The fire slouched and swayed till it finally stood alive and dancing. Merlin glanced suspiciously around at the deep gloom that surrounded them before sitting down and allowing his body to relax. The ground was damp beneath him and he leaned back onto the mossy log, but his face was warmed. Arthur stood, stretching his back and raising an eye at Merlin, "What do you think you're doing, Merlin? I've been up all day, working hard, so it's only fair that you take first watch."
Merlin groaned, "What? You've been hunting! Not exactly what I would call work."
Arthur lay down and pulled the coarse blanket over himself, "Oh well. Have fun taking the first watch, Merlin."
Merlin rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, "Yes M'Lord."
Arthur nodded sleepily and sarcasticly, "Yes Merlin."
Merlin pushed himself up so he wasn't slouching, trying vainly to wake himself. He ruffled his own raven hair with a groan of expiration and crossed his arms, with an annoyed expression. The hunting trip was on its third day and they were returning the next day to Camelot. He and the prince were both exhausted, with the long days of searching, but the game was hard to find that year and they had barely enough to eat while on the road. Merlin knew that Prince Arthur was disappointed and blamed himself for the lack of game, though he blamed Merlins clumsy bumbling more. Apparently he was loud enough to scare every beast away from the entirety of Avalon. Merlin was smart enough to realise however that he was just the butt of Arthur's frustration. He also knew Arthur was secretly scared of the disappointment he expected from his father, the king.
The fire was burning low when Merlin realized it was time to wake Arthur for his watch, but one look at the prince's face convinced Merlin that it wasn't a good idea to wake him yet; if he valued his head, at least. Arthur was a seasoned soldier though and would wake himself at the right time. Merlin stood slowly and thought he might as well get some more firewood for Arthurs watch while he was waiting for the prince to wake.
He walked just outside the fires range and waited patiently for his night vision to come. Merlin could tell Arthur needed the extra sleep. As much as Merlin complained, he really cared for Arthur. He might be a stuck up prig sometimes, but Merlin saw that he was a compassionate Prince and well worth the time Merlin put into protecting him. Merlin thought he might even be a bit fond of his liege. No, he thought again. Arthur was still just a stuck up prig that was in his protection.
His eyes were adjusted to the light, so he made his way slowly, picking up any sizeable branch he saw. The stars overhead shone like orbs and he stopped to look at them a moment. He took a deep breath and suddenly noticed how quiet it was. He couldn't notice before with all his moving around, but now it was strikingly clear, the dead silence that reigned. His heart started speeding up. Yeah, maybe this silence was starting to creep him out a bit. Not that he was afraid of the dark, but there could be something out there.
He was tempted to make a light. It would be as easy as a few words, but like a thorn in his side, he was ever aware of the fact that if Arthur woke, he would see the light. He would see Merlins magic. He heard a crack, somewhere around him and his heart skipped a beat. Someone… or something was there.