[How about both? The answer is both. He jolts, lashing out the moment he's touched. It's not much of an attack - he's never been strong, never had much in the way of muscle. But with nothing but instincts developed in a labyrinth that many enter but few leave, it's something.

...well, it would be both, if there were anything for him to throw up. He hasn't eaten in three weeks now. There's water to spit up alongside bile, but it's hardly as foul as it could be.

He's stopped screaming now, and if Eric is determined to hold him Arthur comes back to the present a bit more. He's still shaking violently, though.

Several gasps of breath later - some deep, some shallow - his voice is hoarse from the abuse, and cracking. Quiet.]

...Eric...?