Quote:[Snowstorm detail omitted due to uncertainties regarding Othard weather. Now it's just a normal one! ww]
[I sincerely apologise to anyone with the patience to read any of this for my terrible writing skills (_ _) ;;;;]
With each step he took through the thinning woodland, he could feel his body growing increasingly heavier and vulnerable to the storm's battering winds. His rasping breath was caught amidst a senseless battle between the survivalist within him that desperately sought to gasp for the ever-fading lifeline of air, and the honour-bound traditionalist holding tightly to the self-imposed façade of stoicism. Never, after all, was an audience necessary to hold true to one's dignity; such was the stubborn way of a Tumetan warrior, such was the way of Nhogai - even now, as the looming shadow of death crept ever closer in on him, much as a hunter would it's wounded prey.
"Nnngh....."
Self-loathingly, Nhogai found himself absently glaring out into the grey swell that consumed the forest around him, grossly frustrated with himself as he was, for simply failing to stifle yet another grunt of agony; this time unprovoked, and even louder than from moments earlier when a low-grown, tree branch had grazed against the messily, wrapped wound that defiled his ashen flesh.
A large hand would instinctively reach down at the same time, quickly yet delicately moving to cover the telling gash that slithered around the right side of his abdominem in a futile attempt to soothe the piercing pain it gifted unto him with the lightest of touches. His eyes drew to a momentary close as a sharp, sliver of breath escaped past his trembling lips before he soon after brought his hand along with the dark film of crimson that now coated it away again a moment later.
Nhogai grimaced fervently as his dark eyes locked upon the inauspicious shade of red that tainted his palm. What little time his makeshift bandaging had afforded him since when he had begun making his way through the abandoned caverns had long since passed him by now, possibly even before he had made it back out on to the mountainside. The normally insulated and durable fabric he had purposely torn from his clothes had now grown weak and wholly permeable having now being completely soaked through with his own blood. In addition, the tender sensation of it's tepidity as it trickled further down across his skin only further reminded him of the freezing, mountainous wind that hammered through the fragile woodland and smashed mercilessly into the unusual fragility that had overtaken his large body.
"....eenngh..." he groaned once again, this time with a weaker, more dulled voice as his heaving lungs were sucked dry by a spontaneous flash of pain that shot through his body and saw him forced down onto one knee.
The tempestuous wind whistled and roared around him, carrying with it an even thicker current of obscuring mist. Like the waters on the floodplains, it swiftly flowed throughout the lower reaches of the forest and in no time at all, rose above eye-level until it impeded the Xaelan's already-darkening range of sight.
Another flash of pain saw the man agonizingly reaching down across his stomach to once again protect his wound from the elements. In spite of everything, the Xaelan's could think of nothing other than how it didn't bear imagining just how pitiful he must have appeared right now.
Shallowing breaths.
Though having successfully held off against the desire to simply crumble on the spot until now, it was for perhaps the first time in his entire life that Nhogai now found himself coming close to submitting; remaining there alone on the spot, silent and still like an obedient, little mutt. Though it was not the pain that had finally brought him to this standstill, but rather a sudden and resolve-collapsing thought which almost seemed as though it had been carried in along with the rolling winds.
("Why do you remain in this world?") a voiced echoed within his mind.
He blinks slowly, his pained expression fading and falling neutral as his mind becomes consumed by this single question.
("For what reason do you flee death's embrace? Is there not nothing left for you?")
Slowly, his eyes draw to a close as those words haunt him with the bitter reality of his own failure.
("There is nothing left") he resolves with a reluctant breath.
............
...................
...........................
.................................
(........?)
Though unsure of what his eyes were searching for, the warrior suddenly found his faltering gaze reaching into the darkness that lay beyond the blustering haze before him. The wind's incessant howling dominated all other sound into submission, and this otherworldly haze had completely enraptured the forest to the point that the warrior could see no more than ten fulms in front of himself - and yet, almost like a sixth sense, he was certain that there was something else was out there. Straining to push his growing sense of agony aside for a moment, Nhogai's eyes narrow with both intent and focus as his gaze set upon the dark abyss that lay directly ahead of him.
Only a few moments later would this mysterious presence finally draw into view from behind the swirling veil.
A wolf.
Curiously, though he would not normally dare underestimate the cunning of a pack of wolves, a short moment of eye contact between the two had immediately dispelled any such concern.
There was no mistaking the matter. It was alone.
Nhogai's dark stare narrowed even further, though moreso out of curiosity than apprehension. This animal... was like none he had ever seen. The dazzling purity of it's white coat was wholly unnatural - with not so much as a faint splotch of dirt earned from the mountain's rugged landscape to mar it's pristine perfection. And beyond that was it's unfaltering stare, a stare which lacked the reputable, predatory malice for which such creatures were both feared and greatly respected.Â
From the very moment the wolf had drawn into view, Nhogai's intent focus had been fearlessly met by it's divinely, icy-blue gaze - the creature apparently unphased by the Tumetan's intensity. It was a surreal experience, one which left Nhogai speechless and in awe as he watched the creature's immaculate, snowy-white coat blend and haze restlessly against frosty mist as though it were merely a vision, a spectre conjured up by the swirling winds themselves. Were it not for the sharpness of that azure gaze that returned his curiosity with a piercing stare, Nhogai might not have even believed his eyes.
When the warrior finally allowed himself to blink once again, however, the wolf had already seemed to lose interest in him, it's back now turned upon the wounded curiosity as it slowly began it's silent retreat through the swirling mist.
"............."
Though having briefly found himself stunned to complete silence, it wasn't long before Nhogai was on his feet once more and, for reasons beyond his understanding, began pursuing the creature through the thickening haze - one burdened step at a time.
The true severity of the storm had become more apparent now more than ever, with his surroundings no longer appearing discernible to him. The mountainous fog had now consumed the entire forest, with the wind drawing innumerable currents throughout the air until little else could be seen other than a swirling sea of grey channelling through and between the towering silhouettes of the surrounding tree trunks.
The new task he had suddenly assigned himself was made none the easier for the fact.
Though why he was even moving again he could not say. A few moments ago it almost seemed as though he were seriously contemplating the idea of forfeiture, to merely sit and wait for death to come to him instead... but something inside was urging him to follow the mysterious creature that led on ahead - though he knew not why. Curiosity had never been a vice of his, so why now?
The wind was growing increasingly more fierce as he continued forth, so much so that even a man of his stature was finding himself reaching into the air adjacent in an attempt to shield his face from it's incessant bludgeoning and preserve what little remained of his failing vision. The wolf ahead of him just barely continued to remain within his range of sight, a thinning white silhouette slowly stepping deeper and deeper into the dark abyss that would see it consumed. No matter how much more quickly he managed to force his pace, it always seemed as though the wolf was only moving further and further away from him, little by little.
~
Several minutes must have passed by the time the wolf had completely escaped into the concealing darkness. Stubborn in his nature however, Nhogai pressed on in the same direction regardless, his eyes only panning occasionally to make sure the creature hadn't suddenly deviated from it's course, though there was little to suggest that this was the case. He needn't have even allowed that occasional, naïve glance toward forest floor either, for naturally, it was of no help, not in this weather. Tracking anything like this would be damn near impossible for even the most expert of scouts - even ones whom weren't bleeding out at the same time.
Cursing all rational thought, Nhogai swore beneath his breath and continued pushing forward regardless, all while ignoring the fact that what little of which remained of his strength continued to bleed dry from the deepening wound that this exertion was only worsening.
~
Unrelenting, the darkness was quickly enclosing even further upon his vision, reaching the point that he could only just barely make out what was directly ahead of him. It was a worrying sign when Nhogai was able to notice the cold. And it was cold.... very cold and only becoming colder, but still he would not relent.
~
Several more minutes had passed before Nhogai had finally reached his limit. Taking but a single step forward now demanded all his strength and will. His expression contorted with both agony and determination as the pitiful thought of stopping sought to seduce his mind once more into submission.Â
He would not, could not stop like this.
With a heaving grunt, he could feel the crunching snap of rotten sticks under foot as he took one more heavy step forward..... and then another....... and another.... and finally another - only this time there was no crunch to greet him.
In fact, there was nothing at all.
Brief was time it took for his large body to lurch forward over the unseen edge, and brief was the time he could feel the wind's unbridled ferocity as it swallowed his entire form whole for the short-lived moment he had fallen prey to the open air before all was returned to darkness.
![[Image: ecec20e41f.png]](https://puu.sh/xvMxb/ecec20e41f.png)
Characters: Andre Winter (Hy'ur) / K'nahli Yohko (Miqo'te)
