Disclaimer: I don't own nothin'.

Warning: I was in a rare slightly morbid, but (hopefully)creative mood
when I wrote this (It helped that I was bored as well), so I hope that
explains the mood.
--
Downpour (1/1)

It was raining outside. A cold, dark, steady rain that kept everyone
inside. Except Conor. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice
the rain beating on his skin.
Catlin was watching the rain fall from Fergus' window, Tully & Fergus
laughing in the background. It was warm, the firelight flickered on the
walls in a soothing pattern. She was also lost in her thoughts. As her
eyes wandered over the small landscape, she noticed a dark form sitting 
by the swelling pond. She slowly slipped out into the rain & walked
toward the form, Fergus & Tully not even noticing. She sat down quietly
next to the form, now identified as Conor, & waited for him to notice her
presence. He slowly turned his head toward her & gave a small smile. She
let the quiet reign for a few more minutes before asking what he was
thinking about.
He sat silently for a while, Catlin almost thought he wasn't going to
answer. Then he sighed & said very softly, "I have a feeling something 
bad is going to happen," Catlin waited for him to continue. He turned to 
her, "Things have been to quiet lately."
She said thoughtfully, "I've had the same feeling, but I just figured it
for restlessness."
"No, it's more than that..." They heard footsteps behind them & turned 
to see Fergus & Tully walk up behind them. "What are you two doing 
out here? You'll catch your death & I'd really rather not have to take 
care of either of you. Now come on, get inside."
***
As the days passed, the rain continued & the water rose higher & higher.
To the point the small haven had to be left. The people gathered & 
moved to a nearby meadow. It was a temporary move, but one that made 
the young prince & his three friends very worried. Conor still had that 
forboding sense of danger, & it was contagious. Fergus set up a perimeter 
watch, while the others practiced battle skills with the villagers.
***
Finally the rain let up, & a celebration began. By night most of the
villagers were thouroghly drunk. Nobody noticed the rustling in the
bushes, even the guards, who were to busy wishing they would be 
relieved. A dark figure charged from the brush into the middle of the 
crowd, surprising everyone. It later become part of the feast, after 
some entertainment trying to catch the angry boar.
***
The next morning, Conor woke after the embers of the fire had long died
out in the morning fog & dew. He nudged Fergus awake who in turn 
nudged Catlin, while Conor woke Tully. The four sat in the fog talking 
quietly. They were all startled by the sudden scream from the edge of the 
woods, which woke some of the villagers. Tully saw them first & yelled 
loud enough to wake the others, "Romans!"
***
The fog was so thick, everybody could only see a couple meters around
them. The battle was quick, the Romans falling to the Celts by pure luck,
but not without a price. A good half of the Celts were dead, men, women, 
& children. Some struck down their own because of the disorienting fog.
Nobody escaped without a scratch. Conor searched the fog for his friends,
stopping momentarily at each person being patched up to mumble some
comforting words. He found Tully, who had a large bandage covering a 
gash on his arm. The fog was begining to lift, uncovering the carnage, but 
also uncovering Fergus. He was bending over someone, who looked 
increasingly like Catlin. They broke into a run, "Fergus, what 
happened?" "She was slashed in the stomach by Nevin, she was trying to 
help him. Damned fog." He motioned to Nevin's body with a Roman 
dagger sticking out his side. Catlin cried out as he put pressure on her 
wound. "It's ok, lass. You'll be fine, I promise. Conor, separate the dead 
from the wounded. Tully start a fire, we'll need to start cauterizing as 
soon as possible."
***
By night the wounded had been attended to as best as possible & the
healthy moved on to the dead.. There were so many it would have to be a
mass funeral. The bodies were prepared accordingly, including the Roman
dead, & turned to ashes that night. Once respects were paid, the now 
small band moved off into the woods.
***
A scout was sent the next day to the sanctuary to see that the flooded
pond had shrunk back to it's slightly bigger, but unimposing size. So at
nightfall, the villagers returned & tried to settle back in. The wounded
were all rapidly healing, in body, under Fergus' direction, including
Catlin.
Later that night when everyone was asleep, Conor sat once again in deep
thought by the pond. Catlin came & sat next to hime & they both sat
quietly staring into the night.
THE END