[His immediate instinct is to comfort Ed and tell him that the pain is a good thing, it's something he had forgotten about and embraced, but he has to stick on topic or else he's already lost the argument.]

Not us, Brother, just me.

[He smiles, a small but genuine smile.]

I'll be okay here on my own, you should go on ahead and find some more supplies. You can always come back for me when you've found more food.