Evil on the Rise

Having Friends Over

Arthur still wasn't sure what to think about Merlin. He seemed nice enough. He was smart and funny. Merlin was really quiet though, like, not shy quiet, but the world threw everything at him quiet. Also, it was unusual the way he seemed to fit in with the group. The second he started talking, he said all the right things to make people happy, to make them laugh. And yet, Arthur still wasn't sure about him.

Morgana was especially quiet compared to usual. She kept most of her snarky responses to herself and almost seemed to draw into herself. It was frightening to see how much power Merlin had over her. One snapped response and she was as good as broken. Gwen spoke up, thankfully disrupting Arthur's inner ramblings, "Oh dear, Merlin left his phone!" Merlin had been showing Elyan and Lance (ever the computer geeks) all of the 'oh so cool' modifications he had done to his phone. Lance stood up, "I'll just go give it to him quick. He can't be that far away."

"We'll all go." Arthur cut in, "We've been here long enough anyways. Come on." They had paid for their meals about a half an hour ago and were starting to get vicious looks from the staff. They grabbed their stuff and moved towards the door as a pack.

The boys stayed close to their girls when they had them and they crossed the streets and wound through alleyways. After ten minutes of walking, Percival asked, "Are you sure this is the right way? I mean, we have to be getting close by now." Gwaine shrugged, "I think so. This looks right. He said that he lives a ways away from the school and this is a ways away from the school." Leon sighed and rolled his eyes. Suddenly they heard the sound of something hard hitting flesh and a gasp of surprise. Glancing quickly at each other, they ran towards the sound.

The creature that jumped from the shadows wasn't large. It was probably about the size of Merlin, maybe a little shorter, and it had about the same build. Merlin wondered if maybe it was a Sidhe. If it was, that would suck. Whatever it was, it had just punched Merlin in the face and that did not make him happy. In some faraway part of his mind, he heard the sound of running footsteps coming ever closer. That was the only thing that stopped him from using his magic to beat this creature to kingdom come.

The thing reared back for another strike and Merlin saw it for what it was: a human. Merlin's jaw clenched and his nostrils flared in anger. Why couldn't humans just leave other humans alone? Why did they always need to hurt each other? The man's fist swung straight towards his face and he ducked, rolling into a ball and then back onto his feet behind the man. The move had taken no more than several seconds.

The man swirled around, but he was too slow for Merlin. His hand was already out and aiming for a spot between the man's neck and shoulder. If he hit it right, the man would be knocked unconscious and not feel any pain. He would, however be very confused when he woke up. If he hit it wrong, however, it could kill the man. Merlin hit the spot. The man collapsed onto the ground, either unconscious or dead, Merlin didn't know, but he intended to find out.

He fell to his knees beside the would be mugger and put his fingertips to the man's throat as he had been taught to do by Gaius. There was a pulse, sluggishly moving the man's blood throughout his body. Merlin's body slumped in relief.

"Merlin! Are you alright?" The voice startled Merlin into whipping into a fighting stance, with his feet planted firmly and a piece of pipe that had been lying nearby clenched in his hand. Mordred stopped abruptly, almost falling over in his attempt to defy inertia. The warlock closed his eyes and slumped against the wall, "You scared me." Mordred had been moving closer, but he stopped and a muscle jumped in his jaw, "I'm sorry."

Somehow Mordred had managed to get ahead of the others because they pulled up to a stop near Merlin a couple of seconds later. Gwaine clapped Merlin on the back, "That was some impressive footwork, my friend. I am slightly concerned for the legal implications that this unfortunate circumstance has brought about, however." The whole group turned to stare at Gwaine except for Merlin who had heard such things from him before.