nomans_land | Geranium

Geranium

[ A small podunk town outside of Lost July now houses a small science station, cobbled together by pieces from an escape pod. Rem has been busy cataloguing everything she's managed to put together about both NoMan's Land and this glitch in it so far. Her data pad is overfilled with information, including some pre-downloaded survival tips for hot climates.

It means she's not longer horribly sunburnt, at least.

A radio dish and a messy attempt at a solar panel has been somewhat haphazardly attached to the roof of the house she's taken over, but there hasn't been enough parts to finish them so neither of them have been working right so far. The radio sends signals, but the receiver doesn't work. She keeps trying, though, and the adult Vash she met had been helping her set everything up so that she could live there.

Right now she can be found outside of the house, shaking out blankets and hanging them over a line. Vash had left to find more provisions, and she wanted the other bedroom to be clean when he came back. It's very domestic, and she's singing softly to herself. ]

Sooo... on the first celestial evening, a pebble from somewhere out of nowhere drops upon the dreaming world~♪

[ Rem has held it together fairly well so far, but she can't deny the nightmares and the rush of grief that falls over her in the times she's alone in the house, scarred to the bone by the catastrophe she barely escaped. All the dead in the crash, and all the suffering on this planet. ]

Sooo... on the second celestial evening, all the children of the pebble held hands and composed a waltz~♪

[ Rem shakes out another blanket - a smaller one this time, perfectly sized for a child. She needs to get that radio working so that she can try to contact other settlements and see if anyone has seen small versions of her twins. While she met an adult Vash, she's worried that this timeline mess also means that her little twins are around. ]

Sooo... on the third celestial evening, the children's waltz spawned rippling waves across the waking world~♪

[ Then there was Nai. She still hasn't found him, not even an adult version, and she's not stupid - she knows what he did now, but he's her boy, and she needs to know more. She needs to understand why, and she's not ready to hear that something happened to him. She can barely stand the well-hidden (but still obvious to her) sadness in Vash's eyes. ]

Sooo... on the fourth celestial evening, the waves showered the ground upon which every child wandered~♪

[ She shakes out clothes this time, her ship uniform changed to some salvaged clothes and a hooded cloak that protects her from the sun. ]

Sooo... on the fifth celestial evening, the showers on the earth became its beacon of existence~♪

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[ He's pretty sure he heard Stampede stay that exact sentence, with those exact words once. Maybe this is Hell after all. ]

Fine.

[ That's all there is to say about that, then. He can't take on caring for anyone else. That shit always backfires, and he's got to look out for number one. Wolfwood hauls himself to his feet and heads for the door, unable to sit still for one more minute. ]

Thanks for the food. I'll wait outside.

[ Fine, he snaps and stomps off like her words personally insults him. What a strange man. ]

Mm. At least take the blanket to shield your head. The sun... the suns are strong at this hour.

[ She stands up to bring it over to him as he walks outside, squinting at the light as she follows. ]

[ He doesn't even dignify that with a response other than a snort. He's lived on this planet all his life, ship dweller. He knows how hot it gets.

Once outside, Wolfwood will find himself a nice shady spot with as clear a view of the surrounding landscape as he can, and park himself there. He's got no cigarettes, no suckers, no gun, and no idea what he's doing here. It's great. This is great, what a great fucking day this is. ]

Go back inside. The suns are strong at this hour.

[ Of course, Vash approaches from the side that's on the blind spot created by the building, his bag filled as much as it can go with canned foods, travel rations, and drinkable liquids. It's what Rem will need the most, even if they are not the best tasting things. There are some parts that can be used for repairs, but he'll need to go much further if he can hope to get anything from the forgotten technology that she'd be best familiar with.

He can hear her inside the house, but before he quite reaches her, there is a shuttle on the opposite side. Someone else? Well he needs to go around for the hoor anyw--

Oh. ]

Wolfwood?

[ well. Now he's running. ]

[ She certainly ruffled his feathers with her philosophy, and Rem is slightly amused as the man repeats her words back at her. Kind of like an annoyed teenager.

She's willing to leave him there to cool off and continue her previous task, but then more scrambling in the sand is heard and now her boy is coming around the corner at full speed. ]

Vash? [ Rem asks, slightly concerned about the rush. ]

[ Vash rounds the corner, coming at him at full speed, and for far too many seconds Wolfwood can't make sense of what he's seeing. That man's dead. He's being charged by a dead man -- a dead man he betrayed to his death.

And then something clicks, something about her boy and living on a ship, and a cold chill stabs right through him. This is Hell. This is Hell, and that's Stampede's dead mom.

No gun, no vials, no hope, he leaps to his feet, hands up and ready to fight. Stampede is a pacifist -- or was, when he was alive -- so this won't kill him, but he's seen what that pacifist does to people who make him angry, and there's no way this won't hurt. Nicholas Wolfwood isn't going down without a fight, however. ]

C'mon!

Hey, Rem!

[ Vash waves at her and keeps going, his expression bright until the man he's rushing to prepares to fight, and then he flails into a stop, eyes so wide. ]

Um... Wolfwood?

[ in all fairness, Vash might not disagree about this being hell, but if it is, well, it could still be worse. ]

Are you - what are you-- ARE YOU ALL RIGHT? When I showed up here and JuLai was a years-gone waste, and you weren't there, it - [ he just looks over himself. ] I'm not going to fight you!

[ She gives Vash a little wave and then stands back so that the two can... do whatever they need to do. Looks like the boys know eachother, which is both surprising and not at the same time. Naturally she's a bit concerned about the way Nicolas is squaring up like he wants to fight, and it seems like Vash is confused about that as well.

Rem doesn't intervene, however. Vash is a grown man, and already trying to defuse the situation. She's so proud. ]

[ He is not all right! What about this looks all right?! He's ready for a fight -- he kinda wants a fight! He certainly deserves to get knocked around for what he did, but Stampede just... stands there, being concerned at him.

It's infuriating. ]

How the hell are you here?! Where the hell are we?!

[ Vash settles his duffel bag on the ground carefully, then rubs the back of his head. ]

I don't know. I mean, I know that we're not far from JuLai, it's more like when we are? One moment we were going to the city, and the almost the next it seemed to have been destroyed years ago. And Rem, well. [ He smiles in her direction, before it twists slightly. ] I have not seen her in a long time. Since the Crash, really.

And there are no plants around. None. I heard from them when I first showed up, but they seemed very far, and there have been none since.

[ Does that help when it comes to answers? No? uuuuhhh sorry... ]

[ Oh, they definitely know eachother, and not just in passing. She meets Vash's smile and then looks over at the other man. She doesn't really have anything to add, Vash seemed to understand more than she did about gates and timelines.

She's still not sure what to make of it, honestly. ]

Nicholas, please. Can we have a civil discussion?

[ Fuck, he's going to explode! Don't call him Nicholas in front of the Stampede! ]

Wait wait wait, stop. Stop talking, for once in your life stop talking! [ There was something important in there that he needs to back up to, hold on! ] You were going to JuLai? That's the last thing you remember? You weren't there yet?

[ So he hasn't died yet? ...If this turns out to be a hallucination or Legato fucking with him, swear to god he's going to shave that guy's head in his sleep. ]

You're saying you haven't fought him yet?

It's all right, Rem. He can get a little loud. This place is different, so everyone reacting differently makes sense.

[ He raises an eyebrow at Wolfwood because he's both telling him to stop talking and asking him quetions, but then the questions sink in and his face falls a little. So... for Wolfwood, they have parted ways. ]

No... I'm guessing you did what you were supposed to, the job finished?

[ He knew that moment would come, but he's still sad. He's not felt so close with anyone before, the two of them sometimes understanding each other without words. ]

Did... did the city get destroyed in that fight?

[ She's fine enough with Vash's vote of confidence with the loudness, and takes a moment to pat her boy on the shoulder. This sounded like it was best to be private and not in front of 'mom', because the tension between two of them was not something she was ready to deal with.

Less than a year ago she changed Vash's diapers, she does not need to see him in a lover's quarrel. ]

I'll heat up some soup for you. Take your time.

[ This is not a lover's quarrel!! ]

Yeah.

[ Sorry, he's just stunned. Between the exhaustion, the isolation, now Stampede's resurrection, but somehow also there's time travel happening? And on top of everything he's feeling guilty, has been feeling guilty since JuLai fell, and he hates guilt! Guilt is a luxury that he can't afford, so this knot in his throat? It can fuck right off! ]

Yeah, you could say it got destroyed. It's a fucking crater, with your fucking cor--

[ Nope. He snaps his teeth together so quick that he catches his cheek, and winces. This is too much! ]

You shouldn't be here!

Soup sounds good!

[ ...and then he is extra glad if she does head inside. Because Wolfwood drops that, and his eyes widen a little.

Then he frowns, this time stepping closer so he can speak quieter. Not secretively, just without any hint of flailing. ]

I don't die there, Wolfwood. In this time, I'm still alive.

[ ...beat. and then a smile, fake as they come. ]

Besides, that wouldn't have killed me.

[ ... That one, out of Rem's earshot , if possible. That quiet. ]

[ She closes the door and sinks down against it, biting her lip to keep any sounds quiet. I knew a guy who thought that way once. Ask me how it turned out for him. Her boy. Her Vash.

Deep breaths, Rem.

with your fucking cor--

Deep breaths. It's okay. He's not dead, he's right there. He's okay.

I'm still alive.

He is. He's right there. She hasn't lost both of them. ]

[ In this time. In this time he hasn't even gone to JuLai yet, so of course he's still alive! ]

I watched it happen, you dumbass! You died!

[ Sorry Rem, but he's not worried about being overheard the same way Stampede was. ]

Both of you, you and that brother of yours! [ That knot in his throat is starting to hurt, and it makes his next words a hiss: ] I watched you die, asshole.

Wolfwood, listen to me! I don't die at JuLai! And ... I don't think he does, either. So snap out of it!

Someone's taken the plants and they called out for people to help them, and to help me. So I'm here, and who else do you know that takes plants away?

[ um.

He catches himself, the emotions from Rem clear enough, and he sighs, lowering his voice again. ]

She is, though. She gave her life to save as many people as she could. Everyone alive on this planet is only alive because of her. And it's the hardest on her.

[ If Wolfwood was wondering if it actually is Vash, well. The last person he's thinking about is himself. ]

[ You and that brother of yours. Nai too. Oh god. She can't...

So much death, so many people lost but hearing that her boys are dead in at least some world is crushing her. Rem curls into a ball, arms around her knees and just tries to not listen any more.

She can't handle it. There's been too much loss.

Breathe. Just keep breathing; he's right there, outside. It will be okay. ]

[ He waves his hand dismissively at all that noise about somebody calling for help with plants. Yes, Millions Knives takes away plants, but Millions Knives is dead, stop trying to gaslight him about this! ]

I hate to break it to you, Blondie, but I'm pretty sure we're all dead. Sounds like she died in the Fall, you fell out of the sky and burned up over JuLai -- don't fucking give me that look, I watched it happen! -- , and I'm probably slumped over in some shitty bar somewhere. We're dead. Congrats, welcome to the afterlife, it's just like regular life only shittier.

[ Well. That takes the wind out of his sails, and for a few long moment he just stares at Wolfwood.

Then he blinks, tilting his head thoughtfully. ]

Um. Would your heart beat if you're dead?

[ how would Wolfwood know? No idea. He's just asking. ]

And wouldn't it be a little more. Populated?

[ his next thought is, I wouldn't mind it, if I could spend time with you two.

But that is probably not a good thing to say. Is it? ]

[ Would his heart beat? Who the fuck knows? How many angels can dance on his grave, who cares about philosophy! He's a practical guy, and practically speaking, this place is not Noman's, and he's talking to two dead people. The math isn't that hard. ]

Maybe it's my Hell and not yours. Yours would have a lot more people, so we can go find that next if you like!

... why would Rem be in your hell? How would you even know what she looks like?

...

No, really. That wouldn't have killed me. Uh... [ again, quieter. ] I've had run-in with various militaries. It's... I'd have been pretty banged up, but not dead.

[ and think, Wolfwood. Not that Vash knows it, but why would there still be wanted posters for him if he were dead? For $$60 billion? Dead or alive? ]

[ He hasn't seen any posters, sorry. Just rocks and sand and a couple corpses, and then the only guy he's ever regretted killing, and that guy's mom, just as a reminder of everything Stampede had that Wolfwood didn't. The only way it could be any more targeted to make Wolfwood suffer would be if Stampede here somehow had a little brother too, running around being cute and rambunctious and shit.

But like hell this guy gets to hear all of Wolfwood's baggage, so he can just take this middle finger -- this one, right here, grown and nurtured just for Stampede -- and fucking die on it. ]

Whatever.

[ There's no military on the planet with enough firepower to make a hole the size of the one Stampede did when he hit the ground, but spending his afterlife arguing stupid semantics sounds like... well, Hell. ]

You weren't even there, so what the fuck do you know, huh? Idiot.

[ If this is is personal Hell, then there's got to be more interesting torments somewhere else, right? An army of Elendiras and Legatos? Maybe Livio's here, just to rub more salt in the wound?

No time like the present to find out. If this is what JuLai looks like, then how about December? Might as well go see. Later, asshole -- he's off to December. ]

Enjoy your bug soup.

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