asipofbride | IC INBOX [kaisou]

[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.

[ oh motherfucker with a capital Fucker

in between texting Vash and trying not to let the existential dread set in, Wolfwood stares at his phone

of all the times-- ]

the next hour or so is incredibly inconvenient for me in general

unless you got a place to stash my groceries and vash's little brother

[ ...he's paying you for a job and the rich snob at him is annoyed that wolfwood dares having a social life that gets in the way!!! but. no, vergil has been trying this whole get along with others thing that Nero and Zulius have been pushing him into, so...

as much as he allows himself a long-suffering sigh at the inconvenience, he'll handle it like a champ.

...well. sort of. ]

I have a rather large refrigerator, whatever you are buying, so long as it is not half the store, would fit inside. I do not fill mine to such a length that your own groceries will not fit inside for a spell.

As for the child, Dante has told me about your idiot's little brother. He is a quiet, bookish thing, yes?

...I will tolerate watching him until your job is complete, so long as he behaves himself.

[ if Wolfwood knew what an employment code was he could point out exactly how compensated he should be for being on call at all hours of the day, but thankfully Wolfwood is from a backwater hell plant and doesn't know what labor protections are.

he finds himself chewing an imaginary cigarette when Vergil responds. the cold hand of responsibility clamps down on the back of his neck, steel and unyielding. ]

it's not that much stuff we don't have a place to keep it at the cottage

and you'd probably like kni

he plays piano and keeps trying to read the bible for fun. he's--a lot smarter than you think he is, given that he's, y'know, like my idiot. you could probably give him a chunky book or something with your old stuffy music on it and he'd be happy as a tomas in a shavings pile.

[ even if wolfwood doesnt know what the labor laws were, vergil was going to follow them anyway. after all, what if the man eventually learned what the rules were, and it turned out he was swindling him? No, vergil would rather not. ]

In such case, I have no problem with it. I am in the shop, but I will close for a late lunch to look after the child while you make a delivery.

Does that sound amenable?
I will find something better for him to read than the Bible.

[kni looks down at the two (2) boxes of pasta in his basket and frowns. did they really need two? maybe it was fine, pasta was a decent shelf stable food, from what kni gathered.

and vash would like the dinosaur shapes. if they tasted okay, then kni wouldn't mind them either.]

What else is on the list?

[trailing after wolfwood, kni slows down when they pass by a lobster tank.]

... What is this?

[ man you think he knows what seabugs are? he slows when Kni does, blinking as the kid peers into the seafood tank, eyes flicking over the rest of the offerings on ice, nose crinkling a little at the sharpness of the smell. ]

Says 'lobster'. Looks too damn expensive for one meal. Also kinda reminds me of worms and I don't have to eat those anymore.

[ there's a lot of things you don't have to eat anymore, Wolfwood, if you'd just let the penny drop. ]

Last couple of things on the list isss--chicken, eggs, and flour. Also we're gonna have to make a detour after we cash out.

I know they're lobsters. I mean, why are they in this tank?

[wait... for a meal?] Do people eat them? [he looks to wolfwood, eyes wide. reality is setting in.] But they're alive.

[alive and trapped in a tank. he notes the rubber bands around their claws. reasonably, he knows there's nothing he can do. it isn't like they can buy every single lobster, but

he tears his eyes away from the tank, face a little pale.]

The chickens... are they already dead? [he almost doesn't catch that last part, okay fine. one more stop, he could handle that. one more stop and then home and maybe luida has moved away from the cottage.]

Edited 2023-07-27 03:28 (UTC)

I guess people eat them if they've got money? [ why is lobster so expensive--

and then Kni is making the face again and Wolfwood gets a feeling that they're having two very different conversations. he runs his tongue along the inside of his teeth, giving a little shrug. ] I would imagine they, uh, aren't alive, when people go to cook 'em and stuff.

And yeah the chickens are already. Processed.

[ and there they stand, in front of the meat aisle, Wolfwood typing another frantic message out to Vash as he starts to reach for a pack of chicken breasts, squinting to see the price sticker in the corner as if Kni's not making that distressed face behind him. ]

[kni stands just inside wolfwood's periphery, leveling him with a pinched look. it doesn't feel right, seeing something that was alive and breathing and sentient now reduced to pieces and parts laid out on ice.

he looks from wolfwood to the row of shrink-wrapped chicken cutlets that wolfwood just dipped into. he sees chicken, what used to be chicken. he also sees a red room, containers holding pieces and parts. kni swallows hard and looks back to wolfwood.

and huffs.]

[ the longer that Kni looks at him like that, the more Wolfwood's starting to feel that same pinched expression. he texts Vash again--as if asking the man what chicken he wants, pretending that he's not noticing Kni's huffing

even though the puff goes up the small hairs at the back of his neck, Kni's (righteous) displeasure heavy in the air between them as Wolfwood sets down one pack of chicken for another, feigning reading it while he waits for Vash to respond. ]

[wolfwood is ignoring him. he's almost sure of it.

so, he huffs again.

irritation blooms across his face and impulsively, he reaches up to very lightly tug the edge of wolfwood's jacket.

and huffs again.]

Edited 2023-07-27 04:06 (UTC)

[ he's not ignoring Kni, he's just
buying time for a deeply uncomfortable conversation that Wolfwood's already out of his depths in

Kni huffs and Wolfwood puts down the chicken again and then Kni's face turns, just out of Wolfwood's view
but the man can't ignore the huff and grab combo, looking down at Kni inquisitively. ]

Penny for your thoughts?

[ ... and a blessed bzzt-bzzt from Vash finally replying. ]

I don't want to eat that.

[he doesn't want to bring it home where he can't escape the smell of it when vash starts to cook. he lets go of wolfwood's jacket.]

Can't... we get something else?

[ Wolfwood's immediate reaction is to chide Kni--food is food and Wolfwood's still not over his hangups of doing what's needed to survive, and the idea of being too precious to eat something secretly irks him on some fundamental level.

but he breathes. he's not on No Man's Land right now. the world is spoiled for choice and Kni is coming from a place of--not pride, or ego. he's carrying something like compassion in his pale little hands, and Wolfwood looks askance to read what Vash has said, to rein himself in, giving a little shrug when he returns to peer at Kni. ]

Vash said there should be an aisle labeled 'vegetarian' around here, somewheres. That's--stuff that's like meat, but it's plant-based--but like garden-plants, y'know? Wanna help me find it?

[ a compromise. a less bloody olive branch. life doesn't have to be all or nothing, one opinion over another, one life over another. ]

[kni expects to be rebuked, after all why would wolfwood consider his feelings - opinions on the matter of something already dead? he realizes he's being sensitive, but that doesn't stop the way his stomach twists uncomfortably at the sight of plastic-wrapped chunks of painful familiarity. it was a battle already lost, but saying nothing at all felt like biting through his own tongue.

his surprise is evident, just for a moment, when the older man acquiesces. vash said... ]

... Yeah. Okay.

[regarding wolfwood with an odd look, unreadable beyond the lingering uncertainty, he isn't going to waste whatever grace is being offered to him now. he looks away, eyes up towards the category signs listed above the aisles shelves. one more furtive glance back to wolfwood before kni starts down the meat aisle, a little more than eager to leave this area.]

[ it's probably more than a little obvious that Wolfwood has a chip on his shoulder about doing things most people would find detestable--where Kni sees pieces of his missing sister, Wolfwood sees survival. Kni sticks to his principles, and Wolfwood's very used to tossing those out the window except for his select few, private scruples--

it's almost satisfying to see the way the little guy starts and looks surprised. Vash is between them, even now--less a wall than a bridge, a safe ground to deflect to and meet upon. Wolfwood tucks his phone into his pocket. ]

He said somethin' about it being near the produce--so the vegetables an' stuff. We don't usually run through the aisle because we're on the farm, so.

[ and Wolfwood continues to let Kni have the grace, following him like the loyal dog he is, leaving the meat behind them to sit silent vigil. on one hand, everything was already dead and ready to be consumed, and it'd be wasteful to leave it to rot--but on the other hand...

it didn't hurt to be kind in the moment. Wolfwood lopes after the kid, scanning the aisles and their little markers until he spots the word he's looking for, leaning down to point over Kni's shoulder. ]

Over there. Vash mentioned somethin' called 'tofu' and somethin' called 'seitan', so I guess those are places to start?

IC INBOX [kaisou]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

text: un: darkSlayer

text: un: ndwolfwood

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)