Greatwater Lake though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death

For a moment she seemed to lose herself, and Wirt lowered his head to gauge whether or not she was responsive. His outward demeanour remained calm, save for the apprehension in the distance he kept, but inwardly he wrestled with questions, worries, concerns. Something had obviously happened to the girl to damage her this terribly, and it was hard for him to keep from guessing at what. He tried not to linger on any one assumption before Awinita had a chance to speak.

The way she approached him twisted his heart with a strike of anger - no woman, nor any wolf, for that matter, should feel the need to cower for fear of what lurked in the dark. And there she went - mentioned a lead, a clue. A man. The wounds on her back. The pieces began to click, though vague, and mainly guesswork. For the moment Wirt pulled his eyes away from the damage and focused on Awinita's downturned face. "Hey, now listen," he kept his voice gentle and soft, and lowered himself to the ground so he could be eye-level with the shivering girl. "I've been around the forest tonight, and I promise you, it's safe here. Once you're dry and your wounds are clean, and you're able to walk again, I will do whatever it takes to bring you somewhere better, somewhere far from whoever did this to you." He quirked his mouth, and tried to meet his grey eyes with hers. "There's a spot not far from here that can shelter us. So long as you're with me, nobody will hurt you. I promise."