Ned is all for getting rescued at the last second - it's certainly preferable to not being rescued at all - but it is hell with his nerves. Tony is so close that even in the dim light, Ned can see the humanity go out of his eyes, see him turn feral and amoral with hunger. In that split second, he knows Tony isn't going to just take a little: he's going to bleed him dry. Only then does Ned realize how much Tony has been fighting it, struggling not to hurt him up until now, when the fight is over and he's lost.

But then there is that strange crashing, those heavy footfalls ever-louder, coming closer. Ned can't see what it is, doesn't have room for any more dread in him, when suddenly the weight on Tony is gone. Ned sees him flying through the air and the enormous clay man who threw him interposing himself between Ned and Tony. He doesn't stop to wonder what kind of creature it is that has saved him, or why. He draws in a long, shuddering breath of relief, scrambles to his feet, getting ready to run if he has to, if the clay man tells him to.

Ned doesn't know how he knows, but he knows that admittedly frightening creature it is here to protect him. Maybe it's something about the way it holds itself, something about the way it is watching Tony, something vaguely familiar about it that he can't yet place. This isn't one predator fighting off another for a chance at its prey. It's easier for him to answer Tony, with that other body planted between them as a shield.

"You didn't bite me," he confirms, breathlessly. Perhaps later, when things have settled down, Ned will have time to feel bad for Tony, for the distress in his voice as he asks how much damage he's done. For now, though, he's still a danger, and Ned wants him far, far away.