I recently got the xbox version and had been playing the game, along with re-watching the movie made me want to write a little drabble on Iorek and Lyra's relationship. Movie based, slight OOC? Let me know what you guys think? :]
Wherever Lyra went, Iorek Byrinson followed with an attentive demeanor. She would talk about the witches and Gobblers and her times at Jordan College and the bear would listen to her recollections. At night under the aurora borealis when she curled up into a ball and snuggled into his fur, Iorek would watch as she recharged her batteries for the next day. What had started out as a mere contract soon became a bond made of titanium, he soon realized.
Lyra was braver than most humans, he quickly discovered. She would rush to aid a friend of hers without thinking of how reckless she was being or considering the fact that she was putting herself in harm's way once more. Iorek would have heart attacks on a regular basis when he saw one of the Samoyed hunters trying to sneak up behind her and whisk her off to whatever they did to the children they caught. He would have been bald by now if every close call where he almost didn't make it were a piece of his white fur.
When she approached him one time, telling him of a child over in a nearby valley and asking him to take her there, Iorek thought she was insane for a moment. She wished to ride him, like a man would a horse. And when she replied without much hesitation, he could merely be amused by it all when he saw her determination. It would be wrong to turn her down, so he carried her.
And when he followed the Samoyed tracks into Svalbard despite Scorseby's warning, he found himself amused by her clever wit once more after learning that the child had successfully deceived Iofur into believing that she was his dæmon. "Silvertongue" was more of a fitting surname than "Belacqua" for the girl. He thought of it as an appropriate parting gift, should he die. Iorek was tired of running, and Lyra made him realize that as he fought his father's murderer, and this time defeated him by feigning weakness. The girl was rubbing off on him, and he couldn't find it in him to complain in the slightest.
Over the snowy and rough terrain, Iorek Brynson carried the girl wherever she told him to go. He tried to remain at Lyra's side whenever possible, but she would just somehow be taken from him. From the Samoyed hunters to the ravine where she walked away from him and towards Bolvangar, something always pulled Lyra away. Her abundant source of bravery would be the end of her. A small child could never stand a chance against an army, let alone a few hunters and The Magisterium. Other opponents also lead him astray from her, and he didn't usually realize this until it was too late.
Although, when further thinking about it; Iorek had a habit of showing up just in the nick of time for Lyria. Despite how many time he had to save her backside in a tough situation, the girl always thanked him for it by hugging him tightly and whispering into his fur. Her smile made it worth it all in the end.
After all, Lyra meant more than a contract he had with her; much more than that.