mikolaj's home was perhaps a bit... barren in comparison to some of the other tanglers. the shepherd found no use in things like décor or furniture. soft plush sank too much and he felt as though he were being suffocated. why get anything firm when the hardwood floor was enough? he had used the tattered curtains around the windows as a sort of nest at some point, but they had since been in sam's possession after one of her meltdowns. used to cover her as she sobbed on her porch. he had not asked for them back, though he did not feel the need to, either.

the walls were blank with any sort of wallpaper. just peeling drywall with occasional holes the mice had chewed in. his windows were now boarded as the summer's sunlight interrupted his sleep too often.

the outside truly looked no better. if not actually worse. the pillars of the porch were deteriorating slowly. his roof had several minor holes in it that caused rain to leak in. there were still some scattered pots around that he had taken to stop the dripping water getting onto the floor.

the house was truly... empty other than that. it thankfully warded off visitors as well. he never expected anyone to come to his door, so hearing knocking while he took his afternoon nap was unusual.

mikolaj opened an eye and slowly rose from the corner of the room, nosing the door open with a grumpy huff. it opened just enough to fit his head through and look around, then down.

moth.

a brief curl at the corners of his lips appeared. he walked out fully, nodding his head to the girl.

"moth." his greeting sounded more as a statement, but at this point she was sure to know his tone was the same in all terms of speaking. "you are safe? problems?" mikolaj couldn't see any other reason for her arrival. she was a rather sweet girl, but they normally met outside of camp, never a direct meeting.

"SPEECH"

a small 'hmph' came in response to her reassurance. she was not in danger. part of him pondered over what exactly he would have done if she was... then again how much trouble could one girl get into? mikolaj could not think of back when he was a pup her age, but nothing stood out entirely with how he was raised. it was so long ago, though, most of his memory before the war was unavailable to him. he would like to think that he was a proper pup. listened well and was as disciplined as he was now.

the suggestion of spending time together was not an unwelcomed one whatsoever. it was not exactly on his list of things to do, but he would not turn her away. "walk. we can go for walk." he affirmed with a quick nod of his head. "where... where does moth go?" his first thought was the crater, perhaps explore its odd misshapen earth, but he was still unsure.

"SPEECH"

the junkyard was also someplace he had never step foot in but primarily because of its name. it was a junk yard and he could only imagine the type of vermin it attracted. he couldn't tell which sort of adventure would be less dangerous to the girl. a junkyard full of potential rabid animals or territorial rats and scraps of metal lying around? or a mysterious crater that has a strong possibility of radioactivity and mutated creatures?

perhaps they were both fruits of danger from the same tree.

"we go to crater. protect you." mikolaj confirmed, his tail flicking as he stepped off the porch. "moth okay to walk? rest on shoulders?" it could be quite a distance for the young girl. he'd hate to see her burn out just before the actual adventure began.

"SPEECH"

the thought of three-head alligators amused him, he would admit. only because he could only imagine reedy. three alligator heads all saying strange phrases. all with a piece of straw in their mouth and a straw hat to match. for some reason he imagined the middle head having sunglasses on. mikolaj was hopeful for a pleasant journey with her as well. he kept his senses keen and alert just in case anything tried to blindside them or hunt them. he knew the signs of feeling like prey... he would not allow it to happen to her.

allowing her to walk on her own, mikolaj set the pace for her to keep up with. he did not think of the possibility of her losing balance on his shoulders, it was good one of them did.

her inquiry was answered with a quick shake of his head. "do not explore often. like to stay close." mikolaj answered simply as he looked head on. his thoughts dispersed to what he imagined the crater would be like. perhaps desolate as the rumors said, or maybe something different upon discovery? "no. not long. stayed in house." his first meeting with moth was by pure chance of finding him outside on the hill. she was still as curious as ever, that had not changed. but he wished that she was able to make other friends closer to her age.

"do you like here? tanglewood? is it nice to you?" he pondered aloud, his gaze finally shifting back to her.

"SPEECH"

he does not know why, but mikolaj had embraced the possibility of defending moth from hypothetical bullies. he could not imagine anyone here being so low as to pick on a child, seeing as a majority of them were grown adults. a few even capable of being grandfathers and mothers, excluding himself. perhaps the worst that could realistically happen was beck pulling a prank on her... maybe stealing one of her little knick knacks from the house. anyone outside of tanglewood he could not speak for, considering what the pitt had a history of doing to the swamp dwellers.

overall, he was glad to hear she was having a good time. from what he knew, moth did not have any family. she was on her own, strangely, at such a young age. mikolaj realized that he knew as much about moth as she did him.

"do not talk to many. but..." he didn't speak much at all to the others, actually. he trusted no one here except maybe red and even perseus. the greek veteran was a noble old brute like himself. he had earned much respect from mikolaj for how he had dealt with his attack and handled himself.

"tanglewood is not home. will return soon, but not yet. have to make sure it is safe." he began to feel the ground dip into a slope, carefully pawing his way through. the grass began to soften into a grey, ashy dirt. though there were still tree's they began to gradually become barer as they progressed.

mikolaj cleared his throat and gestured to them. "we are close. do not sense danger yet." maybe those mutated creatures were just myths to keep them away. he couldn't imagine anything being able to live here anymore even in its most barren conditions. even the desert had its ways of living. "are we... on adventure yet? now, yes?"

"SPEECH"