Hilde was in the main house, looking around the kitchen and adding last-minute things to the shopping list. She glanced up when Duo came into the room.

"Hey. You mind taking Naomi with you?" Duo grinned hopefully.

"Hm? Sure, no problem. Could always use another set of hands," Hilde replied.

"Great." Duo grinned. "Try to be nice." He grinned to show her he was just teasing.

"Hush, you," Hilde replied, grinning. "If you haven't scared her off by now, I definitely won't."

"I dunno. Women are always scarier than men," Duo said with a grin. He could admit that easily.

Hilde just rolled her eyes and went to go find her duly volunteered packmule.

A few hours later, after having been thoroughly both impressed and unnerved by the colony, Naomi made her way back towards the garage to keep bothering Duo for a while. She paused outside, however, when she felt the faint stirrings of youki inside. She didn't recognize it as Duo. Cautiously, she opened the door.

Duo was standing with the other pilots, although all of them stopped when she entered.

"Who is this?" Heero asked.

"This is a friend of mine, Naomi." He shot Naomi a look, slightly apologetic. "These are all... coworkers." Because that was the best cautious approach he could take.

Naomi blinked, taking in the group. She could tell immediately none of them were completely human, but she wasn't entirely sure what a few of them were off the top of her head.

"Coworkers," she repeated. "Okay." She wasn't going to question that. They all had the same look about them that Duo did; that they weren't to be messed with.

Duo shifted, clearly not sure what to do with her now. The others were all eyeing her, clearly curious but none of them willing to ask while she was right there.

The awkwardness stretched out for another moment or two before Naomi finally decided to get it over with.

"Okay. Coworkers. And I bet it has nothing to do with the giant robot in the hangar." She glanced between the four she didn't recognize, and noticed when all of them tensed slightly.

Duo sighed. "Naomi..." Now he was kind of exasperated. "Hilde doesn't need any help putting things away?"

"If she did, I'd still be helping," Naomi replied. She glanced at the other four. "But I can take a hint." With a brief flare of youki barely enough to register with most creatures, she turned to leave the hangar again.

All five of them jumped and Heero and Wufei jumped in front of the door so she couldn't leave. Heero advanced on her first, while Trowa blocked off her exit in back.

"What was that?" Heero asked, glowering at her.

Naomi stopped in her tracks when every way out of the hangar was cut off simultaneously. That wasn't normal.

"What was what?" she asked carefully.

"Woman, don't play dumb with us," Wufei said. "You know exactly what."

Naomi blinked, and looked at Duo. Now that the guys were close enough, it was easier for her to tell what they were.

"Where did you find these people?" she asked.

Duo smiled a little. "Totally on accident," he said. "You guys aren't going to like this, but try to listen to what she has to say before you get all pissed off, okay?"

Heero's eyes narrowed and he looked at Naomi again. "Start explaining."

Naomi couldn't help but mutter something about damn foxes and trouble magnets before looking at the guys.

"Really, you don't have to surround me, I'm harmless," she said. She paused for a moment. "Mostly harmless," she amended.

Wufei just gave her a Look, and she glanced at Duo. "Tell them I'm harmless."

"She is. Mostly harmless." Duo shrugged. "Nothing we really have to worry about, anyway." He meandered over to her, getting between her and Wufei. Wufei had the hottest temper of them, and he didn't really want any problems tonight.

"There is something strange about her," Quatre said, studying Naomi intently. The scrutiny made her a bit uneasy. "Although I can't pinpoint exactly what." He glanced at Duo.

"She's not from around here," Duo said cautiously. Since she didn't have the Book working, he knew the other pilots wouldn't believe them, and they wouldn't just take his word for it.

"Why is she here?" Trowa turned his gaze on Duo.

"Don't look at me like that! She's a friend. And it's not like you people warned me you were dropping in or anything." Duo scowled at them.

"He didn't really expect me to drop in, either," Naomi said. "I'm kind of stranded here for a bit, and he's been nice enough to put me up here."

"That doesn't explain why you seem so... different," Quatre pointed out, giving her an even look.

Duo just shrugged. Hey, he couldn't really explain it reasonably.

"Look, how about we just let her go inside and we get back to our stuff?"

"I want to hear the explanation, as well, Maxwell," Wufei said, giving Duo a Look. He wasn't necessarily comfortable with someone being 'mostly harmless.'

Naomi hesitated for a moment, and then sighed.

"Okay, fine," she said. "I'm not completely human. Happy?"

Duo sighed. Oh boy, she'd gone and done it now.

"Not completely human?" Trowa asked, his eyes narrowing a little. "What does that mean?"

"It means exactly what it sounds like," Naomi said. She noticed Duo's reaction, but it was too late to take it back. At least she wouldn't say anything about him being a fox. That was his business to share.