Arc did not protest anything Madison said. His head was swimming by that point, so a nice rest would do him quite a bit of good. The sun beat down on them hard from above while the rocks beneath their feet absorbed, retained, and radiated heat from below. Relief was close; just as they entered the shade of the dilapidated building, he instantly felt the difference in temperatures. The amount of care and consideration that Madison had put toward him was unbelievable. Still strangers in his mind, Arc could not imagine meeting another human being who would treat someone as kindly as she had. The way she supported him made it impossible to ignore many of her more attractive qualities, physically and internally, though he gave no indication that he was 'checking her out', more just trying to observe more details without simply looking at them.<br/><br/>"Don't be long," he said, not as a command, but as a request. Despite his every intention, Arc had become somewhat attached to the girl, and found that being in her company was much better than being without it, not just because she was friendly, but because groups were far more likely to survive the Wilds than an individual. When she returned, he breathed a sigh of relief. Sure she hadn't gone far, but when you are injured and and exposed and alone, any time was too long. "Sit, rest in the shade. How's your stomach?" He scooted his legs to the side and rotated so there would be some room for her, though to be fully engulfed in the shade, she would have to be pretty close to him.<br/><br/>He took the water, gratefully, and took a long draft. He didn't want to take in too much too quickly, or risk upending the meager contents in his stomach till there was nothing left to do but heave. Still, despite her command, he did not consume the remainder of the canteen's contents. "You need it too. You've been sweating, too, so you take the rest. I'm feeling a lot better now, I promise." Could it have been stubbornness that made him offer the remaining water to her? Perhaps it was a simple equation based on body temperatures, environmental factors, and distance traveled vs the distance still ahead. Or... "Besides, I know you're thirsty too. We're helping each other, right?"<br/><br/>Or maybe it was genuine kindness.