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Hanse quirked his brow slightly, and waved his hand some, "You didn't have to bring it back. I didn't want to bring attention to myself here. Was just about ready to fall asleep when you yelped." He held his flame bearing hand aloft towards Yuki, "Good to see you're still alive, whelp." He smirked somewhat evilly with his comment, keeping his eyes trained on Yuki.

Yuki gave Poke a strange look when she spoke up behind him, "You've met him?" He looked a bit worried at this tidbit of news, but from the reaction of both she and his sister it appeared that their interaction with him wasn't nearly as traumatic. Not that it made him feel much better. He didn't much like the idea of Hitsu associating with Hanse.

"I-I'm sorry..." Hitsu replied, lowering her head a bit. "I didn't mean to... But when I left with your cloak, they found out anyway. Then followed me back." She frowned, and glared at Yuki, who had returned his attention to them only to stare at his sister like she were half mental.

"What are you looking at me like that for?" He asked, then looked toward Hanse upon getting unwanted attention. "And why wouldn't I be?" He retorted, trying not to seem intimidated. That, of course, probably wasn't going to go far. "What happened to Skye? Did you try to 'off' him again?" The hut was too small for anyone to really hide in, and one swift glance around had been enough to note the human's absence.

"A few hours flight?" Yuki repeated, then groaned. "Great, sounds like it's going to take us days to get there..." Not to say being out in the middle of nowhere for a week wasn't just a ball of fun. To his mention of scars, he snorted. "Not any new ones since the ones you gave me last week, but I've already got my fair share of them." He resisted comment on his luck; Even he knew that his luck was horrible. Especially as of late, and even worse when plotting on Neko's part was involved.

Hitsu had only nodded slowly, and wrapped the cloak over her shoulders again. She wasn't one who cared for the cold much, so she'd take any offering to help her keep warm. At this thought, she looked from Hanse to Yuki and back again. "If we all sleep in here, wouldn't that make it warmer? I don't want to go back out in the cold..." Inviting herself right in? You bet.

The day hadn't been eventful, aside from the stray customer or two. The foxen had heard tell that a great deal of damage had been done to the local authorities, but seeing as he wasn't exactly on the best side of the law he could only silently be pleased with this news. The inn, it seemed, had been shut down for repairs. Something about fire and excessive amounts of blood and bird droppings. Generally, something which Kitwana knew he didn't want the details of.

He'd only once stepped outside of his small shop during the daylight hours, to make a stop at one of his favorite food stands to purchase something suitable for his morning meal. Amongst all of the dust and bodies wandering about to do their early shopping, he'd caught a few familiar scents. The young women who he'd met the evening prior. He did not acknowledge them, but turned away and smiled to himself as they passed. Goodness, they had quite the mixture of company. He'd never heard of so many species traveling as one before, and couldn't help the curious thought of just how such a thing had come to be. It was a fleeting wonder, before the fox received his food and returned home.

The storm had passed them over, fortunately with only a brief shower, the dark foreboding clouds looming overhead for the better part of four hours before they'd cleared away for the setting of the sun. He'd went outside for this as well, to take in the beautiful colors of the retreating light. The fox had remained until the sky was dotted with stars, and a moon that he hadn't seen in quite some time. A full, crimson moon. "Bad..." He had murred to himself, "Bad omen." He had shuddered, though not against the chill of the night, stepped back inside his shop and locked up for the night.

Sleep had not come immediately, in fact it had taken an hour or more for the concern of what the blood red omen in the sky might have been trying to tell him. Various ideas had engulfed the mind, and perhaps that was the reason for his dream. Whatever had transpired as he slumbered caused the creature to jerk and writhe in his sleep. Ears pressed against his head, and Kitwana finally woke with a startled yip. He sat upright, panting. Deep, violet eyes were wide open, in fear of what he'd Seen.

Initially, he composed himself from the dream, trying to shake it off. However, the longer he let the images sink in, the more rattled he became. "I... I must find them." He finally declared to the darkness, and rose to dress and ready himself for what he had foreseen as a potentially long journey. He bothered only to pack the items valuable to his own use; Not a scrap of food, but the tools of his trade. If he could not answer the questions for himself, he would rely on these to lead them on the proper path to the unavoidable.

It was past midnight when he had set out, praying that the rain had not washed his ability to track them completely away.

Yuki's jaw dropped slightly when Poke made her first statement, staring at her before narrowing his eyes into a glare. "No... I just wasn't prepared." He grumbled in response, trying to go without being heard by Hanse. Not that it really answered the question that she had asked, but that was beside the point. It was Neko's fault that he wasn't able to fight back, that's what he thought and he was sticking to it.

"We're not staying in here with him." Yuki stated firmly, "I'd like to wake up in the morning, thanks." He took her gently by the arm and tugged her toward the door. He practically shoved her back outside, to keep protest to a minimum. He looked back to Hanse before he'd stepped out himself. "Thanks..." It was flat, and didn't sound like he was very thankful at all. "...For keeping an eye on her, and for giving us directions to the next town." He meant it, but it was just... Difficult to offer his thanks to Hanse, of all people. With that out of the way, he left Hanse to himself.

"I don't know why we couldn't have stayed in there... I think you guys are just being difficult." Hitsu pouted, "He was the one that beat you up in that riverside village? What did you do to him?"

"Me!? I didn't do a damn thing!" Yuki snapped. He frowned at her glare, and muttered incoherently as he walked off toward a farther hut. Not one close to Hanse; That would be foolish.

Hitsu followed after him, whining something about the cloak getting cold.

A few moments later, Yuki peeked into one of the huts to find Blade. "This one doesn't have anything dead or dangerous in it, right? I've honestly had enough surprises for one night."

"Good." Yuki had replied, taking a quick glance around himself. Sure, the huts weren't exactly large, but it didn't look too small. At least, not for most of them. "Don't worry about it, the four of you can sleep in here." Of course, he'd left Atticus out of the equation, along with himself. "I'm going to get Riyo." He turned to leave, muttering to Hitsu as he passed. "Stay inside, and prove to me that you can listen for once."

She frowned, but nodded and went inside. At first, she seemed rather put off by the spider webs here and there, but seemed to find a 'safe' area to rest in. She settled down and sat on the floor where she'd decided to lie down, waiting on everyone else. Yuki had said the four of them could sleep here, and she mentally wondered who he'd forgotten to count. Poke had been right behind her, hadn't she? And what about Atticus?

When Yuki approached Riyo, he hesitated a moment. Only long enough to contemplate how risky it might be to pick her up from the ground, and if any injury he might sustain would be worth it. Apparently so, for he knelt next to her and gently plucked her up from the dirt and carried her back to the hut where he carefully laid her on the floor.

"Get some rest, we're leaving as soon as the sun rises." Yuki instructed, and stepped just across the threshold where he sat leaning against the edge of the doorway.

"But aren't you sleeping, too?" Hitsu questioned, once she'd tried to get comfortable.

"Sure. I'll be fine right here." He lied. This was still going to be a long night, especially when he didn't plan to sleep.

[Whoever posts next, you can skip to sunrise or a little before if you'd like to.]

rolling her eyes at yuki's obvious bluff, poke followed him to the next hut which was apparently their sleeping quarters for the night. She frowned, not liking the idea of sleeping in a place fillied with bugs, rodents, and spiders to boot. Still, there was no way they could travel anywhere tonight..

Finding a spot that would least likey contain any of the creepy crawlings, she proped herself against the wall and tried to let herself rest.

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As moring dawned, it showed that poke had moved from a sitting position to a lying position sometime in the middle of the night. But it was still too early for the late riser, so she continued to slumber away

As the hours had dragged on, and the strong desire to sleep had threatened to take over, Yuki had gotten to his feet and taken to wandering aimlessly in order to keep awake. He didn't move far, still keeping alert for anything that smelled or sounded out of the ordinary. Thankfully, there had been nothing to worry about. As the first light of the day began to shine through the trees, he'd just contemplated when he should wake everyone before he caught movement from the corner of his eye. Riyo.

He watched her quietly while she spoke aloud to what seemed like herself, and then looked to Blade when he'd approached and addressed her. Blade's suggestion of food was reason enough for Yuki to go and wake the other two.

Once he'd returned to the hut, he knelt down and nudged them both gently in turn. "Time to get up, we're leaving soon." He said softly, and then rose to return outside. "If they're not up in five minutes, they just won't be sitting to eat." He said to either of the ones outside who'd listen, stretching to try and chase away the dull aching of his muscles. He'd pulled all nighters before back in the village, but typically with the understanding he'd be getting rest the following morning. "Something quick, please."