"Oh, yes, well, he-- he is sweet," Finch says, a bit at a loss, allowing the petting-of-his-dog. Bear relishes the hand skritching at his big blunt head, sitting there with a doggy grin that shows a lot of teeth and a big lolling tongue.

"It's nice to meet you, Brier," he offer carefully. "I think about an hour, here. It's quite... quite the shock, isn't it. You... arrived injured?"