sounds like the detection radar from a cargo ship" I explained, saber turned back to her screen and played the sound once more only louder, revealing it to be exactly what I thought it was

"You where right there CB" saber said happily, "how did you hear that on such a low frequency?" Dashi asked confused, "you know cap, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if you're hearing is as good as mine" tweak chimed in, "well, it's not impossible" I responded, "polar bears have excellent hearing as it is but with the captain's impaired vision he basically sees with his ears" Shellington piped up, "let's see if one of you can hear this" saber said with a smile, she started to play another low frequency sound except this time it sounded like an engine, one that I'm all to familiar with "I can't hear anything" tweak started, "but I bet captain barnacles does" she finished, "it sounds like the gup-B's bubble engine" I said turning to saber, "right again" she remarked enhancing the sound revealing it's identity, "yeow, you really do have good hearing" kwazii remarked happily with a laugh, he's not wrong, although cats have good hearing themselves, Saber's I've noticed seems to be better than Kwazii's, that or she pays more attention than he does, most likely a case of the latter

(Kwazii's pov)
I had no idea the captain was nearly blind in his left eye, although I suppose that would explain what happened in the midnight zone "hey captain, do you remember that time you and me got lost in the midnight zone and the lights on our deep sea suits stopped working" I asked looking up at barnacles, he's a tell fellow, you know the doorway that separates the back of the gup-A from the front,if he's wearing his diving helmet or deep sea suit helmet he has to duck his head slightly to fit through it "I sure do kwazii, I remembered leaving the gup near some underwater volcanos, I was able to trace their sound back to the gup-A" he responded, that's exactly what happened and boy was I confused during that time

(Flashback)

(Kwazii's pov)
"I think it's time we head back to the octopod kwazii" the captain said placing his octo-compass on his belt, "aye, we've been down here a while" I responded, just then his helmet light cut out "eh?" The captain exclaimed confused, he tried turning his light back on but to no avail "my light isn't working, is yours?" He questioned, "no, how are we going to find our way back in the dark?" I mewed somewhat frustrated, that's when the captain sawm ahead of me "don't go wondering off down here matey, I may never find ya again" I graped trying to catch up to the polar bear captain that so many respect, "mmm" the captain hummed as he closed his eyes, "what in the seven seas are you doing?" I asked concerned that something may be wrong, "shhh" the captain responded, okay now I'm really confused, what on planet earth is this bear doing?

Just then the captain's eyes snapped open "this way, follow me" he ordered, "what'd ya mean that way? It's so dark out here it's like I'm wearing two eyepatchs" I exclaimed but proceeded to do as I was told, "I think I know which direction the gup is" barnacles bear explained, "but how? Is there something you're not telling me?" I questioned as I continued to swim along side me best friend and captain, "I left the ship near some underwater volcanos" he replied, "well that's all fine and dandy captain but how is that gonna help us?" I said still unsure of what barnacles was trying to explain, "I can hear them erupting" he replied, "how?" I questioned disbelievly, that's when I noticed the captain was swimming with his eyes closed "and how can you see anything with your eyes closed?" I added, "I don't need my eyes to see kwazii, just keep up" he responded as he dove downwards, at that point I just decided to follow without questioning him, I don't know what he's talking about but I refuse to believe he's talking nonsense, the captain doesn't do things without reason

(Barnacles's pov)
I swam with my eyes closed for a while, I tend to close my eyes to focus better on what I'm hearing, I could feel the water moving against me, I could tell the ripples were from someone smaller than me, it has to be kwazii but he's gone quiet, I stopped and opened my eyes and looked directly beside me and saw kwazii, he looks worried "captain your starting to worry me, are you feeling alright?" He asked, he's concerned about me, I should've expected that, I don't believe he knows about my eyesight "I'm fine kwazii, there's no need to worry" I reassured him, "then why are you acting so strange?" He questioned, "well..let's put it this way, I can hear a lot better than I can see and from what I can tell we need to go this way" I explained as I gestured in said direction with my paw, I have a bit of a checkered past that I'm not quite sure how to explain just yet, right now kwazii and I need to get back home

I closed my eyes once more, after swimming for a while, I was met with a boiling hot blast to my right arm "ow...that's inconvenient" I remarked, "inconvenient? Your arm was nearly burnt off and you see that as a inconvenient?" Kwazii yelled, I was a bit startled by this sudden out burst of noise, having sensitive ears does have it's downfalls, Kwazii's expression turned somewhat guilty as he processed mine "sorry matey, I didn't mean to scream" he apologized as he placed his paw on my shoulder apologetically, at that moment I looked up and saw a welcomed sight "the gup-A" I exclaimed pointing upward, "yeow, I didn't think we were going to find it, come on, we'd best get back so peso can look at your arm" kwazii responded happily, then we started to make our way to the octopod and I must say this was quite the adventure

(End of flashback)

(Tweak's pov)
"That's why I designed the ear protectors, I knew at least one us would get some use out them" I laughed, "having sensitive ears does have it's ups and downs" the captain remarked a happy expression and tone lacing his voice and face, "aye, if only I'd known then what I know now, I shouldn't have shouted at you" kwazii added with a somewhat saddened tone, "it's alright kwazii, no harm done" cap responded placing his paw on kwaz's shoulder in a accepting manner, "you know CB can't stay mad at you for long dad" saber mewed, "she's right, you and cap are best friends and nothing can ever come between that" I added, "I suppose you're right, you did save me after all" kwazii laughed turning to our resident polar bear, "yes I have...multiple times" barnacles teased, "meow" kwazii mewed with an annoyed tone, to which everyone laughed at, kwazii and the captain are really two peas in a pod, once you look past their differences you realize they're not so different after all, they fight like siblings but in the end they're always there for each other