This is the worst time for one of Roland's rare flashes of humor. But maybe it isn't, because no one but the 'spirits' (and the cameras, though those are far from Roland's mind) are going to see the moment when the corners of his eyes crinkle and his lips turn up a little. He tries and, luckily, succeeds at repressing a snort. In Panem, 'are you dead' is a bit of a loaded question, and maybe even before -

Never mind. Best keep this simple and, for the boy's sake, reassuring. "No," he says, voice strong, expression evening out. "I'm as alive as you are."

The spirit and its mutter do not even get a glance. If the spirit is not helpful, it does not get to join the conversation. "Is that what frightens you about those things? That they're no longer living?"