“Nate, have I told you recently that I hate you?”

Vin couldn’t help but smirk at the offhanded comment, which made him feel less upset by the fact that Eli was becoming more of a pain in the ass than Nate. He couldn’t help but feel responsible -slightly- for Abigail & Brooks sudden departure, as though he could have done more to convince them to stay, but maybe they didn’t belong. Did any of the group really [i]belong[/i] here? Vin looked over at Christy, who kept her dog Jack close by her side at all times, although he couldn’t blame her. Not out in this part of the country where any protection was better than nothing. Although for the short time that he’d held the pistol dropped by Brooks earlier, he didn’t feel all that much safer. But he was never much for guns, especially guns held by psychopaths.

His attention immediately snapped to Jennifer’s voice calling out to him and Nate from the mine’s entrance. There she was. Disheveled expression, frazzled hair, dirt and soot covered clothing, and yet still managed to look as good as the day he’d met her. Perhaps not the same floral and coconut scent he’d become accustomed to, but none of the group had properly bathed in a few days and Jennifer most likely smelled the least repulsive. Either way, he was happy to see her face, and that fact that she was unharmed.

“Well hey, what’s up sunshine?” 

He quickly mocked a debonair expression, if for no other reason than to break up the weird and dark shit that had transpired only moments ago. But her countenance seemed to take on a grim tone as she gazed at Vin for what had felt like an eternity to him. His own smile seemed to fade as well, returning her stare with a slight tilt of his head and arch of an eyebrow as though he were mentally asking the question: [i]What the hell is wrong with you?[/i]

Her question then brought him back to his current mindset, shaking off the weird feeling he got from her. 

“Eh…[i]yeah[/i], we’re fine out here, I think. Nate? Are we fine?”