After their mountainous journey and his rather...terrible bedside manner, Chulyin had excused himself. He'd finally found a place for himself within the main den, no longer content with sleeping away from his packmates. The man had been trying to make an effort. Not that quietly slipping into a chilly stone cave and passing out without saying a word really required that much effort. He was exhausted. He was not built for all this cross country work. Climbing, perhaps, but persistent movement for long periods of time exhausted the large and muscled man. It was possible he was also looking for some respite from his own thoughts. The man hadn't had many friends in his life. Mostly just those he protected, and he usually chose not to get to close to them, as though doing so would simply cause problems. Family was the only exception, of course. He desired to be as close to his family as possible, gain their trust. He wasn't stupid, although he was quiet. Holding in emotions wasn't healthy. Family was there for one another. Naira could jest comfortably with him and only she would hear him laugh or catch his smile.

When he finally awoke, it was...still raining. He hardly noticed the drops as he left the den, because at that point, the clouds, for the moment, had moved on. For the moment, he kept his thoughts at bay as he headed towards the den that Lyr had made for herself. He supposed it would be sometime until she'd be allowed within the den with the rest of the pack, but he hoped that it wouldn't keep her from interacting with the rest of the pack. But her little cove was empty, the scent leading to the borders. His shoulders rolled as he changed course, his sore muscles propelling him forward easily over the rocky ground. He ought to have been checking out the borders anyway, with all the rain about. Jaws parted in an absent yawn and as his jaws clicked closed, he caught sight of her sitting rather elegantly upon the borders.

With his ears back, he slowed his swagger, tail moving slowly behind him, as though cautious, like sometime in the last few hours she'd decided to turn on them. His greeting was a silent nod of the head, a cock of the brow. <b style="color:#a51919">"Did that bump give you mind powers?" He asked, bass voice quiet. Of course, his guardian status was hint enough that it was at least part of his duty to prowl the borders, but he wasn't sure why she cared. <b style="color:#a51919">

His brows quarked in an almost sympathetic manner, though it was probably intended more along the lines of a "softened" expression. Thinking back to his opinion of family, he pondered the Pass, wondering if the wolves within the borders were simply those he was sworn to protect, or were they family? Perhaps they could only be the latter if he allowed them to be, and since his return it seemed as though he'd unconsciously been drifting towards it with his attempt to be more social. So did this make this near-stranger family? Perhaps a distant relative, though she felt closer than that. Perhaps in some orbit they were friends? He wasn't sure. Perhaps if he just looked at her as a packmate, for what she was, the woman he'd rescued and had taken responsibility for. Nothing more, nothing less. It made things much less muddled within his mind.

With the knowledge that she was a packmate, he allowed himself a slight smile. A shining socialite. Naira would be proud. The smile was flushed away quickly when her eyes dropped. Perhaps she was still adjusting to this subordinate business. He'd gotten a feeling, when Naira had arrived, that Lyr had been unfamiliar with packlife. But this odd displacement of her gaze dragged on for far too long, and he settled to his haunches, leaning down with his head cocked, wondering if she was alright. But as her gaze lifted, his followed. The man was no counselor. He knew his sisters, his blood family...But to comfort a stranger, a stranger that had, in fact, snapped at his offer of help at one point. What was he supposed to do? Discomfort crept into his chest again, and he straightened up, tongue flicked out and quickly passed over his jowls in an awkward motion.

The look in her eyes made his nails dig into the earth, his jaw clench. Perhaps it would not be different from comforting family. But she didn't speak like everyone else did, she didn't express herself, but in silence. As he did, though her's was strangely loud. He swallowed, head tipped, jaw still clenched, before letting out a strained exhale and getting to his paws in a fluid motion. His muscles still ached, but he wondered if this was another step he would have to take. He had little concern for what others thought of him, but his packmates, his own protectors, as much as he would always believe himself unstoppable, their opinion was palpable and without it, he could not be a part of their family.

Sweeping forward, he touched his nose quickly to the slope of her cheek and withdrew quickly, his back paws shuffling quickly, pulling him away from her. He'd been a child once. He knew how to play...Or he thought he did. <b style="color:#a51919">