He turned him lose after only a moment of contact, allowing him his space with as much care as possible with his current concern. "Not exactly a raptor bite, though, is it?" He glanced down at Howard's shoes, using the chance to quickly scan him for anything beyond the slight bow of his body.

"Covert." the word was muttered with a rueful shrug, motioning for Howard to stay behind him as he unsheeted his sword again, hugging the wall with something that resembled a trained soldier's instincts, body coiled in prep for the fight.

"Well, he won't be doing that again. Just stick close, we're getting out of here. Did you get everything tagged?"

General health, and then mission objective. Those were the important things. He needed to make sure Howard was still with him.