Rich laughter echoed in the caverns, punctuated by excited yips and bays. A curious soul would find that the source of such merriment came from a tabarded woad courser and his dark brindle hound. They were occupying one of the larger chambers nearer the surface, one with a large skylight that let in the sun in a glorious column of bright light which nurtured a hardy willow tree and the mosses, grasses, and shrubs around its cascade of leafy branches. The willow's roots dug into the rock below, spreading out to capture every drop of moisture that came down with the passing storms and whatever drops could be found tunneling through the cracks and crevices.

It was here that Morvin and Madra had stopped for a bit of sport and play. They chased each other across the plant softened ground, hid from one another around shrubs and behind the curtain of the willow's branches. A stray branch became a toy for a few rounds of not quite coordinated fetch, and then deteriorated into a tug-of-war toy between courser and hound. Morvin let him win, of course, if only to watch with humor as the dog trotted around pridefully with the tattered remains of his prize.

Eventually they both tired of the games, and settled into different ways to pass the time in silent camaraderie. Morvin grazed, moving from patch to patch of grass. It was a rare treat down here, to pass on travel rations in favor of a fresh meal. Sure, some felt themselves above 'foraging' like this, but for him it was icing on top of the day. Madra had found a bone somewhere, and now lay stretched out in the sunshine, gnawing away. It was almost like a little vacation in the midst of all the dungeoneering an adventurer was expected to have.

Belly full, the young stallion ambled over to rejoin his canine companion, affectionately nuzzling against the hound's shoulders and receiving a few thumps of its narrow tail against the ground in return. Madra was stretched out full length on the mossy ground, soaking up the sunshine while he could. It seemed like a grand idea, and Morvin moved just past the hound and folded his lengths beneath himself to lower his body to the ground. It crossed his mind that a roll would have been nice too, but he was too close to Madra to do so without accidentally kicking the dog. A sun bath and a nap would have to do.