Bearclaw Valley Can I see your world?

Kove pulled the family card, oh no.

The Inuit man found his gaze following after the by for a second, catching the frown on his face. Though he probably shouldn't, he found the look to be mildly amusing. Never, not in a million years, would he state hat aloud, however, as the whole point was for him to try and smooth things over with the boy. Saying he looked funny when angry would definitely not help him with that. His eyes returned to the stranger, who he tried to play nice with. If the boy was related to his fellow Brother, as his appearance would suggest, then he did not wish to disrespect one of his blood. Clearly, though, disrespect meant nothing to the younger male, as not only did he growl and bare his teeth to Kove, but he also spoke ill of Burke—his own father, as he was soon told. It didn't sit right in the pale wolf, so he bared his own ivories in warning, and allowed a low growl to rise from his throat, too.

In truth, Kove didn't know all that much about Burke, but something like that had never mattered to him. All that mattered was that he knew he could trust the older male to have his back if need be. Anything of his past would be nice to know, but it didn't matter to the ghost either way. One's past might shape them to be who they are in the present, but that didn't mean it necessarily defined them. “I will admit, I did not know all of that,” he said, eyes narrowing at the grey male. “What I do know is that I can trust him to back me up in a fight, that he won't turn tail like some coward, and that's all I needed to know to befriend him.” The older male couldn't understand how a son could say such things about their own father, but then again, it didn't seem so far-fetched. He was sure Meldresi's children, Damien in particular, would say such things about his father someday, and might even search for him as the wolf before him seemed to be doing. “If he doesn't deserve to have anyone who cares, then why do you seem to?” Kove inquired, easily reading into the nameless boy. There was no way in hell he would be getting so worked up over someone if he didn't care about them. That could be clear to anyone, really, making it much easier for the pale warden to catch on.

When he asked about whether or not Burke shared the same mark as himself, Kove said nothing. He didn't need to speak, as his silence would say enough. He would have stayed quiet, if only for a second longer, had the younger wolf not continued to speak. Such an accusation was not one he appreciated, and, for a brief second, it brought out the side of him his own father had taught him to take control of. A low growl left his throat and he took a single step forward, before remembering who it was he was speaking to and forced himself to settle. Whether the boy appreciated his father or not, he was still of Burke's blood, and that was the only thing keeping him safe. Had he been anyone else, he probably would have torn him a new one already. “Whatever happened to you in the past is just that, a thing of the past. You would not be abandoned or treated badly, though you would certainly need to be set straight.” Kove drew in a quite breath, keeping his cool the best he could. Truthfully, he wasn't even close to liking the idea of the ashen wolf joining, but he couldn't turn him away. “If you had actually been considering requesting to join, then I can not turn you away. Burke is a Brother, and I feel it would be disrespectful to turn away his son. You should be grateful to be related to him, as I do not treat family, whether they're by blood or not, badly.”