Redhawk Caldera See the line where the sky meets the sea, it calls me

He blinked wildly, trying his best to chase away the tears. Strong boys didn't cry! said no one in recent years, but Lagan was a little stubborn that way. Eljay cried all the time, but for all the ways that Lagan aspired to be like his elder sibling, he didn't think crying was very fun, and avoided doing it himself when he could. But he was still just a young boy and his tongue was held fast to an icicle, so it seemed like an appropriate time if ever there was one.

Elwood, as always, was stalwartly comforting. Lagan never had anything to fear when his dad was around. He proffered the end of the icicle readily, but he wasn't really prepared for what came next. Elwood tugged, and his tongue tugged too, and his muzzle wrinkled as he fought to decide whether it was more painful or more weird. No matter how it felt, he huffed out a panicked, "nuuh!" around the icicle. There had to be another way, preferably one that didn't leave him tongueless!

I mean, he already sounded sometimes like he didn't have a tip to his tongue, but there was no need to make that any worse!