[The point was a whole pile of things that either he wouldn't have the answers to until he crossed over into The Light and found out what was on the other side of that, or things that he really didn't want to get into with this Vash. There was no way in Hell he was going to get into the concept of waiting for his old man to finally pass on so he could be there for him, to walk with him into whatever came after. That was definitely something he wouldn't have felt comfortable dumping in the lap of such a young child.
The kid giving him a big, fangy grin, though? That got a grin and a laugh, which only grew at Vash's obvious confusion and distress over the concept of baby teeth. Alright. So they didn't lose them the way humans did. That answered a question for him that he'd never even known he had.]
I'm not gonna try an' take your teeth, kid. It's just somethin' that happens to human kids. We're born with two sets, but the big adult teeth are hidden until our faces are big enough that they'll all fit, then they grow in and push the baby teeth out of the way, and they just... [He pantomimed pulling a tooth out of his mouth on the end of a string - something that might not make sense to a kid who didn't know teeth fell out in general, but that was the frame of reference Nicholas had, regardless - and made a loud Pop with his tongue.] Come right out! Apparently some families who have more money than we did at the orphanage even have a little tradition of tellin' their kids a magical fairy will take their teeth if they leave 'em under a pillow the night they fall out, and leave a double-dollar for 'em in exchange. Then, when the kid goes to bed, Mom or Dad'll sneak in an' swap the tooth out for a coin, an' the kid gets to go buy a candy bar the next mornin'. Makes it seem less scary for the kids who haven't done it a couple times already and won't know it's not as bad as it sounds. We'd walk around with one of our tiny teeth all loose, wigglin' it around with our tongues, until it just decided to come free one day. It was usually only one or two at a time, so by the time we were your size, we'd've had 'em all swapped out over a couple years. Had my first one come off with a piece of sticky candy I had one day. Taffy's the best for it.
CW: Baby Teeth talk
The kid giving him a big, fangy grin, though? That got a grin and a laugh, which only grew at Vash's obvious confusion and distress over the concept of baby teeth. Alright. So they didn't lose them the way humans did. That answered a question for him that he'd never even known he had.]
I'm not gonna try an' take your teeth, kid. It's just somethin' that happens to human kids. We're born with two sets, but the big adult teeth are hidden until our faces are big enough that they'll all fit, then they grow in and push the baby teeth out of the way, and they just... [He pantomimed pulling a tooth out of his mouth on the end of a string - something that might not make sense to a kid who didn't know teeth fell out in general, but that was the frame of reference Nicholas had, regardless - and made a loud Pop with his tongue.] Come right out! Apparently some families who have more money than we did at the orphanage even have a little tradition of tellin' their kids a magical fairy will take their teeth if they leave 'em under a pillow the night they fall out, and leave a double-dollar for 'em in exchange. Then, when the kid goes to bed, Mom or Dad'll sneak in an' swap the tooth out for a coin, an' the kid gets to go buy a candy bar the next mornin'. Makes it seem less scary for the kids who haven't done it a couple times already and won't know it's not as bad as it sounds. We'd walk around with one of our tiny teeth all loose, wigglin' it around with our tongues, until it just decided to come free one day. It was usually only one or two at a time, so by the time we were your size, we'd've had 'em all swapped out over a couple years. Had my first one come off with a piece of sticky candy I had one day. Taffy's the best for it.