Merlin

"Mer-lin."

Merlin covered his eyes with his paws and pretended he hadn't heard Arthur.

"Merlin!"

Merlin felt Arthur's nose nudging at his face, and then his teeth nipping his ear. He yelped and jumped to his paws, indignant. Arthur sat nearby, looking infuriatingly high-and-mighty. "Finally. You'd have slept all day if I didn't wake you up. Come on, let's go get some food. I, for one, am hungry." Merlin blinked. "What, you need me to come with you for that?" Arthur said nothing. He stood and walked off without looking back, as if he thought Merlin would follow after. Merlin sighed, then started after Arthur.

He had to jog a little to keep up with Arthur's pace. "Arthur! Arthur, slow down." Arthur huffed. "Fine. Though if we get to the food stores and all the good prey is gone, it'll be your fault." His pace slowed and he fell in to walk beside Merlin instead of ahead of him. After several seconds, Merlin sneaked a glance at Arthur. The other wolf was looking straight ahead instead of at Merlin.

Quickly, before Arthur had a chance to react, Merlin leaned over and bit Arthur's ear.

"Hey!" Arthur shouted, but Merlin was already running. "That's for biting my ear earlier!" He called back. Arthur barked once, and Merlin heard his paws hit the earth faster. Only a moment later, Arthur's full weight tackled Merlin to the ground. Merlin barked and twisted over, trying to kick Arthur off. "Get off me, you royal prat!"

Arthur had a wicked look in his eye. "Not until you apologize." He laid his entire weight over top of Merlin and settled down like he was ready to take a nap. Merlin was immediately aware of Arthur's fur, made golden by the sun, his body heat, and the way his face was so close to his own. He allowed himself one more moment of looking at Arthur, then he let out a dramatic sigh. "Alright, fine, you win. I'm sorry."

Arthur smiled now, and Merlin's chest felt tight. He rolled off and leaped to his feet. "Don't think about biting me again or you know what will happen. Now let's go, or all the good prey really will be gone."

Merlin was sure he wouldn't mind this happening again at all.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

During the lesson: Merlin learned that not only the ingredients but also the proportions can change a cure into a poison. He felt a lot more responsible after this lesson.

During the lesson: Merlin made great progress in this lesson. So great that he heard once or twice that maybe, just maybe, he could rest a little. His ambition for becoming the best voice in the pack was so strong, though, that resting was not an option.

During the lesson: Merlin was reminded to work on his attention span. While his physical condition was perfect, Merlin needed to fight the urge to use every opportunity to play.