It took Connor a good while to track down the charred corpse before him. A long process of scanning his environment for relevant clues and making sure they added up to Niles before going onward. Singed fur, a hoof print... Niles is sneaky, but everyone leaves traces of themselves behind, and Connor was built specifically to find those traces. It all added up to this, though. And at first Connor feels a weight drop in his stomach, a dizzying sensation of horror overwhelming him. He's afraid to go near the body for a while, pacing nearby because he can't bear to have to look at Niles like this. But... he has to, doesn't he? He's the only one out here.
He crouches down by the corpse, finally. Reaches out to touch the closest horn, mourning silently, even if he's still angry about what happened during the full moons. He didn't want this, no matter how hurt he was. It's only upon closer inspection that he realises something feels... off. Connor is intimately familiar with Niles and his anatomy by now. The horn doesn't look right. It's in a strange location on his head, off by just a fraction. Maybe a regular human wouldn't have noticed, but Connor is hardly that. He scans the body more closely. The horns are too far spaced apart. He checks all over, and comes to a conclusion after the tail turns out to be too short and the teeth are all wrong- this isn't Niles. This is Niles' stuff for sure, and from a distance and even close up it can initially be confused for him, but it isn't. His theory is confirmed when he checks Niles' watch. It's still on.
Taking his own watch back, along with Myr's, Connor is faced with a dilemma. Niles obviously didn't intend to be found out. This is his stuff- his necklace, the remains of his stinger sheath, the watches he took- so it is therefore obvious that he wanted this corpse to be mistaken for him. Burning it beyond being recognisable was likely done after death, to make it near impossible to tell who it really was. But Connor knows the truth. He can go back and tell everyone that Niles is alive, and hiding... or he can say he found his corpse, and let Niles go. People would be inclined to believe him. He's an honest guy, and even when he's lying he's very good at it. But what does he do?
Linden is in the hospital because of Niles. He wasn't killed, but he was mutilated. Maybe that's a worse fate? He isn't sure, it would take time to study that thought, and it would be heavily swayed by his own beliefs and general fear of death. It's still an awful ordeal, though. Surely the perpetrator deserves to be brought to justice. That's what the cop in him thinks. If that's the case though, why does he feel like he can't do that? He thinks of all the times he spent with Niles, of when he saved him, when he came to visit him after, of how he'd felt during that kiss before everything was ruined. He's being influenced by his emotions again. He can see it happening, and he can't stop it. The facts are present in front of him and he's still hesitating. It makes him angry with himself.
Realising he's been staring dully at the necklace this entire time, Connor reaches out to pry it from the body and hold it in his palm. This could be proof that Niles is dead. All he has to do is show his friends and lie. Maybe they'd even be happy to think he died. This could all be over. He'd never see Niles again, but he'd be free to make a life somewhere else. Linden could hopefully heal over time and consider the case closed.
He gets up again and stows the items in his pockets. He'll do this one last thing for Niles, but now they're even. He won't see him anymore, and that's fine. He doesn't want to see him right now anyway. He'll ignore that part of him insisting it isn't fine, and head back home.
Finding Niles' "body"
He crouches down by the corpse, finally. Reaches out to touch the closest horn, mourning silently, even if he's still angry about what happened during the full moons. He didn't want this, no matter how hurt he was. It's only upon closer inspection that he realises something feels... off. Connor is intimately familiar with Niles and his anatomy by now. The horn doesn't look right. It's in a strange location on his head, off by just a fraction. Maybe a regular human wouldn't have noticed, but Connor is hardly that. He scans the body more closely. The horns are too far spaced apart. He checks all over, and comes to a conclusion after the tail turns out to be too short and the teeth are all wrong- this isn't Niles. This is Niles' stuff for sure, and from a distance and even close up it can initially be confused for him, but it isn't. His theory is confirmed when he checks Niles' watch. It's still on.
Taking his own watch back, along with Myr's, Connor is faced with a dilemma. Niles obviously didn't intend to be found out. This is his stuff- his necklace, the remains of his stinger sheath, the watches he took- so it is therefore obvious that he wanted this corpse to be mistaken for him. Burning it beyond being recognisable was likely done after death, to make it near impossible to tell who it really was. But Connor knows the truth. He can go back and tell everyone that Niles is alive, and hiding... or he can say he found his corpse, and let Niles go. People would be inclined to believe him. He's an honest guy, and even when he's lying he's very good at it. But what does he do?
Linden is in the hospital because of Niles. He wasn't killed, but he was mutilated. Maybe that's a worse fate? He isn't sure, it would take time to study that thought, and it would be heavily swayed by his own beliefs and general fear of death. It's still an awful ordeal, though. Surely the perpetrator deserves to be brought to justice. That's what the cop in him thinks. If that's the case though, why does he feel like he can't do that? He thinks of all the times he spent with Niles, of when he saved him, when he came to visit him after, of how he'd felt during that kiss before everything was ruined. He's being influenced by his emotions again. He can see it happening, and he can't stop it. The facts are present in front of him and he's still hesitating. It makes him angry with himself.
Realising he's been staring dully at the necklace this entire time, Connor reaches out to pry it from the body and hold it in his palm. This could be proof that Niles is dead. All he has to do is show his friends and lie. Maybe they'd even be happy to think he died. This could all be over. He'd never see Niles again, but he'd be free to make a life somewhere else. Linden could hopefully heal over time and consider the case closed.
He gets up again and stows the items in his pockets. He'll do this one last thing for Niles, but now they're even. He won't see him anymore, and that's fine. He doesn't want to see him right now anyway. He'll ignore that part of him insisting it isn't fine, and head back home.