Nord's caring instincts had taken over, and he looked on with concern at the stranger. The lanky boy didn't know why the other had decided to jump in the river, or why his face was stained with blood- and right now, he didn't really care. The potential danger of approaching a stranger was forgotten in the face of his want to help. His tail gave a few wags as the younger male glanced at him and immediately turned away. Nord tried to get a better look at his face to see if it was injured, but the wolf couldn't even meet his ocean blue gaze for a second. The awkward creature knew that feeling all too well- self-blame was not foreign to him in the slightest. For a long time he blamed himself for surviving the avalanche when his pack did not.

But now was not the time for self-reflection. At the quiet answer that was clearly a lie, Nord narrowed his eyes. The other wolf looked sick and upset. Nord didn't know what was wrong but he didn't need to, he could help the best that he could. And he wasn't letting his charge get away even if he could.

As the other male started moving away, Nord took a few steps closer. He watched as he tried to walk away, nearly crumpling on to the frosted ground. Nord frowned as the stranger finally slowed to a stop, hanging his head and just... standing there. Nord let out a quiet, anxious whine before closing the gap between them, standing next to the weakened wolf. "I don't think you are okay, actually." the white and grey wolf said quietly, wanting nothing more than to carry the brute right back to Taviora.

Though anxiety usually would have taken over by now, Nord had willed his heart to still and his breathing to be regular. He had a job to do. He had never had that, not really- and now that he did, there was no way that he was going to mess it up. And unfortunately for the stranger who just wanted to be left alone, Nord was going to do exactly the opposite of that.

"No, a-actually, you are definitely not okay. You're shaking and you have blood on you and you jumped into a freezing river in winter." Nord said, his voice a bit more forceful. He let out a small sigh, his tail giving a small flick. He wasn't mad, just concerned, and though he would have acted differently under different circumstances... He couldn't just let this stranger leave. Or... whatever he was trying to do just then. "Please, just... let me help." Nord finished, his voice quieter and more calm now, though it was still clear that no matter what he wasn't going to leave.

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