asipofbride | IC INBOX [kaisou]

Nah, I think Blondie had designs on a keepin' a couple of things we don't usually have at hand at the cottage since we're not on a power layout an' Rabbit's a jerk. Eggs, milk, ice cream, beer, meat. Maybe we'll luck out an' the next weird thing to happen to somebody at the cottage'll be ice powers.

[ LITTLE DOES WOLFWOOD KNOW.

part of him wants to get a little huffy at Kni not eating his food offering ravenously, but. Vash had begged patience. Kni had never needed to eat before, so the hungry sensation was new and strange to him. Wolfwood couldn't relate--but he could give out grace for cheap, he supposed. for now.

he notices Kni noticing what's in his hand, and he once again, extends the olive branch. it's a little cleaner this time, because Wolfwood is less raw, less angry than he was before--when Kni and Knives were the same man, as opposed to now, where Kni is the shadow of what he could be, but not there. not yet.

grace for cheap.

he holds the bag out after a moment. ]

It's a pretzel. This kind is dough 'til it's baked crunchy and covered in a bit of salt. Try one.

It sounds like a lot that will need to be kept cold. Do you really eat that much?

[and then, after realizing he's sitting in the only place where anything could be stored, a second question comes to mind.] If we're bringing a cooler back, where will it go?

[on his lap? he hopes not.

he straightens on impulse when wolfwood lowers the bag for him and hesitates. after a moment of inward contemplation, kni reaches out to carefully pull out a single pretzel and uses his other hand to snap it in half, leaving the other half in the bag. if he didn't like it, it was better not to waste an entire piece.

he brings the broken half up to sniff first, then taking a small bite. the texture was fine and, as wolfwood said, crunchy as he chewed slowly. the flecks of salt were a nice surprise when they hit his tongue and matched well with the dark taste of baked yeast. too much would have ruined it. he takes another small bite, staring off towards the road as his mind calculated the new map of textures and tastes.]

It's not bad. [there were a few things he liked to eat so far; apples, sliced bread lightly toasted, that omurice he had once with vash, some of the fruits he came across in the gardens, and now pretzels.]

Generally, us lesser beings like to have multiple meals in a day, so, yeah--especially 'cause this place ain't hurting for food. Hell, you walk outside the cottage and we're trippin' over food. It's just in the ground.

[ he gives a cheeky little grin--almost more of a baring of teeth, but there's no threat implied... even if Wolfwood does have slightly larger than usual lookin' canines, thank you, genetic experimentation. ] I got a place to put big stuff, no worries. That sidecar is big enough to hold Vash an' my gun, though, so you wouldn't be that put out.

[ granted, Vash was usually squished next to the Cross Punisher, and now that he had the option of having the gun be stored in Wolfwood's weird new brain closet, he usually whined until that was the route they took, but one digresses. he watches as Kni portions out a bit of pretzel, lowkey appreciative that the kid doesn't waste food even though he's still not keen on the whole eating thing. Wolfwood pops the rest of the pretzel in his mouth and crunches. ]

An' these are the simple ones. There's ones with extra flavor, or cheese inside of them, or you can get stuff to dip them in--hell, Vash an' me found these one pretzels which were like, four times the size of these little guys, but they were soft and chewy instead. It's wild what they get up to on this planet.

[ god Wolfwood loves food. ]

[kni gives a soft, contemplative hum, watching wolfwood with a slight turn of his head. big teeth and a sharp grin, he is reminded of the wolf in those old fairy tales. cautionary stories with questionable morals, but kni doesn't see anything to learn from here. wolfwood wouldn't bite him here, but that didn't mean kni was eager to push his hand closer either.]

That's normally how gardens work.

[his time on no man's land was brief, but kni can gather exactly what kind of life wolfwood and the descendants of his actions have led. it was the kind of life vash had led too, more years spent in the desert and heat than in the protected coverings of the artificial gardens they had grown up under. kni finishes the pretzel half, forefinger and thumb brushing together to rid the feeling of little crumbs sticking to skin.

also, what did he mean by space? was that where he'd put that giant cross when kni wasn't looking?]

It seems like a lot of work to decide on what to eat. [his attention is caught by a car pulling in nearby to use one of the gas pumps.] Doesn't it get tiring?

Yeah, we don't have gardens when I'm from, kiddo. It's all shops an' stalls from plant-made ingredients.

[ he doesn't want to put too fine of a point on it, and it doesn't cut as deep as he could, but it was what it was, wasn't it. he crunches through another pretzel, not realizing that he'd turned towards Kni as he tended to turn toward's Vash, one foot up on the side of the sidecar as he munches.

and yeah. his space. yanno. where he puts stuff.

he can't explain it either. it just is. ]

It can be. It's nice to have a lot of options. [ Wolfwood's eyes, out of habit, will flick to the car, and once nobody gets out of it with guns, knives, or ill intent, will return to Kni. ] As someone who's eaten bugs raw an' not had enough money to afford more than one slice of Tomas-loaf for three days, I refuse to get tired of the luxury of eatin'.

[plant-made.

of course that's what sticks out, a splinter just under the skin. but it isn't a conversation or argument he wants to have right now, questions that he'd rather not ask wolfwood. the state of his sisters scattered across a barren planet...

this was almost comfortable, if he wasn't expecting something to happen. a string of tension he can't quite shake that takes the form of him fidgeting with the plastic-paper wrapped around the water bottle.

he can't seem to look away from the people coming out of the car, prey watching the predatory move. he only blinks away, suddenly realizing his quickening heart when they go inside the station store.

wait.]

Tomas meat? Isn't Brad a tomas?

[ it's not a pretty picture for anybody to consider. even Wolfwood's had to wonder what humanity did, to come to the point where they chose another creature's pain for their own purposes--why Plants were a better option than the electricity plants, or the water treatment facilities.

their ability to generate matter was helpful, but... it makes Wolfwood's teeth itch, at the back. he shakes his head and finishes up his pretzels, letting that internal interrogation settle in the sand for a while as a penny drops for Kni.

he blinks over at the kid, tilting his head a little. ]

Yeah. Some tomases are for riding, some are for meat. We probably won't ever eat Brad, but he's there in a pinch.

[oh that has his entire attention. coupled with an extremely horrified look being fixed at wolfwood, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. the color draining from his already pale face.

please say sike.]

We- probably? [he's had meat once or twice since, but the realization hadn't hit him until now.] I- I don't want to eat Brad!

[ oh that's a

that's a bad feeling to feel

he and Kni aren't friends but he doesn't particularly want to upset the little monster, especially given that he's trying to give him the full benefit of the doubt and, y'know, give him a chance to be better this time. ]

There's plenty of other sources of meat on this world. We don't have to eat Brad unless something apocalyptic happens, and that's--mostly a joke.

[ awkward ]

It's a bad joke.

[and one that hits harder than it should. killing and eating creatures with thoughts and feelings turns his stomach. he looks down at his lap, expression twisted into something close to frustration.

if brad was an option for eating "if something apocalyptic happens" did that mean the same for the other animals living in the gardens?

he'd rather starve himself.]

I won't do it.

Yeah, well, they can't all be winners.

[ it's a lame excuse, sure, but sometimes it is what it is. lame. a dumb thing to say, and think, and ultimately end up being the truth. wolfwood runs his fingers through his hair and takes another drink of his lemon water, crumpling up his empty pretzel packet as he stands up and crosses over to a stone garbage bin to toss it away

coming back in time to hear Kni's solemn little vow. ]

Won't do what?

[just like everything he learns about, kni is deep in thought as he contemplates this new truth. it made sense, yes, if he looked at it from a purely logical standpoint. humans were hunters, predators, sitting up pretty high on the food chain. anything below them was subject to being treated like prey, or worse.

kni straightens as wolfwood returns, brows pulled together.]

I won't eat Brad. Or anything that lives in the gardens.

[ well

sometimes you are a little guy and you come to a moral conclusion and honestly? admirable. if this were No Man's Land, Wolfwood might've scolded Kni for such lofty ideals--but Earth is a place of plenty. part of Wolfwood wonders why humanity left, in the future; how wrong did things have to go for you to abandon a place like this and hope that space had better just hangin' around out there?

he slides back into the seat on his bike once he's tossed his trash, putting the lemon water in one of the side holders in the sidecar, careful not to touch Kni. ]

I mean, fair. The things in the garden are basically like our pets. Most meat is gonna come from the store, anyway.

[ this may be where Wolfwood Fucks Up, as the kids would say, firing Angelica to life. ]

[if this were no man's land, kni wouldn't have to worry at all about the moral implications of eating meat and anything like it. unfortunately, fortunately, here he is presented with choices that don't really feel like choices when the one of them bucks against his hidden, softer edges.

kni watches as wolfwood settles back on the motorcycle, eyebrows raising.]

The store we're going to now?

[he's thinking now, glancing down at his lap with a frown. the sunglasses try to slide down his nose again, and with a pinch of frustration pushes them back up.]

Yeah. I think your brother wants chicken for soup.

[ if this were no man's land, Wolfwood would've been colder about Kni's reluctance to eat meat--but there are so many choices here. there's so much space for

for kindness. for a gentler choice. to save the butterfly and not spite the spider. Wolfwood backs the motorcycle out of the space, and it's only a short ride away over sleek streets and mild traffic before they're parking again and Wolfwood is stretching as he stands, giving a little headbob to indicate Kni should come with. ]

You gonna carry a basket or should I grab a cart.

[kni is quiet on the way there, letting his thoughts wander as he watches the scenery pass them by in a blur of muted colors and people. the city was still so very new and the people who occupied it even more, overwhelmingly so.

making sure his water bottle and fruit cup were secured, he steps out of the sidecar after wolfwood. he comes up to his side, keeping a little distance between them as he watches as people walk in and out of the store's sliding door entrance.]

I can hold a basket. [he's stronger than he looks!]

[ part of Wolfwood wishes that Kni would--he doesn't know. rage? rant? be outside of his feelings so that he was easier to read?

it was hard to get a bead on the kid, and having him be so quiet made Wolfwood's teeth itch in the same way they did when a certain familiar collection of notes came tinkling out of Kni's piano, lacking some of their gravitas with the electronic simulacrum of sounds, but not

quite enough. the kid follows him dutifully inside, and Wolfwood retrieves a pair of baskets, glancing down at Kni. ]

You wanna divide an' conquer on the list, or you wanna follow along as backup?

Um...

[he hesitates, glancing at the list in wolfwood's hand and catching a glimpse of what he could only assume are drawings made by vash. seems he never grew out of dumb, little doodles. their schoolwork papers had been littered with whatever stream of consciousness vash came up with that day, some better than others.]

I don't know where anything would be here. [maybe he could figure it out, but once inside, kni is beset by sensory overload. fluorescent lighting overhead and aisles of differently colored merchandise has him gripping the basket handle a little tighter. people walk past them, and it takes some very real effort on kni's part not to step closer to wolfwood.] ... so, I'll watch you.

[ it'd make Wolfwood laugh if he knew, half sardonic and half pleased that despite everything, Vash was still Vash. doodling and over-illustrating his shopping lists just like he might've his learning pages... Wolfwood couldn't fathom drawing on the papers he was given during his education.

such a thing would've been punished harshly. Wolfwood just shakes his head and pretends not to notice how Kni hangs close to him, but not too close. ]

Suit yourself. [ and then Wolfwood is off, looking for all the bits and bobs Vash wants--and surreptitiously taking a moment to text the man, trying to be subtle about it first. ]

[the grocery store, kni is learning, is extremely distracting. especially so for someone such as himself who, normally, wouldn't consider himself an easily distractible person. yet the multitude of logos and colorful designs stacked on shelves, and bright lights that faintly hummed at just a low enough frequency set kni on edge. the shelving towers over him as he follows behind wolfwood, eyes trained on the tiled flooring. there are three tiles spaced between them as they walk, kni noting with some disdain the dirty scuff marks left by other people's shoes.

as wolfwood texts vash, unbeknownst to kni, he also messages his brother, only for a moment looking away from where he'd been watching wolfwood's legs navigate the aisles.

it was only a moment, one hand holding the (empty) basket and his other holding his phone. when he looks away from the screen, wolfwood is gone.

alone. he was alone in the store. kni looks down the aisle, rooted to the spot as his mind tries to catch up to this situation. he feels like the lights are pressing down harder on him now. the static overhead and floating across the tops of shelves seem louder and he realizes with a start that his heart is pounding loud enough he can hear it.

okay. okay. he needed to be calm. one foot in front of the other, stepping to the side to avoid bumping into other shoppers that walk past. he needs to look for wolfwood, surely he didn't go... far...

yet it takes kni nearly three, long and agonizing, minutes of walking down each aisle before he finally spots him at the end of one looking at boxes of pasta. but kni doesn't care about that. his shoes squeak on the laminate tiles as he hurries back to his side and accidentally bumps the edge of his basket into wolfwood's leg. he quickly changes the hand holding it to avoiding hitting him again, gaze flitting over the row of pasta boxes sitting at his eye level.

a careful peek at his phone tells him it had only been a few minutes, but it certainly felt much longer than that.]

Edited 2023-07-25 20:03 (UTC)

[ maybe it's because Wolfwood is texting Vash, or because he trusts Kni's general displeasure with the unwashed masses to keep the smaller Plant close--but he doesn't really check behind him to make sure Kni is dottling along behind, which is rule number one of going around with kids, but sue him, Kni isn't a normal kid. the hyper intelligent Plant larva should've known not to get distracted in his phone.

that's why he was the superior being, wasn't it?

Wolfwood is contemplating pasta, comparing the shapes on his list to the shapes in the boxes when suddenly plastic meets the side of his shin and he swallows back a curse, giving Kni a look. ]

Well if you're so opinionated about noodle shapes, you pick between corkscrewy ones and dinosaur ones.

[ ... apparently both shapes had equal weight on Vash's list, and Wolfwood was none the wiser as to what'd occurred in three of Kni's loneliest minutes in the grocery store full of people. ]

[head still dizzy with relief that he hadn't been left behind wolfwood's snappy question makes kni jerk, shoulders tensing briefly.] -What?

[he has to play catch-up, forcing himself to focus on the choices that are shaken at him. his thumbnail digs into the plastic coating of the basket's handle, looking between the dinosaur and corkscrew pasta.]

... If they taste the same... [brows furrowed, he starts to point to the dinosaur shapes, but changing his mind he opts to tap the corkscrew ones with an index finger.]

Either is fine. [and he's fine, too. absolutely certainly fine.]

[ if asked in a court of law, Wolfwood could reply truthfully that he did not lose the baby in the store.

the baby lost the baby in the store. Wolfwood didn't even notice the baby had gone for a little wanderby. in future times, this fact will upset Wolfwood and he will be more mindful of the baby, but for the Wolfwood of right now, he's giving Kni a sidelong look, watching how that finger quavers, then darts to the more 'grown' up option.

... so Wolfwood makes an executive decision. ]

I have no idea how they taste. [ so he puts both in Kni's basket, and starts to make his way towards the meat coolers, unaware of the battle of wills that's to come. ]

[ and its at this very inconvenient point that Wolfwood gets a text from his dear old boss. ]

Whenever is most convenient for you within the next hour or so, I have an important delivery for you to make.

A client has finally agreed to sell me an antique writing desk I have been attempting to haggle off him for a number of weeks now and I need you to go pick it up for me.

It is not a simple pickup, it is a trade-off--so I have an old chaise lounge here I need you to bring to him as well.

text: un: ndwolfwood

asipofbride - 2023-07-26 03:36 (UTC) - Expand

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text: un: darkSlayer

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