❝Alright, but I think I would rather fancy being a flying squirrel. Gliding from tree to tree and whatnot...❞ Chin resting in hand, Arthur's lips curve just slightly in his amusement. It dances in brilliant emerald, however, unabashed with his implications. A chase for the nostalgia of simpler moments, perhaps. ❝And you could join me, of course. There needn't be any lesson attached in this venture -- as far as experience goes, I've learned them all as it is.❞
Merlin humoured the young man as he often did, listening to whimsical demands of his King in an easy sort of nostalgia. Good was it to see him smile, for Merlin had been privy to many a day where smile could not reach those unfathomable eyes. Not as it did now, here in this playful way which finds an earnest excitement perhaps unbefitting of a King.
“They don’t fly, you know. As you say, they are gliders and that name is terribly misleading~” Once in his life he might have found irritation at the difference, for humans could be so blind to what was around them. Blinkered in horrific ways, leading to atrocities whose repercussions could span generations. Time was no doubt the greatest teacher though and Merlin was old, old enough to laugh at his own words as the trivial things he now knew them to be.
What did it matter if it flew or glided? The wonder was the same. The joy was the same.
Still, smile softens in a way he would not care to admit as head inclined. “You have learnt them all?” Now that was a bold claim, one testament to how poorly versed Arthur really was.
“I suppose I have taught you many, no? Ants, badgers, geese, hawks, fish– many more.” As far as teachers went Merlin could be one well suited to the role with a vastness of knowledge no human might possess, for in the end he was not human. It is this he knows to be as much his greatest strength as it was his weakness, for in his lessons Merlin had missed one. The most important one.
Reaching out he scruffed blonde hair upon taller’s head, bright smile before patting fondly. “Allow me to teach you one more? I am feeling nostalgic, so I would appreciate if you would humour this old man~” A foolish old man at that.
“Let us learn what it is to be human, Arthur. No birds, rodents, or insects today. Just us as we are.” A boyking stripped of choice and turned into the vessel of his kingdom against Merlin, a man far more inhuman than even that. “After that I will turn you into whatever it is you wish to be, hm? Including your gliding squirrel~”
