"Hi everyone," he says, and then adds separately: "Hi... Val," still a little hesitant to address an animal like he would address a human being, despite the fact that he talks to actual animals all the time.

"So, uhm..." he shuffles his feet awkwardly as he tries to decide where to begin. He didn't fully think this through. "I was just out at the classrooms with the rest of the cheer squad, and on our way back we saw something kind of unusual." Should he be conveying more urgency? Is this urgent? "Well, really unusual."