The Shadow of the Moon

Chapter 5

"What...was...that!?!?" Gwaine cried looking frantically between Merlin and the lump of corpse.

"It's a Nagarr" Merlin glanced back at it, looking at it properly for the first time. He hadn't been thinking about what it was, just that it had to be stopped. He felt dread swell up rapidly in his chest feeling all the eyes on him, covered with rivulets of magical blood.

"Not that!! You!! You just destroyed it in about two seconds flat!!" Gwaine yelled flapping his hand at the other man. Merlin felt his face heat, he hadn't meant to lose control like that, he never wanted Arthur to see him out of control and now....he glanced with the crushing weight of infantesimal fear in his heart at the king who was staring at him with an unreadable expression, mouth agape.

"That was incredible Merlin!" Leon exclaimed with a beaming smile.

"You're like a one man army!" Elyan agreed, and Merlin felt his shame and fear fade in the light of his friend's grinning faces around him. He remounted his horse with a soothing whisper in her perked ear and took the reigns from Leon whom had grabbed them as his horse had startled. He settled onto her back, feeling more secure when level with the nights and braced himself as he began to explain.

"It's just, since I changed, I realised I could hear other creatures, even magical ones. I knew what they were doing, what they wanted to do. Some of them are normal and some..some are beautiful....I found this den of unicorns...." he noticed Arhtur's stern face and both their eyes met.

"That was no unicorn." he decreed.

"No. Some....they're sent to kill you, Arthur, or you, knights, or attack Camelot, or they just want to hurt innocent people for fun. I just...STOPPED...them." He explained simply. He sheepisshly looked at the other men, to see light dawning in their eyes in a ripple around the group. Arthur was still staring at him stunned like he were about to grow wings and fly away.

"There have been less magical beast attacks recently...." Leon started tentatively.

"Fewer? You mean none!" Gwaine abjected fervently. Merin released an embarrassed girn.

"Yes. That was me. I couldn't let anything hurt you, or Camelot, even if I was banished." he smiled sadly, a resigned darkness in his expression like a rain cloud chasing away a sunny day. Arthur cleared his throat.

"We'd best be moving on." he said turning his horse back the road and squeezing it on forwards. The knights all followed behind, asking Merlin questions about the creatures he had seen. The sound of the voices feel on Arthurs deaf ears as he was absorbed in his own thoughts.

His mind rotated around Merlin, squirling like the twisting eye of a whirlpool. He was stuck on the werewolf. Every time they tried to move away they moved back to the dark haired man, like the torrential wind in a hurricane. The lithe grace Merlin's wolf body pounded through the King's head, the speed and agility he fought with, like a deadly mystic dancer. It send chills down his spine....but not of fear. The way Merlin's ears nixed into sharp points, and his sharp teeth glintered in the sun made his insides bubble with butterflies and his face fluster with bright heat. His heart beet faster at the way Merlin's wolfic features accented his sharp face. As they rode, the king fell back to stare at Merlin riding with shadows of nerves playing across his face on his grey horse: obviously unaware.

It wasn't long before the sun passed and the pitched a camp by the side of the road, protected from view of the road by a rocky outcrop. The night had grown cold and wrapped its tendrils around the knights in an iced embrace. A shiver ran through Leon as Percival crouched on the ground with a flint, sparking at it with no success. He sighed and blew on his hands to warm them. Arthur watched from the sidelines of the clearing. Mordred was unpacking the horses at the other side. Arthur sighed in impatience and waved a hand in a gesture.

"Morded, light the fire." He calls casually. Mordred threw a flance to Percival as he stood back. The young dark haired man knelt down over the fire pit and gently reordered some of the twigs and tinder they had stacked there, as the other knights went about setting up camp and unpacking. Merlin was sat nearby taking stock of the medicine bag and ensuring the dry herbs were seperate from the fresh ones.

"Forbeanan" he heard Mordered mutter softly as feather. He looked up startled to see his eyes flash and a small flame behind to dance before hi, Merlin looked around wildly, terrified for the young man using magic to publicly, but none of the knights casting even a glance as a strong flames flockered to life amongst the ring of stones.

"Ah very good! You always have a trick up your sleeve" Arthur said appearing behind him and slapping him on the shoulder with a smile. Merlin looked at him in wide eye bafflement. Panic iced through him as he looked beteen the knights. How could Mordred be so careless?! Anyone could have seen, and it was fortunate that is was only he, Merlin, who had secrets enough of his own to hide who had caught the whisper of his voice and the rash of gold in the young knight's eyes.

Desperately, he tried to catch Mordred's eye, now returned to its pallid grey. But the younger man paid him no attention, passing him only a brief quizly look before Gwaine called the both of them to warm by the fire. Merlin grimaced and gulping down his fears, morphed it into a grin as he joined his old friend by the firey red harth.