Valor heaved an agitated groan and rubbed at his face. He was cold, wet, muddy, and miserable, and now stuck here? Oh, sure, he could leave, but that would mean tromping through the woods, and through the city, on his soft, bare feet. The forest floor would tear them up in no time! Not to mention the filth of the city. Given the choice between one misery and the other misery, he ultimately chose the one that wouldn't give him bloody feet.
Shoulders slouching, he rested his chin on his palm. "Fine, but--ah!"
As she pulled herself up onto the shore, Valor scrambled backwards and away from her, putting several feet of distance between them, just in case she thought about pulling him into the pond again. When she made no further move, he relaxed a little.
"Uh, it's Valor. My name, I mean," he said with another sigh. "Who are you? And what, for that matter."