S4S

With an air of embarrassment about him, Ni scratched the back of his head as he waved shyly at Valzwyn.

Continuing to shake his head, Ni showed the person in the doorway two fingers, then one, then… three? Frantically, Ni glanced over at Cara.

Giving a strange huff from behind his hooded face, Ni rapidly shook his head.

Jumping in panic at the voice of the sudden newcomer, Ni frantically hurled himself from the wooden chair as the banged-up pot slipped from the protruding sconce. Leaping towards the other side of the room, Ni, the chair, and the tarnished pot all crashed to the ground in a symphony of clatter and chaos. Clambering across the room, the small child slid across the messy floor before disappearing under the wooden table from earlier, managing to knock over only one of the other chairs positioned around the table as he did so. After the noise settled, Ni hesitantly poked his masked head out from the far side of the table, looking over at the new person in the doorway.

Standing just inside the doorway, Ni watched as the strange man began slowly walking up the stairway towards the floors above. The man had mentioned there were others nearby, and possibly even a dragon upstairs too? Curious, Ni was about to follow the man up the steps. Glancing back into the room though, Ni watched as Cara started working to clear up the tattered room. Turning to look up the stairway, then back at Cara, then up the stairway once more, Ni stepped back into the basement before moving towards a different section of the room. Picking up a small pot that had been smashed, Ni looked around the room for a place to put it away. Seeing a protrusion of metal sticking out from the wall above him though, Ni quickly ran towards the table he had climbed earlier. Placing the pot on one of the chairs surrounding it, Ni pulled the chair across the room, the wooden legs grinding a loud echo across the stone as he positioned the seat just below the oddly shaped hook in the wall. Climbing the chair then grabbing the pot that he had placed on it moments before, Ni reached up on his toes as he hung the mangled pot onto an unlit candle sconce.

Upon hearing his name called, Ni turned to look at Cara. Having used one of the chairs surrounding a small wooden table in the corner of the room, the small boy had climbed on top of the wooden surface to look down at the shattered mess across the floor. Guessing it was time to leave now though, Ni sat on the edge of the table before sliding forward, his feet landing on the scattered rubble across the floor with a grinding crunch. Taking a few steps toward the door, the quiet child abruptly paused. Returning back to the table, Ni grabbed a small ceramic plate from off the tabletop before making his way once again towards Cara and the exit. As he passed the center of the room though, Ni stopped in front of the strange man that Cara had been speaking with. After hesitating for a moment, Ni lowered his head as he reached out and handed the tall man the fragile plate. Then, without a word or gesture, the small child continued towards the door. @Knight of Iron

Ni finished his pose then glanced over at Cara, giving her a thumbs up. He then spun back towards the tattered room, waving at the person standing in the middle of it before cautiously walking through the broken and smashed objects that lay scattered across the floor.

Jumping out from behind the doorway, Ni made the spooky gesture that Cara had shown him towards the person standing in the room. There was a strange… muffle… that came from Ni, but nothing else as he simply stood there, frozen in a pose that resonated as much terror as a small boy could achieve.

Giving a swift nod, Ni lifted himself off the ground with a muffled grunt. Remaining low to the ground, the small boy began sneaking towards the kitchen’s exit. His steps were light and nimble even with the bulky snowboots, and the wooden floor beneath his feet hardly made a sound as Ni carefully crept forward towards the source of the sudden noise. Pausing just inside the doorway, Ni peeked his covered head around the doorframe with an air of caution. Down to his left, where the spiral staircase descended toward the ground level of the tower, a shout of anger echoed up the stairs; one that was most likely from the same person, or thing, as earlier. Glancing back at Cara, Ni pointed down the tower’s steps before placing a finger to his lips. Then, turning back towards the staircase, Ni took a deep breath before slowly beginning his descent down the stairway.

The distant sound of something shattering caught Ni’s attention as it broke the silence in the secluded kitchen. Lifting his head slightly, the small boy pivoted his head around as he tried to determine where the sound had come from. A few moments later, there was another sound; the sound of metal smashing, coming from the same direction somewhere below where Ni and Cara sat. Taking the opportunity to move, to do something other than to feel trapped in the endless cycle of memories, Ni tapped Cara on the knee to grab her attention. Glancing over at her, Ni cupped one of his hands around his ear as he pointed to the floors below them with the other.

Feeling Cara’s friendly embrace, Ni pulled himself tighter as he pressed his forehead to his knees, curling into an upright ball. Although the soft whimpering had stopped, Ni did not answer Cara’s question.

The finger dropped from where Ni’s lips would be as the boy started shaking his head softly. Hugging his arms across the front of his chest, Ni leaned his back into the base of the counter behind him. Sliding down the side of the cabinet onto the floor, the small child pulled his legs into his chest with unsteady arms. The sound of a soft whine came from the back of his throat as he continued to shake his head, over and over repeating the same motion of denial and regret.

There was another long pause from Ni, the only motions coming from him being that of his index finger tapping the side of his leg. After almost a full minute of silence though, Ni lifted that finger to where his mouth was behind the sack he wore.

Responding much quicker this time, the hooded boy looked up at Cara as he shook his head. Seeming to stand a little taller, Ni's arm dropped back down to his side.

Lowering his head, Ni exhaled softly. Resting a hand inside his jacket somewhere near his chest, the boy slowly nodded once.

Seconds passed, and there was no reaction from Ni. But after nearly a minute of silence, the hooded boy very, very slowly, nodded once. Pulling the string tight along the side of his boot, Ni inspected the fabric to make sure the stitching would hold. Using the needle to tie a hidden knot, Ni finally snapped the end of the excess string before placing it and the needle back in his pockets. Tossing the heavy boot onto the ground with a thud, Ni hopped off the counter as he balanced on one leg to keep his exposed foot from touching the ground. Carefully sliding his bare foot into the mended snowboot, he shuffled his foot until it fit snuggly inside. Knocking the toes of his boots together a few times, Ni nodded in satisfaction. With his task complete, Ni looked up at Cara once more.

Ni shook his head slowly, remaining focused on the last few stitches for the snowboot.

Ni nodded twice as he returned to sewing the torn snowboot. He was almost done already.

Glancing up from his sewing, Ni looked around the room. Along one of the walls was a small window that provided a view of the forest outside. Bending over slightly in order to see where the sun was, Ni sat up a moment later and pointed slightly behind him, gesturing towards a Northeast direction.

Cocking his head to the side, Ni paused for a moment. He shifted his head from side to side a few times as though trying to formulate an answer, before finally shaking his head. No, he hadn’t come from a nearby town. At least, not in the context he figured Cara was asking about.

Picking up the needle and thread once more, Ni shook his head at Cara’s question.

Poking the needle into the boot where the next stitch would be, Ni looked up at Cara through the eyeholes on the bag over his head. Extending both arms out towards her, Ni showed nine digits with his hands.

Ni silently observed the tower as he followed Cara through the long staircases and compact hallways. It was a very large building, especially for someone as small as Ni was. Doorways stood like gates to a royal palace, and stairs seemed to ascend forever as though they were reaching for the stars. After some amount of walking, Cara had walked into a small kitchen, and Ni tagged along closely behind. Ni shook his head slowly, declining the offer. Noticing an empty space on one of the countertops though, he slipped passed Cara and grabbed the edge of the counter. With a jump and soft grunt of effort, Ni used his arms and elbows to pull himself up onto the counter, spinning as he climbed before sitting on the edge of the countertop. Reaching into the left and right pockets on his green jacket, Ni removed a small spool of thread in one hand and the same needle from before in the other. Placing the two objects beside him on the counter, Ni crossed his left leg onto his lap as he grabbed the large snowboot on his foot. With another soft grunt, Ni slipped the bulky shoe off and placed it on his lap. There was a long gash that ran along the side of the boot from where one of the wolves had gotten a lucky hit. Retrieving the needle and thread to his right, Ni carefully began sowing the split fabric closed, careful and precise stitches matching seamlessly into the thick fabric as he worked to close the tear.

Looking behind himself one last time, Ni checked to make sure that nothing else was following him through the wintery forest. After a few seconds with no sign of anything lingering between the trees, Ni spun to follow Cara and her horse, hopping from one foot to the other as he lightly stepped in each of the indented footprints Cara left in the snow.

Ni shrugged his shoulders once, then casually pointed at the Wizard Tower rising above the trees.