Blackfeather Woods shrouded in new a darkness

Quickly, others had arrived, one of them being Burke. He seemed just as confused as the man was, having had not previous encounters with the locusts. For now, Kove did not question him, deciding to drop it and focus on Nemesis—who had answered his questions. Apparently, the bugs posed a great danger to them, having the capability of eating every plant that surrounded them. He was glad they did not exist from where he'd come, and had hoped for a moment that Teekon was just as frozen as his birthplace. But no amount of wishing could alter the climate, and it sure as hell couldn't drive the bugs away. Thus, he needed to adapt, and hope that everyone came out of it alive. He was focused more on them than he was his son, for often was the boy away and on his own. He simply nodded, responding to everything said at once, before moving towards the tunnel. Yet, despite knowing that he should, the Inuit did not descend down into the earth's protection.

"Nemesis, come on," he'd urged, prodding her side slightly with his nose. "Xan will come when he is ready, but he will be fine until then." After all, they were only bugs, right? Their target was the plants, not the flesh of wolves. "Trust me, he will be okay, but you and I must find a place to settle and wait for him until he arrives." Until she decided to follow, he would not move from his place at her side. He, too, was familiar with the tunnels, even if it'd been quite some time since he'd last traversed them. The way in which one traveled through them was a lesson he could never forget, though, and so he was fine with waiting even if Kendra were to leave their sight in the meantime.

I'll probably throw Xan in here after a few more posts, aha.