When Vash stepped closer and whispered at him, Wolfwood felt for a moment like a puppet who's strings had been cut, shoulders sagging and head dropping with a resigned sigh. He'd known, somewhere in the back of his head, he had known, and that only maked the reality of it worse when he lifted his head and actually looked. He could see the signs of it everywhere; the town was dark, everywhere, and he knew that it wasn't going to be long before chaos erupted around them, once the worry over missing friends and family had evolved into the horror of a missing Plant
He fumbled in the inside pocket of his coat and pulled out his sunglasses, putting them on before turning his back on the town, moving close enough to Vash that their shoulders were almost touching so that his voice could drop low and he could still be heard. But he didn't look at him, couldn't look at him, knew that seeing the expression he was sure would be in those soft, expressive eyes would be all it took to make him lose what composure he had left.
"'S just like home. I'd be willing to bet top double-dollar, the next towns over are just the same." He chewed on his tongue, memories of entire communities descending into chaos and bloodshed coming back to him. Of the people fleeing in droves to the next towns, over and over as each next Plant was taken and the cycle continued until there was nowhere left to hide. "We need to leave, Vash. This town is...there's not anything you can do for these people right now, and you'll just run yourself into an early grave if you try."
His hand clenched tighter around the leather straps wrapped around the Punisher, and he took another long, deep drag of the cigar, shaking his head as it dropped down again, the fears in his mind shifting to certainties. But...Vash wasn't going to like what he suspected had happened. It was going to hurt him, and he didn't want to be the one to completely crush what hopes he was able to hold onto just yet; one of them had to be an optimist. So he tried to consider options that weren't the worst case scenario, if only to put a hopeful spin on what he was about to say.
"So. Nico's a survivor, right? I went through this, I know what I'd do in this situation. If he's still somewhere here, and we leave, he'll come find us. I have an idea where we should go, and he'll figure it out quick enough." He turned his head toward Vash, but still couldn't lift his gaze to look him in the eyes, continuing to hide his gaze behind his dark sunglasses as he stared at the stitching on the shoulder of his coat. "But...If he's not here...I...may know where we can find him...
I just...I'm..." He put the cigar back in his mouth and chewed on the end of it as he tried to work up the ability to say what was on the tip of his tongue. "If I'm right...I'm sorry. I really am. I pray to God that I'm wrong, for both your sakes."
Meanwhile, in another reality, other Nick is ABSOLUTELY panicking, too. XD
He fumbled in the inside pocket of his coat and pulled out his sunglasses, putting them on before turning his back on the town, moving close enough to Vash that their shoulders were almost touching so that his voice could drop low and he could still be heard. But he didn't look at him, couldn't look at him, knew that seeing the expression he was sure would be in those soft, expressive eyes would be all it took to make him lose what composure he had left.
"'S just like home. I'd be willing to bet top double-dollar, the next towns over are just the same." He chewed on his tongue, memories of entire communities descending into chaos and bloodshed coming back to him. Of the people fleeing in droves to the next towns, over and over as each next Plant was taken and the cycle continued until there was nowhere left to hide. "We need to leave, Vash. This town is...there's not anything you can do for these people right now, and you'll just run yourself into an early grave if you try."
His hand clenched tighter around the leather straps wrapped around the Punisher, and he took another long, deep drag of the cigar, shaking his head as it dropped down again, the fears in his mind shifting to certainties. But...Vash wasn't going to like what he suspected had happened. It was going to hurt him, and he didn't want to be the one to completely crush what hopes he was able to hold onto just yet; one of them had to be an optimist. So he tried to consider options that weren't the worst case scenario, if only to put a hopeful spin on what he was about to say.
"So. Nico's a survivor, right? I went through this, I know what I'd do in this situation. If he's still somewhere here, and we leave, he'll come find us. I have an idea where we should go, and he'll figure it out quick enough." He turned his head toward Vash, but still couldn't lift his gaze to look him in the eyes, continuing to hide his gaze behind his dark sunglasses as he stared at the stitching on the shoulder of his coat. "But...If he's not here...I...may know where we can find him...
I just...I'm..." He put the cigar back in his mouth and chewed on the end of it as he tried to work up the ability to say what was on the tip of his tongue. "If I'm right...I'm sorry. I really am. I pray to God that I'm wrong, for both your sakes."