and we all fall down

A cry pulled him from his hunt. He didn't understand the words but fear transcended languages. Basileus knew a cry for help when he heard one. Quickly he leaped into action; taking off in the direction he thought the distressed call had come from. His head held high he scented the air for signs of trouble. Bear, perhaps? He wasn't familiar with the predator, but he did know they fished. It didn't occur to him that bears might be hibernating; all he knew was that a river was nearby.

All was silent around him. "Signorina?" He ran on, his ears straining for a sign that he was close. "Signorina!" After leaping over a sun bleached log Basileus found himself on the bank of the river. He was backtracking, possibly moving away from his quarry, and he wasn't bothered by that knowledge. Basileus was a man of honor, after all.

His gaze settled on a flurry of movement out on the ice. Without hesitation he leaped the remaining distance that separated him from the snow covered ice and began to pad towards the pair. By the time he reached them the woman was out of the water. He'd been in this land just long enough to get the sense that his native language was grievously underrepresented. Basil didn't have high hopes of being able to communicate effectively. His gaze, which lingered mainly on the man, darted between the pair. "Hai bisogno di aiuto?" What had she yelled? In a heavily accented voice, he repeated what the woman had said, "Help...me?"