Dragoncrest Cliffs Blue Wind

Next morning after his fight with Kigipigak for @Merlin

Somehow Njord had made it back to his den. He had found some peace in thanks to the healing prowess of Sapphique’s medics, but still he ached until sleep finally stole him away. He slept a long time – until a beam of rare winter sun pieced the entrance of his hideaway.

Have you ever fallen asleep during the day and woken up at night? That terrible groggy, crusty, disoriented feeling? Well, that’s how Njord felt tenfold. His head rung more than Quasimodo’s with a side of lockjaw to boot. He crawled – nay – dragged his sorry carcass out into daylight, fur sticking out every which way. Thirst strained Njord’s throat but, too weak to stand, he bit half-heartedly at some snow and sucked on some ice instead.

I am so sorry for delay - I have been quite tired for the past few days. Thanks for starting!

What should have begun as an awesome new adventure for Merlin in uncharted territory, was a few days long migraine spell that had rendered the yearling useless and reluctant to move around or do anything. Therefore he had missed the opportunity to see his newfound friend off to his first date and he had not been present, when the poor guy had returned to Saphique beaten up physically and with some damage to his self-confidence. 

On the day, when Merlin finally felt like a normal wolf being again, he left his barnacle and sea-weed decorated den (that angry bitch would have been impressed) and sought out his friend again, hoping that he had not taken offence for the other's MIA. "Oy, Seabiscuit," he greeted Njord from afar, first with a wide smile, which then changed to deep concern for his well-being. "What the hell happened to you? You look as if a bear tried to eat you and spat you out."

No worries at all! :D I’m gonna pretend in the time between Merlin’s acceptance and Njord’s “date” they talked about the start of the migraines.

Njord licked at the cold ice pathetically, reduced to a sorry sack of self-pity. It felt like his wounds hurt more now than they had the night before. Though the swelling was gone, the lacerations had become crusty scabs that bled anew with scarcely an inch of movement. Thankfully, with Erzulie’s attentive care, they would heal much faster than if he had not sought out a medic at all. He had Rosencrantz to thank for that.

Thankfully, his cheerful buddy Merlin showed up for a check-in, which instantly raised the islander’s mood. He was greeted with a friendly jeer (Seabiscuit… I quite like that nickname, Njord’s narrator thought to herself). He loosed a pained chuckle, trying to prop himself upright into a slumped, but seated, position. “”Ave I ever got a story for YOU, Merlin,“ he teased, knowing his pal would be forever amused by what went down at the Watch. ”How’s yer melon, by tha way? Feelin' any better?“ he asked first, concerned for Sapphique’s newest recruit.

Sure thing!

"My melon is feeling way better than your sorry skin," Merlin quipped and looked down at Njord's beaten-ass, feeling both sorry and sympathetic for his suffering. "Who the hell did this to you?" he leaned forward to inspect some of the wounds, but the scent of blood and wolf-flesh was so unpleasant, that he leaned back again. Having someone puke all over was the last thing the red-tailed fellow needed right now. 

And jokes and witticisms aside for a moment he asked: "Is there anything I can do for you?"

The amusement on Merlin’s face shifted into sincere concern, and Njord knew he had a good friend in the russet man. “I was hornswaggeled, Merlin,” he began to explain, already exasperated. “Remember the lass, Valmúa? I couldn’t get tha’ beauty out of mah head an’ I needed ta see ‘er! Well I spent all mornin’ picking out a pretty blue shell – a gift – and traveled to tha’ Watch to take ‘er out on that date we promised. I was more nervous than a lil’ seal in front of a great white. But she was so ‘appy to see me again! I knew, then, I wanted to court ‘er. We was leavin’ to see tha bluffs….”

The islander’s distant expression was laced with affection. The corsair had never encountered an attraction like this before. His motives were genuine.

“But we we were stopped by ‘nother wolf… a tar I’ve met before, guy named Kigipigak. ‘Bout our age, dirty white coat with a smiley scar on tha’ side of ‘is face,” Njord explained, adding his rival’s description in case Merlin ever wanted to go rough him up a bit. “Thought he was a good man, ‘an I knew they were in tha’ same crew… but he wrapped ‘imself round her like a devil’s serpent and showed me ‘is teeth.” Njord’s voice lowered as his anger bubbled up to the point where his chest felt constricted. “Tha’ lady didn’t like him one bit, Merlin… one bit! I tried to reason with ‘im but he wouldn’t budge. I knew I couldn’t back down… I knew I didn’t wanna back down!”

Njord’s anger slipped into grief, “The fight was over so fast, Mer. He got me good right on ‘tha wing, ‘an then ‘nother bite on tha’ face. Don’t think I stood a chance.” His ears fell to the sides like the fallen masts of a broken ship, spirit sunk.

"Stinky pig," Merlin shook his head, feeling angry for his friend's sake. Though he did not say it out loud, he was not too impressed by the lady in question either. Leading a guy on only for him to get badly beaten up? He could have got himself killed! Had she sought him out to apologize? Get in the middle to reason with the bitey jerk and put him in his place? For a moment he thought about his two current leaders - he did not know either of them too well, but he was confident that had either of them been in Valmua's place, they would not have let this happen to Njord. Rather join in to think the guy's pelt and have him run howling to his mommy or wherever was that dark corners, where bullies cried their coward souls out.

"Well - f*ck him," there was nothing much to say, but Merlin felt that it was his duty as a (potential future) wingman to cheer his friend up somehow. "You know what - next time I will accompany on your dates - I won't show my face or anything, but if things go awry - you can rely on the fact that at least someone has your back," he suggested, but he realized that as good as this idea may be, it would not do much to restore Njord's self confidence or pride. "Anything I can get for you, bud?" he asked. "A shoulder to cry on - you are even allowed to snivel a little - food, a story? We can even come up with a grand plan on how to make that asshole pay."

Njord’s depression was quickly lifted as Merlin rallied his friend with strong words. It felt good to have a bud on your side, even if their opinion was biased. The islander snorted in agreement. F*ck him indeed, the red-tail thought to himself. The idea of backup hiding in the shadows made the buccaneer grin impishly but he knew, eventually, he would have to face Kigipigak again one-on-one. Having a wingman as the ready couldn’t hurt his chances, though. If anything, having a referee would at least prevent another painful and embarrassing walk back home.

His tongue pressed against his fangs in thought. “Yer a good pal, Merlin. I’m a lucky seabiscuit to have ya in my corner. A plan sounds like a good idea… I asked Rose to train’ me up – he’s the pale fellow with half a face. I gotta fight Kigi head on again… I feel its the only way to get back my honor in tha lady’s eyes.” Njord shifted his position with an involuntary grunt. Life felt better when you had something to work towards. “You got any moves?” he asked his friend. “What would you do if you were in mah place?”

"I would run for the bloody hills," Merlin joked, though this was not far from truth. While he would never leave Njord in trouble, if faced alone with a blood-thirsty, jealous brother of an attractive lady, he would give up all romantic notions in order to save his own skin. "But - once you get better, I will train with you and spar at any moment possible. Wouldn't want you have that meet up with a useless wingman and brother in arms," he reassured the guy.

"And I kind of want to make sure that the Pig knows that "Payback is a bitch!" - we will carve it in his skin to remember this for eternity," he could be surprisingly eloquent with words, if he got carried away. "Though... I think that from purely practical perspective we should first test our skills on smaller targets. Just to see, if we can step up our game. You know, what I mean," he added thoughtfully.

Sorry for my delay! We can fade soon :) We need a new thread!

Njord laughed with Merlin until the pain in his faced caused him to hiccup. The proposition was exciting: training from Rosencrantz AND Merlin. He had nearly forgotten his friend had lived with a pack of bachelors… no doubt his sparring skills would be top notch. “I like tha sound of that!” Njord exclaimed.

The idea of carving a message into Kigipigak’s skin also fed a grotesque desire to dole fair punishment back to his rival. It was unlike Njord to wish such pain upon another wolf (for he was  genuinely harmonious man), but Merlin’s words inspired dark schemes. In any case, it was important how to learn to fight properly – something the islander had never really done.

“I’ll be sure to heal up fast, then. I want ya to teach me er’thing ya know!” he said, freshly inspired. It was nice to have Rosencrantz and Merlin in his corner. Soon, he would be able to best Kigipigak and sweep Valmúa off her feet.

Well, here lied the problem. Before Merlin was able to teach Njord everything he knew, he had to learn that everything first. Sure, you would not expect that in a pack that was reeking of testosterone miles away, guys would be having tea-parties and pleasant conversations. Far from it. Rough-play was a common thing to ease tensions before they boiled over the top. But he had never been the one to particularly enjoy being ganged upon, chased or forced to eat dirt every occasion he lost the fight. He had learned to observe from a safe distance and have a head-start running, when a brawl between two wolves was threatening to implod to a full blown fight that involved every pack member. 

But he had given a promise and he knew he would keep it, even if it was the last thing he did. Merlin figured that it might take a while for Njord to fully recover and this would give him time to pick up some training beforehand. Shouldn't be that hard, should it? Little did he know that over the next few weeks his resolution was going to be stalled by series of migraines and by the time he met Njord face to face again, he would be no better than he was now. 

"Okay," he nodded. "I'll see, if I can get you something to eat,"  he told his friend, hanged around to hear him say anything on the matter and then took off. Whether Njord agreed to being spoiled and pampered or not. 

That's last from me. I can start us a new one tomorrow! Thank you! :)

Sounds great!

“Thanks, you’re tha bes, Merlin!” Njord added wearily before his friend took off. The thought of a meal made his stomach rumble. As he waited, Njord curled back up into a ball and slept. As he slipped off into dreamland he reflected on how lucky he was to live in Sapphique and know wolves like Merlin.