In the grand scheme of things, looking back, Tantei could see where he made his first mistake. One in a long series of them, it turned out, that ultimately culminated in him laying on his side in the unpleasant slush and much of melting snow blending into deepening mud. He had plenty of time to think about it, at least in between bouts of unconsciousness and dark moments where time just seemed to slip away from him. Casting his warm, dark eyes upwards, he could see the stars had settled in comfortably against their blanket of black. How many times they had done that while he was laying there, though, was beyond him. It made him feel better to think this was the first night, but the way his stomach rumbled and ached told him there was likely no truth to the comfort.

For the eighth time during this impressive long span of consciousness, he attempted to push his front legs under him, his paws sinking into the muck and his muscles shaking and straining almost immediately. He collapsed after getting further than he had in his previous attempts, most of his upper half actually leaving the ground for a second before splashing back down with a sickening squelch. He huffed a soft moan, pain lacing down his form, all the way to the tip of his tail.

His first mistake, he thought, had been getting involved at all.

It was simply not in his nature to ignore someone in need. When he saw a small group of Ma’ome menacing a much smaller Dweller, taking swipes at him both physically and with their cutting, haughty attitudes, Tantei could not just keep walking by. Those goons obviously thought they owned this area though, as far as Tantei was aware, no one group had claim to this particular corner of the Pines. Perhaps they had come down from the mountain proper, but he could not place them and felt they were probably just a roaming band of thugs looking to make a name for themselves.

It seemed to be happening a lot, lately. Especially in these parts. That was why he had taken up temporary residence here, where the mountain sloped into the trees, along the banks of a broad, powerful river. Curious by nature, and with nothing better to do, Tantei opted to investigate the bullies and violence. Perhaps to find the source and put a stop to it, but more likely simply because he had a strong desire to know. Whenever he asked himself a question, especially one that required digging, he had to find the answer or he became restless and bothered.

Of course, it could never be easy. And this particular case was particularly troublesome.

The goons told him they were just offering a weakling some protection, but the rogue had been unable to repay their kindness in any meaningful gesture. The shaken, terrified male butted in to correct the story, begging Tantei to help him, and that he was either going to be killed or forced into some kind of situation he did not wish to endure. The thugs insisted he owed them, but Tantei saw through it. They were just looking for trouble, and liked hurting others. Maybe they thought they could get some free meals and a nice place to rest for a while, before they killed him and left. Or worse, if his claims of forced labor, slavery, were true. Who could be running something like that?

The goons, it turned out, had not been very inclined to tell him. Though he was able to let their victim escape, they took their frustration out on him. He was left battered and beaten in the snow, their laughter still ringing in his head as they disappeared into the trees. Off to their next score or mark, or whatever it was they were up to. He would have to track them down again. That was, if he could get up.

It occurred to him that his kind act might cost him more than just a couple of days of pain. If he was badly injured, he would likely die here. He was an easy enough target, after all, and scavengers might not wait until he was fully dead before they came for his flesh. He closed his eyes, huffing heavily against the snowy grass, and felt the weight of sleep settling over him once more.

“Are you hurt?” A deep, rumbling voice asked from somewhere above him. Tantei snorted again, though this time he heard the pained whine that trailed after the sound. His ribs burned, and his consciousness flickered. He might have replied, probably something sarcastic, but he lost track of his own words as his head tilted to the side. Distantly, he heard the crunching of snow growing softer as the source of the voice walked away.

—

It was almost surprising when Tantei woke up again. He opened his eyes to darkness, confusion muddling his senses as he instinctively struggled. His limbs all responded, though not in the most coordinated way he had ever experienced, and the sharp bolt of pain that sizzled its way through his entire body was a small comfort. Somehow, he was alive. And dry, he realized, as his paws settled and he felt the smooth, solid ground beneath him. Far different to the mushy grass, snow and mud soup he had been stewing in earlier.

“Try not to move too much,” that same voice rumbled lowly, and Tantei blinked a few times to see a very dark form sitting nearby. He was almost invisible in the darkness of whatever cave they were in, his fur, from where Tantei was laying, almost entirely black. His eyes flickered in the gloom, and it was their intensity that caught Tantei’s gaze the most. “Looks like you took quite a beating.”

“I didn’t take it,” Tantei sighed, his own voice gruff and grumbly. That was not due to the injuries he had taken: he always sounded like he was tired and irritated, even when he was saying soft and warm things. Not that he had a lot of opportunity to do that, these days. “They gave it to me, for free.”

“I see.”

Pushing his paws under him again, Tantei was finally able to right himself. He paused, his head swimming from the movement, and then he looked at the Ma’ome that brought him here properly. Even fully focused on him, he was almost impossible to see. It was dark in the cave, though, and he imagined it was deep in the middle of the night now.

“Tantei,” he offered, when his jokes failed to prompt even a slight smile on the dark, very serious face of his apparent rescuer.

“Kiryu,” the Ma’ome replied, with a nod.

“I owe you, Kiryu. I likely would have died out there.”

“Eat first,” Kiryu grunted, almost sounding annoyed, “and rest. Then we’ll worry about debt.”

He seemed like a very serious Dweller, but Tantei already knew there was kindness under that gruff exterior. After all, he had dragged an unconscious, fully grown male all the way back to this cave, and it had to be a considerable distance as Tantei had no memory of any sort of cave or outcroppings from his journey so far. It could not have been easy, and without some sort of promised payment, he could not see what was in it for the other to even bother. Especially with so many thuggish types around, who were just doing whatever they could for their own benefit. No one like that would bother saving a life.

His stomach rumbled angrily, his head growing light as he wobbled dizzily for a moment. He was starving, or damn close to it, and he realized Kiryu had mentioned eating. It was enough to set his body off, screaming and begging for food in as painfully obvious a way as it could. Kiryu saw it, and seemed to read the signs for what they were. He nodded his head to the side and Tantei followed the direction, spotting a fresh kill waiting for him. It had not been eaten or picked over, and he realized the strange, stoic Ma’ome had hunted it for him. A flurry of questions roared around his mind, each calling for his full focus, but he had nothing to spare them as he moved to the food.

He would have to ask if Kiryu had hunted anything for himself, or just why he went so far out of his way to help a stranger, later.

Kiryu watched him passively. He had a list of questions of his own, but would wait for his unexpected guest to be a bit more on the mend before addressing them. This was not the kind of area where blind heroism would fly, and Kiryu could not help but wonder what a stranger was doing here, sticking his nose in business that did not involve him, instead of just wandering through and keeping himself safe.

While Tantei was tending to his own needs, once he settled in to sleep, Kiryu would pay a visit to some of his rougher associates. An investigation of his own.