nomans_land | (no subject)

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Not every town is abandoned, as time continues its shenanigans. This one is as run down as any other, cobbled together with parts and debris, but it seems intact enough, its plant dangling over the town, people going about their business for the most part unperturbed.

For the most part. There is some grumbling, most of it more nervous than angry, that their new neighbor is a well known monster, and how dangerous it is to be so close. The only reassurance, nothing bad has happened yet.

Yet.

Sitting in the rocking chair of his newly acquired home's creaky porch, Knives Millions does absolutely nothing to any of them. He hasn't harmed anyone as yet, but part of the town seems to be from his time, not whatever base timeline it is, and running on reputation alone means he's so far been unbothered in return, and the plant is being treated with exceptional care. Had she been, before he arrived? He wasn't sure. But he can tell from here her mood was content, so he does nothing besides sit there, rocking idly, and cleaning the gun he'd liberated from someone else several days before.

A beat up jeeplike vehicle sits in the shade behind the house, and there is a tiny, perhaps six or so inches high, little sprout of broad leafed green growing determinedly by the porch. With the door wide open, it's fairly obvious this home had once been occupied with people distinctly Not Knives, but there's no signs of violence.

It's peaceful enough for the moment.

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That might be the first proper expression on Vash's face since he showed up, but there is... relief. As he waves his hand a little. "No need to apologize, in fact, thanks. And right back at you. Like, it's really not that kind of love?" Is he saying that he loves Knives? Kind of. Rather more than less. But saying it straight at this point might sound weird given that this is not his brother exactly.

Let it rest.

"And I don't know. But there are some children already growing up, so I guess it works. That Vash has a relatively good control over his Gate, too, but I don't think he expected the black holes, either. I can... show you, if you'd like." Inside their minds.

"And no, he didn't kill me. He didn't manage to." Not that he didn't try. "I wasn't threatening or attacking him, either, he struck out first. He got bored of the conversation, I think." Or it was poking too close to where he didn't want poked, but it doesn't matter whichever of those it was.

He gnaws on his knuckle thoughtlessly. "At least the trespasser did apologize?" That's better manners than trying to be unpleasant all over again. Right?

"The English language is terrible for nuance, one word for every form of love." That's more of a mutter than anything else. "You'd figure they'd have picked up a few loanwords about it by now. The greeks didn't have this problem." But nooo, one word for everything, erasing all nuance! And thought follows language, so half the planet doesn't really differentiate between kinds of love!

Another reason to erase them all and maybe work on his own language, if he ever had the time or ability. Which.. he no longer had.

He shakes his head slightly. No, he didn't want to see. "I'm driving." Distractions even in a desert could.. well, it's not like there's anything to run over yet, but why risk it? "Do you have any sense of how long this other self has been roaming about, putting children in gates? It took us nearly a century to reach adulthood." How grown are these children, exactly? If nothing else, his own other self needed serious chastisement, a loose cannon is dangerous to everyone, and it didn't sound as if anyone had control over this aberrant brother. "Who is raising them, if he's wandering about killing people?"

Take the kids with him, teach them how to murder? But Vash hadn't mentioned a bunch of interested one and two year olds learning the nuances of torture.

"So long as he stays off my land I will consider the lesson learned." Knives was absolutely vicious about keeping unwanteds away from his home, and that was going to escalate over time as Tessla learned to fly and began any form of true independence.

Well. The words were not outright rejected, and for some reason that, on top of the previous part of the conversation, soothed Vash some. He thought that it was likely his own brother was more along the lines of wanting it, but, well, not having to deal with this kind of thing while wanting to be around their sister is a relief. The wrongness coming off from him recedes even further.

He leans back against the seat, finally, closing his eyes. "I think he is the only one who came to this world. None of the already-born children did, nor his Nai. If I find out otherwise, you'll know. Until then, I'll assume Nai is raising them. That Nai." A soft breath, and his energy kind of. Fizzes out.

"I'm sorry for bringing all bad news. And I'm sorry I haven't come sooner, I wanted to have come to terms with all that better. I'm just glad she's been all right and doing better, and you also."

Knives' general apathy towards such things had been a constant in his life. He certainly felt love, just not.. that kind. His siblings were still under the blanket of his affection in spite of it, even the new strange ones he occasionally wanted to strangle. "I wonder if this other self of mine will also potentially be a threat." Not to humans, that's a given, but a threat to their OWN kind.

The town ... looks the same as the last time he left it, and still has the faint contented song of the lone plant at its heart. She was doing well, had been since before he even took up residence nearby, and he liked to think his presence meant she'd stay that way.

Or else.

"I wonder what sets our siblings to choosing who arrives and who doesn't. Why this .. violent, damaged version of yourself, and not another that's as stable as any of you get?" It's idle musing, really, not much more. "...Stop apologizing so much, it wears it out for when something really requires forgiving." Which will end in possibly another apology-- "But I'd rather know beforehand than find out by having him turn up at my doorstep."

Especially if it put Tessla at risk. "It may be unpleasant to think about, but this Vash of yours. Does he have any kind of sense of self? Or is it just.. another me, with the mole on the wrong side."

Vash has possibly simply not allowed himself to want. And perhaps when it might have been relevant, he was trying to deal with the loss of his arm, and Nai becoming Knives, so it just never was a priority. He's not sure it matters.

The question gets a small hum from Vash. "I would say that he is a danger to Vashes, though I do not know if he can just do it, or if he needs other things to make it happen. I would guess it happened in JuLai, and Knives had been there for a while, with Conrad. Others, I have no idea. And perhaps... maybe they wanted to rescue him."

And then Knives is admonishing him about apologizing, and Vash actually turns to blink at him for a moment before dropping his gaze, and says quietly, "I apologize because I am sorry. Not because I expect forgiveness."

For a while, after that, his eyes remain on the approaching town, not because he doesn't want to answer the question, but because he wants to give the best answer he can. "I think he is mostly like a shell filled with... his brother. He even moves the way my Knives does. Normally."

Beat, and then the clarification.

"The ghost Wolfwood did something while I was - with the one he killed, and after that Vash was aware of himself as himself, and he was horrified, fully aware of what had happened, and screaming in pain. I knocked him out, and after he woke up, he was again not really Vash anymore." He runs his fingers through his hair. "If there are things you need to know, once I'm less messed up about it I can go and try to talk to him?"

"Nonetheless. Though expecting forgiveness would also make it rather hollow, wouldn't it?" That's.. not something he feels overly strongly on, by his musing tone, it's not something that really comes up in his life. "Then it doesn't really matter what feeling is behind it, it's just an equation. Apology plus other person equals forgiveness." Apologies without any desire to be forgiven puts the emotional burden on the other person, now they're obligated by social contract to offer comfort and reassurance. Knives considers it with distant interest.

And the rest. There's a lot to consider now that he hadn't been thinking about when he got up in the morning, and he's pretty sure he'll be thinking about it for a few days at least. Drilling wasn't a thought intensive job, so he'd have time.

There's the ghost wolfwood again, he's definitely going to have to point that creature at the version of Vash determined to get himself killed. An undead companion was surely guilt free, it was an ideal match. "..No, the things I need to know are things you already know or things you could never know, further distressing you both is pointless." He would have to find this other Knives, and ask him. Why all of this? Did it match up with ANYTHING he himself did and felt, and simply executed in different ways? "Especially as there's not much I can do one way or another to help or hinder."

Idle curiosity with no end result waiting was not a good reason to further torture his siblings, even distant ones from another reality. When the jeep slows, it's in front of one of countless nearly identical general stores, except this one does have a bit of heavier equipment on display. And the people scattered about obviously know exactly who he is - they're keeping watch, and they're definitely wary, or perhaps nervous. "It's best to leave him in the hands of our cousins. If there's an entire town, at least one of them must have an idea of what to do." But what COULD be done? Restoring Vash, after what's likely a whole lot of killin' times, would only end in terrible pain. Leaving him as he was would be seen as unjust. What option was there? "This is not something we can do much about, I think. Including you."

"I phrased that wrong. I don't expect the possibility of forgiveness, not really." This is... very quiet. He wishes he could be forgiven, even for the small things. He doesn't believe he ever will be. So he is just... sorry.

At least Knives's answer makes him close his eyes and not relax exactly - he suspects he will still need to find his way to that other him - but still feel relief.

"Thanks. I - will do what needs to be done, but I'd be out of sorts again after, and that's also not helpful to many." Not to Tessla. Not to anyone else.

On the upside, Knives, Vash might be able to help with the errands in town. He has a good eye for machine parts and all that, thanks to Brad's training and much, much taking up odd jobs through the years.

There's a huff, almost a laugh but not quite. "Says the man who forgives nearly anything." So long as it's a human doing it, anyway. "I think we had a discussion about that before too." It's not that it isn't important, because it is, but a conversation doesn't change people. Wouldn't change Vash's habits.

He stops as he gets out of the jeep, one hand on the door, giving his not-brother a long, looong look. "You need to accept, little brother, that you can't help anyone if you fall apart, and every time we've met you've been so close to falling apart. If you won't look after yourself and your mind and emotions for your own sake, then do it for the sake of all those you'd try to help." How?! "...Meditation perhaps."

Not that he indulges in any such thing, but this self destructive habit was not going to help anyone!

"...I'm looking for extensions for a tricone rock drill bit, about four inches wide, and a new set of uncracked bailers, ideally enough to get to forty feet or so. If you spot any, let me know." Getting through the ground in some areas is a right bitch, and things keep BREAKING. "...And don't let our sister just make new ones, if something's already on hand it'll do."

Vash smiles, very faintly. Because, yes, he forgives nearly everything. Everything, truly, because even as he is, he knows he has already forgiven his brother. He doesn't trust him. He may yet have to stop him. But he could never hate him, or wish him gone. Not for a single moment in time.

Then the smile goes a little pained as he turns his face away. The words do not really come close to the surface of his consciousness for him to have to swallow them down, but he does wonder, with everything that he now knows, what Knives really cares about when he says things like this. It... certainly doesn't seem to be about him.

"Yeah. I'll do my best. And I didn't go looking for it this time. I was... dropped in the middle of it." He can't say that he wouldn't have, if someone had tried to call him for help, but he did not choose to go and make things worse for himself. Not this time.

"All right, that I can do. If there's anything out there that can be used, I won't be bothering her." His smile is back to more real, now, even though anyone who knows him or is sensitive to emotions would still give him a hard stare for it. But for strangers, it'll be good enough. He has the drive back to steady himself more.

If he didn't mean it he wouldn't say it. Deceptions were generally a waste of time, so he rarely bothered. "And I know very well you'd have gone and gotten involved even if it wasn't dropped in your lap. Or .. you into its lap." Whichever way that went this time. Honestly someone needed to speak to their sisters while there was still time to try to stabilize all of this. But it doesn't sound accusatory, or like that part bothered him.

Not that he showed it much even when it did, most times.

Vash's compulsion to involve himself in others' problems wasn't necessarily a bad thing, if it didn't constantly and relentlessly somehow go terribly wrong. And this time it wasn't in the aid of some random human! He can't really put up a strong protest, they should always help their own kind. "I can't do much about the bailer but if necessary the extensions can ...probably be repaired. I'm pretty sure I'm running into granite down there, and it's hard on the equipment." Granite shouldn't be happening, but who knows what this planet's geologic history was like long ago.

Oh, Vash does not doubt that Knives means it. It's the why that hearts, and only because of his own weakness. It tries to give him hope, and that hope dies a horrible death just now.

He also ... probably wouldn't bother pointing out that he honestly has gotten into trouble helping a sister as helping a human, because, well, does it matter? If Knives knows already, then saying it won't make a difference; if he doesn't, then in all this time he hasn't bothered to find out, and none of the sisters ever told him, so.

Instead, he shrugs. "It's true. It'd have taken more time and likely more people hurt, in all fairness, so I guess that was still for the better." He doesn't feel good, in any way, but he can recognize the fact that it could have been much worse.

His attention focuses, eases, and he perks up. "Well, if we can't find anything, I can help look at it, too. I'm decent at repairs. Actually, even if we do find one, I can still look at it, so you'll have a spare."

"I know you'll continue to trouble yourself over it, and in truth not unreasonably as it's ... a very strange situation, but try to take some comfort in knowing that he'll likely find the help he needs because of you." He himself is going to be troubled over it, this is entirely a bizarre scenario he was in no way prepared for. Even the issue of this other Vash aside, if it could somehow be put aside, what did that mean for the plants somehow stuck in his gate? How the blazes were they supposed to get children out of a black hole?!

They would have to, somehow. Someone would at any rate, it wouldn't be him. He wouldn't even know where to start. Best left in other hands, this time. As much as he was concerned about every one of his kind, what could he do besides potentially make things worse?

It won't stop him from thinking about it, to the point of distraction. "I agreed to return them when I finished," is the delayed grumble. Rentals?! Knives found the entire idea insulting, but if it kept people from venturing onto his property.. "The water table's risen in the area, so it's a bit of a hot item." And his more likely reason for being willing to turn it all back over: wells meant less reliance on plants. But he still can't finish what he's doing without replacement parts! "I'm certain the shop keep would be delighted to have someone look at all his broken things."

None of which are his fault! Except the drill bits, because nobody really planned for boring through granite. But with equipment dotted about, it's not long before he begins the hunt for things he needs, thoroughly ignoring the humans in the vicinity that have clued in that the demon siblings have turned up, both of them.

Vash takes a deep breath, confused how despite everything, a few words from Knives still manage to make him feel better.

(Then again... he already knew that he had forgiven...)

He makes a bit of a face. "I hope so. He - will certainly need help. I don't know if I won't be called in for such help, which will likely make things. Strange." If Vash's Gate has a compatibility issue, Vash might be among the few best candidates to try it. And the one those in Independents Garden could reach.

But then he nods, leaving Knives to ponder if he has to, or focus on the practical otherwise, and starts towards the wares. Then pauses. "Should I look for foodstuffs, or does she not really need any?" The well digging doesn't exactly answer that.

"I wonder how they'll call. Telephones, or telepathically?" Does Vash even have a phone? Unlikely, which meant the network of minds, which WORKS, certainly, but in the dead of night while trying to sleep it can lead to bizarre dreams.

Does any of this make sense to the humans nearby? Not at all! Are they going to ask?! Nope!

The matter of this strange Vash has not exactly been put aside, more tabled for the moment. He had to think about it, what he could do if a hostile plant appeared at his home and threatened Tessla. As he was.. as he was, nothing at all. "We have enough supplies for now. If you spot anything that looks like it might make an interesting game for small groups of children, though.."

Hm, he should probably see about more bandaids now that he thought about it. Once they started flying, there was going to be all KINDS of bumps and bruises.

"Ha...hahaha, my telephone has no service here. So I haven't charged it in forever." Although if Knives is bringing it up. Perhaps he can do something about that. Maybe? He'll have to check, when he's fit for proper socialization. That might help a lot with the whole disappearing thing.

He nods. "Got it. I'll look. And I'll holler if I find anything worth looking at."

And he doesn't exactly bounce off, but he is off on the tasks assigned to him. While his eyes do seem less... dead, he is still pretty exhausted, so Knives won't have trouble tracking him down.

Still, he can see people being charmed in no time at all, and it isn't hard to see why. He pays attention to those he talks to. Listens to their troubles, for the moment, and genuinely tries to help. Yes, he might be a little delayed by helping fix some of the repairable parts. That also means Knives will get pretty good replacement parts, including the ones that he maybe doesn't need.

When he finds his way back at Knives's side, he nods with a smile that looks actually normal. "There. That should do it."

He also has a set for Go with him. If Tessla already has that, they can use that at Rem's. He remembers being Nai's age, even after all this time. He remembers loving the challenge to figure out something with his mind alone.

(It was why he knew the security access code--

He carefully steps away from that thought. If Knives said he couldn't see Tessla because he's still too much of a mess, he'd comply, and so he can't afford to become that much of a mess. Not for a little longer, anyway.)

"Huh." His didn't actually detach from the wall. He'd have to find this other, chargeable sort and have a look at its technology.

Vash is left to his ... socializing. While he was not inclined to do any such thing pretty much ever, maybe it would do some good to help clear his other-reality brother's head. Habits such as this were accepted long ago, and as long as nobody expected him to also become a social butterfly, nothing would ever be said about it. He preferred much smaller groups, if he had to tolerate humans at all.. and one counted as a group. Watching Vash interact with the humans made him wonder if he himself could ever do that, even with his own kind.

Maybe he'd spent too long alone, and like a dog raised without other dogs around, he'd never learn how to properly interact.

When Vash returns, it's apparent Knives has collected several of the items he'd wanted, but probably not all of them, and an assortment of other things probably not even remotely for him. Like a pair of small pellet guns, and some bandaids with bright cheery prints on them.

Vash is given a long measuring look, as if weighing the veneer of almost-cheer. It.. should hold up, he hoped. Endeavoring to explain things to a child in a way a child would understand, without making them too frightened or overwhelmed with someone else's emotions was always a challenge, and one he faced nearly daily these days. "Good. You seem to be doing.. better." Something in his tone says he doesn't think that's 'all better', but also doesn't expect perfection, he expects trouble and difficulty and heartbreak and in this actually understands it, care and fear for their own kind was perfectly reasonable!

Parse it onto the humans in the shop and he'd be baffled again.

"Did you want to pick anything up for yourself? The peach brandy is surprisingly good on bread." Not cake. Straight up bread. And probably also in glasses to be drunk normally but who's normal around here?

The cheer wavers immediately at the mention of food, and though he doesn't shut down, for a moment he looks faintly greenish. Then he just shakes his head and focuses on the hardware he's brought.

"No, thank you. But I'll keep that in mind for another time."

Beat. Then he blinks back at Knives, properly animated once again, eyebrows rising up. Voice surprised but actually a little warmer, despite himself. At least this nausea is less. Immediate.

"...wait. You enjoy it? Uh... Nai would hate when he had to eat or drink, back then, and I don't imagine that's changed."

Hm, a Vash rejecting food. He's certainly having a hard time of it, then, and wasn't the sort of emotional eater or drinker Knives is more used to.

The woman who approaches cautiously to tally up his purchases is watched silently. They didn't charge him, knew better than to charge him, but keeping inventory was only sensible, and thus he rarely had any protest over such a count. "Hm, well, I'm not Nai. I'm Knives, and there's many things I enjoy eating or drinking."

His smile is brief and sharp. "Admittedly I'm not overly fond of sweets, as my brother is. But whatever human invented cheese would be one of the few worth allowing to live, were it not eons ago." Some primitive person, long ago, perhaps even before living in huts was a thing, discovered a miracle. "Could he taste them? Or taste them too intensely, perhaps? Strange that something one needs to exist would be unwanted."

There's a difference, then. Knives requires food and drink, albeit far less than a human might most times - Nai does not.

Surprise?

Vash watches the woman, but she doesn't seem to be expecting money, and he's just. Bemused. But it really is not his place to pass judgment.

To cause problems.

His eyebrows shoot up towards his hairline, however, a few moments later. His voice still stays quiet enough to not really... worry the townsfolk.

"Nai doesn't. He doesn't need them to exist. I always did, it was one of the reasons we had all decided that I have no powers at all. A failure of a plant."

He's rubbing the back of his head and giving a small smile, a small shrug, but there is still that tiny catch to his voice at the end.

"... I'm sorry. I might have been assuming that you're like him in that respect." Assumptions bad, he knows that.

The price paid was their lives ... which. Might be an exaggeration, but also not much of one. Knives didn't like humans even now. "Hm, not much of a failure. Just.. closer to my kind of plant, I assume."

Although the woman is certainly listening, either she has remarkable control or this isn't really a surprise. Something was always mysterious about the demon brothers, and if they're plants that explained some things.

He doesn't seem to be treating it like a secret.

"We all need energy in, including our sisters. Where that energy comes from could vary, perhaps Nai gets his from the suns. Many of our kin require direct electricity. I get it from food and drink, rather moreso lately than when I was your age." He begins placing smaller items in a sack, the rest will just have to be put under an arm or carried over a shoulder or something. The Go board, carefully packed amongst bandages. "It's too bad. Even if I didn't need it I think I'd want it. Even an apple is wonderful sometimes. Maybe he just hasn't found a flavor that appeals yet, and doesn't think to experiment with it."

"His Gate, I believe." Still quiet. Back then, it had been an irritation, a thing between them. Later on...

"Later on, I'm pretty sure he'd have wanted it even less." Humans eat and drink, after all.

Plants subsist on things that ... are produced by plants. Electricity included. Humans are the one dependent on others.

Well. Humans and Vash.

"I guess it's a matter of things being a little different, but I know he ever took pride in that he doesn't need to. .... and on the ship, he was certainly not being powered by the sun. We were a little far from most suns!"

He is trying to keep the tone light, trying really hard. But talking about Nai, even though he started it, is difficult right now. He can only hope he makes sense, because his head is getting all jumbled up again.

Knives doesn't share that view at least. Everything eats in some fashion, from vegetables to entire stellar clusters. That it happened to be tasty was just a perk, and he'd spent some time coming up with his own recipes simply to avoid mimicking what humans did. Unfortunately for his ideas on the matter, there's likely some human recipe similar to each one he's proud of. ".. That doesn't sound very sustainable long-term." His idea of long term anyway. Devouring oneself to keep alive was ... a bad idea.

"Artificial lighting mimics solar power just fine," he adds absently, "There was an entire garden on the ship I was on, and the light was more than sufficient to keep the vegetation alive and vibrant. Row upon row of tiny, false suns." It's enough! Lightbulbs did just fine in a pinch, and if Nai was self-cannibalizing, it might be why he'd turned on Vash.

He offers the bag of smaller items to Vash, intending to get the larger chunks himself. "Besides which, if I got a decent bead on your power's rawest form, you're behaving exactly as you should in accordance with it."

For some reason, this makes Vash think of the first conversation he had with ghost Wolfwood. He'd pointed out that everything that exists has to get energy from somewhere. And the ghost has been around for a very, very long time. Longer than Vash himself at this point, by the sound of it.

His mouth twists. "I still think it comes from the kind of place where the bulbed sisters bring forth everything from, which, if not ... forced, can last a very long time."

Yes, he knows he has to make that addendum. And yes, his voice is sad when he does. But he's witnessed it more than enough times.

... then he blinks. Stares.

"It's ... nothing like ... any other plant I know of." An aberration.

"And he's been forcing it all his life, I'm willing to bet. Burning power like it's bottomless. He'll find out otherwise." And then humanity will truly be in danger, on some other world.

This one would be fine. After all, Nai wasn't here.

Knives heads back for the jeep with his new belongings, he'll have to stop and pick up the twenty foot sections of pole too, and figure out how to strap those in. "How many plants have you met, Vash? All of them on the planet? Maybe two thirds?" He glances back at his not-brother, black eyebrows raised. "Or is that being generous, and you've directly spoken with and interacted with far fewer?"

His tone isn't scornful. Under the weight of a sibling's derision over perceived weakness, of course whatever's encountered would be assumed to be the only possibility. "I've met and merged with almost every plant in my world. I can offer a different perspective than the narrow one you've labored under for so long. You're not as weak, or as flawed and broken, as you think."

"Mm." He... doesn't like the expression on Knives's face. Not at all.

But he scrambles lightly to help with the larger part, lifting without much hesitation, and pointing out one way it can work, but not insisting on it if Knives has a different idea.

"Mmm... most of them, I think. Perhaps not all, but probably more than two thirds. They---"

Then his thought cuts off abruptly as Knives goes on to give context for the question, and the rest is barely more than white noise, despite his efforts to stay focused.

"You... what?" No, hold on, don't answer that, he's almost got it, too, and he's just. Frozen. His voice is very, very small. "Why?"

Among everything else... why is his brother like this???!!