It was easy to believe that when no one was telling her otherwise, but Li Hua thought Noriko had plenty of reason to believe she could survive much worse than this. They had a roof, didn't they? And food and water and their enemies were not capable generals but mindless animals that didn't even know how to feed themselves properly. Otherwise, wouldn't there be so many less of them? Li Hua's thumb passed over Noriko's wrinkled brow to soothe it as she sat quietly thoughtful, waiting to see if there was more to this thought of Noriko's or if it was the cumulation of all of them.
"We do not die until we are ready to let death take us, little sister" she assured Noriko, confident but still quiet. "I have seen what death can be, and if you knew you would fight against it until you don't have the limbs to fight anymore." And that, Li Hua knew, was a long way off yet. Noriko had crossed an ocean to be here and slept in gutters to keep it, and she hadn't done it to die in the jaws of a stupid beast.