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 The map's several years out of date and does not at all have all the modifications and camp outs and construction that's happened since the worlds merged.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

[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!