Merlin sat cross-legged on his bed, trying to conjure the perfect present for Arthur. He had said he loved wolves; this would be the best present he could get! Focusing on the words on the page, he outstretched one hand. "Elicere Lupus" the words were fluent and flowing, and the magic seemed to flare within him. His eyes flashed gold for just a second. Nothing happened. Merlin sighed and shifted position, used to not getting it right first time. He reached his hand out and tried again. "Elicere Lupus" a silvery outline of a wolf appeared in the corner for half a second, and then evaporated into mist. Merlin smiled, he was getting there! He stood up and tried one last time. "Elicere Lupus!"

A blinding flash filled the room, sending Merlin flying to the ground with a heavy thud. Gradually, the light faded, leaving dancing spots in front of Merlin's eyes. Something wasn't right, Merlin could feel it. Shaking, he got to his feet, and promptly fell over again. He let out a painful yelp as he hit the floor.

"Merlin! What on earth are you-" Gaius opened the door into Merlin's room and stopped in his tracks. Startled by his sudden entrance, Merlin had backed up and wedged himself in a gap between his bed and the wall. He was curled up and staring up at the old physician with huge, golden, frightened eyes. Huge dark brown wolf's ears stuck up from his dark raven locks, and a long bushy tail was wrapped around his feet.

"Gaius!" Merlin tried to wedge himself further into the gap, and his ears were flat against his head. "Scared."

Gaius walked slowly over to the young warlock, being careful not to make any sudden movements, which would scare Merlin. He knelt down and put a hand on his back. "What happened?"

"Magic."

"I can see that, but how? What were you trying to do?"

"Hurts" Merlin held out a bruised looking hand, which he had fallen on. Gaius sighed and helped him to his feet.

"Sit still!" Gaius attempted to tie a bandage onto Merlin's hand, but he kept squirming in the seat.

"No like! Hurts!"

Eventually, Gaius managed to tie the bandage on, and Merlin immediately left off the stool and went crashing to the floor with another yelp. Gaius held back a laugh and helped the warlock up again, and guided him to the table. Merlin raised his hand and inspected the bandage. He gave it an investigatory lick and promptly made a face. Gaius couldn't help but smile at Merlin's strange new antics, and found him almost endearing. He looked to the door and then back at Merlin, who was now intently chewing on a wooden spoon.

"Gaius?" Arthur's voice sounded at the door. Merlin immediately dropped the spoon and hid behind the table, ears flat to his head and eyes peeping over the table top at the door.

"Hello, Arthur." Gaius glanced at Merlin and then back at the prince.

"Where's Mer-oh, there he is." Arthur frowned at the warlock. "Merlin, what are you doing there?"

Merlin crept under the table and growled a little. "Gaius! Scared!"

Arthur looked at Gaius. "Gaius, what happened to him?"

"I don't know, he woke up like this." Gaius lied. "It must be some sort of curse. Hopefully temporary."

Arthur knelt down by the table and peered at the frightened warlock. "Merlin? It's okay, it's me, Arthur." He held out a hand, palm flat and facing up, in the same way he would offer his hand to a dog to smell to get used to his scent. Merlin looked up at Arthur with his huge, terrified eyes and inched forwards and sniffed it. A look of confusion crossed his face, and then it brightened with realisation.

"Arthur?"

"Yes, that's me."

"Arthur!" Merlin grinned and his ears popped back up. The warlock threw himself into the prince's arms, tail wagging with happiness. His tongue poked out and licked Arthur's face. Arthur couldn't help but smile, but he pushed Merlin off.

"We need to be careful with him; he's a bit unpredictable in that state, and easily startled." Gaius was watching Merlin with fascinated eyes as the young warlock found the spoon he had been chewing and resumed the process, huge ears swivelling about as he listened to the sounds that surrounded him.

"Is there nothing you can do to reverse it?"

"No, if I don't have whatever it's come from, I can't fix it, only hope it's temporary." Gaius stood and walked to the door. "I need to fetch some herbs, could you look after him for me whilst I'm gone? I don't want to leave him alone; he's a danger to himself."

As if to prove the point, a cascade of books tumbled out of the bookcase, and straight onto Merlin, who let out a loud whimper and scampered to hide under the table, peering up at Gaius and ears back against his head. "Book" He exclaimed round the spoon he was chewing.

"So, you want me to Merlin-sit?" Arthur sat at the table, and Merlin crept round to sit on the floor next to him.

"If you wouldn't mind."

"No, no it's fine; he's kind of cute like this." Arthur smiled at Merlin, and Merlin grinned back. "I'll take him to my chambers; he'll probably ruin this place."

"Thank you, Arthur, it won't be for long I promise." Gaius smiled and left the room.

Arthur stood up and looked at Merlin, who had moved and was back over at the bookcase, attempting to chew the spine of one of the books. "Merlin!"

Merlin dropped the book and looked at Arthur, one ear slightly lopsided and an endearing expression on his face. "Arthur!"

"Come on, come with me." Arthur walked to the door and leant on the door frame, waiting for Merlin to follow.

Reluctantly, the warlock followed him to the door, but paused and rushed back towards his room. He reappeared moments later, a blanket in his arms and one corner of it in his mouth. "Blanket!" He exclaimed, and rushed forwards, losing balance on the last step and toppling to the floor. He sat there, looking confused, and then his face broke into a whimper.

Arthur knelt by him, and picked the warlock up into his arms. Merlin smiled and snuggled into the space between Arthur's neck and shoulder and hugging the blanket to his chest. "Let's go then, come on." Arthur shifted Merlin's position and carried him in the direction of his chambers, ignoring the looks he got as he did so. He knew there would be alot of explaining to do later, but now he was focusing on keeping Merlin safe.

Arthur opened the door to his chambers and set Merlin down on the floor. Immediately, he scampered to the bed and curled up at the end of it, still intently chewing on a corner of his blanket. Arthur smiled, he couldn't deny the fact that Merlin was impossibly adorable in the state he was in, and his actions were endearing. Secretly, he hoped the effects of whatever had done this to him would last. He sat down next to the warlock and gently stroked the back of one ear. Merlin smiled and snuggled closer, and within a few minutes, was sound asleep.