A/N: I have had this idea for ages and I finally got round to writing it today! It's really stupid, terribly written, but I just love the idea of Merlin having a dog :D I hope you all enjoy no matter how terrible this is and please let me know what you think!

Merlin grumbled to himself as he gathered Arthur's hunting dogs. He enjoyed taking them out, usually, but today it was freezing, frost underfoot, and he wasn't looking forward to playing with them like he usually did. Arthur called him a girl for playing with them (which Merlin didn't see as an insult anyhow; look at Gwen, for example) and said that they should be furthering their skills at tracking.

"Well," Merlin said to himself, "if he cares so much about tracking, he should take them out himself." He clicked his tongue and Arthur's five dogs galloped from their stall in the back part of the stable. They barked happily upon seeing Merlin, and came up to him for fussing over.

Accompanying Merlin was Erin, his own dog. Unlike the other dogs, she wasn't lithe and fast but more stocky and robust, but she kept up with the others well enough and she needed the exercise. Grabbing a few balls and some dried strips of beef from the basket outside, Merlin set off with the six dogs trotting obediently at his feet.

He had never quite managed to figure out why that stupid animation spell had suddenly started working again, some five years after he'd cast it first. One day, that statue was as it normally was; the next day, Merlin noticed that it had gone and found a large dog wandering around Gaius's chambers that evening.

He'd had no choice but to adopt her. Well, maybe he had, but she was a very sweet dog really, and he did love having a warm body sleeping next to him at night. Gaius was slightly put out by this, as it had to be left with him during the day, but when he saw how happy it was making Merlin, he softened towards Erin.

Within five minutes, Merlin was on the training field, the winter sun bright but cold. He whistled to draw the dogs to him, then threw several of the balls in random directions and let the dogs scatter to find them. One by one, the now slobber covered balls found their way back to him, and Merlin began his slow walk towards the forest.

It was his usual route, so he allowed his mind to wander as he walked, throwing the balls out every now and then. This was the only peace he ever got during the day, and he liked to use it well. He had been working on modifying a particular spell recently, one that disguised your appearance. It turned you into your opposite gender, but Merlin was wondering if he could change it so that it wouldn't change the gender, and just the appearance. It was a tricky thing to perfect, and Merlin wasn't willing to practice it until he had absolutely perfected it.

So lost was he in his thoughts that he didn't hear the approaching hoof-beats until Erin barked loudly, and a few of the other dogs growled, their hackles up. Merlin shushed them quickly, unsure if it was friend or foe. He crouched behind a bush until he could see the red cloaks of Camelot, and breathed a sigh of relief. Just a patrol.

He carried on, throwing a ball and watching all of the dogs chase after it, stroking Erin when she snuffled into his hand. He was planning to ignore the patrol, assuming that they were going the other way, until he heard –

"Aren't those your dogs, Arthur?" came the familiar voice of Sir Leon.

The king gave a murmur of assent before replying with, "Merlin must be taking them out for a walk."

Merlin rolled his eyes. His only free time from the clot-pole during the day and now even that had been ruined. He mumbled something obscene under his breath and gave a strip of the dried beef to Lillian, the dog who had presumably alerted Arthur to their presence. Wasn't her fault, of course. It was Arthur's.

Sighing, Merlin leant against a tree and fussed over the dogs as he waited for the patrol to come crashing through. No point in scurrying back to the castle now they knew he was here. He hoped Gwaine was on the patrol at least.

To his relief, the roguish knight was and shot Merlin a grin when they appeared on their horses. Erin growled in defence of her master as Gwaine dismounted and advanced. "Who's this one?" the knight asked Arthur. "Looks different to the others." Merlin nodded in acknowledgement at Percival, Elyan and Leon, who had stayed on their horses but were watching curiously.

"He's not mine," Arthur said, also dismounting and giving a couple of pats to his own dogs.

"She," Merlin said defensively. Then he realised his mistake.

"Where the hell did you get a dog from?" Arthur asked.

Merlin panicked and wracked his brains for an answer; he could hardly tell Arthur that it was a statue he had enchanted in his second week living in Camelot. "I found her," he said quickly. "Abandoned in the lower town. So I rescued her."

Arthur stared at Merlin for a few seconds, and then finally said, "Funny. Thought you'd be more of a cat person."

Merlin snorted. "Full of surprises, me." He snapped his fingers and Erin returned to him, eagerly accepting his treat. "Was there anything else or did you just want to make fun of my dog talents?"

"No, that was it…" Arthur said, sounding slightly bemused. "How long have you had her?"

"A couple of months," Merlin answered truthfully.

"Hmm, interesting. About the same time that dog statue was stolen from the courtyard," Leon said thoughtfully.

"Come to think of it, she looks a bit like that statue," Percival said thoughtfully.

"I'm going to get going again," Merlin said hurriedly. "They get restless if they stop for too long." He smiled at the knights stiffly and hurried off, whistling to the dogs. Once he was a safe distance away, he let out a deep breath and buried his face in Erin's fur. "Too close," he muttered to the dog.

"Do you think he'll ever figure out that we know he has magic?" Elyan asked, watching the clumsy manservant wander off.

"Nope," the others answered as one.