It wasn't the most clever of comebacks, nor certainly the most original (seriously, like he'd never heard that one before), but the simple fact that Ghastly was willing to try to joke was the important part. The vast majority of the Dead Men used humor to hide their pain, which admittedly wasn't healthy, but when a Dead Man wasn't even capable of joking it was a bad, bad sign. Erskine's smile settled a little more comfortably on his face at that, and he shrugged lightly.

"That's alright, I--"

And then he paused, noticeably, because no iteration of any joke he could think of in this situation was safe in any way. Certainly nothing that sprang right to mind. The only possibly safe retort might be something about Hopeless taking pity on him, and Erskine wasn't sure he wanted to disturb that lovely little bright spot in his life just yet.

He shook his head, just slightly. The smile had faded but hadn't disappeared completely. "Come on, let's hit the kitchen. Anton's got some new teas in there, I think." Erskine moved one foot to take a step toward the kitchen, slowly, waiting to see if Ghastly was going to let him go.


((continued here))