The look on Brand's face gives South pause, her brow furrowing with a mix of confusion and concern—because hey, look, they may be mostly sparring buddies, they may not do the talking thing, but she's been forced into re-learning basic human compassion recently and that's a look.

It doesn't take a genius to realise the man is probably Rune's dad, family resemblance is a telling thing, even with those eyes. Maybe he sounds like a dad, too, but that's not something she can make judgement on; her own dad was never the most parental of men.

And then there's the word Companion; that's not a word that fits naturally in that sentence. Rune Senior could have just said 'to make Brand want to kill you', or 'your friend', or whatever. Companion's specific.

If she wasn't asking questions before, though, she certainly isn't inclined in this moment. "Uh, you okay, Brand?"