Kostya bit back a snarl as his gut reaction to the strangers statement, his pride already wounded by being knocked over earlier. If he had been in the habit of expressing his anger more outwardly he would have been close to attacking the stranger by now. In truth some of his frustration was likely leaking out into his body language, but he reigned it in when he actually processed what the stranger had said.
Kostya hadn't actually survived a winter out in the open before within his memory; his first winter had been spent as a pup and was something he could barely remember and his second had been spent on a boat, crossing the Atlantic. His reaction to the oncoming winter, namely stockpiling food, had mainly come about from observing how several other wolves he had met were preparing, and it seemed was unnecessary.
Plus the other wolf was offering help, and not having to spend the winter eating old stored food would be nice, even if he did have to swallow his pride a little bit. As the stranger introduced themselves he sat up with a sigh, flicking his ears down the slightest fraction. "Tha' would be… appreciated. I'm new ta'' tha' area an' well frankly I'm better at the physical side'a huntin' than tha' logistics" Kostya shuffled his feet awkwardly, perhaps Zalen wasn't that bad if he was offering help to a wolf he had just met, though Kostya would reserve his judgement for a short while.
Kostya's ears flicked upwards when Zalen mentioned Saxif by name, finding it odd that the two had met but were not connected like the eye decorations had initially lead him to think they were. "Yeah, Saxif, met 'er about a week ago, intrestin' ta talk to, though I've met a lot more sociable wolves since movin' 'ere." Kostya regarded Zalen with his head tilted slightly, wondering if the black furred wolf would be one of those sociable wolves, it was always interesting talking to somebody who actually had more to talk about than hunting spots and threats over territory.