Kova was pacing around the edges of the territory. He'd taken to practicing a bit of the chores that guardians often performed; marking the borders like how many of the males in the pack did. He mostly did this because of how his mother was. Without his father around Kova took it upon himself to take Tokino's place and mark the borders. It just felt like something he should be doing. Every place where Bane, Gent, Astraeus, and Loki had spread their scents, Kova did the same. Lifting his leg to pee on a large fallen log, Kova twitched at the scent of Gent. His stream of yellow liquid slowed to a stop allowing Kova to drop his leg to the ground. Then he turned to see the dark wolf approaching at a fast pace.

Kova lowered his head respectfully, as his father had thoroughly made sure to teach him the rules.  Tokino had wanted Kova to represent his family as if they were royals to any and all who met them. That meant that Kova had to be civil, follow the rules, speak in a kind but assertive manner, and to not act like a ruffian when things weren't going his way. Like a good little boy Kova had learned all of those rules and more after his lengthy absence being lost in these northern territories.  The young gray lad was well on his way to learning politics at an early age, and that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Especially if he had no idea what role he wanted to train for. Scouts had to know pack politics in order to send and receive messages without offending other packs.

Kova knew that Gent was much higher up on the ladder than he was, and this didn't particularly bother him. What bothered him was that he did not really know Gent very well. Kova liked to be informal with all his pack mates as if they were real family, but that meant getting to know each and every one of them. For right now he would be very formal with the dark male until he got to know him better.  Especially since he didn't know what Gent liked or disliked. The young wolf did not want to offend him on accident by saying something the Lieris man didn't like.

“Good morning sir.” Kova greeted the wolf then looked towards the burly trees. He wondered if Gent actually needed him for something or if the male just wanted to talk. Though starting a conversation might be a little awkward or hard for the young wolf with all the recent events that had occurred.

When the dark man said that Kova could simply call him Gent, the young wolf could only shuffle his paws for a few moments in silence. Then he glanced upwards at Gent's voice as he offered to help teach something to Kova. This offer, plus the chuckle and calm behavior brought Kova a little out of the shell he'd been stuck in since the pack had moved. He gave the dark wolf a half smile while shrugging his shoulders a bit at the question.

 “Well.. Are there any other roles other than the basic ones like hunter, scout, guardian, and healer?” The first question left Kova's maw casually as he sat down and tilted his head curiously at Gent. If only Gent knew how many worms would spill form the opened can once he answered Kova's first question.

Kova had been taught about those basic roles and what each did. He had already learned a bit about hunting from a couple of pack members who each taught him how to do different things during a hunt. Then there was Bane who had told him about what a guardian does and how they are good for the pack. Though Kova didn't have much practice at this role like he did with hunting and fishing. Healing was something that Kova was highly uninterested in, though he knew that it was an important job in the pack. Scouting had been explained to him by Inali but Kova again did not have much practice in this department. The most scouting he had done was when he was lost in the wilderness.

Kova was interested in all the subjects he had learned about so far spare for the healers role. Though with his memory you would think he would be good at memorizing plants and their uses. Instead he was mor einterested in the roles that got him out of the territory and moving long distances. Hunters often tracked prey doing just this thing, which is why Kova had thought about pursuing that as a role. Then there were scouts who's main jobs were to roam the lands and give messages to other packs. So the scouting role also piqued his interest. Guarding was a role that he wanted to also learn because well... who didn't want to learn how to fight and repel the packs enemies?

Kova tilted his head one way then flicked it to the other side curiously watching Gent as the male answered the youths question. At first Kova began to nod slowly at the definition of an adviser. He liked the sound of that, until Gent began to tell him how that position was normally for older wolves. Kova huffed then looked down at his paws. Why do elders get the best roles? he complained silently within his head before Gent started to speak about a different role. Kova perks his ears as the dark alpha began speaking of a role called a teacher.  “Oh, being a teacher is a role? I thought that was just something everyone does for pups!” Kova's eyes glittered brightly. Teaching sounded like fun. He already liked helping others, and he loved to be around his siblings. The fact that he had to know a lot of subjects which would include all of the other roles made the boys tail wag. Teaching sounded just like his cup of tea.

“Teachers teach both pups and anyone else who asks about stuff? So like if you asked if I could teach you fishing I could do that as my job?” Kova let his tail wag a bit as a devilish smile crept onto his face. He could teach his friends and family all the things and make sure they had help with everything. He didn't quite understand what "a jack of all trades" meant but the little wolf figured that it meant something about the other roles and knowing about them. 

“Do leaders have their own roles? Like other than being a leader?” He asked wondering if Gent had his own role. The boy couldn't remember if the dark male had been a guardian or a scout, and figured that this was the best way to ask. He also wondered what his mother had been good at. Though as Kova thought about Minka and everything he had seen her do, the boy had to guess that she was either a master of hunting or teaching. He also thought about what his father had been, which of course dampened the kids mood. However Kova figured Tokino had been a teacher or adviser like what Gent had talked about. Kino had liked to teach everyone about stuff, and he'd been good at it too. Slowly Kova's momentary glee was subdued by sadness as he realized that he was a lot like his father.

Kova tilted his head to the other side a goofy half smile spreading across his muzzle as he looked up at Gent. He recalled that Gent had the guardian role before he had taken leadership of the pack. If what the dark wolf was telling the silvery child was true then did that mean that Gent was both a guardian still and a leader? That made obvious sense now that Kova really thought about it.  A leader had to be really strong or really smart to be in the position they were in. So Gent being a guardian made perfect sense. “...and you're a guardian as well as a leader.” Kova grinned before bouncing around the dark wolf once in excitement. He stopped to look at his legs and tail wondering how strong he really was. A teacher had to know about all of the roles, but he had not really learned anything about fighting outside of being told about certain moves and about the reasons for fighting. That was certainly something he could use some help in.

 “Could you maybe teach me a bit about real fighting? Bane told me who to fight, and dad told me when to fight, but nobody has physically helped to teach me anything...” Kova shrugged his shoulders then grew silent and still at the memories of his father  as they pounded through his brain. They distracted him pretty well and made it hard for Kova to concentrate on Gent again.

The answer Gent gave Kova brought a happy smile to his face once more. It was a better answer than he had expected as the dark wolf barely knew him but was still willing to teach Kova all that he knew. This had Kova instantly liking the Lieris man as he wiggled in place before forcing himself to stand still.  “Alright!” He answered quickly giving the larger male a curt nod then turning to look at the territory around them. A hare was foolishly creeping out of its den to the left of the pair of wolves. It's ears flickered above its head sensing the wolves nearby before the hare turned and dashed back into its hole.

Kova licked his chops suddenly feeling a bit peckish. Kova looked longingly towards the spot where the hare had disappeared into a hole in the earth wishing he was a little better at catching them. He wasn't so good at catching rabbits and hare compared to fishing or helping out with a big game hunt. Rabbit and hare often got away from him when he was chasing them.

“Well I'm going to go find something to chew on. You know where to find me if you need me for something. I look forward to learning things from you Gent.” Kova turned and looked back to the black wolf before dipping his head in farewell. Then the youth turned to head towards one of the packs caches that should have been nearby. He wasn't going to take a lot. Just chew on a small prey item if he could find one.

(Crappy FADE is crappy sorry ><)