knifesedge

04

[Knives had been quiet and elusive since things went weird with the enclosure. The best way to not get arrested: not getting found. And when things had returned to more or less normal, he hadn't seen fit to STOP being elusive, just in case. Give it a couple weeks, had been the intention. Make sure the strangeness is over, then make sure the person who mattered was still okay.

Such was the intention. Up until robots came hunting in the night. A short explosion of violence and blinding rage later, impeded by his sheer lack of power since his hair had turned black, and Knives Millions went missing.

And returned a day later, a hundred and fifty years younger.

He's left where he arrived the first time, on the shoreline of the sea that had taken over the desert. Thin white pants, journal - not the clothes he'd left in, but at least he's left the book. Not that it does him much good; waking up where he doesn't even remotely expect it, without the two people he's never been without right there or within sensing range is ... uniquely alarming. Knives Millions spent most of his adult life alone. His childhood however was another matter. And being alone in a strange place with no idea of where he is or how he got there (or why he has tiny wings) isn't something the one-year-old plant is prepared for.

For a little while he roams up and down the beach, anxious, but certain that sooner or later Rem or Vash will find him and tell him it's all a joke and someone just changed the environmental settings or something. But as time ticks past and nothing of the sort happens, anxiousness begins bleeding into outright fear. He knows he should stay put.

He doesn't. Instead he picks up the book with part of his name on it and clutching it to his narrow chest, heads further down the beach, following the water line, hoping for something like people. Something safer then out alone. Alone was scary. He could if he tried focus his thoughts and project them to try to find his brother, but far too uncertain, unhappy and afraid, he simply projects emotions in a steady wave of nauseating apprehension.

In Luceti, seeing a boy of perhaps ten years old roaming alone might not be all that unusual. Nor the visible apprehension. But he might look a little familiar..

Lost. Afraid. Alone. Lost.]

[Summary: there is a very young, very frightened plant roaming loose on the beach.]

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[At this age, words aren't always easy to manage mind-to-mind. It took concentration and focus, though emotions flowed very easily back and forth. Inevitably thus what upset one often set off the other, but they were working that one out quickly. Especially since it also distressed the other plants onboard.

But humans, as far as Knives knew, couldn't do it at all. No words, no feelings, nothing. And when someone else's voice echoes in his head, and he knows the difference between what his ears hear and what his mind hears, it settles one thing at least.

Whether or not that's really Vash, he is at the very least, Knives' own kind. Another plant, even if it's not actually Vash (or maybe is, that's going to have to wait), and a grown-up one at that. It's almost instinctive to allow trust based on that alone. Plants didn't harm each other (not yet), and he knew it on a level that went beyond rational thought. Part of him is immediately relieved; there are adults of his species that aren't the bulb-bound females. The rest, and the majority of him for that matter, is otherwise occupied with EVERYTHING ELSE.

He sits down abruptly in the sand, anxiousness bubbling right back up. At that distance it's a struggle to try to respond in kind, which is probably fairly noticeable on Vash's end, and after a few minutes the response is just a wash of profound unhappiness.]

I want to go home.

[Vash knew at that age they hadn't really talked at all to each other. At least, in his childhood they hadn't. He switches back to the book once his point was made.] I know, I know you do. I know. And you will. You won't be here very long. Probably only a week or two at the most.

I think I know where you are. I'm going to come find you. [After he shaves real quick. Hoping he'll look a little more like his younger self if he does.]

[Telepathy had its perks. It made some tests a whole lot easier, but made chess games a whole lot harder. But at least it's familiar.. and identifies Vash as something related, whether or not closely related as siblings.

A wave reaches particularly high and Knives has to scramble to avoid getting wet. These were his only pants! It's not exactly a small beach but with the small plant putting out that much telepathic stress, it'll probably be pretty easy to home in on him.]

What if I'm stuck here forever? This could be any planet. How will they know where to look?

[A week or two might not seem like a long time except Knives was a year old; a week is a HUGE amount of time! ..At least he's not really going anywhere else beyond where he is right now, unhappy and afraid and wishing he were elsewhere.]

What if they don't look at all? The ships are all autopilot, if one gets tampered with everything can go bad.

[Knives knows ALL ABOUT THAT.]

Oh, don't worry about that. Trust me, they've already sent out search robots looking for you. Special time moving type robots. [Er, yeah, let's just roll with that.] Not ones from the ship, no, these are for people who sometimes show up here by accident. Time is kind of strange here, you see? While it may seem like a week or two has passed here, back home on the ship it's like no time has passed at all!

So if you see any metal men walking up to you, don't be afraid. They're the ones who make sure people get back home to the times they're suppose to be in. Ah, it's crazy sounding I know. It's a little hard to believe this place can really be real when you first get here. Ah-hahaha.

Just don't worry. They won't know you left back on the ship and you won't lose anytime. When you go back you'll wake up the very instant that you left!

[Now, Knives isn't really a distrusting sort of kid. He hadn't yet run into anyone he didn't like, which ... wasn't really a lot of people but they were okay in his book. Deception isn't something he's really encountered much yet either, but something in Vash's explanation strikes him as... more than a little off.

He's pretty sure time doesn't work that way, unless approaching lightspeed sorts of velocities were accounted for and he didn't think he was moving that fast.

It accomplishes one thing. It's so unbelievable that the edge of terror chewing away at him leeches into understated disbelief. Robots. Time traveling.. yeah right.]

Mister, I don't think time works like that. And what if they're not nice robots and are just pretending? Do they all look alike?

[There's a looong pause.]

...Am I going to be put in a bulb?

I know it's really hard to believe, it took me awhile to believe it to, but it's true. It's still hard for me to really understand too. I haven't ever met a mean robot, they've all been really nice to me!

[Vash says this as he goes through the quickest shave he's ever done. He's turned to head out the door when he hears Knives's other question.]

The protective bulb- no. Of course not, why would you think that? The crew on the ship won't hold something you couldn't help against you.

How long have you been here for then?

[Carefully, Knives scoots his way up the beach. There was a good sized boulder nearby, and it felt a little safer to tuck up against it. He just had to wait here, right?]

Well.. I think I'm growing wings..

[He knows he is. He tried to pull out a feather but it really, really hurt.]

...And ..every plant I've ever seen that has wings, is in a bulb..

Ah, well, adults tend to stay here longer than kids. I've been here for several months. [Several months that add up to several years.]

OH! The wings! [Of course. It's been so long he almost forgets about them.] No, everyone gets a set of wings when they show up here. Be careful with them, they'll hurt badly if you damage them at all.

There are humans here too. Even they have wings, but don't worry you won't be put into a bulb. When you go home they'll be gone. So don't worry, you're not going into a bulb.

[Experimentally, the now-child flexes his new wings. They were a very bright red, almost apple-red; it was weird to feel limbs he didn't even have before. But if everyone had them.. then maybe he wasn't going to wind up like the females. ..Good, having that many bodies would be weird.]

I guess you're waiting for these ... "time travelling robots" to come get you then?

[It practically has airquotes on it. The matter of humans being there doesn't seem to ... really bother him at all.]

That's okay. The last one I met, he was alright. And the humans here might not even think I'm a plant, if everyone has wings. Then Rem won't have to explain anything to anyone.

We're actually not the strangest beings here too. I've met all kinds of people and creatures here. Like, I've met vampires, pirates - one was a talking skeleton and even dragons! Just all sorts of people here. It's almost like a story book sometimes!

[Rem. That name again. One he just doesn't have stored away.]

And yeah, I'm just waiting for the robots to help me get home. Hopefully I'll get my chance to go home soon, but I'll be sure to wait until you do now that you're here.

[Tucked up against the dubious safety of his chosen rock, which at least was still warm from the day's sunlight, Knives weighs his situation as best he can, scrubbing his face with the back of one hand. Talking to someone helped a little at least. It let him pretend that he wasn't the only one out here.]

All those things just exist in stories and movies. Except pirates maybe, I guess those might be real.

[Like the 'time traveling robots', it's probably all just made up. But it's better than thinking the SEEDs ships were really, really far away. Further away than he could hope to reach. The silence he settles into is not a happy one, but at least it's not the near-panic of earlier.]

Some people may say a Plant giving birth to twins could only be in story books. If it's one thing Luceti will show you it's that just about anything is possible.

I don't know a lot about that. Rem hasn't really taught us about other plants like us. But there have to be at least some others. There's you, right?

[And an adult, too. Given how large he and Vash were, at one year old, that'd make this Vash .. what, five?]

Edited 2013-08-18 09:44 (UTC)

That's because I'm your brother. Even as we grow up we're still the only two I've heard of being born from the Plants.

[Vash is starting to move past the village, heading towards the teleporter.]

[That's still a big pill to swallow. Vash was his size. And he didn't believe in time travel. For Knives' part, he stays put. Who knows what's out there.

.... time travel. Hah.]

Really? That's ... too bad. I thought maybe we'd find others eventually. Maybe they're back on Earth, or in other colony fleets.. being the only ones anywhere, that'd be pretty lonely.

Maybe one day they'll be more born, but for now, I'm afraid it's just us. [For a moment he almost wants to say that he doesn't know about back on Earth. If he did he'd have to explain to Knives why they lost contact with Earth.]

Still, once you meet some of the people here it will make what I'm saying easier to believe.

[Skepticism comes in the form of a small doubtful plant.]

Some of the things you've said are pretty unbelievable. Talking skeletons? Dragons?

Yeah, I know, and sadly the talking skeleton has already been sent back to his right home so he's not here anymore. He was a pretty fun guy, wish you could have met him. He even taught me how to play the harmonica.

[Knives stares at his book for several long, long moments.]

So if you are making it up- [Not lying.] -then conveniently there's no proof to the contrary? That's kind of ... convenient. Are all the dragons missing too?

Hm, I think they might be. Not really sure, haven't keep close track of the dragons. I mean... they're dragons. I kind of just let them do their own things.

But you know this book we're talking through? You can actually make it so you talk to everyone here with it. Maybe you could ask if there's any dragons still around sometime while you're here.

[The book is considered before he decides he's not really interested in contacting other people right now. Right now he was most interested in not being stranded on a beach, far away from everyone and everything he's ever known.]

Okay.

[Nothing else, for the moment.]

Don't worry. I know it's a lot to take in right away. [More so when you come from a space ship where you've lived your entire life. Just you and no more than seven people to speak with as far as Vash was under the impression of.

Even more so when that seven is actually three.

Knives won't have to wait too much longer as Vash reaches the teleporter. Depending on how well Knives has honed his telepathic abilities at this age Vash suddenly jumps much closer to the boy.]

I've reached the beach. Do you think you could move the book around so I can try to see just where on the beach you are? [Be glad your brother has a very good photographic memory, Knives.]

[Carefully the book is set down, still running, so he can carefully dig his fingers and toes into the sand, feeling the difference between the cool damp a few inches below the surface, and the still-heated and dry sand on top. It wasn't much like normal dirt. Especially the way it slid around really easy.

Knives is still listening, and watching, and still apprehensive, it's just a little distraction. Like the seashell he comes up with after a moment, which is peered at. What a funny looking rock.

He hasn't really worked on his telepathic abilities at all yet, but the vague sense of other plants being nearby was something he could do, and once Vash enters the rough zone where he could detect such a thing from, the boy perks up a bit, glancing around as if he expects someone to be there right then. There isn't.]

Um.

[Move the book around. Just wave it? No, that can't be right. Maybe the camera? Reluctantly he digs himself back out of the sand and stands up, picking the book up too. Sand gets on the lens briefly but doesn't stay there once it's shaken off. Maybe this guy just wanted landmarks. Like the big rock he was currently using as a kind of shelter. Which means the rock gets seen first, way too close to be of any use, then some other rocks over that way, and a rock sticking out of the water, and a rather weather-beaten oak tree just above the shoreline, the only one for a good distance, really not adapting well to the new salty environment.]

All those?

[At first the rock doesn't give Vash much of an idea where Knives is. Then the other rocks, that rock in the water, and the oak helps a lot.]

Perfect. I should be there in a few more minutes. [Vash heads in the direction Knives should be in as he realizes maybe he should have stopped by the clothing shop. He had no idea if the Malnosso had decided to give his brother any shoes.

He'll work that out when he gets there.]

Okay.

[With that settled, Knives ... goes right back to the sand. It was profoundly reassuring to know that someone was coming to get him, even if that someone was a stranger, which left him free to think about other things.

And do other things. Like begin digging. And he's pretty quick at it.

Which means by the time Vash actually gets there, it's pretty likely Knives will have managed a hole in the ground deep enough for him to stand in at hip-deep.. and still digging. Who knows what's down there!]

[And the refridgerator.]

[But the refridgerator has nummies!]

[You'll have to keep them in something else!]

[But if I keep milk in my back pocket it will go bad!]

[Stick an ice pack in there with it]

[But then my butt will get cold!]

[Cold milk or a cold butt your choice]

[Cold butt it is]

[Excellent choice]

[*sips cold milk* Worth it]

[\o/]

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[sips cold milk Worth it]