Grouse Thicket thou bleeding piece of earth

She had fallen for him. Her, the stoic, bold wraith, had fallen for him,. She knew this now, as his words, his pain, echoed across to her, his words twisting the force that tightened her chest. It was not the raging love of lovers that she knew of from stories and tales, she doubted such a thing existed. But she felt for him as she would her small family, Malice, the pups, perhaps even Burke. His words, his tale, brought her pain, as much as should Malice have recited the same thing. 

She was ignorant of the other's pain of being ignored, yet truly, it would not affect her much. Too to many, she came off as an emotionless monster, but that she was not. Now, she was simply focused on Nico, and the tale he spun, and the way in which the words hurt her. He was a soldier. She could not have expected some kind of trouble-free, bright past. Neither would another think the same from her. But the hardship he had gone through was thus in the extreme, and the effects that he had suffered after, she simply had no word to describe his hardship. 

But still, she had hope. Her gaze never left his, and at the words of a wise friend, Aeronwyn's thoughts flickered to Burke. He was a therapist, a counselor, by trade. Perhaps, he could help. He had better be able to. But she did not bring this too light, and it was shoved aside, perhaps to be visited at a later time, as Nico continued speaking. Acceptance, come to terms, fall in love. Solutions, possible solutions, and ones she hoped would come to pass, one day. 

Much of this seemed surreal, for this did not seem to be a thing of which flirty, bold, confident Nico had within him, but the evidence lay before her. She did not find herself doubting his words, for between them was trust, an unspoken, but resolved trust. She listened, gaze on him, in silence and not betraying the hurt she felt. She did not feel disgust, nor fear of him, as his searching gaze may have thought. The fact made her slightly uneasy, that the male before her had such a monster within him. 

His gaz met hers, a sad smile and unshed tears glinted before being purged by a single blink. The amount of grief and sadness he felt was visible in his expression, sincere and tangible in it's form. Her nickname rolled from his maw, the words that followed provoked her to move forward, rest her muzzle on his forehead a moment before speaking softly, yet firmly. "Never. I care far too much for you, Nico." she said, lingering a moment longer before moving back. 

As for his comment on killing him, that went unanswered. But she felt like that was something she could never, never do. She had not killed for many, many months, and would not do so again. No, she would fight him, force him to water if she must, but she would rather risk injury then kill the male. As he addressed Shalon, then went on to address the both of them, this she knew, and though she did not utter it, her burning, stubborn gaze as it fell on him at his last words said all it needed to when he asked her to kill him. "Your words will stay with me, and only me." she said, looking to Shalon for her words before flicking her gaze back to Nico, to his wounds. They would need attending, and he had to make a choice, soon. Go with Shalon, or go with her. She knew very well who the choice might be, owing to their past conversations. But she did not plan for the future yet, just being here, with him, in this moment.