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"What kind of a servant are you if you laze around all afternoon?"
"Shut up, princess. Let the man have a nap!"
Tuning out Arthur and Gwaine's bickering, Merlin closed his eyes and let the warm summer sun wash over his face.
Nominally, Arthur had taken the knights (and him, even though he's certain it's not his job to accompany the prince-prat in his excursions outside the citadel) on a hunting trip, but Merlin knew it was an excuse to get away from the court and councils. An attempt was made at hunting, but Merlin also did his best to chase away any game they may have caught. If nothing else, it annoyed Arthur enough into stopping in a clearing to rest. Now, they were sat around eating lunch—made by Merlin, obviously—and allowed Merlin to relax for a moment.
Which, in this case, meant taking a hard-earned nap.
It really was quite nice out; the height of summer, but not too warm that it was exhausting even to move, and the tree was angled in such a way that it cast a shade without sacrificing the comfortable heat. If he could melt into the grass and stay there forever, it would be heaven. No duties or prophecies or cryptic dragons to worry about… no destiny… just simple bliss…
Ah, he blinked for too long.
"Hah!" He heard Gwaine exclaimed, apparently done with irritating Arthur, "You look like a cat in a sun ray."
"Shuddup," he slurred out, ignoring the laughter of the other knights.
A shadow crossed over him and he cracked an eye open. Lancelot was standing over him, cloak bunched up in his hands. He crouched next to Merlin and offered it up, "Just in case you get cold."
"In this weather?" he argued, but took the cape anyway.
"Don't encourage him!" Arthur yelled. "He's already a lousy servant, don't make him worse!"
"I'm an amazing servant."
"I'll believe it when I see it, clotpole."
"Stop using my words, cabbage-head."
Lancelot huffed from beside him, shaking his head. "We're here to relax. Stop bickering."
"I will, when he acknowledges how much I do for him," he huffed, turning his head away.
Arthur scoffed but let the issue lie and continued eating. Lancelot also stood back up and went back over to the group, and Merlin was content to simply lie there and ignore everyone and everything around him. It was rare that he ever got to properly relax; Arthur was too busy working him to the bone, and Gaius—as much as Merlin loves him—would spend whatever free time he had lecturing Merlin on herbs and remedies. None of that even mentioning the weird amount of dangers that seemed to find their way into Camelot. He would've thought there would be better security when it came to potential magical threats, but Merlin blames Uther and his ego for the lack of it.
Eugh. Now his mood is soured.
He shifted downwards so he was lying at the base of the tree rather than against it and tried to push all thoughts of Uther out of his head.
It didn't take long at all, really. The heat washed over his face so comfortably, and the cloak was the perfect fabric; not to thick as to overheat but not thin enough that the shade would chill him. His blinking began to slow, the intervals getting longer and longer until it became an effort to keep his eyes open. Soon enough, he felt it would be better to simply… drift off.
If Arthur had a issue with it, that wasn't his problem…
…
When he opened his eyes, there was a deer there.
A deer.
It was a fallow deer from the looks of it; soft reddish-brown fur spotted with white along it's body, with no antlers but slightly larger than normal ears. They twitched as it pushed its snout closer to Merlin's face, and then gently rubbed its cheek on Merlin's own. Slowly, he pushed himself back up the tree to try and create distance, Lancelot's cloak slipping onto his lap. The deer took his movement as a sign and slowly trotted around before sitting down, tucking its legs underneath its body and leaning into Merlin's side. Then it fell asleep, or maybe was just relaxing in the heat.
Now wide awake—and _very_ confused—he looked to where the other knights were sitting and they seemed equally as confused. Arthur and Leon were stood up, crossbows prepared. Merlin grimaced at the thought of the deer entering the clearing and then immediately being shot, but clearly they stopped when it got closer to Merlin.
"Made a friend… did you?" Gwaine spoke up, clearly biting back laughter.
"A-Apparently," he said, gently as not to disturb the deer that decided that he was prime napping material.
"I don't think I've ever seen something like this before," Percival said, slightly mystified.
"I don't think this is a regular thing that happens to normal people, Percy," Elyan said. Then, he turned to Merlin, "I think this is just a 'Merlin Thing'."
"What's that supposed to mean?" he said. "I thought we were friends, Elyan."
Arthur, now relaxing and putting his weapon back down, crossed his arms, "It means you're strange."
"I don't need to hear that from you," he retorted. "Clotpole."
"But it's true."
"I don't care. You're just jealous."
"Of what?"
"I don't see deer coming to rest next to you, do I?" he said, puffing his chest. "I think they're scared of you."
"I'm not jealous."
"Or maybe they can just sense that you're an idiot and don't find you worthy."
"You dare—!"
"Sire," Leon cut in, having sat back down. After Arthur huffed and sat back down, definitely not looking jealous _at all,_ he turned to Merlin, smiling. "Are you alright there?"
Merlin made a show of stretching—not enough to disturb the deer, who was still snoozing quite happily next to him—and grinned, "I'm doing amazing, thank you Leon."
"Do you need help?" Lancelot asked, painfully genuine.
"I'm sure," he said. "You don't need to worry about me."
Lancelot relaxed, the tension leaving his shoulders, "Well, if you need it, don't hesitate to ask."
"It's a _deer,_ Lance," Gwaine snorted. "I don't think it's going to kill him."
An embarrassed flush covered his cheeks and he pushed at Gwaine's shoulders. Gwaine, who apparently couldn't hold back his glee any longer, laughed as he did so and began poking fun at Lancelot.
Merlin didn't quite understand why he was so worried, but maybe he thought that it was something to do with his magic, and that something was at risk but it probably wasn't anything to do with that. It was just… a rare event. A part of him warmed, though. Even if he hadn't meant to tell Lancelot about his magic, he couldn't deny it was a massive weight off of his shoulder. Gaius was great, but he was always so concerned with making sure Merlin never spoke of it.
Having someone else in his corner was nice. Hopefully, when the time was right, he could tell the others to.
For now, though, he'll be fine.
Gently, he began petting the deer, relishing in the soft fur and warmth against his side. A low, rumbling sound came from its throat, almost like it were purring, and Merlin felt his heart melt. "Well, I'm glad you're happy," he whispered, "though I'm not entirely sure why you decided to sleep here."
As his hand drifted onto its head, it pushed up against his palm and nuzzled. Then it readjusted, sitting on his lap and nudging its face against his cheek.
"You think _that's_ dangerous?" Gwaine laughed, still ribbing at Lancelot.
"I never said it was dangerous!" he argued back, cheeks red.
"He's definitely trapped, though," Leon said, chuckling.
"No place I'd rather be," Merlin said, still petting the deer. "Right, friend?"
The deer pushed against his face before settling, the comfortable weight making Merlin relax into the tree even more. He might take a page of his friend's book and go back to sleep. The knights' chatter and laughter was oddly soothing, and the ambience of the forest around him felt like it was tempting him to doze off.
So, he closed his eyes again and let the rumbling purr soothe him back to sleep…
…
"…just getting ridiculous," Arthur's voice faded in as Merlin slowly woke up again.
The deer on his lap had shifted a bit, but was still firmly in place as it rumbled, but there was now a second weight leaned up against his right side. He cracked open his eyes and saw a second deer, sitting there. Dozing, just as the first one had.
"Wha…?" he said, eloquently.
"How come this never happens on hunts?" Leon asked.
"Too busy chasing 'em away," Merlin muttered, voice still heavy with sleep. His arm reached out and slowly stroked the new deer's fur. The same rumbling started and chuckled.
Arthur looked scandalised. "What—Merlin!" he yelled.
"Shh… sleeping," Merlin hushed and slipped further down the tree.
Percival separated from the group and knelt by the one sat by his side and reached his hand out. The deer sniffed at it before nuzzling his hand, "They're incredibly friendly. Never seen them act like this before."
"That's 'cause you only see them when you're hunting them."
Percival chuckled, petting the deer. The one on Merlin's lap poked its head up, watching the other deer before seemingly judging that it was fine and going back to sleep. "I used to live near a forest, just over the ridge, and I'd see deer occasionally, but they never venture close. Not like this," he said, scratching behind the deer's ear.
"You don't speak much of where you lived before Camelot," Merlin said, tilting his head.
"It's not really important," he said. "Simple life with my mum and sister, that's all."
"You have a sister?"
"Just one, younger than me," Percival said. "She's taking care of mum while I'm away," he turned around to look at Leon (who was busy trying to calm Arthur down from the apparent betrayal done by Merlin). "Leon's been helping me write her a letter."
"That's sweet," Merlin said. "I don't know what it's like having sibling."
"Really? That's a surprise," Percival said. "With how much you bicker with Arthur, I would've have guessed you had an older brother at least."
"I think that's just a side-effect of being around him," he said. Then, he raised his voice so Arthur definitely could hear, "He's annoying enough."
"What?" Arthur yelled back. "You can't speak to me like—"
"Shh…" he repeated, stroking the deer on his lap.
Next to him, Percival snorted and sat back against the tree. "It's nice here," he said, closing his eyes.
Merlin stretched—as much as he could anyway—and sighed contently. The deer butted its head against his hand when he stop petting it for a moment and he smiled, "I think we should come here on all hunts. I could relax here forever."
"And maybe pick up several animals along the way."
"Not to hunt. I refuse to use my power for evil," he huffed, "and what do you mean 'several?'. I've only got two."
Percival nodded towards the tree line, where a couple of brown splodge of colour began hopping through the grass towards him.
He turned to Lancelot, "I take it back. Help me. Please."
Lancelot, now calmed after Gwaine's teasing, smiled at him, "They're just rabbits."
Traitor. Horrible traitor. Lancelot is the worst friend he's ever had, who would leave him to suffer a soft, fluffy death. He glared at him as the rabbits settled, one on his lap, leaned up against the deer, a second on his left side near his hand, and the third poking around the deer currently being doted on by Percival. The weight was comfortable, but it was getting a little unbearable, "If you cared for me, you'd help me."
"They look pretty young…" Percival mused, taking the rabbit closest to him into his palm. "Just matured, I'd say."
"I don't care how cute they are, they're burying me."
"What happened to 'No place I'd rather be'?" Elyan said, leaning back on his hands and chuckling at the sight.
Next to him, Gwaine belted out a laugh. "This is why you don't tempt fate, friend."
"Shove off."
Sighing, Merlin knocked his head into the tree (wincing a little bit when he did it too hard) and picked up the rabbit that was on his lap. It immediately jumped out of his hand and onto his shoulder, burrowing into his neck and sitting there. It would have been adorable, if Merlin wasn't now _intensely_ aware of the fact that—somehow—he had become mobbed by small animals.
"This is hell," he said out loud to no one.
Percival answered anyway, "It's not so bad."
"It's terrible," he replied, picking up the bunny sitting near his side and holding it up close to his face. It pushed its nose towards him, sniffing before nuzzling his nose. Merlin huffed, "This is part of a grand plan, isn't it?" He gently shook the bunny, "Tell me."
"I don't think you're gonna get many answers out of it," Percival said, and Merlin ignored him.
The bunny made no complaint as it was gently jostled, but it eventually fussed to be let down. He set it down on his lap, watching it nestle against the deer. Said deer seemed to have completely fallen asleep, leaving him completely stuck. The one next to him began leaning further into his side, as though it were trying to become a part of him, which was only a little unnerving.
Scratch that. It was very unnerving.
It wasn't the first time that animals had acted strangely… docile around him. The horses never acted up when he was tending to them (something that the stable boys seemed awfully jealous of), and the hunting dogs turned into puppies when he lavished even the slightest bit of attention on them. It frustrated Arthur to no end, which naturally meant that Merlin continued to do so in order to get a rise out of him.
But even before that, back in Ealdor, animals were oddly attracted to him as though he were a shining beacon or something.
It probably had to do with magic. Things like this always were.
He'd bother Kilgharrah about it later, but right now he could let the issue lie.