His expression softened again when the girl declared them to be friends as well, but quickly brightened with amusement at her enthusiasm. For the first time in their little conversation a chuckle fluttered from Cernan's throat. He couldn't say that her logic was anything but reasonable, and so the boy agreed. "I guess so," he replied, his voice rising happily in tone on the last word. How many friends did he really have anyway? And how many weren't in his pack? Did he really have any at all? Well, now he did. 



Then, she moved closer, her voice humming smoothly as she began to introduce herself. His golden eyes flicked between her face and her movements, unsure as to which more warranted his attention. The Oak Tree girl was unpredictable, but then again he had very limited experience dealing with strangers anyway. Most of them hadn't acted quite like this. He was reminded distantly of Ember; that pup also had a fondness for getting into other's personal space, but this 'Halie' hadn't yet managed to annoy him. Her antics were actually proving to be pretty charming, if he could ever admit it. Cernan's small progress toward relaxation ceased immediately when she suggested he come up with a nickname for her though, and his eyes went wide again. 



Thankfully, she didn't seem intent on pressing the matter any further, and before he could trip all over himself again she was moving; calling the tubby boy to join her in the water. His big paws hesitated; padding slowly forward as the girl egged him on. She was already standing in it, and visibly delighted with the feeling. Another smirk pulled one side of his maw up gingerly, as if the boy was afraid to really smile. Maybe on some level he was; it came with his shyness after all. His feet had already eased into the water; ankles now submerged in the steaming pool when the fact that he hadn't told her his name resurfaced. Cernan glanced over toward her face, waiting for her pale eyes to so easily root him to the spot once more. For a moment the Prince considered just letting it go and pretending he hadn't remembered, but it would just be weird later, wouldn't it? "Oh, I'm Cernan," he added, watching cautiously for her reaction.      

His gaze shifted to land on her paws as they moved under the warm water. What did he do for fun? The pup lifted his head once more, ears cocked to attention while she dabbed at the meeting of liquid and air.  His classic opener came forth again. "Uh," the youth's eyes found something else to stare at for the moment. "I wrestle with my brother and sister, and we play chase a lot." It wasn't the easiest thing with such rocky terrain, but they had all grown up here, and the game itself came naturally. Cernan's face brightened a little all of a sudden. "And I've been hunting a little too." Was that impressive? He wanted it to be. It sounded grown-up. 

He wasn't sure if he wanted to bring up the thing he did with the numerous pine cones in the area, just in case maybe she would think it was silly. The lake child's attention then drifted to the great boulders and ledges around them, and found another little activity worth mentioning. "Some of the rocks are pretty good for climbing on," he added, holding his gaze off in the direction of a few as an indicator. @Neha was quite a bit better at it; with her smaller frame and more nimble paws. That, and he always got a little nervous. Balance was key and Cernan seemed to lack it. Something his dear sister was well aware of. "What about you?" the Vuesain prince countered then, genuine curiosity evident in his tone. He assumed the more diminutive girl probably lived somewhere down in that deep dark woods, where everything was flat-ish. Ma and Pa had said that her pack was down there...somewhere. She probably didn't have many rocks to climb on. Did they even have a lake at Oak Tree Bend? 

Well he wasn't sure if she was really impressed by anything he was saying, she was at least interested. Good enough. For once it seemed the little dark-furred girl actually had to sit and think about what he'd asked. It didn't take that long though. The second the tawny pup had glanced back at the water, she was speaking. He chuffed softly at the idea of 'bugging the adults.' That was more of his sister's thing, he had to admit, but it still made him smile a little. Halie's grins were becoming almost infectious. He understood having a harder time talking to grown-ups, but in this case it sounded like they were the ones struggling to find the words; this girl always seemed to have something on her tongue.   

He sort of avoided them, though not because he didn't like them. He was the awkward one here. Her next sentence had him tipping his head a little. She got friends to join? He briefly recalled the silver girl with the blue eye, who'd been chased into the Cove by a flock of evil birds, and all the kids from the pines. It would have been pretty awesome to hang out with them all the time; well, most of them anyway. "That's cool," he replied, thinking it over. His shy smile returned at the idea of meeting them. Introductions were a lil' scary sometimes.

Thankfully the other pup offered up something else to respond to; something easy. His ears pricked up. Maybe they did have a lake at the bend after all! "Oh, our lake gets really icy, still is." Things got warmer so much slower on the mountain; according to the adults. His gaze shifted off in its direction momentarily, and the Prince suddenly found himself suggesting something. "We could go over if ya want," he offered, voice high and very unsure as to what her response would be. He at least found playing with the ice fun, if he didn't go out very far. Ma and Pa weren't so keen on that. 

His words had more effect than he thought they would. At first she looked a little confused, then amazed, and then the little dark pup was practically bouncing with excitement. It was hard not to smile, just a little. He snorted once and shook his head to expel the water flung aside by Halie's exuberant retreat from the hot spring. Their feet were gonna get pretty cold for a little while, but that wasn't too terrible he supposed. The chubby boy turned to face her, and plodded himself out as well.  "Sure," he replied happily, relieved that his suggestion had gone over so very well. 




Cernan stepped up onto the rocky shore, this time being a bit more careful not to face-plant with every stride. He bobbed his head in the direction of home with a gentle grin. "It's over here, not too far." He thought it was pretty big of course, but who knew how big a lowland lake could get? Maybe not this big and maybe she'd be impressed and think his home was super cool. That'd be great. The Pines kids seemed really interested when they told 'em about it so, maybe Halie would be too. The water dripped from his legs as he trotted back into the snow. The sock in temperature sucked, and he drew a single sharp breath at the contact. Hopefully this was the only time they would be getting wet today.

-Fade-