I am so sorry this is so late. I've been stuck in a rut, but I am back now.

This goes out to feathered moon wings who asked for Merlin attracting animals. In some of the legends Merlin is able to communicate with animals, but I made it seem like he didn't know he was doing it. Hopefully that came across and if it didn't, well at least I tried.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed, alerted, favorited, or just plain read last chapter. You guys are awesome.

Thanks for reading, leave me a comment if you can, and I still don't own 'em.

Bye!

"I find the idea ridiculous," Arthur commented, tossing a smirk over his shoulder at Merlin. "Obviously you have been hanging around Gwaine far too much."

"It's not ridiculous," Merlin countered matter-of-factly, "you're just jealous because you didn't think of it first."

"Right, Merlin, that's exactly it," Arthur retorted sardonically, turning around to face the younger man. "I can't possibly find something completely and utterly stupid without being…" the blond trailed off, his eyes widening when they settled on the creature approaching Merlin.

"What?" The younger man furrowed his eyebrows, his body half turning, but Arthur caught his shoulders, keeping him in place. "Seriously, Arthur, is this a joke? Because it's not very funny."

"Step towards me slowly," Arthur commented softly, almost breathlessly.

"But…"

"Damn it, Merlin, just do as I say for once." At Arthur's tone, Merlin stepped forward, moving to stand next to Arthur. He glanced over his shoulder, spotting the bear cub roaming no more than a dozen meters away, sniffing at the ground.

Arthur took Merlin's arm, pulling the younger man backwards with him, trying not to make any sudden movements, but a sudden, sharp snap of a twig froze both men in their tracks. The bear's head snapped up, its dark eyes zeroing in on the two, and it let loose a terrified whimper.

Arthur, figuring intimidation just might be their only saving grace, gripped his sword tightly, ready to fight with everything he had to make sure Merlin got to safety, but the idiot had other ideas. He pulled his arm from Arthur's grasp, stepping forward.

"I think it's lost," Merlin commented in a breathless tone.

"Yes, regardless, wherever there's a cub, there is usually a mother roaming close by," Arthur responded, his hand tightening around the hilt of his sword. "We should move, not bother…" he trailed off when Merlin took another step forward, sighing heavily. Why must he be cursed with such a bleeding heart servant?

"Merlin, I am quite certain Gaius cannot attach severed limbs," Arthur hissed reaching for Merlin's sleeve again. Unsurprisingly, he was ignored, his hand just missing the younger man's tunic, and he watched helplessly as Merlin continued forward, slowly approaching the lost cub.

Or not so lost bear cub. A load, thunderous roar filled the air and a giant, brown bear burst from a bush, rushing Merlin. The younger guy shouted in surprise, jolting backwards, tripping over a protruding root and hitting the ground hard. Arthur rushed forward, pulling his sword free, but stopped in surprise when the bear didn't attack Merlin.

Instead, she eyed him warily for a moment before huffing and turning, ushering the cub back the way she had come, leaving the gasping man shaking on the ground. Arthur waited a beat before replacing his sword and moving towards Merlin.

"That is why we don't approach wild animals," Arthur advised as he gently pulled Merlin to his feet. Mutely, the younger man nodded, his face a grayish color. Any other day, Arthur would have relished in the silence, but now he just needed to hear Merlin say anything, just so the king knew he was okay.

"Are you alright?"

"I think I need to sit down," Merlin responded faintly and Arthur nodded, helping him sit against a tree. Merlin leaned forward, resting his head against his drawn knees, and breathed deeply.

As Arthur waited for Merlin to collect himself, he started thinking about the bear. It had been almost as if Merlin had communicated with it. Which, had this been a year ago, Arthur would have found ridiculous, but since recent events he had already started to suspect there was something not quite right about his servant.

As for the cub, it hadn't looked scared of Merlin. In fact, it looked as if it wanted to approach him just as much as Merlin seemed to need to approach it. So, apparently on top of his potential magical abilities, Merlin could possibly talk to animals.

And as absurd as the idea sounded, Arthur couldn't help thinking back to a few more instances where animals were involved. Merlin always had a gift with the animals, and gods help Arthur if he killed anything remotely furry and fluffy in front of his servant. It was just another thing he'd have to add to the list of things they really needed to talk about; only that conversation was not happening today.

Arthur glanced down at Merlin, whose coloring was slowly returning but not quickly enough, and asked, "Will you be okay?"

"I will be," Merlin answered softly, pushing himself up onto shaky legs, "but can we go home now?"

"Yes," Arthur replied nodding. Going home sounded fantastic right that second, and if Arthur kept a tight grip on his sword the entire way, well it wasn't mentioned by either man.