"I tripped," he said, and let her get her hands on him despite wishing she wouldn't. It didn't hinder the ability to get himself back inside the hollow tree, the base, headquarters, whatever it was acting as. The little humble abode. Every step made him wince and truth be told he didn't get as good a look at Ellie as he would have liked- he didn't see the expression on her face when she laid eyes on him first or even as he slunk down into the ground as a miserable pile. "I fell down the stairs," Hawkeye tries again, forcing a mellow curl up on his lips. His eyes felt like they'd roll back in his skull if he kept them open much longer, the pressure he felt on his head tremendous. The attempt at a smile's stifled as he closes them and rests against the cool and damp bark behind him.

It was a mistake.

He grits his teeth and nearly lurches forward- he had bumped his arm against a knee. He stomps his boot against the mud instead to have something to move and some noise to hear that wasn't a stream of swears and shouts. He must look a lot like a child throwing a tantrum, but a pale and exhausted face may say otherwise. When the jolt subsides, and the pain remains but it was the constant kind of wretched pain, Hawkeye realizes he should tell Ellie what she asked. It'd serve as a warning for her. "I don't know," he starts, and it's more of a hiss than anything. He didn't know if he was alright. He'd lost blood and- other things. "I was attacked. Another- a- a tribute. Green thing. And your lizards." And he forces himself to look at her, and feels so bad for being so injured. "I'll be fine." But everything hurt. Thinking did, too, because he hurriedly adds "They didn't follow me here. I lost them a long time ago. Don't worry about that."