Falls

Well, that worked out in his favor. Yet, the dun did not settle from where he stood like a cat ready to strike. His head was still low and his teeth were still bared. It took everything Nahawi had left to stand here on his own hooves, but he managed it. Sucking in a breath that rattled in his lungs, Nahawi snorted before he coughed. Blood bubbled as spittle along his lips, but he did not wipe it away. Instead, he just glared a bit harder at what Thranduil said next.

“Of course I don’t.” He snapped. Shaking on his hooves, Nahawi forced himself to shift a bit before he rolled his eyes. “What have you got to do out of the bog then Thranduil? There is no one to raid here or try to take home. Just my old self and these set of bleached bones.” Tilting his head to the side, Nahawi closed his eyes and winced when his neck cracked just below where his bones met his skull. The popping was growing more common these days, but so was the bloody spit and coughing that made his mouth taste of iron.

Finally, Nahawi could no longer stand. Slowly crumbling to the ground, the red dun curled around the bones one more and this time rested his chin on Aase’s skull. His one good eye was glassy again, but tears did not fall. He did not name who he was laying beside, but anyone from his time in the Lagoon would probably be able to guess it was the woman he ran away with.