He's nearly to cover, nearly to the end of that alleyway where he can hide, and reassess, using the skills big brother taught him to stay calm and think rationally, when somebody grabs him and hurries him into a nearby shop. He doesn't scream, only because he doesn't dare draw any more attention to himself, but the instant the man grabs him Vash starts kicking and clawing and biting like a wild animal, frantic to get away. Somewhere in the back of his mind there's the awareness of a nearby plant, but he's too scared yet to make the connection between that feeling of family and the man holding him.

There's a new burst of panic when the door closes between them and the rest of the street, because as dangerous as a large group of humans is, being isolated with just one feels somehow worse. If Knives comes in contact with any of those feathers on Vash's arm through any of this, he might be able to hear the boy's fear -- he's going to be eaten, he's going to be put into a bulb, plugged in like his sisters and drained until he's a shriveled skeleton, he's going to die, he doesn't want to die he doesn't want to die!

But for all this, Vash doesn't make a sound. If Knives lets him go once that door is shut, Vash will immediately scramble for the nearest cover, behind a shelf or the counter, anywhere that he thinks the man can't reach him. It still hasn't registered that the man is his brother, sorry -- he's terrified, and all he can think is to run away.