[ vash refolds his prosthetic arm atop his flesh and blood one; he rocks the foot of his outstretched leg from side to side idly. he holds up two fingers when louis mentions the other two nations. ]

Thorne and the Free Cities, right? Yeah, they made sure that I knew where our borders lay and that it was advised that I stay within them.

[ the way he stresses the word means that he'd been made to understand that it was less of a suggestion and more law. or else.

he seems to perk up, though, at the mention of nocwich and the singularity, but those both sound like things that would need a dedicated amount of time to explain. even if louis had offered, he doesn't want to overwhelm him with a laundry list of involved questions.

vash follows the gesture of his hand as he indicates the verdant land around them; solvunn had built itself alongside the landscape instead of simply whittling it away for their needs. he thinks of how luida had spoken to him at length about agroforestry, and he imagines that this must at least resemble in parts how she had envisioned it. ]

I have been... or I've been trying to, anyway.

[ a quiet sadness bleeds into vash's smile. ]

If you've been here for four months, that answers my question about how likely it is that any of us will be heading home anytime soon.