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nml_mods ([personal profile] nml_mods) wrote in [community profile] nomans_land2023-05-02 05:02 am
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On The First Day

It had been months.

Months of terror, of families ripped apart, refugees racing against the Ark in the sky, against the Plants that had once been their only source of survival on the world and had now been turned against them, raining lightning and death down on them like the hand of a vengeful God. Humanity pushed to the brink, fleeing their homes and communities, waves of refugees fleeing across the sands as more and more towns and cities fell to the reign of destruction that had been biting at their heels every step of the way.

And then, as the last descendants of the survivors of the Big Fall clustered in the city of Octovern, spiilling out into the streets, every available, livable space filled to capacity and beyond, what felt like the final days of humanity began. The sounds of artillery fire filled the air, the sight of the Ark and its grotesque ruler loomed overhead, and in the distant sky high above, the previously-inconceivable reinforcement ships from Earth took up orbit around No Man's Land. Throughout the night, explosions lit up the sky, thundering with deafening reports through the air, and yet the civilians below had settled into a still, terrified, anticipatory silence. They couldn't see, from their perspective, the figures atop the ruins of the Earth's space destroyers that had already fallen to the ground, locked in battle for the future of the people far below. But the sight of Millions Knives high above, terrifying and grotesque with the power of the Plants he had absorbed, was omnipresent, a never-ending threat, the harbinger of doom, biding his time until he could make good on his promise to wipe every last one of them off the face of existence.

And then something had changed.

Electrical currents rippled through the air above the downed ship, carrying screams on the wind. To the people below, Millions Knives' massive form had shifted, writhing, bellowing with unholy rage and pain and despair. And then it begun to unmake itself, shredding, crumbling, tearing itself apart at the seams and floating to the ground in tiny, shining, white particles. Tiny, white feathers drifted on the wind, closer and closer before, one by one, they began to settle to the roofs of the buildings, to the tops of cars and to the streets, and to the heads and faces of the humans staring up from below.

The instant that contact was made between feather and skin, a connection was made; between Human and Plant, between each person standing side by side, minds thrown open in bursts of light and expanding consciousness, and through the doors sprang multitudes of memories spanning hundreds of years. Suffering, laughter, pain, sorrow, joy, enslavement, death, pride, love. The Plants had made the connection to their creators - their keepers - that they had been silently pleading for since their first containment, and with it every man, woman, and child on the surface of the world began to see and feel and hear their stories and their cries for help. They did not want this war, they did not want this destruction. They had seen the promises of vengeance and a paradise for their kind atop the bones of humanity offered by Millions Knives and they had felt the hopes and dreams carried by Vash the Stampede of a kinder, more loving world, and they had made their choice.

Of course, but...what would he do at a time like this?


I wonder if he'll laugh again


I wonder if he'll follow his ideals again.


I see. You all know him as well. That young man with a gentle smile.


Little Red Brother.


Let there be love and peace in this world.


In the chaos that followed, as the bodies of the Plants began tumbling to the ground in a writhing mass and the screams of shock and confusion began to rise from the sea of humanity below, something rippled in the air, a last gasp of those silent voices before the connection was lost.

Help Us. Help him. Please.


This was...different. New. As if reality had taken the distraction caused by the calamity below to shift itself sharply to the left, and then snapped. It started at the core of the mass of angelic bodies as men and women began to rush to their aid, a shockwave in the fabric of creation that rumbled silently in the atoms of the world and ricocheted outward, along the ground, through the air, until it had enveloped the entire planet. Time froze for an instant, and to the eyes of all who had the capacity for sight, that leftward shift became manifest, the world doubling on itself as the ground shook beneath their feet.

Wails of confusion and fear rose into the night sky, and for a brief moment, it felt as if the world were about to unmake itself on the molecular level. But then, just as suddenly as it had come, the distortion snapped back into place with a loud, ear-splitting CRACK, and in the stunned silence that followed, only one thing could be certain; things were not the same as they had been mere moments ago, as if everything and yet nothing at all had changed, all at once.

The world of No Man's Land was as it should be, but all across the surface of the planet, pockets of reality had split open, sending the inhabitants of mirrored existences tumbling through wide, unseen rifts. People and places outside of time and space found themselves staggering to their feet in a world that was both foreign and familiar at the same time, found themselves face to face with their own reflection made flesh, tossed about by the pleas of a race reaching across the fabric of creation for aid in putting a stop to a war that had been fought time and time again, across reality after reality, without fail.


Thus began the new chapter in the history of No Man's Land.



[Wherever your character was, whatever they were doing, when the rifts in reality opened, they will have found themselves rocked by a massive earthquake that lastes a few short seconds before settling with a loud crack, like thunder. While no damage will be left in its wake, the characters themselves will realize that though the planet appears to be the same, it will quickly become evident that they are in an alternate reality of the place they call home. Are they standing in the rubble of a once-destroyed city now remade whole? Is the bar they had been taking refuge in suddenly gone, leaving them tumbling to the sand with nothing but their drink in their hand? And what of the friends that had been standing by their side seconds before? This is where your stories begin.]
dontdeserve: (Cry)

[personal profile] dontdeserve 2023-05-28 10:44 pm (UTC)(link)
You will see them, we'll find a way. Sharp brother says he knows this can be mended. And... I am a little sad, yes, but sadness is part of life - then you can appreciate joy even better. I'll show you that, too, I think.

[ His wing gently rocks her, but it's less soothing her to sleep - he remembers Knives warning against that - and more keeping her attention. ]

Hey... do you think it will be easier if you go back with the sisters? I will hold you even then, my wing can wrap around them and you, I think.

[ ... it's the first time he's had it, he can only guess. ]
dontdeserve: (Cry)

[personal profile] dontdeserve 2023-05-28 10:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Vash is... the furthest from calm that he has been in a very long time, and that includes Wolfwood storming out on him. There is just too much raw pain that he's facing, and terror that anything he can do won't be enough. But mostly, her pain, her suffering, her rage. All of it just destroys the mental barriers he has set for himself.

But...

For her, he will give all the calm he has. Knives need not worry too much about part, but he'll have to reach them to find out.

Once it is all said and done...

He will probably be a mess, honestly. But he can keep going until he can allow himself to break.

Thank you, Knives.
nyctinasty: (2)

[personal profile] nyctinasty 2023-05-29 12:00 am (UTC)(link)
Acknowledgment, but no real words this time. They both have things to focus on now. Vsh, on Tessla and keeping her as safe as possible.

Knives has to try to avoid driving into any unexpected rocks, which are absolutely EVERYWHERE. But he'll get where he's going as quickly as possible.

Soon.
rejuvenation: (5)

[personal profile] rejuvenation 2023-05-29 12:27 am (UTC)(link)
I'm always... always sad. Or was. N-not with you.

[ She mumbles slightly incoherently, and then her remaining facial features tense a bit as she's rocked. It hurts, despite how very soft the wing is. It does what is needed, however, and makes her open her dull eyes a little once more.

The cocoon of wings move, as if called by her declining health or by Vash's words, dragging itself forward with mutated wings and creaking, bone-snapping noises. It's almost the size of a truck, so it might be hard for Vash to hold it - but softer, straighter feathers reach for their tattered charge to be returned to them.

Once she's safe in their wings, she disappears into the mass of half-assimilated plants and the cocoon shudders. Sharper, deadlier feathers start facing outwards, a many-voiced growl telling that they are in a protective mode again.

...at least the wild mutated feather tumbleweed doesn't attack Vash, instead remaining still and keeping the front without their deadly defense for him to be able to stay close.

Tessla rests deep inside, able to relax a with the worst pain dulled for the first time in a very, very long time. ]
nyctinasty: (8)

[personal profile] nyctinasty 2023-05-29 12:34 am (UTC)(link)
[If there's any benefit to a desert, it's incoming vehicles can be seen from a long way off by the dust plume alone, and one is incoming. Knives doesn't broadcast his presence otherwise, but Vash knows he's on the way and that would hopefully be enough of a warning.

She might be a plant, but she's also a wounded, frightened child. He doesn't much want to make that worse, and he doubted she'd had much experience with vehicles, never mind loud stinking ones that kick sand and dust and pebbles everywhere. At least the feather ball is easy enough to see from a short distance, though the addition of a dark wing is .. unexpected and strange.

The only time he touches the brakes is within a quarter mile, slowing the sputtering, unhappy vehicle by degrees until he can drive closer with it without much disruption of dust. Only then does he too stop deliberately muting his own presence, in case that protective knot of sisters took offense to a 'human' on the approach. No humans here. Not even dead ones!

All his fury, all his hatred for humanity stirred up at the revelation of her survival like that is very carefully buried; it's not important right now even if he can't help but a brief look around for a potential target - if she'd appeared who wasn't to say one of her tormenters had? But there's no one. Just a tangle of sisters, and Vash. Who ... has black feathers, presumably feathers in a shape he's not used to seeing.

..... Worry about that later. There's blood on the wind and staining the sand with unspeakable giblets, and black doesn't kill immediately.]


What a mess.

[It's not loud, not over the rumble of the engine, but the wind might carry it anyway. He's going to have to make his approach on foot, by the protective stance of those countless wings.]
graveresemblance: liv (Default)

[personal profile] graveresemblance 2023-05-29 02:47 am (UTC)(link)
They come in a lotta colors....haven't seen any with long feathers, though. Either way, maybe we can look together for our friends after you finish eating.

[he's got to take a look around for some water, too]
cowgoesmoo: (smile - laughing :D)

[personal profile] cowgoesmoo 2023-05-29 03:09 am (UTC)(link)
[ That sounds great! He doesn't mind looking for his friend on his own, but everything's better as a team. ]

Ugh, it's okay, I don't want any more.

[ That nasty thing is getting folded back up and stuffed into his pocket for when he's truly, desperately hungry, and then he's ready! ]

If we find her, you've gotta stay away, okay Mr Livio? She doesn't like people very much, even nice people.
graveresemblance: (pic#16391177)

[personal profile] graveresemblance 2023-05-29 03:36 am (UTC)(link)
[scratch that, better look for anything non-perishable then]

Oh really? That's understandable. How'd you guys make friends?
cowgoesmoo: (smile - shy and blushing)

[personal profile] cowgoesmoo 2023-05-29 04:25 am (UTC)(link)
I just met her! Like I met you.

[ Are they going inside? He's tagging along right at Livio's heels wherever they're headed, hauling that big bag with him. ]

Did you just show up here too? One minute I was in my room then poof! Desert!
graveresemblance: (pic#16391179)

[personal profile] graveresemblance 2023-05-29 04:42 am (UTC)(link)
[since it looks like Vash is ready to move on, he tugs his cloak around himself a little more and leads them towards the inside of the now-crumbled building]

Oh, like you met me. I see. I was here before, but it wasn't like this. The others were here.
cowgoesmoo: (smile - laughing :D)

[personal profile] cowgoesmoo 2023-05-29 04:54 am (UTC)(link)
The kids, you mean? The kids that're missing?

[ As worried as he is for his friend, he's worried for those kids, too! He's okay by himself but maybe those kids are lost out in the middle of the sand, or they ended up in the city full of dead bodies. Little kids shouldn't see that kind of thing, it's too scary!

And speaking of scary... Something happened to this building, wow! It's all messed up!
]

Was it all full of holes before? It looks like somebody shot it up, pew pew!

[ Just like a space laser fight! Or one of Knives's cowboy movies! ]
graveresemblance: (pic#16451372)

[personal profile] graveresemblance 2023-05-29 05:13 am (UTC)(link)
[he hates this. his feet feel like they're made of lead, his head made of dust. walking back into this-- it hurts.

but he can't think about himself]


It wasn't before, no. We'd patched it up. There-- yeah, somebody shot it up.

[he had]
dontdeserve: (no...)

[personal profile] dontdeserve 2023-05-29 07:47 am (UTC)(link)
[ He is doing his best, and even after she is in the cocoon - he cannot completely cradle it as he did her, but he can wrap his wing around it - he keeps giving as much comfort and healing as he can. And... he doesn't let go of one of her hands, if he can, as the cocoon stays partly open. All that he can give, all the comfort, she gets.

When Knives gets there, Vash is looking in that direction, and when his brother is out of the vehicle, he starts apologizing immediately.
]

I'm sorry, she's not awake now, but she is not getting worse. I think just... when it hurts less, she's just comfortable for the first time.

[ It is indeed a mess, but he's doing his best. He is. ]
mercifullyheavy: (Drunk And Angsty)

[personal profile] mercifullyheavy 2023-05-29 02:31 pm (UTC)(link)
[The last thing he expected was to see Vash, his Vash, coming down the stairs with that big grin on his face, chirping as if nothing had happened. He knew it was fake the instant he saw it, he always knew, but it was such a departure from what had happened earlier and the reaction he'd expected to get when Vash saw him again, that he just stared in stunned silence for a minute, eyes wide behind his sunglasses as he tried to sit up straight and mostly made it without too much of a wobble.

He looked between the two of them, down at the bottles on the table around him as if he'd forgotten they were there and then back up, only to have the white of the bandages around Vash's arm catch his eye. There hadn't been enough time for the memories to fade even with the large amount of whiskey now flowing through his bloodstream, he hadn't even really had a proper chance to figure out what to do with everything that he had seen, and it all came rolling through his brain like syrup.]


Uh...uh...here...here y'go. [He reached up to grab one of the bottles and held it up for Vash to take about the same time he remembered the last time they'd had a drink, and suddenly he felt like he was going to be sick. It only made it worse when Nico's Vash plunked a can of green beans and potatoes down in front of him, expecting him to eat, and he could feel himself turning a little green. He fought it back, swallowing hard and closing his eyes as he worked on taking deep, steadying breaths, until he had managed to finally settle himself enough that he could open his eyes again.]

M'okay. Not very hungry. You can have it. [He tried to ignore the way his leg looked as he hugged it against his chest made him look like an anxious bundle of nerves, instead turning to look around at the windows before a bewildered look crossed his face.] How-...how long was I out...? Looks early. Why's it so early?

[Vash should be sleeping, he needed rest after the day he'd had. He looked back at the bandages on his arm, his eyes darting away again an instant later, wanting to ask if he was ok, wanting to apologize for pushing him too hard earlier and being the reason he'd been driven so far he wanted to rip himself apart. And yet he felt the words wedge themselves in his chest like a stone. He'd tried to apologize earlier, it had gone horribly. He'd tried to act normal, again, with horrible results. He'd even thought for a little moment that it was alright, to let himself accept the hold he couldn't stop wanting, the way he'd started realizing was a thing he could get away with, where the other Vash was involved. And it had all blown up in his face so hard.

So what did he say? He suddenly felt like he'd stepped over a line so far, he didn't know how to make it back, felt like he was floundering. Why couldn't he just be normal again?

Admittedly, it may have been something to do with the copious amounts of alcohol, but there wasn't much he could do about that until he had metabolized it out of his system, and he may have had a high tolerance for the stuff, but it was still going to take some time. Don't say stupid things. Shut up. So he just sat, those words repeating in his head like a mantra so he couldn't fuck things up even worse than he'd done already.]
cowgoesmoo: (surprised - by a cool new bug)

[personal profile] cowgoesmoo 2023-05-29 02:34 pm (UTC)(link)
Whoa.

[ That's kinda scary, isn't it? He was joking a little about it looking bullet-shot, but... but somebody actually blew up this building with guns? Vash's eyes go wide, and he moves to stand a little closer to Livio. ]

So does that mean you're from the future?
love_and_peace: (x7)

[personal profile] love_and_peace 2023-05-29 03:22 pm (UTC)(link)
[ He made it to the table without falling over, success! ...For a given definition of success, anyway. On his one side, Vash looks almost as stressed as he feels, curled up tight around himself... and no wonder, given what he's got planned after this little drinking party. On his other side, Wolfwood is acting like he's waiting for the ground to open up beneath him, and from the way he keeps shooting glances at the bandage around Vash's arm, there's no question what he's thinking about. The whole mood is dark and miserable, and it's making Vash want to take his bottle, crawl under the table, and not come out again.

But that's not a choice he gets to make, so! Vash first, then Wolfwood.

Silly smile firmly plastered across his face as reminder to himself to keep his shit together – the others won't believe that dumb grin for a moment, but it's not for them – Vash reaches out and takes Wolfwood's hand in his own, threading their fingers together securely before turning to Vash with a nod.
]

Thanks for the meal!

[ Beneath the words, he sends gratitude/family/support, bare emotions rather than words, the way he usually speaks with the plants in their bulbs. With Knives, it's always words, usually after being pulled into his gate to have a talk, and it's never a pleasant experience. With the other plants, though, communication is easy, dream-like, honest feelings passed back and forth like a caress. Whoever is in the ground back in the orphanage, whatever secrets they're going to go dig up, it's not going to be easy on any of them. He's not sure he'd have the patience to wait here if it was his Wolfwood potentially buried in another man's grave. He's not sure he'd be able to be this calm.

Still holding Wolfwood's hand, Vash grabs the fork and digs in to the can of vegetables like it's the tastiest thing on the planet. His stomach revolts almost immediately, but he's had more than a century's practice at ignoring his body's complaints, and right now he needs the fuel. Once he gets half the can down his throat, he'll chase it with whatever's left in that bottle.
]
dontdeserve: (Startled)

[personal profile] dontdeserve 2023-05-29 06:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Not too long.

[ Vash absolutely would have caught his other self and carried him if he had stumbled because he was running on hyperaware, and while he was kind of hiding behind his knee, he was also observing. He did nod slowly at Wolfwood's response to the food, noting the faint green tinge - normally he would have insisted, but the day had been. A lot. He did not, could not, reach for the food himself, however. Perhaps later.

... then his other self gave the traditional thanks in his general direction and Vash nearly choked on air. That. Felt so strange directed at him, especially with the earlier waves of memories, with Nai, of Rem. Who had taught them this. Who had been addressed so, for most of a year. By him, since Nai didn't need to even eat.

It was just startling. Extremely so.

It took him a moment to duck his head.
]

Ah... yeah. You kind of need it.

[ But his shoulders had dropped a little, some of the tension just dissolved with the pure surprise, and he leaned a little, not hugging his leg so tightly.

aaaand then. he couldn't quite resist asking, nodding towards the bottle.
]

Does it really help?
climbedup: (share)

[personal profile] climbedup 2023-05-29 06:21 pm (UTC)(link)
[ for a moment, she gasps at his introduction, glancing at livio. This... is vash the stampede? it would explain why livio has been holding back a bit...

but then reflexes over the fact that he's confused and uncertain take over, and her smile returns.
]

Yeah, something happened that made people go to different times and places, it can be a little disorienting!
el_llorono: (<_<)

[personal profile] el_llorono 2023-05-29 07:44 pm (UTC)(link)
[He wanted to pop off about the attitude he kept giving, about how he continued to refuse to believe what was being told to him from his own literal ghost, but instead, he chose to stop before the words came out of his mouth. To just listen. He was good at listening, these days, even if this whole encounter had brought out some of his older, more irritable eccentricities.

So. Sandsteamer, Livio shooting himself in the head, Vash being there when it happened. No, those things certainly hadn't happened in any of his own memories. But while he still refused to believe that Livio could be done in by something as simple as a gunshot to the head - he had literally smashed his entire face in himself, and watched from the in-between as Elendira tore him to shreds, and still he continued to get up over and over again - perhaps there was truth in what the other him had seen, too. They were obviously different, not egregiously so, but the differences were still there, and the more he talked to him, the more it sank in that it wasn't just himself that he was seeing.

He gave a small sigh, watching him as he could see the small signs of anxiety ripple through him. He could hazard a few guesses as to what had him so concerned.]


Look, say I accept that what you say is true, that you watched him put a bullet in his own brain and fall off of a sandsteamer. Did you see his corpse? Did you bury him? And I'm not just bein' a dick here. I saw Livio go through things a lot more severe than just a gunshot to the head an' bounce back up like it was nothin'. He's strong. It takes 'im a bit t'get there, but he's resilient. Just don't be surprised one day, when he's standin' between you an' Chapel, alive an'...maybe not well, not then. But it's gonna be the first step to it. Don't give up on 'im.
It...it'll pay off in the end.


[Even if it's the last thing they do for each other. Even if Livio carries the guilt of that fact for the rest of his life. He couldn't be more proud of his little brother, at the man he became after everything he went through. He was a better man than Nicholas had ever been, and he wasn't ashamed to admit it.]
louboutinjudas: (Resting or not listening)

[personal profile] louboutinjudas 2023-05-29 08:31 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Say I accept what you say is true, said the ghost, and Wolfwood leaned his head against the stone wall behind him and closed his eyes. It wasn't worth arguing about anymore. He'd thought about his own death plenty of times – the Eye was good at inspiring that kind of thing – and while he'd never expected a peaceful death, he'd have preferred one where he didn't have to relive Livio's death in his head over any over. ]

You win.

[ If he had a gun, he mused, he could demonstrate for the ghost that a head shot was still enough to put a member of the Eye in the ground. ...Even better, if he had a gun, he could find out whether ghosts were bulletproof, and that thought put a smile on his lips, if only for a moment. Could you shoot a ghost? The rock didn't do anything, so a bullet probably wouldn't either, but wouldn't it be worth the look on that dead fucker's face to get drawn on by his own self?

That would have been sonething to see.
]

I yield, all right? Livio's alive, and I'm gonna die in December. [ His voice was getting painfully raspy, emphasis on the painful, and he was pretty sure he should be sweating a lot more than he was. Without bothering to open his eyes – the asshole was invisible anyway, what did it matter? – Wolfwood raised a middle finger in the ghost's general direction, and tried not to think about water. ] Message delivered, now fuck off and let a man die in peace.
mercifullyheavy: (Drunk And Angsty)

[personal profile] mercifullyheavy 2023-05-29 09:12 pm (UTC)(link)
[Not too long, he said, as if it wasn't a big deal. Despite the small wave of panic that was trying to take hold, his mouth twisted down and he looked over at Vash as he did his best to make his painfully-cheerful-pretending way to the table.]

Y'should be restin'!

[The moment he reached over and took his hand, though, he felt his brain slam to a halt. He jumped at first, stared at the way he linked their fingers together and just held, and then it felt as if the world narrowed down to that one point of contact. He barely registered their voices as they continued to speak around him, didn't even notice the way he slowly curled back down until he looked like he was going to put his head back on the table, and he just stared as the shock of those earlier memories he'd stolen out of Vash's head came rolling back.

Why. Why me? Why??? How can he love me? I'm no good, no fuckin' good! The voice in his head screamed, felt like it was flaying him from the inside out, and the only thing that kept his tears from landing on the table under his face was the pair of sunglasses on his face, and even then, it wasn't long before a few spilled over anyway, and still he didn't seem to notice. But he didn't pull away from the hold, and after a moment, he squeezed his hand back, his thumb beginning to rub barely-there circles against the back of his Vash's hand.

If you wanted an answer to your question, Vash, he was giving a pretty good one without saying a word. Sometimes it helped, a bit. But other times, when it was really bad, this happened. And still, they continued to do it to themselves, time and again.]
el_llorono: (Irritated Little Guy)

[personal profile] el_llorono 2023-05-29 09:45 pm (UTC)(link)
[He certainly wasn't trying to argue, he was trying to meet him halfway! But he could tell he'd reached the limits of the others' patience, and honestly, he should have known it was going to happen. It was himself, after all, even if he was a world removed and a few decades too early.

He just sighed to himself when the other shut down, though, rolling his eyes and flicking another pebble at him from the distance as he tried to either go to sleep - out in the middle of the sun, like an idiot - or...was he actually going to try and let himself die of dehydration in the desert just to spite himself?]


Ahhhh, puta pendejo! Fine. I'll...go try an' find Home an' bring back water or help or somethin'. Don't know that I'll be able to carry it all the way here if I do find a canteen, but I guess I'll find out. Or maybe I'll finally break my damn silence an' ask Blondie t'come an' get you.
It'd serve you right.


[Vash would tear him a new one if he found him trying to waste away out here from pure spite. And then probably break down sobbing, which he did not want to see, but...Fuck. What was he even doing?

He stood, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking down at him for a moment before turning and walking in the direction Vash had been headed when the earthquake had hit. At least he didn't have to worry about getting tired and needing a break.]
rejuvenation: (3)

[personal profile] rejuvenation 2023-05-29 09:55 pm (UTC)(link)
[ The rumble of a car is noticed, but it's far enough away at first to not mean immediate danger. There were wams around in the sands and even a grand one in the distance while they were raging across the dunes, and they only killed the ones that came to close. The cocoon does bristle again when the new presence makes itself known, but it doesn't go into death mode when their little core is calm and as comfortable as someone with her injuries can be. Not afraid, because she has a brother. Many brothers that are also the same brother.

The closer Knives come towards them, the more the wings fluff up until it's almost round. It could maybe be called cute if it wasn't for all the blood in the sand and on Vash's coat.

Tessla is quiet inside, still radiating more agony than any one normal person could handle, but feeling a little better thanks to the way Vash had taken some of her pain. The terror is also less thick in the air, and with that the anger has calmed to hot embers rather than a wildfire.

There's still tension from the semi-assimilated dependents, however. Even without eyes and their own individual consciousnesses, they're watching you, Knives. ]
love_and_peace: (x2)

[personal profile] love_and_peace 2023-05-29 09:56 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Rem taught them well! At least where manners were concerned.

Bottle empty, he set it down with excessive caution on the table top, head already swimming and all those tight muscles in his shoulders and back starting to warm and soften.
]

Sometimes it helps.

[ If it were just him and Wolfwood – if he wasn't worried that more would make him puke and waste the effort of eating – he'd crack open the nearest bottle and see how long it took to drain that one, too. But between the other Vash's concerned demeanor and the so-gentle movement of Wolfwood's thumb against the back of his hand, Vash feels pinned in place, unable to keep going.

Which, based on how much the room is starting to tilt to the side, is probably for the best.
]

It's hard sometimes, you know? To keep going. [ It doesn't feel right saying that out loud, even just to himself – especially not to himself, but he doesn't get to have secrets anymore, apparently. They've both seen the worst of his life – what harm is there in talking about how he's kept putting one foot in front of the other through all that? ] Sometimes I just want it to stop. [ Rem would be furious at him for that, but he can't help it if it's true. ] When my body, and heart, and everything hurts... when I wasn't fast enough... when I wasn't good enough... when I don't want to be alone anymore, drinking makes everything a little easier for awhile.

[ He realizes, then, what he's been saying, and pulls it all back with a deep breath and a shake of his head, visibly forcing his mood into something lighter and happier. ]

But it's fun, too! We should have a drinking party sometime, you'll love it! Funny hats, and singing... [ Beaming, swaying a little in his chair, he turns to Wolfwood, and his smile goes soft. ] Dancing. [ He gives Wolfwood's hand a squeeze. ] You hear that? I'm gonna make you dance with me.

[ Putting his head down on the table is sounding like a better and better idea all the time. Wolfwood's on to something there. ...But not yet. Not quite yet.

He turns back to Vash, eyes half-lidded, falling asleep in his seat.
]

What do you do, when it's too much?
nyctinasty: (3)

[personal profile] nyctinasty 2023-05-29 10:23 pm (UTC)(link)
[Vash's best, with the primary direction being 'don't let her sleep', is not good enough.

When the primary direction was 'don't let her sleep because it could kill her', Vash's best could be a death sentence, and the look Knives gives him is one of disappointment, but not surprise. If that had been a human child, he's certain his instructions would have been carried out flawlessly. Had he even bothered to dull her pain, or was that left to the sisters?]


The fault is mine. I'll be more careful. Let's ... see what we can do.

[He should have known better than to rely on Vash, and if Tessla paid for it with her life, then the blame was entirely on his own shoulders. Perhaps he should have burned what energy he had left and taken to the air, less time for things to keep going wrong, enough time maybe to tell the sisters what they needed to do.

Faced with a defensive ball of puff that could easily turn deadly should they so choose, Knives ... doesn't do anything about it. They're acting as they should, and he could only meet them with his own sincerity and concern- for all that he hated humanity, his affection for his own kind ran just as deep. He is no threat. Not to a plant.

His words are both aloud, and ... not. An appeal to the heart as much as to the ears, as he brings the confidence and hope of experience with him.]


Sisters. I've come to help. I know how to fix this. Together we can end this pain. Will you let me show you how?

[Simple, clear and straightforward, the same way he'd convinced countless plants to stand by his side before. No deceptions, no lies, and all the gentle kindness that humanity has yet to ever earn.]

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