She's crying in her sleep again, holding on to that stuffed purple bear they'd found in that old abandoned toy store a few weeks ago. Holding on so tight to Hambo that her tiny knuckles are a bright, painful white. They should be a light gray.

There are no actual tears, but a pitiful whining and the occasional sniffle, but he knows she's crying all the same. He may be only human, but his senses have been forced to heighten and adapt to the intense conditions due to the war that destroyed his people. Plus she's like family, and you can just tell with family.

Schwabl — the Zombie puppy they'd found at a junkyard — blinked slowly, watching as the boy stood up, prodded at the fire, then made his way over to them, crouching down and patting his head, whispering what a good dog he was for keeping watch. The dog never slept, and when he himself did? It was only when they were in the safety of an enclosed building, for no more than a half hour.

With mutants now running amuck, they never stayed in one place too long.

The only reason they were stopped here, in what used to be an R.V. Park, was because the little girl needed her rest, her own special brand of mutant or not.

Boy, oh boy, the day her Vampiric abilities came in was like something out of a horror movie. Well, for him at least. She was giggling and squealing and just plain elated that it'd finally happened. So very different from the child in front of him.

"…Dad…Daddy…." Her voice snapped him out of his thoughts and he frowned. Those were the first words he'd heard her say the day they found eachother after the bombs stopped falling, but no one was around. She swore up and down that her daddy was alive! That he was going to come back for her! Honest!

Well that was almost a year ago.

When or if his charge's father showed up, he was definitely getting a piece of the teen's mind and probably a few good punches to the face for leaving. She wouldn't appreciate it if he hacked him to pieces, so he'd have to leave his sword behind.

The half-breed whimpered again, and he inched closer, putting a calloused hand under her head and the other under the bend of her legs so he can pick her up in one easy motion. Once she's settled in the crook of his arm, he let himself fall back the last few inches so he's sitting down, but the force ends up jolting her awake. "Nn — F…Finn…?" She slurred, a tired eye cracking open to look up at him.

"It's alright, Marcy…I'm here now, so go back to sleep…." He brushed her sweat-drenched bangs away from her face. That must've been one heck of a nightmare.

Her grip on the bear only tightened, and she shook her head.

The young man patted her gently, trying to calm her, and he hm'd in thought. "Would it help if I sang you that song? Y'know — The one that your mom taught you?" He finally asked. She nodded in agreement, snuggling deeper against him.

He grinned a goofy grin at her, clearing his throat obnoxiously until he heard the ghost of her laugh. "Well alrighty then! Schwabl, you'd better not howl at me again to get me to shut up!" The pup just tipped his head, tail swishing lazily when he heard his young owner laugh again, a little louder this time. That was much better.

When things calmed down, he readjusted his hold on her so they were both a little more comfortable, and he kissed her forehead. He knows the song by heart now.

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine

You make me happy when skies are gray

You'll never know, dear, how much I love you

Please don't take my sunshine away."

By the time the song is finished, she's fast asleep. Much more peaceful than before.

Maybe he should wait to tell her that he was dying….