Near's efforts were slower than Brooklyn's, which likely wasn't something that would be any less true were they both healthy. But under these circumstances, where Near was physically spent and left with only the use of one arm, the observation was even more apparent. By the time Brooklyn moved to help him, Near had only just made a single strip out of the remains of his shirt. It was an unpleasant process, as he was forced to make a small cut, then hold the cloth in his mouth as he ripped a length of it free. If his injuries were any worse, the likelihood of his bleeding to death before he could prepare treatment would have been high.

"I thought we'd already established--" Near winced as Brooklyn began tying a strip around his injured arm, yet made no indication for the other man to stop. "--that I was denying you heroics." Yet the repeated joke was all Near would say on the matter. Anything they would accomplish from this point on would be due to willpower in place of physical prowess. To that end, there was no benefit to point out that simply due to extent, the probability of neither of them surviving the night had increased drastically against their favor. It was more important to finish making what he could from his shirt, and then to find the promised item; to force some measure of success in exchange for the heavy price both of them had already paid.