fandomhighdorms | Magic Reserves, Preserve by the Cabins, Wednesday Afternoon

Snacks were in sealed packages again, and an umbrella was duct-taped to the table to protect the food from any sudden showers. Unfortunately, the packages were already a bit damp, as the Turtle and Canary clerk had been in a foul mood.

"Weather!" Tony said. "Do you plan for it? Use it? Can it disrupt your casting?"

"Like storms to through off your opponents in a fight and the like!" Merlin added, an obnoxiously cheerful rainbow over his head. One that was suddenly shrouded in gray, dark rainclouds. "Or winds to keep them back."

No reason.

It was mostly sunny where Karla was standing, with occasional wisps of clouds. "How does weather affect any rituals you need for your casting?" she continued. "What are some ways you've learned to work around--or with--the weather. Are any of your spells dependent upon certain natural phenomena, like the moon phases or the time of year?"

"Please, feel free to share with everyone and--er--perhaps if anyone knows how to conjure an umbrella, it would be helpful?" Merlin added.

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"He's one of my men." Which was a stupid realisation to have in the middle of a conversation about how to cope with the guy as a friend, but there you have it. "...I don't know. His leader forced him to kill him. What am I supposed to say about that?"

Dishonourable, unfair, not at all what I would do?

The clouds above Merlin's head froze and darkened rapidly. Like an oncoming storm. "Did you ask why?"

Edited 2010-04-15 05:16 (UTC)

"Because Angeal - his leader - thought he'd become a monster, and apparently couldn't find the strength to put an end to himself," Arthur said, and his own clouds actually darkened considerably.

"Perhaps taking him drinking?" Merlin suggested slowly.

"Maybe."

Arthur gave the preserve a good glare from where he was standing.

"How can anyone be that irresponsible, Merlin?"

Merlin shrugged, trying and failing at casual. "Some things are taken out of our hands."

"How can anyone think that forcing a subordinate to murder you like that?" he asked. "What kind of example does that set?"

"Would you kill me if I became a threat?" Merlin asked abruptly.

Arthur shot him a sharp look.

"Your loyalty is something I have trouble doubting."

"If I lost control of myself," Merlin continued. "Would you?"

There was a very long pause.

"If you became a threat to Camelot," he said, finally. The clouds above his head had packed tight.

"Good." Merlin narrowed his eyes at his own clouds forcing them down to obscure Arthur from the group just long enough to lean in for a kiss on the cheek.

In other circumstances, he may have called Merlin a girl.

As it stood, he just paused minutely, and then turned his face only after Merlin was done. "But that's not the same," he said, after another long pause.

"I know. But maybe he doesn't."

Arthur glanced up at him. "What do you mean?"

"Perhaps he felt like someone who had no choice in the matter," Merlin replied quietly. "That it was the only way to save this man from himself."

"Zack said he thought Angeal didn't have the strength to stop himself any longer," Arthur said, sounding thoughtful. Maybe a bit maudlin. "But the idea that Angeal consciously came to him to do it - his student, for god's sakes."

Edited 2010-04-15 16:14 (UTC)

"Was there anyone else capable of it?" Merlin asked. Playing up that devil's advocate.

"Zack's a decent fighter, but he's hardly the only one," Arthur said, shooting him a glance. "He should have done it himself. Or gone out fighting."

"Things usually aren't that simple," Merlin replied with a sigh.

"It's not about what is or isn't simple," Arthur said, his clouds flaring up dangerously. So maybe this had gotten to him. "It's about what's right, as a leader."