Chapter 2

Merlin was gathering firewood around the new campsite that evening when it happened. A cheerful chirp sounded from the tree above him, causing the young man to freeze in place. Slowly, he tilted his head upward, eyes wide as he caught sight of Aithusa peering down at him from the branches.

"Nooo, no no no," he muttered. "Aithusa. Leave." The hatchling merely chirped again.

"Merlin, mate?" Gwaine's call caused Merlin to flinch in surprise. His foot caught on the log he'd previously been reaching for, and the youth wound up falling to the ground, the rest of the firewood scattered around him. In the tree directly overhead, Aithusa squeaked, preparing to jump down.

"I'm fine!" Merlin yelped. The dragon paused, and just in time, as Gwaine reached Merlin's side, one eyebrow raised.

"You don't sound fine," the knight said. "Thought I heard you talking to yourself."

"Of course, it's the only way I'm going to get any intelligent conversation around here." He put on a forced grin that seemed to satisfy his friend, as Gwaine let out a chuckle.

"Well, seeing as you've managed to drop your entire load, how about I help you gather this stuff up and take it back to camp?"

"Thanks, Gwaine." For the next few minutes, Merlin kept sending glances up at the foliage, glaring fearsomely at Aithusa every time it looked as though she might leave it. He was hard-pressed to disguise this from Gwaine, who seemed to come to the conclusion that a branch must have fallen on the servant's head, forever earning his ire towards the offending tree.

It was a couple hours later, once dinner had been prepared and served and eaten, and the knights all settling in for some sleep, that Merlin used a bit of magic to silently slip away. Making a beeline back to where he'd seen Aithusa, the warlock automatically reached for Kilgharrah with his mind.

I told you to get her away from here! He fussed at the grown dragon.

And that's what I was doing, came the irritated reply. Until the hatchling slipped from my grasp and hid in the tree tops, making her way back to you.

Glowering, Merlin paused to kick at a tree trunk and let loose some of his frustration. A familiar chirp sounded from behind him, and then Aithusa was clambering up Merlin's clothes in order to perch on his shoulder.

"You've gotten a lot stronger in twenty-four hours," the youth murmured, reluctantly petting her. He waited a few moments before heading in the direction Kilgharrah indicated, reaching the dragon in a clearing soon enough.

"As I said," the ancient being huffed. "She will attempt to find you."

Merlin scowled and deposited the hatchling into the waiting paw. "Then this time, leave now and don't let go of her."

"I will try, young warlock, but again I can make no promises." With that, Kilgharrah took off into the air, Aithusa squeaking unhappily.

Rubbing at his face, Merlin waited until they'd disappeared from sight before he spun about and returned to the camp. Percival was on watch, but merely quirked an eyebrow at the sheepish servant. Merlin hurried to settle down on his bedroll and attempted to put all thoughts of baby dragons out of his mind.

He wasn't terribly successful, only getting a bit of sleep that night.

Dawn saw him up and preparing breakfast, startling Arthur with his promptness. For the entirety of that day's ride, Merlin was constantly glancing away into the trees or up at the sky, amusing the knights who caught him at it. They all assumed that the servant was enjoying being in the open when their group wasn't on a hunting trip or dangerous mission.

They were wrong, but it wasn't as though Merlin was going to tell them that.

He didn't fully relax again until they'd returned to Camelot, and then immediately went to Gaius's quarters in order to go over everything that had happened. The old physician grew pale when he heard of Aithusa's brief reappearance, and of the Great Dragon's prediction that such a thing wouldn't be a one-time occurrence.

"You'll have to be ready, my boy, for the worst case scenario." Gaius stated firmly. "Keep a bag ready with your essentials, in case you need to grab the hatchling and run."

"But what about Arthur?"

"I don't wish to doubt him, but if anyone sees you with the little one and word gets back to him, you won't be able to gloss this over with Arthur, not anymore than you could if he discovered your magic. You will need to run, Merlin. And not look back."