"...Weird kids," the man grumbled with a shake of his head, raising an eyebrow at the sight of Valia's overly ornate dress--now soggy and ruined--and started to row them to shore. "Ya oughta be more careful. Dress like that, why, I know a lady once drowned 'cause her dress took her down. Ain't no game, you kids shouldn't be goofin' off 'round the water if ya can't swim."
His lecture went on, but Faolán zoned it out. Though it was true--Valia's dress had been a hazard! And right then, with her looking all half-drowned and pathetic and terrified, it was easy to forget this was the girl that had tried to beat the literal shit out of him.
So he let her cuddle close, deciding this was what future knights did. No one ever said the damsels they rescued had to be kind.
"There's gotta be some bonfires going," he said at last, still ignoring the old man's lecture. "We'll find one and get warmed up, okay? Get something hot to drink. That sound good?"