Knock off the rust

Winter rain wasn't nearly as much fun as summer rain.

Merlin had spent most of the morning crouched beneath a tree, staring intently at the sleet that had already made a miserably cold, sodden mess of him earlier before he'd managed to dry off in his makeshift shelter. It had finally cleared up, allowing him to venture out again. Slushy puddles were everywhere. He liked puddles. Liked jumping in them. These puddles, though, he eyed warily. He wanted to jump in them... but the miserably cold state of the precipitation that had caused the puddles made him hesitate.

The sound of his father calling for him perked up his ears though, and his tongue lolled sideways in a wide-mouthed grin. If there was any trace of sadness in Bass' voice, Merlin certainly didn't notice it. His head and tail shot up in gleeful excitement, and the young male took off through the previously-scorned icy puddles with a spurt of water.

"Dad!" he bellowed as he came skidding to stop in a spray of slush. "What's up? Are we training? We're training aren't we?! All right! What're we going to do?" Tongue lolling, he panted happily and bumped his strong young shoulder against his father's.