Octovern, since that's where all the cool kids are.

[teamblue]

Rated R for violence.

1.

It's a good thing all those wanted posters show a black haired angry twin of Vash the Stampede, because the one with hair so pale it might as well be white hasn't been noticed yet by anyone of the Federal sort. Just one more dust covered caravan cockroach in a city full of them.

It has taken Knives the better part of three months to get here.

On foot for almost all of it.

Being picked up a few iles out was nice but almost pointless by then, still, he'd hitched a ride, gotten dropped off and promptly relocated to the nearest restaraunt, bar or otherwise useful source of water and food, neither of which he actually needs.

Pretend to eat and drink, even if you don't have to

He also has no need for human clothing, but he's at least bothered with that, and is dressed in depressingly ordinary bluejeans and boots, black turtleneck shirt and sky blue crop top jacket, fingerless gloves on his hands and dark sunglasses more often than not hiding his both eyes and a twisting pale scar. It hides every single glowing line he struggled to easily obscure or that could catch an unexpected reflection of the light. He could be anyone, if 'anyone' paid for every single transaction in coins instead of paper bills, but nothing flags to humanity as obviously NOT human, which is the point. He doesn't think to hide from his own kind. Why would he?

And so he sits, a careworn bag sitting at his feet, working very slowly through a blueberry muffin and a tall glass of water with a lone icecube in it. Nothing to see here, move along.

2.

Knives, pack once more over his shoulder and map in hand, is losing the fight with navigation. The map's several years out of date and does not at all have all the modifications and camp outs and construction that's happened since the worlds merged. Which leaves him standing on the side of the road at a crossroads that simply doesn't exist on the map, scowling at the grid-marked map in his hands.

This is absolutely Ann Street. Ann Street should run right to North Street, but it does not. Not anymore.

Now there's an entire gun shop in the way and several shanty-town level buildings, and he's not entirely sure North Street even exists anymore. A trio of armed Federal troops march past; they ignore him and he only gives them a cursory look until they stop to update the wanted posters nailed to the gun shop's wall. While they might be on the lookout for a certain pair of notorious outlaws, he just doesn't fit the profile.

The names on some of those posters, though..

He crosses the street, dodging a tomas-pulled wagon, and stops in front of the dozens of posters to study them with a furrowed brow. Whoever's coming up with these things clearly is a terrible artist, while that's his name it looks nothing like him except for the beauty mark. "...Really? Not even a price tag?"

Aren't these supposed to come with a bounty, instead of 'Reward Upon Capture'?

Comments

2.

[cowgoesmoo]

Who knows why it happens? Perhaps the sisters in Octovern, seeing a lonely little plant and a grown one missing his brother, decided to bring them together. Perhaps it's a residual bubble of energy from the initial event that brought them all here, and it's pure luck that they've ended up near each other. Perhaps there's deeper powers at work here, far beyond anything that Vash can understand. He doesn't know.

All he does know is that one minute he's in his front yard, the carcass of July behind him, taking a break from practicing with the little pistol that his other big brother has left him to instead work on his feather control... and the next, he's in an unknown city, absolutely surrounded by humans. He scrambles for cover the instant he realizes where he is, feathery right arm stuffed up under his shirt hem -- did anybody see him? Is he safe?

Where is he?!

[teamblue]

Every poster that lacks a bounty on it is being torn down, and not just his own and Vash's. It's insulting somehow, rankles him like sand in his boots that whoever printed these out couldn't be bothered to care enough to put a price tag on their fury, if they can't do the bare minimum they don't get to have their wanted signs posted! By now people appearing and disappearing isn't as much of a surprise as it had been at first, and with Vash suddenly appearing in the crowd a lot of them simply go around him like he's no more remarkable than human out here. To Knives though it's an immediate buzz in the back of his mind, the sudden proximity of one of his own kind where one really shouldn't be, and stuffing the handful of posters into his pack he turns and begins hunting it through the throngs of people going about their small, pointless lives. In the tangle of humanity is a blond child, frantically trying to hide feathers. Feathers?

Knives too is just one more person in the crowd, the people of Octovern too used to looking for black hair when looking for the one who shares his name and not his own proper coloration, but nobody else except him in the crowd stoops to try to simply pluck this little child right off the ground and into a nearby shop labeled Vegetables And Wams. It's possible to protest, kick or struggle but he's not letting go until the door swings shut again.

[cowgoesmoo]

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.

[teamblue]

All Knives can really process as Vash struggles in terror to escape is this is the most adorable thing he has ever encountered. This little independent is so fierce and bitey, trying to be ferocious like an alley kitten picked up off the street, and much like holding onto a squirming, biting and clawing kitten, it's actually a bit of a challenge to keep from letting him go too soon. By the time he gets the door closed he can't actually manage it anymore without potentially hurting Vash, and watches as the small shape darts for cover, following at a leisurely stroll. He knows right where the small plant is even when he doesn't have line of sight. "Contrary to rumors, I don't actually eat my own kind. Won't you come out and say hello?" He also could really use more experience with children, this isn't the most friendly way to get to meet a frightened kid.

[cowgoesmoo]

As soon as he's got a barrier between himself and the man (who seems familiar? But he'll investigate that in a moment), Vash starts looking around for anything to use as a weapon. What can he throw? Can he push this big shelf over? Are there any other people in the building that he'll need to run away from too? Why won't his feathers go down!?

But then, finally, the man speaks, and Vash realizes that he knows that voice. Or rather, he knows that person, just in different forms.

Cautiously, he pokes his head out of his hiding hole, still ready to run should it prove a trap. "Big brother?" No names, never names where humans could hear, he learned that lesson the first day he was allowed to use the radio. Is it really Nai, all grown up?

[teamblue]

His mind should go right to Vash as the child peeks around the shelving, but there are just enough differences where that isn't his immediate conclusion; he hasn't seen his brother since the Fall, and time distorts things relentlessly. But a plant is a plant is a plant, and he feels obligated to all of them, and if one of his dependent, soulless sisters produced another free-thinking child, then he'd see to that child too! "We are brothers," he confirms, a smile crossing his face. Oh god, were he and Vash ever this small and cute? How did Rem stand it? "Are you having a little trouble with your gate? Maybe I can help." All the maliciousness, all the hatred and scorn reserved for humanity is entirely absent, as if it never existed; he could remember warmth and affection, even if it's dulled after these long years. It's been a long time since he could speak to his own kind and have any kind of response at all.

[cowgoesmoo]

He's neither small nor cute! He's nearly two and very brave and strong! He's just scared of being around so many humans, and rightfully so!

Are there really no other people in this shop? Vash climbs to his feet, keeping his feathered arm hidden behind himself as he emerges, looking around intently for any humans who might overheard them. His other big brother taught him a neat trick for communicating without words, and he tries it now, concentrating on the man in front of him and mentally calling out to him, the way he'd talk to one of his sisters in their bulbs.

Are you Nai? Can you hear me?

There's a few feathers even poking out of the collar of his shirt on the right-hand side. It really is adorable.

[teamblue]

There isn't anyone around right now, it could be lunch break or someone stocking in the back, which Knives doesn't mind at all since it's one less person he'll have to kill if a human stumbles in and interrupts. It's taking all his willpower not to scoop Vash back up and ruffle his hair and feathers into complete disorganization. Maybe, he thinks, he should be less critical of the human impulse to dote on children. Suddenly he's beginning to understand why they do, somehow it's just different when it's one of his own kind. Or maybe it's something deeper, that recognizes his twin even from another world and displaced by a century and a half, but he all but lights up with delight and misplaced pride when he can feel the touch of a mind on his. Better than he was doing at that age, telepathy took a while to get the hang of! It had ever been Vash's forte, he could hear, but speaking was harder... With Vash coming out of his hiding spot, he crouches and sits on the balls of his feet to bring them a little closer to the same height.

I can hear you, and I'm very sorry for frightening you like that. You can call me Nai if you want to, that was my name when I was about your age. How did you know?

[cowgoesmoo]

It is him! Vash's relief is evident, but he still keeps his feathered arm behind him as he coming out of hiding to stand before Knives. His hands itch to reach out and touch, though! He can see Nai in there, so much more than he ever could see himself in the quiet Vash with the floppy hair who lived at the station house with him. His other big brother is who Knives would have grown up to be -- will grow up to be, he quickly corrects himself. Wherever he is, he's got Rem, and all their sisters on the ships. He'll be okay. He has to be okay.

But this isn't Knives. He shakes off the wave of grief, because this is Nai, this is his brother now! He's older, broader... he stifles a giggle. And with a much better haircut!

My brother here is Nai. He said Vash could call him Nai if he wanted to, so... was that not his name? Are you Knives now too?

For all his delight in finding another brother, Vash can't help but be aware of the number of humans outside, and the risk that, any moment, they'll be discovered. We shouldn't be here. This is a human place.

[teamblue]

Those little feathers at his neckline betray what's going on, and even trying to hide that from him strikes him as impossibly adorable, as if something like that might shock or frighten him of all people. His smile falters at what feels like external grief, concern overriding his delight. Something was wrong, even if the little plant puts it aside quickly, what was the cause of that pain? His name? But that name is shared it seems, and the name he's chosen for himself known as well, and for the first time Knives considers the fact that this isn't just another independent, free and wild in a hostile world, but Vash. His own brother but not exactly, displaced by so much time. I am. When I lost everyone who knew me as Nai, I saw no reason to keep it anymore. Your brother Nai is here, on this planet? Hesitantly, worried it might be too much of an ask so soon after meeting, he offers his arms to this small, painfully young Vash, willing this image of him to try to burn out the one that stuck most clearly in his mind, trapped in the wreckage of a crashed shuttle.

It's a plant place too, can you hear our sisters singing? Don't be afraid, I won't let anything happen to you. Let someone even try with him there, the street sweepers will be picking up their pieces out of every nook and cranny for weeks!

[cowgoesmoo]

Vash nods, rubbing his hand hesitantly over the feathers on his right arm. Yes, Nai's here... somewhere. His feelings, bleeding along their connection, are all over the place. Mostly he's delighted to have a new brother, but there's embarrassment in there too. He should have better control over his abilities... but he's scared, and they're harder to control when he's scared.

And with the thought of Nai is more grief. Nai's here, somewhere, but Vash doesn't know where. But they'll get to that, once he feels safe. Once he's sure they'll both be safe, that they won't be in trouble from the humans, and that means he needs to put his feathers away.

But until he can manage that, this Knives here will keep him safe, won't he? Knives holds out his arms, and Vash sighs, leaning into the hug, burying his face in Knives's shoulder and holding on tight to his jacket. He has so many questions, so many things he needs to know about the crash, about Tessla, about what happened to make his brother leave (because surely that's what Knives meant by saying that he lost everyone who knew him as Nai, surely he meant that his Vash left, like all Vashes seem to). About whether this Knives is angry at Rem for not leaving with them. That can wait, though. The most important thing right now is getting out of here without any of the humans seeing him like this, so that nobody gets hurt.

I'm glad you're here.

[teamblue]

He has questions of his own, such as why if Vash's twin is still around, there's so much grief and loss attached to the thought. It's difficult to separate his grief from this little version of his brother's and he stops trying after a bit of time, well used to contending with that particular foe; what comfort he can provide will be enough and had to be enough while he set the rest of his thoughts to puzzling out what to do. Obviously, Vash would need to be safe, and obviously leaving him alone wasn't an option, but walking around in Octovern with feathers sticking out all over the place was going to draw the wrong kind of attention. No one might think that this child has a bounty on his head, the only problem was humanity tends to reject what doesn't look like them. Little Nai would also have to be found and protected. It was for their own good.

I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner. I'll take care of everything, you don't need to worry anymore. The only ideas that were coming to mind was to forcefully override Vash's fear with his own emotions and settle the feathers that way, or: I can think of a way out of the city without having to kill them all but it will look a little silly. A lot silly.

[cowgoesmoo]

It sounds like Knives thinks the twins have been on their own all this time. There's a secret there, a thought that Vash quickly pushes away before it can form enough to be fully read -- something about an escape pod from one of the ships that's shaped, through feelings, as home. Vash fills his thoughts with Knives instead, focusing on his new brother's face and all the ways that he can see the younger one smiling through.

No killing. He's adamant about that, the thought as determined as if he'd stomped his foot while speaking. There's no reason to hurt anybody, even humans, unless they have to! I don't mind silly.

And then, somewhat warily: How silly?

[teamblue]

If Knives had more familiarity with the sort of killing versus peace ongoing battle across countless universes, he'd probably be as exasperated as all his other selves at Vash's stubborn declaration. I won't erase them unless I have to, that's why I have another idea. Sometimes clearing out the vermin is simply necessary, he didn't think that would be required unless something went very wrong. We just need to take advantage of human tendencies to not notice what's right in front of them.

But it's going to look silly. The best way to hide feathers is with even more feathers. Reluctantly he lets go of his precious sibling, glancing across the store to be sure they're still alone before he unravels his bright blue coat. Made up of countless tiny strands of metal, it's easy for him to strip it back to its plainest state and rebuild it into a much smaller coat. The details of it are taking more focus than he usually applies to his creations, row up on row of what looks like feathers at the collar, a ruff across the back and at the base of each sleeve. They aren't like the ones Vash has made in actual composition being as made of metal filament as the one he'd worn, but to an untrained eye it's close, and looks a lot like the tomas-feathered runway fashion abominations of expensive women's wear. It looks very, very silly, but Vash's fluffy integument will blend right in.

[cowgoesmoo]

Vash stands back and watches in pride and awe as Knives takes his jacket apart and remakes it. One day he'll be good enough with his own abilities to be able to do similar things, he hopes. All three of his brothers -- two adult Knives, and his new twin Nai -- have such incredible control over metal! No matter how hard he tries, all he can make are feathers, which aren't good for anything yet. But he's going to keep practicing! He's seen how wings can be used for defense by... by somebody who he's also trying not to picture at the moment. There's so much to tell Knives about! So many people here he'll want to meet, but first things first. He's getting distracted, and they need to deal with what's in front of them, now.

The resulting jacket looks ridiculous, but Knives's plan is a good one! Wearing that silly thing, nobody will think twice about his own feathers. Eagerly, Vash takes it and slips it on, running his fingertips gently over the 'feathers'.

Does it look okay? Will it work?

[teamblue]

What Vash is capable of puts this comparatively minor trick to complete shame, it may well be a self preservation instinct that keeps his vast power locked down to feathery fluff. Knives can do many things with his countless blades but it's Vash that has enough power to make worlds tremble! All those bits of memory Vash keeps shying away from hints at many secrets, and he can't help but be curious about all of them, every moment of a life his brother had been denied. Knives doesn't pry yet, not when fear of the humans here rides so high and might taint the questions, but he's made a note of each instance. It could be mistaken as some agreement to privacy ... Except that he has no such thoughts when it comes to family. It looks ridiculous, but it should work. Be careful though, they're not truly feathers. It passes a visual inspection but touch brands them as artificial. He straightens back up slowly, taking note of the anxiety feathers and how they blend, certain no human is going to have the wit to look closely though he can spot the difference.

Let's put it to the test. Do you have someplace safe here, or must we leave entirely? While Vash might look exactly as a child playing dress up might, he can't help but feel a warm sense of pride anyway; surrounded by a hostile species and still willing to do more than hide! He'd underestimated his brother's resilience!

[cowgoesmoo]

He has to be brave! For Nai's sake.

I don't know where we are. I just showed up here, right before you found me. He loves their sisters, but it's certainly frustrating to be picked up and dropped someplace on a whim! Although this time it means that he got to meet a new brother, so that's nice. Better than nice -- it's wonderful! I live near July, and I need to get back as soon as I can! If Nai calls or comes back I have to be there!