A/N: So, I've procrastinated on several 'almost ready' stories for a stupidly long time, both because I wasn't sure about them and partly because real life. In fact, I didn't realize until I looked back at the original note I put on here how long it had been ::hangs head in shame:: But I hope people enjoy this and the other stories I have ready to go! Also, I couldn't resist just the short tease, both then and now, but it won't be too long before an update ;)
"The whole point of sending you on ahead was so that we wouldn't lose the deer!" Arthur complained loudly as he reached the stream. His trigger finger itched to fire his crossbow even though he held the weapon loosely at his side.
Merlin perched on the steep far bank to study what Arthur hoped were tracks in the soft mud. "That doesn't mean I know where he's going to bound away! You sent me so far off to the side, I couldn't see him until your crashing boots sent him running!"
"Don't try to pin your lack of sense of direction on me. I can't help it if you can't follow a straight line. Just tell me your tracking skills have at least improved."
"It looks like he slowed down suddenly. Did a bit of a dance, too—watch your step there." Merlin's warning came at the same moment Arthur's boot shifted a significant piece of the bank. Water squished around his toe. He glared upward, but the manservant had already disappeared from view. A brief, joking thought crossed Arthur's mind about the ground just swallowing the deer up. It was exceptionally soft here, between the big spring thaw and recent heavy rains. Being rather more muscled than his wiry helper, Arthur had quite the trickier time scaling this higher side.
Merlin bobbed further uphill with odd little crouching steps, his expression confused.
This was one of those days when Arthur wondered how on earth his servant had made it this far in life. Setting out for a simple hunt had taken two hours longer than usual, owing to Merlin forgetting to order provisions from the kitchen, and discovering that Arthur's saddle needed significant repairs. Lucky chance that he hadn't been slated for patrol instead. So here they were, late-afternoon, hunting on foot. Arthur's patience was nearing bone dry. And still his servant contemplated the tracks in front of him.
"Intending to become part of the forest, Merlin?"
Merlin jumped to his full height as if a deer himself—and suddenly disappeared. No, not disappeared. He had shouted in surprise, as if grabbed by someone…pulling down. Arthur blinked, hand still braced on the crest of the rise. Had the ground actually swallowed Merlin? That couldn't be right, and he didn't like the possibilities.
Arthur sprang forward, only to barely retreat in time before more dirt gave way. A ragged opening gaped where Merlin once stood, perhaps a little wider than his arm span now in diameter.
"Merlin!"
No answer. Arthur put a tentative foot forward; no telling how steady any of the ground actually was. His boot sank quite a bit. Must be an underground current running to the stream. Excess runoff could sometimes destabilize the areas around bodies of water. Fantastic. So he lay down flat, and inched his way to the edge as if venturing onto thin ice. The path seemed to take his weight better this way. "Merlin?" The sun retreated behind a cloud, easing his ability to see into the shadowed hole.
Only about eight feet separated the two of them. The gangly servant was up to his chest in flowing water, and partially buried in mud from the collapse. A broad gash leaked blood down one side of his slack face. Arthur noted several exposed rocks on the way down. Merlin's right arm had crumpled at an unnatural angle.
"Damn!" hissed Arthur.