Caw's Turn | Init: 19
HP 09/09 | Status: None
Caw had never stabbed anyone before - not the way he stabbed the kobold, anyhow. He'd stabbed those that wished him harm. He'd stabbed to dissuade, or to get away. To hurt, sometimes, though he could not claim it had happened often. Mostly he'd stabbed to survive.
Never before had he stabbed to kill. His arrows had taken lives in the battles he'd partook in today, but that had been different too. He'd taken lives from afar, and he'd never had to see the blood from up close. He'd protected his friends. He'd had no choice.
The limp body of the kobold felt thrice as heavy as it should have when Caw dragged it away from view. He could only imagine two-thirds were the weight of guilt.
Caw set the kobold down in the shadows, then took his place next to it. For a moment, he stood solemnly in silence, head hanging low.
"Live," he whispered in Vaal's drawling tone. He did not know what it meant, but he had found the word beautiful when he'd first heard it. It was the only sendoff Caw could hope to offer. With it done, the kenku bent down to close the kobold's eyes. But it made no matter. He could still see its stare.
Caw backed away. Silently, as if the kobold was just sleeping and he was trying not to wake it up.
A bright, pink streak shot across the sky once more, drawing Caw's attention. He turned to follow its trail, but it disappeared from view before his eyes could adjust. He didn't see where it hit - but the could hear it strike true somewhere unseen.
Then he noticed the halfling. They were huddling behind another barrel a little further ahead. Caw clasped a hand to his beak to quell a gasp, then dug further behind the barrel. Had the halfling seen him? He could only hope not. If they had...
Caw's gaze trailed back to where the kobold's body lay motionless. Its head was turned the other way - but he could still see its stare.
