Her reaction terrified him, especially since she seemed so confused by it. He wasn't sure if the existence of that thing was putting out something that was hurting her mind or if it was calling on some old instinct buried deep, but her fear was enough to get him moving.

He moved away from her, towards it, not trying to wrench his wrist out of her grasp, but tugging in a gentle way that showed he wasn't trying to run away, that he needed his hand free so he could stay.

"He's not going to hurt you. I won't let him hurt you," he promised her gently. He turned to look at her, tilting his head so he could still see the lurching thing out of his peripheral vision, but also turned enough to look her in the eyes - so she could see the promise in his. She got a full and open view of the gentleness and love there. "I'm good at making monsters go away."

As long as he was alive, he would do that for everyone he loved. His family, if he ever saw them again, his friends here, the people he'd come to see as the tribe he'd always wanted to have.

And if he ever died, he would die with them all knowing that he cared about them enough to do that.