That whine is about as pleasant as fingernails running down a chalkboard but Sarge grits his teeth and gets through the different stages of annoyance without hurting the kid or running away. Yet another accomplishment not to be proud of. He sat through Frozen three times, he can endure anything if he has to. Even The Last Unicorn was never that horrible and for a moment he is almost nostalgic but he brushes it away. There is no time to be stupid, not out here.
With the boy on his back he can't help but notice the poking bones. Sarge has carried a few people in his life, some of them younger children, and this one weighs almost as much as some of them, which is by far not enough. "We're headin' back to where I'm livin'. There's more water, food. We'll find you a bed. You'll be safe." For some unfathomable reason he felt like sticking that last sentence at the end of what was almost a lengthy ramble by his standards. Then, because he has never done well with manners, he clears his throat. "Got a name, kid?"