His ears folded back as the pale one stuck her nose deeper and deeper within what Cernan considered to be his comfort zone. She was free to smell him sure, but did she have to do it so very close? All of a sudden the girl was bursting with words, and the Vuesain prince found himself trying to commit the pack name to memory. Mama and Papa would want to know about this other pack not so far from them, surely. He was thankful for the distraction 'R's voice provided, and flicked his wary gaze that way instead. The corner of his lip had very nearly turned up into a return smile, but any comfort he might have felt was immediately swished away by his sister's fluffy tail, swaying excitedly right by his face. Cernan lifted his head away to avoid the ticklish fibers with a grimace.  




To make matters worse the squirrely one was now poking at him and even teasing, if only mildly. Again his ears flattened and he stared at her; finding this touching and jeering a little less than charming. He was hardly used to dealing with his own pack mates, let alone strange children that lived down here in the woods. His golden eyes hardened into a soft glare; wordlessly asking for 'Em' to back up and knock it off when Arion seemed to save him once more. This time he did grin, though gently. A soft “tch” of amusement and agreement left his lungs. He was beginning to appreciate this kid's humor, it was certainly making it easier to relax. Ember however, was not. 



Another second passed and it was Neha who admitted his shyness, drawing the beige youth's sunny stare next. Her expression was met with the exact same, and even a slight flick of his indignant head. She knew he didn't like strangers, and this one was all over him. How on earth did she think he was going to react? He broke his stare when she addressed the others, standing passively once more as their home was titled. He really ought to say something at this point, so the chubby boy finally forced open his jaws to speak; trying to sound comfortable with the words despite the fact that they would be the first Em and R would hear from him. "It's sort of in the mountains, like on the ridge," he clarified gently, not wanting to make Neha openly irritated with him. "We don't have such a thick forest up there though," the Vuesain boy added, glancing around them. It was almost suffocatingly dense down here to a mountain child. The commodious spaces and fresh air up there were much more to his liking.  

Expert, her good-as-a-brother chimed in, and at Arion's touch Ember through him a wide grin of appreciation. Definitely they were experts! The girl was certain, in fact, that there was no one better at it, except maybe her parents. They seemed to be good at everything. Her eyes fixed expectantly back onto Cernan, and that's when R's voice rose up again, this time less pleasing to the pricness' ears. Nosey? She shot him yet another look, this one far less approving than before. She wasn't being nosey, she was just inviting him into the conversation! Yet again her gaze jumped, only to see that Cernan indeed was not amused by her attempt to corral him into speaking. Well then.

She might've turned sour if it wasn't for Neha's infectious continuance of that playful energy. Deciding to focus now on her instead, Ember lit back up seeing that the other girl was reflecting her posture. As the foreign princess spoke, showering them with compliments, the cream-spattered child batted gently at her paws and grinned again; perhaps a bit more sheepishly this time. Gee, this one was awfully nice! Ember listened intently to the information given about their home.

"What is up there, then?" she asked curiously. "I've only been to the mountain once, but then Nalda chased me back down afore I could see anything," a glance was spared for Arion again, a 'you know how SHE gets.'