Merlin didn't feel an ounce of nervousness as he bounced from his usual haunts back to the plains toward his dad's den. One would wonder why this was unusual and what circumstances might have prompted such an observation, and one could be forgiven for not knowing, because the effervescent young male didn't give any sign that this was any different than, say, a trip to the river to roll around in the mud. Which actually he'd already done earlier that day and then had to jump in the water to rinse off before heading this way.

But anyway.

He was bouncing along with seemingly no cares in the world on a super serious secret mission to talk to his dad.

Drawing within sight of the den it suddenly occurred to him that his dad might not be in (being a super busy important alpha sort of guy) and if he was in he might not appreciate being pounced on without warning (being that he might have super busy important alpha stuff going on already) so as he bounded and wove his way across the snake-and-rock strewn area (though with the cooler temperatures most of the snakes had already gone into their winter hideyholes) he threw up his malar-striped face and howled to let his dad know he was coming. For good measure, as the echoes of the howl bounced back to him he bellowed out a cheerful greeting towards the den. "Heyyyy Daaaaaaaaad it's meeee!"

He was just walking back from the rapids, having completed marking the borders again. His ears perked when he heard Merlin's voice calling out for him, a grin taking over his once stoic features. He didn't get to spend too much time with his younger kids, and Bass knew that he needed to make more of an effort. He had been thinking about a family hunt outside of Abaven lands, and hearing Merlin's voice made him remember that. Pushing it aside for now, he trotted towards his den with his head and tail held high. "Hey Merlin!" he called as he neared. His youngest son's mood was always infectious, and he felt himself improving his rather boring day already. Leaning down to nuzzle the top of his head, he flopped down to the ground on his belly in a movement that was lacking grace. He was a little tired from his patrolling, he hadn't eaten too much lately and it was taking a toll on the aging gentleman. Lifting his back left leg to itchy behind his head, he eyed Merlin and wondered what he had in mind for today. It wasn't often that his kids came to visit, but he couldn't blame them. Bass hadn't gone out of his way to hang out with them a lot lately, even though the pack was going through a dry spell. Perhaps it was because of his stress over the subject, but he didn't want to think on it too much right now. "What have you been up to lately?" With everyone off doing their on thing, he hadn't really been up to date on... well anything. He felt bad, he hadn't been a good father lately. His focus had been all on Abaven, which was the reason why he had been looking to train in a replacement in the first place. But even Tinaro had been silent, which irritated him to no end. Ever since challenging him for the lead position, he hadn't done too much with it. Once training session was all he had called. Swallowing the disappointment, he instead focused on the gray and white boy, who was very quickly becoming a man. speech