If Only (Open)

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Nico:
Nico groaned. A slight blood trail left across the melting snow and green grass from a deep gash over his shoulder and a more shallow one over the opposite hip. A long gash ran over the top of his neck. His silver fur was soaking in blood, and he was growling whenever he had enough energy to spare. His unseeing eyes shut, his ears pushed against his skull. This was not the worst pain he had ever been in. It was vary close, but it was not the worst. The scars across his face had been the worst pain, physically and emotionally. He sat down next to a tree, leaning on the hard wood. Eventually, Nico fell into a dreamless sleep. He slumped down on the tree, until he was sprawled into the bloody snow. His breathing was shallow, and quick. Hardly noticeable. Nico looked half dead, if not fully dead. His blood had clotted, so he wasn't bleeding anymore at least.
Nico eventually had a dream. In the dream he could see, and he was a puppy again. He was looking up at his father, pride ruffling his hackles as he looked at his three sons and daughter. Nico puffed out his dark silver chest, Snow standing regale, Cesar holding himself like a king, and Veronica ignoring everyone like she was above all of them. They where going into the Pit. The strongest of this litter would be picked in this battle. The others would be cast out. Nico knew the outcome, he would eliminate Cesar, Veronica would blind him, Snow would kill Veronica and become the victor. The next alpha male, as the eldest son of the Alpha Pair. Nico trembled in his dream, wondering what may have been if he had just gone and taken out Veronica first. Would he be Alpha now?

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Nia

Cobalt eyes glistened with awe at the sight of the towering falls.  Nia was no stranger to natural wonders, but in a new place, everything intrigued her.  Already she had befriended a couple new faces and covered a lot of ground, but this was her home now, and she would not rest until she had a mental map of it.

The fine mist that shot from the roaring water was especially nice without her winter coat to whisk it away from her skin.  Nia's fur had thinned into its summer length, but her coloring—the black underbelly; the slightly lighter base; and the black and light-gray markings that so intricately painted her face, ears, and paws—remained vibrant.  Further, it revealed the lean muscle that hugged her petite frame.  No, she was not "buff," but nor was she frail.

Nia closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, taking in the heavy, humid scent.  As she let the breath out in a long, soft sigh, she opened her eyes again and blinked thoughtfully.

I should rest, she thought.  She had been on the move for a little while, and what better time to nap than while engulfed in such calming white noise?

Turning on her heels, the she-wolf made for the surrounding brush.  Although she was not on pack land, she stepped carefully, knowing that others—stragglers and nomads alike—could still be in her vicinity.

And, as if on cue, something in the air gave her pause.  Nia poked her blue-tipped nose at the air, taking a sample.

Is that blood?

Her body tensed instinctively, and she followed the metallic trail until she found its source.  In the distance, a bloodied silver lump lay motionless beneath a tree, large and clearly wolfen.  Nia's nose twitched contemplatively before she slowly began to close what distance remained between them.  There was no telling from where she was whether the stranger was alive or merely immobilized, and she was taking a gamble in approaching.

Upon closer inspection, she deemed the wolf a male.  He was alive but tattered, to say the least, with fresh wounds about his shoulder, hips, and neck.  Nia wondered absentmindedly about the scars on his face and took a moment to decide whether rousing him would be a smart idea.

Well, let's hope I'm not digging myself a hole here, she resolved, and reached out with one paw in an attempt to rouse him with a gentle shake of his front leg.  Nia wanted to help, but she was ready to defend herself if necessary.

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Nico:
Nico felt something shake his leg. His eyes flew open out of reflex, and he tried to get to his paws, but his shoulder and hip protested loudly at this and his neck throbbed. He yelped and fell back down, his ears perked and swiveling. His sense of smell was muffled, so he had no idea where the thing that had awakened him, and he had no idea what it was. The infuriating blackness and fog of his vision not relenting anything. "Who are you?!" he yelled, his voice hoarse. Nico was afraid, for the first time in years. He was injured, blinded, and couldn't tell where anyone or anything was. He tried to get to his paws again, more blood tricking down his dark silver fur. "I'm... I'm warning you! I bite!" his voice was trembling like a pup.
Nico was about to stumble away, and felt his paws get wet. He stopped dead, and backed up and felt his tail poke something. He pinned his ears back, and looked behind him wildly.

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Nia

Nia stumbled backward, bearing her teeth and nearly letting slip a defensive growl.  She managed to stop herself in time, though, catching the rumbling in the shallows of her throat as she witnessed the stranger scramble about in a blind panic.  He was no threat...not at the moment.  Even if he did not want help from her, she would be safe for as long as he was in this crippled state.  Her face relaxed with a tinge of guilt at those thoughts.

What does he think he's doing?  He staggered to his feet only to collapse again with a yelp.  All he was achieving were reopened wounds....

The stranger spat an inquiry at her, made even more acidic by his gravelly voice, but gave her no time to act.  She stood, still frozen in place and dumbfounded by his desperation, while he attempted to rise a second time.  A threat, uttered in the same tone.

Normally, the she-wolf would have been quick to retaliate—"Not if you want help, you don't"—but instead her ears perked.  His voice had faltered.  He was afraid.

Before Nia could bark for him to stop for the sake of his injuries, he did just that.  Clumsily, he stumbled forward, his paws entering a puddle of water, but he fled from it as if it were poison, only to nearly back into the base of the tree where he had just been resting.  Again she opened her mouth in an attempt to speak; that was when she saw his eyes.

"You're...you're blind," she said, her voice soft and full of sudden realization.  No wonder?  Immediately, she shook off the tension and straightened herself, ears folding back a bit in uncertainty of how to handle this newly...complicated...situation.  Clearing her throat, she spoke again, this time in a normal tone so that he could perhaps sense her relative location:  "My name is Nia.  You...don't know me, but I was passing through when I found you.  I didn't mean to startle you, but you look like you're in pretty bad shape and could use some help."  Even if he refused her, she would stick around.  Nia could not abandon him in good conscience, even if he was a stranger.  Whether or not he knew it right away, he would be stuck with her, if for just a little while.

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Nico:
Nico looked in the direction the voice who had introduced herself as Nia was coming from. He was still shaky, but he still responded. "O.. Okay. I just am a bit jumpy." he was talking softly, his voice still shaky. He refused to let himself move, despite the pain in his muscles. Nico looked down, with his ears pushed back. Carefully, he took a step forward, where the voice of Nia had come from. He flicked a ear, and sniffed around. The mist of the falls muddled his nose, but he found a smell. A wolf. He backed up and went back to the tree, mentally counting the steps. Nico sat back down, finding solace in something he knew was there. He knew that there was a she-wolf named Nia out there as well, but he preferred the tree for the moment. Trees don't hurt most of the time. "So, um, what brings you around here?" he mumbled, looking down at where he assumed his paws where. Then, out of no where, he asked, "Why did you have to wake me up?" This was mildly angry, but mostly to himself. He swiped his paw over the snow and grass, leaving claw marks in the snow.
Nico looked up again, and not mumbling, he asked, "Why did you stop? You could have just left me, and rid the valley of another killer. Almost every other wolf I've ever met would be more then happy to go for the neck and kill me. Why arn't you?" it was a strange question to ask, but this she-wolf had him at her mercy. He was a blind, crippled wolf with his sense of smell muffled by the mist; why didn't she kill him?

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Nia

A bit jumpy? she thought, but said nothing.  Nia wondered what had happened not just to hurt the stranger so severely but to make him so skittish.  Of course, part of it was likely the blindness...but, then again, his face was scarred over and healed.  Should he not be used to his lack of sight by now, assuming that the facial injury had been the cause?  Or did all that fear stem from those fresh cuts about his neck and body?

The male was quick to retreat to his tree, for which Nia did not judge.  Instead, she watched him closely with a calm yet still wary gaze.  His mood seemed to shift back and forth, his tone from quiet to angry to...solemn. Obviously he was in no place to strike her—he could barely decipher her location relative to him—but he was becoming increasingly peculiar.  At first, she wondered again if that had to do with his debilitated state, as she would not put it past someone to show such fear and uncertainty while blind and injured, but then he said something that stood out to her.

"You must not be much of a killer if you had to spell it out for me; otherwise, I wouldn't have known," she pointed out, speaking carefully while ignoring his other questions.  "A better question would be:  why would you mention that to a stranger who just offered to help you?  You wouldn't even be able to defend yourself if I decided to change my mind...."  Her voice trailed off contemplatively.  They had never met; he just as easily could have left such information out and accepted her offer of assistance.  Why, instead, was he questioning it?

Another moment, and she sighed in resignation, with a slow shake of her head.  "I saw what I saw and couldn't walk away in good conscience.  I'm new to the Mountain.  Wasn't aware of any murderers here—till just now—but I'm still standing here, so do you want help or not?"  Most of the caution had left Nia's tone by now.  Her sass was beginning to show through, whether she intended it or not.  "I mean, if what you said is true, then you won't have to go looking for your next target once you're back on your feet.  I'll be right here for the taking."

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Nico:
Nico sat, fluffy tail curling over her paws. "If your new, I would recommend staying away from those who seek to kill, like Fjord, the Ice King." He said, his ears still perked. Nico's bitter and slightly just plain mean personality was beginning to show out of the nervousness. He was facing a new wolf, but he was still hurt and couldn't move much without hurting himself further. She was a fresh, younger she wolf. She had the upperhand. Not that it was stopping Nico... Okay it was but he was not the type to kill for fun. In his life he had only killed six wolves that had tried to kill him first. "If you had seen what I have, you would question another wolf helping you as well. Every single conversation goes to here. These stinking scars and why I'm blind. Was I born blind? Who blinded you? How the heck are you alive? Well, the answer is I was blinded by my own sister! After I nearly killed my own brother. I was left out of my pack, abandoned because I had lost. I was a yearling, the son of the Alpha," He stod up, crying as he vented five years of anger, frustration, and sadness. Why he was cracking up to a stranger, when he could have with his brother, Snow. With Ruko, his one friend. "I barely survived that first year alone, but that was with help. When I met someone who loved me, I left them! I was a jerk... I was a utter jerk and always have been..." Nico broke down in sobs. After all this time he had craked, because he had felt fear at being killed when he had tried to kill himself so many times. Nico took a shaky breath. "I would be honered if you would help me, but if you don't anymore I understand." He fully expected her to walk away from him in disgust.

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Nia

Fjord.  Nia turned the name over on her tongue, mouthing it silently to herself.  Her lips fluttered with a small growl of annoyance at the thought of the murderous name.  There was no escaping it, was there?  Murder....What would anyone have to prove through murder?

Of course, she—like all well-intentioned individuals—preferred to think that she would never so much as draw blood from another, but she also knew that she had yet to feel the need.  Nia had no family, no pack to protect; she had a couple friends, but nothing had happened to them since their friendships to necessitate violence.  Her first impression of this still nameless male had been an iffy one, hence the doubt she felt about her own standing; perhaps if he had been just a bit more mobile, their current situation would be going over very differently.  All the she-wolf knew was that she was far from a mindless killer; the idea of taking an innocent life was...well, sacrilegious.

And she was beginning to think the same thing about the sobbing heap of blood and fur that was standing before her.  How did one console a stranger...?  "You know," she began patiently, "you call yourself a killer...but I don't see that at all.  It sounds like you're just a victim of your pack.  You were tied down by some stupid tradition.  You can't fault yourself for that."  Not to say that he was, but judging by his tears, it seemed to weigh pretty heavily on him.  "Plus, despite everything that's happened to you, you're still here, which means you've already defied those who abandoned you.  You should feel pretty damned good about that."

Jeez.  Who was she, his mother?  Nia was surprised by her words, confused as to where they came from, but they were sincere, and she hoped they would reach him.  "Anyway, of course I'll help!  That was my initial intention."  Now her words held more energy, a bit of pep.  "Have you eaten?"

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Nico:
Nico curled his fluffy silver tail over his paws. "No... Not in a few days." He was still a bit shaky, but now he blamed it on blood loss. He pinned his ears back, mulling over what she had said. He had been in that fight due to tradition. He wasn't the one at fault for that. He was at fault for six wolves deaths, but looking back at it, he started thinking about what he had done. He had almost killed Caesar, when he could have just killed him. Those wolves he had killed had attacked him first. He was far from innocent, but he was not gulity of everything he had accused himself of. He was guilty of being a jerk, but he had defied all the odds. He was still alive. Nia was right. Then he realized he had forgotten one vary important bit of information. His name. "My name is Nico, if you where wondering." he said nervously. He looked in the direction he had last heard Nia, and the tattered remains of his blue and silver eyes seemed to light a bit as he smiled.

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Nia

"Say no more," said Nia resolutely.  He was injured, sure, but she wondered if a little food in the system might help just a little with his weakened state.  She felt a little empty herself; perhaps she would track down her own morsel while she was at it?

They bathed in silence for a short time, and she remained there, observing him as he seemed to digest her words, before turning on her heels.  She had about set out on her hunt when he caught her attention with another small utterance, at which she paused and peered over her shoulder.  Ears perked at his words, and she felt relieved to see the halfhearted smile on his face.  "I was," she chuckled.  "I'm Nia.  Try not to move too much, Nico, or those cuts will get angry.  I'll be back soon."  With that, she trotted off in search of food.

A little while later, Nia was on her way back, a rabbit hanging limply from her jaws.  She was already satiated, having taken a kill for herself prior to this one with the goal of saving Nico a whole animal.  A thought occurred to her as she padded along, one that came so suddenly and so clearly to her that her ears perked with wonder as to why it only crossed her mind right then, and she voiced this thought upon returning.

Slowly she approached, sure to step on leaves and twigs in order to catch his attention, and dropped the rabbit at his feet.  Surely he could at least recognize her and the kill by smell?  Nia settled a few feet away from him so as to give him space and room for navigational error, and while she waited for him to react to the fresh rabbit, she pulled a forepaw in against her chest and tilted her head.  "Have you considered seeking out one of the White Wolves?" she inquired. "For your eyesight, I mean.  I can't imagine that they wouldn't be able to help you."  The concept of the Sisters, and their powers, was new to her as a former outsider; but her friends had shown her everything, proved everything.  She saw no harm in mentioning it.

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Nico:
Nico perked his ears to the crunches of twigs and leaves. His nose twitched, as he heard something drop at his paws. He lowered his head, sniffing the rabbit. Carefully, he started to eat it. He stopped mid chew at the mention of the White Witches. He swallowed to food in his mouth, and muttered under his breath. Then, he said, "Some, myself included, call them the White Witches. Their magic is strange, but I did consider it. I just never did, somewhat because of a slight.... Worry I would end up at the cave of the Black White Wolf. Geist. The Sister of Evil. The wolf who has taken many things from wolves. Many fear her, some avoid her at all costs for fear of what she will take from them." Nico only knew the legends and the strange pull of the mountain. The legends where more then enough to scare him from the mountain. If he ended up at the wrong cave, he would find The Evil Sister. He went back to the rabbit, pondering. He... He could go to the First White. The White Mage. White Magic. He was deep in thought, so deep he didn't react to much. Another skill he had, tuning out the world and sinking into his mind. His twisted and evil mind.... Well, not as twisted. As a really bad Evil he actually was on the calmer side and less of a 'I will kill you all!' then others.

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Nia

The "White Witches?"  Nia's nose twitched out of curiosity, and as Nico seemed to lose himself in his thoughts, she did as well.

She studied him.  Did he really have reason to fear standing before the dark Sister?  He could always turn to—what was her name?—White Magic for help; if the three Sisters catered to the three allegiances, then, logically, the Mother would be indiscriminatory.  Of course he could receive treatment for his current injuries, but would he also perhaps be rid of his scars?  No....Nia doubted that much; he would likely have to seek out one of the "Witches" for an alternative to eyesight, but she doubted that his fate would fall into the paws of this Geist character (if she was as cruel as was implied).  Especially given how he was responding to her company and assistance, she could hardly call him evil—misunderstood, yes, but not evil.

Although...

"Tell me...," she said calmly, as an idea crossed her mind, "what would you have done?  If you hadn't been injured when I found you, what would you have done?"  Would he have harmed her like his initial threat implied?  Her tone, though nonjudgmental, demanded honesty.  Nia was not afraid to probe him about it.  Even if he was a danger to others, she was safe from him for now.

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Nico:
Nico looked up, and sighed. "It depends on what you did to me first. If you ignored me, I would ignore you. That would be the most likely scenario. If you had attacked me... It would not have ended well." Nico muttered, his ear flicked. He curled his tail over his paws again, thinking back. He should go to White Magic. Maybe she could fix his eyes... What did he want to see first after five years? Then a idea came to him. He wanted to see the sunrise, that was the first thing he wanted to see. The sun rising after years in the dark. He also wanted to see the stars... He wanted to see everything! He started wagging his tail as he thought about it, he would go to the White Wolves! "Hey, Nia? What time of day is it?And um.. What direction in the mountain?" he asked, his voice a bit hopeful now that he had something to hope for. Wow... Attitude change... How did this happen? He wondered, then considered it might have been he had talked to someone who was kind. Nia. Now that he started thinking about it, he wondered what she looked like. What color eyes did she have? Wht color was her fur? What color was his fur? It had been so long, had it changed? Did coats change with age? Nico shook his head, what was he thinking? Coats didn't change with age. Then he asked the most random question. "I'm headed to the mountain. Can you.. Come with me? So I don't get lost," he started stuttering reasons, "Mostly that, but having someone to talk to would be nice too." Nico winced. He sounded like a jerk. He really just wanted someone he could talk to, Nia seemed nice... Maybe she could get a power wail they where there.

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Nia

It took her a couple minutes to digest his response; her nose twitched with thought.  Nia understood his point of view and even related to it in a way—except for the first bit.  She was not wont to ignore a new face.  However, she knew that if she was in danger, she would not hesitate to defend herself, and she felt that Nico would have been justified in harming her if she had attempted anything.

But what would he have done if I just wanted to talk? she wondered absentmindedly.  Nia would neither have ignored him nor met him with hostility, but if the situation had allowed her simply to approach him and make conversation—as she had with Renegade—would he have indulged her, or would he have rejected her, perhaps even violently?  The answer to that would sway her impression of him.  If he was only defending himself against these hostile wolves of which he spoke, rather than attacking others of his own accord...then he was not evil—not to her.  "Bitter" would be a more fitting word to describe someone who only knew cruelty, though he hardly even proved himself worthy of that title.

A break in the silence snapped her back into reality, and she shook her head of the incessant thought, replacing a spacey, thoughtful gaze with a smile of approval at his newly heightened mood.  Had she gotten through to him?  "It's the afternoon," she said, and craned her neck to look at the sky, which was partially hidden by the trees.  "Sky's clear.  The mountains are to the north, not that far off actually."  It seemed to her like he was considering her mention of the Sisters, of whose limits the she-wolf was rather curious.  Could White Magic cure his injury-induced blindness, or was she restricted to wounds that were not healed?  Was there a power available to Nico—or, for that matter, any other afflicted wolf—that could replace the target of his impairment?  There had to be a way to curb one's blindness or deafness.

Wow.  I'm getting carried away.  She could not help chuckling at herself.  Prior to entering the Valley, she had no knowledge or firm belief of the supernatural.  Now she was wondering so deeply about it.

Nico appealed to her curiosity by asking her to accompany him on a trek to meet the White Sisters.  He stammered, almost nervously, but she only shook her head with another small, amused laugh.  "Settle down.  No need to explain yourself.  I'm happy to tag along."  It was clear to her that he would not thrive without his senses.  Even receiving an alternative would give her peace of mind.

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Nico:
Nico smiled, his tail wagging like nuts. She had agreed! He started trotting forwards, then stopped. He turned around, head low and tail tucked. "Um, which way is north?" he asked, feeling horrible for having to ask. His tail twitched, not liking the position it was in. He smiled sheepishly and tried to take another step, but a sharp pain in his shoulder reminded him he was still hurt. He just shrugged it off, and turned north, his thoughts fixed on getting his sight back. He was going to do it, no matter what. He wanted to see the sunrise.