THE WATER WITCH AND THE BLACK DOGS
By TIPPER

...theblackdogs-cusith-devil'sdandydogs-grabrielhounds-dandoandhisdogs-barguest-padfoot-suffolkshock-thehoundofthebaskervilles…

CHAPTER TWO: THE BLACK DOGS

"What precisely did you see?" Merlin asked, standing nervously by Gwaine's side and gripping his sword so tightly his knuckles were white. "Monster, or man?"

"Neither," Gwaine replied, studying the near dark woods in the torchlight. He nodded at Percival, a sword's length away at Merlin's back, and to Elyan beyond. Arthur stood directly to Merlin's left. They always gathered around Merlin, to protect their most vulnerable member against whatever may come. "I only know it's damned big and coming this way."

"Then…" Merlin swallowed, his eyes wide and shining in the light of the torches. "How do you know it's dangerous?"

Gwaine eyed the shadows between the trees for movement. "Because it travels at night, can shake ancient trees, and growls like a lion. I'm not trusting anything that does that."

"But—"

"Shhh!" Arthur hissed, one hand reaching over to press against Merlin's forearm. "Be still."

"I was just going to ask whether Gwaine's ever seen a lion, or heard one growl, just for, you understand, comparison purposes."

Arthur gave him a look, and Merlin shut his mouth with a click, nervously changing his grip on the sword in his hands. It wasn't a broadsword, requiring two grips, but Gwaine wasn't about to correct Merlin's stance if it brought him confidence. Besides, if there really was fighting, they'd all be gripping their swords in two hands by the end as exhaustion overcame training.

"I don't think they do," Elyan said, seemingly apropos of nothing.

"What?" Merlin asked.

"Lions." Elyan gave Gwaine a small smile. "I don't think they growl. Dogs growl. Lions roar."

Gwaine snorted. "And, what, you know this from firsthand experience?"

"No, but I've read a book or two, unlike someone I know."

Gwaine sneered, and Elyan chuckled.

"Shhh," Arthur hissed again. "All of you."

Gwaine did as he was told, fully understanding the sense of it, even if it went against his nature. He considered how long he might be able to go without speaking. Even he didn't give himself long odds on that one.

He glanced to the rest of the company spread out across the clearing. The other servants and the cook were gathered in tight near the supply wagon, each holding weapons, but all, quite clearly, terrified and ill-used to battle. Merlin had fought in the past, had even held his own, but those three were pale and shaking—this was probably the first time any of them had been forced to defend themselves. Still, there were twenty knights, including their king and two fierce looking lords, standing between them and whatever was coming.

Gwaine shifted his feet and cracked his neck. This was getting boring. He saw Percival frowning, his shoulders drooping a little. Arthur straightened up slightly. A soft, inaudible whisper arose from the direction of the servants on the wagon. Someone shushed them.

Another long minute passed without a sound.

"Perhaps it's passed us by?" Merlin whispered, his tone hopeful.

Gwaine was about to respond when, from out the darkness near the wagon, something growled so deeply, it caused the ground to tremble.

"Or not," Merlin whispered, his voice squeaking a little. The Company turned towards the sound, swords and maces raised.

And then another growl, from a completely different direction, drifted across the camp, this one closer to where the two lords stood. Half the camp turned to face it, weapons now pointed in two different directions.

Gwaine felt the hairs on his neck prickle, and he turned to look into the woods nearest to his position. Another growl, this one just feet away, shook the earth and caused the trees to tremble.

Three of them. There were three of them.

Eyes the size of small saucers appeared between two trees mere feet from Gwaine, glowing green like a massive cat's. It seemed to be looking right at him. Hell—maybe it was a lion.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Percival glance at him, and Gwaine grinned his best crazy grin.

"Whoever kills the first one," he said, no longer bothering to whisper, "gets first dibs on the girls in the Mercian court."

Percival huffed. "You're on."

"If I get first dibs," Elyan said, "what will you guys do with your time? Because I'm going to take them all."

"You're all crazy," Merlin muttered from somewhere behind them.

"You're just figuring this out now?" Arthur asked, chuckling. He was next to Gwaine now, having obviously pushed Merlin behind them.

Gwaine just laughed, knowing the sound would bait the creature to attack him first. Come and get me.

The creature roared and leapt out of the woods right on top of him, a black streak against the navy world. Gwaine rolled forward and came up on his knees under it, thrusting up at the creature's belly with his sword. Like trying to pierce a rock, the sword tip caught but didn't penetrate, and Gwaine felt the first rush of panic as the animal came down, nearly wrenching the sword from his grip, slamming him backwards into the ground and driving the air from his lungs. With a heave, he flipped the beast over his head, paws scratching at his chainmail and breath hot in his face. The creature yelped and snarled, and Gwaine rolled and scrambled to his feet, gasping for air, sword still miraculously in hand, in time to see Arthur slashing at the animal's neck, a blow that, by all rights, should take the creature's head off.

A dog. It was a dog. A huge, black dog the size of a god damned cow.

But even with all his weight behind it, Arthur's sword seemed to barely scratch the skin. The creature's fur ruffled like spines on a hedgehog, the sword scraping over them like metal. Arthur jumped backwards as the beast twisted and rammed its head into the king's side, staggering him backwards and onto one knee. Suddenly Percival was there, slicing upwards at the beast's haunches, but the animal's fur rippled again, and the horrific scrape of metal on metal was all Gwaine could hear as the dog snapped viciously at Percival's stomach, teeth cutting through the mail and ripping part of the metal off. Trying not to think about the absurdity of a dog's teeth ripping through metal like paper, Gwaine got to his feet and stabbed at the creature's hindquarters, only to watch it rear up with an unnatural speed and twist in mid-air, shoving him back onto the ground and knocking the sword from his hand, teeth inches from his face.

And then it yelped, loud and piercing, and fell off of him, leaving Gwaine blinking in confusion. Fire flared over his head, and Gwaine went completely still, until he realized it was just the flames from a torch.

"Get off him!" Merlin yelled as both he and Elyan stepped over Gwaine, Merlin slashing with an almost too-bright torch as Elyan flanked him with his sword, driving the animal back. Then Arthur was there with another torch and a sword, getting in front of Merlin and taking over the attack. Gwaine followed his king's movements with his eyes, watching as the dog backed away from the blazing brand, eyes squinting at the flames. A sudden death-rattle scream echoed across the camp, from one of the other groups fighting off the other two black dogs, and Gwaine trembled involuntarily, reaching for his sword again.

And then Arthur swung the torch he was using a little too wide, and the dog launched itself at him, slamming the king to the ground and then making straight for Merlin and Eylan, who was still keeping close by Merlin's side. The creature easily knocked Elyan to the ground when he tried to protect Merlin, his sword no more effective than anyone else's, leaving Merlin standing alone.

Gwaine struggled to get to his feet as Merlin backpedaled rapidly into a tree, and, for some inexplicable reason, Gwaine realized Merlin no longer had his sword, just the torch; he was raising a hand towards the dog, palm up, as if he might pet it.

"Merlin!" Gwaine yelled, lurching towards him, but Percival and Elyan were faster. Even with his chainmail half torn off, Percival got right in front of the dog, and, with a fast, powerful slash, turned the animal's head. It veered sideways to avoid the metal, which put him right in Elyan's way.

The knight was waiting, cutting downwards at the beast's head like he was wielding an axe, and the beast howled as metal hit bone right between its ears. It staggered, shaking its head. Elyan raised the sword again, this time to cut at him sideways, but, faster than Gwaine could see, the massive dog jumped at him, huge jaws going for his arm. Elyan yelled as he fell back, and Gwaine ran to help. Percival came from the other side, and both drove swords at the animal's body—but it was like trying to stab a tree. Their weapons barely cut into the animal—but it was enough to get it to loose its hold on Elyan's arm and twist to face Gwaine again.

Holy crap. How could anything have so many teeth?

Gwaine backed up, panting from the pain in his chest and gripping his sword with both hands—partly from exhaustion, partly for extra strength. In the background, he saw Percival stalking the animal from the left, and Arthur was coming back from the right. Merlin was on his knees next to Elyan, doing something to Elyan's arm.

The dog growled and Gwaine took another step back, his attention instantly snapped back entirely on the green eyes bearing down on him. The dog paced with him, its massive size now blocking the view of anything behind it.

But he could hear what was going on. Swords clashing, men yelling…another scream cut across the camp from where the other knights were fighting. Gwaine wondered if he was next.

"Merlin," Arthur said, his voice sounding very far away. "Can you get Elyan up that tree? This thing is big, but it doesn't look like it can climb."

"I can still fight," Elyan replied, his voice weak but determined.

"Fine," Arthur snapped. "Then, Elyan, can you get Merlin up that tree?"

Gwaine half laughed, and took another step back as the dog stalked him, its sides heaving with tired breaths. At least they'd worn it out some—probably as effectively as flies annoying a horse on a hot day. Percival and Arthur didn't make a move except to keep up, one on each side of the monster. Like Gwaine, they were clearly trying to figure out what else they could do, which, since their swords had proved pretty much useless, wasn't much. All Gwaine could do was pray they thought of something as he kept backing up, the monster slowly keeping apace. Problem was he knew, at some point, he was going to run out of places to step; by now, he had to be getting really close to the cliff edge…

Hang on….cliff edge? He smiled suddenly.

"Come on, you ugly, stupid cow-dog," Gwaine taunted, taking another step back and letting go his sword with one hand to gesture the dog forward. "Come get me."

"Are you crazy?" Percival hissed as the dog growled. Arthur was frowning on the other side.

"Ever hear the story," Gwaine said, taking another step, his eyes never leaving the dog, "of a creature called a lemming?"

"No," Percival replied.

"They're like giant rats," Gwaine said, adding another step. This time, he felt the loose rock under his feet, the same rocks he'd kicked earlier. "Travellers from the northern parts, they say the creatures fall from the sky during heavy rainstorms in the summer, dumping tons of them on the land every four years or so."

"Gwaine…."Arthur warned. The dog had stopped, but it was still watching Gwaine unwaveringly.

"After a while…," Gwaine said, stepping back once more…and feeling nothing under his heel. He brought his foot forward to solid ground. "After a while, when there are too many of them to survive, they start collecting together…."

Gwaine's eyes flicked away from the green, steady lights in front of him, and smiled at the motion he could see behind the dog.

"…marshalling, hundreds of them, gathering, high up on the top of a bluff, wall to wall lemmings…."

He crouched down.

"And then all it takes," Gwaine continued, smirking at the beast, "is one, very loud, very obnoxious—"

"HYAH!" Elyan suddenly yelled, stabbing a torch directly into the back of the dog. It screamed and leapt forward at Gwaine, who covered his head with his arms…only to feel something slam into him impossibly fast from the side, rolling him out of the way as the dog leapt over his head….

…And over the edge of the cliff. The animal screamed the whole way down until it crashed into the trees below.

Gwaine rolled and turned on the edge of the cliff with his savior, until they both skidded to a stop, mere inches from following the beast in its plunge. Gwaine huffed, and Merlin laughed, pushing up off the loose, rocky ground and grinning madly, his hand still gripping the chainmail on Gwaine's chest. Elyan collapsed to his knees several feet away, Percival instantly at his side, while Arthur jogged over to check on Gwaine and Merlin. Merlin looked up, still grinning.

"What the hell were you doing?" Arthur demanded.

"Elyan and I've heard Gwaine tell that story before," Merlin said, grinning still. "About spooking lemmings to jump off a cliff. So, Elyan did the spooking, and I did the saving."

Arthur just stared at them both for a moment, and then shook his head. "You're both crazy, and you…" He shoved a finger at Gwaine. "…Are damned lucky Merlin is fast."

Gwaine exhaled heavily, and simply smiled, as if it had all been part of the plan. To be honest, though, he actually hadn't expected to be saved. He patted Merlin's arm in thanks.

"But also," Arthur frowned slightly, "good job. When you get your breath back, you might come help us get the other two black dogs." And without another word, he was jogging away.

Gwaine's smirk fell, as the sounds of fighting from elsewhere in the camp filled his ears again. Damn. That trick wasn't going to work again. They were going to need a miracle.

Merlin sighed, and made to stand. "Maybe we should—" He stopped talking, his eyes widening.

Gwaine held his breath…he'd felt it too. The ground had shifted under them. A lot. Rocks skittered down the cliff-side they were precariously balanced on, and something made a sound like a tear.

"Um…" Merlin looked down at the earth, and suddenly yelped, scrabbling for Gwaine as the ground under him gave way. "Help!"

Gwaine turned and grabbed for him…just as the earth gave way under him as well. He yelled in tandem with his friend as he and Merlin tumbled off the cliff into the near black trees below.

TBC…

The Black Dogs are, obviously, a huge part of folklore. There are many iterations of them—sometimes alone and ghostlike, sometimes in a pack (the Hunt), sometimes malevolent, sometimes benign. They're used a lot in fic and fiction, I know. These black dogs are my own…version.