Oh... It has been a while, hasn't it? I saw a gif set of the preview for 5x08/5x09 and these were the result. I have not seen the actual episodes as yet, so I unfortunately do not believe they have much bearing with the canon of them. Still, a bit of fun and fluff never hurt anyone, eh?

As always, many thanks to the lovely DVeleniet for betaing, and for catching that I decided to change tenses for no apparent reason in the second part...

"Guuurrrrhh." Merida growled. She bit back a grimace as best she could, looking up at Mulan from her backside in the dust yet again. Mulan gave her a wan smile as some means of consolation, before offering her a hand.

Merida took it, feeling slightly deflated as she was pulled back on to her feet. She dropped Mulan's hand, shuffling so she was no longer facing her. Something akin to an excuse started falling from her lips in a current of mumbles, but what the words were, even Merida wasn't sure.

"Who taught you how to use a sword?" Mulan asked crisply as Merida brushed herself off.

"My father did!" Merida retorted curtly. She turned back to face Mulan. Her hands came to her hips as she felt a well of anger drawing up inside her. Had the other woman meant that as an insult? Was she implying that her father had done a poor job in teaching her?

Well, she'd not stand for that.

Mulan showed no indication of being fazed by Merida's defensive response, asking calmly, "And if you had to fight King Fergus, what would be the first thing you thought about when you gauged him as an opponent?"

The question gave Merida a moment of pause. "I'd think: 'now there's a great bear of a man?'" She finally answered, though it came out as a question rather than an answer.

Mulan smiled, nodding her head. "Exactly. He's much larger than you are, correct?"

"Aye."

"His style of fighting works well for him because it suits his body. And he taught his way of fighting to you well." Mulan paused. "But you are a…'wee slip of a thing,'" she finished, attempting to mimic the burred accent of the Dun Broch clan.

Merida laughed, though she appreciated the effort. "So…what you mean is I need to try to fight in a way that suits my size? Being that I am a 'wee slip of a thing,' as you so aptly put," she teased.

Mulan nodded again, and Merida could have sworn that there was a faint pink in her cheeks that hadn't been there before. "You are so fast and so careful when you draw your bow." She paused, her eyes alight. "Imagine if we got that speed behind a sword."

Merida nodded quickly, a large grin forming on her face. "Show me?" She asked.

"Of course."