Aytigin was a ball of energy, overly happy. Ever since they'd met, on their first border patrol, he had acted in such a way. Had he ever been like that? He strolled after the dark man, lounging in the sun and enjoying the warm. It would be a lie to say he didn't watch Aytigin as he fished though. Yuka had never been a fan of the water, a trait he had picked up from his foster father, he supposed. It was not long before the fisherman was headed back his way, their meal grasped between his jaws. Amber teal-flecked eyes briefly glanced over the man's slightly drenched features before meeting his gaze, the sparkle in his gaze reminding him that Aytigin had a positive attitude that could make up for Yuka's gloomy one.

His pack mate's words were genuine but they did nothing less but hit a familiar chord in Yuka. Just a seriously, he responded, "I wanted to. Multiple times." He paused for a moment before continuing, "But it wouldn't have been the right thing to do." The Thorben had allowed Aytigin to set the pace for their challenge and would not dishonor the way he was raised. Glancing down at the fish, his voice softened, "Thank you. For the fish."

Yuka gave Aytigin a dark look, that was more telling than threatening. He had been more excited at the prospect of stinking his teeth into flesh than mad at the rank challenge, but he wasn't going to tell the dark man that. Especially when they were sitting so close together about to share a meal. The creamy russet-hued man was the first to take a bite, courtesy of his companion. The flesh that he tore off was refreshing in his jaws and while he wasn't a fan of water, he would ascertain that he liked the marine life that lived there. Russet ears perked forward when the man spoke, his voice smooth. The Thorben was about to agree with what he'd said when the last of his statement processed in his mind. Amber eyes snapped up to Aytigin's face.

Rarely was Yuka complimented as handsome, certainly never by another male, but mostly atribute to the scars on the right side of his face, leaving an almost distorted look to his appearance. For a moment, he thought of Inali but he didn't want to get angry then. He had wasted enough time on a relationship that was doomed to fail and it was inevitably why he had ended up in Vigil's Keep. The Left Hand's jaw was clenched, thoughts of manipulation angles that Aytigin could be working going through his mind. But then, hadn't he thought along the similar lines? The moment they'd met Yuka had an attraction towards him. Deciding to stick with a neutral answer, he spoke firmly, "Thank you. Same here." The Thorben wasn't the best with his words, but that didn't make them any less genuine. He was curious and maybe in the end, that would kill him, "If you don't want power, you don't want us to submit to you. Why did you challenge me?" Yuka was not asking because he was butt-hurt, but because he was genuinely curious as to what Aytigin's motives were.

The Thorben would have never guessed that Aytigin was carrying around any sort of 'baggage', not with the cheerful air he put on. Of course, Yuka knew better than to judge a wolf by the mask they put on. There could be many layers beneath what the dark man was showing the Left Hand. The creamy wolf was grateful his returned compliment went unnoticed, or at least unacknowledged. This complimenting thing was new to him and he needed to be eased into it. There was no way he could handle trading compliments with the dark handsome man for the rest of their meal. Luckily, their conversation took on a more diplomatic turn - also not Yuka's speciality - but more comfortable than whatever was happening before.

The brute sat still, staring at the man in front of him as he explained his intentions. The creamy russet-hued man had to give him credit, he had guts formulating this plan. Would Nineva go for it? Yuka wasn't really sure. Nin had always been strong, independent and the Thorben was sure that it was one of the reasons why she thrived with singular leadership. It was noble and all but helping the pack as a whole? Yuka bit his tongue to delay from demanding more explanation. All the man cared about was his family. It was the only reason he was in Vigil's Keep. Instead, he simply acquiesced, "Indeed. That's a brave feat." Yuka did not understand though. He understood that it was Nineva's job to ensure all of these things, but it seemed as if all wolves had this never-ending urge to serve and protect their home. For the good of the pack. Did they really mean it?

On another note, Aytigin had addressed something that brightened Yuka's spirits. "I'm glad you don't feel towards Nineva in a romantic way. She is my sister, after all." He loved his sister with everything in him that was still good. Anyone who tried to be with her would certainly be on his hitlist.

As he listened to what Aytigin had to say - and he certainly had plenty - Yuka couldn't help but feel as if he were pointing out everything that was wrong with Nineva, his sister, the wolf he cared the most about in this twisted world. As he listened to this, he felt the urge to run over to his sister, report exactly what was happening in this very moment, but at the same moment, he knew his sister valued communication over everything. She loved it when other communicated with her. Wouldn't she rather hear all of this from Aytigin rather than him? Nineva had here reasons for leading alone and Yuka could not see her bending on those unless there was a great need for it. The gray woman was brilliant really and the help that Aytigin was mentioning was what Advisors were for, right?

He responded in kind, "Then I hope you're bringing your intentions up to my sister if you respect her and all. It sounds like you really thought this through. " He was silent, mulling over whether or not to report this to Nineva. It was why he was here to tell her things like these, the inner workings of the pack because he was solely loyal to her, and if Aytigin refused, he would. But for now, Yuka enjoyed the meal and listened to the younger man's reasoning as to why he did not feel towards his sister in a romantic way. Amber teal-flecked eyes shot up to meet Aytigin's gaze. The Left Hand's gaze narrowed, but his voice was soft when he spoke, "Honesty is refreshing. We don't get much of it around here anymore."

He just listened. He seemed to be doing a lot of that in this get together, but he wasn't complaining. Yuka was not much of a talker. While Aytigin spoke, the Thorben finished off the his portion of the fish, russet ears perked forward to indicate that he was listening. While the russet-hued man could see where Aytigin was coming from, could see the rationalization behind it, the Thorben also felt like the sooner this was addressed the better. After all, the reason he would be challenging Elias, Nineva's mate, in the first place was for his end goal of becoming her co-lead, and if it wasn't what Nineva wanted, what was he going to do then? Leave. The thought made something in his stomach chern uncomfortably. But so did the thought of Yuka going to his sister to tell her of what Aytigin planned, because it would sound like he was going behind her back, even though he wasn't. Something ugly twisted in Yuka's mind.

For once he didn't know what to do. It was usually kill or be killed but this time he wasn't fighting and there was certainly no one he could kill. That being said, if Nineva ever was in any danger someone would be hurt, badly injured, maybe even dead. When Aytigin was done, Yuka's words were came out serious, but he meant them in a playful way, "Well, I enjoyed listening." His last tidbit had Yuka caught of guard, because there were a few things that could be considered interesting about Yuka. "Why do you say that?" His voice was gruff, but the man was cautious.