The tunnels had become a place that he rather enjoyed navigating, though they seemed to have lost their appeal the moment everyone had been ushered down into them. It felt as if he couldn't round a single corner without running into someone, which often resulted in him growing annoyed. He'd developed a fondness for the tunnels previously because of the escape they provided from the world above ground, yet there it was, having followed him down there. Now, the tables had turned, his interest being in the world above, rather than the one below. More often than not he'd sneak away from the masses, following a trail he'd become most familiar with and fleeing to the woods—well, if one could call a place so barren a woods. Though, without the thick canopies of the trees, the sun seemed to glare down on him with a newfound intensity, often forcing him to squint as he made his way around whatever was left of the territory. Still, he viewed it as a better alternative to being crammed down in the tunnels with the others.

On his most recent of treks to the outside world, he'd encountered several ruffed grouse. They'd been spread out through the territory, dining on what locusts littered the ground. After several he had chased, managing only to spread them out further, until there came one that was slow enough for him to catch. The bird had met it's death quickly, having barely put up a struggle against him—perhaps it had already been dying, or maybe it was just stupid, but either way he'd managed to kill it. Rather than eating it out in the open, he'd retreated back to the tunnels, wishing not to anger any other birds and invoke their wrath. There was also the matter of any scavengers that might be lingering around, none of which he was willing to share with. Thus, back into the tunnels he'd gone, taking the same path he'd followed in order to leave them earlier that day. After turning off from that tunnel, he'd taken a new one, hoping it might take him to a less frequented area. As he'd entered a chamber, however, it was made known to him that his wishes were not answered, for against a wall he could just barely make out the form of another wolf. Xan had prepared to slip away into the darkness, but then he'd noticed who it was and his body went rigid.

The girl appeared to be entirely still, and he'd once again considered just leaving, but had ultimately decided against it. They were still friends, weren't they? And friends helped one another—or at least that's what he'd been told, but whether or not that was actually true, he'd yet to test out. It was with slow steps that he'd then approached her, dropping the bird between them with a soft thud and then drawing his tongue out over his muzzle. "Hey," he'd greeted, eyeing her for a moment before focusing on the space behind her. "You okay?" Of course, he had no idea what she was feeling, nor could he honestly relate to it. Despite him having never lost a sibling to the claws of death (that he knew of), he'd tried to relate the feeling of his having left him to her brother having left her. The only difference being that, for her, his departure was permanent. For the boy, however, a part of him still wanted to believe that his sisters would return to him someday. Yet, even with him thinking in that way, he'd tried to see things under the same light as she currently was. "You can have some, if you want," he'd added shortly after, motioning to the now crumpled body of the bird. He didn't know when she'd last eaten, as he'd been more focused on himself rather than others, so he'd offered it to her. The gesture was also done, in part, because he wanted to try and cheer her up.

The bird was accepted, but nothing was said. The girl had remained quiet the entire time, looking distant for the most part. It was only when she'd started with the bird that he'd seen some sort of emotion, causing his ears to fall flat against his head. "Aren't you going to say anything?" he'd asked, watching her the best he could through the darkness. "You can't stay down here for the rest of your life." Well, technically, she could, but he wouldn't let her. The world above wasn't looking too good at the moment, but it was still their home, and it still offered them meals. So, for a moment or so longer, he would remain there and watch her eat, but without so much as a warning, the boy would move forward and prod her shoulder with his nose. From there, he'd round her to reach her other side, attempting to push her to her feet so that he could drag her out of the darkness.

Xan did not plan to keep her within the territory, but to take her a short ways beyond it. "C'mon, get up," he'd demanded, wishing to get her moving, and ignoring any physical lashings he might receive in the process. If teeth were to meet flesh, he would bite his tongue and deal with it. He wished to show her something, to try and get her smiling again, even if it was only for a second. "I want to take you somewhere. You need to get out of here for a bit." As he spoke, he would stop and stare at her, awaiting either words or movements, whichever came first.

The boy's prodding had earned him a frown, but he'd paid little attention to it. It was some sort of expression, but the opposite of what he wanted. Either way, he took what he could get, especially when she'd returned the nudge to his own shoulder. It seemed as if he'd acquired her interest just enough to be followed, and so he'd started moving, leading her down the tunnel he'd become most familiar with. Though he did not follow it the entire way to the end, branching off instead and taking another one that would deposit the duo closer to the borders. Several times he'd stopped and glanced around to ensure she was still following him, and to make sure none of the others were near enough to catch them escaping.

At the tunnel's entrance he'd stopped, looking to her for a moment and allowing for both sets of eyes to adjust to the brightness outside. "We're leaving the territory," he's stated. "Not far, just to the lake. Then I'll show you something cool, and teach you how to do it, too. If you wanna learn, I mean." Truthfully, Xan had no idea if he would succeed in doing what he was planning, as he'd never had any formal lessons. All he had to go off of was what he'd previously observed his father doing. Whether or not that'd be enough, he wasn't sure, but he wasn't about to give up before even trying. It was something from his heritage, so he'd be sure to try his best until he got what he wanted. "Ready to go?"

Still had he been when she'd stayed near to him, disinterested in putting any space between them. Since he would not leave without her, he'd not considered her having remained there only to make sure he'd not gone, but had instead taken it as a sign that they were growing closer. That, perhaps, she might open back up soon and return to her usual, strange self. She'd even said something! Er... well, sort of. No matter how it'd sounded, it was a word all the same, and so he'd viewed it as a step in the right direction. Despite that, he did not smile or given any indication that he was glad to hear her voice, for the real task at hand had yet to be completed. The corners of the girl's lips had yet to lift into a smile of any sort, and so until then, he would wear either the same mutual expression or a frown—whichever the situation called for, really. "Then let's go," he'd said, looking to her once more before entering the world above entirely.

Xan had wasted no time in leading her through the territory, and then over the borders and into the area beyond their home. As they'd traveled, he'd allowed them only a few breaks in between, wishing to reach the lake as quickly as possible. With the sun out, it was only a matter of time before his eyes really started to burn and he needed to return to the darkness, so he wanted so desperately to get some sort of positive reaction out of her before then. Even when they'd reached the lake, he did not stop, his body moving into it and disturbing the cool surface. Rather than insisting that she follow him in, he motioned for her to remain on the banks for the time being. "Both our dads are from the north. I don't know if Burke ever grew up fishing, but my dad told me it's a big part of my family's lifestyle up there, and I want to share that with you," Xan began, glancing her way. "I think the fish taste good, and I'm sure you will like them, too. Catching them also looks fun, so I'll show you how to if you want to learn." That is, if he managed to catch one for her to try.

"Just wait right there..." the boy murmured, his attention being drawn back to the water. He remained still, watching as silvery creatures swam around before him, some growing curious and approaching his legs. Only the movements of his sides as he breathed could be seen, and even that was limited to the bare minimum. Aim beside them, he'd reminded himself. It was the one thing he'd heard his father tell him about fishing, and the one factor he hoped would save him from looking like a fool. So, when one fish got dangerously close to the young wolf, his head darted forward, muzzle aimed for the space next to the sleek body. There was a loud splash as his face broke the surface, and then when he rose back up, there in his muzzle was the fish. It'd flopped a few times before he'd tightened his grip, causing the jerking motions to stop as the life faded from its small body. Thereafter, he'd walked from the water's embrace and placed the fish at Kendra's front paws. "Try it," Xan encouraged. "Do you want to learn how to do it? Do you want me to get you water plants to go along with it?" Honestly, the young Inuit was uncertain of what he could do to make her smile, but wanted to try anything and everything that came to mind.

While she tried the fish, he had taken a step back and given his coat a rough shake, resulting in some of the fur sticking up around his neck. He left it go, though, returning quickly to his previous place and watching her closely. One bite, then a second—she had to like it, right? Or maybe she was just hungry? The boy was quick to discard his latter thought, reverting right back to assuming she had enjoyed the fish. He'd not seen her face twist into a look of disgust between the bites, or after, which caused him to grin for a moment before it was wiped away by a reminded of why he was there. The goal was to make her smile, after all, and he'd stop at nothing to see one flicker across her maw. When he'd mentioned the plants within the water, he'd gotten a reaction that made him believe he was getting closer to his goal, and was forced to then fight another grin from spreading across his lips.

"Yeah," Xan answered, looking to the lake. "They might be difficult to grab hold of, but I can get them." He'd seen them before, and was sure the lake wouldn't mind giving some up. All he'd have to do is grab them between his teeth, yank, and then return to dry land for air. Easy as cake. "Want me to see if I can get any?" he'd asked, looking back to her. Until an answer was given, he would stand there in wait, observing her facial features. Maybe the plants would make her happy again? They couldn't replace her brother, of course, but they were something she seemed to be interested in. Maybe, just maybe...

The male's offer had been denied, to which he'd responded with furrowed brows. He could understand from where she was coming, but didn't regard the plants as highly as she seemed to. "I'm sure there's plenty in the water," he'd returned. "Taking one wouldn't hurt. Besides, don't you need to see it to find out if it has any uses?" Or did she already know about the water plants? Xan didn't know, in all honesty, but was actually interested to learn. He was curious, too, of why she might turn down such an opportunity if she'd never seen the plants before, especially after his statement. While the plants that grew above water lured prey, he didn't think that those beneath the water served any major use to them. It was because he'd thought in such a way that he'd not considered them to be important, thus making the act of harvesting them into no big deal.

Again, his offer had been declined. The matter was not pressed, however, as he'd decided to drop it for the time being, given her response. Someday, perhaps, she would request his presence so that he might be able to retrieve he plants for her, and he would go onward through the days to come anticipating that very moment. For however long he'd be made to wait, the boy could not bring himself to really mind, as that only meant more days would pass with the promise of having another moment alone with her. Truthfully, the boy was still not her father's greatest fan, but she was a different story entirely. Kendra seemed to brighten his very soul, and in a way he'd never before experienced prior to befriending her. For a long while, he'd tried to deny that he'd harboured any sort of fondness for her, but no longer would he, for no longer could he. And, as he was slowly coming to realize, that was okay.

There came, then, the moment in which he'd achieved the goal he'd set out that day to conquer. There, upon the girl's face, sat a hint of a smile. At that, a smile seemed to pull at the corners of his own lips, which he'd allowed to then take over his features entirely. Xan was happy. He was glad that he'd completed his self-assigned task, but more importantly, he was pleased that she seemed to be happy. It wasn't much just yet, but it was a start, and that was all he'd needed to take off. Yet, her words had then struck him down. She missed her brother and the plants, which was reasonable of course, but he'd felt his heart harden when the latter had been referred to as the one thing that she had loved. It'd hit him rather harshly, but he knew not why, and had quickly resulted in his smile falling away. However, naught more than a second later and he'd placed it back on his maw, but this time around it did not reach his eyes. Even if he had not made it onto the list of things that she loved, he could not make her unhappy—not again. Thus, when she'd commented on her luck for having him there, he'd nodded with a small smile splayed over his mouth. The expression was followed by words that never would he have ever expected to slip out across his tongue: