Request from Tannerh012

"Fast! Fast!"

Tackle repeated, while smacking his paws in the water, laughing at the splashes he was making. His parents and the Herd were near him, taking a drink at the water hole. The possum brothers took notice and ran over to him. Everyone's been trying to teach Tackle other words to say.

"Hey Tackle! Say Crash! Craaaash" one of them said, even pronouncing the name for him. The cub just tilted his head and slammed his paw down on the water, splashing the possum.

"Come on, Tackle! You can't spend the rest of your life saying one word" Crash told him firmly, wagging a finger at him. "Fast!" Tackle repeated, gently pawing the possum's nose. That made his heart melt and both brothers "awwww!" at the cub together. "Oh, ok. You're forgiven Tackle" Eddie told him, gently scratching the baby saber's ears. It made Tackle mew in affection.

The Herd were watching, smiling at the cuteness. "It must be nice to hear Tackle talking" Ellie commented. "Yeah...." Diego said, his voice trailing off as his mate glanced at him. "But..." she said, expecting him to finish his sentence.

"But I just wish he would say dad or mom. I know it sounds childish,  but I wouldn't mind hearing those words" he explained as the cub approached his parents with the possums following him. "He'll get there Diego. Now come on. We gotta go hunting" Shira assured him in a chill tone. However, they suddenly felt something touching their paws. Tackle was patting their paws like and jumping like he was catching prey.

His parents smiled at him, finding him so cute like this. "Hey. You think you guys can watch over him?" Diego asked the Herd and all of them gave assurance that they would watch over him.

Tackle took notice of his parents leaving and began following them. But a brown furry trunk scooped him up. It confused the cub at first until a familar face with a big smile appeared in his vision, getting him excited.

"Hey there little T! Ready to spend some time with your cousin in law?" Julian asked them excitedly and that got the cub all hyped. Tackle growled as a way of saying yes. "Hey sweetie, you think you can keep an eye on my baby cousin? I promised I help my parents with an errand" Peaches asked him as some of the Herd started moving away to do things.

"Yep! Don't worry Peach! Cousin J got this!" He assured her, lifting the cub in the air before catching him back. "Alright, little T. Let's go play some ball! I know you like playing ball!" He told him, walking off.

Julian and Tackle were playing ball or at least trying to. The cub kept wandering off to find his parents. He hasn't gone over that habit. Julian found it really cute honestly. "Aw Tackle! You miss your mama and papa, don't ya?" The mammoth cooed at him. The saber cub was biting on his toy ball until the mention of his parents got his ears up.

"Oh I know you miss your mama and papa. Don't worry. Mama and papa gonna back to you" he assured him, and it got the cub staring at him. Tackle started growling and pawing at his face, almost like he was struggling with something. It caught Julian off as this was a really weird behavior to him. Was it something all sabers did?

"Hey you ok little T?" He asked him concerningly until the cub stopped and stood up on all his paws. He sniffed the air, catching something that got his tail wagging, and a smile forming as he turned his head.

"Mama! Papa!"

Tackle yelled, causing Julian to jump back in shock to hear that. Well, he has heard the cub speak but never say those two words. "Whaaaaaat?! Oh ho ho! Look at you little T! Oh ho! Your mom and dad are gonna be so happy to hear that!" He told him proudly as the cub took off running. "Whoa whoa! Slow down little T!" Julian called out, chasing after him.

Tackle had caught his parents' scent from afar as they were coming back from the hunt. The two sabers were dragging their meal back until their ears perked at a voice that was getting louder the closer it got.

"Mama! Papa! Mama! Papa!"

The two looked at each other, wondering if they were dreaming or not. Sure enough, their son came into their vision, running straight torwards them. "Mama! Papa! Mama!Papa!" The cub yelled out, too excited that he tripped over his paw and rolled torward them. "Tackle!" Diego called out, quickly stopping the rolling ball of fur.

The cub unraveled from the ball, smiling wide at them. "Mama! Papa!" He told them, excitedly, waving his pink paw pads at them. "Yep. He's talking again" Shira said, smiling at her boy. "How did you learn that bud?" Diego asked, smiling wide at his cub as he tickled his furry belly, making the cub giggle.

"Tackle! Wait up!" All three glanced up to find Julian running torwards him. "Huff Huff. I gotta...I gotta work out more" he said out of breath. "Hey Diego! Shira! Little T learned to say two new words. Pretty cool huh?" He told them as the sabers chuckled amusingly at him. "Yeah. Something tells me you did something to teach him that" Shira pointed out as Tackle hugged both their paws, saying mama and papa to them which made them smile warmly at their cub.