It was another boring afternoon for Merlin, trailing behind Arthur in the forest while he searched for an animal to shoot down. It was nearly going to turn dark and Merlin worried for they had never been out so late before. If they were not careful anything could happen. Of course, Arthur was being his usual self and not giving a damn about their safety, only determined to bring home a catch to impress his father. Merlin sighed loudly and recieved a deathly glare from Arthur.
"Will you be quiet!" The young prince hissed. "I think I hear something."
Merlin scanned the area. He could not sense a thing. The only things he could see were the towering trees and thick bushes.
"Arthur there is nothing he-" He was cut off by the sound of leaves rustling. He and Arthur shared a look momentarily and waited. The sound came again, only this time it was much closer.
Arthur held up his hand, a gesture for Merlin to stay put, and he proceeded to investigate. He stepped towards a bush just a few metres away from him and drew his sword. Merlin unconciously moved closer in case Arthur needed help. All of a sudden the bush shuffled around. Arthur acted fast and slashed his sword downwards, slicing a layer of leaves away. What they found was rather unexpected.
A young girl, who appeared to be in her teenage years, was cowering behind the bush. Her blonde hair was in dissaray and her skin was covered in splotches of dirt. She wore a raggy shirt, worn in places, and little shorts, obviously ripped trousers. Her feet were bare. But what drew the most attention was the bleeding gash on her side. Merlin could sense that there was something not normal about this girl and felt a pang of sorrow for the girl.
Arthur seemed to be in the same train of thought. He didn't recognise her. She was not from Camelot. But where did she come from? And why was she out in the forest on her own?
"What is your name?" Arthur crouched down to her level, putting his sword away as to not scare the girl more than she obviously was.
Merlin approached slowly and watched as the girl shook violently with eyes wide open. Her lips moved as if she was trying to speak but nothing came out. When Merlin crouched next to Arthur he tried a different question, "Can you tell us your name? We won't hurt you."
Once again, the girl tried to answer but could not. Merlin examined her, desperately trying to figure out what was different with this girl. He could sense that she was not entirely human, but not a sorceress. Then what? He looked her over once more, picturing all of the creatures he had read about before. That was when he noticed the faint marking on her wrist in the shape of a fang. That's it!
"Arthur, she can't speak." Merlin turned to face the prince who seemed rather concerned for the girl.
"Thank you for informing me, Merlin." Arthur huffed sarcastically. "Anything else you would like to add?"
Merlin shook his head, "No you understand! I've read about her kind."
"Her kind?" Arthur look shocked. "I know she probably doesn't look her best at the moment but you have to admit that that comment was low, even for you."
Merlin groaned, "No! She's not human. She's a canog."
Arthur raised his eyebrows, "A canog? What the hell is a canog?" He turned his gaze back onto the bleeding 'canog'.
"It's like a part-human part-canine. See the little mark on her wrist...that's how you know. They live in the wild. Although, they can all come in different sorts. For example, this girl only seems to be a pup, and probaby acts more canine than human."
Arthur nodded and tried to reach out to the pup, "Hey girl, I just want to see your wound." He spoke in a soothing tone but the pup continued to cower away.
Merlin caugt a glimpse of a bracelet on her wrist. Narrowing his eyes he made out the word carved into it. Leanne. Was that her name?
"Leanne? Is that you name?" Merlin crawled closer. The pup appeared to have become more interested at the sound of her name and scooted towards them again. After a while she nodded.
Arthur smiled, "Leanne? Are you alone?" Another nod from her. "Do you have any family?" She shook her head sadly.
Arthur looked up to see Merlin with a massive grin plastered to his face, "Can we keep her, Arthur? Please?"
"Merlin." Arthur grumbled "We can't just take her back to the castle."
"Be we can't leave her here all alone. She's just puppy. And she's injured! She could bleed to death!" As if to prove his point, Merlin gently pulled Leanne onto his lap and hugged her closely. The both of them giving Arthur the puppy dog look.
Rubbing his now aching forehead, Arthur stood up, "Fine. But if she breaks anything you're getting the blame!"
That seemed to be enough for Merlin. He cradled the puppy to his chest and softly cooed at her. Arthur removed his cape and helped Merlin to wrap it around her. Mere moments after mounting their horses the puppy was asleep, snuggled under Merlin's chin.