Triell's enjoyment filtered through to Kinis, who found himself thrilled by the act despite himself. It really was a different world, this swimming business, like finding yourself in thick air which requires you to learn a whole new set of basic skills, such as walking. It would take a lot of practise for him to reach Triell's steady expertise, but now that the fear had mostly subsided, he felt that he could do this again - and maybe, one day, without any supervision.

So focused was he on his gradual lap of the pool that Triell's question came quite out of the blue. It took Kinis a moment to even register it, and his bewilderment almost ruined his steady movements. Fortunately, his instincts and body had already clocked the right technique, and he was able to continue without fault. Still, he didn't fancy testing himself too much, and wanted to reserve talking for hard ground. As such, he didn't answer immediately, and the time it took him to paddle towards their starting location gave him plenty of contemplative time. The question itself was innocent enough, but the fact that Triell had asked it here, like this, so unexpectedly, implied that there was a little more behind it than an idle query. It pained Kinis to think that his brother missed him that much, for he could not bring himself to go back and genuinely enjoyed his brother's company and friendship.

His paws scraping on muddy ground, Kinis continued silently on, pulling himself out of the water and giving his pelt a heavy shake once he was free. Turning to watch Triell, the boy smiled softly, almost apologetically, and twitched his head in a small shrug. "Yeah, a lot of the time," he admitted quietly, trying hard to be casual. "I miss you guys, but - I don't know. It's difficult to explain. I don't think... I rightly know myself." Approaching Triell with a wag of his tail, he offered the black pup a fond nuzzle and finished by touching their noses together. "I... Indru and Ruiko's... thing, you know. It makes it hard. I can't betray Ruiko, he's all I had when, when you all..."

It was hard, feeling this much for Triell and yet unable to give him exactly what he wanted. His brother was so careful in his wording that it was obvious he was struggling despite his smiles and neutral tone. Still, what Triell asked for wasn't impossible, nor even unreasonable. He wasn't demanding something Kinis couldn't give. His concerns about disappointment had only ever been about Ruiko; now that all was well with that brother, his paranoia could easily transfer to Indru...

No, no, that wasn't the point. The point was that he should let his family know he was doing all right, like Triell said.

"I could do that," he conceded quietly, smiling. And with that, he felt compelled to change the subject, because it was vaguely painful and he didn't want to cause Triell any grief. He would come and visit, hopefully soon, but he could make no promises to the latter. Swift River didn't need him, at any rate, and Triell could easily tell their big brother that Kinis was okay. The boy still had a few demons to dispel before braving the journey back to their old home.

With a sudden, mischevious grin, Kinis nipped at Triell's jaw and darted off, tail wagging and energy abounds. He could not deny that Triell lifted his spirits to no end.