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[ he's been awake since before the sun rose and the labors of his training are littered across the desolate landscape in the shape of sliced and diced rocks, old cans, and whatever metal or bits of wood nai could get his hands on. he hadn't wandered too far from the makeshift camp rem had set up, but he didn't want to be too close either.

after all, he needed the space to practice without worry of accidentally hurting her - or anyone - as he practiced using his blades. he was still unsteady in controlling them past the length of his arm, but if he wanted the precision control his perfectionism demanded, then he knew no amount of training was wasted.

now, he stood in front of a tall rock formation. he knew from the top he'd be gifted with the sight of everything spread out in all directions. he wants to see everything.

he just needed to scale it without falling and injuring himself in any way. simple enough.

his progress climbing up is slow as he tries to keep his grip from slipping, nails digging into the rock where he finds purchase. with any luck, he'll make it to the top without any issue. ]

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[ Once finally free of his annoying blond tail, Wolfwood heads out into the desert. The car he'd managed to hotwire earlier was on the other side of the ruins of July, and while he wasn't sure it had enough charge to get him all the way to Hopeland, it would at least get him farther away from this place than he'd manage on foot.

He doesn't spot the kid until he's almost right under him, so caught up is he in his own bullshit. But there he is, halfway up the cliff face, just a spot of white up higher than any kid should be climbing. ]

What the...? Oi! [ Cupping his hands around his mouth, Wolfwood hollers up at the boy. ] You're gonna fall, get down from there!

[ he was determined to make it to the top, the throbbing pain in his fingers from gripping at the jutted grooves in the rock and the sound of the wind rushing past his ears the only things his mind focuses on now. it's a welcome relief from the unforgiving barrage of intrusive thoughts that battered him endlessly. if he just kept moving, then he wouldn't need to think.

fate can be so cruel. of course, when he hears the sound of someone calling out to him, his concentration breaks, and impulsively he looks down in the direction of the voice. that's all it takes, really, to throw him off completely. that and a misplaced hand, the rock under his palm giving out the moment he places pressure there.

that's all it takes before he realizes he's slipping down and then falling, his fingers scraping against the rock painfully before the rush of air pushes him out of reach. his heart lurches terribly as his vision is filled with the open, blue skies. ]

[ vash has been away for a bit longer this time. still looking at the plants. but at least now he has met delphinium, and that has given him more knowledge, and ... more hope. so he is heading back to rem's place, with supplies and news and a suggestion, when he can feel knives's powers coming out in very, very close proximity to rem's new home, and then he's running, running as fast as he can-- only to reach the location before reaching the house, and there... doesn't seem to be. blood. or anyone hurt.

he looks around in confusion, and it only takes a moment before he finds the one moving thing at this time.

a much, much smaller thing than he expected, and he blinks, then his eyes go comically open. ]

N-nai?

[ Oh shit.

He can't quite tell what happened, but one second the kid is clinging like a lizard to the rock face and the next he's in the air, falling. Wolfwood moves before it even registers what he's seeing, dropping the bag of supplies foisted off on him by Vash's mom and running as fast as he can to get under the kid. ]

I've got you!

[ The ground beneath his feet is solid rock, which is bad news for kids falling out of the sky, but good news for the assholes trying to catch them. At least he's got something to push off against as he leaps into the air, flinging his arms around the boy mid-fall, and then they're tumbling, Wolfwood wrapped around him to take the brunt of the impact... and the resulting road rash. ]

[ from free fall to suddenly being snatched out of the air is a disorienting experience, without a doubt. the following moments happen so quickly, he can't discern which way is up or down as he's tucked against the stranger's chest until they hit the ground.

the impact is painful, even knocking the air from his lungs. nai gasps as kicked up dirt sprays him in the face, clogging his nose and choking his throat as he tries to regain his breathing. all at once, he's brought back down to the earth, terrible clarity restored. slowly he lifts his head to peer at the face that, he realizes, saved him.

what he sees is the barrel of the gun staring back at him, an empty dark hole ready to pull him in if he stared into it any longer. the memories overlap his own thoughts, his own vision of what he was looking at right now and the panic punches straight through him.

nai screams, limbs pushing out to try and untangle himself from the stranger - wolfwood, this is wolfwood, this isn't a stranger he knows nai. everything hurt, from his bleeding fingers to the aching from the impact, even with wolfwood in between him and the hard, hard earth. he needs there to be distance, he needs to get away before the gun is pointing at him again. ]

[ He finally rolls to a stop, the wind knocked out of him, but he can tell by the squirming that the kid is at least alive. He'd sigh with relief, if his lungs were working.

But then the kid in his arms panics, stepping on him in his rush to get away. Wolfwood can't even be bothered to try and stop him -- the kid's alive, and doing well enough that he can run away, so that's fine. Mission accomplished. Instead he rolls over onto his side and coughs hard, two, three times, to force his diaphragm to stop fucking up and let him breath again.

And everything hurts, but at least it doesn't feel like he broke anything. He's skinned and bruised head to toe, but that'll heal. He's had worse. ]

Fuck.

[ Even as dry croaks go, that was pathetic. He coughs again, then manages to sit up, holding his aching head in his hands. ]

Ow. ...Kid? You okay?

[ attempt to scale the towering rock formation number five or six or seven, he isn't keeping track any more that he cares about his bloodied fingers. his clothes are dirtied from falling over and over, mixed in with streaks of blood every time he goes to wipe his hands on the fabric. if he completely focuses on this one task, then nothing else needs to matter right now.

he hears his name and instinctively knows who it is before he even looks back. he sees vash over his shoulder, taking in his appearance with muted recognition. it didn't matter if this vash was the vash from before or after or during. it didn't matter when nai knew everything he needed to know already.

nai turns away from vash to go back to studying the jagged rock in front of him, mapping his next attempted ascent. ]

Hi, Vash.

[ the release is a relief and nai is immediately scooting back, desperate to get his feet back under him. it's so hard to breathe, the dust filling his lungs. ]

St- Stay away.

[ speaking hurts, throat too dry to swallow comfortably. nai keeps his gaze down because every time he looks at wolfwood straight on, all he can see is that gun staring back at him. ]

Just- stay away from me.

[ Well. That's... an unsurprising response from a child on their own to the adult who just grabbed them, sure. Wolfwood waves a weary hand in the kid's direction, not making any movement toward standing quite yet. ]

No problem. I'm over here, just bleedin' all over from saving your life, no big deal.

[ There's something about the kid that's familiar, isn't there? Something about the eyes?

It can't be. ]

...Vash?

[ the distance helps steady his racing heart, but not by much. ]

I didn't ask you to save me.

[ maybe it'd be better if the fall killed him.

and sure enough, that name has him freezing up. he scoots back some more, hoping to slide himself into the shadows cast by the rocks. ]

You should leave. Go away.

[ Damn, the kid's really freaked out, huh? No surprise there, but it still hurts to see a kid that scared. Wolfwood raises his hands in surrender from where he's still seated, making sure Vash can see that he's unarmed. ]

Hey, buddy, it's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you. I'll stay right here, all right?

[ ...He's going to blame the fall and the resulting head injury on the fact that it took him this long to figure out that of course kid Vash doesn't know him. Of course he doesn't, fucking hell. ]

My name's Nick. I was just talking with your mom. Rem, right? Just back that way? Don't tell her you've been climbin' walls like this, or she'll never let you hear the end of it!

[ the easy tone and smiles throw him. it made sense, in a sickening way, that he would be so nice to him while under the wrong impression. he almost wishes that kindness could be aimed at him, too. that he deserved to be treated with a smile and understanding.

but nai knows better than to hope for useless things. he knows even better not to lead this charade on any longer than this. ]

I know who you are. [ rem was close by, but he's been avoiding her ever since he woke up. he had hoped being far away enough he could avoid her watchful, worrying gaze. ] And my name isn't Vash.

[ vash feels his breath coming short, torn between affection and. fear. last time he saw nai looking like that, he had--

deep breaths, vash. ]

You... don't seem ... surprised?

[ ... is rem okay ]

[ My name isn't Vash. Wolfwood's eyes go wide at that, because of course he knows somebody who could be mistaken for Vash, somebody who, at least at one point in their lives, looked exactly like him. Is this really Millions Knives, shrunk down brat-sized and dropped right in his path? Is this really the next ghost from his life that he's supposed to come to terms with?

This afterlife sucks. ]

Oh yeah? [ He keeps his tone light, folding his legs up with a wince into a more comfortable sit -- see? He's not getting up. No threats here, honest. ] Sorry, if we met I don't remember. What's your name?

[ It can't be him. What's he supposed to do if it's him?! ]

We've met already. Or maybe... an alternate you? I don't know what to call it yet.

[ he sighs, too tired for someone his size but it can't be helped. he looks down at his hand, nails broken and filed down from the rock. ]

Rem isn't far from here, if you wanted to see her.

I know where she should be.

[ quietly, but just as tired. or even more so. ]

Did you - is she all right?

[ even as nick adjusts himself into a more comfortable position, the tension in nai's posture doesn't ease in the slightest. the fear is still coursing through him without any sign of slowing down.

but he can't help the aggravated sigh at wolfwood's feigned ignorance. he hoped for his brother's sake this guy wasn't actually this stupid. ]

Kni. [ kni, nai, knives, it didn't matter. they're all the same after a century or so, right? ] Do I need to spell it out for you, too?

Edited 2023-05-25 20:11 (UTC)

[ maybe if he didn't know better, the question wouldn't sound like an accusation. but it does and it hurts much more than nai thought it would.

he starts to pick at the scrapes decorating his fingers and palm, the pain a good distraction from the thundering in his ears. his voice is tight, quiet. ]

When I left this morning she was still asleep. [ he had left her a note, just a simple I'll be back scribbled on a scrap paper. ] If you're worried you should go see her.

[ Shit. Shit. His grin just gets bigger, but his mind is in a whirl. Millions fucking Knives, live and in person, but as a harmless little kid. A bratty little kid, but still just a boy. Why in the hell is he here? ]

Yeah, probably. I never was much good at spelling.

I feel sorry for Vash.

[ his dear friend is an idiot. nai slowly stands, still keeping himself under the shade. he clenches his hands into fists at his side, scrapped palms smarting under the pressure. ]

You should go now.

[ He feels sorry for Vash? Wolfwood's confusion is obvious -- what's that blond idiot have to do with anything? ]

Sorry, don't think I can. [ He gestures down at his legs, where his trousers are torn and bloody. It's just scrapes, painful but not badly damaged, but Kni here doesn't need to know that. ] I messed myself up pretty badly. I need to rest a bit. Us humans are pretty fragile, you know. Not like you and your brother.

[ at least vash did not ask what did you do to rem, because ... he's vash, honestly. but nai's answer makes him light up with. something dangerously resembling hope, some of it echoing around him in the shared mindspace, if faintly. ]

Oh... It... I'll get what I've gathered to her in a bit. I don't think she should be too low on anything specific, but that would depend on. How many people have come.

[ after a bit, vash settles down the bag, then sits with his back to the rock. this is so surreal, but then again. rem was also here. ]

Have you been about for long? I mean... with Rem?

[ it's the other sensible conclusion, with nai being here, with rem being the way that she is, and with what he's said. that he's been for at least a while.

vash closes his eyes, listening to the young voice, imagining just for brief moment that his own doesn't fit in, that the sun is beating up on him mercilessly, and the smell around them is acrid sand, rather than the faint scent of the ship, enhanced by greenery. ]

[ and nai's irritation is plain as day, even with the distance between them. he could be the one to leave instead, but a terrible thought rises to the surface. the moment he turns away, nick could pull out that gun and shoot him. it'd be pretty easy, right?

nai isn't ready to die at the hands of someone else. through the chaotic mess that was his head right now, he at least knew that much. ]

That's not my fault. I didn't ask you to save me.

Who said anything about fault?

[ That, at least, sounds like the Knives Wolfwood knows -- arrogant, dismissive, not giving a shit about anybody but himself. He could be wrong, but the kid still seems nervous, though, which Wolfwood can't understand. With all his powers, what's he got to fear from an ordinary human? ]

It's not like you jumped on purpose, right?

[ nai shrugs halfheartedly, not even looking up from his picking at fresh wounds as vash sits himself close by. he doesn't understand at all. ]

A day or so.

[ he falls quiet, digging a nail into the meat of his thumb pad. ]

... I'm not going back until the sun sets.

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