Is this what bonding is?

He watched as his friend seemed to be slipping into mania, and suddenly it struck him what it must feel like for Eliana every time she witnessed this happen. He was full of fear, but not for himself.. for his friend. Vale was going through something that Elias was all too familiar with and knowing that made him immensely empathetic. He lowered himself down against the sand, ignoring the heat against his belly and chest. He crawled closer to Vale's volatile jaws, risking danger but putting himself right next to Hailey and using his own mass as a sort of shield to keep her safe.

His right forelimb came up to hook over the upper part of Vale's neck, gently resting down on it right behind the man's skull. He wanted to be able to hold him down if he needed to, but this brought him very up close and personal with him. He didn't know what to say to Vale's first set of words, it made him choked up. Was he experiencing the same demons that haunted Elias? Did he even know what they were? Elias started to drift off into thought and concern for Vale as he silently prayed for them not to plague his friend like they did him, not to the same extent. He would have to teach Vale how to resist them, how to listen to them.. and how to keep them from taking over completely.

When Vale called out for him again, he snapped out of it and barked back. Elias' words came out in a low, growling rumble as he aimed to soothe him now that he had his attention. "I'm right here! Focus! Ignore them, alright?" He looked to Hailey now who was pressing into Vale's wound, releasing the foul smell of infection that he was certain would irritate Vale. Elias would apply more weight on his forelimb if Vale started to struggle, determined to keep the beast down if he decided to attack her, or himself. "She is cleaning your wound, she is almost done. Keep your eyes open, and keep them on me. After this is over, we're going to get the fuck out of this desert, alright? It's almost over."

He continued to talk to him as she worked, which thankfully seemed to be done with urgency. She was getting it done quickly, and before long she was finished and handing a mixture of herbs to give to Vale. He was hesitant, flashing her a look in the eyes for a moment as if to tell her something. If there was anything harmful in these herbs, it would be the end of her... but... he knew Lirim wasn't a pack full of people with ill-intentions. No, that was more like Ruina than anyone else. Those were his people, not Zuriel's. He decided to trust her and moved to pull the bundle of leaves over to Vale's face, unfortunately getting a bit of sand on them but he was sure the brute could handle it. "Vale, open up. These will make you feel better, make you stronger. Get up! Eat them. You can do it."

When this was all over and Vale was stable, he would have to thank Hailey and introduce them, but.. for now he was entirely focused on Vale and keeping him focused and out of mania. Elias' own heart was racing as he desperately kept making noise, growling and nudging him with his nose to try and keep him attached to the here and now, stimulating his sensories to pull him out of his mind. It had always worked for him when Eliana did it, and he had a dire need to keep Vale out of despair.