Invader Name: Frostbitten Nightmares

Height: 5’7’’

Technical Gender: Male

Age: ?

Rank: Mercenary

Specialty: Mercenary

Species: Tropical (Rainforest)

Appearance: Once again, being a tropical Qwuedeviv means Nightmares is many colors, but unlike its sibling it has a lot more blue tones. Blues, whites and yellows. It has a few rather fluffy tufts of fur around its neck, in its ears and along its tail.

Personality: Despite its name, Nightmares is actually a very nice Qwuedeviv. Patient, understanding, compassionate and sympathetic. It is a pillar of strength amidst the storms of life, but not so that it loses a gentle touch and tone. Nightmares is very alert of the needs of the others around it, and takes the time to get to know them well. It has always acted as a protector from the time it was a kitten. Frostbitten Nightmares is actually a rather funny Qwuedeviv too—even moreso than its younger sibling. It enjoys a good laugh and says a bit of fun every now and then is good for the mind.

Background:
Frostbitten Nightmares is Shiver Hawk’s older sibling. The two grew up together at the border of the rainforests. They met a variety of Qwuedeviv as such. Rather than being in any of the main Qwuedeviv bases they were a part of a smaller coastal base where they met many aquatic Qwuedeviv.

Frostbitten Nightmares met Haunting Cold when they were both pretty young. Although it did not know the Qwuedeviv closely it had crossed paths with it and several of the others. One day when the kittens had wandered off without permission it followed along, telling them they shouldn’t go against the officers’ wishes. But it was not graduated from the older classes at the time and the kittens insisted they were not taking any orders from anyone they didn’t have to.

Frostbitten Nightmares shrugged it off and let the kittens carry on what they pleased; returning to the forest’s borders to practice climbing the slippery trees when not long after it heard a horrified screech. Instantly it left behind its training, taking a rather long fall from one of the trees and causing permanent damage to the nerves in one leg.

Ignoring the pain however, it rushed to where the cry had come from—not too far along the shoreline border. It found the clump of kittens, several huddled back with one other pacing close to the cliff. It arrived just in time to stop the kitten from plummeting off the edge of the cliff where its sibling had apparently tumbled down. The kitten was furious at Nightmares for refusing to let it help its sibling. Nightmares kept the kittens from suffering the same fate of the one though—none would have been good enough swimmers yet to be of any help.

When officers finally tracked down where the kittens had wandered off, Haunting Cold, the kitten survivor, insisted that Nightmares had killed its sibling. The other kittens were too frightened to comment. By that time, Nightmares’ younger sibling Shiver Hawk arrived and insisted its sibling would never kill another Qwuedeviv.

The officers weren’t convinced, but having no proof beyond a kitten’s word against an older kitten’s word, they let it off with a warning—not to return to their base. Reluctantly, Frostbitten Nightmares agreed and had to move to finish its training at a different base further away. Its sibling however, still had to attend the previous base since there was no documented reason that anything should change.

Quite a few years later, Cold had still not forgotten the occasion or the Qwuedeviv who had been involved in it. After its academy classes were over it confronted Shiver Hawk who was older than it and hissed accusations that Nightmares had killed its sibling. Shiver Hawk bristled and argued back that it didn’t. It soon broke out into a fur shredding fight.

The screeching, yowling cats attracted quite a bit of attention and word spread to Nightmares relatively quickly. Once again it came charging to the defense of yet another Qwuedeviv—its younger sibling this time. Graduated for some time by then and trained as a mercenary, it easily flung Cold away from its sibling.

Shiver Hawk insisted that it was fine and could’ve handled it, but Nightmares quieted it with a flick of its tail, insisting it was not its fight. Cold, still rather enraged, attacked Nightmares instead then, and was easily tossed aside back to the ground several times until it finally stopped fighting it and just glared. Nightmares , although not seemingly angry, walked over to it, stared it down and stated that if it had an issue with it, to take it up with them, not its sibling and once again restated that it had not killed its sibling, but rather saved Cold.

Cold still insisted that it would have been better if it had died trying then to be alive without its sibling. The fight ceased however. The other recent graduates making guesses and speculation about who they thought was right and how easily Cold had been tossed aside.

Once again the officers of the base confronted Nightmares, declaring that they had told it to not come back. Nightmares pointed out that it was not actually at the base and that Cold was no longer a kitten but graduated, thus if anyone was at fault, it was Cold for having started a fight first with its sibling and then with it—a superior ranking Qwuedeviv.

Cold denied nothing and there was really nothing more the officers could do, so they simply helped their fellow unit up and returned to base. Nightmares never filed any paperwork about the offense and resumed its work. Eventually it had to collect together a small crew of its own for mercenary work. Its sibling was an obvious choice for the pilot, but it still needed someone else.

Against all odds it requested that Cold join on as its apprentice. Being a readily available novice mercenary at the time and lower rank made it pretty much impossible for Cold to decline. So it became Nightmare’s apprentice—begrudgingly as it was assured this was just punishment for attacking its sibling.

This was not Frostbitten Nightmares’ intention at all though. It just wanted a chance to help the hurting Qwuedeviv understand, and be there to try and help it as it was convinced that Cold was reasonable enough to eventually see the truth. It was by no means an easy journey of conflicts the two had to go through, but eventually Cold understood, and was able to let its hurt and hatred go, even if it did still miss its sibling and find it all unfair.

After quite a bit of training, Nightmares allowed Cold to co-lead the mercenary crew alongside it, stating that it was happy to do such and trusted the other. Ever since, the mercenary crew has been stable and effective.

Random Facts:
For having a rather intense name, Nightmares really doesn’t fit it.

Although Nightmares is actually a very friendly and silly Qwuedeviv when the circumstances allow, those it hunts see it in an entirely different light. Its rather intimidating set of armor really helps this image. Those within the Mercenary crew just laugh when they see how terrified others are of Nightmares upon first meeting, knowing how the Qwuedeviv actually is.

Nightmares’ former apprentice, Cold now has a mercenary apprentice of its own. Nightmares’ offers occasional advice, while still doing its best not to intrude. Mostly things like giving the little Qwuedeviv time, and reminding that it takes time and patience to both learn and teach.

Frostbitten Nightmares has permanent damage to its leg that was caused by the long drop from the trees when it ran to help the kittens in trouble. Thus when it walks around it has a bit of a noticeable limp.

When the crew sleeps in their little transport ship where things are fairly crowded, Frostbitten Nightmares intentionally lets its tail brush against Cold so that it doesn't feel so alone. Although Cold would never admit it, it gets horribly anxious at night if it does not f