To speak of humans and possibly instill a wave of curiosity for or fear of them into the wolves of Relic Lore had never even crossed Borden's mind. He wasn't even sure what had caused him to believe or assume that the forests had been breached by mankind. For Corinna to not know of these strange creatures that walked tall upon two legs was quite honestly strange, and if it hadn't been for the shock, he might have considered the discovery as a breath of fresh air. Even acknowledging the possibilitiy that the forests had not been breached brought him relief. He wouldn't have to worry about snares or traps or being extra cautious about anything that seemed unnatural.

Until stumbling into the Mountain of Dire, Borden had had to endure sleepless nights and nerve-wracking days of trying to survive on his own. However, he had only encountered these strange beings - "poachers" - on one occasion, but, that encounter alone had been enough to send him running for his life. As she came to a halt, he glanced back at her and turned around, listening as she apologized. An ear turned back and he tilted his head in slight confusion, "No need to say sorry." He returned her smile, wagging his tail to assure her. "Um... I-It's..." he bit his tongue to keep from stuttering. Humans... who knew they could be such a tricky topic? "'People...' Th-they're..."

Reaching into the depths of his memories, he tried to come up with a suiting definition, an easily-grasped concept. But, at the last moment, before he opened his mouth again, he gave her a nervous grin, "They're nothing to, uh, w-worry about. If you haven't seen one, then chances are ya might not have to worry about... about 'em. Heh..." His voice nearly cracked at the end of his sentence but he managed to say everything straight and as light-hearted as he could. Truth be told, he didn't want her to know if she hadn't had previous knowledge of people; and, to him, topics like this one were just some of those things that were left alone. Out of sight, out of mind...

Not wanting to extend on the topic and rather sorry he had brought it up in the first place, he nodded with his head to suggest they continue on their walk. "Let's just forget about it, hmm?" he proposed. "And, move on?" Though his tail had drooped somewhere in-between his words, he turned his ears turned forward and made it sway again with a feeble wave. He did his best in attempt to recover from her unexpected queries, but if she pressed him for answers, it seemed he would have no choice but to oblige.

Walking along and giving her a nod, Borden smiled again. ”Sounds good,” he merely replied, not knowing what else to say. He matched his pace with hers, not wanting to walk faster or slower. What he did not expect was her question. ”So, Borden, won’t Alexander be looking for you soon?” His ears flattened slightly, remembering his superior. Of course… How could he forget? His duties at the territory borders were waiting to done and the alpha was indeed expecting him to serve him well. ”Probably,” he said quietly. ”But, he’s off doing his own… things… Probably won’t see him until later. Tonight.”.

Obeying Alexander’s every order and living up to his every expectation was the one thing that had Borden eager to explore and learn all he could about Relic Lore. One setback to being allowed to scout out the land was getting caught up in lighthearted affairs such as this one in the Grove with Corinna. His tail curled slightly between his hind legs. Perhaps he ought to start heading back. The Orchard wasn’t too far away from the mountain, but still… The thought of Alexander looking for him or wondering what he’s been up to was something Borden didn’t want to think about, especially after being gone for quite a while.

Wishing he could stay the whole day with her, the Plateau wolf glanced to his companion and slowly came to a stop, ”I think I ought to be heading back though.” He bit his lip; he probably should have been more mindful of the time. His brows creased; he felt terrible for cutting their conversation short. ”I’ll, erm, see you around?”