Wheeling Gull Isle Ocean was your lover’s name

Early in the morning did the gulls wake him, their far-off cries an unusual sound to be heard. Baby blues sprang open, wide, and glossed with curiosity. Quiet babbles escaped his maw, fading into the nothingness. He stared at his siblings and mother, wondering about them briefly, but the attention of a child is an ever-fleeting thing. Hardly a handful of seconds passed and his gaze was drifting, seeking out the soft rays of the morning light.

Wanting to investigate, he sat up and rocked back and forth on his rear, forelimbs sliding in an attempt to lay him flat on his stomach once more. Determined, Xiaoqing tried once more, struggling as he pushed himself to his feet; his limbs shook beneath the weight of his body, his constant eating finally catching up with him. A single step was just barely taken before he stumbled and fell flat on his face, momentarily stunned—but the silence that followed was ever so brief, his cries soon filling the den, growing louder and louder with each intake of breath.