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MM

The inside of Hunith's house was unusually messy, various and seemingly random items scattered around. Hunith herself was not home, instead her son Merlin, was stood in the centre of the mess, a vaguely thoughtful expression on his face.

He took half a step towards a messy pile of clothes, but aborted the move before it was even complete. He brushed his hand across his forehead in indecision. His teeth worried the bottom edge of his lip as he turned from the mess, heading across the room to pour himself a drink.

He took a small sip of the liquid, before lowering his hand, thoughts drifting away from the present.

He remained where he was stood for a few minutes, until he snapped back to himself with a small shake of his head. He twisted the cup within his hands a few times, before setting it back on the side of the table, still mostly full.

This time when he headed towards the pile of clothes he did not halt, instead reaching them, and pulling them down onto the floor.

Dropping somewhat heavily down into a sitting position, Merlin began sorting through the clothes. The pile mostly consisted of what he normally wore, along with a few new shirts and trousers that they had gotten second hand to replace the clothes he had started to grow out of.

In no time at all he had separated out the clothes that were now too small, and that would be donated to someone else. He made to push back onto his feet, but paused, directing an almost mournful look at his old clothes.

He sighed heavily, dropping his hands abruptly to his sides, before finally standing. Heading across to the other side of the room, he collected his rucksack, fully intending to start packing it up. But as he lifted the bag away he caught sight of the crudely carved wooden horse that he had played with as a child.

His shoulders slumped, and he put the bag aside picking up the toy instead. His fingers ghosting over the once rough surface, that had since been worn smooth through constant touch.

He cast his mind back to his childhood, and when he had played with the horse. A small smile crossing his face briefly, before it slid away.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts after a few minutes, Merlin set the horse out of the way, his gaze lingering as he did so, a forlorn look on his face.

He felt sad to be leaving home, though he knew why it was that his mother wanted him to do so. He was about to turn back to finish packing his things, when he heard the door open.

Hunith entered the room, expecting that her son would have finished with his packing by now, and so she was surprised to find the house still messy. She moved her eyes around the room, quickly locating Merlin.

He turned quickly in his surprise, almost stumbling as he tried to keep his feet under himself. Hunith only needed to glance at his face to know what was on his mind.

"Mum!" His surprise banished his gloomy expression, and he crossed the room to take Hunith's basket from her.

"How's your packing going, Merlin?" she asked, as he went to load the herbs she had collected. Even though the answer was obvious, Merlin still attempted to explain.

"I sorted things out ready to pack. It's just that…" He ended up trailing off, brows pinching together slightly.

Hunith resisted the urge to roll her eyes at her son, instead she joined him next to the table, and put a gentle hand on his arm

"It's alright Merlin. I know you're sad about leaving." Merlin turned to look at her face as she spoke, though his eyes avoided meeting hers.

"How am I going to be able to manage in Camelot?" Though he didn't say it in so many words, she knew what he was referring too. Sighing, Hunith lifted her other hand to brush against his cheek, and lift his head which had fallen.

"Listen to me. Despite what you think, you're more confident, and so much more independent than you know." A pink tint appeared along Merlin's cheeks at her praise, but held her gaze this time, even going as far as to offer a weak smile.

"Alright now, Merlin?"

He nodded wordlessly at her, and Hunith smiled trying to help boost his confidence. She pulled away from him, looking about the room once more.

"I'll help you finish packing, then I'll make you your favourite for dinner." She stepped towards the clothes he had been sorting earlier, whilst extending her right hand back towards Merlin to get him to join her.

"Thank you, mum," Merlin said, a genuinely happy smile taking over his face as he took her hand, and they set to work.