Though the final agreement does give him a moment of relief, if not quite hope, B sighs heavily at the question. "Depends. He's in what we call a Barge coma. Basically stasis. Happens about once a year with him, though this is-- earlier than I expect it, this year."

He pets the kitten, while a couple more do in fact make it up the back of his shirt(s) to get to his shoulders, mewling. "I don't ever know how long it's gonna last, but I wouldn't be surprised if he's still down when the flood's over."