don't turn away now

His teeth ensnared the bears throat. It's struggles useless against his crushing grip. He almost didn't notice Heloise had joined him until the bears movements had ceased and its last breath was drawn. It took him a few moments to release his grip, but when he did, he stood motionless over its now still body until he heard something hit the ground behind him. Heloise's words reached his ears as he turned around, gaze finding her wounded form on the ground. Without hesitation, he moved over towards her and pushed his head into her neck. An act that was unusual for him, and one he wasn't certain he would have done before, but seeing her wounded and bleeding and at the mercy of the bear before his arrival had sparked something in him.

"I'm fine..." He muttered. He was unwilling to move, but he did anyway to look at whatever damage she had sustained. He had seen the bear send her flying just as he was arriving, and he was concerned that her injuries might turn fatal. "Are you...okay?" He supposed that was more a rhetorical question. She seemed fine when she had stood to fight with him, but now that it was over with, the adrenaline could have kept her from feeling the worst of her injuries.