On a day-to-day level, it seemed to the wolf as if he had forgotten everything that he had learned in his years of obsessive reading. In reality, it must have been there lurking just beneath the surface, because Addison's attempt to explain the phenomenon pulled an idea or two up. There was something about different elements of matter, the way they were affected by the energy from the fire. Hemming didn't have time to voice his thought, though, because almost immediately his mind went to the girl's burnt hand. He could understand that in her eagerness to get the clams out she had forgotten that they might be very hot. The older wolf had hurt himself in much stupider ways, curiosity getting the best of him. He was, perhaps, the proverbial cat.
Transferring the crab into his other hand, Hemming reached out and clutched the wrist of Addison's burnt hand lightly, inspecting her palm and fingers. It was a good idea to get water on burns, but was salt water okay? Looking back up to the girl, he let his fingers drift away from her hand and asked, "Is it alright?"