Midas knows. He knows what exhaustion does to him. He knows the risks that he takes, being this incredibly tired with his condition hanging over his head. Fuck if he was going to let that stop him from at least finding somewhere fucking safe. Damned if he did, damned if he didn't. He could have laughed, but it wasn't funny. Something about that Alanis Morissette song and the things that are mostly-not-even ironic should kick in here. No, focus, fucking animal. Right. Safety. Sleep. Where the fuck was he supposed to find shelter in this weird ass wasteland? Kicking idly at the red dirt, at least Midas could seek refuge in the sad, scruffy trees.

Or something like that. He can feel the dirt as it crushes beneath his paws, crumbly as it is. It was fucking wimdy, and had been for weeks now. Fuck. Midas was fucking tired. All he needed to do was find a spot that was at least covered on a couple sides... he hoped. Midas hoped so hard man. Even giving a little whimper to himself, he could feel the wind picking up at his back. Not again. Could his luck get any worse? Surely not. Surely fucking not right?

After their encounter in the middle of the night, Fuji had been running extra patrols, they all had, really. Sweeping out beyond the confines of the bamboo was becoming more commonplace. She wasn't about to let her siblings get snatched up like that again. She snorted her frustration through clenched teeth and the cat that was her eternal (if towering) shadow rumbled at her side. He could probably sling her over his back in a pinch.

She remembered a time when things were easier. When she had snuck out here with Rheum and dragged strange plants back to her mother's garden. Now Rheum was gone. So were Wari and Beru. Her younger siblings felt like strangers. Even her mother was growing distant. She felt adrift, her stomach twisting in knots, torn between heading back to the home she had always know and staying out here for the night.

A noise ahead caught her ear, paws dragging across the sand and she bristled. "Who's there?” Her bark came out more demanding than she had intended, but when you were so small, maybe it was better to have a big voice to scare off strangers in the dark?

“Speech”

Midas can hear them. He can smell them. He can never quite fucking see them, something that drives him near-mad. He isn't their target. He isn't what they seek, so they pay him no mind. There are hunters out here, but they don't hunt silly men with death wishes. Or at least... that's what Midas tells himself. He tells himself the reason they haven't snatched him up is because they don't want him. Fuck, maybe he's just lucky. Hell if he knows. The danger isn't real enough to him. It's not real enough for him to take seriously.

Winter... that was real. That was a real and ever-approaching threat. What would it matter, if someone was trying to snatch him? What would it matter if they snatched him, when he'd already froze to death all on his own! Riddle him that. Fuck, Midas was dragging his feet while he was walking again. It's hard being this tired! (Man are you for real?) His posture had grown lazy, and he's more dragging himself along. It's only when he thinks he's found a good-enough spot that someone calls out-- sharp. A patrol? A girl? Midas's head came up, on alert at once.

Enough girls had kicked his ass for him to know better in this case, but shhh. Midas didn't even need to tense, though. "Easy does it officer," the words fall past his lips easily enough. He even manages a smile, practiced relaxation kicking in. "Name's Midas, I'm not lookin' for trouble." Head low, eyes a little wider than he'd usually let them be. Is this how you look non-threatening?

A voice called back to her, foreign to her ears, and the adage of officer had her brows drawing down in question. What did that even mean? But at least it gave her a direction to turn to. A name too, though whether or not she could trust it ghosted across her mind. Golden eyes squinted through the darkness, finally falling on the chocolate hued giant (really, he wasn't that tall, particularly compared to her parents and siblings, but she could stand on her own shoulders, and he'd still be taller than her). She did her best to appear imposing. “If yer not lookin' fer trouble yer picked the wrong patch ter be sulkin' round.” Somehow, she managed to cant her head in such a way as to give the impression she was looking down her nose at him... although, now that she was closer, he was quite... pretty, wasn't he?

Fuji allowed herself a long-suffering sigh, “I'm Fuji, from Tojo Kai. Raiders attacked in th' night not so long ago. 'S prolly not safe ter be out 'ere.” He looked pretty beat up. “Who's yer people?” She questioned with a cant of her horned head. He didn't smell like a pack at least.

“Speech”

Coming closer, Midas can feel his heart beating heavily in his chest. Being out here like this... he knows it's dangerous. He knows, but he's still here. There had been trouble before he arrived here, interesting. Midas takes some time to think about that, turn it over. Did he have the energy to keep going through the night? Probably not. Not safely, at least. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. His posture sagged a bit, though there was a bit of a glimmer in his golden eyes. Taking a curious step toward her in the light, unable to really help himself. "Who said I was sulking?" Maybe a light teasing to his tone-- does he know better than to mess with random girls? Yes. Does he do better? No. Maybe he was feeling a little bold today.

Raiders, that made sense. Midas pursed his lips as he thought for a moment. Raiders would explain the skulking, would explain the noises he'd been hearing. Maybe he best keep going through the night, even if there was more risk to it. She introduced herself as Fuji, and Midas was able to get the best look at her yet. Short, terribly cute, though he wouldn't distract himself with impolite thoughts. Her question though... Midas shifted his weight uncomfortably between his paws. "It's just me," he admitted after a moment. It made him look more suspicious, the golden boy knew that much. "Haven't been here long yet." Right, maybe that helped his case? Maybe.

Fuji couldn't smell a lie, at least not in the way his scent smelled only of him. Subconsciously, her shoulders relaxed a little, and her golden cat offered her a slow blink. Even if he was full of shit, she was close enough to home that one of her brother's should be within howling range, even her youngest siblings were almost a year old now, she was still the smallest of the bunch.

Fuji huffed a short sigh, even though he wasn't really inconveniencing her at all, she didn't want him knowing she was curious to figure out more about this stranger. She hadn't had a lot of interaction with outsiders. “Well 's hardly safe ter stay out 'ere. If we get ter th' Oaks yer'll 'ave cover an' they should be a bit shier about crossin' borders after last time...” She gestured with a tip of her head to the east. “I'll have ter let the Kaicho know I bought yer in, but yer'd be free ter leave whenever... I think.” The latter was a tease, but she delivered it deadpan. Her accent had slipped when she gave Tori's honorific too, but the transition was seamless enough that Fuji wouldn't notice it. Her Japanese was surprisingly formal for how rough her common was.

If he agreed to come with her, she would have to move close enough to rub some of her scent on him, so her brothers didn't mistake him for an invader.

“Speech”

Relaxation was starting to sink in around the edges of the girl's posture. Her shoulders, her hips, she was beginning to soften. Midas would mirror that, allowing his breathing to settle as well. Right, they'd both just relax. He'd get out of this unscathed. Trying to settle as he looked the girl over once more, really taking her in. Ah, as well as he could, in the low light. A tiny bundle of teeth and horns. Very clearly a full grown woman, just a very, very tiny one.

Fuji heaved a sigh, and he couldn't help but seek her out with his golden gaze. Midas's head tipped to the side, curious. She offers him shelter, at least for the night. A little smile tugged at the corner of his lips-- there was no way he could turn the offer down. Fuck it, even if it was a trap, it wasn't like Midas had any plans. Being captured by a pretty girl didn't sound like the worst way to spend a Friday night. His eyebrows lift as her accent slips, surprisingly seamless. It's not a language he recognized. Had he landed somewhere he didn't even speak most of the languages? Shit.

His mind shifted, finally relieved that he'd at least be safe. "What ever shall I do to repay you?" The sentiment is genuine, even if his tone is humorous. The joke comes easily, and Midas begins to walk in the direction she'd come from. He has no idea where the Oaks are, just that he would like to go there. "Are you going to interrupt the rest of your evening plans to stay with me in these Oaks, too?" A wag of his tail, a faint smile on his lips. Midas has finally truly relaxed, his confidence returning easily.

Fuji would characterise the feeling she was getting as uncomfortable. Like gassy butterflies were building in her stomach, she could feel her skin growing warm under her fur, fuck, was she coming down with something? This close to Kiriko's due date? She had certainly never been flirted with before, the majority of her interactions limited to people she was directly related to, even her time in Armada had been spent busily tending to Halo and leaving the socialising to her younger siblings. Her mind skipped to a whole bunch of scenarios she never imagined she'd find herself in when he asked what he could do to repay her in that tone, and to prevent herself from short-circuiting entirely, she gave her horned head a short shake, certain he hadn't meant anything like that at all. “Fight me once yer've had some rest,” He was bigger than she was (who wasn't?) It might be fun... “Or yer can help me find some plants,” She shrugged. Nothing if not practical.

His next words had her wondering if perhaps her initial thoughts weren't so wild, or maybe he was just teasing her, so she scowled and shoved him in the ribs, hoping the crystals that sat around her neck gave him a good poking. While it could be amusing to call up Usagi or even Erik and Morganna to watch him, she decided she might as well take one for the team, just this once. “O'course, th' lady 's expectin'. Can't jus' have strangers wanderin' about unsupervised.” She punctuated her declaration with a roll of her eyes, trying to ignore the desire to pull close to the stranger again. She was borderline mesmerized, but she'd be damned if she was going to let him know that. “So're'yer from Boreas?”

“Speech”

Midas is slick, but his interest is genuine. He looks for an excuse to let his gaze linger on her, he watches her openly. Maybe it’s rude but… well, she could take it as a compliment. He hoped she would. As she lays out his options, Midas chuckles, a grin dripping over his chiseled features. “Fight you and… garden with you. Sounds like a date.” Right, this time he’s genuine.

As she lashes out, Midas lets her. He takes the scrape of her crystals against his ribs, giving a brassy chuckle. No retaliation, just the breathless look of a touch starved man who’s gotten the first taste of contact in far too long. Oops. Not predatory, but maybe a bit more excitable than he means to be. Midas’s golden eyes dance.

Right, he could make conversation. He could be normal. “Expecting? An exciting time for your pack then.” He offered a little smile. Right, he could make polite conversation. Midas’s head quirked to the side at the mention of Boreas. ”We didn’t call it Boreas, at least. It’s far to the west of here, they call it the land of a thousand lakes.” His explanation is gentle, though the words come with curiosity. ”Have you always lived here?” Perhaps still not quite sure where here was. Not that it mattered, with her, as they walked towards the Oaks.

Fuji resisted the urge to scream that it wasn't like that! when he characterised her suggestions as a date. This was a terrible idea and she just wanted to melt into the ground... well mostly... A very small, deeply buried part of her whispered something about that's right, and she did her best to ignore it, opting for the strong silent type persona as they continued their walk to the Oaks, after all, there were still strangers skulking about, she probably shouldn't be trying to draw attention to them while they were still out in the open like this.

Thousand lakes? She had never heard of it, and her shrug would have to be enough to illustrate that to her company. When he asked if she had always lived here though... Well, the towering branches of the oaks were reaching out to offer their shelter. “I was born 'ere. Most'a th' wolves I know are family, we keep ter ourselves.” It wasn't that she wasn't curious about what was out there like her siblings were, she just didn't feel a need to live it beyond her regular gathering trips. She was approaching what she considered to be her outer post, a sizeable hollow beneath one of the oaks, large enough to fit herself and two of her largest siblings in a pinch (if she slept on top of them, which she usually did). She had food and herbs stashed away, and thick furs lined the floor just inside. She gestured with a tip of her head, “We'll stay 'ere fer now.” She used her dexterous paws to sign to her cat to let Tori know she had picked up a stray. It wouldn't do to take the leader by surprise with his mate so close to popping.

“Speech”