Phoenix smiles when Arthur says that. No one can be someone else's property. Yeah, he can't have said it better himself.

A part of him wants to suggest they just walk by the guard casually, but Arthur's the one taking the biggest risk here so they're going to do it his way. Phoenix leans against the wall as Arthur leaves him, chewing his lip nervously as he watches. He winces at the muffled cry of pain--even after all he's been through, he doesn't relish witnessing the pain of some guard who may or may not know what he's guarding--but the guard will be fine, he knows. It's just a sedative.

As Arthur comes back, Phoenix wraps his arm around his shoulder again. There's a level of casual intimacy in the way Phoenix allows Arthur to hold him, and it can probably be brushed off as just the necessity, but there's also a level of Phoenix's enduring openness peering through too. Phoenix has always had the curious ability to be hurt relentlessly by others and still retain the ability to trust someone again.

"Do you know how many more guards there might be?" he asks softly.