Michi shifted a little. Ruben? That seemed a bit human, for a wild shifter's name. Perhaps he had at one time spent more time around humanity. Then again, his own name was far too human for what he was as well. They had, though, lived in a seaside town, a fishing community. He was too worried about Ruben's deeper intentions, though, to try to sense what the other shifter was feeling. The scents that other creatures gave off could tell a lot about them even from a distance, though Michi's breaths were shallow and the wind was a bit erratic, taking away from the intensity of what might have let him understand a bit more.

He bit his lip before speaking. He had his self-doubts, hoped he could survive if he left the village. It had been a long time... He crouched down, feeling a bit lightheaded at the prospect. "I... Ahem, I can go." He said after a time. He couldn't seem to wrap his mind around it. He would have to keep his eye on Ruben---the wild one.

Places he wanted to see? Now that he thought about it, there was always one place he'd always been desperate to see again, but had never had the courage or will to begin such an extensive journey. He was a social creature, after all, it was why his kind lived and traveled in packs. It was why he liked being around humans so much, they liked to pet him, show him attention, talk to him though they thought he couldn't understand. He wanted to see the Japanese village he would have grown up in had he not been stolen away. "I..." He cleared his throat, pausing. "Um, I'd like... t-to go home." His voice cracked and Michi lost his composure, hiding his face as he fought tears. He wanted to go home, but didn't want to force anyone to come with him. A travel companion would be nice, but not one that would resent him for his destination choice.

He sniffed and shook his head, looking up again. "I'm sorry. I... just... I haven't been home in so long... I'd like to see where I was born."

Michi shivered, gritting his teeth and forcing himself to back away a little. Ruben was a bit rough, mostly in feel---perhaps that was the wild blood in him, having existed in the extensive forests for so long, bringing down animals larger than rabbits and mice, not accepting giveaways. And his natural scent was earthy, with a light bloody backdrop, natural, and somehow Michi could catch something else... A musky scent that had him leaning forward without really realizing it, until he almost lost balance and, embarrassed, skittered to the side.

"It's a... a long way." He noted, offering Ruben a way out he hoped the wolf shifter wouldn't accept. "Really long. It could take ages to travel so far... And the ocean..." He hadn't thought of that. It was too far to swim. They would have to steal away on a ship, like the one Michi had been taken away from his home in. What if Ruben didn't want to? What if they got to be close during the journey...?

It was a good enough excuse for Michi. He had always wanted to go back, and to show off his native home to someone else, someone that willingly spent time with him, was more than appealing. The young shifter felt like leaping around, and as he went from two legs to four furry ones, he did just that, shedding cloth cover for fur and yipping in an energetic type of happiness he had always had to push down to make himself tolerated within the village walls. The humans there didn't appreciate overly energetic animals that didn't listen to orders, and Michi wanted to be welcomed rather than chased away.

And he felt happy, really happy, for the first time in a long time. Maybe Ruben needed him to be around. If first impressions were anything to go by he was happy to have Michi tagging along on whatever journey was in mind.

Michi crept forward, touching his nose to Ruben's. And when he spoke, it was in a way that no human would ever be able to understand: "The sun rises in the east... That way." He looked over his shoulder. "It's that way!" He leapt onto a stone that jutted out of a small mound of hard dirt. "If we just keep the sun in front of us in the morning... and behind us in the evenings... We'll get there!"

But he had ran for so long to get here... Michi's paws had bloodied over the days he forced himself to run. But this time he would have someone with him, who would tell him to stop or leave him if he didn't. And Michi didn't want to be alone anymore." He moved forward. "Come, come!" He leapt over a fallen tree. "We'll get there! We'll get there someday soon! And see the ocean... And find a way to get over it, and get to the island, my home..." He whined, so eager to move, to go and find his way back, to see those strange bears of black and white and those little red dog-like things he'd never learned the name of.