𝔩𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔟𝔢𝔱𝔴𝔢𝔢𝔫 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔰𝔥𝔞𝔡𝔬𝔴𝔰 - H&S

“Nice try,” Nico praised, digging his feet into the ground as hard as he could to stop Kelsier from pulling him completely off balance. It was a fairly even battle on both sides – at least, that’s how it seemed to Nico. He gave a soft laugh again, though he had stopped being surprised about how capable Kelsier was of pulling it from him. He was just a rather ridiculous dog, and Nico was enjoying his company immensely. It had been a long time since he had done anything as frivolous as playing, and he found it was good for the soul. It was good to do something light, if only for a few moments. He didn’t want to stop now.
Nico gave a firm tug, not hard enough to completely pull it from Kelsier’s grasp, but hard enough that it might be a little bit difficult to hang on. He wasn’t particularly bothered about winning in a timely fashion. He was just trying to keep both himself and Kelsier entertained for the time being. Perhaps he was influenced by how much he wanted this moment to last. He couldn’t imagine many more like it in the future.

If it were life or death, Nico probably could have held onto the stick with a little bit more force. The fact was, though, that it was a game, and Kelsier seemed very desperate to win. Nico didn’t really have the heart to let him lose. That didn’t, however, mean that Nico was going to give him an easy win. He held on as long as he could, eyes widening in surprise as Kelsier’s last yank pulled the stick from his hands. He stumbled backwards, only barely avoiding falling down into the mud.
“Good boy!” Nico called, dusting off his hands before wiping them on his black pants. He didn’t want to end up with any splinters or anything.
“You want me to throw it again?” Nico asked, crossing his arms as he glanced at Kelsier. “I can’t do that unless you bring it here and give it to me. I think you know that, though. I think you’re just stubborn and don’t like to lose.”

Nico’s brows raised as Kelsier seemed to gain even more energy after successfully freeing the stick. Nico honestly hadn’t thought that possible, but there he was, leaping and prancing like his excitement before had just been a warmup.
“You got it,” Nico said, bemused. His arms were crossed as though mildly exasperated, but there was nothing but fondness in his tone. He didn’t know why he had developed a soft spot for the wolf in less than two nights, but he didn’t want to undo it now. Nico may not have known his name or anything about the person Kelsier was, but there was something pure and innocent about the wolf he became when the full moon rose. He was a killer, sure, but there was something beyond that. Something Nico doubted anyone ever stopped to find.
And then Kelsier bounded back and dropped the stick, and Nico picked it up before he could change his mind. He glanced around for the direction that had the most open space, then flung the stick as hard as he could in that direction.

Nico watched, barely stifling a laugh as Kelsier flipped forward, somehow managing to catch himself and look fairly dignified as he landed. Or… well, as dignified as a giant wolf playing fetch could look. He didn’t know if the human part of Kelsier would be offended by Nico’s laughter, so he tried to refrain from it. He moved forward, though, doing his best to make sure Kelsier was alright. It didn’t look like what he had done hurt him, but it wasn’t outside the realm of possibility.
“You okay?” Nico asked, knowing full well that Kelsier couldn’t understand him, and even if he could, they didn’t speak the same language. Or rather, Nico was choosing not to speak the same language as Kelsier likely spoke.
“Good boy,” he said again, kneeling in front of him and holding a hand out for Kelsier, if he wanted to sniff it or indicate where he wanted to be pet. He didn’t know if playtime was over yet or not. As far as Nico was concerned, he was Kelsier’s for the rest of the night. Whatever the wolf felt like doing, Nico would be there to make sure he didn’t get hurt doing it.

Nico’s brow raised as Kelsier more or less headbutted him. There was something about the pure, excitable happiness of the wolf that made him feel like maybe, just maybe, there was a chance they could be okay. There was a chance they wouldn’t all be seen as monsters. Kelsier had tried to kill someone the first time they had met, and Nico had stopped him. Now he didn’t seem like much of a killer at all, just a very excitable, boisterous dog. Nico scratched gently at Kelsier’s forehead, mussing up the fur there just because he could (and because it made the wolf look just about as ridiculous as he was acting).
“You’re a good boy,” Nico whispered for what seemed like the hundredth time. “Do you want me to throw the stick? More tug of war? Or I can pet you, if you’d prefer that?”

It was difficult to reconcile the tense, hard wolf Kelsier had been when Nico had first seen him with the happy endless ball of energy in front of him now. It was odd, seeing one creature be two extremes. Nico liked this version better, of course, but he felt part of himself in the other version of Kelsier. The version that was a monster, more or less. The version that nobody could control, the part that needed to be prevented from seeing the light of day in the first place. Not that Nico ever saw the light of day. Not that the playful wolf in front of him ever saw the light of day either. They were both exiled to the night, where humans with any sense at all feared to tread. They were the monsters in the dark. And right now, they were playing fetch.
Nico picked up the stick, pulling it back behind his ear and pretending to throw it. He hid it behind his back as soon as that was done, brows raised as he waited to see what Kelsier would do.

Nico hadn’t actually expected that to work. Either this man was an absolute idiot, or he lost some of that intelligence when he transformed. Although Nico was inclined to think it was the latter, the idea of it being the former was rather endearing. He did his best to shake the thought off, shaking his head fondly at Kelsier. He kept the stick behind his back and gave a large shrug.
“Where’d it go?” he asked in mock confusion, looking up and around the sky. “Did you find it?” He glanced back down at Kelsier, at the confused expression on his face. It was odd to him, how expressive the wolf managed to be. It was almost as though he could hear the elevator music playing in his head instead of thoughts. It was honestly rather endearing.
After a few moments Nico relented, pulling the stick out from behind his back and waving it enticingly at Kelsier.
“You wanna go get it?” he asked, allowing a bit of energy to seep into his voice. He waved it for a few moments before he leapt up in the air, throwing it further than he had managed the other two times. It disappeared into the distance, and Nico couldn’t help but hope that Kelsier would bring it right back instead of getting distracted by human prey.

Nico waited a few moments for Kelsier to return, eyes narrowed as he tried to see into the distance. He thought he would have been able to see him, but his vision didn’t extend quite that far. Perhaps, he thought, he had thrown it with just a little bit too much eagerness. That was… unfortunate. He took in a deep breath, eyes narrowed as he looked out into the distance. It had been too long. Kelsier should have been back by then. He should be bounding back over the ground, stick in his mouth as he tried (and failed) to come to a graceful stop. He wasn’t coming.
It didn’t take Nico more than a few seconds to decide to pursue him. He bit his lip, making sure he had everything he needed to, then leapt forward, blurring as he ran as fast as he could in the direction of the stick. There Kelsier was, looking once more like the wolf Nico had first found, not the overgrown puppy he had become.
“Hey,” Nico whispered, not wanting to come out of the shadows. The shadows were safe. They were comfortable. People were going to ask questions if they saw a pale faced boy of Nico’s age wandering around completely alone. He took in a deep breath (one he didn’t strictly need), then called again.
“I need a name for you,” he muttered, mostly to himself. “Are you okay?” He was trying to speak as soothingly as possible. Trying to keep Kelsier calm, because Nico could smell them too. He had the same thought, but he had the wherewithal to ignore it: prey. Food. A reminder of how hungry he was, a pang of knowledge that one raccoon’s blood just wasn’t enough. It wasn’t the same.

Nico watched Kelsier, eyes narrowing as he realized that Kelsier wasn’t going to listen to him. It would have been simple enough to take control of him again to get his attention, but he didn’t want to do that. He had decided once that he wasn’t that kind of person, and he would do everything in his power not to force his will upon Kelsier (or any other creature) again. He had seen the panic in Kelsier’s eyes. He had seen the unnatural way he had stopped. It was an experience he didn’t want to repeat.
“Please,” Nico whispered harshly, doing his best to get Kelsier’s attention. It wasn’t going to be easy. He could smell the humans, too. Their blood was sweet and tempting… too tempting. Nico squeezed his eyes shut, then made his decision. He launched himself forward, skidding to a stop right in front of Kelsier. In order to get to the humans, the wolf would have to go through him, first. If he was really that desperate… well, Nico had no doubts that Kelsier would be able to merely bat him aside, if it came down to it. He just hoped that his presence would be enough to bring Kelsier back down from the edge.

Nico didn’t know what he was thinking, leaping in front of Kelsier like that. Kelsier was a brutal killer, just like Nico was at times, and he was in attack mode. There was a chance he wouldn’t even recognize his friend from moments before. Nico had no idea how lycanthropy worked – were there two wolves that came out in the evenings? Was it similar to how it was for Nico, where there was a monster buried deep inside of him that sprang to life whenever it seemed like his body might not survive? It was like a built-in alarm system that also functioned as an attack dog. If he was hungry, his body would take over and he’d be feeding before he even had a chance to process that he had moved. The victims of those attacks rarely survived… Nico shrugged away the thought, not wanting to think about his trail of bodies. He hadn’t had a choice. That didn’t stop it from hurting.
“It’s me,” Nico said after a moment, holding up his hand for Kelsier to sniff if he’d like. “I… I didn’t share my name before. I ‘m… I’m Nico. I’m your friend. I gave you a raccoon earlier, and I know it’s not enough, but… but hurting people won’t help. It won’t make the hunger go away. It will only get stronger.”

“Shhh,” Nico soothed, making sure he didn’t come close enough to touch Kelsier. He understood why the wolf didn’t want him that near. Nico had his own experience with personal space, and he generally didn’t like to be touched other than by a few specific people. Those people were all dead now, but he supposed that Kelsier counted. He was an animal, but he actually wanted to be in Nico’s company, so it had to count. He was choosing to spend time with Nico, if only because he was the only person there who wasn’t afraid.
“You don’t want to hurt anyone,” Nico whispered, daring to take a small half-step closer, “They’re all innocent, yeah? They’re people with… with lives and memories and thoughts of their own. With people they want to protect and meals they need to eat, just like you. If you hurt someone… it wouldn’t just affect them.” Nico knew his lecture was lost on Kelsier, but he hoped his disappointment was evident in his voice. He didn’t want Kelsier to feel guilty, he just needed to get the situation across. It would have been a great speech if anyone had been around to hear.
“Do you want me to find another stick?” Nico asked, searching Kelsier’s eyes. “We can play fetch again.” He lifted a hand, mimicking throwing a stick like he had just minutes before.

“I’ve been saying you’re a good boy,” Nico murmured, allowing a half smile to touch his features, “but now I really mean it. You’re… you’re a really good boy.” He hadn’t actually expected Kelsier to listen to him. He had expected to be attacked… he hadn’t expected to be able to save any more lives. Perhaps it was because Kelsier wasn’t as hungry this time as he had been the last time, or perhaps it was just because he was smarter than Nico had given him credit for, but he was impressed. And comforted. The monstrous side of Kelsier seemed to be just as violent and difficult to deal with as the monstrous side of Nico, but somehow… somehow the monstrous part of Kelsier had been bargained with. Which meant… which meant that eventually, Nico might be able to convince himself not to attack anyone, even when he got hungry. Or… maybe he would find someone who would do that for him, eventually. He wanted to feel like he was safe to be around. He wasn’t yet.
“Yeah, stick. Fetch,” Nico laughed softly, grateful that he had managed to divert Kelsier’s attention. “Why don’t you go find a nice big one? Can you do that?” He started looking around, trying to show Kelsier what to do. He could probably find one himself, but he had a feeling Kelsier might feel more accomplished if he found one for himself.

Kelsier looked strong. Like… really strong. Stronger than most wolves, and almost certainly stronger than any dogs Nico had met. Which meant that the stick was extremely heavy, if Kelsier couldn’t lift it. It didn’t even really classify as a stick, it probably could have been its own tree all by itself if someone stuck it in the ground the right way. It wouldn’t grow, but… it was big enough to have the appearance of a tree. Nico was fairly certain it was larger than he was, but given his tiny, permanently ten-year-old body, that wasn’t a difficult thing to accomplish. He was more than strong enough to make up for it, though. He lightly pet Kelsier on the forehead, scratching behind his ears for just a moment before he heaved the stick off the ground. Even with his extremely magnified strength, he could feel a little bit of resistance from the stick. It was heavy.
Nico glanced around, wishing they weren’t in the middle of the city. Wishing that Kelsier lived somewhere a little bit more rural. He tried to make a mental map of where he was, but the image eluded him. He took a deep breath in, then a long look around before he threw the giant stick back in the direction they had come from. It didn’t fly nearly as far or as high as the other stick had, but Nico couldn’t shake the feeling that the proximity might be a good thing. It meant he could keep a constant eye on Kelsier before he even thought of attacking.

Nico watched, arms crossed and brow raising in amusement as Kelsier retrieved the stick. It was impressive, how dedicated he was to it – there was a reason, Nico thought, that wolves and dogs were used for various tasks. As long as they were interested in what they were doing, it seemed as though they never tired. They were obedient, and they did almost exactly what they were told, even… even when they didn’t understand the language the words were spoken in. Perhaps it was just the inflection that they learned to pick up.
“Good boy,” Nico said again, scratching under Kelsier’s chin as he reached to take the branch back from him. He was struck by how much more difficult Kelsier’s job in this situation was than his own. All he had to do was pick up the stick and throw it, all the while watching to make sure that Kelsier didn’t get into trouble again. Kelsier was the one who actually had to bring the stick back, and it looked like quite the ordeal.
He lifted up the stick, throwing it once more and watching it soar over the nearby landscape.