Lichi-Won awoke him early the next morning. The sun had not yet risen so the early morning sky was still dotted with stars. The air was chilly but the Elder Doe had wrapped the child in a shawl decorated in earthy colors. She and Gojyo led him outside and along with many other Does and Fauns headed in the direction of the sea.

On the grounds, overlooking the ocean was a large bonfire. Fauns adorned in plumage and furs and painted faces beat upon drums as Does danced along in rhythm. The air was filled with the jingling coming from the ornament that dangled from their anklets.

"Oh dear, they've already started the Jingle dancers." said Lichi-Won. "We must hurry."

She settled down next to a group of other elders from the village.

"You comfortable, Auntie?" asked a young Faun as he handed her a plate of fish and rice. "Would you like some tea?"

"Yes, please, Nephew."

Tumnus looked around in wonderment, the feeling of sleepiness having been left behind in his bed; the little Faun took it all in.

The males vocalized in wordless harmony as the Does continued their Jingle dance. One of the dancers happened to be Kiyo whom Tumnus spotted immediately.

In her blue-black hair, she wore a hair clip with a sunburst design made of small glass beads with a single feather dangling from the middle. She held a fan of eagle feathers which she waved whimsically about as she danced with rejoice.

All too soon, the dancing stopped as the drummers sped up the drum beat and with a single energized THWACK the song ended.

Then, the oldest Faun Tumnus had ever seen quietly took the center of everyone's attention. The bronze skin of his face was lined with centuries of experience. Upon his head, he wore a headdress made of eagle plumage and a vest of wolf tails over his shoulders.

However, it was his prongs that the Faun child noticed and there, his attention stayed.

Unlike the younger male Fauns that stood before him, his prongs were long and held two spokes like that of a juvenile stag.

Tumnus had seen a well-aged Faun before, but he had been half-breed so his horns grew into a spiral about his ears and did not leave the same impression as the Elder Faun.

"First," he began his voice smooth and deep like a wind through the trees. "Let us give thanks to our creator, Aslan, for bringing his children home safe." There were hoots and hollers from the crowd. "Especially now in these difficult times, it fills my eyes with tears of rejoice to look upon their faces before I am called to rest." As if he were holding life itself in his palms, he turned up his hands toward the heavens. The sun had begun to rise. "Bless the life of their child may he outlive these troubling times."

"Bah, what a windbag." Someone muttered in the crowd of Elders.

"Mama-San, hush!" Lichi-Won snapped.

"What? I'm hungry."

The Eldest Faun cleared his throat awkwardly.

"In the name of our Creator let us eat with our ancestors." he said.

Mama-San's rude outburst had distracted Tumnus' attention but it swiftly landed upon a small group of Faun children. His heart leapt with excitement and could not resist the urge to sneak away.

The group consisted of two Faun boys and a doe that had started a merry game of tag.

As one of the boys took notice of Tumnus, he abruptly stopped in his tracks.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Tumnus..."

"I'm Vernal." The boy replied. "That's Rikki and Keiyoko."

The other boy and Doe waved at him.

"Wanna play?" Keiyoko asked.

"Yeah!..."

Sometime later, they found themselves playing house under Keiyoko's orders. Rikki and Vernal were the naughty children and Tumnus was her mate.

"Here you go nice hot soup." said Keiyoko handing Tumnus a chipped bowl filled with mud, leaves and sticks. "What do you think? What should we call it?" She asked as he sniffed at it for a few moments.

"It's gross and it smells funny." Tumnus said simply. "We'll call it Stink Raccoon Soup."

They giggled and continued on playing.