Spectral Woods I just want to tell you before I go... I'm sorry 'bout me

Takes place right at the base of the mountain. @Nori let's get ten posts so you can get RE life points :)
RE: An unusually vibrant and widespread display of the Northern Lights illuminates the night sky over Relic Lore.

Archer

Breathing was hard. Walking was hard. Hell, everything was hard and he couldn't stand it anymore... but he forced himself to stumble on. Here they were, finally at the great roots of the mountain, and the path up seemed insurmountable. Archer knew couldn't be {I}that[/I> hard since Fools Gold Chasm had brought young pups up, but... each step was a challenge already.

He'd barely spoken the last three days. The burning in his leg had faded, and now that the skin had turned black and flakey the pain was barely there. He knew that was a bad thing. Archer drooled constantly, he could barely eat without throwing up... he was getting sicker.

Nori had been a rock, of course. She'd stayed with him, talked to him in his silence. They both knew the same thing, but neither had said it.

Well, now he was going to say it.

As night fell, Archer stumbled one last time and turned the motion to a controlled sink to his belly. He sighed. "I can't make it," he said softly, voice cracking. Whether from misuse, or grief, or the toll of the venom on his body he did not know.

Archer looked up at Nori. "Stay with me?"

She hadn’t expected him to live this long. They’d spent the last three days heading toward the mountain, at what felt like a snail’s pace, trying to get there before the inevitable. Archer didn’t talk a lot, but she understood why, so Nori talked for the both of them - encouraged, joked, tried to make the ordeal a little bearable. She thought she must’ve lied more in the last three days than she had in her entire life, both to him and to herself, but with the venom’s progression it was getting more and more difficult to do so.

Her legs ached and her head throbbed, but she wasn’t about to complain aloud. It had been a long journey, and though they hadn’t reached their destination, tonight felt like an ending of sorts. Nori knew before Archer even laid down that they were likely approaching his last moments on earth.

Still, to hear it said aloud… the pain in her chest made the ache in her head seem so mild in comparison.

Nori hadn’t ever been around a dying wolf before, let alone a dying friend. Offering comfort wasn’t her strongest suit - there were so many other people who would’ve made for a better companion for someone suffering like Archer was. But she was there, and she wasn’t going anywhere, and she needed him to know that.

She wanted to argue - tell him that of course you can make it, it’s just a little ways away, but the words stuck to her tongue like sap on fur. She couldn’t lie anymore.

Instead, she decided not to address that part. She’d offer a smile instead of more empty words, and shove whatever she was feeling deep down inside to deal with later.

“Of course I will. You think I’d leave you alone now?” she asked, tentatively laying down beside him and pressing her side to his. She couldn’t offer much, but this was something she was able to give. Night was creeping in around them, plunging the forest into darkness, and it was getting colder. She wouldn’t let Archer get cold on top of everything else that was happening.

Archer

He'd almost expected more empty words of encouragement, trying to get him up the mountain. They were less than a day away, now, but Archer didn't think he could stand even if he wanted to now. His muscles trembled and spasmed, his paws twitching of their own accord, and Archer no longer had the will to force them to obey.

He'd given up.

Nori laid beside him and he leaned into her warmth, glad that he was not alone.

Colors lit the sky, drawing a surprised breath from the man. His eyes watered as he looked up. It was almost like the night was bidding him farewell - or perhaps welcome? Archer didn't know what he believed about the afterlife, or if there was one. He hoped he could see Sephrina again, and grandma Katna. That someday he would see Ally, and Eros, and his da-

His breath caught. "Nori," he murmured. "I need to ask you for something important." he looked at her.

Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.

Archer pressed against her and Nori used her larger frame to half-curl around the man, selfishly drawing some comfort from the contact as well. She had been so focused on him that she hadn’t even looked at the sky until she noticed the colors dancing across his darker fur. Was it just her imagination, or did the lights look even brighter than usual?

Her name drew her back to the present. Brown eyes flicked back to silver, and her heart thudded in her chest, anxiety and fear and grief and worry blending into one ugly emotion that clawed behind her ribs.

“Anything,” she said, and meant it with every fibre of her being. In that moment, she was willing to do whatever he asked of her.

Archer

Nori was quick to offer him anything and Archer grimaced. There was still that tinge of panic in the back of his mind, growing louder as he felt the burning cold creeping up on him, but he was just so tired. Everything ached and he.... he was ready for a nap.

But not quite yet.

"You have to find her," he said. "Her and my brother - Ally and Eros. Eros and my dad lead Dead Empress Backwater... please get Ally to them. I want..." he didn't want to insult her, now Knowing she was an Eastfall, but... "They're going to need her," he added quietly.

His mouth suddenly felt dry, even though the could feel drool dripping from his chin. "They can't be left wondering," he said, even quieter now, almost talking to his paws. He remembered what it was like, not knowing what happened to his mom for all that time - not knowing what happened to Kateri. "I know it's a lot to ask, but... please. They have to know."

Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.