Emberwood Did you wonder where I've been all night

As expected, Takiyok was not impressed. Her tail waved for a moment, but quickly, she transformed into a cold, icy, mean animal. She was an animal built for survival, and he knew it. He knew that she had been depending on whatever little stability they had left to get through things. But that was not how the world worked, and she of all people should have known that. Her face showed no kindness. No understanding. She looked at Taikon as though he had dropped a bomb on them.
The girl spoke. Her voice was broken, offering repayment. She spoke of the west, where they were heading. Taikon wanted to ask where she was from, but he stopped. The girl pressed into him, and he looked at Takiyok, wearing an anxious, sad, worried frown. He shook his head softly, so as not to topple the woman he supported.
Look at her, he said, rather sharply, at Takiyok. His charge had blood on her head and the nasty scratches on her chest. She was a mess. She couldn't even walk properly on her own. She's a disaster. Her home is the same way we're going. His words were matter-of-fact. He was not asking. Helping her made sense. He looked at Taki, thinking back to when she was ill, when she was on her own, with nobody. Taikon said nothing. Taki was a free woman. If she was in a hurry, she could go on by herself, much as it would pain him.