For a moment, there's a wrenching pain, and Daud doubles over silently, teeth grinding together. Helping hands try to pull him and the girl in closer to the outpost, and the safety of the brightly-burning fire outside it.

And then ... he doesn't feel anything at all. The centaur speaks again, calling his name for his attention, and Daud rouses, straightening. The heightened emotion of the past few minutes is still there in his memory, but any adrenaline left now is only what's left after the scuffle.

"I'm fine," he says. His tongue feels thick in his mouth, but his voice is steady. "Open up the place and get us in."

It'll take a minute or two to unbar the outpost doors enough to open them and usher Daud and Ellie back inside, out of the cold. This particular bunch of volunteers rotate their shifts like this every half or so, taking turns out in the dark, until the Defenders come by with another batch of bodies. Once they're inside, it's even warmer, but Daud doesn't reach up to tug down his scarf yet.

"You're injured," he tells Ellie, matter of fact, like they haven't just been out there running for their lives -- like he hasn't just felt a part of him die out there, in the cold. "So is your beast. You should get that seen to."