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Titan was embaressed by her worried expression and he tried to hop subtly away from her. Sadly, he had failed to practice that in the short minutes before and and his leg wobbled from going sideways. Well... one hop was far enough away anyways, right? Not even. He had barely gotten an inch away from her. At least the stream wasn't that far, he thought. When they reached it, he sat slightly turned, and on one leg, glad for the rest. He leaned down to take a drink and thought the water was very refreshing and it seemed to be filling him up with energy.

"I suppose." he said although he would have been content to just sit here, or maybe lay down... for a long long time. He half walked, half dragged himself into the water, using his tail spikes to latch onto the mud underneath. Once in, he let out the breath he was holding, and was pleased to find his leg didn't hurt as much in the water. As long as he kept it floating next to him and didn't move it against the current, it felt as if it never existed. He just stood there, unsure of how the plant would remove itself. Would it just wash away or did he have to scrape it off? The water's surface around him grew a light shade of brown as leaves, dirt, and other forest objects floated past. In the North, there was no need to take a bath and he had assumed that was true for the East as well. It seemed he was wrong.

He stared nervously as she came closer, worried that she would attack him when he was in such a vulnerable position, his body facing against the current and his leg preventing him from running. Instinctivly, his foot flinched away when she came closer, thinking her touch would make his injury sting again. When he realized what he had done, he made an effort to keep his foot still, hoping she wouldn't see him as a weakling. He was glad when the plant mush came off easily, without hurting. However, it released a very putrid smell and he dipped his foot back into the water as soon as he could, if only to get rid of the scent. He peered at his leg through the water. That plant seemed to have worked, since his leg wasn't as gnarled-looking as before. The gashes seemed to have gone lighter, too. "Uh.. thanks again for the plant, I guess." he murmured. He still wasn't used to being polite to others and he tried to hide his nervousness by lapping up some more water. He assumed she would leave around now, she had helped him enough.

Titan watched out of the corner of his eye when she left and was surprised when he started to feel regret. He was even more surprised when he felt himself getting happy when she didn't leave. He stood where he was, trying to keep his eyes off of her. This made it hard for him to tell if she was watching him or not and he shuffled nervously, padding around once in a while. When he thought he'd been there long enough -- long enough for him to feel thouroughly soaked under his pelt in fact -- he got out, a bit away from Rue but still on the same bank. His fur was heavy from the large amount of water it soaked up and he shook furiously to get it all out, spraying the plants nearby. When he thought he got all the water out, he fluffled up his fur to dry faster and sat on one of his hind legs, lifting his wounded one to gnaw at. By then, he assumed Rue was gone, since his leg was too itchy for him to actually check, and he chewed on.

Titan's head was immedietly up when he heard a noise and he thumped his tail on the ground, embarressed. He had thought she'd left and his nose was so close to the ground that he could only smell the dust. "It was... it was irritating." he finally blubbered, hoping to fix his hurt pride at being seen like that. His foot was still itchy and started to tremble lightly when he ignored it. He was waiting for her to leave first but after a few short seconds, it was starting to get unbearable. Dragging himself behind a nearby frond, he banged his foot on the ground a few times. The pain stopped the itching but by then, small beads of blood were oozing out. He licked it off quickly, before Rue decided to come close enough to see him... which, he thought, she could by now, seeing as the plant he chose to hide behind was incredibly thin... and droopy.

Titan perked his ears and grinned when she laughed, enjoying the sound. His smile faltered for a second when he saw her flinch but grew again when he saw she was smiling at him once more. For some reason, this didn't get him as angry as it usually did. He hated it when others taunted him with their smiles and laughter after he had done something embarrassing, like his attempt at hiding behind the frond seconds ago. As the thought danced around in his head, he realized it was because he didn't care that it was her laughing at him, that, in fact, he had enjoyed it because it made her happy. He realized this as soon as Rue did and his smiled disappeared along with hers. He stared at her for a long time, his frown deepening slightly. At last, he said, "You've helped me enough, and I thank you for it. You can leave anytime you want." He flicked his ear dismissively and turned his head slightly, as if her leaving wouldn't cause the strange pain inside him, a pain similar to the one he felt when Sonet was found dead.

Titan glared at the floor, hating himself for what he'd done. He hadn't thought she would really leave. He was too busy staring at the dirt to notice her changing expressions but he could hear the reluctance in her voice. He was still hidden behind the frond and he turned to look at her between the limp leaves, trying desperately to think of a way to make her stay. He dragged his tail across the floor to rest around his paws, the sound of titanium and dirt rubbing against each other causing a strange scraping sound. The sun was in front of him, but not directly. It was slightly above, and it caused shadows to form around his eyes, making them appear brighter. He smirked and looked directly at her, and said in his best sarcastic, yet taunting voice, "Actually listenting to me now?"

There it was, again, Titan thought. The strange eye movement. Was it some sort of code she used? Was it common around the area and he just happened to not know it? A disease? Maybe just a strange habit of hers? His frown grew as he pondered over it but he stopped himself from going too far into thought. He had a feeling she was testing him but blew the thought away and got up. "Maybe--" he started, catching up to her. He ignored the pain in his leg for the time being but couldn't stop the limping. "-- because you're turning tail to run?" he said, hoping his taunts would convince her to stay. "I never knew you to be a coward, running from the likes of me, a cripple." he chuckled, then limped a few feet away from her, into the trees to prove his point.