"Think it's the second one, but I'm not an expert," the Soldier admits. "Stevie is from the first eggs Grace gave us. First batch I'd ever seen. But he knew the word right from hatching. No time to really learn it unless he learned it through the shell." But then why only that word and not every other word spoken around him? It has to be hereditary, and then humans picked that for their names. Has to be.

Stevie finally seems to realize that his person isn't eating anything, and noses his bowl the Soldier's way. He blinks, then nudges it back. "If you're enjoying it, you can keep eating it," he tells the little one gently.