Arthur had originally wanted to venture out hunting without Merlin's help yet the minute Uther got wind of his plans the Prince found himself not only taking Merlin, but bringing Morgana, Théa and three more men along with him "just to be sure". Gwen had been asked to join but when she complained of being ill Gaius suggested the best thing for her to do was to stay behind so he could tend to her. With all the party now treading the forest floor, the hunting trip had turned into a general meander around the forests with the hope of spotting deer, not spearing them, for the women's sake and Arthur was thoroughly bored to tears. His sword hung uselessly from his belt, his will to live slowly slipping away as for the hundredth time the cooing behind him sounded at the sight of a fawn in the distance.
"This is tedious," Arthur muttered to himself, Merlin constantly at his side. For once Merlin didn't answer but kept his silence, a serene smile on his face. The Prince didn't like this, and roughly nudged his manservant's arm. "Pay attention."
"Sorry," stammered Merlin, clearing his throat a little. "You were saying?"
"I was saying that this is ridiculous. If I'd have wanted a scenic stroll I would have gone to the lake, not the forest I see every day, at every hour, every time..."
A laugh sounded from the women at the back of the group and the Prince turned to glare at them. Morgana patted Théa's arm in amusement as they walked; to the mere observer Morgana seemed to be befriending the traveller but despite her amenable appearance her stomach was tightening at how wrong it all seemed. She felt incredibly deceptive, not to mention two-faced. Getting close to Théa only to be the cause of her undoing was unfair... but necessary.
The Prince went to comment to his manservant about the women, but Merlin had other plans: his focus was only on the smiling brunette who had amused Morgana so much and he was grinning like a buffoon, almost as if he had been in on their joke. Giving up on any manly discussions Arthur took Merlin by surprise and gave him a shove almost sending him down the hill. "Stop ogling her! It's pathetic - go and talk to her, if you must," he hissed, and rather than dispute Arthur's instructions like he would have done originally, Merlin happily obliged and doubled back to join the two women.
Finally in his own company Arthur strode on ahead, his men flanking him. A bit more space and room to breathe was an advantage if he was to spend another hour in such company.... he was possibly being a bit too harsh, however. He did, for the most part, enjoy having Merlin around. He did, frequently, enjoy women's company - but on this occasion he found himself incredibly irritated and annoyed for no reason at all. Things just did not seem right and everything appeared to be changing. Though life in Camelot appeared the same, Arthur was sure it was not all that it seemed. Everyone had sunk into their old roles impeccably, but his worries remained. This was not helped when Morgana came alongside him, interrupting his quiet had not been able to shake the warning Nimueh had given to her about the healer and Arthur's future interaction and wanted to determine exactly what direction it could possibly take before acting on her plan.
"Arthur.."
The Prince turned and on seeing the woman beside him he again turned to glower ahead. "What?" he snapped. He had still not forgiven Morgana for her disappearance and as Morgana had not bothered to apologise his feelings had not wavered. Having expected this hostility Morgana carried on regardless.
"What do you think of Théa?"
If Arthur had thought she was going to question him it was certainly not about this. His gut reaction also surprised him. "Why do you want to know?"
"I'm just curious. She's the new arrival and I wanted to know how she was settling in."
"I didn't know you cared so much for someone who's not even your responsibility."
"I don't. That is to say I don't care more than I should... I simply asked a question, you don't have to answer it..." she said haughtily, and Arthur gave a grunt in answer.
"Then I won't."
Much to his chargrin Morgana pressed on, choosing to ignore his reply with a flick of her hair. "Have you spoken much to her?"
"A little. When my fever cleared... a few times since. Merlin speaks to her more than I do."
"But surely you've visited her and Gaius...."
"Not really."
Though Morgana hoped the Prince wasn't attracted to Théa for simplicity's sake, she still despaired about his thoughtless manner. "Don't you ever bother to make the effort?"
"Effort in what? The woman helped save my life, I'm hardly going to ignore her. We speak, she's very pleasant and she's gradually coming out of her shell and we - "bonded" I suppose after we were attacked... but Merlin seems to be quite taken with her so... for the most part I'm keeping out of the way."
Morgana was quick to latch onto this information. "Why is that?"
"The last thing he wants is me snooping around him when he's trying to woo her. I don't want to step on his toes."
"My my, Arthur Pendragon... I've never known you to readily back off from a woman just because your friend likes her. What's the matter with her? Don't you think she's attractive?"
Arthur looked quite annoyed and then incredibly confused - so much so he almost forgot how to walk. "Well, she's... I... I've never really looked at her in that way..."
Satisfied in this answer, Morgana could finally rule out infatuation as the cause of his and Théa's future paths as Nimueh had described. Pleased with herself despite the cause for which she was investigating, Morgana smiled. "I bet she will thank her lucky stars for that small blessing." She turned to watch Théa and Merlin once more before striding on ahead of Arthur, whose gaze lingered on the laughing couple strolling behind him. His expression of annoyance was mingled with an uneasiness that he couldn't put his finger on. Théa placed her fingers to the branches of a tree and produced a small red flower for Merlin to hold. Arthur thought it to be a gift to his manservant but once he overheard the conversation of its properties he was relieved that it was not. Why his relief? He whipped his head around, away from the two of them and stalked on infront. Damn Morgana, putting thoughts into his mind which didn't need them in the first place. Forcing himself to focus on his resentment at the lack of hunting rather than anything else, Arthur subsequently - possibly even thankfully - missed the moment Théa told Merlin to keep the flower as a present.
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Another mile of walking brought nothing new to the company except three more sightings of deer. Lamenting the loss of a good supper Arthur turned his attention to the sky, noting the clouds threatening to open overhead. Rain would only serve as another annoyance for him and he did not wish to get wet. He had suffered enough in the hours following Uther's incredibly misinformed decision. Arthur did not need protecting, and as if to assert this he stomped on even quicker ahead, distancing himself from his friends. In contrast Théa and Merlin began to slow down in pace, each feeling something stirring amongst the trees without actually seeing the source. Morgana too had stopped in her tracks, sensing something that the Prince clearly could not.
Feeling this intense, Merlin voiced his concern. "Can you feel...?"
"Yes..." said Théa immediately, but their worries were lost on the Prince who had once again stopped to look at the sky.
"I can feel some slight rain, I think we should..." A growl echoed through the valley silencing his words, followed by a large roar. Morgana's look of terror was mirrored on everyone's face as a shadow, larger than anything they had witnessed before stalked towards them. The guards had been on alert the moment they heard the noise, drawing their swords, surrounding the Prince who fell back to meet them and the three of his company in quick succession. Arthur himself drew his sword along with Merlin, putting his free arm out to one side in a bid to protect Morgana and Théa who were huddled close together.
"Keep back..." ordered Arthur, quite unnecessarily. They might have been shocked but the last thing they were about to do was charge at the beast. Terrified though they were, neither Morgana nor Théa screamed. If anything Morgana longed for a sword to bear. The beast infront appeared to tilt its head, surveying its prey as it crept slowly forwards but never out of the sanctuary of darkness. Arthur feared an attack was imminent and ordered the guards to strike on his command.... but his order never came. Though drenched in shadow the seven could clearly see it raise one of its front paws high into the air, curling its disdended fingers around before smashing it down mere inches infront of them, sending shockwaves through the ground and causing the entire company to be thrown backwards through the air. All landed with a terrible force, each a signifcant distance from the other. In a great burst, the formidable creature let out a roar to show his amusement, preparing to walk forwards and claim its prize.
Seperated and, for the most part, unconscious, the danger for the company was now greater with them apart than if they had been together.