He watched and he waited, curious of the red that fanned out about her like blood and fire. Still, he had only moved to hide himself, unafraid of her teeth but rather her judgement. Yet it never came. Instead, she seemed much more keen on the prospect of judging the road underfoot, his own eyes drawn to it with the same intensity at her own. He had said the words but they had hardly meant much - an offhanded warning - but now he was not so sure. Maybe the danger was much more than he had perceived. Had his senses become dulled? He had stopped thinking about death a long time ago.

But she changed then and he eyed her suspiciously in the moments it took her to turn around. As soon as she faced him more completely, he shifted his features into their usual stoicness, the hint of a grin tempting his lips. They were both trying to claim illusions. The idea of an easier path made his eye instinctively twitch to his flank, an unconscious reference to his...missing limb (though he had a feeling it rested somewhere in the den of Erebos or some other sibling, surely). "Easy's not really a word the mountain knows," he grinned sheepishly, doing his best to hide not only his own weakness but his untrained charisma too. It seemed she felt that answer too for her posture changed for a moment, almost disheartened by the realization. For a moment, he had given to glancing away with a frown - had he said something wrong? Maybe she had noticed how useless he'd prove to be not just physically but emotionally, too. He didn't have a good answer or any knowledge other than the obvious.

She'd notice his surprise, that was a given. When she mentioned staying, he visibly perked up, almost leaping as he jerked up in surprise - and thus, reveleaed the peculiarity that was a missing thigh and limb - before he shoved back down in a vain effort to hide himself once more. His hackles and neck rose defensively, puffing out in an effort to hide his shame, both the emotion and the cause of it. "We could..." he was tentative despite his efforts to sound confident, "Or I could find you a safe path. If you really want to spend the winter in the lowlands, that is." He wasn't sure if he really could find her a path but... what was the alternative? He explained himself with a shrug. "It's just that I'm not a strong hunter and I'd hate to be a burden to you, especially since we've only just met." It was best to be honest. Besides, she likely already knew: he was weak, a defect, and so, at least she'd not be burdened with being the one to have to bring it up.