The shock of hearing his own voice was certainly enough to make him glance up in surprise, staring at a pile of sand that had wedged the door open where it had spilled out another of his "brothers" onto the floor in the front of the cafe. Outside, there were a couple people who'd taken notice, also visibly shocked as they danced around the tiny dune that had been dropped in the middle of the city, and it was clear to anyone who had been through this before that he must have been dragged in by one of those wayward blinks in reality.
Vash immediately went into damage control, giving a bright laugh, as if it were just another daily occurrence in the restaurant, grabbing the broom and moving around the counter.
"Oh wow, looks like you brought the whole desert in with you, friend! Come on in, coat rack is in the corner, you must be hot in that thing, out there. Just give me a second, I'll be right with you." A shovel probably would have been a better tool against the pile of sand than the broom was, but boots also did a fairly good job of pushing more of the debris out the door, so it wasn't long before the entryway was cleared enough that he could close it.
That done, he crouched down next to the other, dusting him off as best he could but also using it as an excuse to speak quietly so nobody else would hear. Luckily, the cafe was relatively slow during this part of the day, so there weren't too many ears around to listen in, and while Sig had been giving him certain appraising looks lately that made him suspect she was onto his lie and subtly trying to signal to him that she was (all while he pretended to not even notice) it was still better to be subtle.
"You just got dumped in the middle of Octovern. Pretty sure the owner of the cafe won't alert the feds, but if you wanna be more discreet, I can grab you a change of clothes from the room I'm staying in upstairs." He hadn't even stopped to consider the little outburst the other had had when he'd unfolded himself from his little protective ball, was just moving on pure instinct that was partly paranoia born of decades of being on the run and partly the paranoia that he'd developed over the past few weeks of being constantly under the scrutiny of possibly law enforcement from two different agencies.
He stood back up, taking the other Vash by the arm to help him to his feet, before he walked back around the counter, reached into the display case to pull out a salmon sandwich, put it on a plate, and move back around to put it on a table that was near the counter, as far from the front door and the large window as it could get before he called out into the kitchen.
"Hey, Signey! Putting a salmon and mayo on my account! Got a- er-...got family that came by."
"Oh, really? Sure thing, dear. Is there anybody else up there right now?" There was a sly tone in the reply that called back, what sounded to be a husky, middle-aged feminine voice.
"Nope, looks like everyone's off lunch again, it's quiet as a church mouse."
"Then you can take your lunch, too."
"Thanks, Signey. Just call if you need anything."
He gave another worried glance around the windows before finally relaxing, putting the broom back in its place with a sigh and turning to look back at the other man before giving a very tentative mental reach as he smiled. It was hard to tell if he looked familiar because he was the brother he'd met before or because he was so used to seeing that face in the mirror. At least with one of them, the differences were obvious enough on the surface that he didn't even have to wonder.
Given what had happened the first time, there was honestly a part of him that hoped it wasn't him. The small jolt of anxiety that thought brought to the surface made that already tentative reach for mental connection shy away just a bit more, his smile turning just a little fragile around the edges.
no subject
Vash immediately went into damage control, giving a bright laugh, as if it were just another daily occurrence in the restaurant, grabbing the broom and moving around the counter.
"Oh wow, looks like you brought the whole desert in with you, friend! Come on in, coat rack is in the corner, you must be hot in that thing, out there. Just give me a second, I'll be right with you." A shovel probably would have been a better tool against the pile of sand than the broom was, but boots also did a fairly good job of pushing more of the debris out the door, so it wasn't long before the entryway was cleared enough that he could close it.
That done, he crouched down next to the other, dusting him off as best he could but also using it as an excuse to speak quietly so nobody else would hear. Luckily, the cafe was relatively slow during this part of the day, so there weren't too many ears around to listen in, and while Sig had been giving him certain appraising looks lately that made him suspect she was onto his lie and subtly trying to signal to him that she was (all while he pretended to not even notice) it was still better to be subtle.
"You just got dumped in the middle of Octovern. Pretty sure the owner of the cafe won't alert the feds, but if you wanna be more discreet, I can grab you a change of clothes from the room I'm staying in upstairs." He hadn't even stopped to consider the little outburst the other had had when he'd unfolded himself from his little protective ball, was just moving on pure instinct that was partly paranoia born of decades of being on the run and partly the paranoia that he'd developed over the past few weeks of being constantly under the scrutiny of possibly law enforcement from two different agencies.
He stood back up, taking the other Vash by the arm to help him to his feet, before he walked back around the counter, reached into the display case to pull out a salmon sandwich, put it on a plate, and move back around to put it on a table that was near the counter, as far from the front door and the large window as it could get before he called out into the kitchen.
"Hey, Signey! Putting a salmon and mayo on my account! Got a- er-...got family that came by."
"Oh, really? Sure thing, dear. Is there anybody else up there right now?" There was a sly tone in the reply that called back, what sounded to be a husky, middle-aged feminine voice.
"Nope, looks like everyone's off lunch again, it's quiet as a church mouse."
"Then you can take your lunch, too."
"Thanks, Signey. Just call if you need anything."
He gave another worried glance around the windows before finally relaxing, putting the broom back in its place with a sigh and turning to look back at the other man before giving a very tentative mental reach as he smiled. It was hard to tell if he looked familiar because he was the brother he'd met before or because he was so used to seeing that face in the mirror. At least with one of them, the differences were obvious enough on the surface that he didn't even have to wonder.
Given what had happened the first time, there was honestly a part of him that hoped it wasn't him. The small jolt of anxiety that thought brought to the surface made that already tentative reach for mental connection shy away just a bit more, his smile turning just a little fragile around the edges.