When the yelling began, the child curled into a ball. When she heard gunfire, she began sobbing. She was terrified for her life.

He had begun the yelling. He had lead the shooting. He saw the girl's injuries. He saw the cultists' weapons and things. He had to protect the child.

When the noise died down she stopped sobbing in favor of quietly sniffling. She remained in her defensive curl.

He sat in front of the huddled girl, and gently put a hand on her shoulder while whispering, "Hey. Hi."

She jerked away from his touch, whimpering in fear. "No!" She screeched, curling herself up further.

He pulled back his hand. "Hey, it's okay kiddo. I won't hurt you. You're okay." He spoke as calmly as he could, trying to get her to let him help her.

Gradually she loosened her posture. She winced in pain as she moved, still bleeding from the wrists.

As she loosened up, he placed his hand back on her shoulder. She tensed up a bit, but leaned into his touch. "Alright kiddo, c'mere." He said after she had relaxed a bit.

She dove forward when he asked her, and she wept into his shoulder, clinging to him tightly.

He was startled when she buried herself against him, but wrapped her in his arms. "Okay kiddo, we're gonna go." He told her, gently lifting the small child into his arms. "You alright?"

"Mm-hmm." She hummed into his shoulder, showing no signs of letting go of him.

As he carried her, he talked to her. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Nolan. What's your name?"

She raised her head and mumbled "Irisa." Then buried her face in his shoulder again.

He carried her to the medical tent that his associates had ready. "Kiddo, I'm gonna have my friend dress your wounds, okay? She'll get you feeling all better."

"Don't leave." She didn't ask. She simply stated that he wasn't allowed to go.

"I'm not going anywhere, Irisa. Gladys, I got an injured kid here!" He called for the doctor, who walked over to him. Gladys frowned at him.

"Is she expecting me to be able to help her when she's clinging to you like that, Nolan?" Gladys asked him, annoyed.

Irisa clung tighter to Nolan. "Not letting go."

Nolan frowned at that. "Irisa, you have to let go of me so Gladys can help you. She looks a little scary but she won't hurt you."

Irisa was silent for a long moment. "Looks?" She asked hesitantly.

Gladys frowned further. "Nolan, put her on the exam table-"

"No!" Irisa shrieked, causing Nolan to wince.

"-or sit down and turn her so she's facing me." Gladys amended, and Irisa did not object.

When Nolan got himself seated and had Irisa on his lap, facing outward, he frowned. She wasn't looking around. She moved only when someone spoke.

Gladys looked over the girl. "She's blind. That's why she won't let you put her down. She has no way to navigate. Also she needs antivenom for the snake bite. And if you would be so kind could you cut the rest of the twine away from her wrists?" The doctor handed him a pair of scissors.

"She- I mean, Irisa, you're blind?" Nolan asked the little girl, stunned. "Why didn't you say anything?" He carefully untied the twine tying her wrists rather than cut it off.

"They said my blindness meant I was chosen to see. I didn't want to be chosen again. It was bad enough that mommy and daddy made me go to whatever you saved me from." Irisa explained simply, holding still as Nolan untied her wrists.

Gladys returned with the antivenom and bandages and some rubbing alcohol. "Sounds like a Castithan cult's philosophy. Don't know how an Irathient family got roped in." She stated and started cleaning Irisa's wounds. To Irisa's credit she merely winced at the stinging of the cleaning agent. The child didn't speak again until after Gladys was done.

"What's a Castithan? What's an Irathient?" Irisa asked once Gladys had her patched up. She was alone with Nolan now, eating a sandwich on his lap, still happy to snuggle into his chest.

Nolan didn't really know how to explain to the girl without using appearance as description, but he tried. "Well, Castithans and Irathients are two of the kinds of people in the world. You are an Irathient, and Irathients are strong, brave people who fight for what they believe in. Castithans are bossy."

"Oh." Irisa said, and then thought a moment. "You're an Irathient then, aren't you? You're strong and brave and fought for me."

Nolan chuckled. "I like how you think, kiddo." He patted her head gently. No harm in letting her think he was an Irathient, right?

For a while they sat in silence. Nolan thought maybe the little girl fell asleep, until she tugged on his jacket gently.

"Nolan? What's going to happen to me now?" Irisa whispered, scared.

Nolan thought for a moment. "Well, you can't go back to your parents, so I guess you're stuck with me until we can find a family who will love you."

"Can't you be my family? Don't you already care about me?" Irisa gazed up at his face with sightless eyes, still managing to stare at him.

"Let's get some rest, kiddo. We can talk more about family tomorrow." Nolan said, lifting Irisa into his arms again, ready to settle her into his bedroll. He could sleep on the ground for now.

"Do you promise to be there when I wake up? You won't leave me?" Irisa asked as he settled her in the bedroll, her eyes shimmering.

"Of course I promise, Irisa. Now get some sleep. You've had quite a day." Nolan gave her a kiss on the forehead, and sat beside her, leaning against a crate.

Irisa yawned and after a few minutes she was sleeping soundly. Nolan smiled at her, he could enjoy being family to this kid.

So... not a lot going on in the world of Defiance fics lately, huh? Well, this has been rattling around my head for a few months now. Please tell me your thoughts, this is the first time I've written a blind character so any tips or ideas would be welcome. I have a few more chapters written, but I'm not gonna post all at once. Um, thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it so far!

And for those of you following my crossover that I haven't updated in... a long time... I'm just a tad stuck on it, I haven't given up completely.

Defiance is so not mine.