Watch that man rattle his bones

The good news was, it didn't seem like the other person was going to kill him. At least, not immediately. She was trying to get him to hide, which was wise, but the location he was meant to hide was... well, it was a little suspect. A little odd. A little rundown, but that was just how life was sometimes, he supposed. Nigel felt guilty, though, allowing the other to cover him - after all, he really wasn't anything except an attempt at humanity in the entropic face of death. And he wasn't even good at that. No, it would be better if he sacrificed himself and saved someone who wasn't haunted by the voices of gods that always hunger.

Except, he had something to live for. The mushrooms weren't as noisy in the desert, he was going to learn to keep bees, and maybe life wasn't nearly as wan as he was going to pretend. "Thank you, but follow quickly! Safety is also for you," he called back as he ran inside the door.

It was quiet, peaceful, and even the spores growing on the slow-rotting floors were content. The house was it's own kind of death, and it did not need to crave more. The herbs had long lost their potency, but they were hung with care, and the books looked more well-loved than time-destroyed. He hesitated to call to the mare, not wanting to break the feeling of the room. A mental chord, one that he could have almost sworn was a creaking step against the aged floor, rifled towards him, and he turned, expecting the warrior mare to have finally entered. And maybe she had - it wasn't the door he was suddenly looking at, but an older deer. The curls of woodsmoke scent made his heart flutter with some slight nerves, but he found himself leaning closer, even though he was usually hesitant of age and the spores it collected. "Do you know where you are?" the woman asked, and her voice fit the room without disruption, like a snake sliding through sand.

"I.... I do not know," he responded, hesitant. He attempted to be calm, quiet, to fit the scene and setting without detraction. "I would assume... this must be your home? I'm sorry for barging in without your permission." His long ears flicked, abashed, and he looked quickly for the the warrior girl, if she was joining him inside.