Flat on his back, all four paws in the air and snoring like a chainsaw, Merlin was oblivious to everything but the delicious warmth of the summer sun on his belly. Ah, wasn't this just the life? He could forget all about his mother's disappearance, his sister's sickness, everything, and just enjoy a good, long nap. He yawned widely once and stretched out even more on top of his nice warm boulder. Soon enough he'd wake up and when he did he wouldn't be able to sit still for more than a few beats without fidgeting, so a dead sleep was one of the rare times to catch him in repose like this.

Was he dreaming? Oh he sure was. Merlin was dreaming himself as a mighty hunter, the greatest of all Abaven's hunters, and he was stalking a dreaded bison. He had only a vague idea of what they looked like since he hadn't yet seen one, but he knew only the mightiest hunters could hunt them, and they had horns and big hairy humps on their back. Ok so his imagination supplied something that looked rather more like a camel with ram's horns, but hey he did his best, and besides he didn't know what a camel was either. The Mighty Hunter prepared to leap for the kill...

... What? Vali started at the sight of the yearling stretched out, having quite the little snooze. He was very still, completely asleep, and Vali would take complete advantage of that - what was a yearling doing sleeping like that anyways? Not that she minded; it was just an excuse to investigate this young man that looked similar to Bass' daughter Sparrow. As she neared, she scented the clear scent of Bass on the young one's pelt - definitely a child of Bass. No doubt in her mind anymore, she watched the boy, tail twitching as she contemplated what exactly she was going to do to him to wake him up. Drop a snake on him? A harmless one, of course. Hmm... no, there was still a chance it would bite and that wasn't worth the risk. She'd do it to Bass, but not to one of his children. Instead, she leaped atop the rock herself, sitting down. She'd just be patient, then. If this boy had any awareness about him, he'd likely feel her presence even in his sleep - at least, that was something she was always able to do. She figured it seemed pretty normal.