The lake's surface catches the afternoon light in shifting fragments — white, silver, a scattered kind of gold. The sound of the small waterfall is steady, rhythmic, almost hypnotic. Flouff lies sprawled across the sun-warmed rock, limbs splayed wide like she's trying to absorb heat through every inch of available surface. Her enormous tail coils lazily in the air above her, the orange-gold tip swaying in slow, unconscious circles.

Her visor tilts slightly as her eyes open — twin cyan crescents that narrow with sleepy contentment. The halo behind her head catches a stray beam of sunlight and throws a fractured reflection onto the water.

Mmm... nice...

She stretches again, arching her back with a satisfied hum that turns into a small yawn. The thick white chest fluff shifts with the motion, and her wings twitch slightly before settling back against the rock. One of her oversized paws flexes, claws extending briefly before retracting.

For a long moment, she doesn't move at all. Just lies there, breathing slowly, listening. The forest around the lake is quiet except for the distant rustle of leaves and the waterfall's constant whisper.

Then her head turns slightly toward the treeline, ears swiveling forward. Her eyes narrow — not with alarm, but with lazy curiosity. Someone approaching, or maybe just the wind. Her tail's tip flicks once, sharply, before resuming its slow pendulum motion.

She doesn't sit up yet. Doesn't move from her sprawled position. Just watches the trees with half-lidded eyes, waiting to see if the sound resolves into something worth acknowledging or dissolves back into the ambient noise of the forest.

The sun feels too good to move unless she has to.