A/N: Well, the very first review I got for this story told me that I should do another chapter. So, never one to disappoint my fans, I have written a follow-up chapter. Shout-out to my first reviewer, Toobil Streamdiver. You rock hard.

Quick Note: A long thin line represents a time change. So we can skip over all the boring stuff and move on to the cute parts. Get it, got it, good.

A New Journey

"Janglur, can you feed Song for me?"

The warrior started, the flute in his paws falling limp from his lips. "What?" In the six months he had been back to roaming with his family, he had never been asked to help feed his little baby.

Rimrose pulled a cloak over her shoulders, straightening her frock. "Your mother and I need to go foraging for some fresh herbs. It's been a long trip and we're almost out of everything." She looked behind her at her startled husband, smiling. "There's a plate of food sitting by the fire. Just make sure she eats it." She said before lifting the tent flap and disappearing into the outside world.

Slowly, the squirrel stood up, tucking his pipe away. He walked over at the quiet, smiling baby, who was happily rolling about a tiny ball of soft sandalwood bark on the dirt floor in front of her. He grinned friendly and knelt next to her. "Hello there, my liddle Song." She dropped the toy and burbled an unintelligible reply, grinning toothlessly at her father. "You want something to eat?" She made a motion with her head that could almost be considered a nod. It was good enough for Janglur. "Right then." He carefully slid his hands under her arms and picked her up, strolling over towards the fire. He plopped down, setting her on his knee. She giggled and played with his thick fur while he reached down, plucking the warm plate from the smoldering fire, a small wooden spoon resting not too far away.

He glanced down at the platter, eyeing the food. The smallest amount of porridge drizzled with honey, followed by some minced watercress and carrots. Surely it couldn't be that hard to feed a baby. After all, Rimrose and Ellayo did it so often. He could handle this. He had been learning and picking up on child-rearing practices quickly. He grasped the spoon between two fingers, keeping a free hand behind Song so she wouldn't slip off his knee, and dug it into the porridge. "Open up." He commanded gently, holding the spoon out to her, like he had seen his wife and mother do so often. Obediently, she held open her mouth and clamped it shut over the spoon, licking it clean of honey and the not-nearly-as-popular porridge. Swallowing, she opened her mouth again. And the process repeated. Porridge drizzled on his knee when she didn't open her mouth wide enough, or closed a little too early, but over all the experience wasn't so hard. After the sweetened porridge had vanished from the plate, he scooped up the vegetables, holding them out to her. But her mouth didn't open.

"Song, come on. Open up." She frowned and shook her head, lips clamped together. He looked at her sternly. "Songbreeze, eat your vegetables." She glared up at him through her lashes and shook her head again. He pushed the spoon closer to her face, glaring back. "Open your mouth." He commanded firmly. Reluctantly, her mouth unlatched itself and opened, fraction by fraction. He quickly took his chance and placed the spoon on her tongue. But her mouth remained open. "Young lady, close your mouth." She huffed, but closed her mouth around the spoon. And decided not to release it. "Give me back the spoon. Without the vegetables on it." He added hastily. She grunted and released her grip, letting her father remove the spoon. He sighed in relief and looked down at her. "See, that wasn't so bad, now was it."

Soon after the words left his lips, he heard a strange, rushing sound and found himself covered with spit-coated watercress and carrots.

Song giggled, throwing her chubby hands over her mouth, eyes crinkled with laugher. Janglur closed his eyes, wiping his face clean with his paw. Apparently, feeding time was a lot harder than he expected it to be.

"No! No baf! No more bafs fo' meeeeee!"

"Oh for heaven's sake. Songbreeze, get back here!"

Janglur blinked as a very naked baby squirrel dashed past him, sliding on dead leaves and loose dirt as she turned the corner to the hide behind the canvas tent. He looked over his shoulder, watching the tip of her tail disappear before looking forward again. Rimrose stormed after the child, hands on her hips. "You have to take a bath. You stink like an over-ripe ramson." She tried to reason from next to the fallen log her husband sat on.

A little head peered out from behind the canvas. "No wanna take a baf." She told her mother resolutely, her bushy tail nodding behind her in agreement.

Her mother looked down at Janglur, who was chuckling softly. "Will you reason with her?" She asked, exasperated with her young daughter's behavior.

The warrior stood, winking at his wife. "Never fear, pretty one." He spun, walking towards the tent. "Why not go inside and make yourself a cup of tea?" He called without looking at her, turning to face his daughter, who was cleverly hiding by holding her tail in front of her face. "Now, where did liddle Song go?" He asked out loud, pretending not to hear her giggles. He sighed. "Oh well, I guess I'll have to play my game with someone else." He watched from the corner of his eye as she peered around her tail curiously. Without another glance, he flipped and began to walk away.

Almost immediately, the patter of her footsteps rang behind him. He tensed slightly, hearing her jump. Shortly after, her little hands grasped the tip of his hanging tail. He looked over his shoulder, laughing to himself when he saw Song hanging from his bushy tail, grinning widely. "Here I is, Papa. I fooleded you." She announced proudly.

He nodded, trying to keep a straight face. "So you did. What a clever girl you are." He praised as he raised his tail slightly, lifting Song another inch off the ground. "I was wondering if you wanted to play a game with your Papa."

She nodded furiously. "A game! I lovez games! What are we playing, Papa? What what what?"

He smiled. "The best game ever. Come on, I know the perfect place to play." He set off at a leisurely pace, his daughter still firmly attached to his tail.

He strolled down the path Rimrose had just chased the young squirrel up, listening to the sound of slow running water grow louder with each tree he passed. Soon after the walk began, Janglur found himself at the riverbank, standing next to a bucket of soap and washcloths with a pile of Song's discarded clothes nearby.

Song jumped off his tail, racing around to look at the water. "This is where we playing?" She asked incredulously.

He nodded. "Of course. First, we get in the water." Song looked back at him, lifting an eyebrow. He sighed softly and started removing his tunic, slipping a footpaw into the water. Grinning, Song rushed headlong into the water, churning the riverbed beneath her. She stopped when the water reached her chin, jumping up and down excitedly. "What now? What now?"

The warrior picked up a handful of water. "Now, we play." With that, he threw it gently at her. She squealed as the water hit her in the face, returning the volley with a long stroke of her arm. Water rushed forward for a second, but quickly died. A few drops hit Janglur's chest, barely dampening the thick fur. He looked shocked, then walked further into the stream, flicking more water at her.

He grinned as she threw herself at him, soaking him with her saturated tail.

Bath time wasn't nearly as hard as feeding time.

The night was quiet, only the soft sound of the summer breeze rustling the verdant leaves interrupting the insect's midnight tune. Janglur sat on a long rock outside his tent, listening to the night music. A shuffle behind him caught his attention, his ear flicking back towards the tent. He smiled. "Aren't you supposed to be asleep, liddle one?" He asked, looking over his shoulder.

Song stood just outside the tent, rubbing a sleepy eye with one paw, the other hanging languid at her side, partially hidden by the large sleeping tunic she wore. "Can't sleep." She said quietly. "There are shadows on the back of the tent that look like snakers and froggies. And Granny's snorin' like a badger lord with a head cold."

He chuckled at the image. "Don't you worry now. There'll be no snakes or frogs around while you're Papa's watching out for you. Not much I can do about your grandma, though." He admitted.

Song stood her ground, frowning slightly. She looked down at the ground, then behind her and into the tent, then back up at her father. She blinked slowly, her long lashes fluttering against her cheeks, bottom lip jutting out, pouting. Janglur sighed and patted the rock next to him. "Hop up and sit next to Papa, Song."

She smiled and scrambled up the side of the rock, tripping occasionally on her long sleeping shirt. Song plopped down next to him, cuddling into his side, a hand grasping the extra fabric of his tunic.

He blinked and smiled softly, wrapping a strong arm around her protectively. "It's ok, Papa's here." He whispered to her.

She yawned and gave in to her father's warmth and soft fur. Her breathing deepened, evening out. The warrior pulled her closer, feeling her shift and curl smaller in his grasp. He knew that he had already made mistakes. He accidentally let her get too close to the fire once, didn't tuck her in quite right and had her wake up cold and grumpy, even brought her the wrong kind of berry and ended up wearing it for the rest of the day. But she still greeted him with a smile, come rain or shine.

His beautiful, perfect little Song.

Who was apparently going to snore as loud as her grandmother someday, he noted with a soft chuckle.