Oh, the sounds he had made seemed to electrify the air. First to react was his father; rising from the floor to let out some elated words of discovery. The tyke's head snapped away from Namid, focusing now on the suddenly very animated face of his papa. His name was in among the words, and so was the one he was trying to say! One of the larger ones had understood him, hadn't he? Little progress could be made in deciding whether or not the King had indeed gotten the message. The voice of his mother rang out in their shared space, now much louder and more charged with energy than ever before. At first their ecstatic behavior was concerning, but the wide, warm smiles and wagging tails – something he had already discovered to be a good thing – had a smile of his own growing on the young prince's face. He had done something good! He made them happy with that sound! It must have been right! The child's grin grew and grew until it was an open-mouthed smile.

His own stubby appendage joined in with the others, nearly waggling him off of his feet at first. As his twinkling blue eyes peered up at the great guardian, her voice came back in reply. “Yes.” “Mom.” His pink tongue began lolling again. She advanced, repeating the word he had tried so hard to say and scooping up the dried out ball. Curiosity clouded his face as Cernan turned to observe, but it was replaced immediately by triumph. He did it! Her sudden lunge into the daylight had the child flopping into a play bow despite the heat. He watched her disappear again, now certain that she knew exactly what he wanted. He needed to do this more often!

Now that the place was devoid of his mother's presence, the tawny boy whirled to face his other parent. With uncharacteristic enthusiasm, the usually quiet prince tossed his head up and did it again. “Muh! Muhmuh!” His eyes fell excitedly onto the agouti man's face, now unconcerned with the fact that this was not the name of his sire. He was simply sharing his discovery at this point – joyful that something so wonderful in their eyes had been accomplished. If they were happy, that meant he should be too! He stared up, hoping that the bigger being would again reward him with happiness. He didn't have to wait long for a distraction to arrive however, again in the form of his dam. As soon as his little eyes found her and her present, the child's lungs went to work. “Muh!” he called out, now bursting with joy.

This time he waddled forward with spunk, choosing to soak his neck and then rub his shoulder along its surface. The ball squished just as planned. Why didn't he think of trying this before! “Muh” had delivered yet another round of refreshing liquid; and right when he'd asked! Cernan reclined on the ball for a few moments; letting the water get nice and deep into his fur. Just as before, the object eventually lost its magic qualities, prompting him to his feet. This time the youth grasped the deflated ball in his pinprick teeth and carried it the few short steps toward his parents. If it worked before it would work again. The thing fell gently, to the stony floor at his little paws. Now half soaked, the Vuesain boy stared up at his mom. He was confident now. He could try that last part. It was another “mmm” sound, right? With an upward lifting of his fuzzy head, the child barked, “Muhm!” A smile was still plastered expectantly on his maw.

Pale eyes flitted all over the queen's face; primed and ready to react to whatever happy sound of gesture she would make next. While her words were still pleasant, he could feel that her tone wasn't quite on the same page as he. His smile faded some as she spoke; tongue still flapping about between his pinprick teeth. The excitement was only making him warmer at this point. “...outside...” Outside? The young boy's emotions mixed in the most confusing way. Outside was fun, and awesome and full of new things, but today it was also uncomfortable and hot. The anticipation of seeing the outside again was beginning to win the boy over, however, as he turned to glimpse the entrance. The child felt her tongue against the fuzz on his neck; quickly turning his head to see what the matriarch would do next. The pup's stubby tail leapt into action; wagging furiously at both the new activity and the affection he'd received.

His siblings seemed keen enough on the idea too; bumping into the boy as they waddled after Momma. Obediently the younger prince followed, eyes wide with awe at the world. It was still so strange and amazing! He was so absorbed with taking in all the new stimuli, that the change in footing came as a surprise. There were all these thin, tiny sticks on the ground instead of dirt, rock or grass. The youth paused to sniff the new ground cover; his attention returning to mother when he heard her unceremonious flop. Startled eyes softened when she seemed to faintly smile. Even so, it was best to go check on her. The pine needles now abandoned, Cernan became aware of the breeze. His wet fur seemed to chill instantly, and here under the tree they were safe from the hot sun.

Now at his dam's side, Cernan waddled up toward her face. Perhaps out of mimicry, or because he was still a bit tired from playing earlier, the Vuesain boy collapsed softly onto the ground as well. He faced her muzzle, spending several seconds relaxing there before his puppy nature got the better of him. With a lazy, gentle paw he batted at her face. A couple soft swings landed before his whole body came to rest again. An expectant grin appeared on the pup's lips as he lay sprawled on his side. He was just goofing around a little, after all. It was too hot to really play.