No Pressure tagging; @holy3cake @beginning-writer @aintgonnatakethis to share a snippet or plot idea for your WIPs
I wrote this this morning for Horizons to Battlegrounds and decided I wanted to share it! 1,100 words ish.
Context; After being told to stay behind, Squirrel follows the group. Only Lancelot noticed until Squirrel drew closer as they have just finished setting up camp.
A rustle in the bushes/a snapping twig had everyone draw their weapons, facing up to the sound.
Lancelot did not draw his weapon, lightly smiling to himself and did not move from where he brushed Goliath. He caught Gawain's eye, earning a quizzical look and a faltering of the Knight's threatening blade, then Lancelot looked back to Goliath's coat and cleared his throat- louder than he needed to.
"You can come out now, boy." Lancelot called out to the rustling undergrowth.
A thump and a crash announced a rather bedraggled looking Fey boy, familiar, Skyfolk, dressed in Fey greens and blues, a brown leather cape at his shoulders and black leather bracers on his arms that were several sizes too large.
Gawain swore not-quite-under his breath at the sight of Squirrel plucking a leaf from his hair.
"Yet again, boy, I find myself looking at your face where it should not be," Gawain spoke through a jaw clenched so hard in an attempt to remain calm as Lancelot wondered if he might break it, "Care to explain?"
"No. No, don't even start that with me, boy. You are my Squire, and I expressely forbade you from coming with us; and you--"
"…Managed to track us on foot for over twenty miles. That's rather impressive, don't you think?" Lancelot butted in, quickly, unable to stand the scent of despair rising in the young Skyfolk.
On second thoughts, raising Gawain's blood pressure further when the vein on his temple was already throbbing might not have been the wisest idea. Gawain actually trailed off mid rant to give Lancelot such an incredulous look of shock as Lancelot felt as if it had been he who had snuck along, the subject of Gawain's ire.
Gawain took a long and deliberate breath. Lancelot could have sworn the Knight's eye actually twitched, but he appeared to choose to ignore Lancelot's interruption.
"Why, Percival, did you follow us," Gawain began slowly, then before Squirrel had chance to reply, added "and don't tell me it's because you're a damned Knight. A Knight of the Fey should know better than to disobey a direct order."
Squirrel shuffled his feet in the dirt and averted his gaze, mumbling something quietly- far too quietly to be heard.
"Well?" Gawain pressed, anger only serving to make him tower over the boy in what Lancelot knew from experience was an intimidating look.
"Louder, boy. Speak clearly, now."
"I just wanted to help!" Squirrel snapped, frustrated himself now, and that frustration clearly lent him bravery against his superior.
"And just how exactly did you see yourself helping?"
"Well I… uhm…" Squirrel's voice again trailed off, ears reddening as he looked back at his feet again. Lancelot found himself somewhat suprised, he'd seen this boy backtalk almost everyone, but he supposed it made some sense that Gawain might be the one person he felt ashamed to dissapoint.
"I thought I could do the fire and hunt dinner and help with the horses and stuff and and do all the, all the Knightly things."
"…Knightly. Things?" Gawain repeated, drawing a hand over his face in what Lancelot recognised was another calming gesture for when he was completely pissed off and trying not to lose his absolute shit.
"Like shoot paladins and fight the man-bloods!"
"No!" Gawain growled immediately, jabbing a finger at him.
"No, you will not be going anywhere near any Paladins, and until you learn to follow orders, you won't be doing any fighting at all. You will remain in camp unless we are on the road, and you will do everything asked of you without question. Do you understand?"
"No! Do. You. Understand?"
Squirrel ducked his head back down again, brow furrowed. He nodded his head meekly, begrudgingly accepting.
"Yes Green Knight, Sir." He said, and whilst he seemed upset, there was clear sincerity in his words.
"What are we doing with him. We can't bring a kid with us--" Dranos said,
"What do you expect me to do. Send him out there to be caught by bloody Paladins? Trinity Guard? Or worse? Hmmn?" Gawain rounded on Dranos, seemingly pleased to have somewhere to put his anger the Green Knight stalked right up to him, bristling.
Dranos actually seemed taken aback by Gawain's immediate aggression towards him, and held up his hands as if to surrender. Lancelot smirked behind Goliath's neck. He'd seen it coming from a mile away.
"He mentioned the fire, and horses. That seems a good start." Kaze suggested, her voice strained in a world weary way as if she was already absolutely sick of dealing with man-children.
Gawain turned from Dranos, glancing between Squirrel- who still stood awkwardly where he'd been berated- and the rest of the group.
"He is a Squire, you said so yourself. The boy won't be a child much longer. Perhaps it's time he learned how to be a Knight." Fowler mused from where he still sat on the log by the fire, warming his hands.
"Lancelot's right too," Fowler added, with a quick glance and a nod towards him, "The boy tracked us all day whilst we were on horses and he was on foot. He doesn't even seem to have fallen behind. That is worth something."
"Well I uh did lose you a few times, when you sped up. But, but I managed to find you again!"
"You did," Lancelot agreed, "and you caught up with us quicker than I'd have imagined after the river."
Squirrel nodded and smiled, pleased, then his eyes widened at the realisation Lancelot had known he was there. He was not the only one to make such a realisation... Lancelot's second mistake of the evening already. He watched an interesting shade of red bloom across Gawain's throat as Lancelot became the focus of Gawain's anger, again.
"You knew he was following us the whole time?" Gawain rounded on Lancelot now, jabbing that same accusatory finger at him. "And you said nothing? What if a Paladin had caught him, hmmn? What then?"
"I scented no Paladins. I would have alerted you if I had."
"Would you? Because you didn't bloody tell me he was there!" Gawain jerked his head to gesture at Squirrel, and Lancelot allowed the emotion to drain from his face before his own jolt of anger at Gawain's snide remark could show up on his expression.
"Oh my gods, will you lot stop arguing, please! There's nothing we can do about it now so can we just get on with food now?" Pym, silent thus far, finally snapped, and her grumbling words were punctuated perfectly by her similarly grumbling stomach.
