I'll come back when you call me

— aine | the pitt | commodore of the crows | fae druid —

An unpleasant ache ran through Michael's body when he had woken up that morning, suddenly reminded that he was no longer acquainted with any sort of familiarity. No longer was he with Trevor, moving from makeshift camp to makeshift camp while scheming and fucking over everyone who got in their way. Hell, no longer was he in The Lost's camp, suffering through cruel words and lashes and harshness in regularly scheduled intervals that drove him mad. No, now he was in The Pitt. The place was still unfamiliar to him, too new and foreign to really have any sort of lasting impact as of yet. He didn't even know if he was going to remain here permanently, but he was going to at least for the moment, until his wounds had healed. So, he supposed that he had better get used to his new home and the strange environment around him, a mixture of desert and jungle with a healthy dosage of strange architecture thrown in. It was nothing like the bobcat was used to, but he could only hope that it would be a good place to snatch some things. Maybe some more jewelry, if he was lucky, or a new pack of cigarettes. Either way, he had found himself emerging out of the protective trees of the jungle and out into the sand, steady but injured legs carrying him over the areas he had missed in his frantic stumble to get his wounds treated.

It wasn't long before he came across Aine and Nikolai, and he found himself staring at Niko for a long moment, baffled by the other's appearance. He was wearing some sort of mask – a gas mask, Michael recalled distantly – and a little vest. He looked so very unusual, but at least it was comforting to see someone else with a thick pelt roasting under the sun alongside him. He came padding up beside Aine, keeping a little bit of distance between he and the girl since he didn't truly know her, and found his eyes landing upon the painted sand being tossed up into the wind and brushed away quickly. He had no idea what the hell had happened here, but he felt an odd sense of unease settle in his chest, suddenly wanting to turn tail and get the fuck out. Still, he forced himself to let his eyes settle back onto Nikolai, looking the other over before he spoke, his voice a slight croak from disuse, "What's with the getup, kid?" Michael didn't have a real leg to stand on, considering he was wearing all his various bright and shiny jewelry on his ears and around his neck, but he wasn't really wearing clothes.

Another kid came trotting up to the impromptu little gathering of souls in the desert, and Michael found himself wondering, absently, if this place actually had any adults in it besides he and that Caustic guy who had helped him at the border. However, unlike Aine, who while shy was still speaking in a quiet and curious tone, Juno remained silent, with nothing but a faintly joyous smile gracing her face once she had joined the group. It made Michael feel awkward, his skin itching a little bit. Kids were supposed to be talkative, weren't they? Juno seemed excited, but she wasn't exactly blasting off with questions or offering any kind words to the mask wearing stranger, so perhaps he had his wires crossed about kids. Either way, Michael found himself only glancing at Juno for a moment before he forced his eyes back to Nikolai, watching as the boy looked all three of them over carefully. It sort of reminded Michael of how he often scanned others over for weaknesses in case they ever came to blows, but it didn't seem like Nikolai was planning on attacking them. Rather, he just seemed curious, and perhaps a little bit bemused by the ragtag group before him. At least, that's what Michael could get from the one eye he could see, which wasn't exactly much.

Unfortunately, this was when the language barrier reared its ugly head, ready to make what should've been a relatively simple process a million times harder in the end. Michael watched the way that Nikolai's eye narrowed minutely, a flash of something akin to frustration glittering there for a moment before the other spoke. When the horseman was done speaking, Michael found himself blinking dumbly, having picked up exactly nothing from the strange twisted words that exited Nikolai's muzzle. His previous curious question was quickly forgotten, mainly due to the fact that he couldn't even begin to understand what the fuck the other was saying. Michael had only ever known English, and he was pretty sure it was going to continue to be the only language he knew, which meant he was virtually useless in this exchange. Frowning, Michael glanced back and forth from Aine to Juno, speaking hesitantly, "I don't suppose either of you picked up on what the hell he just said?" He knew there was very little chance that either of the girls knew Ukrainian, yet alone any other languages – even though Aine actually did know some others – but what was he supposed to do? It wasn't like he knew an expert translator around here.