02

[knifesedge]

[Some several days after arriving in Luceti, Knives finally appears in town in midafternoon. This is with remarkably little fanfare; what's one more new feather this week? Those who are familiar with Vash might well recognize him, as they are identical twins; his hair's shorter and black, he's a bit paler, but the rest is still there. The same features, nearly the same bearing..

But Vash probably doesn't pick his way through Luceti with thinly veiled distaste, as if he's spending most of the time wading knee-deep in something nasty. And he is shopping. Oh yes. So much shopping.

Probably because of the black and white border collie cheerfully tagging along wherever he goes. Which means Knives can be found at various times of the day at the grocery store, library, and in the forest near Luceti when he can't tolerate the town any longer.]

Comments

[goldenglasses]

[Vash knew his brother was in town. Not exactly where, but he certainly wasn't at the ocean anymore. Yet he tried to finish up his work at Seventh Heaven as if nothing was wrong. Knives said he wasn't planning on doing anything to the people here and Vash was doing his very best to believe it. Still, every out of place noise set his nerves on edge until it was determined that no, it was not a scream of terror or pain. It made work just a little stressful.

He leaves work eventually. Shrugging on his black windbreaker and zipping it up. Hair pulled back in a pony tail again as he exits the restaurant and smiles at the cute border collie he spots on the way out.

...the cute border collie that is trailing behind... Knives. Huh.]

You... got a dog?

[knifesedge]

[Mention dogs, and dogs pay attention. The border collie stops faster than Knives does, whipping right around to investigate the new person who dared speak up with wet nose. This seems to result in sudden confusion for the canine, who immediately dashes to Knives, sniffs him too, then back to Vash, and so on, at breakneck speeds.

Knives draws only to a gradual stop before turning around on one heel and crossing his arms over his chest, scowling at the animal in question.]

No. This is the fourteenth Gung Ho Gun, Sasha the Dog. Look upon the future of your demise, and despair.

[There's no trace of anything like killishness in the fast-moving collie at all.]

[goldenglasses]

[Did Knives just make a joke? It was a bad joke.




But it's a joke. Holy crap Knives made a joke. Huh.]

...huh...

[Nope. Still processing.]

[knifesedge]

[Knives waits patiently for the rusty gears of Vash's mind to grind towards their inevitable conclusion. When nothing at all fails to come of this, including any sort of reaction beyond blank confusion, Knives makes a small negating gesture; it's not important.]

Is there a problem with having a dog?

[Much like before, if Vash wants to chat he'll have to keep up, Knives has places to go and he has only the vaguest ideas of how to get there, which means a lot of wandering around. As soon as Knives turns to do so, the dog bounces after him with an excited squeak.]

I thought about getting another pet human, but I didn't' think you'd react well.

[goldenglasses]

No, no problem having a dog. I just... I guess I didn't see you as being a, well, a dog... person?

[Vash decides to bite his tongue on the pet human bit. Trying to get along. TRYING to get along.]

[knifesedge]

Did you suppose I would be a cat person?

[The response is mild. Thinking about it for long would make it fairly obvious that Knives couldn't be anything but a dog person. Dogs were loyal. Obedient. Did anything their owner asked, with the right training! And so long as they were fed, worshiped the ground the dispenser of food walked on.

Knives liked dogs. He just never got the opportunity to interact with them in the desert. Here he had, and then well, he kept one. Where it came from before that, is a mystery.]

...I don't suppose you know anything about canine nutritional requirements.

[It doesn't hurt to ask. Right?]

[goldenglasses]

Okay. Guess I didn't see you to be much of a pet person at all. [Vash finally starts to follow after Knives at the question. Preferring to answer with his voice then to have Knives echoing in his head.]

Hm, no expert, but probably whatever food is at the grocery store will be good enough.

Grocery store!

[misterbrief]

[He's had his own shopping to do, which is totally unfair that he's got to go get the food this week. Granted, he does eat most of it but still...he doesn't like wasting his time going grocery shopping of all things, but if he doesn't he doesn't get fed so here he is. Grumpily picking out all his favorite foods.

Well, doesn't this guy look awfully familiar? Except his hair isn't blonde anymore...was it Knives this time or Vash? He could of sworn that ridiculous shift from before was over. And what the hell?]

Why did you decide to waste your time and get a dog?

Re: Grocery store!

[knifesedge]

[Shopping is IMPORTANT. And there are enough people who own dogs in Luceti that it's just a matter of selecting the right type of dog food. This is a lot more complicated than Knives anticipated.

The dog in question seems content to not lend anything like useful input towards the decision. Already a bowl has been selected, and a collar, but this food thing..

Being spoken to drags his attention away from this amazingly odious task, and Vegeta is briefly glanced at - and then just as quickly, dismissed. There isn't a trace of recognition on his side.

It's not that he's ignoring Vegeta, he's just... ..yeah okay he is actually ignoring him. The decision over which dog food to pick probably really isn't that riveting.]

[misterbrief]

I was talking to you, moron. [He is totally ignoring him like wtf dude no one ignores the Prince of Saiyans]

But thanks for making the clarification for me. [Because by that reaction it's definitely not Vash.] So is this another body snatching story or are you here on your own for a change?

[knifesedge]

[Only eventually does Knives deign to respond, and only after picking up a can that has a happy-looking dog on it and weighing whether it would be good enough for his dog. Vegeta might be a prince, but Knives doesn't know that. ... Aaand probably wouldn't care if he did. He had enough arrogance to match anyone of royal blood already. When he finally does respond, it's not to the former part, which seems to not even be heard (it's not what they call you that matters, but what you choose to respond to), but the latter.

He doesn't actually SAY anything at first either, simply turning and subjecting the Saiyan to a steady, measuring stare, obviously weighing whether or not Vegeta's even worth his time. There is the distinct impression that the answer is 'no'.]

Do you normally bother complete strangers when they're obviously otherwise occupied?

[In spite of the demeanor that says very clearly how much he's enjoying this, Knives' voice is markedly neutral, utterly lacking in anything like hostility or even contempt.]

I've never been here at all. If there's been body snatching or other ... variants, they were someone else. If you have a bone to pick with them, and thus that's why you're inflicting yourself on me, I suggest finding them instead.

[He returns to the dog food, setting down a can and picking up a different one.]

[misterbrief]

I normally wouldn't waste my time with anyone but you look exactly like a particular idiot I know. [No stranger to the timeline shifting in Luceti, he's going to leave out that little incident when he met Knives previously- it doesn't seem to be the exact same one.]

[knifesedge]

[This new selection of dog food seems to be a little higher on his approval list. It's set on the floor, where the dog in question immediately picks it up.]

I get that a lot. He's .. [A brief pause.] My brother, from some other timeline. He's blond, I'm not. It won't be difficult to tell us apart if things go well. If that's all, you can stop wasting both of our time and go ... annoy somebody else. You're bothering my dog.

[The dog is very obviously unbothered. Mentioned, it just wags its tail happily.]

[savedtheworld]

[Aang is in the library, leaning against a shelf as he tries to choose between two youth mystery novels when he glances up just in time to see Knives

Hey Vash! How are you?

[Aang hasn't seen him around lately, so he thinks it's refreshing to see him out and about. Did he change his hair, even?]

[knifesedge]

[Knives is looking for books on animal training. This is easier said than done, as he's not familiar with the library's shelving system and that means a lot of browsing. Probably even this wouldn't be a problem except that when he picks up a book, it's hard to put it back down without reading it.

This is causing serious problems. He's looking for dog books and instead he's thumbing through the Draconomicon Volume 4. It takes him a minute to realize that he's being addressed when someone calls out to Vash, and only that because a habitual check of the area for said sibling turns up nothing.

Then the bald kid is eyed with something like amusement, if amusement came tinged with a tiny bit of dislike. But he's trying hard to not let the human part get in the way too much!]

Vash is ...my brother. He's not here right now. I can tell him you said hello if I see him again though.

[Although it comes with an edge of something unpleasant in his voice, for Knives it's downright polite. It's worth making an effort.. isn't it?]

[savedtheworld]

[It's quite pleasant compared to how Aang's enemies would act, at least. His eyebrows start to raise with mild confusion, but he keeps smiling optimistically]

Sure! I didn't know Vash has a brother, or that you're here. [And he looks like a twin, too... Just like Ion and Florian!] My name's Aang!

[knifesedge]

[That the kid was still there was irritating, but Knives fights that down successfully without letting it show. The mantra of not all humans need killing is one he keeps running around in his head. Besides which, this kid hardly looked like he'd be a risk to any of his kind.]

Vash doesn't talk about me much. [And reasonably so. He struggles with the desire to tell Aang to take a hike, or simply tolerate it for now. Tolerance wins out for the time being. He said he'd behave. The smile he offers rings completely, and utterly faked but surely the effort counts.] ... I am Knives. Are you friends with Vash?

[savedtheworld]

[He does basically have peace written all over him. Aang's not really the best at ferreting out fake smiles - particularly from strangers, so he keeps up his own cheery smile.]

Yeah, Vash is a very friendly guy. It's nice to meet you, Knives! [Such a friendly name!]

[knifesedge]

[Sadly, he also has 'human' written all over him. This makes things a lot more troublesome for Knives, who also must weigh the fact that Vash wasn't even there to see him trying to be nice. Or as nice as he ever got.]

..The same, I'm sure.

[There's one of those long pauses that speak much of trying to figure out what the hell to do.]

Do you understand the layout of this library? It has a different sorting system than I'm used to.

[There! That sounds reasonable.]

[Action at the Library]

[agelesseyes]

[Moiraine, seated in her usual spot in the library with glowing orbs of the One Power floating around her, is just reading and doing her Aes Sedai thing. At least, until she spots a certain someone she's actively been avoiding since the last shift. Or...thinks she does.

And it gives her a bit of a start as she watches him meander around. And she mumbles a vague curse to herself under her breath.]

Oh...blood and ashes...

[Action at the Library]

[knifesedge]

[Why if it isn't the woman who turned Vash into a newt! ... Not that Knives knows anything at all about any of that, and it's questionable as to whether or not he'd even believe it. By the time he reaches the bit of library where Moiraine is seated, he's acquired exactly two books on dogs and is looking for somewhere to peruse them without interruption.

Instead he finds another human. ...With little balls of light hovering around her. The sheer bizarreness of this - magic does not exist where he's from - stops him where he is.

There might be more hostility in his expression, or disdain, or disgust, but he seems more ...puzzled than anything else, and he's not really looking at her. He's watching those glowing orbs. And then in his fairly standard refusal to acknowledge things like social graces or personal space, sets down his books and approaches, with every intention of trying to catch one.

Carefully. They might be hot.]

Are you doing this?

[Action at the Library]

[agelesseyes]

[The balls of light quiver as he touches them, but they're quite cool as his hand passes through them. Nothing about them is really solid, after all.]

I am.

[Coolly, she eyes knives, face expressionless.]

Have you never seen such before?

[Liebrary]

[knifesedge]

[The lack of solidity is interesting, and he frowns, immediately tempted to see how they interact with his own power. But that... is too dangerous, he decides quickly enough. Not enough to waste on such frivolous activities. Instead, after a thoughtful pause, he initiates the process he'd normally have used to absorb external sources of power - his own kind normally, but it might do something interesting when he moves to touch the next time. Maybe not. Curiosity.. has its downsides.]

Intangible light sources that cool the air where they rest? No.

[His tone is one of distraction, or simple lack of desire to interact much at all. The little lights were far more interesting than Moiraine herself.] I've seen something similar but touching it would kill you.

[But not Knives, is the implication in the way his voice shifts slightly. Perhaps she simply wasn't human, such skills could belong in the hands of other species safely. Certainly humanity did no such things in his universe.]

What are you, that lets you create such things?

[Liebrary indeed]

[agelesseyes]

[Moiraine closes her book, marking the page carefully and gives him her full attention. Her lip curls into a dry little smile as she shakes her head]

I could make them kill you, if you'd like. I thought that it'd be safer for passersby if I just made lamps.

[And in response to the question, she shifts her hand subtly, revealing her ring. A serpent eating it's own tail. Anyone familiar with her world would know the meaning but she imagined he wouldn't. It was simply a reflexive gesture at this point. Her ageless face remains smooth save that thin smile]

I am Aes Sedai. Though I suspect that means little to you. You might refer to me as a magician.

[Deceptionbrary is too obvious]

[knifesedge]

You could try. [He seems utterly fearless, unconcerned as to whether or not she could, or would. But neither is it an outright taunt, or a challenge, he's much too distracted by trying to shepherd one around for that.

The gesture with the ring does indeed mean nothing to him, the tail-eating snake was a symbol he often associated with alchemical processes from medieval times, but it probably meant different things on other worlds. More importantly, something she says seems to leech a good deal of unspoken tension out of him. Maybe he did know what it meant?

... Not at all. But he'd asked her for her species, in a somewhat less obvious way, and she hadn't responded with 'human'. His outright hostility was reserved for them alone. 'Aes Sedai' was as likely a species as 'plant' is. It might be a bit odd; without that tension there, unspoken and understated, he seems much more like his brother than he'd care to ever admit. Almost but not quite harmless.]

Can all your kind do such things?

[Even his tone seems more polite - or just less grumpy.]