Ouroboros Spine Disarm

Wherever this woman had come from, she'd been made of tough stuff. He saw blood spatter across the small, white patch near her eye when she snapped at the bear's throat and even after having been crushed against the tree, she swooped toward him like a winged goddess. Bronco gasped- and only then realized that he'd drifted off just enough to let his snout fall below the surface. He tried to push himself up a bit so that he wouldn't drown in a measly foot or so of ater- but even that little would have been enough if he lost consciousness. He felt her nudging his chest, and he leaned against her for a moment, until he found the strength to pull his hind legs beneath him so he could stand. His legs shook, and he didn't hear most of what she said. Dizzy and wheezing, he looked at her vaguely, teetering somewhat on his legs in the shallows as the ater dripped from his chin. She was pretty. 

The bear had not yet given up its ordeal with the wolves, though, and Bronco let out a hoarse croak to alert Minori while he stumbled toward the bank. This wasn't right. He wasn't supposed to be such a legless duck. He was supposed to be the knight in shining armour, just like he was when playing pretend with his younfer sister, Alyx. He was supposed to be Meerkat's guardian. And if Meerkat had been here rather than Minori...Both of them would have already been dead. 

He felt himself consumed by failure as he stumbled two steps to the side, paused to take one more look at her pretty face, and slumped silently to the ground.