It's only the one of a handful of times that someone has put a reassuring hand on his shoulder since the death of his parents', although Caesar startles for a moment when Zak first rests his hand. Rex did, once when he reaffirmed they would always be brothers. Other times as Caesar started to process their parents' deaths, and Rex did his best to be there for him (once he cottoned on to what was happening, anyway). But this was different--like someone older.

Caesar manages to meet his gaze after several moments, and then the man speaks. Reassuring, gentle. Caesar isn't sure exactly what he's saying, but either way, his shoulders relax. He works to control his breathing, finally starting to pull back some aspect of control. It almost reminds him of his dad when he was little. God, he still misses him.

He doesn't follow Zak's gaze when he looks away, not wanting to see the corpse. Caesar only snaps back to attention when Zak begins to try to indicate something. It isn't too hard to figure out. Zak is excellent at charades.

"But you'll likely die," Caesar's eyes widen as the request and what it means snaps into place--his voice only rose slightly before falling again. "Are you sure?"