he doesn’t think he’ll ever understand why nile stayed; if it was him, he would’ve left by now. forget what erwin would’ve left behind if he ran. forget that leaving nile behind would surely earn him a slap from marie if she ever saw him again; erwin’s no fool. this --- this is foolish. nile’s being a fool, letting their training years blind him, letting shared history paint everything in off shades.
( he’s too focused on the carnage around him, the gore and blood and smoke, the screams of the dying and injured. this is hopeless, a lost cause, they’re all going to die and if this is how he dies, perhaps erwin deserves it for everything that came before this. ) erwin hardly notices when a hand grasps at his shirt, yanks him to the feet --- ‘ gamble a way to get us all out of this ', nile’s saying, his mouth’s moving, and erwin just --- he just blinks at him for a moment.
it hurts. searing pain; erwin would’ve evaluated everything by now, figured out some way out of this, but there’s titans approaching and his comrades --- people he dragged into this mess --- they’re dying, screaming, cursing and he swears he hears his name on their bloodied mouths. that much he deserves, even if it’s an auditory hallucination of some sort. and despite nile lopping off his arm after he’d gotten caught in a titan, well, it hurts like a bitch.
“ nile, ” words managed, barely managed, throat feeling like he’s inhaled smoke. this is hopeless, he wants to say, you need to get the fuck out of here, make it home to marie, to your kids, you damned fool. he tries to pull away, but it’s useless. they’re just going to die, might as well die by nile’s hand, right? what a bitter last moment this would be, meeting dark eyes, briefly questioning if there’s two nile doks standing before him or if that’s just the pain.
and don’t let it be said erwin smith doesn’t try to formulate a plan right here, right now. he does --- the thoughts just don’t quite connect, not like this, not watching survey corps and garrison members die together on the field. ( and why the hell did nile drag himself into this? why the fuck did he come? he’s supposed to be at home, safe within the confines of the city --- it wasn’t what erwin wanted back then, but it’s what he wants now. )
but he’s too prideful to ask nile to leave him behind. stands up straight, despite that he immediately slumps slightly over, blearily eyeing the field, the red staining the grass. “ i can’t use my head if you chop it off, commander dok. ”