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Giving a sigh of relief once the shouting had stopped again, Yuki sincerely hoped that it wouldn't continue. They'd been quite literally screaming out their location. Or, at least the big one had been. Yuki spared a glance over to Gunnar as he seated himself again, and then back to the others. "We need to keep moving." He suggested, though hoped none would disagree. "I don't feel safe out in the open."

Hitsu had gravitated toward her brother as soon as things at last seemed calm, at this point looking quite Mitsu-like as she huddled close to him. "Can't we go home? I just want to go home, Yuki."

Frowning, Yuki looked to Neko. "What happened to him?" He was sure the answer wouldn't be beneficial enough for them to comply with Hitsu, but Yuki lacked the consciousness to witness the events himself.

Riyo wasn't really paying attention to any of the other felines surrounding her, what they were doing, or even saying.... Not that it would've mattered much anyways. She just kept looking at Mitsu. A shock took her face as the girl began to cry. No, no tears! "Nyuuuuuuuuuuuuu!" She pouted and without really thinking about it, hugged the girl. It wasn't something she was familiar with, but it seemed natural. Just as hunting and sleeping were.

'Hmm...'

Came that voice in her mind again. It seemed unamused, yet slightly intrigued. Riyo's face turned to confusion as she heard that echo through her mind, but attempted to pay it no heed. That's when she took a good look around at the group, still holding onto Mitsu in case she needed the comfort. They all seemed quite worried. And who could blame them with that big, screaming beast over there? Her mind twisted in an actual thought. Then came fourth an idea. "Nyu!" She said loud enough to get the groups attention. She may not have been able to properly communicate, but it was well worth an attempt. "Nyuu nyu." She mumbled and pointed to the northwest, then backed away from Mitsu a tad, but just enough to take one of her hands and begin pulling her towards the pointed out area. She'd take them to her place! That thing wouldn't be able to get them there!

It wasn't an answer Yuki was shocked to hear, but he was saddened when he moved his gaze from Neko to Hitsu. She looked like she wanted to cry again, and it made him feel even worse to know that there was little he could do to help. They couldn't go back to the village. Not yet. "It'll be alright." He tried, forcing a smile. "We'll get to see a new place, maybe. Our first real time out of the village. It could be fun." Fun. Sure, he could pretend he meant that for Hitsu's sake.

Hitsu said nothing, but her lingering frown suggested that she wasn't too sure about leaving the only home she'd known. Hitsu had caught sound of Mitsu's crying, and she peered over toward her and Riyo. She wanted to go over to them, hug Mitsu as well, but instead she simply stood still beside her brother, reaching out to take hold of one of his forearms as though she thought he was going to leave her there alone. She stared absently toward the ground, lost on what to do now. She overheard Riyo's mewling, but paid it no mind. That was, not until Yuki started moving, gently tugging her to follow.

Riyo felt sorta accomplished as she led the group to her humble little home. She was helping! Oh, she was helping! And how nice it felt. She glanced back at Neko, who she had herd speak, and gave him a simple "Nyu." Then turned around. Then blinked. Then looked back while she was still walking. OHGODTHATGIANTTHINGWASFOLLOWINGTHEM.


"NYUUU!" She yelled and picked up the pace a little. 10 minutes away if they kept a quick pace. A big thing like that wouldn't be as fast, right?

Yuki and Hitsu followed without comment or complaint, only looking away from their destination as Riyo seemed to find something scary behind them. The bull didn't seem hostile. Well, not currently. Neither of them seemed to be horribly concerned about his presence, but picked up pace in order to keep up with the others.

As the tall grass began to shrink at their feet, Riyo spotted it. There it was! The enterence! "Nyu!" She yelled and dove into a patch of large thorny vines. Upon enterence, they seemed to form a path. It was probably about 5 or 6 feet into the little tunnel that the thorns opened into a large area. Not exactly huge as a house, but more like a hut.. Or perhaps a large igloo. There was an opening at the top of the enclosed area, but it wasn't like you could see anything out of it anyways. This was the dark forest, after all.

Despite the obvious flaws, it seemed rather... Home-like. There were animal furs covering most of the ground. Not professionally skinned, but not a bad job in itself considering what there was to work with. There were a few sharp, hand carved stones that looked like primitive daggers, and a few other odds and ends scattered around. There was a worn stuffed animal sitting against the far wall of the enclosure. It was a little black cat with buttons for eyes, but no mouth. The poor thing looked like it had been hugged to death.

Riyo sat in the middle of the dwelling and waited for the others to follow her. She let out a sigh of relief and smiled. She was safe here. This was her sanctuary.

Mitsu ushered in right after Riyo crawling along the tunnel to the main area. Once there she darted to the far end and saw there was no way out but back. Looking back seeing everyone else shuffling in calmly, Mitsu let out a sigh. They were safe. It was as if the weight had been lifted off her shoulders as she finally relaxed.

In a matter of time she had adjusted to her new surroundings and began to explore on all fours, sniffing and picking up things only to place them back exactly how she had found them. She paused a long time over the furs, sniffing at them and stroking them as if they may still contain the animal they once belonged to. “Nyu?” She found herself repeating absentmindedly as she carefully examined a handcrafted blade.

Ah she’s got to be kidding. Neko hesitated for a moment when Riyo and Mitsu disappeared into the large group of thorns. Well it was better than being out here. Venturing in he made it to the main area but not completely unscathed. His shoulders and arms had been nicked a few times by the thorns and one or two cuts were bleeding. “Ah.” Neko wiped the blood away as if frustrated he was bleeding. When the wounds proved to have given up leaking his bodily fluids he turned to the others. “Well, this night has been loads of fun. A wolf trespassing trying to steal chickens, another dog trying to hunt her down and thus putting us in danger, oh and not to forget the raging bull who would rather smash my face in than listen to reason. Have I left anything out?” He paused realizing he was being pissy. It was hard not to be at this point. “What next? Rabid squirrels will come and take over the village and when we get back there be nothing left but nuts? Lots and lots of nuts.”

He hunched over leaning his elbows on his knees as he eyed Mitsu playing with a blade. Inevitably she was going to cut herself but he said nothing. He was pretty sure he was done talking for tonight, the bovine had tired him out and now that he had said his peace he was ready to sleep and forget the whole thing. He would question Mitsu tomorrow.

Okay, that was enough for Yuki to look at. He gave Neko a bit of a sneer, and rolled his eyes as he looked away from the two. His mind didn't seem to process that Riyo was doing nothing more than trying to help Neko's scratches heal. Therefore, to block them out, he scooted to put his back to them, and situated himself to lie down on the furs on his side. He really was tired, after all of the running and stress. Not to mention he'd been off hunting before.

Apparently, Hitsu took little time to gather that they were expected to spend the rest of the night out in the forest. She might not have been happy about the idea, but she didn't say anything against it. Instead, she lied down alongside Yuki, snuggling up against him as best she could for warmth.