Gilfred kept his eyes closed as Thema, quite literally, worked her magic. The glow from the procedure itself felt warm to the Metal elementalist, but it felt like she had poured ice water in the wound. It was not painful, or even that uncomfortable, but a soothing feeling as the ache of the bruise was washed away. Truth be told he was beginning to drift off, the pile he was laying on becoming more and more comfortable the longer the procedure went on, in fact he barely felt the trickle of power that began on his shoulder. What he did feel however was a body slump against him, his eyes opening rapidly as the weight pressed down on him, a worried expression painting itself on his face. He looked down at Thema and then took a quick scan around, nothing he could see, nor anything Gawain could sense as he patrolled , indicated danger. Which meant that she wasn't hurt, but had collapsed from something else. Gilfred swallowed as he looked back down at the form of Thema, her breathing slow and rhythmic, reaching out he touched the side of her neck, letting out a sigh of relief as a strong pulse met his touch. He began to withdraw his hand when a thought struck him, she was beautiful and she had been so concerned about him. He smiled sheepishly as he began to move away so he could stand, lightly moving her as if he was afraid to wake her. After he had stood and donned his clothing, gauntlets and sword, he crouched next to the sleeping figure. Had it been anyone else, even his own brother, he probably would have slung them over his shoulder and continued on. But for some reason he simply couldn't do that here. Reaching out his slipped his arms under Thema's shoulders and knees, and slowly lifted her with him as he stood. Shifting her to a more comfortable position to be carried in Gilfred once more began to walk in the direction of the cave, his mind beginning to wander. 

As he walked he thought about the day, what he and his fellow elementals had done and what they had in turn lost. So many gone, Will most likely among them. As he dwelled in this he was suprised to find that his breathing had become ragged, and the corners of his eyes had begun to feel damp. He stopped, and found himself slowly lowering Thema as he sank to his knees and cried. No waling or sobbing came from him, he simply closed his eyes and cried, his head hanging as he couldn't find the will to keep it upright. Yet, the more he cried the more he thought, he thought of what had come before, all the bad but all the good as well. As he opened his eyes once more, his vision blurry, he smiled. Not because he was happy, but because he had been happy, and there was no longer time for tears. Wiping his eyes with a rag, Gilfred picked Thema back up and started off again once more, this time smiling as if all was well in the world. 

After what seemed like an hour of walking the metal elemental saw the opening of the cave in the distance. As he saw this his smile grew, and his pace quickened. But as he drew close a feeling from Gawain intruded into his head, the Enfield had spotted someone outside and was creeping closer in the failing light. Gilfred grit his teeth, he was in no position to fight, he couldn't reach Clarent let alone use it. He silently went through his mental catalog of options, discounting any that meant leaving Thema behind, as he didnt know if this figure was alone. The list soon narrowed to two, run or use Shatter, and he wasn't going to run for a second time in a day.

Sending a stream of what energy he had left in him to Shatter, he broke the gauntlet into its razor sharp fragments, each beginning a slow orbit around the Metal bender. Striding forward towards the cave, he took a deep breath and ordered the Enfield to hold off and wait in it's hidden perch. He didn't try to disguise his approach, his boots crunched on the various rocks and debris on the ground. When he saw the figure sitting in the now dim light he stopped, the fragments turning so their sharpest point was towards the figure. "And who are you?" was all he could manage to say.