The trip had been laborious and quiet; Niamh, still shell-shocked from the fact that Screech had attacked Raven with the intent to kill, said very little, mostly responding in simple nods and murmurs, but otherwise, she kept her stare straight ahead. Now Screech, the wolf she'd been protecting this whole time, was to be banished, and she had no words to convey the feelings she had. He was able to walk a good distance to the borders- no small feat for someone who was still recovering from the very edge of death, but when he eventually collapsed, no amount of nudging or prompting would get him to his feet, and she teamed up with Ceara- silently resigned to end their argument- to drag him the rest of the way.
Each step hurt, and jabbed Niamh's heart like a pinprick. Each pinprick was tiny, but with each step, her heart began to hurt more until she felt something acidic rise in her throat. It burned in her chest and caused her eyes to sting with moisture but she pushed it back and away. When they had finally dragged him all the way to the borders, Niamh walked directly away from the two of them, no longer able to contain the pain and madness that had been swelling within her chest, and as soon s she found a bush with which to hide her face, she vomited. Part of her thought that she could simply expell the pain from her chest that way, and some of the acirid feeling did leave with it- but that didn't stop her heart from hurting. Once she'd licked her lips, she turned back toward the two, and regarded Screech with a hurt, hurting look. She'd wasted so much time on him- but still, she couldn't stand to simply let him go off into the wilderness where he would inevitably die.
...But at the same time, she could do nothing for him. If she went with him, she doubted she'd find welcome anywhere, and could even start another war. Coelacanth had told her that her pack would always be a home for her...But she didn't know about Screech. At the same time, she did not want to leave the Redhawks- this was her home, and she couldn't bear to be uprooted and go through the same amount of judgement she'd gone through when she'd joined the Redhawks to begin with. So she knew she could not go with him- but could she leave him on the borders to die? She wanted to say something- to beg Ceara for help...But at the same time, she could not trust that Ceara would keep her mouth shut, and half-figured that if Niamh made any noises about helping Screech along, Ceara would report to Raven and then she'd get kicked out too.
So she simply stood, willing Screech to finally say something, anything, to make this all easier.[/i]
phone post blaaaahhhh
Ceara was right- it didn’t feel right just leaving him there, but could she be trusted? Niamh still wanted to call for someone to get him...But if she did, there was a chance someone would overhear her- and always a chance Ceara would report to Raven. This could all be a set up- there was a chance Ceara was trying to trap her.
She looked to the fiery female, though, and saw pity on her features that couldn’t be faked. She gritted her teeth as she remembered the fact that Ceara had been his friend too. Part of her knew the kindest act of mercy would have been to kill him, but she couldn’t possibly bring herself to do it- she still cared for him. But she had no idea how they could possibly help him from there.
”There’s nothing we can do. Nothing we should do.” She said, and looked down at Screech, frowning. For a moment it looked like he might speak, but no words came out.
”But...You are right. It doesn’t...This hurts.”
Ceara's honesty almost convinced Niamh that something should be done for Screech, who looked truly pitiful. Ceara reached out to touch her, but Niamh didn't move away. The fiery femme reconsidered, but Niamh made no motion to show disdain or hurt. She made a suggestion,but any movement she made prompted him to react by snapping his teeth in the air and recoiling, like a pup who has been faced with a snake that has struck out at it. Having had enough of his violent reactions, Niamh snarled, and snapped back at him, eyes boring into his, even though she somehow got the feeling he couldn't see her.
"You touch one hair on her body," She said, trailing off into a growl as though she expected him to understand what the repercussions would be. She shook her head, and stood, moving back from him. "He's useless. I'm done with him." She said, and gave him one final look. She had done this to him, so her disappointment fell mostly at her own paws- but there wasn't anything she could do to fix the situation now. Concluding that she would never see him again, she turned tail and ran, leaving the both of the, behind.