It gets harder to believe, but be honest

...

[Lucas breathes heavily for a moment or two, staring at the missing arm in some combination of disbelief, dismay, and... something else. Something... heavier. He'll speak after Crowe's finished, shaking his head slightly.]

Most of the cars are smashed. I can take you. It's not far.

[There's a pause before he continues.]

You know the arm... It won't come back until you die again, Mr. Silence.

From:

[Silence watches Lucas process this news, eyes narrowing thoughtfully; he can't tell what the boy is thinking, exactly, but it seems to be more than simple regret at the loss of his limb...which is, of course, comfortably temporary in the setting of Mayfield. It was Lucas himself who demonstrated that death, oddly, heals all lasting injuries here.

So, in response to the boy's openly stating this...he gives one simple, matter-of-fact nod. I know.]

From:

W-We'll worry about that later. For now... A-Ah, I just hope all that m-managed to get rid of the infection. Would it be faster if you just took him, Lucas? I-I can get there on my own, I don't want to slow you down.

From:

The table goes just as fast with two or three. And I need to steer, so I might not be able to support Mr. Silence as well as I should...

It's too dangerous alone, besides.

[Lucas will hesitate for a moment or two, seeming to want to say something else before he glances away.]

...I should've gone with you.

From:

[Silence hears that murmur at the end, and he shakes his head firmly, reaching out to touch Lucas' shoulder comfortingly with his remaining hand. This isn't your fault.

He also gives Crowe a sidelong glance - one of concern and, strangely, apology for the wordless request. Please come with us.]

From:

[Crowe looks to both of his friends. It was hard to say no to that look.]

A-Alright. Let's hurry, then. I-I think Sniper is holding down the hospital with his colleagues so we should be fine once we get there.

From:

[Though Lucas doesn't pull away from the touch, he continues to keep his gaze lowered to the ground. He'll nod to Crowe's words.]

OK. Mr. Silence, do you need help getting on?

From:

[Silence gives Lucas an affectionately amused look, flapping his wings twice, significantly, before he moves over to the table and hops onto it unaided without a hint of difficulty, using his wings to give him a boost. I'm hardly helpless.

He may be minus an arm, but he has his own ways of managing. Of course...the lightheadedness from the shock and blood loss (and the bloodlust; he's resisted the urge to feed on Crowe to speed his recovery, but managing it takes even more effort on his part) comes back full force with this exertion, and he's forced to kneel to prevent himself from swaying. However, he tries to pretend this movement is intentional.]

From:

[Crowe carefully climbs up next to Silence, so he has something to lean on if he needs it.]

Alright. I'm really glad we ran into you, Lucas. I owe you.

From:

No, of course not. Friends don't owe each other anything...

[Lucas will still concernedly and ineffectually put a hand on Silence to steady him with the lightest of touches before he hops on himself, his technique somewhat smoother from months of practice.][Though Lucas doesn't give a command, the table seems to recognize his desire nonetheless and immediately takes off.]

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[Silence allows himself some measure of relaxation once he's on the table, and the thing is moving; the zombies probably can't catch them now, after all, so he can close his eyes and focus his energies on recovering. That and resisting the urge to sink his fangs into the necks of either of his companions; he's never been quite this badly hurt before, and so never craved blood so strongly as now. He can practically smell it pulsing through their bodies.

But wanting and needing are very different things. He can go without, and he's determined to do so. He's not particularly good at hiding things, but the tight press of his lips, the muscles working in his throat, the uneven and agitated twitching through his wings...all these things could just as easily be attributed to shock, or so he hopes. He doesn't want either Crowe or Lucas to fear him, and that more than anything else helps to rein in his hunger.

He wishes he had something to hold onto. Something inanimate, preferably, because he's not entirely sure his grip wouldn't crush things right now.]

From:

[Crowe, much like the rest of the group, is quiet and thinking, but keeping an eye on the area around them. He doesn't want any zombies to get in their way. He'll turn to Silence after a bit though.]

You hanging in there?

From:

[Lucas, unfortunately cannot do much to help Silence from his position up front. He will glance back, though, and after a short period passes, the three of them will take on the characteristic glow that marks Lucas's healing power. Refresh would, hopefully, take some of the edge off the exhaustion that his friends had to be feeling.]

From:

[Silence's eyes open at Crowe's question, and he gives him a quick smile and nod - though the immediacy of the response suggests it may be more for his companions' benefit than whether or not Silence is in fact doing all right. When the three of them begin to glow, he shoots a grateful look at Lucas, recognizing the abilities almost immediately. It isn't as though he hasn't seen the boy in action before.

He does a quick internal review of himself, checking to make sure he doesn't feel any of that burning sensation which he assumes was the infection. None, still, which is a relief; if he'd worried his friends only to turn into a zombie regardless, he'd have been incredibly irritated with himself.

He isn't sure whether it's a sign of his recovery or a symptom of whatever Lucas is doing, but the craving for blood seems to be gradually lessening. Enough for him to trust himself to shift closer to Crowe and lean on his shoulder a bit for support before he closes his eyes again; the movement of the table is doing nothing for his lightheadedness.]

From:

[Crowe wraps an arm around Silence to hold him steady. He may say he's doing alright, but he doesn't look like it. Thankfully there was Lucas's power. He was really grateful for his friend's talent and timing in this case.]

From:

[After what must seem to be an interminably long table ride, the whole thing will jolt to a stop.]

Everyone alright? We've made it.

[Lucas will hop off quickly and scurry around back to help Crowe and silence off.]

From:

[Silence had kept his eyes closed for the rest of the ride, leaning lightly on Crowe; he might almost have been asleep - or unconscious. But as soon as they stop, his eyes open again, flicking over Crowe and Lucas both before scanning their surroundings for threats.

He's aware that Crowe and Lucas are both at risk while they're fretting over him, so it's best if he gets himself to safety quickly. But it suddenly occurs to him that, once he's been gotten somewhere safe...Lucas and Crowe will probably go off again, looking for more survivors, and he won't be able to watch over either of them. His expression reflects his distress at the thought...but he can't easily communicate his worry to either of them, not without slowing them down more.

So, rather than holding them up, he slips off the table - though he grabs the edge of it once he's standing to steady himself. He's already feeling a bit better, but there's still a bit of dizziness there.]

From:

[Crowe slides off too, and address them both.] It's probably safer for all of us inside at the moment.

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Mr. Silence, we should get you to an actual doctor who might be able to examine you... I don't know enough to do anything but mass-heal.

[The table will become steady as a rock as Silence leans on it for support. Lucas will offer an arm.]

From:

[Silence shakes his head at this with a small, rueful smile, though he takes Lucas' arm willingly enough. The boy will be able to pick up on a very clear thought from him - I would need a mystic doctor, and Nusakan isn't here anymore.

He moves toward the house, although he glances back over his shoulder to make sure Crowe is following them.]

From:

[Oh yeah. You won't get rid of him just yet. He's following while keeping his eye and his gun on the surroundings.]

From:

[Lucas has often thought in the past that it would perhaps be more useful to be the conventional type of psychic - mind-reading wasn't something he did well, or at all. But he had come to realize in his time with Silence that, much as he was able to read animals with perfect clarity, he could read Silence through his body, his expressions, and probably, something... more. Whether it was because Silence wasn't human, because of their close proximity, or because Lucas's empathy was more powerful than he thought, Silence's thoughts had never been difficult to guess.]

But, I guess... your physiology might be difficult to work with...

[He'll frown a little as he leads Silence through the doors of the hospital.]

From: