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

[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.]

[savedtheworld]

[He thinks it over for a moment, then he gives an affirmative nod.]

Yeah! Some of the way they're sorted confuses me [Dewey Decimal what are you even.] but I have a good idea of where most things are!

[knifesedge]

[So far so good.]

Where can I find books on ... dogs. Diets, nutrition, training..

[savedtheworld]

On dogs? That can't be too hard. They might be near the Zoobooks! [He hasn't had that much need for books about pets, already knowing most of what he need to know to take care of his own animal companions from home. Instead, he mostly uses books like the Zoobooks to tell what other world's animals are like.]

[knifesedge]

'Zoobooks'. [Knives' echo of Aang's word says a lot of exactly how unfamiliar he is with that particular series, but as silly as it sounded, if it had what he needed to know, he'd deal with it.

His gaze sweeps the area, immediately spotting an astronomy book instead.]

Where might those be?

[savedtheworld]

[He takes a moment to think and points over.]

Just a few rows down. That's where I usually find them.

[knifesedge]

[Knives glances in the direction pointed at, then nods, and heads in that direction without so much as a goodbye.

It seems eventually he realizes he forgot something, as the plant backtracks shortly later and offers a curt] Thank you. [before continuing on his way.]