A/N: First, some replies to guest reviewers:

Anthi35: Thanks again for reviewing! As for the OC . . . Generally, I agree with you. I tend to prefer canon pairings and writing an OC as a romantic interest for a main character that's not a Mary Sue is nearly impossible. Unfortunately, Merlin's a special case as by the end of the show, the only girl he knows that's close to his age, living, and not a traitor, is Gwen. And while she,s now single, and they were kind of cute together first season, by that point, I can't see them getting together. Even if that had been on the table, within fifth or so years she'd be dead, and Merlin wouldn't be. In other words, it's an OC or nobody, and "nobody" is depressing, so I tend to go with an OC. Knowing the risks, I try to keep the brushstrokes broad (name, female, likes Merlin, has magic), so that people can fill in the blanks for themselves. She can be fiery, shy, confident, mysterious, funny . . . Whatever you imagine Merlin's true love being like. I'd use Freya if I could, but she's dead, and although some are very well written, resurrection fics for her always strike me as too implausible.

And yes, I realize that I'm in a fandom where if it weren't for the implausible, all our favorite characters would be dead, except, oh, wait - they're dead anyway.

Sorry, I'm feeling a wee bit bitter today.

Guest from last chapter: Most of these are kept short because that's what I could come up with at the time, and most will stay that way. However, if there's one or two you particularly want to see more of, let me know. I might be willing to expand them.

A quick note on the work itself: What originally sparked this whole thing was this image in my head of fire dancing in these beautiful shapes against a backdrop of stars. It was a beautiful picture in my head, and I couldn't really capture it properly. This is my attempt, as well as a fluffy, dialogue heavy piece. Despite the title, very little action. Sorry?

. . . . .

The stars were brilliant in their blazing beauty high above. Beneath them, Merlin stood on the field just outside the castle's walls. Flames danced around him in elaborate shapes. A flaming fox darted through the grass before bounding into the air, blurring into a long ribbon of flame. A phoenix swept down from the sky and touched Merlin's raised hands. Miniature dragons fluttered around before growing into full sized ones that thundered off in a glory that blotted out the stars.

"It's beautiful," Arthur said.

Merlin turned to face him. "I think so." He frowned. "What are you doing out here? It's dangerous."

"After that show you just put on? There's nothing in a hundred mile radius that wants to touch this place."

"That's one of the reasons why I do it. I used to do it a lot more. It distracted me when . . . " He shook himself. "But you're back now. It's still dangerous out here, though. Not everything out here can be defeated with magic."

"Even yours?"

"Even mine. There's a reason I used to teach swordcraft and archery at the school." And that reason was nostalgia, Merlin admitted to himself, but some creatures' resistance to magic had been the excuse.

"You?" Arthur scoffed. Then he caught himself. "Sorry. Habit."

Merlin frowned. "Why do you keep doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"You know what. Just when I think things are getting back to normal, you start getting all . . . nice."

Arthur raises an eyebrow. "How heinous of me."

"I don't mind the niceness. It's what's behind it that worries me."

"Respect worries you?"

"Fear does."

"I'm not afraid of you."

"Really? Have you realized yet how rare that is now? You've seen what I can do. Summon dragons. Raise armies of the dead. Build a fortress in a night."

"Start a school, apparently."

Merlin smiled. "I can't wait to show it to you. I haven't gotten much right but that . . . That was worth it."

"Haven't gotten much right? Merlin, are you mad?"

"Stop changing the subject. The point is - "

"What about Nera? Your family?"

"That's what you're afraid of," Merlin said. "Part of it, anyway."

"Merlin, you're not making any sense."

"No, you're not. Look, I get it. You were gone for . . . For a long time. And I was still here. And you think I've moved on. You don't know how to act around me anymore."

Arthur sighed. "When we met, you were an annoying servant."

"Thank you."

"Shut up, Merlin. You became a friend. One of the only people I actually trusted. And I knew where I stood in the whole thing, but now - You're a teacher of a school for seers and sorcerers. You've set up fortresses all over Britain to fight the monsters. Today you took down a flock of wyverns in seconds, like it was nothing. The man I left was a brave, bumbling, idiotically loyal clot pole with occasional flashes of wisdom. Now you're a living legend. Somehow, 'dollophead' just doesn't roll off the tongue anymore."

"Hey, 'dollophead' is a time honored insult. I'll have you know it was used on the King of Camelot, Mr. Once and Future himself."

Arthur's lips twitched. "That's true."

"And if it helps, I'm still a bumbling, idiotically loyal clotpole."

"I never doubted that last part."