[The day has not begun particularly well...primarily because Arthur is not Arthur...he's Merlin instead!

And life as Merlin is not one to be envied, at least not for the now King of Camelot, who's used to sleeping in a nice soft bed when at the castle and having a nice fire to keep his bedroom warm.

Oh and waking up at a reasonable hour, rather than having Gaius pound on the door at dawn and warn him that he better hurry.

Waking up His Royalness is no picnic either, Arthur had figured for some reason that Merlin would be stuck in his body, but no...he's still...him. And in a very bad mood indeed. Really, does the prat...er...him have to throw things? That's just dangerous! And rude for that matter.

He's bad tempered in the morning, isn't he? And very demanding, Merlin - or Arthur-as-Merlin rather finds himself being run almost off his feet by the demands of the King.

Finally, His Royalness is dressed and having his breakfast and Arthur-as-Merlin has time to himself until the horror that will surely be training.]

"Am I always such a nightmare?" [He grumbles to himself in annoyance.]

It's quiet and cold, and there's snow on the ground, blanketing bare, blackened earth that nonetheless shows through here and there: soil where nothing grows, not even in winter. In the distance, a city looms darkly: vast and industrial, walled and tiered and towered; its lights beneath the gray sky shine like pinprick eyes of red, green, and gold, some blinking and some unblinking.

There are few moving shapes on the barren terrain stretching away from the great city. Here and there an animal, or monster, stirs, raises its head, but it's an empty place overall, as there is little here to sustain either predators or prey. At first, there don't seem to be any humans present in this desolate area, but there is one. It's difficult to see him at first because he's small and pale, his silver hair and gray clothes difficult to pick out against the snowy backdrop. Yet he is there, moving from place to place with an almost unnerving quickness, in a direction definitively away from the city, carrying supplies on his back, and with a small sword at his side.

He's only a child, but he's alone out here.


[[ooc: another gratuitous child Sephiroth post. He's considering leaving his current employ with the Shinra Company, and so he's dreaming of himself leaving Shinra as a child. Replies will come from pinnaculum.]]

The rain is pelting down and the rocks are hard under Arthur's feet as he flees through the forest looking for somewhere to hide.

Behind him are thundering footfalls, the sound of a band of knights in pursuit.

Arthur picks a bad moment to look over his shoulder to see if his pursuers are gaining ground on him, suddenly he's tripping on a fallen log and tumbling down a steep embankment to the bottom, collecting any number of bruises and scrapes.

The wind is knocked out of him for a moment and he finds himself unable to move for a moment, which is long enough for faces to appear at the top of ditch, the knights of Camelot! Coming for him!

They have however, grouped themselves together and Arthur sees his chance. He scrambles to his feet and makes a desperate gesture, his eyes momentarily flash gold - so quick one would be hard pressed to notice - and a large heavy branch falls on top of the knights knocking them down.

It gives him precious time, time that he can use to escape...

If there even is escape.

Magic in Camelot will get you killed.

(OOC: No prizes for guessing the Chessboard flip - Arthur's warrior skills have been replaced by magic. He's now a Druid and an enemy of Camelot...)