The guardian's days had become monotonous once more. It was not something he minded though, as it was far better than the stress that had come from being atop the mountain. There was always the issue of food still lingering, however, and so he always dedicated part of his day to trying to find something to bring back. After marking the borders on the far west side of the territory, Chulyin struck out, stretching his legs as he ran through the snow. His muscles weren't so sore anymore, his paws not so delicate. And even if his muscles still ached, he would hardly get anywhere just being kind to them. He moved in a relatively straight line, letting his nose do most of the work as he was not necessarily being silent as he plodded along. The land was not prey-rich now, and he thought it very unlikely that he would come across any herds. If there was something about, he would smell it.

He'd gone quite a few miles when he found himself with the open sky above him, and the woods behind him. There were clusters of trees ahead, bare as usual though there was a sickly sweet scent in the air, mingled with that of wolf, a pack he was unfamiliar with. Pressing forward, the man soon came to find a pup moving around the trees, causing quite a ghastly scene. Rotten cherry juice stained the pristine snow and if his sight was not failing him, the trees seemed a bit damaged as well, the sight backed up by faint traces of bark upon the ground as well. Dark brows came together as he watched this unfold, though the man said nothing. <b style="color:#a51919">

Chulyin watched the child with faint amusement as he was sauntered up to. He could not quite pinpoint the age of the boy, probably not too much younger or older than Karpos or his nieces, but certainly under a year. The dark man towered over the child most unintentionally, but it seemed that the older man's sheer size did little to deter the boy from coming nearer. He supposed children weren't truly children anymore. He couldn't soon forget the conversation he'd had with Karpos who had been through quite a lot in his short life. It was unfortunate, to say the least. The guardian rolled his shoulders as the boy finally stopped, sitting before him. What a foolish boy. It seemed the most of the pups he'd met on his journeys were less than intelligent, sauntering up to strangers as though they were eight feet tall. There was nothing wrong with a bit of confidence, but...Well, it helped to have at least a little bite to back up your bark.

The man did not sit, instead decanted his head to look the boy in the face. His ears pressed forward, nostrils flaring as he continued to at least try and be aware of the task at hand. <b style="color:#a51919">"A bit forward." Chulyin said, stiffly, most of the amusement from a moment ago dissipated. <b style="color:#a51919">"I am Chulyin." He answered, blinking a single time in some display of finality. He had a last name, but it meant little to him and would give this child no indication of his pack or family. <b style="color:#a51919">

Maybe if the man had been of some chaotic alignment, he would have messed around with the boy a little. Strike the fear of the afterlife into him. But Chulyin was a stoic sort and doing such a thing would likely never cross his mind. If anything, he would use such a nature to inform the boy of what exactly he was doing wrong to ensure that someone that might've had chaotic intentions wouldn't see any reason to go through with them. More words spilled out of the agouti wolf, and Chulyin's eyes lifted, resisting an eye roll and instead releasing a quiet sigh. It wasn't as though that statement truly warranted an answer, so the man would not give him one. His follow up was not much better than what he'd said initially, and Chulyin's gaze receded back to the boy's face. Meeting his green eyes, Chulyin was moderately aware that the child was not looking at him straight on. It soothed the man a bit, a tiny bit, to know that the boy had some sense in his noggin, if only just some.

<b style="color:#a51919">"East of here." The man answered, assured that the rules of the Keep had not changed just because they were no longer the rules of the Pass. And even though the boy was just that, Chulyin found no reason to divulge such information to a child, especially one with such a big mouth. Again, the man blinked, finalizing his words, or so he thought. <b style="color:#a51919">

Chulyin didn't bother asking about the child's whereabouts, for it didn't matter much to him. So long as he actually had a home, which was evident from the scent upon him, that was all that mattered to the man. But knowing the location of such a home wouldn't benefit the man, nor would it benefit his pack. Perhaps if the boy's mother or father decided to appear, then it could provide him with some positive outcome, but he wasn't sure how likely that was. They both seemed like quiet individuals, although Ashton appeared to have a much more "in your face" attitude about him, while Chulyin was quite content to let the boy entertain himself with whatever air of superiority he seemed to think he had.

<b style="color:#a51919">"Hunting." Chulyin responded flatly, ears turning back as though he could only wait to hear the boy make some lucrative comment about how he didn't seem to be hunting much of anything. It seemed like a rather childlike thing to say, although Chulyin himself had thought it up. <b style="color:#a51919">"Trying to hunt." Somewhat correcting himself, the darker man hoped to stop any snide comments in their tracks. <b style="color:#a51919">"It looks as though you were making a mess." Lifting his gaze over Ashton, he let it sweep across the Orchard at the rather macabre scene before him. He wondered if it was mere child's play or something a bit deeper. Karpos had his own demons, perhaps this boy did too. But if he did, they certainly weren't any of Chulyin's business. <b style="color:#a51919">

Though his eyes admired the trees, as Ashton dropped his own, Chulyin's followed. The boy had done quite a number on his paws as well, thanks to all those cherries and had made a nice little trail from the clusters of trees to where he was now. When the boy shook his head, explaining the occurrence, Chulyin had the faintest of feelings he was lying. But the affairs of other packs and their children mattered little to the man. Perhaps if the boy had gone on, been honest, Chulyin might have had something to offer, some wise tidbit, but not much more. He wasn't a therapist, not one to coddle, per say. He didn't enjoying seeing others in pain, but usually found himself feeling useless in their presence, only able to make their own plight worse.

Chulyin shook his head, <b style="color:#a51919">"Nothing's been ruined." He answered, reassuring the boy without necessarily stating that he'd had zero luck finding any sign of edible life. Looking beyond the trees, the man's shoulders shifted again, <b style="color:#a51919">"Perhaps I ought to leave you to your mess, then." He emphasized, then retreated a step to put some space between them. If the boy had anything further to say, then it was probably the right time to say it. Chulyin could not dawdle, speaking to troubled children only meant that any food was likely to get further away and he could not put much more distance between himself and home. His nose carefully tested the air on the off chance there were any creatures about taking advantage of the rotting fruit beneath the snow. <b style="color:#a51919">