He was used to talk about ghosts; his mother believed in them, his father never mentioned them, and one of his brothers always claimed to have one following him around. Nikolai had always been skeptical, sort of knowing they existed but refusing to acknowledge it. The knowledge of their existence was enough to make wondering about them pointless, thus terminating any actual need for fear or whatnot, but Nikolai was the type who didn't bother with things that didn't get in his way, and so he didn't bother. Fair enough.
The grating sound against the wall did startle him, somewhat, due to its impeccable timing, but only because the sound was so sudden. The wolf perked his ears and followed its echo, eyes peering up the nearby staircase as another fellow spoke--a creature of black fur, surely no ghost of any kind with that color. He did seem to have an uncomfortable presence to him, however, not to mention the axe he was hauling around and the prideful gait down the stairs. Nikolai watched him, furrowing his brow and folding his arms. "Vhat, you theenk thees is haunted house? Not ev'rybody scared." He snorted. If worse came to worse, Nikolai knew plenty on self-defense, especially when he was weaponless against a weapon. The wolf began to chuckle, however, and shook his head. "Vhat you doingk here, vaiting for spooks?"
