OKAY, IT MIGHT SEEM A BIT LIKE IT BY NOW, BUT I'M SERIOUS WHEN I SAY NO SLASH

Disclaimer : Don't own anything you recognize. Yet, by some miracle, I do own Ayleth... don't worry, she may be boring for now, but she does something later ;)
Warning : Set after season four, Reveal fic, Terribly written spells, Aithusaaaaa (and Kilgharrah), Catboy!Merlin, King Arthur Pratdragon, the Knights of Camelot, GWAINE, and a whole lot of MAGIC~
If anything is out of character, then I'm really sorry!

Okay, get ready for THE DRAGUUUUUNZ TAN TAN TAAAAN. Oh and some more Merlin being treated like a cat. A looooot of ear scratching lol I got ambushed by the plotbunnies!

EDIT : I just realized that Aithusa was a girl o_o excuse me while I change the mistakes I now have...

When Gwaine woke up, he expected to have full control of all of his limbs.

Unfortunately, his left arm was splayed out next to him and restrained by something he had yet to see. Gwaine grunted softly and tried to pry his arm out of the grip, but the vice tightened, and something warm and squishy pressed itself into his wrist.

"They're like children," he heard Leon say fondly, if not a little exasperatedly.

There was a soft thud, and then Merlin answered, sounding a little wistful. "I suppose we all are."

Gwaine chose that moment to yawn loudly, pulling himself into a half seated position. He could hear footsteps coming close to him, and he opened his eyes to see Merlin; at least, it looked like Merlin, because this Merlin had cat ears and a tail, as well as slitted pupils in the center of his blue eyes. Merlin beamed at him for no reason at all, because that's how Merlin was.

"Good morning Gwaine!" he exclaimed jubilantly.

Gwaine stretched with another groan, still not able to move his left arm. "Morning, Merlin. Nice ears you've got there."

Merlin flushed, seeming a little embarrassed. "Ah, well, yeah. I'm still hoping it's temporary, or I can find something-" He was cut off as Gwaine brought his hand up and started scratching between his ears, much like Percival had the night before. Merlin sighed in contentment and felt his eyelids flutter shut. He snapped his eyes open when Gwaine giggled, blushing furiously and pulling away, staring wide-eyed at Gwaine.

"Don't do that!" he exclaimed, completely humiliated.

Gwaine was still laughing. "You didn't seem to mind."

Merlin huffed, still a remarkable red, and turned away.

"Aw, do you want a string to play with?"

Merlin slowly turned to face him, flustered confusion marring his features. He scooted away from the knight, squatting down and resting his elbows on his knees.

"Aw, did I make the itty-bitty wittle kitten sad?" Gwaine crooned.

The young warlock made an extremely perturbed noise and pouted, trying to forget his embarrassing actions from the day before. Stupid cat hormones... could they be called hormones? Stupid cat emotions...

"Oh, Merlin, don't... no, Merlin... don't pout Merlin, cats don't do that."

Merlin rested his chin on his arms and stared off into the forest, pointedly ignoring his friend.

Leon had been watching the entire exchange, trying not to laugh. It was ridiculous how attached they had all become to Arthur's manservant, and how they still were even if he was a sorcerer... warlock, whatever. The knight smiled fondly as he saw Merlin pout.

So very ridiculous.

But no one was doing anything to change it.

"Come on Merlin," Gwaine said, continuing to pester him. "I didn't mean anything by it... come here, please."

Merlin continued to stare off into the forest, smiling. He could vaguely hear Gwaine's moaning, but he was actually talking with Ayleth, who was climbing onto his head.

Your friend there is ridiculous, she declared.

Merlin laughed. Yes, he is.

"Merlin, did you know that there was a mouse on your head?"

I think he's talking to you, Merlin.

Oh? Merlin spun around to face Gwaine. "Sorry, what?"

"There's a mouse. On your head."

Merlin blinked. "Yes, I know."

Gwaine frowned, bemused. "Aren't you going to chase it?"

Merlin blinked again. "No..."

Gwaine shrugged. "Okay." When Merlin turned around again to face the trees, he had unknowingly shifted slightly closer to Gwaine, who had barely thought before acting; grabbing Merlin's head and dragging him over, ignoring his surprised yelp. He then proceeded to scratch behind Merlin's ears again. It was not fair that Percival got to scratch his ears without complaint; besides, Merlin obviously liked him so much more. He stroked the soft fur covering the twitching ears, ignoring Merlin's blushing and half-hearted complaints as he was pulled onto Gwaine's lap. The mouse on his head hopped off, climbing back onto Merlin's chest.

"Gwaine," Merlin ground out, trying to ignore the contentment being dragged through his veins and concentrating on his embarrassment. "Please let me go."

"No chance, mate. Even the Princess couldn't get you out of this one."

At those words, Merlin began fighting Gwaine's strong grip, but the scratching was making him feel relaxed, sapping his strength. "Gwaaaaaaaaaine let me go!" he groaned. He started flailing his arms and legs, slapping his tail against his friend's leg.

Gwaine remained unmoved and hummed softly. Merlin sighed. He had one more defense to resort to.

"Arthur, Gwaine's attaching me!" he called. Arthur immediately snapped up, releasing Gwaine's arm with a look of disgust before focusing on his manservant.

"Gwaine, are you molesting my manservant?" Arthur drawled lazily, not picking his head up from the ground.

"Go back to sleep, Princess."

Arthur spared a final glance at Merlin, who was staring back hopefully. And then the King turned over, going back to sleep.

"Arthur!" Merlin cried. The blond didn't even stir. Merlin sighed. He was too relaxed to rescue himself, and he was pretty sure Leon wouldn't see anything was wrong.

"See, Merlin?" Gwaine murmured. "Arthur doesn't care; you should just stay with me..."

"Gwaine, let me go." Just then, Gwaine located that nice little spot behind the cat's ears that rendered it completely defenseless. Merlin started purring subconsciously, rubbing his head into Gwaine's hand, eyes shut. Oh yes. He could get used to this.

Ayleth started giggling, causing Merlin to open one eye halfway and stare at her. Do you realize what you're doing? she questioned mirthfully.

Merlin closed his eye and let himself melt into relaxation, right in that state between wakefulness and sleep. Yep.

Then another voice intervened in his head, much louder than the mouse's soft one. Young warlock, what do you think you are doing?

Merlin shot upright, pushing Gwaine away when the knight whined and tried to get his cat back. If he squinted slightly, he could see through the darkness that fell beneath the trees, and he caught a very nice view of... a laughing Kilgharrah. He watched as the dragon sank back into the shadows, going back to wherever he came from.

Oh no.

He would never let him hear the end of this.


"Arthur, Arthur wake up," Merlin insisted, shaking the King's shoulder a little harder when he did nothing but swat him away.

"No, Merlin... g'way."

Merlin sighed. "Don't you want to know what happened to the dragon?"

Arthur pondered the idea, before opening his eyes and sitting up. "Fine. What happened to the dragon?"

Merlin grinned. "Well, you know how Balinor was a Dragonlord, and he was my father?" There seemed to be a rather important point to this if Merlin hadn't even the time to be sad about his father.

"Yes, Merlin, get on with it."

Merlin's eyes glinted. "The gift of the Dragonlord is passed from father to son."

Arthur clearly did not understand. "So what happened to the dragon?"

Merlin frowned at him exasperatedly. "Arthur!"

"What?"

"I'm a Dragonlord!"

"Oh." Then he caught himself. "What?"

"Yes, Arthur, I'm the last Dragonlord now. The gift was passed down from Balinor to me. Now, anyways, you know how you hit Kilgharrah with your sword that day?"

"... Merlin-"

"Let me finish. When you got knocked out, I spoke to Kilgharrah and ordered him to never harm the people of Camelot again."

Arthur blinked, still waiting for the end of the story. "What, that's it? Didn't he fight back, or something?"

"Arthur, dragons must obey to me. I'm a Dragonlord. My soul and Kilgharrah's are brothers."

Arthur looked completely befuddled for a second. "So... I never did kill that dragon?"

Merlin pursed his lips. "Kilgharrah."

The King blinked. "What?"

"He's got a name, Arthur. You can't just call him 'the dragon'. How would you like it if he just called you 'that human'?"

"Merlin, why are you so intent on telling me all of this?"

"Because Kilgharrah," Merlin said, stressing the name, "is in the forest."


Leon and Arthur had gone around the knights, shaking them awake. Elyan, it turns out, had been watching the whole thing like a tournament, from when Gwaine woke up to the conversation about the dragon.

Merlin got very confused when Arthur gave the order to start packing.

"Arthur, what are you doing?"

"I'm gathering our supplies, Merlin, so that we can go back to Camelot."

Merlin panicked. "What? We can't go back to Camelot!"

Arthur glared at him. "Why not, Merlin?"

"Because I'm still a cat, and Kilgharrah might be able to help with that!"

"Merlin, we can't go meet the dragon. Kilgharrah, whatever."

"What, because you tried to kill him? He forgives you, Arthur; he was in a fit of rage, and you were protecting your people, it's completely understandable."

"Merlin..."

"Don't you want to meet him?"

"No, Merlin, I don't. He killed hundreds of my people."

"And you killed all of his," Merlin blurted before he could stop himself. Arthur spun around to scowl disapprovingly at him. "No, Arthur, I didn't mean-"

"It's quite clear whom you're siding with, Merlin. Call me if you change your mind, and maybe I'll-"

Merlin had had enough. He looked up at the sky and let out a roar in the dragon language."O drakon, e male so ftengometta tesd'hup'anankes!"

All the knights turned around as soon as Merlin began, too panicked to do anything as he chanted into the sky. As soon as he stopped, Arthur exploded.

"Merlin, what did you-"

"Shush," Merlin said, raising a finger, not taking his eyes off the blue sky.

"Merlin," Arthur warned, but he faltered to a stop as a great flapping noise made itself known, blowing wind into their faces. He stared up, seeing the dragon that had attacked his people, and felt the cold hand of rage grip his heart. And then he saw a smaller, white figure, the size of a large hound, drop to the ground with a thud, instantly making its way to Merlin, squawking.

Arthur felt inclined to draw his sword when the white dragon bounded up to his manservant, who was grinning, even as the small dragon pushed him over with its weight, licking his face excitedly.

Kilgharrah dropped much more loudly, the earth shaking slightly beneath him. He inclined his head respectfully at Merlin, who smiled, not able to move under the other dragon; and then he turned to Arthur, who stumbled away slightly from the magnificent creature as it again inclined its scaly head.

"It is an honour to finally meet you, Arthur Pendragon."

Arthur couldn't say anything, merely spluttering a little before glancing over at his manservant, who was still on the ground, trying to push off the affectionate dragon.

"Aithusa! Aithusa, please get off! Yes, I missed you too. Now get off!" he laughed, rubbing Aithusa's head when she didn't move. Aithusa had noticed Merlin's new features, and had tasted them all, except for his eyes, thankfully. A dragon's tongue was a lot like that of a cat; it was rough and dry, so Merlin was not covered in slobber. When Merlin stopped laughing long enough to struggle out from beneath the dragon, it looked up at him with puppy eyes, wondering why he didn't want to play. Merlin chuckled and bent down to pat her head, completely unprepared for the moment Aithusa gripped one of his ears in her claws, dragging him back to the floor. Merlin huffed. He was tired of everyone running him to the ground to play with his ears. With Aithusa, it was fine; she was a dragon, and she was still young. But Gwaine...

"Hey, Kilgharrah," Merlin called, his voice slightly muffled from having his face shoved into the dirt. "Could you help me?"

Kilgharrah laughed; a throaty, powerful sound, making a few of the knights flinch. "The little one has missed you, Merlin. I would not think it wise to disturb her." Even as he spoke, Aithusa sat down possessively on Merlin's back, effectively immobilizing him.

"Where's Ayleth?" Leon wondered aloud, not quite knowing why he remembered her.

Arthur frowned. "Who's Ayleth?"

"Mouse," Leon replied simply.

"It's got a name?" Gwaine exclaimed. Elyan rolled his eyes and Percival had an I-don't-know-what's-going-on-but-I'll-go-with-it smile plastered to his face.

Merlin suddenly gasped, and everyone looked over. "Aithusa!" he chided, trying to pry her jaws open.

Kilgharrah sighed. "Little one, you must not eat Merlin's friends," he berated. Aithusa whimpered pathetically, but spat out the poor mouse all the same.

Are you alright? Merlin said, projecting his thoughts to the furry little ball in concern.

Yes, yes I'm fine... Nearly eaten by a dragon! No one will believe me...

Oh, they might, Kilgharrah said, amicably joining the conversation. I've done it before.

Merlin looked over in horror. Why would you say that?

Young warlock, is there a reason for why I am here? Kilgharrah demanded, cutting straight to the point.

Ah, right. Well, you see... And thus Merlin began reciting the tale of the unfortunate hunting trip, not even glancing at the gaping knights and King.

On the physical side of the conversation, Arthur and the knights were speaking quietly to each other, trying to figure out why the dragon and Dragonlord had gone suddenly silent.

"Are they... talking to each other?" Elyan half asked, half suggested.

"Well, Merlin could understand that mouse," Leon said.

"He can speak... mouse?" Arthur puffed out, still trying to come to terms with the fact that Merlin was a cat. A magical cat. Who was now also a Dragonlord that could speak mouse, or who knows what else.

"I think he can also speak dragon," Gwaine drawled unnecessarily.

"Wasn't Kilgharrah supposed to be the last dragon?" Percival mused aloud, earning him looks from everyone except for Gwaine, who was staring at the dragons like he'd only just realized they were there.

"I don't know, maybe Kilgharrah got pregnant... Gwaine where are you going?" Arthur demanded as the knight tried to tiptoe off.

"I think they're calling me," he said uncertainly, not taking his eyes off the dragons.

"Have you been drinking?" Elyan asked innocently.

Gwaine laughed. "I always am, but I am not drunk at this very moment."

"It's sinful to lie, Gwaine."

"I'm serious! Can't you lot hear that?" he insisted, cupping a hand around his ear for emphasis.

"Gwaine, I can't hear-" Arthur began.

"Hold on, Sire, I think I can hear it too," Leon said, surprising everyone, except for Gwaine, who was just happy that he wasn't alone. "It's like... humming."

Arthur narrowed his eyes. "'Humming'. Right. Do you hear it?" he asked, gesturing to Elyan and Percival.

Percival paused for a moment, and then nodded. Elyan frowned as he heard it. "It's... magic, isn't it?"

Arthur continued to gawk at them all. "I still can't hear anything," he stated. He'd spoken too soon. Not a second later, he heard the strange, melodic hum of the air as it was charged with power. It was oddly comforting; a low, ancient sound, as if the trees were singing a lullaby to the earth, pushing the sound past their roots.

Arthur had never really come to terms with how common magic was, but it wasn't just a daily occurrence; magic was constant. He could feel it; in the air, in the ground, within every living creature.

And he was only just realizing how tied to the magical world his friend was.

"Where's it coming from?" Leon asked, looking around.

"It's coming from Kilgharrah and... Merlin," Elyan replied, spotting them and frowning.

Kilgharrah was resting the tip of his snout on Merlin's forehead, and the area where they touched glowed in soft golden light. Both their eyes were closed, but there was no pain or concentration visible on their faces; just peaceful serenity. They were completely still; even Merlin's tail and ears had been calmed. Aithusa and Ayleth watched on silently, soothed by the humming that had been generated. There were small ripples of energy licking their faces, crackling around the air. The magic was still visible with the morning sun glaring above.

Arthur moved his hand silently to his sword belt, but Gwaine grasped his wrist, shaking his head.

The warriors watched the strange display, golden light reflected in their eyes. The humming did seem to be beckoning to them, but they refrained from getting any closer, wary of the raw power emanating from the immobile pair. They were also quite a bit frightened of the dragon, not that they would ever admit that.

After a while that felt like an eternity, the humming slowly died down, but it never left completely; it had already been there, since it was the hum of the magic in the earth. Kilgharrah pulled his snout from Merlin's head, and Merlin looked up at him questioningly. The Great Dragon nodded, striding back over to the still-shocked knights.

"It is done," Kilgharrah declared, sitting down.

"What exact is 'it'?" Arthur asked impatiently, still not in complete approval of the obvious display of magic.

"I have determined the length of Merlin's... problem," the old dragon sniggered.

Merlin huffed indignantly.

"The spell," Kilgharrah continued, "Is permanent."

Merlin's face fell and a few of the knights gasped.

"But," he said, raising a claw for emphasis, "I am confident that the young warlock can find a way to... change things."

"What do you mean?" Arthur asked, disregarding his fear and anger for a second as he stepped forward imploringly.

Kilgharrah smiled, and began flapping his webbed wings, lifting himself into the air. "Goodbye, young warlock," he called, soaring away, ignoring the startled cries of the King. And then he was gone.

"Hm. Well, Aithusa, you'd best follow him," Merlin said, giving the young dragon a little push. Aithusa squawked twice, clearly not content with leaving her friend. "Go, Aithusa."

Aithusa nuzzled her head into Merlin's, and then she followed her brethren into the sky.

Merlin continued to stare wistfully up at the sky for a moment, and then Arthur stepped forwards and clapped a hand on his shoulder, startling him.

"Merlin, what did he mean, and why was there a second dragon? Wasn't Kilgharrah supposed to be the last?"

"Oh, right," Merlin said awkwardly, fidgeting. "Well, when we went to find that dragon's egg..."

"Merlin, why," Arthur groaned, rubbing a hand over his face.

Merlin glared at him. "I'm the last Dragonlord, Arthur. It was my duty."

"So... you killed Borden?"

Merlin's tail bristled as he recalled the man who wanted the egg simply for money and power. "The tower fell. It wasn't me."

"Well," Gwaine said, striding over and throwing an arm around Merlin's shoulders, "I still want to know what the big dragon meant."

Merlin pouted. "His name is Kilgharrah, Gwaine."

"So," the knight went on, ignoring his friend's indignation. "You're a cat forever, then?"

The warlock ducked as Gwaine tried to reach up and scratch his ears. "Not necessarily. As he said, I may be able to change the spell a little..."

"Yes, and that's all great and all, but how?" Arthur spat impatiently.

Gwaine frowned and pulled Merlin a little closer. "Don't be so rude to Merlin, Princess. I don't think he likes it."

"What, and he likes you?"

"Of course he does!"

The other three knights, who had been watching silently until then, noticed Merlin's plight. "Come here, Merlin," Percival cooed, dropping to a crouch and patting the ground. "Meeeeerlin..."

Merlin's ears perked at the sound, and he ducked under Gwaine's arm to go over to Percival, who grinned and scratched his ears.

"Hey!" Gwaine exclaimed. "Give him back!"

Elyan chuckled. "I think he likes Percival more than you, Gwaine," he laughed, seeing Merlin rub his head happily against the large man's hand.

Gwaine gasped. "That is outrageous! Merlin, come back here."

Percival smiled condescendingly and continued to rub Merlin's head, ruffling his dark hair. "It's alright, Gwaine, not everyone has to like you."

Gwaine fumed. "Percival, you're corrupting Arthur's manservant."

Arthur grinned. "Please, leave me out of this. Come on, Leon, Elyan. Let's go ready the horses."

Leon shrugged and complied. Elyan sat down and watched the show. "I think I'll stay here, Sire," he declared.

"Suit yourself." They walked off, not bothering to look back at the knights' antics.

Gwaine was having nothing of this. He tried cooing and clicking and patting the ground, but Merlin wouldn't come to him. God, he'd do anything to rub off that smug look on Percival's face...

"Hey, Merlin, remember that time when I saved your life?" Gwaine suggested, looking for a reaction. He got none; Percival was still rubbing Merlin's head.

"Don't bother, Gwaine, it's pretty clear he likes me more," Percival said smugly, stroking Merlin's ears for emphasis.

Merlin was completely lost to them, sitting on the ground with his tail swishing and his eyes closed. There was nothing better in the world.

Merlin, isn't there something you should do? Ayleth asked quietly, suddenly appearing at his side.

Why should I? It's nice to be pampered.

Ayleth made a strange laughing sound. You're not being pampered, you're being fought over. Aren't your duties owed to Arthur alone?

Hm, these aren't my duties, Merlin hummed.

Just then, Arthur came back. "Gwaine, I need your help with the horses."

"Not now, Sire," was the knight's uncharacteristically snappy reply.

Arthur blinked. "Excuse me?"

The usually happily-drunk man didn't even look up. "Percival, Merlin likes me more. You don't even talk to him!"

"You wouldn't know; how much time do you really spend with him, anyway?"

Arthur's jaw dropped. That attitude... maybe from Gwaine, but not from Percival. "Percival!"

Percival inclined his head politely. "Yes, Sire?"

"Give me back my manservant," Arthur said, noticing him sitting on the ground, humming contentedly.

Percival smiled and obediently complied, giving Merlin's head a final pat before guiding him over to the King.

"Come on, Merlin, you blathering idiot," he muttered, grabbing the scruff of his manservant's neck. The cat in him immediately went immobile, completely submissive to wherever Arthur dragged him. Arthur smiled. Maybe a cat-Merlin wasn't so bad.

When he was almost out of earshot, he turned around to face the two knights once more.

"Besides, it's obvious Merlin likes me the most."

Both knights spluttered as Arthur walked off, laughing.

Yeah, well, I really didn't like the chapter I uploaded yesterday... so I wrote this up to make up for it :3 (it's easily more than twice as long XD sorry)
I did say there would be fluff XD

The idea of the fight between Percival and Gwaine belongs to xXMistressMadHatterXx. I just played around with it, much like earlier ;) Thank you for letting me steeeeeal it from your lovely review!

Is this a cliffhanger? Not really... nothing's really happening. But what did Kilgharrah mean? *legasp* too lazy to explain c: Tooooooo be continuuuuuued! I luff you all, thank you so much! I definitely would have quit this fic early on if no one was reading it XD so please, pat yourselves on the back, this is all thanks to you c:

Please review!