nomans_land | A playdate for the childrens! ..The littlest ones, anyway.

A playdate for the childrens! ..The littlest ones, anyway.

[He'd called ahead and made arrangements, just in case.

Tessla deserved people her own age to play with, her own species even, and the twins ... well, they did too. The future would be what they made it to be, but until then they should get the chance to be children, and playtime ended for him when he dropped the entire fleet out of the sky. They deserved to be taught the things they'd need to know to survive here, not find it out through miserable trial and error.

So, on the appointed day, Knives turns up in his battered stolen vehicle, and idles a bit away from Rem's home, leaning once more against the door and watching the shape of her home. Near enough to be seen and heard, but not enough to be considered anything like willing to hang around and say hello over a cup of tea. Not near enough to be an immediate threat, either. Not anymore, not with his primary weapon these days left home for Tessla just in case.

Tessla hasn't come, too unwilling to be anywhere NEAR humanity, but she'd be there when they got back. As much as he'd already accepted the presence of a little, young, charmingly naïve Vash, the idea of seeing himself that young sat a little stranger. There were a good half-dozen Vashes on the planet now. Why were there only two of him?

Concerns for another time. There were children to pick up, he'd already gotten enough supplies for them for a handful of days; it wasn't likely they'd linger much longer than that with an anxious Rem waiting at home.]

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[ Vash leans against Nai, glad beyond words that he's got family here and isn't alone, like the brother he left behind. Like Knives had been, when his stupid brother left him. ]

That's not much of a choice. [ That came out ruder than he meant, didn't it? He leans forward, looking past Nai to frown apologetically at Knives. ] Sorry, big brother. But your Vash sucks. He shouldn't've left you like that.

[ Oh, Nai doesn't know about that, does he? Vash leans back against Nai, arms folded with frustration. ]

Big brother Knives's stupid brother left him all alone to go wandering around in the desert, because he's a jerk.

[ He's going to hold this grudge against his older self forever, apparently. ]

Edited 2023-06-29 15:42 (UTC)

[ nai's eyes narrow at vash, before he raises his brows at his explanation. immediately it clicks, why vash would leave.

burdened by knowing more than vash does right now, nai glances back to knives with a knowing look.

maybe knives deserved it. maybe vash thought he deserved to leave him, the situations that befall them in the future are a tangled mess.

he ruffles vash's hair, leaning against him in return. ] If we're stuck here it doesn't really matter who left who where. [ one problem at a time or else he risks driving himself crazy. ]

What is important is that we're together.

He preferred being around humanity, and going from place to place. I didn't. Still don't.

[It's as honest an explanation as he can manage. They'd only separated at all because Vash suddenly decided to get in a car with strangers, and they didn't even have candy. But Vash paid for that mistake, and learned an important lesson about why it's bad to get into vehicles with strangers.

Knives learned he could indeed wipe out an entire town in one shot if he planned it right. It was educational all around.

That knowing look his younger self gives him earns another brief smile. It wasn't the Fall that caused that problem. Surely not. Vash barely had a problem with that until he was much older! Sure there was a tantrum or two early on, but after that, it wasn't until years after they parted..]

He put up with my unwillingness to visit every town, hole in the wall and stinking dump possible for eighty years before going his own way.

[If it were the Fall, surely Vash wouldn't have hung around that long! So it was other things. Humanity, Knives disliking stopping at towns and helping literally every single human with whatever problem they were having this time..]

And Nai's right. It doesn't matter what happened to me, you two have each other, and there's no reason you two should ever have to deal with the same problems.

[He leans on the horn of the jeep-thing suddenly, its loud echoing honk audible for quite some distance. And probably for a reason, there's the shape of a house on the horizon, and beyond that, the even more distant shapes that might be more of them. No harm in letting Tessla know they're inbound, surely..]

[ He should have preferred sticking with his brother, and found a way to compromise if Knives didn't want to do the same things he wanted to do. Vash's huff makes it clear that he's not buying it, big brother, but that argument can wait, because there's the house!

He sits up, a vibrating ball of excitement, looking eagerly between his brothers and the little house up ahead. ]

And now we've got her, too!

[ Their little family keeps getting bigger! ]

[ nai flinches at the sound of the car horn suddenly. he immediately shoots a frown knives' way, but the momentary annoyance melts away when he sees what they see; a house, and inside of it

tessla. their sister.

maybe he's excited too, but the uncomfortable churning in his stomach keeps him from showing it like vash does so easily. he watches as the images in the distance grow larger as they approach, twisting his hands on his lap. his nails picking at skin around his thumbnail out of a bad habit he's trying to break. sort of.]

[ The honk in the distance makes Tessla duck down like a startled rabbit in the house, waiting for a moment until she can feel Knives' presence - and two others. That makes her excited and nervous at the same time, wings fluffing up as she hurries towards the front door and carefully opens it.

This was it, she was going to get to meet her brothers and they were going to be the best of friends! At least that's what she hopes. Tessla isn't quite sure how to make friends, but they're already siblings, so that should be a good start, right?

Big blue eyes watch as the car comes closer, many-fingered hands playing with the hem of her dress. ]

Remember the rules. I'll be nearby in case something happens, but the rest is up to you.

[The rules were important. Not many, but important. Woe to any human that makes the mistake of trespassing while they're all there, he's not going to be forgiving. But that ominous threat may never see fruition, as he pulls up to a remarkably bland, ordinary looking little home with a front porch and an equally little plant girl waiting.

Meeting new children to play with never happened, when he was growing up. There's no advice he can give here.]

And if anyone gets hungry or thirsty, or just wants some shade, there's plenty of all of that inside.

[ Yeah yeah yeah, rules and safety and snacks, he's got it, stop the car! The second it's safe to exit -- maybe even a second or two before it's safe to exist -- Vash is flying out of the front seat and heading toward the feathery figure on the porch. ]

Tessla! [ He's not going to grab her into a hug, but it's a close thing! As it is, he'll come right up to her, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he takes in her new form. Wow, she's so pretty! ] You're really okay!

[ nai's head swivels from knives to vash, eyes wide with uncertainty. all at once the situation hits him and nai flounders. ] Wait, Vash-

[ but vash doesn't seem at all hesitant like nai feels, already bounding out of the car with nai following a few steps behind him. he looks back at knives, brows pulled together in worry that he usually prefers to keep hidden to himself, but new situations lend to even newer emotions.

seeing her there on the porch, nai stops before the steps with his hands clenched at his sides. what... does he say? he's only ever been around vash his entire life, but another child like him... tessla...

he slowly raises a hand in greeting, his other twisting in the hem of his shirt. ]

Um... Hello. I'm Nai.

[ She looks just as awkward as Nai does, raising a little hand as Vash comes bounding over. Her smile warms as a reflection of his own, even if she still looks very shy. Tessla gives the car and Knives a look before she lets go of her hem and instead takes a step forward to be in-between the twins. ]

Hi... I'm Tessla.

[ She says, blue eyes moving from one boy to the other before she seems to steel herself and attempts to wrap wings and arms around both. ]

I-I'm so happy to meet my little brothers!

[ Tessla holds out her arms, and Vash dives right in, wrapping himself around her with a delighted giggle. Come on, Nai, get in on this hug, it's great! Her feathers are so soft! And she's alive, and happy, and here, and... and he's just so pleased he's going to start wiggling like a puppy. ]

I tried to find you! [ She's all better now, even if she does have more fingers than he does, so there's no regret or apology in his words. It all worked out okay! ] I walked across the whole entire desert looking for you!

[ vash is the extrovert here and for once nai is following his lead on what and how he should act.

tessla looks so happy and unharmed and nai feels relief in knowing he can see her as she is and now what she ended up as any longer.

at first he's stiff in the hug, caught off guard, but almost instantly starts to melt into the embrace. arms wrapping around tessla, a little hesitant and careful of her soft feathers. vash wiggles at his side and he butts him in the side with his hip. annoying.]

Yeah, and you hurt your feet doing it too. Dummy.

I know. Sharp brother told me. [ Tessla says softly, happy and safe in their little hug. Something just seemed to slot into place and the nervousness disappear into a bright feeling that's almost too big to contain. ] Thank you for trying. I'm okay now.

[ Whole, safe, loved and without pain. Like she always should have been. ]

I like the name Nai. It's not as sharp.

[ Nai butts him with his hip, and Vash hip checks him right back! Hug or not, that kind of slight can't go unchallenged! ]

Sharp brother? [ Give him a second, he'll get there. ] Oh! You mean big brother Kn...!

[ He catches himself before he can finish saying Knives, realizing as he's speaking that there might be a reason why Tessla, of all people, doesn't want to call somebody by the name of a weapon. ]

...I mean, that big brother over there.

[ 'Sharp brother' suits him! He's probably got knives like Nai does -- although Vash hasn't seen them -- and he's clever, too. That's two kinds of sharp! ]

Nai can be sharp too! It's really cool. [ He nudges Nai again, beaming proudly. ] D'you want to show her?

[ nai makes an annoyed grunt when vash bumps him back, but opting for maturity, he rests his head on tessla's shoulder. this felt like a dream, but it was real. she was real and warm and the resonance of her connection to them was as strong and vibrant as it was between all of their kind.

sharp brother. knives. it did sound scary, didn't it? but kni...

today was a day of many firsts for nai, the second being some reluctance when vash bumps him again with the suggestion to show tessla his powers. suddenly the thought of showing her something as dangerous as his blades made something twist up inside his chest. ]

I don't want to scare you... [ he says quietly against her shoulder, brows knitted together with worry. ]

You have sharp things too...?

[ She looks at Nai with a mix of curiosity and wariness, her hand coming to pet that funny-cut hair when he leans against her shoulder. ] Maybe... maybe later? If it's Nai's, um... knives, then they won't hurt. Right?

[ Knives and sharp things, cutting, cutting, taking pieces off of her... it's terrifying, and Tessla feels bad that she's afraid of something her brother does as naturally as her feathers. ]

I'm still learning how to do things, but this is the best hug of my life.

[ It would never occur to him to be scared of Nai, or anything Nai can do. But Tessla's experiences have been different, huh? He'll try harder to remember that in the future, big sister! ]

Oh yeah? [ That's not surprising -- if she's been here with big brother Knives, she probably hasn't had many hugs yet. But that's all the more reason to make this one the best ever, of all time. ] Then here, lemme make it even better!

[ 'Even better' is a big smacking kiss on the cheek! ...And one for Nai too, so he doesn't feel left out. ]

There!

[ Best believe Vash is already planning for the future, friends. There will be cozy blankets, and silly movies, and popcorn... assuming he can find popcorn. They might have worm jerky instead, but that's fine! The kind of snack doesn't really matter, so long as they have something to snack on while they all flop together and watch cartoons later. ]

Now it's better than the best!

I would never hurt you, Tesla! Never.

[her hand petting his hair is soft and comforting, even as his throat tightens. he'd always seen his abilities as a means of protection and ensured safety, blades dulled only for vash and now, for tesla.

but if they scared her... did that make him scary, too?

nai sniffs and makes a noise when vash kisses his cheek too, ears burning hot at his brother's easy going affection. he turns his head to level him with a huffy look.]

You're so embarrassing...

[ She laughs as she's kissed, a bright little thing before she mimics it with cheek kisses to her brothers. Yeah, it's definitely better than the best, now.

Tessla does pick up on Nai's apprehension, though, and holds out one of her hand to take his. ]

I know you wouldn't. I want to see them... sometimes things just make me very scared because they remind me of bad things. [ She squeezes his hand. ] But they're yours, so I do want to. It's part of you, right? So they should be better than thinking of bad things because you're Nai.

[ Hugs and kisses and holding hands are important! She hasn't ever been held nicely, has she? So all these cuddles and good touches are important to help replace the memories of the bad ones. Vash doesn't think of it in quite those terms -- he's just happy to be part of a cuddle pile of his two youngest siblings -- but the core of the idea is there. ]

You should show her! [ And, if Nai takes too long, or prevaricates any more, then he's gonna get tickled! ] C'mon! You're good at this, show off!

Ughhh...

[he acts put upon, face lightly flushed from having both vash and tessla's attention centered squarely on him. his hand in hers tightens just a little, briefly, the heavy thudding of his heart starting to slow under her assurances.

that is, until vash tries to tickle him. nai yelps, trying to dance away from his brother's threatening fingers.] F-Fine! [noting to himself to get back at vash later.

but true to his hesitant agreement, nai raises his other hand and flexes his fingers. slowly the buildup of a sharpened blade begins to materialize between his knuckles, glinting in the desert sun once fully formed. he'd been practicing how to form blades all over his body, but for tessla this seemed like a safer presentation to start.]

I'm practicing how to make vines, too. Those are harder to control, but I'm getting better.

[ Tessla flinches a bit when Vash tickles Nai, not knowing what that was - and it made the other boy dance away like that. It didn't seem painful, though...

...unlike that sharp blade coming out of her brother's hand. She gasps, taking the sides of his hand in her own with a worried look. ] Does it hurt?

[ That's what she's worried about, now. If it hurts him, because he's precious and should never, ever hurt like she did. ]

Edited 2023-07-25 14:26 (UTC)

[ He doesn't see Tessla flinch, his attention all on Nai as he teases his brother out of his shyness. He can hear the concern in her question, though, and shakes his head hard. ]

It's like making feathers. [ He turns to Nai for conformation. ] Right? It doesn't hurt!

[ If it hurt, he wouldn't let Nai do it! As cool as the blades are, they aren't worth actual pain. ]

[ tessla's touch is gentle as she cradles his hand between her own. he lets the blades shift into something smaller, the metal malleable under his own control. ]

No, it doesn't hurt. I just have to concentrate more. [ his head tilts, eyes focused on the metal slowly shifts in little ripples, the sharp edges blunted. ] It's hard to describe, but... mhm. [ he turns his hand over between tessla's, palm facing up. the metal melts from between his knuckles to gather in a small pool of glittering gray and silver. ]

This planet has little bits of metal in the sands and rocks, and I can pull them towards me. Sort of like a magnet, I guess. I'm going to keep training until I have perfect control.

[ the power to protect what is important to him. he looks up to tessla, then to vash with the smallest pull of a smile. ]

[ When he says it doesn't hurt him, Tessla seems to relax and her concern gives way to curiosity as he moves the metal around. When it turns into a little pool of glinting silver in his hand, she gasps. ]

That's beautiful... and you're taking little bits of the planet to do it?

[ She glances around, as if she would be able to see it, before looking back again. ]

I like it. It's sharp things but not bad sharp.

[ Tessla is still gently cradling his hand between hers, and her smile softens further. ]

...nobody can hurt you.

[ If Vash was any more proud of Nai he'd explode -- look at how cool his brother is, Tesla! Look how cool their brother is! ]

Same goes for you too though, right? [ He's fighting the urge to touch the shiny metal. He's fighting so hard. He wants to touch it, it's so shiny! ] I mean, do you still have wings like you did earlier?

[ A lot has changed since 'earlier', but if she's still got little wings all over, then she can probably be a big terrifying angel still, right? ]

That was really cool too!

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A playdate for the childrens! ..The littlest ones, anyway.

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