all these things that I have done

"Better," Niko hummed with approval as Danny's breaths deepened. "Danny, wasn't it? Danny Rassi of Ithresta? I'm Niko."

He stroked a thumb against Danny's chest, in time with his breathing until it had evened out to a steady pace. When Danny had calmed Niko looked at him curiously.

"Now what is a boy like you doing in a place like this? Especially one so easily lost."

Danny gasped faintly, feeling Niko's thumb stroke across his chest until he calmed down. He glanced at the other when he spoke, shivering lightly. "My brothers... They thought it would be g-good for me if I got acquainted with the sounds out here..." He couldn't stop the heat rising on his cheeks, and quickly looked away, shifting his body, which caused him to cry out in pain.

"Are you feeling more acquainted yet?" Niko asked, then jolted back in alarm at the cry of pain.

"Do you owe your brothers this too? To get acquainted with pain?" He asked Danny. His hand stayed on the other man's chest and he bought the other up to roam for injuries, anything that felt particularly out of place or damp with blood.

Danny shivered again. "S-Sam, my older brother... H-he did this," he mumbled, unable to look directly at Niko. He drew a sharp intake of breath when Niko's hand ran over his side, where there was a bloodstain on his shirt. He kept his one hand on top of Niko's still, the other gripping onto the nearest object he could find, in this case a tree branch, his teeth gritting together.

Niko drew his fingers away when Danny flinched, glancing down at the blood that smeared his fingertips.

"I'm going to be entirely honest with you," Niko said, ducking his head to meet Danny's eye. "I have absolutely no idea what to do with this. I can't say that this is something I regularly stumble across so you need to get your hunter brain and all your survival knowledge ticking and tell me what to do."

Danny looked at him, trying to think. "There's a plant... With red leaves, that have f-four points..." He let his hand that was on top of Niko's fall to his side. He didn't know what to feel right now. On one hand, Niko was the enemy. But on the other, he was really trying to help.

"A plant with red leaves and four points," Niko looked at Danny incredulously. "I'm guessing you want it then? What do you want me to do, leave you propped up here and hope for the best?"

Niko withdrew his hands from Danny's body and brought one up to tug at a lock of hair, a nervous habit of his. The man clearly appeared to need help, but venturing too far... those brothers of his might come back, for himself or for Danny he wasn't sure, but neither prospect seemed particularly pleasant.

Danny swallowed. "Please... It stops the bl-bleeding... I'll be okay," he said, looking up at the other. "There aren't any other options, unless you w-want to wait and hope somebody else comes by..." His breathing was starting to change again. "P-please..."

Niko swore under his breath then nodded.

"Fine," he told Danny, "Fine, but if I see any sign of danger I'm gone, understand?"

He stepped away, forgoing his boots once more for quieter footfalls amongst the trees. He glanced back at Danny once more before going in search of the plant he'd requested.

Danny watched him go, and then closed his eyes, trembling slightly. He hoped the plant wasn't hard to find. He wasn't planning a trap for the other, but he didn't know what else was lurking in the forests, or if his brothers - Sam and Jimmy - would return. Every noise he didn't know scared him - some hunter he was - and he pressed himself up against the tree, ignoring his pain, as he hoped it would make him harder to see.

It didn't take Niko long to find the plant Danny had described. He yanked it out at the root, unsure just how much the other man would need, and what exactly he planned to do with it. He headed back the way he'd come to find Danny pressed against a tree, and huffed a soft laugh despite himself.

"You need to work on your camouflage," Niko commented as he drew close. "Not even my grandmother would have a hard time spotting you."

Danny laughed, but there was a bitter twinge to it. "Yeah. I'm definitely making my family proud," he muttered, then reached for the plant. He tore off a few leaves and put them in his mouth, starting to chew on them. He shakily pulled his shirt off his head, swallowing when he saw the wound on his side. He didn't look directly at Niko as he spat the leaves back into his hand, pressing the poultice against his side, a faint moan escaping him.

Niko leant against a tree to pull his boots on, watching Danny as he chewed the plant and stuck the resulting mess against the wound in his side. How strange it must be, he thought, to have to rely on such things for injuries.

Boots back on, he straightened, brushing damp hair from his face as he looked back at Danny. He drew another cigarette from his pocket, lighting it with a match as he contemplated what to do. Danny had his plant now, there was little more to do. The man clearly distrusted him, and there were worse threats out there. He was putting himself in danger just lingering.

Danny swallowed again, pulling the poultice away, which had stopped the bleeding. He shakily stood up, holding onto the tree branches for support. "Th-thanks for your help," he muttered quietly, "I... uh..." He backed up a little, nearly tripping on a tree root, crying out when he had to steady himself. The second cry turned out not to be in their favor as something large growled not too far away. Danny froze.

Niko blinked as the young man almost tripped, barely even registering the growl in the face of his clumsiness.

"Are you always like this?" Niko asked, moving forward to catch Danny's arm, ducking under it to half drag the other man away from the sound. "You're actually a mess, did you know that? It's a wonder you've made it this far in life at all. A hunter, in the woods, weaponless! It truly is an absurdity."

His rambling was more for his own sake than anything. He was used to these woods, and nothing that growled boded well for any one.

Danny's eyes widened in shock when Niko grabbed his arm and started pulling him along. "I wasn't thinking, okay?" he gasped out, stifling a sob. He was in pain from this, but he figured it was better than being eaten. Besides, he hated to admit, he wasn't officially a hunter yet, as he was deemed too weak and scared.

"Evidently," Niko huffed. He disregarded Danny's sob for the time being, tossing glances over his shoulder. Normally he would just sing one of the melodies his mother taught him to repel danger, but with the other man with him... he wasn't sure how well he would react to that, he was still a hunter- as inexperienced as he was- and putting hands over ears to block out the sound didn't have a particularly high success rate.

Danny couldn't quite understand why Niko was helping him. He shivered, still running behind Niko, as another growl came to the right of them. Never had he felt so helpless before. His eyes were wide in panic, wondering when, or if, they would be safe.

Niko faltered as another growl came. They were too slow, or the thing was too fast, whichever way it went running didn't seem to be much use. Flight had failed them, so he supposed fight was all that was left.

He drew to a halt, chest heaving as he caught his breath enough to fill his lungs properly.

Danny gasped when Niko drew to a halt. "What are you doing?" he asked in a panic, trembling in fear. He heard the growl, closer, and he looked around wildly, trying to figure out where the creature was.