He smiled and nodded as she mentioned where her den was, acknowledging that he knew where she meant (the area, at least - he wouldn't dream of suggesting he knew where her safe haven was) and thought it a nice choice. It had always felt secure, that place.

Then came her question, and the blunt opinion with it, and all he could do was laugh lightly; it was so true! "Yeah, I guess," he grinned, laughing again, seeing the open curiosity in her eyes and sympathising with it. "Well... not always. It depends how happy you are. I'm just... waiting for something to happen. Then things will be a lot more interesting." Oh, Kinis, how cryptic you are. Shaking his head and chuckling at himself, he glanced back up and 'clarified', "Sometimes it's more exciting when life's not easy, you know?" Enduring a drought with nobody but himself and Ruiko had been hard, but at least there had been something to struggle for. Perhaps this was why he was so keen to get going, and at this time of year of all times. The challenge of survival - a true challenge! - was intoxicating.

To his relief, though not quite to his surprise, she echoed the sentiment, and grinned in turn. Maybe... if she turned out to be trustworthy, or at least not purposefully troublesome, he could discuss her with Ruiko? Inviting her to the pack? They needed every reliable set of jaws they could, and Kinis doubted that she would dare cross Ruiko. Either way, it was worth considering.

Her following question only served to cement this notion; a wolf willing to learn was valuable, wasn't she? Happy to help, Kinis took a step towards her, noting her eager but wary body language, and smiled at her. "You don't want to appear like a threat, for one thing," he said, lowering his tail and ears and swiftly dropping his body just below her level, "or that you think you're better than them. I mean - it's not a personal thing, not that they're a better being, but as far as the pack is concerned, they're superior. If we don't follow the ranks, everything falls apart. Everybody needs to know where they stand." His tail wagged once, a submissive show of friendliness, and he lowered himself more, purposefully avoiding her gaze this time, pushing his submission even further. As strange as it was to behave like this to a relative stranger, submission itself wasn't alien to Kinis; the boy had never held rank, so it really felt fairly natural. Not that Ruiko often demanded such displays, but Kinis knew how to show them.

Whining softly, he reached forwards and licked her on the chin - that definitely felt strange, but hey, it was all in the interests of her learning - and then dropped fully to his belly. "It depends how much they want from you," he muttered, his instincts lowering the volume of his voice in this position. "Asking for forgiveness... such as from Indru, if you ever meet him again - requires a lot more from you. Usually," he said, a little more spritely now, bouncing back up to his paws and bumping her chin with his nose, "just showing that you respect their rank is enough. You only need to do the stronger stuff in more serious situations... and depending on who the superior is, too. There's a wolf in Swift River right now who's pretty big on it - but he doesn't talk much, so it's all about how you act with him." Smiling, he tilted his head at her, curious how much help that had really been.