Niles (Tales from Scorchwater Valley)

Niles is one of the two titular main protagonists (alongside Red) of the web animated pilot Tales from Scorchwater Valley - The Rhino and The Redbill. 
He was voiced by Richie Ammons. 
==Appearance==
Niles is a muscular, anthropomorphic African black rhinoceros. He has four-fingered hands, but his feet remain as three-toed hooves. His muzzle is designed with a darker skin tone and a few bits of hair, mimicking a five o' clock shadow. He has a few darker spots around his eyes, cheeks, shoulders and lighter patterns on his eyebrows. He has two horns, one big and one small. His tail has a bit of black fur on the tip. Since he's blind, his eyes have cataracts.
He wears tattered, military-looking clothing, consisting of a olive-green tank top that leaves a bit of his riff exposed and matching walkshorts, held by a black belt with a silver buckle, which is accompanied by suspenders that also serve as the straps for his brown backpack. He also has black fingerless gloves.
== Personality==
Niles is described as a gruff and surly mercenary who isn't afraid of boasting about his ability to take down anybody that comes across his way. However, his long-running career took a tool when he started going blind, and has slowly developed a more cautious and calculist nature in order to survive the dangers of Scorchwater Valley. He is also somewhat of a grouch, rarely smiling or raising his voice even in the most extreme situations.
He has enlisted the help of the flight-impaired red-billed oxpecker Red, whom by currently unknown circumstances, offered himself as Niles' sighted guide, in exchange that the rhino provides protection to both him and his unhatched egg, Sam. However, since the two are pretty much opposites, their relationship isn't always friendly. Niles loses trust on whose trick or lie to him, and Red ends up doing so in the pilot, the rhino starts reconsidering their partnership and, to an extent, if he's willing to take the job of surrogate parenting.
Niles also seems to easily give up if he finds himself in a hopeless spot, and will instruct Red to go on without him. However, the oxpecker doesn't want his friend to be left to die, so he'll always stick by him and point to an alternative way out of the mess they are in. At the end of the pilot, while Niles is glad that Red took them out of trouble, he hasn't completely forgiven him, and the oxpecker will have to work hard to earn the trust of his friend back.
==Powers and Abilities==
Great Strength: fitting for his species, Niles is able to break through a wall by simply running into it (although he did that in order to escape his captors on the pilot);
Great Fighting Skills: despite being blind, his experience as a mercenary allows him to knock out his enemies very easily , with a little help from Red guiding him by manipulating his ears to compensate his lack of vision. He was also able to use his walking stick as a baseball bat to reflect a shot fired at him, and at some point he owned a switchblade (although he ended up losing it after being captured, and the toll was eventually stolen by Rolo);
Resourcefulness and Improvisation: able to formulate ideas very quickly. When Niles is told that one of the enemies is piloting a robot with an exhaust pipe, he and Red rush their way though the danger to jam the pipe using the former's walking stick, causing the robot to explode. 
==Gallery ==
Just chilling.png|Niles and Red chilling out on a pier pre-drought (non-canon)
File:Battle Ready.png|Niles and Red getting ready for a fight
Category:Anthropomorphic
Category:Male
Category:Mercenaries
Category:Brutes
Category:Fighters
Category:Internet Heroes
Category:Cartoon Heroes
Category:Honorable
Category:Determinators
Category:Loyal
Category:Betrayed
Category:Animals
Category:Protectors
Category:Rescuers
Category:Nature-Lovers
Category:Animal Kindness
Category:Hope Bringers
Category:Titular
Category:Voice of Reason
Category:Warriors
Category:Big Good
Category:Disciplinarians
Category:Force of Nature
Category:Guardians
Category:Honest
Category:Leaders
Category:Pessimists
Category:Reluctant Heroes
Category:Selfless
Category:Bond Protectors
Category:Supporters
Category:The Hero
Category:Indie/Doujin Heroes