[Right to the point then. Vash wishes his bandages weren't so tight, that he could pull his legs to his chest and hide behind them. He wishes the curtains weren't open, so he could at least pretend like he isn't affected. He does his best to bite back the grief, the guilt, the anger, but he wears it plain on his face. He's too exhausted to keep up the facade.

And maybe that's for the best. Hiding right now, when Wolfwood wanted an honest answer, wasn't going to do either of them any good. Vash might balk at the idea of talking about his actual feelings, but he isn't going to fight it.

(Is he hurt that Wolfwood doesn't ask about his wellbeing? Maybe. But in the same instant that he thinks it, Vash knows that he doesn't deserve it. Wolfwood had suffered far more than him, after all.)

In any case, he doesn't know if the answer he has will satisfy. But he offers it up nonetheless.]

I don't know. [His head shakes.] Town felt so small. Like I couldn't breathe anymore. All I could think was "how am I gonna live in this place when I've only ever known it with him." Like I was the only one goin' through that, right? [He looks at Livio, then away. The floor is particularly interesting today.]

And maybe I had this fool thought in my head. That I was gonna track the creature down to wherever it lived and... convince it to stop. To not hurt anyone else. Talk real sweet, like I always do when I'm in trouble. And maybe it'd pan out like it did every other time.

[He laughs, barking out a noise that tastes bitter on his lips.]

It didn't do me any good. Went the exact opposite direction. Got my ass handed to me. The other thing I always do.