"You better wait." Cindy went for a joking tone, but it came out a little too tight to be anything like a joke. Still, she smiled, and held tight, helping him up. Always have to keep that pride in check, and it doesn't hurt that despite her weakened condition, some strength from the stories was still there.

Once he's up, she puts her arm around him. It's a little bit of a struggle, keeping the other pressed to her stomach and keeping him up. She'd manage.

"We're close to some kind of cave, it's maybe ten minutes of walking. Fifteen if we take it super slow. We'll take it slow. We can exchange war stories, it'll make the time pass faster."