In the space of a breath, Ellie has to make a choice--trust this man with her and Theseus's life, or not. She's been offered safety and protection on this night before, only to have it blow up in her face. She's terrified that this man will take Theseus just to throw her to the side and spirit Ellie away. You can want someone alive to harm them.

But survival lies with him.

"If you have to, get her to safety." Ellie takes the torch and transfers the wolf to Daud. Theseus whines as the wound on her leg is jostled, but is able to shift into Daud's grasp easily, even hooking her front legs around him--there's something in the way her paws are almost able to grasp that suggests she's not all wolf, but there's no time to worry about it.

Ellie hefts the torches and gets as close as she dares to Daud without burning him. Damn, but did she make the wrong choice with her boots--she sacrificed the ability to move quickly over the snow for warmth. Damn her idiot self.

Without the wolf, Ellie can easily keep up with Daud. When another shadow goes for Daud's feet, Ellie strikes at it with the torch and makes contact. It--shrieks isn't the right word. That would imply it made a comprehensible noise. Instead, it sounds like metal and bubbling mud, as it retreats into the dark.

She may be prey, but she won't make it easy for them.