"Since the Fall." Most of his life. Almost all of it, really. They were what, a year old? A year and a half? It has indeed been a very long time. Slowly, Knives turns and heads westward again. There either would be a town, or there wouldn't, and the only way to find out was to go and see if anything else changed - see what time it really was.
And the only way to know if Vash really heeded his warning would be to let time pass too. For now, what he has as an answer will have to do. If he had to take on the Terrans to prevent his brother from being chipped and brought to heel like a stray pet, then he'd do it, but ...
... But these days it would be harder to do.
The crunch of pebbles underfoot is no good distraction. "It's not what you'll want to hear. I have not had a moment of revelation that humans are good and wonderful and worth saving." At least there was no deep sand to wade through. "My perspectives," Knives says quietly, "Haven't changed. I can't forgive them for what they've done, and I can't forgive them for what they intend to do. Our sisters are still born slaves and die slaves, in pain and misery. What I do about it ... has by necessity, shifted." He raises one hand, fingers curling. "I lack the power I had once and I have no desire to reclaim it. Our enslaved sisters made their choice, long ago. The prize of their freedom wasn't worth the price of plant fighting plant."
And he could not make that decision FOR them. They might struggle with mortality, with concepts such as right or wrong, but Knives wouldn't deny them the choices they could make. "They didn't hesitate in aiding me in my assault on humanity, but they shared the same struggles I had with turning weapons on our own kind."
He had to come up with alternatives, without the support of his kin, without involving his kin, so no fight could arise, he'd need time. Time he didn't have.
no subject
And the only way to know if Vash really heeded his warning would be to let time pass too. For now, what he has as an answer will have to do. If he had to take on the Terrans to prevent his brother from being chipped and brought to heel like a stray pet, then he'd do it, but ...
... But these days it would be harder to do.
The crunch of pebbles underfoot is no good distraction. "It's not what you'll want to hear. I have not had a moment of revelation that humans are good and wonderful and worth saving." At least there was no deep sand to wade through. "My perspectives," Knives says quietly, "Haven't changed. I can't forgive them for what they've done, and I can't forgive them for what they intend to do. Our sisters are still born slaves and die slaves, in pain and misery. What I do about it ... has by necessity, shifted." He raises one hand, fingers curling. "I lack the power I had once and I have no desire to reclaim it. Our enslaved sisters made their choice, long ago. The prize of their freedom wasn't worth the price of plant fighting plant."
And he could not make that decision FOR them. They might struggle with mortality, with concepts such as right or wrong, but Knives wouldn't deny them the choices they could make. "They didn't hesitate in aiding me in my assault on humanity, but they shared the same struggles I had with turning weapons on our own kind."
He had to come up with alternatives, without the support of his kin, without involving his kin, so no fight could arise, he'd need time. Time he didn't have.