[center][color=rosybrown][h2][i]Nika Surt-Kallin[/i][/h2][/color][/center]
[hr]
[color=silver]Maeki's reassurance clearly held weight with the nobles as both of them appeared to let go of some of their tension. Though not to Brig's level, Nika was still high strung himself - and he was almost glad to ease up, relax his protective stance, and just listen to his lady say her piece. While she spoke he kept his eyes on the mercenaries, all three of them, but his stare was not as charged as it had just been. He would be the first to admit that he wasn't the kind of man that was smart enough to test these recruits with feints; his reaction to them, especially the two unexpected guests, had been genuine. So it was that if these recommendations from Maeki were to potentially join their cause, then he was at least glad that neither had shrunk away from his posturing. They would have made for poor hired blades if they had.

Nika was also not the best judge of people, but he watched them, noted their faces, their expressions, as Brig explained what had happened and why the two of them had come to Blackpebble. Though he hardly possessed any guile, empathy was something that he had in spades. He thought he could see flickers of emotion in the mercenaries, their surprise and their resolve as the tale continued. 

Idly he'd wrapped one hand around the wound on his arm hidden beneath a hasty patch job. At this point Nika believed that the people gathered in the room would not turn on them (at the moment at least), but he still couldn't relax. His attention was pulled from the strangers only by the feel of his friend's dark gaze on him, and he turned to meet her stare before she went on to introduce him. He could hear the pride in Brig's voice, and he stood up taller and straighter for it. 

He could also hear the imminent crash that Brig was going to have if she didn't get some actual rest soon. Mayhaps they could see if Maeki, in all his hospitality, would be willing to give them a secure room to recover in for a little while.

Nika nodded to the strangers, his first actual greeting of them. He couldn't blame them for taking their time to sort their thoughts, but the stretch of silence would have made him fidget if he'd had the energy for it. When it was finally broken the knight let out a short sigh, and one after another the mercenaries spoke up.

Well, save for the first. The woman had yet to say anything, though Nika hadn't missed the change in her body language and her nod of what he had to guess was agreement to join Brig's cause. He traced the movement of her hand in the space in front of her, recognizing a few moments late that she'd spelled out a name. Her name, he assumed. Then instead of being the strong, silent type of mercenary, perhaps she actually couldn't speak? [i]At least we'll know she won't be tattlin' our location to any Mage Knights,[/i] he thought to himself, then suppressed a grimace at his own inner monologue. That was unbecoming - mental fatigue must really have been catching up to him. 

The Southerner seemed to relate to both the story and the plan, if his easy agreement to join was anything to go by. He made sure to add that he would [i]see it through[/i], and if Aslan actually was as stalwart an ally as he purported, Nika hoped that he spoke true. 

And finally, the mage killer. Siegfried. Nika supposed that they should be glad that the man had agreed to fight for them, but he was the person that Nika was wariest of in the room. Every dirty, withering look that the scarred man sent his way Nika tried to catch with his own stare, a spark of stubbornness in his eyes. He felt that he had nothing to prove to the stranger, but he also refused to be the wedge that drove Brig's chosen mercenary away. If he had to demonstrate his loyalty to Fenris over and over again, then he would gladly do continue to do it. Hopefully Siegfried would tolerate working with a mageblood like him in the mean time, if it would lead him to more mages to snuff out.

That zealous hatred gnawed at Nika though. Brig had spoken the truth when she'd said that he shared the Northmen's resentment for the West, but the thought of indiscriminate slaughter did not sit well with him. Only at Siegfried's last barb did Nika avert his gaze, instead looking down at the hand that slipped from his bicep. He flexed his fingers, tightening the glove into a fist before releasing it. Beneath his skin thrummed his own aura, and... something else. But he wasn't like those mages. He thought of kind, hazy Luxun faces from his early memories. He thought of his mother, gentle and beautiful, still struggling to live in the harsh climate even after all this time. They weren't the monsters that this budding group were going to hunt. 

[color=rosybrown]"Glad t' see you're so eager,"[/color] Nika said, pulling his attention back to Siegfried. He couldn't keep the uneasy edge from his voice. 

Then he glanced at the other two mercenaries, passing a hand over his heart in much the same way that Eirún had. 

[color=rosybrown]"Like Brig said, I'm Nika... you'll forgive me for bein' cautious, I hope. Considerin'."[/color] He waved the same hand in a vague circular motion. [i]Considering everything.[/i] His words were softer now, weariness leeching into them, but his eyes were still alert. And he tried to offer them something that passed as a friendly smile, but wasn't quite sure if he succeeded. 

What was left now was deciding their next move. Bet had mentioned traveling to the border with Haldr. Even with the extra men they hadn't expected, they would likely need more firepower... but East? To go East would take them further from Stonecrown, lengthen their journey, give the traitorous agents time to really establish their hold over the city. Every moment they left Lord Fenris in their enemies' clutches meant a greater chance that he would be killed, if he even still lived. 

...but Nika knew Brig felt that even more keenly than he did. The knight considered Kurt to be more than just the lord he followed, something close to his own pa at times, but Brig was the man's blood. She was also heir to the wolf and Fenris itself, whether or not the other two clan heads claimed differently in the wake of the coup. Whatever she decided, to continue to the border or to return to the keep, he would be behind her.

[color=rosybrown]"What d'you want t'do, Brig?"[/color] Nika asked as he looked at her, his expression firm but supportive. [color=rosybrown]"We can regroup here, then head back the way we came or to the border when you're ready. S'your call."[/color] [/color]